Only Because I Need You Too

Chapter 16: Never Give Up

Barry felt white hot rage coursing through his veins. When the facial recognition pinged, he had barely believed it himself. Yet there he was, pinning the Sandman to a grimy alley wall.  The dark sky hung morbidly above them and tall buildings trapped them on either side. The concrete was cracked and as filled with as many potholes as the potholes were filled with droplets of water. Trash cans lined the walls, polluting the air with the rancid stench of rotting garbage. If Barry hadn't been so focused, he might have dry heaved. "Where are they?" Barry hissed through clenched teeth.

The Sandman's eyes were wide and his gelled hair was falling out of its cast. Grasping desperately at Barry's wrists, he choked, "Who?" The meta inhibitor Barry had clasped around Pickle's wrist blinked gently in the darkness, illuminating his face in eerie green light.

Barry slammed his wrists into Pickle's chest. "Don't play coy," he snarled under his breath. "Where is Iris and Nora West-Allen?" His lungs were heaving in his chest. The corners of his vision were tinging red.

Pickle's mouth fell open. Unspoken words rested on his tongue. The man's dark eyes stared into space for only a moment before snapping back to Barry and clamping his mouth shut. The Flash used his speed to peer over his shoulder, only to find nothing amiss. Gritting his teeth, Barry clenched the lapels of Pickle's suit tighter. "The two that Tate and Medusa kidnapped?" Sandman's voice shook a little.

"Where are they?"Barry forcefully reiterated. Barry swore, if he had to repeat himself one more time then he was going to scream. Why did it feel as though he was talking to thin air. Pickle couldn't avoid his questions for long, so why delay the inevitable?

"I..." Pickle trailed off, his eyes drifted towards the sky once more. Speedily, Barry followed his gaze. There was nothing there. Pressing harder onto The Sandman's chest, Barry felt pressure building on his own. Heat bubbled between his ears. "I don't know." Pickle rushed out, his grip on the speedster's wrists tightening.

"Bullshit," Barry snapped.

"I swear!" Sandman wheezed, letting go of the Flashes wrists and raising his hands to the side of his head in surrender. Barry's toes curled in his boots and his shoulders fell a fraction of an inch. A spike of panic pressed against his heart. If even Medusa's right hand man didn't know, when who would?

"Where is Tate and Medusa?" Barry barked with less heat than before.

"I don't know that either." Pickle answered. Barry could feel the man's pulse raising under his fingers. Barry's grip tightened. "I don't! They just tell me the time, place, task and I do it. They don't fill me in on anything." He assured Barry and nodded gently as he spoke.

Barry pursed his lips, "then how can I find them?"

Sandman froze, his eyes dropped for only a moment. "They have this phsyco, bow-man freak that works for them. He will know. He is always lurking around the rooftops and following about members of your team." The Sandman explained slowly, but his voice began to tremble and shake. Pickle smiled through watery eyes.

"The Observer?" He cocked his head to one side, a lightbulb pinged in his mind. The Sandman pulled his brows together and opened his mouth to reply but an explosion of pain in Barry's shoulder and the sickening sound of a thud caught his attention. The speedster let go of the Sandman and staggered backwards. Barry's arm fell limp by his side. Cocking his head, the hero noticed a long, thin shaft sticking out of his shoulder. The speedster's gut dropped, with lightening speed he made his way to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Upon entering the room, Barry's team mates jumped into action. Caitlin was by his side in a matter of seconds, everyone else buzzed around him, asking if he was alright. "Please just take it out," Barry asked Caitlin.

"Of course," Caitlin replied. Barry turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut. After a yank, a shout and a pain worse than when it went in, Caitlin said, "it's out."

Standing up slowly, Barry rolled his shoulder. The room had fallen silent. Previously flushed faces had fallen to a pale shade of white. Nora stepped forwards and embraced her father in a one armed hug. In Caitlin's slightly bloodied hands was a long thin Arrow with a beautiful arching tip. Resting it on one finger, the Arrow automatically balanced out at a slight downwards angle. "The Observer," Nora muttered under her breath. It made sense now, Medusa was dead set on getting revenge and Caitlin had been the very person who had beaten her at her own game.

*

Barry placed his head in his hands. The bandage Caitlin had put on him was glinting under the powerful lights from above. The doctor had made the call to leave him in the medbay for some peace. Barry couldn't help but feel gratitude blossom in his chest. The soft whirring of the machines around him, gave him some white noise to focus. Running a hand down his face, Barry begrudgingly pulled his shirt over his head with a wince. Glancing around, he sat back into the seat which was placed right next to the gurney. Everything was so white and neat, the smell of antiseptic so strong that it gave him a headache. A small chapping at the door made Barry's head snap upwards. Nora was leaning against the doorframe with a thin smile on her face, "Hey Dad, can we talk?" She asked gently.

"Of course," Barry replied, patting the bed next to him. Trying his best not to show it, Barry couldn't feel a stab of pain at the word Dad. If he wasn't quick enough, he might not be a dad for much longer.

Nora skipped over to the bed and perched on it cautiously. Assisting him out of the corners of her eyes, she asked, "look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but continuing on like this will only do you more harm than helping Mum and little me," she told him gently.

Barry let out a hot huff of air and slumped back into his seat. The way she pouted her lips when she was angry at him was exactly the same way her mother did. Once more, his heart began to ache and spasm with anxiety. "What do you mean?" He puckered his brows but began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt.

"You aren't sleeping. I know you aren't. You aren't eating either and you are becoming and hasty when it comes to tackling this issue. You ran into that fight with Sandman without even considering the possibility that he might have backup." Nora crossed her arms over her chest and sent him a concerned stare.

Barry dropped his shirt and brought his eyes up to meet hers. "I should have checked the perimeter, I know, but it really looked as though Pickle was alone." Barry argued back.

"But he wasn't and because you rushed in and refused to check the surroundings, you got hurt." Nora stated blankly, her dark eyes rested on her father. Barry jutted his jaw to one side and opened his mouth to argue back, but she raised a hand and silenced him. "I know you are desperate to save them, but what good are you to them dead?" She raised a brow. Barry deflated. Nora had a point, he knew she had a point, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. "All of this," she gestured to his whole body, "has to stop. The only way you can save mom and Nora is if you are at the top of your game, and right now you are not."

Barry nodded his head and let out a hefty sigh. "Yes, I know." Letting our a sheepish smile, he slapped Nora's knee, "I will do my best to get better, thank you."

Nora sent him a nod, "That's for the best Dad."