Heir Apparent
Chapter 12 – Between Sharp Point And A Hard Place
"Good, you're awake" a voice said as Nyssa slowly awoke. Her mind was still fogged and her movements stilted as she slowly sat up. "I was beginning to think that you would be unconscious all night."
"Where am I?" Nyssa asked as she looked around, trying to focus her eyes. It looked like some sort of warehouse but she couldn't be sure; her eyes wouldn't focus properly and the lighting around her was very bright, causing her to shut her eyes again.
"The effects of the tranquiliser should wear off in the next half hour or so," the voice, Nyssa determined it was a female's voice, said. "By that time, your husband should be well on his way here." Nyssa's eyes shot open at this and she jumped to her feet, both her eyes and body objecting to the sudden light and movement but Nyssa ignored it.
She was in a cage, Nyssa discovered, centred in a large open area with numerous powerful lights focused on her, shrouding everything past them in darkness. Searching the darkness slowly and carefully, Nyssa picked out a shadow that was not one of the walls; it was standing just outside the lights near a pair of tables with unidentifiable equipment laid out on them.
"Where am I?" Nyssa asked again, staring at the shadow.
"A warehouse on the outskirts of Starling City, Miss Raatko," the shadow answered in a clipped tone. "Easy enough for your husband to find. Especially as I just texted him the address."
"I'm not married yet," Nyssa responded. "Don't you read the newspapers?"
"Spare me, Miss Raatko. Or is it Mrs Queen?" the shadow asked. Nyssa swore she could hear the smirk the woman was wearing. "Or perhaps you prefer Miss al Ghul?" At Nyssa's silence, she continued. "I see I now have your attention."
"Unquestionably," Nyssa stated, her voice hardening in just one word.
"Excellent," the shadow announced. "Now we just have to wait for your husband to join us."
"Why would Oliver come here?" Nyssa questioned, wondering how much this woman actually knew. "Why would he not just contact the police?"
"Oh, Oliver Queen probably wouldn't," the shadow agreed. "But Al Sah-him, he would come himself. As he has before."
"Then I promise you this," Nyssa said, dropping all pretence. This woman obviously knew much about them. "You won't like it when he arrives. Believe me, I have witnessed what he will do."
"Oh, I have seen the images, Miss Raatko. And I cannot wait for his arrival," the shadow declared, stepping into the light to reveal an African American woman in a crisp skirt suit "In fact, I have been waiting to meet him for almost 4 years."
#Arrow#
Oliver was worried. Nyssa wasn't answering her phone and she had yet to return to the Foundry. Not being very good at sitting still and waiting patiently, even after years of practice, Oliver grabbed his bow and headed out to find her; deciding to start at Sin's apartment.
The ride over passed quickly as Oliver wove through traffic, concealing his bike in an alleyway a block from the apartment. Climbing up, Oliver made is way along the rooftops, careful to remain unseen. Seeing no signs of Nyssa, though not expecting to find a trail, he approached the last rooftop edge that would give him a view of the apartment. A shadow shifted to his left and Oliver had an arrow nocked and aimed in the blink of an eye.
"Show yourself," Oliver demanded, his arm steady. "Slowly."
"As you command," the shadow replied as he stepped forward, his hands held out from his body. Oliver noticed the compound bow held in his left hand as the shadow stepped more into the light, revealing the assassin's garb he was wearing. "It is good to see you again, Al Sah-him."
"Saqr," Oliver said, recognising the voice and lowering his bow. "What are you doing here?"
"Ra's al Ghul," Saqr replied. It was the only answer needed.
"We'll discuss why you are in Starling City later," Oliver said. "I meant, what you are doing here?" he asked, gesturing at the rooftop around them.
"I was commanded to report my arrival to either you or Nyssa. My path to your sanctuary took me past Nyssa's safe house, so I decided to check if she was there," Saqr explained. "My arrival coincided with the arrival of a teenage girl being pursued by 4 men. I was surprised when she pulled a set of keys and attempted to access Nyssa's apartment. When she managed to unlock the apartment, I was very surprised."
"What happened to her?" Oliver asked quickly, knowing that wherever Nyssa was, she would be worried for Sin. "She is important to Nyssa."
"I assumed that," Saqr said. "She did not have a chance to enter the apartment before the men arrived. They hit her twice before throwing her to the ground. Observing that their intentions were less than honourable, I intervened."
"How many are dead?" Oliver asked, somewhat dreading the answer though only because of the mess that would need to be cleaned up.
"None," Saqr revealed calmly. "Though 2 will never walk again and none of them will ever bother a woman again."
"Good," Oliver declared. "What happened to the girl?"
"She retreated into the apartment and locked the door. I heard her trying to call Nyssa so I decided to wait for her arrival. She has yet to arrive."
"She is missing," Oliver stated, his unhappiness and anger evident. "The last I saw of her, she was heading here to assist the girl while I dealt with another issue. I have yet to hear from her."
"I saw no signs of a struggle during my travels this night," Saqr said, trying to reassure his friend. "Fear not, Nyssa is quite capable."
"I don't doubt her capability. Never that," Oliver said, exhaling. "But enough ants can fell even a tigress." Saqr was about to reply when Oliver's phone beeped. Checking it, Oliver couldn't prevent the roar of anger that escaped his lips as he dropped his phone, lest he crush it. Retrieving the phone, Saqr saw what had invoked so much anger in Al Sah-him.
He had received a message that showed an image of Nyssa locked in a cage with text beneath it that read: 212 Waterhen Road. No One Dies Or Nyssa Joins Them.
Saqr was shocked. They had locked Nyssa, the wife of Al Sah-him in a cage and then told him where to find her. No one had done such a thing since his master's great enemy had managed to subdue her 2 years ago. The death and destruction wrought on that occasion was still whispered about in the hallways of Nanda Parbat.
"Saqr," Al Sah-him said, his voice full or malice and rage yet still tightly controlled. "My phone." Saqr quickly handed the phone back and watched him make a call. "Namir, gather all those available and meet me two blocks north of 212 Waterhen Road. One hour," Al Sah-him commanded before he hung up. "Saqr, scout the address then meet us where I commanded. I have to change."
"As you command," Saqr replied though Al Sah-him was already walking away, fading into the night. Saqr whispered a short prayer for those that had angered Al Sah-him by stealing his wife before he too faded away.
Neither of them noticed that they had been watched by a single figure in the apartment below them. A figure who now had many questions and couldn't wait to ask them.
#Arrow#
"You have never worked with Al Sah-him?" Namir asked the assassin beside him.
"No," she replied, once again looking around. "But I have heard stories."
"We have all heard stories of Al Sah-him," Namir commented. "The truth can be far different."
"Why have we been summoned here?" She wondered.
"Our place is not to ask questions. It is to do as we are bid," Namir reminded the female assassin as his eyes picked out movement. "And we will find out soon enough." The female had no time to respond as Saqr jumped onto the roof from the neighbouring building and slowly approached the two waiting assassins. "Saqr, it has been many months since we last saw each other."
"Indeed it has, Namir," Saqr replied as he joined the two of them. "Your presence is missed in Nanda Parbat."
"I doubt that," Namir said. "Most never know I am there until I want them too."
"True," Saqr agreed. Namir's ability to remain unseen was well known. Rumour had it that Ra's al Ghul himself would test his abilities against the short assassin. "He has not arrived?"
"We have not seen him," Namir stated noncommittally. "That does not mean he is not here. He was my finest student."
"Why are we here?" The female asked. Namir held back the chastisement on is tongue. This newest breed of assassin had not learnt the art of patience well.
"Because someone committed the worst offence to Al Sah-him," Saqr said. "They took his bride."
"They captured Nyssa?" Namir asked in shock. He, Saqr and two others had seen the aftermath firsthand of the last time Nyssa had been captured; before Al Sah-him and Nyssa had even been married. After that incident, it was rumoured that the organisation that had managed to capture Nyssa had issued orders to make sure that that single act of insanity was never to be repeated.
"They did," Saqr confirmed. "And then they announced it to Al Sah-him."
"They have signed their own death warrants," Namir declared adamantly. "And we will be witness to the wrath of Al Sah-him."
"There will be no deaths this night," A voice proclaimed for the darkness around them. They all turned to see the black garbed figure of Al Sah-him materialise out of the night. "No one dies unless I command it."
"Your will be done," Namir and Saqr stated. Without warning, Al Sah-him's Dao was pressed against the female assassin's throat.
"You will accede to my commands or you will be food for the crows," Al Sah-him threatened, pressing his sword in harder. "I don't know you."
"I am Faridah," the female assassin said, staying absolutely still, lest she provoke a response.
"Faridah, you know who I am?" Al Sah-him questioned. At her answering nod, he continued in a voice that promised death. "Then you know I will not hesitate to end your life if you disobey."
"I will obey your commands," Faridah declared, unable to resist the chill that passed through her at the look in his eyes. As she finished, the sword was removed and sheathed.
"See that you do," Al Sah-him said before turning to Saqr. "Tell me what you saw."
#Arrow#
"I am disappointed, Miss Raatko," the woman said as she walked back into sight, her heels clicking on the concrete floor. "I had thought that your husband would have arrived already."
"Are you sure he hasn't?" Nyssa gibed. She was calmly sitting cross-legged on the floor of the cage, her eyes shut, looking for all intents and purposes without a worry in the world. Truthfully, she had but one worry, and that was for Sin. But she could do nothing until her husband released her.
"Believe me, Miss Raatko, your husband could not approach within a block of this facility without alerting me," the woman boasted, her confidence showing.
"And I would believe you," Nyssa retorted, her eyes still shut. "If it were not for my husband standing behind you." Nyssa could hear the woman turn around slowly and opened her eyes to see her husband standing there, his sword held up to her heart.
"Release her," Al Sah-him commanded, his voice barely above a growl.
"Impressive," the woman said, ignoring the command. "You didn't trip a single alarm. Including the heart beat sensors on my men."
"They are alive, for the moment," Al Sah-him said, his voice unchanged. "Release her."
"Not so fast, Mr Queen," the woman countered, causing Al Sah-him to glance at Nyssa and catching the minute shake of her head. "First, we have some business to discuss."
"Our business extends to you releasing my wife, no further," Al Sah-him said, his arm unwavering. "Unless you would like to add your death?" To Nyssa's surprise, the blonde woman that had confronted her earlier and then led her into a trap dropped from the ceiling where she had been silently perched to land behind her husband. Before she could move to strike with her bo staff though, Oliver had swung his sword to press against her throat while drawing his knife to hold against the African American's. "Or hers?" Oliver asked menacingly.
"And before you could kill us both, your wife would be dead," the woman promised, raising her hand to show the remote she now held. She pressed down on one of the buttons and 4 lasers came to life in the room, all of them pointed at Nyssa. "This is a dead man's switch connected to four M249s which are now armed and pointed at your wife. You can kill us, Mr Queen, but you will leave this building a widower."
"Speak," Al Sah-him said after a full minute of silence. He had considered his options but with only Namir, Saqr and Faridah as assistance, it was better to be patient.
"I thought you would see things my way," the woman said, smiling at the control she now held. "My name is Amanda Waller," she introduced herself.
"A.R.G.U.S." Al Sah-him growled through his mask. Both he and Nyssa knew who Amanda Waller was, they had just never seen her face.
"That is correct, Mr Queen," Waller confirmed. "But we are not here to discuss my affiliations; nor yours, such as they are."
"They why are we here?" Al Sah-him questioned, his patience waning.
"We are here because of the ever increasing number of assassins, agents and operatives from multiple organisations that are converging on Starling City," Waller stated, her tone severe. "And it all began the day Oliver Queen came back from the dead."
"And this concerns me?" Al Sah-him asked.
"Your reappearance would seem to be the trigger for this, Mr Queen," Waller argued. "It would be valid to believe that your disappearance would stem the tide, if not cause it to recede altogether."
"You trapped me, to lure my husband here so that you could kill us?" Nyssa questioned, no longer willing to remain silent. "That would not be a prudent course of action. Rather it would be the cause for the deaths of millions."
"I do not believe that Ra's al Ghul would condemn millions to death in vengeance for his daughter," Amanda argued. "Especially as he all but condemned her to death just 3 years ago."
"It would not be out of vengeance that millions would perish, Miss Waller," Nyssa declared. "It would be that they have proven that they could no longer be saved."
"What do you mean?" Waller asked, her concern growing despite her attempts to conceal it.
"It is why Oliver Queen has been resurrected. It is why Al Sah-him and I are in Starling City," Nyssa revealed. "This city has been shown to be rife with crime, corruption, greed, evil and the death that they all cause. We have been sent to cleanse it of those ailments. And you would much rather that we did so, than having my father perform the task."
"I never said that I brought either of you here to kill you," Amanda said, shaken up by Nyssa's proclamation. She had just described half the cities in the modern world, in one way or another.
"Our abandoning Starling City would cause the same response," Nyssa stated. She could see Miss Waller's mind at work and so continued. "Your best response now would be to release me and allow us to leave and continue our work. We have more meticulous methods."
Silence descended on the room as Nyssa and Oliver waited for Amanda Waller to decide their fates. Neither of them wished for death yet they were both resigned that it would one day occur. And if nature was not the cause, then vengeance would follow.
"Canary, stand down," Amanda Waller said as she pressed a second button on the remote, causing the lasers to disappear. The blonde woman stepped back and lowered her staff to her side. Seeing their movements, Oliver lowered his blades which allowed Amanda to walk over to the cage and enter a code on the digital lock. The door clicked open and Nyssa climbed to her feet and exited.
"My weapons?" Nyssa asked.
"On the table," Waller answered, pointing at the two tables Nyssa had seen earlier. As Nyssa walked over to the table, Waller turned to face Al Sah-him again. "We will see each other again, Mr Queen. I promise you."
"Faridah, assist Nyssa," Al Sah-him commanded, ignoring Waller's words. Amanda was surprised when another assassin dropped from the ceiling and joined Nyssa in checking her weapons and other equipment. Not surprising her, they found and removed all of the tacking devices that she had had hidden on them. She also saw Nyssa remove the 3 devices that had been placed on her clothing. "I am disappointed, Miss Waller. I had expected more subtlety."
"Leave, Mr Queen," Amanda Waller commanded, disliking being mocked. "Before I change my mind." Oliver grinned under his mask before turning to leave. He stopped to stare at the blonde, thinking that she somehow looked familiar despite the platinum blonde hair and fabric mask concealing everything but her eyes. Shaking it off, he sheathed his blades and followed Nyssa and Faridah out of the building.
#Arrow#
"What of Zayda?" Nyssa asked in concern once they had moved away from the warehouse.
"Saqr took care of the problem," Oliver replied, easing Nyssa's concerns. "She is safe."
"Thank you, Saqr," Nyssa said, grateful that her friend was safe.
"None, required," Saqr stated simply.
"We should go," Namir observed. "Ra's al Ghul will want to hear of this meeting and the audacity of this woman."
"Inform him but give no details," Al Sah-him commanded. "They are best delivered in person."
"I want to check on her," Nyssa declared, who she meant being obvious to Oliver.
"I too, would like to see how the young one is coping," Saqr added.
"We will look in on her," Oliver agreed, not even bothering to try and dissuade his wife. "Namir, Faridah. Return to you duties but be watchful. There are other forces at work in this city."
"As you command," they said together before melting away into the night.
#Arrow#
"I assume you are going to check on Sin today?" Oliver asked the next morning as they descended the stairs. They had gone to Sin's place the night before but she was asleep when they got there and they did not feel the need to wake her. Saqr had offered to keep watch during the night and Nyssa had kindly accepted.
"I am," Nyssa confirmed. "I want to know she is alright and I have a feeling that I will have some questions to answer." Saqr had explained how he had saved Sin.
"You should invite her to our engagement party," Oliver said out of nowhere.
"I don't think that your mother would approve of Sin's presence at our engagement party," Nyssa commented. "As much as I would like her there, she will stand out in a crowd; despite her stature."
"So?" Oliver asked. "The party isn't until the 10th, that's a week away. I'm sure you can teach her enough to blend in by then," Oliver said, leaning in to nuzzle his wife's neck. "After all, I know how good a teacher you are."
"I will ask her," Nyssa said, smiling at her husband's actions. They broke apart and entered the sitting room to find John Diggle standing there, gazing out the windows. Oliver cleared his throat to announce their presence.
"By chance, are you here about the bodyguard position?" Oliver asked jovially. "Because the new guy just quit."
"No, I'm not," Diggle said as he turned to face them, a soft smile on his face. "Oliver, Nyssa."
"Good morning Mr Diggle," Nyssa greeted. "How are your injuries healing?"
"Oh, they're fine, thanks," Diggle replied. "I'm here about the other position I was offered." Oliver stepped forward and held out his hand but Diggle didn't move. "Just to be clear, I am not signing on to be some sort of sidekick."
"I'm no hero," Oliver stated. "Only heroes have sidekicks."
"But you're right," Diggle continued, not commenting on Oliver's words as he approached the billionaire. "This city needs to be fought for and I know you both will do that, with or without me."
"Yes, we will," Nyssa affirmed as she stepped up next to her husband.
"But with me, there will be fewer casualties. Including the two of you," Diggle said, stopping in front of the pair.
"Diggle, we're not looking for anybody to save us," Oliver argued, smiling wanly.
"May, maybe not. But you need someone just the same," Diggle said. "You two are fighting a war, but neither of you realise what war does to you; of how it strips off little pieces of your soul."
"We don't need spiritual guidance, Mr Diggle," Nyssa stated. "Or protection."
"But what you do need is someone to remind you of who you, what and who you are fighting for," Diggle contended, looking at Nyssa and then at Oliver. "And not this thing that you are becoming. Because that is a slippery slope with an abyss at the end of it."
"I didn't take you for a philosopher, Mr Diggle," Nyssa observed with a warm smile.
"I have my moments," Diggle said as he held up his hand. Oliver nodded and took his hand, shaking it firmly.
Their reverie was disturbed by the sounds of the front doors to the mansion being forced open. They all moved to investigate as raised voices filtered to them.
"Oliver Queen!" A voice the three of them recognised as Detective Lance yelled out. The three of them exited the sitting room to find Lance, his partner Hilton and half a dozen uniforms all standing in the foyer.
"What is the meaning of this?" Walter demanded as he entered the foyer. "You can't just barge in here."
"Yeah?" Lance questioned as he stopped in front of the CEO to give him a satisfied smile. "I have a badge and a gun that say differently."
"Detective Lance, what the hell is..." Oliver started.
"Oliver Queen," Lance announced, cutting off him off as he walked up to him. "You are under arrest on suspicion of aggravated assault, obstruction of justice."
"What is going on?" Moira questioned as she entered the foyer.
"Walter, stop them!" Thea shouted from the top of the stairs, having come to investigate what all the noise was.
"Trespassing, breaking and entering, acting as a vigilante..." Lance continued as he cuffed Oliver's hands behind his back. Nyssa went to step forward but Diggle's hand on her arm stopped her movement. Glancing at him, she saw him shaking his head softly.
"Are you out of your mind?" Oliver shouted at the Detective as he was finally cuffed.
"And murder," Lance finished as he gave the scion a look of victory. He started to lead him out of the mansion, already reading him his right. "You have the right to remain silent..."
Author's Notes
So, how did we all like Chapter 12? I know I enjoyed writing it immensely. Thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 11. The comments were a joy to read. Hopefully this chapter will elicit the same response. Chapter 13, as usual, will be out in 4 days. No hints this time. I don't even have a Chapter Title yet. :D
As always, please leave a review.
