An hour later, Henley and Merritt still sat in the motel lobby. They had long since abandoned the idea of checking on Daniel and Jack; they were too wary of the risks it held. Instead, they hoped that the couple would eventually come looking for them.
They hypothesis was soon proven correct as Daniel and Jack emerged from the lobby's elevator. Their hair was still damp, but their eyes were bright. Merritt and Henley looked up from the month-old magazines they were reading.
"Ah, I see you two showered up, then?" Henley asked, raising an eyebrow. Jack flushed deeply, but Daniel managed to keep a straight face and nodded.
"How was your shopping?" he asked.
"Oh, fine," Henley replied. "We picked up some food – including fruits and vegetables, thank god. And some less conspicuous clothes, too."
"We should probably head back up and get changed then," Jack suggested.
Merritt looked at him carefully. "Do we want to?"
Jack flushed even more. "Y – yeah, it's fine." He coughed awkwardly. "Ah, why would you ask?"
Merritt turned and looked at Henley. She sighed before pulling an envelope out of her bag and handing it to Jack. "I just want to say, before you open this, that it was all Merritt's idea…"
Jack tore open the envelope as Daniel peered over his shoulder. Inside was a brightly colored card reading "Congratulations!" Jack opened it. Inside, in Merritt's messy scrawl, was written, "Congrats on the sex." Jack appeared as though he was about to faint. Daniel pulled the card from his hands and glared at Merritt. Henley just shook her head.
"Alright, boys. Let's just go get changed." She strode off toward the elevator, leaving the other Horsemen to follow.
As the elevator door clunked closed, the motel door swung open. A man stepped inside. His suit was rumpled and his dark hair was messy. This was the sixth motel he had visited so far today. He walked over to the counter and rang the bell. Moments later, the clerk stepped out of the motel's back room.
"May I help you?"
"Yes. My name is Dylan Rhodes." He pulled a picture from his pocket. It was a clipping from the morning's paper depicting the Henley, Merritt, and Daniel at their final show. "Have you seen any of these people?"
"You know, I see plenty of folks 'round here," the clerk replied without looking at the picture.
Dylan pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet and slapped it on the counter.
"Yeah, I saw 'em. Not too long ago, matter of fact."
Dylan tensed; he was finally getting somewhere. "Care to tell me where?"
The clerk shrugged. "Like I said before…"
Another twenty appeared on the counter. The clerk cleared his throat. "Ah, yeah, they're staying here. Room 207, just upstairs."
Dylan nodded and turned to take the stairs. He was sick of losing the Horsemen, and mentally cursed himself for taking and smashing all of their phones at the carousel. This wild chase was absolutely pointless; they were on the same side, after all.
Minutes later, Dylan arrived at the door to room 207. He knocked before calling out loudly. "Guys – It's me."
Daniel opened the door. He wore a pair of loose jeans and an oversized "I Heart New York" t-shirt. He looked confused, but waved Dylan inside nonetheless.
"Dylan, hey – what are you doing here?"
Merritt and Jack walked over to join them. Merritt wore a pair of khaki Bermuda shorts and a vibrant Hawaiian shirt. Jack was nearly swimming in a Statue of Liberty t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Dylan raised an eyebrow at their attire.
"Henley and Merritt did the shopping," Daniel explained. "They seem to think they're funny."
Dylan smiled knowingly before looking around the room. "Speaking of which, where is Henley?"
"Here!" she called, before pushing open the bathroom door. "Sorry, I was just getting changed." Henley had swapped her all-black outfit for jean shorts and a pink "NYC" tank top under a grey sweatshirt. She kept her gloves, but her red hair was in a bun and tucked under a Yankees baseball cap. She crossed over to join the group.
"So, Dylan," Daniel began, "if you don't mind me asking, how did you find us?"
Dylan smiled slightly. "It wasn't easy, let me tell you. You slipped the tail I set on you, much to my frustration."
Merritt looked embarrassed. "Shit, he was yours?"
Dylan waved his hand. "Hey, no way for you to know. I wanted to come in person, but I thought it would be too risky. As it turns out, I didn't really have a choice." He shrugged.
The Horsemen mulled this over for a moment before Henley spoke up.
"So, if it's that dangerous – if you don't mind me asking – why bother coming?"
"Right," Dylan said. "I was just getting to that. New York isn't safe for you four, and the Eye can't afford to have you captured. We're moving you out."
a/n: Hey Horsemen! I wrote a bit more today to make up for yesterday. I'm aware that some of you found yesterday's chapter to be a bit pointless. It was entirely my intent to devote a short chapter to face sucking, but it's understandable if you found it lacking. Therefore, today's chapter has a fair bit more plot.
See you tomorrow!
Julia