Allie was standing in Jenny's kitchen, having coffee at her counter, while Jenny sat at the kitchen table and sipped her own cup. Allie was staring nervously ahead at the fridge, taking in all the magnets and various snapshots of Jenny's life that she had posted up there for the world to see. All of this, of course, wasn't exactly a decision spurred by her curiosity to know Jenny any better, as much as it was a way to distract herself from the day ahead of her. After a bit of quiet, she looked towards Jenny, who just smiled at her.

"Are you doing okay? You seem...particularly zoned out this morning," Jenny said.

"I'm alright," Allie replied, "yeah, I'm just...thinking about what I've got to do today."

Allie walked across the kitchen and seated herself opposite Jenny at the table, taking another few minutes to drink coffee, let it warm her up. She rarely drank coffee, but today she felt like she was going to need the extra energy. As they sat in momentary silence, Allie thought back to the photos hung on the fridge, and wondered if Jenny even still knew any of those people. Allie certainly didn't recognize them, and they were all photos taken before the accident, years before, when Jenny was much younger. Did Jenny still have these people in her life and if not, when did they leave? Would it happen to Allie too? Would she one day simply be nothing more than a photographic memento on somebody's fridge without actively being in their life anymore? The thought scared her. She finally looked up from her mug at Jenny, who smiled at her.

"Busy day ahead of you?" Jenny asked.

"You have no idea," Allie mumbled.

                                                                             ***

"What does one wear to a heist?" Benny asked, "is it a formal occasion?"

"You ask like I do this on a regular occasion, this is my first one," Molly responded.

She and Benny were in the bedroom getting dressed as Olivia was in the attached bathroom doing her makeup. A knock rang out from the front door and Olivia went to answer as she started putting in her earrings. As she passed by and into the living room, Molly turned and watched, then glanced at Benny.

"Is it normal to be scared right now?" she asked.

"I'd say it'd be weird if you weren't," Benny replied, "but hey, we designed this thing together, we know the ins and outs, we have a distraction set up, everything will go smoothly okay? Trust me. Do you trust me?"

Benny took her hands in his and pulled them to his face, kissing them softly, making her blush. She nodded quietly, acknowledging that, yeah, she did. In fact, she probably trusted him more than anyone else in the world these days. Nobody had ever been so respectful, understanding, compassionate. Allie - and by some extension Zoe - had lied to her, and they were friends, sure, but that came with a big asterisk attached to it now after the shitshow they'd dragged her into. Otherwise Benny and Olivia were it. Olivia came back into the room and headed back to the bathroom.

"She's here," she said as she passed by and shut the bathroom door behind her.

"Good morning," Allie said, standing in the doorway of the bedroom, "...are we ready?"

"How ready is ready, exactly?" Benny asked, "where's everyone else, is anybody else even here yet?"

"Claire's on her way, Salem and Rufus are meeting us at the casino, and as for Zoe, I couldn't tell ya where she is but she isn't coming in with us, so. She's already done so much for us anyway in regards to this that I wouldn't ask her to do more, as it is. She can happily sit this one out," Allie said.

"...Claire is coming in with us?" Molly asked, sounding nervous.

"Yeah, she...kinda demanded it," Allie said, sighing, shrugging, "Molly, don't worry, she isn't a threat to us. If anything, she needs us, desperately. Our exclusion of her would make her a threat to us. As it stands right now, everything's at an agreeable stalemate, and frankly I'm fine with that. Besides, I'll be there, and I won't let her hurt anyone even if she tried, which she won't, okay?"

Molly nodded hesitantly, then went back to getting dressed. Olivia came back out from the bathroom and stopped looking at everyone, hands on her hips, now fully dressed in her uniform. For a moment nobody said a word, and then Olivia exhaled.

"Welp," she said, "I'm going to work. I'll be clear across town. Please be careful, both of you."

"We're just breaking into a casino vault, what's the worst that could happen?" Molly asked, pulling her shoes on while standing. Olivia and Benny laughed as Olivia leaned in, kissed Benny on the cheek, then leaned the opposite direction and planted a kiss on Molly's head, making her blush. With that, she walked towards Allie, still in the doorframe, and stopped again.

"...don't lose them," Olivia said sternly, and Allie smiled, nodding.

"I won't, don't worry," Allie said. Olivia nodded in responded, then headed past her. Once they heard the front door shut, knowing she was out of earshot, Allie turned back to the others and continued watching them get ready before checking her watch. They were supposed to meet Rufus and Salem at the casino anytime now, but...where the hell was Claire?

                                                                          ***

"Are you nervous?" Claire asked, standing outside a deli across the street from Jackson's performance space, the two of them each eating their own sandwiches. Jackson chewed, swallowed and nodded. He waited a moment to reply, thinking about how exactly to put it, and finally sighed before speaking as Claire lifted her sandwich up to her face and took another bite while he did so.

"I'm always nervous before stuff like this but not...not really for the reasons you might expect," he said, "uh...not because I don't think I can't do it, because I know I can, I'm well aware of my skill level and I designed the damn thing, but moreso because I don't want to disappoint people, you know? It's a tightrope of being a performer; escape too fast and they're upset, stay in too long and they get bored. People want excitement. They want drama. I just want to give them a good, safe show."

Claire grinned as she chewed, listening. Jackson leaned against the brick building and took a sip of his soda, licking his lips afterwards.

"Either way," he said, "I know I'll be good, and I know it'll be good. I just hope everyone else thinks the same."

"I'm sure it'll be a day they don't forget," Claire said, patting him on the arm, making her chuckle. Jackson was never nervous around women, but something about Claire...something about her really got to him. He couldn't help but be a little nervous around her. She was so headstrong, so forward, but so soft and comforting. A deadly combination for a man of his ego, honestly, and she knew this, which made her deadly as well, not that that was news to anyone. Claire looked back towards the box, being lifted into the air now, testing it's ability to hang just once before the event. She smiled to herself, taking another bite of her sandwich.

When all is said and done, she thought, she knew two things would be true. The first was that what they were about to do today would be the talk of the town, and the second...well, the second was that nobody would ever forget who Jackson Strange was.

"I have to get going," Claire said, checking her watch, "I have an appointment."

"Are you coming back for the show?" Jackson asked, and Claire nodded.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world," she said, "break a leg."

As he watched her walk off, Jackson felt this gnawing in the pit of his stomach. He'd long since avoided getting involved with women on any sort of romantic level, but this woman...this woman he just couldn't get out of his head. Claire, of course, was just using him. She didn't care about him one way or the other, which only made what was about to happen that much easier on her conscience. But Jackson had fallen hard in just the short time they'd known one another, and he was excited to see her at the event that night. Little did he knew she'd be deep down in a casino vault...holding a gun.

                                                                           ***

Raindrop was sitting at the bar in the casino.

She was thinking about her night out with Zoe, about how she hadn't drank that much in ages, and how it'd really gotten her thinking again about her life, her choices, her anger at the people who felt she was below them - more often than not the very clients she sought to represent - and how sick of it all she was. She was drinking again now, and it was only 1pm in the afternoon. She needed to get herself back in check, because this simply couldn't continue. A stool scooted out from beside her and she turned her head to see Zoe sitting on it.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Zoe said.

"You have? That's...weirdly sweet," Raindrop replied, "for what reason?"

"Well, there's two magicians showing up today to do an impromptu flash performance in the main hall," Zoe said, "figured, as the insurance lawyer, you might be inclined to check it out. You know, safety and all that. Are you okay? You're drinking kinda early in the day."

"Why not," Raindrop said sullenly, shrugging, "I mean, really, why not. What fucking difference could it make, honestly. These people will never face consequences for their actions, they're all criminals on one level or another, and I'm the one who has to cover it all up, defend their despicable beliefs to a justice system that's so flawed that it wouldn't convict them even with the right amount of evidence."

"You're not, like, a regular lawyer though," Zoe said, "how often do you actually go to court?"

"Often enough, and besides, I'm still hiding things for them, doctoring information. Just once, just one goddamn time, I want things to be about ME, I want people to remember ME. I'm sick of being everyones fall guy," Raindrop said, finshing her drink and plopping the mug down onto the bartop, adding, "I want what's coming to me after a lifetime of essentially indentured servitude."

Zoe nodded. She actually understood how Raindrop felt. Between being controlled then abandoned by her parents, protected yet used by Allie, she really did see where Raindrop was coming from and how she could feel so extremely frustrated. Zoe sighed.

"Well," Zoe said, "maybe one day that chance will come, and maybe one day the universe will course correct itself and they'll get what they deserve, but until that time, you have a job to do, right? Those guys will be starting their performance anytime now. You should probably get out there."

"I guess so," Raindrop said, standing up from the stool and wobbling a bit, clearly somewhat drunk. As Zoe watched her toddle off to the main hall, where the car on the pedastal was displayed, she couldn't help but feel remorse. Here was, much like Molly and Benny and so many others, yet another innocent - well, in this instance somewhat innocent - bystander they'd duped into being remotely involved in their dark dealings, and look how it had affected her now. Zoe understood the need for the deceit...but that didn't mean she liked it.

After a few minutes, Zoe herself climbed off her stool and went to join the others in the back lot where they'd gathered. There she found Allie, Molly, Benny, Rufus and Salem, but surprisingly, still no Claire, much to Allie's chagrin at this point. As she stumbled into the group, she could hear them loudly chattering about something, somewhat heatedly, but wasn't sure what. Zoe stood a bit aways, to keep her sanity for the moment, as she watched. After a minute, a car pulled into a space beside her and parked, Claire climbing out of it and walking up beside her, stopping.

"Quite the little ragtag team we've assembled here, isn't it?" she asked.

"How is this possibly going to work?" Zoe mumbled.

"Well that's the allure of magic, isn't it?" Claire asked, grinning, putting a hand on her shoulder, "you get to wait and find out."

                                                                            ***

The thing is...it wasn't even a break in. Molly had the keys. She had designed the thing, after all.

All they really had to do was stay somewhat incognito, black out cameras where they saw them along the way - Claire's doing - and get in and get out. Allie, being a prominant part of the casino, also wouldn't be bothered for being down here either, if they were stopped, because who was going to argue with Tony's top draw entertainer? Really, this group was in the clear from the get go. The issue was getting back out, which, thankfully, wasn't going to be difficult. Between the tricks Molly and Benny had learned from Strange's glass box design and Benny's overall knowledge of sleight of hand, they had a clear cut way out through a hollow section of wall, which came as inspiraton from Claire's crimes. Everyone had, whether they knew it or not, come together to make this as simple and viable a thing as possible.

The ones who had it somewhat rough...were Rufus and Salem.

Up in the main hall, watching the car spin around on the pedastal from a distance, Salem himself couldn't understand how he'd come this far. Just a few months ago he'd been approached by these people for information, and now here he was, attempting to help them steal a car? From a casino, no less? Wild. Rufus adjusted his tie and his cape, as Salem nervously twitched at his beard, stroking it casually with his fingertips. He knew the plan. They'd gotten it all set up. A curtain would come up around the car, fully engulfing it away from the audience, and then the pedastal would detract down into the floor, taking the car with it, where it would be moved by Salem's wife before the pedastal raised back up, and they drove the damn thing out of the back of the building from the underground. Plain and simple. Didn't make him any less nervous though, honestly.

"You doin' okay, kid?" Rufus asked, and Salem shrugged, shaking his head.

"That's a real loaded question," he replied.

Rufus laughed, slapped him on the back, and together they walked towards the car, ready to make the casino goes gasp. Watching a bit from afar was Raindrop, keeping a keen eye on what was happening. She knew impromptu flash performances such as these took place all the time, that wasn't out of the ordinary, but still...something about this made her anxious in her gut. Course, that could also be all the alcohol. A sizeable crowd soon gathered to witness the act, as Tony himself stopped beside Raindrop, watching, eating a burrito in a foil wrap.

"What's this all about?" he asked. Raindrop glanced up at him, confused.

"Wait, you...you didn't authorize this?" she asked, and he shook his head, chewing, watching. Now that awful feeling made sense. Something was wrong with this. As the act came to a close and the car pedastal raised back up, the car gone, both Tony and Raindrop stood there aghast...what had just happened? Tony turned, storming off in a different direction, looking for answers, while Raindrop started to approach Salem and Rufus when she was stopped by Zoe.

"What the hell did they do with the car?!" she shouted, and Zoe held her by the shoulders.

"...you wanna get back at these people? The people you claim to hate? Now is your chance," Zoe said.

A pause, as they locked eyes.

"I'm listening," Raindrop said.

Meanwhile, the group had reached the vault door. While Molly fumbled with the keys, Claire and Allie watched down the hall together in a sort of daze. Honestly, despite their rather sturdious dispositions, neither one really could believe they were currently doing what they were doing. They were completely phased. Claire looked at Allie and cleared her throat.

"I visited Raymond Sykes," Claire said, and Allie looked at her, her eyes wide; Claire nodded and continued, "I went to him, disguised as the unknown and abandoned daughter of one of his business associates, and we spoke. He gave me information. Told me about my 'dad', if you will. I can continue gathering more, and you can take it all and hand it right on over to the agents. I just want one thing. My freedom. I want a cut of whatever is in this vault, and I want to leave town, for good. Are we understood, is that clear? I'll be out of your life forever."

Allie shook her head slowly, mouth slightly agape.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, whispering, making Claire smirk.

"I'm the answer to all your prayers, sweetheart," Claire replied.

"It's a good thing Tony opted for old time lock and key instead of those identifying key cards," Benny said from behind, "probably because he doesn't want his own activity traced back to it if it's discovered, but it's certainly working in our benefit, that's for sure."

The door swung open and the group headed inside and...well...what they saw...

...it definitely wasn't what they expected.

                                                                              ***

Jackson couldn't see her.

He was scanning the crowd for her face, but he couldn't see her. Why was he so hung up on this girl that he'd met a few times? How had she so successfully wormed her way into his psyche? He was crazy about her. He sighed and shook his head as he approached the box, putting a hand on it. Showtime was in scant minutes, maybe she was just running late. He stepped inside the box, looked at one of the assistants, and whistled, an audible indicator for them to begin raising it into the sky overhead the crowd, crammed between these two buildings. As he was lifted up, the crowd below cheered, clapped, whistled, and he smiled. Even in spite of her absence, nothing would ruin this day for him. He'd spent months preparing for this.

And then the box shifted, and he stumbled, catching himself, breathing hard. Had they hit the side of a building? The creaking, the sound of metallic grating on something. Jackson looked around, unsure where the noise was originating from. Until he saw it.

One of the chains holding the box to the lift in the air was breaking. It was loose. His heart caught in his chest, and he thought back to the woman. She'd been so interested, come about so suddenly, wanted to appreciate the box with him. She'd gotten him right from the start. She'd done this. And indeed Claire had. Claire had sneakily damaged the chain so that it would snap while Jackson was high in the air, and there was nothing he could do about it because the people down below, the people working for him, didn't even know it. For all they knew, everything was going fine. And that's when the reality really sunk in. Jackson looked down at the crowd again. Children. The elderly. Young couples. All within striking distance of shattering glass. His heart began to race. No. The one thing he didn't want, his audience being harmed, that was the worst part.

He'd trusted her. He'd always been so trusting of women because he'd always been so charming, so easily able to get their attention, that he never once thought a woman might have it out for him. The chain snapped more, and Jackson steeled him for the inevitable. The glass box was going to fall, people were going to be hurt, and he could very well die. He scanned his brain for anything she might've said, anything she might've done that would stick out to him, but she'd been nothing but encouraging and supportive and interested. Were those crimes, really? Jackson started breathing hard and fast, and then he realized the biggest thing of all, she hadn't been interested in him...she'd been interested in the box.

The chain snapped.

Jackson could feel himself falling through the air freestyle inside the box as it plummeted to the ground, the crowd below screaming in sheer panic, shoving one another, trampling eachother to try to escape the hit zone. But it didn't matter. The thing shattered hard, taking other innocent people down with it. Jackson, however, was alive. Shockingly, he was alive. He laid admist the broken glass and the chains and the metal rigging, but he was alive. His back hurt, and he couldn't move much, but he'd survived the fall. Jackson looked around, then glanced down at his legs, which were not only bent in awful directions, but had glass shards sticking out of them. He started to cry. What had he done to deserve this?

The truth?

Nothing. He was a jerk, sure, but he was a pawn, and nothing more. Something to simply buy time to distract in case the heist went wrong. Something else for the police to be bothered by, busy with. To buy them some time. It was a failsafe, there was no guarantee it would be necessary. Except...well...Claire's intuition was spot on. Because things in the vault...were about to end violently.

                                                                         ***

"A car?" Allie asked.

The group circled around it like vultures admiring a fresh kill.

"A car? That's what he needed the space for?" Allie asked again, "I'm...I'm flummoxed."

"Baffled?" Benny asked.

"Bamboozled even," Allie said, the both of them laughing nervously at the exchange as she added, "why would he need to store a car? Unless...what did Zoe say about chips? About stealing chips?"

Allie approached the car and tried to open the trunk, but to no avail. Benny and Molly got to work, looking for the handle inside to do the job, while Allie stepped back and stood beside Claire. Allie folded her arms, confused. She simply couldn't fathom why he'd need a car, except to perhaps move chips without being detected. Claire coughed anxiously and Allie looked towards her.

"Well, looks like you might have your ride out of town," Allie said, and Claire laughed.

"Stop," a voice said, and Allie and Claire turned to see Raindrop entering behind them. She looked ragged, worn out, like she'd run all the way down here. What the hell was she doing here? Zoe was supposed to keep her occupied. Nobody said a thing while Molly and Benny continued to look for the handle to open the trunk, as Raindrop slowly, and cautiously, approached the gang.

"What's this?" Claire asked, putting a hand into her leather jacket pocket.

"I work for Raymond Sykes," Raindrop said, "he's been looking for proof that Tony's been cheating him, planning on pulling support. I fucking hate Raymond Sykes, but I can use this as leverage. I can take this to him, get Tony shut down, and Raymond will let me quit. He won't let me quit. I've tried."

"Yeah, that sounds like Raymond," Allie scoffed, remembering the things others had said about him, "but we can't...we can't let you do that, we need to give this information to the agents we're working with. Come with us. Join us. You can get out with us, Raindrop."

Raindrop bit her lip, her eyes scanning to Molly and Benny digging around in the car, their backs to everyone. Benny whistled to them that they think they found the handle, and Allie and Claire turned back to see. Raindrop shook her head, reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small, snub nosed pistol. She walked past Allie and Claire, shoving them aside, as Allie screamed. Molly turned to see what was happening when the shot went out and she stumbled back against the car, feeling the heat of the bullet in her gut. Benny screamed and looked towards Raindrop before she plugged him as well, the both of them sliding down against the car and to the floor. Allie screamed and stood up, but Raindrop shoved her away and aimed at Allie, tears running down her face. Allie felt her heart drop. No. This...this wasn't...her eyes looked towards Molly. She'd promised Olivia they'd come back safe. Allie started crying and squeezed her eyes shut tight, preparing for the shot, when she heard the sound of a gun go off. Allie opened her eyes and saw Raindrop dead on the floor, a hole between her eyes. Claire was standing there, holding a pistol, before looking down at Allie. Claire reached down and held her hand out, but Allie wouldn't take it. Claire knelt beside her, taking her face in her hands.

"It's all gone to shit," Claire whispered, "You need to get these guys out of here, and I need to get ghost."

"...you could've let her kill me," Allie whimpered.

"And you could've shot me instead of Kristin," Claire replied, "but that's not what we do. You and me, Meers, we're in this to the end. Now we're even. Get Salem down here, get these guys out, they don't deserve to die for this."

Allie nodded, in awe of what had just transpired, reeling in the aftermath. Claire looked at her watch and shook her head.

"I say you got about a half hour before anyone comes down here to see what's going on, and even less time for them for the shock to set in, which will make saving them harder. Get them out, Meers. I'll contact you."

Claire pulled Allie up to her feet and Allie stared at Claire. She didn't know how to react. Claire held Allie's face in her hands and kissed her, surprising her, before turning and briskly exiting the vault. Allie turned and looked at Molly and Benny, quickly rushing over to them. She pulled out of her phone and texted Salem to get down here immediately. She crawled up beside Molly and took her hands in her own, not realizing the amount of blood covering her now as she wiped one across her face to rid it of the sweat that had formed. Molly's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Allie.

"I'm so sorry," Allie sobbed, her lip quivering, "I didn't...I didn't know that...Molly I'm so sorry."

"...you always are," Molly whispered, before looking towards Benny. Allie stood back up and opened her phone, calling Salem now. As she shouted at him about what was going on, Molly reached over and took Benny's hand. He wasn't moving, but his hand was still warm. Molly leaned herself back against the tire, shut her eyes, and slipped into the darkness she'd so long been afraid of.

Sirens.

Sirens across the city. Multiple ambulances parked at Jackson Strange's performance, a few more - along with a dozen police cars - parked at the second Card Shark, mayhem and grief spreading rapidly. Allie was stood outside the casino, Salem beside her, holding her hand tightly, her hands and face smeared with blood. 3 people loaded into various ambulances. Allie didn't understand how this happened. How did this happen? Everything had gone exactly as planned. How could this happen? Salem squeezed her hand tighter, and she grimaced, tears running down her face. This wasn't how it was going to end. She was going to fix this. She was going to make this right.

"You couldn't have known that-" Salem started, but Allie just shook her head.

"I took them down there," she said quietly, "this is all my fault. I did this."

"You did not do this, Allie," Salem said, "Allie, seriously, you had no idea that that would happen."

"Everything has been my fault, and I deserve to go down for it," Allie whispered, "but if I'm going down, so is Raymond Sykes. He will face fucking consequences for what happened here today, what he's done to everyone...he will not get away with this."

Allie exhaled.

"I need rest," she whispered, and Salem nodded.

"Go on home," Salem said, "I'll go see Olivia. You shouldn't have to-"

"No, I'll do that too, but I need a break first," Allie said, "...thank you Salem."

Allie turned and walked away, heading to the back lot to her car. As she approached, pulling her keys from her pocket, she spotted a note left on the windshield. Allie leaned over and grasped it in her fist, then smoothed it out and read it.

"Allie, please let me know you're okay. I heard there was an incident at the casino, Jenny."

Allie smiled weakly. She then climbed into her car and headed back to the previous Card Shark, where her suite...and someone else awaited her.

                                                                           ***

The door swung open, and the place was dark. Allie flipped on the lights, which had been set to dim mode, when she spotted someone sitting at her kitchen counter on a barstool. Allie slowly approached them, relieved to discover it was only Zoe. Zoe looked up at her as she entered the room, but neither one said anything. After a minute or two, Zoe stumbled off the stool and walked to Allie, who just opened her arms. Zoe collapsed into her chest and sobbed as Allie hugged her tight, stroking her hair.

"I've got you," Allie whispered.

"I did this," Zoe whispered, "this happened because of me. I felt bad for Raindrop. I sent her down there."

"You did what you thought was best, just like I did," Allie said softly, "we all screw up. But it can be fixed."

"Are they okay?" Zoe asked, and Allie shrugged.

"I...I really don't know," Allie said, trying not to think about Molly or Benny, as it hurt her heart far too much; Allie sighed and added, "but right now, I've got you. We're safe."

"We're never going to be safe," Zoe cried, and Allie scoffed.

"That isn't true," Allie said, "I'm going to make sure of it. We will be. Because Raymond Sykes isn't going to be arrested."

"What?" Zoe asked, looking up at her, confused.

"He can't be," Allie said, "he's wealthy, he's the governor for god sakes. He'll face no consequences. Which is why I'm going to kill him."