Love is Like a Playing Card (J. Daniel Atlas) Chapter VII
Danny jumped a bit, startled by the door’s sudden closure.
“Welcome, Daniel Atlas,” a voice which sounded animatronic boomed around him.
“Who am I speaking to?” Danny asked the voice as he walked to the center of the dark room. “I asked to see the face behind all of this.” Out of habit, he sat his phone down on the ledge of what appeared to be a bowl. Looking inside, he saw his reflection a number of times in broken pieces of glass. It was almost poetic, if he was being sentimental.
“You’ve asked many questions and registered many complaints,” the voice responded. “You can be rest assured that we’ve heard you.”
“Have you?” Danny replied, his anger starting to take over. “Because I don’t-”
“Trust?” the voice questioned. “Your leader? Your fellow Horsemen? Perhaps even us?”
Danny shook his head, knowing fully well what they were trying to do to him. “I don’t like that we’ve been living in hiding for a year. I don’t like that every message we get from Dylan is, ‘Wait! Be patient. The Eye has a plan.’”
“Wait!” the voice mocked him and Danny let out an annoyed chuckle. “Be patient. The Eye has a plan.”
“This is games,” Danny complained, “and it’s not working for me.” He turned for the door.
“You feel it is you who should be leading the Horsemen, not Dylan.” Danny froze, his body slowly turning around. “If that is what you desire, stay the course. Trust that your unique talents and remarkable mind will not go unrecognized.” Danny couldn’t help but smirk to himself.
“We have a new mission for the Horsemen. Dylan has a plan and will gather you together soon.” The lights dimmed around Danny, the only visible light coming from his phone. “Now leave.”
~~
Sutton left the tunnel, the hood of her sweatshirt wrapped tightly around her face, hiding Sutton’s delicate features from the rest of the world. Aimlessly, she began walking around New York City. The sun was just coming up when she took a seat on a bench.There she sat, alone with the one thing that scared Sutton the most- her own thoughts. What was she going to do? How could she even pretend to look at Danny like she knew nothing? Hell, she didn’t even understand why Danny would ever go behind her back to seek out The Eye.
The vibration from her phone knocked Sutton out of her trance. She wiped her eyes, unaware that tears had fallen down her face. “Hello?” Sutton sniffed.
“Bonjour, mon amour!” Henley’s voice cooed through the phone. Sutton smiled, happy to hear her cousin’s voice for the first time in days.
“Henley!” Sutton laughed through her pain. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“It’s so good to hear yours too, ma beauté.” The way Henley could speak French words almost made Sutton fall in love. “Tell me- what’s wrong?”
Sutton scrunched her eyebrows and looked around her, unsure of how Henley knew something was off. “What are you talking about? Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then why did I get a frantic phone call from Jack?” Henley questioned. Sutton sighed, placing a hand on her face.
“Damn it,” Sutton whispered. “I totally forgot we were supposed to go for a run before dawn.”
“Mhm,” Henley responded, wanting more.
“It’s just been a crazy morning, Hen.” Sutton forced out a laugh.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” Henley insightfully guessed.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Sutton explained, “It’s just that I’m really confused.”
“It’s Danny, isn’t it?”
Sutton sighed. “Yes, but-”
“Say no more. I’m coming back.”
“What? No, Hen!” Sutton fought back. “That’s crazy. You can’t come home every time I have a problem.”
“Like hell I can’t!” Henley responded. “What did he do, Sutton? Did he cheat on you? I swear to all that is good in this world, if he did, I will cut off hi-”
“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Sutton begged her. Sighing, she said, “No, he didn’t cheat on me.”
Henley sighed. “Sutton, what happened?”
“Like I said, it’s just really confusing right now. I need to talk to Danny.”
“Okay, but if you need me-” Sutton pulled her phone away from her ear as it began to vibrate. Seeing it was Danny, she ignored it. “Got it?” Henley’s voice rang out.
“Yeah,” Sutton smiled. “You’re always there for me. Thanks, Hen.” Sutton sighed. “So, how’s Paris? Prettier than when we robbed the bank?”