Chapter 32 — Heartbreaker
Zoey sighs as she steps off the elevator and into the loft. When they had moved out of the loft, they had decided the loft would be used for Green Arrow and JLA business. Though, looking at the numerous liquor bottles spread around the living room she could guess that the loft hadn't been used for Green Arrow for quite some time. The truth was that Zoey was worried. Oliver hadn't been back to the Four Seasons for a couple of days. He would always stumble home in the middle of the night.
Zoey's phone rings and she pulls it out to see Austin's name on the screen. "Have you found anything," she asks, walking over to Oliver's laptop that was sitting on the desk.
"They found his car, but he's not there," Austin replies.
"Can you send me the location?"
Austin sighs. "Zoey, are you sure you want to be doing this? I can send the location to Derek—"
Zoey rolls her eyes as she logs onto Oliver's laptop. "Derek is head of PR. Not my bodyguard. And I don't need a bodyguard. Just send me the location or I'll force it out of one of your minions."
"They're called associates. The area they found his car in is known to be dangerous."
"I will be fine."
"Zoey, I know you're worried about Oliver. And I am too. But I'm also worried about you."
"You know, since you and Uncle Max got engaged you've gotten really mushy."
"Hey. I have always been mushy with you. You're family. Always have been. Right now, this is a family matter. Not a lawyer matter."
Zoey clicks on a video file. It opens to reveal surveillance footage from the Queen Industries Employee Appreciation party. The video showed Oliver standing at the podium. She watches as Oliver yells at her before Derek drags her out of the building. John Jones had told her that a fake bomb had been planted underneath a pressure plate. A former Queen Industries employee, Winslow Schott who went by the name Toyman, had hacked the teleprompter and ordered Oliver to play along. On the screen, Oliver watches as the room empties out and then steps back from the podium.
"Oh my god," Zoey mutters. He doesn't try to run from the bomb or save himself in any way. He just stands there. "Oh my god." A disbelieving look appears on his face. Oliver didn't know the bomb was fake.
"Zoey, is everything okay?"
"Austin, I need you to send me the location of Oliver's car. And I know you're worried that I could get hurt or something. But I just need you to do this for me."
"Zoey, tell me what is going on."
Zoey bites her lip, contemplating whether to tell Austin what she had just seen. She slams the laptop shut. "I'm scared that Oliver is going to do something that will end up hurting himself," she whispers. Her phone beeps and she looks down to see a text from Austin.
"Zoey," Austin begins. "You find anything, call me right away. I mean it."
"Okay. Thank you."
The red Ferrari stood out on the street where it was parked. Abandoned warehouses filled the area. Zoey shakes her head as she walks over to the sports car. "At least no one boosted it," she mutters, looking the car over. "Now to find the owner."
"If you're not lost, then get that way." Zoey turns to find an Asian woman standing behind her. "I don't like smudge marks on my car."
Zoey frowns. "I'm sorry. What?"
"Go grand theft someone else's auto," the woman coldly says, moving closer to her.
Zoey raises an eyebrow. "This is my husband's car."
"And who is your husband?"
"Oliver Queen."
"Well, you know Oliver, then you know he likes to give gifts. This is one of them, so I suggest you back off."
Zoey tenses. There was no way she was letting this woman take Oliver's car. "Look, I don't know what Oliver may or may not have done. And I don't care. You're not taking my fucking car." She pulls out the spare key and unlocks the door. A gun cocks and she turns to see the woman aiming a gun at her.
Oliver cautiously enters the Roulette Club with a gun raised. He wanted anything that dealt with Victoria Sinclair to be done with. He wanted to go home, take a shower, and relax. He sees the dark-haired figure sitting in a chair with her back to him. "I guess your luck hasn't run out," he says, walking over to her. He's stunned to see that instead of Victoria it was Zoey. She wore a black wig and the dark red dress that he remembered Victoria wearing. "Zo."
A gun cocks. "I'm disappointed, Oliver. You lack the killer instinct after all." Oliver turns to see Victoria standing behind him, aiming a gun at him. "Toss the gun."
Oliver tosses the gun. "You know, true gamesmen, they don't cheat by stacking the deck."
"Well, everything was aces until your wife showed up. As always I had to play the hand I was dealt."
"Why don't you just let her go?"
"You didn't play by my rules. Why should I play by yours? You were supposed to shoot her."
"That's what I don't understand. You could have killed her yourself. You could have shot me when I walked through the door. Why set the scene?"
"One can tie up loose ends with a simple square knot or one can choose the more elegant cloverleaf. It's all a matter of style. Oh and I'd say I'm sorry for taking your money, except, in your case, it hardly matters. You can't take it with you."
"So, how do I know this isn't just part of your game?" Victoria raises her gun and shoots at the mirror out behind him. Zoey lets out a muffled sob. "Right."
Oliver dives for the gun as Victoria grabs Zoey and yanks her up. Tears were streaming down Zoey's face. Oliver aims his gun at Victoria but hesitates. There's no way he could shoot Victoria without hurting Zoey. And that wasn't something he was willing to take a chance on. He frowns, smelling something strange.
"Gasoline," Victoria answers. "I thought I'd torch the place when we're done."
"Clover knot."
"No. I just like playing with fire. Never bet against the house."
It's at that moment that Oliver notices his chance. Zoey was much smaller than Victoria. He fires the gun. The bullet grazes Victoria's side. She shoves Zoey to the side as an explosion goes off. "Zo," he shouts. More explosions go off.
"Help! Help! Help me," Victoria shouts. "Help!"
Victoria was trapped under a beam. Zoey was laying on the ground, fine for the moment. "Fuck," Oliver mutters, walking over to Victoria.
"Help me!"
"Hey! Look at me. Hey, look at me. It's all right, okay? I'm gonna get you out of here."
"Why did you come? You could have left me here. After everything I put you through, no one would blame you."
"I'd blame myself. Listen, I don't care what you did or who you are, I'm gonna get you the hell out of here, all right. I'm not gonna let you die. Now, come on," Oliver tells her. He kneels and starts lifting the beam. The fire around them suddenly dies down. Oliver frowns. "What the hell is this?"
"You kept asking me who did this to you," Victoria begins, pushing the beam off and standing up."My question was always the answer. Who did you destroy?" A mirror appears and Oliver turns to it. "I hear you're some sort of hero. One that tried to bury that part of himself. Well, you've just proven that that hero is still alive, Oliver. Now it's time to resurrect him."
Oliver stares at his reflection. He didn't like the person who had become over the course of the year. His grief over Emma and Jimmy; the guilt over not being able to protect Zoey. He had let everything consume him and forgot himself in the process. Being Green Arrow was who he was meant to be. A soft groan gets his attention and he turns to see Zoey pushing herself up. The black wig had fallen off. He kneels in front of her. A small cut was on her forehead.
Her bright green eyes were filled with terror. She was trembling. And Oliver knew at that moment that if things between them were normal, she would have launched herself at him. But she didn't. He pulls her against his chest and helps her stand up. He scoops her up and that's when Zoey wraps her arms around him. She buries her face in his shoulder. "I got you, Zo. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispers.
Oliver finds Chloe sitting outside of a coffee shop. It was while he was having breakfast with Zoey that morning that he had come to two conclusions. The first one was that only a few people could have been behind everything that occurred with Victoria. And that was Chloe. "I just started asking myself who knew about Lex, about Toyman, the things I'd given up, what I tried to do," he begins, sitting down in the empty chair across from Chloe. "Then it all occurred to me. Dinah shattered the glass in the warehouse, Bart rescued me from the car, Victor faked the computers, and Watchtower kept an eye on the whole thing. Right?"
Chloe lightly smiles as she sets down her book. "You were living like you had a death wish, Oliver. You had to face your demons if you were gonna make it out alive, and I had to push you over the ledge in order to pull back."
"Did you have to push with a three-ton truck?"
"I didn't think a trickle would be a strong enough point. You're a fighter, Oliver. You fought for yourself and for a second chance."
"Chloe, I'm not the only one you put at risk."
"If you're worried about our friend, don't be. I played my cards close to my chest."
"And what was Zoey? Another ace up your sleeve?"
"No. I never meant for her to get involved. She was chasing after you when she accidentally ended up storming the field. That's when Victoria went off script."
"I could have killed her."
"No offense to your manhood, but I made sure that your gun was loaded with blanks just in case. I trust you, Oliver, just not that much."
"Did Clark know about this?"
Chloe scoffs. "You can't be serious. Clark would never in a million years risk what needed to be done."
"Well, he's led a different life than we have, hasn't he? I can't expect him to know me as you do, the places that I had sunk to, the depths you must have had to go to bring me back. Thank you."
"You proved it to yourself. Even with your face in the gutter, you still had the hero in your heart."
Oliver nods, smiling. "You saved my life, Chloe. Both the myth and the man." He's silent for a moment. "I don't want Zo near anything related to Green Arrow. Can you make sure everyone knows that?"
"Of course."
The other conclusion Oliver had come to was one that he hated. It was the last thing he wanted to do, yet he knew it was for the best. So, when he walks into the suite at the Four Seasons that night he's completely taken back by the candles and the cake. Guilt fills him when he sees Zoey standing there wearing a dark green and very short satin teddy. "Happy birthday," she brightly greets.
"Zo, you didn't have to do this," Oliver tells her.
"I know. But I wanted to. It's been a rough year for both of us. And-and I figured why not do something fun for you."
"No, no, it's, um, it's great, Zo. Thank you."
Zoey frowns. "What's wrong? If you don't want cake, I can call downstairs and have them send something else up."
"Zoey, it's fine. I mean it. Thank you."
"Then why are you acting like you wish I hadn't done this."
Oliver sighs. Most of the time he liked that Zoey knew him so well. He liked that she easily read him. This was the one time he wished that she couldn't read him so well. "I think we need to take a break, Zo."
Zoey stares at him, confused. "A break from what?"
"A break from us. From each other."
"Oh." Then it hits her. "Oh." Zoey takes a shaky breath. She suddenly felt very exposed in front of him. She turns her back to him because the last thing she wanted was for him to see her tears.
"I'm just trying to protect you, Zo."
"I think you should leave."
Oliver stares at her back for a moment, then quietly gathers up the few things he had left in her suite. "Zo, it's the only way," he tells her, then walks out of the suite.
Heartbreaker, you got the best of me
But I just keep on coming back incessantly
Oh, why did you have to run your game on me?
I should have known right from the start
You'd go and break my heart