TEMPERANCE | jack wilder

xii. the negotiation

"That's it?" Daniel asked rhetorically.

"Well, this is perfect for you, isn't it? You're magicians and thieves."

"What makes you think we'd even consider doing this?" Jack asked him.

"Oh wait, I had a reason, what was it?" Walter asked himself, thinking. "Oh yes. You see, back home you're wanted criminals but here I control the police, the casinos, the media. I can give you a new life out of hiding. And of course, if you don't I'll have you killed."

"Great," Evelynn mumbled.

"You know what? I'm not stealing a thing for you. Not unless Dylan tells me it's okay."

"Really? And Dylan's where, exactly?"

"Doesn't matter," Lula stood up. "I'm with him, so you can go ahead and kill us 'cause I'm not going to steal anything for you."

Evelynn watched as Merritt also stood up and assumed Walter's bluff. She turned to Daniel, "This guy is insane," she whispered to him quickly. "He isn't kidding, he'll kill us. You need to make a decision quickly. You're kind of the team leader."

Daniel looked at Evelynn's concerned face and nodded. He stood up, "Actually, we'll do it."

Lula looked back at him incredulous, "What?"

"We're in Macau, the oldest magic store is. We'll get the supplies we need and we'll do it," he said as if it as no big deal. He got up and shook Walter's hand and Evelynn sighed in relief.

"Thank you. It should be fun. Chase will take you to the magic shop in the morning."

Like he said, when morning came they were escorted by a car near the shop. The streets leading to the shop was too narrow so they walked the rest of the way. Last night, the Horsemen barely talked to one another because they were all being monitored. However, now they were free from unwanted ears and spoke their minds freely.

"Steal something," Merritt started off. "For this narcissistic little man boy? I don't like it but what I don't like less is you deciding for us."

"Yeah, and do you like that we're the laughing stock of the magic world and fugitives in the real world? Walter is right, we have nowhere to go."

"But we can fix that," Lula argued.

"We can fix it?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, so you're officially a part of the team, now? Okay."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I'm sure this is what Dylan meant when he said to work as a-"

"A single organism," Daniel interrupted. "That is a fairy tale that Dylan tells himself and tells us. Look even if we get the stick, he'd never let us go. We can't trust Walter, okay? The Eye has a history in Macau, they're the only ones we can trust and if we can get it to them they can clear our names and get us the hell out of here."

"It's a bad plan, man. Also, Evelynn what was that thing with the gangsters Walter was talking about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Evelynn mumbled as they entered the store. Truth was that her past was an insane roller coaster ride she wanted to forget.

The store seemed like quite a normal looking Chinese store. Except, for antiques they had little magic products everywhere. I was pretty crowded with shelves but that was to be expected with a magic shop. Daniel walked up to the desk and rang the bell. "Hey, hi how are you? Umm, we need some things costume made. Actually by tomorrow, we're kind of in a rush and you have no idea what I'm talking about. Do you?"

Evelynn saw some Chinese finger traps and was distracted by them for a while. She analyzed the old women and the man. Evelynn knew who they were. They had hidden it quite well if it wasn't the fact that the oldest magic shop ever, was definitely a part of the Eye. She placed both of her index fingers into in and tried pulling. As expected, she could not get it out. She relaxed her fingers and pushed towards the center. Sure enough, when she softly pulled out again her fingers were free.

"You!" Someone spoke in Mandarin Chinese to her. Evelynn looked up to see that it was the old woman.

"Yes? Hello," she formally greeted her bowing, to show respect. Oh yeah, she was also speaking in Mandarin. She learned it not too long ago because she was feeling bored.

"Come with me," the women lead her to the back room. Evelynn looked behind her but it seemed like everyone would be alright. She saw that the backroom was very spacious and filled with huge magic items. "You're associates are idiots."

Evelynn laughed at her observations and nodded, still looking around. She assumed the woman was talking about the racist incident with Daniel, that she overheard. "Yes, indeed they are," she answered using her native tongue. "But it can't be helped."

"I know, people with your skills, they impress me."

"Do they?"

"It's hard to do what you do."

"It's hard but only to ones who give up easily," Evelynn simply said. "Let me tell you something. I know who you work for. You, your grandson, me, and my team all have the same employer. Do we not? We are all a part of the same movement."

"Like, I said. People like you impress me," the woman smiled at her.

Evelynn chuckled, "Well, you must know that I'm a danger to the Eye. I can find you guys out quite quickly."

"Oh don't worry." The women spoke in English next, "You'll find a suitable competitor, soon."

Evelynn laughed yet again, "So, you did understand him."

"Like, I said idiots," the woman reverted back to Chinese. "You should go back before they start to worry about you."

She came out from the back, chuckling to herself. She saw that Jack and Lula looked over at her way when she re-entered the room. "That lady's hilarious," she told Daniel as she passed him.

"Wait, you speak Chi-" he stopped himself. He walked over to Jack. "Nevermind."

"So, you speak Chinese and purposely let Danny completely embarrass himself with the translation?" Lula asked as she approached Evelynn. "Can we be best friends?"

Evelynn chuckled at Lula, "Ah, one step at a time. Friends yes, best friends seems a little too far-fetched."

"Why is that?"

"I've never had a best friend before."

"You are an interesting character, Ev. Interesting indeed," Lula studied her. "Unfortunately, we are going become best friends and you can't do anything about it." Lula walked away from her, leaving Evelynn shaking her head at her, smiling.

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