Exposition
It was difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when everything had fallen apart.
"My vision was a perfect blend of elegance and technology" Walter said, standing up, "But Owen wanted it for himself so he humiliated me by exposing my private files to the board of directors and convinced them that I am unstable".
"Did you take a picture of him while he was sleeping?" Danny couldn't help but ask, still feeling just plain wrong from the images of his unconscious team that had flashed up on the screen.
The psychopath ignored him.
"He had me kicked out of my own company, and now he goes around taking credit for a chip that's not just the key to one computer, but every computer system on the planet. It can un-encrypt anything, crack the defense firewall, manipulate markets, and spy on anyone. And now it's being sold to the highest bidder".
"If you're so rich, why don't you just buy it?" Jack snapped.
"So, he gets the money? And the pleasure? No."
He shook his head.
"No, no, no. Besides, why would I buy it when I could have you steal it for me?"
Lula laughed.
"It's being previewed tomorrow to the various suitors, which will include your targets, a crew led by a South African gangster".
"South African gangsters" she scoffed again.
Walter didn't notice her sarcasm.
"Yes. How your team gets past security, that's up to you. But once you do, you just need
to inspect it and steal it".
Danny had to admit that he was… intrigued.
"That's it?"
Walter grinned.
"Come on, this is perfect for you, isn't it? You're magicians and thieves" Walter announced.
"What makes you think we would even consider doing this?"
"Um, oh, wait, I had a reason. What was it? Oh, yes!" he replied, "You see, back home, you're wanted criminals. But here, I control the police, the casinos, the media. I can give you a new life, out of hiding".
Too easy.
"And if you don't, I'll have you killed".
That was more like it.
"You know what?" Jack said, jumping up, "I'm not stealing a thing for you. Not unless Dylan tells me it's okay".
"Really? Dylan is where, exactly?"
"It doesn't matter," Lula added, "Yeah, I'm with him. So, you can go ahead and kill us because I'm not gonna steal anything for you either".
"Strikes me that a consensus seems to be forming, Walter" Merritt finished, "And we're calling your bluff".
Danny thought fast.
As tempted as he was by the 'new life out of hiding' aspect, he also knew that the main thing right now was for them to stay alive. Dylan had to have realized that they were missing, and despite their disagreements in the past, he knew full well that their leader only had their best interests at heart. He just had to keep them together until help arrived.
So, as Walter's bodyguard stepped forward, hand going to a gun half-hidden by a leather jacket, he made his decision.
"Actually, we'll do it".
"Feels good, right?" Danny had asked, amongst the cheers and applause.
"Pretty good" Lula had grinned back, "Pretty good".
And the show had begun.
"Thank you, thank you. Um, okay. We want to talk to you about your privacy. What does your privacy mean to you? Because apparently to Owen Case, it means absolutely nothing".
They hadn't realized the truth back then.
"No, actually it means less than absolutely nothing. You see, he's mocked your privacy. He's scorned it".
They hadn't realized who was really behind it.
"Right, and we're not just talking about the things that you already agreed to when you signed, probably without reading the terms and conditions of Octas 1 through 7".
They hadn't realized that it was a set-up.
"Before we start the show... We had Owen agree to a few terms and conditions of our own. So, everything that he had once considered private… That he thinks is really private..."
Danny had finally felt important again, like he belonged, like he was wanted, like he had… mattered, if only for a brief moment in time, but then-
"Yeah, everything that he once considered private is now… Oh, my".
But then, just like that, the show was over.
"As the Horsemen like to say, magic is about controlling perception. You see them as champions of the truth, but are they? Or is that just another one of their illusions?"
And when they had needed him the most…
"Danny, everyone, get off the stage. Abort. Jack, go with them. I'll see you at the meet-up point".
… their leader had failed.
"Let's go!"
"Hey, bro, listen, I know that the only thing that we agree on is that our mom and dad had one too many children" Merritt started, "So why don't we just let the kids play with their toys and go get a little drinkey-poo?"
"If it's free, it's me".
Perfect.
"Great. Guys, we'll be right back".
Chase nodded and followed him to the door.
"Okay, kiddies, the chaperones are watching you. Don't do anything I wouldn't enjoy!"
"Okay" Danny called back "Have fun, you two!"
The second they were gone, he turned back to the store owner.
"Hey, can I use your phone? It's kind of important".
Not-Bruce-Li nodded and pushed the red landline in his direction.
"Sure. On the house".
"Thanks" Danny nodded, picking up the receiver. There was something almost… familiar about the Chinese man's mother, and since they were in the oldest magic shop in the world, he had a few suspicions about who'd been here before him. As much as Dylan played the role of idiot cop, no one got that good without having a magic background. So perhaps a trade was in order…
"Who are you calling?" Jack asked, walking over.
"I'm arranging to hand over the stick".
"So that's how we've been contacting the Eye?" he asked, "You've been doing it on your own?"
"... Maybe".
"Oh god. Dylan's not gonna like this".
Danny knew that. He knew it full well, but he also knew that with Rhodes out of the picture, it was up to him to keep the team together. The Eye was wrong. He wasn't tired of waiting for instructions from Dylan because he didn't trust the man. He was only tired of waiting for instructions because that was the only time that they ever got to see each other.
"I'm not really concerned with what Dylan likes, okay?" he shot back, lying through his teeth, "I'm doing this for us".
"Much as I appreciate the addition of some femininity to the group, over and above what Atlas provides" Merritt had added, "I think the real issue is we've been in this..."
Danny had ignored the comment and quickly taken over.
"Yeah, the issue is that we have been rehearsing for months for something... We don't even know what it is".
Overused answer of decade arriving in three… two… one…
"And you're going to keep working until-"
"Until we work as a single organism. I know, I've heard you say that".
That was the problem. Because 'team' meant everyone, including their all-seeing leader, and Danny had thought that Dylan didn't get that. He wasn't quite sure when he'd started to think of the man as something other than the reason for their unlikely group, but after almost two years of knowing who he really was, Danny had started to respect him.
"The thing is when you say that, I think what you're referring to is us, not you".
He had been wrong, of course, so, so wrong, but he wouldn't find that out for another three continents, two countries, and one psychopathic man-child later.
"Listen, I'm getting my orders directly from the Eye, okay? And then I give them to you. Now, if you don't like that, you're welcome to go".
Like Henley?
"No, I'm not going anywhere. But I'm... I'm taking care of myself".
As usual.
"You'll have to remove all your metal. Watches, rings, et cetera" Scott-Frank said as he led them to the computer's vault.
"Yeah, of course".
"Excuse me for asking... Where might I have seen you before?"
Danny adjusted his glasses, "I don't know, probably one of my many symposiums".
"The book jacket! I have to say, Doctor Michaelakis, I'm a huge fan".
"Oh, thank you so much".
He awkwardly ran a hand through shorn hair, lamenting the loss of his curls for the umpteenth time since this whole nightmare first started.
"Uh, which book? There have been so many..."
Allen looked surprised, "Does Hannes' chippy always talk for you, Doctor?"
Hannes'… chippy.
Jack realized it first.
"Sorry, when you say 'chippy', you are referring to Buffy here, yeah?"
"Of course".
Merritt, of course, had to comment as well.
"Oh, Hannes prefers the term 'floozy' for all his boy toys".
"Yeah. He does. That's good".
He was going to kill them.
"By the way, I got your email, Doctor Michaelakis. You had a query about our ability to maintain quantum coherence at room temperature without the use of dilution, refrigerators, or error correction. Do you care to elucidate?"
Lula blinked.
"Right. Yeah. Yes, I did send that email. I did, I sent it… So, what gives?"
"I'm sorry, what gives...?"
"I think what she's trying to say-" Danny interrupted, but Lula immediately cut him off.
"Actually, the grown-ups are having a meeting, Buffy".
She held out her chewing gum, having far too much fun with this new surprise role of hers.
"If you'll hold onto that. Thank you... Now, every seventh grader, even the dumb ones, knows the second law of thermodynamics. 'All ordered systems tend toward disorder'. Dis-order!" she emphasized, "So I'm going to ask you one more time, sir, what gives?"
For one long painstaking minute, Danny thought she blew it, but to his surprise, Scott-Frank was more embarrassed than suspicious.
"Well, it's actually topological quantum order. The emergence of quantum effects on a macroscopic level. So that is, in fact, what gives".
Lula made a big show about thinking for a moment, before taking off her fur coat and handing it to him.
"Thank you".
Everyone watched as she strutted through the metal detector, and Danny let out a sigh of relief. Walking over to the guards' table, the three men quickly began turning out their pockets.
"You know, Buffy is not a bad name for you" Merritt started, "You know, buff, firm, taut".
He regretted ever telling the man about his sexuality.
"That's good. Did you just find a thesaurus somewhere?"
Then again, he hadn't so much told him…
"Nubile".
… as he had simply not argued against the conclusion that the mentalist had drawn.
"That's good. Thank you. Okay".
Either way, it meant that the team now knew he wasn't entirely straight, there were more than a few pointed comments about his friendlier nature with one Dylan Rhodes, and Merritt's blatant flirting had increased tenfold.
Danny had spent the night walking, trying to clear his head, and had returned to his temporary apartment- not home, never home, not anymore -only to find a strange girl with stranger habits sitting on his couch.
"By the way, I am so sorry that Henley left you. I heard that she got tired of waiting around".
If he was being honest, then so had he.
"She lost faith and so she asked for an out, and the Eye gave it to her".
His own amiability towards her hadn't helped. It was easier for Merritt and Jack to live with one another; they were best friends. But Danny and Henley had a past, a past that he had wanted to forget but one which she had wanted to revive.
It wasn't just the Eye that she'd lost faith in.
"But who knows, right? In matters of the heart, it's so difficult to tell".
And that had been the whole problem, hadn't it? Henley had wanted more and Danny had wanted… well. Something that he couldn't have. Answers, perhaps. Or acceptance.
"I mean, maybe she got sick of you. You ever think about that?"
He didn't have to think about it.
He knew.
"Do your final checks and get them out of here" Scott-Frank ordered.
Lula immediately brushed off the guard's hands, "Oh, we're walking this way again. Yay".
Danny flicked the card to Merritt who subtly caught it. A glance at the others had them shaking their heads, but he was forced to throw it to Lula anyway.
She leaped forward and caught it between both hands with a loud clap.
Her guard jumped and spun around.
"See? What did I tell you, man? We didn't have anything".
A flick to Jack and-
"Thanks, pal. Appreciate that".
Heading towards the door, he propelled the chip behind him but only Merritt was fast enough to catch it. Half stumbling, half falling, the guards all stared at him.
"Something about a big white dance floor, makes me wanna boogie" he improvised, "Hey, thanks for having us. That's great stuff".
He quickly pulled the chip from his hat as the guard got distracted.
"You guys are pretty serious about your security, huh?"
The team gave each other worried looks. Stealing the card had been their main goal, a goal which they weren't even sure they'd succeed at. Getting the card out, however…
"Do I have all my things?" Lula asked, stalling, "I feel like I came in with more stuff. Did I come in with more stuff?"
They none-too-gently pushed her out of the way to let Merritt pass through the metal detector. He gave a sharp look to Jack who immediately stepped forwards.
"Uh, sir, I think you still have my wallet".
Danny caught his gaze and flickered his eyes to the metal gong next to him.
"Remember, I, uh, gave it to you when I came in?"
Lula picked up her fur coat and shrugged it on with a pointed look.
"It would be nice to leave with it".
Three… Two… One…
"Wallet coming through".
*BANG*
Merritt threw the card, watching as it skimmed off the ground, passing through the metal detector at the same time as Jack's wallet, and into Lula's waiting coat.
"I guess that's everything, right? Thank you. That is not a toy, Buffy!"
They barely held themselves together as they returned to the car, but once the facility's door shut behind them, they ran.
"Go, go, go!"
Danny couldn't help but hope that Dylan would be proud of what his team had just pulled off.
That Dylan would be proud of him.
The second he had stepped foot in that abandoned subway station, Danny had condemned them all.
"I asked to see the face behind all of this".
And his own face had stared back at him.
In ancient myth, it is said that mirrors have magical powers, including the power to see the future. Staring into the broken shards below him, he'd been too bitter, too angry, too lonely to recognize the omen for what it was.
Looking back, Danny quickly realized that no, actually, it wasn't difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when everything had fallen apart.
Because to tell the truth, their plan had been fucked from the beginning.
