Oliver stepped inside the Ace of Clubs with a shudder. The wind had picked up sometimes after five, and he was freezing. Denmark hadn't even been that cold, and it was closer to the Artic. Whatever Chloe said about winter wonderlands, temperatures lower than sixty were just not on his top-ten of things he liked about December. They were not even on the list.
He shrugged off his coat and scarf and handed them over to the cloakroom attendee then turned toward the manager. "Oliver Queen. I am meeting a friend for diner. We have a reservation."
"Yes, of course, Mister Queen. This way if you please."
Another thing he liked about the club was the polite, non-obsequious way the personal handled their VIP guests. Very few places in Star City could say the same. Of course, Metropolis was Luthor's turf, not his, so maybe they simply didn't care that much about him.
He followed the waitress toward a table in the back, spotting immediately Lex's bald head, and the brunette beside him.
"Lex… And Ariane. A pleasant surprise, to be sure."
Oliver nodded to Lex, and pecked his fiancé's cheek for the pleasure of seeing Lex scowl. Some things were just too fun to go without. Ariane beamed at him, squeezing his wrist briefly as she greeted him. "Oliver, we haven't seen enough of you lately. How are you?"
Sometimes, he wondered how someone like Ariane had fallen in love with Lex Luthor. The woman was soft-spoken, polite even with people who didn't deserve it, and she had one of the gentlest smile he'd ever seen. He also knew for a fact that she had a spine and kept her billionaire in check when she thought he needed it. He'd witnessed flashes of temper in her doe eyes once or twice that had the stern man obeyed the silent command in a hurry. He'd thoroughly enjoyed it.
"Well enough. Business keeps me busy, and away from friends, obviously."
Not to mention that being in the same state than Lena Luthor for long was dangerous for his health, and his wallet.
"Ariane absolutely wanted to come when I told her we were meeting tonight. Didn't you Mon Coeur?"
Oliver nodded to the waiter who was silently offering to fill his glass of Krug champagne.
"Shall I propose a toast to the groom and his lovely bride?"
"Well… You could consider it practice."
He managed somehow not to sputter his drink at Lex's announcement. Oliver covered his cough in his napkin. "Practice?"
"I need a best man, don't I? Who fits the bill better than the one person who tortured me for years?"
"Alexander…" Ariane chided her fiancé.
"Oliver knows I'm jesting. What do you say, Oliver? Will you stand by me on the big day?"
He almost asked Lex if he was sure, bit back the question just in time. "I… Yes, yes of course." He didn't know what to say. The expression on Lex's face was unreadable, but his eyes… His eyes were thankful. Oliver nodded more firmly. "I'll be honored."
"Excellent. Mon Coeur, why don't you hand Oliver his invitation then, so we can move on to less serious matters?"
Ariane smiled and concentrated on her purse. Oliver kept his stare on Lex. He'd received his invitation to the marriage of the decade by mail more than three months ago. The bald man made an imperceptible movement of his head. "Oh sorry, darling, I forgot. I have it with me."
He reached into his pocket and extracted a cream envelope similar to the Oliver had received, and placed it in his hand. Oliver pocketed it immediately while Ariane beamed at them both. Lex took her hand to kiss her palm lightly. Her eyes softened at the gesture and for a moment they were alone in their own bubble.
For a second, Oliver pictured himself and Chloe enjoying a similar date in a nice restaurant. His next sip of Krug left a jealous tang on his tongue. Lex must have spotted something on his face since he said, "Be careful, now she's going to try and match you with one of her bridesmaids."
Lex, asking him to be his best man, and now teasing him without his usual vitriol? The evening felt a bit surreal. Ariane chuckled. "I would not do that to any of them, I like them. No offense, Oliver."
"None taken. I am well aware I am a lost cause."
"Miss! Miss, you can't—"
Oliver twisted his head toward the commotion. A beautiful brunette with a thunderous face trampled through the restaurant straight at them. The manager was rushing after her as fast as he could without losing dignity.
The woman planted herself in front of him. Taken aback, Oliver put his napkin aside to stand. She looked somewhat familiar. Before he could say a word, she barked, "Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Where's my cousin, Mister Queen?" Her eyes shot daggers while she shook with fury.
"Miss Lane! Mister Luthor, Mister Queen, I apologize, I'll call the security right away."
"It won't be necessary," Lex intervened. "Lois. Please have a seat."
"I am not staying. I want answers Queen. Why is Chloe in Star City? How do you know her?"
Lois Lane slammed papers on the table next his hand. Oliver managed to keep his face neutral as he took in prints of the photographs that had Chloe fleeing the penthouse last month. Damned.
"Lois…" A taller man appeared behind Chloe's cousin. Broad-shoulders, with striking blue eyes, he placed both hands on her shoulders, pulling her gently back. "We talked about this. They look similar yes but…" His voice wavered a little. Oliver deduced he, too, was hurting. "Lois, you have to let it go. Chloe is gone. She's gone."
"You're wrong. It's her. She's not dead. I would know if she were. I would feel it. I'll find her and then—" She jerked off the hold of her companion. "We're not done, Queen. Not by a long shot. Let's go, Kent."
Lois stormed off with one vehement glare toward Oliver. The man—Kent— lingered.
"I'm sorry Lex. She's… It's still hard. Chloe… I'm sorry."
"I understand, Clark." Lex clipped tone betrayed nothing.
Clark. Kent. As in, Chloe's high-school crush, AKA the stupid boy who had broken her heart on a dance floor. Just for that Oliver wanted to plant his fist in the man's candid face. He gave the idiot a once over. He filled his suit well enough, but clearly wasn't comfortable in one. He imagined him better in flannel and corduroys staking hay in a barn. His hesitant smile was boyish as best. Clearly Smallville had lacked options if someone has brilliant as Chloe had fallen for that.
Kent finally took a hint, and turned tail. Lex sat back down. Oliver imitated him and reached for his glass for a long pull of alcohol. When he put his flute back on the table, Ariane's brown eyes were fixed on him, and bright with curiosity as she considered him and the pictures back and forth.
"Now, I want to know. Who is she?"
Oliver caught Lex's less than amused eyes. It was going to be a long evening. "Someone who refuses to accept that I am a lost cause, I suppose."
When he finally made it back to his hotel room, Oliver wanted nothing but crash on the bed and pass out. He's thwarted Ariane's questions the best he could, while Lex handed him shovels and buckets so Oliver could dig his hole deeper. He dropped his coat on the sofa of his suite and made a beeline toward the curtesy scotch on the bar. Oliver contemplated the crystal stopper in his hand for a full minute before he put it back into place without pouring his drink. He grabbed his laptop.
EmeraldArcher : Anybody's home?
Watchtower : Hey… You're early.
EmeraldArcher : The day was long enough as it was, thank you.
Instead of an answer, he saw the small icon for a call flash on his taskbar. He joined, leaving the video out.
"Hi… Is everything all right, Hero?"
If he told her Lois was on her trail, she was going to break down, or panic, or both. She would disappear again. Become someone else again. Leave Star City, Leave him. He wanted her to be there when he'd get home, and to dance with her at the Christmas Party. To ring the New Year's Eve kissing her. To buy her flowers for Valentine's Day and take her to Paris for her 21st birthday. He wasn't a hero. He was a selfish bastard.
Oliver closed his eyes. "Just tired."
He heard a rustle through the high-tech connection, as if she was sorting out some papers. "Anything new in Star City?"
"Not really, no. I went to see the priest at the hospital today. He confirmed a new drug is circulating, that's all he could tell me. I checked the video feed from our scholar friends, but it's quiet on that front too. Maybe we were wrong."
"Maybe. Let me check the papers they gave me."
"They?"
"Ariane was there too. Lex wants me to be his best man."
"Really? I thought he could barely tolerate you."
"Me too. I wondered if it is was just misdirection, in case Lionel had someone watching, but… He looked sincere."
"I think it's nice."
Maybe. Unexpected, that was for sure. And a bit disturbing, because now Oliver wondered if he had misjudged the man all along. He actually enjoyed bantering with Lex tonight. "Anyway, let me check the envelope he gave me. Yeah, that's what I suspected."
He squinted at two pages of stenciled text. "It looks like a mad chemist shopping list. I guess that's what you were looking for."
"Is there a component diagram?"
"Yes, on the second sheet."
"Can you photograph them and send me the pictures?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that."
The meteorites had rained on one area only. If they entered the composition of that drug, it meant Smallville was connected, as well as Luthocorp.
"I'll head back as soon as I can escape here."
"Okay. I see you tomorrow, then?"
"Count on it, Sidekick."
The devil on his shoulder whispered about Lionel Luthor and murder. The angel on the other tweeted about sacrifice. He laid on his back in the dark and listened.
