"You built the Card Sharks second location, didn't you?" Agent Tropper asked, and Molly shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I did, yes," she answered meekly.

"What can you tell us about the job?" Agent Siskel asked, "because Allie has told us there's a vault, one that needs to be easily accessible. So can you give us the dimensions of this vault, can you give us any information that-"

"I have blueprints," Molly said, reaching down to the bag beside her and pulling out rolls of paper, placing them on the table, "my boyfriend suggested I bring them. He said a visual aide would be worthwhile. With these you can see exactly what Tony wants me to do, and how it's already being built. The problem is now that I have to keep telling him I have to minor alterations in order to give us enough time to find a way inside of it without him knowing."

"Exactly, because we need access to it," Agent Siskel said, "these should help tremendously, honestly. Your boyfriend made a good suggestion. Why didn't he come here with you today? Is he not good at moral support?"

"He's great at everything," Molly said, "but he had a prior engagement he couldn't reschedule."

                                                                             ***

"I feel like maybe I shouldn't have let her go alone," Benny said, sitting on the couch, drinking from a water bottle as Allie sat on the arm of the couch while Rufus admired the glass box they'd acquired; Benny took a swig and added, "after all, she doesn't do great under pressure, so I really feel like maybe I should've gone with her and-"

"Benny, my guy, you need to calm down," Allie said, "Zoe's doing a solo show for us today, covering for the fact we aren't around, so we can be here while Molly hands over what she knows about the vault to the agents. Right now we need to work with them, because, frankly, they're gonna grant you guys immunity and you need that, alright? So let Molly handle it. She's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"This thing is a mystery," Rufus finally said, "and you say this is the very same type that Jackson Strange uses?"

"The one and the same," Allie replied, standing up and approaching it.

"What's frustrating to me is I feel as though I've seen this before," Rufus said, "it seems so very familiar, and yet I can't place it. I don't know if its because of its modernity, perhaps it's been changed from its original design or what, but lord does it seem recognizable."

Allie stood and nodded, scratching her nose. Benny finished his water bottle, scrunched the plastic in his hand and tossed it to the floor before sighing and saying.

"Ya know, the only way to actually figure it out might just be to see it," he said, "I mean we've seen a few small crowds around him with it, but to actually witness it, maybe up close? He gives personal shows doesn't he? For, like, very small and elite crowds?"

"I have pull with those crowds," Rufus said, "Despite my blackballing, my name does still carry some merit for the respectable magicians in the area. I could easily get you tickets. I think Benny might be right, I think it really might just require seeing it up close and personal. I just...god, it's like it's on the tip of my tongue, you know? I just can't place it, but I KNOW this device."

"There's one coming up," Benny said, "I get e-mails telling me of all the smaller shows around town. This is seen as more of a 'black magic' show, called The Divine Arts. You think maybe we could get into that?"

"I don't doubt it," Rufus said, scratching his head before looking at Allie and adding, "but I'll tell ya one thing, once we crack this, those men are gonna rue the day they ever crossed the likes of us."

Allie smirked. She really did appreciate his lust for revenge.

                                                                            ***

"But it's entirely concrete," Agent Tropper said, "how would you build access into something that's meant to be so thick? Wouldn't he notice? Wouldn't he, ya know, recognize that something is wrong with this scene?"

"He wouldn't because it will look exactly the same, and he's not going to be one to check for stuff like that, he just wants it done. There's a lawyer there right now, but I don't think she's working for him. He's taking her around, getting insurance policies and statements on things, but personally...I think she's the governors lawyer, and it's his way of keeping an eye on Tony, so he isn't gonna show her that either, something he's probably trying to hide from the governor. And even if she isn't his lawyer, he's not gonna show that to someone who might turn him in for it."

Agent Tropper stopped pacing and looked down at Agent Siskel who just smirked.

"She's a smart girl," Agent Siskel said.

"Please don't talk about me as if I'm a golden retriever," Molly said.

"You remember Claire, right? Claire Driscoll, serial killer?" Agent Siskel continued, "Hid her victims bodies in the walls of the compound she lived at, the abandoned ones anyway. Well, would it help to see how she did that, to maybe give you ideas on how to achieve this? Because, I gotta tell ya, when we went to get her, that place looked normal. If we hadn't been tipped off, we never would've guessed."

"...the bodies....aren't still, like...there, right?" Molly asked, and the agents laughed.

"No, no they've long since been removed and properly laid to rest. But seeing someone else work with walls might give you some ideas," Agent Siskel said, "what do you say, wanna take a little ride?"

"Beats being in this room," Molly said, holding her hand out at Agent Tropper and adding, "I'm gonna need my blueprint back, please."

Together, the three of them exited the building, climbed into a car and headed off towards Claires former compound on the outskirts of the Vegas city line. The drive over, Molly couldn't believe she was here. She didn't want to be here, of course, but...after she spoke with Allie, with Benny, about everything...it just made sense for her to be the one to speak with the agents seeing how closely tied to the project, and thus the crime itself, she was. And then she thought about Claire and shook her head. That day, when Allie came back to Benny's, her hands and shirt covered in specks and spots of blood, Molly knew Claire was the cause. Molly had only seen a few news spots about the compound when Claire had been arrested, she didn't really pay much attention, so to roll up on the place itself was somewhat...unsettling.

What once looked like it belonged to a rather bustling community was now completely abandoned. Buildings where life had once occurred now just empty shells of their former selves, likely in stark relation to the people Claire brought into the cult. Molly, Agent Siskel and Agent Tropper climbed out of the vehicle after it was parked and, bookbag full of blueprints slung around her chest, Molly followed the agents into a nearby building that had been locked up, the doors covered with crime scene tape - albeit weathered now - to likely keep anyone from interfering with the then ongoing investigation. They headed up the stairs and finally reached an apartment, where Agent Siskel dug a key from her pocket and opened the door, allowing Molly to enter first.

"They always say you can tell when someone has died in a space," Agent Siskel said, "how it changes the feeling of the room. This place definitely gives me that vibe."

Molly nodded weakly, then approached a nearby wall and, with her hands, pried it open as though it was nothing. She marveled at the design.

"It's hollow," she said softly, "obviously, because they had to hide people in it, but it's hollow. Made to look proper, but is completely hollow."

Molly grinned to herself. Claire might've been a murderer, but she sure wasn't an idiot.

                                                                              ***

"You know why I'm here," Raindrop said, sitting in front of Tony's desk, polishing her glasses before putting them back on her face, adding, "you know he wants a rundown of your assets. He thinks you had his daughter killed. I don't believe that, personally, and I would go to bat for you if it ever came to that, but as far as the monetary discrepancies go..."

"Look," Tony said, standing upright behind his desk, pouring himself and Raindrop each a glass of Bourbon, "it's a new casino, takes a while to get the place completely up and running, whether that's in code or in funds. That's why I'm kinda glad he called you out here, because now you can tell him, firsthand, from a legal perspective, that it's just taking a while. Casinos are rarely profitable within the first year of opening, regardless of it being a second location."

"I don't think that's true at all but okay," Raindrop said as he handed her the drink; she thanked him and took a sip.

"But," Tony continued, seating himself now, "you're right, I had nothing to do with Nicole's death. Why would I? Her stepbrother was found UNDER my building, for god sakes. Not only do I have no interest in taking out a drug dealer - someone who, realistically, could only help my clientele - but then go to the trouble of hiding him underneath my own building, and then, once he's been found, take out the other child? It just doesn't make sense."

"Do you know anybody who might've had some kind of business with Sunny?" Raindrop asked, finishing her drink and wiping her mouth on her sleeve, "because if you can give us a lead, a name, anything, that would be really helpful."

"The only person I know who ever had any kind of addict problem was my mainstay magician, but she was an alcoholic, not a drug addict, at least not to my knowledge. If she was, she hid it damn well. I know she was on pain medication after her tiger attack, but that came from the hospital, and I know cause I paid the insurance directly."

Raindrop jotted all this down, but showing no real interest. It didn't seem like anything of note to her, really.

"Tony," Raindrop said, "Raymond is mad. I think you two need to schedule a meeting instead of going through third party people, like myself. He thinks you're vying against him. He thinks you want to pull out financially. He thinks you had his daughter killed. You two need to talk, clear the air. Otherwise there'll be something worse than just miscommunication taking place here soon enough."

Tony nodded, finishing his drink in one gulp and slamming the glass down on his desk. He had two businesses, the respect of his fellow casino owners, and the protection of the governor himself. How was he suddenly losing all of this?

"And Tony?" Raindrop said as she stood up and prepared to leave, "...just know, and I'm telling you this because I don't think you're a bad person like he makes you out to be...if he catches wind of anything else, you might want to leave town."

And with that, she exited, leaving Tony to turn in his chair and look out the window behind him. The vault. He needed it kept entirely secret, and he needed it finished asap. The thing was...Tony wasn't innocent of committing a crime. He just wasn't committing the crimes they believed he was.

                                                                           ***

Allie, Benny and Rufus were seated on the couch, all staring at the box, all varying levels of annoyed, and all of them sharing a singular box of cheese crackers.

"I hate this box," Benny finally said, chewing crackers, "it's taunting me. It's living in my apartment and it's taunting me."

"It's probably not too crazy about you either, for what it's worth," Allie replied.

"I got you tickets," Rufus said, looking at his phone, "Two of you will be in attendance next week for The Divine Arts, featuring Jackson Strange. Now you just hav to decide on which two it is. They're open ended, not assigned, so, could be any of you."

The door to the apartment opened and Molly walked in. She dropped her things in front of them and stared at them on the couch.

"Claire," she said, making Allie's hair on the back of her neck stand up; she continued, "Claire kept walls hollowed out so she could put the bodies of her victims inside them on her compound. That's what she was arrested for, remember? The agents took me to see it, firsthand. It was...creepy, I'm not gonna lie, but it was worthwhile cause now I get it. Whatever it ends up being, it has to be hollow, but look the same as everything else, and function like this," she finished, putting a hand on the box, "...as soon as we figure out how it functions, that is."

Molly then sat between Allie and Benny, and rested her head on Benny's shoulder as he reached up and stroked her hair. She shut her eyes and smiled.

"She done good," Benny said, making her laugh, "she done real good. Now we just gotta crack this box. So, Molly, I hope you have an outfit for nice occasions, cause we're goin' to see a magic show tomorrow night."

Allie stood up and walked to the kitchenette, where she pulled open the fridge and got herself a soda. She popped the tab on it and started drinking, as Rufus came over, pulling on his sweater.

"You leavin'?" Allie asked, and Rufus smiled, nodding.

"I am indeed, I do have other things to do today besides figure out how to bankrupt a casino," Rufus said, "...Allie, before I go, I wanted to talk to you about something. Come with me out into the hall."

Allie glanced past him at Benny and Molly snuggling on the couch, and agreed, taking her soda with her. Once out in the hall, they started walking down the hall, towards the stairs, almost as if she were walking him to his car.

"Listen," Rufus said, "what's going on between you and your boss and Raymond is vastly different, in many ways, than what I went through, but I still feel as though it's my duty to tell you to be careful. Vegas is a cleaned up town these days, sure, lot more family friendly and law abiding than it used to be. But that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. That doesn't mean there aren't seedy mother fuckers out there just itching to do dirty work. Raymond Sykes is one of those kinds of people. Right now you guys have gotten repeatedly extraordinarily lucky, but that luck WILL run out, and when it does, and when Raymond finally sets his sights on you....well, I just hope you're smart enough to know how to handle it."

"I'd like to think I am. I've gotten us this far, essentially by myself," Allie said, as they stopped at the top of the staircase.

"Allie, I'm serious," Rufus said, "you don't know Raymond Sykes like I did. He's ruthless. I just need you to be aware of what it is you're up against. Please, go speak to this man. He's a friend of mine, another magician. He can tell you what Raymond Sykes is really like."

Rufus handed Allie a business card from his shirt pocket and she took it, nodding solemnly. After he headed down the stairs, she looked down at the card and read the name Salem Shaw. She then finished her soda, crunched the can in her hand, and tossed it in a nearby recepticle in the hall before heading back to the apartment. Despite everything, the way Rufus had said that last thing to her stuck in her brain and made her feel anxious for the remainder of the night. And she was right to, as she'd soon learn.

Because Raymond Sykes really was a villain, and nobody knew that better than Salem Shaw.