"Hello boys and girls, and welcome to Mr. Magic's Guide To Trickery!" the man on the tape said. He was tall, thin, with a good head of hair and dresses to the nines. A suit, a cape, a hat, the whole nine yards. And Allie sat there completely entranced, freshly 11 years old, her eyes glued to the television screen with a slackjaw sense of wonder on her face. She'd seen magic done before, but something about the way Mr. Magic did it...it was spellbinding. Mr. Magic went through his entire repertoire of tricks, teaching her how to do them one by one, and by the time the tape was finished, all Allie knew were two things. The first was how to do all these tricks, and the second...

...was she needed to watch that again immediately.

Allie spent weeks watching that tape on repeat, doing her best to mimic Mr. Magic's abilities. Soon enough, she was performing in the school talent show with her cousin, Megan, doing magic, and shortly after that she wrote a letter to Mr. Magic who, much to her surprise, wrote her back. His words, like his demeanor, were kindly and supportive, and he also sent along a signed photo for her. Allie framed and hung these things on every wall of every place she ever lived, always pulling inspiration from then when she felt her lowest. She had no way of knowing it, either, but the very same effect he had on her, she would wind up having on a young girl named Zoe Fitch. But...not quite in the same way.

In fact, Zoe had been there the night of the accident, and even that gruesome display hadn't lessened her want for being a magician and working with Allie when she got older. Even her parents were sympathetic to what had happened, as anyone normally would be. But as Zoe got older, and as Allie spun out further, all Zoe ever heard from her folks was "I don't want you working with that woman, she's a bad influence." Zoe was determined to prove them wrong, and in all honesty, she kind of had. Considering the success they would find together, she did prove her parents wrong. Unfortunately, it also came at the near cost of her freedom and sense of self.

                                                                             ***

"It can be hard to recognize when those closest to us abuse us or use us," the woman leading the group said, "especially if we love them deeply. We want to give those we love the benefit of the doubt, want to believe they can change, which is why some people will stay attached to toxic partners, friends, family, far longer than they should."

"How do you know someone can't change?" a voice asked, and the woman leading the grou, Harriet, glanced in the direction of the voice, only to see a teenage Zoe sitting there; Zoe asked again, "how do you know someone can't change, how do you know when it's a lost cause?"

"Well, I wouldn't say people are lost causes, it's more that-"

"But you just said that some people can't change," Zoe said, interrupting, "you just said that if people can't change, and those types often won't, then they deserve to be left. So how do you know when to finally write someone off for good?"

Harriet didn't have an answer, and even if she did have one, it never would've sufficed for Zoe. She wasn't going to let go her hero worship anyway. In another few years, she would run away to live with her sister in Vegas and, hopefully, eventually work with Allie Meers. But to hear her parents tell it...Allie was now nothing but a former shell of herself. A once great but since tarnished shadow of who she'd once been, and frankly, by using large tigers, she was setting a bad example for other young magicians who might, by following in her steps, might lose more than she had. When Zoe got home from the group, she went immediately to her bedroom, popped a VHS into her TV's built in VCR and pressed rewind. Once it was finished, she pressed play, sat and watched Allie's latest live show she'd ordered on pay-per-view one night and recorded on this tape. How could anyone think Allie was dangerous? She was just a magician. You can't be a bad influence by simply doing entertainment, especially one so milquetoast as magic.

If only Zoe knew the future in that moment.

                                                                           ***

"I have to say, I'm flattered," Mr. Magic said, "to have kept something this mundane from someone like me all these years."

"Wasn't mundane to me," Allie remarked, leaning against the wall nearby, "after all, you were who I looked up to. To think that Raymond Sykes used you the way Tony's using me...it's sickening. I figure that's why you're more than eager to help me accomplish my goal."

Rufus made a noise and cleared his throat, turning around and looking towards Allie as he walked to the couch in the suite and sat down. Allie walked over and sat down on the ottoman across from him.

"Raymond saw the value in what I do as a means to an end," Rufus said, "perhaps Tony actually saw potential in you as a performer."

"If that were true, he'd have told me what he was involved in."

"Maybe he didn't in order to keep you safe," Rufus said, shrugging, "I'm just playing devils advocate, Meers. All I'm saying is that just because Raymond did that to me doesn't automatically mean it's happening again to you. I think, before you go ahead any further with these plans, you first need to ensure that that's where it's headed. The worst thing you could do is assume his intentions instead of knowing outright. Wouldn't wanna ruin the business for no good reason."

Allie sighed and nodded. She knew Rufus was right. She knew she should ultimately make sure that Tony was, in fact, attempting to use her to hide money, but how would she even go about that? And then she remembered the lawyer Zoe had mentioned. Allie looked back towards the letter framed on the wall.

"...all the tapes..." she asked, "were they part of the ploy too?"

"That was how we made the money," Rufus said, "it was a good financial move for us both at the time. Didn't realize how it would only screw me over and benefit him in the long run. But despite that, my love for the act of magic was never fraudulent. I hope that at least was clear."

"It was," Allie said, before looking back at Rufus and asking, "so...how do you get someone to incriminate themselves?"

"It's the same as any magic trick, Allie," Rufus said, leaning forward, hands cupped between his knees, grinning, "it's all about misdirection."

                                                                            ***

Zoe studied that tape of Allie as much as Allie studied the tape of Mr. Magic. She was enamored, and determined to get things right no matter what, simply so, when the moment came, she would be considered good enough to be worthy of working with her idol. Even still, she tried her best to temper her expectations. When her parents would ask her about her plans after high school, she of course would tell them she was going to go to college, but, realistically, she had already made plans with her sister, Thea, to live in her apartments spare bedroom in Vegas. And there were other reasons to get away from home, but it was mostly the magic.

After the incident at her cousins birthday party, especially, setting them on fire accidentally during a magic trick, Zoe and her parents drifted even further apart. They simply refused to acknowledge the interest, nay the obsession, she had for magic. They sure as hell wouldn't want her to go work with Allie, who, as they claimed, had been a bad influence. Bad enough to, perhaps, set her cousin on fire. Now their fears felt validated.

The day Zoe arrived in Vegas, she put Allie's show tape in the VCR in her bedroom, curled up on the bed, and sobbed until she fell asleep. The thing was, Allie's influence on Zoe was different than Mr. Magic's had been on Allie. After all, he'd inspired Allie to take on magic as a career. Allie had influenced Zoe to work with Allie. For Zoe, Allie was the safety net, the obsession, not the magic. Sure, she liked magic well and good, but it was much more about her attachment to Allie, something that only felt more confusing the longer she grew to know her in a personal capacity.

A few weeks after hiding Sunny's body, Allie and Zoe were having a snack in between shows at the casino, and all Zoe could think of was how, somehow, in some warped way...

...her parents had been right.

And how much that hurt to admit.

                                                                            ***

"You know," Allie said, "when I was attacked by the tiger - something that was inspired by you, by the way, so thanks for that - and wound up in the hospital, my parents never even came to see me? My boyfriend, who was my nurse at the time, I had him bring in your tape so I could watch it in the hospital VCR."

"Boy, that's pretty pathetic," Rufus said, smirking, making Allie laugh.

"To be fair, I was on a lot of heavy pain medication, so I guess the need for comfort items was at an all time high. Also, my hand had been nearly ripped off, so there was that too. Anyway, it helped. I didn't have any family, but...in a way...someone I'd looked up to my whole life was there in spirit, at least."

Rufus felt bad. He didn't know that Allie had put so much stock in his presence in her life, even if it was just through a videotape. Rufus stood up and started to pace, Allie staying seated on the ottoman, watching him. After a few minutes, he finally stopped and looked out one of the large windows of the suite and shook his head.

"You say you have a partner?" he asked, "an assistant?"

"She's not my assistant, not anymore, she's my full on partner now," Allie said, "why?"

"...I had someone like that too, at one point," Rufus said, "this lovely young lady, fresh out of college. She'd majored in theatre, so she figured she'd be perfect for it. In a way, she became a daughter to me. She had had a bad home life, and I, never having had any kids, liked having someone who looked up to me for advice. It was nice. When Raymond and I started in on this little business venture, she could see the morality issues attached to it. I wish I'd listened to her, but...I was so desperate to break through. To make it big. To have more influence. As usual, money wins over people."

Allie looked at him sadly, sensing the loss in his voice. Rufus continued, putting a hand on the window.

"This city takes so much from you," he said quietly, "I wanted to leave. Wanted to stop things, take Anika with me, and leave the city. Go somewhere better. Somewhere less..."

"...poisonous?" Allie asked, and Rufus snapped his fingers, pointing at her.

"Bingo," he said, "but I just couldn't walk away from it. When I finally tried, Raymond blackballed me from every venue, telling everyone I was having relations with my assistant, and considering the age gap, this was problematic, even then, even in Vegas. It was sleazy, but they still held their performers to some kind of standard. And Anika...she was so torn apart by the allegations, despite knowing full well they weren't true, that she simply left on her own. So, I'm sorry I put you in the hospital, Allie, even if albeit unintentionally. Seems all I do is damage young women."

Allie stood up and walked up the window, standing by his side, looking out of it, folding her arms.

"I feel like I do the same," she said, "between my partner, my friend Molly, and so many others, it seems like I just do irreperable damage to the younger women around me when really I just want the best for them. How did you rectify that within yourself?"

"I never did," Rufus said meekly, "don't let yourself become me, in that way, Meers. Don't be a bad influence."

Allie nodded. She knew what she had to do that evening.

                                                                                ***

Zoe was sitting at the restaurant, at a table with candlelight, playing with the utensils in front of her. She'd had the menu for about 15 minutes, but she'd opted to wait to order anything. She felt someone walk by her and looked up, expecting to see the waitress coming back yet again, but instead, this time, it was Allie. Allie sat down at the table and looked across at Zoe. Zoe smiled at Allie, the finally picked up the menu and perused it.

"About time, I was starting to starve," Zoe said.

"I hope it wasn't an imposition to get together like this," Allie said, "I tried to invite Molly, but she didn't answer."

"It wasn't," Zoe said, chewing on her lip, clearly hungry, before looking up from the menu and asking, one eyebrow raised, "what is this about though? Cause we don't normally do this kind of stuff and-"

"I have to apologize to you," Allie said, "...I know I...I know I've done it before, probably a dozen times over at this point, but none of, in hindsight, has really felt sincere. That's what I'm aiming to correct here. Because I've tried to come up with so many different explanations, so many different excuses to alleviate myself of any if not all guilt associated with what's happened, but...the fact of the matter is, Zoe, everything is my fault and I can't deny it any longer. All you wanted was to be my assistant, and I took a lifelong dream of yours and turned it into a nightmare. All Molly wanted was to work on a new casino, and I dragged her into my malarky. Got her caught up in an entire tax evasion scheme. She just wanted to create buildings."

Zoe set the menu down fully and looked at Allie.

"In essence," Allie continued, "yeah, it's all cause of me. And after a few discussions with someone I admire greatly, I realized that I was no better than Sunny or Claire, taking advantage of people who were stupid enough to be tricked by my charm. My manipulation tactics have never been stronger. But that doesn't make it okay, and, unlike them, I acknowledge that what I'm doing is inherently wrong. That's why I'm trying to make it right. When the agents and I met, right before....well....before she died, I made a deal with them. I'd offer my help and, in exchange, all of you wouldn't be touched. You've all been granted immunity. I'm taking full brunt of the fault, since the fault is mine to begin with."

Zoe's eyes widened. She had suspected this might be the case, but to hear it...jesus.

"So I'm treating you to dinner, and an apology, I guess," Allie said, "and I just hope at least one of them was worth coming out for."

Zoe smiled and nodded. Allie was right. Her apologies thusfar had been rather lackluster and insincere, but this one...this one was genuine. Zoe picked up her water glass and took a long drink, then pushed her bangs from her face and exhaled.

"Well, for what it's worth," Zoe said, "nobody else has apologized to me for the things they've done or said, so in that sense, you're already ahead of the curve. You know, my parents used to say you were a bad influence."

"Funny, cause my parents used to tell me that about myself too," Allie replied, the both of them laughing.