“Joan, you’re serious.” Grace rushes toward me. “What happened?”
“Gunn had Win and his thugs put a hit on Alex. Drove him out of here and killed him in cold blood for Colletto, as some form of payback for Alex turning his back on D Street.” I stop. “But I’m planning on making Gunn pay, for all of it.”
The room falls silent once more.
“Is this really what you signed up for?” I press, gesturing to the room. “Is this what you want, being under the heel of a man like Gunn, a man who’ll just discard us when his plans for us are done?” I shake my head. “He’s been using all of us.”
“Don’t trust her,” Tommy blurts out. “This must be some weird perverted test for Gunn.”
I look around at my five troupe members, people I was once more than connected to, and finally give them the full story. “Listen, someone’s dialed in the Feds—”
“The Feds?” Billy repeats.
“They’re moving in tonight,” I tell them. “But I’m going to end this before that, take what’s ours, and get away.”
“End this?” Ral asks.
“End Gunn. End all these gangsters. Finish it.”
Ral and Billy exchange a look with each other, and then with Grace.
“I know we haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye recently,” Ral says slowly, “but Joan, that plan is insane—”
“Why?” I push. “If the Feds bust us, we’re all getting locked up for sorcering for a hell of a long time. And if the gangsters manage to take out the Feds, we’re looking at a lifetime of living under their thumbs.” I nod to the room. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m doing this. And you’re either with me or against me.”
No one speaks, no one moves, until Grace shifts uncomfortably and asks, “What exactly do you want from us, Joan?”
“I need a cover. Tell Gunn that Win came in here searching for boxes a couple minutes ago, and that he ran out for supplies. Gunn will be looking for him,” I say. Then I nod to the two hundred shine quarts on the floor. “And tamper with one of the bottles, make it look like an overlooked quart hasn’t been blood-caged. I need a reason to force Gunn into bringing me back into this room. But as soon as I step inside here with Gunn, I want you all to run, and not look back. Get out of here before the Feds come in.” Then I give them the final piece—the idea that’s been circling, buzzing around my mind. An idea that thrills. “But there’s something else, too.”
The room stays quiet, the tension charged, sizzling like a live wire. With shaking hands, I grab a round metal coaster sitting on the edge of a nearby end table. I place my hands on each side of it and recite the charm I learned from Rose so many nights ago in the warehouse clearing: “Divide . . . and seek to be completed.”
The coaster sizzles and snaps in half. “I’m taking the next train after nine o’clock to Philly with D Street’s payment for the shine shipment. I plan on starting over up there, in more ways than one.” I hand one half of the metal coaster to Grace and keep the other. “And I hope you’ll consider joining me.”
Grace shakes her head. “What do you mean, joining you?”
“Once upon a time, we were good together. We trusted each other, and we made some of the finest magic this city has ever seen.” As the words come out, I realize how much I still believe in us, how badly I want them to believe in us too. “Gunn turned me around—hell, he turned us all around, kept us afraid, thinking small. But I’d like to think that without his heel above us we can grow, become what we’re meant to be, together,” I say. “We can start our own magic haven up there, and just focus on our performance. We can leave all this behind.”
The sorcerers don’t move, don’t say a word, my offer hanging there full and ripe for picking. Would they ever trust me, want to work with me again? Will they track me down solely for the money? I’m willing to take that chance. I can’t imagine my life now without our magic in it.
Finally Grace tucks the piece of metal inside her blouse, her eyes never leaving mine.
“You know the offer doesn’t last long.” I point to her blouse, reminding her of the short shelf life of the charm. “If you want a cut of Gunn’s loot, the money Colletto’s handing over for our blood, sweat, and tears, if you want a chance to perform again—decide soon. And use that charm to find me in Philadelphia tomorrow morning.” I pause. “They should be down any minute. I need to go.”
As I slip out the door, Grace calls, “Joan!”
I duck my head back in.
She gives me a wary glance. “Be careful.”
I nod, hoping with everything I’ve got that this isn’t good-bye.