Only Because I Need You

I'll Be Watching

Cisco clasped his hands behind his head and grumbled in annoyance. He cast his eyes down the pipeline cells. The glass had been cleaned from the corridor only a short while after Caitlin's disappearance. Harry and Cisco stood outside of Ethan's old cell, their eyes slightly glazed over, "we've checked here one hundred times Cisco, a clue is not going to pop up just because you want it to," Harry leaned against the pipeline wall. His face was grim and dark.

Cisco squeezed his lips into a thin line and allowed his eyes to scan the surrounding area. They had been down there several times, but Cisco would not let that stop them from searching again. There needed to be something left by the men that took Caitlin and Ethan. There had to be. He scratched the back of his head and grumbled under his breath, "if you are just going to complain, then leave,"

Harry clenched his jaw, "Cisco, you can't just fabricate a way to save Caitlin out of thin air, I've tried," Something glittered in Cisco's peripheral vision. He snapped his head round to find the source of the light. It had come from further down the corridor, on one of the walls. As though he were in auto pilot he automatically made his way over to the glittering light, "Cisco? Hello?" Harry grumbled as he followed his friend with a groan.

As Cisco drew closer to the light, he realised what it was. He pulled his eyebrows close together. High up on the wall was a small camera that nearly blended perfectly with the wall. His jaw fell slack. He had found his clue.

Barry leant against the Cortex desk, his arms were folded over his chest and his eyes trained on the tiny object Harry was holding in the palm of his hand. Iris was standing right next to him, the floral essence of her perfumes cocooned the air around him. He might have smiled had it not been such a serious conversation they were having. Cisco and Harry were standing in front of Iris, Joe and Barry, their faces were grey with grim determination, "we found over thirty of these cameras hidden all over our laboratory, and we managed to disable all the rest," Harry explained as he held up the small device.

"Do you know who planted them?" Joe asked, he was standing at the edge of the welcome desk, his hand rested over his gun and his lips were slightly downturned. Joe had insisted on returning to the Cortex. He was off duty that day and as he put it he had 'Nothing better to do'.

"No, we don't, but it must have been someone with access to all of our facilities, including the pipeline," Cisco explained with a nod. Barry could see that Cisco's cheeks had become slightly pink and that a small smile threatened to escape his lips. Barry had know the man long enough to know that meant he was exited. He was most likely exited because it could be a clue to finding Caitlin, and they had been running dry in those for a while.

"Have you tried vibing it?" Iris raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in the desk.

"Not yet," Cisco shook his head. He looked up at Barry who loosely gestured for him to continue. Cisco plucked the camera from Harry's open hand and clenched the device in his fist. He squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath. A few moments passed and Cisco's body visibly tensed up. He remained like that for a few moments. No one removed their eyes from him. Barry could feel a breath lingering in his chest, but he did not act on it. Cisco's body relaxed once more, the colour drained from his face and his mouth hung slightly slack.

"What is it Cisco?" Barry asked, pushing himself off of the front desk and taking a few cautious steps towards his friend.

Cisco looked up to Barry slowly, his whole body slumped, "It was the Captain," He squeaked, "he placed the cameras,"

Barry clenched his fists and pulled in a ragged breath, "where is he?" He snarled viciously, anger rumbled in his throat. Iris turned to the computers and began tapping away. After all they had done for that man, and he betrayed them. He should have seen it coming, he should have been used to it. It seemed every ally team Flash made ended up betraying them.

"He is at the Central City docks," Iris stated, but before she could turn to her husband to tell him not to do anything rash, he was gone.

Ethan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Hundreds of cheering voices washed over him. He was back in the arena. He tried desperately to contain his excitement. He had a chance to escape. He had a chance to be free once more. His opponent didn't seem like much, he was young and he quaked in his boots. Ethan pitted him, he really was going soft. It was that damn Caitlin's fault. He needed to distance himself from her as soon as he possibly could, she was confusing him. He no longer knew if he really wanted revenge. He had lost a small portion his willingness to kill Iris as well. That Dr had a lot to answer for. He ground his teeth. Focus.

The child took a few uneasy steps away from the speedster. They had congregated in the centre of the ring. Some part of Ethan was glad he wouldn't have to hurt the poor creature. He felt energy begin to vibrate through him and a small smile spread over his lips. Before the kid had even realised what was happening, Ethan took off. He ran in circles around the ring. Lightning licked against his skin and thundered behind his back. Just what he needed.

He felt the steady thumping of his heart harmonise with the beating of his feet. He sucked in a deep breath, the air rushed past his face and swirled gently behind him. He prepared himself as crackling electricity ran along his fingers. He tapped the micro chip with his hand and the lighting surged through his body momentarily. Images of Barry's scalding eyes dominated his mind and the familiar feeling of crackling echoed in his ear. He nearly stumbled from the shock, light danced in front of his eyes, he shook his head and swallowed hard, he didn't have time. Barely two seconds had passed since he started running. He only had about one minute before he would need to stop again. He sped towards the gate, a familiar tingling crept all over his body and before he knew it he had fazed through the metal and was standing on the other side in the entrance of the tunnel.

He broke from the speedforce for only a moment to regain his bearings, but it was a moment too long. A bullet was sent sailing towards him from one of the guards, but he ducked just in time. The bullet collided noisily with a torch on the wall behind him, sending the open flame plummeting towards the wooden floor. It caught alight almost immediately. Ethan lunged at the two guards, knocking them out with a swift punch to the temple. His mind raced at one hundred miles an hour, he knew where he needed to go. The only issue was, he didn't remember exactly how to get there. The tunnels and caverns all looked identical. He supposed that he had better start running. In his haste, he left the flames that steadily began to eat away at the floor, they grew incredibly quickly. That was his mistake.