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: Sooo sorry for the long wait! I really have no excuse. But on the bright side; one chapter to go!
Chapter 11: Reunion
Merritt pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket and checked the caller ID: unknown. He stared at it suspiciously for a couple of seconds before flipping it open and placing it to his ear, fully expecting it to be one Thaddeus Bradley on the other end.
"Hello?" he answered, unsure of where this conversation was headed.
Then came a voice he knew all too well, "Merritt!"
The Mentalist's eyes widened, and he wasted no time in responding to the desperate sleight he had come to view as family. "Jack?!"
With that one word, there were suddenly four other hyper-aware people in that car.
"Wha-? How? Where are you?" Merritt continued, grabbing onto the car handle as Dylan none too gracefully maneuvered the Rover onto the shoulder of the road.
"Uh… I don't know. One sec." There was a slight rustling sound, quickly followed by a muffled, 'Excuse me, but could you tell me where we are?' directed away from the mouthpiece. Merritt frowned. The kid did not sound good. He was hoarse, and the quiet wheezing in his breath caused a protective instinct to flare up. Woah! Wait a second, Merritt thought. Since when did he have a protective instinct? Merritt shoved that feeling away, minorly disconcerted, just in time for the person of his musings to come back on the line, relaying his newly acquired "Tuscaloosa, Alabama." So they had been right.
"Okay," Merritt began, "I've got good news and bad news. Good news is: we're already on our way there. Bad news is… we're still seven hours out from the city limits, and we don't even know exactly where you are. Can you give us an address we can plug into the GPS?"
"Sure. I'll call you right back. Don't go anywhere."
The line went dead, and as Merritt pulled the phone away from his ear, he was bombarded with questions from Daniel and Henley, Dylan throwing in a few here and there.
"That was Jack?!"
"Is he okay?"
"How did he escape?"
"Where is he?"
"Why did he call you?"
Merritt shot a glare Henley's way for that last one before shushing them all and explaining that Jack was getting them an address. After a few seconds waiting for the young man to call back, unbidden panic began rising. What if the call never comes? What if something happens to him? Merritt could see the same worries beginning to rise in his friends, and just as it was approaching dangerous, his phone rang. Henley closed her eyes briefly, and Daniel's shoulders relaxed. Merritt himself allowed a small sigh of relief, snapping open the phone. As Jack came back on the line, Merritt motioned for Daniel and Henley to move out of the way so that he could type the address into the GPS, and as soon as it was logged in, Dylan pulled back onto the highway to resume their journey. Once finished, the eldest Horseman listened to the tense silence, sensing hesitation from the Jack's end. Merritt answered the other magicians' questioning looks with a "one second" signal, realizing their time was almost up. Taking a deep breath, and fully realizing how stupid the order was but needing to say it anyway, he demanded, "You just- just stay put."
Over the phone, Merritt heard a huff of breath that might have passed as a laugh, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward before sliding firmly back down into a frown as they both spoke into the line at the same time, "See you soon".
"Yep." The word accompanied a grimace as there was another moment of silence before a click sounded, effectively ending the moment.
Merritt shut his cell phone with a snap and was again swamped with anxious questions.
"Okay! Okay!"
The other magicians immediately piped down and held their breath, staring at him with wide eyes.
"So…" the Mentalist began, unsure of the best route to take. "That was Jack."
Judging from Daniel's unamused expression and Henley's "no, duh," that hadn't been it. Before he hastily continued, he thought he glimpsed a smirk on Agent Fuller's face by way of the rearview mirror.
"We were right. He's in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but there's good news and bad news."
"Good news first please," came Dylan's voice from the front.
Merritt exchanged meaningful glances with Daniel and Henley before complying.
"He got away and is hanging out at a little off-brand gas station a few miles from where he was being held. Jack said he should be safe until we get there."
The Rover's occupants released thankful breaths. Merritt grimaced though, hesitant to break the first good atmosphere they'd had since this whole escapade.
"He, um, doesn't sound too good-"
At their panicked expressions, he quickly amended his statement. "I mean, he's not dying or anything, but he definitely didn't spend the last few days at Aria."
"Well, the best we can do right now is stay the course and try to get to Jack as quickly as possible," Dylan concluded, Agent Fuller giving a small nod in agreement.
The Horsemen sighed in resignation, settling back into their seats for the long ride and trying not to dwell on the uneasy churning of their stomachs.
Six hours and thirty minutes later, and after two driver switches, the Range Rover was flying along bumpy Tuscaloosa backroads, a mere 14 miles from their destination. Needless to say, the tension in the car was so thick that it could be cut with a knife, yet no one was in the mood to relieve it. It was dead silent, and the magicians had to keep reminding themselves that breathing was, in fact, essential for life. They were just careening around a corner, Henley nearly breaking through the interior with her fingernails, when Daniel peered out his window and shouted, "There it is!"
The car swerved into the gas station and up into a parking spot, Dylan throwing the gearshift into 'park', while the backseat's occupants scrambled over each other and out of the car. They stumbled into the building and, upon spying the young man in the familiar leather jacket leaning against the back wall, Merritt and Daniel froze, unsure how to proceed. Henley had no such qualms, and pushed past them to rush the sleight and throw her arms around him in a bear hug. Jack seemed momentarily surprised and yielded a grimace before gathering himself and relaxing. He patted her back and looked over the escape artist's shoulder at the other two men. They were jolted out of their indecision and moved forward to join the group hug, and even Danny managed to shake off his awkwardness long enough to express his relief. Soon enough the foursome was joined by Dylan and Agent Fuller, at whose presence Jack looked perplexed. Since Merritt had already grown accustomed to the situation it took a few moments before he noticed Jack's confusion.
"Well, pardon my atrocious manners! Jack, this is Agent John Fuller; Agent Fuller, this is Jack Wilder."
Jack didn't seem any less mystified, but he hesitantly reached out a hand to shake anyways, which Agent Fuller returned with an amused grin.
"Good to see you in one piece."
"More or less," was the young man's slightly pained response, before seeming to realize his mistake. He took in Henley's worried expression and opening mouth, and hastily plowed through any reply with, "Okay, I'll bite. Not to be rude, but… why is he here?"
"Well, we probably wouldn't have found you as fast as we did without his help," Merritt explained. "We definitely would have found you eventually. But anyways, he saw you get kidnapped and contacted Dylan, who, in turn, filled us in. And yours truly let the charge of saving the good agent from a grisly death at the hands of Bradley's men."
Merritt paused, watching Jack roll his eyes at the older man's antics, and playfully glaring at his misplaced doubt. The Mentalist continued outlining the story for Jack's benefit, as he seemed unsure of their current ploy or if there even was one.
Once finished, Merritt drew a long, exaggerated breath as Jack shook his head at the news, uncharacteristically at a loss for words. After a few moments, he had mostly gathered his thoughts. "Wow, uh… thanks guys! For everything you went through to rescue me… Even though I got myself out!" He added teasingly. "But seriously, it means a lot." "And thanks to you, Agent Fuller. For helping, even though you didn't owe us anything."
"Except his life," Merritt coughed. "No big deal."
Jack glared at the interruption. "So, I guess the next question is: what now?"
"First," Dylan spoke for the first time since their arrival, "We get you fixed up and these injuries taken care of."
Jack opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it after the looks he received from Daniel, Merritt, and especially Henley.
"Then," Dylan continued, "We set a trap for a rat."