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

Author's Note: Thanks to the readers for the great reviews! You have no idea how much it means to know my story is well liked! But... I would like to ask any reviewers to please refrain from using foul language, as I do not believe in its use and have explicitly stated in my profile that my stories will not contain any cussing or cursing, and having it in the reviews removes from the cleanliness of the page. Thank you!

Shoutout: To my wonderful mother for helping me come up with the chapter's title and to my awesome Beta for taking time out of her extremely busy schedule to edit for me and make some terrific suggestions!

Chapter 8: Forwards

"How do you think he's doing?"

Daniel glanced up from his blueprints at Merritt's voice but quickly looked away, not wanting to be the one to voice what they both suspected. He was saved from having to respond by the mentalist himself, "Don't answer that. It was rhetorical. That was a rhetorical question."

Daniel nodded absently, trying to focus on planning their next step. Merritt was supposed to be helping, but they were both having trouble diverting their attention from thinking about Jack, to instead trying to find a way to save him. Henley was in her room, looking through a phone they had taken from the Hispanic assassin before they had left to meet Dylan. She was attempting to pinpoint area codes through a telephone book for possible locations for Jack's imprisonment. To say Daniel was fidgety would be an understatement. That phone was all they had. If it fell through, they would be all the way back at square one.

Daniel was interrupted from his thoughts by a muffled yell. Both his and Merritt's heads shot up, and they looked questioningly at each other before turning to regard the wall curiously. The racket sounded like it was coming from Dylan's room, but it wasn't until a dull thud echoed through the wall that their eyes widened. Dylan must be in trouble! They flew out of their beds, Merritt accidentally knocking over the newly acquired soy sauce in the frantic rush. They flung the door open and were about to run to help, when Merritt noticed Agent Fuller crouched in front of his and Dylan's room, arms still laden with takeout Chinese signifying that he had not yet entered since he had delivered the magicians' food. Merritt grabbed the collar of Daniel's dark gray t-shirt and dragged him back towards the door and out of clear sight. The man turned around to yell at him, but Merritt motioned down the hall towards the agent. Daniel glanced in that direction before turning around and whispering almost inaudibly, "What is he doing?"

Merritt was pleasantly surprised that the control-freak had asked for his professional opinion. He was about to respond when Fuller straightened up stiffly, pushed the door to his and Dylan's room open, and stalked inside. The two magicians exchanged equally confused expressions yet seemed to have kindred ideas of what to do, as both began silently padding toward the suddenly-mysterious hotel room. They were just settling themselves in front of the door, trying to find positions that would provide them with the best audio, when Henley walked out of her room and noticed them. She stared at them as if they had both grown extra heads but wisely chose not to ask questions, instead plopping down gracefully next to them. All three placed their ears to the door. They had missed a great deal of the conversation, so what they heard didn't make much sense, except to Merritt, who seemed to anticipate where it was headed.

"-sick and tired of the lies, Rhodes. Or is that even your name?!"

Dylan tried to speak but was interrupted.

"Don't you dare try telling me that you have no idea what I'm talking about. I heard you on the phone, and though I seem like an idiot now, I was able to put two and two together; how they were always one step ahead of us – of you – last year. Why you were so concerned when I called to tell you about Jack Wilder and how you have been so desperate to find him. The piece that finished the puzzle, though, was Bradley calling you instead of the Horsemen."

The three nosy fugitives looked at each other, startled. Henley made to get up and waltz in, regardless of the repercussions, when Merritt caught her eye and shook his head slightly. She complied and sank back down.

Dylan tried to defend himself yet again, but he was similarly cut off.

"Partner… If we have ever been friends – if you have ever considered me your friend – tell me the truth. Are you the fifth Horseman?"

There was a short pause before a muffled "yes" could be heard from their leader.

The magicians outside the door wavered in indecision for a moment until Merritt piped up quietly, "C'mon. We should just let them hash it out. Dylan will get us the minute they're done."

The other two nodded, and all three silently crept back to Henley's room as she motioned for them to follow her. Daniel closed the door behind them, asking, "So, what did you find out?"

"Okay, so I have good news! I've looked through all the numbers and one of them seems promising. There's one phone number that continues to reappear, so I checked the area code, and it originates from Tuscaloosa, Alabama."

"I'm sensing a 'but'," Merritt drawled.

"But I don't have the tech necessary to trace exactly where it came from," she finished.

"Well, I'll reckon Agent Fuller can get us what we need."

Henley and Merritt stared at Daniel incredulously.

"What?" Understanding suddenly dawned and he began trying to defend his word choice. "Hey, now. 'Reckon' is a perfectly modern word. It is. You can look it up."

The other two just shook their heads in resignation. Henley even went so far as to face-palm, somehow managing to look delicate at the same time.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was. In the South. In 1828." Merritt deadpanned.

Henley's clear voice rang out, easily bringing the topic back on track and stating the one problem with Daniel's proposal, "Well, all of this is reliant on whether Agent Fuller actually stays-"

"He will," Merritt interjected with certainty coloring his declaration.

The Illusionist and Escape Artist decided to trust the Mentalist on this one. After a reasonable period of time, a knock on the wooden door had them springing to their feet in their haste to open it. It seemed that Dylan had deduced where they were most likely to be.

The stare-down that commenced immediately after they answered the decisive knocking contained a variety of expressions. Henley and Daniel were eyeing Fuller suspiciously while the man in question was shifting back and forth on his feet, eyes flitting between the magicians. Merritt opted to play it safe and portray a smug attitude that practically screamed "I saw this coming from a mile away", though the majority of the group was painfully aware that he hadn't. Dylan was watching both sides cautiously, trying to gauge their reaction.

"So, guys, small change of plans… He-"

"Yeah we know," Daniel interrupted impatiently, "The real question is, what's he gonna do about it?" He began to address the agent in front of him. "You gave us a whole long speech about doing the right thing and how you have both a moral and a physical obligation to find our friend. Look, I get that your trust has been damaged and pride, bruised, but I'm asking: has anything happened that would hurt you enough to change your mind?"

Agent Fuller broke eye contact for a few seconds, evidently contemplating Daniel's short and uncharacteristic speech. Eventually he glanced back up and locked eyes with each of the Horsemen individually, finally coming to rest on Dylan, where he answered,

"I think I could maybe manage to put up with you for a little while longer."