"No! Please, Paco. Cisco!" Hart immediately moved forward so he could knock on the window again, the desperation he'd been trying to hide showing through the cracks. "I need your help, please. Please, I'll do anything!"
Paco stayed behind the curtain for a while before finally, he pulled back the thing he was hiding behind and looked right at Hart. Fuck. He pushed the window open and glared at him. "I told you, Rathaway, I didn't see nothing happening! I was too high up, I wasn't close enough. I just wanted some cash and I don't even want that now."
"... Rathaway?"
Barry turned his head to look at Hartley and Paco winced. "Look, stay cool, Bear. Come inside and we'll talk. All of us."
"I told you, I will help you. Any way I can. I'm sorry, I'm not responsible for the investigations!" But Hartley didn't want to deny responsibility, if there was any way that he could be blamed for this. "I understand that you must hate me. I just needed to find Paco."
He looked at Barry, hoping that his apology could do anything good at this point.
Barry didn't seem to happy, staring down Hart from where he was standing, his fists balled up as he resisted the urge to shove Hart off this balcony right now. "You used me." That's why he didn't tell him. He knew it, his word was dirt. No one was ever honest any more. "Give me my money, I want to go."
Hart lowered his head as he looked for his wallet. "I didn't know that my last name would matter. I just needed to find Paco and then I knew you wouldn't show me. I planned on telling you now, either way." He got out the remaining money he had, even if it amounted to fifty instead of just twenty-five. He swallowed, wishing there was anything he could do to alleviate the guilt. "I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do, please say so."
Barry took the money and shoved passed Hartley, going to the ladder and leaving without a word. Paco exhaled sharply. Well, he was going to have to find Barry and make him feel better tomorrow, that was just what he needed. "Thanks. Fuck up my friendship, why don't you? He's gonna think I was in on this or something." Rolling his eyes, he opened the window wide. "You may as well come in."
"I didn't mean for that to happen. He didn't tell me about it until we were almost here and I was told not to use my full name." Hart did climb inside, feeling thoroughly awkward and guilty now. He looked at Cisco, no, Paco, and tried not to avoid his eyes. He had to face his fears. "I need to know if what happened was planned or really just a random mugging. I... It's important. Lives could still be at stake."
"Why should I know? Or care? Like I said, I saw nothing." Paco argued as he moved further into the place. It was an abandoned apartment he and Dante were squatting in, the whole block had to be shut down when there was a gas leaker that blew up the left side of the building. It wasn't so bad, though the place was a little crispy and lacked any real human touches. All there was in this place was two mattresses with some sheets and a half eaten pizza still in it's box. "It was probably random. It happens all the time here and it weren't no one like Barry's dad."
"You said yourself that it was strange. That was the first thing you said to me, that it was strange that this happened. That it shouldn't have." Hart wasn't going to give up easily. He watched Paco, wishing that he could read his mind. "Why don't you want to tell me now? You were happy to before. What is stopping you?" It didn't really make any sense. "I told you, I'd pay."
"Strange but not impossible. Look, they gave their shit over to him but he had an itchy trigger finger. Some dudes do. I thought it was strange and then I talked to some people about it and apparently it isn't." It was a lie but what else was he supposed to say? He didn't want to get messed up this. Dante had specifically told him to keep his nose out of it. The Rathaways were a big name and dealing with this was a bad idea. It would cause trouble.
Odds are, it was an assassination or something and if they knew he was a witness, he was so dead. "I don't want your money. I want to live. Now knock it off and give up."
"So it wasn't just random." Hartley had that much deductive prowess, at least. It was obvious, really. He nodded and put his wallet away, approaching the window. "I am sorry for the inconvenience and I am really sorry that I upset your friend. Thank you for your kindness and you help, Cisco. Paco. I won't forget it, if there's ever anything I can do for you. I can make my own investigations now."
"Aww, come on. No. Let it die, kid. Or you will die." Great, now he was trying to help him. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just let Hartley leave and be done with it. "Look, Rathaway, your parents were killed by a bad man and that man was probably hired by a worse person and that person, hell, they could have been hired by someone even worse. Do yourself a favour and accept it's beyond you. Let it go."
He reached out and grabbed the rich boy's arm, yanking him back. "I'm pretty sure this thing is beyond you. I mean why specifically set up Barry's parents as well. There's more to this. It's dangerous."
"I need to know who did this why, for exactly that reason. You said it yourself. There's something bigger behind it. I'm the head of the Rathaway Foundation now. I need to know what is going on and I need to claim responsibility." Hart looked at Paco's hand, then up at him. "I understand why you don't want to be involved. I'll try to find out through other means. This is important. I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself."
"No, you really can't. You had to pay Barry fifty bucks to get you here and that kid? He doesn't like you. So I'm willing to bet on the way back, he gave your exact location to the other kids. They're going to jump you before you even reach the ground. Not that you have anything left to steal but it looks like you do, flashing that kind of money around." Paco pulled away from him and as he did, he held up Hartley's watch with one hand and his wallet with the other. "You're an easy target and an easy fool. You can't take care of yourself at all. You're going to get your ass kicked. A lot. If you can't handle street kids, you can't handle this."
"I can run fast. Also, I can take a beating, if I have to." He hadn't exactly been sheltered and safe all his life, although he could understand why Paco assumed differently. "I don't want to get you into trouble, you are right. I was selfish to ask."
"You can take a beating. Great. Good plan, I'm sure your hired help will love you coming home like that." Rolling his eyes, Paco grabbed his beanie from the side and pulled it on, just to keep his ears warm and then gestured to the window. "Come on, rich boy, I'm walking you home."
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"... Rathaway?"
Barry turned his head to look at Hartley and Paco winced. "Look, stay cool, Bear. Come inside and we'll talk. All of us."
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He looked at Barry, hoping that his apology could do anything good at this point.
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Barry didn't seem to happy, staring down Hart from where he was standing, his fists balled up as he resisted the urge to shove Hart off this balcony right now. "You used me." That's why he didn't tell him. He knew it, his word was dirt. No one was ever honest any more. "Give me my money, I want to go."
"Come on, Barry, stick around. I got food."
"Don't want to. Give me my money. Now."
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Odds are, it was an assassination or something and if they knew he was a witness, he was so dead. "I don't want your money. I want to live. Now knock it off and give up."
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He reached out and grabbed the rich boy's arm, yanking him back. "I'm pretty sure this thing is beyond you. I mean why specifically set up Barry's parents as well. There's more to this. It's dangerous."
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