"You want to get lunch?" Joe asked, leaning his head into Barry's lab. "My treat."
Barry pointed at the PCR machine in front of him. "Crime scene DNA to run before I can get lunch. Can't speed it up."
Joe stared at him, a frown appearing on his face. "Are you sure? I'm sure it'll be fine until we get back."
"I'm sure," Barry stated. He knew this more was an invitation to get him to open up. He spent the last three days avoiding almost everyone- everyone except Cisco. He assumed Iris had been busy. Usually, she was the first to harass him when the group felt he cut them out too much. She must have reminded Joe that it was enough time for sulking.
"Okay then," Joe said, turning around. "Iris and Eddie should be coming over tonight for dinner. You're more than welcome to join us." Barry said nothing as Joe walked out and down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief once the detective was out of earshot.
About ten minutes later his cell phone buzzed with an incoming call. Seeing Iris' face pop up, he frowned and sent it to voicemail. Her dad must have informed her he was unsuccessful in dragging Barry out of the building.
Her face immediately reappeared on his home screen, calling him a second time. Frowning, he picked up the phone. "Iris?"
"Barry!" Iris shouted, obviously breathing heavily. His eyes widened and he gripped the back of his chair, knuckles turning white. "On 86th Street. Halfway between Jitters and City Hall. We were walking to Jitters when Jack from Royal Flush came out of nowhere. We split up. I think I'm in the clear, but he could still be chasing her. I haven't seen any of the other members."
"Chasing Caitlin?" Barry asked, confused as he changed into his suit and switched Iris to his helmet. "Caitlin can-"
"Not Caitlin! Jordan." His eyes widened as he sped out of the precinct, heading in the direction Iris mentioned. "Jordan was on a panel focused on metahuman rights with Captain Singh I was covering. We were walking back from there when Jack attacked."
"Metahuman rights? How did she even get an invite to that panel?" He asked, finding Iris. After a quick once over & confirming she was fine, he sped off again. Closer to Jitters, he could see damage where Jack had used his abilities. He felt a tightening in his chest as he continued to run. Even though he could see marks, he hadn't been able to find Jordan or the meta.
The comm line went quiet for a minute, making Barry worry that Iris had disconnected, then Iris admitted in a small voice. "From me."
Barry almost tripped. "Why would you-"He cut off when he heard a bang. Looking up, he realized there was a small waft of smoke on the other side of the 3-story building to his right. Racing around, he found nothing. Running up the side of the building to get a better view, Barry skidded on the roof as Jack, dressed in his white suit & white mask, came into view. Jordan was in front of him, hands up as if she was planning on attacking the lasered eye meta.
He grabbed her, pulling her away seconds before Jack's lasers hit the concrete behind where she once stood. Barry returned to where he first appeared on the roof, his body blocking Jordan from Jack's view as he turned to face the Flash. "Good timing there, Flash."
"Enough. We've done this enough to both know how this ends." Barry said, vibrating his vocal cords to modulate his voice. He heard a sigh of relief through his comms.
Jack smirked. "Guess it's time to fold." He reached into his pocket and tossed out four black balls- Barry turned and grabbed Jordan, running off the top of the building as they exploded behind them. He considered chasing after Jack- he had no idea why he had targeted Iris and Jordan. However, the Royal Flush Gang usually worked together. He didn't want to leave them alone while he chased after Jack.
Determining the best option was to stay put, he turned to Jordan. He could see a scrape on her shoulder where her white shirt had ripped. Her emerald slacks were split open at the knee, another scrape. "Did he hit you anywhere?" Keeping his voice modulated, he could feel that tightening in his chest turning to relief seeing she only had minor abrasions. And anger.
"I'm fine. I don't think he was trying to truly harm me. Felt more like a cat and mouse game."
Barry replied irritably. "We don't know that. I know you just moved here, but you need to keep a lower profile. Who knows who you already pissed off."
Super speed allowed him to see the range of emotions on her face- shocked, hurt, angry, but ultimately settling on an expression that bordered on indifference. Guilt settled in his stomach, replacing the anger that quickly dissipated. "It's fine." Jordan replied as Iris hissed in his ear, "It's not her fault!"
"Look, ma'am-"
"Jordan."
"Look, Jordan-"
"Jordan!" Iris shouted, jogging to where the two were. Knowing that Jack was gone, she had decided to make her way to the group instead of staying out of sight. "I'm so glad you're okay." She gave a quick glance at Barry. "Thank you, Flash."
He nodded, knowing Iris was dismissing him. "Stay safe." He turned, taking a couple of laps around the city, trying to shake out the pressure in his chest. It had been a while since he had received a panicked phone call from Iris.
Although it didn't seem like Iris was the one who was in danger today.