By and by we'll defy a little bit of gravity

[the_death_card]

While Jack knows it's good for him, doing a lot to stretch how far his magic will go before he's exhausted, playing with the door trick is also fun. He's been picking locks for so long now that it's almost boring, especially when his actual magic has progressed to the point that, increasingly frequently, doors will unlock themselves before he even knows they were locked to begin with.

Using the Eye's network is something different. It's a constantly moving lock that, if he hits a slightly different pin in a slightly different way, will open a door to somewhere completely different. He's already found a dozen different places across the United States and a half-dozen more outside of it that have all led to some fascinating afternoons. Every time he finds somewhere new, he thinks to ask Jacob or Max or Andrew for a list of connected places, but so far, he's forgotten to actually do it. Finding them randomly is more fun anyway.

Things have mostly calmed down around the suite, now. He knows most of them have returned to their normal sleeping habits, helped along by their brand new connection. That's still new and something he's getting used to, but like someone said, it feels like a natural next step after the year they spent living on top of each other and how close they've all become since then. It is still something they're all figuring out, though, which means that they're still taking it easy on rehearsals. Normally, that's not something he would mind, but today, it's lead to some restlessness that he knows no jog or trip downstairs to the gym will do anything to help.

When he catches himself rereading the same paragraph in his book for the third time in a row, he groans and levers himself into a sit, setting his book to the side and leaning down to grab his boots where he kicked them off earlier. There's an inquisitive ping at the back of his mind that he brushes off as he stands and grabs his jacket, heading out of his room and toward the stairs.

"I'm going out for a while," he calls to the suite at large on his way downstairs. "I've got my phone."

Merritt doesn't look up from behind his book but he does wave a hand at Jack in acknowledgement, and there's an accepting nudge from someone through the connection. Jack flips a wave back at Merritt as he slips out of the suite, closing the door behind him and heading for the elevator. He pauses once he gets there to run his thumb over his middle and index fingers, calling up a spark and touching it to the keyhole set between the standard call buttons. He can immediately feel the pins that make up the Eye's network, and he drifts over a few of them before settling on one. He nudges it into place with his magic and then pulls his hand away and hits the down button to call the elevator. It comes almost immediately, and Jack steps inside, hitting a button at random and leaning back against the wall to watch the numbers drop - and then stands straight again when it slows to a stop with the usual quiet ding.

For everywhere he's been so far, what he finds is entirely unexpected. If he didn't know better, if he hadn't already seen the Peninsula's lobby dozens of times, he would think something had gone wrong with the magic and he had just been taken downstairs. Ahead of him is another hotel lobby, and he stops just outside the elevator, trying to figure out where he is. Just ahead of him is a small desk bearing a stylized sun - and when he looks at it for more than a moment, the paint seems to shimmer, revealing an equally stylized eye set into the paint. The desk is attended by a dark-haired woman in a blue shirt with a name badge pinned to it, and she looks up at him after a moment, smiling immediately. "Good afternoon, Mister Wilder. Checking in?"

"Uh..." Jack begins intelligently, and her smile turns a little less polished and a little more truly amused as she stands up, smoothing her shirt out automatically.

"Or did you just happen by?"

"That one," Jack returns, a little relieved, and she laughs.

"You aren't the first," she assures him, "but welcome to the Sun Veil Resort. We're located on the Yucatan Peninsula with access to the amenities of Cancun with our own specific brand of privacy for our members and their guests." It's clearly a standard speech, but Jack gets well enough what she's saying - or, rather, very carefully not saying.

"You mean this is for the Eye."

"Of course," she returns before her smile fades into something more solicitous. "Would you like a tour? We do have open rooms at the moment, and I'm sure you and the other Horsemen would enjoy a visit."

Even if this isn't where Jack intended to end up, Jack doesn't even need to think about it before he nods. "Yeah, that'd be great." Saying they would all use a vacation and change of scenery after everything that's been going on is puttting it really mildly.

"Give me just a moment, then," she returns with another smile. She turns her attention back to her desk, hits a few keys on her ocmputer, sets a small bell on the desk, and then rounds it, gesturing for him to accompany her. "Right this way."

Comments

[the_highpriestess]

"Nice," Henley declares, grinning as she leans back where she'd leaned in to inspect his work. She gestures to her own chest before adding, "I'm a big fan of the tie."

[the_death_card]

"Right?" Jack asks, still grinning. "I thought I'd change that up a little, let him try out a new look."

It felt obvious to give Fuller hair, and that just seemed to go along with it.

[the_highpriestess]

"It's good," she repeats. A pause follows, in which she holds up a single finger (one moment, please), and then she's reaching for her phone. Once she has it in hand, and the camera app open, she asks, "Lemme take a picture?"

[the_death_card]

Jack laughs softly and then turns his frame toward her, reaching for the one she defaced so she can get them both in one shot. If it's clear she's going to include him in the picture, he'll make a suitably obnoxious face to go along with their hijinks.

[the_highpriestess]

She does, in fact, take a step back to capture him and the frames, both. It takes her a moment, however, to steady her hands through her laughter to actually get a clear picture, but she does finally manage. That done, she lowers her phone again, though her smile remains.

"Okay, got it."

[the_death_card]

Jack's still grinning as he returns the frames to their places. "Cool." He pauses a beat, though he sobers only slightly. "Okay. Anything else we need to do here before we head back home?"

[the_highpriestess]

"I don't think so," Henley decides after a minute, some of her own amusement falling away to something more thoughtful, too. After another beat, she adds, "It's not like we can't come back, if we think of something later."

[the_death_card]

"And it's not like we're going to, like... the middle of nowhere, too."

The hotel might be remote, yeah, but it's not like they're going to be cut off from civilization. If they did forget anything Dylan needs, they can probably just order it from room service.

"So. Home?" he confirms.

[the_highpriestess]

"Yep," she confirms. A pause follows, and then, "I wonder if Merritt managed to get ahold of Agent Dray ... "

You know, without giving her a mini-heart attack, when she saw who was calling. She also wonders if Alma can take a vacation on such short notice, not sure what you have to do for leave like that in a professional setting and overseas, both. In her experience -- well, you don't really call out or ask for time off, as a stage magician. You just sort of plan things around shows and rehearsals, and if you get sick? The show must go on. She's not particularly bitter or upset about that, though. Such is the life she chose, and she's fine with it. She just has no basis for comparison.

[the_death_card]

"Dunno?" Jack returns as he picks up the duffle bag, heading for the door to the apartment, intending on jumping back to the suite from there. "If he hasn't by the time we get back, we can try again."

He pauses a beat before he says what Henley's wondering. "I hope she can get off this quick. I mean, I guess if she can't one of us can get her when she gets off during the day or whatever so she can at least come some of the time."

Hopefully she'll be able to talk her bosses into it, though.

[the_highpriestess]

"That wouldn't be as fun, though," Henley answers, making a face as she follows along behind him. "I mean, I guess it'd be better than nothing, but ... " But she'll still miss eight to ten hours of whatever they're getting up to on any given day. She'll still miss that time with Dylan.

[the_death_card]

"Yeah," Jack agrees to all of that. It would be better than nothing, but yeah, it would also defeat the purpose a little bit. He wants her to be able to spend time with Dylan for herself, but also for Dylan, considering all the shit they've been dealing with.

"Well, we'll find out one way or another in a minute," he returns as he calls up his magic and reaches for the handle to the door. When he opens it, the elevator lobby outside the suite is visible behind it, and he steps out of the way to hold the door for Henley.

[the_highpriestess]

"Guess so."

She leaves that there, then, lapsing into comfortable silence as she follows Jack back into the hotel. She pauses long enough to hold the door for Jack, when they reach it (was it locked? probably, but that means so little to them, anymore), and once they're both inside, calls over his shoulder, "We're back!"

Never mind the fact that everyone probably felt them coming.

[the_death_card]

Yeah, not so much, especially when Jack's involved. He sets the bag down as he closes the door behind him - and looks up as Merritt appears on the landing.

"Somebody's gonna need to go play airplane for Agent Dray," he says as he comes down the stairs. "She's gonna try and grab a nap when she gets off work so the jet lag doesn't actually kill her, but her boss was on board, so we're good, there."

"Awesome." This might work out better than he was expecting.

[the_highpriestess]

"Oh, thank God," Henley breathes, all but lighting up, pleased. She drops her things, too, as if they were a weight she was carrying in her anticipation of the news, and drifts towards the stairs to meet Merritt. "I was worried she wouldn't be able to take the time off, on such short notice."

A beat.

"When do we need to go get her?" She can do it, so Jack hasn't completely worn himself out by the time they actually get to Cancun.

[the_hermit]

"I think her boss looked at her a little funny, because apparently every law enforcement type we know is allergic to vacation time - but the French are also apparently more like the English in taking, like... two week 'holidays', so I don't think it took much convincing to give her a few days."

Merritt pauses. "I told her we'd give her a call or text or whatever when we were getting ready to head out ourselves."

So whenever Dylan gets home and they get everything else settled, he figures.

[the_highpriestess]

"You have a chance to start packing, yet?" she asks, that in mind. Not that she's in any real hurry, for all that they do have to wait for Dylan, but well. She's absolutely in a hurry, for how excited she is.

[the_hermit]

"Not much," he admits, "but it won't take me as long as some people."

He pauses a beat and then clarifies, "Daniel, I mean."

[the_lovers]

As if on cue, Daniel sticks his head out of his room and calls, "Yeah, hi, you realize I can hear you, right?" Whether he means literally or through their connection, however, is anyone's guess. It doesn't really matter, either way.

[the_hermit]

Considering their relationship, it might as well be, really.

Merritt turns his head to look at him. "Oh good, that's what I was going for," he shoots back before he flashes Daniel a smile.

[the_lovers]

Daniel is silent long enough to flash Merritt a (teasingly) cold smile. When he drops it again, he holds up one finger, silently asking for a second, then ducks back into his room. When he reappears again, it's with a ball of clean socks, possibly meant for his suitcase -- which he proceeds to pitch at Merritt's head.

[the_hermit]

Merritt raises an eyebrow at Daniel at that request, getting through the connection that he's planning something but not exactly what - and then sputters as the socks come flying at his head. "Why I oughta..." he grumbles as he turns to find them again, intending to throw them back at Daniel, but there's still definite amusement there.

Jack just snorts, shaking his head a little, equally amused.

[the_lovers]

Daniel immediately ducks back into his room, when Merritt turns to look for the socks. He peeks back out, a moment after that, just the top of his head, to make sure Merritt isn't coming up the stairs. Either way, though, he seems more amused, mentally, himself, rather than actually concerned.

After a beat, though, he does note, "Yeah, I'm gonna need those back."

[the_hermit]

Yeah, no, Merritt's that dedicated to getting Daniel back to go up the stairs; he was mostly joking with that, in the sense of his "oh, you" after Daniel said he was touched.

"These your lucky ones?" he asks - but he does toss them back up to him.

[the_lovers]

"The ones I'm going to put on the door, when I'm busy with your mom," Daniel corrects, effortlessly. He turns, that said and socks back in hand, and tosses the clothing back into his room, before returning his attentions to Merritt. He's expecting a good comeback, but for now, he's smirking like the cat that caught the canary.