Siobhan had always been a nervous person. About everything that involved talking to other people made her break into a sweat. But no level of nervousness she had experienced in her twenty-four years came close to the torture she was going through this week. And it all revolved around an innocent little black electronic device in her pocket. The burner Snart had given her.

Siobhan had never owned a cell phone before. She couldn't even remember the last time she had used one because, who was there to call anyway? Owning one now, even if it was just a burner, should have been strange. She had expected to forget about it after an hour. But instead it seemed to draw in her whole attention. There was not much you could do with a burner but to make calls and check for messages. And as the first one was out of the question, she stuck to checking for missed calls or messages...constantly. She awaited the call with such dread and excitement that she felt like she was close to exploding.

One week, Snart had said. Expect our call in one week.

It wasn't about the money. Even if she needed it, all she could really think about was that the two most well-known thieves from Central City had worked with her. She had seen some reports about the two on the news. Apparently they had been big in Central City, outsmarting the police for years, until the Flash showed up. A year after that they suddenly had disappeared and new reports about their activities settled them outside of Central City. Whether they had been beaten by the Flash or just lost interest in Central City, no one knew. But Siobhan didn't care, her mind was busy trying to figure out how she fit into all this. Knowing there was the possibility that they would really call her back, that perhaps there was more in for her than just the money... There were no words to describe the excitement.

But as four days passed without anything happening, Siobhan started to worry that maybe, just maybe, the two thieves had tricked her. And once that thought had settled, it only grew. She didn't know how to contact them. All she had was a phone number and if they didn't want to talk to her, there was nothing she could do about it. What reason had they anyway to give her her share? Why wouldn't they just keep it? After all, they were thieves! But then, they had also freed her of the circus, they had burnt down the Master in his caravan. They had given her money and a chance to start a new life. Who would do all that and then just trick her the next time? No, they might have been thieves, but they were honest one's. At these thoughts Siobhan slowly started to doubt whether she herself was still right in the mind. But what else was there to do but wait and see what happened?

The much expected call finally came when, of course, she expected it the least and she nearly didn't answer it.

"But of course he knew better, like he always does! Doctors! I tell you, never listen to them!" Mrs. Potz said as she led the way up the stairs. Siobhan was following her quietly, a bag of groceries in each hand. "I am the one taking the meds, I am the one suffering from the side effects. So, I should be the one who knows best, right? Of course I'm right. How would you know anyway! Young people, you don't worry about anything yet! At your age I wasn't worrying either! Oh, how beautiful I was! And about to get married! Back then it was all different of course" Siobhan rolled her eyes at Mrs. Potz' large backside that was currently struggling to master the next step. Even growing up at the rim of society, she couldn't count how many times she had heard that last sentence. Still, she was far from saying anything. If Mrs. Potz felt like complaining, Siobhan would let her complain. As long as she was not expected to answer, she was comfortable. "What does he know about my pain? All he knows he's learnt from some stupid old book, but does he know what it feels like to have a bad back? To feel every change of the weather? No! I am the expert on that! I decide if I take his pills are worthless or not! I'm not letting my body get pumped full with all that bullshit! I'm not a lab rat! For god's sake, would you please turn off that annoying sound? My ears are sensible!"

Siobhan had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she not only had blended out the chatter of the old lady, but also didn't hear the ringing emanating from her pocket. "What, since when do you have one of these horrible little things? And here I thought you were one of the last normal crazy people around...what are you doing? Girl!" Mrs. Potz shouted after her when Siobhan sprinted past her, but Siobhan was already on the next floor. She quickly sped down the hallway and threw the grocery bags into the corner of Mrs. Potz' door and then yanked the burner out of her pocket. She was so excited that she turned the thing three times in her hand to find the right side to open it. The moment the voice on the other side of the line spoke, Mrs. Potz' curses faded into the background "Ah, so you do wanna talk to me. I was already doubting you'd pick up...had better things to do?"

"I don't get it" Leonard bit back a smile. If only he got a penny each time he had heard his partner say this sentence. He certainly wouldn't need to steal anything anymore. Not that he needed to anyway. "Let me explain" "What is there to explain? These targets are too small, not even close to what we usually take on. You can switch to pickpocketing and get more money out of it." "It's not about the size of the targets, Mick. It's about their location" He pointed to the title of the map they were looking at. "Central City?" Mick looked up "You wanna go up against the Flash" "More precisely, I want to go right under his nose, without him noticing us. We will take back our territory" "Without him noticing us?" "Exactly. For that" "Bullshit!" Mick interrupted him and slammed his hand down on the hood of the car between them "What is going on with you? Since when do we have to keep quiet? First you invite that Chick to a job we could have easily pulled off in half the time and with much more fun and now this? This ain't us, Len! We're loud and we're explosive. We make the front page, not the petty rag magazines." "And where did that get us?" Leonard snarled "We drew so much attention to us that the Flash had to do pull out the big guns and chase us out of our own city." "And whose fault is that?" Mick rumbled "You made that deal with him, not I" "If I wouldn't have made that deal, we both would be sitting in tiny cells right now, next to some meta human freak we can't go up against." "So what! There's no prison that can hold us! Since when are you so afraid of that speedster-boy?" "I'm not afraid, Mick. I'd just rather spend my days on the outside, doing what I do best"

Mick shook his head "That deal was ridiculous. We had him. Whatever information you had on him, we could have ended him with it." "It wasn't enough" "Then we should have killed him" "We didn't have to" "Oh, come on! You only didn't do it because you like him!" "I don't like him" "Fuck off, of course you do. He's the best rival you had in years. He's your weakness. If you weren't so obsessed with this game, you would have never let him chase us out of our city." Leonard grew very still. The icy expression in his eyes was dangerous. But he didn't snap. He never did. When he spoke his voice was low and controlled "Are you getting somewhere, Mick?" Mick snorted "And where would I be getting at? You're the one with the plans, I'm just saying what I'm thinking" "Yeah, maybe step back on that too." "Why now?" Mick finally asked "Why plan to go back now? It's been months" The anger in Leonard's face slowly faded and his eyes settled back on the sketched outline of Central City before them. "Let's just say, it's time to go home."

"The plan is simple. Stay low. Keep the police out of it. Start with small jobs" "Why? We go for the big fishes. This? Stealing from these second hand jewellery stores? You didn't even put a bank on the list! We'll be blank in a month!" "If you keep spending all your money on booze and fireworks, then yes, maybe. But if you get your shit together" Leonard leaned over the car hood and smirked at him "We can pull this off, Mick. We will take our territory back, step by step. Starting with small jobs to see how quiet we have to be to keep the Flash from showing up." "Then why start so slow?" "To train" "And since when do we have to train?" "Well, it's not really us two we have to train" Steps sounded behind them in the alley and they turned around to see a figure approaching, clothed in black so all they could see were her green eyes. "Hi. You said you had a proposition?" Mick threw his partner in crime a grin that bared every single one of his teeth "I guess we do"

Driving with Captain Cold and Heatwave in a van through Central City in broad daylight was the oddest thing Siobhan had ever experienced. But maybe by now that was just a saying, because she had experienced a lot of strange things since she moved to Central City. Still, sitting in the back of the car, right next to a pile of weapons and other unusual gear, and staring at the backs of their heads she felt like she was hallucinating. It was a different van than the one they had fled the crime scene in last week. She didn't know what she had expected when she climbed in. But definitely not that Leonard Snart would drive like anybody else around them, with the windows down and the radio playing a catchy pop song. He was even meeting the speed limit.

Siobhan had the feeling that he was watching her through the rear mirror, but whenever she looked, his eyes were on the road. The ride was mostly silent. Apart from a few comments on Leonard's boring driving technique, Mick kept quiet, keeping his attention mostly on the many snacks he seemed to hide in his jacket like other criminals did with weapons. None of them tried to start a conversation and Siobhan felt thankful for that. This whole situation was already strange enough. In her lap her fingers were nervously fiddling with the mask she had brought. It didn't look like she would need it anytime soon.

"This is it" Leonard finally broke the silence when he stopped the car in front of an old factory. They were somewhere in the outer ring of Central City, a more industrial part of the town. Old warehouses and factory buildings stood side by side, some of them looked like they had been abandoned decades ago, but some of the warehouses seemed to be still in use. The building that the two thieves were heading for had been a shoe factory as Siobhan would find out later and had once shown off bright red bricks. But now the walls were just as dusty as everything else around them.

"What is this place?" Siobhan asked, when Leonard led them up the stairs and pulled out a key to a relatively new looking chain lock on the doors. "Depends entirely on what you want it to be" Siobhan raised an eyebrow "What I want it to be?" "I said I had a proposition for you. Walking out is still an option" "You make it sound like you're the good guys. Just letting me walk out after showing me your hideout..." "I didn't say we'd drive you home afterwards" He replied over his shoulder "But let's take a look around first, shall we?" He pulled both doors open and they stepped inside.

The factory was enormous. But perhaps it only looked so gigantic because it was mostly empty. Apart from a rusty assembly line, a big table and a few machines and shelves standing around there was nothing left of what had once filled the factory. The huge glass windows on the right side broke the light in such a way that the whole hall was bathed in orange light. Siobhan could see a few trails of footprints lead from the entrance to a table that was standing in the middle of the hall and back. The dust was so thick that it wasn't even floating in the air. "Cozy" Mick mumbled, as he was seeing the place for the first time too, and Siobhan silently agreed with him. "Isn't it? I knew you would like it. Come on" Leonard guided them to a flight of stairs on the right side of the entrance that led up to a small office cubicle.

"This" He said and unfolded a big city plan on the office desk "is our proposition." Siobhan stared at the city outline, then at the many letters that formed the title and then back at the two thieves who were both watching her expectantly. "Uh, okay? And what exactly...?" "Central City" Mick spoke up "we're gonna take it back." "Exactly" Leonard said and leaned over the table "And for that we'd like to make use of your...expertise" "My expertise?" Siobhan repeated unbelievingly "I'm just a thief. What am I an expert on? I can't fight, I don't...do these things I've seen you do on the news. I certainly don't have as much experience in the business as you two, I'm not an expert on tech, all I can do is what I learnt from the circus." "That's a way to put it" "So, you want my skills as an acrobat?" Siobhan frowned "How is that going to help you? You said yourself last week that you usually don't do things the way I do it, quietly" Mick snorted and pointed at her "See? Even she gets it!" Leonard didn't pay any attention to him "We could use someone like you. Someone who knows how to do things...quietly" "Quietly" Mick uttered under his breath and spat out a series of curses, but Siobhan's attention was on his partner in crime "And what exactly is your plan?" Leonard smirked "It's a bit much to explain. For now let's just say you'll be having a lot to do in the coming months and you will make a hell lot of money. How does that sound?" Siobhan did her best to sound unimpressed "Rather vague. I want the details" "And you will get them...once we know you're in." "And how do I know what I sign up for?" "We're thieves, kid" Mick rumbled "make a wild guess."

Siobhan bit her lip. Stealing things, it was what she was good at, no, it was what she was best at. It was what she enjoyed. She could already feel the urge on her tongue to say yes. The only reason she hesitated was...why was she hesitating? She didn't trust them, that was for sure, but that was not the real reason. And neither was the question whether she preferred to start a new life away from all of that. Three and a half months had passed and after the initial stress had faded, she now felt boredom seep into her life. No, the prospects of a normal life definitely weren't holding her back. Perhaps it all just sounded too good to be true. Siobhan stared at the mask her hands were angrily kneading into a small bundle. 'Too good to be true' sounded like something she could need right now.

"Fine. I'm in. But under one condition" "We don't do conditions, kid" Leonard raised a hand to quiet his partner "But we hear them out. Shoot" "Nobody gets killed" Mick snorted, but Leonard smirked "I believe we can do that, can't we, Mick?" "You're taking all the fun out of it." "Mick" "Seriously, what do we do next? Help out in a food restaurant for homeless people?" "Mick" "For fuck's sake, alright! For now!" "Great" "Are we done then? I want some fucking pizza."

"You didn't tell her" Mick said a few hours later, when they were sitting in The Ditch. "About what?" Leonard asked without interest. His eyes were on the documents Dougal had given him, scanning each page with high concentration. "You know what. The Flash. The deal. This whole thing...keeping our heads down...you know it ain't gonna work for long. He's gonna come after us, sooner or later. She's got no idea what she's getting herself into, Len. She ain't no meta human, she can't even fight. How is she gonna help us?" "She knows perfectly well what she's getting herself into" Leonard mumbled as he turned the page and still refused to look up. Mick took a deep swig from his bottle and shook his head "This is still a game to you, isn't it? This whole plan of yours...involving that girl, going all undercover...you're just doing that because you wanna prove that you can pull it off. And then, when you've done that, then you'll walk up to your favourite Speedster and rub it all under his nose. That's what this is about, isn't it? Your fucking ego! You said, you wanna go home, Len. But there is no home while he is still out there. This time, there's no way around it, if we go back, there's only one outcome." Leonard finally looked up "I don't say it didn't cross my mind" "So you will do it? Finally!" But Leonard shook his head "No. Killing him would be too easy." He put the papers down and leaned over the table. There was a dangerous look in his eyes. "I got a much, much better plan. And believe me, you are gonna like that one too." "And what plan is that?" "One, in which the Scarlet Speedster won't ever set a foot into Central City again. One, in which we can rub that under his nose every single day for the rest of his life and all he will be able to do, is rattle at the bars of the cage I will throw him into. Does that sound like a good plan to you?"

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