(Great Hall, Metropolis Congress Centre)
Lex hurried to catch up with Bruce Wayne and Alfred. After several frantic late night phone calls, Lex convinced Bruce to stay in the city.
"I simply can't believe that Ollie will actually go through with this LuthorCorp. alliance," Lex insisted.
"If he does," Bruce warned. "There's no going back. If Oliver Queen joins Lionel's enterprise, it is war. And I intend to win – whatever the cost."
"Perhaps it might not come to that," Lex suggested. "There's still time. Anything could happen. Alexander the Great pushed his Macedonian army to exhaustion during his Indian campaigns, but they revolted at the river Hyphasis: they would go no farther east. My fatherthinks he's already prevailed, but nothing in this life is carved in stone."
"Hope," Bruce scoffed, as he paused in the Great Hall. "That is one luxury we may no longer have. Oliver hasn't returned any of our calls or messages. Maybe he's determined to defy us, out of spite? Out of pride, who really knows?"
Lex hesitated, and pulled out a plain manila folder. He glanced at Alfred, who nodded in approval. "I think you should see this, Bruce." Bruce opened the folder and scanned the heavily sanitized FBI threat assessment.
"Where did you get this?" he demanded.
"It doesn't matter," Lex replied hastily. "Be assured that the source is reliable." He looked over Bruce's shoulder, at Alfred. "I understand why Lucius Fox felt it was necessary to keep this information confidential. The CIA encouraged you to believe that keeping Oliver out of the loop was in his best interests. But now – of all days – is not the time to keep secrets. He should know why Mr. Fox believed he had to kill that deal."
"Oliver needs to know, Master Bruce," Alfred suggested.
"What Oliver needs," Bruce countered, "is a dose of humility and some tact. I might have been prepared to forgive his prior mistakes – out of friendship – but he crossed the line when he slandered my parents' memory …"
"But those were words spoken in haste, Bruce, with no real malice intended!" Alfred snapped. Lex saw the change in the butler's demeanour. No longer a beacon of tranquility, Alfred had become cold and steely. "No one could ever know what you've had to go through in Crime Alley – my god, to watch your parents murdered before your eyes. But if you continue on this path of self-imposed isolation, no one will even try to understand you. Or sympathize with you. You have to let people in, Master Bruce. You must."
Lex felt uncomfortable, watching a rare spat between Alfred and Bruce. He tried to comprehend how difficult it must have been for Bruce to cope with the haunting memory of his slain family. He also sympathized with Alfred, who had done everything imaginable to keep Bruce from falling into the darkness forever. He feared it was a losing battle.
"When Alexander the Great died," Lex added, "he left his empire to the strongest, because he couldn't trust those closest to him. He conquered the world, but at the expense of true friendship. Oliver Queen is one of our closest friends. At least listen to what he has in mind, before you declare a cold war against him."
Bruce appeared to relent. "I'll attend the NAFTA hearing," he replied, "but I will not allow any alliance with LuthorCorp. to continue unchallenged. If Lionel seeks a corporate Armageddon with Queen at his side, so be it. He shall have one."
Lex frowned, as Bruce walked briskly into the committee room. Alfred merely sighed.
This was precisely what they wanted to avoid.
(Madison Room, Metropolis Congress Centre)
Clark fumbled with the shiny silver digital camera. Thankfully, he grinned, I figured out how to keep the automatic flash from going off.
"Can I trust you with that technology, Clark?" Chloe inquired; she wasn't exactly kidding.
"I practised with it," Clark insisted. "Pete's much better with cameras, but I think I've got the hang of it."
Clark and Chloe peered into the bright committee room. Dozens of ministers, secretaries of state and government officials had already taken their seats. The podium on the centre stage remained empty – for now. A few sound technicians tested the microphones, while the lighting flickered in a series of tests.
"It would be a good time to take some establishing shots of the event – perhaps you can get a photo of Congressman Walters with the alumnus from Smallville High," Chloe suggested.
"Yeah, that would be good," Clark agreed. He was still studying the film loading mechanism.
"Umm, I meant 'now' would be a good time," Chloe urged him.
Clark realized what she meant. "Oh, right – before the hearing starts." He scurried around the stage with his camera, eventually framing a photo shot of the congressman with the grad from Smallville High.
The NAFTA board of review "regarding the Chapter 19 Dispute Settlement Provisions and implications of a LuthorCorp. takeover of Queen Enterprises' North American assets" began without much fanfare. After the opening remarks, the senators, MPs and advisors began the arduous task of outlining the pros and cons of the takeover. It covered everything from taxation, to cross-border duties, its effect on softwood lumber tariffs and the ever-present concern of continental security.
All this fuss … over a takeover that hasn't even been confirmed yet, Chloe mused. She yawned.
She didn't notice that Lionel had approached her.
"It's not so boring, Miss Sullivan," Lionel remarked. "This is only a skirmish we're seeing now. Play fighting, if you will. Uncle Sam just has to appease the Canadians and Mexicans with some minor concessions. Then, Chloe, you will witness history unfold." He crossed his arms and beamed smugly. "My Austerlitz, Miss Sullivan, and you have the privilege of being its herald."
"I want no part of your despicable plans," Chloe replied. "Even if you've conned Oliver Queen into taking sides with you, you'll find Bruce and Lex to be more formidable than you realize."
Lionel ignored her claims. "When the Battle of Austerlitz had ended, the Russian Czar and the Holy Roman Emperor could only weep – as over 27,000 of their men lay slain at their feet. It was a rout in Napoleon's favour, so complete that an empire fell that day." Lionel said the last phrase gleefully, because he expected an equally complete victory today. "The Holy Roman Empire – which had stood for a thousand years – came to an abrupt end, thanks to Bonaparte. The Queen era is fading, as will Wayne's one day. If Bruce and Lex can't see the inevitability of today's events, there is nothing I can do about their wilful ignorance."
"Are you finished with your historical self-gratification?" Chloe grumbled. "Or do you have more grapeshot to fire off?"
"Now, there's no need to be hostile," Lionel pretended to plead. "Just mind your little assignment for the Torch. I was hoping we'd have more time to trade barbs last night, but I found the Kent boy and the Rosses' son at the Torch instead. Clark, I believe, has the sense to mind his own business. I ask that you extend me the same courtesy."
"Courtesy?" Chloe scoffed at the insulting request. "If you want to call it that. I'm interviewing someone for the Torch today. Stay out of my way, and I'll gladly stay out of yours!"
"Good," Lionel stated. "That is all I ask." He noticed some activity on the stage, and quickly returned to the anteroom on stage right.
The chair of the board, a craggy senator with a few scarce white hairs combed over his balding head, stepped up to the podium. "Before we make a final decision on the merits of Oliver Queen's appeal of the proposed takeover of his West Coast assets, I believe Mr. Queen would like to make a statement. Mr. Queen, if you please?" He looked towards the stage right anteroom.
Oliver Queen, in a charcoal suit and mint-green shirt and tie, strode confidently towards the podium. There was no way that he could escape the glance of Bruce Wayne, who was seated in the front row with Lex and a dozen trade ministers. He found a plain manila folder on the podium, and briefly skimmed its contents. He peeked over the stage at Clark, who struggled to find a niche among the horde of photographers. Clark's optimism seemed to evaporate.
The folder's contents didn't seem to affect Oliver at all.
"This is a disgrace," Bruce mumbled to himself. "I can't believe Ollie's going to ally himself --" He darted his eyes menacingly towards Lionel, who stood off-stage. "— with that!"
"Be patient," Alfred mumbled under his breath. "Miracles do happen."
Clark knelt in front of the stage among the pool of press photographers, each jostling to get the best angle. Several light bulbs flashed. The press had heard rumours of a Queen capitulation. Everyone in the room could sense that something unexpected was about to happen.
In the rear of the room, Chloe tapped her pen nervously against her notepad. She was trying to come up with a few questions for the Capitol Hill intern, but it seemed irrelevant now. As much as she detested the thought, Lionel might be right. History would be made today. Queen Enterprises would be no more, thus opening the first salvo in a global war of annihilation between Lionel and Bruce Wayne. Lionel and Lex implied that Bruce didn't have the stomach for a protracted fight, but Chloe didn't agree with that.
He's got nothing to lose, Chloe concluded. Bruce Wayne would see such a bitter contest to its end … or be destroyed in the process. That probably wasn't what he had planned, but Chloe didn't expect the son of Thomas Wayne to remain idle. There would be a fight, and it would be anything but civil.
It would be an Austerlitz … but for whom?
Lex briefly caught Clark's attention and nodded supportively. He sensed that Clark was just as worried as he was. No one knew what Oliver Queen was going to do. After Clark's attempt to intervene with him at the archery range, Oliver had gone into seclusion. He refused to take any calls or messages. He didn't return his email. It was a decision that affected his life, his future.
Oliver Queen would forge his own destiny, apparently with no input from his closest friends. For the first time during this entire crisis, Lex felt a knot in his belly. Am I actually worried that Ollie is going to shatter our bonds of friendship forever, he thought. He glanced at Bruce's hands, which were clenched angrily on the armrests. In spite of his stubbornness, Bruce was right about one truth: if Oliver were to join LuthorCorp., it would be a betrayal of their friendship.
Choose well, Lex seemed to urge when he stared at Oliver.
Oliver cleared his throat, and sipped a glass of water. "Mr. Secretary of Commerce, ministers of state, members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen," he stammered quietly, "I thank all affected parties for allowing me to privately assess the implications of my appeal to the NAFTA board of review," He glanced quickly at Lionel.
Go on, Lionel's eyes urged him, seal your fate. And that of Bruce Wayne!
Oliver wiped his brow with a mint-green handkerchief. "To all the employees of Queen Enterprises – here and around the world – I extend my affection and respect. My only regret is that the decision I'm about to make might cause you unnecessary concern. It should not, because I see it as a new lease on the life of the company, as I have been granted a second chance to correct the past wrongs in my life …"
Bruce steamed in a controlled fury. Just spit it out, he growled to himself. If you're going to sell out your friends, Oliver, do it now and be done with it.
Oliver pulled out a sheet of paper from his blazer. "I will now read a brief statement, which explains my current position on this appeal, Queen Enterprises and its proposed takeover by LuthorCorp. …"
TheEmerald Archer read that brief statement, which was immediately followed by an explosion of camera flashes and a flurry of questions from the media. Caught in the media scrum, Clark's jaw dropped in surprise. The board chair tried to bring the proceedings to order, with little success. Reporters questions rained upon Oliver, whose statementhad just unleashed a public firestorm.
Chloe shook her head in disbelief. That can't be right, she thought. Is he serious?
Alfred, who had been more involved in this crisis than anyone in the room would ever know, betrayed nothing in his face.
By heaven, he thought. That reckless bloke from Star City has actually done it.