I loved this one
On stage, Teller was floating in a phone-booth-sized tank of water (wearing a grey suit as always). The top of the tank was open, but there were underwater metal bars preventing his mouth or nose from reaching air. Only his hands could fit through, and in his upstretched hands, Teller held a key clearly labeled “TELLER” above the water. A hose ran from a scuba tank on the stage into Teller’s mouth.
Penn explained that Teller would hold his breath until Penn completed a card trick. To add tension, a female audience member was recruited to hold a stopwatch and microphone and announce the passing of every thirty-second interval. Penn instructed Steve to pull the scuba regulator from Teller’s mouth to begin the trick, then to drag the scuba tank to the far side of the stage. A stagehand stepped out and had a muted conversation with Steve, looking like they had all the time in the world. The audience laughed nervously.
When Steve returned to Penn’s side, Penn went through the standard motions and had Steve open a new deck of cards, select one, sign the face, and show it to the audience. Penn then went on to fail to find Steve’s card in a miserable and time-consuming way. When he had looked through the entire deck without finding the card, he ran to the tank to let Teller out, but Teller pulled the key underwater and gestured that they had promised to complete the trick first.
Penn ran back to the front of the stage, which was now littered with playing cards. He and Steve began looking through the fallen cards desperately. Teller began to struggle. Penn directed Steve to let Teller out; Steve walked to the back of the stage and tried the key. It didn’t turn. He jiggled the key, jiggled the lock. No success. Teller was trapped. He began to splash, spraying the stage with water, then fell still and sank down in the tank.
With a sigh, Penn realized his partner was dead. “Don’t worry, Steve. I’m sure nobody could blame you for this. I mean, even though everyone saw you rip the regulator from Teller’s mouth… after all, it is a performer’s responsibility to check his own props, so obviously it is Teller’s fault for not making sure this was the right key. I’m sure no court would convict you, despite all these witnesses.”
Penn walked up to the front of the stage and motioned for Steve to follow. They bowed their heads and clasped their hands together. Penn began to eulogize Teller. Steve stood, head bowed, looking sideways at Penn with a half-smile on his face, eyes full of mirth. When Penn finished a few minutes later, he walked to the tank to turn it around, since Teller had died with his back to the audience. As the tank rotated, the audience saw something inside Teller’s facemask. Steve recognized his signature.
“Is this your card?”
