Match 16910 The Four Horsemen vs. Ocean's Eleven

[broadwaybeyonder]

J. Daniel Atlas reclined on a couch scrolling through an article on his tablet as occasional playing cards flew past his field of vision.  Behind the couch, Jack Wilder and Merritt McKinney continued aiming cards at the wall of their loft apartment.  Jack hurled them with his usual accuracy, while Merritt’s cards spun in the air until they fell on the couch at Daniel’s feet like a pile of autumn leaves.  “You must have done something to this deck,” grumbled Merritt.  Jack rolled his eyes.  “Come on, man.  Admit it.  I learned how to do hypnosis before you learned how to throw.” 

“Listen, young grasshopper, the only reason you are a passable hypnotist is because you had me for a teacher.” 

“Yeah, and despite that, I’ve gotten great at it.” 

Merritt turned to face Daniel.  “Hey, Danny.  Is there any chance we still got the number of Whathisname from London?  You know, the Jack double we had on New Year’s?  Maybe I just need a better instructor.”  Daniel didn’t look up from his tablet as he replied.  “I am not involving myself in this.”  Jack tossed a card from hand to hand and grinned at Merritt.  “Look, Merritt, one more throw.  If you can hit a target that I can’t, then I’ll keep teaching you.  Otherwise, you’re on your own.  Deal?”  Merritt shook the offered hand.  “You got a deal, Tex.  What’s the target?”  Jack quickly grabbed Daniel’s tablet and lifted him up off the couch.  “Jack!  Jack, what are you doing?”  Jack positioned Daniel to stand in front of the television, with the tablet held up so the back faced himself and Merritt.  “Is this a good target?” asked Jack.  Merritt smirked as readied a card to throw.  “Sure, looks good to me.” 

“Seriously, guys?” muttered Daniel.  “Why don’t you just put an apple on my head?”  Jack ran back around the couch.  “Sorry, Danny.  We’re fresh out of apples.  Relax.  We’re aiming at the tablet, not you.”  Daniel glared at Merritt as he fumbled with his card.  “I know you are, Jack.  You’re not who I’m concerned about.” 

“Relax, Danny boy,” said Merritt.  “You don’t mind if I take the first shot, Jack?”  Jack motioned to Daniel, smiling cheekily.  “Age before talent.”  Merritt took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes.  His hand went through the motions of throwing the card, like a golfer before his swing.  Daniel slowly lowered his face behind the tablet.  Then in a swift gesture, Merritt whipped the card forward, sending it darting across the room, hitting the lower left corner of the tablet, and falling to the floor.  Merritt pumped his fist in excitement.  “Whoo!  Through the uprights and it’s good!  You’re up, teach.” 

“Good shot.  Lucky, but good,” said Jack.  He stepped to the middle of the couch and looked at the target with a confident smile.  Merritt stood to the side with his arms folded.  Just as Jack pulled back his arm to throw, Merritt raised his voice.  “So, what was it like the first time you had sex with Lula?”  Jack almost pulled up short, but the card had already left his fingers.  Instead of heading toward the tablet, however, the card was sent spinning wildly toward the opening front door of the loft.  Dylan Shrike peaked in just as the card stuck itself in the wood.  Dylan stared at the two of clubs, then gave a look to the three magicians.  “Glad to see you’re making yourselves at home.”  Merritt pointed at Daniel and Jack.  “It was their idea, boss.  See, Jack?  That’s why Dad always says, “don’t throw cards in the house.””  Daniel quickly set his table down on the coffee table as Dylan entered taking off his coat.  “Is Lula here?  We need to get started.”  Jack started picking up the cards as he called up to the second floor of the loft.  “Lula!  Dylan’s here!” 

“Be down in a minute!” Lula shouted down.  “Man, is this place getting domestic or what?” said Merritt.  “Before we start the meeting, though,” said Dylan, “I do have to announce that we will be needing another pair of hands for this job.”  Dylan made his way back to the door as Jack tossed the cards on a table.  “Who are you putting us with this time, Dylan?  We just got used to working with Lula.” 

“Some of us more so than others,” smirked Merritt.  Jack was about to let Merritt have it when Dylan opened the door to reveal a women with red hair leaning on the frame.  “Hello, boys?” she grinned.  “Did you miss me?” 

“Henley!” Jack shouted.  He ran over and gave her a big hug as Daniel stood in shock.  Merritt walked to her side for a hug of his own.  “Where have you been, lady?  Ma and Pa’s been worried sick about you.”  Henley playful punched Merritt’s arm.  “Glad to see you haven’t changed at all.”  Daniel stammered as he tried to collect his thoughts.  “Um…It’s…uh….It’s been a…long time.”  Henley walked to Daniel gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “It’s good to see you too, Daniel.”  A noise came from the second floor and Lula hurried from her room and slammed the door.  “What’s going on?  I would of been here quicker but I was just working on my new decapitation stunt and…oh.”  Lula’s voice fell silent when she saw Henley.  Henley glared up at Lula as she stood at the top of the stairs.  “So…this is the bitch you let steal my spot.” 

“Well, I…she..” Daniel stuttered.  Lula started making her way down the stairs, matching Henley’s glare.  “Well, 1: I’m not a bitch.  2: I didn’t steal anyone’s spot.  I was given this spot.  Seems the last girl had a nasty habit of walking out on her friends.”  Jack looked uncomfortably as Merritt and Dylan.  “Um, what’s happening?”  Merritt expectantly looked on as Henley started up the stairs.  “I don’t know, but go ahead and let it happen.” 

“Well, I’m back now,” Henley went on.  “And I’m not going to let the Eye be represented by a third rate illusionist.”  Lula met Henley in the middle of the staircase.  “At least I’m not afraid of committing to something bigger than myself.”  Henley locked unblinking eyes with Lula.  “Maybe I should try committing to something today.”  Daniel, Dylan, Jack, and Merritt all looked up in confusion at the two magicians, their lips barely apart.  Then Henley and Lula looked down at them, burst out laughing, and hugged.  Daniel facepalmed as Jack continued to look confused.  “Can someone explain what just happened?” 

“They know each other,” sighed Daniel.  He gave a dirty look to Dylan who looked very pleased with himself.  “You knew they knew each other coming in, didn’t you?”  Dylan shrugged.  “Who do you think referred Lula to me?”  Henley wrapped her arm over Lula’s shoulder.  “I was the one who paid for the poor rabbit you used in that hat trick!  I loved your work in London.  I wish could have been their to see you person!” 

“You guys should have seen your faces!” laughed Lula.  “Yeah,” said Henley.  “They totally thought they were going to see us have a catfight.”  Lula grinned.  “Or make out, whichever comes first.”  Merritt coughed nervously.  “Yeah, uh, I could tell that you two knew each other.  The body language, the eye contact, it was all there.”  The two women made their way down the stairs.  “Oh, don’t give me that, Merritt,” teased Henley.  “I might not be a professional, but I can definitely read your mind.”  Daniel gave a small smile.  “Glad to see you’ve taken up reading short stories while you were gone.”  Merritt rolled his eyes at Daniel.  “Real cute, Daniel.  I’m thinking of a phrase.  It’s starts with ‘F’ and ends in a ‘U’”. 

Dylan grabbed a small remote from off the couch.  “Okay, then.  Now that the floor show is over, let’s get down to business.  Our next target.”  The other Horsemen moved the couch and chairs facing the wall, and Dylan pressed a button on the remote.  A projector displayed a picture on the wall.  A picture of an older gentlemen in a suit, with a smug smile on his face. 

Merritt stared in shock.  “Vince McMahon?!”

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“Yes, Vince McMahon,” said Danny Ocean.  “What’s the problem with that?”  He stood in front of the Eleven, the projector shining McMahon’s face over his own.  The noise from the Las Vegas strip floated through the window of their hotel suite.  “I’m just saying,” said Basher.  “I know this bloke’s rich enough, but don’t we have someone else we can hit that’s more deserving of it?” 

“Are you kidding, man?” said Turk.  The Malloy brother rose from his seat on the couch.  “This guy is pure evil!  He loves throwing his weight around and thinks nobody can touch him!  More deserving?  This dude had his own daughter kidnapped and nearly forced to marry the Undertaker!  If that doesn’t make him deserving for us to take him, then I don’t know what does!”  The other 10 men stared at Turk.  Turk looked back confused.  “What?”  Virgil shook his head.  “You just proved why people think wrestling fans are stupid.” 

“Who are you calling stupid?” 

“He didn’t really get his daughter kidnapped!” 

“He did!  I saw it on TV!” 

“It was for the show, genius!” 

“Anyway,” Danny cut in, as Turk returned to his seat.  “Even though Mr. McMahon may be a character on a show, Vincent Kennedy McMahon the billionaire owner of the WWE didn’t get that way by handing out lollipops.  He’s tough, ruthless, and he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to keep himself in business.”  Danny nodded to Rusty, who clicked a remote and had the projector show the image of a bearded man in turban and robes.  “Mohammed Bin Salman,” said Rusty as he stood up next to Danny.  “The crown prince of Saudi Arabia.  Criticized the world over for engaging in acts of torture, oppression, and potential involvement in the murder of that journalist a few years ago.  In spite of that, he is trying to maintain the appearance of a kinder, gentler Saudi Arabia, and arranged a deal with Vince McMahon to run WWE shows in his country.”   Rusty shot Turk a look.  “A little bigger deal than pretending to have his daughter kidnapped, don’t you think?”  Turk muttered something under his breath. 

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“So, I get it,” said Lula.  “The guy’s rich, he’s in bed with some bad people.  He can afford to be brought down a peg.  But how are we going to do it?”  The projector began displaying a newspaper article.  “Due to COVID, WWE hasn’t been able to run shows outside of the United States,” explained Dylan.  “But now that things are opening up again, McMahon and Bin Salman are wanting to renew their agreement.  McMahon is planning a show to take place in Vegas, where Bin Salman will attend, as well as bring some fifty billion dollars as a thank you to the good PR he’s gotten with this deal.”  Daniel crossed his arms as he sat on the couch next to Henley.  “So we’re going to get the money before McMahon does.” 

“Not exactly,” said Dylan.  “We are taking the money, but we’re taking a little more to go with it.”  Dylan pressed another button the remote, and the article was replaced by a picture of a yacht and a building with the WWE logo on it.  “That building there is Titan Towers, the headquarters of WWE in Stamford, Connecticut.  There is a sub-basement vault that is not on any of the floor plans, containing many valuable WWE artifacts.  Jack, Lula, and I will begin this operation there.  Break in, and clear out the vault.”  Jack pointed at the picture of the yacht.  “But what’s with the boat?”  Dylan smirked.  “That is Vince McMahon’s private yacht: the Sexy Bitch.”  Henley laughed in disbelief.  “You’ve got to be kidding.”  Dylan enlarged the picture of the boat so it filled the view.  “Nope.  That’s what it’s called.  It’s currently moored at a dock in Los Angeles.  And you, Daniel, and Merritt are going to steal it.” 

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“Don’t worry, Danny,” snickered Turk.  “We’ll get that Sexy Bitch for you!”  Virgil looked disappointed at his brother.  “Why do you have to say it like that?” 

“Like what?  It’s the name of the boat!  The Sexy Bitch!” 

“But you don’t have say it!  It’s offensive to use the word bitch.” 

“You’re a bitch!” 

“See?  That was offensive!” 

Linus looked forlornly at Danny and Rusty.  “Please don’t leave me with these two.”  Rusty smiled and shrugged.  “Sorry, Linus.  That’s the team: you, the Malloys, Reuben, and Frank.  Me, Livingston, Basher, Yen, and Saul will be able to handle the Stamford job.”  Linus turned to Danny.  “But what about you?  Where will you be?”  Danny nodded to Rusty, who changed the projector’s image to a blueprint of the strip.  “I’ll be here in Vegas monitoring you guys, and getting ready for the main event.”  Virgil nudged Turk.  “See what he did there?  ‘The main event’?  It’s a wrestling thing.” 

“Shut up.” 

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“Well, I’m not thrilled I have to do the trick that involves water again,” said Henley.  “Ah, don’t worry about it, Henley,” said Merritt, putting his arms around both her and Daniel.  “You two get to be out on the boardwalk together, and I’ll get to be your chaperone.”  Henley grinned at Daniel as he rolled his eyes.  “Wonderful.”  

“Just one other thing, boss,” said Merritt to Dylan.  “Not that I don’t believe in our own abilities, or at least mine.  But don’t you think we might need some more help with a trick this big?”  Dylan turned off the projector and stood in front of the couch.  “That’s correct, Merritt.  Which is why I’ve decided to call in Thaddeus.”  The Horsemen shared a look of concern.  “I know he has his secrets, but he is willing to come on board.  And like you said, Merritt, to pull this off, we’ll need all the help we can get.  So what do you say?” 

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“You in or you out?” asked Danny Ocean. 

OK:

The Four Horsemen: Daniel, Merritt, Jack, Henley, Lula, Dylan, and Thaddeus. 

Ocean’s Eleven: Danny, Rusty, Linus, Saul, Reuben, Virgil, Turk, Livingston, Basher, Yen, and Frank. 

They are both attempting the same three part heist at the same time:

 

1)      Titan Towers: Find the vault, pick it clean. 

 

Horsemen: Dylan, Jack, and Lula

 

Eleven: Rusty, Saul, Livingston, Basher, and Yen

 

2)      The Sexy Bitch: Capture the yacht. 

Horsemen: Daniel, Henley, and Merritt

Eleven: Linus, Reuben, Virgil, Turk, and Frank

3)      WWE Live Las Vegas: Get the money, and don’t get caught. 

All Horsemen plus Thaddeus

All Eleven including Danny

Whichever team outwits Vince McMahon, outmaneuvers the other team, and succeeds in all three parts of the heist, wins.  

Game On! 

[Callisto]

Learn More About
The Four Horsemen
Read more about The Four Horsemen at Wikipedia
Official Site: Lions Gate Links: Wikipedia Moviepedia Lions Gate - Now You See Me

Ocean's Eleven
Read more about Ocean's Eleven at Wikipedia
Official Site: Warner Bros Links: Ocean's Eleven Wikipedia Ocean's Eleven imdb Ocean's Eleven official site

[broadwaybeyonder]

NOW YOU SEE ME - Bank Robbery Scene - YouTube

Now You See Me 2 - Ending explanation - YouTube

Oceans Eleven - YouTube

Oceans Eleven - building the team - YouTube

[patrickthekid]

Hmm... barring any prior knowledge of these two... I think Team Horsemen would be harder to stop. Hypnosis means that Team Horsemen can get info on Ocean's team without any of them knowing.

[Pizzaguy2995]

The Horsemen are good, but Danny Ocean and his team practically wrote the book on how to pull off a heist! The Ocean crew will be in and out the joint so quick, the Horsemen will be left stunned and questioning whether Ocean is a better magician then all of them.

[JohnnyChany]

These two teams make great rivals and have even operated on the same turf. Good matchup. I was more impressed by the planning and deception of Danny Ocean's team so I am giving them the win. I think both teams can be successful, but the Ocean's 11 crew would have a higher success rate. I just feel they are more flexible in what they can do whereas the Horsemen need more things to go a particular way for their plans to go smoothly. Also with their tricks usually being so grand scale it just lends itself to more things going wrong.

[RakaiThwei]

Hmmm... If you ask me, this one is too close to call!

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - patrickthekid
5.00 - JohnnyChany

FPA Calculation:
2 Total Votes cast
10.00 Total Combined Score
10.00 / 2 = 5.00 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
The Four Horsemen: 2
Ocean's Eleven: 3

[RakaiThwei]

And this one was CLOSE!

[broadwaybeyonder]

THE BOTTOM LINE

Linus and Rusty briskly walked through the corridors of the MGM Grand.  The both carried leatherbound suitcases in their left hands as they made their way to the elevators.  “Livingston, our exit better be clear,” said Rusty into his com, but all he got back was static.  The elevator doors opened to reveal Dylan, Merritt, and Jack.  “Going down, gentlemen?” asked Dylan.  “Come on, Dylan, I wanted to say that,” pouted Merritt.  Linus looked nervously at Rusty.  “Any ideas?” 

“Look, we told you guys already,” said Rusty.  “We told you to stay out of our way in Stamford.  We told you to stay out of our way in LA.  You guys are good, but this is our score.”  Jack slipped a card out of his sleeve and into his hand ready to throw.  “Yeah, we’re not okay with that.  You’ve already got the vault and the yacht.  How about we take the money and we call it even?” 

“We don’t have time for this.  The security guards will be coming to any minute,” Linus stammered.  Merritt took a step forward with a friendly smile.  “That’s okay there, buddy.  How about you just take a moment to wonder and wander through the wondrous wave of my worldly words as you SLEEP.”  Merritt snapped his fingers and Linus fell to the ground unconscious.  “Linus!” shouted Rusty.  Jack hurled the card and clipped Rusty’s hand, causing him to cry out in pain and drop his case.  Merritt quickly picked up both cases.  “Just a little suggestion I put in his head while he was distracted by Henley at the docks.  Don’t worry, he’ll be back on his feet in no time.”  Jack and Merritt backed into the elevator as Dylan looked disappointed into Rusty’s glaring face.  “We didn’t want to get rough with you people.  But if it’s the only way to make sure this money goes where it can do the most good…”  Shouts rang out from around the corner.  “Dylan!  We need to move!” shouted Jack.  Dylan gave a nod to Merritt who rolled his eyes.  “Feel the freeing flow and force of my words and AWAKE.”  Another snap of his fingers and Linus shook himself into wakefulness.  Rusty ran to his side as the elevator doors closed. 

“You good?” asked Rusty.  “I think so,” said Linus.  “Um what am I doing on the floor?”  Rusty helped Linus up as the security came around the corner.  “I’ll explain later,” he said and slammed the fire alarm.  The MGM Grand was instantly filled with blaring sirens.  The elevator car the Horsemen rode jolted to a halt.  “Damn it!” Jack groaned.  Dylan quickly scanned the roof of the car.  “Merritt, you help Jack try to open the top so we can go through the shaft.  I’ll take the door.”  Merritt hunched over to allow Jack to hop on his shoulders.  “Is this a bad time to tell you you’ve been putting on weight?” asked Merritt.  “Shut up!” 

A firetruck quickly rolled up to the MGM Grand, and started extending it’s ladder.  A crowd of revelers was pouring out of the hotel and casino, including Vince McMahon.  “What the hell is going around here?!” he growled at the nearest Grand employee.  “I’m sorry, sir.  There may be a fire in one of the rooms.  Please proceed to the guest safety area to check in.” 

“I don’t give a damn about fires!  My money is in there!  I’ve got people telling me someone may be trying to steal my money!”  The fireman at the wheel of the truck turned to another fireman standing at the base of the ladder.  “Alright, get up that ladder.” 

“I still don’t see why I have to go up the ladder.” 

“Because I’m driving the truck, pal!” 
 

“Who are you calling pal, friend?” 

“Just shut up and get up the ladder!” 

Meanwhile, Jack, Dylan and Merritt crawled out of the elevator and slowly crawled down the cables.  “Henley!  Daniel!” Dylan called over his com.  “Head for the elevators on 7^th floor.  We’re working our way down to you.”  Merritt gave a wary look down the shaft.  “Otherwise, you can find us at the bottom floor.  I’ll be the better-looking pile of goo.” 

Reuben and Saul slowly made their way to the concierge desk of the MGM Grand, followed by an older hotel employee pushing a luggage cart.  “Pardon us, miss.  We’d like to check out now.”  Lula stood up from the desk in an MGM uniform smiling broadly.  “Did you enjoy your stay?”  Suddenly the cart tipped over, causing all the luggage to fall over the floor.  Reuben and Saul froze for a second before rushing to the pile.  “Careful with those!  Seriously, where’d you learn to push that thing?”  Thaddeus quickly started resetting the luggage as Lula ran over to help.  “Sorry, gentlemen, it’s just these sirens are so loud.”  Lula quickly picked up to suitcases from the pile and switched them with two others.  She then returned to desk.  “So sorry for the inconvenience.  Hope you enjoyed your stay at the MGM Grand!” 

The ladder of the firetruck smashed through a window and Linus and Rusty climbed out to meet Turk.  “Right this way, folks.  Please make your way down the ladder in an orderly fashion…”  Rusty pushed past him as he hurried down the ladder.  “Livingston!  Do we have eyes on Yen?”  Livingston’s voice rang clear over the coms.  “He’s on the other side of the casino!  He’s on his way down!  You’ll need to be in position!” 

The elevator doors opened and Daniel and Henley lifted Dylan, Jack, and Merritt out of the shaft.  “Do you have the rig set?” asked Dylan as he handed them the cases.  “All ready to go,” said Henley.  The five magicians rushed to the window and a rock-climbing rig.  They quickly hooked themselves up and started their way out the window. 

The fire truck sped off down the street, splashing a puddle on Mr. McMahon.  “Come back here!  You can’t do that to me!  I’m Vince McMahon, damn it!”  In all the chaos, the Horsemen made their way down the MGM Grand and landed on the ground by a station wagon.  Lula was at the wheel, and waved at them.  “Hey, strangers!  Need a lift?”  The Horsemen piled into the car and drove off.  “We made it!” laughed Henley.  “We got the money!”  Daniel opened up one of the briefcases and froze.  “Don’t be too sure of that.”  He poured the contents on the floor of the van.  “Newspaper clippings?!” groaned Merritt.  “They got us with that gag?!”  Lula grinned as she nodded at Thaddeus.  “Don’t worry, Merritt.  We picked up your slack.  Thaddeus had been watching these guys for weeks.  He figured they had already gotten the money from McMahon, then they just put on a fake heist that we would intercept.”  Thaddeus smiled at Lula, and picked up the two cases they had gotten from Saul and Reuben.  “So, while you were dealing with their distraction, we got our hands on the money.”  He clicked the fasteners of the cases and opened it to reveal…  “MORE CLIPPINGS?!”  Jack shouted.   “I don’t believe this!” 

“Now hang on a second,” said Daniel.  “If none of these guys had the money, who has the money?”  Dylan’s face went pale, then he turned to Lula.  “Lula!  Get us back to the Grand!  Now!” 

On the other side of the MGM Grand, the Amazing Yen slowly climbed down the wall hand over hand.  He wore a backpack as he made his way to the ground where the firetruck waited for him.  Danny Ocean gave a look of approval as Yen ran to him with the backpack.  Yen handed the backpack to Danny, who opened it to reveal two leatherbound briefcases.  “You didn’t have any trouble getting these, Yen?” Danny asked.  Yen responded by raising a finger. 

The Horsemen’s station wagon pulled up just in time to see the 11 putting on firefighter’s protective gear and climbing on the truck.  Danny looked at the van and saw the stunned faces of the Horsemen.  He smiled, shrugged, lowered the protective visor of his helmet and jumped on the truck.  “Well,” said Dylan.  “You can’t say they aren’t good.”  Merritt pushed the door open of the station wagon and climbed out as the truck drove off.  “You smug jerks!  You couldn’t let us have just one?!” he fumed.  Merritt grabbed a card from his pocket and threw it…only for it to flutter to the ground a few feet away from him.  Dylan shook his head.  “Merritt.  Let it go.  Get in the van.”  Merritt pulled down the brim of his hat, and grumbled as he returned to his seat and slammed the door shut.