Disclaimer: I do not own Now You See Me or any of its characters. If I did, there would be more of Jack

Shoutout: To my Beta, UnderHisWings, for being a monumental help with this chapter!

Chapter 7: Discovery

"Rodger that," came the response from Operations. Agent Fuller waited for the beep to sound, signaling that the call had been ended from the other end, before closing his cell, and slipping it into the pouch at his waist. He then turned his head to see the three Horsemen conversing with each other in muted tones. He subtly observed them for several moments, silently debating with himself, before reluctantly pushing off the wall he had been leaning against. He hesitantly made his way down the hall toward the trio, when Merritt caught sight of him, and whispered something to the other two. All three then straightened up, and turned toward him.

"You've arranged to take a short 'leave of absence'?" asked Atlas briskly.

"I did." Though he hadn't been instructed to do so, Fuller had had the foresight to see where this was headed.

Merritt eyed him suspiciously, "And no one will suspect that anything's wrong?"

"Well…" the agent thought for a moment, "If anyone would notice, it would be my partner, Rhodes. We've been working together for the past few days to find young Mr. Wilder, and he might suspect something if I just 'up and leave' without giving notification."

Henley smirked, "Agent Rhodes has been trying to save Jack? That's a far cry from what he was doing last year."

"Namely: eating our dust." Merritt mumbled to Atlas, who grinned and gave a small huff that could be interpreted by the generous few as a laugh.

Agent Fuller glared at them, not particularly enjoying their torment of his friend, "We are FBI agents. We're the good guys. We joined Law Enforcement so we could help people; to save them when they're in trouble, and to punish those who cause pain and destruction. Dylan was trying to put you behind bars last year, because you were breaking the law, and that has a price. This time, however; it was you who were wronged, and your friend that was hurt. So yes, we are going to do everything in our power to bring justice to the guilty, even if it involves helping criminals."

The Horsemen looked mildly shocked at his outburst. Fuller looked to Atlas, who seemed to be the ringleader of the group. The magician studied him silently for a few moments before surprising the agent by saying, "Call up good old Agent Rhodes, and if he's willing to work professionally, and not arrest us on the spot, then his help might possibly be half useful."

Fuller smirked before turning around and walking back down the hall, so as to call his partner out of earshot.

"Dylan, hey. Something has come up, and I'm going to take a short leave. Your help would be greatly appreciated, but look, it's not going to be easy for you. Okay, um… the Horsemen are here right now, and before you say anything, they are just trying to get Jack Wilder back. They saved me from some guys who were trying to kill me, so I sort of owe them now. I get it Dylan, I know how you feel about them, but right now, they're the victims, and it's our duty to help them. I'm going with or without you, but I wanted to give you the option to help.

There were several moments of silence before the tense and disinclined response came, "Well, I can't very well let you go gallivanting off with a bunch of criminals by yourself. Where should I meet you?"

Fuller allowed himself a goofy grin.

Twenty minutes later found Agent Fuller toting three antsy magicians in his black Range Rover to the designated destination. He pulled the car into a secluded alleyway on 7th Street and turned the headlights off, so they wouldn't blind his partner. As he gazed out the windshield, he saw a shadow peel itself off the wall of the ally and wander towards the car. The shadow melted into Dylan as it neared them, and it opened the passenger door, revealing the impassive face of the agent's friend. Dylan slid into the seat next to him, refusing to acknowledge the back seats' occupants. Fuller watched, amused for a moment, before rolling his eyes and backing the Rover out of the ally.

An uncomfortable silence settled throughout the vehicle until the agent pulled up in front of a modest-looking hotel. The reaction was both immediate and fearsome as the back of the car erupted with cries of protest.

"What do you think you are doing?!" that was Atlas.

"You can't seriously expect us to relax in a hotel while Jack is in trouble!" and Henley.

"We won't rest until we get him back." The remaining member of the Horsemen expressed his displeasure.

"Well, if anyone has any idea where he might be, speak up." Fuller waited for a time in order to make his point. Silence. "Then I suggest that we find somewhere that we can work out of, and rest in, when we need it."

Again, no dispute, but from the driver's seat, he could see three unhappy faces glaring at him through the rearview mirror. He smirked, knowing they had acceded his point, and put the Ranger Rover again in park.

He arranged for them to have three rooms: two doubles for himself and Dylan, and Atlas and Merritt, and a single room for Henley. After they had settled in, Fuller ordered Chinese takeout for the five of them, since it seemed like the least complicated option. While they waited for it to arrive, the agent tried to strike up a conversation with his roommate, who had previously been giving him the silent treatment.

"Dylan, please-" he began, at the same time his partner decided to speak up with, "I don't like this."

Fuller was about to try to ease his friend's mind but was again cut off.

"These guys are nothing but trouble, and I don't think it's smart to be letting ourselves get dragged into this. I have nothing against finding the boy; that's our job, after all, but why do we have to do it with them?"

Fuller almost laughed at the whining tone in the agent's voice, but a beep sounded on the complimentary phone, diverting their attention.

*Red Dragon for a Mr. John Fuller. Please come to the lobby to sign for your food.*

"Sorry to interrupt our conversation, but… food takes priority." He grinned at his friend, who rolled his eyes, but returned with a genuine smile of his own.

"You and your bottomless stomach, John."

"You know I hate that name."

Dylan just grinned. The troll.

The agent took the elevator to the first floor, signed for the food, and brought it up to the rooms. He decided to deliver it to the Horsemen first, so he walked down the hall to Henley's room, which was the farthest away. He knocked and handed her what she ordered before retracing his steps until he came to the male magicians' room. Atlas was at the door by the second knock. The fugitive then took the rice and chicken that was offered before naming a time to meet in his and Merritt's room in the morning, leaving no room for argument. He was about to shut the door when the mentalist's voice sounded from behind it, asking for more soy sauce. Atlas seemed one step away from biting the man's head off, but he simply sighed and grabbed a few more packets, with only slightly more force than necessary.

As the door was shut in his face, Fuller rolled his eyes, and strolled down the hall to his shared room, arms significantly lighter than when he had begun. He failed to knock, and instead, slid the key-card into the lock, and pushed the door open. He was about to crack a joke about how the Chinese food was being delivered by a red-headed, freckled, teenage boy, when he realized his roommate was having a rather heated conversation with someone on the phone. On a random, gut instinct, the agent decided to remain quiet, keeping the door cracked just enough that he could both hear, and see, the conversation taking place inside the small hotel room.

"Cut the small talk Bradley! I want to talk to Jack."

The accidental snoop did a double take. He was on the phone with Thaddeus Bradley? And why did he sound so familiar with the kid, calling him only by his first name? Never mind; it didn't matter. He was sure Dylan had a good reason for it. There were a few moments of silence before his partner went nuts.

"Leave him alone, Bradley! I will hunt you down, and I promise I will not stop, until I put you where you belong: prison. You may have taken my father from me, all those years ago, but I will not let you take Jack too."

The phone call was evidently over then as Dylan pulled the phone away from his ear, and glared at it angrily before he punched the wall with his free hand, causing the picture frames to rattle.

Fuller struggled to comprehend what he had just witnessed. A horrible suspicion began nagging at his mind, but he shoved it down, not wanting to believe it. It was not to be silenced, however, and after several minutes of in-depth thought, it began to be convincing. His partner couldn't be the fifth Horseman… could he?