Kara knew she shouldn't be doing this, but without any other leads to follow tailing Jake seemed like the most logical move she could make right now. she kept a much greater distance than last time, relying on her enhanced vision to keep him in sight at all times as he walked out of the hotel to journey down the streets. She knew following him as Supergirl would draw a lot of attention so she stayed out of costume, yet flitted between rooftops and alleys keeping her distance. Jake didn't give any indication he was aware of her. Then again she didn't know he knew last time until he surprised her in the ally. She wasn't interested in a conversation, she just wanted to see if the Blacksmith tried to contact him, or vice versa.

She followed him for several blocks until he slipped into a crowded café. She dropped down to the street and watched from the opposite sidewalk, finding a restaurant with outside seating she could survey from. She took a seat and pretended to read the menu, dipping her glasses down her nose to monitor the young man as he waited in line to the counter impatiently. She had noticed he was agitated all day, seeing the micro expressions that gave them away. She knew them because she'd read them when they were dating, most frequently when they were talking about Sarah. It's how she was sure the young man was worried about Henry. That was good, it increased the possibility of him reaching out.

"Good afternoon miss" a middle aged waiter greeted Kara, approaching her table politely. "Have you had a chance to look at our specials today?" he asked her.

Kara glanced up at the man, quickly scanning the menu she was holding and realising this was quite an expensive restaurant she chose to sit at. "I just need a few more minutes" she said apologetically. The man nodded leaving her to her deliberations, adjourning to greet another table. She dropped the menu and sighed, fiddling with her blouse as she watched Jake across the more affordable café order his drink at the counter. She focused her hearing and found him charming the woman behind the counter, the smile putting her at ease before slipping away the moment he turned his back. How does he do that? She wondered. How can he be so believably charming and two faced?

"You know there's a hot dog stand further down the street that's more in our price range" Nia said, surprising the young woman as she sat down in the seat opposite her. She dropped her bag and looked through the menu, grimacing at the prices. "Wow, people actually afford to eat here? This would take a week of my salary. Maybe we should as Olsen for a raise" she joked.

Kara looked around before leaning over the table asking the young woman "what are you doing here?"

"Can't a girl get lunch?" she asked, looking at her watch. "Or dinner, in this case. I didn't realise it was that late."

Kara gave her a disapproving scowl as she shook her head. "I asked brainy not to tell anyone what I was doing" she muttered, deducing how Nia found her.

"Actually, you asked him not to tell Alex" Nia corrected her, fixing her gaze on her mentor. "I'm his girlfriend, and I'm your friend, and we're both worried."

"I'm fine" she insisted.

"then why are you following Jake again?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder only just able to glimpse the man taking a seat in the heart of the café with his back to them. "Don't you remember what happened last time?" she asked concerned.

"That man is the only lead we have to catching the Blacksmith" Kara reminded her. "And I can take care of myself" she added with a huff.

The waiter returned to their table, asking for their order. "Could we just get too cups of coffee? No sugar" Nia asked politely. The man nodded, dotting it down and promising to return soon. Nia returned her attention to Kara. "I get the angle, it's smart. But you know you don't have to do this alone. I didn't come here to stop you Kara. I came to help."

Kara wanted to snap she didn't need help. But she did recall the last time she pulled this stunt and it ended with her falling on her ass completely unprepared. She sighed, leaning against the table waiting for their drinks to arrive. "You think James will let us claim this on work expenses?" she asked, making Nia chuckled. "Where is Jimmy?"

"At home talking to his sister last I heard" she replied, sipping her coffee with an approving shrug. "I can't believe he told his sister about being Guardian."

"I think it's great" Kara said, still keeping one eye on their suspect as she ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "It helps to have family around you" she said.

Nia looked down sadly. "At least his sister is still talking to him" she muttered.

Kara looked at Nia feeling her sorrow. "Maeve will come around, when she's ready" she told her. Nia wanted to believe that, but she was starting to believe otherwise.

Their contemplative moment was interrupted when Kara's ears picked out the distinct buzz of a mobile coming from Jake's table. She tilted her head and lowered her glasses to watch him glance around the café before reaching into his jacket. "He's answering his phone" she told Nia.

The girl looked back and saw him pull out the mobile from his pocket. "Brainy said he's been making calls to his insurance and landlord for days. It could just be that" she said cautiously.

Kara looked at the flip phone in his hands. "Except he's not answering his smartphone" she said, looking at Nia optimistically. Nia eyes got filled with hope. The second phone! They both watched him turn his back as he brought the phone to his ear. Kara turned her head to focus her hearing, tuning out the bustling people and noises around them until she was listening into this phone call.

"Well?" Jake whispered in a hushed voice when he answered the call. He kept his head low while the rest of the café continued about its day.

"It's me kid" Henry's voice replied. Kara heard it through her super hearing nodding to Nia who sat up in alert.

Jake, in comparison, exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank god" he whispered, relaxing his shoulders a little before snapping back "what took you so long? DuBois texted me that you had been extracted hours ago."

"Apologies, we've just gotten back to the workshop" Henry explained. "Had to lay low for a while since the cops were everywhere."

There was a sudden sound of the phone being transferred as another gravelly voice rang through the mobile. "When you said hot, you should've mentioned the number of superheroes I'd have to deal with" Robert DuBois said.

"I didn't think that'd be a deal breaker" Jake retorted.

"What's he saying?" Nia asked Kara, who was listening intently to the conversation across the street. Kara didn't reply but she pulled out a notepad and pen and started writing the conversation she was overhearing onto the paper. Nia followed along reading her writing upside down, glancing around the restaurant hoping they were acting suspicious enough to draw attention.

"It would've been helpful to know" Robert said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh give it a rest you two" Henry's voice cut in. "you handled yourself perfectly. And I appreciate you coming to my aid old friend."

Both reporters looked up at each other. This clearly confirmed Bloodsport was at the very least an ally of the Blacksmith if not a client. "So what's the plan? We still need to get you out of the city" Jake said.

"Don't worry about it kid" Henry replied, faint sounds of metal being moved about somewhere in the background. "We've talked it over and I have it all figured out."

"We?"

"You did hire Robert to extradite me out of National City, correct?" he asked.

Jake nodded as Robert clarified "Irons has already paid my advance for his protection. He told me about the delivery to one of his clients, who he thinks can help."

"Do you remember that order I was wrapping up the last time you were here?" Henry asked Jake.

"I do, it was a big one. But how does that help?" Jake asked. "The FBI have all the ports locked down. No ships are leaving dry-dock without a pretty hefty inspection."

"That's why my client will be able to help us" Henry assured him. "There are a lot of benefits to having diplomatic immunity, amongst them their diplomatic pouches. It won't matter what patrols they send to inspect their boat, they'd need one hell of a warrant to open up that cargo container. Which is why I plan to be on board when it leaves tonight."

Kara stiffened as she wrote that out. The Blacksmith was going to escape in a diplomatic pouch? If he does not even the DEO would be able to stop it. She pulled out her phone and texted the information to Brainy, hoping he can find out what boat was scheduled to leave tonight. "Mailing yourself out of trouble?" Jake chuckled. "Well that's daring."

"It'll be fine. We've got hours to sort out the details" Henry told him. "I'm get in touch with our client. I'm sure he'll be willing to help, especially if he wants to continue doing business."

"Once he's secure our deal will be done" Robert added, the sounds of firearms echoing behind him.

"Thank you DuBois" Jake said.

"Don't thank me yet. I'll give you a call when the job is done" he promised.

Jake nodded, releasing a sigh.

Across the street, Kara had heard enough to get on the phone to their friends. "Diplomatic immunity? I'm sure the DEO would love to know which diplomat is working with the Blacksmith" she muttered to Nia, rising out of her seat to quickly make the call to Alex giving her the heads up.

She was so impatient to share her news she didn't notice Nia was a little unresponsive as she sat at the table with her eyes close. The young woman had a passing sense that Kara had left to make the call, but her concentration was on her astral projection she sent to monitor Jake's call first hand. She was struggling to read Kara's hastily scrawled handwriting and so put herself into a meditative state to send her consciousness into the café and eavesdrop on Jake's call. She had to drift close to his ear to listen to Henry's voice but she was able to learn exactly what Kara had. But she stayed to listen when Kara had tuned out. As a result, she overheard Henry's voice asking the young man "are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Jake replied, his expression saying something else though. He sighed explaining "I just realised you won't be coming back, will you?"

"And you won't be coming with me" Henry agreed sadly.

"I'm almost set Henry. A few more weeks and…and it'll all be over" he told him.

Nia's projection looked up at the man, wondering what that meant. Is he talking about Kara? What are you planning? She focused and listened, forcing herself to remain calm in case she broke the connection.

"Have you figured out what comes after?" Henry asked him. Jake didn't answer, briefly removing the phone so he could rub his eyes. Nia examined his face and saw something she didn't expect. Resignation. She watched as Jake brought the phone back up only for Henry to beat him to saying "there isn't an after, is there. And we're not talking about not thinking that far."

"It's all I can think about" Jake sighed.

Nia heard Henry sigh too. "I guess that makes this the time we'll speak to each other" he guessed.

Jake nodded, disappointment in his face. "For what it's worth…"

"No kid! I'm not saying goodbye" Henry interrupted. "I want you to be by my side when this is over."

"Henry…"

"No excuses. I get what you're going through, I get it. But we both know things have changed. This isn't about avenging Sarah any more, is it?"

Jake fell silent, his gaze looking into the distance. He didn't say anything, as if there was nothing to say. Nia got the sense there was something more to this conversation, a meaning she wasn't privy to. They had assumed Jake always planned to kill Kara in revenge of his fiancé's death. But he didn't look like a man plotting revenge, plotting to kill a superhero. Not anymore. Maybe something had changed. After a minute he finally spoke, "I'm going to miss you Henry. You were…"

"I know kid" Henry replied, the same level of emotion in his voice. Nia listened and reasoned it wasn't just a partnership or mentorship she was listening to. They were close, like father and son. That's why he called for help she thought. He wasn't worried about his safety or avoiding getting caught. He was protecting a man he cared about. "When this is over…come and find me. I'll be waiting" Henry told him.

Jake silently nodded, slowly hanging up the phone and dropping it onto the table Nia followed the phone as it landed beside his own. She noticed this old mobile had an extended battery, which was odd. It looked custom built, which wasn't beyond the engineer's capabilities. She watched Jake pick up his mobile and bring up the photos stored upon it. She looked down and found him scrolling through images of himself and his fiancé. They looked happy, in love. It was heart-breaking to look at. But then his thumb swiped and he found a photo of himself with Kara while they were dating. Nia saw him stare at the photo with a very conflicted scowl. It seemed torn between distaste and another expression. She watched as he tapped the screen and brought up the option to delete the picture. But when his thumb hesitate over the button she deduced what must've changed, what Henry was alluding too. This isn't about avenging Sarah anymore. Jake turned the screen off and tossed his phone away, slumping into his chair with a frustrated sigh wiping his face. Nia looked down at him, starting to see behind the preconceptions she and her friends had drawn up about him.

Any breakthroughs she might've gleamed were interrupted when Kara shook her awake, her mind snapping back to her body to look up at the blonde. "You still with us?" Kara asked her. She nodded. "Good, because we've got to go" she said, paying the bill for their drinks and dragging the girl down the street in a hurry. Nia followed along, forgetting all about her momentary revelations into Jake's motives.