I forgot to mention last week that I am planning to update this story every Friday. That way I am able to write ahead a few chapters and still have time to go back and edit before posting. Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, follows, and favorites. I'm really glad that you all are enjoying this story, and I hope that the rewrite has made the absence worth it. I'm excited to be getting to these next few chapters because the action is about to begin...Also, if any of the French is wrong, I apologize. I don't speak French and tried to use simple words, but I had to Google even those. I hope they are not wrong, but if they are I do apologize.

Until next Friday!

Disclaimer: Neither Now You See Me, its characters, or the song belong to me.

One Step Ahead

One jump ahead of the slowpokes.
One skip ahead of my doom.
Next time gonna use a nom de plume.
One jump ahead of the hit men.
One hit ahead of the flock.
I think I'll take a stroll around the block.
~One Jump Ahead from Aladdin

Dylan rubbed his eyes and yawned, throwing a tired look over to Jack who was snoring softly on his bed. They had poured over the blueprints for several hours, making plan after plan and then throwing them out to make a new plan. It would help if they knew what to expect on the inside, but without any floor plans they were left guessing and neither were comfortable with that. Jack had passed out about twenty minutes ago with his faced pressed against a copy of the blueprints and a few playing cards that had slipped from his jacket sleeves which had somehow become twisted around him. Dylan grinned when he noticed Jack had his mouth open and was drooling slightly and pulled his phone off the charger to snap a picture. The man would probably kill him, but Dylan called it revenge for that morning.

Yawning once more, Dylan decided to call it a night and began gathering the papers together. He debated whether or not to wake Jack—he could not be comfortable with his arms and jacket twisted that way and it would be a shame to lose those carefully drawn plans—but decided to let him sleep. If he grew uncomfortable he would wake up and move. Dylan was checking the locks on the door when his phone began to vibrate and nearly toppled off the night stand. He crossed the room quickly as Jack stirred and pushed himself up, a playing card stuck to the side of his face. Dylan grinned as he checked the caller ID and answered the phone.

"Bonjour."

"Bonjour." Alma greeted cheerfully though he could hear the tiredness in her voice. "Did I wake you?"

"We weren't asleep." Dylan answered, then smirked at Jack and corrected himself. "Well, I wasn't. Sleeping Beauty on the other hand…"

Jack threw him a dirty look and flipped him off as he sat up. Dylan just laughed.

"You should be getting some rest," Alma chided, though he knew she was smiling. "I did not realize the time. It must be nearly two in the morning."

"It's only one thirty." Dylan shrugged. "Had any luck with your research?"

"Oui. I sent you an e-mail if you have your computer."

"Give me a second." Dylan tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder and moved to dig around in his backpack before finding the small laptop he had packed but barely used. "The internet here sucks, so it'll be a few moments."

"I can wait."

Dylan tapped his fingers impatiently as the crappy internet signal struggled to connect and then pull up his e-mail. From there, it took several minutes for the attached images to download and Dylan and Alma spoke quietly in French while they waited, much to Jack's frustration. Dylan cut off in the middle of a sentence when the images finally downloaded. "No. How did you find these?"

"Find what?" Jack asked, getting to his feet to peer over Dylan's shoulder at the tiny computer.

"Floor plans." Dylan answered and moved the phone away from his ear to place it on speaker. "Alma?"

"What can I say?" Alma smiled. "I'm good at what I do."

"You're brilliant!" Dylan praised, studying the floor plans. "Absolutely amazing!"

"I know." Alma chuckled and then turned serious as she added, "The plans came from a local historical society and date back to 1872 when the house was rebuilt."

"So it's safe to assume that Bradley's family renovated since then." Dylan frowned, but shrugged it off. "Even if they have, this is more than enough to give us at least an idea of what to expect."

Jack had been studying the plans from over Dylan's shoulder and was confused when he spoke up.

"I know I'm not the best at reading floor plans, but these don't have the two side buildings, does it?"

"What side buildings?" Alma asked in confusion.

"There are two buildings on either side of the porches," Dylan answered, frowning. He hadn't noticed that. "They're not large, but they're large enough."

"I found nothing on any buildings attached to the house," Alma said. "They must have been added on after the 19th century."

"Even without the outer buildings, we're still one step ahead now." Dylan said dismissively. "The main house will be our focus anyway."

"Why's that?" Jack asked, thinkin that it would be smart to know something about all of the buildings on the property, not just one.

"It's bigger and easier to fortify and guard." Dylan explained, glancing up from the computer. "Bradley will want the Horsemen kept close by so that he can keep close control of the situation. Holding them in the main house would be the smartest move for him."

"Unless he knows you would think that," Alma warned. "He knows how you think, Dylan. He can use that against you."

"He thinks he knows how I think," Dylan corrected. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Just be careful, ma chère." Alma didn't sound convinced. "Don't let him do anything foolish, Jack."

"Well it is Dylan," Jack teased, "But I'll do my best."

Dylan rolled his eyes, but Alma chuckled.

"I have to get ready for work," she said reluctantly. "I'll call if I find anything else."

She switched into French and Dylan smiled as he responded. Jack just shook his head and moved back to his bed, determined to ask Alma to teach him some French the next time he saw her. After a few minutes, Dylan ended the call and placed his phone back on the nightstand. Any tiredness he had felt had disappeared and, now fully awake, he turned his attention the floor plans and began copying them onto pieces of paper. Jack sighed and made himself comfortable. It was going to be a long night.