Sorry about missing last week, I was very sick. feeling much better now, though! Warnings for this chapter: threats, more of what's already happened. no new warnings
Chapter eight
The hunger pangs in Cisco's stomach had long since eased into a hardly there ache, the way they always did when he got caught up in a project for too long. It had always annoyed Caitlin, confused Barry, that he could go from starving to feeling more or less fine-not hungry, exactly, not desperate, just a little weaker, maybe a little nauseous even-in hours. Cisco had always seen it more as convenience, but it scared him now. He hadn't been able to sleep, not with the throbbing ache in his head from the blow he'd taken, and the chill that seeped up through his clothes and skin. No one had come in, or even made a sound after they'd left with Caitlin. It could have been hours ago, it could have been days ago, he didn't know. What were they doing to her? Had they already gotten Ronnie? What about Professor Stein? What did they want from him, now, would they just leave him here to die? The thought would have dried his mouth with fear, except that it was already dry as bone, sour and foul.
Eiling didn't need him to use against Caitlin, anymore. He might not even need Caitlin, if he'd already caught Firestorm. Worse, Cisco remembered what Professor Stein had said, what Ronnie had said, Eiling being about to kill them. They might all be dead by now. But they hadn't killed him, yet, and somehow that scared Cisco more than the alternative.
It was quiet, very quiet. No one out in the hall, not even the dim static of a radio on a guard's belt. He shifted, leaning back against the wall, careful not to jar his head too much. It still hurt, and he wasn't sure if he was just imagining the way his hair felt almost damp. It might have just been sweat, after all, or his brain finding more things to be terrified of, the way his vision spun a bit could have just been exhaustion and anxiety and hunger, not bloodloss. At any rate, it was hard to tell when he lifted his bound hands to touch the spot, then looked at them again. There simply wasn't enough light to see more than movement.
Caitlin and Ronnie and Stein were in trouble, but-Barry was still out there. Cisco swallowed. Sure, there was no psychic connection to Morse-code him their location, even if they-even if he knew it, but Barry would look, would find them. Joe, and Eddie, they'd look. That doesn't mean they'll ever find you. It took everyone two weeks to find Eddie, right under your noses, and this place could be anywhere, the more present than ever pessimistic voice suggested.
You shut up. Nuh-uh, don't wanna hear it. Cisco thought back, screwing up his eyes as if that would make the thought stronger, or make the dark room melt away. It did neither.
On the bright side, Martin Stein had to admit, this time he wasn't chained to a dentist's chair from hell, and he still had his glasses. Those were, unfortunately, the extent of positive aspects of his current predicament. It had taken slightly more effort than he would have liked to stand, and while showing the weakness of aging around Ronald or Clarissa or his former colleagues was one thing, it was quite another to feel this helpless under the scrutiny of General Eiling. Before the man could speak, Martin fixed him with an unwavering stare.
"If you're going to kill me, don't waste anyone's time. Get it over with." Martin said. He tipped his head toward the barrier that separated his prison from Ronald's. He was awake, with two men standing almost casually, hands resting on weapons. The younger man was standing, clenched fists pressed to the clear Wall, but if he spoke, his words were inaudible, and Martin's own nerves were too overpowering to separate out what was himself and what was Ronald's. "But let the children go. They have no part in this."
The general took a slow step forward, the heel and toe of his boots clicking against the rough floor. He clucked his tongue like a disappointed schoolteacher. "Professor, Professor. What makes you think I want to kill you, after all the trouble it took to get you here?"
Martin took in the predatory smirk, the cold light in his eyes, and did not flinch.
"Perhaps," he said icily, "it was the gun you put to my head when last we met. Or, I don't know, the gun you pointed at the pair of us not a minute and a half later. What was it you said? Oh, yes, our country 'thanks us for our sacrifice.' But of course, that was an invitation to an award ceremony and your retirement party, an easy mistake, I'm sure. How anyone could possibly misunder-"
Eiling struck him across the face.
"Watch your mouth, Professor, or you're not the only one who will regret it." Eiling stepped back, appraising the situation. Professor Stein clenched his back teeth so hard he knew that on the other side of their bond, Ronald would feel it and disapprove. He'd always been the one more worried about their health, but the other half of Firestorm gave nothing away other than a firmer glare at Eiling. Martin knew that threat was not only aimed at the one-time engineer, but at Dr. Snow, as well, and perhaps even at Clarissa.
"What do you want?" Martin fought to keep his voice from rising.
"We've already had this discussion. I want the secrets of Firestorm, and the files I acquired have been less than helpful." Eiling shook his head. "From the time I was a boy, all I've wanted is to help my country. Keep it on the right path. With Firestorm, with these meta powers, just think what our soldiers can do. No more drawn out, senseless wars. I want to see this country great again."
"If you think I'm simply going to hand over my life's work to be weaponized," Martin said, trying not to imagine all the ways Eiling could coerce any information he wanted from them, "Then I'd like to see the idiots who promoted you. Perhaps if this country didn't put people with room temperature IQ in charge of anything more complicated than putting caps on toothpaste-"
This time, Eiling didn't hit him, but he cut off all the same as a soldier struck Ronnie. Eiling noted the wince, then leaned forward. Viper quick, he grabbed Martin's chin.
"Insults will do you no good here, Professor. You and Mr. Raymond will be most helpful, whether you want to cooperate or not." He released the older man with a shove. "I suggest you consider your circumstances. Make yourselves at home. I have a few more...arrangements… to take care of, but I'll be seeing you."
"You said you thought the Santinis might be behind this?" Eddie asked Barry.
Barry was jittery, pacing.
"I don't-I don't know. They have reason to have a grudge against Cisco, if they learned he was the one that built the Cold gun, and the Gold gun. So...It could be them, but I've looked in every place we know they're connected to. And they have no reason to target Caitlin, none at all. I need to keep looking-"
"Bar," Joe held out his hand. " you've done nothing but search for hours. We need to come at this smarter, not faster. You can't search the whole state by yourself."
"They might be out of the country, by now," Barry shook his head. "I should have realized something was wrong. I should have noticed…"
"Does Caitlin have any enemies?" Eddie asked. "Or Star Labs? Maybe it's not something connected to the Flash, maybe it's something from before."
"What?" Barry shook his head "No, that doesn't make any sense."
"Actually…" Eddie sighed. "It might. I mean, you haven't been targeted. They took Caitlin and Cisco with hours of each other. It might be someone with a grudge against Star Labs."
Joe groaned. "There were hundreds of employees, potential employees… that's a lot of suspects. Or a lot of potential targets, if it's someone from outside the company, they might not stop with our friends."
Eddie winced. "There's another angle. Barry...how many enemies do you have?"
"What? None, now that Wel-Eobard is dead. I mean, Snart's out there but I don't think-"
"No, not as the Flash. As Barry Allen." Eddie corrected.
"I'm not a cop," Barry shrugged. "And you said yourself, I'm not a target. I mean, I don't think…"
"Eddie?" Joe asked.
Eddie shrugged. "There are three connections Cisco and Caitlin have. Their work with Star, their work with the Flash, and their work helping you." he ticked them off on his fingers. "Maybe someone wishes you hadn't survived your coma, or something like that. Is there anyone you've pissed off as Barry? A case your CSI stuff cracked? A case you testified in, maybe?"
Barry shrugged. "I-It's possible, I guess. I'll look over case files."
"So will we." Joe sighed. "So someone from Star Labs, someone with a grudge against Star labs, or someone from a case you've cracked. Not just the ones you've worked, they usually go after the cops, judges, even juries, lawyers. CSIs don't really make the revenge docket unless it's a big deal."
"There might be a couple cases." Barry chewed his lip. "I've got to get back out there, I've got to keep looking-"
"Go home, son. Take files, see if you can find a, a lead there. You're going to run yourself to death." Joe insisted. " At least eat dinner. Look through your case files, you're more likely to understand any potential connection than we are. Eddie and I will look at any Star employees that might have had a grudge against both Caitlin and Cisco, and any threats aimed at them or their departments."
"They worked in separate divisions. The didn't interact a whole lot until the end, really. Ronnie and Cisco worked longer hours, Caitlin said once, so she stuck around, made friends with Cisco. I don't think it's Rathaway, this isn't his style, and he knows that I at least know that Ronnie's not dead. But someone else who worked on that part of the Accelerator project, maybe…."
"Good to know," Eddie said. "I'll head to Star to get the stored personnel fi-"
Barry vanished and returned a few seconds later with a box, then repeated the action three more times.
"Barry." Joe said calmly. "Go. Home. you are asking to get caught as the Flash and that is the last thing any of us needs right now. If you find anything, call. We'll call you if we get anything, I swear you will be the first to know. Now just. Go. Eat something. The other last thing we need is for you to go into a Hyper-whatsit Coma without Caitlin to help you." Barry's face fell. Joe winced. " Barry, as long as we know she didn't write that note, as long as we don't have a body…"
"There's a chance she's still alive. I know. But…" Barry shook his head. "What if she and Cisco…"
Eddie put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find them. We've got to believe we will. Don't give up."
Barry nodded. "I'm going to call Iris, she spent time with them while I was in my coma, they might have mentioned something to her, offhand, you know..."
"Alright. I'll call around nine, no matter what we've found or haven't." Joe said, then sat down and drew a box towards himself.
Someone had come in to bring another small meal. Water and crackers with peanut butter this time, rather than processed cheese. Cisco wondered how they knew he wasn't allergic. Or maybe they wouldn't have cared one way or the other. Cisco had tried to stay curled up against the wall, but he was hungry. They left the crackers and a small styrofoam cup, and he lunged for them as soon as he head the door lock. On the one hand, there was the glorious ideal of refusing his captor's wishes, of never giving in, and on the other was the practical knowledge that without food and water, by the time Barry came to save them, he'd be too weak to help.
Time continued to drag by, and Cisco tapped fingers together, itched his nose, probed at the bruise around his eye as if confirming it was still there. In his head, he tried to think about anything other than what was happening. Hi honey/ hi mom/ you feeling any better?/ A little bit/ guess what?/what/ your grandfather's here/can't you tell him I'm sick? Anyone could memorize the more iconic lines of Princess Bride. Cisco had memorized the entire movie. He squeezed his eyes shut, wincing at the pressure on the bruise, and tried to remember exactly how the scene had looked, on the small TV set up in the Star Labs medbay the last time he'd watched it all the way through, eight months into Barry's coma. What color were the blankets, how was the room laid out, what was the mom doing with her hands. Holding something? He wasn't sure, but he tried anyway.
He didn't get far before he managed to drift slightly-not sleep, exactly so much as drowse, equally dangerous with a head injury. It was interrupted when a door slammed open. Instinctively, Cisco pressed back, trying to use the wall as support to stand, his eyes locked on the figure in the doorway. A small part of him hoped it was Barry, Ronnie, Joe or Eddie, even Oliver (gone) or Ray (dead). Even-even Dr Wells, but no, no, not Dr. Wells. Dig, or Barry, or the cops-
"Now that that's taken care of, Mr. Ramon, I think it's time we had a little talk," General Eiling said. "I do apologize for the lack of hospitality. Had to get Firestorm all squared away."
"What did you do to them?" Cisco demanded, the harshness in his voice not entirely from dehydration.
Eiling let out an exaggerated sigh. "Moved them. This place is hardly as secure as it needs to be. Don't worry, you'll be joining them soon enough, assuming this next, shall we call it, phase goes correctly."
Cisco's eyes burned with anger, but he said nothing. Eiling sighed again, and signaled behind him. Two soldiers entered, and Cisco recognized them from earlier. His ribs ached.
"Whatever you want from me, I won't help you," Cisco growled. Maybe it was the quantum splicer? He and Wells had been the ones to build it, though Martin Stein and Ronnie could probably recreate it if they had blueprints. Weapons, maybe. Why else keep him here, keep him alive? But that didn't make sense, Eling had plenty of engineers to build weapons for him, the spike grenade he'd used against Barry last winter was proof of that.
Barry. The Flash. Eiling had tried to take him before...
Cisco's eyes went wide as Eiling pulled out his cellphone. "Time to have a chat with your friend Mr. Allen."
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