The Devil [NYSM]

JACK OF ALL TRADES

They patted him on the shoulder as they passed by. Jack gestured for Eva to walk in before him.

She winked flirtatiously as she passed by. He grinned wildly and shut the door.

"What is this place?" Henley asked.

They turned on the flashlights on their phones and checked each of the rooms. The hallways had cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and the walls looked molded.

"And I thought my apartment was crappy," Meritt muttered.

"Ditto," Eva agreed.

Jack made a comment about the cold temperature just as Eva wrapped her arms around herself.

They walked into the main living room and saw a pattern on the floor with a white rose in front of it. A note sat beside the rose and a vase was behind it.

Daniel picked it up and read it aloud, "Now you don't."

Eva looked at the small puzzle just as Henley placed the flower in the vase, "A rose by any other name..."

Water started to flow from the vase down into the pattern on the floor. Once it was complete, the floor clicked and lowered, spewing out a white mist.

"It's gas!" Jack exclaimed.

Eva squatted down and placed her hand over the mist, feeling the cold.

"It's dry ice," she argued.

She straightened back up and moved over to the side Jack was on. He subtlety moved closer while keeping his focus on the gas.

"What do you think this is all about?" Daniel asked.

"Hang on," Merritt spoke. He placed his fingers to his head to try and sense something. But he grimaced a few seconds later, "I got nothing."

"Well thank you for that delay," Daniel said sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to create the space for wisdom."

"Okay so you're like Buddha if he wasn't so enlightened."

"And you're like Jesus if he was arrogant and all of his miracles were fake."

The others rolled their eyes at the bickering. Eva was tempted to make a comment but she figured it'd be better if she kept it to herself.

Jack noticed that she bit her lip to hold it back. He smirked and bowed his head to keep it out of her view, but she already saw it.

"Danny, be honest," Henley demanded, "Did you do this?"

"What? No! Did you?" he asked, gesturing to Jack and Eva.

"I wish," Jack awed.

Eva shook her head in amusement, "Why would I waste a good trick on four strangers?"

Daniel shrugged in agreement.

"Why didn't anyone ask me?" Merritt pouted.

They neglected to answer and continued to walk around. Daniel tried to flip the light switch but it wasn't working.

Eva went to inspect an object that was screwed onto the wall. It almost looked like a camera but its lens was too small. She moved close and tried to look through it.

"Electricity's out," Jack stated.

"We'll see."

Merritt stood atop a chair to twist a lightbulb. As he did so, the light switched on and activated the object Eva was looking through.

Apparantly, it was a projector. And as her eyes was right in its trajectory, its beam hit her right in the eyes.

She winced as she was blinded for a few seconds. She abruptly pulled back and stumbled, "Shit!"

She felt hands catch her waist from behind. She squinted her eyes and tried to rub out the white spots that clouded her vision.

Jack was the only one paying attention to her since the others were focused on the projection in front of them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm blinded, dumbass," she snapped.

"Let me see."

He pulled her hands away from her face and tried to steady her swiveling head. They bickered as Eva tried to push him away but he was insistent.

She finally gave up and allowed him to carefully pry her eyes open. She winced as his face came into view with large spots covering some parts.

She blinked rapidly in response to try and push out the white light.

"Just relax," he soothed, "It should fade."

She nodded and pulled her head out of his grasp. She tried to keep her eyes open to make it fade faster.

He kept his hand on her back to guide her closer to the projection. They both looked at the blueprints that were displaying in front of them.

"Who do you think did this?" Jack asked.

"I don't know but I really want to meet them," Henley whispered.

Daniel swiped through some of the slower scans and folders.

"It's a show," Henley observed.

They read through the small labels on folders and schematics. The more they read, the more fascinated they became.

At the end of it, the projections eventually shut themselves off. It left them standing around in wonder.

"This is unbelievable," Henley stated.

"No, this is crazy!" Meritt argued.

They began to bicker about the pros and cons of following the anonymous plan. Daniel was clearly excited to start since he was given the chance to be the leader. It was perfect for his control freak tendencies.

"We're strangers," Eva stated, "And now we have to be a team? I hate to break it to you but I fly solo."

"A lone wolf act!" Daniel exclaimed sarcastically, "How original?"

"Oh and sleeping with your groupies is?" she retorted.

Meritt and Jack laughed riotously and gave her high fives. She smirked victoriously as Daniel narrowed his eyes.

"Look, this gives us the chance to right some wrongs," Henley stated, "Shouldn't we take it?"

They all glanced at each other warily. The mystery and intrigue was killing them, despite the angel on their shoulders telling them to back out.

Eva looked around after making her decision. She crossed her arms and sighed dramatically,

"As long as we stay strictly professional," she stated, "No sentimental crap."

They all grinned lightly.

"Perfect."

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