Hello all! I just wanted to say a few things about the next two chapters: this is a two-parter and an attempt to wrap up the John Dawson storyline. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I have made because this was so emotionally draining that I just put this on the site because I couldn't proofread it. Also, if you like anything, if you hate anything, let me know!
Enjoy!
It was a quiet day when the call came in.
Laura was alone in the crime lab, the only distinguishable sound coming from the downpour outside, which had been going on for hours. She didn't really mind the semi-silence, but she'd become so accustomed to having at least someone talking that she was almost tempted to talk to herself to fill the void. It had been just over a week since the Arrow - Oliver, she reminded herself - had helped them take down Roy Bivolo, who was now locked up in their basement, and Cisco had been getting a bit restless. Finally, Barry had conceded and checked in a few days off to go to Starling with Caitlin and Cisco, but since Cisco did not have one subtle bone in his body, she was fairly certain it was more than just a sight-seeing trip.
She hadn't really been as eager to go as the others, so while her friends were off gallivanting with the Arrow, she was maintaining some semblance of normality back in Central. Besides, Joe had been fairly clear that either she or Barry had to be available at all times, and with her partner gone, she was doing both of their jobs at the same time.
Luckily, any abnormal criminal activity in Central City seemed to have subsided for the time being, which made the next few days just a bit easier.
She was just finishing up a fairly simple case when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. A quick glance told her that it was Joe, and she opened it without delay. Even though she was on pretty good terms with the detective, it was clearly important to him and everyone else that she take the job seriously, and Laura had every intention of doing so.
Homicide at 8th and Farley. How soon can you get here?
On my way.
Which was how, almost twenty minutes later, Laura ended up crouching over a dead body in the middle of one of Central City's many urban construction sites, in the middle of a rainstorm. Apparently, their victim had been spotted by a curious young passerby through the slats of the fencing around the site, and the news had spread like wildfire. Luckily, some officers in the area had managed to secure the scene early on, and now anybody with a camera didn't stand a chance of getting close enough to snap a photo.
The victim was lying face down in the wet dirt when she arrived, and Laura internally winced when she realized that a good degree of valuable evidence might have already been washed away. At least the police had had the mind to set up a tarp overhead; she just hoped there was at least something that would help this case, however small. As she examined the area, what piqued her interest was his suit – too nice for a vagrant, and too cheap for some of the city's wealthier citizens. Most likely middle-class, which led to the question of what he was doing in the middle of a construction site. There was nothing else of importance in the surrounding area, no matter how hard she looked, and Laura slipped on a pair of fresh gloves as she crouched down to get a better look at the body. It didn't look as if he'd been shot or hit from behind, so she gestured for the paramedics, and stood by as they rolled him on to his back.
However, when she saw the unnatural colouring of his face, Laura's heart almost skipped a few beats, though it appeared as if nobody else saw anything out of the ordinary. She quickly drowned out the hammering of her heartbeat and took a closer look, just to make sure. The victim's face was a pale shade of green, almost undetectable in the light, but it was there, and the dark green lines that spread across his face were most definitely not natural. Laura just needed to make sure of something; she slipped out a small flashlight from her kit, and shone it on the victim's face – the only uncovered part of skin besides his hands.
And there it was. A handprint, just large enough to cover the bottom face of the victim's face.
John Dawson was back.
"Let me get this straight. You're telling me our murder suspect, another metahuman who can create poison, who has been loose in this city for three months?"
Joe looked ready to explode as he paced the length of S.T.A.R. Labs' control room, his voice filling the space, Laura watching nervously from behind the desk while Dr. Wells worked at the consoles. When she'd told Joe about John Dawson and their first encounter back at the precinct, she could have sworn that he would go to Starling himself if it meant he could drag Barry home by his ear. Luckily, he'd calmed down just enough in the past half-hour so that she could convince him to go to S.T.A.R. Labs to update Dr. Wells, but he still looked pretty angry. Laura remained silent for a while longer until the tension in Joe's shoulders finally and slowly dissipated, bringing him down to a reasonable level of calm. When he was finally done, he turned to face both of them.
"Do we at least have a name?"
"Fortunately, yes. John Dawson: former owner of an exotic – and mostly illegal – pet store. We believe that the night the accelerator exploded, Mr. Dawson must have had some contact with a specific species of poison dart frog. We don't have a definite understanding of his abilities, but from what we understand, like Dr. Sander's own metahuman powers, they manifest from spliced DNA."
"Say that again."
"The particle accelerator's residual energy mixed parts of Anthony's poison dart frog DNA with John Dawson's DNA, which is what allows him to secrete poison."
"In other words, a hybrid."
"That...that's messed up."
"No kidding. Now, Dawson's first victim was Frank Tracy. Our newest victim is this man," Laura paused as she took a moment to scoop up one of Cisco's spare tablets, and brought up a picture of the deceased before his unfortunate demise on the main screen, "Jeffrey Hughes. I did a bit of digging and it turns out that Hughes was in the same graduating class as Dawson. Turns out he and Tracy were often reported for bullying Dawson."
"So, what? He's just picking off people who bullied him?" Laura held up a hand to gesture for patience, and brought up the next few images Dr. Wells had been able to dig up with only a few swipes.
"It's a bit more complex than that. We looked into John's past - apparently, his mother was sickly for most of his childhood, and she was on bedrest while he was in high school. John was working the graveyard shift at the neighbourhood pet store one night and he returned home to find his mother had died of heart failure in her sleep."
"Jesus."
"That's not all. Police records show that Madeline Dawson made a call that night, claiming that someone – she reported at least three people – was trying to break into her house. According to the paramedics, it looked like she'd tried to get out of bed."
"She was going to check if someone was really trying to break in."
"Exactly. There was never any actual police investigation, unfortunately, mainly due to the fact Madeline had a history of paranoia – she called the police at least sixty times that year for similar reasons and was taking medication. But, Dawson did file a report the next day, claiming that Tracy, Hughes and one other student had caused his mother's death. According to him, they were the ones who'd tried to break in."
"Does it say who the third student is?"
"…one Peter Yates. CEO of a small corporation in the business district."
"If Dawson is taking out the people he thinks killed his mother, then Yates is in danger. I'll call Eddie, and we'll go pick him up. Laura," Laura could hear the resolve in his voice affirm itself as Joe turned to face her, "you need to get back to the station."
"On it. Joe?"
"Yeah?"
"…be careful."
"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never met a John Dawson in my life."
Liar, Laura thought bitterly from the other side of the one-way mirror, as she watched Peter Yates turn from suave businessman into blatant liar. Her hands shook minutely the longer she stayed in the adjacent room, but she forced herself to stay and listen. She could understand what Dawson must have endured for years, watching his mother's supposed killers – they had yet to find out if there was any truth in that statement – and being unable to avenge her. A twinge of sympathy resounded throughout her chest, and Laura wondered if fate had a grudge against John Dawson. It was as if he'd never been given a chance to have a normal life.
"Really. Because according to this file, you and Mr. Dawson went to the same school. You were in the same graduating class. Does he ring a bell now, or are you going to continue lying to me?"
"Listen, I didn't have time to get to know everyone in that class. Now, if you're going to ask any more questions, I'd like to speak to my lawyer."
On the other side of the mirror, Joe sent Yates a withering glare that had little effect on the man, and Laura could almost feel the walls shake as the door slammed behind him. Seconds later, he threw open the door to the viewing room, looking more than just a little pissed off.
"He's clamming up."
"There's no way he's not lying. He knew Dawson enough to torment him for four years straight."
"Well, there's no way to prove that. We might have to let him go."
There was no way on Earth Laura could let that happen, but there still wasn't anyway she could stop that from happening. Still, even as she followed Joe away from the interrogation room, Laura had the distinct feeling that there was another solution to their problem. A way in which John Dawson and Peter Yates would both receive the justice they deserved. Then her eyes caught sight of Captain Singh's office, the door just cracked open slightly, and the gears in her brain fired to life.
"Give me a minute, Joe. I have an idea."
"You're using me as bait? Are you insane?"
If Laura had the guts to punch Yates in the face, she would have. Every time she looked at him, something ugly awakened in the back of her mind, but she shoved aside the urge in favour of helping Joe and the other officers set up their equipment in the man's spacious office. The plan, as they had discussed extensively with Captain Singh, was to issue a public statement that Yates was being targeted by a potential serial killer and was under police protection at his company's building, then wait for Dawson to arrive. Though using Yates to draw Dawson in had been her idea, a small part of her didn't feel right using another human being like this. However, if she was right about how much Dawson wanted revenge for his mother's death, then this plan was going to work. As she finished with the rest of the surveillance cameras, which would be linked to one of the department's surveillance computers, Laura heard Joe approach Yates.
"Listen, Mr. Yates, I get that you don't really care what happens to Dawson, but I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want to live through the night."
She could only imagine the indignant look on Yates' face, and suppressed a smirk as Joe made his way over to her. The look he gave her spoke volumes, and as discreetly as she could manage, Laura removed the vials of antidote to Dawson's poison Dr. Wells had so kindly drawn up from her jacket – one for every person there. As the only two people in the room who had any inkling of what Dawson was capable of, it was their responsibility to make sure everyone - including Dawson - got out of Peter Yates' office alive.
As if there wasn't enough pressure already.
Five hours later, two floors below Peter Yates' office, Laura, Joe, Eddie and the officers they'd managed to round up for the job were still empty-handed. The sun had already set over the city, filling the small office with the physically draining light of the security footage from the hidden cameras. Most of the officers had already drifted off to dreamland, which was only fair, but at least it gave her, Joe and Eddie some privacy to talk as they watched the security footage.
"I don't understand. He should have come by now."
"Give it time, Sanders. He might just be waiting until the building clears out for the night."
"We already did that for him. What could he be waiting for?"
"I don't know what to tell you. Maybe he's not as dead set on killing this guy as you thought."
Eddie did have a point. Maybe she'd overestimated Dawson's desire for revenge, if Peter Yates really was guilty of causing his mother to die. Did that mean that this had all been for nothing? No. No, she couldn't allow herself to think like that – self-doubt was one of the most fatal ways of thinking. If she had made a mistake, then Laura would face the consequences of her actions head on and do her best to move on from the repercussions.
"Wait, hold on a sec. Joe, did you see that?"
"…he's here. He's coming up the stairwell."
On second thought…
The climb up the stairs to Yates' office was torturously slow, and the Kevlar vest she wore reminded her of the severity of the situation as she followed right on the detectives' heels. A quick warning glance from Joe kept her a good distance down the hallway; she was lucky enough to be allowed to remain in the building, much less join the welcoming party. Some small part of her mind flinched at the sound of the door breaking open, a familiar feeling of panic flickering to life, but Laura extinguished it and forced herself to follow her colleagues into the room. Even from the doorway, she could still see the familiar, lanky form of John Dawson standing behind Yates, a gun pressed to the other man's head, and Laura fought down the instinct to cover her neck as the sensation of his poison burning her skin returned.
"Dawson, drop the gun!" Joe barked, but Dawson didn't appear to have heard him, his eyes trained on Yates' petrified face.
"Do you know what he's done to me?"
"I swear to God, Dawson, drop it!"
"He doesn't deserve to live! None of them did. They all had it coming."
In front of her, one officer raised his firearm just enough to hit Dawson in the head if necessary, and in that moment, Laura knew that she had to stop this. With only a moment of hesitation, she broke into a dash and pushed her way past her colleagues until she was standing in between the two parties. The harsh order from Joe for her return to safety went ignored, and Laura forced herself to look Dawson in the eyes, which still glowed as much as they had during their first encounter. However, as she looked at him, Laura was struck by the change in his appearance. During their first encounter, Dawson had been enraged and, Laura was certain, more than ready to end her and Barry's lives; now, he simply looked resigned, worn thin by years of torment and desperation. Almost as if he wasn't going to put up a fight tonight.
No.
It wasn't just justice John Dawson was searching for. He was looking for peace, for relief, for a way out from this nightmare that had somehow become his life. John Dawson didn't plan on living past this night, that much was clear, and Laura's heart broke at the thought, but she managed some amount of calm as she spoke to him.
"John. I know what he did to your mother - I read all the files. She died because of him, didn't she? Because of them?"
"She did."
"That's why you killed the others, isn't it? Tracy? Hughes? They were there that night, with him, trying to break in."
He was lost for words, as if nobody had ever believed him, and she had the terrible feeling that nobody had ever even bothered to listen. She took another step forward, ignoring the growing sense of impending danger.
"How did you find out it was them, John?"
"...they bragged about it, the next day. I heard them. Laughed about it, too."
"John, listen - I know how much it must have hurt to lose your mom. I've been to that place, and I'm still there. But this isn't how it should end for you, or for Yates. Would your mother want this for you? Would she want to see you hurt?"
Laura could see that John was wavering now, the mournful look in his bright green eyes telling her everything she needed to know.
Then Yates spoke.
"Listen, Dawson, I'm sorry. It was an accident, I swear to God. I never meant to kill your mom."
Nononononono-
"It was just supposed to be a joke."
It was a desperate lie, and even John knew it.
The hesitation on his face was replaced by one of hard anger; in that second, Laura knew that there was nothing else she could do for him, that she had lost him. The green of his eyes grew brighter, almost blinding Laura before she looked away, and Laura heard a choked-off scream as she dove out of the line of fire, the sound of gunshots echoing throughout the room.
When her ears eventually stopped ringing, the room was silent. Even without looking back, Laura knew exactly what she was going to see, and the part of her that was still able to process what had happened became abruptly nauseous. So, she laid there, that small hollow space that she'd worked hard to bury since walking into the room growing exponentially larger with every passing second, until a hand came to rest on her shoulder. The look Joe gave her told her that it was all over, and she numbly accepted the hand that pulled her to her feet. Laura knew that Joe was talking, his voice low and worried, but as he led her away, supporting her weight the entire time, she couldn't find the strength to respond. Even when they finally made it outside, where the waiting paramedics looked her over and ushered her on to a stretcher, Laura didn't say a word.
The last thing she remembered before darkness came for her was her eyes closing and the world finally, finally, going hauntingly quiet.
