Chapter 10 – The List
An: I do not own Arrow.
S-1
Monday morning arrived far quicker than Felicity expected. Her alarm blared with its usual annoying screech and she threw it against the wall for reminding her that it was time to get up and face the music. Today was her first day as Oliver's Science Advisor. She was expecting it to be the worst day of her life. MQI had a very competitive environment. Malcolm Merlyn demanded excellence and if excellence wasn't shown, you were fired. Promotions were hard to come by when everyone in the organisation was talented. She had to write twenty successful programmes to earn her office in the IT department not to mention successfully complete all of the other standard work an IT employee did.
She had worked very hard to earn her seniority within the IT department. Now she was being 'promoted' to a position that never existed before, Science Advisor She would be working with a Vice-President that knew nothing about the work that went on in that building. Her co-workers were going to have a field day with her 'promotion' to a non-post. Really what would she be doing? Would she be teaching college level science to a college drop out? Maybe she might even have to start with basic high school science. It didn't help that said Vice-President had a reputation of enjoying female company. Everyone was going to think she was sleeping with him!
She could have said no to Oliver but for some strange reason she trusted him. Every time he came to her for help, he didn't seem like that man in the tabloids. He was very different. He seemed to be very dedicated to helping The Old Glades and she felt honoured to have input into Verdant. If felt wrong to decline his offer. He promised her that if she didn't like the position she could return to her old job in a month and she believed him. She put on her best suit for her first day on the executive floor. With one final look in the mirror, she set out to start her day.
Felicity arrived at the MQI building at her usual time and spent the obligatory five minutes looking for a parking spot. The basement parking was full, again, and she ended up in MQI's parking facility one block away. She refused to come to work an hour early just to get a spot in the basement. Her sleep was much more important to her. On her way from the parking facility she stopped in the coffee shop across from MQI and picked up her favourite brew. She was going to need it to get through the day.
She walked into the lobby and tried to clear security but her badge was no longer working. HR had apparently revoked her old badge since she would be staring in a new position. She was informed that a HR clerk needed to be called down to escort her up to the HR department. Felicity rolled her eyes at the security measure. She was forced to wait in the lobby, like other brand new employees, for five minutes before someone finally came to get her. Sometimes she hated the rigid policies at MQI.
Once she finally got into the HR department she was given a pen, the new contract and shown the dotted line. Felicity insisted she needed to read the contract first and asked for ten minutes alone to review it. While she trusted Oliver, she didn't trust the other people that would have been involved in the issuing of her new contract. She needed to ensure she wasn't selling her soul to the devil. The first thing she noticed was the pay was three times her old salary. That was definitely a plus. As Oliver promised he had written in an option for her to return to her old post after a month. The perks he mentioned were pension (which she was already part of), inclusion in the executive health plan (she would be bumped up from general employee), access to the MQI baseball box at the Star City Rockets stadium (not that she would ever be using that, baseball really wasn't her thing), her own parking space in the basement (that was the best perk), company car (she was on the fence about the car since she loved her red mini), company phone and laptop, (she was neither here nor there about those things) and free use of the MQI gym (again another thing she probably wouldn't use).
Surprisingly the scope of work for her position was well defined. She would be responsible for receiving all technical reports that were submitted to the Vice-President and communicating his feedback to the departments. She was authorised to request any information required for the proper interpretation of the reports. Each report was to be submitted to the Vice-President with a detailed analysis of the project that she conducted. She was required to attend all of the meetings that the Vice-President attended. It was also clearly stated that she only needed to follow the Vice-Presidents instructions as it related to projects at MQI. Any instructions not pertaining directly to MQI projects, she would not have to adhere to. Whoever wrote the contract probably thought he was using her for sex, fat chance. She wasn't prostituting herself for any job.
After reading and internalising the contract, she decided it was safe to sign on the dotted line. She was given a new ID card with a new picture they made her take even though she told them she could just transfer her old picture onto the new card. She immediately missed the old one. The new picture was much worse than the previous one. Her hair looked messy, and it looked like she was glaring at the camera, which in all honestly she probably was.
Oliver had told her that she would be in the office next to his but he hadn't told her that his office had moved. There was a major reshuffle of the managers on the executive floor. Besides the Innovations Manager being moved down to the floor his staff occupied to make way for her, the R&D Director's office was moved from next to Walter to the other side of the floor and Oliver was moved next to Walter. She was sandwiched in between Oliver and the in-house legal consul.
Her office, while not as large as Oliver's, was still bigger than the one in the IT department. What she didn't expect were the tall piles of folders on her desk. There was no room for her to put anything on her desk, in fact when she sat in her chair she couldn't even see her computer screen because a pile was blocking her.
"Felicity, you're finally here," she heard Oliver say. She had to stand up to see him leaning against the doorframe with that devil may care attitude.
"Remember I had to report to HR first?" Felicity said using her hands to point downwards to where the HR department would be located in the building.
"Yeah but I thought it would take two minutes max to sign your contract and come up," he responded. He kicked away from the wall and came to stand on the other side of her desk.
Felicity's mouth fell open, "You didn't think I would want to actually read the contract?"
"You signed the one before. I didn't think you would have a problem with this one," he admitted with a shrug. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at the folders on her desk.
"I still had to read it to make sure. This one did have many extra perks," she said with a smile.
He looked up at her with a sparkle in his eye, "I know."
His eyes were such an intense colour of blue. She rather liked it. He broke her stare to look down at the folders.
"This first thing I need you to do is read these reports and summarise the important facts in English," Oliver stated.
Felicity cracked a smile, "You sure you don't want it in Klingon or dwarvish?" she joked.
Oliver stared at her unamused and she suddenly felt like she had overstepped the boss/employee relationship. She started to panic. She didn't want to get fired on her first day! She looked down at the folders and tried to decide where to start. She figured she would need use of her computer at some point during the day so she should probably start with the stack that blocked her view of the computer screen.
"I'll just start with this one," she said looking back up to find that Oliver was gone. She turned to her right and could see through the glass wall that separated them that he was seated in his office already.
"Wow," she said to herself. "How'd he move so fast?"
S-2
Adam Hunt
James Holder
Justine Claybourne
Marcus Redman
Harold Backman
Guillermo Barrera
Nelson Ravich
Jason Brodeur
Ted Daniels
Frank Bertinelli
Scott Morgan
Warren Patel
John Nickel
Cyrus Vanch
Anthony Venza
Edward Rasmus
Isabel Rochev
Hannibal Bates
Oliver looked over the list of names he compiled from 's video sessions with his patients. There was no order to the priority of his list. They were written down as he scanned each video. These were the criminals that used their money to stay out of jail. Only someone like him could make them pay. The victims of these people deserved justice and he was determined to be the one to give it to them.
The first name on the list was Adam Hunt. He was the CEO of Hunt Multinational. He had defrauded a local company out of millions and caused the collapse of that company. Over 500 people lost their jobs because of his greed. His lawyers made him untouchable. An organisation had been created to try to help the 500 that lost their jobs and Oliver was determined to get the money that Adam Hunt stole and donate it to the organisation.
Hunt lived on the top floor of a building in Pacific Heights, an upper class neighbourhood on the edge of town. Oliver noted that the camera system was not as extensive in that neighbourhood as it was in the core of the city. The rich people probably didn't want to be followed around the same way the people of The Old Glades didn't. The rich had the money to persuade the powers at be not to place too many cameras in their area. The poor people of The Old Glades had to violently remove the cameras until the city stop setting them up. It highlighted how the two classes solved their problems.
Oliver had a route plotted from the mansion to Pacific Heights and back. He would infiltrate the building through the back door and then enter the elevator shaft. He would climb up to the top floor and then manually open the elevator door. The trick was doing that while no guards where nearby. Once he was inside he would take out the security and force Hunt to make the transfer. He had the bank information written on a piece of paper that he could tuck into his glove.
The sound of clicking heels in the corridor in front of his office drew his attention away from his infiltration plan. That was the tenth group of secretaries that had come up to the Executive floor to gawk at Felicity. The increased traffic flow was annoying him. He looked across into Felicity's office and she seemed to be unaware of the group that was passing in front of her office staring at her as if she was a fish in a bowl. Her head was buried in a report just like the time before and the time before that when he looked across. She had finished one full stack of reports already and had made significant progress on a second stack. He had a series of e-mails in his box with summaries for several projects. He had read one so far and he was actually pleased with the way she explained it to him.
The group of secretaries circled around and headed back to the elevator. One had her phone in her hand and was either taking photos or video of Felicity in her new office. Something snapped inside of him. He could no longer sit there and watch people treat her so disrespectfully. He stood and strode towards his door and then out into the corridor. He caught up to the group by the elevator.
"Ladies," he said with a charming smile.
"Mr. Queen," they said surprised before they decided to flutter their eyes and look sultry.
"I don't believe you work on this floor," he commented casually shoving his hands into his pockets lest he strangle one of them.
"No we're from …"
He cut them off before they could finish, "The next set of people I see come up here to gawk at Felicity will be fired because they obviously have no work to do. Spread the word and if I see more people, you will be fired too for not following a direct instruction. Have I made myself clear?"
They swallowed nervously, "Yes sir."
"Have a nice day," he said with a large smile.
He turned away and walked straight to Felicity's office.
"I'm fairly sure lunch came and went and you didn't eat," he said casually.
"Oh it's that late!" she exclaimed looking up from the report.
"You know you don't have to finish all these reports today?" his hands pointing to the mass of reports on her desk.
"I know, they can't all finish today. I have several queries in about some of the reports," she admitted.
"Ah so even you don't understand them!" he exclaimed.
She gave him a small smile, "Some are too technical. They shouldn't be coming up here. You're not an expert in these fields. I don't know how they would expect you to be able to understand all the principals involved, not to mention the jargon. I've had to go through MQI's e-library and read several sections of engineering books to understand what they're saying."
"Do you like Big Belly Burger?" he asked.
"I love Big Belly Burger," she replied. "Why?"
"Great let's go," he said using his arm to signal that she should follow him.
She stayed still and chewed on her bottom lip, "Uh, I probably shouldn't be seen going to lunch with the boss on my first day of work," her eyes darted to the empty corridor behind him before returning to stare at him.
Oliver realised she had noticed the groups but she had chosen to steadfastly ignore them and focus on her work. His respect for her grew.
"I'll get Diggle to collect our orders and we'll eat here. Think of it as an additional perk of being my Science Advisor," he suggested smugly.
"Ok, I'll take one Big Belly Buster with fries and a chocolate milkshake," she said reaching into her purse to retrieve the funds.
"No it's your first day of work. My treat," Oliver left her office before she could argue with him about it but her voice still floated out her open door saying that she could more than afford to pay for her burger.
He moved quickly to the security post Diggle set up on the floor to keep an eye on him.
"I need you to make a run to Big Belly Burger," Oliver said pulling out his wallet.
Diggle stared blankly at him. "I am your bodyguard not your personal food delivery servant."
"So that's a no?" Oliver asked and Diggle continued to stare at him blankly.
Oliver shrugged, "Then I guess we are both going to Big Belly Burger."
He walked away towards the elevator and Diggle followed behind him. Diggle brought the car around and they headed off to Big Belly Burger. Two minutes into the drive Oliver realised they were going to the one in the entertainment district.
"Isn't the one in The Old Glades closer?" Oliver asked.
"I have strict orders to keep you out of The Old Glades," Diggle revealed his eyes glancing briefly into the rear view mirror to look at him.
"My community centre is located in The Old Glades," Oliver protested.
"That is the only place in The Old Glades we're allowed to go," Diggle revealed in an even tone.
"I can't visit Sara either?" Oliver asked perturbed.
"I don't know who Sara is," Diggle admitted glancing at him through the rear view mirror again.
"I'll have to talk to Malcolm about this," Oliver stated unhappy.
"Mrs. Queen is the one who issued these instructions," Diggle informed him.
"I talk to my mother then,"Oliver said folding his hands in front of his chest and staring out the window sullenly. Events seemed to be conspiring to put him in a foul mood that day.
S-3
Tommy stood alone under the shade of a huge Oak tree. He was on an incline that gave him a good view of the funeral happening 500 feet away from him. He could see the casket being lowered into the grave. The people gathered around the grave were crying, the mother was inconsolable holding on to her other daughter as if her life depended on it. It was Tommy's fault that the woman's eldest daughter was being lowered into the cold earth. It was his reckless decision that caused this.
Her name was Kristen Gerber, 21, college student at Star City University studying Marketing. Her story had dominated the news headlines for the last few days since she passed away in the ICU of Star City General Hospital, the victim of an assassination attempt on Malcolm Merlyn the night of his children's welcome back party. She was the middle child of a poor couple from the Glades. She earned herself a scholarship and worked two jobs to stay in college. She was in her last year. Ironically the news said she had summer interned at MQI twice and had a guaranteed job waiting for her when she graduated. His throwing star ended all of that.
The news interviewed her friends and family. Everyone described her as a very loving person. She and several of her friends were excited to be attending his party. Her boyfriend was on the VIP list and she was looking forward to meeting Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. A sick feeling settled deep in the pit of his stomach. No one should look forward to meeting him. He was not worth it. He didn't bring anything good into anyone's life. He only brought heartache and pain. At least with Helena, she was already jaded and tainted and he couldn't possibly make things worse for her.
The last funeral he had been to was Mariko's. Tommy clenched his fist as he thought about her. She would be very disappointed in him. He had killed a civilian, an innocent that still had plenty things to contribute to society. The night before he pulled out the locked chest that he had at the back of his closet and removed his list. He added her name to the death side of the list. The weight of her death was far greater than any of the other people he had murdered.
As the crowd started to disperse he glanced down at his watch, he had been gone 30 minutes. He had another 10 minutes before Drakon would be checking his office for him. He needed to get back to work before his babysitter realised that he had been taking advantage of the blind spots in MQI's building security to leave during the day.
He walked to the main road and hollered a cab, his phone started to ring and the caller ID revealed an unknown caller. He wearily answered the phone.
"Hello," he said cautiously, his eyes glancing around to see if anyone was watching him as he entered the cab.
"I'm sorry Tommy," Lyla said on the other end of the call, "I know you didn't mean to hurt her."
He spotted Lyla a little further down the road getting into a black SUV. She was dressed in black, phone to her ear, and she must have been watching the funeral like him.
"Isn't the road to hell paved with good intentions?" Tommy quipped. He quickly told the cab driver where to drop him off.
Lyla sighed heavily, "The important thing is that you learn from this experience. There is a reason the term collateral damage exists. Innocents dying as a result of missions is not something new."
"No matter what you say Lyla, I know this is unacceptable. I should have never taken the shot with so many people around. I forgot what Mariko and Tatsu taught me. You must always assess your opponent's skills. I assumed Malcolm had none and I was wrong. He blocked the star and an innocent girl is dead because I didn't bother to understand my opponent. I will not make that mistake again," his tone was harsh but the volume of his voice was low so that the cab driver couldn't eavesdrop.
"I didn't think you would. Your one month suspension is nearly up. Are you ready to resume your mission?" she asked.
"Yes," Tommy said determined.
"Inform Oliver, I want to meet with both of you this weekend. We need to go over the status report, Waller has questions."
Tommy rolled his eyes, when did Waller not have questions. "Speaking of Oliver," Tommy said lightly, a complete shift from the tone he had before, "I met your Johnny."
"Tommy you continue that train of thought and Oliver will be cleaning up your brain matter from the floor of our next meeting spot," Lyla threatened.
Tommy ignored her, "He's quite tall and muscly. Exactly the kind of guy that would be able to handle a woman like you."
"A woman like me? What is that supposed to mean Thomas King Merlyn?" Lyla's angry voice asked.
"Don't worry. I'll find out if he's seeing anyone for you," Tommy then hung up the phone before Lyla could respond. He loved pissing her off.
The cab arrived at the parking entrance for MQI headquarters and Tommy slipped under the barrier and headed to the elevators. It was a quick ride up and after checking that the floor was clear he walked briskly to his office. Just as he took a set behind his desk Drakon's head popped into his office to check on him.
"Still here dude," Tommy said nonchalantly as he pretended to work on a report.
The door closed and Tommy leaned back on his chair with a smile on his face. Another successful evasion of his bodyguard. It was such a fun game.
S-4
Tommy was reviewing financial projections for the estimated benefit MQI would receive by absorbing a manufacturing facility in China. This project had been started the previous year and his father had made several trips to China to negotiate with the owners. The negotiations had stalled as the owners were quoting a price that was more than the facility was worth. The financial gurus at the company did some fancy calculations to show that based on the purchase price and operational costs, MQI would not start to turn a profit on the deal until 15 years later. That was completely unacceptable and Malcolm tasked Tommy with the responsibility of working with the gurus to create an offer that was more beneficial to MQI.
The intercom on his phone buzzed and his assistant announced, "Mr. Merlyn you have a visitor."
Tommy picked up the phone, "Really?" A visitor meant a break and he could really do with a break. All of the figures on the page were beginning to blur together and he couldn't tell ten billion from ten dollars. "Send the person in right away." He knew for sure it wasn't his father because his father never went through his secretary. Malcolm would knock directly on the door and then enter.
The door to his office opened and his secretary entered followed by Moira. Tommy stood from his desk and gave his step mother an appropriate greeting. "What a nice surprise," Tommy crooned, "I wasn't expecting the Mayor of Star City to visit me today."
Moira gave him a polite smile, "I'm not here in that capacity," she turned to look at his assistant and Tommy dismissed her right away.
Moira took a seat in front of his desk, her back ramrod straight, her hands folded daintily in her lap. She looked like she could be having tea with the Queen. Tommy returned to his seat while she looked around his office paying particular attention to the portrait on the wall of Japanese Sakura tree before she looked directly at him.
"How are you Tommy?" she asked in that neutral searching tone of hers.
"I'm good," Tommy responded with a large smile.
"Is everything going well at your new place?" she inquired.
"Everything is good," he reassured her rocking back into his chair. He loved to rock back in his chair. It was far more comfortable.
Moira watched him critically, "I assume that you have dinner under control for tonight?"
"Dinner?" he questioned sitting up suddenly. Did he forget something? Kristen's death had dominated his thoughts over the last few days.
"You invited us to dinner at exactly 7:13pm tonight," she reminded him with a frown.
"Shit, I forgot!" he exclaimed. He hadn't even been eating dinner when he went home.
Moira let out a disappointed sigh and Tommy felt horrible that he forgot. "Give me your keys. Raisa and I will handle the preparations for tonight," she instructed.
Giving his keys to Moira wasn't an idea that exactly appealed to him. "I think I have to take a rain check on dinner. Perhaps next week instead?"
"Nonsense, we're very much looking forward to dinner at your place tonight," Moira insisted much to Tommy's displeasure.
"Moira, I don't think you understand, while I consider my apartment fully furnished you might find it a bit bare," Tommy explained hesitantly.
"Bare?" she questioned with a slight tilt of her head.
"I didn't invest in a dining room table for dinner. I wasn't expecting to be hosting any large dinners but then I opened my big mouth and invited you to come to dinner and I forgot to get a table in time for today," he grudgingly admitted to his stepmother.
Moira brushed aside his concerns, "Raisa and I have it under control. Keys please."
Realising that he was fighting a losing battle Tommy chose to surrender. He stood and pulled his loft keys from his pockets. The area of his loft where he kept his sensitive possessions was securely locked and there was no way Moira would get in if she decided to casually poke around.
"Raisa will be there to let you in when you get home. I hope we'll be able to meet Ms. Bertinelli tonight," Moira commented casually as she took the keys from him.
"Nope, not happening. I don't want her anywhere near my father," Tommy replied seriously.
Moira sighed again, "I think you should pay a visit to your old house. You might find it quite illuminating where your father is concerned. I'll see you tonight at 7:13pm."
After she left his office, Tommy found it difficult to focus on the financials. He remembered the first time he saw a financial report, he was reading the numbers without looking at the column headings. He thought QC spent $150 on salaries until Robert pointed out to him that the column was in millions and the figure was really $150 million. In that short time on the boat he had gained quite a bit of insight into how billion-dollar corporations were run.
Even though boarding the Gambit all those years ago led to several traumatic circumstances for him and Oliver, he couldn't imagine not having experienced it. What would his life be like if he didn't get on the Gambit? Would he have straightened out? Maybe. His father was strict with Thea. Malcolm might have eventually gotten upset with him and kicked him out. He would have then had to live on the street and date the bag lady that lived in the cardboard box over from him. He would be one of those homeless men living in The Old Glades that his father despised. He could definitely picture his father despising him.
Perhaps it was for the best that he boarded the Gambit that day. He was currently in a position of power that he could use to help the people of The Old Glades and that bag lady girlfriend.
S-5
When Tommy arrived home, there as a brand new spanking 8 person dining table taking up room in his loft. His sofa set had been rearranged to the right side of the room so that the table was on the left, close to the kitchen. Moira did an excellent job choosing a set and placing it in his loft because it looked like it had always been there. Besides the actual table itself, nothing else had magically appeared in his loft, nothing had disappeared either. The company files he had strewn about the loft still seemed to be in the same position implying that Moira had not snooped.
Raisa was buzzing about the kitchen. Tommy moved over to the island and tried to pick an olive out of a quinoa salad and Raisa slapped his hand away.
"Mister Tommy no! This is your first dinner. Everything must be perfect," she insisted, her voice heavy with her Russian accent.
"It doesn't have to be," a grumpy Tommy responded. He really wanted that olive.
"Clean up those folders and magazines you have all over the place and then bath and change. Your father will be here at 7:13pm sharp, and everything will be perfect," Raisa said placing heavy emphasis on perfect.
"Can I at least get a little taste," Tommy asked reaching into the salad again. This time Raisa picked up a spatula and tapped him hard on the knuckles before proceeding to chase him out of the kitchen with her spatula.
Tommy reluctantly started making his loft look presentable. He carried the folders and magazines up to his bedroom where he dumped them on the reading table next to his armchair. He was fairly sure that he hadn't made his bed that morning nor did he have the enormous amount of pillows that now adorned his made bed. Moira probably couldn't help herself and just had to spruce up his bedroom. Helena would probably be furious to see the new additions to the bedroom she picked out. He pulled the extraneous pillows off the bed and tossed them in his wardrobe. He would figure out what to do with them later.
An hour later he returned to the kitchen and received a long list of instructions from Raisa. There were two dishes in the oven that she left there to keep warm. When the timer went off he needed to put on the oven mitts, open the oven door and put them at the positions she had pre-labelled on the island. Dinner would be buffet style with guests helping themselves from the dishes on the island. She had two bottles of wine chilling in the refrigerator and he was to serve the wine during dinner. She then kissed him goodbye on the cheek and hustled out of the loft.
As the clock struck 7:13pm there was a knock on his door. The dick was one time. Tommy opened the door to find Malcolm dressed impeccably in his suit with a bottle of wine in his hand. Thea pushed passed Malcolm and Tommy to barge into the loft.
"We've been standing outside for the last five minutes waiting for 7:13pm. I demand a drink and a tour," she said looking around the room.
"Thea," Malcolm reprimanded, "You're supposed to wait for an invitation to enter."
"We have already been invited for dinner. We're not vampires that we need the owner to tell us come in to cross the threshold," Thea protested.
Malcolm opened his mouth to remind Thea about manners and Tommy decided to save his sister from the speech, "Thea's always welcomed. She can enter any time she pleases."
His sister actually stuck her tongue out at Malcolm.
"Malcolm you're blocking the entrance," Oliver's frustrated voice said.
Malcolm gave Oliver a tight smile and stepped inside followed by Moira and then Oliver with a very expensive bottle of whiskey.
"House warming gift," Oliver explained as he handed the bottle to Tommy.
"Great," Tommy replied. "Always use for a great bottle of whiskey."
"My tour?" Thea asked impatiently tapping her foot on the hard wood floor.
Tommy looked between his sister and the others. If he remembered correctly he was supposed to offer them drinks first but Thea didn't look like she was willing to wait that long.
"I'll get everyone drinks while you show Thea around," Oliver offered.
"Thanks," Tommy said before focusing on Thea.
They walked around downstairs before he took her upstairs to the guest bedroom and then his bedroom.
"I like it," Thea admitted sitting on the edge of his bed. "I can definitely skip school and come here instead."
"Thea," Tommy warned. He was leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom watching her reactions closely.
"I'm joking. Malcolm would know if I did that. School should apparently be one of my priorities. I think he has the next 60 years of my life worked out," Thea mused.
"Thea is he forcing you to do things you don't want to do?" Tommy asked concerned.
"Besides forcing me to go to school? No," Thea responded collapsing back on the bed with her arms opened wide. She stared up at the white ceiling.
"I can't help you with that one. School is kind of important," Tommy admitted.
"Yeah so he keeps telling me. It would probably be better if he actually liked at least one of my friends. He doesn't like any of them. He keeps saying they're raised with different values. They'll encourage me in the wrong things. Megan overdosed last year and he banned me from going to her house. He would not even let me visit her in the hospital."
Tommy frowned, "Thea are you doing drugs?"
"What? No!" Thea exclaimed sitting up to look at him."I know better but you sound just like him. Nobody trusts me to do the right thing. It's like you all think that the moment a friend tells me to jump off a bridge, I'll actually do it!"
"I can't believe I'm siding with him but Oliver and I were known for convincing our friends to do some shady stuff. Many parents at school disliked us because of the trouble we got their kids into. He might have a point. Malcolm has seen how easily Oliver and I convinced our classmates to do crap."
"Whatever," Thea said with a roll of her eyes.
"Of the little I've seen of your friends, they did seem nice though," Tommy said trying to find some middle ground with Thea.
"They'll be happy to hear that. Their new goal in life is to date either you or Oliver," she revealed in a sardonic tone.
Tommy frowned, "That isn't a very loft goal."
"Maybe not, but at least you're spoken for. Say wasn't your girlfriend supposed to be here?" Thea asked looking around the bedroom as if she expected Helena to jump out from behind an object.
"I thought it best to see how the first dinner goes before we start adding significant others to the guest list," Tommy stated wisely.
"I doubt Malcolm would allow me to invite my boyfriend to dinner," Thea ruminated.
"You have a boyfriend?" Tommy enquired darkly.
"Of course, I'm Thea Queen-Merlyn. I can't be seen in school without having a boy toy on my arm. I do have a reputation to uphold!" a fiery Thea admitted.
"Thea, boys your age they are only interested in one thing," Tommy started.
Thea rolled her eyes again, "I'm not some naïve virgin Tommy."
Tommy spluttered, "What?"
Thea jumped off the bed and walked towards him patting him on the back as she squeezed passed him out of the bedroom, "Ollie probably has my glass of orange juice ready."
Tommy stood still in shock. From what he understood Malcolm had a security detail on Thea at all times. How on earth could she have a boyfriend much less have had sex? He needed to pay a visit to her high school to see exactly what her security detail was doing during the day.
S-6
Quentin Lance stared at the dead body in front of him. There were two puncture marks on the side of the neck and the coroner suspected the body was drained of blood. That was not something they regularly saw. In fact since he joined Tempest and they cleaned up half The Glades, crime had dramatically fallen. The only real crime was that in The Old Glades and the usual drunks in the entertainment district. The organised crime syndicates didn't drop bodies and mostly stayed out of his hair per the agreement that had been forged.
As a cop it did bother him to know they were working with criminals to achieve this peace but when he saw his neighbour's grandchildren riding their bikes peacefully up and down the street it was worth it. A recent national headline was about a four year old girl that was innocently caught in gunfire between two rival gangs while she played in her front yard. Star City didn't have gang violence anymore. His daughters were safe and his future grandchild was safe.
He looked back at the body on the ground. He would have to report this incident to Tempest immediately. His phone rang and Malcolm Merlyn's face illuminated his screen. Tempest seemed to have already been informed of the development and Quentin surveyed the scene quickly to see who might have relayed the news to Malcolm.
"Lance," Quentin answered with his usual rough greeting.
"Captain, I understand we have an unusual murder," came Malcolm's voice through the phone.
"Body found supposedly drained of blood. Coroner has to confirm with an official autopsy," Lance explained.
"I do not like this. Those other masked men are still unaccounted for and now we have a death under mysterious circumstances. The city isn't paying you to allow criminals to run around and murder people," Malcolm said tersely.
A beat cop caught Lance's attention and he moved the phone away from his ear and covered it with his hand.
"Captain, they're asking for you at a murder scene at a penthouse in Pacific Heights," the beat cop said.
"Pacific Heights?" Lance repeated in disbelief.
"Yes sir," the cop confirmed. "Penthouse belonging to Adam Hunt."
He nodded and put the phone back to his ear. Malcolm was still droning on about what was and wasn't acceptable in his city.
"Merlyn, I'll have to call you back," he said hanging up on the billionaire. Malcolm probably didn't like that but if he wanted him to do his job properly, he needed to let him do it.
Quentin got into one of the squad cars and headed out to Adam Hunt's penthouse. Everything looked normal until you reached the top floor. The elevator opened to a pool of blood that he had to step over. On either side of the elevator door lay dead bodies. One with an arrow in the heart, the other with an arrow through the neck. The crime scene guys were taking photos of everything.
He walked further into the apartment and found more dead guards. Judging from the spent shell casings labelled on the ground, this set had gotten off a few rounds before they died. He looked at the walls and saw bullet holes. He turned to an investigator, "Check to see if the number of casings on the ground match the bullets in the wall. Maybe they hit the guy and some of the blood on the ground belongs to him."
"We're still processing the scene sir," the CSI replied curtly.
Lance continued to explore the penthouse. He found Detective Hall checking the bodies for ID in another room.
"This guy had a lot of security," Lance commented dryly.
"Remember he had a few death threats from some of those 500 people that lost their job," Detective Hall said to him.
"Well looks like someone finally made good on that threat McKenna," Lance said looking around the penthouse.
"Yeah but not before they forced him to drain his bank account,"McKenna revealed pointing to another room off to the side.
"They took all his money?" Quentin questioned in disbelief as he approached the room. He could see through the open doorway an open laptop and a body slumped backward in the chair in front of it. There was an arrow sticking out of his chest. As he circled the desk to view the body closer, he noticed that there was a small glock on the ground besides the chair that must have fallen out of the man's hand when he died.
"The computer screen says transaction complete. When the IT guys and the forensic accountants get their hands on it they'll be able to give us a better idea," McKenna said.
Quentin nodded and returned to the main foyer where most of the CSI's were busy working. He looked around the penthouse at the bodies on the ground. The outer edges of the pools had begun to dry. "These guys have been dead for a few hours. Why is this only now being drawn to my attention," Quentin asked angrily.
"The walls are apparently sound proof. No one heard anything. It was only when the maid arrived to clean an hour ago did someone discover what happened. The responding officers tried to keep it quiet. Something like this getting out could cause a panic in the city," McKenna said justifying the decision that was made.
"I want all reports to come directly to me, put a rush on all the lab work. I want a priority on this one," Quentin ordered roughly. One murder had put Malcolm in a pissy mood, he wondered what the Hunt mess was going to do.
He stepped over the pool of blood in front of the elevator and pressed the ground button. He watched the doors close and stared at his reflection. Two major crimes outside of The Old Glades in one day. It felt like an omen to him. Something bad was coming. He could feel it in his old bones.
S-7
Laurel picked at the rice on her plate. Adam had ordered her favourite wild rice dish from the gourmet place that she loved but her appetite was gone tonight.
"You need to eat honey," Adam reminded her placing his knife and fork down on his plate so that he could focus on her.
"I know but I'm probably just going to throw it up in the morning," she said angrily.
"Doesn't matter, you still have to eat and take your pre-natal vitamins. I don't want anything to happen to you two," Adam said sincerely.
"Did you hear about the murders?" she asked.
Adam reached across the table and squeezed her hand, "Everything will be ok. You dad will hunt down the killers and I'll prosecute them. They'll be in Iron Heights before you know it."
She looked down at her plate and rearranged the rice again.
"But that isn't what's bothering you is it?" her husband asked knowingly. Sometimes she hated the way he read her so well.
"I'm fine," she insisted.
"Laurel, you've been off since you met your sister at the club," he commented.
Laurel sighed. He was her husband. She was supposed to share her thoughts and feelings with him. "I always imagined when I was pregnant she would be here for me, taking me shopping for maternity clothes, helping me choose a crib, a stroller, organising my baby shower but she choose that side."
"Laurel there is nothing you can do about your sister's decision. She chose to side with the criminals. She chose to support them. If you want I can ask Lisa to go shopping with you. I'm sure shell enjoy it," her husband offered.
Laurel smiled, "There's no need to harass your sister on my behalf. If I need anything I'll call her."
"Is there anything else bothering you? I received a complaint today that you've been asking questions about the Declan case?" Adam asked.
Laurel narrowed her eyes at him, "Officer Hilton? I can't believe him. All I did was ask if he was sure Declan was guilty and that nothing else seemed off about the case."
"Why?"
"The defence put him on the stand today. He still insists he's innocent," she said poking at the grilled chicken breast that came with the wild rice.
"They always do," Paul pointed out, "Even when there is iron clad evidence against them."
"I usually know when they're lying but I can't help but feel we are putting an innocent man in jail." This case really wasn't sitting right with her.
"Hey, maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones messing with you. You're about to become a mother. Prosecuting a man for murdering his wife and seeking the death penalty can't be easy."
"No, don't blame my pregnancy for this. My gut tells me something is off and I was raised to believe in my gut," Laurel stood, throwing her napkin on the table and begun pacing the room.
"Ok," Adam said holding up his hands in a placating gesture, "Let's walk through the evidence."
She stopped pacing and looked at him, "The evidence all points to him. She was found dead one morning in their guest bedroom. The neighbours heard loud quarrelling the night before. A knife with his bloody fingerprints on it was found in the kitchen sink."
"And he claimed that he had taken a sleeping pill which usually knocks him completely unconscious until the morning. His daughter was also conveniently sleeping over at a friend's house," Adam finished summarising the evidence for her.
"Yes but where is the motive? According to family, friends, neighours, he was a great husband who doted on his wife and child. There is no evidence that he had a mistress or was cheating on her. He had no major vices. I see no difference between him and you. Am I supposed to believe that he just woke up one day and snapped?"
"Laurel, if you worried that I could do the same thing, I won't. I would never hurt you or our baby," Adam said sincerely.
Laurel just nodded her head. She had seen many cases where men started off loving and then became something else later down the line.
"Laurel, if the husband didn't do it, who else had a motive?" Adam continued their discussion.
"That's it. I don't know. She was on good terms with everyone. Even her co-workers at Brodeur Chemical had glowing things to say about her," she said throwing her hands up in the air. She glanced back at Adam when he fell silent and she saw a frown line across his face. She knew what that line meant. She eagerly sat down at the table again. "What?"
"You said she worked at Brodeur Chemical?" he asked carefully.
"Yes, why is that important?" Laurel asked. Her gut told she was on to something here.
"You know how Malcolm has been obsessed with watching all the security footage of that masked vigilante right?" Adam started to explain to her.
"Yeah, my dad keeps complaining that Malcolm is sending him on all these wild goose chases because he thought he saw some shadow on the footage that could have been the vigilante leaving evidence behind."
"Malcolm also noticed a dump truck leaving the city and coming back in half an hour later. He thought it was suspicious and traced the truck back to Brodeur Chemical. He has a team keeping an eye on it," Adam revealed.
"Adam, this can't be a coincidence. There's a connection here I'm sure of it. I'll have to talk to Malcolm. We still have about three days of trial left." Laurel reached for her phone on the side of the table.
"Actually, Malcolm called an emergency meeting tonight. I can talk to him. You can stay home and rest and maybe finish your dinner later," Adam suggested.
"Absolutely not. I'm pregnant no incapacitated," Laurel protested crossing her hands in front of her chest. "My pregnancy does not give you the excuse to leave me out of anything!"
"I just don't think you need the added stress," Adam said softly. His blue eyes conveyed how worried he was about her.
"Adam, I made a commitment to making this city crime free. I do not back down from my commitments." She pushed her plate away, "I'm going to go change into something more comfortable for the meeting."
Adam nodded solemnly.
As she walked away she heard him start to clear up the table. He truly was a great guy. They had similar dispositions, similar values and goals. They knew what they wanted out of life. Everything about her marriage was exactly as she had imagined as a child. She had a great job, a great husband and a great life. The only thing missing was Sara.
She hadn't been able to shake off what Oliver told her at the club about Sara or the way Oliver had treated her after she argued with Sara. He also looked very hurt when Adam boasted about her pregnancy. It made her wonder if he still had feelings for her. What would her life be like if Oliver hadn't 'died'? Would she be Mrs. Oliver Queen? Would this baby she's carrying now be Olivers? Would she work at Queen's Consolidated as their in house legal counsel? Would she even work at all? Perhaps she would have been like Moira, a high society woman who dedicated her life to charity work.
She shook those thoughts away. She was very happy with her life the way it was. Her relationship with Adam wasn't complicated and he didn't cheat on her. He treated her with respect and they had a great partnership. She pulled out a stretchy pants and one of Adam's silk shirts. She was going to have to go maternity shopping sooner rather than later.
S-8
Ted Grant pulled at the tie around his neck. It was the one tie he owned and Sara made him wear it. They were meeting Oliver for lunch at the most expensive restaurant in Star City, Table Salt. Ted had refused to go but Sara, as she often did, overruled him. He rolled over very easily for his wife.
In his mind, Table Salt represented a lot of what he was fighting against; the elite that only believed in their rights. They wanted to dictate to the rest of the city. They wanted to move them into those glass towers in Novus District. No matter how they tried to spin it, it was a giant glass cell to monitor them. There were cameras everywhere in that district, outside, inside and there was a rumour going around The Glades (he refuses to call it The Old Glades) that there were even cameras inside the apartments monitoring you.
His wife was much smarter than she let on. She argued that by not going to Table Salt to meet with Oliver, he was letting them dictate to him that he was not good enough to set foot into the exclusive restaurant and Ted would never let anyone tell him he wasn't good enough for something. He was a trained fighter. Fighting for his rights came naturally to him. It was only after he agreed with his wife that he was good enough to eat at Table Salt that he realised what she did.
That was how Ted ended up seated reluctantly at the table staring at all the cutlery next to the plate. Why couldn't you just eat with one fork and one knife? Sara had told him he had work his way in. The first fork was for the salad or appetiser which Sara made sure to order and the next fork was for the main meal.
Ted thought Sara was enjoying the lunch far too much. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she went through the menu that had no prices on it. He was reminded that his wife loved this kind of life and he could never give it to her. He was a simple guy who was happy doing what he was doing. He had no ambition to make more money, get a bigger home, get a platinum credit card or drive a luxury car. The simple things in life made him happy. Sara ordered for him and she and Oliver then settled into a conversation about the times before he 'died'.
The waitress arrived and delivered their first course. Sara winked at her and Ted stared down at his plate. So many times he wondered what Sara saw in him. He knew his wife was bi-sexual and she had so many options but she chose him. Almost every day at the gym he heard someone joking that Sara was a 10 and 10s weren't supposed to be with a poor gym owner. His thoughts were interrupted when Oliver started to talk to him.
"I invited you here today to discuss a business opportunity," Oliver said.
"Business what business?" Ted asked as his guard immediately went up. Whenever he heard the word business, The Glades always got the raw end of the deal.
"I want to sponsor one of your Sunday tournaments and I would like to connect your gym to Verdant," Oliver said in a hopeful tone.
"Verdant?" Ted asked confused. What the hell was a Verdant? Was that some new slang term because he most certainly did not keep up with all these new fancy terms.
"That's the name of the community centre," Oliver explained.
"That building your building," Ted said as he mulled over that piece of information, "Then what do you mean by connect?"
"I want Verdant to offer boxing and self-defence classes but the location of the classes will be at your gym. You have all of the proper equipment for those services. It would be a mutually beneficial agreement. Verdant would offer a wide range of services and the size of the classes in your gym will increase," he explained slowly.
"Why the sudden interest in the gym and The Glades?" Ted asked curiously. He glanced briefly at Sara to gauge her reaction to Oliver's proposal and she seemed ok with it.
"Because I think you're doing good work in the gym," Oliver replied honestly.
Ted leaned back in his chair and studied Oliver, "Where do you stand on The Glades reconstruction project?"
"I think it's a good project but it needs to be done in conjunction with the residents. You can't deny that crime is an issue and certain parts of the Glades needs rebuilding?" Oliver pressed.
Ted snorted, "I know what my neighbourhood is like. I do not need some big shot from a corporation to tell me what is wrong with it. A big part of the problem is you big corporations that run Star City. You think you can tell us what to do. It all comes down to your bottom line. You built those shiny towers to house your workforce, there's a direct transport grid from the towers to each corporation. It is not about the people and what is best for us. The Stellmoor group wants a large chuck of my neighbourhood for their purposes and it most definitely is not to help us," Ted ranted,"What can a college dropout do different?"
"Ted!" Sara hissed as quietly as she could so that she wouldn't draw any unwanted attention on them from the diners surrounding them.
"No Sara, I want to hear what it is he thinks he can do?" Ted disagreed.
Oliver sighed, "I didn't invite you here to dictate to you. It's very bad to surround yourself with 'yes' people. I invited you here to hear your ideas. I don't live in The Glades. It's like you said, I can tell you to cut the grass all I want but only you would know if the grass needs cutting. Part of developing Verdant is to address some of your concerns. The more feedback I receive the better Verdant will be able to serve you."
The waitress arrived with lunch and the conversation went silent for a while before Oliver decided to continue.
"Ted, I know you don't know me or trust me but I'm hoping we could work on that," Oliver said honestly.
"If you truly mean that then step into the ring with me," Ted challenged.
Sara sat up straighter, "I don't think that's such a good idea."
Oliver ignored her, focusing on Ted, "If that's what it takes to earn your trust, I'll do it. I finish work at five. I'll come by right after."
S-9
One his way back to MQI after lunch, Oliver decided to stop at the coffee shop Felicity introduced him to and pick up a coffee for her. In the last week he had learned that after lunch she had a tall coffee with low fat milk and extra sugar. He picked up one for Diggle as well who was waiting by the door. As he was leaving he ran into McKenna coming into the coffee shop.
"Hi," Oliver said awkwardly.
"Hi," McKenna answered shifting her weight to one foot as she looked up at Oliver.
"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye that last time I saw you," Oliver apologised.
"I know but under the circumstances it was acceptable," McKenna said giving him a pass.
Oliver shifted on his feet as an awkward silence settled between them.
"I should probably let you get back to work." She gave him a shy smile and then started walking towards the line to order something.
"McKenna wait," Oliver called after her.
She turned around and stared at him, "Would you like to go to dinner?" There, he said it. He followed Tommy's advice and made a move towards getting a girlfriend.
"Yes," McKenna said with a smile. "Give me your phone. I'll put my number in it for you."
He passed the coffee tray to Diggle and pulled out his phone handing it to her. She seemed to navigate it better than him. "There all done. I'm available Saturday night at 8:00pm. Let me know where we are going and what I should wear. I'll see you then," she handed the phone back.
"Great, I'll call you tonight and let you know," he said before turning towards Diggle and retrieving the tray. He walked back towards MQI with Diggle next to him.
"Do you know where you are taking her?" Diggle asked.
"Not a clue. I think the only place I know is Table Salt," Oliver admitted. He hadn't really investigated the social side of Star City yet. His primary focus was completing the mission and tackling his list. He had a date with the second name on the list this weekend.
"There are quite a few restaurants in the entertainment district that are very good. My brother took his wife to Russo's last month for their anniversary. I heard it was quite the romantic atmosphere," Diggle said as they climbed the front steps that led to MQI's front entrance.
"Maybe that would be a bit over the top for a first date?" Oliver asked him.
"You're Oliver Queen. She will expect something over the top," Diggle replied.
Oliver mulled it over while they waited for an elevator, "I suppose you're right. I'll call Russo's and make a reservation."
When he arrived on the Executive Floor, he walked straight into Felicity's office, Diggle followed behind him. Felicity's office was the only one Diggle ever entered. Felicity was on the phone talking to someone and from the tone of her voice he was certainly glad he wasn't on the receiving end of that conversation. When she put the phone down he handed her, her coffee.
"Problems?" he asked.
"Not anymore. We have a site visit to go to tomorrow. I had your assistant update your schedule for you. The City has issued a tender to install a new camera system in Pacific Heights. It's probably in direct response to the Adam Hunt incident. Walter wants us to go and make a bid," she explained to him quickly while she worked on her computer. Oliver had learned very quickly that Felicity was excellent at multi-tasking. She could hold a full conversation with him and still get work done on her computer.
"What's the story behind Adam Hunt? I've been hearing a lot of things about it on the news," Oliver stated innocently. He shouldn't have asked Felicity that question but a part of him really wanted to know what she thought about his actions.
"Supposedly a hooded figure in green entered his penthouse suite took out his entire security detail and then killed him. The police call him The Hood," she explained nonchalantly.
"Sounds like some sort of psychopath to me," Diggle commented from the doorway.
"Maybe or just someone seeking justice," Oliver replied slightly offended.
"More like retribution," Felicity corrected.
"What is the difference between justice and retribution?" Oliver asked.
"Justice is found through the legal system in a court room. It's about upholding the law and hearing the cold hard facts of a case. Retribution is when someone punishes another person for something they did outside of the legal system. It's about vengeance and it's governed by emotions," Felicity explained to him.
"So you think it's wrong for someone to take matters into their own hands?" Oliver questioned.
She stopped typing and looked up at him. Her clear blue eyes locked on to his. "No I never said that. I said not to confuse justice and retribution. Personally I'm all for balancing the scales any way you can. The world is not a fair place and I believe that the strong should help the weak. Adam Hunt was by no means an innocent. Did he deserve what he got? Probably but in the eyes of the law, murder is murder."
"There has to be another way though," Diggle mused. "As a solider I was ordered to kill. Sometimes the enemy was grown men but other times it was boys. I had my orders and I had to follow them but if I didn't have my orders, I would have tried to save those boys."
Oliver didn't respond and silence descended upon them. Fortunately, Felicity brought the topic back to work and he listened intently as she explained why she thought MQI needed to drop some projects.
S-10
Oliver stared at the clock on his wall. It was time to implement his plan to ditch Diggle. He went to the men's room, Diggle remaining at his station as he usually did. He had asked Felicity for the ventilation schematics for the building via e-mail an hour ago and studied the layout for a way out. He used his knife to open the cover to the ventilation shaft. He climbed in and followed it to a vent that travelled down to the other floor. He found his way to the bathroom on that floor and then went straight to the elevator. He exited in the lobby and walked straight out the front door. He hailed a cab and gave them the address. When he arrived at the club Digg was calling his phone.
"Hello, Big Belly Burger, what can I get for your belly?" Oliver answered cheekily.
"Oliver, this isn't funny," Digg said gravely.
"I needed to go somewhere you wouldn't take me. I'll see you back at the mansion. Feel free to tell my mother that I choose where I go, not her." Oliver ended the phone call and walked into the gym.
Sara approached him first, "Ollie."
From the look on her face, he knew she was going to try and talk him out of the fight. "Sara, it will be fine. Trust me."
"You don't have to do this," Sara insisted.
"I do." Oliver pulled off his jacket and tossed it on a nearby chair. He walked towards the centre ring, Sara following behind him.
"Where is Ted?" he asked.
"Right here," the man said appearing with a set of boxing gloves that he tossed at Oliver.
Oliver caught them easily. "So how does this work?" He had a general idea of what boxing entailed but from his experience each form of fighting had its own set of rules, techniques and strategies. He was confident he would be able to adapt.
"You put the gloves on, step in that ring," Ted said pointing to the ring, "And I'll pummel you until you quit."
"Or," Sara said very loudly, "We can have 3 one-minute rounds," she stated staring intently at Ted.
The man swallowed, "Ok we do it Sara's way. Are you fighting like that?" Ted asked pointing to Oliver's clothes.
Oliver looked down at this black pants and white shirt, "Yeah."
Ted shook his head and climbed up into the ring, Oliver and Sara following suit.
"Listen up boys. I'm in charge of this fight. Boxing only, no kicking, biting or weapons. If I say break it up you break it up. If you don't I'll kick both your asses understand?"
"Yes," they both responded.
Sara walked over to Oliver and helped him put on his gloves. It was far more difficult to put on than Oliver thought. Once Sara was satisfied they were secured she signalled to one of the assistants to go to the bell and she took up a position between them.
"Ok, let's go boys," Sara said.
The bell rang to signal the beginning of the round but neither man moved first. Oliver stared at Ted trying to assess him. He remembered Malcolm saying Ted was a natural born fighter. He would have gone all the way as a boxer if he hadn't been injured. Rumour was it was the injury that stopped him from continuing as Wild Cat in the ring but Oliver also noted that Sara came into his life around the same time.
Ted decided to go first and he stepped forward and used his right hand to jab at Oliver weakly. Oliver ducked and moved to the right.
"Not bad," Ted said.
Oliver realised the man was testing him. Oliver decided to stay on the defensive with a counter attack here and there.
Ted punch at him again this time with his left hand. Oliver moved to avoid and Ted tried a jab with his right, Oliver stepping away again to avoid him. Ted smiled. He tried a few other moves, all of which Oliver avoided. He got the impression that Ted was toying with him and it was confirmed when he felt the ropes touch his back.
"You shouldn't let yourself get backed into the corner," Ted admonished.
Ted dropped his guard and pointed to the centre of the ring just as the bell for the end of the first round went off. That was one round under his belt. He returned to the centre of the ring and waited for Sara's instructions.
"Ready?" Sara asked.
"No," Ted replied. He looked at Oliver, "You're holding back, no holds barred this time."
Oliver nodded and Sara frowned, "Ted," she said warningly.
"It's ok Sara. I can handle it," Oliver reassured her as he took up his position in the centre of the ring again.
"I don't think you can," Sara replied worriedly.
"A little faith would be nice Sara," Oliver responded dryly.
"Let's quit the chit chatting and fight," Ted urged, his guard up ready to fight.
Sara sighed and indicated to the bell man to ring the bell to start the second round.
This time when the bell sounded, Ted moved right away, a right jab, left hook, right upper cut and left punch. Ted was fast and strong. Oliver barely blocked the first barrage and by the second one he had received a square cut to his jaw. Oliver staggered back stunned. Sara stepped in and kept Ted at bay. That hit was definitely going to bruise.
Ted was definitely a good fighter. No doubt about it. On the island Oliver had his ass kicked repeatedly before he started to progress. Even now he was still kind of heavy on his feet. Ted was light and knew how to get his opponents to open up. The only thing Oliver was a natural at was aiming with his bow.
Oliver focused on Ted. As soon as Sara restarted the fight Ted attacked landing several hits to his ribs. He was going to be very sore the next day. Oliver saw an opening and clocked Ted in the jaw with a right hook. The bell rang signalling the end of that round.
"Good shot," Ted commented rubbing his face as they returned to the centre of the ring.
"Ollie are you up for this?" Sara questioned worriedly.
"Sara, I survived the island, another minute in the ring isn't going to kill me," Oliver assured her.
"I am not worried about Ted killing you; I'm worried about him ruining that pretty face of yours. You already have quite the impressive shiner forming." She pointed to his cheek and he knew she was right.
"Won't be the first time," Oliver replied wryly. He had had more than one boyfriend/husband punch him for sleeping with their girlfriend/wife.
Oliver focused on Ted again. He needed to be the first to react when the bell rang so as soon as he heard the bell he moved, Ted moving at the exact same time. Both threw punches and they ended up locked together in the middle of the ring the way Oliver had seen happen in boxing matches. Sara stepped in and separated them. This fight would be so much easier if he could use his other fighting skills.
Ted started up first and Oliver managed to block most of his hits and made an upper cut shot that Ted barely avoided by stepping away. He followed up with some of the sequences that Ted had used on him earlier in the fight, but Ted being the more experienced boxer, countered easily and somehow landed a strong punch to Oliver's stomach which knocked the wind out of him. The punch was followed up with and upper cut to Oliver's jaw that made Oliver see stars.
The bell rang before knock out. Sara stepped in and declared the match over and raised Ted's hand as the winner. Ted could go in for the
"Ok, it's a deal," Ted said taking off his gloves and offering Oliver his hand to shake.
Oliver stared at the boxing gloves on his hand and Sara helped him take the glove off. He shook Ted's hand and promised to meet up next week to discuss the plan further but at the moment he had a date with an ice pack or two.
As he passed under the ropes and jumped down he saw Diggle waiting for him by the entrance. At least he didn't have to track down a cab to get home. He grabbed his coat from the chair and walked over.
"I'm surprised you didn't throw yourself into the ring to protect me," Oliver joked.
"Your life wasn't in danger," Diggle pointed out.
Oliver followed him out to the car, his bodyguard on alert the entire way there. Diggle didn't dismiss any possible threat, even carefully surveying the young kids throwing a ball around in the street. Oliver jumped in the front seat as soon as Diggle opened the car and he turned the rearview mirror towards himself to study his reflection.
"Mr. Queen, I require that to drive," Diggle said sternly.
"Hmm, I suppose you do," Oliver said turning it back and opening his overhead visor to see if there was a mirror there.
Diggle made some minor adjustments to the mirror and then he started the car. They drove in silence for a while before Oliver asked him a question. "How did you find me?"
"Your mother," Diggle stated never taking his eyes off the road.
"My mother found me?" Oliver asked doubtfully.
"There are cameras all throughout this city," Diggle answered.
"But there are no cameras in The Old Glades," Oliver countered. She shouldn't have been able to follow him into The Old Glades.
"Maybe not but she found the cab driver and got the address he dropped you off at," his bodyguard explained.
"Isn't that abusing public resources," Oliver responded.
Diggle remained silent and Oliver chose to continue studying his reflection. Both of his cheeks had deep purple bruises forming and his left eye looked like it would be swollen shut soon. He probably shouldn't have let Ted get so many shots in.
When they arrived at the mansion his mother was waiting for him by the door.
"Oh my God Oliver what happened?" she screeched. "What did those filthy creatures do to you? I told you not to go there."
"I took Malcolm's advice and started self-defense lessons. Obviously I'm not too great at it." He pushed passed her to head towards the kitchen where he could pack ice into towels and put on his face and sides.
"Oliver this is…"
"None of your concern," he cut her off. "If I want to go into The Old Glades. I will go. Telling my bodyguard that he can't take me there isn't going to stop me so you can decide if you rather me there by myself or with my bodyguard. Good night mother."
He climbed the stairs and left Diggle with his mother. He glanced at the door next to his room and was thankful Tommy wasn't there. His brother would have a field day with this.
An: Thanks for reading.
I recently watched the first season of Daredevil and I realise Malcolm has sort of completed what Fisk was trying to do to Hell's Kitchen.