Pinch Hitter

[run_barry]

Opening the door from Milliways Barry leads Yamato through and into S.T.A.R. Labs.

"And here we are, welcome to Central City and S.T.A.R. Labs."

They step out into a medical lab space, complete with fancy equipment and an exam table. The place looks pretty high-tech, but it's also currently a shambles. Things are knocked over on the countertops, several drawers have been pulled open and rifled through, there's an IV stand laying on the ground, and the red Flash suit is discarded on the floor beside the exam table.

It's the sort of scene that happens when a speedster on his last legs storms through an infirmary trying to help himself and not pass out in the process.

Glancing around, Barry frowns and rubs the back of his neck.

"Sorry about the mess."

Comments

[run_barry]

Holding onto Barry's forearm, Caitlin starts to shake her head.

"I need to work. We still need a cure, or at least a treatment for this virus. And I need to take a look at these to make sure your system has recovered. And we should probably do a scan... "

"Caitlin I'm fine," Barry assures her. "If you want I'll run the samples myself. And I'm working on the virus stuff, too. Once I have data on both I'll bring it to you to look at, I promise."

Caitlin starts to argue, but Barry gives her a pointed look that asks 'what was that about taking care of yourself?' which Caitlin seems to pick up on and she relents.

"Alright, I'm going to go lay down. Let me know once you have something." She passes over the tray to Barry, then bundles her scarf tighter about her neck and heads back to the lab.

"Thank you, for your help," she says to Yamato as she passes by him, flashing him a smile that might be covered by the mask, but does crinkle the corner of her eyes a little to prove its there.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"It's no problem," Yamato replies. He doesn't smile back, if only because he's well aware that he can't pull off a reassuring or friendly smile to save his life, but he inclines his head a little.

Once Caitlin's gone, he reaches around to rub his arm slightly, as his posture eases up a little into something a little less tense.

After a moment's pause, he pulls a meal bar out of the rucksack he brought and tosses it at Barry's head. "Chew on that while you work. I'll monitor the city and let you know if anything happens."

[run_barry]

Barry watches Caitlin exit and the door slide closed behind her. Without even a 'heads up' warning Barry is pegged in the temple with the bar.

"Hey!" Rubbing the spot, more to pout about being roughed up by his friends than because it hurt, he picks up the bar and starts heading for the doorway.

"Fine. I'm going to get this blood sample going and then I've gotta run to Joe's place to check on him and Iris. I'll bring back Cisco's juice while I'm at it."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I'll be here," Yamato says, without looking up. "If you get some green tea, whole ginger, and honey while you're out, I can make a pot of something to help with everyone's coughing and congestion. It's not going to get them any closer to being actually better, but it might give them a little bit of relief."

[run_barry]

"Will do," he says, then leaves in a whoosh.

Eventually Barry does bring back the juice, and the ingredients Yamato asked for, along with a crockpot of soup for the S.T.A.R. Labs' patients, Caitlin's data on Barry's blood work and some findings on the virus.

Barry also hits up the precinct, getting work done on his caseload there.

He's there finishing up in the crime lab when he hears about the bank heist going on in Englewood.

"Another one?"

Leaving a stack of folders behind he's in the suit and out running on the street before dispatch can finish delivering the call on the police scanner.

Touching the comm-link in his cowl, Barry calls out, "Yo, Yamato, you there?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

While Barry's busy, Yamato links up his wrist computer with the Cortex's comms, and brews a steaming hot pot of sweet, gingery shoga-yu. The patients all seem to be mostly asleep when he takes it up, so he leaves it with a note (written in very deliberate but not brilliant English) saying that it'll help clear their throats a little, and several extra blankets plucked from his sylladex.

Yamato's mother-henning is truly an ever-expanding phenomenon which will surely consume Central City if given the chance.

He's heading back into the Cortex when Barry contacts him. "No, I left and went back to my own world. It's amazing I'm even getting your call," he says into his wrist, a little dryly. "I'm here, what do you need?"

He takes a second to head to the console and bring up Barry's position on a map, tracking him through the city.

[run_barry]

"Haha," Barry deadpans. "A call just went out on another bank robbery. I'm heading that way now, but I'll need you to track the getaway if they make it out before I get there."

Hopefully having Yamato's help this time will mean Barry doesn't waste a whole bunch of time chasing his own tail trying to track the robbers down.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"On it," Yamato says, and glances at the map again. There's only one major bank around that area, so he brings up the camera footage from the streets around it, keeping one eye on it. "Another bank robbery? Even with half the police force down, I wouldn't expect there to be that many, they take some planning."

As he talks, he quickly brings up a few news articles on the previous robberies, half-reading them as he watches the camera footage.

[run_barry]

"Yeah well, yesterday we had three, and a jewelry store heist," Barry returns, zipping around cars and cutting down a long alleyway.

Arriving at the bank he rushes inside and sees two men holding up the counter.

"Got 'em," he informs Yamato, cracking a smirk.

It's an easy task to speed forward and pull the guns from the unsuspecting robbers's hands, leaving them unarmed.

"You two really-- " Before Barry can finish whatever it is he was about to say, gunfire breaks out.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Three? Yamato can't help but frown at that. As Barry arrives, he brings up the bank's CCTV feeds -- they don't offer the best view of the bank, but it's good enough, and even on hazy, washed-out security camera footage, the bright red suit stands out.

He's about to caution Barry not to relax just yet when he hears -- and sees -- the gunfire. He can't immediately place where the shooters had been hiding, save that they were blending in the terrified customers, but he can see them all now.

"Two at nine o'clock, two at six, one by counter, two on balcony," he barks, his tone quick but steady and clear. "Six and balcony are priorities."

Taking out those four should cover anyone trying to flee -- but then, Yamato's starting to strongly suspect that this is someone's idea of a trap for Barry.

[run_barry]

Barry's head jerks around in different directions as he tries to sift through the instructions and numbers Yamato's giving him while dodging bullets.

For a moment Barry fears he's surrounded by an army when he hears the figures two, nine and six, and then what Yamato is telling him clicks.

"Clock is twelve... three... " he murmurs to himself, trying to orient on a dial while pulling people out of the way.

Six is behind, and Barry turns just in time to duck out of the way of a volley. Using a counter for cover, he speeds around the two and takes them down; one with a crack to the jaw and the other with a shoulder-check into a kiosk.

'Balcony' registers immediately and Barry goes for the two up there, bullets following him as he handles the pair. Before he can head back down to deal with the rest, the path in front of him and behind explodes with bullets and Barry has to duck for cover. There's not much to be had, and the balcony isn't very wide, so Barry ends up backing as far away from the railing as he can and crouching low, trying not to be seen from below.

"I'm stuck!" he shouts at Yamato, chancing to lift his head to try and peek down and immediately having to duck again from more gunfire. "I can't see where they're at!"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Keep your head down, flatten yourself to the floor," Yamato says, calmly. "One is near the bathroom, but there's two down on your left and to the front, near the ATMs. Move towards those two on my mark."

He's concerned, somewhat, with how quickly the gunmen reacted to corner Barry. They shouldn't have all been able to react and coordinate themselves that quickly, especially in the confusion of a pitched fight.

More relevant presently, though, is that he's pretty sure that two of them are about to run out of ammunition.

"Five, four, three, two," he says. On cue, two of the three gunmen, including one of the ones at the ATM, have to stop to reload. "Go."

[run_barry]

Barry follows Yamato's instructions, getting himself down low, covering his head with his arms from the sounds and debris of gunfire, and waiting.

When Yamato starts the countdown Barry gears up and when Yamato calls 'go' Barry rushes forward in a red-streaked blur.

He runs straight into the two men, shoving one against the other and knocking them both back against the ATM. They hit the ground unconscious, their guns clattering to the floor beside them.

It takes Barry half a heartbeat to kick the weapons away from the downed thieves, and then he's zipping over to handle the robber by the bathroom.

With that man knocked out at his feet, Barry takes a quick look around, calling back to Yamato. "Is that it?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato takes a second to check the CCTV feeds from the streets around the bank. He doesn't see anyone approaching, which is at least a good sign that there aren't any reinforcements on the way to back the thieves up.

"For now. Good work, Gramps," he says. "Do you have anything to cuff them with until the police arrive?"

He pulls up police dispatch, too, checking to see if there's anything else happening around the city, if this robbery (or, his brain reminds him, potentially this trap) was just a distraction for something else.

[run_barry]

Hearing the coast is really clear this time, Barry relaxes.

"Not bad yourself," he returns with a grin.

Looking over the crowd of downed criminals, Barry thinks on a moment, then lights with an idea.

"Got it." A very short while later all the bad guys are missing one shoe with their hands now bound with the laces.

While Barry is taking care of that, the monitors in the Cortex light up with two new beacons; alerts to more CCPD activity.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato frowns again, bringing up the alerts on his screen. Another bank robbery, on the other side of the city, and what looks like a heist at some kind of absurdly high-end luxury clothing store, the kind of place that regularly takes in thousands of dollars from individual customers.

"I've got two more robberies," he says. "Bank and clothing store. The bank has more civilians and less security, make that your first priority, but try to be quick."

He pauses for a split second, then: "And be careful. Assume they're expecting you. There's something not right about this."

With that said, he sets about bringing up CCTV feeds for the bank, store, and streets around them, and -- after a few moments of frowny-faced attempts to figure out how to do it before he eventually gets the hang of it -- starts scanning for any unusual radio signals near the bank.

[run_barry]

"For real?" Barry sighs, exasperated with this new trend.

Leaving this batch of bank robbers to go and tackle the next, Barry legs it across the city.

"I'm gonna need quickest route to the clothing store for when I'm done at the bank," he notes as he runs, then asks, "And how do you mean, something's not right?"

He's assuming Yamato means more than just bad guys doing bad guy stuff across the city.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato studies the map for a second, picking out a route. "Got it. Tell me when you need it."

He frowns, rubbing a hand through his hair. "When you were in the bank, how much were you aware of what was happening around you? Where people were standing, where they moved to, how they were aiming?" He asks. "Being on the ground during a fight is confusing and stressful, but those last three gunmen were able to reposition themselves and start firing the moment you got to the balcony."

He glances at the scan running, then back towards the CCTV feed. "It'd be impressive coordination even if they were yelling instructions to each other, but I don't think any of them actually told the others what they were doing. They just did it, in nearly perfect sync."

[run_barry]

"Well... " Barry starts to say, thinking Yamato's questions are critique on how Barry handled the situation and got himself pinned-down. When he hears the rest it causes a 'huh' moment.

"They were pretty organized, and besides some cursing I didn't really hear any yelling or chatter."

Tabling those thoughts for now as he comes up on the front of the next bank, Barry announces, "I'm here."

This time when he races in he leaves the obvious robbers at the counter and speeds through the crowd first, looking for any plants.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I see you," Yamato says in confirmation, keeping an eye on the bank CCTV -- well, usually where Barry's just been, given how fast he's moving.

He skims his gaze over the crowd, but the high angle of the cameras, while good for keeping an eye on where everyone's positioned, aren't a very good vantage point for figuring out if there's any plants.

[run_barry]

The crowd is small, and no one seems to be armed, so after a quick circuit around the small lobby area Barry hits the counter and the robbers.

Disarming the pair, Barry has them wrapped up in the belt from the line stanchions in a few quick seconds.

Coming to a halt, he looks down at the two he's just secured, then glances around.

"You ever get that super creepy feeling of being watched?"

Trying to shake the feeling, Barry asks, "Which way am I going to the clothing store?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"You are being watched. There's a whole crowd of people watching," Yamato jokes. "But yeah, sometimes. If you're getting a gut feeling, just -- keep it in mind."

Gut feelings usually pan out well for Yamato.

"Head South. There's some pretty narrow alleyways you can cut through, I'll give you directions on the way."

[run_barry]

"Oh. I guess you're right." Self-consciously Barry turns to the crowd and gives them a little parting wave before he streaks off, heading South once he's out the bank doors.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato gives directions as Barry goes, and adjusts the scan for radio signals so that it's focused on and around the clothing store instead. He didn't pick anything up at the bank, but this whole thing has him on edge, and Barry's remark about feeling like he's being watched even moreso.

"It looks like the store has security systems -- shutters that slide down over the counters and doors to the back room, that sort of thing -- but they never activated," he says, frowning. "Those systems aren't exactly reliable, as far as I know, so it may be nothing."

[run_barry]

"Probably just a malfunction," Barry says.

Thanks to the easy nab at the bank, and the shortcuts Yamato gives him, Barry makes great time to the store.

When he rushes in through the door he's expecting another crowd and a hold-up like at the two banks, but instead the whole front area is empty.

"There's no one here," he calls over to the comm back to Yamato.

Glancing over his shoulder back towards the door Barry asks, "Did they make a break for it?"