Earth 17 Part III

Partners In Crime

xXx

Lewis' meeting place was an abandoned mall on the outskirts of the city. Canary let Lisa dismount first before getting off her bike herself.

"Where are we supposed to meet him?" Lisa asked. They'd put drops in her eyes to make it look like she had been crying and only just got a hold of herself.

"There's a back room in the main department store. He's set up there." Canary replied. "Are you ready for this?" she asked as they neared the front entrance.

"He's most likely going to lie to you about what happened. Make it seem like he tried to stop the hit. There's a variation on a psychological con that fits this scenario." Canary explained as they prepared to leave Team Flash, Leonard and Mick behind.

"How does it go?" Lisa asked.

"He'll tell you that he hired me to intercept the hitman and that I failed to get there in time. He'll act as though he's angry at me for it, and I'll go along with it. He'll then try to convince you to join him, help get revenge on the people who ordered the hit. This is most likely where his larger plan comes into play. Whoever, or whatever he intends to rob will be high profile and most likely something you've crossed paths with before. Making it much more likely that you'll believe they came after Leonard for a past indiscretion."

"Anyone you can think of like that?" Flash asked Leonard.

Leonard scowled. "We don't have enough time to go through that list. Not to brag but I am a master thief and I'm very good at what I do."

"How was that not bragging?" Cisco muttered.

"We should get going." Canary spoke up before he could retort. "It's going to take us a little time to get out of the city."

There was a set of four large crates at the center of the back room, plastic construction sheeting hung from the bared rafters.

"Lisa, sweetheart." Lewis' voice sounded behind them and they turned to find said main stepping out of the shadows. "I'm so sorry, kid." he continued. Canary had to give her credit, she certainly knew how to suppress her disgust.

"What happened?" Lisa asked, playing the distraught sister well. She gestured to Canary. "She wouldn't tell me anything."

"No I can't imagine she would want to be the one to explain her own failure." Lewis scowled. Lisa looked back at her. How could one man be so predictable? "I sent The Canary there, supposedly the best in her field, to protect Leonard and she failed. The hitman got the better of her and I'm sorry to say Leonard too."

"Who? Who did this?" she demanded. "Who killed Lenny?"

Lewis sighed. "Someone inside Kord Industries." he explained. "I don't know exactly who, only that they were angry about Leo stealing a prototype of some kind last year."

Realization crossed her face. "A microchip." she said. "He used it to customize his cold gun."

"Yes, well, apparently it cost them a lucrative contract." Lewis explained.

"So what's the plan?" Canary finally spoke up.

"We are going to go in there and tear the place apart. We'll take what we can to cripple their operations and while we're in there we'll snoop around for a list of people who worked on the project. We'll figure out who killed Leo and have a nice payday lined up to kick start an operation against them." Lewis paused, mostly for effect. "Are you in?"

Lisa hesitated, then; "Yeah, I'm in."

xXx

The plan was pretty simple and for once, everything went right. Lewis was a disaster on a good day but he seemed to have upped his game for this one. Whatever his real plan was it must have been pretty important for him to take so many extra precautions. Canary stayed close to Lisa per Lewis' orders. He wanted his daughter "protected" though Canary was certain he was more interested in having someone close by who could take her out if she turned on him.

In the meantime, Leonard and Mick had already broken in ahead of them, positioning themselves for maximum effect when the time came to take Lewis down. The Flash was also ready to move in.

They had worked their way down the levels, taking what they could until they finally reached the lab that Leonard had burglarized the year before.

"Alright," he directed toward one of his men. "Get on there, see what you can find." Lewis turned away for only a second before the man who sat down at the computer screamed in pain. He whipped back around watching as melted gold coated his hands, sticking them to the desk. Lewis glared enraged, giving what Canary assumed was the go ahead to take out Lisa. she drew a blade from her belt but turned on him instead.

"What are you doing?" he demanded backing toward the door. His answer was a sheet of ice blocking his escape.

"Turnabout is fair play, dad." Leonard sneered and Lewis turned to watch his son stalk out of the shadows on the opposite side of the room. Mick right behind him.

"That's true." he replied, looking for an escape.

"Your boxed in Lewis. Give up and you may have a chance to see the light of day again." the distorted voice of the Flash sounded as he slid to a stop.

Lewis scowled. "Workin' with heroes now, Leo? Never thought you'd stoop so low."

"What can I say, Lewis, you bring out the worst in me?"

"Give yourself a little more credit, kid." he replied.

All at once the scene changed. Lewis pulled a grenade from his jacket and Canary reacted, pulling Lisa off her feet and into Leonard, knocking them both to the ground and covering them. Seconds later it ignited, a deafening blast shattering every glass window and partition in the lab.

"Are you alright?" Canary questioned. Leonard looked up from where he was checking on Lisa.

"We're fine." he told her and without a second thought she was on her feet running after Lewis.

xXx

"Great we lost Lewis, we lost Canary. This literally couldn't have gone any worse." Flash complained leading the way out of the building.

"We could all be dead." Lisa sighed. "On the bright side, if The Canary went after Lewis she'll more than likely catch him."

Cisco's voice rang out through the coms. "She definitely found him."

"What does that mean?" Flash questioned in a tone that said he didn't really want an answer.

"Lisa, go with Mick back to the safehouse. Our location has been compromised, we need to move." Leonard ordered. Lisa hesitated, looking up at him. In the end she didn't argue though.

"Which way, Cisco?" Flash asked when they were gone.

"Other side of the building, in the courtyard."

Leonard led the way, stopping short just inside.

"Fuck." Flash breathed, as they began walking forward again. "What the hell is this?"

Lewis was dead, there was no doubt about that, blood dripping down his outstretched arms. He was hanging upside down, tied to the art fixture in the courtyard fountain by one foot. The expression on his face was calmer than Leonard could ever remember seeing him.

"The hanged-man." Leonard finally said. "A symbol of self-sacrifice in Major Arcana."

"Self-sacrifice? He didn't put himself up there." Flash replied. When Leonard didn't reply, didn't look away from his father's dead body he continued; "What exactly is he sacrificing himself for?"

"His daughter's freedom."

xXx

"I need to ask you for a favor." Leonard whispered moving closer to her across the catwalk. "When this is over I want you to kill Lewis. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can, but that doesn't mean that I should." she replied her voice just as low. "You don't come back from something like that Leonard. Whether you pulled the trigger or not, it haunts you."

"I can't take the risk that he'll come after Lisa again. If Flash gets his way, they'll send him back to Ironheights. But he has associates, they'll break him out and he'll be right back at it, and next time he'll know better than to call on you for help. And who knows if I'll see them coming, if Lisa will, if Mick will." he looked away. "I spent most of my life protecting her, raising her. She didn't get a childhood because of him, always afraid, always hungry; he broke her heart. I'll be damned if he gets to take anything else from her."

The Canary sighed. "Alright, but I'm going to have to insist on payment for this one. My generosity is almost maxed out."

"Name your price."

"A favor." she didn't hesitate. "To be cashed in at a later date."

Leonard smirked at her turnabout. "Deal."