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Chapter 4 :-To None But Me Will She Belong.

"Some men are like that - they get a woman in their mind, and that's that. They will destroy themselves and everyone else over her; they will let everything else fall apart."

― Paul Elwork

The walk back to the safe house was uneventful as was expected but Snart's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. How could he have let his foolish emotions sidetrack him from the bigger picture? He had forgotten during the past two days what a nuisance the Streak would become. His mind was too absorbed by thoughts of Caitlin for him to think much about anything else. He should have known that this growing infatuation would sidetrack him from his primary goal. Snart needed to be rid of Central City's Scarlet Speedster once and for all.

The Streak needed to be exposed and eliminated for two reasons. The first reason being that he would undoubtedly try to hinder Leonard should he try to get his hands on anything of seeming value here in Central City. Of course Snart always had the option of leaving Central City, starting somewhere new. But Leonard Snart would rather drown in his own blood than let a spandex wearing speedster run him out of the only place he had ever considered home. Central City was in grained into the fabric of his being. Leaving this place would be the equivalent of giving up a prime piece of his identity.

The second and more sadistic reason for his new, burning desire to be rid of this new adversary is that the Streak knows Caitlin. He had seen the way her eyes had lit up in fear when she saw his crimson clad body crumpled on the ground at the train tracks with a gun pointed in his direction. He hated the thought that Caitlin would show such emotion towards this comical fool.

Snart needed more than anything to get rid of this man.

So Snart put aside all thoughts of Caitlin Snow.

He would have all the time in the world to memorize every freckle on her pale skin once he got rid of the Streak. Snart was going to completely destroy this menace. He was going to wipe his existence from the face of the earth, but first he was going to exposed him to Central City. He was going to quell all the rumors once and for all. He would show the people of Central City that they had put their faith in a false hero. He would show them that there was no place in this dismal world for the self-righteous and the selfless. Only the selfish survived in this world and he was going to prove that to them once and for all.

Once securely locked away in his safe house Snart set to work. He already knew the Scarlet Speedsters' weakness. His gaze drifted in the direction of his cold gun that sat peacefully in its gun case at the back of his ammo cabinet. One of those rare smiles of satisfaction spread across Leonard's face. At least he had his trump card. But the fact still remained that he was severely outnumbered.

The Streak had a team to stand behind him. Cisco and Caitlin might not be combat specialists but they had brains and in Snart's book that counted for a great deal. He knew better that to underestimate their skill, especially Caitlin. What Leonard needed was a partner, someone to have his back in a fight. The only problem there was that Snart had burned more people that he could remember. Finding someone to have his back was going to be problematic. He knew he could always call Lisa but he was only going to bring her in as a last resort. The less she was involved the better. Lisa may be good but she was too unpredictable in a fight and didn't have a handle on her emotion as well as Snart had. However, considering the predicament he was currently in, he was in no place to judge.

Snart's list of contacts was a short one. He worked with very few people, since most weren't the material Leonard was looking for. He knew he needed someone who wouldn't quell under the notion that they were going up against a so called super hero. Snart also needed someone he knew could handle themselves in a fight. He wasn't going to be baby-sitting anyone.

That left him with very few options to consider.

Going to his laptop, Leonard entered the database of all his known associates, looking through those who weren't dead or incarcerated. While searching through the database one name caught his eyes.

Mick Rory.

Snart had worked with him a couple of years back on a painting heist. The guy was good at being muscle but he wasn't fully functional in the head. Mick had been burned badly in a heist gone wrong and he had this delusional notion that the fire had revealed his true self. Snart didn't care much for his unorthodox thinking but the man could be helpful. Snart sighed to himself.

Was he really going to call in Mick? Did he really have to stoop so low as to call in someone for backup?

He detested the notion but he knew better. Leonard needed someone else on his side. He needed to have someone there to watch his back, literally. It wasn't an ideal situation but nothing in Snart's life had ever gone according to plan. He had gone and gotten himself hooked on the Streak's personal physician for crying out loud. He could most definitely bare to have Mick as his partner if it meant defeating Central City's Scarlet Speedster.

So without any further deliberation, Snart made a few calls and managed to find out Mick's last known location. He was not surprised to hear it was a run-down apartment on the bad side of town.

How fitting.

He wasted no time and departs his safe house, a knife strapped to his side and a gun holstered on his waist. He and Mick may have been partners once but you could never be too cautious when dealing with ex-convicts. Snart knew better obviously.

He hopped onto his motor cycle and made his way across town. The city lights phased into one blur of color as he cruised down the interstate. Soon enough Leonard pulled off the main highway and took the road leading into the bad side of Central City.

Old three story apartment buildings lined both sides of the road. Their paint long since faded and widows grey from dust and no attention. The streets with litter and trash as if even the garbage truck refused to come to this side of town. There were a couple of bums sleeping on the side walk or huddle by the cliché barrel with a dancing flame lit inside.

Snart looked around in disgust. Even at his lowest moment he wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. The stench of disappointment hung in the air. People eyed his suspiciously as he cruised through the street looking for Mick's building.

According to his contacts Mick lived in the last building on the main street. Coming closer to the end of the road, Snart stopped in front of a dismal looking building. It wasn't as shabby as the previous ones but it had clearly been through a great deal and had been neglected for the greater part of its existence. Snart parked his motor cycle on the curb and looked around.

A few of the local had gathered to investigate the new stranger in their midst. Snart switch of the ignition and subtly placed the keys in his pocket. In doing so he had risen his jacket and shirt just enough for the butt of his gun to be visible. The more aggressive ones in the crowd saw it immediately and backed away. Leonard smirked to the crowd. At least these people knew their place in society.

Making his way up the small flight of stairs Snart stopped at the top and for his own amusement decided to look at the list of residence posted on the wall. The paper had long since turned yellow with age and the name faded beyond understanding, but Snart knew to expect that. He looked for Mick's room number and pressed the buzzer beside it. As expected there was no sound. Snart simply pushed the front door open and enter the dimly lit corridor. He walked to the end of the hall and opened the door leading to the stair case. He had no hope that the elevator was working in this place. Mick's room was on the third floor so it wasn't a long trek for Snart. He easily ascended the three flights of steps until he came to the third floor.

According to the information he had received Mick's room was number 15. Snart walked down the hall until he came upon the door embellished with the rusty numbers. The 5 was missing and the 1 was crooked. Snart chuckled at the dilapidated state of the door. He sobered up after a couple of seconds and steadied himself for the encounter to come.

Leonard rapped his knuckle against the door and waited for a response from inside. At first there was no reply from within so Snart knocked again. There was clanging coming from inside as if cans were being thrown to the ground. There was a scratching sound against the door as if a chain was pulled back. The door opened a crack and Snart could see piece of Mick's face peering back at him.

Suddenly the door swung open and Snart was face to face with none other than Mick Rory. His former partner had lost a lot of weight during his time in prison and after the life threatening accident. As much as he had lost weight he still towered over Leonard by a good four inches and had had more bulk on him.

"Christ Snart! It's been a while you son of a bitch!" Mick exclaimed before dragging Snart into a one sided awkward hug. Leonard merely patted Mick's back lightly hoping to get the encounter over with as fast as possible.

"It's been a while Mick." Snart retorted, "Sorry 'bout the accident."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Mick said with a serious edge to his voice, "The universe has mysterious ways of showing us over true selves. It showed me mine through the roaring inferno of a blazing fire."

Snart didn't have a response for Mick. The guy was clearly off his knocker and Leonard was beginning to have reservations about his decision. Mick was clearly very far gone but that was just one aspect of his persons. Snart could still use him in the long run.

Mick stepped aside and made room for Snart to enter. The room was not what he expected. It wasn't as dingy as the outside of the building although beer cans did line the short coffee table and wall paper had lost its color over the years. The television was on mute but some sappy soap opera was showing. Snart had no doubt that Mick had it on just for the background entertainment. There was no way Mick would degrade himself to watch daytime dramas no matter how much he claimed the fire had changed him.

Snart shifted a couple of beer cans with his feet before making his way over to the worn out arm chair. He sat down and leaned forward to grab one of the unopened beers on the table. After opening it and taking a long drink he placed the can back on the table and waited for Mick to sit down. Once the other man was seated he didn't was anytime getting to the bottom of the visit.

"Not that I'm not happy for the company but what are you doing here Snart?" Mick asked. Snart looked at him for a moment, questioning his decision to seek Mick's help. In the end Snart saw no reason not to seek Mick's help, he was after all the only one he could still consider an ally. Calling him a friend would be asking too much.

"I need your help."

Mick looked confused for a moment. Snart was never one to seek other people out, much less to ask for their assistance. There had to be a catch somewhere, something in it for Leonard himself. Mick knew better and was weary of Snart's presence.

"What's the catch?" Mick asked bluntly. Snart chuckled quietly, "Straight to the point. I like that."

Snart got up and stood in front of Mick. He studied him for a moment and Mick began to fidget under Snart's gaze. Snart may have been younger and physically smaller than him but the man could be intimidating in his own unique way.

"I want you to help me kill Central City's Scarlet speedster."

If Mick had been drinking his beer he would have surely choked. He must have heard Leonard wrong. There was no way Snart believed that the Scarlet Speedster existed? Mick must have drank more beer than he thought.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I heard you correctly." Mick said putting down in beer can and moving a little closer to Snart.

"You know I hate to repeat myself Mick but I will do it this once for your benefit. I want you to help me kill Central City's Scarlet speedster." Snart said, clearly agitated that this was man was comprehending such a simple statement.

Mick shook his head, as if trying to remove the cob weds from his brain. Snart was playing him for a fool. That was it! This was all just a joke. Snart was trying to pull one over on him.

Snart's agitation soon dissipated into confusion as Mick Rory let out a wild howl of laughter. The man's entire body shook as if it was wracked with fits of laughter and hysteria.

"That's a really good one Snart. You really had me for a minute there," Mick said through his fits humor, "I didn't think you actually believed all those rumors about this Streak running around Central City like a red covered vigilante!"

Snart clenched his hands into two compact fists. He had to restrain himself from launching at the man still across from him. Mick didn't know what was going on out there; he was locked up for far too long. He needed to reacclimatized to the new world they were living in.

"Mick," Snart snapped hoping to get the bigger man's attention, "I wasn't joking and the Streak is real."

Mick seemed to sober up marginally, but he was not completely convinced. "How do I know you're not just trying to make me look an ass?"

Snart gave Mick a condescending look, "Am I known for trying to make people look like asses? That isn't in my repertoire Mick."

Mick tensed up immediately. He knew that tone well. He wasn't worried about besting Snart in a fight. He was physically bigger and stronger but Snart was clever and tricky. He would probably out a bullet between Mick's eyes before he could properly get off his couch. That tone also signalled Snart was not joking, although the man wasn't known for being a stand-up comedian. That tone said no arguments and Mick knew Snart was being completely serious about his request.

"Alright Snart," Mick began trying to pacify the agitated thief, "Let's say this Streak is real, how in God's name are we supposed to kill that fucker huh? We don't exactly have super powers now do we?"

It was then Mick saw something even rarer then the most treasured secrets in the world, Leonard Snart smiling.

"Don't worry Mick I have that under control."

Sorry for the late update. I've been so busy with school and university applications that I haven't had much time to write. I hope this makes it up to all my great, superb readers a little. Not much angst but were getting there.