o-0-o-0-o Thanks to berry-cool, Go-Chlollie, redqueen11, kdrenai, whatweareafraidof and Naleylover2323xo for reviewing and to those who have alerted and favourited. Let me know what you think of the chapter by leaving me a review. Hope you all enjoy this chapter o-0-o-0-o
Chloe was worried. She was very worried.
"Did you try the power switch?" Clark asked, as he whooshed into Watchtower.
"Didn't you see my text? I lost Oliver," Chloe said. "He was tracking some armed men, followed them under the monorail and then it was like a massive mute button went on. No radio, no beacon, nothing."
"I'm sure it's fine. Just because he doesn't check in-"
"You know, unlike some people, Oliver follows protocol," Chloe said, a little annoyed.
"What protocol?" Clark asked.
"Exactly. He and everyone else dial in with Watchtower while they're on patrol. Clark, you spend so much time watching everybody else's back, you forget that we need to watch each other's backs, too." Chloe told Clark.
"Well, this isn't about us. Did you check the local security cameras?" Clark asked, trying to switch the topic a bit, seeing that whatever he was saying or doing was angering her.
"Every surveillance feed is down - ATMs, traffic lights, convenience stores. It's like someone threw a big blanket over the whole area."
The feed again. She could see what was going on.
"You fixed it," Clark said.
"Or whoever did this finished what they started," Chloe said, less optimistic than her friend.
"Where is that?" Clark asked, referring to what was on Chloe's screens.
"That's where I saw Oliver last," Chloe said, and then she zoomed in and saw someone.
"Jonn Jones?" Chloe said.
"Well your buddy system works," Clark said, complimenting.
"I didn't call him," Chloe said, wondering why he was there.
And Clark was off to see what was up.
And when he got back he told Chloe about the earpiece in Jones' pocket. Chloe was trying to get some info.
"Chloe, it seems to be taking longer than normal to find an earwig serial number," Clark said.
"That's because someone's hidden it, but after cross-referencing those last four digits, Clark, I think that the earpiece in John's pocket was government-issued," Chloe said.
"Why would the government take Green Arrow?" Clark asked.
"Considering what I pay out every year, it better not be for tax evasion," Oliver said, jokingly, walking in.
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and made her way over to him. "Oh my God, you're safe," she said, embracing him.
"Of course I'm safe," he said with a bit of a laugh.
She and Oliver were having a bit of a moment until Clark reminded them of his prescence.
"I'm glad you're safe too," Clark said awkwardly but genuinely. "You want to fill us in on what happened?"
Chloe and Oliver broke apart and they all got down to business.
"Definitely," Chloe said
"Absolutely," Oliver added. "Uh, so, let's see. One minute, I am saving someone's bacon. Next thing I know, I'm the only pig on a pork-chop express. Some harpy gets on a monitor. She starts telling me this is the welcome wagon and she's recruiting heroes for the U.S. of A. I'm guessing you didn't get the e-vite?"
"No, someone else did. And that explains why Jonn Jones was covering for them. Did this woman give you her name?" Clark asked.
"Nope. No name. Just that her organization was called Checkmate," Oliver told him.
"Wait a minute - Check...mate? When Sylvester Pemberton from The Justice Society was murdered, he warned me that, "They came after us, and they'll come after you." His dying word was "check"," Chloe said.
"If he meant Checkmate, these are the same people who took down the JSA," Clark said.
"I searched the archived security footage that was taken from the cameras across the city. This was taken a few hours ago."
"That was right after I confronted him. Who's he talking to?" Clark wondered.
Chloe did her thing and found an answer. "We got a hit from the passport agency. Edward Lott. He's the C.E.O. of a consumer manufacturing company. He seems pretty high- profile for a secret-agent man."
"Well, maybe they recruit people that are already established in the private sector," Oliver suggested.
"Or plant them there," Clark said.
"You're not gonna be happy where he was planted next. Within an hour after this footage was taken, he was on the list of Metropolis General morgue," Chloe said.
"Whoa. Slow down, guys. You can't think Jonn murdered this guy. Come on now" Oliver said, realizing what the other two were thinking.
"Clark, I'll come with you. I can-" Chloe started, but Clark was gone before Chloe could blink. "run support on site," she finished.
"Looks like you got benched," Oliver said, a little bit amused.
Chloe ignored this. "Sylvester Pemberton came to warn me about Checkmate the moment that he was attacked by-"
"Icicle," Oliver finished for her. "Huh. Well, either that's quaintly coincidental or he's working for the same lovely lady whose gaze wilts small trees. What do you think?"
"Last I heard, he was in the psych ward at Met Gen," Chloe said with a plan.
"Let's go," Oliver said, getting ready to head out.
"You know, Oliver- now that Green Arrow is officially on Checkmate's radar, I think it might be a good idea for you to just hang your tights for one night- go civilian," Chloe said.
"Well, they're- they're not tights," he said, making Chloe smile. "They're not tights," he insisted again. "But I see your point," he conceded. "Yeah. Hmm. Unfortunately for me, that means attending a LuthorCorp shareholder dinner, which- yeah, I'd rather be shot at," Oliver said as Chloe got ready to head out. "Hey, Chloe," he said, and she turned around. "Umm... I was just gonna say be careful out there, cuz it- there's Checkmate agents everywhere. So- be careful."
Chloe gave him a smile as she walked out the door. Oliver watched her go with a mix of worry and amusement.
o-o-o-o
Chloe was not a happy camper right now. Nope, not at all. The guy she was trying to get info from at the hospital was a Checkmate agent and now she was here. She'd been kidnapped.
Just freakin' fabulous!
o-o-o-o
On the other side of town Oliver and Tess discovered some secrets about each other. Tess found out that Oliver was the Green Arrow and Oliver found out that Tess was working for Checkmate. Clark barged in and brought Tess out to the roof and threatened her into talking. She told Clark that when Oliver had been kidnapped- he hadn't actually been the real target. The real target was something called Watchtower.
Clark had rushed away again and Tess went back inside to speak to Oliver again.
"What the hell do you want? Round 2?" Oliver said sarcastically.
"Oliver, Clark's in trouble," she told him.
"Well, you know, Tess, if you wanted a rematch, all you had to do was ask," he said snarkily.
"I'm serious. He made me tell him where Checkmate's headquarters are after he found out they captured something called "Watchtower,' " she said seriously.
And suddenly Oliver's demeanour changed. And something inside of him completely sunk.
No. Hell no.
o-o-o-o
Clark was face to face with the woman who was responsible for kidnapping Chloe. She wanted to know where Watchtower's central database was. She wanted to know all the team's heroes identities and much more.
Amanda Waller had Chloe on the television screen. She was gagged and tied and had a gun pointed at her head.
"Let her go," Clark demanded. "Release her now."
Amanda Waller was not cooperating with Clark. She wanted what she wanted and was not going to budge. She had some choice words for Clark.
"The Blur. He patrols the streets of Metropolis, protecting every citizen he can. But he- he lets the most valuable ally fend for herself," she said.
Those words struck at him like someone hitting him with a Kryptonite rock.
"I did not abandon her," he said immediately. She had struck a nerve. And now he was thinking about another time.
"Didn't you? You left your greatest asset vulnerable. All you have to do to save her life is give one simple address," she told him.
The power went down and Clark took this opportunity to act. He moved like light to find Chloe. And as the bullet that was intended for Chloe was fired, Clark arrived just in time to keep it from getting to her. Within the blink of an eye Clark had Chloe out of there and back to where she wanted to be.
"Boy, am I glad to see your friendly face," she said. "Did you, uh...?"
"No. I didn't tell her anything," Clark said.
"At least we have that," Chloe said, getting back down to business.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm sorry for everything."
It was good to hear him say sorry, but somehow, right now, she didn't want to talk about this with him because she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say and what he'd be apologizing for- and while it would be nice to hear, it wouldn't be everything that needed to be said, and she was a little bit annoyed that he still wouldn't be able to quite get that. That, and the fact that he wasn't the only one who'd done things wrong. She had too.
"I think we're both a day late and a dollar short in that department," Chloe said.
"But I abandoned you. I keep seeing you on the sidelines, but the truth is, with Watchtower, you're right in the middle of the game."
"You didn't abandon me, Clark. You pushed me out of the way," she said out loud, trying not to be harsh.
Yes, you did abandon me and that freakin' killed me, but the worst thing is that you lost your faith in me. You forgot who I am at my core, you forgot everything you and I have been through. You forgot that my instinct is to protect you. You thought I chose Davis over you. You pushed me away and you stopped trusting me before I began my spying Big Sister ways.
"Maybe I thought you'd be safer there," Clark said.
You probably did. I know you didn't stop caring about me completely. I know by now that that isn't possible for us. But you changed. You stopped trusting me. You pushed me away and maybe somewhere in your mind you did think you were doing something good for me, but it was mostly just about keeping me away and not having to depend on me anymore- not having to try to trust me. Whatever, for now I'll just say what needs to be said to clear this, but we both know there's more than we're saying- the something that we eventually need to say if we're really going to fix this.
"Maybe you just didn't trust me. I've broken your confidence in me, Clark. You saw Watchtower as Big Brother, and you turned away. The less you confided in me, the less you had to depend on me. It's smart- probably," she said aloud.
"I didn't give you enough credit. You're the one who brought us together. You're the one who saw our potential."
Thank you for acknowledging that.
Chloe was angry. She was angry that this Checkmate crap had to have happened now because it was bringing up stuff with her and Clark that they weren't ready for yet, stuff that they were working toward. She thought that this might be a step back, she felt like this was a step back.
I hate you, Checkmate.
"That potential's gonna be short-lived. Waller saw our faces, and she's not gonna stop coming after us," Chloe said, sticking to business.
o-o-o-o
Oliver was with Tess again.
"I didn't think you were gonna show," Tess said.
"Well, you know, I figure it's a public place. There's only so many weapons you can throw at me."
"I'm sorry. For everything I've done that's destroyed your trust," Tess said.
"I don't think there's enough stationery for that, Tess."
"I told you how to shut down The Castle's power grid. That's worth something, isn't it?" Tess said, hoping for- what was she hoping for exactly? Forgiveness? Sympathy? Understanding?
"What am I supposed to do here? You want me to do, uh, handstands because you helped solve a problem that you created?"
"I never would have gone after you if I had known that you were the Green Arrow," she answered.
"So, it's back on me?" Oliver asked.
"This might be the last time that I ever see you. When I joined Checkmate, I took an oath- an oath I want to break. But there's only one way to leave Checkmate," Tess said.
Oliver sighed and finally sat down. He wasn't really sure what he was feeling. There was compassion and anger.
"What are you gonna do?" he asks Tess.
"I'm gonna go AWOL. I'm gonna go underground," Tess said, really hoping he wasn't hating her.
Okay, he wasn't going to lie; he felt bad for her. He felt sorry for her at the moment, but it wasn't really weighing anything compared to the anger. "That's good. You know, I gotta ask you a question, though. Did it hurt to do something moral for once, Tess? Did it hurt you?"
That wasn't the reaction Tess wanted. "Oliver... I'm taking a chance just being out here with you in the open."
"Yeah, okay, I understand that," Oliver said, relenting a tiny bit. "Okay, we've gotten that far. What is it that you want? You're asking me for something. What is it you want? What do you want?"
"Forgive me, Oliver. Oliver, I need your help. Please," she said, touching his hand.
Something in Oliver softened for a moment. "There are times when I wish I could go back - those Santorini sunsets... your freckles... and your big dreams of changing the world. Back when I could trust you," he said thoughtfully as Tess was remembering those times, but then the softness went away. "Then you betrayed me, Tess. You, of all people." Oliver started to get up again. "And if you ever come near me or my friends ever again... I will expose you to the world. Do you understand?" he said and then he walked away.
Part of him felt bad for what just went down, but the other part, the bigger part couldn't just give Tess a free pass... All thoughts of Tess vanished from his mind when he saw Chloe.
"Hi," Chloe greeted.
"Hey," he said back. She's fine, Queen. Look at her. You're seeing her with your own eyes. She's safe and she's here.
"Thanks for keeping my seat warm at Watchtower," she smiled.
"You're welcome- don't get used to it," he chuckled.
"Oh, but your timing is so good. I mean, if you hadn't flipped that Castle's electric switch when you did, I would-"
"Chloe-" he started
"But I- you know, I kind of liked being out in the field, knowing I had a warm bed to come to," she said, enjoying the little conversation.
"That's very, very funny," Oliver said. But then he got serious and he wondered if what he was going to say was going to scare her off and make her do her Chloe thing. He hoped not, because she needed to know that he had been freaking out tonight.
"You scared the life out of me," he told her and he waited to see how she would react.
Don't freak out Sullivan. No more of that. It's okay that he was worried. Remember what you decided. Just go with the flow and let whatever happens happen. You were freaking out earlier, too when you thought something happened to him- just go with it. It's okay.
"You better be careful, Ollie. I'm gonna start to think you're falling for me," she said gently, teasing. She said the words and she felt fine about it. And what shocked her was that as she said the words aloud, she found that she wasn't so freaked out anymore. The idea that Oliver was falling for her, well let's be honest, had fallen for her, actually didn't scare her today.
Oliver smiled at her and they walked away hand in hand and Chloe didn't even try to pull away. She'd let him keep her hand in his. She wasn't going to lie, this was still awkward for her, this sweet type of closeness- but it wasn't scaring her and it didn't feel bad at all, and it made him happy which made Chloe smile. He didn't want a lot from her, it was only fair to do what she could in return. And honestly, after the day they'd both had, she was just really happy to see him- relieved actually, and she wasn't going to push him away.
"Just so you know, you're staying with me tonight, Professor," Oliver said casually and Chloe couldn't help but laugh.
"Am I? When did I decide that?"
"Well you actually didn't. That was all me. But I figure, since you scared the hell out of me and nearly gave me a heart attack, you're in no position to say no, and you can't use Watchtower as an excuse either because no one's on mission tonight."
You've stayed with him a few times before. Don't freak out. It's fine. Don't think for once.
Chloe laughed again. "I suppose we can do this your way tonight, Blondie, as long as there's food involved because I'm kind of starving," she teased. "We just have to stop at my place for a minute so I can grab a couple things then I'm all yours."
Sullivan, I wish you were all mine. I'm working on it.
Chloe was pretty much in and out of the Talon. She'd just grabbed an extra change of clothes and her toothbrush and scrawled out a note for Lois.
"Alright Ollie, I'm good. Let's get out of here."
"That was fast," he chuckled.
"I told you all I needed was a minute," Chloe laughed, dragging him out the door with her.
"I know your car is right here, but be kind to me tonight, Sidekick. Let's not use your car tonight. Please, my legs couldn't handle it," he joked.
"Fine, fine," Chloe said dramatically, which made Oliver laugh.
"You wanna walk or should I call for a car?" Oliver asked her.
"We can walk if you want to. It shouldn't take long, but the second we walk through your doors we're grabbing the take-out delivery menus and ordering from about five different places because I want lots and lots of food."
"I'm calling for a car," Oliver laughed. "We'll get you food faster that way, then we won't need to get it delivered."
"And by a car, you do mean an actual car right? Chloe Sullivan does not do limos," she said.
"Yes, Chloe," he laughed. "An actual car will come."
"Okay, go ahead and call and for a car... God, that's such a rich boy thing to do," she said, teasing him.
Oliver just grinned at her. "Where should I tell them to get us?"
"How about at the corner of the street behind Mario's. There's usually no one around there," Chloe suggested, beginning to cross the street.
Oliver told whoever he was talking to where to pick them up and then when he was done he gently teased Chloe. "I knew it would only be a matter of time before you realized you were out walking with me and started to freak out that someone might see us."
"I'm not freaking out. I'd say I'm pretty calm, actually. Give me a little credit Mr. Queen, I'm doing well for a girl who's big on her privacy," Chloe told him.
"I'm just teasing," he grinned.
"You wanna do me a favour, Ollie?" Chloe asked with a sweet smile plastered on her face.
Oliver looked at her and chuckled. "What do you want, Professor?"
"Coffee, like right now, but I don't wanna go in there because the guy sitting at the counter, while I'm sure is perfectly nice, annoys the hell out of me... Yeah and I know you're gonna say something like 'Coffee? Why coffee? We're going to be eating in like fifteen minutes.' But I don't care," she laughed. "I need some coffee now. Please be nice to me."
"Okay, okay. I'll go get you your coffee," Oliver said with a laugh as he left.
"Thank you," Chloe said.
The streets were pretty dead and Chloe was kind of surprised. There were usually more people still around at this time. Maybe it was later than she thought.
Oh well.
Chloe leaned against the wall and waited for Oliver, drumming her fingers against her leg. It was so quiet outside until she heard someone scream. Some people may have ran into the coffee shop and grabbed Oliver and told him to come see what was up with her, or would have called their alien best friend who could run faster than you could blink and was stronger than almost anything, or call the other speedster buddy she had, but no, this was Chloe, so of course, she headed in the direction of the scream.
She rounded the corner and saw a woman cowering in the corner against the wall.
"Just take the damn purse. Go. Don't hurt me again, please, I'm pregnant," the woman choked out.
"Hey!" Chloe screamed. "Get the hell away from her.
The man turned his attention to Chloe now, coming towards her.
"Bitch, just keep on walking or I'm gonna turn my attention to you," he threatened.
"Bitch? You haven't seen Bitch yet," Chloe seethed, dialling 911 and grabbing for her tazer.
Chloe was a tough cookie, but she wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to try to get into an actual one on one fight with this guy, that's why she grabbed the tazer.
"Run!" she told the other woman.
The man was quickly approaching Chloe, who was giving her location to the police dispatcher as fast as she could.
Chloe didn't know what the man had done to the pregnant woman, but she wasn't moving. It was like she was too scared to move. But she could scream, and she did.
"Someone. We need help. Please!" the woman yelled.
The man wasn't even five feet away from Chloe now.
"Buddy, I promise you that if you get much closer you're seriously gonna regret it," Chloe warned, ready to user the tazer at any second.
Before the guy could do anything, he was flying backwards and Chloe looked confused.
Then she realized what happened. Oliver and Clark had apparently both just arrived and had the same idea- to shove this guy the hell away from Chloe.
Chloe knew for a fact that there were no cameras in this area so she didn't need to worry about Clark getting caught on tape super-speeding.
"Thanks guys," Chloe said. "It's not exactly what I meant when I was telling him he was gonna regret it, but it worked out well," she tried to sound calm and casual, knowing they'd both want to give her hell for being stupid. "I'm fine. She's the one who needs help. She's pregnant. I don't know how bad he hurt her" she said, making her way over to the woman. She looked to be about Chloe's age.
"Hey," Chloe said gently. "Everything's going to be fine now. He's not gonna hurt you again. I promise. You can open your eyes now," she said as she knelt in front of the woman. "You think you can get up? Here, take my hands. Let me help you up."
The woman opened her eyes and smiled at Chloe. "Thank you," she said, taking Chloe's hands.
"No problem," Chloe said. "I didn't really do anything, though. I just yelled at the guy."
"It's more than that man did. Some guy saw him roughing me up and just walked by. For someone so tiny, what you did was really brave, so seriously, thank you," the woman said.
"You're welcome," Chloe said. "But the actual physical damage to Mr. Ass-Face was done by the Hot Boys, there," Chloe said, pointing at Clark and Oliver.
"Thanks," the woman said weakly.
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked her.
Clark and Oliver started to move closer, but Chloe noticed the woman cringe as they did so, so Chloe motioned them not to come closer. "They're good guys, I promise. They won't hurt you," Chloe assured the woman.
"Sorry," the woman said quietly to Oliver and Clark. "It's just-"
Chloe cut her off. "Don't worry, they're not offended. They're cool. But no worries- we'll keep the testosterone on that side of the street for now," Chloe said with a wink at the woman, who managed a little laugh.
"What did he do to you?" Chloe asked.
"I think my baby's fine, he didn't go near my stomach but he punched me twice and then threw me to the ground, but I landed on my butt."
"What the hell happened here?" Clark asked Oliver quietly as Chloe continued talking to the woman.
"Your best friend wasn't thinking with her brain, that's what happened," Oliver said, exasperated. "I go into that stupid shop to get her coffee because she didn't want to come in because there's some annoying guy or something, and then I come out and where the hell's Chloe? Well she's over here ready to throw down with the dirtbag who's like two and half times her size... That's when we both got here."
Clark just shook his head. "Yep, that sounds about right. Chloe, smartest woman I know, but things like this, she does stuff without thinking. Or rather she thinks with her guts, which she's got tons of, instead of her brain. She just wants to help...But she's okay. That's what matters," Clark said.
"Yeah, you're right. That's what's important right now... She's good with that woman, isn't she?" Oliver said. "She seems a lot calmer now. She seems to feel safe with Chloe."
"Yeah, Chloe's doing good with her," Clark said with a smile. "If Chloe herself isn't freaking out about something, she's got an uncanny talent for calming people down and making them feel safe."
"Yeah, she likes to make others feel safe. She tells others it's okay to be scared and ask for help, but she's so damn stubborn that she will hardly ever admit when she's scared or ask for help herself. She can drive you insane," Oliver said, smiling a bit and shaking his head at the same time.
Clark's phone went off and Oliver said, "Everything's fine here now. You can get out of here if you need to."
"If they're both really okay, yeah, I've kinda gotta jet... Okay, I'm gonna go say bye."
Clark walked over to where Chloe was and said, "Now that I can see that everything's Okay, I've gotta go, Chloe "
"No worries. Thanks for the help," Chloe said.
"Anytime," Clark said.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm glad you're okay Miss," Clark said to Selena before heading off.
"Could you do me one favour?" Chloe asked the woman.
"Sure."
"Could you just leave my friend out of what you say to the police. It's just- if he didn't have to deal with anything else right now, it would be appreciated."
"No problem. I didn't really see anything anyway. I kind of chickened out and closed my eyes."
"Okay," Chloe said.
Oliver kept his eye on the creep on the ground. The guy looked like he was trying to get up. "Going after a pregnant woman and a woman who's less than half your size- I hate guys like you. You don't want to get up right now. Trust me" Oliver warned. "Stay the hell down," he said, pushing his foot into the guy's back.
"The police are gonna be here soon. And then you can tell them what happened and I'll tell them what I saw and then I'm sure they'll take you to the hospital just to check that everything's okay. And then I'm sure you can go home and rest up. I bet you're looking forward to that," Chloe said to the woman.
"I'm Selena, by the way," the woman said, sidestepping Chloe's last statement.
"I'm Chloe," she told her, noticing the topic switch. "Umm, I'm sorry if I'm intruding but I couldn't help but notice the side-step there. Do you have a place to go back to?"
The woman took a breath.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this. I don't even know you, but there's something comforting and familiar about you... Okay, so honest answer: no. I don't have anywhere to go to tonight. I got kicked out. My jackass boyfriend kicked me out. I don't have any family around here so I was heading off to the women's shelter. That's why I brought my stupid suitcase."
"The boyfriend... He's your baby's father?" Chloe asked.
"Yep."
"And he kicked you out?" Chloe asked again, shocked.
"Yeah," Selena laughed sadly.
"Wow...Are you really picky about a place to stay?" Chloe asked her, thinking about something.
"I was heading to a shelter, so no, I'm not picky. It's not like I have any money- I can't be picky. There's no money in this purse, that's why I told the guy to take it."
"I'm pretty sure I can help you out," Chloe said, really wanting to do something nice for this woman. "But to do that, I'm gonna need to run away for a few minutes, okay? I'll be back, really, really soon. I promise. And he won't go anywhere, alright?" she said, pointing to Oliver. "He'll stay so you'll be fine. Does that sound okay?" Chloe asked.
"S-sure," the woman stammered. "Thank you."
"Okay, I'll be back in a few," Chloe said, heading over to Oliver. She couldn't resist the urge to kick the creepy mugger guy so she gave into the urge. "Oops? Did I do that?" Chloe said with false sweetness.
The man groaned in pain and Oliver couldn't help but grin.
"Okay, I'll be right back," Chloe said.
"Where do you think you're going?" Oliver asked her.
Chloe smirked. "I'm not going far. You can even see where I'm going. Stop being paranoid. Nothing's gonna happen to me. Watch her and make sure he stays down and away from her."
"Hurry up," Oliver said. "You're gonna give me a freakin' heart-attack tonight, Sidekick."
Chloe stopped at the ATM machine and pulled out a bunch of money. Being sidekick to heroes and having a really rich guy for a boss (but only technically, cuz she couldn't really associate Oliver with the word boss) came in handy right now in terms of money. The team wasn't rich, but Oliver paid everyone well. He'd give them all more, but everyone was against it. They did what they did to help people, not for money. Chloe had enough in her account that she could take this much out right now and still be fine for money. She wasn't too big a spender so she'd saved up a decent amount.
After she took out the money from the ATM, she headed over and into the little coffee shop that she didn't want to go into before.
Not even two minutes later, Chloe was back and she had a big smile on her face. Oliver looked at her questioningly, but he could wait. She needed to tell Selena first.
"You've got a place to stay," Chloe said.
"Are you serious?" Selena asked.
"Yeah. It's not big or anything, but it's somewhere cozy and warm. And Rocco and his wife are sweet people. I've seen the room myself before, I think you'll like it. It's just above the coffee shop. I remember Rocco telling me last week that they were thinking of renting out one of the rooms for a little extra money, so then I just thought about you a few minutes ago."
"But I can't afford-"
"Don't worry about that. It's fine. I took care of it. You've got seven months without worrying about a place to stay and somehow I think you'll have everything figured out by then and things will be better anyway," Chloe told her.
And then Selena launched herself at Chloe, and for a second Oliver thought he'd have to intervene but stopped moving and laughed to himself. The woman was hugging Chloe. She was obviously grateful for something.
Chloe was a little taken aback but finally hugged the woman back.
"Thank you so much, Chloe. You don't even know me and you were just kinder to me than most people I've known my whole life," Selena said.
"No problem," Chloe said. "I'm glad I could help."
"I'm gonna pay you back when I can," Selena said.
"Don't worry about it," Chloe said.
"Ladies, the cops are finally here," Oliver called out.
Chloe and Selena made their way to where Oliver was.
"This is the one you want to be putting in the back of your car," Oliver said, pointing at the loser on the ground.
"I need to talk to whoever called us first," the officer said.
"That was me," Chloe said. "I was in front of the coffee shop and then I heard a scream, so I ran over to see what had happened. She was cowering in the corner and he was looming over her, and she had told him to leave her alone and not hurt her again. She told him she was pregnant and told him to just take her purse and leave her alone, but it looked like he was gonna hurt her again so then I screamed. I told him to leave her alone. He yelled at me to keep walking or else he'd turn his attention over to me. I didn't keep walking and so he did turn his attention over to me," Chloe said.
"I take it, that's where you come in," the officer said, looking at Oliver.
"He was coming at her, so I just made sure he didn't have the chance to actually get to her. I threw him to the ground, I think he hit his head," Oliver said.
"Okay miss, can you tell me what happened?" the officer asked Selena.
"Well I was walking and I noticed that he was following me so I tried to change my path, but that didn't work. He ran in front of me..." Selena continued to tell the officer what happened.
"When this is done, we're getting in the car that's now waiting for us, we are speeding to get you food and then we are locking ourselves away in my place for the rest of the night and the morning and then I might let you go in the afternoon, but only if you absolutely insist," Oliver whispered into Chloe's ear.
Chloe bit her lip. "I should put up a fight, just to see the look on your face but I'm kinda drained right now, so there's not going to be any objections here," Chloe said. "I'll hang around in the morning," she said, giving him a poke in the side.
"Ouch," he muttered. "What was that for?"
"I dunno," she laughed. "It's funny. I'm tired."
"Do you need us for anything else?" Chloe asked the police officer. But the woman just shook her head.
"Nope. You guys can head out. Another officer will be here in a minute to haul tough guy here off to a cell," the officer said, cuffing the man on the floor. He still hadn't moved. He was smarter than he looked, Chloe guessed.
He didn't want an ass-kicking so he kept his mouth shut when he knew things weren't going his way.
"As soon as the other officer gets here, I'm gonna take this one to the hospital," she said, pointing to Selena. "It's the end of my shift and I'm heading there anyway."
"Chloe, thanks again- so much. And I will be paying you back."
"I told you not to worry about it, alright? It was good to do something nice... When you're done at the hospital and you come back, you just tell Rocco and his wife who you are and they'll get you settled in. I can come check on you tomorrow if you'd like," Chloe said.
"Would you? That would be really nice," Selena said.
"Okay, sounds like a plan. Get some rest and relax. I'll see you tomorrow, probably later in the afternoon. I'm gonna do a bit of relaxing of my own too," Chloe said.
"Have a good night ladies," Oliver said, addressing the officer and Selena.
"You too, Mr. Queen," the officer responded with a grin.
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You know who I am?"
"A lot of people know that face of yours. I suggest you get a move on. I'm assuming you're not in the mood for a camera crew, which by the way is beginning to approach us. I guess someone saw you."
"Thanks for the warning," Chloe and Oliver said at the same time. Oliver grabbed Chloe's hand and they headed off.
The car was waiting for them and Chloe and Oliver quickly got inside and the car took off just as fast.
"Alright Professor, what's on the menu?" Oliver asked.
"Fifteen minutes ago I wanted to stuff my face with anything and everything, but I'm more tired than I thought, so let's just grab a burger and fries from whatever is closest so we can hurry up, get back to your place and get comfy."
"Sounds like a plan," Oliver said. Oliver told the driver where to go and then got back to Chloe.
"Okay so before I ask what was going on with you and the woman, I have to tell you that you're a little bit nuts and a whole lot of stubborn. I know it's pretty much against being you, but you need to learn how to ask for help, okay? Especially when there's people around to help. And that's all I'm gonna say about that because I know you're just gonna change the topic anyway," Oliver said, and Chloe couldn'thelp but smile a bit.
"So what was she talking about when she said she'd pay you back?"
"She didn't have anywhere to stay, she was heading for the women's shelter when that creep started to knock her around," Chloe said.
"What about her boyfriend or husband or whatever the guy is to her that got her pregnant in the first place?" Oliver asked.
"He's the one who kicked her out," Chloe said, a hint of disgust in her voice.
"What a douche," Oliver said.
"I agree with your assessment," Chloe said.
"That guy is a low-life. I mean, you get someone pregnant, there's an obligation there, even if you're not together."
"But they were together. What she said was 'my jackass boyfriend kicked me out.' What a prince," Chloe said. "Anyway, I wanted to help her. I dunno, I didn't like the idea of her being pregnant and in a shelter. She should be comfortable and shelters are great and all, but I imagine she wouldn't have much space of her own. I can't imagine that it would be all that comfortable... I dunno, I mean she's already got a baby to worry about. She shouldn't have to worry about a place to stay on top of that- and I could help, so I did. ..No big deal, I remember Rocco mentioning last week that he was thinking about renting out one of his rooms so he and his wife could make a bit of extra money. I talked to Rocco, gave him 2000 dollars and he said that would be good for 7 months. He'd been thinking of charging between 275-300 a month- it's not a lot. They're nice people, they really did just want a little extra money at the end of the month."
"That was really nice of you," Oliver said.
"I have my moments," Chloe laughed as they pulled into the take-out lane.
Three minutes later Chloe had a burger and fries in hands. "Yay, food," she said as she took a bite of the burger. "Why didn't you get yourself anything? You want some?" she asked Oliver, offering her burger.
"Nah, I'm okay," Oliver said. "You eat."
"I'm wiling to bet that you haven't eaten all day. Let's not forget that you were kidnapped today, too- not just me. And then you were at some kind of function or dinner thing that I know you didn't actually eat dinner at, that and then you were all flipped out because of me- so here, share with me. Have some," she insisted, shoving the burger into his hand, as she grabbed some fries for herself.
"Okay, okay- if you insist," Oliver laughed, taking a bite out of the burger and then passing it back to her. As he did so, she pushed the fries at him. "Have some."
"Fine, we'll share, but you gotta eat something else when we get to my place."
"Sure, whatever," Chloe said. "I won't give you a hard time. I'm feeling nice," she grinned.
"Oh thank you so much. You're ever so sweet. I know how much you enjoy driving me nuts, so this is appreciated," Oliver teased but then got serious. "You're okay, right?"
"Yes, Ollie. I'm fine. This guy didn't even get the chance to touch me. Yeah, the Checkmate asses threw me around, but I'm fine. I swear. There aren't even bruises," she said, partially annoyed but mostly touched that he was worried that much, that he cared that much.
"I'll even let you check," she added cheekily in a whisper.
This isn't SO hard, Sullivan, see?
"I fully intend to take you up on that," Oliver said with a grin of his own.
