Astrid, Caitlin and Cisco sat at the table in the board room. They had just finished the final stage of interviewing the final twenty possible candidates, for the role of acting assistant manager for STAR Labs. The final candidate would report directly to Astrid, but would undertake all the jobs that she herself would generally be responsible for in the managing of the corporation.
As the final candidate left the room, the three of them looked at each other. "You're right, Astrid, Wells is perfect… But how do we know that we can trust him." Caitlin asked, "but it's up to you..."
Astrid looked at Caitlin who was sitting on her right side. "No, it's up to the two of you. He will act as your supervisor, like my father used to. I read Wells' mind… there was nothing whatsoever that could pose as a threat to us. I saw everything… the guy's been through a lot! He's an exceptional doctor, he even has experience in mechanical engineering, which will help you out too, Cisco."
Cisco shook his head, "I don't trust him… are you sure that you want to hand the reigns over to some guy who's evil doppleganger was a speedster on another earth? We literally had to warn the other me to be careful of him! Somewhere another you is saying 'hey… we warned them!' and her dorky best friend would be all…"
"…Cisco… Do you agree that Wells is the best candidate or not?" Astrid asked him sternly.
"What about that pretty girl from earlier?" Cisco asked.
"She thought STAR Labs was a fashion label!" Caitlin snapped.
Astrid laughed at the two of them and went back over the documents. "Cisco, he even got your "Back to the Future" reference."
Cisco laughed quietly to himself, "It was a good one, wasn't it?" he humored. "Okay… but think about it… The doctors here already know Barry's secret… What if this guy is the one who exposes all of our secrets and betrays us all? How would you feel knowing that he could turn against us and maybe even get us all killed for trusting in him?"
"Cisco… If he was a speedster I wouldn't have been able to read his mind…" Astrid argued.
Cisco put up his hand, "hey… you can read Barry's mind when he allows you too. Who's to say that he wasn't planting images in his own mind just for his own benefit… and then we hire him and then Pow! We're all done for!"
"Cisco does raise a good point, Astrid." Caitlin chimed in, "We really can't trust that he doesn't have some sort of hidden agenda… I mean look what happened with Lisa Snart… she posed as your assistant Jane and duped us all… especially Cisco… and then there was Jonathan Crane… who duped us all once again. We don't have the best track record when it comes hiring new people around here… and we're asking someone to make most of the decisions, and stand in your place when you need them too…"
Astrid nodded, "Duly noted. I would say that we are far from defenseless… but that always seems to jinx us… so, I'll just say. We will all remain vigilant. Remember, while this Dr Harrison Wells, guy… will have a lot of power, I am still the CEO. Besides, if things get dire we're a team… and we have allies that we can call upon whenever we need the help, plus we have Barry! I will not let my father's legacy go down the drain. But at the same time, I can't keep pushing myself and the rest of us as hard as I have been doing."
Caitlin and Cisco nodded as Astrid continued, "Besides, if I receive another 3am phone call for a chemical spill on the 9th floor, after we've been up all night helping the Flash, I'm probably going to scream!"
"I told you not to answer it, so that was your own doing!" Cisco replied.
"3am? Ouch!" Caitlin said, "Okay… So, Wells?"
"Wells!" Astrid and Cisco both said in unison.
All of a sudden, their emergency alerts went off. "I'm on it!" Cisco said as he jumped from his chair and ran out of the room, making his way towards the elevator.
Caitlin and Astrid sent the other candidates home and invited an enthusiastic DR Wells towards the elevator, ready to give him his first trial at the job.
Once they were secure in the elevator, Wells spoke up. "I'm relieved to have this opportunity. But I must admit, I'm quite surprised that it's all happening a little fast!"
"Well, DR Wells. What we do is a matter of urgency… and fast is how we operate here!" Astrid said, smiling at Caitlin in relation to their inside joke.
They reached their floor, and before the doors could open, Astrid placed her palm on the control panel and undertook the eye scan. "Welcome Astrid!" Gideon's voice spoke from over the system.
DR Wells felt pure excitement of the new technology, on realizing this Caitlin added, "Mr Ramon recently added the AI interface to upgrade the facility's security... We can't have just anyone coming up to this floor without a clearance."
"Smart idea!" DR Wells commented.
As the elevator doors opened before them, leading out to the 97th floor, DR Harrison Wells looked around at the atmosphere and breathed it in. Cisco was busy at work standing at his hi-tech computer, speaking to someone through a microphone.
"Wow… this place is such an amazing cortex. The layout… It has everything! I need to ask, what goes on here?" His blue eyes twinkled, he was in his delight. Cisco looked over at him, on hearing his question.
Before any of them could answer, there was a sudden gust of wind and a red figure stood in front of them, holding out his hand for DR Wells to shake.
"You're the Flash!" Wells said, excitedly, shaking his hand immediately.
"This, my friend…" Cisco said as he put his hand on Well's shoulder, "…is exactly what goes on here!"
