"Oh, Buster Keaton." Cisco's voice filled my ears along with Dr. Wells' laughter, music in the back, "That guy was a genius."
I walked closer to the cortex, holding my shoes in hands, as Cisco speaks again, "I can't believe you've never seen this movie."
There was crunching of popcorn as Dr. Wells spoke, "Must have been before my time."
I walked into the cortex, an irritated look on my face, as they were seated in chairs, staring at the tv they set up in front of them.
"You look like you could kill someone." Cisco notices as I walked over to them, "I'm guessing bowling didn't go so well?"
"Not only is it irritating that Iris thinks I need to three wheel her and Eddie to reach some sort of social life, but- Barry and Linda showed up." I dropped my shoes and sat between them on the ground.
Dr. Wells looks down at me, "That's bad because?"
"I don't like Linda!" I blurt out in annoyance, "She's- ugh, I don't know- I just hate her."
Cisco looks at me as well, "Because she's with Barry?"
"Because she's with Barry!" I gesture towards him, then immediately covering my mouth when I said that, my eyes widening.
Cisco starts smiling, sitting up in his seat, "You so have a crush on Barry."
"Are we in middle school?" I took a handful of popcorn from him, then mumbled, "I don't have a crush on Barry- I just don't like Linda at all."
Before either of them could reply, the monitor began to beep, Cisco pulling himself to it his chair, "Silent alarm has been tripped at the Central City Morgue."
Dr. Wells was confused, "Why would anyone want to rob a morgue?"
As Dr. Wells wheels out the room, Cisco and I ran behind the console, where we saw that Barry was already on the scene.
"What's going on, Barr?" I asked, "What do you see?"
"Zee?" Barry's voice sounded confused, "I thought you went to the bathroom-"
"I didn't say which bathroom, did I?" I simply said before going back on subject, "What do you see?"
Barry sighs, "A dead body."
I roll my eyes, "Barry, you're in a morgue."
"Zee's right-" Cisco said, "You're gonna have to be a little more specific than that."
Barry speaks again, "The coroner, he's dead."
-
"So- Clyde Mardon has a brother?" Caitlin asked as we all stared at the screen where their profiles were pulled up the next day.
I was dressed in medium wash ripped jeans and a army green button up shirt, a black tank top under it, resulting in me keeping the first few buttons unbuttoned, letting my shirt fall off the shoulder, black combat boots on my feet, my hair straight.
Dr. Wells wheels over, "And both brothers survived the plane crash, and then the dark matter released from the particle accelerator explosion affects them both in virtually the same way."
"Yeah, only Mark's powers seem to be a lot more precise." Barry said, "To be able to control the weather like that, indoors?"
"You'd have to be a Weather Wizard." Cisco seemed proud of himself as he took a sip of his red slurpee, "Ooh, been waiting since week one to use that one."
Cisco freezes when he gets a brain freeze as Caitlin speaks, "Trigeminal headache?"
Cisco and I speak in unison, "What?"
"Trigeminal headache." Caitlin repeats, "Brain freeze."
I looked at her, "Then why don't you just call it a brain freeze?"
Joe walks over to us by the console, "So- I'm guessing you running around a twister in the opposite direction isn't gonna to do the trick this time."
"I just remembered." Cisco set his slurpee down, "During our run-in with Mardon, Clyde Mardon, I was tinkering with something to help attract unbound atmospheric electrons."
Barry's eyebrows furrow, "Like a grounding mechanism?"
Cisco nods, "Yes, 'cause the only way that Mardon can control the weather is if he can tap into the atmosphere's natural electrical circuit, and if we take away that circuit, clear skies."
Joe pulled out his phone as it buzzes, "Singh's checking in. I gotta go."
Barry nods at him, "Yeah, I'll meet you at the station."
"Joe, we'll find Mardon." Dr. Wells said, "Don't worry."
Joe walks out of the cortex, "I'm not worried at all."
Dr. Wells wheels over to Barry and I, "Well, he's taking being targeted by a revenge-seeking meta-human rather well, I must say."
"No kidding." I exhale deeply and grab my leather jacket, "Well, I have to go to work."
"Don't worry, Zee." Dr. Wells notices the look on my face and assured me, "Joe will be fine, I promise."
"Hey-" Barry got my arm when I turned to leave, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Barry." My eyes lingered with his, pulling my arm from his grasp, leaving the cortex.
-
"The Flash: Speeding his way into our lives?" Mason Bridge's voice filled my ears from behind me as I sat at my desk, typing on my laptop, "That's a little on the nose, don't you think?"
I stopped typing, slouching back in my seat, throwing my head back and looking up at him, giving him my best sarcastic smile, "What can I do for you, Mason?"
"I want to show you something." Mason leaned on my desk and showed me a photo, "Simon Stagg.
Remember him? Hasn't been seen in, like, six months."
"The rumor was he was a recluse." I took the photo, sitting up, as he handed it to me, "You know, went all Howard Hughes."
"This was taken the night that Stagg went missing." Mason showed me another photo of Dr. Wells from the security cameras, "The last person to leave Stagg Industries the night that Stagg disappeared was Harrison Wells."
"Okay?" I don't react, looking from the photo to him, "Maybe they went on a romantic getaway together and Stagg just decided to stay, and go MIA."
Mason shot me a look as I shrugged, setting down the photo, "This doesn't prove anything, Mason."
"It's enough for me to develop a theory." Mason handed me the other photo in the folder, "Every trail in this file leads to one person, Harrison Wells, which is why I need for you to start asking your friends who know him some questions, Zee."
I watched him as he walked away from me, my eyes looking between the photos.
Harrison Wells was one of my closest friends, but I couldn't help but let my curiosity grow.
I got up, walking over to where the coffee was, deciding that no matter how much I hated black coffee, I was going to get a cup.
I wasn't haven't a good week anyway.
Then I heard Linda's voice, "Zee, I noticed you left early last night. I went to the bathroom and saw you weren't there."
I looked up at her for a moment, before setting down the folder in my hand and grabbing a mug, barely shrugging, pretending to be interested in having this conversation, except it was clear that I wasn't, "Sorry, hope I didn't miss too much of the fun."
Linda eyes me, "You know what, Zee?"
"Yes, Linda?" I poured the black coffee into the white mug I held, avoiding eye contact as much as I could.
"I never felt threatened by you- I always thought you and Barry were always just as close as best friends could be." Linda stares at me, holding her own mug tightly that made her knuckles whiter, "I was wrong."
I don't even look at her, staring at the dark liquid I poured into my mug, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"When Iris told me that Barry had feelings for her, she failed to mention the fact that he was no longer hooked on her because he has feelings for you." Linda's words made me look at her with wide eyes, completely forgetting about the hot coffee I was pouring.
"And last night, I realized that because even after you left- he was asking for you." Linda looked at me with annoyance, "Then I realized what you didn't acknowledge or mention- and what's kind of irritating is that- you have feelings for him too."
"What?" I was completely caught off guard, the hot coffee slipping over my hand and burning it, making me hiss and flinch, setting them both down, grabbing a few napkins, rushing to clean up the mess I made, "Linda- no, that's not- it's not- like that."
Linda exhales deeply, backing away, "One thing you learn about people when you work here, Zee, it's usually what isn't said that's the real story."
I watched her as she turned around and walked away, my gaze falling onto my warm, irritated hand, and the slipped coffee on the table, along with the overfilled mug, used napkins drenched in coffee and my untouched folder a few inches away from the mess.
-
"So- it sounded like something was kind of bothering you on the phone." Barry said next to me as he picked up his coffee at Jitters as I grabbed mine, his hand on my back in comfort, "Is everything all right?"
My heart leaps and I shiver away from his touch, quickly walking to a table, "Yeah, everything's fine!"
Barry stares at me in suspicion, following me, sitting at the table as well, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, totally-" I set my coffee down quickly, my voice almost squeaking as I quickly pulled up the folder Mason gave me, "Now, for the reason I called you here."
"Uhm, one of my coworkers, has repeatedly told me to follow this hunch, and he hasn't let me alone about it so, I decided that I would for the hell of it." I avoided eye contact, staring at the folder, "Except in this instance, that hunch involves you."
Barry stares at me, his stare making me look into his eyes, "Well, you can ask me anything, Zee."
"It's not what you think it is." I began, folding my hands together, "It's about Dr. Wells."
Barry's eyebrows furrow in confusion, "What about him?"
"Before I say anything- you know that Dr. Wells is a friend of mine and I know the type of man he is, but I mean you've been obsessed with him for years- if anything you know him better than anyone, so I thought I'd talk to you about it." I said, before pulling out the photo and handing it to Barry.
I inhale sharply, "He was there at Stagg's office the night that Stagg went missing."
Barry stares at the photo, "And you think that Doctor Wells is what, responsible?"
"I don't know- maybe?" I put a strand of my hair behind my ear, "Maybe- there's more to Harrison than people have been led to believe?"
"Harrison Wells is a good man." Barry set down the photo, as I nodded at him in agreement, "If you're looking for a story, then you're not gonna find one with him."
I quickly nodded once more and put the papers back into the folder, "I know- I just thought I'd ask."
Barry grabs my wrist, stopping me from getting up, "Are you sure you're okay?"
My heart began beating faster due to the contact.
I looked into his eyes and barely nod, my voice coming out quiet, "Yeah."
-
Cisco held up what he had created, "I call it the Wizard's Wand."
"Subtle." Caitlin places her hands on her hips, "How does it work?"
"Think of it like an active lightning rod." Cisco walked over to us, "You just point it at the sky, and it'll suck up whatever energy's floating around it like a sponge."
I cross my arms, "And it'll stop Mardon?"
"It'll certainly slow him down." Dr. Wells stops next to us, "If there's no atmospheric electrons available to him, there's no way for him to control the weather."
"Good work, Cisco, as always- if you excuse me, I'm gonna go stretch my legs." Dr. Wells wheels away from us as my eyes were glued to him as he left the room.
Caitlin looks at me, nudging me lightly, "You okay?"
My head snaps towards her, "Huh?"
"You seem a little off-" Caitlin eyes me in concern, as Cisco and Barry join us, "Is everything okay?"
I sigh and look down, not replying.
Barry speaks up, his voice quiet to make sure Dr. Wells didn't hear him, "Somebody at Picture News got it into Zee's head that something suspicious is going on with Dr. Wells."
Cisco crosses his arms, "Like what?"
"Uhm- that he knows what happened to Simon Stagg." I muttered quietly, now feeling ashamed that I was suspicious, avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground, "He was the last person to see him before he went missing."
"Apparently, nobody's heard from him or seen him since the night I stopped Danton Black." Barry didn't want to believe that a man he looked up to could be a suspect and I understood that, "But- she know's she's wrong."
"Yeah- I do." I exhale deeply and walked away from them, grabbing my jacket on my way out.
-
"Keep this handy." Cisco told Joe, placing the wand on the stand at CCPD, "It'll protect you from Mardon's powers."
Joe nods, "Yeah, Cisco, I got it-"
"Hey-" Cisco pulls me away from the table and over to him and Joe, "We all need to talk."
I looked at him and crossed my arms, "What's up?"
"Joe- I know you got a lot going on right now, but you mentioned Doctor Wells might have had something to do with Barry's mother's murder." Cisco mentions, catching me completely off guard, "Why did you think that?"
I almost choked on air, doing a double take, "What?"
Joe shot Cisco a look for letting me in on this, as Cisco shot him the same look right back.
"It doesn't matter." Joe exhales deeply, "I was wrong."
Cisco presses, "But- you seemed really sure of it.
Joe dismissed the conversation, walking away from us, "Look, Cisco, I can't talk about this right now, okay?"
"Wait- Joe thought Dr. Wells had something to do with Nora Allen's murder?" I repeat, gathering what I just heard, looking up at Cisco, "And there's been suspicion that he knows where Simon Stagg is- wait, something isn't adding up here-"
Cisco nods, "I'll meet you at Star Labs, we can talk about it there-"
"Where Dr. Wells is 24/7?" I stared at him as if he was stupid, as he shrugged back at me, shooting me the same look, walking toward the elevator, staring at the man that walked out.
Mark Mardon.
"I heard you were looking for me." Mark announced as I could see Cisco pull out his phone right when the elevator door's closed, "Here I am."
Joe stepped up, "Mardon."
"Hey, Joe- I can call you Joe, can't I?" Mardon shrugged lightly, "Figured we don't got to be too formal seeing as you put two bullets in my brother's chest."
Joe pulled me back behind him, making me back away as he stepped closer, "Your brother killed my partner and a whole lot of innocent people, and threatened to kill even more."
Then I knew he was going for the wand.
"Yeah, Clyde was no saint, but he was family." Mark stared at Joe with pure hatred, "If you can't protect your family, the least you can do is avenge 'em."
Joe remained calm and unfrightened, "This is between us- nobody else needs to get hurt."
"But- they are gonna get hurt, and first- it's gonna be that pretty little face." Mark's eyes landed on me, noticing how quickly Joe made me get behind him, making Joe's eyes widen.
Then, a large gust of wind emerged from Mark's hands, sending Joe and I through the doors and further into the precinct, Joe landing on the ground as my head bashed against one of the desks.
Eddie runs over to us, "Joe, Zee!"
Joe immediately threw his arm out to stop everyone coming near him, as this had caught everyone's attention, "No!"
Eddie ran over to me and pulled me up lightly so I was laying on his lap, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah-" My voice croaked out, my head aching severely, not noticing the blood streaming down my face, but my concern was Joe, "Eddie-"
Mark walked closer towards Joe, "I'm not gonna be so easy to put down, Joe."
Eddie helps me sit up and got up, aiming his gun at Mark, "Take him down!"
"No, run!" Joe shouts right back as everyone started to shoot at Mark.
I watched in fear, forcing up to my feet, while whispering to myself, "Come on, Barry-"
Mark uses the same gust of wind and shatters all the glass in the building, glass falling over everyone, scratching my bare skin.
Then, Mark used his abilities to shoot an lightning bolt towards Joe, except Captain Singh pushes him out of the way, taking the bolt himself, "Joe!"
He flew back and fell to the ground, coming knocked out when he hit the ground, Joe and Eddie running to him, "Captain!"
That was when Barry ran in, using the wand to suck up all of Mark's powers, making him run off immediately.
Despite the pain in my head, I join Eddie and Joe in trying to way up the out cold Captain Singh.
Barry runs over to us and grabs him, running off to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible.
-
I walked into the cortex of Star Labs, groaning lightly while holding my head, Caitlin looking at me, "Well- I was just about to head home, but I could make an exception for a friend in need."
I blink, "What?"
"Wow- your head is bleeding like crazy." Cisco joined us, glued to dried blood on my face.
"Oh yeah-" I mumbled, as Caitlin pulled me to a chair and began treating the wound on my head, "I forgot about that-"
Caitlin treats the cut, then takes off her gloves when she's done, explaining to me what I needed to do in order to get a quick recovery.
"Thanks-" I put a strand of my hair behind my ear and notice the look on Cisco's face, "Hey, you couldn't have stopped Mardon from attacking the police station- it's not your fault."
"No, that's not it." Cisco exhales deeply then looks at Caitlin, stood in front of me, "What do you think of Dr. Wells?"
Caitlin's eyebrows furrow, "What do you mean?"
Cisco looks from me to Caitlin, "I mean, do you think he's capable of doing something bad?"
"Is this because of what Zee thought?" Caitlin asked, "Ever since the particle accelerator exploded, there's always someone who's got it in for Dr. Wells."
"No, no, it's more than that." I cross my arms, "Joe said that maybe Dr. Wells was somehow involved in of Barry's mother's death and her murder."
Caitlin was caught off guard, "That's absurd."
Cisco adds in, backing me up, "Yeah, we know, and that's what I said, and we proved that that wasn't the case, but I'm just saying, some things aren't adding up."
Caitlin stares between us, "Like what, for example?"
"Come here, look at this." Cisco gestured, walking over to the console, pulling up the force field data, "The night we trapped the Reverse-Flash in the force-field, he escaped because the containment system failed, but I checked that data three times, and the super-capacitors were still fully charged when he got out- the numbers don't add up, Caitlin."
"If that's the case, there's no reason that the containment system should have failed." I stared at the screen, then looking at Cisco.
Caitlin inhales sharply, "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation."
I stood up straight and placed my hands on my hips, "One perfectly good explanation is that Wells did something to the trap."
"Are you guys suggesting that Dr. Wells is in league with The Man in the Yellow Suit?" Caitlin walked around the console, "We all saw that thing nearly kill him that night."
Cisco got up from the chair he sat in, "Yeah, nearly."
Caitlin shook her head, "Listen- what you're saying doesn't make any sense- that's crazy."
"We will in Central City, Caitlin." I shot at her, "Everything crazy is possible at this point."
Cisco folders his hands together and looks up at Caitlin, "Can you keep Wells out of Star Labs tomorrow morning?"
-
"Hey, have you seen Zee Young and Iris West?" Barry's voice filled my ears as I sat at my desk at CCPN, tugging the small beanie on my head.
I looked up from my laptop to see Barry walking over to me, "Hey- how's your head?"
I fold my hands together, "I'm fine- uh, Iris went to go see Joe."
"Barry Allen, right?" Mason Bridge joins us, setting a chocolate filled danish on my desk, then looks down at me, "I didn't get you fruit this time."
I roll my eyes, knowing that he was only being nice to me so I could continue interviewing all of my friends for him.
Except now, I wanted to.
I wanted to find out who Dr. Wells really was.
And clearly, none of us knew who he truly is.
I gave him another sarcastic smile, "Thank you, Mason."
Barry eyes the two of us before clearing his throat, "Yeah."
Mason notices the tension, "Is it her friend or boyfriend?"
"Friend!" I blurt out immediately, clearing my throat at my outburst, "Friend."
I gesture towards him, "Uhm, Barry this is Mason Bridge."
"Oh, you're the guy who thinks Harrison Wells is some mad genius?" Barry slips his hands into his pockets.
"Oh, no, no, no, I never said he was crazy- he's a sociopath and a liar, for sure." Mason then noticed the look on Barry's face, "Really? You don't see it? All the time you two spend together."
Barry blinks, "Excuse me?"
"Sometimes when I'm bored, I follow him around." Mason places a folder on my desk, "And for the most part, he keeps to himself, except when he's meeting up with you, which he seems to do quite a bit- and then one time, he met up with Simon Stagg, and then poof, no more Simon Stagg."
Barry stares at him, as I picked up the fork on my plate to cut into the danish, "So- you're saying Wells knows where Stagg is?"
"No, I'm saying Wells killed him." Mason's words made me drop my fork and stare at him with wide eyes.
I didn't know he thought of it that far.
"All right, well, even if I believed you, which I don't, he's in a wheelchair." Barry found himself defending Dr. Wells again, "How could he possibly have done that?"
Mason walked over to his desk, that was right across from mine, "I have evidence in a secure digital file that will explain everything."
Barry swallows, "What- what evidence?"
Mason shrugs, picking up a folder and walking away, "You'll just have to read about it in the Sunday paper, like everybody else."
Barry looked stunned, but grabbed my jacket for me, holding it up, "We gotta go."
"Any excuse to leave work." I obliged and grabbed my jacket, letting my boss know I was leaving and walking outside with him.
I clear my throat, slipping on my jacket, "So, how are things going with Linda?"
Barry looks down at me, "Why do you say it like that?"
I looked up at him, "Like what?"
Barry mocks me, "Like how you and Iris used to always say Becky Cooper."
"Barry." I laughed lightly, "Becky Cooper was a nightmare of a high school girlfriend, and you should have never dated her."
Barry nods, "Okay, so you're saying that Linda is Becky material?"
"I'm not going that far-" I clear my throat and looked down at my feet, "I mean- she's nice, smart and pretty- I just I don't think that she's the right one for you."
Barry's stare burned into me, making me look into his eyes once more, "Then who is?"
Me?
-
Eddie spoke out to the entire CCPD after we had all found out that Mardon had kidnapped Joe, "We've seen what Mardon can do, but do not forget, he is not invincible."
"I can't believe this is happening." Iris whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek and she held onto me.
Eddie continued, but I started to tune out his voice, "He is still a man, at best, a criminal- we'll find him- I want you all to scour this city until we find Joe.
Move out!"
When Eddie dismisses, Iris rushes toward him in need of comfort as he delivers.
I exhale deeply and look down on the ground, fear and worry rose in my chest.
I couldn't think about anything but Joe.
Barry told me that Joe made sure that he was by Iris and I's sides to made sure we didn't get hurt, and he ended up getting captured himself.
Barry's voice barely tears me away from my thoughts, "Zee?"
"Hey, look at me, all right?-" Barry grabbed my face and turned me towards him, looking into my eyes, "I promise Joe will be okay."
Now, I couldn't think about anything but Barry.
My heart rate accelerated, and I felt nervous.
I could find myself getting lost in his eyes, and how he used his thumbs to caress my face.
Maybe Cisco was right.
Maybe Linda was right.
I tear away from Barry's hold when Iris walked over to us, holding her phone in her shaking hand, tears streaming down her cheeks, "He has my dad- he says if I tell anyone, he'll kill him, he wants me to meet him at the waterfront."
"All right, we're coming with you." I nod towards Barry as he grabbed the duffel bag that held his suit in it, as we all rushed towards the elevator.
"Barry-" Linda walked over of the elevator as we went in, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Barry shook his head, backing away and closer to me, "No, Linda, I'm sorry, I really can't right now."
Linda almost glares at me, "Of course not."
"Look, it's not like that- It's an emergency." Barry backs into the elevator, "I have to go right now-"
-
"What do we do?" Iris asked as we ran over to the water front, looking around for Joe or Mardon.
Barry spoke doing a complete spin, looking around, "He'll find us."
Iris jerks to a stop when she sees the storm in the sky over the water, heading for the city, "Oh, my God."
"Iris, you need to get out of here, okay- find Eddie- stay with him-" I was already pushing her away, raising my voice as I pushed her, "Go!"
Iris tried to stop me but after a few protests, obliges, running off quickly, disappearing the crowd of screaming people.
Barry grabs my arms, "What're you doing?"
I stared up at him, "I'm staying."
"Zee-" Barry was shaking his head in denial, "You need to go too, you need to get as far away from here as possible!"
"Barry-" I stood my ground, my eyes locked with his, "I won't leave you!"
Barry was almost begging, "Zee, please!"
I don't know what pushed me to do this, but I did.
"Barry, listen to me." I quickly spoke before he could continue protesting, "This is probably the worse decision I'm ever going to make and it may ruin everything between us but I can't hold it in anymore-"
"I've lied to you so many times about how I really feel about you and Linda." I confessed, fear of rejection intensifying in my chest, "At first I was happy for you- that you found someone to get over Iris- but then that changed and I didn't like you two together- I mean, I couldn't stand the sight of you two- and I know that's horrible but I- I couldn't help it."
Then, I decided straight to the point, knowing that there was no going back now, the look Barry was giving me making me even more scared.
Linda confronting me was a wake up call.
A wake up call from all the denial.
"Linda confronted me at work about having feelings for you and I- every since then- whenever I'm with you-" I pulled one of his hands from my arm and put it over my heart that was beating faster than I could comprehend, "I-"
Barry grabs my face and presses his lips into mine, kissing me breathlessly, making everything I had ever felt for him erupt in my chest.
I slowly pulled away as Barry leaned his forehead against mine, "I've always thought about you-"
I closed the distance between us again, kissing him once more, Barry holding me delicately as he kissed back.
Barry pulls away when my phone buzzes, biting his bottom lip to hold back a smile as his eyes lingered with mine, before I answered the phone, "Caitlin-"
Then, I was snapped back into reality.
"Zee, I need to talk to you and Barry." Caitlin's voice came through the line, "You were right- Dr. Wells, he isn't-"
Barry took the phone from my hand, "Hey, there's no time for that right now, all right? There is a tsunami heading for the city- how do I stop it?"
Caitlin exhales, "Theoretically, if you can create a vortex barrier along the coastline, a wall of wind, that would be able to sap the tidal wave of its energy before it hits the city."
"By running back and forth." Barry realized, "How fast?"
Caitlin inhales sharply as she spoke honestly, "I don't know if you can run that fast."
Barry hung up and handed me my phone, using his speed to change into his suit, "Zee- go."
I gave him a nod before running in the opposite direction where everyone was heading, Barry beginning to run back and forth as quickly as he could.
Moments later I stopped and looked back, watching as the tsunami came closer and closer, the wind Barry was creating rising.
Little did I know, it would be like this day never happened.
authors note:
feels.
this chapter gave me mad. feels.
like you're freaking welcome, they're goals in every book
thank you for 2k !
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