The Bullet Catch by Amy Axelrod & David Axelrod

Author:Amy Axelrod & David Axelrod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

As Good as Gold

The concrete-sky month of December went on with only two types of days: those when Leo did not leave the apartment, and those when, the morning still dark and gray, he trailed Barzini to the subway going to Martinka’s. By the end of the month, the walls in the theater at Martinka’s were beginning to close in on Leo. They’d practiced the basics of the illusion—palming the bullet, making the exchanges, yelling bang! over and over again until his head pounded. And it didn’t help that Barzini nitpicked everything about Leo’s performance. The way he held the gun was not dramatic enough, and the way he examined the bullet was too quizzical. He wanted Leo to look natural, like he’d done this a thousand times before. But not too natural, as though the trick had no drama, as though he were not about to shoot Barzini dead in a few seconds.

One day in the middle of the month, when they had been in the theater since sunrise, Leo became exasperated. He was hungry and tired and sick of Barzini’s voice. When Barzini started the act over for the eighteenth time, holding his hands out to the imaginary crowd and urgently incanting, “And now, you will witness an illusion which is greatest among the great, one that is unequalled, unrivaled, unparalleled, one that has thrilled and mystified the sultan of Turkey, the rajahs in India, the dowager empress of China, all audiences from the desert plains of Arabia to—” Leo snapped.

“Enough!” he yelled.

Barzini turned to him.

“Yes?

“That introduction is the corniest, cheesiest thing on the planet! And another thing. The way I hold the gun and the way I show the bullet is just fine. I’m only the assistant. My sleeves are rolled up. No one is going to think I’m up to any funny business. So can we please move on?”

Barzini fell quiet. He sat down on the edge of the stage and put his hands over his eyes. Leo sat next to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell,” Leo said.

“Cheesy? Really?” Barzini asked.

“And old-fashioned, too. I think you need to be sincere, honest, like you’re letting the audience in on the biggest secret they’ve ever heard,” Leo said. “I mean, you call the act ‘Resurrection by the Healing Child,’ so tell the audience something about the Healing Child. Make the audience feel mystified, like they’re under a spell of some kind,” Leo said. “All the best shows I’ve seen have done that.”

Leo expected a temper tantrum to follow. Or an outright dismissal. The air seemed to be getting thick as Barzini maintained silence. Leo hopped off the stage.

“Yes,” Barzini said finally. “Your part is more important for this illusion. For the rest of my show, you are my assistant. You wheel in the props I need and take away the things I want to hide. You set the tone without making too much fuss or calling too much attention to yourself. But our roles are switched for the bullet catch, the grand finale.

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