Disclaimer: I do not own Now You See Me or any of its characters. If I did, there would be more of Jack
Dedication: To my best friend and Beta, UnderHisWings! She is literally the best, and you should be grateful, cause without her... persistence, this story probably would not have gotten finished.
Author's Note: Last chapter! Merry Christmas!
Chapter 12: Outsmarted
They all piled in the Range Rover and headed towards the safe house a little over an hour away. About 15 minutes into their journey, Dylan stopped at a CVS so Henley could charge in to purchase a sufficient first aid kit. From there, the Horsemen (and agent) traveled to an unfamiliar, but oddly homey "mom and pop's" pizzeria, which Dylan claimed was an Eye safe house. They parked around back and an elderly man and woman came out to meet them, eyeing Agent Fuller suspiciously. Mr. and Mrs. Libson, as the former mastermind introduced them, led the group to a medium sized room they had hidden at the back of the restaurant and brought out some food before leaving to go take care of their customers. The makeshift team glanced at each other briefly before diving into the food. Few words were spoken during the course of the meal, and they inhaled the pizza and breadsticks, but as soon as it was gone, Dylan slid over to Jack with the medical supplies and began patching him up, despite his protests.
"Alright, so we need a plan," Danny began.
"Buzzkill," muttered Merritt, sharing a glance conspiratorially with Jack.
"Heard that!"
"I was counting on it."
"Enough," Dylan interrupted.
Jack winced as tape was applied to his ribs, "But how in the world are we supposed to get an upper hand on Thaddeus Bradley? He has five times the manpower and resources we have."
"Not if we involve the Eye," responded his field medic.
"Um, shouldn't the Eye have involved itself when, say, one of its members was kidnapped by its enemy?" Henley snapped. "Where were they then? And what makes you think they're gonna help us now?"
"The Eye doesn't like to risk itself or its resources if there is a significant chance of failure. They didn't see Jack's rescue as going over well, so they refused to involve themselves."
"And that doesn't bother you?" Henley exclaimed once again.
Dylan looked up; Agent Fuller watching the exchange with wide, concerned eyes.
"Of course it does, but what do you want me to do about it right now?"
The escape artist had no answer for that, but appeared unsatisfied.
Their leader continued, "If we can come up with an efficient and effective plan, the Eye will back us with whatever we need… within reason. However," paused with a smirk on his lips, "Our biggest advantage is that we have a secret weapon Bradley doesn't know about."
"Well, well, well. Agent Dylan Rhodes. You don't seem particularly surprised to see me," the unassuming kidnapper stepped out of his car, and glanced, unimpressed around the abandoned gas station.
"That might be because I'm not… Mr. Thaddeus Bradley. I am perfectly aware that you tracked my phone to find me here. In fact, I planned for it. You see, I know a lot of things. I know that Jack got away. I know that it irks you to no end to know that (and he would kill me if he heard this) a child outsmarted you. However, I also know that you will not stop until the Horsemen are behind bars or worse. So I've come to offer you a deal. Take me instead, and leave them alone."
"… Are you serious?" Bradley's incredulous laugh echoed off old concrete structures. "All of your brilliance, and this is the best you could come up with?"
Dylan sighed.
"Alright look, I'm going to be straight with you, which is not something I can say for many people. While their confidence may have been shaken with this latest experience, the Horsemen still think themselves invincible, but you and I both know that's not the case."
Bradley took a moment to eye Dylan and seemed to consider his offer. "What's to stop me from just taking you by force, now, and still going after your Horsemen?"
Dylan locked eyes with the older man as he replied, "If there is any sort of movement on your part towards the Horsemen, I have a friend in the Eye prepared to tip the FBI about you holding a federal agent against his will. Good luck weaseling your way out of that one in time to catch us before we get off the grid for good."
Bradley frowned before inclining his head slightly in acknowledgement, and ordering his men to search the secret magician as he made his way back to his vehicle. Dylan watched his retreating back as he allowed himself to be searched, deemed clean after a few potentially dangerous items were taken, and led towards one of the three black vans. As he was shoved through the doors, he grasped onto a small but awkwardly shaped piece of metal that was pushed into his cuffed hands. Slouching down onto the seats, he glanced out the back window and his eyes caught a familiar silhouette before it disappeared into the sea of black uniforms.
They rode for about 20 minutes in silence before it was broken by a loud and uncomfortable jolt which had the gunmen hoisting their weapons and heading for the doors. They wouldn't open. As the men increased their attempts to escape, Dylan took the opportunity to slip out of his restraints. Right on cue, a powdery gas began to rise in the van. The men began to panic, confused, but Dylan knew that it was simple halothane vapor, commonly known as sleeping gas, originating from small remotely opened canisters placed deliberately in each uniform by the Jack of Trades. Dylan held his breath, waiting for the guards to become hazy and stumbling before filling the small air filter into his mouth. He waited for the last man to hit the floor before counting to ten, ensuring that everyone was out. Just as he began to rise to his feet, the door rattled before scraping open, revealing a grinning redhead.
"Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" she smirked, glancing at his undone restraints.
"Yeah, yeah… I had a good teacher. Get to the woods."
They sprinted towards the brush, where a clearing lay several meters into the dense thicket.
"Shrike!"
Wood splintered next to Dylan's head, immediately echoed a gunshot. Henley yelped, suddenly outpacing her comrade. They burst out of the overgrowth, taking refuge behind an old oak. Seconds later a frenetic rustling alerted them to Bradley's movement.
Just before he broke the clearing, a louder crash indicated Jack had made his move. Both magicians peaked their heads from behind the tree and watched as their youngest Horseman outmaneuvered his aged kidnapper. Jack stepped aside, breathing hard and bringing a hand up to rest briefly on his ribcage, allowing Atlas to jerk Bradley's arms around his back and restrain them there. Bradley was then led out into the clearing where Dylan and Henley stood waiting. They were quickly joined by Merritt, who had stayed by the vans to ensure no one would be interfering with their plan.
"Well done! What a show! Though I am curious as to what you have planned next."
The Horsemen glanced at each other, prompting the skeptic to continue, "Your options: capture me, kill me, or turn me into the police. The first two won't work as you would then be on the run for kidnapping and/or murder in addition to your previous crimes, making you much higher priorities on the FBI's caseload. And if you try turning me into the police," he chuckled, "the charges will never stick. My word against that of four outlaw magicians."
"Sure because your word is so much better." Merritt growled.
"Granted. But not only did I not make fools out of some of the most powerful forces around the globe; FBI, Interpol, and several extraordinarily wealthy men, I have an alibi. The FBI decided to quietly keep me under house arrest for my quote 'own protection'. And didn't that just work out wonderfully for them. Those ankle monitors are child's play for a hacker of mine's expertise. As far as the Feds will know, I have been relaxing on my back porch for the past few weeks, watching the sun rise and set."
"What if I were to witness?" Jack offered hesitantly.
"A witness is nice, my boy, but they would need evidence too, and I've had my staff clean up all indications of our little encounter. I hope you enjoyed your stay… You have nothing. Well, nothing of substance."
"Except a recorded confession." Dylan smiled, a triumphant thing, whipping out a recorder.
In the blink of an eye the recorder exploded into shards of useless plastic.
"I thought you were much smarter than that, Mr. Shrike. Even your alias, the dumbfounded Agent Rhodes, would probably have seen that coming. Sniper. Now release me or the next one goes through the girl."
"No, that won't be happening." Jack returned, knowing Bradley would assume he was talking purely about the release.
Several seconds of silence passed and Bradley's mask began to crumble with it.
"I thought you were much smarter than that, Mr. Bradley," Jack parroted cheekily.
Through the brush came Agent Fuller, halting in front of the captive. "Let's see…kidnapping, assault, cybercrime, tampering with evidence and federal property, possession of illegal firearms, double accounts of attempted murder, and on top of it all, you broke your parole. We can put you away for life, Bradley, on your own testimony and the witness of a federal agent."
Merritt pulled a second recorder out of his jacket pocket.
The Horseman grinned at their new, reluctant companion, and he raised his weapon to hold the man at gunpoint, tacking on, "Don't even think about trying to escape these cuffs. I've already contacted my colleagues about an attempted homicide and the sniper I had to take down. They are less than ten minutes out."
"Thanks Fuller," Henley gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, as she strode away from the men in the opposite direction of the road.
Daniel glared jealously at the man before grudging, "Yeah, you're not so bad."
"We owe you one," Merritt offered sincerely, passing him the recorder.
"Thank you, Agent Fuller. See ya, Dylan!" Jack limped off into the trees after the other three.
The next seven minutes was spent in contented silence as Thaddeus Bradley glared at the partners.
FBI Vehicles swarmed the area, some going to survey the vans, tires busted, resting in the middle of the road. Several agents came jogging into the clearing, guns drawn, taking in the scene. Thaddeus Bradley, tied up and held at gunpoint by an off-duty Agent Fuller, and his partner patting down an unconscious man dressed in black.
"Where are the Horsemen?" Asked one.
"What, Bradley isn't enough for you?" Fuller questioned.
"No," confirmed his commanding officer, pushing past some of the younger men.
"Yes sir. Not for us either, but at the time, a choice had to be made. I followed my leads and they led me here. I called Dylan for backup, in case of a stakeout, but found a confrontation I could not stay out of. I took out that sniper, hired by Bradley to take care of the Horsemen, while Dylan took care of Bradley. Once the sniper was taken care of, I came down to provide support since he was too close to the situation, and he went to bring the sniper back into the clearing where we could keep an eye on both at the same time."
"There were five people down here, and you only got one?"
"Sir, I seem to recall that not too long ago, the Four Horsemen evaded the whole FBI. It was 5 to 2 and the magicians always have tricks up their sleeves. With all due respect, we should be thankful we caught Bradley."
The captain sent Agent Fuller a harsh look for the reminder, but ceded reluctantly, "We will catch them. You will catch them."
"Yes sir. Also, they left this, when they ran," Fuller continued, holding up a black recorder.
The End