"When were you planning on telling the team about this?" Bruce had walked into his study to find Jason holding the arrow head he'd found underneath Felicity's window. "I looked up what the writing means," Jason continued. "It says 'Al Sah Him will have his rightful property'." He glared at Bruce. "Where did you find this?"
"Underneath Felicity's window, the morning after the gala."
Jason's face twisted into an expression of rage. "That was 3 weeks ago." He growled. "That psycho was on the property and targeted Felicity and you didn't think it was important enough to tell us?" He glared down at the desk. "Or did you just not think it was relevant to tell me?"
"I didn't tell anyone because I contacted Ra's." Bruce said. "He removed Al Sah Him from Gotham, which means we have a truce for now."
Jason shook his head. "I'm telling the others." He said. He'd just made it to the door, when he paused. "You know, you can lecture Dick about not letting his emotions cloud his judgement. About not letting what happened to Barb dictate his actions… but you're just as angry as he is. You contacted Ra's because you wanted him and Al Sah Him to be at odds. Now either Ra's kills him for disobeying his orders or Al Sah Him kills Ra's and ascends to his position…either way, you get to destroy what was left of Oliver Queen, which is what you wanted all along."
He slammed the door behind him. Walking down the stairs he made his way to the living room. Nyssa, Laurel, Tim, Thea and Roy were all there. Nyssa was meditating with Thea. Laurel was playing chess with Tim and Roy was reading.
"I've got something important to tell you guys…" He looked around. "I know Palmer and Digg went back to Starling, but where's Dick and Felicity?"
"Apparently the circus is in town." Laurel said dryly.
Jason sighed. "Tim, call Kate and tell her to get her ass over here." He pulled out his phone to call Dick. It went straight to voicemail. Felicity's phone did the same. He groaned. "I guess I'm going to have to go find them." He shook his head.
"Kate says she's out with Renee and" Tim winced, "that things are just about to get…interesting."
"Tell her I don't care." Jason said.
20 minutes later Kate walked in. "Todd, this had better be good because I was this close."
"Not that close." Renee said, following her in. "What's up?"
Jason dropped the arrow head on the center table. "Nyssa, I'm guessing you can translate this better than what I found on the internet?"
Nyssa picked up the arrowhead and scrutinized the writing on it.
"Al Sah Him will have his rightful property." She said. "He is in Gotham and wants to challenge me for my title?"
"Sort of right." Jason said. "He was in Gotham, but that arrow head was found under someone else's window."
Laurel was the first to realize what he was talking about. "You can't be serious."
Jason nodded. "It was under Felicity's window."
"Couldn't you just have said that instead of making a big dramatic fuss about it?" Kate said.
"Oliver wants Felicity?" Thea said.
"No, Al Sah Him wants Felicity." Nyssa said. "There's a difference."
"Oliver loves Felicity." Roy said. "He's not going to hurt her."
"He referred to her as his property." Nyssa said. "Would the man you knew have done that?"
"There's another problem." Kate said. "If he's declared Felicity his property, then he'd most likely attack anyone who posed a challenge to that claim." She looked around the room. "And judging from their absence, I'm guessing Dick is disobeying Al Sah Him's property claim as we speak."
"The circus is closed." Felicity laughed. "What are we even doing here?"
"Trust me." Dick said. "I know a guy." Felicity stopped and picked up a fallen program.
"Haly's circus." She read. "Wait…is this your old circus?"
"Uh huh." Dick said. Leading her through the various tents he stopped in front of one of the larger ones. "Here we are." There was a bell hanging on the outside of the tent. He rang it. An old man in a ring master's uniform opened the door. He smiled kindly at Felicity, then turned to look at Dick. His face split into a grin.
"Dick Grayson as I live and breathe." He stood aside. "Come in!" ushering them inside he led them over to some chairs. Felicity looked around the tent. It was full of old circus memorabilia. She noted that the largest of these was a poster advertising 'The Flying Graysons'."
"Mr. Haly, this is my friend Felicity. Felicity, this is C.C. Haly the circus owner and ringmaster."
Haly took Felicity's hand and gave it a kiss. "Friend, you say." His eyes twinkled with amusement. "You know, I helped deliver Dick." Dick groaned.
"Not this story again."
Haly ignored him. "It was a dark and stormy night."
"It was a sunny afternoon in March." Dick corrected.
"We were on the road when his mother went into labor." Haly continued. Dick covered his face.
"There wasn't a hospital to be seen for miles, his mother was screaming and his father fainted."
"That did not happen." Dick said.
"Where you there?" Haly asked.
"Considering that this is the story of my birth, I'd say yes." Dick retorted. Felicity giggled.
"I haven't had a good audience for this story in years, Grayson." Haly smiled, turning to Felicity he said, "you'll forgive an old man his eccentricities?"
"Of course." Felicity said.
"Well, where was I? Oh yes. His father had fainted."
"Didn't happen." Dick mouthed.
"I had never seen such a sight. The man had done death defying tricks for years, but was brought low by the birth of his child. There was no one else in that train car but 2 clowns, a horse rider, and an elephant."
"There was no elephant." Dick said.
"So of course the task of helping his poor mother fell to me." Haly said. "After 20 hours of labor, by which time his father had woken up, his mother had brought this beautiful baby boy into this world."
Dick grinned.
"I was hoping to see you when we passed through Gotham." Haly said.
"You're lucky. I'm actually living in Bludhaven now, though I'm on leave." Dick said. "How's the circus?"
"We hit a bit of a financial tough spot, but we pulled through." The old ringmaster's expression changed. "We are so grateful that we were able to overcome it."
Dick flushed. "I um…I was wondering if I could show Felicity the big top."
"Of course," Haly looked insulted that Dick even had to ask.
"Thank you." Dick stood and held out his hand.
"No." Haly said, grasping Dick's hand. "Thank you."
Dick and Felicity left the tent. "Why do I feel like I missed something?" Felicity asked.
"A few years back the circus was about to go under." Dick explained. "I gave them a pretty big anonymous donation." He shifted. "I don't know how Haly figured out it was me."
Felicity looped her arm through his and leaned against him.
"Come on." Dick said. "The big top's this way." He tugged Felicity behind him.
"You look like a kid in a candy store." Felicity laughed as she let him lead her forward. Dick pulled aside the curtain and they entered the big top.
"It looks a lot bigger from in here." Felicity pulled away from Dick and slowly turned, taking in the entirety of the interior of the bright yellow and red tent. She turned to look up at the platforms on the top of the tent poles where the acrobats would stand during their performance. "That's really high up."
Dick walked into the center of the arena. He looked up at the net which had been left over from the last performance. Felicity came to stand beside him. "Is it difficult? To be here after…"
"A little." Dick said. "But I'd like to think they'd be proud of me." He smiled. "Okay, now for phase 2 of my plan." He walked over to an equipment locker on the side of the arena and pulled out a harness.
"What are you going to do with that?" Felicity asked.
"Me? Nothing, this is for you." Dick grinned. Felicity looked at the harness. Then she looked up at the ceiling of the big top.
"Oh no."
"Come on." Dick said.
"I have this thing about heights." Felicity said.
Dick walked over to her. "If you really don't want to try this, then I understand. But, if you decide you want to, I'll be right there with you and you'll have both the harness and the net."
Felicity looked nervously up at the platforms. "I thought you didn't use a net."
"No, I don't, but I'm not willing to let you take the same types of risks that I do." Dick said. "It's your choice."
"You won't drop me?"
"I am insulted that you would even think me capable." Dick huffed.
Felicity took a steadying breath and held out her hand for the harness.
"You're sure?" Dick asked, handing it to her.
"Don't ask me, I might change my mind." Felicity grumbled. "I'm just really glad you told me to wear jeans."
"Kinda regretting that now." Dick said as he checked over the harness. "It would have made for a good show."
He dodged as she aimed a smack for his chest. "Be nice." He said. "Okay. I'm going to go up the ladder first so I can help you up on to the platform."
Climbing the ladder was a lot easier than Felicity had first assumed. The trick was to concentrate on what was in front of her…which happened to be Dick as he climbed. She found herself mesmerized watching the ease with which he went up. In no time at all she'd made it to the platform. Dick held out his hand and pulled her up.
"See, was that so bad?" He asked.
"Not really." Felicity said, looking away. Dick arched an eyebrow.
"You were checking out my ass, weren't you?" He said.
"No." Felicity muttered.
"Liar." Dick laughed. "It's okay to admit it. I work very hard so women have something to ogle at.
Felicity shook her head, and accidentally looked over the side of the platform. The distance to the bottom made her head spin. Dick grabbed on to her and pulled her away from the edge.
"Hey, eyes on me." He said. "See this?" He held up a carabineer. "This is attached to a safety wire that runs from this platform to the one on the opposite side of the tent. It will move with you. If you slip or fall this will hold you up."
"So basically I'll be dangling like a piece of meat over a shark tank." Felicity grumbled. "How will I get down?"
"That's what the net is for." Dick said as he clipped the carabineer onto the safety harness.
"What?" Felicity hissed.
"Either that, or I swing down, grab you Tarzan style and bring you back to one of the platforms." He paused. "Wait that sounds like way more fun. But that option means you have to go back down the ladder." He shrugged. "It's up to you." Grabbing a pole, he used it to bring two of the trapezes towards the platform. "Walk up to the edge." He instructed.
Felicity closed her eyes and inched slowly towards the edge. "You're not going to die." She whispered to herself. "You're not going to die."
"Way to stay positive." Dick said. He took her hand and placed it on the trapeze. "Now hold on to this." Felicity gripped it tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"Relax." Dick whispered gently.
"Easy for you to say." Felicity said. "Not all of us learned to do this before we were potty trained."
"Put your other hand on the trapeze." Dick said. She did as he said. "Look straight ahead. Concentrate on the other platform."
"But it's too far away." Felicity said. "In order to reach it I'd have to transfer to a second trapeze in the middle which would involve letting go and – "
"You're thinking too much." Dick came to stand behind her. "Listen to your breathing. Don't over analyze." He looked down at her. "Do you trust me?"
She looked forward at the other platform and cleared her mind. "Yes." She said. She was surprise by the ease with which she answered him, but she knew it was the truth.
"Then trust that I won't let anything bad happen to you while you're up here." Dick said. He moved away to take his position at the other end of the platform with the second trapeze. "I'm going to count down from 3."
"I'm going to die."
"No you won't." Dick said.
"Just promise that you'll observe the proper Jewish funerary rites." Felicity said.
"3" Dick said.
Felicity whimpered.
"2"
She closed her eyes.
"1"
She jumped. There was a rush of air as she flew away from the platform. She screamed, but by some miracle managed to hold on.
"How does it feel?" Dick asked. She could hear his voice somewhere next to her, but she refused to open her eyes.
"You mean besides mind numbingly terrifying?" She asked.
"Swing your legs back and forth in time with the trapeze." Dick instructed. "Good."
She finally opened her eyes. The feel of moving through the air was amazing. She felt another rush, but this time, it wasn't terror, it was excitement. She turned to look at Dick only to see that he'd somehow managed to flip and was hanging on to the trapeze with his legs.
"You can't resist showing off, can you?"
"And you can't say that you're not having fun." Dick retorted. He reached out and grabbed hold of one of the trapezes in the center. Doing a handstand on it, he once again positioned himself so he was hanging upside down.
"Wait!" Felicity panicked as she swung away from him. "Don't leave me here."
"The next time we meet in the middle, you're going to let go and I'll catch you." Dick shouted.
"WHAT?!"
"Trust me." Dick said. Felicity closed her eyes as she swung forward. She let go. For a few heart stopping seconds, she felt nothing but empty air, then Dick grabbed her arms.
"Hey." He said. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Hey." She said, cursing her voice for being so breathy. She was really glad he hadn't dropped her.
"You do know that the cable would have prevented you from falling, right?" Dick grinned. "And that there's a net?"
"I'm just glad I didn't end up as shark bait." Felicity said.
"Well, you do make a tasty morsel." Dick said, then winced. "Too weird?"
"Definitely." Felicity grinned. "My arms are getting a little tired, though."
Dick gave her a calculating look. "Trust me?" He asked.
"Yeah, wh-"
Dick pulled her up for a kiss. Felicity wound her arms over his shoulders, one hand coming to rest on his neck while the other slipped into his hair. Then she heard a click.
"Dick." She squealed when she realized he'd unclipped the safety harness. "Don't you dAAAAAAAARE" She yelled as Dick loosened the grip his legs had on the trapeze. They fell, the net catching them. Felicity landed on her back with Dick on top of her, his face on her stomach.
"You JERK." She shouted, shoving his shoulders. "I hope you broke your nose." She lay back and tried to catch her breath, watching the trapezes which were still swinging back and forth.
Dick looked at her with amusement. "Was it really that bad?" he asked.
Felicity closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of weightlessness, of flying. "No." She admitted softly. "It wasn't…that bad." She smiled. "It was actually kind of amazing."
There was a slow clapping noise from the audience. They turned to see Tim and Jason.
"I hope we're not interrupting." Jason said.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dick asked as he sat up and got off the net. Turning, he helped Felicity get back on the ground.
"Saving your lives." Jason said. "No need to thank us."
"You guys need to come back to the manor." Tim said.
"Why?' Dick asked. Felicity began untying her safety harness.
"Because of this." Jason handed Dick a picture. "How's your Arabic these days?"
Dick looked at the picture and froze. "Where did you get this?" He asked.
"Bruce found the arrowhead underneath her window." Jason said.
"Which means the manor's been compromised." Dick growled. "Like hell we're going back."
"He found it 3 weeks ago." Jason said. "We're regrouping and coming up with a plan to move forward."
Dick frowned but nodded. "Alright, we'll go back to the manor…for now."
"What is it?" Felicity asked, looking over Dick's shoulder. "What does it say. "
"It's declaring you the property of Al Sah Him." Dick said. "He's basically telling me to back off or else."
Al Sah Him was dragged before the Demon's head. He'd been kept in a cell for 3 weeks, only receiving food and water when someone felt like delivering it. Ra's obviously believed it would act as punishment.
"Do you know why I kept you in that cell?" Ra's asked. Al Sah Him remained silent. "Our agreement with the Bat is not to be violated."
"Why not?" Al Sah Him hissed. "What could he possibly do to us?"
"You are a fool to underestimate your opponent." Ra's said. "It is what caused you to lose the battle with me."
"You're the fool, old man." Al Sah Him taunted. Standing, he pulled the knife Serab had slipped him earlier and stabbed Ra's in the back. Ra's turned, his eyes wide. He coughed, blood dribbling down his chin.
"I will destroy the Bat and all those who threaten my rule." Al Sah Him declared. "And I will eliminate all those who seek to take what is rightfully mine." Pulling out the dagger, he tore the ring off Ra's' hand and watched as his lifeless body fell to the ground. Turning to the assembled assassins, he held up the Demon's ring.
"Kneel before the Demon's head." He demanded. A thrill ran through him as they all dropped to their knees. He was so close. There was just one thing he needed in order to help him regain what was his.
"I need to go to Starling."
