The Deadly Trick

Part 6

Leave.

The idea to leave behind everything and start something somewhere. somewhere far away kept buzzing in Bill's ears ever since his apparent resurrection. Even as he was ushered off stage by the stagehands who seemed to be in a hurry everything up, he couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't be here. He should go away. "Maybe I will!", he responded to the voice, hoping it would make it go away.

"Are you alright?", Henry asked him, eyes brimming with concern. "Yes", Bill mumbled as he took the seat in front of him, taking a sip from the glass he offered. Bill was glad he found Henry. The man was surprisingly polite to a complete stranger. He had offered him a lump sum and he was even concerned about his wellbeing.  Bill dismissed the menacing look and the weird question Henry had asked him in their second encounter. "Charles Wardle? I don't know no Charles Wardle!", he thought, thinking that it was the light that made Henry look so cruel. After all, why would a successful entertainer have any beef with a homeless person? And he did offer him money that he sorely needed, all the more reason to be thankful for him.

"So, it is already two in the morning. If you are hungry, you could join me and my crew for a very early breakfast? The bus would take us to the hotel so you could ride with us", Henry laid out a tempting invitation as two figures clad in outrageous outfits sprinted towards Henry.

"Oh my god! Henry! How did do the last trick? You have to give it to me, for sure.", said one of them, identifying as Jack, one of Henry's proteges. "In time, Jack. In time", Henry assured him. "The response was terrible", said the woman, Helen, another of Henry's proteges, "You are lucky no one is trying to sue you for causing harm, and that was because you remembered to add a clause to that effect. Did you know this was going to happen? And you did it anyway? Luckily all that happened were a couple of faints. What would have happened if any heart patients were let in? You are so irresponsible, Henry. Think of how it would damage your reputation."

Helen continued to mother Henry until Bill moved uncomfortably. "Are you a part of the act?", she asked him, squarely. "No", Bill stuttered, stepping back. "Act?", he thought. "A real person? Are you actually out of your mind, Henry? What would have happened if anything had gone wrong?", Helen said flipping roles, seeking to discipline an errant Henry.

"Just chill out!", said Henry, trying to pacify Helen, "I know! I will scrap this off the rest of the tour. I have seen the damage it caused and it hurts me to think I am responsible. Offer those who have fainted some of our merchandise and Jack", he said, to a revolting Jack, "Don't worry. If you do really well in your training, I will give it to you as a gift. Just don't perform it in public", he said laughing, patting Jack's back.

Helen did not look pleased. She sighed, "Okay! Thank you for coming back to your senses. That's why, if you had told us about the trick we would have let you perform. No Jack!", she turned her anger towards Jack, "It would have not been cool and it could have also hurt people. Now you!", she said pointing to Henry, "Don't ever pull a stunt like this" as she walked back to coordinate the distribution of the merchandise.

"Whew! That went better than expected", Henry said turning to Bill. "What are you going to do?", he asked Bill, looking him in the eye unnervingly. Then he smiled sweetly and said, "The bus leaves at three". Bill knew what he was going to do.

Bill paused for a moment as he boarded, reevaluating his options. Leave, the voice buzzed again. "Okay!", he shouted much to the surprise of the driver. "Sorry", he mumbled as the bus sped away.

"So, you had a case of missing persons yesterday", Carter asked Henry as he stuffed his face with the pancakes from the hotel buffet. "Eat slowly, you ox!", Henry smiled, wiping the maple syrup from Carter's cheek with a paper towel. "It was weird, though", Henry said, "He left without taking anything from us. That Bill, he seemed anxious to get rid of us. I don't mean to brag, but I have tremendous star power. Don't laugh", he pointed to Carter as Carter snorted his mouthful, trying to laugh, "Even then, free food! Who says no to that! My agent was happy though. No need to waste extra cash or so, he said. We did search for him though. Helen wanted to put him through a drug test. She thought I had given him some drugs to make him hallucinate. HUH!"

"So did you?", Carter asked. "No!", Henry said, outraged. "Had to ask", Carter shrugged. "So, I am just bringing it up, remember lunch today! Sarah really wants to meet you and she might break up with me if you don't show up. She was also tremendously interested in meeting Lizzy, but I don't think meeting her is possible", Carter warned. "Roger that", Henry replied with a mock salute, "Visit Los Angeles. We would be glad to host you for a couple of weeks". Both friends laughed. "I might a little late though, I need to destroy The Deadly Trick", Henry said, piquing Carter's interest. "Destroy ...", he said, "Surely you could ...". Henry cut him off. "The more I have it with me, the more I want to perform it. It is better to wipe a clean slate", Henry justified.

"It is all for the better, I think", Carter shrugged, "I am glad you came back here after all that happened. It is for the best, I guess that you did not run into William". "Who?", Henry countered.

Henry personally rode the pickup truck that was carrying the apparatus to the junkyard. Even as the staff assured him that they will not let anyone to it and crush it at the earliest, Henry insisted on doing it right now, in front of his eyes. The staff relented after the intervention of the owner, who received a bribe in the form of an autograph. The death trap was checked for the presence of any living thing (They heard the rumors) and added to some of the collected scraps and crushed. As they moved it to the dump yard, Henry drove away happily. None noticing the red stain it left behind.