Max Marvel
A sly con artist with natural showmanship posing as a traveling magician.
Groups
Description
A shot of Max in action.
Max Marvel strides in, eyes darting in all directions, noting blind spots, escape routes, and particularly dangerous-looking individuals. He takes a seat in one of the corner booths, back to the wall, and reveals a pack of cards in his hand. Now, to find an audience...
Max Marvel flips a card expertly out of the pack. It soars into the air, spinning like a frisbee, before landing neatly in Max's pocket.
"There, that should pique people's curiosity. No way people can ignore that, even with axe murderers roaming around," thinks Max.
Max Marvel notices a lovely girl with her eyes on his cards. "Would you like to see a card trick, young lady?" he says, giving a sly smile.
"Wonderful!" Max says, shuffling the pack. "This is a trick fit for a king, but I think I can make an exception and perform it for a princess." His words are saccharine but charming. He presents a fanned pack to the woman. "Choose a card and tell me your name, dear girl."
"And what a princess you are," he says. "Take a good look at that card, keep its face firm in your mind! When you've committed it to memory, place it back into the pack. I'll look away." He turns his head and covers his eyes.
"Fantastic." He squares up the pack but leaves it on the table. "Now, I need a bill from you. 100 credits would be ideal, but 50 will do. It needs to be large enough to hold the spirit of the card. Do you have a bill on you?"
Max Marvel's eyes sparkle at the sight of the money. "That's perfect." He takes the bill and slips it into his shirt pocket. His left hand hovers over the pocket. "Now, place your hands over the pack and concentrate on your card."
Max Marvel closes his eyes and hums a haunting note. After a few moments, he reaches into his shirt pocket and extracts a playing card. He proudly displays the card to Angelina. "Is this your card, princess?"
"Of course it's good! I'm a magician, after all!" Max stands to leave. "Now, if you'll have to excuse me, I have other engagements. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Good day!"
Max Marvel hurries down the side street, ducking swiftly into a dark alley. He looks around and sees no one. Smiling, he open his shirt pocket and pulls out Angelina's crisp 50 credit note. He presses it to his nose and takes a long smell, reveling in his success.
"Hmm, looks like left without noticing. Maybe I can get myself a room AND a meal tonight..." Max thinks to himself. He leaves the alley, makes his way back up the side street, and slides into the bar again.