My steps were hesitant as I walked into the empty lab, my mind racing at how I was going to confront Barry on the large Band-Aid stuck to the side of my face. I'd been trying to come up with a plausible story about what had happened ever since I woke up, and the only thing I could come up with was that I fell while I was in the shower, and I cut the side of my face open when I hit the edge of the bathtub. It was a longshot, but it seemed realistic enough. Plus, Barry didn't know whether or not I was a complete klutz, so it seemed likely that he would believe the story. All I had to do was make it believable enough so that he didn't suspect I was lying to him.
I sat down at my desk and routinely logged into my computer, seeing that the network was slowed down yet again due to the rain. It had started storming around three this morning, and it had set me even more on edge than I already was. I sat back in my chair as the computer took a few minutes to boot up. I found myself biting my lip in anticipation of Barry's arrival, not envying the inevitable conversation we were going to have. I didn't like the idea of having to lie to him, but it would be better than having him try to go after Hartley when he was unprepared. Hartley would be expecting that, and it would be the most opportune time for him to take Barry out. I didn't want to see that happen to him, and if lying meant that I could prevent something like that, then it would be something that I would have to do.
I jumped rather violently when my phone started ringing on my desk, my heart beginning to race at the sound. I took a small breath before picking my device up, seeing a contact that I hadn't seen in awhile. I smiled as I unlocked the phone and put it to my ear. "Howdy, stranger." I greeted brightly.
"I missed that accent." Hallie laughed on the other end.
"Well, you wouldn't have to if you weren't constantly out of the country."
She laughed sarcastically. "Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious." I laughed, getting up out of my chair and walking towards the window. "How the hell are you, Bones? We haven't talked in forty years."
I chuckled. "I'm good. I'm still adjusting to my transfer, but it's been pretty good to me so far."
"I saw that on Facebook a while back, and I meant to ask you about it. What brought that on?"
"Central City PD needed some more help in the forensics department, and Lance thought that it would be best if I went out there since the forensics team at Starling Metro was relatively stable without me."
"Is the transition weird? I feel like it would be weird."
I laughed. "It was a little weird, but the people here are really nice, and that's helped a lot."
"You haven't made any friends that have replaced me, right?" She sounded convincingly panicked, but I knew she was just joking.
"I wouldn't have to if you would just stay home for a few days."
"I get it, you miss me, and you wish I wasn't living my dream." She laughed.
"It's not that. I just wish that you were home more. Having you all the way across the globe just isn't an ideal situation for my best friend."
"Maybe you should look into getting a boyfriend to help with the lonely nights." She suggested, and I could practically see her wiggling her eyebrows. I stayed silent, feeling my cheeks heat up at the thought of Barry, and my eyes fell to my shoes. "Oh my God." She gasped at my silence. "You're dating someone, aren't you?"
I chuckled. "No, Hallie. I'm not dating anyone, and if I were, you would be one of the first people to know."
"But there's a crush, right? Please tell me that there's a crush."
"Why do you want there to be a crush? Why can't I just live my life in peace without being legally bound to someone?"
"Because I know you, Bones. I know that you act like you can handle living your entire life alone since you think that you're toxic, and I know that the thought kills you inside. Everyone wants someone to cuddle late at night, even you."
I sighed, looking up at the dark clouds hovering over the city. "Sometimes I hate how well you know me."
She squealed slightly. "So there is a crush?" She practically shrieked.
"There is."
"What's his name? How did you meet him? Is he cute? I bet he's really cute." She was firing questions at me faster than I could comprehend them, and I laughed at her.
"Hal, please calm down."
"Sorry. But seriously."
"His name is Barry. I met him on my first day in Central City, and we work together in the CSI unit."
"Oh, so you're both nerds." She stated, sounding like she'd reached some higher point.
"If that's how you want to put it." I laughed.
"Is he nice?"
I hummed. "Yes. He's been incredibly kind and thoughtful throughout my entire transition, and he's really my best friend here at the moment."
"So it's the clichéd 'we work together, and now we're in love' type thing?"
"If you want to view it that way, go ahead."
"Well, how do you view it?"
"Me liking him and not being sure if he likes me back."
"Come on, Bones. Of course he likes you back."
"You don't even know him, Hallie."
"So? I know you, and I know that just about every person you meet likes you, and the male sex tends to like you more than the female sex."
"Can we not get into this?" I pleaded. "You would constantly badger me about that when you were working at Starling Metro, and I don't really feel like having the lecture yet again."
"I'm just pointing out that you shouldn't sell yourself short, Izzy. You're a beautiful, smart, funny young woman that anyone would be lucky to have, even this Barry guy."
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that it won't work out." I replied rather sadly.
"Why? Because you guys work together?"
No, because he's a superhero that would rather die than rationally think things through. "Pretty much."
"There are ways around that, Bones."
"Oh yeah? And what would those ways be?" I questioned with a small smirk.
"First of all, do you see yourself married to him?"
That question took me slightly by surprise. I really hadn't thought much about the subject. I'd spent so much time repressing my feelings for him that I hadn't thought about what it would be like to actually have a life with him. In all honesty, I could see myself married to him. I could see having kids with him and spending Christmases and other holidays with him and our family by the fire. The thought warmed my heart for the first time in what felt like forever, and my lighthearted demeanor faded, knowing that things with him could never end up that way. He would always be putting himself in danger, and I wasn't sure that that was something that I could handle. I didn't want to put myself through something like that, and if we were to have a family, I didn't want to put them through that.
"I can." I replied to Hallie honestly.
"Then there isn't anything you need to worry about, Bones. If you like him enough, and if you try hard enough to make things work with him, then working together is just an added bonus."
I chuckled, looking down at my shoes. "Thanks for the advice, Hallie."
"That's what I'm here for, right?"
"Only when you're actually in the country." I joked.
She groaned. "Just drop it, Izzy!"
I laughed. "I would if you wouldn't agree to go on a world tour that takes up the better part of a year, Hallie."
"Well I am very sorry that you miss me, but I like touring the world with four idiots from California. It makes my life interesting."
"You know what makes my life interesting?"
"Dead bodies and fingerprints?"
"Bingo."
She laughed. "That's so gross."
"Like living with four boys isn't."
"Touché, Bones. Touché."
I chuckled. "Look, I have to get back to work, okay? But call me if you're ever in Starling or Central City again."
"I'm actually going to be around there during the last couple of shows on the tour."
"Well, we need to plan on meeting to catch up on everything."
"We definitely must."
I laughed. "I'll talk to you later, Hallie."
"I love you, Bones."
"I love you too, doofus."
I hung up, smiling slightly at the thought of seeing my best friend again. "Was that the famous Hallie?" Barry's voice rang, making me jump slightly. I turned around to see him standing there, and I let out a small breath before realizing what I had done. I'd looked over my left shoulder, giving him a prime view of my covered wound. I quickly looked back at the window, but it had been too late. "Izzy, what happened?"
He appeared in front of me and gently took my face in his hands, examining the Band-Aid on my face. "It's nothing, Barry." I insisted, looking away from him.
"This doesn't look like nothing, Izzy. What happened?"
I rolled my eyes slightly before I looked him dead in the eye. "I dropped some conditioner in the shower last night, and I slipped and hit my head on the edge of my bathtub." I lied flawlessly. "It was an accident that's happened more than once before, so it really is nothing to worry about."
He hesitated slightly but seeming to buy the story. "Okay then." He dropped his hands from my face and inhaled slightly. "So, was that the Hallie you told me about?"
I nodded with a small smile. "It was. She's back in the States, and she was just calling to see how I was doing."
He smiled, walking back to his desk. "Is she going to be in town any time soon?"
"She said that towards the end of the tour they were going to be in Starling and Central City, so we were talking about meeting up again."
"That's good." He said genuinely. "I really hope that you guys can make that happen."
"Me too." I concurred, sitting down in my chair. "So, did you stop by S.T.A.R. Labs yet?"
He nodded. "Caitlin and Cisco are going to check the five-mile grid around the building until we get off work."
"And then you're going to take over, I assume?" I asked with a small smirk.
He chuckled with a nod. "That was the plan."
"Make sure that you don't make any dumb, cliché superhero moves."
"Like what?"
"Yelling out the villain's name and giving away exactly where you are, letting him get you on the ground so that he can super punch you. You know, stuff like that."
He chuckled, turning his chair towards me. "You read a lot of comic books, don't you?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. "I dabble in reading graphic novels."
He laughed. "I think you should find a better hobby."
"What's a better hobby than making sure you don't get your ass handed to you?"
"Oh, is that right?" He laughed, and I nodded as I laughed with him. "You think that you keep me from getting my ass kicked?"
"I like to think that I help Cisco and Caitlin in that prospect."
"Well, don't we think highly of ourselves?" He joked.
"You can make fun all you want, but when you're out there, just keep in mind who's telling you where to hit."
He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Sure thing."
The entire day at work went by at a snail's pace. Much like any other rainy day, crime was incredibly lax. Everyone was taking shelter from the downpour outside, and it left Barry and me to be extremely bored. We spent most of the day talking about current events that popped up on various web pages or playing card games with the deck that I kept with me all the time. I never knew when I was going to be stuck somewhere with nothing to do, so I figured that it would be more beneficial to have the deck with me just in case instead of leave it at home and be sorry.
Singh sent both Barry and me home early since he figured that there wouldn't be much work for us for the rest of the day. Barry seemed grateful at the early release, obviously excited that he would finally get a chance to scope out the city in hopes of finding Hartley's weapon of mass destruction. The thought of the villain set me on edge ever since he invaded my home, and I did my best to keep my feelings from Barry so that he wouldn't question me about it. It was rather difficult, though, since we had to take a cab to S.T.A.R. Labs due to the rain. I could tell that all he wanted to do was start spouting his theories on where he could be keeping his bomb, and I was grateful that he was keeping quiet. It would have made me feel awkward and uncomfortable, and that would have lead him to believe that I had been lying to him earlier. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I didn't want the repercussions that came with it.
Cisco and Caitlin were in the lab like usual when Barry and I walked in. Cisco was watching Hartley's archived video yet again, probably trying to figure out anything that he could about the location of the bomb. Caitlin was typing away on her tablet, most likely running tests that would rule out any places where Hartley could or couldn't have been. Barry talked with them about where he was going to search very briefly before heading out into the city. I sat down next to Cisco and watched the dot that represented Barry speed through Central City. He was occasionally saying that he couldn't find anything in certain places, and I could see Cisco's hope slowly fading. I put my hand on his shoulder in a comforting effort, and I gave him a small smile.
"I'm sure that he'll find something soon." I assured him. "The Flash always saves the day, right?"
He smiled with a nod. "Thanks, Izzy."
"It's nothing."
There was a sudden static disturbance that started to hurt my head. I looked up at the screens to see that they were being taken over by an outside source. "What's going on?" Caitlin asked, looking up from her tablet.
"I'm not sure." Cisco said, starting to type quickly on his computer to counter what was happening. "I don't have any control over our system."
"Residents of Central City." Hartley's voice rang over the sound system, making my blood run cold. His picture appeared on all of the screens throughout the lab, and I did my best to hide my anxiety at the thought of the previous night. "I am the Pied Piper, and I am one of the last faces you will ever see."
"Are you guys getting this?" Barry asked from his headset.
"Oh yeah." Cisco answered.
"For the past month or so, I have been recreating what Harrison Wells could never create in perfection." He stepped back to reveal what I assumed was the particle accelerator. "This is my own, special version of his harebrained creation. You see, instead of creating this for the potential of a technological revolution, I have done just the opposite. This city has taken everything from me--my family, my job, my reputation--so I feel retribution is in order."
"Is there any way that you can trace the broadcast signal?" Barry questioned.
"I can try." Cisco answered in an apprehensive voice, thinking that he wouldn't be able to just like every other time he had tried to find Hartley's broadcasting site. Surprisingly, he was able to trace the signal with minimal difficulty. "It's coming from the warehouse district, near the waterfront."
"I'm on my way."
"That's strange." Caitlin spoke, practically reading my mind.
"What is?" Cisco asked.
"How come you're able to trace this signal so easily, but with every other time he's contacted us like this, you were blocked in every way possible?"
He shrugged. "Maybe he's gotten sloppy."
I shook my head. "That's not his M.O. From what I've gathered, he's very precise in his movements. He wouldn't just leave something like this out in the open like this."
"Then it's a trap." Cisco said slowly before the realization really hit him. "Barry, it's a trap." He spoke into the microphone.
"I'm coming up on the warehouse district." Barry informed us, obviously not being able to hear our end of the conversation.
"Hartley's blocking our signal." Cisco stated, his fingers flying across the keyboard in an attempt to break the blocked signal so that we could warn Barry.
I ran my hands through my hair. "He's going to walk right into his trap."
"He's probably had this entire thing planned out from day one." Caitlin said, putting her tablet down and beginning to pace up and down the room. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming."
"None of us did, Caitlin." Cisco stated. "Don't feel bad because you didn't realize it."
"Are you going to be able to break it?" I questioned, feeling my anxiety in my throat at this point.
Cisco nodded, hitting enter and leaning towards the microphone. "Barry, you have to get out of there. Hartley has a trap set up for you."
"I found the bomb."
**
i always end in really dramatic spots hahaha
so, i have officially decided that i am going to make this into a series of stories because i have really awesome ideas. *cheers* such excitement haha
im gonna be real, this isn't my best chapter, but I promise that the next one will be way better. xx