The box was dragged out before the audience by the stage hands with a dramatic gesture from Jett. He caught Riley’s gaze as she watched patiently, catching the same happy, eager gleam in her eye he’d seen before. Jett cocked his head, shooting her a questioning look and she only smiled, looking like her old self again.

When the box was set on the belt, Jett went through his explanation of the handcuffs, dragging a random audience member onto the stage to inspect them. When the audience had been firmly convinced of the authenticity of the handcuffs, he sent the stranger back to their seat. Still smiling, Jett handed the cuffs to Riley and mounted the box. He turned his back to the audience and allowed them to see his back as pressed his wrists together.

Jett waited, feeling the cold metal pressed against his wrists, the cuffs clicking as Riley slid them into place. They were a little tighter than usual, but his shoulders eased as the familiar smear of lubricant was applied to his wrists. When it was done, he turned, waiting until Riley had stepped aside to grab the lid to close the box before he shifted his arms behind him to loosen the cuffs.

He shifted his arms, frowning slightly when he felt no give to the metal. Thinking he hadn’t done it right, he slowed his motion down, putting his playful smirk on his face again as he faced the audience. The slower attempt did no good, and the cuffs didn’t move. He grunted as the cuff bit in, but the sound didn’t carry beyond the box, his mic having been cut off to cover up any noises that would give him away during his escape.

Jett waited until Riley began to close the box before he whispered, “You put the cuffs on wrong, Riley.”

His mind raced over how to gracefully get himself out of the trap without alerting the audience something was wrong. The entire point of the two of them having practiced so much was to prevent any event risking possible reveals to his tricks. It was going to take one hell of an explanation when he had to step out of the box so Riley could adjust the cuffs.

His thoughts stalled as Riley smiled coldly at him. “No, I did them right.”

Jett stared at her, jerking his shoulder to make his point. “No, you didn’t. They’re not coming loose. We have to fix this.”

Riley continued closing the box, the same cool smile on her face. “Oh, I know. I’d say the audience is going to get quite a show tonight. Not that they’ll know the difference when it’s all said and done.”

Dumbfounded, Jett watched in shocked silence as the lid closed completely, sealing him in total darkness. He stood, listening to the rope being bound around the lid as the audience murmured in excitement. His mouth opened, a cry for help growing and dying within the same span of seconds. There was too much noise on the stage as everyone prepared to get everything ready, and with the boxes made thick for the sake of appearances, he doubted he would be heard by the audience.

He looked down to the bottom of the box, shuffling his feet around to try to find the trap door. Even handcuffed, he figured he would be able to work the latches of the trap door in both the box and the belt. When his feet found nothing, he frowned and twisted his body so he could successfully crouch down low enough to grope around the bottom of the box with his bound hands. His frown turned into an expression of panic when he felt nothing at the bottom of the box.

His mind raced, realizing that he had not only been handcuffed in tight, but the box was the wrong one as well. Either someone was helping Riley or they had been tricked into bringing the wrong box out onto stage. They had brought him out the prop box, and Riley had sealed him inside like a lamb for slaughter.

Despair rose up to dance with the fear in his head as he pulled at the cuffs. He had no idea why Riley would want him dead, but she had certainly set him up nicely. Even in the midst of trying to figure out how he was going to get out of the box with his life and limbs intact, he couldn’t help but admire the sheer cleverness of the idea.

Oliver’s murder had been part of it, he was sure, he just didn’t know exactly how. Riley had been so insistent in her belief of Jett’s innocence. He laughed softly at the thought, because he was now positive it was because she had been part of the murder. Who else would know how to lay a breadcrumb trail out for the cops to follow, making it bewildering to anyone trying to puzzle it out. Hell, even Jett had to admit there seemed to be an element of taunting to the murder, as if trying to tease the secret while never giving it away. Riley had been right about that much; the murder screamed his signature from top to bottom.

“Bitch set me up,” Jett said aloud, unable to stop himself from laughing even as he struggled against the cuffs.

Through the thick wood of the box walls, he could hear Riley addressing the crowd as she made her way to where the switch to begin the belt sat. His laugh turned into a snarl as even through the thick walls of the box, he could hear the relish in her voice as she talked. She’d set him up nicely and she was enjoying every moment. He’d always had a small complaint about her performance, thinking she’d never quite sounded like she was enjoying herself as much as she could have when she spoke. There was a sick irony in knowing that sending him to his death was what granted his wish.

Only a magician would have been capable of pulling off the Oliver’s murder and the subsequent escape from the scene. Riley had been front and center through almost every single one of his tricks and had picked up a lot. She had used him for a distraction while she pulled her sleight of hand, assured in the knowledge no one would look at the assistant while the magician was the obvious target.

His thoughts were cut off by the sudden intrusion of the bandsaw screeching to life. Fear returned, quickly shifting into panic as he felt the hum of the conveyer belt warming up beneath him. Jett tugged at the cuffs, not caring any longer if it hurt as he yanked at the metal, desperately trying to get them to loosen. It was no good, and he gave a panicked cry as he felt the belt begin moving beneath the box.

As the sound of the bandsaw grew closer, he wished he had taken the time to ask Rico about the other methods of escaping handcuffs.