Balance of Two Lights

by literarrow

Oliver Queen has set off on a suicidal course as he tries to save the Star City alone as the Green Arrow while running it as Mayor. Kara Danvers, an intrepid reporter who has one of the most influential voices in Star City, wants nothing more than to save her dying city. What happens when these two cross paths and alter the course of each other's lives in unimaginable ways?

6. A Mission Almost His Own

There was something uncanny about the timing of news being broke to Oliver today. From Barry walking in and letting him in on a murder case that could be tied back to him— to Adrian announcing his presence and telling him that two innocents were murdered by the same killer. And as he looks back retrospectively on the past week, he realizes that last weekends killings were a chess move in whatever game this mysterious serial murderer was trying to play. He had been on edge all week, awaiting any kind of sign to jump. Well, he got it—- but he was way past a simple feeling of unease, he was unnerved.

So he put a front on as he shook Adrian's hand, forcing every ounce of cordiality that he could muster into the slight grin flashing upon his face. He had been awaiting meeting the new district attorney since he had been hired last week, and he wanted to make a strong first impression. The circumstances upon which they first met were not ideal to say the least, and Oliver made sure to explain that. Hoping that it would suffice as a legitimate excuse as to why he may seem less welcoming upon their first exchange. Adrian, seeming to be an understanding guy, not only of human emotion but of the levity of the current situation, was completely accepting of the quick greet.

He pulls out his phone to show Oliver pictures that crime scene investigators took of the victims. Throwing stars were wedged into the neck of a young woman and a middle aged male. The woman was a 28 year old school teacher. The man was a 39 year old mortgage officer. There was no surface correlation between the two victims— hell, there wasn't even as much as a parking ticket on record for either of these people. And as Adrian continued to fill in Oliver, and by extension Barry as he listened from afar, the circumstances surrounding these murders became not only more perplexing but increasingly alarming.

Oliver forces his forehead into his fingers, massaging the bridge of his nose as he tries to quickly think of a plan of action from an administrative angle. With the growing distrust in the police force, he knew that he had to find an alternative way to not only have more bodies on the case, but to have the public assured that City Hall was actively investigating. Luckily, there was a shiny new task force just awaiting for their first call of duty. But with the police already on the case, a collision of interest could ensue, only furthering the potential of a PR nightmare for his administration.

He turns to Adrian. "How much to the police have on this?"

"Not much other than what I just told you," he answers. He shakes his head, scoffing lightly as he adds, "I don't think this case is at the top of their priorities right now so I think their knowledge will be scarce for a bit."

Oliver chuckles with disgust in response to the idea, shaking his head as he says coldly, "not even fucking surprised." He takes a deep breath, gathering a cooled composure before telling Adrian, "I want the task force on this. Can you relay this information to the SCPD and tell them we want everything they've got?"

"Do you really think that's going to go over well with Pike?" Adrian asks with concern.

Oliver shrugs his shoulders. "If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with me. I need first hand involvement in the investigation."

"Oh, I get it," he replies with assertion. "Just wonder how much more animosity should exist between the department and city hall."

Oliver winks in his direction, grinning smugly as he tells him, "the DA can serve as the middle ground here, right? It'll sound better coming from you."

"First week on the job and I'm already going to get on people's bad side."

"You get used to it," Oliver jokes, reaching his hand out to him to yet again shake his hand, this time in gratitude. "I appreciate your help, Adrian. I'm glad to have you on board— you're work as a civil rights attorney has been more than admirable."

"Appreciate that." Adrian smiles with modesty, nodding as he takes his hand again. "I think you've got this city heading in the right direction." Oliver acknowledges his compliment with a simple turn of his head and a firmer shake to Adrian's hand. Adrian turns to head towards the door, looking back to clarify as he leaves, "so I'll head to the precinct to let Pike know how this is going down. You want me to take Milton with me?"

Oliver stops to think about his answer. Luke Milton was the head of the task force. He took directives from Oliver and formulated plans to be relayed to his team. Today was his first official day on the job and Oliver, feeling slightly more empathetic on the day, didn't want to throw such a tall task onto him so quickly. Alas, this is what he signed up for— he was expecting it.

So Oliver told Adrian that he would call him up to his office to catch him up on the situation. He then would head to the precinct with him to gather up intel and everything that the SCPD had on this serial killer. It was important to Oliver that he had multiple people on the inside of this, so he made sure that Adrian was to be present every step of the way. Him being the DA gave him certain jurisdiction and leverage— plus, he seemed keen on investigating this case further. He wasn't just going to keep him in the dark when he could be of use.

Barry excused himself to Oliver's bunker, where he would try to find any surveillance footage or radio chatter from these killings— hoping for any sighting that can further describe the killer. They had this conversation through whispers as Adrian called the task force head on the other side of the room.

"Do you want me to call Felicity?" She's going to be a lot better at this shit than I am," Barry insists, noticing the look of regret forming on Oliver's face. He knew through conversations with her over the phone that they weren't currently speaking. He glared at him in disbelief and immediately contesting, "Come on, Ollie. At the least, she's not going to turn an opportunity to help stop someone like this."

Oliver knows that he's right. His habitual stubbornness wanted to deflect— but the situation was dire, and truth be told he would always need Felicity— he just happened to desperately needed her now. He also didn't have the time to argue with someone as perpetually hard-headed as Barry, especially when it came with something Barry truly believed in. And he knew how much Felicity meant to Oliver. He knew he needed her. He wasn't going to stop pressing until he said yes.

"Just call her. Tell her I would've done it had I not gotten caught up at the office," Oliver relents. He sighs as he finishes, "I'll be there as soon as I get done here. I'm going to call Kara on my way over there, just to catch her up on everything we know and see what she can do."

Barry looks around, checking to see if Adrian was paying attention to their conversation before stepping in his line of sight and looking at Oliver with concern. "Are you sure you want her involved with this? This is some dangerous shit."

"Barry, she's the main hot line of news in this city. She's going to find out anyways," Oliver whispers. "And knowing her tendencies as a reporter, she's going to insert herself into the middle of it anyways. Might as well have her on our side. She can be a big help to us."

Barry nods before walking off, acknowledging Adrian in a slightly awkward manner before exiting his office. In the time that they were waiting for Luke Milton to join them, Oliver found it appropriate to try to get to know Adrian in the best way that he could. They both were Star City-lifers. They actually went to the same college— except for Oliver it was only a short tenure. He jokes about an instance where Oliver left a club with his girlfriend at the time, sleeping with her and instigating the split that later occurred. In his words, he got over it— he doesn't hold grudges.

So Adrian graduated, went on to law school, and found his way into the Star City law circuit almost immediately upon getting his license to practice. He's always worked in civil defense, yet being a prosecutor was something that had he always hoped may come along in the from of opportunity.

Adrian asks about the island and Oliver gives him the same vanilla answers he gives everyone— how it changed him, let him appreciate life more. Few know just how much it did. And Adrian couldn't be one of those people to know— especially upon first meeting. So just as he normally did with people, he puts up a mile thick wall between who he was speaking with. He still made good conversation, however, it was surface value shit that didn't allow him to connect.

Milton walks in, visibly nervous as he approaches the two men who were sitting on the couch talking. They both stand up to greet him, Adrian introducing himself and Oliver letting him know he was glad to see him again. They quickly fill him in on the situation and it was clear that he understood the direness of what was going on.

"I heard the rumblings of this guy last weekend. I've been paying close attention all week," Milton tells them, a slight fear ringing in his tone as he continues. "I've got a wife and a newborn. And with him killing innocents, this has become more than a general concern for due process."

Adrian nods. "As a married man myself, I can't agree more. We want the anti-crime unit to put all of their resources into this. Surely, we'll be able to find and apprehend him quicker this way."

"With you guys leading this case, I'll have a direct line to any important leads and information. So please," Oliver adds as he stands from his seat. "Let me know immediately if you find out anything important." He begins to button up the top slot of his suit jacket before telling them, "I'm going to see if I can find any leads myself. Don't be afraid to call if something comes up."

He smiles cordially at the two men before walking out. He couldn't help but notice a precarious stare from Adrian as he turned around. It was a perplexed glare, as if he knew that there was more to what Oliver had told them. Most of his excuses to leave City Hall for his underground bunker were utter bullshit, yet many of his employees never questioned him. Adrian seemed to see right through it and it was slightly concerning— yet, Oliver really did not have the time to be overly worried about how the DA was perceiving his lies.

Yet, what he had said was hardly a lie. He really was going to see if he could find another lead.

He still had to phone a friend.

••

She could feel the stares in her direction as she walked into the Inquirer. Some felt like glares of contempt others strangely felt like eyes of concern watching as she made her way to her office. She thought that she had a pretty tight grip on the happenings that went on within her employees— if she had something to worry about, she figured she would've been told about it. Yet the overwhelming vibe of the crowd around her made her wary of what was awaiting her.

Her publisher was awaiting at her door. As she made eye contact, she tried to flash a cordial smile but his response wasn't so welcoming. He shut the door behind her, immediately making her uncomfortable as she circled around her desk. As she sets her things down, she asks, "Is there something you need from me?"

"Where have you been today, Danvers?" He asks, scorn ripping through his words. "I called two hours ago, no answer. And I come down here to find out you haven't even come into work all morning."

Kara raises an eyebrow, glaring at him knowingly with the same sense following her tone. "I was at Mayor Queen's pressor. I've got a press badge as proof, if you need to see it."

"His pressor ended two hours ago."

Kara nods, pursing her lips as she does so. She had no intentions of being ambiguous in her response. She wasn't trying to tell him a half truth. She taps the wood of her desk slightly, responding firmly, "I spoke with him for a while afterwards. I've been helping him this week and—"

"I need your focus here, Ms. Danvers. Not at city hall. This is where your job is."

Kara chuckles non-humorously. She sits in the chair behind her desk as she pulls her computer out, talking as she does so. "With all due respect, Mr. King, he asked for my help and I couldn't just tell him no. I multitasked. I don't have to be in office all day to do my job."

"We needed you here this morning. Two innocent people were murdered last night. I needed my best reporter on the job, getting the details" King's voice became stern, almost raised enough to be considered a yell. "These are the kind of things that you miss when you decide to chat it up with the Mayor."

Kara, completely taken back by the revelation of the murders. Knowing her job was possibly at stake right now if she didn't clear up everything with King, she knew she had to compartmentalize. "I'm just trying to help the Mayor, sir. He's understaffed. He's struggling."

"Well that's his problem," King replies coldly. "It's not our job to fix the Mayor's messes. And that includes writing fluff pieces that completely ignore the real problems his administration present."

Kara shakes her head, standing up abruptly in anger. "Maybe instead of writing pieces that assassinate his public image and public trust in him, we should be showing the public who he truly is and highlight the very clear potential that he has. Because it's there."She takes a deep breath, feeling herself getting overly angry and aggressive in her tone of voice. Being this way will only escalate the situation and anger in the room— not get her point across.

So she loosens her tightening cheeks after a deep inhale and exhale. Her voice remains strong and filled with certitude as she continues. "We are only hindering him, and the city, from where it needs to be if we continually bring him down. And if I can be any kind of help to him while he's still trying to get his staff together, than by God, I'll fucking be there."

"You're out of pocket, Danvers." King tells her harshly. "I hired you to write for me. The I promoted you to vet and edit what goes into my paper. Don't you forget that." He walks towards the door, turning to face Kara one last time as he tells her, "I want edits in by midnight. And if you know what is good for your employment, I'd get on that murder story."

Kara watched him leave through the window in her door. Feeling the anger course through her veins, she tightens her fist by her side, trying to contain any words that pertain to her quitting in her mouth. It was the first thing that she considered as she processed the words that he said. She stood her ground and she didn't regret it. Actually, she regretted not a single one of her decisions from this past week. She knew she made the right decision. She felt good about that decision. So instead of dwelling on that anger, she moved her thoughts to more pressing manners— and that was the alleged murders.

And as if on cue, her phone began to vibrate in her purse. Once again, she takes a deep breath, trying to channel her anger elsewhere. She glances at her phone to see who the caller is and has a pretty good idea of the reasoning of his call as she sees the name. She greets Oliver, her voice shaky from the lump in her throat constricting her breathing. She hadn't even realized how worked up she had gotten in the final words that King told her, as her sight had become so red with anger that she couldn't even recognize what was happening internally.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asks with concern on the other side of the line.

She clears her throat. "Yeah, yeah. Just shit at work. What do you need?"

"The guy who killed the weapons dealers this weekend is back— this time he killed innocents." His words come out somberly and she could read his demeanor through the phone. There was a worry in his phone that made her think there was something more than just sadness about these victims. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was yet.

"My publisher just told me about the innocents being killed. I didn't realize that it was the same guy," Kara began. "How do we know it was him?"

Oliver sighs. "Same M.O. Barry actually came to tell me he there was a similar murder in Central City. This is a serial murder case now."

Kara feels her breath hitch as she takes in the levity of what he revealed to her. When they had initially heard about this killer, most thought he was a vigilante with no restraint and and eye for killing. But with the information that Oliver had just given her, it was clear that this was absolutely more than that. And it terrified her.

"I was hoping you'd have heard some information in the time you've been gone," Oliver continues.

Kara exhales. "No. I just now found out about it. I was actually about to leave and see what I could find out."

"Hey, I just sent Adrian Chase with the new ACU captain to the precinct. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you joining." He pauses, and she can recognize the plea fullness in his next words. "I'm sure they, and I, would love to have you on this case."

Kara looks through her window and sees King out speaking with one of the writers. She glared for a moment, reflecting back on their earlier conversation. She did have to write an article on everything going on with this case— and getting in the middle of it at city hall would definitely aid in that. Plus, it was clear that Oliver wanted and needed her help on this. Who was she to say no? She was not going to let the arrogance of her boss get in the way of what she felt was right.

So she smiles as she tells Oliver through the phone, "yeah, I'll be there."

"Good." Oliver responds, joy slightly seeping through his tone. "And hey, if you need to work through your work shit, I'm here to listen whenever."

Kara stops for a moment. Within the tensed nature of the last fifteen minutes, she had felt herself to so riled up in everything going on. There was just something in his voice that struck a peace chord within Kara, singing enough to loosen that tight grip that stress had taken her in. It meant a lot to her for him to reach out to her like that. Not many outside of Alex have.

So she could not help but widen the already existent gleam that was placed across her lips. She stands up and grabs her purse while telling him, "yeah. That would nice."

"Maybe a drink later?"

She nods to herself, exhaling a breath of peace as she affirms, "I'd like that."

They said their goodbyes, noting that they would let each other know if they found anything else out. She needed to hear some sort of kindness to filter out the frustrations that she felt— and Oliver's chat was exactly what the doctor ordered. And in this, she was only more affirmed in how she felt about her priorities today and this week. It wasn't that she was not putting any time and effort into her job at the Inquirer— no, it was quite the opposite. King's accusations were his cruel projections of anger towards where Kara was spending her extra time. It did not take much for Kara to come to this realization.

But there was slight regret that had began to creep into Kara's thoughts, as King was right about how Kara needed to be more mindful towards the job he had given her. But the compassion and care displayed from Oliver in a moment where she desperately needed to hear it was more than enough to erase those sneaky notions of guilt. Hearing the contrast in how the two men approached her was all the assurance her mind needed.

So she shoved her phone in her purse, walking out of her office without even a hint of hesitancy. The conversation with King notwithstanding, she knew that this was something that needed to be done. She felt as if she had a duty to fulfill— as a reporter, as a friend, and well, more importantly, a caring resident of Star City.

And even if it was in a way that was not appeasing to King, she technically was still doing what he asked her to do- getting on the murder case.

She didn't quite know what to expect from this spontaneous meeting with the new DA and head of the ACU. She had several interactions with Adrian Chase in the past, dating way back to her first days as a reporter. As she really tried to focus in her early days on the people who being marginalized and taken advantage of by the higher up white collars in this city, she often found herself entangled with one of the more renown civil/human rights lawyers in Star[ling] City— and that was Adrian Chase. After she had made a big name for herself as a reporter and people were lining up to be sources, and especially as she took on her higher up role as an editor, their interaction had become little to none.

It had been a while, years even, since they'd even uttered a word to one another. He was still more than a welcome face to see— as he was always more than just a fantastic source. He always seemed like, at least to Kara, a bright spot in a city slowly being overrun by darkness. She would always take an opportunity to work with him again. Luke Milton, however was a name that she had only heard in passing while conversing with Oliver and the one conversation she had with his sister about the task force. She was, of course, always happy to meet and help new people in whatever way that she was needed.

So as she walked up to the two men who were standing in front of the precinct waiting for her arrival, she made sure to make good eye contact with the both of them. She smiles warmly at Adrian as she holds her hand out towards him to greet him, her voice matching her demeanor as she tells him, "long time, no see, counselor."

"It's been too long, Kara," he responds with a slight chuckle, taking her hand and shaking it lightly. "It's great to see you again."

Kara nods, narrowing her eyes to show the sincere intent in her words. "You too, Adrian."

She peeks around Adrian's shoulder to find the man she assumed was Milton standing behind him awkwardly, as if he didn't know whether or not to pipe in and introduce himself. Kara took the decision out of his hands and reached her hand out to him as well, grinning with the same cordiality she showed Adrian as she shook his hand. "You must be Luke. Nice to meet you."

"You too, Ms. Danvers."

They get passed the typically weird greeting stage fairly quickly, recognizing the immediate need to get inside the precinct and learn more about this case. It didn't really have to be spoken— it was as if the three of them were non verbally able to communicate the notion that they needed to move it forward. Kara appreciated that. Although she was always up for a conversation, there was an urgency that was pushing them along that was mutually understood. It didn't have to be said. The mood quickly turned to a conversation about the task at hand. And Kara, being the clearly inquisitive person that she was piped up the question, "so why exactly did Oliver send the two of you here?"

"We're letting the SCPD know that the ACU will be handling this case from this point forward and taking up what they have," Milton, who was walking beside her tells her.

Kara nods in acknowledgment. "Smart thinking. Probably is best to keep the investigation in house." She looks at Luke to add emphasis on her next statement. "Good to have people that he trusts working on it."

"Ironic that you say that, with the three of us being the ones working together on it at the moment," Luke adds. "I think Mayor Queen knows what he's doing."

She furrows her eyebrows for a moment, smiling as she realizes what he meant by that statement. She chuckles modestly before redirecting the conversation, "I heard a lot of good about you, Luke, from Oliver and Thea. They were really excited to have you on."

"I'm just as excited to be here. Honored really," he grins before his expressions becoming more serious. "Just want to help make this city better, you know?"

Kara nods with gleam. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. That's why I do what I do. The only reason, actually."

"I've got a family. I want them to have a home they're proud of, that they feel safe in. They're why I do this."

Kara, in awe of the people in this city that she's continually inspired by, lets out a breathy chuckle as she smiles from ear to ear. "I'm sure you make them very proud."

"That's why we all do it," Adrian adds as he takes hold of the door handle to escort them into the precinct. "To make sure we leave this city better than we found it. There is too many people out there who want to watch it die for us to do anything else."

"Amen to that," Luke tells him as he walks through the door.

Kara winks at Adrian as she passes by him, garnering a smirk and wink of his own in return before he begins to follow her close behind. It was assuring to know that she was working alongside people who cared for this place as much as she did. And as she quickly takes a retrospective look at what she allows herself to tolerate at work, it becomes more evident to her that she needs to seek a better opportunity for employment. Alas— there were more important tasks to be handled.

Walking into the precinct was uncomfortable to say the least. With tensions running high between not just city hall and the SCPD, but with the general public as well, it was safe to assume that they weren't too keen on any outside visitors. But with the DA and publicly announced head of the new Anti-Crime Unit, that was almost a public display of distrust towards the department, the reaction was nonverbally harsher. Kara kept her eyes forward to avoid any uncomfortable eye contact as they made their way to the Captain's office.

The reaction that they received from Captain Pike was not much better. He pronounced visible displeasure at the sight of the three of them as they entered his office, sighing as he asked, "what does Queen want?"

"Mayor Queen and I found it fitting for the throwing star case to be done in house with the ACU," Adrian answered in a calm, neutral manner. "So we are going to need what you have on the case."

Pike scoffs, standing up harshly from his seat as he answers with disdain, "Absolutely not."

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be," Adrian says, keeping his composure. "We all want the same thing— and thats to catch this guy. That will happen a lot faster if you cooperate and just let the ACU take over."

"Queen took from our allotted funds to finance this task force project of his, and now he wants us to willingly give evidence on a serial murder case to them?" He scoffs again. "He's got a shit ton of nerve, I'll give him that."

"Sir, the Anti Crime Unit is here to make your job easier." Milton pipes in. "The Mayor just wants to be directly involved with this case and the ACU is an avenue for him to do that. We are not trying to be difficult here."

"We got the call to investigate the case. We will see it through. Mayor Queen does not have the jurisdiction to just take over this case."

Adrian looks at the floor and chuckles slightly, shaking his head while bringing his attention back to Pike. He shoves his hands in his pocket as he smiles deviously in his direction. "I'm the district attorney. I don't have to take your case. But I can choose to take whatever case is filed by the ACU. So if your goal is to prove a point, you're not going to win here. If you want to stop a killer, you are going to give us the evidence you have."

"That sounds like blackmail."

Adrian shrugs nonchalantly. "It's not blackmail. It's perspective."

Kara had been listening to the conversation quietly in the corner of his office. As she realized that the conversation was going nowhere out of Pike's stubbornness, she subtly took matters into her own hands. She slid her glasses down on the tip of her nose and scanned the room for anything that the three of them could go by. She could see the box that was labeled for this particular case but not much was in it. It was a couple of files. Her Kryptonian ability to see through objects wasn't of much help at the moment, as the SCPD point blank didn't have much to go by. She did happen to see, however, a plastic bag that looked to have something sharp stashed inside.

So, with the ability to move quicker than the speed of sound, she quickly rushed to the box to remove the bag and place it in her coat pocket. She returned back to where she was standing, folding her arms back into the position that they were in before she had left. Luckily, no one questioned or even saw her move, so she did not have to pretend as if she was trying to hide something. It was actually incredibly thrilling for Kara to use her powers, especially in the discrete manner that she did. She couldn't help but hash out a smile that left quicker than it came as no one in the room was paying attention to her.

This was something that she could get used to.

As tensions between Adrian, Milton, and Pike were heating up, Kara decided it was time for her to be a mediator of sorts. So she quickly stepped up next to Pike's desk, next to the box of files so that she could claim that as the moment she took the evidence. She put her hands up as if she was surrendering and looks at Adrian and Luke with calm eyes as she tells them, "Guys, if Captain Pike is just going to be difficult, there's no point in trying. We can investigate this on our own. I doubt he has much anyways." She looks to Pike with the same placidity she did them. "Sir, my editor wants something on this case. Is there anything that you can give me? I'm just the reporter."

"Sorry, Ms. Danvers. No."

Kara bites her lip and nods slowly. She forces a smile, "We'll see ourselves out then."

Kara leaves the room and she notices the confused stares from both Luke and Adrian as she does so. She can hear their footsteps following closely behind as she walks out.

"Kara, what the hell were you thinking?" Adrian asks with impatience. "We came here to get evidence and we got absolutely nothing."

Kara reaches into her bag when they get far enough away from the precinct and pulls the bag out with the throwing star. Looks of shock and confusion are evident on both of their faces as they both stop in their tracks. She laughs, "I mean, how did Oliver think that was going to go? Tensions are already high and he really thought you guys could just waltz in there and get what he wanted? I took into my own hands."

Adrian couldn't help but laugh as he took it from her hand and gave it to Luke, who still couldn't believe what she had done. He smiles. "Good work, Ms. Danvers."

There was a rush that came from it all— something that she didn't get from reporting. There was a gratification that she never even found after publishing game changing articles. It was a feeling that she wanted to hold onto. It was a feeling that she wanted to seek again.

And suddenly— a path seemed clearer.

••

"Did we find anything?" Oliver asks with urgency as he walks into the bunker. Barry and Felicity were hunkered in front of a computer screen as they were watching something intently. The subsequent looks that he got from the both of them were pretty telling— they hadn't gotten anywhere. Oliver sighs, "fantastic."

"Did Kara have anything?" Barry asks with glimmer of hope.

Oliver shakes his head as he joins them on the platform that held their computers. "She hadn't even heard about it until I asked her about it. I sent her to the precinct with Chase and Milton. If they're unable to get anything out of Pike, I know Kara sure as hell will."

"You've been on the receiving end of that woman's questioning," Felicity adds humorously. "I trust your logic."

Oliver smiles. Something about the way that she said her words made everything feel slightly normal again. She didn't sound sympathetic. She wasn't coming down on him. It was just a simple, Felicity-esque comment that he had come to expect after years of her being one of the first people he greeted as he walked in. She felt that normalcy too. They shared a moment of nonverbal reveling together before he tells her, "I really appreciate you being here."

"You need my help. Why wouldn't I be?" She tells him kindly. "I mean, there's also a serial killer on the loose and I want to help find him but. . ."

Oliver laughs gently. "I know. . . still, thank you."

"So this guys a ghost, by the way," Felicity tells him, breaking a moment where they were smiling at one another with faces full of gratification. She turns to her computer and shows him camera footage of the sites where the murders took place. "We cannot pick him up on any camera. So triangulating a location is a no go."

Barry walks up behind him and adds, "there's an algorithm that we use at CCPD when we're trying to make sense of a serial murderer. It's tries to find any kind of correlation in the victims names so we might could have an idea of where their next target is."

"And?" Oliver questions, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow in Barry's direction.

Barry sighs, walking up to another computer and showing him an unfinished progress bar. "It's acting like it's picking up something but it doesn't have all of the information yet."

"So we pretty much have nothing?" Oliver asks.

Felicity turns around to face him again in her chair. "There is some kind of correlation with the people he's killed. But we may not be able to see the full picture until—"

"He's killed more people?" Oliver asks, pinching his nose as Felicity nods solemnly. He groans. "So this algorithm isn't even an option at this point. We can't wait until he kills someone again."

"What are we gonna do then, Ollie?" Barry pushes. "This is our best chance at making sense of any of this. Unless a better lead comes up, and trust me we're searching, we can't do much else."

Oliver exhales exaggeratively. "No one else is going to die tonight, Barry."

"Okay,"Barry throws his hands up. "I don't want anyone else dying tonight either. So what do we do?"

"Do a sweep of the city, Barry see if you see anything conspicuous." I'm going to head back to city hall, see if anything comes up there," Oliver tells them, turning around and walking back to the elevator. "If you guys even get a whiff of something, let me know. I'll be back here in an instant."

As the doors close, he hears Felicity yell words of assurance. "We'll find him!"

The next few hours were nothing of such. He and Barry were texting, calling on and off as he scanned the city via running and via watching the cameras. They could catch absolutely nothing. And as Oliver continued to wait in his office for a call from Adrian, Luke, or Kara, he continued to grow more and more impatient. He tried not to play the blame game on himself— as a killer being on the loose in his city couldn't be only his fault. But it ate away at him that there was someone killing innocents and there was nothing that he could do to try and stop them. It was a waiting game. And Oliver was terrible at waiting.

Barry had told him that the algorithm still was acting like it wasn't complete and Oliver was more convinced that it was a lost cause. The best possible lead that they could've gotten was unfinished— and the only way for the lead to be viable was to allow the killer to pave its course. It's such a perverse notion. Yet, in Oliver's desperation, it felt necessary. In all of the phone calls with other members of the press, listening in on police radio, with Barry and Felicity doing their part as well— it was tempting to just relent. But he knew that he couldn't.

Just as he felt himself getting closer to that temptation, there was a knock on his door. It startled him a bit, as he had become so entranced in his stares out his office window with his thoughts embedded in them deeply that he had forgotten where he was. As he brought himself back to reality and told the person on the other side of the door to come in.

"Hey," he hears Kara say, her mood matching the aura that Oliver had created for himself amongst his brooding. Slightly surprised by her presence, he turns around to face her, forcing a smile in acknowledgement. He opens his mouth to say something but is stopped by her asking, "is everything alright?"

Oliver presses his lips together, shoving his hands in his pocket and shifting back and forth. He shakes his head, "Oh yeah. There's just a serial killer on the loose and I can't find him."

"Well," Kara says with a hint of flippancy. "What makes you say that?"

Oliver forces a harsh laughter from his chest, his eyes signaling a gleam that doesn't reflect what he's feeling inside of him. His lips turn upward, but he's not by any means content or happy. "Not a single security camera has picked him up. No one can even give details of what he looks like because he hasn't gotten close enough to a living being for anyone to know what he's wearing." He chuckles non humorously yet again, shrugging his shoulders. "We've got absolutely fucking nothing."

"Oliver." Kara tells him blankly. She walks closer to him, holding on to his bicep as she tries to affirm him. She grins. "Adrian, Luke, and I found something. May not be much, but it's a lead."

Oliver raises an eyebrow, the defeat slowly erasing from the shape of his face. "You should have led with that— would've saved me from that pathetic spiel."

"Hey, it wasn't pathetic. It just reminded me that you care," Kara tells him with certitude. She reaches out into her bag and pulls out a ziplock bag with a platinum throwing star in it, garnering a wide-eyed glare in it's direction from Oliver. "We got this from the SCPD. Well, we kind of swiped it from Pike's desk but. . ."

Oliver takes it from her hand, scoffing as he jokes, "and Adrian said he didn't want to ruffle the SCPD's feathers."

"If you were there for that conversation with Pike, I think you'd understand why Adrian's heart changed," Kara says, slight contempt rolling from her tongue as she does so. She clears her throat to signal a subject change and continues, "anyways. Milton took it to the ACU's crime lab. They found out it was created from mashed up bits of carbon fiber."

He listens intently, however putting up a front as if he wasn't immediately concerned by the mention of carbon fiber. It caught his attention. That material was something of significance not just to Oliver— but the alter ego of his that he hooded up as every night. "And?"

"Well, Adrian and I did some digging. Did you know that the Arrow, and by extension, the Green Arrow uses carbon fiber to create his arrows?"

Shit. There it is. This was apart of his life that had never come up in conversation with Kara, therefore, he never had to dance around the topic with her. But as this involved a murder case that they were working together to solve, he knew he couldn't avoid conversations about the vigilante with her. So he put on his best poker face, acting as if he had absolutely no clue what she was speaking of.

"What? So you think this guy is like a sidekick for the Green Arrow or something?" Oliver asks, realizing how stupid it sounded coming from his lips.

Kara shoots him a questioning glare before shaking her head and responding. "No. We went back and tested the material and tried to trace it back to any known cases with the Arrow or Green Arrow. It was a match."

"So these throwing stars are literally made from his arrows?" Oliver asks, fear immediately coming over him as he realizes that this case is more connected to him than he ever could've thought.

Kara nods. "And whoever made them has direct access to SCPD lockup."

"Fuck." Oliver moans, running his fingers through his hair in a physical attempt to cope with the overwhelming stress he was beginning to feel. There were numerous layers to the worry building up inside of him. One, relating to the obvious—- someone was trying to draw him out and get his attention as the Green Arrow, and innocent lives were being lost because of it. That thought terrified and shook him to his core. Another, being the fact that this connection runs deeply into the reigns of Star City's criminal infrastructure, and he had no clue where to begin on that investigation. He wanted to just take the throwing star to his bunker and work things through with Felicity and Barry— yet, Kara was up in his office in the late hours of the night, trying her best to help. He couldn't just turn her loose.

The stress was clearly visible across his face, and Kara, being the intensely caring individual that she was, put a tender hand on his shoulder. There was a warmth in her eyes that Oliver immediately locked onto as he raised his head— an empathy burning through her iris and a light radiating through her stare that gave Oliver a feeling of hope, a feeling that someone was there. And for a moment, not only the stress was an after thought, but the emptiness that he had felt for so long was too. After months of that being the sole thing he recognized inside of him, suddenly that hole was temporarily filled with something he had forgotten the feeling of. And that feeling, softened his icy glare and loosened his tense muscles in an instant.

"I know it's easy for you to feel like you have to carry the weight of this city on your shoulders. But you don't have to anymore, okay?" Kara tells him softly. "Adrian's bending over backwards to try to solve this case. The ACU is already working tirelessly. I am here to do whatever you need me to do. We're going to get this guy. I promise."

Oliver lets out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. "How could you possibly have read that from my single expletive?"

"I'm an investigative reporter, remember?" Kara begins, her tone much lighter. "I'm good at picking up patterns with people. And it is so obvious with you, Oliver."

Oliver shakes his head once again, except the shake turns into a nod as he lifts his head to face Kara. He smiles brightly at her as he tells her, "you're damn good at your job, Ms. Danvers."

"So are you, Mayor Queen."

It was an odd sensation for Oliver. He stood in his office, despite being in the middle of a stressful time, feeling so many of the self-deprecating thoughts that he so often felt, with a woman who he was beginning to feel a connection with. He didn't think that he'd ever be able to open up to anyone ever again. He even kept his sister at a far distance, he kept Felicity even further— opening his heart up, only for it to experience more pain, was something that he never wanted to do. Yet something about Kara Danvers made it feel so natural for him to do so. He still felt that part of him trying to relock itself, but the smile that mirrored the one across Kara's lips made it increasingly difficult. There was an ease to the laughter escaping his chest, a halt of the thoughts coming from his conscience telling him to close himself off. It was as if Kara's presence made him immediately listen closer to what came from his heart.

And despite the guilt that he was beginning to feel with the looming inevitability of the fight that was about to come as the Green Arrow, he felt ready to face it head on. He knew he wasn't in it alone. He brought Barry in. He brought Felicity back in. There was strength in numbers— and quite frankly, his strength came from these numbers. And there was a sneaky feeling inside of him that Kara was inching her way into being a pretty big portion of those numbers.

"Do you want to go get that drink now, Kara?" Oliver asks, surprising himself slightly with the bluntness and quickness of his question. He chuckles nervously. "I know I promised you a talk earlier."

Kara nods. "We'll just be sitting around her waiting anyways." She nudges her head in the direction of the door. "Lets go, then."

Oliver smiles as he grabs his coat off of his desk and puts it on, jogging to catch up with Kara at the door of his office so he can open it for her. As they both laugh away the slight awkwardness of the situation, they're eyes immediately lock with Adrian's, who was walking towards them across the hall. There was distraught clearly written in his expressions as he continues to walk in their direction.

The door closes slowly begin Oliver and Kara and they look at Adrian with concerned confusion. Oliver breaks the silence, raising an eyebrow as he asks him, "what's going on?"

"He's killed again. . . Another innocent. ." Adrian begins somberly, his voice trembling slightly as he continues. "Luke Milton was found dead outside his home twenty minutes ago."

Oliver hears Kara gasp as Adrian pulls out his phone to show them both a picture. Blood was coursing down his neck from a deep slither in his throat. A throwing star was wedged in the muscle and the reality began to seep into Oliver more and more. Milton was dead. A servant of this city gone and killed. His wife— a widow. His daughter would now have to grow up without her father.

It was another life senselessly lost for whatever vendetta this man was seeking to fulfill. And the thought of it being someone Oliver met, someone Oliver believed in— someone he feels like he could've saved— it had already nearly chipped away at his sanity.

And as he saw a tear trickle down Kara's cheek and a clear look of fear and anger painted in Adrian's eyes, Oliver's motivation to find this killer only deepened.

Not just deepened, it molded into something dangerous.