By listening in on the conversation between Dr.Wells and Hartley Rathaway, all four adults were exposed to the mystery that was Dr.Wells.
Three out of four chose to ignore the suspicion.
The lucky fourth member was forced to hide her smugness.
Dr.Wells came around the corner and stopped in front of the circle. He folded his hands in his lap, taking the time to look at every one of his workers.
"I assume you were all listening.. Well, Hartley was telling the truth. I have not been honest with you. Any of you.
The Accelerator. Hartley warned me that there was indeed a chance the Accelerator could blow.
His data did not show one hundred percent certainty, just that there was a risk, but it was a real risk.
And yet, I made the decision that the reward, that.. Everything we could learn; everything we could achieve, that all of that.. Simply outweighed that risk. I'm sorry."
His three loyal workers were obviously heartbroken upon hearing this news.
Parker hadn't found the information surprising. As you all know, she had an ongoing list of questionable things Harrison Wells had done.
His admitted action was predictable, but that didn't lessen the sadness Parker experienced after it was confirmed.
Her grief wasn't as strong as Cisco's and Caitlin's, who had both lost great things from the failure, but it was present in her heart.
"Next time you choose to put our lives, and the lives of the people that we love at risk, I'll expect a heads-up," Caitlin seethed.
She glared at Dr.Wells, making him shamefully avert his eyes, and left the Cortex.
Cisco followed her like a little puppy and a moment after, so did Parker.
Parker sat around the corner. Her feet were planted on the ground, keeping her back firmly pressed on the wall. She played with the elastic hair band around her wrist.
She wasn't directly affected by the incident. Well, maybe with deeper thought, she could have been indirectly affected.
Without the explosion, Parker wouldn't have half of her Central City family, or Barry as her other half.
Parker was grateful for her position in life, even though it only happened at the expense of others.
She chose to believe she was repaying those who were harmed that night, by helping the Flash find, and catch, those negatively influenced by the explosion.
Scientists were very dedicated to their work, as most people who do what they love, but Dr.Wells loved it enough to potentially harm people.
Dr.Wells was warned, and he chose to risk the lives of people, he chose to endanger everyone -- a decision that was not his.
Silence from the Cortex drew Parker back in.
Dr.Wells and Barry were both gone.
Caitlin was looking at an old picture of her and her fiancée.
Cisco stared off into space, his thoughts loud enough to miss Parker's entrance.
Parker took her seat at the row of computers, hiking her legs on the chair beside her and tilting her head back, using the back of her seat as a pillow.
Her nap lasted a short hour before a shadow darkened the light shining through her eyelids.
Parker popped one eye open and saw Cisco.
On the computer in front of her, he flipped through the security cameras in the pipeline.
Cisco's hand slammed down on the red emergency button on the other side of the desks, illuminating the Cortex with a blinking red light and screeching alarm.
"Cait, Dr.Wells-- there's been a pipeline breach," Cisco yelled.
Hartley hadn't broken out of the door yet, only his cell, which meant they still had a few seconds to get down there.
"Stay here," Cisco ordered to the girls.
"You can't tell me what do to," Parker snapped.
Cisco gave a breathy chuckle before he ran to contain Hartley.
Parker patted underneath the desk until her fingers scratched the jagged key.
Ripping it from its hiding spot, she ran to the cabinet and unlocked it.
Parker's sleek fingers ran shakily over the scorch marks on the top half of the bat.
No. There's more important things.
As she walked towards the Cortex door, the metal bat swung around her left hand.
"You want to stay here, or help us catch Hartley?" Parker asked Caitlin.
Caitlin nervously gulped. "I think I'll stay here and try to get ahold of Barry."
Parker took one step out of the automatic doors. The second she did, an explosion shook the building.
"Cisco!" Caitlin and Parker chorused.
"Holy shit!" Parker shouted, her heart thumping wildly against her chest in utter fear. "Oh, my God. Okay, you call Barry, I-I'll do something. Try not to die!" Parker shouted.
Parker jumped up and down as the elevator brought her to the Accelerator floor.
Not waiting for the doors to open all the way, Parker slid through, starting to sprint down the hallways.
She had no clue where Cisco was, if he was okay, or what Hartley had as a weapon.
All she had was her bat and the desperate hope that Barry Allen was on his way to help them.
Parker whipped her head back, checking behind her to see if Hartley was following her.
Colliding with something, Parker bounced back, raising her bat higher in caution.
"Parker," Hartley greeted.
"I have a feeling your plan is bigger than just a break out, Rathaway. You're smarter than that."
The bat rested above her shoulder. She wiggled her wrists, swinging the top of the bat in little unnoticeable circles. The urge to bring it down on Hartley's head was making her hands twitch.
"You know I won't tell you why, Ms.Sylas. That you'll have to do on your own. However, I have immense faith it won't take long. You're brilliant, too," Hartley complimented.
"What are you talking about?" Parker snapped.
"Oh, don't tell me you haven't figured it out, Parker. You're too smart to not have a suspicion at the least.."
"Figured out what?" Parker yelled.
Hartley was a man who liked mystery. And because he had a plan forming, he stayed silent.
Parker swung the bat twice. She swung at his head, missed because he ducked, and spun around, bringing the bat into his stomach. She hadn't missed that swing.
Unfortunetly for her, she was so surprised by actually making contact that she faltered.
In her slight pause, Hartley grabbed a handful of her shirt and bashed her head into the wall.
"Some people are not who you think they are."
>>>>>>
Parker sat with a frown on her lips, holding an ice pack to the back of her head where Hartley knocked her out.
Her unconsciousness lasted only twenty minutes. By then, Barry was back to carry her and set her in a chair.
She was sitting next to Cisco, but not really paying attention like she was meant to do.
Her mind was racing, trying to discover what the hell Hartley was hinting at.
Barry came to check on both his friends. He spent precious moments admiring her cute frown that he almost missed Cisco's painful groan.
"Hey. Welcome back, Mr.Ramon," Barry greeted.
"Oh, man," Suddenly filled with urgency, Cisco grabbed Barry's hand. "Caitlin-"
"-is fine," said Caitlin, taking her place beside the bed. "You need to rest. You're lucky you only have a concussion."
"Please tell me you got him," Cisco pleaded.
Barry and Caitlin stayed silent, giving him part of the answer, but not the full one.
"The attack on his company was a fake out so we'd catch him. He stole research from S.T.A.R. Labs. And no, we don't know for what yet. I woke up like ten minutes ago," Parker explained.
"I should have known he was up to something. This is my fault."
Barry shook his head, bringing his disappointed eyes to Parker. He was working on admitting his mistakes and learning from them: something she fully enforced and loved to hear.
"No, it's on me too. I shouldn't have left before--"
"This is nobody's fault but mine," Dr.Wells sharply cut in. "I take the blame, and I'm not interested in sharing. Hartley doesn't think I've paid for my crimes-- he's right. He won't stop until I do."
Parker raised her eyebrow, watching Dr.Wells zoom away. "Where you going, Doc?"
"To earn back your trust."
>>>>>>>>
Parker was too involved in her work on the computer to watch Dr.Wells admit another fact that made the city hate him.
Hartley had stolen a file from the computer. It was Parker's job to find it.
It wasn't as easy as it sounded-- she checked the recently opened files, the trash bin, and came up with nothing.
She was forced to scavenge the computer manually to find what had been copied and moved.
Barry gave her the silence she needed. His hand rested just above her knee, his thumb comfortably tapping against it.
Thirty minutes later, Dr.Wells arrived back at S.T.A.R. Labs. He looked relieved, yet a hint of nerves showed.
"Anything from Hartley yet?" Dr.Wells asked.
"What makes you so sure he'll contact us in the first place?" Parker asked.
"Because he's Hartley, and he'll want to have the last word," Dr.Wells explained.
He knew Hartley probably better than anyone, Parker assumed. She didn't argue.
Cisco stayed in the little office designated to himself and Parker.
Dr.Wells caught sight of him and set off to reassure his worker.
Barry pushed his chair closer to that room. He continued to watch Parker, but turned his head just enough to hear.
The funny part was that he thought he was spying well.
A pop sounded above. Dozens of pops followed it, seconds later, sparks rained from parts of the ceiling.
Parker pushed her chair back to avoid being hit.
"Nice gambit, Harrison, but this isn't over."
"That motherfuc-" Parker tried to curse.
Parker couldn't handle him for the two days he was stuck in the prison.
She really could not believe how Caitlin and Cisco survived when they worked with Hartley every single day.
"Hartley, what do you want?" Wells grumbled. Louder, he shouted, "What do you want, Hartley? I already gave my mea culpa today!"
"The city already hated you. You don't think I noticed that press conferences was a pathetic bishop sacrifice? No, no, no, I've played with you too many times to let you get away with that. This is between me, you, and the Flash."
"You don't want to play at those kinds of stakes with me, Hartley," Dr.Wells threatened.
"Actually, I really do.." Hartley challenged. "What do you say? One last game of chess?"
"You and I both know the winner of the game is the one who makes the next-to-last mistake. You already have a move in mind."
Dr.Wells turned to Parker, catching her eye. He held a gaze with her while they waited for Hartley to respond.
"You're right. And I'm already at the board. So, why don't you move your precious scarlet knight while I take out a few pawns?"
Parker forgot about Dr.Wells and grabbed the desk, throwing herself forward. She dragged the traffic camera search to her screen and set it running for a image of Hartley.
On another part of her multi-split screen, she found the 9-1-1 hotline and hacked into it.
"Thank you, Felicity Smoak.."
Any calls that would be made would get through to the nearest Police Station, Hospital, and to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Wells looked to Parker for a sign of hope. Barry, Caitlin and Cisco anxiously watched over her shoulders.
"Did you scan for seismic activity?" Dr.Wells tried.
Parker shushed Dr.Wells rather rudely, and turned up the volume on her computer. Someone had called the emergency line.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"
"Help! I-I'm at the Keystone Cleveland Dam, and there's a man! He's hurting people!"
"Thank you, kind citizen," Parker breathed. She clapped her hands together proudly and announced. "Barry, you know where to go."
"You're brilliant."
After most of Barry's compliments came a kiss on her head, so expecting it, she leaned his way. He kissed her forehead.
"He is correct. You prove your brilliance more every day, Ms.Sylas," Wells said, smiling as Parker blushed.
"Barry, be careful," Parker said.
"Do not underestimate him. He's clever," Wells added.
"Good thing I'll have you in here," Barry chimed with a single-finger tap on his ear.
He smiled at Wells, winked at Parker, then left the Cortex to save the people on the bridge.