Audrey walked up to the building at the address that sat on the back of her tarot card, moving up the apartment building until she saw three other people waiting outside the door, including the man, Daniel, that she had used as her assistant in a trick not so long ago. The other two, a man that looked to be about the age of her father, and a red haired woman that looked younger, were speaking with him.
She knocked on the side of the stair's railing. "Am I interrupting something?"
The three of them turned to look at her, noticing her card.
"You're Audrey, right?" Daniel asked, stepping forward to shake her hand. "Audrey Shrike? We met a little while ago in Central Park."
"I remember," she said with a nod, her bangs falling into her eyes as she looked up at him. "And you're Daniel, right? I didn't realize you were a magician."
"Really?" The redhead asked, almost laughing.
"No," Audrey admitted, "I actually used him as an assistant for one of my tricks."
The woman laughed. "Thank you for taking a shot to his massive ego like that. I like you already. My name's Henley, Henley Reeves."
Audrey nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Henley. I'm Audrey, as Daniel said earlier."
Henley nodded in greeting. "Glad to see another girl that's involved in… whatever this is."
Audrey nodded again, smiling slightly before she turned to the last member of their group—the oldest, who she recognized as Merritt McKinney, a mentalist that used to be quite famous. She had watched his videos online, and had actually been a fan.
"Merritt McKinney, right?" She asked with a small smile as she stepped forward to introduce herself to the man in the hat.
Merritt smiled. "Always nice to meet such a young beauty. Are you a fan?"
She shrugged slightly. "Have been for a while. You made me want to try mentalism for a long time."
"Oh," Merritt said with a proud smile. "Maybe I can teach you a few tricks sometime."
She nodded slightly. "I would like that very much, Mister McKinney."
"Oh, no no," Merritt corrected quickly. "No mister, just Merritt."
Audrey smiled again. "Good to know."
Daniel rolled his eyes, turning to leave because he didn't want to hear any more of Merritt's constant flirting with Audrey and Henley, and he spotted a young man that was looking at the group, starstruck.
"No way. Daniel Atlas," he said as he moved forward, smiling broadly. "Dude, I have seen everything that you have ever done. I mean, you're like. I idolize you, seriously."
Daniel smiled and reached to shake his hand. "Ah, a true fan. How nice to meet you."
"I'm Jack, by the way," the young man introduced.
"You've really heard of him?" Audrey blurted, still confused at why she knew the name but didn't know the face to put with it, and had actually pulled him as an assistant.
"You haven't?" Jack asked, almost shocked.
"I have, but I didn't recognize him." She motioned to Daniel.
"Thank you," Daniel grumbled, "for that second massive shot to my ego."
Henley smiled. "I'm might owe you for those if you keep this up."
Audrey grinned and shrugged.
"Question," Merritt said to Jack, interrupting the small moment of bromance and the roasting of Danny that was taking place. "Did you get one of these?" He held up the tarot card.
"Oh, yeah." Jack pulled out the tarot card and showed them which symbol he had with a sheepish smile. "Death."
Henley held hers up next, showing Jack and then the other three magicians standing around her. "The High Priestess."
Audrey pulled out her card. "Balance."
Daniel held his up next. "I'm the Lover."
Henley pressed a fist to her mouth and covered her next words with a cough. "Three minutes."
Audrey grinned, containing herself from laughing while Daniel frowned, and then they looked to Merritt.
"Hermit," he stated, tapping the card against the back of his hand.
"Are we… are we waiting for someone?" Jack asked, still smiling and completely starstruck. "Why are just standing here?"
"The door's locked," Daniel, Henley, and Merritt all said at the same time.
Audrey had a feeling that Jack was their answer to that—the Eye's way of making sure they were all together before they went in.
Jack shook his head, still grinning. "Oh, no. Nothing's ever locked." He pushed past Daniel and Henley, and Merritt stepped out of his way as he pulled a lock pick from his pocket and slid it into the old door.
Audrey smiled a little as Merritt looked back at all of the younger magicians with a slight, impressed nod.
Jack pushed the door open.
"What is this place?" Henley asked, making a noise of disgust as they five magicians walked past a rotten looking bathroom.
"Ugh," Merritt muttered, "and I thought my apartment was nasty."
They continued to walk through, Daniel in the front so he could see everything first, and make sure everything was under control.
"Man, it's freezing in here," Jack complained.
Audrey shivered in agreement.
Daniel slowed them down as he spotted a folded card sitting up next to a white rose.
"What's that?" Henley asked quickly.
"I don't know." Daniel moved forward a little faster.
Audrey ducked by Daniel's arm and moved to pick up the rose.
Daniel frowned and picked up the note, which read in typed, bold letters: Now You Don't.
"What's it say?" Merritt asked as Jack and Henley huddled around Daniel to read it.
Daniel read the note out loud slowly, confused.
"A rose by any other name," Audrey hummed after plucking the white rose from the floor. She backed up and placed the rose in a glass pitcher of water with a small plink.
Water suddenly flowed from around the pitcher, and everyone backed up quickly.
"Whoa," Daniel said, almost with a surprised laugh.
"Guys, what's happening?" Jack asked slowly.
"Whoa," Merritt repeated from Daniel's statement, though his lacked the surprise and was more concerned. "Look at that."
The water flowed into deep black grooves in the floor and began to fill the interconnected spaces.
Daniel repeated his former statement, this time more amazed.
The grooves filled completely and opened at the bottom, releasing a white cloudy gas that almost looked like thick steam.
"It's gas," Jack said in shock, backing up quickly.
Audrey smiled in amusement as Merritt spoke calmingly. "Relax, it's just dry ice."
"Wait, what do you think this is all about?" Daniel asked with a growing smile, looking between the four other magicians.
"Wait." Merritt reached a hand up to the side of his face, closing his eyes for a long moment. "I got nothing."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for the delay."
"I'm just trying to create the space for wisdom," Merritt said with a wave of his arms.
"Danny, be honest. Did you do this?" Henley asked warily.
Audrey rolled her eyes and slipped by them, hazel eyes glittering with amusement as she looked around for the next clue of what this could be about.
"No," Daniel said quickly, turning to look at Jack with a pointed finger. "Wait, did you do this?"
Jack shrugged sheepishly. "I wish."
"Why didn't anyone ask me if I did it?" Merritt asked with a frown.
Audrey snorted again.
"Wait a minute," Daniel said in shock. "Audrey, did you do this?"
"No no," Audrey said quickly. "But I might know who—or what—did."
"Care to share?" Jack asked warily as Audrey pointed her flashlight at a camera or a projector down the hall after Danny tested the light switch.
Merritt tightened a bulb, and the projector turned on—four of them, actually.
They showed blueprints, plans for what the Eye had called be five of them to do.
The Four Horsemen. But where would Audrey fit?