Disclaimer: I do not own DC Universe characters. OC characters: Det. Blake Hayes, and Victor Lennox are mine.

This is a work of fiction, so not all subject material is real. I've made stuff up. Shocking for a fiction author, I know.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS A SUICIDE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

...

The Flash had been called on many cases. He'd had numerous calls over his communicator, beeping in is ear, at midnight, one, or two in the morning calling him to go and save the world. He'd seen destruction and carnage and he'd even had the misfortune to see death in his line of work. In the end, to the victor went the spoils and the good guys won, he and the League had somehow always managed to save the day.

As Wally West, he hadn't had as many of those calls. He was a forensic scientist. He usually entered the crime scene after the body was rolled away, he saw the damage and death through the camera lens in the crime scene photos. A certain distance was established between him and the death on the other side of the camera, the blood and gore seemed less real. But he knew that he was one of the luckier ones. He knew many officers that had their experience with death, viewing the murder victim after the crime, chasing the bad guy after the crime had happened, or even getting hurt or killed in the line of duty. Some handled it better than others. Some couldn't handle it at all.

Right now, Wally wasn't being called into save the world. He was being called to save one man.

A friend.

"What's going on?" Wally asked, rushing up to the line of officers in front of the skyscraper. It was the new construction sight for Lennox Tower. It was supposed to be one of the highest buildings in the nation, it had received a lot of press and now it was only going to receive more.

Officer Frank O'Neil spotted Wally as he made his way through the barriers, one of the other uniformed officers letting him into the barricade. "Wally! Thank God! You gotta talk some sense into him! Wally, you have to!"

Wally looked around, a helicopter flew circles around the building, shining light on the steel beams, the shadows dancing to make a skeleton. The thought sent a shiver up Wally's spine. "What's happening Frank? No one would tell me! They just said that I was needed down here and that it was an emergency."

O'Neil put his large hand on Wally's shoulder, eyes shining with sympathy Wally didn't know he needed. "It's Blake, Wally. He's threatening to jump."

Wally reeled, his heart plummeting into his stomach. "Blake? But I just talked to him tonight as I was getting off shift! What the hell happened?"

"I don't know, kid. His partner said he'd been acting real strange since the Edmonson case went south. That little girl—it really got to him Wally."

Wally remembered. He'd been to that crime scene. One of the most horrible things he'd ever seen and no one had been unaffected by the sight. A little girl with blond, curly pig tails, lifeless hazel eyes staring into his own that would always haunt him. "I remember, Frank. We all do. It wasn't his fault—" He was cut off by a shout from the line.

"We've got him on the phone! He's demanding to speak to Wally! Where is he?"

Wally ran up to the shouting officer, he grabbed the phone. "I'm here Blake! What are you doing man?"

He heard a shaky laugh on the other end. One he recognized from when Blake would brush off the deep stuff Wally always tried to get him to talk about when they were drunk.

"Hey Wall, I'm…I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think I'd get to say good-bye." Wally's heart sank, his stomach churning at the defeated sound on the other end of the line.

Suddenly a light from the helicopter focused on a spot near the top of the construction site. Most of the building was complete, but the top portion still had exposed sections and standing there was his friend, his close friend, or so he'd thought.

"Listen, man. You have to come down from there. Come down and we can talk about this, we can get you some help—"

"Jane left me." Wally paused, letting that sink in. He took a deep breath and simply continued trying to reason with the hysterical man.

"I'm so sorry pal. I had no idea things were that bad. You said you guys were having trouble, but you said you were going to talk to that therapist..."

Blake laughed, a broken and hollow sound coming from the man that had always seemed so jubilant. It's why he and Wally had gotten along so well, they were two peas from the same pod, the cops around the precinct had always joked if Blake had been redhead like Wally, they could have been mistaken for twins. Wally and Blake loved that, both being orphans, they'd latched onto one another and made a point to hang out and prank anyone they deemed worthy of their attentions.

"Listen Wally—" Blake's voice breaking Wally from his memory, looking up at the light he could see his friend, standing on the edge, his hand gripping the closest exposed beam, his other clutching the phone, his lifeline.

"Wally! Listen to me."

Wally shook his head, trying to make it all go away. He could hear the finality in Blake's tone. "No, Blake you listen to me. You need to come down here right now. I need you to come down here right now. Please. Blake—" The other officers surrounding him looked away, politely trying to ignore the break in his voice, he could hear the SWAT commander ordering the seizure team to move in when they got the chance. Wally gripped the phone tighter, if he could keep his friend on the line longer he could save him.

"Wally. Stop talking for one moment and listen." Wally stopped breathing, his breath hitching in his throat. "This is not your fault. You understand me? This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. I'm just tired, tired of pretending that I'm okay, tired of pretending that all of it matters somehow. That what we do makes a difference. I've been fighting it for so long, and you have no idea how much you've helped me. But I just can't do it anymore. I've tried. Now it's time to stop pretending. I love this city, I love the people, I love my fellow officers, but I just can't find the strength to keep moving forward and all it's gonna do is drag you down because I know you'll do anything to save people. It's what you do Wally."

Wally could feel the tears start to fall, he could see officers wiping their own tear stained faces as they listened through the speaker. "Why are you doing this? Now. Why here?"

Blake let out another hollow laugh, "Consider it my final contribution to the good of man. Lennox is a bastard, we all know it and this building is a monument to a monster. A monster that KILLED a little girl with so much promise!" Blake shouted, sending a spear of fear into Wally's blood.

Lennox was dirty. He was up there with Luthor when it came to corrupt business deals he just hadn't ventured into the super-villain realm.

Yet.

"Listen, Blake. There's a right way to get this guy. This isn't it."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. "He can't get away with it, Wally. And this way, you can open an investigation. Two birds, one jump." Blake chuckled, more to himself.

"Blake—"

"No Wally." Blake cut into Wally's attempt to assuage him. "I've made up my mind. No more games, no more fake laughter, no more fake bravado, no more fake anything. I know they've got SWAT on their way, but I shut down the elevator, it's gonna take 'em a while to get through that sealed door too. Call them off. They won't make it." He could hear shouting from over in the SWAT tent, the team had just come up against the door, but they were still ten floors away. They wouldn't make it, just like Blake said.

His feet twitched, he knew he could make it up the side of the building as Flash, he'd just have to go "make a phone call" and he'd be—

"And don't do what you're thinking either. It won't work." Wally hesitated, knowing he was getting a few quizzical glances from the other officers. Blake knew he was the Flash, he had known for years. He'd told him after Blake starting putting the puzzle pieces together, but he had always trusted him implicitly. It had been a relief to be able to talk to Blake about everything. Blake's voice on the other end cut into his thought, again, "Besides I brought a failsafe."

Looking up, Wally saw Blake's other hand move from the beam into the light, the glint of a gun catching the spotlight. Wally's blood turned cold as officers and the rescue team shouted around him that Blake had a gun.

"Good bye, Wally. My best friend. My brother. Keep saving the world. It needs you."

"Blake NO—" Wally shouted, dropping the phone as he heard the line cut out. He ran towards the building, not managing to make it far as the loud crack of a gun echoed through the air and a body began to fall forty stories. Wally wrenched himself away from Frank, who'd grabbed onto him as soon as he'd dropped the phone.

"Wally! Stop, kid!" Wally ripped away, moving to the large rescue trampoline that had been put at the bottom of the building, just as the paramedics were reaching for Blake's lifeless body from the surface.

His face was flushed and wet from the tears, he could hear himself screaming Blake's name. A few officers grabbed him from behind so the paramedics and coroner could wheel Blake's body from the scene. He watched as Blake's bloody face turned, eyes open and lifeless staring straight into his before being zipped into the black, plastic body bag and rolled away forever. He fell to the ground, legs giving way underneath him, tears still falling, but his sobs had stopped.

All he could do was let the tears fall as he silently watched his best friend, his brother being taken away in the back of an ambulance, knowing he'd never be coming back.

...

...

So much feeling. I'm at a bit of a plot block for my other story so I'm writing this one until I get a stroke of genius. Like I said, I don't follow a particular canon, I simply have ideas and I write them. BatFlash slash coming up too, so if you don't like it, don't read it.

Reviews are always welcome.

Thank you for reading!