A/N: For various reasons (including trying to adjust to my new glasses and my night class getting moved) I completely forgot to post this yesterday. WARNINGS: discussions of abuse and human trafficking. So here's the chapter today! Leave a review to let me know what you think.
Much like the public records in Gotham, hacking into the Department of Human Services database was far easier than Roy felt it should be; even for him. He went through recently acquired cases unit he found his girl.
Mia Dearden.
Roy sat back in his chair as his eyes skimmed down the file. She really was 14, just like she said. The picture of her in the file, wearing an over-sized, thin hoodie without make-up, took Roy by surprise. 'Damn…she looks really…young in this picture. She actually looks 14.' After Mia's background information, there was an evaluation of her home life. What he read there caused Roy's blood to run cold.
Homelife Evaluation: Mia has accused her father, Travis Dearden, of sexual abuse taking place over the course of several years and this, has been cited as the reason for her running away at the age of 12. The police have attempted to contact Travis Dearden, but he no longer resides in the residence listed in Mia's missing person's file. Detective William Rodgerson of the Star City Police Department, as well as caseworker Sophie Greggs, have attempted to contact Travis Dearden, but all attempts were unsuccessful and his current whereabouts are unknown. Given this information, a judge declared Mia Dearden an official ward of the state.
'Oh God, this poor kid…' Roy intertwined his fingers to rest his head on them. 'I should go see her, Just…see how she's doing. It's been a few days, they should've given her a placement by now.' Plus, he promised. A quick search of the file gave him an answer. 'Evergreen Home for Girls. Sounds like some kind of group home.' He quickly saved Mia's file, then picked up his bow as he stood. "Connor!" he called to the teen. "Let's go!"
"Already?" Connor asked, quickly securing his mask to his face. "It's a little early, don't you think?"
"Yeah, well…I have something I want to take care of. Let's go."
— —
The Evergreen Home for Girls was a four-story, brick building with a small patch of green in front of the concrete steps that was surrounded by a metal fence. The whole building was dark as Red Arrow surveyed the building from across the street.
"What're we doing here?" Green Arrow asked, clearly confused.
"I have…someone to check on," Red Arrow replied.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Uh…stay within a 7 block radius and patrol it."
"On my own?"
"Yeah, just be careful and contact me if you need help."
Confusion over his mentor's actions was quickly replaced with excitement as Green Arrow smiled. "Ok!" He stood, then ran across the rooftop to the next one, looking for criminals to take down by himself.
After the younger vigilante left, Red Arrow stood and made his way down to the street. He crossed, then easily jumped the fence around the building and scaled up the fire escape. Not wanting to be seen, he quickly ducked his head toward the windows. Each one had a similar setup— a room with three sets of bunks beds (one against each wall) and each bed a young girl slept soundly. None of them noticed the vigilante looking in for a second as he searched for the girl he needed. Finally, on the fourth floor, he found her. Mia was the only awake in her room, staring at the wall while everyone else was fast asleep. Red Arrow debated silently for a moment, then quietly rapped a knuckle against the glass.
Mia's head shot up and she jerked back in surprise for a moment. Then she moved toward the window and unlocked it. "What're you doing here?" she whispered.
"I said I'd come to check on you," Red Arrow replied in a hushed tone.
"Oh." Mia glanced back as one of the other girls tossed in her sleep. "Hang on." She slid the window open a little farther, then climbed out onto the fire escape. "I don't want to wake anyone up. They have some pretty strict rules about light out here."
"Want to talk on the roof?"
Mia shrugged. "Sure." She followed Red Arrow up the fire escape to the roof, then sat beside him on the edge.
"So… How've you been?"
"…Fine. I guess."
"Do you…like living here? Are they good for you?"
Mia shrugged. "It was this or juvie."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The…case worker lady brought me to a judge and he said there was a bed open here at Evergreen Home, so I could take that or spend 6 months in juvie for prostitution."
"I see. Why this place though?"
"It's like…a half-way house/shelter for…people like me."
"People like you?"
"Well…my caseworker said it's a special group home for victims of human trafficking, but I wasn't being trafficked."
'Sure…' Red Arrow decided to let that point go for the moment. "I see. Well, is it nice?"
"Yeah. The bed's a little uncomfortable, but the food's good."
"That's nice. I remember what it was like having good, consistent meals for the first time. It was one of the things I liked the most about my new home at first."
"Yeah. It's nice that no one gives me a minimum quota for how much money I need to make in a night in order to eat."
Red Arrow closed his eyes for a moment to control the mix of anger and horror inside of him. "…That's good."
"It's kind of hard adjusting to having a normal schedule though, you know? I'm used to working all night and sleeping during the day."
"You'll adjust over time."
"I hope not. It'll make it so much harder to get back into the swing of things when I go back."
Red Arrow hesitated for a moment, then made a decision about where to take the conversation. "Mia, and there's no wrong answer to this, do you want to go back?"
"Well…obviously. I love Richard and he loves me. Maybe my life is a little…unconventional for a 14-year-old girl, but you fight crime dressed as Robin Hood's Angry Cousin, so who're you to judge?"
"Even if it's a life where you have to make a certain amount of money to eat?"
"…That's not the point. No one's perfect."
"Mhm." Red Arrow sighed internally. 'She just needs time. Once she starts to integrate back into society she'll realize she's better off without that…Richard.' Who was definitely on Red Arrow's list. But helping Mia was his main priority now. "Is there anything you need?"
"Need?"
"You know..clothes, a hairbrush? If you need anything I can get it for you."
Mia tensed a little and leaned away from him. "In exchange for what?"
"Nothing!"
"Yeah, sure."
"I mean it-"
Mia glared at him. "I'm not an idiot, I know how these things work."
"That's not how they work with me. How about this, you give me one small thing you need, anything at all, and I'll bring it to you. Then, if you feel comfortable later on, you can ask for another thing. But I promise, at no point will I feel like you owe me, nor do I want any kind of sexual favors in exchange for doing this."
Mia stared at him for a long moment. "…Ok. A hairbrush. I don't have one."
"Then I'll bring you one in a couple days. Promise."
"…I think I should try to get some sleep."
"Go ahead. I don't want to keep you awake." Red Arrow stood and held out his hand to help Mia stand, but she brushed it off and stood on her own. The archer simply ignored it and followed her back to the fire escape. "Sleep well, Mia."
"…Yeah, whatever," Mia muttered as she climbed back through the window.
Red Arrow waited until the window shut before he returned to the roof, then started running across the buildings. "Green Arrow?" he said into his comm. "You there?"
"I'm here," Green Arrow replied. "I just stopped a mugger on the corner of Ninth and Gravehill Rd."
"Ok. I'll be right there." Red Arrow couldn't help but glanced back at the Evergreen Home as he left. 'I know you don't trust me yet, Mia, and you don't have a lot of reason to, but you deserve to have someone trustworthy in your life. You deserve to have better people in your life.'
— —
A couple of nights later, Red Arrow returned to the Evergreen Home for Girls. This time he went straight to Mia's window and gave it a light knock. Nothing happened, so he knocked again. This time the window opened and Mia stuck her head out. "You're here," she said, voice suspicious.
"I am. Do you want to talk on the roof again?"
"…Do I have a choice?"
"Absolutely! If you don't want to come, then I can just give you the hairbrush and say goodnight."
Mia glanced back at the darkened room behind her, then shrugged. "Screw it." She climbed out the window and once again followed Red Arrow the rooftop. Again, they sat on the edge of the roof, but this time Mia sat with half a foot of space between them. If Red Arrow noticed he didn't comment on it.
"Here you go." Red Arrow took out the new hairbrush he'd bought from one of his leg punches and slid it across the roof to her. "It's yellow, I don't know if you like that color."
"…It's ok." Mia glanced at him, then slowly picked up the hairbrush. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. So…how've you been?"
"Fine. The girl in the bunk above me is leaving tomorrow. She's going to a foster home in Coast City."
"Nice. Is that the..goal?"
"Mhm. Evergreen is supposed to function as this…safe space for girls in the life to adjust before going home or wherever their social workers think they should be."
"What do you think about that?"
"I think for the girls who were trafficked, that's great."
"But it's not for you."
"Exactly. And besides, I'm perfectly happy with my life the way it is."
"I'm sure." Red Arrow thought for a moment while his fingers tapped his bow. "What are the things you don't like about your life? You know, in general?"
"What were the things you didn't like about having an abusive guardian?"
Red Arrow knew the reply was meant to throw him off and change the subject, but he simply nodded slowly in response. "Ok, I'll go first. I didn't like being afraid of him all the time. I didn't like how unpredictable he was. I hated that he would hurt me and starve me. In the two years I lived with him he isolated me so successfully from others that I was perpetually lonely and desperate for friendship. There was a lot I hated about it."
"…Was there anything you liked?"
"…He was a great archer. I loved learning from him and how much better my skills were under his tutelage. I liked him when he was in a good mood. He was kind and personable. Just a guy you'd want to hang out with."
"So it wasn't all bad?"
"No, it wasn't. But eventually, I realized the good things weren't making up for the bad things. No matter how badly I wanted them too."
"Did you ever want to leave?"
"Yeah. It took me a while to believe I could have a better life. Thankfully, I had some very patient people in my life."
Mia looked down at her bare feet and was quiet for a minute. She played idly with the yellow hairbrush. "What color hairbrush do you have?"
"Black." The conversation lapsed into silence, but Red Arrow didn't mind. Years of stakeouts had made him comfortable with sitting in silence for long periods of time.
Eventually, Mia spoke quietly, but it was so quiet that Red Arrow almost didn't hear. "I don't like how unpredictable Richard can be either. He really scares me sometimes."
Red Arrow nodded. "It's hard, right? Living on eggshells?"
"Yeah, but…. I love him. He's all that I have. What else can I do?"
'He doesn't have to be,' Red Arrow thought. 'You have a chance to get away from him, you need to take it. I swear life will get so much better when you let in people who care and want to help you.' He knew he couldn't say anything though. If he came on too strong, it would only scare Mia off. If he wanted her to trust him, then he needed to be slow with her.
"I think I should go to bed."
"Yeah. It's late." Red Arrow stood and let Mia walk away ahead of him as they returned to the fire escape. "Good-night, Mia."
"Night, Red Arrow." Mia started to climb back down the fire escape, then stopped. "And…thanks for the hairbrush."
"You're welcome. Sleep well."
"Thanks. Kickass, I guess."
"Thanks." Red Arrow water until he heard the window of her room slide shut before he put his hand on his comm. "Green Arrow?" he asked.
"Here," Green Arrow replied. "I'm on a side street called…Looper. Chasing a purse snatcher."
"I'm on my way for back up."
— —
Three days later, Red Arrow returned again to Evergreen Home for Girls. When he tapped on Mia's window and it opened only ten seconds later.
"You're late," Mia whispered as she climbed out.
"Sorry. We ran into a car thief on our way, so I had to take care of him," Red Arrow replied. Your voice is a little rough, are you sick?"
"Just got a sore throat. It's fine. My caseworker has to take me to a doctor for a check-up in a few weeks anyway."
"Ok."
"So, the car thief, did you kick his ass?"
"More like I scared him off with a flash grenade arrow."
"Flash grenade arrow?! Cool…"
Red Arrow gave her a smile and followed her up to the roof. "Does no one really notice that you come up here every few days?"
"Nah. Everyone else is asleep and the women who run this place sleep on the second floor, so it's not like they're gonna notice."
"How are the women who run the home?" Red Arrow sat on the edge of the roof and Mia sat down half a foot from him.
"They're nice enough. They feed us and you know…give us beds. They're pretty average." Which wasn't at all standard for Mia's life. It was the first time she'd been under the authority of adults who weren't trying to hurt or use her for something.
"What'd you guys do all day?"
"Well, some of the girls go to school. You know, the ones they trust not to bolt the seconds they let them out of the gate. Mostly I help with chores, this week I have to help with dishes, and we have a small library full of books they salvage from the 'Free' box at a nearby library. We have a merit system where doing chores and doing certain activities, like participating in crafts or reading gets you stars."
"Do the stars get you rewards?"
"Yeah. Mostly field trips. If I'm good all week, I get to go to the park on Saturday."
Red Arrow laughed at her tone. "You sound thrilled about that."
"Who doesn't want to go to the park, except dogs and rich people from the 1800s."
"…Rich people in the 1800's?"
"Isn't that what they did back then?"
"Probably."
"What do you do all day?"
"Well…I have a day job."
"Something good I hope. I can't imagine the fearsome vigilante who chases down car thieves is like…a dog groomer or nanny when the sun is up."
Red Arrow snickered. "I'm not a nanny and I defiantly don't groom dogs. I'm actually a private detective."
"…Ok, I'll admit that's pretty cool. Why did you decide to do that?"
"Because it's a good way to help people. You'd be surprised how many abusive spouses, partners, and parents use a private detective to track down their victims. I make sure the victims are ok, collect my fee, then turn the evidence I collected of the abuse over to the police."
"That's…actually really cool. You know, that you care so much."
"I do."
"It's because you were…you know…"
"Abused? It's ok, you can say it. I was abused."
"Ok. Is it because you were abused?"
"Yes. I know how the victims feel, so I want to do everything I can to help them."
"Guess you're a real hero."
"I try to be."
'I wish I could be more like him,' Mia thought sadly. 'He's so…kind and brave and…heroic. Who wouldn't want to be like him?'
"You know…at least when you go to the park you'll be getting out of the house for a little while."
"…You're right and I hate it." Mia rubbed her eyes. "I'm not used to being in one place for this long— hell I'm not used to sleeping in one place for this long. A change of scenery would be nice, even if it's just going to the park." She gave him a look. "God, I hate you."
"I'm heartbroken."
Mia snorted and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She eyed Red Arrow's bow. "So…you any good with that thing?"
"I'm very good."
"How good exactly?"
"I can pin someone to a wall by the collar of their shirt. Without hurting them."
"…Damn, that is pretty impressive. How'd you learn to shoot?"
"My adoptive dad taught me when I was really young and then my abusive guardian…continued it." Red Arrow held it out to her. "I can teach you to shoot it if you want."
"…Hell yeah." Mia got to her feet as she took the bow from him. "So how does this work, do I just…put the arrow on?"
"Not quite." Red Arrow went through the motions of showing her how to hold the bow and what kind of stance to use. It took long enough that by the time he was finished, Mia was yawning. "I think it's time to call it for the night."
"…Yeah, I guess. Gotta be wide awake when we make bracelets with little plastic beads tomorrow."
Red Arrow laughed a little. "Do you need anything next time I come?"
Mia's body tensed and she put her arms around her chest. "No."
"I'm not going to ask for anything in return, Mia. Did I when I gave you the hairbrush?"
'That's true and…I did establish he was a good-guy-hero.' She sighed. "Some hair ties?"
"Hair-ties. Got it. Good-night, Mia."
"Night, Red Arrow. See you in a couple days."
"See you in a couple days."
— —
Red Arrow contained to see Mia every few days for the next couple of weeks. Their frequent trips to the girls' home weren't unnoticed by Connor though. While he enjoyed the time he got to do solo work, it was weird how Roy kept going back to the group home. When he asked though, Roy glaze dove the question, refusing to give him a straight answer.
"I'm just following up with a case," Red Arrow said as he put his mask on.
"But why?" Green Arrow asked as he filled his quiver.
"Just…because." While Red Arrow felt bad about hiding his visits to Mia from Connor, he didn't want to scare her. She was tense enough around him, he didn't she would react well to another guy being there as well. "Let's go."
"Are we stopping by the Evergreen Home for Girls?"
"Yes, and you get to keep patrolling on your own."
"….Great." Something in Green Arrow's chest twisted a little at how his mentor apparently wanted to be there instead of on the streets with him. He kept his comment sot himself though and soon enough Red Arrow let him off the bike they shared. Green Arrow repeated the boundaries he was supposed to stay inside, then got to work. At first, it was pretty peaceful. The neighborhood's crime rate seemed to be slightly below average compared to the rest of Star. Half an hour passed without a single crime being committed. Green Arrow wandered the streets, his eyes searching for anything. 'I could go to Evergreen. See what this…case follow-up that Roy's been so interested in is about.'
It felt wrong to spy on his mentor like that. Especially a mentor who was sensitive about certain things.
'But if it's really for a case…shouldn't I be involved? We're partners, I should know what's going on.'
And Roy was a great mentor. He'd never kept important information from Connor before. If there was information important to a case, he'd definitely tell Connor about it.
'Maybe it's some kind of test. Like…I'm supposed to be figuring out if there's important information from these visits. Plus it would give me a chance to practice my stealth skills.' Green Arrow nodded to himself. 'Ok.' He was only a couple of blocks from the group home, so he headed in its direction. When he arrived on the street, he snuck across and up the side of a building on a fire escape. He ran across the rooftops until he got to one next to the group home. There was a large chimney on the roof, so he hid behind it. A glance at the rooftop next door told him Red Arrow was completely unaware of his arrival, so he settled down to spy.
"—so, I guess it's just weird he hasn't come yet," the girl sitting next to Red Arrow said. They weren't talking quietly, but the silence on the street it made easy to hear them. "It's been a couple of weeks I just…I thought he'd have shown up by now."
"I know," Red Arrow replied. "I felt the same after I left Star. I kept thinking my guardian would show up and take me back."
"…Did you want to go back?"
"I did at first. I was so convinced that he cared about me, that loved me, I thought that if I was better, if I behaved, then he'd stop hurting me. But eventually, I realized that where I was…it was a better place. I was better off."
"Better off…" It almost sounded like the girl was rolling her eyes.
"I was. Things got a lot better when I accepted that."
'He's talking about…my father…' Green Arrow realized. 'He's talking about the abuse…' It was like a punch to the gut and the young vigilante had to put his hand against the chimney to steady himself. His eyes burned a little as he swallowed and tilted his head down. It hurt that Red Arrow was willing to share details of his past with this girl, and not his own protege. 'I shouldn't be surprised,' he thought. 'Roy might be nice to me and let me patrol with him as a vigilante…but I'm still Oliver's son. I'm still the son of the man who made his life a nightmare. Of course, he doesn't trust me completely.' Even if it was obvious, it still hurt. He moved away from the chimney, sprinting across the rooftops and zip-lining across streets until he was a few blocks away. When he finally stopped Green Arrow took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down.
'You knew Roy didn't like you,' he reminded himself as he looked for a criminal to take his mind off everything. 'You knew that. Even if he's being nice, even if he celebrates holidays with you, and takes you out for ice cream when you do well on a test.' Even if Roy was nice, he didn't trust Connor; and the teen doubted he ever truly would. Green Arrow steeled himself and tried to ignore the nauseated feeling in his gut. 'It's the same as anyone else who ever finds out who my dad is. I just have to keep being a hero. Maybe if I become a good enough hero it won't matter who my dad is.' He genuinely hoped so, but part of him wasn't optimistic.
— —
A week later, Roy was looking forward to his visit with Mia. She'd warmed up to him with his visits over the last month, though she would still abruptly end their conversation and return to her room if he broached a subject she didn't like or pushed too hard on a sensitive topic. 'But we're still making progress,' he thought as he dressed in his suit. 'She still talks to me and that's what I want. I want to show her that it's good for her to trust people and open up.' He grabbed his bow and quiver. "Connor!" he called. "Are you ready?"
"Uh-huh," Connor replied as he tied the ends of his mask around his head. "I'm ready." He headed for the bike without saying another word to his mentor.
'He's been acting really weird lately,' Red Arrow thought as he followed the younger archer. 'Very distant and quiet. Even for him.' But he didn't have much time to contemplate it, because he wanted to stop in and see Mia before he continued with his and Green Arrow's patrol. So dropped his protege off a few blocks from the Evergreen Home for Girls, then headed there himself. When he got there the window was already open. He still raised his hand to tap on the glass, but Mia appeared in front of him before he could. "Hey, I- Mia, are you ok?"
Mia's eyes were red and puffy, and there was an obvious tremor in her hands. "Roof…" she whispered, voice trembling. She climbed out the window without another word and led Red Arrow up to the roof.
'Why is she upset?' Red Arrow worried as he followed. 'I haven't seen her this upset before.' Mia was usually a little rough and tough around the edges. Seeing her this upset and vulnerable was a little unnerving. When he got to the roof, Red Arrow noticed that Mia made no move to sit down, instead she crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "Mia, what's wrong?" He didn't get a response. "What happened? Mia-" Red Arrow reached out for her, but Mia stepped back and smacked his hand away.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped, clearly holding back tears. "I'm… Just don't."
"Mia, please tell me what's wrong."
"I can't."
That sent alarms bells going off in Red Arrow's head. "Why not?"
"Because you won't want to be around me when I tell you."
"I promise that won't happen." Mia didn't respond. "Whatever happened, I promise it won't make me want to stop being around you. Have I ever broken a promise to you before?"
"…No."
"So?"
Mia sniffed and sighed. "I- I went to the doctor today for a physical. They took some blood to run a bunch of tests."
"Ok…."
There were a few seconds of silence, then Mia pointedly looked down as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I found out-" She let out a quiet sob. "I'm HIV positive."
Red Arrow's stomach dropped down to his feet. "Oh, Mia…" He reached out for her again, but she pushed his hand away. "I'm sorry."
"Don't touch me. I'm dirty."
"You're not."
"I am! You think I don't know that's what people will think when they find out?!" Mia's hands balled into fists at her sides. "I'm already a fucking prostitute and now I have a god damned STD and I'm not even old enough to drive!"
"I know this seems challenging-"
"Challenging doesn't even being to fucking cover it! Even if I wanted to leave the life, who would take me in now?! Why would anyone want someone as dirty as me?! Why would anyone want me when they find out?!"
"Because it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter, Mia. You're still the same smart, tenacious, and perceptive girl you've always been. You just…have some unique health problems now."
"And what foster parent would find it at all worth their time to deal with those health issues?"
"…I will."
Mia blinked and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."
"I'm serious. Come live with me. I already have one charge, a boy your aged named Connor."
"A boy?"
"He's a nice kid. He was living in a Buddhist monastery with minks until his mom died."
"…You're currently raising a teenaged monk?"
"Not exactly. But he's a good kid and so are you. If you want out of this life, then come live with me and I can help you."
"Why? Why do you want to help me?"
"Because you're a good kid and you deserve a break."
"Are you serious?"
"I am. In fact, to show you how serious I am…" Red Arrow reached up and took his mask off. If it wasn't for who heavy the air was between them, he would've smiled at the look of shock on Mia's face. "My name is Roy Harper, but I go by the name Raymond Wayne for various, complicated reasons."
Mia stared at him for a long moment before she closed her mouth. "Guess you're pretty serious…" She looked at the roof while she traced it with her toe for a few seconds. "…Ok. I- I'll come live with you."
Red Arrow gave her a small smile. "Good. I'll contact your caseworker first thing in the morning." He reached out slowly, but Mia gave him a warning look and he quickly let his hand drop.
"And what will…what's his name…Carter, think of this?"
"His name is Connor and I don't think he'll mind." At least, he won't once Roy explains the situation. "It's going to be ok, Mia. You'll see."
'He's such a good-guy-hero,' Mia thought as she stared at him warily. 'And I wish I could believe him. I really wish I could.'
