Laurel was trying to assure Peter Declan that there was still hope. She had Thea hunting more information, hopefully between Speedy and The Hood they would be able to get the bastard to sign a confession. She trusted that her sister would be able to extract that information just as Laurel taught Thea, and Ted taught Laurel before her.
"I need you to keep your spirits, up. The friends I told you about earlier, the ones that believe that you are innocent, are working on your case, as we speak."
Laurel noticed that she had to elaborate to try to get Declan to cooperate. "The three of my friends, they're working overtime, and calling in favors to ensure that you will be able to see your daughter again, without being in the confines of a prison cell."
Declan shook his head. "You don't understand, Miss Lance. Brodeur is a powerful man. He will destroy me, my daughter, you and everyone you love and care for!"
"He may be powerful." She admitted. "But all my life, I was taught to stand up, and not cower to people like him. A friend of mine, an uncle really, taught me that it's not about what sends us down to the mat. It's about whether we have the strength to get back up. Your daughter needs you, needs us to stand united against Brodeur. Izzy needs you to stand back up!"
"You're not the first lawyer I had that tried to feed me morsels of false hope, just enough to take what little money I have, what would be my daughter's inheritance, her college fund."
Laurel frowned. "Perhaps, when my partner and I came to you initially, we weren't clear. A year ago, we were given a donation by a philanthropist. She and her husband wanted to help CNRI to be able to offer pro bono legal work to those in need. We are on your side. Neither I, nor my partner, nor my…friend will let you stand alone, or give up."
Just then, the lights went out, and the prison alarms started blaring.
Laurel looked around, and relaxed her muscles, and breathed. She stood up, to stand next to the prison guard, and watched as prisoners and guards ran around in chaos.
The guard drew his gun and looked at Laurel. "The warden is setting up a secure perimeter in C-Block. You're on your own." He then fled, leaving her and Declan without any backup. Coward Laurel thought.
Laurel told Declan to stay in the room and that she was going for help. She slammed the door behind her after breaking the lock, with the heel of her shoe.
Declan was far safer where he was then him following her and getting killed in the process. After all, she couldn't protect herself and him at the same time. Laurel continued to follow the guard hoping to find a weapon she could use or at the very least, a phone to call the police.
As Laurel chased him down, she saw a group of guards locking a gate down a hallway and happen to see the bastard; Daniel Brickwell standing there with a vindictive smirk, as if he was enjoying the anarchy around them, while he was safely ensconced in his private cell by guards that seemed more concerned for his welfare and comfort, than then their own or the inmates fighting and killing each other.
Laurel gave him a cold look filled with retribution and silently promised if he tried to escape, she would rein hell about him, that would make last year look like a picnic!
Laurel turned another corner and continued running down another hallway, to see a pair of inmates one of whom was holding a guard's gun and about to fire at her.
Time seemed to slow down for Laurel as she knew she had a few seconds at best before she was shot. Knowing there was no time to dodge Laurel reached into her pocket and threw a small plastic ball filled with an explosive charge at the lights overhead knocking them out and shrouding the hall in total darkness even as the inmate fired his gun at her.
In a desperate move, Laurel let loose a sonic cry. She prayed that her cry wouldn't cause any major wounds if the bullets disintegrated into shrapnel, as it The Ninja-Archer's arrows did the year before.
As the backup emergency lights came on Laurel saw the inmates were holding their ears wondering what the hell just happened. And it seemed that her cry had only deflected the bullets fired at her and caused them to become embedded in the opposite wall.
Laurel never stopped moving though as she kicked the gun out of the inmate's hand and using flipped him over her shoulder, causing the larger man to hit the ground hard.
Somewhere close by Laurel heard a door being slammed open but didn't have time to think about it as the second inmate came charging at her with a knife. All of a sudden, a green arrow came out of nowhere and drilled straight through his chest.
She turned to see a man in a guard's uniform, a balaclava, and his bow and quiver in the open doorway. "Come with me." He said.
Laurel instinctively knew this was the Hood and followed the man thankful he showed up but scowling he had killed another person nevertheless...
As they ran down the cellblock Laurel yelled at the Hood, "Not that I am ungrateful, but did you have to kill him?"
The Hood just shook his head and said, "This is not the time to debate ethics, nor morality."
As he entered another room first, a large inmate slugged The Hood across the jaw and sent him sprawling to the ground stunned. As Laurel rushed to help him the imposing man picked her up with ease, and threw her into a prison fence but not before Laurel let loose a high kick to his head knocking him on his back.
Laurel bounced off the fence and rolled to the ground tucked into a ball as she had practiced countless times before, either in the gym or as Black Canary.
Laurel wasn't out of the woods yet, as she felt large hands wrapping around her neck, the inmate having crawled over on to her as she recovered from the throw.
She managed to turn her head, to see The Hood was still dazed and out of it, Laurel gathered her strength and japed her thumbs forcefully, and unrepentantly into the man's eyes.
The man stood and backed up, as he clutched his eyes and howled in pain. "Fuckin bitch! Eye-gouged me!" Blood seeped beneath his hands that were clutching his face.
Laurel looked around and saw multiple cameras so, using her canary cry was out. Neither she, Speedy, nor her father, had the political clout to keep her canary cry a secret if the cameras had caught her using it.
As the crazed man advanced on her and before Laurel could decide what to do next, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and once again trusting her gut did a rolled backwards, as The Hood tackled the man and started pummelling him into the ground.
"Touch her again, and you're dead!" The Hood shouted as he mercilessly beat the man in the face over and over blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
Laurel realized with growing horror The Hood was going to kill the man and had to stop him!
Laurel rushed over and grabbed his right arm yelling; "Stop! I won't let you kill again!" Even as the Hood instinctively raised his left arm towards her, ready to attack her as he was blinded by bloodlust. Laurel immediately raised her hands in a guarded position, ready to dodge and retaliate if she had to.
Only the anger in his eyes, as they met her's, disappeared and became softer. "Laurel?" He sounded almost scared, because he, himself had almost attacked her in his misguided rage.
If he was being honest, Oliver didn't feel any remorse or guilt for the violent repeated punches he threw at the prisoner who was would likely have been killed, had Laurel not intervened. A death that Oliver believed would be just. He had nearly killed or majorly harmed Laurel.
What eating at him was; letting his anger once again get the best of him, and directing that towards someone he cared about. There was no excuse for that.
Oliver didn't have time to ponder this more and bolted in the opposite direction as the prison guards rushed into the prison yard in tight formation.
Laurel moved out of his way, as she saw officers hitting their riot shields with their batons and charging toward the inmates fighting all around her.
It the time to once again to play the scared victim. It was something she was getting quite good at. After all Laurel Lance, the attorney had no reason to not be afraid in this situation.
Oliver watched from his perch, on an adjacent building, after scaling over the prison wall. He had almost lost Laurel, but she had without even blinking had shoved her thumbs into that would be rapist's eyes.
Despite his morbid thinking, Oliver was impressed by Laurel's tenacity and resourcefulness. He had never seen her so vicious and she moved with a grace that reminded him so much of Shado and Tatsu. Two remarkable women one of whom was dead and helped shape him into the man he was today.
Perhaps, there was more merit to what Tommy had warned him about, in regards to Laurel. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to believe that his Laurel. A girl that he grew up with and fell in love with had changed into a warrior.
Perhaps, there was more merit to what Tommy had warned him about, in regards to Laurel. People can change a lot in five years. He was living proof of that. And yet, in his heart, he couldn't bring himself to believe that his Laurel, a girl that he grew up and fell in love with had changed into a warrior. A crusader for sure, but a warrior like Shado had been was simply out of the question.
A stray thought entered Oliver mind. What if Laurel was the Black Canary? On the offside and improbable chance, she was then Anatoly had ordered him to kill the love of his life. His beacon of hope during his five years in hell. Which meant…That he had almost killed Laurel!
Oliver swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and centered himself. There was no way in hell, Laurel was the Black Canary
He was definitely losing his mind if he thought that she could be Starling's Canary and even Slade while under the influence of the Mirakuru would probably agree with him.
The biggest reason why he believed that Laurel wasn't the Canary was; the vigilante seemed to possess special abilities consisting of a sonic scream that she had to have been born with or developed as a child. He certainly remembered being on the receiving end of that sonic boom. His back was still sore, even if the bruises have almost faded.
If Laurel was born as an enhanced individual, he would surely have noticed due to time as they spent together as kids and later adults, and as a couple.
Oliver couldn't fathom how Laurel could have kept that hidden from everyone for so many years, least from all him. For one thing, as much as he loved Laurel, she lacked the mental discipline and regardless she would have told him her secret. She was never one to hide behind lies and deceit when they were together.
No Laurel was a lawyer first and foremost. A defender of the people, not their black-clad avenger.
He then thought of his childhood best friend. Oliver with his dedication to his crusade hadn't been in contact with Tommy much. He sighed; the mission always had to come first. He would rather Tommy hate him, than not see Starling back to how it used to be before the corruption and crime slithered its way in, and took hold of the political and financial elite.
He watched, as both his sister and Detective Lance comfort her. Something, he wished he could have done.
As Lance, drove away with Thea and his daughter, he saw Laurel whispering something into her ear, which caused his sister to have a small smile.
Walter opened the passcode and entered the huge warehouse to see the remains of the Queen's Gambit. The destroyed ship, that his best friend had once cherished, was rusted from the salt of the ocean, and still had dead coral and seaweed hanging off the bow and stern after all this time.
As he looked over it, from the small balcony, a tear escaped his eyes, as he thought of his stepson, watching the ship sink with Robert, Miss Lance, and the shipmates.
He wondered what the hell his wife was up to, and what exactly was Tempest, and why did they attempt to kill Oliver, and kill Sara Lance, and Robert Queen?
A mystery Walter definitely wanted to solve at all costs. He owed his best friend, Oliver, and Thea a chance to finally rest in peace in peace, and or have some closure.
Laurel stared at the heavy bag, as she wrapped the cloth of the hand wraps around her hands and wrists.
Something felt off about The Hood, more than usual at least. He had come for her. Laurel Lance, who was at most, an antagonistic ally. And yet, between him tackling the would-be-rapist after she had dealt with him. He proceeded to throw punches at the then, defenseless and injured man nearly killing him if she hadn't rushed over and stopped him.
She started throwing light jabs at the punching bag, before she started to actually hit harder and faster, letting her emotions guide her.
The Hood, after she had intervened—When she stopped him from killing the prisoner, he was ready to attack her, he looked like he was unhinged. Lost in some nightmare memory only he could see. He clearly had suffered some sort of mental trauma. That called into question his mental state. Laurel wondered how stable he really was and once again made her reconsider if it was a good idea to continue working alongside The Hood or capture him and let him have the chance to be able to receive medical assistance.
She was ready to tap in Thea and her father at the moment he landed a hit on her. As soon as she was able to flee the walls of the penitentiary, she would tell her family her intent on taking him down, no mercy nor third chances.
But his blue eyes—Before he hit her, he stopped himself and he looked as if he had committed the greatest sin of all. He looked sad, remorseful and embarrassed.
This strange reaction is what had her tied up in loops. He knew her, and not as Black Canary, but as Laurel Lance. The Hood was someone she knew, and yet, she couldn't think of anyone who had the means of being Robin Hood. It was as if she had hit a wall, or was blind when the answer should have been right in front of her.
Ollie could have been a suspect. Hell, he would be near the top of her list had Thea not told her that he had been through more hell than what he has led people to believe. And Oliver, despite his rogue-like nature, was never one to care about the people of the city.
A small part of her whispered that Oliver being through hell could have changed him dramatically.
Being alone on a deserted island forced to survive by any means necessary. Using a bow to hunt for defense and food would have been the first weapon he could have made beside a spear or a club.
She also couldn't help but note that The Hood showed up around the same time as Oliver had returned. A likely coincidence but then again Laurel didn't buy into coincidences in her line of work.
Oliver was clearly hiding something from her though. She would have to watch him closely. Until she could confirm her suspicions with solid evidence, she would give Ollie the benefit of the doubt. He didn't deserve to be accused as a murderer or mentally unstable. He had been through enough since his return, let alone what he had endured while on Lian Yu.
Despite her verbal denials to everyone she still loved him and couldn't bear to cause him more pain if she could help it.
There just had to be someone else! Someone she hasn't thought of yet.
She kept pummelling the bag with her fists and occasionally sending a kick to the side of the heavy bag, causing the rafters and the chain to creak slightly.
This only made her more determined to unmask the Hood as soon as possible especially after what happened earlier and get him under her control before, he was too far gone to be saved.
Laurel saw the potential for good in The Hood, and she would do everything possible to bring it out of him even if he didn't see it for himself.
Detective Lance was sitting with Hilton and the IT consultant for the police department. For the last few days, following Laurel's misadventure at Iron Heights, he and his partner had been sifting through the video footage of the Unidac Auction.
He knew that Laurel and Thea would be safe, he had given them the locations of the security cameras.
As they watched the stairwell footage, they saw Oliver Queen running up the stairs like a man possessed and pulling a bag and a green hood from the bin. Needless to say, Lance was shocked but not surprised at what he saw.
He promised Laurel that he would give Queen the benefit of the doubt, but everywhere he looked, Queen was involved somehow. Now, she would have to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him do his job.
Something in his gut had been telling him that there was more to Queen than either his sister nor Laurel were willing to see and now he had the means to prove it and perhaps save his daughter and adopted one from an obviously deranged murder who would only tarnish their reputation and goodwill they had garnered, or get them killed due to his reckless and violent ways.
Malcolm watched as Moira entered his town car, she looked frazzled. That was good, a feared director of an organization, meant that there were fewer opportunities for dissidence. It was something that he had picked up from his time in Nanda Parbat.
"You looked worried, Moira." He said gently.
The blonde woman nodded, as she fiddled with her sunglasses. "Why am I here, Malcolm?"
He smirked. "I think you know." He then opened his folder, and placed the SCPD sketch of The Hood, on the bench.
"The Hood?" Moira asked.
Malcolm looked out the window looking over the city, and The Glades. "What do these names have in common? Daniel Brickwell, Adam Hunt, Martin Sommers, Warren Patel, and Jason Brodeur?"
She gasped. "He's not just targeting the rich, is he?"
Malcolm shook his head. "No."
Moira frowned as she thought. "Daniel Brickwell, but he was targeted by The Woman in Black, The Canary, or it, Black Canary, now?"
The vigilante had acquired so many names in the past year, and with the exception of The Woman in Black, it always revolved around one word, one name; Canary.
He hummed, as he pulled out a couple of blurry newspaper clippings of Black Canary and The Red Archer. "The Birds of Prey, are a wildcard. One moment, my sources tell me that they fight against The Hood, but the other night, The Red Archer was seen with him, interrogating Brodeur and his bodyguard."
"They have formed a coalition against Tempest?" Moira asked, with a sense of foreboding.
The Hood was until now, singlehandedly dismantling the organization, and from what she had heard from Thea last year, and what the media has stated, The Black Canary was no slouch either, she had taken down Brickwell's cabal, and neutered the Russian Mafia in Starling. And in doing so, had unknowingly, pushed back The Undertaking, and brought the ire of Malcolm Merlyn upon herself.
Oliver smiled, as Digg made his speech about helping him help others. He finally had someone to watch his back, in the same way, Black Canary had her friend in red.
He didn't know where he stood with Canary, and he was sure that he was on thin ice one she found out about his meltdown, but this…Speedy, was young and mischievous, a stark contrast to the Black Canary. Speedy seemed to get on well with him, though he did notice, that she, during the mission, she had often let him take the lead.
At first, he thought it was inexperience, but he noticed her eyes, hidden behind her mask, watching his every movement, and listening to every word he said. She was evaluating him, testing him no doubt trying to figure who he was really was, and or if his motives were pure and true.
If that wasn't strange enough, this Speedy had followed Laurel's orders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Which begged the question, what was Laurel's part with The Birds of Prey?
Was it that she was a silent partner working alongside them? Was she an ally, as she was to him, unknowingly?
He was broken from his thoughts, as Detectives Hilton and Lance had barged into the mansion, and read him his Miranda Rights, before dragging him outside, and into the back of their police car.
His plan was coming together. Oliver Queen would be accused and found innocent of being The Hood. It should allow him some breathing room to act without The SCPD and The Birds narrowing down their sights onto him or at least he hoped so. As he had learned the hard way not all plans worked perfectly and he would be paying a big price if this one failed. That thought was not as comforting, as the police car led Oliver away.