A/N: COVID-19 seems to be putting a lot of fan fiction writers into a position where all they can do to escape the stress of real life is writing. This week was the first time COVID-19 impacted my life to any degree, but its just the beginning. No, I don't have it (not that I'd be able to tell since my area doesn't have testing kits). But I'll probably be doing my therapy sessions via a Skype-type system for the foreseeable future and I'll have to be buying a lot more groceries to limit potential exposure by limiting my shopping trips with my case manager.
So, the good news for my readers all across the board is that I have plenty of time on my hands and I won't be going out very much, so I'll be pounding out my frustrations into story after story, and taking breaks occasionally to binge-read a fic or binge-watch some series.
Now, on with the story.
Oliver Queen finished giving his statement to Detective Marcus Wright, who had been assigned to his case. "And you're certain you've never seen this man before?" Wright asked, double-checking.
"Absolutely," Oliver lied without a trace of doubt or indecision in his features. "I would remember someone with that kind of face. It just screams 'hired thug'." Wright smirked and chuckled at the Queen scion's snarky comment. Unlike Quentin Lance and Lucas Hilton, Wright had no history with the Queen scion and as a result, wasn't judging him unduly. "So, who is he?"
"Dmitri Romanova, Russian muscle," Wright said, looking at his notes. "Until now, all we've had are suspicions that he was involved in break-ins that resulted in beatings. Do you have any idea why he would be after you?"
"I can only think its connected to what happened when Tommy and I were kidnapped a few weeks ago," Oliver replied. "As I told Walter afterward, it had to be connected to something Queen Consolidated was involved in five years ago based on the questions the kidnappers were asking."
"We'll look into it," Wright promised, and wrapped up the interview. The crime scene technicians had already finished, and the uniforms had already dragged Romanova away, so it had just been him and Oliver. The door closed behind the detective and Oliver sighed quietly in relief. Anytime his, well, criminal life intersected with his everyday life and brought police attention to it, it was always a balancing act to make sure that the police saw precisely what he wanted them to see: a billionaire's son looking to make something of himself and wondering if he made the right choice by joining the family business.
Oliver had nearly gone into the mansion tonight to confront Walter about what he had helped Robert do. Oliver knew, intellectually, that all Walter had done was provide the option to use a loophole and deny the workers their severance packages. It was Oliver's father, Robert Queen, who had ultimately made that despicable choice. But in his heart of hearts, Oliver wasn't sure he could completely absolve Walter of his part in this. Robert wouldn't have even known about the option without Walter presenting it to him. So, the question became whether he chose to confront Walter and force the issue, and if he did, should he do it as Oliver, or as the Green Arrow?
That, he decided, was a decision to be reached once the current issue with the Bratva had been dealt with.
*DC*
Margo Harrington's light blue eyes were clouded in part by the drugs she had taken before coming to the club tonight, her brown hair damp with perspiration from all of the dancing she had been doing. She was currently sipping on a margarita and wondering why Thea Queen, her best friend and main wing-woman for this kind of thing, had begged off coming with her tonight. It was unlike Thea to not want to spend some time shaking her ass at all the hot college guys that frequented Club Poison. Oh, well, her loss; Margo just hoped the Queen heiress hadn't gotten it into her head that with her brother back it was time to go back to being Miss Prim and Proper. If she did, well, Margo had some rather incriminating photos on her cell phone that would change the Queen heiress' mind in a heartbeat. She wouldn't dare want Mommy Dearest or Dearly Damaged Big Brother to find out the truth of what she'd been up to all these years.
"Good evening, Miss," a rich, accented voice said as a man who couldn't have been much older than twenty-three or twenty-four sidled up to the bar she was resting at. "I must say, you look simply ravishing."
Margo eyed the man in front of her speculatively. He wasn't like most of the people in this place; his clothing was all clearly tailored to fit him and accentuate everything about him that made him one fine male specimen. His dark hair was cut short, his gray eyes sharp and piercing. She didn't flinch as he cupped her chin. "Hmm, yes, a lady with refined tastes is what you are. Perhaps we can be of some assistance to one another. You see, I don't get involved with just any girl, and it is clear you are not a woman who will simply fling herself at anything male. I have a place here in town that we can get to know each other in, if you'd like."
"Sounds perfect," Margo said, her more cynical side that was shouting this was a bad idea having long since been muted by her consumption of drugs and alcohol. Now that she thought about it, she didn't remember ordering that margarita. Oh, well, it wouldn't be the first time she had ordered a drink and not remembered it. "What are you waiting for? Let's go." She took the man's arm and allowed him to lead her out of the club and towards a very nice car parked down a side street, away from prying eyes.
As a result, when Margo stumbled and her new friend had to pick her up bridal style to continue the journey, no one was around to notice the way his eyes flicked over her exposed calves and thighs, currently shaped by her dark nylons to accentuate her newly-developed curves, or the way he pinched the flesh of her left thigh between his thumb and forefinger and mused, "Oh, yes… that is very nice…" *1*
*DC*
Oliver was up before the sunrise, showering and dressing in casual clothes (a dark t-shirt, jeans, and his favored leather jacket). Luckily, it was the weekend and he wouldn't have to worry about going into the office. In addition to what he was going to be dealing with as far as the Bratva was concerned, he didn't know if he could face Walter and not confront the man over what he had helped Robert do. Oliver had tracked down every single family that had been effected by what Robert had done with the steel factory, and aside from the Restons who had left town and become the Royal Flush Gang (not that the police or anyone but Oliver knew that), almost all of them were still in the Glades. Those that weren't were in the cemetery, because they had been victims of James Holder's 'perfectly safe' tenements.
Oliver had set a worm to track down each of those still alive and what their jobs now were. He hoped to have that information by the end of the day. That would help him further decide how he would approach Walter, whether as Green Arrow or as Oliver Queen, the troubled heir apparent of the Queen business empire. Now all he could do was wait for Anatoli to arrive; according to the itinerary he had sent Oliver by email last night, Anatoli and his delegation from Russia would be arriving in Starling this morning and coming directly to Oliver's loft, from which they would be heading for the garage the Bratva operated out of at this point in time.
In the meantime, all Oliver could do was wait for Anatoli and his delegation to arrive. Then the real work would begin.
*DC*
Susan Williams was going over the research goldmine that she had been handed from an anonymous source. It was a clear-cut case of corruption that pointed to the District Attorney being bought and paid for by the wealthy, especially those who had earned their fortunes with ruthlessness bordering on, or entering into, criminality. While the sender was anonymous, Susan was sharp enough to read between the lines. This goldmine being sent to her just after the District Attorney failed to get a conviction against a man who had recently donated a generous sum to a charity that she oversaw could only have come from one source who would have a motive: the Green Arrow.
Starling City's mysterious vigilante had proven to be a constant source of debate in Starling City. The wealthy and corrupt hated him; the poor and destitute loved him. His killing of James Holder had made him even more polarizing as the police were forced to issue a warrant for his arrest with a charge of murder. Green Arrow's complete absence the previous night had been startling, and today's segment would include a question put to the people of Starling City at every level that had been compiled the previous day, before they even knew that the Green Arrow would seem to disappear. The question being, did they want the Green Arrow to continue his one-man crusade, now knowing the lengths he was willing to go to?
*DC*
Laurel Lance turned on the television as she curled up on her couch with her morning coffee, turning to Channel 52 news. Susan Williams had sent her a message last night that she might find today's segment on pressing issues facing Starling residents interesting. Laurel waited silently as the usual morning segments ran, and then, finally, Susan appeared on the screen. "Good morning, Starling City," Susan said, perfectly poised as always. "Today, we address a burning issue that has faced Starling City for nearly three weeks now, and which has just skyrocketed to the tip of everyone's tongues: what do we think of the Green Arrow, and do we want him to continue his crusade, knowing how far he is willing to go? We go directly to the source, the people of Starling City, to bring you the general feel of the city's sentiment regarding the Green Arrow."
Shock flooded Laurel's system even as the first two people appeared on the screen, a young woman in a waitress uniform from Big Belly Burger and a young man in a red hoodie. "The cops don't care about the Glades," the young woman said. "I've been sexually assaulted three times, no matter how many times I've cried out for help and begged for them to stop. No one came to my rescue, not until him. Roy here tried to help me the same night. As long as there are good men like the Green Arrow and Roy who watch out for those of us who live and work in the Glades, I have hope that this city can become a better place. And from what I know of those who lost their lives because of what he did, James Holder got what he deserved."
The young man in the red hoodie, Roy, spoke next. "Like Alisha said, the cops don't care about the Glades. Crime, despair, corruption… it's practically choking us. Green Arrow's the first sign of hope we've had in decades from what other folk say. I say let him do what he wants and get rid of the filth."
A man in a mechanic's uniform appeared next. "Green Arrow? Eh, I don't really care about what's happening in the city. I'm doing my best to get out of this BEEP cesspit."
A woman with two kids hanging off of her arms. "I used to worry about walking the streets at night because of the rough attitudes of men in this city," the woman said. "Now the Green Arrow's shown he's got no patience for rapists, I feel safe for the first time in years."
Walter Steele appeared on the screen. "I believe the Green Arrow is doing what he feels is necessary," Walter said, "but he has chosen to do so from behind a mask, and now he has murdered a man which the courts have decreed to be innocent of his crimes. Is this what justice looks like now? Where our courts can be mocked by this faux Robin Hood who thinks he's doing good? No. That cannot be what justice looks like or else we might as well stop working and just let this vigilante run roughshod over us all."
Malcolm Merlyn was the next from the billionaire contingent. "My late wife believed strongly in helping the people of the Glades," Malcolm said, meeting the camera directly with his gaze. "She gave her life for that belief. I can't help but think that, if Green Arrow had been around twenty years ago, my wife might still be alive, and I would not have spent these past eighteen years mourning her."
More people popped up to speak their opinion on the Green Arrow, but Laurel didn't hear them. In her mind's eye, she was turning over Malcolm Merlyn's statement over and over in her head.
What's going on now, with Tempest, the Undertaking, all of that? It started when a man lost the woman he loved to the crime in the Glades. Malcolm Merlyn had lost his wife to the crime in the Glades and spent the past eighteen years mourning her loss.
This man and I are mirror images of one another, more than either of us would like to admit. Rebecca Merlyn had worked tirelessly to provide much-needed medical services to the people of the Glades, the way Laurel worked tirelessly to provide much-needed legal aid services to those very same people. Malcolm and Oliver were both wealthy, charismatic, and deeply in love with Rebecca and Laurel, worrying over their safety.
The person responsible for this is very powerful and controls Starling's criminal underworld with an iron fist. It would take someone with access to a vast fortune and allies with similar fortunes to keep the city's criminals in line and force them to stay in the Glades instead of expanding outward.
But if I lost you… I would become the very thing I'm fighting to stop right now. I wouldn't only stop pursuing a confrontation with this man to bring him to justice, I would approach him with an offer of alliance. If I lost you, I'd be losing a piece of my soul along with you and that would leave a man who would want nothing more than to see this city burn. Oliver would feel completely comfortable approaching his godfather, the man who understood his loss better than anyone, with an offer of alliance to see those he saw as responsible for her death burn.
It all fit. Malcolm Merlyn was behind the Undertaking. Malcolm Merlyn was the one who had turned the Glades into a cesspit, though for what reason she was still unclear. Malcolm Merlyn was the one person Oliver would forge an alliance with in order to exact vengeance for her death.
Malcolm Merlyn was behind all of the pain and suffering of the past five years.
Laurel stood, placing her coffee on the table in front of her and snatching up her jacket and keys. Oliver had some explaining to do. *2*
*DC*
Oliver opened his door, expecting to greet Anatoli, only to find a tight-lipped Laurel on the other side.
"Laurel?" he asked in surprise.
"We need to talk, Ollie," Laurel said, breezing past him into the room. "Did you know Channel 52 went around town asking people from all walks of life what they thought of the Green Arrow?"
"No, I didn't," Oliver said honestly. "What was the general consensus?"
"I'll have to rewatch the segment when it hits YouTube," Laurel said, tilting her head. "See, one of the people who's opinion was sought was Malcolm Merlyn." Laurel stepped closer, looking up into his eyes with her green ones. "Tell me that I'm just making wild connections Ollie, because what Mr. Merlyn said… it makes me think he's the one behind everything."
Oliver took a deep breath and released it slowly. He had forgotten how quick and sharp Laurel could be when she set her mind to something; he should've known her mind was working on the problem of who could be behind the Undertaking this entire time. That Merlyn had given a soundbyte about the Green Arrow should've surprised Oliver, but then the man had appeared supportive of the Hood in the previous timeline. Oliver met Laurel's gaze and said, "You're not making wild connections. Merlyn is the one I'm trying to draw into a confrontation. You have to keep quiet about this, Laurel. No one can know; not your father, not Tommy, not Thea, not my mother or Walter… Malcolm Merlyn is more than just a corrupt businessman. He's a trained assassin, trained by the same people as Sara, and he will kill anyone who gets in his way. My father was his best friend, like Tommy's mine, yet he didn't hesitate to try and kill him."
Laurel's legs shook slightly with dread as she took in what Oliver was saying, the last line snagging her attention. "What do you mean, Oliver?"
"The Gambit didn't sink because of an accident at sea, Laurel," Oliver replied. "It was sabotage. I haven't uncovered everything about what happened, but I know that much. I had a similar experience to the Gambit almost two years later and I recognized the similarities then." He noted Laurel's form trembling and guided her to the couch. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have unloaded all of that on you. I just figured since you know, its better if you know everything."
"No, you're right, I need to know that sort of thing," Laurel said quietly. "If I had just assumed Merlyn was a corrupt businessman, I would have treated him like any other I've faced and told him straight out I knew what he did and that I was going to make him pay for it. I know that's what I would've done because it took all of my focus to keep myself aimed at coming here and not diverting to the Merlyn Mansion."
Oliver was on his feet in an instant. "Don't ever do that, Laurel!" he all but shouted. "Merlyn wouldn't even hesitate to crush your throat right there and then since he's the only one who lives in the Mansion and he controls the city! You'd end up a cadaver in some out of the way Podunk town, and none of us would know what happened to you! Don't ever risk your life by doing something like that; promise me, Laurel!"
"I promise," Laurel whispered, shocked at how the mere mention of her confronting Merlyn had seen Oliver transform completely into someone else, someone dark and fierce that she didn't recognize. What Laurel didn't know was that she had seen the darker side of the Green Arrow, the side that recognized that sometimes the only way to get true justice was to walk up to the person responsible for all the suffering and misery and stab them in the heart, the side of him that had been the heir apparent to Ra's al Ghul. "Ollie, I knew it was a bad idea and I didn't do it. You don't need to shout."
"I'm sorry," Oliver whispered as he sank back down to the seat. "The moment you said it, I felt like I was watching a glimpse of the future. Merlyn or someone working for him stabbing you or strangling you or any other number of things that they might do to get rid of the nosy lawyer poking into Merlyn's business. You don't have the training to deal with a man like Merlyn or those who work for him, Laurel. Leave him to me; he'll get what's coming to him. I promise."
Laurel pulled him close and he wrapped his arms around her slender shoulders, doing to the same. The two of them held each other close, simply soaking in this time with one another, before there was another knock on the front door of the loft. Oliver reluctantly pulled away from Laurel and opened the door to find Anatoli and two other men from the Bratva in Russia on the other side. Despite the situation, Oliver smiled and greeted his friend. "Anatoli Knyasev," he said, hugging the man.
"Oliver Queen, my brother," Anatoli replied, returning the embrace. Oliver stepped aside and let them in. Laurel stood up at the sudden arrival of people she didn't know. "Ah, and who is this?"
"Anatoli, this is Laurel Lance, Sara's sister," Oliver replied. "Laurel, this is Anatoli Knyasev. He was on the Amazo with Sara."
Laurel stepped up and held out her hand, her expression softening with sympathy. "I get the impression the Amazo was a hell all it's own," she said compassionately. "I'm sorry you had to endure that."
"If I had not, I would not have met Oliver," Anatoli said. "Still, would love to have had more time with Ivo to express displeasure." Anatoli's eyes darkened for a moment at the remembrance of Anthony Ivo. "Now, much as I wish I could get to know you better, Oliver and I have pressing matter to attend to."
"He's right, Laurel," Oliver said quietly. "Why don't you swing by this evening?" Laurel nodded, and she left without another word, trusting that Oliver would tell her what he could when they were alone.
"Now, Oliver, tell us everything about this attack that happened, and the previous incident," Anatoli said without a trace of his typical joviality after one of his bodyguards confirmed Laurel had gotten on the elevator.
*DC*
Oliver, Anatoli, and the two bodyguards, Alexei Volkoff and Dimitri Rascalov, entered the autobody shop that the Bratva operated out of at this point in time and immediately became the focus of the attention of every person present. Alexi Leonov looked as though he had swallowed a lemon, though in Oliver's opinion he always looked like that. "Pakhan," Alexi said in greeting. "Always nice to get a visit from the motherland."
"Not so nice when you hear what I have to say, Leonov," Anatoli replied frostily. "You have attacked my friend and his sister. Did you think you would get away with this?" A gesture from Anatoli had Volkoff and Rascalov moving forward, grabbing Alexi and dragging him to a work bench with a vice, which they forced his hand into and secured it. Anatoli picked up an aptly-named bow saw. Leonov shouted expletives and condemnations in Russian while everyone looked on. Oliver kept his face impassive even as Anatoli set the blade against Leonov's exposed wrist and began to cut.
The expletives and condemnations soon transformed into wordless, muffled screams (muffled from Rascalov's hand clenched over Leonov's mouth) before, with a wet sucking sound, the hand separated from the rest of the body and fell into the pool of blood that had gathered below it. Leonov was left moaning weakly in agony as he continued to bleed out as Anatoli turned to face the remainder. "Oliver Queen is now in charge of this chapter of Bratva. If I must come back here a second time, I will not stop with Leonov. Change comes to Bratva. Be careful you do not get sucked into propeller of change."
Anatoli made a gesture and Oliver followed him out with Volkoff and Rascalov bringing up the rear. Oliver doubted that he would be having any trouble from the Russians in Starling from this point forward, although he would need to broach the topic with Anatoli that things seemed to be piling up on his plate and he wasn't sure that he had the time to put into running the Starling City chapter of the Bratva on top of being Green Arrow and running the Applied Sciences division of Queen Consolidated.
The responsibilities were piling up, as was the pressure on all sides. Somehow, he had to find the strength inside of him to do the impossible and juggle all of the responsibilities that had been handed to him. Because he knew Novu wanted him to do more than just change the timeline for his city's benefit; he wanted him to change the timeline so that Barry and Sara were more responsible in their own actions, make the heroes who stood against the coming Crisis even stronger than they had been, even though he wouldn't be able to do much as far as Kara and her associates were concerned until the ability to travel between Earths was available. *3*
*DC*
Mar-Novu stood and observed the changing timelines, nodding to himself. Oliver was doing what he had hoped, strengthening his city and standing as a light against the darkness. Even his choice to kill James Holder would not be remembered in the grand scheme of things, and Oliver need only hold out until the Dominator invasion, at which point he could force the issue of a pardon for himself and any other vigilantes who had gone to extreme measures as a way the country could pay them back.
But, unfortunately, it appeared that the time was coming soon when Mar-Novu would have to intervene. The Flash and the Legends were aware of the changes happening to the timeline and were intending to come to the past to discover the source of those changes, and all those changes had centered around Oliver. Novu would not have his chosen agent stopped, especially by those who had all but signed that agent's death certificate by their selfish antics. *4*
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.
Chapter Notes:
*1* For those who do not know… my most merciless and hateful creation has arrived. The Huntsman is in Starling City.
*2* Laurel Lance, much like Quentin Lance, is much sharper than, ahem, certain parties like to pretend and given the right tools can figure out things in bursts of brilliant inspiration. This is one such time.
*3* I debated between this and Anatoli just savagely beating Alexi to a pulp. I know that the latter would've been more of a nod to the KGBeast, but I want to work up to that. I hope this was a good first step towards Anatoli becoming the ruthless beast.
*4* No one is going to convince me that the Legends mucking about the timeline and Barry and Nora doing the same damn thing didn't bring the Crisis, and therefore Oliver's destiny with death, forward.
