THE MAGICIAN.
chapter seven

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"Oh come on! Big thighs is clearly the better answer!" Reid complains to Jack through Skype.

"Uh no its not, 'the blood of Christ' fits way better," Catalina says, defending her card.

Reid gives Catalina her bitch face. "Oh really, Cat? 'Maybe she's born with it. Maybe its the blood of Christ' fits better? No, I don't think so. Everyone knows big thighs save lives therefore my answer is better and I demand he picks it."

Catalina rolls her eyes. "Well too late he already picked my card which means I won the round so ha!" She taunts before sticking her tongue out at Reid.

"Oh screw you guys. I hope you both know picking each other's cards in CAH isn't a flirting tactic."

A few seats down from the three young adults, Arthur Tressler sits talking to Conan O'Brien through Skype. "Two days ago no one heard of these guys, but tonight's show sold out in 35 seconds," Conan says through the laptop sitting on the table. "I think these guys have cracked the secret to show business. Give your audience $3 million. Puts 'em in a good mood, doesn't it?"

"Best finale ever," Arthur replies.

"They're gonna be the first magicians in history to get laid," Conan says making Arthur smile. "Remember, if the oxygen mask comes down, put it on the lawyer first. Remember."

"Oh, yes," Arthur agrees. "I always do, it's lawyer first, then myself and then the children."

"Yes, then the children," Conan agrees.

Merritt lays comfortably spread out on a couch. "Um, allow me to make plain what we've both been thinking," he says to Henley, who is sitting across from him. A martini grasped between her dainty hand.

"And what's that?" Shr asked, her eyes alight and an amused smile settled on her face.

"Well, obviously, you have feelings of affection for Daniel. Unrequited and misguided, owing to his lack of emotional availability," Merritt tells her. "Consequently, you're very tightly...how should I put it? Um...corked."

"Oh, I am?" Henley asks in amusement.

"Now, recognizing that
you have physical needs not being met, and strictly in the vein of helping a sister out, I invite you to think of me
as your own personal corkscrew."

A belle-like laugh sodtly escapes Henley. "Wow, thanks. Let me mull over that offer of cheap and meaningless sex."

"Cheap and meaningless, maybe, but, uh, not time-consuming," Merritt tells Henley making her laugh.

"You know what? Fuck you guys, you guys are cheating. You're ganging up on me amd purposely not picking my cards. I hate you. I hate all of you," Reid rants through the computer screen as Jack wins another point, leaving Reid in third place with a solid zero. Meanwhile, Catalina has a whopping 15 and Jack's not too far behind her with a score of 10.

"Guy goes to the doctor.
Doctor says, 'Sir, you're gonna have to stop masturbating.' He says, 'Why?' He says, 'So I can finish the examination,'" Merritt tells Henley who laughs at the dumb joke.

Daniel notices the two giggling like a bunch of school girl's and huffily walks towards them. 

"Oh, Danny," Jack calls out, desperate to get away from the two girls who are arguing about their cards, again. He doesn't know what it is between those two but whenever they play games together they seem to turn into WWE fighters. "Can I talk to you about my role in the show real quick?" Jack asks the older Atlas.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure," Danny replies absentmindedly brushing him off while patting his cheek.

Catalina notices the exchange between them and gives Jack a small smile. "Don't worry, you're time will come."

Reid makes a noise of agreement. "Besides, the green monster was totally just taking over him," she tells him before looking up from her phone and pointing towards the camera. "And I'm not talking about the Hulk," she adds making Catalina roll her eyes.

"Hey guys," Danny interrupts Henley and Merritt. "We got a show to prepare for."

"Oh," Henley says getting up from her seat.

"Oh! Do we now?" Merritt asks Danny, intently staring at him.

Danny quickly turns around. "No, no, no, don't do that. You're not doing that thing to me, no," he says rapidly before quickly walking away from the mentalist.

"What thing? I'm just looking at you," Merritt denies Danny's accusation.

"No, you're not, I've been watching you for a year.
I know all of your little tricks," he says flailing his arms around.

"That's what they are to you? Tricks?"

"Yes, it's gimmicks, it's Barnum statements, it's reading the eyes, body language. I get it."

"If it's such an easy thing,
why don't you do Henley?" Merritt challenges the cocky 'ringleader' pointing to Henley in the process.

"Yeah, Danny. Why don't you do me?"

Reid looks at Catalina through the computer screen. "Was the sex that bad that she forgot he already has?" The computer geek shamelessly asks Catalina, loud enough for everyone in the plane to hear.

Danny glares at the Latina before putting his hamd on the top of the laptop. "Goodbye Reid."

"Don't you dare," she glares as he slams the screen shut.

"Hey!" Catalina yells. "That's a thousand dollar laptop! Unless you plan on buying me a new one, don't slam it so hard!" She scolds him, uncaring that he just rudely hung up on her best friend. Nothing new.

Danny rolls his eyes at his siter before going back to his conversation with Merrit. "I'll do Jasmine," he offers, turning to the brunette.

"No," Mr.Tressler interrupts. "Do me."

"Oh, yeah yeah, do Art," Merritt agrees, pointing to the old man.

"Okay," Danny agrees, fully accepting the challenge. "Even better."

"But I warn you, I can be difficult to read, when I want to be," Art informs the blue-eye magician.

Everyone surrounds the two. Catalina quickly taking up the spot next to Jack, fully ready to watch Danny make an ass of himself like usual.

"Just stay with me, okay?" Dany says putting two fingers to his eyes.

"Or you can not do it and skip the embarrasment, for both you and me," Catalina sasses.

"Shh," Danny tells his sister. "So, Art, you were a tough kid. You know, kind of a real rapscallion.
You had a dog, real tough dog, british breed. Like a real... I want to say, Ben the bulldog."

"Wrong!" Arthur tells him. "I was a very high maitnenced chap. I had a fluffy white cat, named Snuffles."

Catalina scrunches up her nose. "Snuffles?" She asks in disbelief. "Really?"

Arthur looks at the young girl and nods. "Poor cat," she mumbles.

Danny exhales through his nose. "Let me try again," he insists. "I can do way better than that."

Daniel hits the side of the plane in frustration. "Ah sorry," he says realising what he did.

"Let me try," Jack says.

"Let him do it," Henley agrees.

"Come on, give me one more time. One more time," Danny pleads.

"Oh please, Jack can do way better than that," Catalima says winking at Jack who grins in return.

"Let's do family, you had an uncle on your mother's side. He had a real, kind of... a real masculine name. A real, kind of, salt-of-the-earth... you know, a real stick-it-to-you...like it was some kind of Paul. Thompson? Was it a Paul..." Danny sighs. "Okay, You know what? I got nothin'."

"Nearly though," Arthur reassures.

"Was I?" Danny asks slightly smiling.

"No," Arthur tells him bluntly. "I did have an uncle his name was Cushman Armitage."

Daniel rolls his eyes. "Really? Snuffles and Cushman Armitage? That was your childhood?"

Arthur nods. "I certainly hope tonight's show is gonna be better than this."

"Don't worry, just you wait," Danny reassures him. The magicians all sharing a devious look unbeknownst to the British man surrounded by them.

NOTE.
if any of you fabulous readers like teen wolf, the gifted, 9-1-1, or the maze runner can y'all check out the new fanfics i posted.