*Author's note at the bottom*
Disclaimer: I don't own Now You See Me.
Up and Coming
"Mr. Bentley?" The rather bored secretary called.
A young man, no older than twenty if that, stood up from the seat. He tucked a pack of playing cards in his coat pocket. He straightened his tie, trying to hide his nervousness, and made his way to the door behind the secretaries' desk. He smiled at the secretary, a pretty young brunette, who just rolled her eyes and went back to typing on the computer. The man frowned, but turned away and entered the room. An older man sat behind a large desk, studying some papers in his hands. He didn't look up as Bentley entered and left him standing there for a moment before the man finally spoke.
"Please, have a seat Mr…"
"Bentley, sir. Nimorod Bentley." The man supplied, wincing slightly as he gave his full name.
The manager looked up and raised his eyebrow at that.
"Indeed." He said, shuffling the papers again.
Bentley sat down in the straight backed chair in front of the desk. The chair wasn't even remotely comfortable, but then again, it wasn't supposed to be. Silence reigned for a moment as the manager finished reading the papers.
"I see you wish to enter our company as a magician, Mr. Bentley." The manager placed the papers down and folded his hands together, leaning forward.
"Yes sir, that's correct." Bentley said nervously, moving uncomfortably in the chair.
"What makes you think you have what it takes to be a successful magician, Mr. Bentley?" The manager asked.
"I'm good, sir." Bentley promised. "Really good."
"Are you now?" The manager leaned back in his chair, hands clasped over his stomach. "Would you care to prove that?"
"Yes sir," Bentley stood and fumbled for the pack of cards in his coat pocket. "Thank you sir."
The manager just grunted. Bentley shuffled the pack quickly, not looking as he did.
"Now," he began, holding the cards out toward the manager, "I want you to see a card" He held the pack up to where the manager could see the bottom card, "But not that one, that one's too easy. Ready?"
The manager grunted again and, nervously, the young magician let the cards fall down quickly.
"Now, did you see one?"
"Yes, I saw one." The manager said with the sigh of one who had seen this trick one to many times.
"Good." Bentley shuffled the cards one time, quickly, then held them out so the manager could see all of the cards. "Now do you see your card?"
"No, I do not." The manager said with another sigh.
"Ah, that's because you're looking to closely," Bentley said with a grin, "Because the closer you look, the less you see."
With that said, Bentley threw the cards up in the air and watched as they fell to the ground around the two. Each card was the three of spades, the card the manager had seen. The manager gave a couple short, impressed nods of his head and Bentley grinned wildly, sure he had successfully impressed the man in charge of the big entertainment center right in the heart of Las Vegas. But then the manager leaned forward and looked Bentley in the eyes as he sat down in the chair once more.
"That was impressive, Mr. Bentley, very impressive," The manager began. Then, at the grin that broke across Bentley's face, continued, "But I'm not sure it was good enough for a place such as I run."
"But…" The manager held his hand up, cutting the young magician off.
"I'm sorry, but I can only employ the very best of the best, the true showmen of the business."
"But I am a showman!" Bentley argued. "I'm the showman!"
"You have promise," the manager admitted, "But promise isn't enough. I need a crowd stopper, someone who can capture a crowd's attention with just the sound of his name. I'm sorry, Nimorod Bentley, but the answer is no. Come back in a few years when you've matured more."
"But sir!" Bentley was ready to beg.
"My answer is final." The manager said slowly, then turned his head down to shuffle the papers once more.
Bentley sighed and began collecting his cards. The whole time he was working, the manager completely disregarded him. When the last card was in his pocket, the up and coming magician left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. The secretary didn't spare him so much as a glance as he walked out of the office and the building.
Out on the street, he looked around, noting all the billboards with the names of the headlining performers on them. One day, he promised himself, it would be his name on one of those. That day couldn't come soon enough for young Nimorod Bentley. He walked along the sidewalk until he reached a crowded area. Seeing an opening, he took the cards out from his pocket and began shuffling them.
"Gather around everyone!" He shouted over the roar of the city. "Gather around and watch closely because the closer you look, the less you'll see!"
"Shut up, kid!" Someone shouted.
Bentley frowned, but kept on yelling. He did a few simple tricks, earning him scattered applause. Hiding his smug grin as the crowd around him grew, he did a few more complex tricks until the applause came from all those surrounding him.
"What's your name kid?" Someone called out.
Bentley hesitated a moment, the manager's words running through his mind. Then, with a big grin, he answered.
"Atlas, good sir. My name is J. Daniel Atlas."
I hope you enjoyed this short little one shot! It was inspired by an interview I watched from the Behind the Scenes of Now You See Me. In it, Jesse Eisenberg talks about his character, J. Daniel Atlas, and how he had changed his name from something not as noteworthy (Not his exact words). I heard that and knew this had to be written.
Just as a little side note in case anyone was wondering,the name I gave Daniel, Nimorod Bentley, is a real name. I enjoy looking up names from history and one day at the library I stumbled across that name in an old genealogy book.
I hope you enjoyed the story! :)