It was just another regular workday, when Barry found himself in the middle of a case debriefing. Usually Barry avoided debriefings like the plague, since not only were they boring, but he wasn't a detective, so it was fairly useless. Today however, he was cornered by Captain Singh himself who practically forced Barry to come into his office for the meeting. It was only 20 minutes into the debriefing and Barry was already bored out of his mind. There was absolutely no use for a CSI like him to be here.
"The suspects name is Derek Larkin." Captain Singh announced to the room full of detectives, while showing said suspects picture in the projection screen behind him. "He is suspected of multiple accounts of fraud and grand theft, however he was never charged despite the numerous amounts of evidence pointing towards him. Recently however, he stole a priceless bracelet that dates back to the Greek Empire from Central City Museum. We need that bracelet back in it's vault, and Larkin in handcuffs."
Switching the projection screen to a picture of a pretty red haired girl, Captain Singh continued to say, "This is Teresa Larkin, Derek's younger sister, age 24. Our lead suggests that as the only living family member, she plays a big role as Derek's trusted confidant. It is also believed that she is the one to be keeping the bracelet in safekeeping. None of this can be proven however, so I am sending in Detective Thawne undercover to learn all he can about Ms. Teresa Larkin, and her elder brother. Any questions?"
Joe spoke up, "Why put my partner undercover? No offense to him, but he is still the least experienced here, especially in undercover work." Eddie seemed to agree with Joe since he nodded in agreement.
"It's because Eddie is the youngest detective here. We need him to, eh, forge a relationship, of sorts, with Ms. Teresa. That way he could search her apartment without being suspected." The Captain said.
Eddie visibly paled at the thought of having to forge a "relationship" with a thief, especially when he has Iris. "Um, sir, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this situation."
Joe nodded in agreement, "I don't think it's the best idea either Captain."
Singh just gave them a look, and said in a defiant tone, "I don't care what you think is comfortable. The only way to search the girl's apartment at this point without a warrant is if you were invited in. And frankly, Detective Pretty Boy here is the only one capable of being invited into her home. Now I don't want any more arguments. You are all dismissed."
Well isn't this a terrible idea, thought Barry to himself as he saw Eddie leave the room to call Iris and break the news to her. While Barry knew that Eddie is what some girls may refer to as attractive, he knew there was no way that he could effectively seduce a girl like Teresa, especially considering the fact that he was already in love with another girl. Thankfully Barry was able to look through Teresa's case file before the meeting, though according to her record of previous boyfriends, Eddie is most definitely NOT her type.
Eddie was more of the pretty, yet rugged, nice boy type. According to her file, Teresa was much more interested in leather jacket wearing, smug, bad boys. Eddie was too nice to be her type; he would never get passed her front door. Fortunately, Barry just happened to know the perfect guy for her.
Barry went up the stairs to his lab, where he knew he had a copy of Teresa's case file. Putting on a scheming smile to his face, he began plotting.
"Please don't tell me you plan on taking this case on." Joe said from the doorway to Barry's lab, where he easily saw Barry look through the case file. "The siblings may be great thieves, but they aren't exactly meta-humans. I think The Flash can sit out this one."
"You're right, this isn't a case for The Flash. But we both know that this isn't Eddie's case either. If Teresa doesn't catch and kill him, since frankly the man is incapable of successfully lying, then Iris will kill him. If Eddie gets sent in, then the whole operation can be ruined, and we may never catch the siblings, or return the bracelet."
Joe just quirked an eyebrow and asked, "If the scarlet speedster won't help out in this case, then what do you plan on doing about it?"
Barry just let out a sigh, "Let's just say that Eddie is somehow able to convince her to let him into her home, he will not be able to find the bracelet fast enough without being caught."
Joe looked at his foster son incredulously, "So what? You're going to take his place undercover?"
"Look Joe, this is just one of those times where you're going to have to trust me. I know what I'm doing." Barry told him confidently.
"What about Eddie?" Joe asked.
"I don't know, but I'm making my move tonight. I would appreciate having the two of you as backup."
"Okay. I'm trusting you on this Barry, for some reason."
"That's all I ask."
Once Joe leaves, Barry runs over to Star Labs, where he finds Cisco and Caitlyn and asks for their help on the case.
"Yeah, of course we can help! But how sure are you about the plan?" Caitlyn asks Barry.
"I'm sure about it, it has to work. According to her messages with some friends, she's planning on going to a bar tonight on Grant Street, that's where I'll make my move." Barry tells them.
"Wait, how do you know what her plans for today are?" Cisco asks.
Slightly shrugging, Barry replied, "I may have called Felicity earlier to ask for help. She hacked her phone."
"You dog!" Cisco exclaimed punching Barry in the shoulder.
Barry just chuckled before asking, "Do you guys have any extra small comms? I'm going to need help finding evidence."
"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course we do!" Cisco cried.
"What I don't understand is why you don't just run in there and find it as the Flash?" Caitlyn asked.
"This isn't the Flash's usual type of case, it'll seem too suspicious. And in order to find the bracelet legally, I have to be invited into her home. After that, anything I find in plain sight can be counted as evidence." Barry said.
"Do you really think she would hide the bracelet in plain sight?" Cisco asked.
"I would, if it were me." Caitlyn replied. "After all, people would be so busy looking for a safe that they wouldn't see what's directly in front of them."
"Exactly." Barry agreed.
Cisco chuckled as he asked, "Now here comes the real question. What makes you think you have a better chance at seducing the hottie than Detective Pretty Boy?"
Barry just smiled smugly as he replied, "You have met Nicki, haven't you?"
After further updating his two friends on the specifics of the case, Barry sped home to change. He put on a pair of dark blue jeans, a navy blue V-neck, and a leather jacket. Looking at himself in the mirror, he watched as his shy smile became the cocky smirk he was all too accustomed to. Gone was nerdy Barry Allen, in his place stood smug Sebastian Smythe.
Putting the comm that Cisco gave him earlier, he asked, "Can you guys here me?"
"Loud and clear Barry." He heard Caitlyn say through the comm.
"Perfect." Said Barry before speeding off towards the bar where Teresa Larkin was currently occupying.
A block away from said bar, in front of Teresa's apartment building, he noticed Joe and Eddie sitting in an inconspicuous car.
Approaching the bar, Barry slowed down and casually walked through the doors. The atmosphere was instantly familiar to Barry as he walked in, having been to far too many bars in his short lifetime.
Spotting a familiar looking redhead near the bar, Barry casually made his way over, taking the seat directly to her left.
Speaking to the bartender, Barry said, "A glass of straight Courvoisier please."
He felt a pair of blue eyes staring at him before she spoke, "You have good taste. A French-man I presume?"
Barry wearing his signature smirk turned to Teresa, "It takes one to know one."
Teresa smiled coyly, "I spent a semester of college in Nice. You could say I picked up a thing or two. What about you?"
"My mother's French. I spent a majority of my high school career in Paris." He told her honestly.
"So what was your favorite thing to do in Paris, the city of love?" She asked him flirtatiously.
With an equally flirtatious smirk, Barry responded, "Exactly what the name of the city suggests."
"Oh really, how so?" She asked.
With what many females consider to be a drop dead sexy smile, Barry replied, "Well it's no fun describing it. I will however be more then happy to demonstrate it for you."
"Teresa Larkin." She told him with her hand outstretched.
"Sebastian Smythe." He responded with a smirk, returning the handshake.
"Oh come on! How is this even possible?!" Barry heard Cisco scream in his earpiece.
Barry hid his small laugh at Cisco by taking a gulp out of the drink the bartender had just brought over.
"So Sebastian, what do you do for a living?" Teresa asked curiously.
"I'm an actor." He said.
"Really? An actor? That's the best you could come up with?" He once again heard Cisco say as he tried hard to ignore him.
"Have I seen you in anything?" Teresa asked.
"Nothing too big yet. I'm still trying to get myself out there, it's not exactly the easiest business." He told her. At this point, Barry was sending silent a thank you to his friend Cooper Anderson, who he was able to learn a great deal about the acting business from.
"Well you could always take your clothes off in front of a camera, I'm sure everyone would love to see that." She told him.
"Oh really? And are you one of those people?" He asked her smugly, sending her a perfect wink.
"I don't know, why don't you come with me and find out." She told him as she stood up, leading him out of the bar and towards her apartment. He could hear Cisco freaking out in the background, but he went mostly unnoticed since Barry was a little too busy whispering a few suggestive words into Teresa's ear. Ever since Barry was 16 in Paris, he has had absolutely no trouble convincing girls to go home with him. All he had to do was smirk and wink, and the girl was his.
As they passed by the car that Joe and Eddie were currently sitting in, Barry couldn't help but smirk at them while wrapping his arm securely around Teresa's waist, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "You're really bossy. I hope that this specific trait doesn't just end here."
Stopping them right in front of Joe's car, Teresa answered, "Oh please, I'm always bossy." She then grabbed Barry's shirt and dragged him down into a kiss.
Hiding his amused chuckle, Barry easily reciprocated the kiss, putting his arms around her waist and dragging her closer. After about 5 minutes of continuously making out, Barry broke the kiss and said, "Perhaps we should continue this upstairs?"
"I agree, come on, you have to show me the French way of having fun." She said pulling him towards her apartment.
Barry had to hide his laugh as he realized that not only have Cisco and Caitlyn just over heard the whole thing, but Joe and Eddie had to witness it.
Unlocking her door, Barry followed her inside the simple apartment. "I'm going to go freshen up, feel free to look around." She told him coyly before heading towards what Barry assumed was the restroom. And look around he did. Using his super speed, he searched the whole apartment for the bracelet.
Realizing he couldn't find it, he said in a whisper directed towards his friends, "Guys, what am I looking for? I can't find it!"
"Barry, remember what I said earlier. Plain sight." He heard Caitlyn say.
Right, plain sight. Sounds easy enough in theory. It took him another 3 seconds to find the silver bracelet tucked in a bowl on the coffee table between a few silver ornaments.
"Found it." He said before speeding out of the apartment, bracelet in hand.
Tapping Joe's car window, effectively startling both Joe and Eddie, Joe rolled down his car window, and Barry gave him the bracelet. "She's all yours officers. My work is done here." He said before walking off. He hid on the opposite side of the street as he watched Joe and Eddie escort Teresa out of her apartment in handcuffs.
Returning to Star Labs, he was immediately cornered by Cisco. "DUDE! What the actual hell?!"
"Hello to you too." Barry said sarcastically.
"This is not the time for jokes man! You just made out with a hot criminal! I was listening the whole time and I still couldn't figure out how you managed to do it!" Cisco said in all enthusiastic seriousness.
Barry just shrugged and smirked in response, "What can I say? I'm French."