Love Is Only an Illusion

“What is magic?” Danny asked the audience as he stood in front of a large piece of equipment, his voice and physical projection speaking to them in an echo. “Magic is deception. But deception designed to delight, to entertain, to inspire.” He swallowed, glancing at Merritt and Henley. “It is about belief.”

“Faith,” Merritt added.

Henley smirked. “Trust.”

“Without those qualities,” Merritt continued, rubbing his hands together, “magic, as an art form, would no longer exist.”

“But what happens if these qualities,” Henley spoke, “are not used for their higher purpose? And instead they’re used to cheat, lie.”

“For personal gain or for greed,” Danny said. “Well, then it’s no longer magic.”

“It’s crime,” Merritt confirmed.

“And so tonight, for our final act, you’re gonna help us set a few things right,” Henley explained to the audience.

The muffled sound of the audience cheering was heard. The magicians left out a sigh. “Showtime,” Merritt told them, a smirk on his face.

~~

“Do you think they know we’re alive?” Sutton asked Jack as the wind picked up. Her long red hair wrapped itself around her as she and Jack walked toward Central Park. After loading the money into Thaddeus’s car, they decided it would be best to change back into their clothing they had on earlier in the day.

Jack swallowed. “I hope so. I didn’t steal that money for them to think we’re dead.”

Sutton giggled. “I mean, really. If you think about it, they don’t really know we’re alive. They basically just need to have faith in us.”

“That’s what magic is, right?” Jack smirked, standing in front of her and walking backward. “”It is about belief. Faith. Trust.””

Sutton giggled. “You ass!”

Jack laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Sutton wrapped an arm around his waist. “It’s not like they came up with that all on their own. I can be just as poetic as you, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sutton smiled, pulling up the hood to her grey hoodie.

They came to a gate locking them from getting inside the park. Sutton looked up at Jack. “Nothing’s ever locked,” they grinned.

~~

“Daniel?” Merritt spoke as the crank of the elevator murmured.

“Yeah?” Danny said.

“Uh, as our, let’s call it, year of living dangerously comes to a close, in a rare moment of vulnerability, I’d like to express a sentiment to you about our relationship.”

Henley and Danny shared a smirk. “Okay,” Danny replied, trying hard not to laugh.

“Well, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of a dick,” Merritt blurted.

Danny and Henley chuckled. “And?” Henley urged the mentalist.

Merritt’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, no, that’s it. I’m not good with feelings. That’s Sutton’s realm of expertise.”

Danny grinned at the sound of Sutton’s name. “That’s very nice. I’m touched,” the illusionist expressed.

“Yeah, just from the heart,” Merritt reminded him, his hands covering his chest.

“Well, I didn’t tell you where I was touched,” Danny smirked.

“Oh, you!” Merritt smiled.

Henley giggled. “Oh, God. What are we gonna do when this is over?”

“We’re on our own,” Danny said. “Our instructions run out after the show.”

“I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do,” Merritt pointed at Danny. “You’re gonna tell that girl you’re in love with her.”

Danny smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I am,” he blushed.

Henley sighed, a grin spreading across her face. “Even if there is no “Eye,” if we were completely played and we spend the next 20 years in jail, then, I just want to say that…”

“I know. Me, too,” Danny finished for her as the elevator creaked to a halt.

“Whoa!” Merritt chuckled. “Little too sentimental for me.”

The elevator doors opened. They were only a rooftop away from freedom.

“Hello, New York!” Henley’s voice echoed through the air as her projection spoke from a platform 50 yards away from the magicians. “Thank you for the magic. And thank you for being such an incredible and dedicated audience. Unfortunately, like all good things, it must come to an end.”

“Why didn’t you just use a timer?” Henley groaned to Danny from the rooftop. “We could be long gone by now.”

“That wasn’t in the instructions!” Danny retorted.

“And so we’d like to start our show tonight,” Danny’s projection started.

“By saying goodbye,” Merritt’s finished.

“All we wanted was to bring the world to a magic show.”

“And thereby bring a little magic back to the world.”

The magicians on the rooftop watched as their projections held hands. The moment pulled on the heartstrings of the three more than they had imagined it would at the time it was recorded.

“This has been one hell of a ride for all of us,” Merritt’s projection spoke from the new platform 30 feet above the magicians. “But it’s time for us to disappear.”

“Good night, New York!” Danny’s projection yelled.

“And thank you for believing in us,” Merritt’s wrapped up.

“One, two, three,” Danny counted down, his thumb on the red button of the remote control, “four, five, six, seven, eight.” He hit the button, the sound of a gun echoing through the sky and money falling. The three Horsemen turned, running their hearts out.

“I can’t believe that FBI guy was really going to shoot us!” Merritt yelled as they ran down the stairs of the subway station.

“How do you know it was him?” Henley panted.

“Just mentalist intuition,” Merritt joked.

They hopped on a subway to the inner city. When they emerged from the stairs, they stopped to view the billboards, shining brightly with their magical deed. Various news stations were reporting on the missing magicians that exploded into money.

“We did it,” Henley laughed, grabbing a hold of Merritt’s jacket.

Merritt felt his eyes water, not believing that they really had. All he could do was nod and laugh.

Danny smiled up at the billboards as they continued to flash. He stepped forward a bit to read the one more closely. When he did, he felt something underneath his foot. He moved his foot to the side and crouched down to see what it was.

“A perfectly round pebble?” Henley said as she saw what he held. “In the middle of New York City? Wow, talk about a sign.”

Danny smiled. “It is a sign.”

Henley and Merritt shared a confused look. Shrugging, they started for Central Park, Danny following them with the pebble in his hand.