Chapter 51: The Con Game
Bolt looked around suspiciously, making sure there were no pursuers before climbing the metal fence, vaulting over it and landing on the other side. He quickly walked around, spotting the warehouse with the right number, and sprinted over to it. He took out a phone - burner, of course - and called the number programmed into it.
"I'm here."
The next moment, the front door to the warehouse opened, revealing Leonard Snart, thief extraordinaire, and his current employer. Snart smirked and beckoned Bolt over, allowing him through the door and into their crew's new hideout. It was sparse, being abandoned, all except for one specific corner of the room. In that corner, there were a few bunk beds and a variety of goods, most likely stolen. A few weapons were propped against the wall. However, the most interesting thing to Bolt was the massive technological setup. State-of-the-art hardware, connected to a large plasma screen.
"Amunet hook you up with all this?"
"She has a lot of money riding on this, so she spared no expense with the equipment." Snart chuckled. "All the more reason to succeed, otherwise she might put us in debt to her for all this. I understand you know how to work it?"
"Indeed." Bolt responded. "I'll set up my laptop immediately."
Snart stopped him. "Before you do, you should meet the rest of the crew." Bolt followed him outside, on the other side of the hideout. There, four people were wreaking havoc. He could see Mick Rory burning something up with a gun that spit fire, while Lisa, Snart's younger sister, watched in awe. Beside her was someone who was constantly changing appearances - a shapeshifter, how wonderful. And finally, there was a young, African American woman teleporting to and fro, occasionally stepping into Mick's line of sight and then moving elsewhere. Snart put two fingers into his mouth and blew out a loud, piercing whistle, catching everyone's attention.
They all walked over to the duo, each of them appraising the new arrival, trying to determine what kind of person he was. Bolt was indifferent to the scrutiny - he had gone through worse.
"Everyone, this is Bolt, our hacker and technology expert." Snart gestured to the younger man, who simply held up a hand in greeting.
"Bolt, you remember Mick. He's our muscle." Snart jabbed his thumb towards his partner.
"Mr. Rory."
"Geek." Mick announced. "'Bolt' is too cool a name for a nerd like you." Bolt blinked at that, then shrugged. He'd been called worse.
"My sister Lisa, getaway driver and support." Lisa Snart smirked at him, which he returned with a nod.
Snart then pointed to the shapeshifter, who also smirked before turning into a featureless man. Bolt widened his eyes when he saw the other man had none, as if they were never there to begin with - that was new. "Hannibal Bates. A meta with a penchant for disguise, as you can see."
"Pleasure." Bates held out his hand. Bolt shook it in kind, and he could see the slight twinge in Bates' jaw when he saw that Bolt's hands were gloved.
"And finally, Shawna Baez." Shawna crossed her arms. "She's the one that will be doing the actual thieving for obvious reasons."
"'Sup." She said. Bolt simply nodded in kind.
Snart clasped his hands together. "Now that we're all here, we can finally discuss the plan. Everyone, back inside. We've got a lot to talk about."
Once the plasma screen showed the desktop of his computer, Bolt set about pulling up the files of information on A.R.G.U.S. Everyone watched, somewhat impressed, as he rapidly typed his way through layers and layers of authentication and encryption that he himself had put up to access the hidden sub-directories in his hard drive that held the information he sought.
"Paranoid, much?" Shawna commented.
"Better paranoid than dead." Bolt retorted. Shawna had nothing to say to that.
Finally, he passed through the last encryption, revealing the files. He clicked one, pulling up a picture of an Asian man.
"A.R.G.U.S. stands for Advanced Research Group United Support. They're one of the lesser-known alphabet agencies of the United States of America. Their primary purpose is the combat of terrorist threats, both international and domestic, via the use of, well, advanced research; science and technology that has yet to even be publicized as possible subjects of interest, let alone actively researched." Bolt explained. "The man on the screen here is Maseo Yamashiro; their sub-director and public face."
Bates frowned. "What about the actual boss?"
"Unknown." Bolt said, frustrated. "I searched far and wide, but there's no record of who the real boss is. It's very likely he - or she - has wiped all evidence of their existence from the internet. A near-impossible feat if it were not for A.R.G.U.S.'s resources."
"Yamashiro here is a Japanese national." Snart picked up from where Bolt finished. "It's not known exactly how he became a member of an American agency, but he is, and he's trusted as much as a sub-director of a shady covert agency can be. Other than the director, he is the only person who has direct access to the resources of every A.R.G.U.S. base on the planet."
"That's where you come in." Bolt nodded to Bates. He tapped on his keyboard, bringing up pictures of an attractive Asian woman and a handsome, young teenager that bore resemblance to both her and Maseo. "Yamashiro has a family: a wife named Tatsu and a son named Akio. Akio is currently a freshman at Tōdai- Tokyo University," he amended when he got confused looks, "majoring in biology and chemistry. He's currently looking for possible graduate programs and post-education internships. Since Central City is one of the scientific capitals of the world and Yamashiro has ties to America, they've decided to visit here to see what the city has to offer."
"According to this schedule," Bolt pulled up another file, this time a document containing a list of names, "the Yamashiros will be visiting Mercury Labs in three days and doing a tour of the facility with a bunch of other well-to-do families."
Snart pointed at Bates. "You are going join the tour group and take Yamashiro's appearance. That will allow us access into A.R.G.U.S.'s Central City base."
"Is that it?" Bates smirked.
"No." Snart intoned, deathly serious. "That's the easy part. The hard part is the actual heist itself. Bolt?"
Bolt clicked on his keyboard again. The documents receded, and a new one was pulled up: blueprints. Everyone except Snart and Bolt blinked at the detail of what they were shown; something so… informative could not have been easy to obtain.
"There is a five-hour window on the last day before Yamashiro's departure where he'll be completely unaccounted for, according to the schedule Bolt here lifted from their system. It's likely he'll be with his family. That's when we'll strike." Snart nodded to Bates. "You'll disguise yourself as Yamashiro and access the building. There, you'll enter the right hall," Bolt used his mouse pointer to circle the indicated location, "and enter the main terminal."
"There, you'll use this," Snart picked up a small, circular disk, "and insert it. This will allow Bolt to access the terminal and take control of the building for a few minutes."
Bates took the disk, examining it carefully. "Why do we need it?"
Surprisingly, it was Lisa who answered. "Ever since metas became a thing, S.T.A.R. Labs has been developing anti-metahuman technology to combat all the criminals that have been showing up. A.R.G.U.S. purchased these meta-dampeners to weaken if not outright suppress a metahuman's powers. Fortunately for us, thanks to S.T.A.R. Labs being so strapped for cash after the Particle Accelerator exploded, they're few in number and don't have a good range. They're only installed in a couple of high-profile rooms."
"And both our target and the main terminal have them." Snart sighed. He picked up another device. "This one will knockout all the surveillance cameras in a room, replacing it with a five-second loop. Use this before the other one - once you enter the main terminal, your powers will forcibly deactivate and you go back to your original form."
"Bolt will use his access to the main terminal to deactivate all the metahuman dampeners and most of the security measures in the building. This will probably set off alarms, so that's where Mick and I come in. We'll enter from different entrances - the front for Mick and the side for me - and wreak total havoc on the place. While all the guards are occupied dealing with us, it's Shawna's turn."
Snart picked up another item, this time a large bag made of some strange material. Shawna took it from him and frowned as she felt the fabric over. It was surprisingly resistant and lacked stretch.
"Why this bag? There's not a lot you can fit in here."
Instead of answering her question, Snart simply gave Bolt a pointed look. Bolt responded by opening up another image, this time of what seemed to be a small computer chip.
"This," Snart gestured to the image, "is what we're stealing."
With the exception of Lisa and Bolt, everyone gaped at the image. That was the score?
"I thought we were stealing guns and stuff." Mick bluntly stated, aghast.
"Allow me, Snart." Bolt cut off his boss before he could respond. Bolt clicked and suddenly another image took up the screen. It was a simulation. Everyone watched silently as a virtual man took one of the chips and attached it to the inside of a car. The man then walked away several yards, before taking out a small remote. He pressed a button, and everyone except Bolt flinched as the car disappeared in a miniature mushroom cloud.
Bolt, uncaring of how unnerved everyone was, spoke candidly. "A.R.G.U.S. has an abundance of these chips, developed and built in-house, and they control the distribution with an iron fist. There is quite a number of people in the black market that have been itching to get on this technology for years, and are willing to pay top dollar for it."
Snart nodded. "He's right. Amunet first heard about them from a mole she has in the local government, who lucked into a demonstration back when he was an aid to that general on the news, Eiling. She talked to some people, and well." Snart shrugged, and smirked. "We pull this off, and we'll be made people. All of us."
Eddie scratched his chin as he walked upstairs to the room Iris and Ralph had appropriated for their secret case. The two had been secluded in their ever since Barry had to go undercover, compiling evidence and making connections as more and more information was fed into their files thanks to their double agent. They had already made contact with A.R.G.U.S.'s director - whoever that was, he or she had not deigned to show their face - and plans had already been made for when they finally snapped the trap on Snart and his crew.
He opened the door to see them both bending over some papers, with Iris taking one document and pinning it to one of the boards on the wall. A wall had that almost completely disappeared under the insane number of documents and photos that had been put up together and connected by string. The two had been busy, that was for certain.
In fact, they were so absorbed in their work that they had yet to notice his arrival. Eddie watched them work for a long moment and then audibly cleared his throat, catching both their attentions. "You called?" He asked, pointedly addressing his girlfriend. He would not talk to Dibny if he could help it.
Instead of responding, Iris instead went over to the table and picked up a small device; it was rectangular and a little bulky. She walked over to the door, silently gesturing to Eddie to move, locking it and then placing the device just above the handle. Once it was in place, she clicked the side, and a loud piercing sound echoed in everyone's ears before abruptly stopping.
"What was that?" Eddie asked, trying to get the ringing sound out.
"Something that will prevent anyone from eavesdropping." Iris explained. "A gift from one of Barry's coworkers at S.T.A.R. Labs."
Eddie blinked. "You two aren't taking any chances, are you?"
"It's a big case, Thawne." Ralph retorted. "Better paranoid than dead. The walls have ears, after all." He smirked.
Eddie frowned at him, then turned his attention back to his girlfriend. Iris sighed. "Barry made contact again. Two of Snart's crew are two of the metas you've been trying to catch."
"Which ones?" Eddie asked, now very alert.
"A shapeshifter and a teleporter." Iris answered. "They're participating in the heist."
"Which means you," Ralph pointed at Eddie, "are now officially a part of this case."
Eddie scowled at him. "What about Joe? Why isn't he here?" Joe was his partner, and had been working on those two cases with him since the beginning.
Iris and Ralph exchanged uneasy looks. Eddie's eyes widened. "You think he's… compromised?"
"Yes, but not in the way you think." Iris responded. "We think that Da-Detective West, would not be… objective with the handling of this case. With Barry being his foster son and all. We believe he might do something rash, and Barry agreed."
"Wouldn't that logic apply to you as well, though, Iris? No offense, I mean." Eddie quickly tacked on, not wishing to be in the dog house when they were off the clock.
Iris raised an eyebrow but showed no other signs of being offended. It was a valid question. "Yes, but things have gone well so far, so I've been able to stay my hand. I trust Barry. Detective West, meanwhile, has always been a bit… overprotective, and with this case, it's not just Barry at risk - it's myself as well. His judgment would be… skewed by that." It was clear that Iris was struggling to be polite with her father's smothering tendencies. While she had no issue complaining about it back when they were on the outs - when she was reminded of it, otherwise she preferred not to talk about Joe at all - they had been reconciled for months now. She understood her father's actions better once they had gotten to talking and was trying to be charitable to him for that.
"And you think I wouldn't be compromised?" Eddie asked, incredulous.
At that, both Ralph and Iris gave him a deadpan look. Eddie flushed the longer the look lasted. "What?"
"Eddie, I'm sure you'll have no issue with Barry being in danger." Iris had been oblivious to the animosity between her boyfriend and her best friend in the beginning, but as time wore on and the novelty of having Barry back ended, she could see things much more clearly. Thankfully, both had made the effort to at least be polite to each other when in his presence.
Ralph, meanwhile, had never been blind to it. He was an idiot, but he wasn't that kind of idiot.
Eddie sighed. "Yeah, yeah." There was no point in denying it. "Could you start catching me up on the case?"
Maseo watched silently beside his wife Tatsu and teenage son Akio as their guide, the famous Tina McGee herself, continued her speech to the crowd. After two very long hours, the tour had finally ended, and he was ready to crash with his family at the very nice and very expensive hotel.
He suddenly stumbled slightly to the side. Looking down, he saw a small child had bumped into him. A young woman, undoubtedly the boy's mother, had quickly collected him, giving him an apologetic look. He silently waved her off - no harm done.
The door to the van slid open. Leonard Snart smirked as he watched his sister take the hat and sunglasses off her head while the child accompanying her transformed back into Hannibal Bates, who quickly started to stretch.
"I hate transforming into kids." The shapeshifter growled out.
Snart ignored him. "Is it done?" He asked his sister instead.
Lisa simply smirked and looked towards Bates. The man smiled before transforming into another once again - this time, a perfect mockery of Maseo Yamashiro.
"Good." He looked towards the front of the van. "It's time we hit the road, Mick."
The pyromaniac held up a flask of alcohol and drank before turning on the ignition and hitting the gas pedal. They had a heist to prepare for.
Next chapter is the heist, everyone! We'll be wrapping up this storyline in the next couple of chapters, and then move on to the next thing. Make no mistake, though, there's still a lot to go through this arc, and I think you'll enjoy it. Also, here's a little secret: Nyssa will be reappearing soon! And boy, she'll have quite the role.
Don't forget the contest! The details are at the start of the chapter for AO3 version and end of the chapter for the FFN version, and will be posted for every chapter of Arc III from here on out. There's also a link to the Tumblr page both at the start and the end of the story.
All constructive criticism is welcome! Flames will be ignored. And remember to update the TV Tropes page!
The Prompt: Draw your favorite scene of To Hell and Back. Any scene. You can have as many entries as you like.
Dates: From the day this chapter is posted to the day the last chapter of this arc (Chapter 63) is posted, you may submit something.
Submitting: Submit your drawings to the story's official blog on Tumblr (the link can be found in the first chapter beneath the chapter summary on the AO3 version). If that is not feasible, then simply post it to your preferred image-hosting platform and send me the link via messaging on either AO3 or FFN.
Winning: There are three ways to win.
1. Author's choice. Whatever piece I favor the most.
2. Beta's choice. Whatever piece Kara Smoak, my beta, favors the most.
3. Fan's choice. I will put up a poll (either on FFN or Tumblr) and have all the readers vote via that.
Prizes:
1. For the fan that wins #1 (my choice), your piece will be the cover page for FFN, the first chapter of AO3, and the TV Tropes page!
2. For the fan that wins #2 (beta's choice), your piece will be the background image of the Tumblr blog, which is scarily bare.
3. For the fan that wins #3 (fan's choice), your piece will be inserted into the first chapter of Arc IV.