𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 || j. daniel atlas

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

When she had stuffed as many notes that came to hand into her purse and bra, Alena left the theatre. The casino foyer was teeming. There was a surge of the crowd from the Horsemen's show towards the exit, no doubt to find a bureau de change for all the cash they'd collected.

If she were to catch Merritt tonight, her best chance would be the VIP bar. Helpfully, the hotel had plenty of signs guiding her up a grand staircase and along a darkening corridor. At the entrance to the bar stood a heavy-set bodyguard, and Alena's first problem.

As she approached, she could hear him humming to himself. Pulling her smirk into a small, but somewhat innocent, smile, Alena furthered the assertion of her steps. "'You Win Again' by the Bee Gees?" she guessed, pointing a finger at the guard. He looked up, smiled, and nodded. "I bet you've got a great voice."

"So I'm told."

Alena raised her eyebrows, leant back slightly, and lifted her chest. "So what are you doing working as a bouncer?"

The guard shrugged his massive shoulders, trailing his gaze from her head to her feet. She almost had him.

Opening her purse, Alena glanced up through her eyelashes and asked, "What's your name?"

"Hunter."

Alena stifled a laugh. "Is that a first name or second?"

"First."

"Well...Hunter," Alena said, turning her brightest smile up to him and handing over a business card. "Should you ever get sick of guarding the stage and fancy standing on it instead, call me."

"You're an agent."

"I certainly am."

"Oh, thanks!" Hunter grinned, tucking the card into his zip pouch, distracted long enough for Alena to duck beneath his towering frame and through the door to the VIP bar.

The Four Horsemen, along with Arthur Tressler and another woman, were stood at the end of the bar whilst the bartender made drinks. Smoothing back her hair, Alena strode across the room, ignoring all of the eyes that followed the swing of her hips, the hammer of her heels.

Merritt had his back to her, resting on the bar with his elbow. Alena propped herself with her back against the bar, just behind him. She caught the eye of the young Jack Wilder and winked.

"You know," Alena sighed loudly, "I always thought that when people ditched their partners, it was for a younger model."

Merritt's form froze, but when he turned to face her, he was grinning. "Well, well, well, Alena Warbeck. I thought I saw you up on that big screen."

"So close, I know. It could have been me." Alena laced her words with a mockery that she knew only Merritt would pick up on.

He rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew I would be in Vegas this week and thought I would come and see your...little show. Seems you've made quite a name for yourself."

"Your accent," Merritt gestured to his mouth, "the German twang, it's gone."

"Yes, I found that, with a more distinct, refined accent, my clients take me a little more seriously," she articulated.

"Right. So how are you holding up? You look good."

"I have three clients on three different stages here this weekend, so I'm holding up very well, thank you."

"I'm glad," Merritt smiled sincerely.

There was a long pause in which Alena refreshed her smile. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your associates?"

"Of course," Merritt said, clearly having forgotten that the others were there. He stepped aside as if to reveal her to them. "This is Arthur Tressler."

"Ah, yes, your benefactor." Alena shook his hand. "Forgive me, Mr Tressler, I can't say much for your attractiveness, but I do hear you're quite rich."

Arthur laughed. "No offence taken, my dear. And I do believe that you are beautiful enough for the both of us."

She turned back to Merritt. "Well, at least he isn't American."

"And this is my wife, Jasmine."

The beautiful brunette, whom Alena had initially presumed to be the Horsemen's manager or perhaps Mr Tressler's personal assistant, smiled and held out her hand. She couldn't have had more than ten years on Alena and Arthur was no less than double her age, so Alena tried to soothe the judgemental widening of her eyes as she greeted Jasmine.

"And these are my colleagues, Jack, Henley, and Daniel."

Before either of the others could speak, Daniel stepped forward. "J. Daniel Atlas. I run the uh...'little show'," he said, indicating the inverted commas with his fingers.

"Yes, I could see that." Alena glanced down his outstretched hand, then up into his sharp, blue eyes.

"What? You don't shake hands with magicians?"

"This is an expensive bracelet, Mr Atlas, and I would very much like to leave the room wearing it."

"Actually, Jack's the sleight-of-hand artist," Henley laughed.

Alena looked at the young man's Cheshire grin, playfully narrowing her eyes and pulling her clutch purse in close to her chest. She took Daniel's hand and shook it very firmly.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Daniel asked, tilting his head to one side, smirking.

"It was...interesting."

The man jerked his head slightly and narrowed his piercing eyes. "What er...what does that mean?"

"Well, robbing a bank. Aren't you a little worried about law enforcement might think of that little trick?"

Merritt scoffed behind her, muttering, "Oh yeah, because you've always been so concerned about the legality of things," so that only she could hear.

Alena batted her hand at him as Daniel was saying, "But it was impressive though."

"That, Mr Atlas, I can't deny." Alena turned to Henley. "I'll tell you what was impressive; your escape from the cage with the swords in it. I was a tad worried there for a moment, particularly when that one came in for your throat."

"I'll admit I was too," Henley grinned.

"Oh, there's no need to humour me. I'm sure you had everything in hand."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Daniel cut in again. "Will you stay and have a drink with us, Miss Warbeck? I'm buying."

"No, thank you. Besides," Alena reached two fingers into the 'v' of her dress' necklace and flashed a couple of the notes she had tucked in there, "you'll be buying my drinks for a while. I just stopped by to say hello." She glanced up at Merritt, the murmur of a lump pushing into her throat. "Ladies, gentlemen, have a good night."

She turned on her heel and swept back across the room, only to have footsteps follow.

"Why don't you meet us all tomorrow and we can have a good catch-up? Or the two of us could just grab a coffee or something? Well, you'd have hot chocolate, because you don't like coffee," Merritt's voice becoming ever more strained.

Alena stopped and sighed. "Thank you for the offer, Mr McKinney, but I have business that I need to attend to this evening. It was nice to see you again."

"That almost sounded like sincerity."

"When have I ever been otherwise?" Alena laughed, the ghost of their past glimmering in her smile and she began to walk away.