In which Len and crew make one more attempt against the Santinis.

All characters this chapter copyright to DC, CW, etc.

Three riders waited near the highway for the truck to come into sight. They didn't even bother concealing themselves; the Santinis knew they were coming, and stealth would take more time.

It was time to finish the job.

The semi passed the exit where the three criminals waited, and the two bikes soon followed.

The back of the truck opened up. The Santinis' thugs picked up shotguns and began firing at the riders, but trying to maintain their balance in the moving vehicle meant most of the shots went wild. Still, some caution was required; an accidental hit would be just as deadly as a deliberate one.

Lisa fired her gold gun towards the truck and took out one of the shotguns, nearly taking out the gunman with it.

One of the other thugs dropped his gun to pull his ally back into the truck. Mick took advantage of the distraction, and sped up between shots until he could reach the tires with his heat gun's flame.

The truck began fishtailing, threatening to turn into a spinout, and the thugs could no longer keep their balance and continue firing at the same time.

The trio dumped their speed to keep from slamming into the out-of-control truck.

Leonard aimed his cold gun...

Then he felt a rush of vertigo, and found himself deposited somewhere deep in the woods. He wobbled with the unexpected change—I am not sick!—and quickly found his balance.

He spared a quick moment to hope that his sudden absence hadn't caused Lisa any problems. His baby sister was quick to adapt, almost as quick as he was, but the bike's operator going missing while the bike was speeding down the highway might be a bit much to handle.

But there was no time to do more than hope. His adversary was standing only a few feet away, staring at him. "Good to see you," Leonard said, removing his helmet and tossing it aside, "Barry."

The Flash removed his cowl to reveal what, even in the darkness, was clearly an extraordinarily young man. Older, obviously, than the last time Leonard had seen him visiting Henry, but far younger than he had anticipated for the hero.

"We have to talk," Barry said. "I know Cisco told you who I am."

"Can't really blame the kid for giving you up," Leonard said. He removed his night shades to see better, now that he didn't have the truck's taillights shining in his face. "You or his brother? Come on, I put him in a tight spot! Same kind I got you in right now. Can't really stop me now that I know who you are."

"I could speed you to my own private prison," Barry replied, "where you'll never see the light of day."

"You could," Leonard admitted, "but then I won't be around to stop my own private uplink that will broadcast your identity to the world! So! The million-dollar question: what to do with me now, Barry Allen?"

"I won't let you keep stealing whatever you want, whenever you feel like it. It needs to end."

"Can't do that. It's what I do."

"Then find a new line of work!" Barry snapped.

Leonard shrugged. "Don't want to."

"Why is that?"

"The same reason you keep running after guys like me," Leonard replied. "The adrenaline, the thrill of the chase."

Barry shook his head.

"I love this game, and I'm very good at it!"

All you'll ever be good at, his father's voice said from some distant memory. Leonard shivered; his father had disparaged him time and again while growing up, sabotaged his every effort to learn anything worthwhile besides stealing. But he was quite sure they'd never had that argument.

"Then go play it somewhere else. Leave Central City."

"Can't do that, either. I love it here." He sniffed, taking in the surrounding air, and waved theatrically. "This city is my home."

Home? his father's voice scoffed. People like us don't have homes. All you'll ever have is some shithole until you've robbed everyone blind, then you'll just have to find another shithole to hide in.

Leonard gritted his teeth. Where the hell were these "memories" coming from? These arguments with his dad... they weren't real. They were the same kind of thing that had gotten him in trouble fifteen years ago.

"You've seen what I can do," Barry said. He stepped forward, completely oblivious to Leonard's internal struggle. "You know that I can stop you. You want to keep pushing your luck? Go for it. But from here on out, no one else dies; if you're as good as you say you are, you don't have to kill anyone to get what you want."

If you're as good as you say you are... his father's voice sneered.

Why the fuck wouldn't that voice shut up?

"That's true," Leonard admitted. He wasn't entirely sure what he was replying to... Barry's challenge, or his father's scorn.

Barry, he told himself. He definitely wanted to be replying to Barry.

"And if you, or anyone in your Rogues Gallery goes near any of my friends or family again... I don't care who you tell my identity to. I'm putting you away."

Leonard decided Barry wasn't bluffing. "I guess your secret's safe... Flash. For now."

He took a good long look, memorizing Barry's every feature, before the kid pulled his cowl back up. The kid was familiar... and not just because he was Henry's son. Had they met before, besides those prison visits... or was that some other memory that had never happened?

"Oh... I don't suppose you'd give me a ride back to town..." Leonard said. "Would you?"

The Flash merely grinned at his audacity and sped off, leaving Leonard all alone in the woods.

"The Rogues," Leonard said. "Cute." He smiled. "Okay, Flash, where did you leave me?" He walked towards what appeared to be a sign on the other side of the clearing.

The sign was old and faded, and even with the moonlight it was too dark out to read it properly. He pulled out his phone and used the screen to get some extra light. "Okay, then..." He dialed a familiar number.

"Lenny? Lenny, what happened?" Lisa's voice sounded shaken.

"Are you and Mick all right?" Leonard asked. "Are either of you hurt?"

"I... you just disappeared at eighty miles an hour. I'm a little shaken up. Nothing hurt but my pride, though." She snickered. "I think Mick's 'pride' hurts a bit more. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Leonard replied. "The Flash and I just had a little chat about our working relationship, is all." He glanced back at the sign. "Think either of you are fit to pick me up? It'll be a long walk back to town on my own."

"Okay, where are you?"

Leonard told her the name he'd seen on the sign.

Lisa whistled. "Damn, that's got to be about a hundred miles away. Okay, just... just hang tight. We should get there, um..." The silence stretched on for at least a full minute. "Ugh, whenever we get there. The bikes are in worse shape than we are."

With that, this fic is completed. But the story is far from over. I'm still working on:
The prequel fic What Could Have Been, which begins in early 2000. This one explores the part of the timeline in which Len actually worked for Tess Morgan and Harrison Wells... and how thoroughly the Reverse Flash screwed things up when he killed the pair of them.
The sequel fic Enemy of My Enemy, which picks up right where Flash Sideways leaves off and and extends into Rogue Air. Here the Reverse Flash discovers that Len remembers some things he shouldn't.
And an as-yet-unnamed sequel fic takes place in December 2015 at the same time as Team Flash and Team Arrow's fight against Vandal Savage.
And assorted other fics that include the Flash Sideways premise as part of my personal headcanon.

Linked fics:
Those memories Len keeps trying to shake off occurred during What Could Have Been.