𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 || j. daniel atlas

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐖𝐎

"What's she doing here?" Lula May wrinkled her nose at Alena when she joined Chase and the Horsemen in the hotel lobby.

"I'm here to keep an eye on you," Alena smiled, amiably.

"I thought that's what I was here for," said Chase.

"Walter says I'm smarter than you."

"Do you believe everything Walter tells you?" Daniel muttered.

Alena gave him a pointed look. "When it's the truth."

They could only go so far in the SUVs. Macau's streets were narrow and heaving. The Horseman walked a few paces ahead of Alena, Chase, and their band of security guards, bickering amongst themselves. Even if Chase wasn't scraping away at her right eardrum with his jagged fingernail of a voice, Alena had no hope of hearing them anyway.

Still, she couldn't help smiling when she saw the dismissive way Daniel was gesturing with his hands, batting away what were doubtlessly further protests from his fellow magicians. She hoped he wouldn't listen to them. His stubbornness was going to save all of their lives.

A bell above her head jingled as the group pushed into the shop. It was dark, warm, carried a softly sweet scent. It reminded Alena of Daniel's apartment; filled with trinkets, ornaments, puzzles, and weapon-like contraptions, none of which she knew a thing about, but that still gave her that fluttering in her chest, the one she'd come to call home.

Daniel went straight up to the counter and tapped the bell several times. Alena stopped a little way behind him, leant on a display table, folded her arms.

"Hi, hey, how are you? Um, we need some things custom-made. Actually, by tomorrow. We're kind of in a rush," Daniel said to the young man who was sitting behind the counter.

There was an older woman lounging in a chair, laughing at something on a small television, through an archway to the back of the shop. She glanced away from the screen for just one moment, finding Alena's eyes immediately, then looked back, her smile never fading. Alena swallowed, her insides suddenly uncomfortable. She stood up straight and adjusted the cuffs of her blouse.

The older woman threw something at the young man, scolded him in Mandarin, and he got up. He smiled at the group, and Alena stiffened. She had seen this man before, only days ago.

"Welcome to Iong's. My name's Li. Not Bruce Lee," he said, produced a toy snake from somewhere and flung it at them. He then proceeded to demonstrate some kind of flashing light contraption, but Alena couldn't focus on that.

She kept looking at the women behind him. The glance had been so knowing, piercing even, though it had only lasted a second. Part of her dared the woman to meet her eyes again, but, as soon as she shifted to stand, Alena turned on her heel and began a poor imitation of nonchalance through the aisles, picking up the odd thing, pretending to inspect it, putting it down.

"Whatcha got there?"

Alena jerked away from the man who had come up far too close behind her. Quickly disguising it as surprise, she grinned up at Chase and shrugged. Then, she looked down at the object in her hands. It was a puzzle box, smooth and waxy to the touch. Identical to the one she had taken down from Daniel's shelves. The one that, to her knowledge, still held the card that she had signed that night at the Savoy.

But before she could cough out some witty remark from her tightening throat, Merritt appeared over Chase's shoulder.

"S'cuse me, Miss Warbeck, might I borrow this gentleman from your company?" he said, thickly lacing his voice with mockery.