Chapter 4

That money really helped. I got some food and with the leftover pay, I bought a deck of cards. I also, I regretfully stole a leather jacket from a clothes line. I had to if I didn't want to freeze to death. Now all I need is a source of money.

I'm back on a park bench, sheltered by the trees so the town doesn't see me. I don't know why I bought cards, it was basically the only thing I could afford after I bought food. I run my thumb across the deck, on it is a picture of an ace of spades and the name "Wilder" written in big gold letters. I need to get out of Mayville. But where will I go?

The FBI are after me, it's not safe in here. It's also a small town, word gets out fast. People will soon know that I'm living on the streets, then I think. Brooklyn, it's crawling with street kids. How can I get there? Walking is out of the option. I could take a taxi but that'll break the bank.

I look down at the cards, if I can get enough money from doing tricks I can make it to Brooklyn. I stand up and start walking, away from the town. I'll find a busy place to do some magic, I've been to enough shows to pick up on a few things.

After about a 10-20-minute walk, I'm sure I'm out of Mayville. I'm in a strange town, it's swarming with people. I look around, what can I do for a trick? I man with a hood covering his face is watching me from a far. I take a deep breath, grab my deck of cards and stand on a wooden box.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I yell getting people's attention. A couple of people crowd around, including the hooded man. "My name is Jack…" I can't use my real name, why didn't I think of this until now. I look around desperately to find anything that's like a name. My palms begin to sweat, the cards. I look at the cover and come up with an idea. "My name is Jack Wilder and I can bet you a-hundred dollars that I can hit that sign over there with this card," I say, I grab the first card in the deck and hold it up for the crowd to see; the ace of spades. I have to start out small.

"No," I hear from the crowd. I look around until I find the speaker. "I will give you one thousand dollars if you can lodge a card in that sign," the man says confidently. He has grey short hair and is wearing a suit, why is he dressed like; it's not exactly a fancy town?

"Do you have that kind of money on hand?" I say with a smirk, he's bluffing. The man holds up ten one-hundred-dollar bills, why would he be carrying that in his pocket and betting it on a magic trick; because he knows that I will lose. "What's your name?" I ask.

"Arthur Tressler," he says and laughs. Arthur Tressler, I've heard that name before.

"Arthur Tressler the insurance guy?" I ask with curiosity. The man gives a stern look, that's all I needed. "Why are you here with a thousand dollars in your pocket?" I ask while trying not to laugh too much.

"Oh, trust me boy; I have a lot more than a thousand," he says laughing. He still didn't answer all of my question so I give him a look. "If you must know, I just won a law-suit here; now get on with it or I drop the pay to a dollar," he says, he just wants to make a fool out of me. Most people can't through a card like I can, but it will be a challenge to get it to stay in the wood. I need that money, it will defiantly get me to Brooklyn and I will have lots left over. I go to reach for more cards but the man stops me. "No, with three cards," he says and laughs. Three cards, now there's no doubt I'll lose. Now there's a big crowd. I must try, I'm desperate.

I take two more cards out of the deck and sigh. I look around at the crowd, all of them looking at me expectantly. Except for the hooded man, he just stands there; face completely covered. It may have just been my imagination but I swear I saw him nod his head up and down.

I take a deep breath and whip a card at the sign. It hits right where I want it, but it doesn't stick. I hear the crowd gasp and Tressler laugh, he is enjoying this way too much. The hooded man stays still as a statue. I sigh, I need to figure out a way for it to stick, harder will make it go off balance.

I get the second card ready, the two of hearts. I line it up with the sign and throw it as hard as I can. The card misses by a landslide, it still wouldn't be hard enough to stick. This is impossible, I have no chance.

Come on Jack, if you can carve through an apple then you can carve through wood; right? I take a deep breath and hold my last card with shaky hands, the ace of spades. I focus entirely on the sign, not on the people and not on the card. I tune out everything, only thing I hear is my rapid heartbeat and jagged breaths. I whip the card and close my eyes, not wanting to know where it lands.

I hear cheers and I open my eyes. The card is lodged into the wood, how is that possible? I break out of my shock and walk over to Tressler, everyone falls silent. I hold out my hand and regretfully puts some money in it. I look at the five one-hundred dollar bills he gave me. Arthur starts to walk away.

"Hey!" I yell grabbing people's attention. Tressler turns around with a smirk on his face.

"What happened to one thousand dollars, this is five hundred," I say.

"Some of the bills must be stuck together," he says and walks off. I shrug it off, five-hundred dollars is still probably enough to get me to Brooklyn. I don't want to get on the bad side of Arthur Tressler.