"I don't know what you're talking about." I stammered.
"Sara, we can do this one of two ways." She said. "You can tell me that you're the Hood now and I won't arrest you. Or you can tell me that you are not and I'll believe you, but if I find out that you lied to me later, I will arrest you."
"Why wouldn't you arrest me if I told you now?" I challenged. I couldn't think of why, as a police officer, she would give me some leeway. I didn't even know if my dad would do that for me.
"Because I'm your girlfriend and I love you." She answered.
"Oh." I responded. That was sudden. "I don't know what to say."
"Crap, I said it too early, didn't I?" She replied with a blush. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. I'm so sorry."
I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the situation that was transpiring.
"You're cute when you babble." I commented. I then remembered what the conversation was originally about and what she said that she would do to me if I lied to her. Granted, I could avoid it using the other thing that she said as a distraction, but I had to think about it.
"Scarlett, before I tell you anything, can I please be sure that you're not recording me?" I questioned. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I can't take chances."
"If you want me to take my clothes off, all you have to do is ask." She said. "Is there somewhere more private?"
I thought about where to take her. I didn't quite want to take her into the lair yet. The office was probably the only place not damaged by the fire and I took her up there.
Once we were inside, she took off her coat, blouse and pants. I wondered if I should undress too.
"Now do you promise me that no matter what happens between us, you'll never tell anyone about this?" I asked.
"Even if it is literally the ugliest breakup in the world." She told me.
"Then yes, I am the vigilante." I replied. "Now you can put your clothes back on."
"You could take yours off." She suggested.
"I don't think this is an ideal first time for us to have sex." I commented. "The circumstances are very weird."
At that time, her phone went off. I seriously hoped that she hadn't just played me.
"Hello?" She answered. "Seriously? I'll be right there."
She then quickly got dressed and went out. She didn't tell me what happened, so it seemed that there was a bit of mutual distrust between us.
In the morning, I found that there weren't any cars at the house, so she had stuck to word and hadn't turned me in to her superiors.
"Do you think Venetian Green or Midnight Black would look better?" Thea asked me.
"I think that your mom isn't buying you a car of any color." I declared.
"That is true." Mrs. Queen agreed.
"But Ollie got a car when he turned 18." She argued.
"I'm pretty sure that he wrecked it too." Tommy pointed out as he walked into the room.
"Now we have to go. The party planner is waiting." The woman declared.
"Can we stop at the convertible store?" Thea questioned. I hoped that there wouldn't be a mission soon because I didn't want to exclude her.
"So how is she holding up?" Tommy asked.
"She's okay. I think she's a little too okay. She's behaving kind of erratically." I pointed out.
"Well her husband is missing." Tommy pointed out. "So, are you really getting Thea a car?"
"Her mom gave me some money." I replied. "Why is my dad on TV?"
It turned out that there was an armored car robbery. That must have been what Scarlett had to run away to.
"So how are things with you and your lady cop?" He questioned.
"Well she told me that she loved me. I didn't tell her that, but I did tell her a very deep secret and I'm worried about whether or not she'll actually keep it." I explained.
Later, I was working out in the lair while Diggle watched. I hadn't told him or Thea about how I told Scarlett yet because I didn't know how they would react. To be fair, I hadn't told her about them either.
"Have you ever thought about putting in a side entrance into your Arrow Cave?" He asked as I did some pushups.
"Just did." I responded. "I have something that I want to show you."
"Are you sure we should be doing this now?" He questioned.
"As much as I don't want to exclude Thea from this, I'm not sure if this can wait for her." I pointed out. "This technique is the exact same one used by Marines to take out a Taliban vehicle."
"Yeah, it is the same technique." He confirmed as he looked it over. "How did you find this?"
"I was researching someone who worked for a private security firm. His name is Ted Gaynor." I explained.
"Sara, Ted Gaynor was my CO in my first tour of Afghanistan." He replied. I couldn't help but be surprised by that.
"Oh, wow." I replied. "John, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Gaynor is on the list."
"He's a bit poor to be on your list." Diggle declared.
"I didn't say that it was just rich people." I pointed out as I grabbed my bow.
"Well this guy saved my life. I don't care what your book says. He's not a criminal." He argued.
"You haven't known him in a long time." I declared. I still couldn't believe the coincidence that one of his friends was on the list.
"We've been talking ever since I got stateside." He told me. "Six months ago, he offered me a job at his firm. Now trust me. You don't know this man like I do."
"I know that he has training to pull this thing off." I said. "Now I can't prove this was him, but I think I should talk to him and at least find out who is using his techniques to kill security guards. Since this is such a sensitive subject for you, I think should probably do this one alone."
That night I went to the security company. I shot some tranquilizers in the guards as I walked through. I made my way to Gaynor's office. As soon as I walked in, I kicked him.
"Ted Gaynor, we're going to have a conversation." I replied. "If you do anything, things will end badly for you."
I then heard a gun coming from behind me. I turned and saw Diggle standing there.
"Put the bow down." He ordered. We stared at each other before I shot at his computer and used the ensuing sparks to grab his flash drive and make a break for it.
We then had a heated conversation back at the lair.
"I could have killed you!" I declared.
"I'm not going to let you hurt an innocent man!" He argued. "It seems like you trust your damn book more than you trust me these days!"
"I trust Mr. Queen." I replied. "Gaynor may have saved your life but he saved mine. He told me that everyone on the list was on there for a reason."
I then went home because I needed to talk to Thea. I hoped that she wouldn't be mad at me.
"What's going on? Why do you look so flustered? Are you going on missions without me?' She asked.
"Thea, I can explain that but what the mission is about is important and Diggle and I have done opinions on it." I replied.
"Well you're not going to agree on everything." She pointed out.
"But this is different." I remarked. "The man I'm going after, the man on the list, is a friend of his."
"I don't know if I should get in the middle of this." She replied. "I'm not taking a side here."
"So, I didn't want to do anything this week." I told her. "It's just that crime doesn't take a vacation."
"You could have your girlfriend handle it." She suggested. "Give her another phone call with that voice changer thing you use."
"Yeah, that won't work." I replied. "She kind of figured out it was me."
"You told your girlfriend? Why didn't you deny it?" She asked.
"For one, we both know that I'm a terrible liar." I pointed out. "And she told me that she loved me. When you say that to someone, doesn't that mean that you're okay with all of their faults?"
"Well do you love her?" She replied.
"Yes…no…maybe." I declared.
"There is no all of the above here." Thea stated. "I have an idea. How about we spend the whole day together tomorrow. You can make it up to me for not involving me in your mission."
"I am right about it by the way. John's judgment is clouded." I replied.
"I already said that I'm not getting in the middle." She reminded me.
So, the next day, the two of us went to the spa together. I was nervous because I didn't like to be cut off from all lines of communication for even short periods of time.
"You know most people are less nervous when they're at the spa." She told me.
"I'm sorry. I just don't like being away from my phone." I declared.
"How did you survive on that island?" She joked. "Just relax. I even got a female masseuse for you."
"So I'm supposed to relax by letting a woman touch me in ways that my girlfriend even hasn't?" I challenged.
"You and Scarlett haven't had sex yet?" She asked in surprise.
"It's not easy having sex with someone that you're in a serious relationship with." I admitted. "I don't want to mess it up and this new development only makes me more nervous."
"I think you do love her." Thea stated. "I never thought that I'd see the day when you fell in love. As far as what do about your secret, there's an old saying trust, but verify."
"What are you most worried about?" I questioned.
"I can't but think that my mom is going to get with Tommy's dad." She stated.
"Why do you think that?" I questioned.
"I don't know. It just seems like they always end up together. Not to mention, I noticed him calling her yesterday."
"It could have just been about business." I pointed out.
"But they were like this before you left on the boat. I think that's why my dad was so anxious to get away." She replied.
"I'll talk to her." I responded.
That night, I went to do just that.
"Thea thinks that I'm having an affair with Malcolm?" She asked.
"And that it started when Mr. Queen was still alive." I added.
"Why would she think that?" She replied.
"She said that you and him were fighting." I explained.
"It's not your concern, Sara." She told me.
"Thea made it my concern." I pointed out. "She is my friend and she's worried. So, what happened?"
"Robert was unfaithful to me, repeatedly and it made our marriage difficult to say the least." She answered. Did that mean that she was getting back at him? "I want Thea to remember him as a good man. So, promise me you won't tell her."
"No." I declared. "I am not your family's secret keeper. Plus, I've been in her position. I didn't know that my parents' marriage was in trouble because they asked Laurel not to tell me. Also, you didn't answer the question. Why would Thea think that you and Malcolm are sneaking around?"
"Well I occasionally ask him for advice on how to run a company." She pointed out. "Is my interrogation over?"
I then realized that I needed to see my girlfriend. If Diggle was going to research his new boss, I was also going to do further research.
"I didn't think that I was going to see you tonight." She said as I stepped into her office.
"I need your help with something." I declared. "I have a suspect in the armored car heists, but in order to prove it, I need to get into this flash drive. Do you think that you can help me with that?"
"Only if you tell me who your suspect is." She told me.
"Ted Gaynor." I replied. She gasped. "Please don't tell me that you have a personal connection to him."
"No, other than the fact that he was my next-door neighbor growing up." She responded. "Why do you think it was him?"
"Because the attack patterns rival military maneuvers." I answered. "So, can you get into this flash drive?"
"I can try." She replied. "But you gotta give me a kiss first."
I gave her a quick peck on the lips and she smiled.
"I suppose that's good enough." She stated. She then got into it. After a few minutes, she managed to find something. "Well this is definitely very illegal."
"Are you going to tell the chief about it?" I questioned.
"What would I tell him? That I got a stolen flash drive? That will never hold up in court." She pointed out. "Plus, I can't even prove that it's not fabricated. Someone else is going to have to handle this."
"By someone do you mean me?" I inquired.
"No, I mean someone that wears a green hood that definitely is not you." She replied. "But that someone would have to act quickly because I'm pretty sure that they're going to strike again. These people are never satisfied. It's like they're addicted to the thrill of breaking the law."
"Do you think that of me?" I asked her.
"No, I think that you sometimes have to break the law to do what's right, but I don't think that killing henchmen is good either." She replied.
"Do you think that you could use this information to at least get a warrant?" I responded.
"Unlike a TV show, I would have to wait at least a few days to get a warrant and someone else could already be dead by then. As much as I want to follow the law, I have to let someone else handle it. I think you should look at these routes because something might happen tonight." She said.
I headed back to the lair to immediately get changed. I wished that I had time to get Thea, but if I was saving a life, I didn't have time to wait. I just hoped that I would be able to guess correctly.
Fortunately, I was. I found the attackers right as they were about to hit the armored car. I even took what Scarlett said to heart and aimed my bow specifically not to kill the gunman. When I was fired upon, I used a trashcan lid to block the smoke bomb. I assumed that they weren't using grenades because they didn't want to cause an explosion.
The following night, I headed to Thea's birthday party. It had been a while since I had been to a teen party because I was not expecting to see glow sticks. It looked kind of like a rave. I just hoped that there wouldn't be any illegal drugs around the house.
"Oh my God. I love you so much." Thea before she gave me a hug.
"I see you got my present." I replied.
"You know this party is kind of perfect. Well it would be perfect if my dad and Ollie were here." She replied.
"Well I know that both of them would say that you're beautiful." I stated. "Listen, as much as I want to stay here all night, I may have to leave at some point."
"Why?" She questioned.
"Because I found out that I was right. The security company is robbing the armored cars." I explained. "They might go after another one tonight. Will you be okay if I leave?"
"You could take me with you." She suggested.
"I can't take you away from your own birthday party." I replied. At that point, Diggle walked over to us.
"So I heard that the Hood foiled an armored car robbery." He said.
"Well it wasn't Gaynor with the rocket launcher." I stated. I wasn't surprised. The men running things never went out because they could say that they were innocent.
"I was with him the whole time." He replied. "If someone from Blackhawk was involved, I'd put my money on Knox. He started right before the heists began and he has military training. I'll check on this. You two enjoy this party. You need to let loose for a change."
We then came across some of her friends.
"Hey, thank you for coming. This is Sara." Thea introduced.
"We got you something. It's called Vertigo. It's supposed to make you all floaty." Her friend declared.
"Thanks, but I don't do that anymore." Thea replied.
"This is a special occasion. You need to lighten up. Maybe you could share it with Blondie here." The girl persisted.
"I said I don't want it." Thea stated. "Now get that stuff out of my house."
The two of us then went into the kitchen.
"I'm really starting to think that you need different friends." I declared before I looked around the room. "Did you really invite her to this party?"
"She's still a friend." Thea declared.
"I'm sorry if all I can think about when I see is her on top of you." I replied. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think that I am too old for this party and I have some crooks to stop tonight."
"You said that you were going to let John handle it." She said.
"Yeah, but I don't trust his judgment, so I bugged him." I replied. "I'm going to listen in on that."
I listened in and I found out that I was right. Gaynor was behind it and he was trying to convince Diggle to join him. Fortunately, Diggle refused. However, I found that they kidnapped Carly. I knew there was a reason why that bastard was on the list. Well it looked like my mission was going to turn into a rescue mission. This was a time when I could really use a sidekick. I took my phone and called Thea.
"What?" She asked.
"Are you still at home?" I replied. I didn't hear any loud music in the background.
"No, I'm on my way to the store. I needed to get away because I saw my with Tommy's dad again." She said.
"Well how about you come and help me. Gaynor has kidnapped Carly and I could use some help rescuing her." I explained.
"Just tell me where to go." She replied.
I knew what I had to do. I had focus on saving Carly first. I hoped that Thea would be there in time but I didn't have to time to wait if she wasn't. I got there and I saw Diggle with the grenade launcher in his hand. I had to make sure not to hurt him. As it turned out, I didn't have to. He didn't shoot at the truck and even let it get away. Come to think of it, I couldn't help but wonder how stupid it was for Gaynor to give him the grenade launcher. I mean who would give the guy most likely to betray you the deadliest weapon? It wasn't smart. I then noticed that Knox was trying to make a shot at Diggle and attacked. I began to spar with him. I still had no idea where Thea was. I hoped that she had just gotten lost and something bad hadn't happened.
I found Diggle and Gaynor. I could see that Diggle couldn't kill him, so I fired an arrow at him before he could fire at Diggle and it him in the chest.
"You're late." Diggle declared.
"You knew I was coming?" I asked. How could he know that I was coming?
"Never time you try to bug someone, be more subtle." He told me. "I wish that you trusted me though."
"I did trust you, but I told you that he was on the list for a reason." I pointed out. "I'm sorry."
At that point, I got a phone call. Thea was in the hospital. She had been in a car crash. Her mom and I went to her room and found her awake and aware."
"Thea, are you okay?" Mrs. Queen asked.
"I'm fine. How's the car?" She questioned.
"The car isn't important right now." I explained.
"Do you remember what happened?" Her mother asked.
"Just go away. I'm fine, so you can leave." Thea told her. The woman then left the room.
"So, what happened?" I questioned.
"I don't know. I just felt kind of lightheaded suddenly and lost control." She replied. "But all I had to drink was soda."
I then went out to the hallway and I saw Scarlett was there.
"Thanks for calling me." I said.
"Well I just got a call from my captain. Why did you kill Gaynor?" She asked.
"He was going to kill my friend. Can you tell me that you wouldn't do the same thing?" I replied.
"Okay, I probably would have." She admitted. "And you did save four men's lives."
"Come back to the club with me." I suggested.
Once we got there, I stripped her and took her into the lair.
"Where did you get this technology?" She asked.
"I spent a little bit extra on it." I replied. "But right now, I don't want to talk about that."
I then took my clothes off and the rest of hers. I couldn't believe how amazing it felt.
"Hey, I love you." I replied.
In the morning, I was taking Thea home from the hospital. I had told her about her father.
"So, I don't know what's going between them, but I think it's something other than an affair." I stated.
"I know that they're together or at least they have been before." She replied.
At that point, I saw my dad.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Thea, I need you to come with me." He replied. "Your blood test showed that you tested positive for Vertigo."
"But I didn't take anything." Thea argued.
"You have the right to remain silent." He said as he cuffed her. "Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have a right to an attorney."
I then watched as he took her away.
So Thea got drugged, but things are going to be different. Also Scarlett and Sara had sex. She also might be joining the team soon. Please don't forget to review.