Rachel St. Sebastian was sitting on her bed. She had pulled the blankets up and around her, cocooning herself within them as she took slow but steady breaths, attempting to process what had occurred the night before. She had consented, that much was true, but if so...why did it feel so...wrong? Why did she feel taken advantage of? She thought she'd wanted it. She thought she'd liked the intimacy. She thought...she thought she'd loved Claire, but really...did she? Or was she simply a victim who had become too attached to her owner. She didn't know. After a minute, the door to the bedroom opened and Claire entered, carrying a bag of breakfast sandwiches and two cups of coffee in takeaway cups. Rachel looked up as Claire sat on the bed and opened the bag, reaching inside and pulling out a bear claw, handing it to Rachel, making her smile weakly. Claire really did know her, she couldn't deny.

"You," Claire said, sitting behind Rachel, arms around her shoulders, her lips on her neck, "sure put on a show last night, and I for one appreciate theatrics. I'm a patron of the arts, what can I say?"

Rachel chuckled as she continued nibbling on the bear claw, sipping at her coffee. Claire got up and started to get dressed, torn jeans and a crop top with a tight leather jacket. She did her earrings, then stood in front of the vanity to apply her makeup, all while Rachel watched, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Where are you going all dolled up again? You're not...are you seeing someone else?" Rachel asked, causing Claire to laugh as she applied her eyeliner.

"What, jealous?" Claire replied.

"I don't...no...I don't know. It was just a question. I was just wondering why you're getting dressed up all nice and pretty. Seems like something someone would only do if they're expecting to spend some time with someone," Rachel said, and Claire turned, finished with her thin layer of makeup, reaching out and putting a hand on Rachel's face. Rachel shivered at the warmth of her skin.

"I do have a luncheon to attend, Allie asked me to meet someone for her" Claire said, "but don't worry, it isn't like that. It's business. Not pleasure. You're all the pleasure I need, my pet."

She leaned in and kissed Rachel, then told her she'd be back in a few hours before leaving quickly. Rachel sat there and ate the entire bag of breakfast sandwiches and pastries, trying to make sense of her life. When it'd been just them...when it'd been the cult, it was one thing. She wanted so badly to protect Claire at all costs, she'd never loved another woman as deeply as she'd loved her. Rachel St. Sebastian had spent a good portion of her formative years denying her sexuality to herself simply for the sake of keeping the peace amongst her family and friends. But Claire...Claire had shaken all that loose within her, and she was so very dedicated to her. Dedicated enough to help her hide bodies in walls. But, she wondered...if she spent all her time protecting others...

...who was going to protect her?

                                                                         ***

Multiple knocks on the door only to find, after the 5th, that Jenny finally answered, discovering an annoyed looking Allie standing in her apartment hallway. Jenny sighed and stepped aside, allowing Allie entrance, after which Jenny shut the door behind them.

"What gives?" Allie asked, "You come to my place, you comfort me, you say that I need someone looking out for me, and then you don't answer my calls, you don't show up at the thing I invited you to, did I do something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, I just felt awkward," Jenny said, shrugging, walking by Allie and back towards the kitchen in her tank top and sleep shorts, where she was currently making steak and eggs for breakfast. Allie followed her and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Then what the fuck is it?" Allie asked, "Cause it's...it's bothering me."

"It isn't anything," Jenny said, "really, it isn't...it isn't anything, I have a job, I'm busy, I'm bad at communication."

"Didn't seem so bad communicating with Nick," Allie said, putting her legs up on Jenny's table and folding her arms.

"Hey, that isn't fair, I told you, everything we ever talked about was about you, alright?" Jenny replied, "let's at least try to keep this civil."

"Jenny, I am about to do something terrifying that might change my entire life, and I guess I just need to know I've got security in someone outside of those I'm involved with, someone who will give me a sense of-"

"Are we not involved?" Jenny asked, turning her stovetop off, finishing cooking and looking towards Allie, one hand on her hip.

"...I mean, we are, we're friends now, I guess? I don't know, you know I didn't mean it that way, come on," Allie said.

"We can be more involved, if that's what you'd like," Jenny said, taking Allie by surprise. Jenny set her utensils on the counter and approached, looking down at Allie. Allie looked up at her, and it was...so weirdly...comforting? Looking into her own face, like a mirror without any glass. Allie felt like now, finally, there was a good version of herself in the world who she could converse with. Jenny sat in Allie's lap and put her arms over her shoulders, causing Allie to tense up.

"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you, and I'll help best I can?" Jenny asked, and Allie nodded slowly.

She wasn't gay. She'd found women attractive before, sure, but she had no interest in sleeping with them? So what was this feeling exactly?

                                                                           ***

"I'm surprised you'd want to have anything to do with someone such as myself," Raindrop said, "I know I've been kind of...stuck up and snobby, but it isn't anything personal, I hope you know. I'm just hyperfocused on work when I'm at the casino. I know I don't come off exactly...friendly."

"Eh, nobody in a casino is friendly, to be fair," Zoe sad, shrugging as she watched Raindrop finish her second drink and put the glass back on the table; Zoe reached for a buffalo wing from the basket and started eating it as Raindrop sighed.

"Of course, but when you have to be extra professional all the time, it's...it's hard. It makes people never want to socialize with me, so this was a nice surprise, thank you," Raindrop said, unclipping her dark oak brown hair and letting it fall over her shoulders as she ran her fingers through it; she continued, "I want to have friends, go on dates, but all I do is work, and work for the worst kinds of people."

"Then why keep doing it?" Zoe asked.

"Cause they pay the best," Raindrop said, laughing, which made Zoe chuckle.

"Guess I can't exactly argue with that," Zoe said.

"For example, and I shouldn't even be telling you this, but, Tony? He's paying me exceptionally well," Raindrop said, "and I feel guilty accepting payment cause I'm barely even doing anything for him. I'm hoping, maybe, if he pays me enough, I can gamble enough of those earnings off to win that stupid car he's got parked in the casino. Lord knows I could use it."

"If you're paid so well, why not just buy a new car?" Zoe asked.

"Living in Vegas ain't cheap," Raindrop said, taking a wing for herself now, biting into it and chewing as she continued, adding, "rent, food, other expenses. A fancy car, despite being a crooked lawyer, is surprisingly low on my list of priorities. At this point my reputation speaks enough for itself that outside visuals aren't going to help much anyway."

"Once again, guess I can't exactly argue with that," Zoe said.

As Raindrop chowed down, Zoe motioned to the waitress to bring them more drinks and food. She was in this for the long haul, and boy...would it be long.

                                                                           ***

Jackson Strange was standing outside by the glass box, planted firmly on the ground, as he inspected it with two other men, both of whom he'd hired as help for the event. Really, though, what they were inspecting weren't even the box itself, to be fair, but moreso that surrounding area that the event would be taking place in. Jackson was concerned that the space was too tight, too cramped, could be claustrophobic - not for him, he'd already be in a glass box - but for anyone who wanted to witness the spectacle.

"I just don't want people to be afraid is all," Jackson said, "it's very important to me that my audience feels safe and comfortable."

"Well, then they probably shouldn't be attending a magic show," a voice from behind said, "after all, it's such a dangerous profession, but you know that don't you?"

Jackson turned and saw a woman standing there in torn jeans, a crop top and a leather jacket. Jackson raised an eyebrow in interest, as she approached them. Jackson told the other men to take a break as he turned his full attention to the woman now.

"And what would you know about that?" Jackson asked.

"Nothing much," Claire said, shrugging, "just that I'm a fan."

Claire walked past him a bit and looked up at the box, then looked back at him and grinned.

"Can I touch it?" she asked somewhat seductively, and Jackson nodded slowly, completely entranced by her. Claire pulled a hand free from the pocket on her jacket and reached out, placing her palm firmly on the glass wall, letting the coolness of it overwhelm her and make her shiver. Jackson walked up beside her and folded his arms as he stood there.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, mostly cause nobody else is here," Jackson said, "but I'm a little scared. This is easily the most extreme public escape stunt I've ever performed. I know I can do it, that's the thing, but it's that little gnawing doubt that is in the back of your head, you know? Can't logically convince my brain of the truth, regardless of its veracity. I know it'll be fine, but I always get nervous before a show."

"Not unsurprising," Claire said, shrugging, "I think if you didn't get nervous, well, that would be...strange, though perhaps that would suit you."

Jackson grinned as Claire pulled her hand off the box and stuffed it back into the jacket pocket. Jackson laughed a little and looked around. For some reason - despite being extremely successful with women - he was having a hard time acting cool in front of this woman, and he wasn't used to that.

"Listen," he said, scratching the back of his head, "if you'd like to know more about how it's done, we could have dinner tonight, if you're free."

"I would love that, actually," Claire said, smiling at him sweetly, biting her lip. Jackson was about to say something else when his attention was pulled away by one of the workers, and he excused himself momentarily. After he was a bit aways, Claire pulled a small camera from her jacket pocket and started taking snapshots of the box, the apparatus, the whole setup, and that's when she noticed the fault in the design. The chains weren't exactly secured in the way they should be. Whether this oversight was Jackson or the workers faults she couldn't know, but she knew exactly where to hit it now. She glanced over towards him and for a brief moment, she felt a twinge of regret. He was such a good conman, and she had some modicum of respect for him on that level, but...well...Allie had been mauled, so it wouldn't be that far fetched for Jackson to have some kind of accident doing his own work.

If she'd learned one thing since being here, it was that Vegas wasn't exactly safe.

                                                                          ***

Jenny was gathering up clothes in her bedroom, tossing them into a hamper that Allie was carrying around for her. After their brief moment in the kitchen, Jenny had asked for help with her chores around the apartment, and, considering Jenny had previously done her chores for her, Allie felt somewhat obligated to return the favor. Jenny picked up a few shorts, a pair of shorts and some underwear and threw them all into the hamper as Allie leaned against the wall and watched.

"I guess I just don't know what to make of it," Allie said.

"Why make anything of it?" Jenny asked, shrugging, "I mean, not everything has to be assigned some kind of meaning. Some things can just BE, you know? Why drive yourself crazy trying to make something out of nothing? I mean, shit, you of all people should know the power that comes with not knowing every little detail about something, considering you perform magic for a living. Those audiences know nothing, and they are thrilled at the experience."

Allie laughed a little and nodded as Jenny grabbed a robe and a pair of sweatpants, some tank tops and tossed them into the hamper as well. Standing in front of Allie, Jenny stopped and looked at her, causing Allie to stop breathing momentarily as their eyes locked.

"If I don't make anything of anything, then does anything mean anything?" Allie asked.

"What are you, a community college philosophy student?" Jenny asked, causing Allie to laugh nervously as Jenny reached out and put her hands on Allie's face, holding it so gently, leaning in, "just let things be. Not everything has to mean something. Some things just are."

Allie couldn't take it anymore. She dropped the hamper, took Jenny by the waist and kissed her...or rather...kissed...herself? The thing was, it wasn't Jenny she was interested in. It was this pastiche of herself that she was after. Sure, Jenny was very sweet, very soft, but her face looked exactly like Allie's and that was what made Allie want to do this. She wanted someone to love her in a way that only she could love herself. Jenny pushed forward, pinning Allie to the wall and kissed down her neck, causing Allie to pant heavily as Jenny held her wrists over her head.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this," Jenny whispered.

"I have some idea," Allie replied quietly. Jenny kissed downwards, kneeling, tugging at Allie's pants. There wasn't much Allie could've wanted, but to be with herself...that had long been the dream. Was it narcissism? Maybe. Or maybe it was the fact that everyone she'd ever been with romantically, sans Nick on occasion, had had so much trouble loving her unconditionally that perhaps she had finally bought into the concept of loving herself instead. Afterwards, laying on the bed, a single sheet half covering them as Jenny sifted her fingers through her tussled hair, Allie couldn't believe what she'd just done. Staring up at the ceiling, she thought about it. Jenny probably thought it was personal, about her, and Allie hated that that wasn't the case at all. She'd already taken her face from her, now she was going to break her heart too? How callous could she be? Allie rolled onto her side and sighed as Jenny did the same, rolling towards her, facing Allie's back and kissing her shoulders as she put a hand on her hip.

"You're so beautiful," Jenny whispered, and Allie blushed.

"So are you," Allie replied, and she meant it, just not in the way Jenny probably hoped.

                                                                             ***

"People with money, they make me sick," Raindrop said.

Both she and Zoe, at this point, were pretty sloshed, and still sitting in the booth. A dozen baskets of varying appetizers now scattered on the table amongst them, Zoe was starting to get a pounding headache. She rarely drank as it was, and it was not something she ever wanted to do again, not after tonight, not after this. Raindrop was sat in the booth, her head completely craned back, as Zoe slid down the side and laid flat on the booth, out of sight as Raindrop continued to complain.

"Yeah people with money suck," Zoe mumbled.

"I don't want to be like them, but it's so nice to be comfortable, so I continue doing what I do and I feel like an enormous hypocrite. I'm on retainer for so many wealthy fucks, and they all act like their lives are soooo hard. Raindrop, hide this money for me! Raindrop, sue this already marginalized business owner for me! Raindrop, hide my assets in a secret vault! Disgusting."

Zoe sat up a bit, glancing over the table.

"Secret vault?" she asked, and Raindrop laughed.

"I shouldn't say anything," she said, "but god, Tony is so scared of his business partner that he wants to hide his best earnings in a vault under the casino. He even had a contractor special build it for him, because he wants it totally hidden so he can eventually take it and leave town. He's sick of the city. He wants out. And actually, I don't blame him, of all the people I work for, he's the most down to earth. My other boss, his business partner, is a straight out psycho when it comes to money. I don't blame Tony for being scared. Oh my god, you can't tell anyone I said any of this, okay?"

"I'm a magician," Zoe stuttered, slurring her words, "what benefit would this information really gain me?"

"You wouldn't believe what's down there," Raindrop said.

"Really?" Zoe asked, sitting upright more now, pushing her curly bangs from her face.

"Mhhhm," Raindrop said, crawling over the booth towards her and lowering her voice as she leaned in, "I'll give you a hint, you think that car in the casino is a prize? It isn't. It's a coverup. He's using a car as a cover up! Nobody is ever gonna win that thing! The odds of winning a car in a casino are so low, and even then, even then..."

Raindrop started laughing, causing Zoe to furrow her brow in confusion.

"...and even then," she continued, still half whispering, half laughing, "it isn't worth what you think it is!"

                                                                              ***

Rachel was sitting at the dinner table, having eaten. A lot of food was on another plate across the table from her, now completely stone cold. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of waiting, the front door opened and Claire entered, pulling her leather jacket off and tossing it onto the armchair in the living room before entering the kitchen, not bothering to turn the lights on as Rachel had lit candles going on the table. Seeing Claire in her tight low rise jeans and her sleeveless crop top, Rachel had to bite her lip to control her attraction as Claire retrieved a beer from the fridge and uncapped it, standing by the table and drinking for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Did you...did you make dinner for both of us?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" Rachel asked, sounding totally defeated.

"...I'm so sorry," Claire said, sounding genuine - but of course, that's part of being a good liar and Rachel knew damn well that's what she was now - and very appreciative as she added, "my meeting ran longer than I intended, but it was very important. Not...not that having dinner with you isn't. That didn't come out right."

"I stay here and I hope every day that you love me," Rachel said, on the verge of tears, "and I'm so stupid cause I know you never will, not in the way I need you to, the way I hope you will. I'm such a goddamn idiot."

Rachel scooted her chair out from the table and gathered her plates, taking them over to the sink. Claire set her drink down on the counter and approached her from behind, putting her hands on her hips, nuzzling her neck.

"Please don't be upset," Claire whispered, as Rachel fought the urge to give in, but she didn't.

"I'm sorry but I am," Rachel said, "I do things for you all the time and you can't even give me a single evening. What even ARE we? You call me your 'pet' as if I'm supposed to be honored by that title. That's...that's not honorable. That's insulting. Dehumanizing. I'm a person, not a German Shepard. You're not going to change. And...and I wouldn't want you to, because I love you for who you are, but at the same time who you are isn't healthy for me."

Claire felt her heart break. Rachel pulled away and took some tupperware from an upper cabinet before walking back to the table to put the rest of the food away. Claire leaned against the counter and sniffled.

"One morning," Claire said, "when I was 13 years old, I made my bed. Getting me to do anything related to cleaning my room as a child was always a problem for my parents, so this was completely out of the blue for me. But I was tired of fighting about it, and I figured, ya know, I'd do the right thing and just make the bed. So I made the bed. And when I got home from school, what do I find? I find a note pinned to my headboard. They couldn't even talk to me in person about it, I wasn't even worthy enough of an audible explanation, no, I got pen and paper. It said they couldn't believe I'd done it, and that I must be doing it to mess with them and they didn't trust my intentions. I do the wrong thing and it gets a bad reaction, I do the right thing and it gets a bad reaction. That was the moment I realized that it didn't matter what I did, because who I was was inherently distrustful, so I may as well be anyone else. So I started applying new personalities."

Rachel stopped and turned to look at Claire, knowing she was finally telling her the truth about something. Rachel was, perhaps, the only person capable of hearing the change in her tone when Claire told the truth.

"I eventually ran away, came up with a persona people seemed to like, and you know the rest. But here, now, with you...it feels like it was with my parents. No matter what I do, I can't please you. If I'm controlling, which you seemed to find attractive, then I'm bad, and if I'm apologetic then it doesn't make a difference either. You're the only person I ever wanted to actually trust me, past my parents I mean. To hear you don't...it hurts so much."

Rachel set the tupperware down and approached Claire, putting her hands on her face and lifting it so she could look in her eyes.

"I was a little girl, and I made my bed," Claire cried quietly, as Rachel kissed her, then pulled her in for a hug. And the thing was, Claire wasn't lying. Everything she said was the truth. But she wasn't telling Rachel these things because she had any intention of changing, she was doing it to emotionally manipulate her into continue helping her, trusting her. Yes, Claire loved her, but what Claire loved more...

...was loyalty.

                                                                            ***

It was almost 2am, and Allie was finally getting back to the suite, unlocking her door and entering. As she turned the lights on, she saw Zoe laying on the couch, and sighed. Allie walked over to the couch and sat down on the arm, reaching down and gently touching Zoe's head, causing her to wake up a bit.

"Are you drunk again?" Allie asked.

"Yes, but not for the reasons you may think," Zoe said, hiccuping, "and believe me, I'm never drinking again."

"What are you doing here?" Allie asked.

"We need to talk," Zoe said, sitting upright with Allie's help; she continued, "I took Tony's lawyer out tonight, at the Agents suggestion. Was told to get information out of her. Allie...the vault...what's in it...it's not what we think. She wouldn't tell me exactly what it was, but she did tell me about the car in the casino."

"The one on the spinning pedestal?" Allie asked, and Zoe nodded; Allie added, "what does that have to do with anything?"

"Because my math was wrong," Zoe said, "remember when I brought up all that math before? Well I was wrong."

"Wrong? You?" Allie asked, smirking, making Zoe chuckle.

"I mean, I wasn't wrong in the math, but I was wrong in how to deal with it. If Tony hires someone to win the prize, as I said, he's covered. But theft? Theft isn't protected in the same sense as someone winning it properly and having to pay the earnings on it. So I went back to the casino and I took pictures of it. I then went home, went to the website for the manufacturer and looked it up. I figured, okay, I’ll find the same model car, and get an idea of the features such a car model might typically offer. But here's the thing...here's what we didn't take into consideration...a car loses value as soon as it's driven off the lot, so the car is already worth less because he's bought it to put it in the casino. Therefore whatever value whoever wins it would get for reselling it would be so much less."

"...okay?" Allie asked, "Zoe, what are you telling me?"

"Allie, and I hate that I have to say this, but..." Zoe said, looking at her feet before looking up at Allie and grimacing, "...we have to steal that car."