I was in my lair alone. I had the salmon ladder out and was getting prepared to use it. It was going okay, but I couldn't help but think of my fight with the other archer. I wasn't strong enough to beat him. I could still feel the pain. The training went okay, but then I got ready for target practice. I took out a tennis ball like I always would, but I missed. I never missed. I couldn't believe that I had missed. Maybe the fight had messed with my head more than I thought because I couldn't help but think of it while I shot. I then saw Diggle in front of me.
"How are you doing?" He asked. "How's the rehab?"
I didn't answer that. I just had a different question on my mind.
"Have you found Walter yet?" I questioned.
"I talked to my sources at the Bureau. They've all given me the same answers." He replied.
"Well either Mr. Steele doesn't want to be found or someone else doesn't want him to be found." I declared.
"It's been six weeks, Sara. There's been no contact from the kidnappers, no ransom, and no proof of life." He pointed out.
"Just because he's likely dead doesn't mean that it's certain." I remarked.
"What are you going to do?" He inquired.
"I don't know." I replied as I put my bow up. "Even my contacts in the Bratva don't know anything. This isn't the easiest thing to talk to Thea about because I don't want to say I'm going to find him when I may not be able to put my undivided effort towards it."
"I wasn't talking about Walter.," He pointed out. "You look like you're ready to return to battle and last I checked there was more than a few names to cross off this list."
"Those people aren't going anywhere." I argued. "With Walter missing, Thea and Moira need me right now."
Yao Fei and I had Fiers. Of course it was a trap. He told me to run and I did. However, that meant that he was captured. I would have to find a way to save him but I didn't know how.
The following morning, I got a call from Laurel. It was odd because she never called me. She was basically telling me that Joanna's brother died last night. He was a firefighter and he had been killed in a fire. Dad was the one who had to break the news to her. I couldn't help but think that everyone was hurting.
That night, I went to see Mrs. Queen. She was looking at a picture of her and Mr. Steele.
"Hey." I greeted her.
"Hi." She reciprocated without much emotion.
"I stopped by Big Belly Burger. I thought maybe the three of us could have some takeout and watch a DVD." I suggested.
"Thanks but I'm not very hungry." She replied. There was still something very odd about Mr. Steele's disappearance.
So, the two of us were in the living room alone.
"I've seen that you before." She said as she took out the DVD.
"Okay, so maybe a movie called The Hangover isn't good for us." I stated. "How do you pronounce that guy's name anyway?"
"What are you doing to find Walter?" She asked.
"Thea, I've looked for him, but I've got nothing. We've been over this." I explained. "I've asked everyone I know, and I'm at a dead end. If I get more information in the future, I'll revisit it, but there's nothing that I can do right now. I'm sorry."
"Well Mom stayed at home a lot after my dad and Ollie disappeared." She explained. "Eventually she stopped going out altogether."
"How did she get past it then?" I inquired.
"Walter." She responded. Damn it. "One day, he shows up all British and stern-like. 'Moira, get dressed. We're going out for lunch.' And it worked. You know I had a crazy thought. Maybe Walter wasn't abducted. Maybe he's having a midlife crisis and he's with some 20something on a tropical island somewhere. I mean just because we haven't heard from him doesn't mean that he's missing or dead."
"It's possible, but unlikely." I admitted.
I then noticed that they were talking about me on the news.
"So why haven't you let me be you lately? I know that this other archer is a problem, but I could at least help with the small crime." She pointed out.
"I don't know, I guess we haven't been training lately." I replied. "And I'm worried about you going out alone. I don't want something to go wrong."
"Well how are you doing? Do you think you can come back yet?" She inquired. "You don't have to go after this other archer or find Walter, but you need to do something."
"It's hard for me to shoot right now." I admitted. "It's not a physical thing, but it's hard to focus."
The following day, I was having lunch with Scarlett at the precinct. It was a little weird, but I liked being there for some reason.
"Dad, I did some digging. The firefighters burned hotter than the temperatures of the fires and both of them were doused in turpentine." Laurel declared.
"Excuse me," I declared as I walked over.
"Laurel, what are you doing here?" I questioned, even though I was pretty sure.
"I'm trying to get dad to pursue a case." She told me.
"The fire department has its own investigative department and they don't answer to the police." Dad explained. "I feel for Jo and her family, but there's not a lot I can do for you."
I decided to bring up the same thing to Scarlett.
"I probably can't do much more than him." She said. "I have a friend at the fire department, but it would be breaking protocol if they pursued it with order. Probably the only way to figure anything out would be to go outside the law."
That night, I met with Thea and Diggle in the lair.
"So, I have something. There's a case of two firefighters supposedly being murdered." I stated. "We need to see if we can find anything out."
"Are you sure this is the right thing to pursue?" Diggle inquired. "Last I check, you're not fireproof."
"Well if there's a slight chance that I can proof this and catch the person who did this, I have to take it." I explained. "I've been out of action for too long and I have to let people know that I'm still here."
"Plus if he was murdered, we have to bring his killer to justice." Thea added. "There needs to be some justice in this town."
"Now for starters, I think we need to do some sparring." I replied.
"You sure you're ready?" Thea asked.
"I'm thinking that it should be you two against each other." I declared. "I can watch what both of you have learned and critique. But John, same rules: don't hit her in the face."
What surprised me was how fast she managed to knock him to the ground. She was really learning quickly, and I was proud of her.
"You know part of me wants to pass along whatever we find to Scarlett or my father." I admitted.
"I thought you were supposed to be doing the police's job." Diggle stated.
"Well I'm nervous about it." I stated. "I've never been beaten so badly."
At that point, I heard voices coming from upstairs.
"I should probably check that out." I stated. I went upstairs and that's where Tommy was. "So I realize it's probably hard to manage my nightclub without an actual club."
"Yeah, I just took the liberty of yelling at our contractor." He said. "I told him if we don't see any progress soon, we'll go with someone else."
"How is Joanna?" I questioned. I imagined that she had come over.
"She's holding up." He replied. "I had something that I wanted to talk to you about. I was thinking we could do a fundraiser for the fire department. It would be a great way to raise some money for the families."
"That's a good idea." I declared.
"Maybe we could do it here. We could keep the overhead low, so maximize the proceeds to the firemen and their families." He added. He had really thought things through.
"Did someone replace you with a robot?" Thea quipped as she walked into the room.
"Thea, what are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.
"I've been helping Sara out with some logistics." She lied. "But I have never seen you so driven before."
I had to admit that I was a little bit concerned about Tommy finding out what was going on downstairs, but he needed a job and he seemed like he was really good at it. He was better than I expected to him to be. I completely believe that he was taking it seriously. He never took anything seriously.
When Thea and I got home, I found that someone was talking to Mrs. Queen about Mr. Steele's disappearance and what it meant for the company. I wasn't sure why he had to bring up Mr. Queen's disappearance as well.
"I don't need you to remind me of that." She declared.
"The last thing that I want to do is upset you." He replied.
"Well I'm pretty sure you failed then." Thea remarked.
"Good day." Mrs. Queen added before he walked out.
"Who was that?" I questioned. I couldn't help but wonder if people from the company regularly visited their house.
"Ned Foster, the COO of the company." She answered. "He wants me to take Walter's place as CEO."
"Well you should go for it." I suggested. "I know it may not be ideal, but do you know how many major companies have female CEOs?"
"I need to be at home right now." She argued.
"Mom, you don't need to stay here for me. Sara's right. You could do some real trailblazing and I know you'd be amazing at running the company." Thea replied. "You always said that you want me to be happy, well you doing this would make me very happy."
"Well maybe I don't want to do it!" She yelled before she exited.
"We have a problem." Diggle declared as he entered the room.
"Thea, can you please stay with her for a little while?" I asked her. "If anyone can make her feel better now, it would probably be you. What's going on?"
"There's a fire at Stagg Chemicals. Security feed show a 74 pickup outside, the same one that was there during Danny de la Vega's fire." He replied. "We need to go now before there are any more casualties."
"Go." Thea stated. She didn't sound thrilled, but she seemed like she would stay for me.
The two of us headed to the fire. I had to get in quickly. I noticed that a man attacked the firefighter inside. There was a man in a gasmask. He dropped the firefighter into the flames. I had a tough decision. I could either go after him or try to stop the killer. I decided to go after the killer. However, I quickly found that I was out of practice and I got beaten. I did notice one thing. He had a tattoo of an insect on his hand. He then threw a smoke bomb and ran off.
I headed back to the lair extremely disappointed. Not only had I failed to save the firefighter, but I also failed to catch the killer. I couldn't believe it. Maybe I couldn't do this anymore. Maybe I just didn't have it in me. I wanted to be a hero, but maybe I had blown my chance. He had escaped and he was going to kill again. I didn't know if there was anything that I could do to stop him. What was the point?
I decided that I needed to talk to someone, so I called Scarlett
"Who is this?" She asked.
"Detective Bowmen, I have some information for you." I told her. "The killer drives a 1974 pickup and has a firefly tattoo."
"Why are you calling me? I'm gonna have someone trace this call." She replied.
"You could do that or you could try to stop this guy." I suggested. "I don't know if I can."
"What?" She questioned.
"I might be retiring. You won't have to find out who I am because I won't be around anymore." I told her.
"You can't do that." She argued. "As much as I don't like how you do it, I can't help but be grateful for what you do. This city needs you."
She then hung up.
"Do you really think that the police can handle a killer who burns people alive?' Diggle asked. "Would you really put your girlfriend or your father in danger like this?"
"What am I supposed to do?" I countered.
He then swung at me. I dodged and held him against the desk.
"Your problem isn't physical. This other archer got in your head." He told me. "He took your courage from you. You're afraid. You can beat anyone in this city, including him, but you can't do anything until you get over your fear."
"I don't have time for this." I replied. "I need to run an errand for the benefit for the fire station."
I headed to the fire station and that was where I found my sister.
"What are you doing here?" I asked in confusion.
"Joanna asked me to clean out Danny's locker." She explained. "What are you doing here?'
"Tommy asked me to make sure the guest list for the benefit was accurate." I stated.
"He's been working very hard on that. It's very generous that you two are doing it, Sara." She declared.
"So, is it true that Tommy asked for a drawer at your place?" I questioned. She looked at me. "He told me."
"I don't know if I can share with Tommy right now." She admitted. "I don't know if I'm ready."
"You could take it slow." I offered,
"I don't take things slow." She reminded me. "Fear controls us. We don't control our fears."
When I got home, I found Thea was in her room. She was on her computer.
"So, I found that there is a connection." She stated as she showed me a picture "These men called themselves the Fireflies. Four or them are dead. Three of them were killed recently, except for this guy Garfield Linz. He was killed in a fire two years ago."
"Thea, I don't know if I can do this." I replied.
"Then I guess I'll have to." She stated.
"Thea, you can't do this." I remarked.
"Why? It seems like I'm the only one who actually wants to." She told me. "I know this guy fucked you up, but if you're not going to be the hero that this city needs, someone else will have to."
"What about your mom?" I challenged. "She can't lose you too."
"Well maybe I'm willing to risk my life because I can't take it here anymore." She challenged. "Now are you going to do this or not?"
I began to think. I knew that I would have to. I couldn't let Thea run into this situation when she had a high chance of being killed. Scarlett was right. The city did need me. All of the firefighters in the city needed me to save them.
"Fine, let's do this." I told her. 'Do you have any suspects?"
"I do." She proposed. "The circumstances of Linz's death are very strange. My suspicion is telling me that he might be not dead."
"Well that's not something that we can prove without more research." I replied. "Get your coat."
"Can I ask you one question?" She responded. "Why is it that your afraid now? You've never been afraid before."
"Well I just couldn't help but think about all of the people who would hurt if I died. You, your mom, my family, Tommy and Scarlett." I told her.
"You can't be afraid of death, Sara." She told me. "The fact is you could die at any moment. Yes, it's true that you could die any time that you put on that hood, but you could also get into a car accident on the way to the store. You could have a random aneurysm. You have to fight. Also, letting all of us in gives you something to fight for."
"We need to get you a suit." I replied. She perked up. "But not tonight. I'm not going to literally let you walk into the fire, but I can tell that you're almost ready."
Once we got to the lair, we met up with Diggle.
"So, the killer is Garfield Linz." I remarked. "We have to find a way to stop him, but we also have to get ready for the benefit. Thea, for once, who can come to a club, but no alcohol this time."
I would a red long-sleeved sequin dress. Thea stood behind me in a black sequin sleeveless dress with a V-neck. It was probably sexier than she should be wearing, but she looked nice in it. I then started to look for my date.
Scarlett was wearing a navy lace dress with fringe sleeves and a matching hem.
"Hi." I greeted her.
"You know this place may be ironically breaking the fire code." She joked.
"There's someone that I want you to meet." I declared before I took her over to Laurel and Tommy. This is Tommy Merlyn, my general manager."
"You know I never pictured Sara as someone to date a cop." Tommy stated.
"Really?" I questioned.
"Hey, Babe, can we talk to the fire chief?" Scarlett requested.
It turned out that Scarlett had done some of the same research and she basically told the chief that she believed that Linz managed to escape the fire and was the one killing the other firefighters.
"You're insane, Detective." He remarked. I was pretty sure that you weren't supposed to say that to a cop. "There's no way that Gar made it out of that building."
"Just like there's no way you'll make it out of this one." A man interrupted before he threw a firebomb.
"Damn it. The one time I don't bring my gun." Scarlett muttered.
"You need to get everyone out of here." I told her. "You're an officer, you must know how to handle this."
"Gar, what are you doing?" The chief asked. He then pointed what looked to be a kitchen sprayer at us.
"Run." Linz ordered.
I ran to the lair to get my suit on. I wouldn't have a lot of time. I had to save the chief. I couldn't fail again. I had to remember what Thea told me and I had to fight for the people that I loved. This was really testing how fast I could get changed. I decided that not mess around and just ripped the dress. I could so it back together later. I hoped that everyone else had made it out of the building okay.
I managed to make it back up just as Linz was about to burn the chief. I realized that I only had one shot and it would have to be perfect. I fired and hit the lighter in midair.
"Go." I told the chief before he ran off.
"Go ahead." Linz instructed. "I'm not afraid to die."
"I know." I replied. In fact, he was probably hoping that I would kill him because he felt that he had nothing left to live for. "You're afraid to live. I can get you out of here. I can get you the help that you need."
"Thank you, but it's too late for me." He told me before he walked right into the fire and set himself ablaze."
In the morning, I sat with Thea watching the news. The fire would delay the opening of my club a little while. I would also have to remember to put in some sprinklers.
"Look at that." Thea remarked. "I told you that you're a hero. It is too bad about the club though. Looks like you won't be making money for a while."
"Good morning." Mrs. Queen interrupted. She was dressed up.
"Wow, Mom. I wasn't expecting you to be so dressed up." Thea remarked.
"Well I can't go to the office in my pajamas." Her mother retorted. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office. Thank you, Thea, for giving me the shove that I needed. I also promise that I will find Walter and I'll see you both for dinner."
"So, I think you are officially the world's greatest motivational speaker." I quipped.
Later that day, I was at the club. I had to assess the damage and the costs it would take to fix it. Even though it would just be a front, I did hope that it would do well because Mrs. Queen had given me a lot of money.
"Well I suppose that wasn't the opening you were expecting." Scarlett replied as she came in.
"So, you're coming to see me at work." I noted.
"I'm here because we need to talk about how you called me the other night." She said.
So it's been a while. The bombshell in this chapter is that Scarlett knows. And since she knows, I have officially decided that Felicity will not have an expanded role in this story. Please don't forget to review.