Chapter 36: Quarrels

She switched off the engine and got off her motorbike. He was standing right where she'd thought he would be. That was both a relief and a sign that things were bad. Dinah walked toward him, stopping a few feet away. Ollie turned around then, and his eyes were red, it was clear he'd been crying. Dinah felt her heart break then.

"Have you come to tell me off, pretty bird?" Ollie asked.

Dinah shook her head. "I just want to talk, Ollie."

"What's there to talk about?" Ollie asked. "They're using means that are not right to do something that should be simple."

Dinah sighed, sometimes she wondered how Ollie could be such a successful businessman when he was so naïve. "You know that's not true. Things have gotten complicated."

Ollie's eyes hardened. "How? How have they gotten complicated, Dinah? We both know Clark and Bruce, we both know what they're like and what motivates them. For fuck sake Dinah, Clark lost his wife and unborn child, he's a blood wreck and Bruce has never been good at handling people's emotions and grief, he's doing what he thinks is best."

"And that includes turning the world into a Police State and taking away their freedoms, does it?" Dinah shot back.

"You mean ending war, ending rape, murder, and anything else that's bad that we've been fighting against for years?" Ollie demanded. "And what freedoms has he taken away? People are still going out there and working, talking, fucking, protesting."

"He's stopped girls getting their tampons and other essential items in the third world, Ollie." Dinah said.

"Bullshit. I looked into that nonsense Courtney spun you, it was a lie. Wayne Corp has been providing tampons and other items directly to those girls." Ollie said.

"What about what they did in the UK? With those men?" Dinah asked.

"You mean those rapists? I don't see what the problem is. They were tried and found guilty and then killed. Justice was served." Ollie responded.

"And the way they went about it? The propaganda. You don't think that's going to turn people against one another?" Dinah asked.

Ollie raised an eyebrow at her and Dinah realised that she'd asked a very stupid question there considering who it was she was talking to. "They aren't primitive savages, Dinah. They know right from wrong. If they step out of line they will be brought to justice. I don't see what's so hard about this."

"So, are you siding with Clark and Bruce now then?" Dinah asked, worry gnawing at her gut.

"No." Ollie replied.

"Then whose side are you on?" Dinah demanded.

"I'm on the planet's side, Dinah. I want the world to work the way it was meant to. People getting on with one another, there being no murder, no rape, no violence whilst people have the right to do what they want within the law. That's what I want." Ollie responded.

"We both know that that's not how the world works though, Ollie." Dinah said, hating how desperate she sounded. "People do rape, they murder and they commit violence. And you can't stop it without finding a way to change them or curb their freedoms. We're supposed to stand up for people and ensure that the little man gets heard."

Ollie looked at her then and in his expression, she saw betrayal, her heart shattered into little pieces then. "That doesn't mean you use noxious gas that could harm everyone within a few miles of it, nor do you use the voice of the Joker. You know Waller put Roy in danger, right? She's put everything in danger because of her sick obsession with the Joker. She'll end up getting us all killed, and I want nothing to do with it."

"So, what are you suggesting?" Dinah asked. Waller had been admitted to hospital after Ollie's poison arrow had hit her, and Dinah couldn't really say she regretted not stopping him.

"I'm saying I'm done. I can't do this. I won't destroy my friends for the sake of some sick fuck's agenda." Ollie said.

Dinah wanted to argue with him, she really did, but the way he looked at her then, his jaw out his eyes fierce, suggested nothing she said would convince him, so instead she sighed and said. "Okay, I won't try and change your mind."

Ollie raised an eyebrow. "You're staying in?"

Dinah shifted, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "I need to. I need to make sure it doesn't go too far the other way. If Waller's involved it will veer towards morally compromising and I can't let that happened, not to Kate and to Helena. Nor to Zatanna. I hope you understand."

Ollie sighed. "I do, I don't agree with you, but I understand."

For the first time since she'd arrived, Dinah smiled. "Good."

Ollie smiled in return and then got a very cheeky look on his face. "Well, since you're here, maybe we could make use of the bed upstairs."

Dinah laughed. "Oliver Queen, are you trying to sleep with me?"

Ollie grinned and his eyes narrowed. "Not trying, succeeding." With that he took her hand and led her upstairs, all the while Dinah was giggling, her worries about the world outside temporarily forgotten.