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"Before that, I plan to see my supervisor tomorrow and apply for approval to investigate Arthur," Morin said. "It should line up perfectly with the show in two days."
"Will your supervisor really approve something like that for a new agent?" Bradley asked.
"I don't know," Morin replied calmly. "But I'll reason with him. I'm confident he'll be persuaded."
"...You're not planning to use magic, are you?" Bradley immediately caught on.
"No, no. Of course not," Morin denied without hesitation. "When it comes to transactions like this, I always prefer reasoning with people. I never force anyone."
"No matter what," Bradley sighed, his tone unusually sincere, "don't get involved in politics..."
"Relax. The IRS is a private organization," Morin waved his hand. "And what I'm doing is a legitimate transaction, okay?"
Bradley looked at him in silence.
Do you really not know whether this counts as a legitimate transaction?
The negotiation with the IRS branch manager went smoothly.
Exactly as Morin had predicted.
Under Morin's extremely reasonable persuasion, and with a "completely out of his control," "absolutely not hinted at," and "firmly denied involvement" third party-Catrina-who had "acted on her own initiative," the IRS manager quickly agreed.
A special contract was signed.
Morin received official approval to act against Arthur.
Morin insisted repeatedly that he truly hadn't wanted things to turn out this way.
It was all Catrina's doing.
It had absolutely nothing to do with him.
As for whether the system believed this nonsense, that was another matter.
In any case, Morin had done everything he could.
Now, all that was left was to wait.
Two days later.
"Merritt McKinney! Daniel Atlas! Henley Reeves! Jack Wilder!"
"Let's welcome the MGM Grand's proudest gift-The Four Horsemen!"
On the Las Vegas stage, Daniel and the others began their performance.
This time, their target was a bank robbery.
The Crédit Républicain in Paris.
Of course, they weren't robbing it on the spot.
All preparations had been completed long ago.
They selected a man and, through a chain of coincidences, hypnotized him and had him come to Las Vegas to watch the show.
At the same time, they hypnotized a security truck in Paris, replacing the real cash with specially prepared magician's flash paper and placing it inside the bank.
They then obtained the man's seat number-B-5-13.
The three ping-pong balls selected by the audience were secretly swapped with the ones they had prepared in advance.
After that, everything became simple.
The real cash had already been transported to Las Vegas and stored in a hidden room beneath the stage.
That room was a perfect replica of the bank's interior.
The hypnotized man entered a device onstage.
They claimed it was a time machine that would send him to the Crédit Républicain in Paris.
In reality, he was merely entering the hidden room beneath the stage, fully cooperating with Daniel's performance under hypnosis.
And so, one of the most spectacular, most expensive, and most acclaimed performances in history was born.
From the audience's perspective, Daniel and his team had randomly selected a man.
They robbed the exact bank he named.
A bank located in Paris.
Then they instantly transported all the money to Las Vegas and distributed it to the audience.
Three million euros.
To the audience, it was an unbelievable windfall.
To the FBI and ICPO, it was a blatant crime with no visible flaws.
Within an hour, the incident alerted both organizations.
An investigation team was quickly formed.
FBI agent Dylan Rhodes.
ICPO agent Alma Dray.
Both were assigned to the case.
At the same time, in the presidential suite atop the MGM Grand.
"Congratulations," Arthur said, looking at Daniel and the others.
"But this isn't enough. The FBI and ICPO have already formed a task force. I'll have my lawyers-"
"Don't bother, Arthur," Daniel interrupted with a laugh, shaking his head. "We don't need that."
"We'll handle it ourselves. That'll also prove the wisdom of your investment, won't it?"
"You're confident?" Arthur asked.
"I am," Daniel said, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the others. "Yes."
"Very well," Arthur nodded. "If you really manage it, I'll add another half percent."
"I'll be waiting for good news."
Just then, Arthur's personal assistant hurried over and whispered in his ear.
"What?" Arthur froze. His expression changed instantly. "They're already in the conference room?"
Daniel and the others were startled.
They had never seen Arthur look like that.
They hadn't done anything yet.
So what had happened?
Had someone else acted first?
"You all prepare and wait for the FBI and ICPO," Arthur said as he stood up. "My lawyers are on standby. If you can't handle it, call them."
"I have something else to deal with."
"Can we help?" Henley asked.
"Of course-" Arthur was about to refuse, then remembered Merritt's abilities.
He hesitated.
"Can you hypnotize or read minds?" Arthur asked Merritt.
"It depends on the target's mental strength," Merritt replied after thinking briefly. "Against strong individuals, hypnosis usually doesn't work. Like you, for example."
He made sure to clarify that Arthur himself was unaffected.
"That's fine. Come with me," Arthur said, turning away. "Do your best. If hypnosis works, use it. If you can read their thoughts, tell me directly."
"Alright," Merritt replied, frowning slightly.
Things were clearly spiraling beyond their control.
"Where will you be?" Daniel asked quickly.
"Next door, in the conference room," Arthur replied, already walking away with Merritt and his subordinates.
"...What's going on?" The remaining three exchanged looks.
"No idea," Wilder said, uneasily. "Who could make Arthur this nervous?"
"I'm more worried Merritt might screw something up," Henley said, rubbing her temples. "If he actually hypnotizes the wrong person..."
"Don't discuss it here," Daniel said quietly, glancing around. "Prepare for the FBI and ICPO."
On the other side.
Arthur and Merritt arrived at the conference room.
"They're inside?" Arthur asked the guard.
"Yes, sir."
Arthur exhaled deeply, then turned to Merritt.
"Remember what I told you?"
"Of course," Merritt nodded.
In truth, he had already decided that no matter who it was, he wouldn't hypnotize them.
He would simply claim their mental strength was too strong.
"Good."
Arthur took another breath.
Then he pushed the door open.
Inside the conference room, Morin sat in the main chair.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Arthur.
The golden goose he had been preparing to pluck for an entire year.
"Hello, Mr. Arthur Tressler," Morin said calmly. "I am Morin. An IRS agent assigned to investigate you."
That was why Arthur had been so tense.
In the United States, the wealthy weren't truly afraid of the FBI.
Or even the NSA.
Shared interests made those agencies cautious.
But the IRS was different.
The IRS existed specifically to target the rich.
The richer the target, the happier they were.
Status didn't matter.
Position didn't matter.
As long as you had money, you were fair game.
Even the president.
Compared to a poor person's few hundred dollars, tens or hundreds of millions were far more appealing.
Behind Arthur, Merritt stared in disbelief.
Daniel was the most famous of the Four Horsemen.
As the other half of magic's new-era "twin stars," Merritt naturally knew Morin.
Which made this even more confusing.
Wasn't Morin a magician?
Why was he an IRS agent?
Why was he here?
Was this because of the Eye?
Had Morin found out and decided to claim a share?
Merritt's thoughts spiraled.
He began suspecting Daniel.
After all, Daniel was the most suspicious.
Who else could have leaked information to Morin?
The more he thought, the worse it became.
He even started suspecting that Daniel had teamed up with Morin to steal the Eye's invitation.
Morin didn't care.
While he knew who Merritt was and understood his abilities, this was their first real encounter.
And Merritt had no impact on his plan.
None at all.
Right now, Morin's attention was fixed entirely on Arthur.