Love Is Only an Illusion

Soon after Sutton and Jack left, Henley’s fingers were flying across the keyboard of the desktop computer, the printer rolling off sheets of fake money as fast as it could. Danny and Merritt stood at the end of it, cutting each sheet with a paper trimmer and stuffing the fake money into backpacks.

“Hey, Henley,” Merritt spoke up, a smirk growing across his face. “Do you happen to own a pair of nursing scrubs?”

“Seriously, Merritt?” Danny scolded.

“Calm down, grumpy cat,” Merritt joked.

Henley chuckled. “Actually, I do. They had a “buy one, get one” deal when we bought Sutton’s.”

Merritt perked up. “Mind trying it on sometime for us?”

“When you say us, you mean you, right?” Danny scoffed.

“What’s wrong, Danny?” Henley laughed. “Don’t you want to play nurse with me?” she winked.

Merritt let out a loud fit of laughter. Danny shot him a hard glance, threatening to shut him up permanently.

“The bodies are in the car,” Jack announced as him and Sutton burst through the door. “And they don’t look too bad, if I may say so myself.”

Sutton rolled her eyes. “He literally looked for five minutes to find a woman’s body with small boobs to make her “look more authentic.””

Henley snorted. “You didn’t!”

“Hey, how is the FBI going to believe Sutton’s dead if the woman’s boobs are four times that size?” he pointed out, making sure to draw everyone’s attention to Sutton’s chest.

“They aren’t small,” Merritt said as he pretended to grab Sutton’s breast from five feet away. Sutton blushed as Danny glared sharply at Merritt once more, cursing the male mentalist in his mind.

“Can you be any more inappropriate?” Henley commented, rolling her eyes.

Clearing his throat, Danny asked, “Can we go over the plan one more time?” The others groaned.

“No, he’s right. We better,” Sutton said. “Jack and I act as a distraction long enough for you all to get on the road.”

“Once we’re on the road, I need to be on the lookout for Jack and Sutton in the car,” Merritt continued.

“After Merritt cuts the fake car loose, Sutton and I head for the abandoned apartment in Queens,” Jack nodded.

“The three of us go to the warehouse to drop the mirrors down to hide the vault,” Henley added. “Then, we head for 5 Pointz to create the video.”

“When Jack and I see the video is posted, we head in to steal the money and plot it in Thaddeus’s car,” Sutton smirked. “We head straight for Central Park after that.”

Danny nodded. “After our performance, we’ll meet you there.”

The Horsemen stood there in silence for a moment, taking it all in. There was an unspoken understanding between the five members, each one praying that they would see the others in Central Park that night. Henley was the first to move, pulling Sutton toward her bedroom.

“Sit, sweetie,” Henley demanded, gesturing toward her bed. Sutton obeyed, the scrubs letting out a ‘huff’ as she sat. Henley paced in front of her, biting the edge of her thumbnail.

“Hen, what are you doing?” Sutton questioned her older cousin. “I mean, you never bite your nails, or even touch your teeth with a finger.”

Henley sighed. “I’m worried, Sut. I don’t know if I can handle this anymore.”

Sutton’s eyes grew wide. “What are you talking about? You helped us steal money from a Paris bank. You routed money from Tressler’s bank account to people who deserved the money.”

“But that didn’t threaten your life, Sutton!” Henley blurted, her arms extending to grab Sutton’s shoulders. She sighed, bringing Sutton into a standing hug.

Sutton wrapped her arms around Henley’s waist, not sure how to react. That was until she felt her shoulder become wet and heard Henley sobbing. “Oh, Hen. Don’t, please.”

“I promised you I would always take care of you,” Henley reminded Sutton, her voice raspy. She pulled away from her cousin, brushing at her eye makeup that had smeared slightly. “When I asked you to start performing with me, I told you I would never let anyone, or anything, tear us apart. Now, I’m letting this stupid plan to get into The Eye do exactly that.”

“Henley, it’s not like that.”

“But, Sutton, it is! You could die, Sutton, and you aren’t even scared.”

Sutton’s mouth fell open, then closed quickly. She did not really think about the consequences of this plan going wrong. Her and Jack could be caught by the FBI and end up in prison. Worse yet, Jack could crash in their getaway. Instead of saying anything that may frighten Henley more, Sutton replied, “You’ll just need to trust that Jack is taking care of me.”

Henley gave a throaty laugh. “I’m not sure how to take that.”

“Henley!” Sutton giggled, hitting her cousin lightly

Henley laughed, sniffling. “I love you so much, Sut.”

Sutton closed her eyes, savoring the scent of Henley’s perfume one last time. “I love you, Hen.”

They stood there for a minute, just hanging onto one another for as long as they could. When a knock at the door sounded, Henley told whoever it was to come in.

“Hey, sorry, girls,” Jack apologized, already changed from the scrubs. “Sut, you gotta get changed. Danny wants us all to help pack the documents and delete files from the desktop computers.”

The girls separated, letting out long sighs. “I’ll get changed,” Sutton said, moving past Jack and to her bedroom.

“Jack,” Henley spoke up as the pickpocket turned to leave the room, “can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Henley,” Jack said, moving closer to her.

Henley sighed. “Take care of her, please. I know I haven’t asked much of you before, but I need you to make sure she is okay. Make sure the FBI doesn’t hurt her.”

“You got it, Henley,” Jack smiled. “You have my word that Sutton will be taken care of. I won’t let them touch her. Even if they do, I’m pretty sure she’ll break their hands.”

Henley chuckled. “I know she will. Drive safe, Jack.”

Jack nodded, leaving the bedroom.