Chapter 10: Pressure

'I'm sorry. For everything I've done that's destroyed your trust.' - Tess Mercer, Season 9, Episode 16: "Checkmate".

August 29th 2011. 08:46 AM UTC-6. Healdton Municipal Hospital, Healdton, Oklahoma, USA.

Chloe couldn't bring herself to move. Looking in from the outside, there was nothing appealing about getting into this hospital bedroom deep in Oklahoma's county. The woman laying on the bed was almost as pale as the walls and if it weren't for her loud breathing, Chloe wouldn't have known she was alive.

"Come in," the weak voice said between two puffs of breaths.

Chloe sighed and obliged, she moved inside with a tentative footing until she reached the woman's bedside. "Jesus," she exclaimed softly. "What happened to you, Tess?"

Tess opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "Lex." she said after a moment.

The two women were silent, an eerie feel dabbing into the room. Chloe almost jumped in surprise when Tess spoke again. "Why isn't Oliver here?"

"He's on his way." Chloe told her, a hand on her chest. "He took the backdoor for more discretion."

Tess closed her eyes and nodded. "How is he?"

"Fine, he's fine." Chloe replied. "Much better than he used to be but I wouldn't say he's back to 100% percent, I don't think any of us are, actually."

"What happened..."

Her question wasn't complete but Chloe understood the meaning. "One of us died, over a year ago. Lex shot him. It was hard for all of us but Oliver took it the worst. He's always been closest to Bart."

"He said... the League was dead."

Chloe's brow furrowed. "Who?"

"Oliver."

"Oh, when you tried to meet him the last time?" At Tess's nod, Chloe continued. "We're all back again and working together now." So far, at least...

Something cold found her hand, making Chloe shiver. She looked down to see Tess's hand wrapped around hers. The redhead groaned. "Top drawer."

Chloe looked over at the bedside table. "This one?" she asked.

She retrieved a yellow manila folder from the table. "It's... everything you need to know about what Lex's doing... the people I work for and..." Tess coughed roughly. "and a few more things..."

The frontpage caught Chloe's attention, probably more than it should have. Skimming over it, the young woman didn't waste any time grasping the enormity this document signed by Lionel Luthor represented.

Her wide eyes flew to Tess's still form. "Tess what is th-"

There was a commotion in the hallway followed by an immediate silence which interrupted her. Chloe turned around, Oliver's tall frame standing in the doorway filled her vision. He looked like he had seen a ghost. She supposed it had been her own reaction five minutes ago.

"My god, Tess." Oliver hurried to her side and took her hand in his. "What the hell happened?"

This time there was a smile on the woman's face, a bitter one. "Remember when I said I was working for a team whose goal was to take down Lex?" he nodded. "We tried... It was a massacre, only two of us got out alive." she wet her throat, talking took a lot of effort from her.

Chloe realized even as she folded the piece of paper and hid it in her pocket, that Tess was being much more talkative to Oliver than she'd been to her. History could not be erased, she understood.

"I was lucky, the other survivor found... me so quickly." Tess continued. "Wouldn't be here without him."

"You'll be okay, right?" Oliver asked softly.

She breathed and smiled. "I should live." she rasped. "It will just take a long time."

Oliver looked away for a moment. "Get better soon, Mercy. I still need you around to kick my ass from time to time." he joked.

Her laugh morphed into a fit of coughs. Chloe handed her a glass of water and helped her drink.

"Thanks." Tess whispered. "Now listen, I'll tell you everything I know. You have to hear me out... it concerns both of you and your League." Tess saw she had the attention of her guests so she took a deep breath and started talking.

Three quarters of an hour went by before the door creaked open again. The blond couple came out, looking livid. They started down the hallway until Chloe broke into her companion's thoughts. "Maybe we both should take the back door."

Oliver nodded, his mind still far away. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not now."

It was a feeling she understood and her senses decided he was right. They could never be too careful, it was a lesson they learned the hard way.

Their hands clasped together, they thrived in silence through the unused corridors leading to an emergency exit. As they prepared to climb into the car that would bring them back to Metropolis, Oliver stopped and looked at her.

"It's all gonna change now." he realized.

Chloe shook her head. "It's already changed." she corrected him. "We just hadn't accepted it until now."

August 29th 2011. 03:58 PM UTC-6. Clocktower's penthouse, Metropolis, Kansas, USA.

When they arrived at the Clockower, the penthouse lacked the attractive ruckus it transpired during happier times. It might have been just as well, they knew. The League was back on again but it seem that it lacked its spirit and the news Chloe and Oliver were bringing would not help them improve the mood.

As the doors slid open, their three friends sat at different points in the room, all separated from each other by quite a margin, all silent and looking at them expectantly. J'onn was the first one to react. His face lost its neutral expression and a mask of sadness replaced it. He rose and started towards his bedroom.

"I will start packing." he said without any explanation.

Chloe and Oliver nodded and approached Victor and Dinah who looked equally confused. "What's going on now?" she asked.

The blond couple glanced at each other. "Short version," Oliver started. "Lex is on again with 33.1 on a much bigger scale and we all are on his list of people to grab – or kill in my case, I suppose."

Victor sighed and dropped his head into his lap. "The worst thing is, I'm not even surprised. Now that he knows all of us and that we work together he will want to take us down, that makes sense."

"It also means we're not safe here." Chloe added. "We have to go in hiding. Together." she said while sending a meaningful glance to Dinah.

"Come on at least Mercer told you how to contact her people, right?" the Black Canary pressed.

Oliver nodded. "She did. They're underground too, something about their leader being shot forced them to cut their ties with the government. We have to do the same now."

"What about Q.I.?" Victor asked. "Your position's already under threat, if you leave now they'll throw you out."

"They'll do just that, even if I stay." Oliver replied. "It doesn't matter, us leaving will not change my plans on Q.I., it will simply take a bit longer. I'm not giving up on the company, guys."

Queen Industries was the only viable source to finance the League. Even Oliver's personal wealth could not bear the team's expenses for more than two years. Such was the importance of technology and Watchtower for their quest of justice.

"So we're leaving." Dinah concluded. "Now?"

"Yeah." Chloe said. "The sooner, the better. You never know when Lex is going to strike."

"Alright."

The four of them followed the same path J'onn took just minutes earlier. "Let's say everyone's got to be ready in an hour." Oliver declared.

"Where are we going, by the way?"

"Not far. At least for now." Chloe said. "We'll use Watchtower, as far as we know it's secure but we'll have to start considering other options too."

"Okay, let's start packing."

Chloe blinked and pulled away from the case she was preparing, slowly standing up to feel Oliver's frame against her back and soft materials against her fingertips. She looked down at the deep green gown he held against her.

"You forgot that one." he whispered in her ear.

"Ollie..."

She could feel his smile against her cheek. "I had something planned for us tonight." he said. "Looks like we'll have to skip it too but I'm not giving up. Even if we're going to be cooped up at Watchtower I'll find a way to get some privacy so I can show you how much you mean to me."

"It's beautiful, Ollie." she murmured, turning in his arms. "You didn't have to do this."

"It's not a five thousand dollar dress, if you're talking price. I know you wouldn't have liked that." he took her hands in his. "I just wanted to make up for the time lost, I wanted to wine and dine you so I could tell you how much I've been thinking about this, about us. I want you to know I'm serious, I'm committed to you."

She could feel her eyes filling up with tears. "And imagine how I could make love to you until you're too exhausted to even move at all, pretty nice way to end a date, I think." he smirked his usual, arrogant confidence on his face.

She laughed. "Sounds like a date worth remembering." she whispered. "I would have loved that."

Oliver shook his head at her deception. "I'll give you that – and more. Lex did enough damage as it is, we won't let him affect what we have."

"Never." she nodded and inched closer to him.

"You know," he started in a quiet, reminiscent voice. "Before... everything, all this madness happened with Lex and Rafe, we'd already been together for more than a year."

"A year and three months, yeah." she grinned. "My longest relationship ever."

"Me too." he reciprocated. "By a long mile at that. That's what keeps bugging me. You're the only woman who's ever truly mattered to me. I mean hell – I came back through time for you, it says it all. We did everything together, we lived together, we worked together, we had so much fun with each other... Then why did we never talk about the future? With us, it's always been the present time that mattered but we never talked about what we could plan. Why is that, Chloe?"

Her eyes traveled through every crevice of his face. "You don't remember? What we talked about in the hospital? You were pretty out of it." she remembered. "Ollie... after Doomsday happened, I think we both realized our lifestyles weren't exactly suited for a long and normal life. We knew it could be over in a second. We never clearly said it out loud but I think we both agreed that we had to live life to the fullest and take it as it came because you never know when it was gonna end."

"Taking it one day at a time?" his eyes widened. "I remember now."

"That's why." she smiled and rested her head against him.

"Chloe."

"Mmh?"

"I know the circumstances haven't changed but..." his heart started beating faster. "I have. I don't think I could be satisfied with that now."

She looked into his face. "You want to change it?"

"I want more." he nodded. "I want it all. I know you're the one for me, so why shouldn't we think about our future?"

Her throat became dry, hope blossomed in her chest. "What about Lex? One day our luck could run out and he could kill us, or if it's not him it can be someone else and-"

"Fuck Lex." he sneered. "I refuse to give him the satisfaction of him messing with the way we decide to live."

Chloe nodded and looked down. She understood how he felt. She'd grown accustomed to a relationship free of expectations with him and hadn't realized what was missing. They had decided to live their lives like there was no tomorrow because the world was cruel for people in their line of business and they'd been happy. Yet they weren't whole, something had been missing. Now she knew, they both knew.

"Fuck Lex." she echoed him with a shy smile. "Let's do this."

He looked almost surprised. "Really?"

She encased his face in her hands. "I love you, Oliver Queen. I want to live the rest of my life with you by my side and I don't care how long we have left. We won't let anyone shape our future, no one but us."

A slow grin found his lips. "I love you, woman." he said before fusing their mouths together.

There it was. What had been missing. That union, that feeling of completeness that took over their beings and bound them together in an intangible yet unbreakable link. For the first time of their lives, they were one.

"Chloe," he gasped. "I would make love to you right now if it weren't for the others."

Her own breathing was ragged as she grinned up at him. "I know," she practically moaned and gave him a chaste kiss. "To be continued?"

"Definitely."

They untangled themselves. "Let's finish packing, I'm almost done here and we're getting close to the deadline now." she looked at her watch.

"Anyway," he sighed. "My case is done, I just want to call Mia, real quick. Haven't seen the kid in a while and since it won't be safe to talk to her later, I just want to make sure she knows what's going on. Think she'll be okay with Lois?"

Chloe nodded. "She loves Mia like a sister now, don't worry about it. Call her, I'm just about finished here anyway." she rubbed his chest.

"Alright." he kissed her quickly and winked before heading for the door. Oliver did his best to neuter his expression but he couldn't quite suppress his smile when he left the bedroom and noticed Victor and Dinah's figures waiting with their cases at their feet in the main room.

"Hey," he called out. "Ready to roll, already?"

Victor nodded and opened his mouth to talk when the windows shattered and a storm filled the room. "FBI! FBI! FBI!"

Countless black figures filled the penthouse in a matter of seconds, all screaming, all waving loaded weapons around. "FREEZE!" Oliver had barely turned around he was being tackled to the ground.

"What the hell-"

"Shut up!" the man pressed his gun against his skull and shoved his hands behind his back.

"What is this? What are you doing? Don't touch me!" Chloe screamed.

"CHLOE!"

He saw her being pushed against the wall in the corridor, handcuffs around her wrists in her back. "Oliver!"

"Shut up!" the man on him ground out again.

Dazed, he looked around, seeing her being pushed towards the main room where both Dinah and Victor were kneeling on the debris of glass and guns pointed at them. He wiggled against his captor, making him stumble.

"J'ONN!" he shouted. "J'ONN!"

If there was someone here who could get them out of this situation, it was him. He was the only one immune to bullets. "You shut the fuck up, I said! Fuckin' slime, I'll knock you out if you try that again, you hear me?"

The agent pulled at his hair, Oliver held back a cry of pain and called for J'onn again. A door banged and he appeared, his hands raised and beads of sweat running down his face. "I'm sorry, Oliver." the Martian expressed, walking in reverse out of the room. "I couldn't do anything."

J'onn eyes never left the alit torch waved before him by another agent. Oliver exhaled and let his forehead hit the floor in defeat. It all happened in thirty seconds, and they never saw it coming.

The elevator's gates were pulled open, Oliver didn't bother looking up when he heard the footsteps moving up the hallway and stopping in front of him. "Oliver Queen," a new voice barked. "You are under arrest for conspiring against the government of the United States of America, you and your friends will be transferred to a high-security facility for interrogation. You have the right to remain silent.

Although... I'd advise you against it."