Roy and Thea found Laurel standing on a rooftop, they walked towards her. "I told you that if you needed help, we would be there, like it or not," Roy said, with a small smile tugging at his lips.
Laurel lowered her scarf and hood, "Yeah. Thank you," she said, looking at the pair. She had formed a real family with the team. She, Oliver, Thea. They were a family. Thea and Roy had not only taken care of her son but had also managed to protect her from the sidelines. She blinked. "Connor?"
"With Walter and Lyla at an ARGUS safehouse, with baby Sara. Walter was really nice about it. Connor just wanted to be with you, but Walter said that he can play with Baby Sara. Walter also knows about us, and Connor's powers. He told me to tell you that he is proud of you, me, Ollie and Roy. And promises he will never utter a word to anyone because we are family."
Laurel gave a hesitant smile. "Walter was certainly one of a kind. He hid the fact that he had to hide by masking it as a play date."
Laurel exhaled, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders. "He's a metahuman." She sniffed. "Connie has the same cry as me." That was something that she would have to work out once this was all finished. How to navigate her son's powers while raising him, and more than likely without Ollie.
God, she wished that her dad was there with her. He could give her advice, even if he never raised a child with an awakened meta-gene, he could provide advice on how she could help Connor accept and use his powers safely. That would have to wait. She had to keep her eyes on the here and now.
Thea rubbed Laurel's arm, saying, "One thing at a time, we need to take care of Brickwell before we deal with the League." Laurel looked at her expecting her to elaborate, "Later." The younger woman promised.
Laurel gave him a teary smile as she embraced Thea. "Well, I just want to apologize to both of you. Leaving Connor in your care without asking, the way that I treated you… You deserved better. I haven't been the best teammate, sister, mother, or friend."
"It's been a shitty year, Laurel. "Roy said reassuringly, "We have all done stuff we wish we hadn't, but we have to just keep one foot in front of the other and hope that we don't repeat them." He then cleared his throat looking from his girlfriend to Laurel. "What's the plan now?"
Laurel bit her lip, "I don't like leaving you both again, leaving Connor, but I can't let you be accomplices in what needs to be done."
Roy quirked his brow as Thea clicked her tongue. "What happened to we need to help the system, ensuring that people don't fall between the cracks and not being judged jury and executioner? Together, you and I got it through my brother's head when he returned home from the hell he endured."
Laurel shook her head, her fingers brushing her hair back, "We put Brick in jail, Speedy and look what happened. He played the system. Maybe it's just better to put him six feet under."
"It won't be the same this time, Laurel. After the stunt, he has pulled, he would be lucky if he is given a cell in the general population of Slabside. They will throw him down the deepest hole and throw away the key."
"Speedy, I've been bitten by the man once after thinking he was locked away. We need to think about this pragmatically, some people are too rich, powerful or manipulative and the system cannot handle them."
"He wants us to think that Laurel!" Thea argued. "He is goading you. He wants you to lose by killing him. You become the monster he is!"
"Fine," Laurel said, leaning against the railing of the rooftop, and crossing her arms, feeling the cold metal through her clothes. She knew that the legal system wouldn't aid them in this fight, but she was willing them to prove her wrong. She owed them that chance after they have tried to help her and have been Connor's full-time carers. "You want to give the law another try?" She asked. "Speedy, I'm all ears."
"I don't know… What if we get another person to take the stand, and unlike Chill, we ensure that they live long enough to cut through Brick's webs of deceit and manipulation?" Thea asked as she hugged herself slightly from the cold breeze.
Laurel nodded, slowly. She knew just the woman who had everything and could ensure that Brick would go to jail and never see the light of day again. Samanda Watson. She just prayed that she wasn't making the wrong move in following Thea and Roy's plan of attack against Daniel Brickwell and his growing criminal enterprises.
Roy rubbed his gloved hands together. "I wish I could stay, but I have to help Felicity, and Diggle with another thing. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, I will bring you all home a surprise."
The way her friend said those comforting words blossomed some hope in her chest.
Laurel smiled as Thea wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, and kissed him several times begging him to be careful. Roy then moved on to her and gave Laurel a hug. "You take care of yourself, Laurel. Remember, you always have a family to lean on. You, me, Thea, Connor… and Oliver are each other's family. We defend and look out for our own. Always."
"Thank you for everything Roy."
"I'm sorry about Ted, he was a good man." He said quietly, before pulling back and shrugging. "And I was just looking after my family. I don't need to be thanked for that."
:-:-:-:-:
Samanda ran through her apartment to quickly pile clothes and her personal effects into a duffle bag and swung it over her shoulder, before rushing out of her room, with her sidearm pointed away from her in case someone came for her.
She had no intention of marching down the road to Brick's drums, nor facing the wrath of the Black Canary. She had seen what had happened to Ted Grant and saw how Thea Queen had a bruise along her jaw and judging from her limp, along her legs.
As she walked towards the door, she had the forethought to look through the peephole to see some armed men walking down the hallway towards her apartment.
"Shit!" She swore as she backed away and bolted towards her room, where the fire escape was located just outside her window. As she opened her blinds, she backed up as a man aimed his rifle at her.
Within a second, the man was shoved through the glass window and was followed by Black Canary climbing in and using her nightstick to ensure the man was down for the count.
Samanda aimed her gun at the black-clad vigilante, who slowly raised her hands in surrender. "I'm not here to hurt you, Agent."
Samanda shook her head vehemently. There is no way that she could be forgiven by someone who she handed over to Brick. "But I betrayed your trust…"
"Under duress."
"I think that you just don't want one of Brickwell's cronies to be the one to kill me. You want the satisfaction of doing the deed yourself. I'm not an idiot, I know that The Green Arrow has killed people."
"He changed. He is not a bad person, and neither are you. Brick is. You saved Thea Queen and her nephew tonight." She said in almost a whisper. The Black Canary reached back and lowered her hood and scarf over her face, revealing Dinah Laurel Lance. Watson blinked several times to ensure that what she was seeing was real. "You saved my baby and my sister. I trust you, Samanda and I owe you for saving my family."
Agent Watson just stared at Dinah Laurel Lance. Everything was becoming clear, why Laurel had disappeared, left her son behind. Why Daniel Brickwell was so determined to destroy Laurel Lance's life, her reputation. But if she was the Black Canary… That would mean that Oliver Queen would be the real Green Arrow, and Thea Queen would be Speedy, one of the Red Archers. And perhaps the deceased Roy Harper was one of the red archers before he was killed?
It explained everything from the files that the FBI had gathered on the Black Canary since she had operated in Starling City. Why Detectives Quentin and Hilton were allowing vigilantes to operate in their cities, as well as working alongside them.
:-:-:-:-:
Daniel Brickwell watched as the helicopter landed on top of the building. He was about to see the most important person in his world. His son. Samuel. He watched as his beautiful son, who had taken after his mother, jumped out of the aircraft.
He felt someone stand next to him, followed by hearing the person whisper, "Watson has escaped."
Brick turned his head slightly and growled. "Find her!"
His eyes returned to see his son running towards him, he wasn't wearing proper attire that demonstrated to the world that he was not a common man. Samuel was wearing a blue and black plaid shirt and jeans.
Most likely all his foster parents could afford. That could be fixed rather easily now that Sammy was home.
Once his son came within arm's reach, Daniel Brickwell enveloped the younger Brickwell in an enveloping hug and kissed his crown.
"I missed you, Daddy." The boy said as he pulled back.
I missed you too, Sammy. You are home now, and that is all that matters." He had his family back home and safe. All he had to do now was make an example out of Laurel Lance, and Thea Queen and the rest of her allies would fear him enough to stay away, if not they could follow the Black Canary to the grave.
:-:-:-:-:
Laurel and Thea walked out of the small duplex that Ted had bought for whenever he was living in Starling for an extended period of time. Laurel exhaled as she looked out to the night sky. Both were enjoying the silence until Thea eventually broke it.
"I doubt anyone will be looking for Watson here. Not while… Ted's stuff goes through probate." Laurel, out of the corner, watched as Thea bit her lip. "Are you alright after everything happened with Ted?"
"Is I don't know a good answer?" Laurel asked tiredly, with guilt lacing her voice.
"Between everything you have been through, and what you are going through now, it's more than fair. I don't hold it against you, and neither would he. We just have to keep taking one step in front of the other."
"A shark that does not swim drowns," Laurel said softly. Thea quirked her brow in lieu of a question. "Ollie said it to himself and me a few times after…Sara's death." As well as Tommy's and Moira's deaths.
Thea rubbed her back gently in circles, "Speaking about Ollie, I'm not sure if you know this, but Oliver isn't dead. He was brainwashed by Ra's to be his heir. Roy is helping Felicity and Diggle try to help Oliver. Roy will bring Ollie back to you, I promise."
Laurel could only nod. As much as she wanted to help Ollie, she had to protect Connor and their city from Brickwell. Connor had to come before Ollie."I hope you are right about this, Speedy, dealing with Brick this way. I have been burned a few more times than I would like going down this path."
She was honestly tired of trying to do the right thing only for Brick to dismantle her plans. But Thea was adamant that she should keep trying, or at the very least give it another chance. Laurel at the very least believed she owed her sister that.
"One of the wisest people I know told me that we are there to supplement justice, not to be judge jury and executioner." That simple statement gave Laurel a small smile.
Not long after that, Samanda walked out of the duplex. "I've settled in. What's the plan?"
Laurel sighed, as Thea looked from her sister to the FBI agent. "You will testify against Brickwell. And before you do that, we, CNRI will represent you." Thea said.
Laurel spun to look at Thea with a shocked expression. "I thought that you…"
Thea shrugged nonchalantly, "I had a little accident at Verdant, and Ollie can have Queen industries. As much as I loved working as my own boss, it's not the same as working with you."
Laurel bit her lip and blushed slightly. She hadn't expected Thea to say anything like that, especially after the hellish year that their family had endured so far. "Partners?"
"Partners," Thea affirmed with a smile tugging at her lips before she enveloped Laurel in a hug.
:-:-:-:-:
Laurel was in Wildcat's gym and pulled out a long foldout table from the storage room as Thea walked in with Samanda Watson.
"This your Office for CNRI?" The agent asked as she looked around in dismay.
Laurel shook her head as she placed out the seats. "No."
"Our first offices were donated to people needing a home after The Undertaking, and Verdant is well…" Thea added.
"Your law firm operated out of a night club?"
Laurel shrugged, "I needed somewhere to work from, and Thea and Ollie let me work out of the space rent-free, it's not really different from operating out of a function room. No one is partying at ten am."
Thea shrugged as she added, "Besides, she used my office most of the time, so even when the staff were preparing for the next night she and her clients were not disturbed."
"I am sorry about what happened at your family's mansion and Mr. Grant..." Watson said sincerely, looking between Laurel and Thea. "You both warned me about Brickwell…"
Laurel bit down her cheek, and tried to soldier on, nothing would be accomplished by her mourning and crying over Ted right now. She had to keep moving. "I appreciate the sentiment…Can we not talk about the manor right now?" Or Ted. "At the end of the day, you, Thea and I are on the same team, Watson. We both want Brickwell and Smythe to receive justice."
The agent's tongue darted out to wet her lips before she spoke. "I suppose we are."
Thea jutted her head towards the small hallway, "Might want to get into some nice clothes, and get ready." After Watson left towards the restrooms, she looked at her sister. "I'll go and ensure that everything is set up." She then leaned over and embraced Laurel. "Stay safe. Please. Don't do anything impulsive while, I'm gone."
Laurel returned her sister's embrace. "You too, Speedy. I love you."
Thea smiled as she jogged out of the gym, allowing Laurel together her thoughts she felt the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, she hadn't felt that feeling since before Sara died, before everything became hectic and she had to abandon her life to protect Connor and fight Brick. She had hope. Real hope.
She looked up as she saw Agent Watson walk in wearing formal attire, she stammered for a few seconds, "I just want to thank you for giving me a chance to get back on the right side of the law."
"You always had that opportunity."
Watson's eyes flickered towards her lawyer and scowled. "Brick ensures that people bend to his will. He canceled my brother's insurance. I had no choice but to rely on Brickwell to ensure that Georgie will get his treatment."
Laurel scoffed. "Then you sell your house, sell your car, you work something out."
"Easy enough for you to say, you married a wealthy man and befriended his rich sister."
"I never once asked the Queens for money. I gave Thea a job at CNRI but not for any privileges. I had every reason at that time not to help her. Her mother didn't even like that she had joined me at CNRI and was earning very little, at times not at all!" Laurel then shook her head, "We aren't talking about me, you are the one that gave him power, and you gave Daniel Brickwell a fancy castle."
"He was giving us valuable intel. Information that could save lives!" Samanda Watson argued.
"Even when it comes at the cost of other lives?" Laurel asked quickly.
"What the hell is this!? You are supposed to be my lawyer!?" She asked frustratingly towards Laurel.
"I am your attorney. But I can't help you if you won't help yourself and answer a simple question, why didn't you blow the whistle on him when you knew what was happening?"
"I don't know." She said defeatedly.
"Or what about when you had the chance to give up Smythe when she walked back into the Queen Manor after she killed a pillar of both Starling's and Central City's community? Captain Pike was right there, all you had to do was tell him, slip him a note. Anything. Why didn't you?"
"I don't know," Watson repeated sadly.
"Then why are we here!?" Laurel bellowed at her client. She was getting pissed off, she didn't have the time nor the patience to sugar coat her words.
"Because I let my pride and ambition get ahead of what was right…If I got more money for Georgie… I would also have been seen better by my peers. I would no longer in debt…All I had to do was get information from him." The woman sobbed, "I ruined my life by getting into bed with Brickwell…"
"It's not too late to make amends, Sam. You tell the DA all of this, and how remorseful you are. Thea and I can help you."
Thea walked in with the DA. "DA Susanna Pierce, meet Special Agent Samanda Watson of the FBI, and Laurel Lance."
The woman nodded as she sat down at the foldout table. "I must inform you, Agent Watson that Dinah Laurel Lance and Thea Queen have a vested interest in this case, and this will in all likelihood cause a conflict of interest that may be a detriment to your case."
Samanda's eyes looked from Thea to Laurel before looking back at the DA. "I trust them."
"Very well."
Laurel reminded the DA that anything that was said at the meeting would be under immunity for Samanda Watson. She then looked up from her notes. "Ms Watson would like to testify that Daniel Brickwell has had people murdered, that he has blackmailed law enforcement officials and is conducting a protection racket for criminals in Starling City."
The DA nodded thoughtfully, "Alright I accept the immunity agreement, tell me everything you know, Agent Watson."
:-:-:-:-:
Brick watched as Smythe walked in with a silver platter that held a teapot, a cup, and saucer made out of fine china. She gently laid it on the coffee table, and took a measured step back, bowing her head. "Anything else, Sir?"
"No, thank you." He noticed her eye twitch.
"I just want to reiterate just how sorry I am that Thea, and Connor Queen had escaped. If Agent Watson… I want to assure you that it won't happen again and that I take my responsibilities seriously. They will be taken care of."
Brick took a sip. "No." It was too much of a risk now. Thea no longer had the protection of her affluent mother and with her brother MIA; it was the perfect time to strike for the jugular and Smythe had butchered everything. If Smythe had just done as commanded and killed both aunt and nephew, it would have sent Laurel Lance into a spiral that she wouldn't be able to escape from. "I will have the situation dealt with by someone else."
"But…I can handle her, and Watson…"
"Did I stutter?" He growled. "You will do nothing. I have obviously put too many responsibilities on your dainty shoulders. Someone else is handling it," he looked up to see Smythe stammer and her mouth agape, before walking out silently.
:-:-:-:-:
Diggle looked up from the scope of his sniper rifle to see from the bluff just outside Nanda Parbat. He looked over the plateau below to see Roy, and Palmer were forced to the ground. Both men were forced to their knees, their hood and helmet, removed from their heads.
Diggle looked to his right to see Felicity lying prone next to him with a pair of binoculars, and clutching the hand-held radio in her hand. "I don't have eye's on Oliver."
Diggle adjusted his scope and looked down the barrel to watch as Ra's stood out in the open as if he were daring John to take the shot. "Ra's is there." The master assassin looked much more haggard than he did earlier this year.
Felicity held her binoculars to her eyes, "What do we do? If we kill him…Ray and Roy will be slaughtered."
"There are but two of you. Soldiers. Where is your commander?" Ra's voice crackled through the radio.
Diggle watched with bated breath as he watched Ray look around the horizon, before looking at Roy and shrugging. A second later Roy answered. "She's a co-leader actually, and she's back home, protecting our city."
Felicity put her hand to her mouth, "Why is he lying to Ra's? Laurel isn't with us."
Diggle didn't answer, but he kept his eyes on Ra's and his teammates. Right now, as bad as things were getting in Starling, along with his bubbling guilt over not having Laurel's back, was not what should be at the forefront of his mind right now. Thea was handling the situation while the rest of them were to bring Oliver back.
The plan was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission before they were to move onto the next step, the capture of Oliver, and return back home to help him recover. Once Oliver was able to snap out of it, they as a team could help Laurel. They would ensure that she and their son were safe.
"Al Sah-Him told me all about all the soldiers in your little militia. My agents in your city tell me that your so-called co-commander has lost her way, once again to the plight that infects your city. No. Miss Lance is not your commander in this operation, boy."
"Frak!" Felicity swore next to him. "What do we do?"
Before Diggle could make the call, he heard someone speak in a familiar growl, followed by cold steel resting against his neck. "Finger off the trigger and toss all weapons off the cliff. And you shall live at The Demon's Head's pleasure."
Diggle gave Felicity the non-verbal direction to toss their equipment off the bluff before they raised their hands. "Oliver. Oliver man, whatever they have done to you, you are stronger than this! Think about Connor and Laurel! Do you even recognize their names? Laurel and Connor almost died the other night!"
Al Sah-Him's eyes widened for a brief second, and his grip on his blade loosened, as did his posture. It looked like for a second, Oliver had returned to them. It wasn't until Felicity made a move towards him, as she did, he returned to his cold demeanor, forcing her to flinch backwards.
:-:-:-:-:
Thea watched the DA leave after accepting the deal. Watson would testify against Brickwell and be granted a private hearing, and she would only serve five years in jail for her crimes. A great deal for their client.
Samanda walked over to use the payphone in the office, as Thea jumped giddily. "I missed this, tell me you missed this?"
Laurel's lip quirked. "It did feel good to argue." It made her remember just how much she loved the law. Giving people the justice they deserved. Helping people. It was something that her father had given her that no one could rip it away from her.
"This is what we are supposed to be doing. " Thea added with a small triumphant smirk. "Helping people the legal way."
"What about Queen Industries?"
"Ollie can have it when he comes back, and he will," Thea added seriously. "I offered Walter the position of CFO, and right now he is working as acting CEO. With him as our 2IC over there we won't have someone like Rochev doing some slimy maneuvers to get what she wants and force us out."
"You made a large donation to the DA's office to get her down, here didn't you?" Laurel asked with a knowing look, and her lips widening into a small smirk.
Thea preened, "If Brick can use his money for ill, I can use mine to help. Besides, it doesn't hurt if the word comes out that the re-branded Queen name has donated money to our city's institutions with no real strings attached."
:-:-:-:-:
Brick was fuming, his son was annoyed that he wouldn't be able to spend his upcoming birthday with his friends that he made in Kansas. And now he was alerted that Agent Watson looked like she was prepared to divulge everything to the courts.
"How did you fail to kill the woman?"
"Black Canary. She stopped the hit that was to take place in Watson's apartment." Beckett swallowed hard. "I have tied up all the loose ends surrounding the incident sans Watson and Black Canary herself. I take full responsibility, would you like my resignation?"
Of course, Dinah Laurel Lance had been at the center of another one of his failures. His mind recalled how she was an idealistic girl who was fighting him to protect her city. She was tenacious back then as well. She developed her new scream and harnessed it rather quickly. Lance took down the man he now knows to be Malcolm Merlyn, before taking down Brick himself a little later.
The woman was an enigma, she went to a fro on how to deal with him, she would go in for a hard-physical blow, then retreated, then tried for a legal maneuver before he forced her backwards. The game of cat and mouse was losing its novelty rather fast. Each time she struck, she was getting closer and closer to his jugular. Her hands were slowly wrapping around his throat.
He wondered if he should have just killed her that night, he had her dead to rights, after she was almost killed by Merlyn. Or if he had killed her that night after she almost killed Merlyn for the first time in the warehouse district. Unlike back then, she was now no longer holding back her punches. He poked the bear, after targeting Miss Queen and Laurel's only child, Connor. And now Dinah Laurel Lance was after him with a vengeance. She was on the warpath.
"Sir?"
Brickwell blinked, "I would appreciate it if you finished your job. You kept my Sammy safe; I trust you not to butcher it up again. And ensure that you use all available resources. I do not want to be indicted."
:-:-:-:-:
Laurel walked out of Wildcat's gym with Watson. "Thea will be ironing out any potential kinks and will be waiting for us in court. Let's go."
Watson followed Laurel past a police cruiser and into a utility van. Laurel leaned towards the front window to see a young woman with short black hair, "You know that this won't be safe?"
"I know that you CNRI girls are planning on taking down the Brit again. That's all I need to know." Laurel couldn't help but smile at that comment. It showed her that The Glades, the city, was worth saving. That there were still good people that lived here that still cared. They cared enough to risk their lives to end Brick's rule.
Laurel then jumped into the back of the van with Watson and felt the van pull out of its parking spot and head out onto the road.
"I need to ask you about something."
Laurel turned her head as she leaned against the steel wall of the van, "You want to know about the Black Canary?"
"Yeah, I stepped off the yellow brick road, and I made a mess out of my life, you jump back and forth with it often."
Laurel sighed, "Trust me it makes a mess out of my life." Lately, she had been wondering if being a vigilante was even worth it. She just wanted to be a lawyer and have her family with Ollie. If she hadn't been Black Canary would her life be simpler? Would Ollie have stopped being The Hood after The Undertaking?
"Does it?" Watson asked, sounding almost amused by the notion. "You have a husband, a child, a sister that knows your secret. Friends that would be willing to go into the gates of hell just to ensure that you were safe."
"And the same life almost got them killed." It did kill Ted, Tommy and Joanna."And not for the first time. I have lost people important to me that have been connected to me, and the life that I lived. I am starting to think that you can't have it both ways." That she was naive to believe that she could.
"You can and you do have it all. I jumped off the line and now I doubt that I have any friends or family that would like to see my face, let alone talk to me. But you, you have friends and family that keep coming back no matter how much you push them away."
"That's Thea and the others for you. Stubbornly loyal. She has kept me from a line that I can't come back from. She would drag me back kicking and screaming if she had to."
All of a sudden, the vehicle came to a halt as gunfire rained towards the van, creating small bullet holes. Both women could only lay on the ground and pray they didn't die in the rain of lead. Laurel crawled towards the small window to see the driver slumped over the steering wheel.
"She's dead."
When the van door opened, Laurel grabbed the man's gun from his hand and used the butt of the gun to knock him out.
She then used her cry, sending the men backwards as she and Watson fled down the now congested and abandoned highway, before managing to escape the area by hotwiring an old car and the pair high-tailed it to the courthouse.
Laurel and the Federal Agent jumped out and ran into the building to see Thea speaking with the DA. "We're here."
Thea spun on her heels, "We heard about the attack." Her eyes showed an unsaid apology that she wasn't there to help her sister in all but name. She then looked at Watson, "You still good to testify?"
"Damn right," Watson said as she walked into the courtroom with the DA.
After Watson had finished her part in the courtroom, Laurel scowled and felt Thea grip her arm. "Laurel?"
"I can hear them, Speedy. Brick has gotten to the jurors." Laurel said angrily. The bastard had just cut her off at the pass once again. She was getting really sick and tired of him ruining her plans to keep her family safe.
:-:-:-:-:
Brick scowled as he watched the television screen. He right now was safe from being indicted, but the words that DA Pierce said following it made his jaw clench.
"The Grand Jury has elected not to indict Daniel Brickwell. But I promise that the DA's office under my leadership will continue to pursue every lead and scour every slither of evidence that will lead us to the truth."
He may have won the battle in the courts, but apparently Miss Lance had acquired another possible ally. And one that would take time to remove. Laurel Lance was learning to play the game. First, she had acquired help from the Captain of the SCPD, and now the District Attorney. He would have to up his game if she continued to be so aggressive and spontaneous. One thing was for certain, he did not enjoy being put on the back foot.
:-:-:-:-:
Samanda walked into her apartment complex and stood in the center of her living room. It was a long while before the door opened to see Smythe pointing her gun at her. "It's over Sam."
"It's not too late, Shivvy. I can organize something with the DA. We can be two Federal Agents taking down the bad guys like how it used to be."
"I'm more than a Fed. I have a purpose." Smythe said with a proud, almost cocky smirk.
Watson squared her shoulders, "Then you have to kill me, because I am never going to stop."
"Brick wants you back into the fold. You who the Black Canary is. You will swear in court that you killed one of our own in court. And you will reveal and testify who the Black Canary is and that she killed Theodore Grant in cold blood."
Watson shook her head. "This is where I stand, Shivvy. I'm doing the right thing here." She would not condemn a woman who was saving this city. The woman who gave her a second chance.
Smythe watched as Watson pulled out her sidearm, but Smythe was too fast and shot her former colleague in the head.
She smiled proudly above the dead body of Agent Watson. Perhaps now, Brickwell would now see that she was still valuable and that she was worth his investment and time. She was grateful that Brickwell had listened to his son, the boy had only wanted to ingratiate himself with his father, but she took on the opportunity to prove her worth. Brick's naive son in trying to imitate and help his father, without knowing the consequences gave her this chance.
:-:-:-:-:
Felicity watched as Diggle, Roy, and Ray were kicked to the sandy ground, in a line before the small raised platform that looked as if the sandstone had been carved to make it, along with the steep stairs.
She gulped as she watched Oliver drag out a bloody, bruised Malcolm Merlyn. It looked as if he had received numerous types of torture, from lashings, the soles of his feet were blistered and raw and was missing his right hand. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was missing his thumb on his left hand, and several toes.
After Oliver silently climbed the stairs and took his rightful place next to his master. She turned her head back to John. "John."
Her friend ignored her and spoke to Malcolm, as the League started to utter some sort of ritualistic prayer. "What happened to you, Merlyn?"
The tortured man's swollen eyes barely opened, "They killed my faction… Tortured me after the lashings, Ra's had me shackled above a fire to show me how I should have died before I changed my fate… Had three arrows shot into me… For killing one of their own… Sara…"
"You should have died the night that you and Laurel first fought."Diggle said, "Did you tell them about Thea?"
"They tortured me for so long…No food, water… The only thing I could get them to stop for a while was to tell them everything since I left Nanda Parbat the first time." He swallowed hard. "Doesn't matter anyway. Oliver's final trials will be coming up soon. He will have to slay his loved ones and his city, that is if Brickwell didn't kill them already. You only helped him... You know? Making Laurel isolate herself..."
Felicity blinked, and her mouth became agape, "Thea's alone protecting the city, and stopping Laurel from losing it, and Brickwell from hurting the city."
Malcolm let out a tired snort. "Thea would never fight her sister… They are family. In a way that I was never a part of for Thea or Tommy... Robert, Walter, and Quentin were all more paternal role models for her. I see that now. I killed my son, and brought my daughter to the gallows…"
"Laurel will protect her," Roy assured them. "Her whole reason for going off alone was because some of us didn't see the threat that Brick posed. Before we left, you saw what happened at Verdant, and later at the Queen Manor when we got out of the ARGUS briefing for this mission. At least we had someone having their eye on the ball while we dealt with this one."
"Laurel's emotions are both her greatest strength and weakness," Malcolm muttered before he was dragged up and towards the raised platform without care.
"Woah…Woah, where are they taking Merlyn?" Ray blurted out as they watched helplessly as Malcolm was dropped unceremoniously at the feet of The Demon's head. His skin was so pale that they could just make out some of the veins on his forehead, his face looking gaunt.
Ra's withdrew his blade from its scabbard, "Al Saher, you have committed crimes against the codes of The League. Considering your history after stealing the Pit's water, and operating and commanding a rogue splinter faction that has now been officially disavowed, and eradicated completely, you too shall follow them into the annals of history, without your head, you shall never walk amongst the living."
As Ra's raised his blade, Felicity squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into John's side as she heard a small thud of what she could only imagine was Malcolm's head falling to the ground.
:-:-:-:-:
Thea could only watch as Laurel stormed out of Wildcat's gym. The legal avenue hadn't worked. Thea could only hope that Laurel wasn't going to do something stupid. She sighed as she grabbed her jacket from the hook and followed her sister out. Thea rushed out to find Laurel standing ready to climb down a manhole and down into the abandoned tunnel network. "I have an idea, follow me."
When they arrived at The Bunker, Thea walked past Laurel and handed her a steel briefcase. "Ollie and I had this made for when we completed our first mission back together. When you were ready. It was supposed to be a welcome back gift before Ollie… then we heard about Brick. And everything fell apart."
"Speedy…" Laurel stammered. How did she manage to hold on to Thea even when she was pushing her away? The younger woman had every reason to hate her, and yet she came back.
"Nope, don't Speedy me," Thea said with a stern voice." Brick started with us, and it will end with the three of us." Thea said resolutely, giving Laurel a stare that dared her to state otherwise. Laurel tentatively nodded before she opened the case to see a new suit laid out for her. The suit was mainly black, with a few yellow-gold highlights. Laurel gently touched the material, as Thea spoke. " I had Iris take it back to have the highlights. We had to distinguish you from Smythe, and keep you protected."
Thea then explained how the fish netting around the suit was a durable mesh that Cisco had been working on since he constructed the earlier suit. And how this suit had a denser material around the forearms to keep her more protected.
"Do you like it?"
Laurel looked up with a genuinely appreciative smile. "It's perfect, Speedy, thank you."
Thea then pulled something small from her pocket and handed it to Laurel. Her engagement ring, and wedding ring. Laurel's eyes stung as she became misty-eyed. "We are a family, Laurel. I don't ever want to see those rings off your finger or off your necklace."
Laurel gave a small smile, at that moment, Thea sounded a lot like her mother then she realized at that moment. "Thank you for everything, Speedy."
"It's time for The Birds of Prey to bring Daniel Brickwell, Silver Banshee and his cabal to their knees."
A/N - The next chapter is one that many have been waiting for, and the name says it all on the tin. 'The Fall of Daniel Brickwell'.