Rose got up from her sofa and walked towards the front door. Ever since the fight in Unit 13, she had been given time off. Although there was suspicion around her after the battle, with many asking why she was there in the first place and if it was due to James, she had been able to get back a recording of the phone call which had lured her out and used it to clear her name.
Opening the door, Jeremiah stood there with a soft smile. The second watershed change in her life was how Jeremiah treated her. Before, it was a professional friendship. They could joke with each other at work, but beyond that, they were strangers. Now, the man made sure to take more time out of his day to try to get closer to her.
"What?" Rose looked at him with an empty gaze. Jeremiah wished to frown, but stopped himself, forcing his soft smile to stay. There was something inside of her that had broken. Her bright eyes that radiated confidence and teased someone when looking at them were gone.
Jeremiah lifted a bag up in his hand, the sound of bottles hitting one another, "Can we drink. I got something to ask?" Rose stared at him for a second before moving to the side and letting him in. Looking around, he saw the kitchen covered in dirty dishes with bin bags littering the floor. Rose made her way to the sofa, grabbed the blanket on it and wrapped herself up, picking up the beer bottle on the table.
Although the apartment disgusted him, Jeremiah knew it wasn't his place to judge or say anything. Pulling a bottle out, he flicked the lid off and took a sip. "How have you been?"
"What do you want, Jeremiah?" Rose didn't look at him, her attention glued to the television, watching the sitcom. Jeremiah sighed and took another sip of beer.
"The captain's task force. Do you want in?" Rose tensed up. Her left hand moved towards her neck and rubbed the pieces of thread that were woven through her skin. She had tried many times to cut them, but, like magic, they always repaired themselves each time they were damaged.
"I have already given so much, Jeremiah." Rose said with a soft voice, "Why?" There was fear in her voice as well. Jeremiah looked at Rose and sighed.
"Because I trust you. You gave so much, so I know I can." Jeremah leaned forward. "It is also a chance to avenge George." Rose twitched at his words. With a shaking hand, she brought the beer to her mouth and took a sip. Her breathing got a little quicker as her left hand reached out and touched the thread in her neck.
"Avenge," Rose scoffed, "Jeremiah, do you know what it is like to die? to wake up every morning screaming, wondering if you are the real you? I hope you never find out because it is horrible. I never want to see the people who now make me live like this." Her body shook as she thought about the enemies James forced onto her. "They terrify me, Jeremiah."
Jeremiah looked away from Rose, unable to look at what the person he knew had become. The brazen confidence that bordered on arrogance was destroyed, leaving behind a shell of a person who didn't even know if they were alive anymore. It angered him. Although they weren't friends, Rose was still someone he worked with and could respect. It mad ehim think of one person.
"You won't do it even if it means getting James." There was a fire in her eyes at the mention of James' name, and Jeremiah smirked. Even if Cain, the Gentlemen and their allies scared her, James didn't. The hatred she felt for him for causing everything wasn't something that could be washed away.
Rose took many deep breaths, bringing the bottle to her mouth to calm herself down. But with every gulp of her drink, she felt the strangeness in her neck where it had been split. With each movement of her arm, the sound of the threading rubbed against her clothes.
"He is a target?" Rose quietly said, doing her best to keep her anger in check. Although it wasn't the greatest emotion, Jeremiah smiled seeing a spark of life in her that she had lost since Unit 13.
"He is a wanted man, but the Captain gave me special orders. Find James and squeeze all the information I can out of him."
"No," Rose said without hesitation. Looking deep into Jeremiah's eyes, he saw a raging inferno built on hate and anger. "I don't care anymore. I want him dead, Jeremiah."
Jeremiah looked at her for a few seconds. Deep in her eyes, behind the rage, he saw the same obsession James had when he worked a case. "Sure, after I get what I need, you can do what you want. I don't care." Keeping the hypocrisy she faulted James for to himself, Jeremiah replied. An arrest would have been better, but looking at Rose, he knew she needed this, even if it was wrong. He didn't mind either, having no love for James anymore.
"If that's what it costs," Rose said with an empty voice. There was no happiness in having her way. Jeremiah looked at her and could already guess the future if Rose did the deed. It would be hollow. The damage was already done, and even if she wanted to disagree, Jeremiah could see she was broken in a way that could never be completely healed.
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Magnus looked around the road at the crowd watching him. Holding his staff in the air, he secretly cast an illusion on them all. Grabbing the end of his hat, he took it off and placed it on his chest before putting it back on. His eyes shone brightly as his smile grew wider, showing his white teeth.
"Thank you all, and goodbye." Magnus casually walked forward, grinning at the amazed looks on the people's faces as they stared at where he just stood. Although he did nothing, what they all saw was his body blow up into confetti, leaving his clothes behind in a pile. Getting into the car, Alannah looked at him with an annoyed look. Magnus just chuckled and stared back.
"I told you not to go out alone." Magnus huffed and looked away at where the crowd was.
"I don't care- Ouch." Alannah pinched his cheek at his disrespect. Slapping away her hand, he rubbed his red cheek. "Sorry."
"You're too important to be doing this, Magnus. You know this, right?" Magnus nodded. Seeing his mood drop, Alannah sighed and thought of the crowd he had been entertaining, "Why do they fall for your illusion. I know you're good, but they expect it to come. Shouldn't that help defend against it?"
Magnus' mood lit up once more at being asked. Tightly holding the staff, he smirked, "Of course, it helps defend against it, but it's different with them. They came to see a performance. Although they expect the trick, they also want to be tricked; it's disappointing. I find it easier to cast an illusion on a person who wants to be tricked than someone who is not expecting one, believe it or not."
Alannah made a halfhearted sound and nodded. "If that is the case, how well do you think you could trick someone who not only doesn't want to be tricked but can see when you use your powers?"
Magnus looked at Alannah in confusion and, seeing that she wasn't lying, couldn't help but smile in delight, "There is someone who can see when I cast an illusion." Alannah reached for the briefcase on the floor before her and pulled out the information the NPSD had provided on him. Magnus quickly snatched it and greedily read through.
With a warrant for his arrest, the information that had been kept hidden and protected about James was unleashed. Although it wasn't free to the public, Lucas's connections made it easy to get. But it made Alannah wonder how Cain could have failed. Sure, James could see when someone was using their ability, before it happened, but it had no other combat purpose. She then wondered why Lucas would make Magnus be the one to do the job now. James' power was the one thing that seemed to counter Magnus' ability, bar a few exceptions.
Looking at the boy, her eyes narrowed, seeing his strange smile. Under his breat hhe muttered the words 'a chance'.
"What do you mean by a chance?" Unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked. Magnus looked at her like she was an idiot.
"Don't you get it. If this man can see me use my power and I can cast a spell on him, then it means I can cast one on anything. This must be the final test before I can do the Greatest Trick."
"And that is?" Alannah asked. Magnus had always gone on about the Greatest Trick, but no one knew what it meant. The boy looked at her and, with a small grin, he put a finger on his lips.
"A magician never tells."