WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR NOW YOU SEE ME 2. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE MOVIE, DO NOT READ THIS PIECE. See note at bottom for author's note.
Category: Gen
Setting: Post-NYSM2
Characters/Pairings: Agent Cowan
Rating/Warnings: K+, minor spoilers for NYSM2
Summary: It wasn't possible. People didn't just vanish into thin air!
Disclaimer: Neither Now You See Me nor its characters belong to me.
Obsessed
It wasn't possible. People didn't just vanish into thin air! Magic wasn't real so where the heck where they?! Cowan cursed and lashed out at the solid boxes that filled the barge. Forcing himself to regain his control, the he began barking orders for the search to extend past the barge and into the city of London. But just like the year before, the Horsemen had disappeared without a trace.
It infuriated Cowan to no end. He had known Rhodes was lying! He'd known it! But he couldn't prove anything until Rhodes had literally slipped through his fingers! And now he and the rest of his Horsemen had vanished with no trace. Again! They searched for days, but came up empty, just like last time. By the end of the week, the tips were pouring in from all over the globe, but few held any credibility and the ones that did always turned into a wild goose chase.
Cowan poured over the notes Rhodes left behind. He scoured every inch off the magician's office and apartment, searching for any hint at where he might be. He travelled to every place even remotely associated with Lionel Shrike on the off chance that Rhodes or Shrike or whatever he went by now wouldn't be able to keep away. The files he collected on each of the Horsemen filled an entire room in his house with everything from their background to what brand of pants they wore. With six Horsemen in the world including the missing Henley Reeves, his board of tips and possible leads zig-zagged across all four walls and almost spilled out of his office and into the hall.
And still they evaded him! Each day off was spent pouring through the endless tips to find just one solid lead. Every vacation day was spent at some new corrupt venue, just waiting for the Horsemen to appear and pull their Robin Hood act. One day they would step back into the spotlight and when they did, he would be there. They wouldn't slip from his grasp a third time. No sir. This time, they were his. If it was the last thing he did, he would be the one to capture the Horsemen.
I didn't want to put this note at the top for fear of spoiling the movie for someone who has yet to see it. At the end of NYSM2, I couldn't help but feel a little bad for Agent Cowan. I mean, he's a big word-I-can't-say, but the poor guy just got his butt handed to him for the second time. And by a guy that he knew was hiding something to! Talk about sting. So it's my headcanon that after the events of the second movie, Cowan became obsessed with tracking down the Horsemen, much like Dylan appeared to at the beginning of the movie. So that's where this sprang up from. Hope you enjoyed it!