Jack had worked with Mardon a few times before, all on small-time robberies of pedestrians and convenience stores. Later, the Mardon brothers got the idea to rob a bank, and Jack no longer dared to work with them. Damn idiots, it was enough to just get by however they could, yet they had to rob a bank. In the end, Jack had been right—the Mardon brothers were said to be dead.
He had not expected Clyde Mardon to still be alive, and to have lost an arm.
"Mardon, what are you doing here? I don't want to rob banks with you."
A strange glint flashed through Jack's eyes as he looked at Mardon with hostility. Then he became listless again, yawned lazily, curled up, and twitched his way over to the bed before lying down.
At that moment, he wondered whether reporting Mardon to that stinking cop might get him a little "food."
Then he recalled Mardon's ruthlessness and decided his life was more important. He shuddered twice on the bed and stopped entertaining other thoughts. All he wanted now was to sleep, get through the night, then rob pedestrians for some money to buy "food."
"Jack, you're becoming more and more pathetic."
Mardon looked at Jack with contempt. If he could find anyone else to use, he would not have needed to seek out a junkie who did nothing but use drugs and did not even dare rob a bank.
"Okay, Mardon, you're really something. A one-armed man like you has much more promise than I do."
Jack curled up on the bed without even opening his eyes, speaking vaguely.
The mention of his missing hand struck a nerve in Mardon. He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh without him noticing, and a hateful expression appeared on his face.
His bandaged stump stabbed at his anger. Mardon's pupils brimmed with hateful fury, and the intensity of it made red blood seep from his severed arm.
Mardon picked up the black travel bag at his feet with his right hand and hurled it hard at Jack on the bed.
Jack was struck so hard that his head spun, igniting his anger. He climbed up and cursed, "Fuck you, what are you—"
The green dollar bills spilling from the travel bag stopped his rage. There was at least several hundred thousand dollars inside, more money than he had ever seen in his life. Dazed, he hugged the cash as his eyes gradually lit up.
Mardon's face twisted viciously as he said, "Follow my orders, and you can have anything. Otherwise, you die."
Jack's heart jumped, and he asked fearfully, "What do you want?"
Mardon darkened his face and took a phone from his trench coat pocket with his right hand. He opened it, displayed a photograph, showed it to Jack, and said, "Kidnap this cop."
Jack leaned close to look at the phone and exclaimed, "It's him."
Mardon raised an eyebrow and asked doubtfully, "You know him?"
Jack nodded, clutching the money as he twitched. "One night a few days ago, he found me..."
He looked at Mardon hesitantly, holding the money tightly against his chest. "He found me and told me to notify him if I had any news about you, and that I would get a generous reward."
Mardon laughed in extreme rage. "Stinking cop, you're asking to die!"
"Mardon, listen, I'm not helping you kill a cop. I'm not crazy. I'm doing fine. There's no need for me to get myself killed."
Jack spoke in a trembling voice. Mardon's condition frightened him.
Mardon said disdainfully, "Doing fine? Looking like that? You only need to lure that cop out and help me buy lightning protection equipment. The rest of the money will let you live well."
Jack's eyes lit up as he said excitedly, "You mean it?"
If it was true, he would not need to do much himself. He only had to make a call saying he had news about Mardon and notify the police. Then he could leave, and whatever Mardon did would have nothing to do with him. The lightning protection equipment would be easy too; finding someone to install it would not cost tens of thousands of dollars. There was nearly five hundred thousand dollars here, enough for him to squander until he died.
Greed and addiction completely occupied his mind. He believed Mardon's words.
Mardon did not care about this little money at all. With an ability like his, he could get this much money whenever he wanted. Rob a few more banks and no one could stop him. He could even rule the entire city, and no one could stop him—except that person who used lightning, the person who would interfere with him, the one who terrified him, made him flee, and made his heart tremble. In this world, only he needed to become a god. Everyone else could die!
He had no way to find Lin Li, but he knew the fast-running man in red cared deeply about this cop, and the lightning user cared deeply about Barry. At the time, he had even blocked two of Mardon's attacks for Barry. Thus, the equation cop = man in red = lightning user took shape in his mind.
He easily came up with a plan to lure the snake from its hole, so he found Jack. It was inconvenient for him to show himself, as the police had already issued a warrant for his arrest. He needed Jack to buy the lightning-attracting equipment, arrange everything, and kill the people standing in his way.
The villain was laying out his trap.
On the side of justice led by The Flash, Cisco was still directing Barry around the city to put out fires, while Caitlin monitored Barry's physical condition from the side. Even she did not quite understand how she had so naturally become part of Barry and Cisco's group.
Several more days passed.
Since Mardon became wanted, Joe had put out several baits, and two people had bitten. One was a farm worker who had gone mad for money. Somehow, he found a piece of clothing Mardon had not worn in a long time and insisted Mardon had stayed with him a few days ago and left it behind. Joe and Lin Li rushed over, claiming they had startled Mardon and caused him to flee, then demanded an information fee from Joe. After investigation, it was proven false. Lin Li beat the farm worker into a pig-headed mess.
The second was Mardon's former girlfriend, who said she thought she had seen Mardon. Of course, no clues were ultimately found to prove her claim, but unlike the first one, Mardon's former girlfriend did not demand any information fee, allowing her shrieking appearance to remain intact.
At the Central City Police Department, Joe was sitting in front of his computer writing a report when his phone rang. He glanced at it. It was an unfamiliar number.
"Detective West, this is Jack. I know where Mardon is. You need to come over."
Joe vaguely recalled Jack: a junkie with a messy beard, sagging skin, and dark circles under his eyes.
After two fruitless operations, he did not immediately believe Jack. Instead, he threatened, "Jack, I know you. Several people have already tried to squeeze information fees out of me. If this isn't accurate, Jack, you'll be spending some time in rehab."
After hanging up, Joe did not immediately call Lin Li over this time. The location was in a forest south of the city. He planned to investigate it first, confirm it, and then call Lin Li to deal with Mardon. Or perhaps he would not need Lin Li at all. After all, flesh and blood could not withstand bullets.
As time passed, Mardon's powers gradually faded from Joe's mind.
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