The Medusa Coin

"The coin never fails, but I'll give you a fair chance."

"Coin? You want money?"

"No, I want you to flip it."

"What?"

"The coin. You can't look at it yet. Not until after you flip it."

"Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing. I know you. You're that guy who put the Kalinksi brothers in a coma with some kind of coin trick. They call you Percy, right? What do you want?"

"You know better than I do."

"Did Falcone send you? Listen, if this is about his wife, nothing happened. She simply came to a show."

"Like I said, you know better."

"You know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"I know who you are, so don't play me, Percy."

"Don't call me that."

"What do you prefer then, Ace? You're the man with the gun. Tell me what you want to be called."

"… I want you to flip the coin."

"Come on, a coin trick? Ever heard of a little thing called the Statue of Liberty? I made it vanish. On live TV. You know me. Falcone knows me. Everyone who can read a damn billboard in this city knows Nikolai the Conjurer. What I'm saying is guys like me don't just disappear."

"What you do. That's not magic."

"What do you call levitating down Atlantic City Boardwalk then?"

"Illusion. Not magic."

"Oh, I see how it is. You call it how you see it. A spade is a spade, and there's no such thing as magic. Am I right, Ace?"

"No. The coin is magic."

"What if I don't want to flip your damn coin?"

"Then I make you look at it."

"Ever heard of eyelids? You can't make me look at anything."

"You're stalling, but the time to act is gone. Fear. It makes you heavy. All I have to do is move my finger. So if I tell you to look, you'll look because it means a few more seconds of being able to see."

"Come on, Percy—or Ace, I can call you Ace. Not like this. Not in my own home. I'm in my bathrobe for Chrissake. I'm telling you, she seduced me."

"Who?"

"Falcone's wife. She's crazy. She probably did it just so she could tell him about it."

"Sure. That's why I'm giving you a fair chance. That's why you get a coin flip."

"What's the deal with the coin? Heads or tails, live or die? Is this you giving me some spade to dig my own grave, Ace?"

"Shovel."

"Same difference, so I flip this coin that I haven't seen. Then what?"

"Then you look. If you walk away after that, I do the same."

"And this coin's supposed to be magic? What's so special about it? I'm betting you didn't find it under a couch cushion."

"You know about Medusa?"

"Sure, scary lady. Turned people to stone by looking at them. Got decapitated. End of story."

"The Ancient Greeks got it wrong. She's not a woman. She's a coin. And if you get the side with her face, then you don't come back."

"So let's get this straight. You want me to flip a coin of some lady with snakes in her hair, then we're going to wait around to see if I turn into a statue?"

"No, her hair isn't snakes. I've looked, not directly, but at her reflection. It's caecilians and—"

"Sicilians? Ace, you need help, expensive long-term help.

"No, caecilians, legless amphibians."

"What's Falcone giving you? I'll triple it. You know how much I made in royalties last year alone?"

"You know how many times I've tried to see Medusa's face by looking at her reflection? I still don't know what she looks like, but I know she's more beautiful than beautiful. She's more than a picture. And when you see her head-on, you don't turn to stone. Your mind goes, but your body stays put."

"Like the comatose Kalinskis?"

"Could be."

"We don't have to do this."

"Yes we do. I put the coin next to your coffee maker. Don't look. Run your hand right next to it. Slow. Pick it up."

"Fine. I got it. Strange way to save a bullet. No evidence, right?"

"Stop sniffling. You still get a coin flip."

"Okay, you have me, Ace, spade in hand, ready to dig my own grave… but how about one last magic trick before I go?"

"How? Your hands are shaking."

"It's a card trick that will blow your mind. I did it for the Pope once."

"Okay, blow my mind."

"I need my cards. There's a pack over by the kitchen knives."

"Yeah, no way I'm letting you get near those. Put the coin back down. Good. Two steps to the left. Hands on your head. I'll get your damn cards. Here."

"How about you put down that piece? What am I going to do? Throw a card at you?"

"You going to do the trick or not?"

"Sure. Think of a card. Just one card and hold it in your mind."

"Got it."

"Okay, can I put your card on the counter?"

"Yeah. That's it?"

"Aren't you going to see if I was right?"

"I'll do it after you flip the coin. Pick it up."

"You're not curious about how I knew your card?"

"How about I make you look instead of letting you flip? 3…, 2… "

"Okay okay okay… Moment of truth. Medusa or tails. Oh God. How is she-she-sh-sh-shhh..."

"Hahaha. God, that never gets old. It's a two-faced coin, moron. Nikolai the Conjurer my ass. How's that magic for you? I got to hand it to you though. You had balls. I mean, Falcone's wife? Wrong choice. Please tell me you at least got my card right… Ace of spades… son of a bitch, how'd he know? Must be some kind of weight attached to the card. Peel it off, and no! No! N—"

"Percy, Percy, Percy. You don't let a magician near coins or cards. I'll be taking that. My lady, I'm sure you're the most beautiful woman that I'll never see, but I do have some friends I'd like you to meet."