Interrogation Techniques
Disclaimer: I do not own Now You See Me. I only own the character Clarissa Sinclair and her original plot lines and dialogue.
Clary swirled into Henley Reeves' interrogation room, her long brown hair floating in after her. Calmly, she fixed the chair Henley had been previously spinning and sat casually in the seat, her fingers laced together. Henley didn't know what to think of the woman; she was young, and instead of wearing dress pants and small, high-heeled shoes like most of the female agents she had seen, the brunette was wearing khaki jeans and knee-high leather boots. Rings – all silver and black – adorned her hands, and heavy silver bracelets blended in with the silver watch on her left wrist. The Sinclair woman was a slightly wild spirit and didn't obey rules – probably why she was with Jack even after he stole from her.
Clarissa smiled at Henley, who looked confused but smiled back anyway. "So, Ms Reeves. You're a very adept escape artist, that's very impressive. You were also the former assistant to Daniel Atlas, correct?"
Henley made a slight face at the mention of being a mere assistant, "Yes, but I wanted to start a career on my own."
"I admire that; you're a strong, independent woman who has her own talents, and deserves to showcase them as a solo act, without an overly controlling boss watching her every move." At this, Henley beams brightly at the green-eyed woman in front of her.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours." Henley muttered extending her hand as well as she could, considering the cuffs, "Henley Reeves."
"Clarissa Sinclair," Clary shook the woman's hand. "Why aren't you gone yet?"
Henley frowned, "Gone?"
"Yes," Clarissa smiled, "You're an escape artist. You could be gone like that." Clary snapped her fingers to prove her point.
"I know. Why aren't you interrogating me like you should be?" Henley offered no further elaboration and answered with her own question. The young Agent Sinclair shrugged.
"Not really my thing. I'd rather just talk to you before I go talk to Jack."
Clarissa had slipped up when she called the other Horseman 'Jack.' When she had entered the room, she had only called Henley 'Ms Reeves,' not her first name and Henley had noticed. Henley thought over the past year, specifically when the youngest member of the Four Horsemen would return home after a day out, blushing, and smiled for hours afterwards, claiming that he had only been out for coffee. She recalled the one time that she had glanced over Jack's shoulder to find him texting a woman named Clary. "Jack, huh? Do you happen to be the 'Clary' he's always talking about?"
Clarissa didn't answer, suddenly becoming cold. Jack's lack of communication with the green-eyed woman had agitated her more than had liked to admit to anyone. "How did you rob the bank?"
"Magic," Henley replied, jazz hands used to their fullest, confused by Clarissa's sudden hostility and Clary sighed and stood. She stopped at the door.
"It was nice meeting you, Henley." A genuine smile touched both of the woman's lips and the brunette exited the room. Henley glanced down at the desk, where a coffee had somehow been placed without her noticing. Henley grinned at the steaming beverage before she drank it gratefully. Agent Clarissa Sinclair was certainly a beautiful and kind woman.
"Jack was right, she is a lovely person," Henley muttered to empty air.
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Jack was awoken by a sharp kick to the leg, hoping that whoever was kicking him wouldn't do it again if he didn't open his eyes. The person kicked him again, albeit less harshly, and the young man let his eyelids slide open. When his dark brown eyes focused, he was up in an instance.
"Clary? What are you–" Jack paused, a look of realization crossing his face at the badge clipped to Clarissa's waistband, "You work for the FBI? You didn't tell me…"
Clarissa sat in the chair across from him, a bored expression on her face as he trailed off. "Jack? You're a criminal who robs banks with his team of magicians? You didn't tell me…" Clary mimicked, her tone was snarky and she avoided his gaze, instead picking at her nails.
Jack sat back in the chair, slightly hurt by her response. "Why are you here?"
"I'm Agent Sinclair, I'm here to interrogate you." Clarissa refused to show how hurt she was by Jack's lack of trust in her and kept up the cool façade. But she couldn't find it within herself to hate him, or even dislike him in the slightest. They had spoken ever week for the past year, organizing a coffee-date as often as they could, and had been in an 'official' relationship for the last seven months. "How did you rob the bank?"
"We used the teleportation helmet to send Étienne to Paris, and then he stole the money. It was magic."
Clarissa leant closer to Jack over the table, "I don't believe you."
Clary almost toppled her chair over, ricocheting back into it, when Jack leant closer to her as well. His face had been an inch away from hers and he had seen the hurt swimming in her green eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you I was a magician?" Jack leant back in the chair, "Or that I was a 'criminal'?"
Clarissa ignored the quotation marks he made with his fingers at the word 'criminal' and she stood, putting her hands on her hips. "Goodbye, Mr Wilder."
Jack watched Clary as she walked towards the door, a sad expression on his face before the brunette turned quickly and pecked Jack's lips. Surprised, Jack froze but Clary's lips were gone by the time he managed to shake out of his shock. Without another word, Clarissa Sinclair strode from the room. Jack's shocked gaze followed her out, red tinting his cheeks.
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The magicians walked down a hallway, an agent escorting them out until they reached a brunette, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. Clary glanced up as they stopped in front of her, a smirk dancing along her lips.
Clarissa turned to the agent, "I have it from here, thank you."
"Of course, Agent Sinclair." Clary smiled at the man, loving that though she was young, she still received respect from her colleagues – well, aside from Cowan and Fuller. The five adults stayed in the corridor until the agent was gone. As soon as his back disappeared around a corner, Henley grabbed her hand.
"Thank you." Clary smiled, knowing she meant the coffee and for not making them walk with an escort. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Clary."
Clarissa faltered at that for a moment, before she grinned again, "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Henley."
Daniel Atlas and Merritt McKinney sent questioning looks at Henley, who didn't even glance at them. She pulled Clarissa into a quick hug, the younger woman hugging her back.
"Go, come on," the brunette woman urged, "before Agent Rhodes arrests you for talking to me. He seriously just wants an excuse to."
Clary's eyes sparkled with mirth before she turned slightly to Jack. The man moved forward immediately, wrapping his arms around the woman; Clary tucked tightly against Jack's chest, her arms around his waist. The three other Horsemen had walked a few feet away and were watching the young couple with interest.
"Who's she?" Daniel asked the red-headed woman beside him and Henley smiled.
"That's Clarissa Sinclair."
"Jack's Clary?" Merritt asked Henley. He had noticed the name on Jack's phone and he had watched how the young man had reacted to the name when the Mentalist had asked – the letter 'C' had been floating around Jack's mind for months, as Merritt had told them. The Escape Artist nodded at the older man and Daniel huffed.
"As long as he doesn't get too attached." The trio watched as Jack pulled Clary into a long, loving kiss. They pulled away, the two were dazed as they looked at each other. Clarissa stood on her tiptoes to kiss Jack again – Henley smiled, they clearly loved each other, even if they didn't realise it themselves.
"Too late," Merritt muttered, grinning at the youngest member of the Four Horsemen and the FBI agent.
Henley turned to glare at Daniel, "Don't interfere, Danny."
Jack wandered back over to his team, and the quartet followed Clarissa with their eyes. Clary tossed her long hair over her shoulder and stalked away, a slight smile tugging at her lips. She threw a wink at Jack over her shoulder and when she turned away from the Four Horsemen, a dangerously bored look appeared on her face, masking her smile before she disappeared around the corner.
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The Four Horsemen strutted out, past the black gate, to the white car waiting for them. Clary was glad no one questioned why they didn't have an escort. Clarissa could see Daniel open the door for his friends, and they all got into the car as Clary and Dylan hurried down the stairs to Agent Evans.
"Boss, what are we doing? We're letting them go?" Dylan asked, waving his arm at the car that was speeding off. "They all but admitted they're gonna do it again."
"About a half an hour ago, you didn't give a damn about them," Evans replied. "What changed?"
"I met them." Dylan retorted.
"Please," Clary remarked dryly. "You just don't like them because Atlas cuffed you to a table and McKinney talked about your daddy issues."
Dylan pursed his lips at her, about to speak, but Fuller jogged down the stairs, holding his phone. "Hey. Guys. Hey, I ran a check on the audience. Most of it was just filler. People that Tressler dragged in to pack the room. But guess who was sitting there in the back, filming the whole damn thing?"
"I don't know," Dylan stated.
"Thaddeus Bradley." At the blank looks he received from Dylan, Evans and Clary, he elaborated. "Thaddeus Bradley, the guy from TV with the DVDs and shows?"
Clarissa raised a brow and shook her head again, "No."
Fuller shook his head, rolling with their current ignorance of Thaddeus Bradley. "Okay, well, he debunks magicians. He exposes them. He shows you how to do their tricks."
"Get him on the phone." Dylan immediately ordered and Clary analysed Fuller's smug look and flicked her fingers in a pattern on her folded arm.
"You feel really smart because you already organised a meeting, didn't you?" The green-eyed girl smirked at Fuller, who was acting like an overly-excited puppy.
"I did," the man admitted, slightly miffed that Clarissa already guessed what he'd down before he told them. "You're having lunch with him in forty-five."
"Good." Dylan stated and began to head back up the stairs, "Sinclair better have been invited too."
Clary shot a shit-eating grin at Fuller who looked worried, obviously not thinking about that beforehand, "I'll deal with it. Don't get your knickers in a knot, Fuller."
Clarissa turned and walked after Dylan, not rushing to follow after him and enjoying the look of annoyance on the older agent's face.
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Clary is definitely a bit bi-polar when it comes to Jack.
Ooh, Clarissa is quite clearly canoodling with the enemy and she hates Fuller's guts. That's going to change - the hating Fuller part - but not by much.
I am currently writing the sequel to The Empress even though I haven't uploaded all the chapters for this story, so bear with me.
Thank you all for the support, you are all amazing!
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
~ Raven