<div class="floatleft">(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_x0qA5RDeTuU/TC8AuWK5sSI/AAAAAAAAAX8/EZFU5m85GKA/s1600/2009_Undisputed_3_18.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Alexei Mikhalev (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=250173.msg12408256#msg12408256)<br/><strong>City | Date | Time:</strong>San Francisco / August 17th, 2017 / 7:30 AM<br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Nadia de Lucchi (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=250173.msg12410206#msg12410206), Open<br/><strong>Content:</strong>Magicking in the street!<br/><hr/>There were some issues with what he was doing. It took some nerve to just stand up in the middle of a public street and call attention to yourself, but Alexei had made his peace with it. Street artist was one of the oldest professions in the world, and there weren't many better ways of getting butts into seats when it came to magic shows than showcasing your talents on the street. Plus, some people found the foreign accent something of a magnet. It was all a show, he thought as he placed his gear on the ground and grabbed the attention of the passerbys with his setting it up. A small, transportable pedestal and putting a mysterious looking black box on top of it. Next, he pulled some locks, chains and a pair of handcuffs out of his bag and, but then, a small crowd had gathered to see what this guy was up to. He finished setting it up and with a flourish, placed a fez on the ground.<br/><br/>"What is up, ladies and gentlemen?" He asked, smiling in as performance enhancing way as he knew how, slipping the handcuffs onto his hands, locking them nice and neatly, tight around his wrists," You must be wondering why I'm placing myself under arrest. Well, since there are no police here, I have to do it myself, don't I? Besides, It's not like the police would be doing much good," With a quick flourish of his wrists, his hands came loose from the cuffs, without the cuffs themselves even opening.<br/><br/>A smattering of claps, but the crowd was not impressed.<br/><br/>"Hah, you want something more impressive," In a world where the impressive was commonplace, it would be a trick to balance oneself between the impressive and the impossible. He pointed at one of the spectators, a young man who didn't look like he needed to be anywhere in a hurry.<br/><br/>"You, could you give these cuffs a look?"<br/><br/>The young man looked around, disbelieving that he had been picked," Ummm sure?"<br/><br/>"You look like you know way around a pair of cuffs," The crowd chuckled," He know what I talk of."<br/><br/>The man blushed by laughed with everyone else, looking at the cuffs, checking for the common things that people looked for in trick cuffs. None of them would be there, and he offered them back to Alexei," They look legit, man."<br/><br/>"Thank you..."<br/><br/>"Thomas."<br/><br/>"Thank you, Thomas. Now," Alexei turned around and put his hands behind his back," Would you be so kind as to cuff me? Make sure that it's nice and tight too."<br/><br/>"Okay," Was the shrug enhanced response as he came forward and snapped the cuffs in place, tightening them, at the crowd's egging, until Alexei could feel his pulse ticking against the cool steel.<br/><br/>"Why doesn't someone come over to check on Thomas' work? Thomas, pick someone."<br/><br/>"Okay..." The young man looked around and picked out a young woman to come forward. Young and pretty, with a distinctive party girl look to her. She jogged forward from her group of friends, giggling and came over and checked how tight the cuffs were.<br/><br/>"Looking good?"<br/><br/>"Looks great," She said, with a little inflection in the last word that made it sound like a question.<br/><br/>"Awesome," Alexei turned around," And what's your name?"<br/><br/>"Carmen."<br/><br/>"Nice to meet you, Carmen," He extended a hand, still attached to the cuffs but not the other hand. It took the crowd the amount of time that it took for Carmen to take the Russian's hand to realize the trick and they clapped, a bit more impressed, more so when he slipped the now free cuff over her hand. None of them noticed that the cuff wasn't open when it went over her wrist. More clapping. Alexei slipped between Thomas and Carmen and bowed to the claps, but having bumped into Thomas on the way there, phasing the cuff that was still on his wrist onto Thomas' wrist. A snap of static electricity went through the two of them and as Thomas reacted predictably, jerking his hand away, he did so under the realization that he was now cuffed to Carmen.<br/><br/>Now he had the people's attention.<br/><br/>"Didn't I say he knew his way around a pair of cuffs?" Alexei said with a laugh, winking at Thomas and handing Carmen the key to the cuffs," Give it a second. Get to know Thomas." She nodded and giggled and Alexei turned back to the slightly larger crowd," A round of applause for Thomas and Carmen, everyone!"<br/><br/>The two helpers blushed and backed away, with Carmen trying to undo the cuffs.<br/><br/>"But enough party tricks, ladies and gentlemen!" He said, turning to the black box and pedestal, taking the wooden cube from it's perch and opened it," I'll need someone to step in and help me out with this one."