Vera Pyra (The Flash) (Book One)

Chapter 20__Who Is Harrison Wells?

Eddie, Caitlin, Cisco, Joe and I were in my loft.

Eddie sat on a couch. "Where's Barry?"

"He should be here any second," I told them. "I sent him out for--"

Barry zoomed in with two boxes of: "Pizza."

"What?" Cisco asked.

"From Coast City?" Eddie asked.

Barry put the pizza on the table. "Supposedly the best in the west."

"Why did I not think of this before?" Cisco asked. "Come to papa."

The boys dug into the pizza.

Caitlin was reclusive, quiet, sitting by the windows.

"Caitlin?" I asked.

Caitlin shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Okay," Joe told us. "Six months of investigating Harrison Wells has led us nowhere." Caitlin stood, walking closer. "So, we're going back to the beginning to see what we can find out."

"What does that mean?" Eddie asked.

"Road trip, baby," Cisco answered.

"Joe and Cisco are gonna go to Starling City," I explained.

"Starling City?" Caitlin repeated. "What for?" 

"To investigate the car accident that Dr. Wells was in with Tess Morgan 15 years ago," Joe answered.

"I don't understand," Caitlin told us. "Why?"

"Dr. McGee said that after Wells' accident, he became, like, a complete stranger," Barry explained. "Just a different person entirely."

"Because the love of his life died," Caitlin told us. She looked from Barry to me. "You two, of all people, can understand how grief can change a person."

"Caitlin, we believe that Dr. Wells is the Reverse-Flash, and killed Barry's mother," Joe told her. "He had something to do with the fire that killed Vera's family. He may have done the same thing to Tess Morgan. We have to learn everything we can about that night. See where it leads us."

"Oh, um, can you cover for me?" Cisco asked. "With Dr. Wells?"

"You mean lie?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah," Cisco answered.

Caitlin shook her head. "I need some air."

Barry, Eddie and Cisco stood.

Caitlin walked toward the door.

"Caitlin," Barry told her.

Caitlin walked out, leaving.

"Doesn't look like Caitlin's with us," Joe told us.

"No, she's with us," I told them. "I'll talk to her."

"What do you want us to do here?" Eddie asked.

"Business as usual while we're gone," Joe answered.

"Copy that," Eddie told us, walking away.

Barry looked from Joe to Cisco. "I wanna wish you good luck, but I'm also scared of what you might find."

"Scared is a good thing," Joe told us. "Scared keeps us alive."

~

The next day, Caitlin and I were in STAR Labs, in the Cortex.

"Good morning," I told her.