Chapter 18:
Cassandra paced the hallways, as she often did at night when she had a troubled sleep. The return of her father to the city and working with these dangerous people put Cassandra on edge.
"He knew the entire time?"
"I don't know everything that I knew. Dante was the one who had the order to kill you, and now…."
"I know, I heard the confession. And if he wanted me to take control of the group, I'm going to do it. But, just not in the way he wanted me to."
The voices of Emiko and Artemis spoke. Cassandra closed her eyes. Something made Cassandra enter a deep thought process. She rubbed the point of her temples.
"Remember, how I told you to greet his man. Walk up to him and remember your training."
The voice of Cassandra's father pounded deep into her head. She took a huge breath as the vision of David Cain popped into the back of her mind. A much younger Cassandra, about eight or so years old, walked up. Cassandra could see the memory play out, she had been dressed up in a girl scout uniform by her father.
In a time before she had been sent to live with the Darhks, and became Nora's companion and dare she say it, friend. Cassandra took in a deep breath. She could not stop the memory of her younger self walking up to the man and driving her hand into his throat to cause blood to spurt out.
"It's the oldest common language known to man. You will do well to master it. You will understand people far better than any conversation you could have. Words are meaningless compared to direct and violent action."
On that day, Cassandra could not even ask why her father still spoke. She had been trained from the cradle, before she could barely walk. Even before she had been sent to be Nora's protector, when most kids were worrying about homework. Cassandra could not read any language, could not write any language, could not speak any language, but she understood plenty. Not from people's words, but from their actions.
And in those six years she spent with her father, Cassandra learned a lot about his actions. And what he was doing. And suddenly, it struck Cassandra. She knew precisely where her father might have gone.
Cassandra had to go there and stop this. The city was in danger. While Cassandra could not articulate what her father was doing without an elaborate game of charades.
It was a bit tricky to give the people in this room the slip. But Cassandra learned to do it, from the cradle to this point in her life.
Sara, Laurel, Oliver, and Shiva made their way down the tunnel. A small crew of men, from Dante's men, Diaz's, and a few of Cain's ninjas appeared around them.
No words, just actions. They had to get to Cain and Diaz. Nothing else mattered. Shiva plunged a knife into the ribs of one of the attackers to get the first shot.
Six of them went after Oliver at once. Oliver wasted no movement. He went to the right, to the left, and to all sides. Oliver buried his hand into the ribs of one of the attackers and sent him down to the ground. He flipped the goond own onto the ground and grabbed his arm. A dislocating snap shattered the man's elbow.
Sara kicked off of the wall and came behind the man. He fired a shot at Sara. Sara dodged the shot and repelled him with another couple of attacks.
No Canary Cries in this tunnel. It could bring the entire place down. Laurel dodged a pipe swing and disarmed the man. She released a wooden staff and snapped it against the back of the leg of the attack. One well placed shot to the limb shattered the leg. Laurel jumped down and drove the point of the staff down across the arm to stun the adversary as well. Laurel popped back up and slammed the staff down onto the back of the neck of her enemy to drop him down again.
Sara motioned for the edge of the tunnel and Laurel responded by nodding. A huge rumbling echoed from the other side as more men.
"Get me to Diaz," Oliver said. "He's close."
"And Cain is as well," Shiva said.
They had their targets, and Sara and Laurel understood what they had to do to clear the path. Gas had been released into the tunnel. Oliver, Sara, Laurel, and Shiva ducked the path and avoided everything which went off. A rumbling echoed throughout the tunnel.
They had to keep this up and don't stop, no matter what. Oliver snapped the arm of his attacker down onto the ground. He smashed his fist down into the ribs of his enemy and pounded him.
Oliver released an explosive arrow which caused some bricks to fall onto a row of man. It opened up a pathway for Oliver to go down. The contents in the canisters being loaded onto the platforms matched the content in the vial which he liberated from Dante.
Another arrow shot down the tunnel and impaled the chest of the enemy. Oliver got closer, he could particularly smell it.
Ricardo Diaz tapped his watch angrily. He knew his men were supposed to be down the tunnel by now, with the final load of the chemicals. While the machine would still work at this point, he wanted maximum casualty to prove his point.
The two men off to the side dropped to the ground. Arrows pierced to his body.
"You've been busy tonight," Diaz said. "It's time for you to bow down."
Diaz pulled out a flamethrower and blasted at Oliver. Uncaring what kind of reaction the flamethrower would have to the chemicals. They bubbled ominously to the side as Diaz tried to roast Oliver.
"Do you get why they call me the Dragon?"
"Because, you're about to get your wings cut?"
Oliver sent an arrow to knock the weapon in question out of Diaz's hands. Diaz threw out two knives and Oliver dodged the attack. Diaz rushed at Oliver with a full force and swung his fist. Oliver blocked the attack and engaged Diaz in a hand to hand combat.
"I learned a lot from Lady Shiva...dislocating my finger, it doesn't bother me."
Diaz, despite the finger dislocating, pressed on. Happened to him dozens of times. He rocked back and nailed Oliver with a couple of glancing blows to the side of the head. Diaz wrapped a piano wire around Oliver's neck and tried to strangle him.
"You're strong, but even the strongest need to breathe," Diaz said. "Say goodnight, Mr. Queen."
Oliver elbowed Diaz in the throat and then in the testicles for good measure. Diaz staggered back and Oliver pulled himself back. His eyes glowed with malice as he shoved Diaz against the wall. The man in question cracked against some of the pipes.
Several more punches rocked Diaz and slammed him down to the ground. Diaz scrambled for his flamethrower. Oliver grabbed his arm and stomped it, before he reared it back and shattered every bone in his arm with one hit. Diaz screamed out in agony from his dislocated shoulder.
"Cain, flood the tunnel."
The sounds of battle echoed through the tunnel. David Cain sat atop of the bomb. He only had to press one button to launch it.
"You're strong, but even the strongest need to breathe. Say goodnight. Mr. Queen."
A loud pair of cracks echoed. And even more cracks echoed and Diaz's screams indicated that this was not going well. Cain put his finger on the edge of the button. It would be suicide, but it would be better than surrendering to the Demon and more importantly, his ex-lover Shiva.
"Cain, flood the tunnel."
David Cain found himself knocked off of his perch point. Cain dropped down onto the ground and rolled up. The remote slid out of his hand and out of reach.
Cain wondered who dared put their hands on him. He looked up and saw the person in question. His daughter, Cassandra, who dropped down onto the ground.
"Well, you figured out where I was," Cain said. "And you tried to come to stop me."
Cassandra jabbed her hand towards Cain's throat to say hello. Cain blocked the attack and flipped his daughter onto the ground. Cain withdrew a knife and put it at his daughter's neck.
"Our lessons were never learned completely. You may think you know how to defeat me, but…."
Cassandra wrapped her arms around Cain's arm and sent him down onto the ground. She nailed him in the eye with an uppercut which caused one of his eyes to swell up.
Cain, with limited vision, rushed around to swing at Cassandra. Cassandra picked up a flare and flashed it in front of Cain's other eye. She then jumped onto his back and clapped his ears to cause a ringing. She then slammed a fist into Cain's nose to bust it.
"Clever girl, doing you best to obscure my senses," Cain breathed in. "So, are you going to kill me?"
"I'm afraid, I can't allow that."
Through the blurred vision, the image of Shiva appeared.
"Sandra," Cain said.
"Because, I've waited too long for this. You stole my child from me. And now I'm going to get my payment from you."
Cain almost had his hand on the remote. Shiva pulled him away and stabbed him right through the chest. Blood spilled all over Shiva's body as she dropped her former lover down to the ground.
"Daughter," Shiva said.
Cassandra reluctantly threw her arms around her mother. The sounds of battle echoed even more and Diaz and Oliver crashed through the wall. Oliver put his hands on Diaz's throat as he reached for the remote control. Diaz's repeated jabbing of a knife into Oliver's side had minimal effects.
"No, it was supposed to be beautiful," Diaz said. "Tonight, I was supposed to show you why you made a mistake."
"I don't make mistakes," Shiva said.
Shiva got one parting kick in Diaz's face, beneath her boot like he belonged. Oliver grabbed Diaz's head and twisted it like a bottle cap to shatter his neck. Diaz collapsed down onto the ground, completely dead.
They would still need to disable the bomb, get the chemicals out of here, and figure out what it is. Members of the Ninth Circle were still out there, and until Oliver secured control, with hopefully Emiko's willing assistance.
Out to sea, the bodies of Diaz, Dante, and Cain burned into embers. It had been common for this to happen, with Oliver burning his enemies. Shiva, Laurel, and Sara all stood to his side. Cassandra stood a bit away from them and watched as her father's body had been consumed by the flames.
"Done," Oliver said. "Finished."
Some of Diaz's men still were out there, but they were nothing without him. The Ninth Circle was still out there, and Silver Monkey staggered off after his brief battle with Laurel. However, it should not be a problem to find him. Especially when he was seriously injured.
"It was not the revenge I dreamed up for years," Shiva said. "And now, the League's pull expands. You may be the most powerful man in the world."
Yes, this world, Oliver thought with a smile.
"I had an admirable teacher to show me the way," Oliver said. "But, we can't waste time on sentiment. We all need to get back. Until the Ninth Circle is completely out of the way...we've not truly one."
Should Oliver completely seduce Emiko to their cause, they were well on their way to victory. Shiva, Laurel, and Sara all nodded. Three very dangerous enemies burned before their very eyes. And they stopped a biological weapon from tearing down their city.
After this was wrapped up, Oliver wondered what the next play could be. Time to move forward after all the resources had been consolidated.
The Shameless Smut Commences In the Next Chapter