Chapter 11
Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but Oliver was beginning to think that Diggle might have had a point about his avoidance issues.
Kara had almost told him that she loved him, and he had ignored it. He had rationalised it away every way he could think; she hadn't really meant it, she just got caught up in the emotion of the moment, she loved him but she wasn't in love with him, she was just trying to appeal to his better nature. Every excuse seemed weaker than the last and Oliver knew it. The worst part was that he was almost certain that he felt the same way about Kara.
It couldn't happen though, that much he knew. Every woman he had let himself fall for since the Queen's Gambit sunk had just been one more heartache, one more person for him to lose. Laurel, Sara, McKenna, Susan, Felicity. All of them had ended because the life he led just didn't allow him to be attached to someone. Adrian Chase had tried to convince him as much, that everyone he touched died because of his crusade. Thanks to Diggle, Felicity, and the rest of the team Oliver knew that wasn't wholly true, but the words wouldn't stop ringing around in his head.
Kara was too pure for Oliver's world.
So, he had ignored what had happened between then outside the holding cell. Ignored feelings he knew were true because it was easier than confronting them. Unlike the previous week in National City though, Oliver found himself with no distractions. There was nothing for him to throw himself into. The xenophobes who were involved with Cadmus were far more afraid of them than they were The Green Arrow, and aside from the badly beaten prisoner, they had no leads. A return trip to the holding cells was more than out of the question, Oliver was certain that J'onn would've placed guards after his and Alex's attempted interrogation.
Instead, he had trained, thrown himself into a workout that was even more intense than his usual regimen. He had locked himself in the training room, for how long Oliver wasn't sure and pushed himself to his absolute limits. It worked, partially, the pounding of blood in his ears and aching of his muscles was enough for Kara to drift from his mind every so often, before some stray thought brought her right back to the forefront. It wasn't until Oliver heard his phone sounding out that he stopped.
Kara: J'onn just suspended Alex
It took Oliver a few moments to process that. His gut was telling him to go and confront J'onn, to ask for answers, but given the strength of the relationship he and Alex shared, Oliver doubted the Martian would be in the mood to talk. Instead, he typed out a reply.
Oliver: What happened? If it's about the interrogation, that was my call, not Alex's
Kara's reply was instant.
Kara: It's not, he thinks her judgment is compromised because of Jeremiah
Oliver: And you agree with him?
The flashing dots of Kara's reply pulsed for a few moments.
Kara: I do
Oliver wasn't sure how to reply to that. Sure, Alex had been…well, ruthless didn't seem like an overstatement, but Oliver knew more than most that it was sometimes necessary to be ruthless. Reluctant as he was to do it, Oliver thought of Amanda Waller:
"There are people in this world who deal only in extremes. It's naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them."
That was true of Cadmus more so than any enemy Oliver had faced before. Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, Adrian Chase; they were all small fish compared to Cadmus. The organisation spanned the entire country to the best of the D.E.O.'s knowledge, potentially even further. They had the motive and the means to eradicate the Earth's non-terrestrial population and wouldn't stop until they saw that mission completed. With that said, Oliver didn't blame Alex at all for her extreme reaction to Cadmus, regardless of her personal stake in the crisis.
Clearly, Oliver had been considering his response for too long because his phone rang again.
Kara: I'm headed to her place now, I could use some backup
Sighing heavily, Oliver shot back his response.
Oliver: Text me the address, I'll meet you there.
XXX
As it turned out, Alex's apartment was all but a block away from the D.E.O. and so for the first time since his arrival in National City Oliver had opted to traverse the streets as a pedestrian, by foot. It took him no more than five minutes to reach the apartment complex and ride the elevator to Alex's floor. As the doors slid open, Oliver saw Kara stood a little way down the hall, foot tapping nervously on the floor. Oliver had hardly set a foot out of the elevator when Kara began to speak.
"Thanks for coming," She spoke quickly. "I'm just a little worried, I know how invested Alex is in finding Jeremiah and I just need someone there who gets it."
"No problem." Oliver answered as reassuringly as he could.
Was he lying? Technically not, Oliver supposed. Kara had said she needed someone who 'got it', Oliver just neglected to mention that it was Alex's side of the argument that he sympathised with. More than most, Oliver knew that sometimes the mission came with personal involvement.
The life that he, Alex, and Kara all led came with that risk, that somewhere along the line, sooner or later, it would get personal. There was no way to avoid it, just yet another of the sacrifices they made to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Though, Oliver also understood J'onn's position. It wasn't quite the same, Oliver's team of ragtag vigilantes and the D.E.O. Alex was a federal agent, there were regulations, limitations, a proper order of things.
That was one of the advantages Oliver had, if it came down to it, he answered to no one but himself.
As Kara knocked on the door to Alex's apartment and pushed her way in Oliver returned focus to the situation at hand, following the Kryptonian silently into Alex's home.
"Alex?" Kara called out as they entered, and Oliver pushed the door softly shut behind them. "I heard what happened. J'onn shouldn't have done that to you."
That. Oliver had been informed by Kara on his walk over to the apartment, was J'onn shapeshifting into Jeremiah to test her loyalties. That was something Oliver wasn't sure he could reconcile. Underhanded tactics were one thing, but that was a personal betrayal, one that he couldn't quite reconcile with the man J'onn had appeared to be.
As Oliver thought, Kara walked quickly up to Alex, and he drifted a little. Opting to give the sisters a little space, Oliver stepped around the standoff to one side, meeting Maggie's eyes as he did. The woman offered him a sympathetic look, knowing that he had been coerced by Kara to be there and that there was nothing he could add to the conversation that would sway either woman's opinion.
"It was a betrayal, and it was unfair." Alex answered her sister. "And I need you to explain that to J'onn and just ask him to put me back on the case."
Swallowing heavily, Kara answered. "Well, I…I don't agree with his methods, but I do agree with his assessment. I think you should sit this one out."
"What?"
Oliver wasn't surprised at Alex's reaction. After all, family was family, if it were he and Thea in that situation Oliver knew full well that he would have expected her to back him all the way.
"Alex, I…you went way over the line interrogating that Cadmus agent, sided with J'onn when you thought he was Jeremiah. I mean…what is going on with you?"
"That's not what matters!" Alex fired back. "What matters is our father and there is still good in him. So, I just…I need you to convince J'onn, 'cause I have to be there when we find Cadmus. I have to protect him."
"Alex, listen to me. I'm not going to let anything happen to Jeremiah I promise. But you are putting all your focus on him when you should be focusing on the alien's we're trying to find. And when we find them, you risk making a bad call, putting him in danger. Or worse, getting yourself hurt." As Kara finished, a beep sounded from her watch and she glanced down at it. "I have to go, I'm sorry." She continued as she moved for the door. "I have to figure out how to get this article run. I'll call you later. Oliver are you…?"
Oliver simply nodded his head, silently letting Kara know he would be staying for a little while.
From the look of relief on her face, Oliver guessed that Kara thought he would be continuing her line of debate. As the door clicked shut behind her, Oliver glanced across to Maggie and caught her eye. Oliver could tell in a moment that Maggie was – disappointed seemed the best fit – at what Kara had said. Like Alex, Maggie had clearly been expecting Kara to back her.
"I assume you both agree with Kara?" Alex asked, still staring after her sister at the door.
Oliver answered the questioning look on Maggie's face with a shake of his head, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of…something…at the look of relief and acceptance of the brunette's face.
"Actually, I don't." Maggie spoke first. "You wanna protect your dad? That's what you need to do."
Alex turned at that, and she and Maggie took a few steps closer to each other. Shifting at little uncomfortably, Oliver rolled his left hand, feeling as though he was intruding on a moment that should have been private.
"So, you'll help me?"
"Ride or die?"
"And you?" Alex turned her attention to Oliver.
With a heavy sigh, Oliver crossed his arms over his chest before answering. "I think as your boss J'onn had his reasons for suspending you, and I agree with them." Before Alex could answer he pressed on. "But as your friend, your family, he shouldn't have done what he did. Any of us would've done the same thing in your position, Alex, Kara included."
"You tried telling that to her?" Maggie asked pointedly.
"Kara has an inability to see that sometimes the rule book just gets in the way." Oliver answered quickly.
"So, what's next?" Maggie questioned them both.
Oliver allowed a grin to slip onto his lips. "We tear up the rule book." He weighed his words carefully, unable to get Waller out of his head. "A…friend, once told me that there are people in this world who deal only in extremes and that it's naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them. I'm going to show you both how a vigilante does this job."
XXX
The trio had worked hard to concoct a plan that would allow them to track down Cadmus. The options were limited. In the time following Jeremiah's theft of the National Alien Registry the D.E.O. had exhausted almost every line of inquiry, both on and off the books thanks to Oliver's presence. The only tactic left Oliver could think of was not necessarily one that would be officially approved of by J'onn, and that was if it even worked.
With the help of Maggie, who had a surprisingly encyclopaedic knowledge of the alien underground in National City, they had created a shortlist of the most likely targets for Cadmus. Even though the abductions had gone unreported, Maggie had mentioned that they had not gone unnoticed by the alien community of National City. Those who were wise enough or fearful enough to have picked up on the situation had gone into relative hiding. Left with a list of aliens who were both on the registry and not in hiding, the trio had been landed with the task of deciding which of the names that remained was the most likely target for Cadmus. Maggie had supplied one name in particular, an alien by the name of Brian. Brian was, apparently, the go-to alien to see for more than a little illegal activity, and on top of that had a strange relationship with self-preservation.
It hadn't taken much for Maggie to convince Brian to go along with their plan, the threat of being left alone with Oliver – who had lingered menacingly in the shadows fully clad in his armour – was enough to make him agreeable. The next day, the trio had tailed Brian as he made his way around the city, instructing him to be obvious but not too obvious.
The late afternoon sun was bearing down on them before they saw any signs of Cadmus. Brian had sunk into a quieter spot, underneath the highway to make a 'business call' when Oliver had spotted them. A standard police cruiser followed closely by a black van that was identical to the one Oliver recalled from the night Lyra had been abducted. Oliver swiftly took a position atop an abandoned shipping crate as Maggie and Alex headed into cover closer to Brian's car. The van pulled to a stop at a safe distance while the cruiser pulled up a few feet behind Brian, flashing the sirens to get his attention.
D.E.O. issue rifle in hand – Oliver didn't want to question why Maggie had one in her apartment – Oliver watched carefully as the officer made his way to Brian. At a distance, Oliver couldn't hear the exchange between the two and a moment later Brian was walking to the rear of his car alongside the officer. Then, the van was moving again, hurrying forward and skidding to a stop alongside the cruiser while the officer slammed Brian's head into the lid of the trunk. Oliver winced a little, knowing that the blow would have done damage and aimed the rifle.
As the masked men jumped from the van and began to wrestle Brian inside, Alex stepped from her cover.
"Officer, I think that man needs help." Oliver heard her voice through his comms.
The moment the officer turned to face Alex he was met with a right cross, the unexpected blow dropping the man to the floor. The sound drew the attention of the masked men and they both turned around, but they were too slow. Before either of them could react, Maggie had dropped them both with a quick burst from Alex's sidearm. Quickly scanning the area to make sure they were in the clear, Oliver slung the rifle over his shoulder and dropped down to the ground, quickly moving towards the two women.
By the time he reached them, Alex was in the driver's seat of the van and Maggie was releasing Brian from his restraints. While the two women worked, Oliver drew a set of zip ties from his pocket and bound the wrists of all three Cadmus agents, not wanting to risk them getting back up.
"Find anything?" Maggie asked when Alex returned to them.
"Yeah, GPS coordinates for everywhere the van has been." Alex answered. "I know where Cadmus is."
Oliver took a step back, sensing that the two women needed to talk.
"Want me to go with you?"
"No, I gotta do it alone." Alex affirmed before pulling Maggie in for a kiss.
With a glare from Oliver, Brian scampered away and the three were left alone.
"You're gonna need this." Maggie offered Alex her gun back.
The agent took it without another word and headed off in the direction of her bike. Once Alex was a safe distance away, Maggie walked up to Oliver's side.
"You going to follow her?"
Oliver grinned a little beside himself. "Kara would kill me if I didn't."
XXX
Oliver tracked Alex to an abandoned LuthorCorp Naval Research facility a few miles outside National City. The facility was isolated from anything nearby and, from the outside, looked to be in total disrepair – Oliver wasn't surprised that it hadn't come up in any of their searches; if there was anything he knew about the Luthor's it was that they knew how to keep things hidden. By the time Alex breached the facility, night had fallen. Watching the agent slip inside through a fire door, Oliver took a pause to scan his eyes over the building's exterior defences…or lack thereof. It was a little strange for a Cadmus facility to be so poorly guarded. A silent part of him hoped that Lillian Luthor's arrogance was responsible, but a larger part of him realised it meant Cadmus probably already knew Alex was there. With a grimace, Oliver drew up his hood and followed Alex.
The inside of the facility was dimly lit and filled with raised walkways and platforms, the entire ceiling laced with a criss-cross arrangement of steel support beams. As Alex made her way around on the ground, Oliver fired off a grappling arrow and took to the ceiling, using the support structures to make his way around undetected in the dark. Wanting to maintain the element of surprise should Alex get caught, Oliver opted not to let her know he was with her, and so silently tracked her movements from above.
Then, as she moved along one of the suspended walkways, Oliver took action. Just ahead of Alex were two Cadmus guards. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to take them down without drawing attention to herself, Oliver quickly let off two shots, the arrows finding their mark flawlessly and silently, sending the two agents collapsing to the ground. As soon as they were down, Alex turned and looked into the rafters, a small grin slipping over her lips before it was forced down. Moving closer, Oliver leapt from his perch and dropped down onto the walkway next to Alex.
"You cut that pretty close." The agent remarked dryly.
Oliver failed to mask a scoff. "Maggie told you?"
"Texted me as soon as you turned your back."
Oliver didn't have time to reply as two more groups of Cadmus agents began to descend on them. briefly meeting each other's eyes in silent agreement, the two began to move, Alex taking aim at the group approaching from in front of them, and Oliver stepping around her to stand against the other group. Before Oliver could draw an arrow, he heard a voice call out.
"Hold your fire!"
Oliver didn't need to turn to know who that voice belonged to. With a growl building in his throat, Oliver turned on his heel and watched as Jeremiah Danvers walked towards them. Oliver's fingers itched to test out his new bow against the man, to reach for his quiver and end Jeremiah there and then. It would be easy enough for him to get the shot off before any of the Cadmus grunts could even raise their guns. Before he could take action, Alex turned to look at him, eyes silently pleading to give her a chance. Begrudgingly, Oliver fought down the urge to attack and calmed himself as best he could.
Jeremiah seemed satisfied enough at that and with a few quick words to the grunts, Oliver and Alex were disarmed and being escorted from the walkway towards what seemed to be a computer hub. Jeremiah had Alex's rucksack slung over his shoulder, her gun tucked into his belt, and Oliver's bow grasped firmly in hand. As they approached the grunts broke off, presumably to return to their posts, and the trio walked up the short steps to the hub.
"You shouldn't have come after me, Alex. You could have been killed." Jeremiah hissed at Alex.
As they reached the top of the steps, Jeremiah dropped Alex's rucksack to the floor along with his bow, Oliver noting the location and endeavouring to stay as close to them as he could. Alex walked deeper into the hub, her eyes scanning over each of the screens. Doing the same, Oliver came up to a loss, the displays were rife with information on alien technology that he didn't know how to process.
"What the hell is that?" Alex asked, looking at a digital model of a spacecraft.
"It's a Hoshin frigate," Jeremiah answered as his daughter turned to him. "Best in the Kazark fleet. As soon as it breaches atmosphere it's gonna jump to lightspeed and go to Takron-Galtos. They'll find passage home from there."
"Cadmus is sending them back?" Oliver asked, surprised that the plan seemed almost…kind.
"It was my idea." Jeremiah replied coolly.
"I don't understand." The look of horror that overcame Alex's face as she spoke was almost too much for Oliver to witness.
He knew that look far too well, he himself had worn it countless times since he had left Starling City on the Queen's Gambit. It was a special kind of horror, learning that one's parents weren't the good and pure thing that you always hoped they were. Finding out both his parents had been involved in the undertaking, his mother's affair with Malcolm Merlyn, that his father had killed a man and covered it up…Oliver was no stranger to the emotion he knew Alex had to be feeling.
"Lillian was going to kill them all." Jeremiah attempted to defend his actions.
"You are forcibly deporting them," Alex began, taking a step towards her father. "I mean, some of them have escaped famine and poverty and genocide."
"At least this way they have a chance." He countered.
"It was all a lie."
Oliver felt his fists clench involuntarily as he watched the betrayal in Alex's eyes grow even deeper.
"No."
"No," Alex didn't give her father a chance to speak. "Everything you told me in the woods. You said that you were working for Cadmus for me."
"And I am. From the moment Cadmus took me prisoner they told me they were gonna kill you and Kara unless I did what they said. I made my choice. Protect my girls at all costs."
It was sincere. Oliver couldn't help but feel a little surprised at that. He recognised something in Jeremiah in that moment, something he hadn't seen before. He saw something that he recognised in himself. The way Jeremiah had spoken to Alex, the emotion behind his eyes, Oliver had felt that too; when Damian Darhk had taken William. Seeing the video Darhk sent him, knowing that a psychopath with unknowable reach had his son, it had been something else entirely. Oliver had known in that moment that there was no line that he wouldn't cross to protect his son. Jeremiah had done what any father would have done.
"How could you think that we would want you to hurt others to protect us?" Alex spoke after a moment.
Jeremiah seemed to mull his answer over, trying to find the words.
"There are some things," He began, stepping around Alex. "That you will never understand until you're a parent."
There it was. The only thing Oliver had seen in Jeremiah that he could empathise with. The need of a parent to protect their child at all costs. As Jeremiah turned to look at Alex, he briefly caught Oliver's eyes. The older man paused for a moment, silently studying Oliver. Knowing immediately that his face betrayed his thoughts, Oliver put up his practiced mask, giving nothing further away.
"Do you think mom would understand this?" Alex challenged.
"I can only hope that someday she will."
With that, both Jeremiah and Alex fell silent, neither willing to continue the argument. As Jeremiah set to work on one of the many computers in the hub, Oliver began to study their surroundings, looking for a way out. His bow was still where Jeremiah had left it, no more than two paces away, and his quiver was still strapped to his back. Oliver was tempted to make a move, but he couldn't be sure that he would be able to reach his bow and take down the guards before they could move to counter him. Then there would be the problem of Jeremiah's enhanced arm, even with his new bow Oliver wasn't sure if he could handle that level of strength.
Oliver was snapped from his tactical planning when Alex spoke again.
"Please, dad, it's not too late." Alex pleaded as she moved to her father's side.
"I'm afraid it is, agent Danvers." An unfamiliar voice spoke.
Oliver turned his head to see the infamous Lillian Luthor making her way into the hub. Near two weeks in National City and Oliver had never seen the woman in the flesh. He had expected more.
"Get to your launch stations!" Lillian announced to the rest of the Cadmus agents.
"Lillian, what are you doing?" Jeremiah demanded.
"Damage control." Lillian answered simply as she began to type commands into one of the computers. "The men I sent to delay my daughter failed, which means Supergirl is on her way right now. We're going to cut our losses." With that, Lillian turned to look at them, a curious look coming over her face as she seemed to notice Oliver for the first time. Then, she turned back to the computer. "We'll launch the ship with the aliens already loaded. We've got a few hundred of them. It's not quite what I had envisioned, but it's a start."
For a split second, Oliver and Alex shared a look, knowing they had to do everything in their power to delay the launch in case Kara couldn't make it in time.
"Turn it off. Now!" Oliver growled.
The Luthor matriarch paused in her preparations for the launch to study Oliver for a moment.
"So, you're this new do-gooder that's been harassing my agents?" Lillian questioned with a look of amusement on her face. "Tell me, is that outfit supposed to be intimidating where you come from?"
Oliver was almost impressed by Lillian Luthor. If she weren't a xenophobic maniac, the woman could have been brilliant. Some dim part of Oliver noted that in another life Lillian and his mother could well have been worryingly good friends.
"Lillian, do you really think that we would walk into the lion's den without a whip?" Alex began, drawing something from her pocket. "I planted ten Haldorr particle mines all over his facility."
The agent paused, holding up the detonator. "Stop the launch."
Lillian regarded Alex with a curious gaze. "You're bluffing."
"Wanna bet?" Alex smirked.
The explosion rang out across the facility, Oliver spinning on his heel as it did to see where it came from. Part of the gantry he and Alex had been walking on a few minutes prior exploding into flame and sending a few guards flying. The guards in the hub reacted quickly, focusing their attention on Alex. The agent met Oliver's eyes for a second, her gaze quickly flicking over to his bow and then back to him, silently telling him her plan.
"The rest of the bombs are on a dead-man switch!" Alex announced loudly holding the attention of everyone in the hub. "I let this go and the entire place lights up."
While everyone's attention was on Alex Oliver slipped closer to his bow, his weapon only an arm's reach away. As soon as it was needed, he would be able to take it up without hesitation.
"I won't stop this." Lillian sneered.
"I don't need you to." Then, Alex turned her attention to Jeremiah. "Dad, it's time for you to do what you taught your daughters to do. Are you with me?"
"Tamper with my launch Jeremiah," Lillian began coldly. "And I declare war on your entire family."
"We're going to protect each other. Always." Alex countered. "Dad, make this right."
The air seemed to thicken as they all awaited Jeremiah's answer. Either way, Oliver was poised to attack, his fingers with itching, instinct screaming at him to take up his bow and fight. Oliver's hand reached out slowly, knowing that none of the eyes in the room were focused on him, his bow was merely an inch away. Father and daughter looked into each other's eyes, fifteen years of emotion and heartbreak and hurt coming to a head with a few hundred lives in the balance.
Then, Jeremiah offered an almost imperceptible nod.
The three of them leapt into action instantly. Oliver took his bow into his hand and lashed out at the guard in front of him. With a heavy stroke he took the guards legs out from under him and the man fell to the floor with a loud grunt. Making sure he stayed down, Oliver swung his leg around and planted a vicious kick to the side of his head, knocking the man out cold. By the time Oliver looked up, Jeremiah and Alex had dropped the guards closest to them too. Without a word, Jeremiah took Alex's gun from his belt and held it out to her. With a look of relief on her face, Alex took it, without hesitation turning it on Lillian. Oliver did the same, drawing an arrow and taking a stance by Alex's side.
"Now stop the launch." Alex spoke pointedly.
"I can't." Lillian responded bluntly.
"Give my daughter the override code," Jeremiah demanded.
"There isn't one. The only way to stop that ship, is to drop that stick."
Lillian grinned wickedly, so sure of herself. Alex held up the detonator with her free hand, hesitating for only a moment. Then, she let it go. The series of explosions that began to ring out from throughout the facility shook the whole structure down to its foundations. Lillian staggered over to a viewing window, looking out as the facility began to explode.
"I'm going to go on that ship, stop the launch from the inside." Alex announced.
"Okay, go!" Jeremiah nodded. "I'm going to try and hack in from here!"
Alex started for the steps and Oliver moved to follow her. The agent froze in her tracks, putting a hand on Oliver's shoulder to stop him.
"I need you to stay, watch his back."
"Alex!" Oliver tried to protest but she cut him off.
"Oliver, please! I can't lose him again."
With a growl of frustration, Oliver spoke. "Okay fine go!"
Alex smiled grimly at him and took off again. As soon as the agent disappeared down the steps and around the corner, Oliver turned and started back towards Jeremiah and Lillian. He hardly took a step before he saw someone approaching from behind Jeremiah. Oliver recognised the real Hank Henshaw immediately, the metal plate covering the right side of his face a damning mark. Before the Cadmus agent could reach his target, Oliver drew back his bow.
"Jeremiah, behind you!" Oliver called as he fired off an arrow.
The projectile bounced harmlessly off the shoulder of the cyborg who continued on unperturbed. Jeremiah span around, able to catch the fist of the other man before it connected. The two cybernetically enhanced men grappled for a few moments, Oliver wholly unable to get an idea of who was more likely to come out on top. Weighing his options carefully, Oliver skirted around the edges of the fight. Jeremiah had been a tough enough fight, and he only had one arm modified and very little combat training. The extent of Hank Henshaw's upgrade was a mystery to Oliver, though he knew through the D.E.O. files that Henshaw was an expert in hand-to-hand combat. When Jeremiah and Henshaw separated, Oliver took action.
Jeremiah had been pinned to the ground but threw Henshaw off him and rolled to his feet. The cyborg was still kneeling, and Oliver stepped in. His new bow hadn't been the extent of the upgrades Winn had bequeathed him, the Nth metal modifications also featured in his arsenal. Knowing it was his best chance at throwing the cyborg off guard, Oliver fired off an Nth metal-tipped arrow. Unlike his first attack, the Nth metal projectile worked flawlessly, the arrow burying itself in Henshaw's shoulder, making the man growl in pain. Jeremiah stepped back in, driving a gruelling right cross against the cyborg and sending him staggering back a few paces. Before Henshaw could mount a counter attack, Jeremiah ripped the arrow from the cyborg's shoulder and brandished it like a knife.
The two enhanced men re-entered their brawl, but with the damage done to Henshaw's shoulder and Jeremiah using the Nth metal arrow, Jeremiah quickly took the upper hand. Careful slashes with the tip of the arrow against the cyborg allowed Jeremiah to gain inch after inch in the fight. Even then, Henshaw showed no sign of giving up, sheer stubbornness winning out. Another explosion rang out, and Oliver looked up to see the frigate taking off into the night sky, Alex still on board. The facility was collapsing, the frigate was gone, and Oliver knew the fight needed to be ended swiftly. Drawing a taser arrow from his quiver, Oliver disabled the current control, setting the arrow so that the full electrical payload would be unleashed on impact. He wasn't entirely sure of how high that would be, Felicity had a tendency to over-engineer the team's equipment.
Drawing back the arrow, Oliver waited for his opportunity. Jeremiah had seen that he was waiting for a clear shot and the older man drove a clenched fist into Henshaw's chest, sending him staggering back a few paces. Then Oliver fired. The arrow buried itself into the already open wound in Henshaw's shoulder, the fizzling of the electricity ringing out. Henshaw howled in pain for a moment, then his one good eye rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
With a sigh of relief, Oliver lowered his bow as Jeremiah tossed the Nth metal arrow to the ground.
"We still need to help Alex." Oliver began, walking towards the still active bank of computers.
He didn't make it to the computers before he paused. Some deep part of Oliver's brain scolded him for not seeing it coming, he was supposed to be able to read people better than that...he was supposed to be smarter than that. Though, Oliver supposed, being on Earth-38 had taught him a thing or two about optimism, and that clouded judgment worse than anything else. A grimace on his face, Oliver slowly turned to Jeremiah, the older man still fixed where he had been stood when the fight ended. Allowing his eyes to flit shut for just a moment, Oliver steeled himself, knowing that no matter his actions he would once more be forced to be the harbinger of heartbreak for the Danvers family.
"Don't make me do this." Oliver spoke, fingers already prepared to reach for his quiver.
"You can't take me in, Oliver." Jeremiah sighed. "I'm asking you…not to take me in."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't!" Oliver growled over the flickering of flames that surrounded them.
Jeremiah sucked in a breath before answering. "Because it would break my girl's hearts. I can't let my girls go through that. I can't let them get hurt anymore because of me." Jeremiah paused. "But you understand that. You're a father, aren't you?"
Oliver didn't answer, his whole body tensed as he waited for Jeremiah to continue.
"I saw the look in your eyes when I told Alex the truth. You only see that look in a parent's eyes. You know that there's nothing that a father won't do for his child, no line that can't be crossed to protect them, because there is nothing in this world that means more than they do."
Oliver's resolve weakened as Jeremiah spoke. He knew that he was right, they both did. There was no line in the sand when it came to protecting family.
"I know you care for Alex and Kara, Oliver. I saw the way you and Kara looked at each other back at the D.E.O. I know how much she means to you. You know, that if you take me in, no matter my motives, I committed treason. As far as the government is concerned I'm a terrorist. You take me in, and you'll be forcing them to watch me put on trial and then thrown in whatever god awful hole people like me get thrown into. You have to let me go."
Oliver sighed, his shoulders sagging a little as he accepted that he knew Jeremiah was right. He tried to imagine their roles reversed. If it came down to William having to watch him getting arrested for being The Green Arrow and all the suffering that came with it, or him running away so that William would be spared that pain…there wasn't a lot of choice. Jeremiah was right.
"You're right." Oliver spoke lowly.
Reaching into his quiver, Oliver drew a tracer arrow. After breaking the nanite housing from the shaft of the arrow, Oliver tossed the device to Jeremiah, who caught it deftly.
"Tracking nanites," Oliver explained. "In case you ever need help. The D.E.O. has their frequency, just turn them on and they'll come running."
Jeremiah nodded in understanding.
"Thank you, Oliver." The older man smiled sadly. "Don't tell Alex and Kara about this, just…say that I escaped. They wouldn't understand why I have to do this."
Jeremiah turned, walking towards the edge of the observation platform and to the staircase that led back down into the facility. He paused at the top of the stairs, "Keep an eye on my girls for me?"
"Always."
XXX