Thank you to everyone who viewed, favorited me and/or the story, and reviewed!

For the information of many, this is formerly nejitenteji10sasu10. Changed it because of reasons.

This chapter is dedicated to Yuki-dear, who is very supportive of this fanfiction and is a really great internet friend. Funny how I just knew that she was a fan of Now You See Me. This is for you, kouhai! :)

(*)

He raised his eyebrows at her, a smile playing at his lips. "Hello."

"Fancy meeting you here..." she said softly, looking up at him curiously. After shaking her head slowly, she made her way to a booth near the back of the coffee shop, and stared at him evenly. He smirked. He had finally found the elusive lady. "I'll have a grande cafe latte. And I'll have a slice of cheesecake. Oh, and I'll have one of those choco chip cookies to go. Thank you."

He turned back and caught her looking at him again. "Oh, that latte and the cheesecake's for here, okay?"

Once his order arrived, he made a show of walking slowly towards the girl in the booth. He put down his plate, mug, and take out bag, and sat down across her. The two of them sat in silence as he took a bite of his cheesecake. "Mm. God. You have to try this. I love cheesecake."

She smiled tightly at him, and took a sip of her cappuccino.

"So now I'm the talkative one."

She said the next sentence through her teeth. "Well, I mean, I'm not exactly in my element. You surprised me."

"A-ha!" he said triumphantly. "So you were prepared when you saw me two weeks ago?"

She rolled her eyes. "Guess so." It was then that he noticed that she was blushing. It made him rethink his whole approach on her. She was obviously very unprepared for this meeting with him, and he realized that she'd probably be slipping into her witty self in a few minutes.

"Look. I've been looking for you," he said, trying to talk to her gently.

She bit down a chuckle. "Well, I'm back to my witty self, Mr. Wilder. You can cut the sugared up replies."

"Are you a mentalist or a sleight?" he asked her directly, and she merely rose an eyebrow.

"A little bit of everything," she shrugged, and grinned at him suddenly, pointing at her plate. He groaned. Merritt's cookie had made its way to her plate without him noticing. "What? Never had someone beat you at your own game, before?" she said, giving him back his cookie.

"I haven't met very good sleights," he admitted. "There are some that tried to get the best of me, but their hands were so heavy and noticeable..." he mused. "Enough about me. The Hor... The Hands want to know why you don't seem surprised that I'm alive."

She took a long sip of her cappuccino. "It was obvious, Mr. Wilder."

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Really."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "No big deal. The only way the other three horsemen could get away with the whole damn thing was for there to be someone else operating in secret. In other words, you. I wasn't really upset when they announced your death on television. I knew it was fake." She smiled at him again, and this time, munched on her brownie.

"Who are you?"

It took her a while to answer, and he didn't push her, just finish his latte and scrape the plate with his fork to get some cheesecake traces. "I am no one, actually, in this world of obviously talented magicians."

"Not the answer I was looking for," Jack replied, interlocking his hands as he leaned on the table. "And you know it."

"Mr. Wilder-"

"We're going to be having a lot of meetings like this, so you can start calling me Jack."

"Jack-"

"What can I call you?"

She sighed, and bit her lip.

"What's with the need for secrecy, anyway? It's not like I'm going to extort you, or anything." She gave him a dirty look.

"Alright. Kait. With an 'i-t', not a 't-e'."

"Is there a last name that goes with your name, or...?"

She sighed heavily. "Lawson," she grumbled out. "Kait Lawson."

He smiled. Having a name, instead of just calling her Dark Horse inside his head for the rest of the conversation, was nice. "Hello, Kait Lawson."

"Jack Wilder," she nodded in return. "Are you finished interrogating me, or are there about fifty other questions I need to answer?"

"Are you from the FBI?"

She suddenly burst out laughing. So loud, in fact, that most of the customers in the coffee shop turned to look at her. "Seriously?"

He looked cross. "It's a legit question! I mean, you knew everything, you guessed it correctly... I'm just trying to see if you're a danger to us." He meant it as a joke, but he noticed that she got a faraway look in her eyes as he said it.

"I can totally assure you, Jack, that I am not a member of the FBI. Or Interpol. Or even just a normal policewoman." She grinned, and the twinkle was back in her eyes. "I'm just a twenty-year old girl, trying to make enough money to enjoy a cappuccino at the end of the day."

"I'll take your word for it, then," Jack replied, nodding in her direction. "I am going to go out on a limb here, but I rarely meet other sleights. I want to get to know you more." He had a cocky grin on his face. "How about you watch our show on Thursday?" he asked. "I can buy us a drink after the show."

She set her coffee mug down with a bit of finality. "I don't really do the... Ehem. The drinking thing."

"Oh, then we can head back here after the show, then?"

"You don't give up easily, don't you?" her eyes met his evenly, and he smiled at her.

"Well, you seem like such a fan of ours. Hen, Daniel and Merritt want to meet you."

Her eyes widened just a tad; he had to hand it to her, she was good at hiding her emotions. "Excuse me?"

The smile was still on his face. "The Horsemen request your presence."

"Well, then..." she muttered to herself. "I'll see if I'm available," she said softly, smiling at him. "But if you really don't mind, I have to go," she said insistently, and he stood up with her, the bag in his hand.

"Allow me to walk you out," he said. Kaitlin nodded, and both of them rose from the table. As the did, he couldn't help but notice that she actually looked good in casual clothes, compared to last night's sexy black thing. She was wearing jeans tucked into knee-high boots, a white shirt, and a beige cardigan over it. To top it off, her dark hair, which was even more unruly than he realized, was tucked underneath a brown beanie.

"Are we going outside, or not?"

Jack flushed, ashamed at having been caught staring at her. She shook her head, and rose an eyebrow at him as he accompanied her to the store entrance, and held the door open for her. "You look different," he said, trying to justify his actions.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Well, you were wearing that black dress-"

"I rarely do wear it."

"Next time, I'll be sure to take a picture."

They stopped; it was really getting chilly outside. Jack stopped to check the time on his watch; and sighed. "Give it."

She smirked as she passed him his watch. "That will never grow old." Jack was silent, and it took Kait a moment to realize her mistake. "Oh, now you give it," she said, rolling her eyes as he laughed out loud, tossing back her watch.

"At least I got one thing from you," he said, winking at her. She smiled back in return, and got a challenging look in her eyes.

"Shall we make this a game, Jack?"

"It can become a game if you keep seeing me," he teased her. "Deal?"

She smirked again. "We'll see. So I'm headed this way," she said, gesturing to their left. "You?"

"Other way," he said regretfully. "Good night, then?"

Kait paused, as if she were about to respond something, and then closed her mouth. "Yeah. Good night, Jack." She smiled up at him, and waved as she walked away.

He watched her retreating back for a few seconds, before turning away himself, one hand in his pocket, and one hand holding the plastic bag with Merritt's cookie in it.

"Jack!"

He turned around, and saw her looking at him. Even though she wasn't exactly running towards him, it still made him feel a bit... Dare he say it, happy. "Mm?"

"You didn't tell me what time I need to be there!" Even from where he was standing, he could see her smiling at him exasperatingly.

"Oh." He scratched his head. "Thursday! 9PM."

"Noted," she called back. "Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Break a leg, you hear me?"

He merely grinned at her before he turned around and walked away.

(*)

"I am searching your mind. I am looking for... Wait, wait - Oh, what is this? A fear of dogs. No, a fear of cats. Big ones? Why? Wait. I can answer that. Mommy issues... Your mom was a zookeeper. And she... Yes, I know now..."

Jack, Henley and Daniel watched from backstage as Merritt went through his routine of the night. There was actually a tiger backstage. This was going to be a part of helping Merritt's chosen volunteer, Ryan, get over his fear of cats. Per request of his sister.

"Is she here?" Henley whispered to Jack, as Merritt put the guy to sleep. Daniel disappeared from their side; it was his job to get the tiger.

"Well, I can't see anything from my vantage point, so I don't know," Jack said crossly. "She didn't even promise me she'd be here or anything."

"Ahh," Henley smiled knowingly. "So she's playing hard to get."

"No," Jack said slowly. "I think that's just her nature."

"Look. I think she'll be here. What did you say her name was?"

Before Jack could answer, the scream of the audience signaled that Daniel had just walked in with the tiger. Who was actually quite tame and was named Tigger. "Kait Lawson. With an 'i-t'."

"For some reason, I feel like the name actually fits her," Henley said thoughtfully. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Enough about me, what about you?" Jack grinned at Henley. "Did you and Jack do it already?"

Henley blushed a shade of red brighter than her hair (well, before she dyed it, anyway) as she shoved him in the shoulder. "Oh my god, Jack Wilder, way to sound like a high school student."

"You didn't answer my question," Jack drawled, watching Henley squirm. He knew that Henley and Daniel had been dancing around each other for the past few months. Despite everything Daniel would say before about Henley being 'too big for the box', he was actually starting to compliment her, and treat her not as if he were a control freak.

As if Daniel and Merritt couldn't see that. There were already bets in place as to when the sexual tension between the red head and the control freak would explode and become a steamy romance.

"We didn't, okay?" Henley said, rolling her eyes. "But you make it sound like it's inevitable."

"I shall conquer you, you beast!" Merritt's volunteer yelled as he charged the tiger. The audience gasped. Merritt had hypnotized his volunteer into thinking he was the bravest man alive.

"Of course it's inevitable," Jack explained to Henley. "With that much sexual tension going on between you and Danny, it's bound to explode some time."

She rolled her eyes again, which signaled the end of the conversation, but Jack knew this wouldn't be the last time he asked her about her relationship with Daniel.

(*)

"We will see you here again on Saturday, folks! Thanks for watching! This has been the Hands of Death... Good night!"

Merritt's show had actually been the highlight of the evening. A very nearly realistic fight erupted between Tigger and the man, and the volunteer had just tackled the tiger. Once the volunteer had snapped out of it, he realized that he was over his fear of big cats.

"Right, so tonight's the night we meet her, right, Jack?" Merritt grinned, leaning against the wall as they waited backstage. "I can't wait to see what's on her mind about you-"

"No mentalist things!" Jack said, waving his hands around.

"Can I at least-"

"No!" Jack repeated.

Daniel chuckled. "You are so wound up about this. It's just a girl."

"Oh, she isn't just a girl," Jack said. "Just wait. You'll see."

"Jack... There's something you're not telling is, us there?" Henley said suddenly, raising her eyebrow. Merritt and Daniel looked at the youngest Horseman expectantly.

"Well. Uhm..."

"She's FBI, isn't she!" Daniel said, making Jack narrow his eyes.

"No. Actually, Kait's-"

"So that's why the letter 'K's been floating around your head for so long," Merritt said slowly.

"Shut up, Merritt," Henley said. "Go on, then."

"She actually managed to get something from me."

There was silence. "Wait - so, she stole from you? That's why we're meeting her tonight?" Daniel asked.

"Danny, no, she's - "

"She's a sleight," Henley stated, her eyes popping open. "And she got something from you?"

"Well, she gave it back."

"So she's not only a fan, but a magician?" Merritt asked.

"I asked her to meet me here so we could get to know each other more. You have to admit. She's pretty intriguing."

"Intriguing my ass, now I really want to get in that head of hers," Merritt said under his beath.

"Now let me find her first," Jack said, and slipped outside.

The three older Horsemen looked at each other, shock, surprise, and disbelief (obviously Daniel) on their faces. "Jack has the quickest hands ever," Daniel said, as he (rarely) paid a compliment to Jack. "A girl bested him?"

"That should explain why he's totally nuts over her," Merritt sighed.

"Look, let's give this girl a chance, okay? She seems nice," Henley said.

Before anyone could answer, Daniel's phone rang. He sent everyone questioning looks, since everyone knew that the only contacts in his phone were the other Horsemen's and Rhodes'. "Rhodes," he said simply, as he checked who was calling.

"What are you waiting for?" Henley asked. "Answer, before the call ends!"

"Alright," he shrugged, and answered it. "Atlas. Yeah. Wait, service is messy here, I'm going outside for a while," he said, turning to Merritt and Henley.

Henley nodded, as she shared a hopeful look with Merritt. Was that call their sign to emerge from hiding?

(*)

Jack couldn't hide his smile as he saw her sipping something from a glass as she sat on a stool facing the bar. He managed to sneak up behind her, and say, "I thought you didn't do the 'drinking thing'."

To his disappointment, she barely jumped, and instead, sipped from the glass again before answering. "This is a Diet Coke, Jack." She sipped from it again. "Nice show, by the way."

She finally turned around to smile at him, and he watched as her eyes slowly took in what he was wearing. He was wearing an outfit similar to what he had worn for the Horsemen's first magic show in Las Vegas; a black polo shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and the sleeves rolled up over his muscular arms. "You can take a picture, it'll last longer," he quipped, and she blushed before glaring at him.

Jack also decided that she didn't look that bad herself. She was wearing the same boots from that night in the coffee shop, only this time she paired it with a white dress and a cardigan, instead of jeans and a t-shirt. "So, have you decided if you want to meet Hen and the rest of the guys, yet?"

"Huh. I think I want to," she said slowly, and stood up, leaving her glass on the counter. "Lead me to them, before I change my mind," she said dramatically, and he laughed.

Jack offered her his arm, which she took gratefully, after a moment of hesitation. "So... Merritt..." she said slowly.

"I promise he won't try to dive into your mind," Jack said.

She smirked. "No, I want him to try," she said smugly.

"Are you sure?" Jack said, wondering if she was actually everything he and the rest of the Horsemen were waiting for - Merritt's match.

"Well, I'm not promising anything, but, I want to see how he does it," she said, eyes sparkling.

"So that's it then, you're more of a mentalist than a sleight?" Jack asked her. As he asked her, he noticed that his watch was on her wrist. He smirked, and then lifted her beanie off her head and placed it on his in a fluid motion.

"Well, I'm not either. I'm more of a sleight, I think. Mentalist magic is a minor thing for me. I'm more of a-"

"So you're Kait!" Henley said, suddenly exploding out of the backstage before Jack could open the door. "Hi. I'm Henley, nice to meet you!" she said, holding out her hand with a genuine smile on her face.

"Hi," Kait said slowly, taken aback. She had certainly not expected Henley Reeves to come flying at her.

"Excuse Henley," Merritt's lazy drawl came from behind Henley. "She's just been a bit deprived of females for the past few months."

"Well, that explains it," Kait said, as she took her attention off of Henley,, and focused her gaze towards Merritt.

You could practically feel the two trying to stare each other down. But while Merritt had his fingers around his forehead, Kait was just staring at him, a curious expression on her face.

Suddenly, the two exploded.

"You're a magician-"

"Daddy issues-"

"Only child-"

"Never had a pet in his life -"

"Wanted to be a lawyer-"

"Wanted to be a veterinarian-"

"Only one serious boyfriend so far-"

"Too many girlfriends so far-"

"His name was Dan!"

"The last one was named Yuki-"

"You've been stuck in LA for the past 5 years-"

"Looks the same goes to you for the past 5 months-"

"Are they ever going to stop?" Henley asked Jack in a whisper. "This is incredible."

"Is what she saying true?"

"Well, I know that Merritt has daddy issues. The other ones I'm not sure of. Like the veterinarian thing?" she giggled.

"Oh, I can't wait to see what she does with Daniel," Jack chuckled evilly.

"Henley, can I talk to you?"

Both Jack and Henley jumped as Daniel suddenly appeared behind them, face strangely pale.

"Sure," Henley said, not even giving him a sarcastic remark, as he pulled her to the side.

Jack shrugged, and watched Merritt and Kait keep on trying to unravel bits and pieces of each others lives. He saw a look of respect grow on both of their faces, while it was more reluctant on Merritt's face, on Kait's, it was just plain and simple - he had proved to be a good mentalist to her.

"You think short guys are cute-"

"You're afraid of... Spiders? No. Roaches-"

"You like watching Sherlock and Supernatural-"

"And you on the other hand, are a fan of cooking shows-"

Jack smirked, as Merritt finally stopped talking. "You're good," he said, acknowledging the girl. She grinned.

"You too. I think we might just get along, Merritt," she said, and held out a hand to him. He smiled, and shook her hand, too.

"I think we just might." Merritt paused. "Wait, isn't that Jack's watch?"

(*)

"Danny!" Henley gasped as he pulled her farther backstage, so far that she couldn't even hear Kait and Merritt's banter. "What is the matter-"

"It was Rhodes."

"Yeah, I guessed that," Henley quipped. "What's up?"

"Thaddeus is out of prison."

(*)

Chapter 2 complete! Whew. I would like to send a big THANK YOU to the views, followers and reviews again.

You guys make me love writing. Cheers!