Chapter 9: Dynamic Duo
5 years ago,
Sunlight shone through the vibrant green canopy of the tropical jungles that covered the island of Lian Yu. Beneath the canopy, a wild pig rooted through the undergrowth, sniffing at the ground in the search of food. Nearby, hidden within the brush, Oliver crouched, dressed in the same dirty clothing he had arrived on the island in, a simple bow clenched in his hand while a quiver full of arrows was slung over his shoulders.
Watching as the pig continued to sniff around for food, Oliver drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it onto the bowstring. Lifting the bow and drawing the arrow back, Oliver pointed it at the pig. As Oliver aimed at the pig, his left hand suddenly began to twitch and spasm uncontrollably. Gritting his teeth, Oliver loosed the arrow and struck the pig in the side of the leg instead of the torso like he had been aiming for.
Squealing with pain and fear, the pig spun around and took off into the underbrush, moving faster than Oliver would have guessed with its injured leg. Swearing under his breath, Oliver stood up and broke cover, running after the pig. Bursting through some of the brush, Oliver nocked another arrow and fired it at the pig but only managed to hit the dirt as the animal jerked to the side.
Growling in frustration, Oliver drew a third arrow and leapt through another bush, rolling into a kneeling position as he aimed at the pig again, but as he fired the arrow, he only managed to hit the tree the animal was running past. Reaching to his quiver once more, Oliver realized that he only had one arrow remaining. His face settling into a look of stony determination, Oliver nocked the arrow and continued his pursuit of the pig.
Pushing through some more brush, Oliver found himself in a clearing full of wild grass. Spotting the squealing pig running across the clearing, Oliver fell to one knee and aimed his arrow at the pig, adjusting the arc of his shot to compensate for the distance between him and his target. Then, with another calming breath, Oliver loosed the arrow and watched it soar across the clearing. For a tense moment, Oliver watched silently as the arrow flew, before the missile slammed into the pig's back. The pig gave out a final squeal of pain before it fell to the ground and slid to a stop.
The clearing fell silent as Oliver looked at the now dead pig with wide eyes. Then, grinning excitedly, Oliver let out a whoop of joy before he stood up and jogged over to his quarry. Oliver was still smiling as he reached the pig, only to freeze as he heard a twig loudly snap somewhere nearby. Slowly turning his head, Oliver scanned his surroundings before he spotted a man standing on the edge of the clearing, an AK-47 gripped in his hands. The man's wide-eyed gaze was focused entirely on Oliver, and for a long moment, the two of them did nothing but silently stare at each other.
Then, suddenly, the silence was broken as the man shouted something in a language that Oliver didn't understand, and lifted his gun to point it at the young man. This caused Oliver to spring into motion, diving to the side as the man opened fire, riddling the body of the pig and the ground around it with bullets. Scrambling to his feet, Oliver began running towards the edge of the clearing, only to abruptly change his direction as another armed man came running out of the jungle and leveled a gun at him. Oliver ran as fast as he could across the clearing, dirt kicking up behind him as bullets struck the ground in his wake.
Reaching the edge of the clearing, Oliver threw himself bodily into the brush, crashing through the undergrowth before he dodged to one side and hid behind the thick trunk of a tree. Planting his back against the tree trunk, Oliver fought to catch his breath as he crouched down low. Reaching over his shoulder, Oliver fumbled about for an arrow before realizing that his quiver was empty. Oliver quietly cursed to himself before the sound of the approaching men prompted him to push himself back against the tree as much as he could manage.
As Oliver did his best to control his breathing, he listened as the two gunmen approached, communicating to each other as they stomped through the brush looking for him. Gripping his bow tightly as his heart pounded in his chest, Oliver heard one of the gunmen stop on the other side of the tree he was crouched behind before he slowly began to move around it. Panic filling his brain, Oliver felt his left hand began to spasm uncontrollably again. Grabbing it with his right hand while tucking his bow under his arm, Oliver held his spasming limb as best he could, fear racing through his mind as he tried to figure out what to do.
Before Oliver could move though, his ear picked up the sound of a slight whistling in the air followed by the thwack of something striking flesh and the noise of a body collapsing to the ground. A moment later, Oliver heard shouting in a foreign language, followed by similar noises. As the jungle fell silent around him, Oliver peeked around the tree and found the two gunmen laying on the ground with arrows protruding from their chests. As he scanned the area, Oliver watched as Clint emerged from the jungle, armed with his own bow and quiver.
"You okay, Ollie?" Clint questioned as he spotted the young man stepping out from around the tree.
"Yeah," Oliver confirmed as he quickly checked himself for bullet wounds, "Doesn't look like I'm leaking from anywhere."
"What happened?" Clint inquired as he walked over to Oliver.
"I was hunting a pig like you showed me," Oliver explained, "I ran into some guys with guns while I was chasing it. I used up all of my arrows on the pig, so I had to run."
"Damn," Clint swore, his expression turning worried, "They're narrowing down where we are."
"Can we move to a different hiding spot?" Oliver suggested.
"We could try, but they probably know this island better than we do," Clint countered with a sigh, "We'd run the risk of getting caught out in the open with our gear, and we'd be dead meat if that happened."
As Clint spoke, Oliver's left hand began to twitch and spasm again. Oliver quickly grabbed it and held it steady, but the action did not go unnoticed by Clint.
"You're going through withdrawal," Clint observed.
"I'm fine," Oliver countered, pointedly not looking at Clint as he spoke.
"Look, kid, we don't know what long term effects those drugs they pumped you full of are going to have," Clint began to say, but was cut off as Oliver turned a hard glare towards him.
"I said I'm fine!" Oliver snapped, his hand ceasing to tremble as he clenched it into a fist
Things were quiet for a moment as Clint arched an eyebrow at Oliver, who dropped his gaze to the ground.
"Sorry," Oliver mumbled after another moment.
"It's fine," Clint reassured him, taking a moment to scan their surroundings, "You're scared. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit scared too."
"You're scared?" Oliver questioned as he raised his surprised gaze to look at Clint.
"Of course," Clint admitted with a shrug, "This is not exactly an ideal situation we're in. These drug dealers are getting closer to us, we're low on resources and we have no idea what the long-term effects those drugs will have on you. But that doesn't mean we let the fear get the better of us."
"So, what do we do?" Oliver inquired.
"Well, first, we go collect that pig so we can have something to eat tonight," Clint replied as he began making his way back to the clearing, "And then we get ready for when these guys show up on our doorstep, because sooner or later, that's exactly what's going to happen."
5 years later
"So, you called the cops?" Oliver questioned from where he sat in the front passenger seat of Dig's car, his hood pulled back and his mask pulled down while his bow and quiver sat nestled in the footwell.
"Yeah," Dig confirmed from the driver's seat, his mask removed as he drove down the dark city streets towards their destination, "But if the cops are on Cottonmouth's payroll like you said, I can't imagine they're going to arrest that guy."
"No, but if they feel inclined, they can get him to a hospital to remove that arrow in his leg," Oliver explained, looking out the passenger window as he spoke.
At this, Dig glanced over at Oliver warrily, hesitating a moment before he spoke.
"Where'd you learn to use that bow and arrow?" Dig asked.
"I spent the last five years surviving on a deserted island," Oliver explained, "I had to learn to use it in order to survive."
"For real?" Dig questioned, a look of surprise on his face.
"You think I would just make something like that up?" Oliver countered as he turned to look at Dig.
"I guess it would be too weirdly specific to be a lie," Dig admitted with a shrug, before sniffing the air and making a disgusted face, "Your clothes certainly smell like they haven't been washed in five years. Still kind of crazy to think about."
"You don't know the half of it," Oliver muttered in reply, before glancing out the window again and spotting the Seahorse Motel, "We're here."
Pulling the car over across the street, Dig stepped out of the car and made his way around to the passenger's side, where he found Oliver crouching low, his attention focused on the motel.
"I think I see about a dozen guys armed with automatic weapons," Oliver whispered as he peered over at the men on the second story of the motel.
"Would probably be easier to scope them out with these," Dig said as he handed Oliver a small pair of binoculars.
"Hey, look at you with the fancy gear," Oliver commented as he took the binoculars and peered through them at the motel, "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along."
"So, what's the sitrep?" Dig questioned as he slipped on his mask.
"Definitely a dozen guys with automatics," Oliver answered as he scanned the area with the binoculars, "Looks like they've got the first and second floor pretty covered."
"What's our plan, then?" Dig inquired.
Oliver paused as he turned his gaze slightly upwards.
"How good of a climber are you?" Oliver asked as he looked at Dig.
Later,
"Man, why did we have to use my car to stash the body in?" one of the guards groaned as two of them made their way up to the second floor of the motel.
"Because I'm not telling Shades that you were the other one who thought kidnapping Mia Queen was a good idea," the other guard replied, "If you ask me, this seems like a fair price to pay for not getting shot by the boss."
The first guard grumbled under his breath but made no further argument. Lifting his gaze, the guard suddenly froze, his eyes focused on something above him.
"What the-" the guard began to say but was interrupted as Dig suddenly dropped down onto him from the motel's roof, using his entire weight to drive the guard into the ground with a loud crack. Hearing the noise, the other guard spun around and stared at Dig with wide eyes. Before he could do anything though, Oliver dropped down on his from the roof, wrapping his legs around the guard's neck before rolling forward, flipping the man onto his back, while Oliver remained sitting on the thug's chest. As the guard struggled to get Oliver off of him, the vigilante punched him hard in the stomach, causing the thug to wheeze in pain before Oliver silenced him with an elbow to the face.
"Hey!" a guard shouted from the main walkway of the second floor, "Who the hell is that!?"
As Oliver rose to his feet and drew an arrow from his quiver, the guard's eyes widened in shock.
"Holy crap!" the guard yelled, "It's-"
The guard was quickly interrupted as Oliver loosed his arrow, striking the man in the shoulder and sending falling to the ground, screaming in pain.
"Well, I guess they know we're here now," Dig observed as he heard guards shouting to each other from different parts of the building.
"Sounds like it," Oliver confirmed with a nod, "You want top or bottom?"
"Top," Dig responded.
"Sounds good," Oliver concluded with a nod, "Meet you in the middle!"
With that, Oliver vaulted over the railing and landed on one of the guards who was halfway up the switchback stairs. As he slammed the guard against the concrete stairs, Oliver quickly drew an arrow and fired it at the next guard coming up behind him, striking the guard on the knee and causing the man to scream in pain as he went tumbling back down the concrete steps. Then, stepping off the first guard, Oliver reached down and grabbed the back of the man's shirt, hauling him to his feet before throwing him down the rest of the steps, causing him to crash onto the other guard's chest, leaving them both laying on the ground, moaning in pain.
As Oliver made his way down to the ground floor, Dig hurried over to the small hallway that split the motel down the middle. Hearing footsteps approaching from the otherside of the building, Dig planted himself against the wall and crept up to the corner. After a moment, one of the guards stepped out from around the corner, holding a pistol in his raised hands. Before the guard could react, Dig reached out and grabbed the man's extended arms.
Wrenching the guard's arms to the side, Dig secured them with one of his arms before using his free hand to grab hold of the man's gun. Glancing down the way the guard had come, Dig spotted another guard come running into view, only to freeze and begin lifting his automatic rifle to point at Dig. Yanking the pistol out of the first guard's hand, Dig aimed it at the other guard and fired, hitting the man in the shoulder and sending him spinning to the ground, crying out in pain.
As the guard he was grappling with began to struggle against his grip, Dig released him while shoving him back the way he had come. As the guard tried to catch himself, Dig stepped forward and pistol whipped the man across the face with his own gun, before Dig shot the guard in the knee with the same weapon. Falling to his other knee while screaming in pain, the guard could do nothing to defend himself as Dig slammed one of his boots against the man's face, knocking him out cold.
Down on the ground floor, Oliver ducked behind a parked car as one of the guards opened fire on him with a machine gun, the bullets shattering most of the vehicle's windows and sending sparks flying where they impacted the hood. After a moment, the guard stopped firing to try to see if he had hit Oliver, allowing the young man to pop up and fire off an arrow at the gunman. Yelping in fright, the guard ducked behind a car as well, causing the arrow to puncture the tire of the vehicle behind him, which began whistling as it leaked air.
Taking advantage of the gunman's distraction, Oliver quickly jumped up onto the hood of the car he had been crouching behind before he began hopping across the hoods of the half a dozen vehicles between him and the guard. As the guard stood up again with weapon ready, he found Oliver landing on the hood right in front of him before the young man bounced off the car and leapt over the shocked gunman. Twisting in the air, Oliver fired off an arrow at the guard as he passed over him, hitting the gunman in the shoulder and knocking him to the ground as the vigilante landed in a crouched position on the roof of another car.
As Oliver glanced around to regain his bearings, he spotted two more armed guards running towards him from the motel. Stopping at the edge of the parking lot, the guards aimed their assault rifles at Oliver. His eyes going wide, Oliver glanced around quickly before he spotted another car a short distance away. Drawing an arrow, Oliver shot it at the car, shattering one of its back windows just as the gunmen opened fire on him. Bullets whizzing all around him, Oliver leapt forward, diving through the now open window and landing in the back of the car with a grunt. Hissing in pain, Oliver looked himself over and saw that he had been grazed on the arm by one of the whizzing bullets.
Oliver had little time to consider his injuries, however, as the two gunmen turned their weapons on the car he was using as shelter, blasting out the windshield as they riddled it with bullets. Wiggling into the footwell, Oliver covered his head as the bullets whizzed by overhead. Eventually, the rain of lead stopped as both guns clicked empty.
Quickly, the two guards reloaded their guns before they looked at each other questioningly. One of them motioned towards the car with his weapon and the other nodded in reply before they both focused their attention on the vehicle and began slowly moving towards it, weapons at the ready. Suddenly, an arrow shot up through the car's sunroof, smashing through the glass as it flew into the night sky. As the two guards looked up at the flying arrow in confusion, Oliver popped his head and torso through the car's shattered sunroof, two arrows already nocked on his bowstring. Glancing between the two gunmen as he rose into view, Oliver subtly adjusted his aim before loosing the arrows, striking both men in the shoulders and knocking them to the ground.
Back on the second floor, Dig quickly crept along the walkway running past the doors to the motel rooms, his pistol at the ready. Suddenly, a pair of gunmen stepped out of a room further down the walkway and pointed their weapons at Dig. With lightning reflexes, Dig fired a shot off, striking one of the gunmen in the arm and knocking him to the ground, while also diving into the window of the room he had been passing in order to dodge the hail of bullets the remaining guard fired at him a moment later.
The window shattered with a tremendous crash as Dig threw his entire weight against it, sending shards of glass flying into the motel room as Dig landed on a small wooden side table, the flimsy piece of furniture shattering under his bulk. A man and a woman, whose half-dressed state left little imagination to what they had been up to before Dig's abrupt entrance, screamed in fear and raced out of the room, skirting around Dig as he picked himself up off the floor.
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Dig grabbed a leg of the broken table off the floor just as the other gunman stepped into the open doorway and pointed his weapon at Dig. Hurling the table leg at the gunman, Dig struck him on the hand, causing his shot to go wide as he opened fire on Dig. Surging forward with a roar, Dig slammed his shoulder into the gunman's stomach, tackling him back through the open doorway and into the guardrails on the farside of the walkway. As the gunman gasped in pain, Dig grabbed hold of him and lifted the guard up onto his shoulders before spinning around and tossing the other man over the railing, sending him crashing down onto the front of a parked car below, smashing its front windshield and severely denting the hood.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Dig looked down at the unconscious guard and admired his handiwork. The click of a gun being cocked quickly caught Dig's attention and he spun towards the noise, leveling his gun with practiced ease. A few doors down from where Dig was, Shades stood facing Dig with Mia held against his chest, one arm wrapped around the girl's throat while the other held a gun to her head, the gag removed from her mouth but her hands still bound behind her back.
"Drop it!" Dig snapped, his gun pointed directly at Shades' head even as he glanced at Mia's terrified face.
"No, I believe you should be the one putting down your gun," Shades counters, his voice cool and confident, "After all, you wouldn't want harm to come to your charge, would you, Mr. Diggle?"
"I knew this mask was a stupid idea," Dig grumbled to himself.
"Dig?" Mia questioned frightfully, "Dig, please. I-I'm scared."
"As you should be," Shades said as he tightened his grip on Mia's throat, causing her to gasp in fear and pain, "Who knows what might happen if your bodyguard doesn't drop his weapon."
Uncertainty coming over his features, Dig glanced between Mia and Shades, trying to decide what to do. Then, as something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, Dig made his decision.
"Okay," Dig said as he lifted his gun and held his hands up, "Okay, we'll do it your way."
"Good decision," Shades said with a nod, "Now, put your gun and kick it-"
Shades was interrupted as an arrow came flying in from over his shoulder and pierced his hand, sending his gun clattering to the ground. Screaming in pain, Shades looked at his injured hand and loosened his grip on Mia, allowing Dig to rush forward, yank her out of Shades' grip and knock him back with a kick. As Shades stumbled back, Oliver suddenly vaulted the balcony railing behind him and rushed the criminal from behind. Leaping onto Shades' back, Oliver swung around the man's torso and threw him to the ground. Groaning in pain, Shades began pushing himself up, but was stopped as Oliver stepped up next to him and kicked him in the head, shattering Shades' sunglasses and knocking him unconscious.
"Oh my god!" Mia screamed as she buried her head into Dig's chest, "Oh my god! Dig! I-I-!"
"Hey, hey, hey," Dig whispered, pulling off his mask as he held Mia tight with one arm while untying her arms with the other, "You're okay. You're okay, kid."
Oliver watched the scene quietly for a moment, taking in the sight of Dig holding his sister, before he looked into the motel room she was being held in and spotted Roy laying on the floor.
"You know," Oliver said as he walked into the room and helped Roy onto his knees while taking the gag out of his mouth, "We need to stop meeting like this."
"Wow, it's really you," Roy said in wonder as Oliver began untying his bonds, "The Green Arrow!"
"This isn't even the first time we've met, dude," Oliver observed with an amused chuckle as he finished untying Roy and helped him to his feet, "I'm going to need to put some kind of tracker on you at this rate."
"I'm…I'm not sure that would be a bad idea," Roy muttered as he rubbed the spot where his bindings had chafed against his skin, "I think they came after me because they were looking for you, and I'm the best lead they've got."
"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Oliver said, his tone turning worried, "I'm sorry that I dragged you into all of this. That was never my intention."
"Are you kidding me, dude?" Roy questioned with a chuckle, "If it weren't for you, I'd be dead twice over."
"Be that as it may, I'm going to make sure they can't get to you again," Oliver stated as he looked out the open door at where Mia was still desperately clinging to Dig, "Let's go check on…your friend."
Nodding in agreement, Roy hobbled out of the room. Spotting him, Mia quickly pulled free of Dig and embraced Roy, burying her face in Roy's shoulder as her own shoulders shook from crying.
"Are you okay!?" Mia asked as she pulled back and cupped Roy's face, looking him over for injuries.
"Better off than the last time these guys decided to work me over," Roy answered with a shrug and a chuckle, "I think we better get you home. I'm a nobody, but people are going to be worried about Mia Queen being kidnapped."
"You're not a nobody," Mia admonished him, "But you're right, we better get out of here."
"My car is parked just down the road," Dig commented as he gestured in the indicated direction, "I'll get you two home safe."
"Thank you again, Dig," Mia said as she looked at her bodyguard and smiled, "I knew I could count on you."
"Well, I did have some help," Dig replied with a smile and a shrug as he looked over at Oliver, only to do a double take as he realized the vigilante was no longer there. Glancing around, Dig's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he spotted Oliver near the other end of the balcony.
"Hey!" Dig called, causing Oliver to pause and look back at him, "Were you really going to slink away without even saying goodbye?"
"I figured if anyone should get out of here before the cops show up, it should be me," Oliver replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Nice working with you, Dig."
"Wait!" Mia called as Oliver moved to leave again, prompting him to hesitantly look at her, over his shoulder, "You helped save my life and I don't even know your name."
"Don't you read the news?" Oliver questioned with a cocky smirk underneath his mask, "I'm the Green Arrow."
With that, Oliver flipped over the balcony railing and disappeared into the night.
"Wow," Roy said, an expression of wonder on his face as he stared at the spot Oliver had been occupying moments before, "That is the coolest guy I've ever seen."
"He'd be a lot cooler if he washed that damn hoodie," Dig added dismissively, before he began leading Mia and Roy away as police sirens started sounding in the distance, "Come on, let's get you kids home."
A/N: Took awhile to get this chapter out but pretty happy with how it turned out. Hope you all enjoyed it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!