A/N: Originally written for the Shakespeare Quotefic challenge, the title is a challenge quote from Othello, the quote "The common curse of mankind - folly and ignorance" from Troilus and Cressida is used in the piece, and the entire piece was inspired by "Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't" from Hamlet.
Disclaimer: Hustle and its characters are the property of BBC/AMC and whoever else owns them, and I'm just building castles in their sandbox.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Danny started bringing her around Eddie's bar a few weeks ago. At first, the others were a little surprised; though he had quite a few on a string, Danny wasn't one to bring a bird someplace where he might be found again at some later date, when the time and the relationship might not be so convenient. After all, it was one thing to tell a girl you could only see her once a month because you were a transatlantic pilot, and another to have her show up with a cricket bat at Eddie's when she finally found out that "transatlantic pilot" was only accurate if you counted getting a bit of fun with an American and a British flight attendant on the same night.
She was a pretty little thing, soft and blonde and a little giggly, with an accent as broad as Danny's. When she showed up on Danny's arm for the third time in a row, the two of them coming in a full ten minutes after Danny was supposed to be there, alone, for a quick rundown on their latest con, Mickey pulled him aside for a little talk.
"Danny, what's going on?" Mickey's handsome face was visibly annoyed, his eyes sliding towards the young woman who was currently being charmed by Albert, laughing with the older man at some tale he was telling to put her at ease. That was Albert's gift; he could charm almost anyone and make them feel as if they'd discovered a long lost friend in just a few minutes. Ash sat on the other side of the girl laughing along with her, his hand lying casually over the closed laptop as if he hadn't just been pulling up facts and figures on their latest mark with it. Across the booth, Stacie leaned back and smiled while her dark eyes assessed the blonde coolly, taking in every detail.
"Oh, yeah, sorry I'm late, Mickey. I know how you get about that. I was 'aving dinner with Mary's parents and I lost track o' time."
"No Danny, I'm not talking about your lateness, although you need to work on that. What are you thinking, bringing a woman here when we're talking about a... project?" his voice was too low to be overheard but his choice of words was still circumspect.
"Oh Mary's all right. She knows what I do."
"She knows? Are you crazy?" Mickey's hiss was furious.
"No, no, Mick. She's all right. I'd trust 'er with my life. She's... she's special. You know, Mickey, I think she's the one, if you know what I mean."
"The one, Danny?" The skepticism in his voice could be cut with a knife, but Danny Blue seemed unaware of it.
"Yeah, Mick, the one. You know, like Rachel was for you. I think I'd do anything for her." Danny's eyes gazed at her longingly.
"Rachel was a disaster for me, Danny. Why the hell would you want to repeat that mistake?"
"Mary's different. And besides, I can't help it. I... I think I love her."
"Oh Danny..." Mickey's voice was sad and exasperated at the same time. "Look, we'll talk about this later. For right now, why don't you take her out and I'll fill you in at the hotel later."
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
But over the next few weeks nothing anyone said to Danny made any difference, and gradually, against everyone's better judgment, they began to accept that the impossible may have happened, and Danny might have lost his heart to this slip of a girl.
Then one day he showed up at Eddie's alone and ordered a double Scotch, and right in front of Mickey, Stacie, Albert and Ash, drank himself three sheets to the wind while the others looked over his shoulder knowingly. They managed to half drag, half carry him into a black cab and get him back to the hotel, where he periodically wailed and moaned behind the closed door of his room.
For the next couple of days, he was a shadow of the cocky grifter they'd worked and lived with for the past year, and even Mickey, whose patience with the new kid was often tested, felt bad for him.
Two nights later, after the crew had put the room service carts back out in the hall and Ash and Albert were settled down to a nice quiet game of gin, Danny shuffled out onto the balcony to be alone.
Mickey sighed reluctantly. "Perhaps I should go out and have a talk with him..."
Albert looked up from his cards. "A woman's touch might be more effective here..."
"What, me?" Stacie opened her eyes wide. "No, I don't think so." The three men stared at her and after a moment's silence, she blew out her breath with an audible "harumph" and said, "All right, all right. I'll do it." She unfolded her slim body from the sofa and stalked out through the sliding glass doors, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder.
Mickey's eyes followed her, watching her with that intensity that he thought no one recognized. It was his one folly, the conceit that he'd somehow hidden his passion for her from the other members of his crew. Ash and Albert exchanged knowing looks and then Ash said, "You know, Mickey, maybe you'd better keep an eye on them. Make sure Stacie's OK."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do that," he answered distractedly. He slipped quietly onto the balcony, just inside the doorway, partially obscured by a potted tree. Stacie and Danny were silhouetted against the glittering London cityscape, her arms around him. The wind carried their voices away from Mickey so he couldn't hear the words, but it was clear that Danny was pouring out his misery to her receptive ear.
As Mickey watched from the shadows, Stacie reached up a hand to Danny's face and drew it toward her for a kiss, which quickly turned passionate. A knife twisted through Mickey's heart, though he shouldn't have been surprised; he'd been rebuffing Stacie's soulful looks and gentle suggestions to move their relationship past the platonic for ages now, and it was no secret that Danny had long harboured "a thing" for the beautiful grifter.
Suddenly Stacie broke away from Danny's embrace and rushed blindly back toward the suite, stumbling into Mickey in his hiding place. His arms reached out and caught her before she fell, and he could see tears glittering in her upturned face just before she gasped, "Mickey! Please, let me go" and fled past Ash and Albert, out the front door and down the hall.
All thoughts of Danny and his troubles, Ash and Albert's curious glances, and his own determination to keep away from her for the sake of the crew flew out of Mickey's head as he ran out, following her. He caught her at the lift, a hand on her elbow turning her around, and when he looked down at her no power on this earth could stop him from lowering his head and kissing her...
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Danny sauntered back into the penthouse suite and looked at the front door. "So they've gone, 'ave they?"
"Yes my boy, and I'll wager that they shan't return tonight," said Albert with a twinkle in his eye. "And you, Ash, you owe me five pounds."
Ash cocked an eye at the older gentleman and reached into his pocket to pay up. "I got to hand it to the two of you. I didn't think that would work quite so well. I never thought Mickey would fall for it - he's not usually so stupid."
"The common curse of mankind - folly and ignorance," Albert winked, "without which we could not make our living. But in this case Mickey's folly may have finally come to an end." He took the fiver out of his hand and handed it to Danny. "And please, buy your cousin Mary a drink in appreciation from us."
Danny grinned. "Will do, Albert. Will do."