The Ace of Spades pt. 1

"INTRODUCING YOUR STAR OF THE NIGHT... THE MAN YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR... DANNY HARPPER!!!!"

The crowd went crazy as Danny took the stage! The energy was ecstatic—fifty thousand people were jumping out of their seats!

"Who's ready to see some magic!" He yelled out to the roaring crowd.

Suddenly, an alarm began going off over the cheering crowd. The world began to collapse around the stage, and Daniel Harper woke up in his rundown four-bedroom NYC apartment.

Daniel, a mixed-race orphan from the Bronx, grew up in foster care. He never knew his father, and he was separated from his brothers at a young age when his mother died. He spent his childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood alone with no family or friends, falling in love with close-up magic and illusion.

"SHUT THAT FUCKING ALARM OFF!!!" A voice called out from another room.

Another day in paradise, Daniel murmured under his breath as he began his morning. As you can imagine, the life of a struggling magician isn't all that glamorous.

"You're late again, Harper. I can't allow it, " his Starbucks manager said in a condescending tone.

"I'm sorry, there was a—"

"I don't want to hear it; you're fired!"

Damn. Could this day get any worse? He thought to himself.

There was an eviction notice on the door when he returned to his apartment.

Shit.

His three roommates were gathered around the table.

"Yo, what we gon' do?" One asked.

"I just got fired! I can't afford this right now!" Daniel interjected.

"Ight, calm down," Daniel's roommate Elias spoke up, "The bottom line is we're fucked, but I know a guy who's got a heist for us."

"I don't know about this..." Daniel hesitated.

"We need you, Danny; there's no better sleight of hand." Elias insisted.