Only Because I Need You

Chapter 47: Lock On

Caitlin felt her team's eyes on her. As usual, they had collected into the cortex for a briefing. Barry and Iris had taken position together by the main desk, where Cisco was sitting. Harry on the other hand was standing slightly askew from the group, his face turned down into his normal frown, "I managed to isolate the specific chemicals in our blood stream, which were used to drug Iris and I. There were many of the normal ingredients found in drugs, but the most peculiar one was synthetic cathinone. This particular type of Synthetic Cathinone was not in a high concentration and it was fairly mild, which explains why we weren't being violent and chasing our feet." Caitlin inhaled sharply, "however, this drug, called Pyrovalerone, was mixed in with other drugs. That is not an easy feat to mix up the correct amount of substance to make someone be compliant to suggestion and have it be undetectable to taste in small quantities of liquid,"

Cisco leaned back into his chair, "so you think this drug was mixed together by someone with a lot of experience?" Barry and Iris shared a nervous look, but Harry had kept his expression neutrally aggressive.

"Exactly!" Caitlin nodded. "Whilst I worked for Amunette, there were a lot of interesting people I met. One of which may be the only man capable of doing such a feat with masterful perfection," Caitlin leaned over to a computer and clicked a few buttons pulling up a photo of a bald man with a thin scar running over his nose. "This is Archie Bones," she gestured to the photo, "he has a PhD in both micro biology and chemistry. He worked as a pharmacist for a while until he began to run his own underground drug cartel, he is a dangerous man with a lot of money and too much intelligence. If we are going to get an answer, it will be from him," with that Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the desk.

Barry ran a hand through his hair, "so we do an interrogation?"

"Yes, Archie cares a lot more about himself than anything else. If he feels threatened enough, he will spill," Caitlin felt her heart twitch for saying such a thing. Killer Frost had really liked him. Though he was selfish, he was brave and smart enough to know when to give in.

"Brilliant, I guess we better start cooking up a plan then," Harry chuckled, turning to the rest of the team with a wide and eerie smile.

"Also," Caitlin cut him off before he began to brainstorm, "I think I figured out a way to help Sting." Iris raised her eyebrows, urging the bio-chemist to continue, "if we use a DNA splicer, then we can program it to remove the genes in Sting's DNA that are causing her to become the meta she is,"

"Thank goodness," Iris muttered, "you are brilliant Caitlin," Caitlin sent back a meek smile. She hoped she was, because both Sting and Sonny were relying on her.

*

Cisco leaned against the glass of the containment cell. Dante was on the other side, staring at his brother from another universe with a wide smile. They had been talking a lot. Cisco felt a little like he was cheating on Earth one's Dante, but he brushed it off. He finally had a chance to connect with his brother, he wasn't going to throw it aside. "You are offering to let me go?" Dante asked tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, as long as you stay away from the Breacher's Brotherhood and Sonny," Cisco explained, leaning his head against the glass.

"Deal," Dante chuckled. A moment of silence passed between them. "How did your Dante die?" The older man asked.

Cisco inhaled, "a car crash," he pinched his lips together. "I remember getting that phone call. It was like the world stopped spinning. I didn't believe it at first. I just thought it was some kind of practical joke. I was in total denial until I saw the casket at his funeral. Even then I swore it must have been a mistake, it was someone else's body in his coffin. I willed him to get up and strut around, telling everyone it was all a joke," Cisco paused, frowning, "it wasn't,"

Dante nodded, a familiar look took over his face, "I saw my Cisco getting murdered. We were after a thief with big plans. It was so strange when we got close, it felt like we were paralysed. Paralysed with fear. All I could do was watch that son of a... watch him gut my Cisco like a fish. He looked in my eyes with a crazed grin and told me to spread the word that he was coming and that everyone should be afraid," Dante shuddered, his face had paled considerably.

Cisco blinked slowly. It must have been much worse for Dante to watch his brother die. To watch him be cut open like that. Cisco's stomach churned, he gritted his teeth until the nauseating wave of queasiness passed. Cisco needed to talk about something else, anything else. Tears were stinging at his eyes and his breath had become ragged, "so what will you do with your freedom?" He cleared his throat and blinked hard.

Dante shrugged, rubbing his own eyes, "I don't know. I am going to take some time off. I need to recoup. I haven't stopped working my ass off since my brother died,"

"I think I need some of that too," Cisco chuckled lightly, "it's been a heck of a few months,"

"Well, maybe we could do it together?" Dante suggested, "everything is better with two,"

Cisco nodded his head. If anyone knew what the younger man was feeling, it was the otherworldly Dante. They had been through the same experiences, faced the same trauma, felt the same pain. It made sense that they find solace in one another. "Yeah, I think that would be really good for us both. As soon as all of this is over, you and me are going to a beach holiday in Hawaii," he chuckled.

"Hawaii?" Dante frowned.

"Don't tell me you don't have Hawaii in your world," Cisco gasped. Dante shook his head, "well then, I need to show you the light,"