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

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my little bro for his birthday

Chapter 5: Plan

It had taken all of ten minutes to figure out the team's next step. Dylan had told Atlas over the phone that his partner had been the sole witness of Jack's kidnapping, so after deciding that the most likely person behind the crime was Bradley, who was doubtless in "revenge mode" after being framed, they figured the next reasonable thing for Thaddeus to do, was to eliminate the witness, Henley researched with a single-minded purpose, and in no time discovered the whereabouts of Fuller.

They took the rest of that day to plan and prepare. Then, they hid in the alley beside the agent's apartment complex until he left the next morning. Henley picked the lock with a downcast expression plastered on her face, mumbling under her breath "nothing's ever locked".

Most of the morning was spent setting up the "ins and outs" of their plan which consisted majorly of a flame-thrower and Merritt's hypnotism skills. The flame-thrower was fitted into a vent above the hallway and connected to a manual activation that Daniel would set off when their targets walked underneath it. This would provide the distraction they needed for Phase 2.

They realized that some might question the use of a flame-thrower for distraction, but hey, they were magicians. Overkill was kind of their thing. After it was installed, they removed all their equipment and made themselves comfortable in an empty apartment along the stretch of hallway. The Horsemen spent the next few hours practicing magic tricks and playing simple card games, however; the tension in the room was palpable as they waited for their scheme to be put into motion.

Finally, they heard the steady rumble of boots on the floor, and the creaking of a door as they were sealed into Fuller's apartment. The three busied themselves for a little while longer, worrying over the details of their plan until at 8 on the dot, the central target of this whole fiasco walked through the door of his apartment building. They listened intently, ears pressed up against the door and picking up snippets of the conversation. When the men dragged him out of his home, Daniel watched through the peephole that they had rigged so that he was able to see the hallway under the air duct with a small mirror. As soon as the last contingent of men walked under the vent, Atlas pressed the big red button, (all Merritt's idea), and a stream of fire shot out of the ventilation canal with a loud "whooshing" sound, engulfing them. The men's screaming caused the rest of the group to turn around. That was their cue. The present Horsemen burst out of the room, fists flying. Their opponents might have been trained assassins, but they were no match for three over-protective (or maybe not) magicians with a vendetta. Daniel tried to stick close to Henley, but she was holding her own, perhaps even better than the men, making efficient use of her gloved hands and high heels. Fuller was pushed to the side during the fight, but his saviors made sure to keep an eye on him – they wouldn't want their only lead getting hurt. When the would-be assassins finally got themselves together (in an extremely unacceptable amount of time, as far as the Horsemen were concerned), they tried to unload their guns on the trio, however; all of their guns were jammed, courtesy of Phase 2, who just so happened to be named Rodrico.

The previous day, Merritt had stopped the man in a Walmart after following him around for a few hours. He dragged him into the baby clothes section and hypnotized him into being their mole. After Rodrico returned to the base, and all the weapon checks were completed, he was to sabotage the guns to ensure that the clips jammed.

After realizing that their key weapon wasn't working properly, the supposed leader gave a slightly desperate cry of "get them"… which conveniently happened to be the trigger word for the final part of the plan. As soon as the words left his mouth, Rodrico turned his own gun on the leader, who, evidently realizing it was the only one that hadn't jammed, gaped at him with wide eyes and stuttered out, "W-wh-what do you think you're doing?"

That's when Merritt strode up to the chief assassin, grasped his shoulder firmly and murmured in his ear, "You are slipping and sliding down a slippery slope of slithering snakes as you..." He moved through the group of men and they passed out on the floor, leaving a visible trail of breathing bodies.

When the last man was down, the threesome turned their attention to Agent Fuller, who was now leaning up against the walls, struggling with his bonds. Henley untied his hands and they waited impatiently as the man got his bearings.

He stared at them unbelievingly, but managed a "How?"

"We don't have time for chit-chat. We'll explain later when we're not on a very tight schedule." Daniel interrupted him in a rush.

"This is about Jack Wilder isn't it?"

"No, duh!" Henley snapped.

"Wait, you guys actually care?"

Fury burned in their eyes like a raging wildfire, and Merritt was preparing a cutting answer, when Fuller, recognizing the imminent danger, clarified his question. "I meant like, outside of needing each other for performances."

That didn't help his case much; all three of them looked like they were past reconsidering the virtues of his rescue.

"Because that's, you know, not a bad thing. I, um, just wasn't expecting it."

Of course, he wasn't. Far be it from criminals to have hearts.

"You know what? Forget I said anything," the agent babbled on, trying to defuse the situation, so that he could escape unharmed.

Henley was tired of the pointless discussion. "Enough. Call whoever it is you call to pick up these guys, and then come with us."

Fuller looked very uncomfortable with the proposed arrangement, which prompted Merritt to roll his eyes and drawl, "Relax. We're not gonna hurt you... unless you give us reason to."

"Well, that was reassuring. Way to make him feel comfortable, Merritt. Nice job!" Daniel faked an apologetic look at the agent. He didn't look sorry in the least.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't aware we were running a bed-and-breakfast."

As they continued their dispute - phrases that were probably supposed to be quick-witted retorts, but were in actuality simply insults, shooting between them - Henley made a small, exasperated noise, and vaguely gestured down the hall, "Just… go make the call".

She watched as Fuller sent a glance her way, which she interpreted as being thankful for the escape route and moved down the hall to call in the Feds. She turned to the byes and snapped, "Knock it off! You're acting like children! I get that you're grasping at straws to distract yourselves from the situation. I don't want to believe all of this is real either, but it is, and fighting amongst ourselves is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing. Jack needs us all to be focused, so we can get him back as soon as possible."

Both of the male magicians looked properly abashed at that, but Merritt managed to school his weary features first, "Gee, Henley, when'd you take up mentalism, and may I ask who your teacher is."

"Ha. I don't need to be a mentalist to read you both like a book."

At this statement, all three paused, realizing how close they had become over the past few years. Merritt had been right. They were a family, and they all secretly liked that idea. However, with this revelation, it really hit home that their family was one short of being whole, and each determined in their hearts that they would do whatever it took to bring Jack Wilder back home.