-Chapter Twenty-One-
"I Shot Him in the Back"
"Eddie is not a serial killer. Trust me."
"Have you even taken the time to get to know if he is or not? People change once you move in with 'em."
"I can guarantee you that I'm not a serial killer," Eddie said as he stepped across the threshold of the apartment. He set the cardboard box in his hands down onto the carpeted floor of his apartment. Their apartment.
Sitting down on top of the closed lid, Eddie looked around at the other boxes sitting in every corner of his apartment. He had clearly underestimated just how much stuff Iris had. Even when she stayed over for a few days she barely brought anything. Then again, he was "missing" a few shirts and they did always come back smelling springtime fresh. "I thought you were here to help Iris move in."
"Appearances are deceptive," Averey said with a smile. She was standing in the center of the room with her arms crossed over her chest. "And I am helping; I'm looking out for her." She turned her attention back to Iris. "You started going out with him when Barry was in his coma, yeah? He could've seen you in your time of need and swooped in when you were vulnerable. You have to be careful about these things."
"Gee, thanks," Eddie said, sarcastically. "Give me more credit than that."
"You watch too many cop shows," Iris commented with a shake of her head. She sat on the floor unpacking a box of newspaper wrapped mugs.
Averey shrugged. "I'm just saying." Waving a hand in the air, she said, "Besides, I just don't want to help unpack and find a pair of fuzzy handcuffs or something." Iris's eyebrows lifted and she scratched at her hairline. Eddie let out an odd cough, suddenly finding an interest in the wall art facing him, wondering if it was crooked or not. Averey let out a loud laugh. "Wow, you actually have some. I would've never guessed."
Iris bloomed a darker red than the make-up on the apple of her cheeks. "You haven't done anything like that?" she asked, giving her a challenging look. Yep, it was definitely crooked. Eddie jumped to his feet and crossed the carpeted flooring to the painting, gently pushing the frame this way and that.
"I've gone through one experience with handcuffs," Averey said. Eddie looked over his shoulder at her and caught the smirk that as on her face. "I don't plan on doing that again anytime soon."
"You're not going to let that go, are you?" Eddie asked, dropping his arms to the side.
"Considering Australia was founded as a place for Britain to send their criminals in 1788?"Averey asked, her nose wrinkling as she thought. "History was bound to catch up with me, so, never."
Iris laughed. Eddie couldn't help but chuckle, either. At least she could laugh about it, now. It brought him some comfort, but at the same time, it made him uncomfortable. He had acted quickly, he barely thought about the consequences of his actions, and even now it was dictating how he worked for the Central City Police Department. She wasn't the only one who brought up his past in Keystone. While he wished he could leave it all behind, he knew that wouldn't be the case.
Eddie had the lights on his unmarked car and siren sounding in short bursts as he had sped towards the shoe store where the shoplifting call had originated from. Sitting in the passenger seat, he had a stack of manila folders, some thicker with more papers than others. Each folder had detailed the person and previous crimes for the ones he had been chasing for a long time.
Voices had been relaying commands and codes came in through his radio system as he neared the store. Right turn, left turn, straight for three blocks, and another right turn and he was pulling up in front of a show store in Keystone City.
A second car, lights flashing, had pulled up beside him and out jumped another detective, pocketing his car keys. Doing the same, Eddie climbed out of his car, taking in the scene before him. Uniformed police officers were directing the flow of pedestrian traffic to keep the area clear, members of the CSI unit were already inside, walking around the store talking to a couple of the workers inside.
"What do we have, Ross?" Eddie asked, stepping up to one of the police officers.
"Looks like a robbery," Ross replied, turning towards the two detectives. "Some shoes were worn out of store, shoelaces are missing, t-shirts, hats, backpacks. Some money." He shrugged his shoulders. "A lot of things to carry out items and to conceal identities. Sounds like the m.o. of that gang we've been trying to get. Don't be surprised if a bank robbery comes in next, that's usually what follows."
"Any witnesses?" Detective Hyland asked as he reached for the breast pocket of his coat to retrieve a small notepad.
"Everyone else in the store at the time of the robbery. They're being talked to right now," Ross replied, tilting his head towards the store front. "Some overheard the group at the dressing rooms say they were going out to pay after trying on clothes, and then they all walked out. They managed to keep one of the suspects inside in a back office. Name is Averey Moore."
"Good," Eddie said with a nod of his head. With quick long steps, he crossed the pavement, ducked underneath the yellow tape and stepped into the shoe store. A chime pealed as he stepped past the detectors and towards the back room. His smile stretched as he moved; he had them now. Finally.
News of the Royal Flush Gang had been thrown across his desk more times than he wanted. With each police press conference detailing a crime scene with them involved, the more he wanted them off the streets. He dedicated his career to that. Not only would he be doing Keystone City a big honor by getting the gang off the streets, he'd be doing his old partner a big honor.
Reaching for the handcuffs on the pocket of his detective belt, he held them at the ready. He rapped his knuckles on the only closed door before swinging it open. The room held two desks, both with computer monitors sitting on the desk. The shelving and metal cabinets were practically bursting with all the stacks of papers, lunch boxes, and discarded products housed on them. With a squeak, one of the swivel chairs sitting in front of the two desks turned around and he was face to face with a brunette who was sitting cross legged. A phone was to her ear, eyes shifting back and forth; Eddie could hear the faint sound of a dial tone before he could hear an automated message play.
"Damn it!" her accented cry reached his ears as her hazel eyes landed on him. "The one time they can't be bothered to answer their mobiles." She dropped her phone into her lap. "I promise I'm trying."
"Averey Moore?" Eddie asked, ignoring her excuse.
"Yes," the woman replied with a blink.
Eddie stepped forward and grasped her wrist, pulling it towards him. She was nearly pulled out of the chair from the movement. "You're under arrest for shoplifting and gang association," Eddie said as he handcuffed the woman.
"What?" Averey asked over the clatter of her phone as it hit the ground. Her second hand was pulled behind her back and the handcuffs were snapped on, tightened over her wrists. "I didn't do anything—you can't arrest me! They told me to come back here—stop!"
"Pictures don't lie, miss," Eddie replied, nodding towards the computer monitor near her. The screen was divided into four sections, each box showing a recording from the security cameras around the store.
Eddie proceeded to relay the Miranda rights to her before leading her out of the store. "Is there anything else you want to say?" he asked as he opened the back door of his car. "It's a long ride back to the precinct."
Her eyes, wide and filled with confusion and at the same time, understanding, focused on him before her body seemed to fold in on itself in a slump. "…Don't tell my mum." She stepped into the car and he slammed the door shut.
"Gotcha," Eddie muttered with a smile.
"Besides," Eddie snapped back to attention when Averey started talking again. He leaned against the wall and watched as the Australian girl pointed her index fingers in the air and them. "I'm not the lifting type; I'm better at direction and telling you where to put things and if things are crooked."
He had to admit, she did have a keen sense of detail. The living room set up looked better with the chair in the corner, the plants would get more light with where they were moved and the TV set up did look better with the shelving units on either side of the mounted TV. She had seemingly been able to incorporate Iris's belongings into his place and still make it feel like it was part his, one thing he was worried about since he asked Iris to move in..
"By the way," Averey said, tilting her head to the side, "I hope now that you're living together, you'll get rid of that couch because that pattern is an eye sore."
Iris lifted her eyebrows and gave Eddie a smile. He shifted his gaze away, wanting to miss her smug smile. She had been going on and on about how he needed to get rid of the couch. Not that she hadn't enjoyed a tryst or two upon it. Ok, so his gray and orange striped sofa wasn't up to date, but as far as couches went, it was comfortable and big enough to sleep on; that was all that mattered to him. He had owned the couch since going through the academy and it had gotten him through plenty of all nighters when he was too tired to get in bed.
"Told you so," Iris sing-songed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Eddie said, matching her smile with one of his own. He then said to Averey, "thanks a lot."
"If there are things I don't like in life its arrogant people, the dark and obnoxious patterns," Averey replied, putting her hands in the air. She gave an over the top smile. "And you're 2 for 3."
"Ha ha," Eddie let out a mocking laugh. "Is there anything else in my apartment you want to criticize?" He regretted asking the question as soon as he did so as Averey started looking around the apartment. "Don't answer that," he and Iris said in unison.
"Just as well, I was thinking of doing a blog post about apartments here in Central City," Averey said with a smile that was half teasing and half apologetic in response to her previous action. "So thanks for letting me look around the place."
"Are you thinking of moving?" Iris asked.
"Maybe," Averey replied. "I haven't decided yet."
"Roommate troubles?" Eddie pressed.
"Haven't really lived with anyone since uni, and I think I remember why I don't," Averey replied with a short laugh. She snapped her fingers. "Oh! I have house warming gifts."
Eddie watched as she reached for her bag sitting on the kitchen table and lifted the flap, pulling out a big rectangle box, followed by a few smaller ones. "For Iris; a new computer." Something about that made him pay attention; call it his detective's instinct.
Iris blinked in surprise. "We—I—" she took the box in her hands, staring down at the picture of the computer. "Thanks. But, you really didn't have to do this." She made a humming sound in the back of her throat as she tuned the box over in her hands. "Oh, a terabyte hard drive."
Averey turned towards Eddie, handing him the smaller boxes, "and for Eddie, power outlets with USB ports so you can charge your phones and stuff." Eddie took the boxes, looking them over. "Reckon it'd help since you have your work phone and personal phones. And I couldn't figure out what else to get you."
"This must've cost you a lot," he commented, holding the boxes to his chest. It had to price at a couple hundred at least, maybe more with the added expense of the power outlets. "Just about what you'd make in a month working part time at Jitters, right?" Iris gave him a confused look, or was it of warning, which he ignored.
"I guess," Averey replied. "It wasn't that much and I felt bad that Iris's computer was smashed." She shrugged. "I was always told not to come to a person's house empty handed."
"And you couldn't get your hands full bringing in some of Iris's boxes?" Eddie asked.
"I can tell you where to put them, mate," Averey muttered. He snorted, allowing a small smile.
"That wasn't your fault, though," Iris said, changing the subject, setting the computer aside. Averey merely waved her hand in the air. "Thank you. This was very sweet of you."
"Yeah, thanks." Eddie wasn't too surprised that Averey would do something like that. After all, she did take the blame for the robbery back in Keystone. He still wasn't sure if that was a brave thing for her to do or not. "But with how much rent is and working minimum wage, it wouldn't be something you'd just buy."
"It's really no problem," Averey insisted. "I had the extra cash to spend."
But from where? The question was poised on the tip of his tongue, but Iris's look made him stop from asking it. Instead, he set the power outlets onto the kitchen table and he gave her a smile. "Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you," he said.
Averey took a step back from her, tilting her head upwards just slightly to look at him; the ten inch gap between his 5'11 and her 5'1 heights was even more noticeable than usual. "No worries," she replied. She shifted her gaze over towards Iris. "I should get going; I'm meeting up with Caitlin and Cisco and want to stop off at my flat first."
Iris got to her feet and gave Averey a smile before stepping over to Averey to give her a hug. "Thanks for helping out," she said, "even if you didn't lift a finger." She gave Averey a pointed look. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."
"I'll have a coffee ready with your name on it," Averey promised, grabbing her back, hooking the strap over her shoulder. Eddie's gaze drifted down towards her arm. Her shirt sleeve rode up from the movement, revealing the bandage wrapped around her forearm. As she adjusted her shirt, she said, "And one for you, too, Eddie."
"Thanks," Eddie replied. "I'll walk you out. I need bring in more stuff anyway." He stepped out into the hall after the Australian woman. As he pulled his apartment door shut behind him he asked, "Is everything ok?"
Averey stopped, her foot hovering in the air over the top stair. "Are you asking because you're curious?" Averey asked, wheeling around to face him. She stumbled, thrown off balance, and grabbed onto the stair railing to catch herself. She paused for a moment, making sure she regained her balance before straightening. "Or because you really can't put your job aside for even a few hours?"
"Once your skills are fine tuned you can't really stop," Eddie replied. He quickly thought on his feet. "And I'm asking about your arm. How's the burn healing?"
"It's been itching a lot, but its fine," Averey replied. As if her arm started to itch on command, she grasped her wrist with her free hand and started to rub at it with her thumb. "That means it's healing, so I've been told." She peered at him. "That's not why you're asking."
Eddie made a humming sound in the back of his throat. "I don't know whose perception is scarier; yours or Barry's," he commented, bowing his head for a moment. "I'm going to ask you again; are you in trouble?"
"Saw that coming." Averey swung her hair out of her face. "Are you always going to ask me that question?"
"Until I get the answer I'm looking for, yes." Eddie nodded his head. He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to hear; a "yes" or "no" could take him down a different path. "And you haven't answered the question." Averey's eyebrow lifted just slightly. "Something's wrong with this picture."
Averey's twitched upwards and her lips parted just slightly as she chuckled. "Cute," she commented. "Here I thought you believed that pictures don't lie."
"You're right," Eddie replied, instantly recognizing his own words being thrown back at him. "And I also think they can be manipulative when you get the wrong impressions from them. Or, in yours words, their own opinions or versions."
He knew even those words could be thrown back in his face, especially as he was speaking to a photographer. He arrested her once and since having meeting her again he couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong, whether or not there was any evidence pointing towards it. Maybe he hadn't changed that much.
"You'll be the first to know if anything's wrong," Averey said, carefully stepping backwards, starting to make her way down the stairs. "But, thank you for caring." She lifted her hand in a wave before making her way out of the apartment building.
"No problem," Eddie said before twisting his mouth to the side. He heard the apartment building door close and reached for one of the boxes and lifted it off the stack. Grunting just slightly under the weight, he read the label on the side and wondered how anyone could have so many pairs of shoes. "I don't know who's harder to figure out sometimes," he said as he re-entered his apartment, "Averey or Barry. They're a lot alike that way."
"What's going on?" Iris asked, or rather, demanded, as she twisted around to face him. The silence between the two of them was filled with Iris quickly unwrapping the newspaper from a yellow mug. She set it down onto the floor to join the group of mugs already unpacked. "You were practically interrogating her. You can't force people to talk to you when they don't want to."
"You're not going to keep that computer are you?" Eddie asked, answering her question with a question.
"It's a little sudden I'll admit," Iris said with a shrug. "But, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It was a nice gesture."
"Call it a detective's intuition," Eddie replied as he set the show box down onto the floor. "Your shoes. Or some of them, anyway." Iris kept her eyes on him as he strode over to where she was sitting. He lowered himself to the floor in front of her and started to help her unpack. He didn't have to look at his girlfriend to know she was watching him closely. Most likely with a pointed stare that demanded an explanation and maybe now with a hand on her hip. When he had enough of her silence he sighed and regarded her. Check and check; stare and hip. "Sorry. I can't just not work, Iris."
"Well, you're supposed to," Iris insisted. "Captain Singh gave you those orders." And he was mad that he did. Eddie sucked in a breath of air through his nose before letting it out, bowing his head. "I don't understand why you can't take just a little break. I mean, when was the last time you really had time off?"
"Three days ago," Eddie instantly replied. Only not really. He did have a full two days out of office, but he continued his work in the comforts of his own home.
"Eddie," Iris said quietly. "No you didn't. We both know even when you're off duty you're still working."
Eddie shrugged his shoulders. "And there it is," he heard Iris mutter. He was instantly on guard. "There what is?"
"You! Shutting me out," Iris replied, throwing a hand in the air. It hit her jean clad knee with a slap. "Again. I know something is bothering you; that something is wrong, but you won't let me know what it is."
"Weren't you the one just telling me that I can't force people to talk?" Eddie asked, keeping his eyes on the mugs in the box. Iris grasped his wrist, stopping him from removing one.
"Don't do that," Iris said quietly. "I just worry about you."
"Yeah, well…" Eddie trailed off for a moment, his arms hanging over the side of the box. "Something's wrong, I can just tell. I worry about her." He laughed quietly. "Honestly, I don't know what to be more worried about. Averey or the fact that you and Barry don't seem to be all buddy-buddy nowadays."
"Barry's my best friend, we don't have to be around each other, 24/7," Iris replied with a shake of her head. "We can just pick up where we left off."
"That's true," Eddie agreed. He turned his hand under her grip and gently wrapped his fingers around her. He slid his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand. "But, I've noticed this since your Christmas party. I understand you two have a history, and I'm trying hard to accept that, but I can see that something's not right between you two."
"I…" Iris closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. "Barry…he told me…" She used the fingers of her free hand to brush her hair out of her face before looking Eddie in the eye. "He told me he was in love with me."
Eddie blinked. He wasn't too surprised about it, but he wasn't expecting to hear those words, either. Barry and Iris were close, anyone could see that. Growing up in the same house, you'd have to be. There was just something about the way they were around each other that made him pay attention. All the inside jokes, the closeness, the longing looks on Barry's end; it all started adding up after a while. How Iris couldn't see it, he wasn't too sure; boys and girls couldn't always just be friends. It's not like all best friends lived with each other as they grew up, either.
"Say something," Iris insisted. "Does that bother you?"
"No, it doesn't bother me," Eddie said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Not really. Kind of. I kind of saw it coming. I mean, I did ask."
"That's true," Iris agreed with a nod of her head. "You did."
"So how do you feel about it?" Eddie asked.
"I—confused," Iris replied, her eyebrows angling towards each other. "I mean, Barry and I…I don't know how I didn't see it." Her lips pulled back into a slight smile. "He's my best friend. I saw how he was when he liked other girls. I don't know how I feel. I love you."
"I know," Eddie said with a small smile. "I love you, too." He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. "And I'm happy that you're moving in."
"Me too," Iris said, gently squeezing his hand. He watched as she slowly pulled her hand out of his. "But, if we're going to be living together, we have to be honest with each other." She blinked, searching his eyes. "Ok?"
Eddie closed his eyes. "Captain Singh wants me to take the next couple of days off because he thinks I've been working too much," he explained.
"Babe, you have," Iris replied. "Sometimes I'd wake up I the middle of the night and you'd be on the computer.".
"It's not that bad," Eddie protested
"Eddie." Iris pressed her lips together, letting out a heavy sigh. "You put yourself into your work all the time."
"As a future journalist, I thought you'd understand," Eddie said, reaching into the box. He roughly pulled the newspaper off of another mug. How many did she have? "You get all gung-ho for every Flash lead you get."
"That's different," Iris protested. "The Flash isn't the focus of my life. It's just a blog."
"And yet, I keep hearing The Flash come out of your mouth once a day," Eddie replied, setting the mug in his hands down a lot harder then he meant to. "Why is it ok for you and your blog, but it's wrong when it's my work?" Iris opened and closed her mouth. He licked his lips. "Some evidence from the Jitters case was stolen from Barry's lab. Evidence theft could close the precinct if it were to ever get out. I was there that night; I could be in big trouble for not noticing anything. They could have my job and that's the only thing I live for."
"Glad to know I'm not high on your priority list," Iris said, her words dripping with sarcasm.
"I have to work, Iris," Eddie all but shouted. He was annoyed with the conversation. He didn't want to continue it, but he knew Iris wouldn't drop the subject. "Don't you get it?"
"No, which is why I'm asking," Iris replied. Her dark eyes were glittering with anger, confusion, and worry.
"When I joined the police academy, I made a promise to keep my city and my country safe to the best of my ability and that includes you," Eddie explained. He swallowed thickly, trying to keep the lump that was forming at bay. "Not just as a citizen of central city but as the person I'm madly in love with. This Reverse Flash guy threatened you and I'll be damned if I don't catch that guy and help keep everyone safe."
"Just being around you makes me feel safe, Eddie," Iris said. "That's enough for me."
"But not for me," Eddie said with a shake of his head. Iris reached for his hand and he pulled it back into his lap. "Not with this gang still out there and stealing from Jitters…"
"What happened with you and the Royal Flush Gang, Eddie?" Iris asked.
Eddie squeezed his eyes shut. "It was a while ago," he said to his hands, which were twisting in his lap. "My partner, Ian, and I were called to a warehouse that we had been staking out for months. Stolen goods were housed there, a whole treasure trove of things you couldn't imagine."
"We got there and we ambushed them and we thought we had all of them in custody. Only they had been recruiting. We didn't know who they had brought in to take over, we didn't even know they were until it was too late. Ian and I were chasing down a few of them, and I had been given clear instructions to bring them in no matter what."
His hands started to shimmer in front of him. One tear after another pooled together in his eyes before they spilled over the top, falling until they splattered against his hand. "The place was so big. I had looked over the blueprints for so long, but they knew it better. I was chasing one down this long hall; King. He was the main one e wanted because he was that much closer to Ace; the head of the gang. I was running after him, chasing him down. I told Ian to go around and corner him, maybe trap him from the other direction."
He lifted his hands and used the heels of his palms to wipe at his eyes, sniffing loudly. "I was so focused on getting King, I didn't notice he had a gun in his hands. He started firing at me and I ducked down behind these crates or something." His fingers were starting to hurt, he was squeezing his hands together so hard. He had gone so long without thinking about it. No, avoiding it. How long had it been since he talked about it? "He stopped shooting and I ran after him. I pulled out my gun…"
He felt himself mime the movement, turning his hand into a gun and pointed it towards Iris, as if on autopilot. "And I started shooting." His voice was shaking; more high pitched then he remembered it being, even during puberty. "One, two, three." He tilted his hand back as if his finger gun had recoiled after firing bullets. "King kept running and I kept firing. And Ian ran out from a side hall to take him down."
"Oh, no." Iris gasped. Eddie didn't look at her.
"He dropped," Eddie whispered. "Ian just dropped to the floor and King got away. I hurried over to him, but he was already dead." He let out an odd laugh. "All the times we were bullet proof vests…all the times they've saved us, and I killed him with a shot to the back of the neck." Eddie reached his hand back and placed his warm palm over the back of his neck, using his index finger to circle the spot he watched his partner's blood seep out of.
"It was an accident, Eddie," Iris said quietly. Barely above a whisper. "You didn't do it on purpose."
Eddie opened and closed his mouth, shaking his head. "M-my partner…Ian always had my back." His lips quivered. He swallowed over and over again. "And I shot him in his. In all my time serving, I had never done anything like that again, and I didn't want to." He let out a shaky breath of air before he started crying; shoulders shaking. "I wanted this task force, I did everything I could to get it, and my friends died around me because of it."
"Eddie…"
He felt Iris's hand on his shoulder, and he turned away from her. He hugged himself, hunching over until his elbows pressed into his knees. "I know everyone makes fun of me because I keep track of my arrests," he said. "I know it's stupid. I just do it to show Ian that I'm not making any more mistakes. I promised him that I'd get these guys off the streets and I will."
"Eddie." Eddie didn't respond. He heard a shuffling sound and soon could feel the side of Iris's leg pressing against his. Her soft hands encircled his face and gently coaxed him into looking up at her. The corners of her lips were shaking as she mustered the best smile she could muster. "I'm sorry."
Eddie placed his hands over top of hers. "So am I."
Jitters, strangely, wasn't that packed for a weeknight. Not even the usual college crowd was in that night so finding a place to sit was easy for Caitlin, Cisco, and Averey.
"Thanks for coming with me, guys," Caitlin said as she checked her phone for the umpteenth time before setting it back into her purse. Where was Jason Rousch? She turned in her seat to look out front windows of Jitters to see if the elusive Mercury Lab worker would be arriving soon.
"No problem, Cait," Cisco said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But, you can stop thanking us now."
"You right?" Averey asked, her chin resting in her hand.
A small smile came to Caitlin's face. "Just a little worried of what we'll hear," she replied. "That's all." She rubbed her arms and let out a sigh. "He said he'd meet us at this time, right?"
"Yeah, but I can double check," Averey replied.
Caitlin watched as Averey's eyes seemed to glaze over. Her body stilled and she stared at a spot over Caitlin and Cisco's shoulders. "Whoa," Cisco said quietly. Caitlin blinked before she felt her eyes widen. "Whoa" was right. Averey's eyes quickly shifted back and forth, up and down, and diagonally. Almost like she was looking through files on a computer screen. Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, she confirmed the information.
"Um…that was some crazy ish right there," Cisco said. At least someone could find their voice.
"Yeah, what were you doing?" Caitlin asked.
"Oh." Averey gave a sheepish grin. "I have photographic memory, yeah? I kind of went through the 'files' of memories to…'replay' when I was checking my e-mail to see if he would meet."
"That's amazing," Caitlin said, shaking her head back and forth. She worked in the field of science for so long, she would never had imagined that she'd be experiencing something like this. Working at STAR Labs, she knew they'd be making some exciting discoveries but nothing like this. And seemingly, not every day. "It really is."
"Well, well," a voice said, catching Caitlin's attention. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised I didn't get an invitation to this STAR Labs powwow." Caitlin looked up at Hartley Rathaway as he came to a stop beside their table. His usual smirk and cool gaze was on his face. "Caitlin. Cisco. Nice to see you again.
"Nice wouldn't be the word I'd use," Cisco replied.
"No, I suppose not," Hartley replied with a sniff before pushing his glasses up his nose with his index finger. His gaze flickered over towards Averey. "Although, I will admit I'm surprised you actually allow anyone else into your little club."
"You're the one who excluded yourself, Hartley," Caitlin replied coolly. "We were all a team, but you insisted on working on your own."
"Because I know I'd get work done," Hartley replied. He clasped his hands in front of him, angling his head towards Cisco. "Unlike those who like to joke and fool around during work. Right, Ciscquito?"
"You're Hartley Rathaway," Averey spoke up before Cisco could say anything.
"Yes," Hartley replied. He looked her up and down, his eyebrows lifting. "Why?"
"Just trying to place you, mate," Averey replied, copying his motion. They then settled on his eyes, compassion evident. "Your parents were attacked the other night. I'm sorry. Are they ok?"
"Unfortunately," Hartley commented.
"Hartley, they're your parents," Caitlin said with a scoff at his indifference. "You don't care about their well being?"
"Just about as much as they cared about mine," Hartley replied, deadpan. He twisted his mouth to the side. "So STAR Labs seems to be building itself back up."
"Oh, Averey doesn't work at STAR Labs," Caitlin explained. "She works here, at Jitters." She motioned between the two of them. "Averey Moore; Hartley Rathaway."
"How ya going?" Averey asked, offering Hartley her hand. Hartley lifted an eyebrow but didn't move to shake her hand. Her arm hit the table with a thunk before she pulled it back into her lap.
"And she's a photographer," Cisco added. He kept his gaze on the smooth surface of the table drumming his fingertips on the table top.
"Well, some people have to do the pedestrian jobs don't they?" Hartley asked, twisting his mouth to the side. Averey's eyebrows lifted but she didn't say anything. "Even if they do make some of the best coffee in Central City." He reached his hands up to adjust the collar of his dark coat. "Mind if I don't join you?"
Cisco made a shooing motion with his hand, muttering something in Spanish. "Bye, Hartley," Caitlin said, lifting her hand in a small wave. Hartley chuckled to himself before turning on his heels and making his way towards the counter. Caitlin thought she heard him say something like "sooner than you think" as he did so.
"I hope your parents are doing well," Averey said to his back. She made a popping sound with her mouth as she settled back in her seat."Well...he's a charmer." Caitlin made a face as if she just sucked a lemon. Cisco snorted. "Oh, there's Jason." Caitlin spotted her wide-eyed, large pupil look. "About 30 meters away. Come on."
Caitlin gathered her coat and her purse hastily pulling them over her shoulder. She made a beeline for the door and pushed out into the cool night air. "Cait, slow down." Averey and Cisco hurried to catch up to her quick gait. She was across the street and standing in front of the dark skinned man in a matter of moments.
"Jason?" Caitlin asked, holding out her hand. "Caitlin Snow."
"Nice to meet you," Jason said with a fleeting smile, shaking her hand. "I have to admit it was a shock to hear you wanted to meet with me." He slid his hands into his coat pockets, nodding towards Cisco and Averey who had caught up with her. "First, I wanted to say I hope there's no hard feelings with my never responding to the interview request at STAR Labs. After my interview with Mercury, things were just going so fast."
"That's quite alright," Caitlin said with a reassuring smile. "Thank you for meeting us."
"We didn't think you were going to come, dude," Cisco said to him.
Jason looked over both of his shoulders, letting out a breath of air. "I wasn't sure I was going to come," he explained. "When you told me you wanted to talk about F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M…I didn't think it was a good idea. I'm not exactly allowed to talk about it.
Caitlin glanced over at them—Cisco nodded, prompting her—and spotted the veyesor sitting around the front of Averey's neck. Averey's eyebrows lifted, but she stayed silent. "Why not?" she asked.
"When the army came and took all of our work, I was pretty much given that command," Jason explained. He chuckled. "Living with a father in the military, you learn to listen to commands like that."
"Then why are you talking now?" Cisco asked.
"I wasn't given an NDA to sign or anything," Jason said with a small shrug. "It's been a while since our experiments were ended…" His face fell just slightly. "A lot of time for people's attention to divert to something else. The night of the accelerator accident was the last time I had heard from Dr. Martin Stein. He said he was going to continue the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M project no matter what. I always admired his tenacity."
"Do you know where we can find Martin Stein?" Cisco asked. "One of our friends needs our help. We had a run in with him and the only thing he could say to us was 'Firestorm'."
"If your friend had anything to do with that project…" Jason shook his head back and forth. "If anything went wrong…" He swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry for what could have happened to him. We could melt a cement block with this project, there's no telling what could've happened to them."
"Ok, what exactly is F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M?" Averey asked, her hand shooting into the air as if she was in class.
"Basically, every atom gets taken apart and put back together to make new elements," Cisco explained. He was silent for a moment. He turned towards Caitlin, peering at her with eyes filled with uncertainty.
"So…Ronnie's body was ripped apart and put back together atom by atom?" Averey asked after a moment of silence. She made a face. "Bloody hell. Didn't see that coming."
Caitlin pressed her lips together. She didn't know what to think. Ronnie was with her that night before going to try and fix what had gone wrong. Then he never returned. So, what would he know about the particle accelerator? Maybe they were getting ahead of themselves, thinking the worst before really getting any facts. But…his body was never found. So maybe if his atoms were torn apart, they didn't get back together?
She shook her head, trying to knock the thought out of her head. "And Martin Stein?" she asked.
"If anyone could find him, I'm sure STAR Labs could," Jason said with a shrug. "He's fallen off the face of the Earth. Maybe he's still working on the project in secret, but…no one's heard from him since he said he was going to keep trying to create F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M."
Thank you for talking with us, Jason," she said, shaking his hand.
"I certainly hope it'll help you and your friend," Jason said, wrapping his free hand around hers, shaking her hand in return. "I really do. Good luck."
"Thanks, man," Cisco said, clapping him on the shoulder. "And good luck at Mercury Labs." Jason gave a tight smile before walking off at a brisk pace. Cisco let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "All that for a project? I mean, getting the military involved?"
"Ronnie couldn't have been involved with something like that," Caitlin declared taking long steps down the sidewalk. The wind pushed the tears—of fear, worry, and determination—that she had done so well to keep at bay, down her cheeks. "He just couldn't."
"We don't know that he wasn't—Cait, slow down!" Cisco said as he and Averey hurried after her. "Caitlin where are you going?"
"To find Martin Stein," Caitlin replied.
"You heard Jason, no one's been able to find him," Averey said after her. "How are you going to? Where are you even going to start?"
" Wherever I can," Caitlin said, throwing her hands in the air. She turned around to face her friends, eyes ablaze. "Martin Stein is the only other person that can help us and 'Firestorm' was the only thing Ronnie was able to tell us that gave us an idea of how to help him. And I'm going to figure out what that means."
"It doesn't seem like it'll be that easy," Cisco pointed out. "Sure, Stein could still be continuing the research, but whose to know the military isn't keeping tabs on the both of them?"
"Well, if Jason suddenly disappears, we'll know why," Averey said with a shrug. She paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Hmm. Maybe I have been watching too many cop shows."
"This isn't a time for jokes," Caitlin said with a huff of annoyance. "Ronnie is alone and scared and we're the only people equipped to help him. Because I couldn't help him before." A sob worked its way up her throat and out into the cool air. "And I'm not going to let him down again."
She started crying in the middle street. She could still hear his final words repeated in her head. She could hear the fear in his voice. The love. Then he was just gone. More than a year later and it was still hard for her to come to terms with it.
"I could've done something," she said as she hastily wiped at her tears. She allowed Cisco to pull her to him in a hug.
"He knew you were there," Cisco said quietly. "That was enough for him. He did to save you; all of us."
"He was always looking out for me," Caitlin whispered. "I never asked him to do that; we were supposed to be partners. A team."
"No one really asks for what they are, do they, mate?" Averey's voice appeared beside her. She felt the Australian's small hand lay on her shoulder. "He didn't ask to be Firestorm, Barry didn't ask to be the Flash, and you didn't ask to be so smart. But, it's all worked out so far. Barry and I wouldn't be here without your help. And you might not be here at all without what Ronnie did."
There was a moment of silence as Averey stopped talking and Cisco gently squeezed her, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. Caitlin loudly sniffed, looking up at her. "I hope I'm not stuffing this up, I'm not great at pep talks and I can't read your face—which is a first—but, I'm just saying, the way I see it—"
"I get it," Caitlin said with a breathy laugh. She gave a smile of reassurance at Averey's look of uncertainty. "Really. Thank you." Averey relaxed into a smile, sliding her hands into her back jeans pockets.
"Well, I got it all on tape," Averey offered, pulling the Cisco-created device form around her neck. "We can get back to STAR Labs and go over what Jason said."
Caitlin paused for a moment. She hadn't told Dr. Wells or even Barry what they were doing. After going off on Barry about keeping secrets and in science they share things they figure out, it wasn't the easiest thing to come out of her mouth.
"No, no I just…" she replied. She gave a quick shake of her head. "I just need some time. To just let it sink in." She took in a shaky breath of air. "To understand that this is who Ronnie is now."
"There's my Caitlin," Cisco said with a grin. He brushed her hair out of her face and used his shirt sleeve to dry her cheeks. "How about a round on me? Seems like a good night for some drinks, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm suddenly in a mood for a Mai Tai," Caitlin said. Reaching for her purse, she started looking for her keys. "Ave, you need a lift?"
"Please and thank you," Averey replied as she looped her arm through Caitlin's. "I took the bus down here, anyway."
"Pssh, who uses public transportation anymore?" Cisco asked
"Hey, that's the main source of transportation where I'm from," Averey defended herself, her voice shifting into a higher octave. "Besides, I still get mixed up on which side of the road to drive on." Caitlin and Cisco exchanged glances. "I'm kidding. Geeze, you Americans don't know how to take a joke."
"I'm going to build you a car or something," Cisco commented. "So you don't have to take a bus to help out the Flash."
"Now, do you really think that would be a good idea?" a cool, deep voice asked, cutting through the air. "You wouldn't want anything to fall into the wrong hands now do you?"
Caitlin felt a shiver roll down her spine. She could've sworn the temperature around them had dropped as they slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice. Cisco tightened his grip around her and she could feel Averey's hand on her elbow start to shake as they faced Leonard Snart, who gave them a sinister, yet amused smile. He held the Cold Gun lazily over his parka covered shoulder.
A bald man stood beside him, which Caitlin likened to a pit bull. His chest heaved as he breathed; a wild look on his face. As if he was waiting for the command to lunge at them. He held a glowing gun of his own; an orange color in comparison to Snart's blue one. Covered in soot and oil, he looked menacing. Both men were wearing sunglasses.
"Snart," Cisco said quietly. He took a small step back, then two, pulling the girls with him.
"Why don't we make this easy and you just come with us?" Snart asked, opening his arms out wide.
"No way," Caitlin replied.
"Just let them run," the bald man said, his lips parting into an odd smile. "Let's see if they can beat the heat."
Caitlin's heart pounded in her chest as prickling sweat flooded her armpits. "We have to get out of here," she said quietly, just loud enough for Averey and Cisco to hear her. "Now. I have a bad feeling about that gun."
"Run," Cisco hissed. The three of them turned on their heels and started running down the street as fast as they could. Cisco managed to remove his cell phone from his coat pocket and lifted it to his ear. "Come on, Barry, answer."
A high-pitched whine filled the air before the familiar sound of the gun being fired. A rush of cold air surrounded them and before she knew it, she was teetering and tottering. Her heels started to slide out underneath her as the sidewalk was coated in a layer of ice.
"Whoa!" Averey flew forward onto her stomach, sliding along the ice.
A shriek was pulled from Caitlin's throat as she fell. She grabbed onto Cisco's arm and pulled him down with her. "Ahhh!" The building windows and cars lining the street shot past them as they went hurtling through the street before colliding with the side of a parked car. "Ow!" Caitlin grabbed the back of her head, her vision swimming.
"Come on, let's get them," a gruff voice declared.
"Give it up!" Snart called. A crunching sound filled the air and Caitlin blinked, her vision clearing. Snart and the bald headed man were slowly making their way towards them. The gravel crunched and popped under their boots as they neared. "You can only last so long in the cold." Caitlin could already feel her damp, cold clothes, starting to stick to her, sending a chill through her body.
"Let's warm them up a bit shall we?" the bald man asked. He grinned as he aimed his gun at them. For a second time, a high-pitched whine hit the air before fire shot out of the gun, hurtling towards them.
"Watch it!" Caitlin grabbed Cisco around the shoulders and pulled him to the ground as the fire blazed over their heads.
"Thanks," Cisco said breathlessly. Caitlin nodded. He started army crawling along the ground, moving to block her. "Move, Averey. Move!" As another blast of hot air cut through the air, the three of them crawled along the ground, trying to get away from the ice. They made it behind another parked car. Gasping for breath, they huddled behind the car.
"How does that saying go?" Snart called, mockingly. "Jack Frost is nipping at your…toes?"
"Not surprised you'd recognize someone with cold feet," Cisco snarled. His chest lifted and fell rapidly, but he didn't look around.
"And It's nose, block head," Averey replied as she slipped her veyesor over her eyes, pressing the rounded pieces down to cover her ears. Caitlin gasped as Averey rushed out from behind the car, running up the sidewalk, but closer to the men. She reached a trash can and grabbed the lid, flinging it towards them.
"Don't!" Caitlin shouted after the girl. Lifting herself up onto her knees, she peered through the car's windows. "Ave—" Cisco slapped a hand over her mouth, stopping her from giving away the Metahuman's name.
"Barry's not answering his phone," Cisco said quietly, his voice shaking. Caitlin turned towards him and saw the fear in his eyes as he removed his hand from her mouth. "It's going straight to voicemail."
"Averey can't do this by herself," Caitlin replied. "Keep trying."
"Straight to voicemail, Caitlin," Cisco repeated. "His phone is off!"
That's right. Caitlin chewed on her bottom lip. Think, Caitlin, Averey needs help.
The Flash could barely maintain Snart last time by himself and Averey didn't have the same speed that Barry did. Luckily, she had Cisco's veyesor on her to stop the bright light of the flame from knocking her out cold in an instant, but this fight put her at a disadvantage. But, she was a Metahuman, and she was only doing what Barry would do. She wanted to help people, too. That's what they were all trying to do.
Snart froze the trashcan lid with a single shot from his cold gun. Caitlin watched as Averey leaped onto the lid of the trash can before launching herself in the air. With a loud clang on the un-touched back of the trash can lid, she kicked it back towards Snart. The quick movement caused him to stumble.
"Mick!" Snart shouted.
"Haaaa!" 'Mick' aimed his own gun at Averey, charging it up. "Let's hear your snarky comebacks. Or how about a heated debate?"
"Watch out!" Cisco shouted.
Caitlin covered her eyes with her hands, too afraid to look. Cisco made a grunting sound beside her, but she didn't hear any screams of pain from the optical metahuman. She still couldn't bring herself to look. She wasn't equipped to be on the battlefield. While in STAR Labs she was safe between the walls and the technology. With all the maps she could get a bird's eye view of the area, but now they were on a level playing field and she didn't know how to help.
Again.
She started to shake. "Not again." It was like the night of the accelerator all over again; someone she cared for needed her help and there was nothing she could do about it. "Not again." A rushing sound filled her ears.
"Caitlin, in case anything happens. I just wanted—"
"Nooo." A moan she had never heard before hit the air. Heat rushed over her body, one that fire could never duplicate despite feeling shaky all at the same time. "Ronnie."
"Cait." She started shaking harder. No, someone was shaking her. Calling her name. Cisco. The moaning stopped as she gasped, looking up at him and realized it was coming from her. He stared at her with wide eyes. "Cait. What's wrong."
"Averey?" Caitlin asked.
"She can't dodge much longer," Cisco said, cupping her cheeks with his hands. "Remember what she said? Her eyes move fast enough that she can see which direction they're going to go in, but…" He shook his head. "Snart must've built Mick his own gun based off my design. Cait, I'm so sorry."
Caitlin didn't answer. She looked through the windows again and spotted Snart walking towards them. Mick was busy firing his gun at Averey as she ran from car to car, trying doors. "Cisco, he's coming."
"Run, Caitlin," Cisco said, practically shoving her. "Go. Run!"
But, she was rooted to the spot. Averey found a door that was open and hurried into the car, disappearing for a few heart-hammering moments before popping out the other side, a bent metal piece in her hand. A car jack crank handle.
"Can't stand the heat, huh?!" Mick shouted. Snart, on the other hand, continued to silently stalk towards him, his mouth twisted to the side in a smirk. Averey threw the crank handle at Mick in the seconds it took for his gun to charge. He lifted the gun in front of him to shield him and it collided in the side with a clank. Sparks shot out of the side of the gun.
"Why don't you just come quietly?" Snart asked. He chuckled. "We don't want you to catch a cold do we?" He lifted the cold gun and fired, a blast of what looks like a white and electric blue flame out of the gun, towards the car they were hiding behind.
"Move it!"
Cisco collided hard with Caitlin's side and she went flying towards the ground. Landing heavily on her hands and knees, stinging pain shot through her hands to her wrists, and up to her shoulders. The car in front of them froze, a crackling sound hitting the air. Brushing her hair out of her face, Caitlin rolled onto her back, searching for Cisco, and felt some relief to find him looking for something to hide behind.
Snart aimed his gun at him and before Caitlin could draw in a breath to scream, a loud roaring sound filled the air. Caitlin looked over towards Mick and watched the bald man turn to find the source of the noise. A second set of flames shot through the air, aiming towards Snart and Mick.
"Ronnie." Caitlin watched as her fiancé (or former fiancé?) landed on the ground, head, and arms flaming. He turned his head towards her.
"Run," he said quietly. Snart grit his teeth, firing his gun at the newcomer. Ronnie shot the flames from his arms forward and it collided with the blast of ice. The air around them burned, suddenly becoming hotter as steam filled the area, lowering their visibility. The heat clung to the back of Caitlin's throat and she coughed and gasped for air.
"Cisco?" she called.
"Over here." Cisco's voice was from somewhere to her right. She started crawling towards him, crying out in pain as her knees slammed down on the rocks on the ground. Pausing to wipe the gravel from her knees, she felt her stockings were ripped and her fingers slide over the blood she didn't know was weeping from her knees. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, you?" Caitlin replied, continuing in the direction of his voice.
"Yeah. Just peachy."
Caitlin felt a hand on her back and she let out a shriek. "It's just me," Averey's hot breath covered her ear. She tightly gripped Caitlin's arm, pulling her up to her feet. "Cisco's over here."
"You can see-?"
"Yyyep," Averey replied, rushing her through the steam. "Hurry, before the steam clears." Caitlin was guided through the thick steam and a large, shadowy figure stepped in front of them. "Ahh!"
The two girls collided with the figure and Mick's laugh reached their ears as he grabbed the two of them in a tight grip. "Not everyone can run from the heat," he growled.
Caitlin made a face, her cheek sliding over the rough material of his coat. She struggled to break free groaning in pain when his grip tightened. Her eyes squinted in pain and she spotted a faint, purple glow. Widening her eyes, she watched as the purple glow grew bigger and bigger by the second, as if the white curved edge of the veyesor lit up as if it had an LED display built in.
Averey suddenly thrust her head upwards, smacking the top of it into Mick's jaw with a loud click. Mick's head shot back and his grip on the two girls slackened. The purple light burst forth from the veyesor and hit Mick's eyes, knocking the sunglasses off his face. He let a roar as he let the girls go.
"I can't see!" Mick started shouting. He stumbled back, rubbing at his eyes. "I can't see."
Cisco grabbed for her arm. Caitlin felt his fingers wrap around her elbow and he pulled her to his side. "What happened?" he asked. "Why's he screaming?"
"I think…she blinded him," Caitlin breathed, bringing him to his feet. "I think Averey blinded-" Something pulled at the neck of her coat. The material pulled into her throat, tightening, tightening. She gasped and choked for air, pulling at the material, trying to give herself air space. Then her world went black as pain exploded on the side of her head.
"Dr. Christina McGee?"
"Yes, speaking."
"You have twenty-four hours to follow through with your promise. Otherwise word of falsification of data to acquire research grants will be 'slipped' to the media. You were not supposed to give out any of your work. You have been warned. Ace—"
The deep voice cut off instantly, it's faint echoes bouncing around the Cortex before dissipating as Christina McGee hastily tapped at the screen of her phone. Someone was clearly masking their voice—the deep tone with the high pitched overlay was a dead giveaway—and for good reason. He didn't know anyone who had the guts to blackmail a laboratory as large as Mercury Labs.
Harrison peered over at Tina his lips twitching. "I never thought you'd be one to give into blackmail, Tina," Harrison commented, folding his hands in his lap.
"You know very well I like to keep my projects under wraps, Harrison," Tina replied, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "I assure you, it's not that foreign a concept."
"Yes, but this also entails that you have something to hide," Harrison commented. Tina let out a huff of air and started pacing back and forth in front of him, the sound of her heels bouncing off the walls of the Cortex. "What, exactly, can I do to help you, Tina?"
"Return my tachyonic prototype," Tina instantly replied. "You may have gotten it by means—"
"Similar to this," Harrison said, interrupting her. "I have to admit I was surprised Mr. Allen had the gall to speak to you as he did. You likened his actions to that of my own but I assure you, I would have come up with other means to procure your prototype."
"Be that as it may," Tina said, her jaw tightening. "I need the prototype returned immediately."
Harrison sighed. "That'll be difficult to do as we don't have it anymore," he admitted. Tina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked. "And what, Harrison, happened to it?"
"It was stolen," Harrison admitted. She gaped at him. "We were using it in an experiment that went very wrong." He pulled the corners of his lips downwards into an apology. "I deeply apologize."
"And when, exactly, did you plan on relaying this information to me?" Tina demanded, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms over her chest. Harrison didn't answer. "What do you propose I do now?"
"I think the real question here is, who is blackmailing Mercury Labs?" Harrison asked.
Tina sighed. "I don't know," she admitted.
"Don't you?" Harrison asked. "I believe that message hadn't ended." He tilted his head to the side as Tina shifted her weight from foot to foot. This was too easy.
"I don't know their real name." She was silent for a moment. "I only know them by a moniker." Harrison blinked. "But, they clearly have information about what projects are being housed at Mercury Labs."
"So, it's an inside source," Harrison suggested.
"I have over 500 employees under me," Tina explained. "It'd take ages to figure out who it is that's doing this. They know that the tachyonic prototype was loaned out." She was silent for a moment. "My secretary, Kim Stassen, had to remind me of a fair few discussions with Mayor Bellows that I have no recollection of."
A matter of memory lapse, gaps in the memory. That was familiar to him. But, Tina was out of luck despite her brave notion to seek him out for help. Not that he would. He needed that prototype. He thought of a word of advice, some of comfort, but instead, he decided to stick with keeping the situation light hearted and calm.
Harrison chuckled. "You can't truly be suggesting that this is a cover up by Mayor Bellows's office," he said. "As what? An attempt to keep his second running for mayor successful?" He fixed her with a stare. "These projects must be something if he has his people threatening you." He was silent for a moment. "Has there been falsification of data to obtain research grants?"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous," Tina snapped.
"Then you have nothing to worry about," Harrison replied. "Go to the police if you have nothing to hide." A muscle in Tina's jaw twitched. "Unless of course…you do. Christina McGee, I'm surprised."
"We all have secrets, Harrison," Tina replied, flatly.
"Indeed we do."
A/N: Phew, I covered a lot in this chapter. How was the transition between the present and the flashback with Eddie? Did it make sense to you? Glad to have gotten some action in there at the end as well.
Babyj: Here's where the Royal Flush Gang plot line comes into the main plot more. I do agree though, I can see that it has taken a while to get to this point. Thanks for the review. Bivolo's affects on them will be explored more as the story goes on.
Ethan: Bivolo's anger beam (I have no idea what to call the red one) will do that to you. I noticed that Barry seemed to show his confidence in taking on the Metahumans in kind of an angry way as the season continued. (If that makes sense). I wished we could see more with Joe and Henry. I think their relationship is different and I'm excited to explore more about it. And the brother/sister storyline really moves forward from the next chapter. As you can see, I've been making some of the other characters notice similarities between the two. Can't wait to see your reaction when it's revealed.