Chapter 1 (of 5) - What a Night for a Knight (Barry)
Mystery Inc. was Felicity's brainchild. She was the driving force behind the small private investigative firm, whose motto could easily be 'Have Mystery, Will Travel' but in actuality was 'Mysteries Need Solving' – the actual quote behind the modified slogan crossed her lips in a conversation with him during their youthful days at summer science camp. "I hate mysteries. They bug me. They need to be solved."
It was during those formative years, bouncing ideas and theories off of each other, that Felicity Smoak claimed him as the first of her boys. He was her general science tech and instead of sticking around Central City working forensic for the CCPD and watching his childhood crush and love of his life date another, Barry allowed her to talk him into joining her little endeavor. She was the driving force and glue that held their eclectic team together. None of it would work without her, they all knew that, because as much as he'd come to like and admire the other members of their team Barry knew there was no way he would have befriended any of them on their own. He was that rare variety that Iris called "adorable nerd" and while he could blend into most crowds, he always felt more comfortable amongst his own. And really, that came in handy when he needed to pull in Cisco, Ronnie or Caitlin for an emergency long-distance consult. Their specialties were all different, but geek was their common language.
The same could not be said for John Diggle – Broad-Shouldered Security, Roy Harper – Sarcastic Bandit, and Oliver Queen – Moneybag Charm, as he labelled them upon their first meeting. He didn't know the exact stories about how Felicity first met each of them and made them her own, which was the only thing they really had in common in the beginning. In their own ways they each belonged to her and filled a role on her mystery solving team. He was the best friend, able to process evidence and help her follow leads. Dig, as Barry called him out loud because he had no desire to anger the giant specimen of manhood who could easily break him in half was a protective older brother. Emphasis on protective and as a trained Special Forces soldier John Diggle could take on any threat and was responsible for keeping them in line. No easy feat when he had a reformed criminal "practical knowledge and street smarts, that's a combination we need," Felicity said of the man-child that she clearly saw as younger brother for her to keep on the straight and narrow; and a semi-reformed playboy billionaire to keep tabs on. Oliver was funding the operation until it could do so itself and used his debonair looks and breezy charm when necessary – basically he worked the physical evidence and Oliver handled witnesses, especially if they were women because they seemed to fall at his feet.
Not that Felicity had, though with the looks and touches, Barry was beginning to wonder if it was only a matter of time. He wasn't exactly jealous, though he'd been on the receiving end of enough glares and eye rolls from Oliver to speculate that the other man might be. He loved Felicity, in the way he probably should have learned to love Iris growing up sharing a house and father (figure for him), but never had. But he was fairly certain he'd fallen in love with Iris West when they met each other as five-year-olds in kindergarten. His own personal tragedy and change in living situation could not alter that fact, nor could her obvious lack of romantic regards towards him. That became clear when Iris tried to set him up with Felicity, who was more his sister in his mind, then Iris ever would be.
So he packed his bag, jumped in the vintage blue and green van with his best friend and three virtual strangers – because name drops and slight details over Skype sessions with Felicity didn't really count as knowing them – to solve mysteries. The Mystery Machine as she and Roy liked to call the vehicle, which caused Oliver frown each time and Dig to chuckle, felt a tad small for five grown people. Especially since Moneybag Charm was just slightly smaller than Broad-Shouldered Security and Sarcastic Bandit had a similar, but sadly more muscular, lanky frame like his own. Felicity had the advantage of being tiny, with gently padded curves that contended better with the stiff seats of the van. If wasn't for her bright chatter, infectious smile and overly determined nature Barry was certain this grand experiment would not have lasted the two and half day drive to their first case.
He wasn't sure how Felicity found the case or talked them into investigating it, but the professor in residence of the County Museum, Jameson Hyde-White, was expecting them. Though it did not occur every full moon, three times in past five months one of the museum's main attractions in their medieval display, an ancient black suit of armor originally from England, disappeared. It was always found again – eventually – usually in an abandoned car, the drivers having vanished.
With people missing and security increased there was talk of sending the armor back to England, the only thing that had prevented that action was the fact that the museum's curator, Mr. Wickles, loathed to lose what he saw as one of his biggest draws. Professor Hyde-White thought the man's fear of the museum being adversely affected was a bit of a stretch, but had held off on making the transfer because he understood that losing a popular piece was a valid concern. Barry wasn't certain what the biggest draw to the case was for Felicity: the supernatural element, wanting to save a museum, or wanting to find three missing people. The ghostly aspect would have touched on her obsession with Sherlock Holms; their favorite detective always seemed tied up in some Hound of the Baskerville-esque paranormally bent case. As a geek in her own right, one with a technological bent who'd earned an early master's degree from MIT in computer science and cyber security, his friend loved learning and places that facilitated it; saving a museum for her would be like faithful believes keeping a dwindling population church open. Having both lost parents, Felicity's father had just walked out one day never to return, no explanation given while he'd lost one parent to death and the other to jail; tough Barry never doubted his father's innocence in mother's murder. They both knew what it was like to have people missing who should be there and he knew being able to find that answer for others was probably the thing that made her gravitate towards this case the most.
Traffic had prevented them from arriving the afternoon of the full moon as planned and when they got to the museum early that evening Professor Hyde-White had vanished along with the armor. It had taken a bit of convincing but Mr. Wickles finally agreed to let them investigate. Felicity and Dig had gone off to review the museum's security, while he went to examine the scene in the medieval room for clues, leaving Roy and Oliver to search for the professor. The only thing he found out of place was a specialized pair of magnifying glasses that tended to be used by jewelers, scientists and archaeologists. The specks were tucked behind a bench right outside the entrance of the medieval room and had Professor Hyde-White's name engraved on them.
He'd been writing up notes on his findings when Roy and Oliver brought the review of the security system to a halt by returning with the missing the amour. "We found an abandon pickup and it was in the back," Roy reported proudly as he thrust open the backdoors of the van to reveal a box that had pieces of the suit sticking up out of it. Diggle shook his head while Felicity let out a groan. "Did you call the police?"
"No."
"So you took evidence from a crime scene without reporting it?" Dig asked slowly, his face hard, indicating his annoyance at the two men.
The younger man's aquamarine eyes skittered to Oliver who had winched at the question. "Yes."
"You two are not allowed out by yourselves again. I'll deal with the locals, you should let Wickles know that the museum's property has been found," Dig told Felicity. She nodded, threw Roy and Oliver a disappointed and exasperated look, before turning to head back into the building. "Allen, keep an eye on these two so they don't screw up again."
"Yay babysitting," he muttered earning hard glares from his charges.
"Is this really happening? Like actually happening?" Barry asked as he struggled to pull puffs of air in and out of lungs as he fought to catch his breath. Hunched over beside him Roy gazed up, shooting him a 'how are words even coming out of your mouth' look as he too gulped in air. They'd been chased by the same dark armor that had drawn them to investigate in the first place. He would have been more embarrassed about running away from a sword wielding knight and losing one of his so-called charges if Roy and Oliver hadn't sprinted from the jumbling mass of metal with him.
They'd been too busy running, sword swishing behind them and the clattering sound of old metal clanking, to coordinate their escape plan so when the corridor T-ed, he and Roy had gone right and Oliver left. With their pursuer steps behind them Oliver waved them on and they had little choice but to separate. The knight had followed them as they weaved in and out of the various display rooms until they got to a stairwell. Roy had dragged him up the steps and the groaning sounds of metal had not followed, allowing them a moment to finally catch their breath.
"Where's the cavalry?" Roy questioned breaking the relative silence of their harsh breathing.
His brow drew together. "What do you mean?"
Roy shook his head, the action clearly signaling his frustration that he was seeing something Barry hadn't. "After Felicity smoothed out Wickles's ruffled feathers she said she was going back to the security system."
"She should be seeing this," Barry said quickly piecing together what Roy had already figured out. "She would have sounded the alarm."
"Right, and since the sword welding maniac was following us and not Oliver, Dig would have headed our way. So where is he?" Roy queried.
Barry couldn't help the sliver of bone deep concern that pulsed through him. John Diggle was the one responsible for keeping them safe, if he hadn't come it could only mean two things: 1. he was unable to and anything that could prevent a well-trained and determined ex-solider from performing his duty was something to worry over – so Barry really didn't like that option – or 2. their teammates had no idea what was happening, meaning there was something very wrong with the security system. Something that Felicity had yet to figure out. Trusting in her ability he knew it was only a matter of time, so without their phones – and he knew they'd never hear the end of using their only means of communication as projectile weapons against a knight (seriously how pointless had that been?) – they either had to get to the security room and fill her in or keep out of sight of the knight long enough for rescue.
He laid out option two for Roy, Barry knew the kid was smart enough to figure out option one, but dwelling on that possibility would do them little good. It was better to focus on what they could control, which turned out to be very little because twenty minutes later when they finally managed to get through the museum unnoticed by the knight they found the security control room empty.
After a short bickering session, where Barry reminded Roy that Diggle had left him in charge, "Bang up job you're doing," he'd grumbled, they were once again traipsing through the museum looking for their missing cohorts. A not so whispered argument during their search drew them down towards the last display room in a hallway that ended with a cordoned off 'Museum Employees Only' doorway.
Recognizing the voices the tension began to ease from his stance. "That painting was missing," Barry heard Oliver insist as he and Roy neared the doorway. Diggle stood prone inside it, keeping a watchful eye. Upon seeing them he grunted a greeting while Oliver and Felicity continued to squabble about the fact that there was a painting on the wall now when it hadn't been there earlier. He was considering stepping in, because a reappearing painting was the least of their worries, when Roy nudged him. When he glanced over at the younger man Roy jutted his chin towards the floor. Even in the dim lighting the drop of navy paint stood out against the creamy marble of the floor.
Roy extended his arm out and Barry followed the line of sight, finding another drop a few feet down the hallway. He hadn't noticed the paint on their trek down the corridor, his attention had been focused on the voices they heard and keeping an eye out for an armed and dangerous knight. His eyes quickly drifted back towards the painting in question – a fierce seascape, one that had a fair amount of navy used in it to accentuate the threatening waves – Barry wasn't sure if was the faint lighting in the room or not, but the paint seemed wet.
He walked right through the narrow space separating Oliver and Felicity, stopping their argument, and touched the painting. "Barry!" Felicity hissed, expressing both her surprise and annoyance at his action. Ignoring her tone he pulled back his fingers and found the two he'd touched to the painting had come away with color on them. He stepped back in between his teammates, his hand raised so that Felicity could see the paint transfer to his thumb when he touched it to his index and middle fingers. "It's fresh," he informed her.
"A forgery?" Oliver asked, just as Roy said, "There's a trail." Felicity started towards Roy, to follow the track he'd found. Barry thought about stopping her, he wanted to explain about the security system, but Roy had already started back down the hallway with Diggle on his heels. Not wanting the group to be separated again he relented and followed along behind Oliver, who'd stepped in between him and Felicity.
The spots of paint led them to the tiny Egyptology room which was mostly murals haphazardly scrawled on the walls with hieroglyphics so that a decaying and unimportant in grand historical significance sarcophagus could be displayed. There was a gap between the back wall of the room and the sarcophagus. Since Felicity was the smallest she squeezed into area, where she found another paint droplet which she said seemed to disappear beneath the wall. Diggle reached over the artifact and Felicity to tap on the wall. As a faint echo sounded she breathed out, "There's a door."
She ran her fingers along the wall looking for a latch, while Oliver and Dig pushed on the base that held the sarcophagus attempting to generate additional space between it and the wall. Once they had created enough room Barry stepped behind Felicity. "We should try pushing," he suggested, placing his hands next to hers.
Years of exploring and working together at camp fell into place as she counted down quietly. "Three, two, one …" they pressed forward and there was a hiss as the door moved backwards and then drifted slightly to the right. Felicity ducked out from between his arms so he could push the door completely to the side. When he looked back at the group he found Roy and Felicity's eyes alight with excitement, Dig looking intrigued but apprehensive, while Oliver just looked irritated.
"We're living Goonies!" Roy exclaimed he shared an exhilarated grin with Felicity before stepping into the hidden passageway.
Diggle's jaw flexed as he prevented Felicity from following straightaway. "This isn't a game and he'll treat it like one as long as you do." She blinked up at him, her wide smile faltering. Knowing she got his message Dig followed along behind Roy. Barry offered her a reassuring pat on her shoulder, before ducking down the hallway. Their footsteps echoed down the passage which ended in an open doorway to a circular room that was filled with finished and unfinished paintings, some which he'd remembered seeing on the walls of the museum.
"This isn't a haunting, curse or whatever term you were bantering about earlier," Diggle declared as they all moved about the room taking it in, "it is a theft and forgery ring."
Hours later they stood together outside as dawn broken over the museum. The warm magenta and golden hues struggled to cut through the harsh rotating lights of the police vehicles (three squad cars, an undercover sedan, and a SWAT van) that had been strategically parked in front of the County Museum. Drooping from the crash of his adrenaline rush, Barry watched as the cuffed curator, Mr. Wickles, who they'd had unmasked as the knight after an unfortunate incident with a World War biplane that left a number of relics smashed beyond repair, was led to one of the vehicles.
A through search of the premises by the police while they'd been giving their statement had turned up a bound Professor Hyde-White hidden within one of the Indian effigies. As Wickles was led away the professor joined them. After quick introductions, he expressed his gratitude for their assistance before stating in a somewhat befuddled manner that, "Monologuing is a real thing. I mean, I thought it only happened in fiction, but after Wickles captured me he went on and on about his smuggling ring. About how he stole and replaced the paintings and was beginning to fear that I had noticed the fakes. Hence the whole black knight thing to distract me."
As he finished his own soliloquy the professor weaved and stumbled into him. As he steadied the man Barry noticed how pale and worn he was from the experience and he wondered idly if he looked as bad. Though he hated to press anyone in his condition he asked because he knew the question was still on Felicity's mind. "Did he mention the other missing people?"
"No one is really missing," he answered rubbing his eyes. "They were a part of the ring and disappeared as a means to sell the idea of the armor being cursed."
Out of the corner of his eye Barry saw Felicity's relax into Diggle's side at the words. The giant wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, "I think we've earned our rest," he commented leading Felicity towards the van.
"Need a ride Professor?" Barry asked as Roy and Oliver followed behind them.
"We've got him," a police officer said coming to stand on the opposite side of the professor. Based on his time with the CCPD he took the pretty, raven-haired patrolwoman as new a cadet. She took hold of the professor's elbow, "Good work," she offered with a smile as she steered her charge towards one of the remaining patrol cars.
Barry stood a moment, admiring the view of her uniformed retreating form. His quiet enjoyment was broken when Roy shouted, "Stop drooling and get your ass to the van!"
