Disclaimer: I do not own Daredevil, Arrow or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed or viewed this fic so far.
So now we are back to Arrow Season 1. We're now on 1x16.
Chaos Sorcerer: Glad you liked the references and the bit from The Amazing Spider-Man. In Chapter 10, I was going for something dark and from your reaction, I guess I succeeded. You will get Matt/Laurel moments nicely. She won't be annoying right now. Don't worry. This chapter will answer everything else.
Chapter 12- Dead to rights
A helicopter landed on a pad at the Starling City Heliport.
A well-dressed man walked out of the chopper. He straightened his coat and then he took out his phone and called up the one who had hired him, "I've just landed in Starling City. We agreed- half on arrival, the other half when the job is done.
Then he looked at his banking app which showed a successful transfer of $ 500,000.
Lifting the phone back to his ear, he said with a smile, "Gracias. Don't worry, the man's as good as-"
An arrow knocked the phone out of his hand. He first looked at where the phone had fallen and then turned to the direction from where the arrow had come.
The Hood stood a few feet from him.
"Guillermo Barrera", he growled to him, "You have failed this city."
"You've built quite a reputation", Barrera commented.
"And you should have stayed overseas", said The Hood.
"I thought about it", said Barrera, "But then I remembered, I've got a reputation too."
He brandished two throwing knives from his sleeves, putting them in his hands. The Hood fired an arrow which he deflected with his knives. He then threw one at him which he dodged while firing another arrow which was deflected.
As the two neared each other, The Hood spun around and managed to get to Barrera's side. Barrera tried to punch which he blocked and then punched him away, making him stagger. Barrera tried to punch him thrice but he blocked all of them and punched him. He tried to punch again which The Hood deflected but he managed to kick him on the side of his thigh in a spin motion.
The Hood suddenly took out an arrow and drove it into Barrera's heart. Barrera staggered and fell down, dead. The Hood picked up his phone and as police vans arrived, he was gone.
McKenna got out of her car and saw Barrera's dead body. She picked up a fallen arrow and looked it and then the body.
Felicity was thrown down on a mat and groaned. As she sat up, John gave her a hand and pulled her back up.
"Now the trick is to keep your weight evenly distributed", said Matt to her as he had been observing the entire fight.
"I thought the trick was to avoid getting into fights", said Felicity. Matt gave an annoyed sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, he liked Spider-Man's jokes as they actually relieved people in a tense situation. Felicity's jokes showed that while she was smart about tech-related stuff, she didn't have much intelligence when it came to the wider world. And sometimes, her snarky comments seemed cruel and heartless. But that was because she did not have proper social skills so it was unintentional on her part.
Dig still chuckled at the joke and threw her a towel.
"Yeah, well", he said, "New York and Starling are not the kind of places where you can talk your way out of trouble."
"But people like you can definitely talk your way into trouble", joked Matt though it had a serious undertone.
Walking over to her, he said, "Besides, if you're going to be working with us, I'll sleep a lot better knowing you can handle yourself."
He gave her a bottle and said, "At least a little."
Felicity took the bottle from him and took a long sip of water gratefully.
"John's right", said Matt, "Pepper sprays don't always work."
Matt then heard a familiar heartbeat and said, "Oliver's back."
Oliver walked in and John asked, "How'd it go?"
"Badly for him", said Oliver as he put his bow down.
"Who's him?" Felicity asked.
"An assassin for hire with an affinity for knives", said Oliver, "His name was Guillermo Barrera."
"Was?" asked Felicity in a sad tone as Oliver crossed his name from the List.
"Why do you sound sad about the death of a man who was an assassin?" asked Matt.
"Well", said Felicity, "He was still a human."
"Who killed other humans", said Matt angrily, "Innocent people with sons, daughters, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers."
Felicity silently contemplated Matt's words.
"So we can't ask him about his intended target", said John.
"No", said Oliver as he turned to face the three. He pulled out Barrera's phone from the pocket and handing it to Felicity said, "Which is why I need you to hack his phone. Barrera's world class. He kills high profile targets. And whatever job he was hired for isn't finished. We need to figure out who he was here to kill, and fast. They are probably still in danger, OK?"
Felicity took the phone and nodded.
"I have to meet McKenna", said Oliver as he moved to get changed.
"Good thing she didn't meet you at the Heliport", joked Dig, "May not be a good idea to fall for the cop that's hunting you down."
"Well, its slim pickings for us vigilantes", said Oliver sarcastically.
"You may be sarcastic right now but you might be right", said Matt, "I don't think we have many romantic options around."
"Well", said Oliver, "You still have one viable option."
"What?" asked Matt in confusion.
"Laurel!" said Oliver matter-of-fact.
"Laurel?" asked Matt with a chuckle, "I already told you. We're past that phase. We're just really good friends now."
"I think you can hear your own heart beating fast", joked Dig as he friendlily punched Matt on the shoulder.
In the hallway outside Laurel's apartment, McKenna was putting on her shoe while leaning against a wall as Matt and Oliver arrived.
"Hey", he said with a smile, "Sorry I'm late."
"I'm gonna go in", said Matt and walked inside.
"No, I am", she said, "I just got caught up at the office."
"Me too", said Oliver as he looke her over and complemented, "You look nice."
The two shared a kiss.
"Ooh", she said as they broke apart, "We should go inside too."
"We should", agreed Oliver and the two started kissing again.
"We don't seem to be going inside", she said as the two chuckled and finally went inside.
"Welcome", said Tommy as Oliver gave him a gift bag and a hug saying, "Happy birthday, buddy."
"Thank you", said Tommy gratefully, "Oh, this feels like Chateauneuf de Pape"
"It tastes like one too", said Oliver, closing the door as Tommy lead the two of them inside.
"You are a true friend", he said, "Thank you."
"Tommy", said Oliver as he introduced his girlfriend, "You remember McKenna Hall."
"From back in the day", said Tommy with a smile.
"And back again", she joked. They chuckled as they moved into the dining room where Matt and Laurel were lighting candles on the table.
"Ollie", she said happily, "Hi."
"Hi", he replied. The two hugged as Oliver said to the lawyers, "Laurel, Matt, this is-"
"McKenna Hall", said Laurel, "Me and Matt know her from the courthouse."
"How are you, counsellors?" asked McKenna jokingly, easing the tension.
"I am totally fine, Detective", said Matt to her.
"I am well too, Detective", said Laurel.
"I'm going to crack this open", said Tommy as he hefted a wine bottle.
"Come in", Laurel said to McKenna. Hall moved deeper and looked around, "Such a nice apartment. So much space."
She noticed an old picture of a younger, brown-haired girl with a younger Quentin as they happily observed a black canary in a cage, "Oh, this is so adorable. How old are you here?"
Laurel looked at the picture with some sadness and said, "That's actually my sister, Sara."
While Laurel smiled outside, Matt knew she was crying a river inside as old feelings for her sister were resurfacing.
"Oh, I am so sorry", McKenna apologized, feeling embarrassed.
"No, no, it's okay", Laurel assured as they looked at the picture again, "I don't know why my father bought her that canary. That thing chirped night and day."
After laughing lightly, she said, "Drove us all nuts."
"Well then, I'm glad never having heard it", said Matt with a smile.
"A toast", said Tommy as he returned with some glasses and handed them to everyone, "To the first birthday I have enjoyed in a long time."
Looking at Oliver, he said, "I got my best friend back."
Looking at Matt and Laurel, he said, "And now I know that there are good-hearted lawyers still around in the world."
Matt and Laurel smiled at that, feeling flattered as the latter said, "Happy birthday, Tommy."
"Thank you", he said with a smile.
"Cheers", said Oliver as everyone repeated it and clicked their glasses. As they sipped the wine, there was a knock on the door.
"I think that's the food", said Laurel as she handed her glass to Matt and walked up to the door.
When she was out of earshot, Oliver sighed in relief, "Oh, thank God she didn't cook."
"Amen", said Tommy.
"I know the feeling", said Matt who had gotten it worse than them due to his enhanced sense of taste.
Laurel opened the door to see- Malcolm Merlyn.
"Mr. Merlyn", she said in surprise after regaining her composure.
"Laurel", he greeted with a smile, "Can I come in?"
Laurel moved aside as Merlyn walked in.
He walked towards the small group with a smile and said, "Oliver."
"Mr. Merlyn", he replied politely.
"Mr. Murdock" said Malcolm to Matt with a smile, "I have heard about you."
The two shook hands as Matt said, "Likewise, Mr. Merlyn."
Turning to Tommy, he said, "I've been trying to get in touch with you."
"What are you doing here, Dad?" asked Tommy.
Malcolm took out a small gift box and said, "Happy Birthday, Tommy."
Tommy looked at Malcolm for a moment and turning to the others said, "Give us a second."
"Of course", said Laurel.
Tommy gestured Malcolm to follow him to the hallway. Malcolm tossed the gift box to Oliver and followed.
"We're about to eat", said Tommy as they reached the hallway.
"I can't stay", said Merlyn.
"Well, that works out because you weren't invited", said Tommy.
Malcolm gave a smile and withdrew an invitation from his jacket, "I'm being honored by the Starling City Municipal Group. They're bestowing me with their annual Humanitarian Award."
"What, they ran out of actual humans to give it to?" asked Tommy sarcastically.
"I would like you to be there, if you could", said Malcolm in a hopeful tone.
"I am 100% certain that I'll be busy", said Tommy as he started walking back but Malcolm stopped him by firmly gripping his arm. Tommy looked down at his father's arm and then back up.
"You might not believe it", said Malcolm sincerely, "But all I ever wanted for you was happiness. If it will allay the tension between us, I will turn the switch back on."
"Save your money, Dad", replied Tommy, "I don't need it anymore."
"I'd still like you to come to the event", said Malcolm as he pressed the invitation into Tommy's hand, "It would mean a lot to me."
He started walking off but Tommy's voice stopped him, "You know what, Dad?"
Malcolm turned around as Tommy walked up to him, "Sometimes the people you want there the most- Aren't", he pressed the invitation to his father's jacket above his heart.
"You taught me that", he said, "Multiple times."
Tommy turned and walked back into the apartment as Malcolm stood there for a moment, watching the invitation flutter away to the floor. He then turned and walked off.
In Bludhaven Apartments, a tall man walked into his apartment and poured himself a drink.
"Hello Lawton", said a voice from down the hall, "I see your edge has dulled."
"Oh, I knew you were there", said Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot, "I just didn't care if you kill me. What do you want?"
"My organization has been contracted to eliminate a certain high profile individual", said the woman who was none other than China White as she came into the light, "A very well-guarded target."
"Well, forget it", said Lawton, "Look, I'm retired."
"To drink and smoke your life away?" asked White.
"We all got to die some time", said Lawton with a shrug. He had felt dead ever since The Hood had put an arrow in his left eye during their fight. Without his perfect eyesight, he wasn't the best marksman like he used to be.
"I need someone to die at the right time", said White, "And no one does it better than you."
Lawton came into the light and showed her his dead left eye, "My vision ain't exactly what it used to be."
"No", said China as she opened a case and showed its contents to Lawton, "It's going to be better."
Floyd lifted the small red device and looking at it said, "Looks like someone needs two bullets in the chest. But tell me, if The Hood attacks me like he did during my last assassination, what will I do?"
"We have that taken care of", said White with a smirk, "We have connections to a businessman named Damon Dran. He lent us his best assassin some time ago on a temporary basis. Though he doesn't like doing small jobs like killing random targets."
And then out from the shadows stepped a man wearing a black martial arts suit with a blue dragon on the back.
"This is Itto Yamura", she said with a smirk, "He calls himself the Blue Talon. He will protect you from any attack."
"Let's put two bullets in someone's chest."
At Merlyn Global, Moira hurried towards the conference room for a meeting with The Tempest.
"Moira", called out Frank Chen as he walked up to her, "Is it happening?"
"Yes", Moira confirmed, "The Humanitarian Award Ceremony."
"Isn't that a little public?" asked Frank in a concerned tone.
"No one will expect it", said Moira as they opened the doors and sat next to two other members while Malcolm looked out of his office window.
"I have very welcome news to share with all of you", Malcolm said as he walked to the head of the table, "Thanks to Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division and their recent acquisition of Unidac Industries and also another source I have, the Undertaking which we set for ourselves is only months away from fruition."
With a smile, he said, "There's hope on the horizon for everyone in Starling. We won't fail this city."
"And I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're all with you, Malcolm", said Moira pleasantly.
In the lair, Felicity was working hard on Barrera's phone while Matt, Oliver and John stood near her anxiously.
"Jeez, this is one paranoid assassin", she said, "Barrera's got cobalt-level encryption on his phone. It's not going to be easy to break. But code breaker is my middle name", after pausing for a moment she said, "It's actually Megan-"
"Felicity", Matt interrupted, "Can you get anything off it?"
"Just the last number he dialed", she said as she showed them the info.
"Which was?" asked Oliver.
"A restaurant in China Town", she said as she showed them, "A Jade Dragon. I guess even hired killers enjoy the city's best chow mien."
"Yeah", said Dig, "Jade Dragon is a front for the Chinese Mafia."
"Call the restaurant", said Oliver, "Make a reservation for two for tonight."
Looking at Felicity, he said, "You need to decrypt that phone."
As he walked off, Felicity said, "I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese right now."
"You decrypt that and I will give you all the Chinese you want", said Matt.
At Jade Dragon, Oliver and Tommy sat on the opposite sides of a table and joked.
A waiter arrived and gave them a whole fried fish on a large plate. As he walked off, Tommy said, "That is… that is one big fried fish."
After the two laughed, Oliver said, "I was told this was the most authentic Szechwan in town."
After a shake of the head, he said, "Whatever. I wanted to make sure that your birthday celebration got its due celebration. It was, um, a little bit tense last night."
"Well, trust my dad to run all the smiles out of the room", sighed Tommy.
"He did come by", pointed out Oliver, "And he was trying to act a little bit dadlike."
"'Dadlike'", said Tommy, "That sums up my father perfectly."
"I knew the two of you have never been close", said Oliver, "But it couldn't have been easy for him after your mom was killed."
"Yeah, I guess he forgot there were two of us in that club", said Tommy.
"I'm not defending him Tommy", said Oliver, "It's…. with everything I've been through, people I've lost, I know how hard it can be."
Tommy nodded and said, "You probably don't remember this. Uhh…. We were eight, but after her funeral, he left for like, two years. And when he did come back, he was….. he was so frickin' cold. We barely spoke. And that's why I spent so much time at your house. From the outside, it always looked like I had a father. He paid my bills, lived in the house, and he bailed me out."
With a smile then, Tommy said, "But your dad took me to my first hockey game. Your dad taught me how to fly fish. Your dad took us to our first R-rated movie."
"But he wasn't perfect", Oliver admitted, "My dad made mistakes. And….. we haven't talked about this, but I have a lot of anger towards him. But still, I would give anything to have him back, because… at the end of the day, your dad is…. your dad."
With an emotional sniff, Tommy said, "I meant what I said last night. I'm really glad that you're back."
The two smiled as Tommy started eating the fish. Oliver suddenly saw a large Asian man with a tattoo on his neck walk past them.
"I got to hit the restroom", he said to Tommy.
The man moved through the kitchen as he pulled out a packet from his coat and then he reached the back room where a small Asian man was counting money.
The big man pulled out his money from the packet and handed it to the accountant but before he could put it into the electronic cash counter, the lights suddenly went out.
The big man pulled out a gun and looked around when suddenly Oliver leapt on top of him and slammed him to the ground, knocking him out.
Oliver then grabbed a squeeze bottle of hot sauce and sprayed it into the accountant's eyes, blinding him.
The accountant tried to run out but Oliver threw him down. As he got up, Oliver grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall.
"The Triad put a hit out on someone", growled Oliver in Mandarin, "I want to know who."
"I don't work for the Triad!" protested the accountant.
"You're not making Dim Sum back there", quipped Oliver as he tightened his grip.
"I….I don't know who it is", said the accountant in fear.
"But you know something", said Oliver, "Tell me."
"Tomorrow, whatever it is, it's supposed to happen tomorrow", said the accountant.
Oliver let him go and quickly slipped out of the room as the big man got up.
"Who was it?" he asked the accountant.
"I don't know, but whoever it was, spoke with a perfect accent. Definitely Chinese", said the accountant.
The big man headed into the dining room but failed to find whoever had done it. Oliver sat on his table calmly as the man walked past him.
"Check please", he said to the waiter.
Quentin's phone rang as he picked it up, "Lance."
"The Triad have hired a contract killer", said The Hood from the other end.
"Yeah? You mean the one you put in the morgue?" said Lance in an annoyed tone, "Congratulations. You're the talk of the station again."
"They hired one, they're going to hire another, Detective", argued Oliver.
"Who's your target?" asked Lance with a sigh.
"I'm trying to find out but I'm hitting a dead end", said Oliver, "I need you to put your people on it."
"My people don't work for you", snapped Lance, "And come to think of it, neither do I."
"It's not about you and me, Detective", Oliver argued, "It's about saving a life."
"Call me back when you get a name", said Lance with a sigh as he cut the call.
"Hall", he called out, catching her attention.
"Yes sir?" she asked.
"You and me", he said, "We're going to catch that vigilante."
At the docks, China White gave her men a briefing of their mission while Yamura stood calmly in the shadows.
"There are five exit routes from the main floor that need to be cut off", she said as she circled around her men, "Once the fire alarm goes off, we'll have less than 30 seconds to disable Merlyn's private security and force him outside with the others. Once he's outside, the rest will be up to Mr. Lawton, who is safe from any attack thanks to Mr. Yamura."
Lawton stood there, wearing his suit with the artificial eye over his dead one. With a smirk, he said, "Roger that."
The Humanitarian Bereft was being held in Merlyn Global. Moira was talking to the others in the crowd.
"You look beautiful", said a familiar voice from behind her.
Moira turned to see Malcolm standing there in his tuxedo with a smirk on his face and said politely, "Thank you."
"If you're free", he offered with a smile, "Maybe after the ceremony, we could have dinner and talk like we used to."
"I'd like that", she said with a smile of her own.
As some feedback came through the speakers, Malcolm chuckled and said, "That's my cue."
He walked towards the stage as Frank Chen arrived and said to Moira, "I've been trying to avoid him all evening."
"If we didn't show, it'd look suspicious", Moira pointed out.
As she handed a flute of champagne to Chen from a waiter and took one for herself, he asked, "How can you talk to him that way? As if nothing's about to happen?"
"I've been living this life for five years" said Moira, "Five more minutes won't matter."
The two clinked their glasses and took a sip.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen", said Pike on the mike as the crowd quieted down, "Now tonight's honoree needs very little introduction. It's neither his wealth nor his name that we celebrate here tonight. But it is his efforts in making Starling City a better and safer place to live. So please, help me welcome Starling City's humanitarian of the year- Mr. Malcolm Merlyn."
Everyone applauded as Malcolm walked to the stage with a smile and gratefully shook hands with Pike as he accepted the award while waving to the crowd.
Among the crowd was China White in a white dress and a brunette wig. She took a flute of champagne from a waiter, who was one of her assassins in disguise. He looked back and saw another of her assassins who was disguised as a waiter moving about.
The real waiters' bodies were lying in a storage room in the back.
Matt and Laurel were sitting together in her apartment, again exchanging old funny stories and jokes.
"And then Foggy thought I was in bed with a woman", said Matt as the two chuckled.
"Remember the time we were caught trying to have a quickie in the lecture room?" asked Laurel with a chuckle as Matt said with an embarrassed laugh, "I wish I could forget it."
After a sigh, he asked, "You remember the night from two weeks ago?"
"Which one?" she asked and when Matt looked a little grim, she said, "Oh! The night I was kidnapped."
"Not the kidnapping", said Matt, "What happened after the kidnapping."
"Oh!" said Laurel who still remembered how they had almost kissed, "Yes I do. What about it?"
"Honestly", said Matt, "I'm not sure. But that day, when you were abducted, I felt… terrified."
"You did?" asked Laurel as she looked at him curiously.
"I don't know what this is", said Matt, "But being with you again, all the feelings, they're just….. they're coming back."
"Okay", said Laurel with a sigh, "You know….. I'm feeling it too."
"Oh!" said Matt, "We both are feeling something."
After a moment of silence, Matt said, "Interesting."
"I don't know if going down this road again would be a good idea", said Laurel.
"I don't know that either", said Matt, "But I just feel like….. I feel if we don't try it out, I will regret it."
"Maybe", said Laurel, "I am actually feeling the same. Maybe we should… just live in the moment."
"Live in the moment", said Matt with a smile.
By now, their faces were inches apart. This time, nothing stopped them as their lips touched and they were in a deep, passionate kiss. For the first time in a long time, both of them felt like there was hope in their lives.
Downstairs in the Foundry, Felicity and Diggle were hard at work while Oliver and McKenna were having a picnic upstairs in the unfinished club.
"Come on, come on", Felicity groaned in frustration when the computer suddenly beeped, "I'm in! Yes!"
Dig walked up to her and putting down a cup of coffee, "Way to go, Felicity Smoak."
"You don't happen to speak Spanish, do you?" she asked him.
"Arabic", he said.
"Oh, le sigh."
She ran the translation program and both of their eyes widened in shock at what they saw.
"Oh, my God", said Dig.
As Oliver and McKenna were having a tender moment, Dig walked up and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Queen. The I.T. Department has that item you requested."
Oliver smiled tightly at McKenna and said to her as he got up, "One sec."
"Okay", she said.
Oliver walked over to John and asked, "You found the target?"
"Oliver, the target is Tommy's father", said Dig.
"At the awards ceremony?" said Oliver as he remembered that Tommy had decided to attend it after all, "Tommy's there."
Matt and Laurel continued making out on her couch when Matt's phone rang.
"Damn it!" said Matt as he got off her and picked it up.
"Yes!" he said.
"The target is Tommy's father", said Oliver from the other side.
"What?" asked Matt as he got up.
"At the awards ceremony", said Oliver, "Reach there quickly. I'm on my way."
Matt cut the call and walked to Laurel. He took her face in his hands and said, "I'm sorry. Something came up at work."
"Its fine", she assured him as the two shared another quick kiss and he walked away.
His expression turned a little grim as he felt bad about lying to her.
At the benefit, Malcolm gave his speech, "The true humanitarian in the Merlyn family was my wife, Rebecca. Many of you here knew her. She tirelessly devoted herself to helping those less fortunate in the Glades. I like to think that if the man who murdered her knew her, knew the work that she did, knew the person that she was, he would have helped her to her car, made sure she was safe, instead of stealing her purse and shooting her."
He paused and looked at Tommy who stood in the audience. After giving him a small smile, he continued, "The truth is, I haven't done enough for this city. My city. I failed it. But I promise you, I am not finished yet."
Moira listened to the speech before looking over at Tommy who was smiling proudly at his father. Her calm face managed to betray some emotion as she realized she was going to have his father murdered in front of him.
"I promise you that this city will be better for all of us", said Malcolm, "And that day, I will look at this beautiful award, and feel like I have earned it. I thank you."
The crowd applauded while Tommy raised a glass with a smile as Malcolm walked down and shook hands with them. Suddenly, the fire alarms went off.
The speaker advised everyone to move out in an orderly fashion. Malcolm looked around to look for his son. He then spotted two of his bodyguards being stabbed by the waiters in white coats from behind.
"Tommy!" he gasped and ran around, frantically trying to look for him.
On the roof of the opposite skyscraper, Lawton waited patiently for his target but realized he wasn't taking the bait.
"Merlyn's not taking the bait", he said to White via comms, "Change of plans."
White said, "I don't like improvisation."
"Drive him upstairs to his penthouse office", Lawton instructed, "I need to switch vantage points."
"What the hell is going on?"
Tommy turned to see a white-haired man with a bushy moustache and a bright smile standing next to him.
"Is some marvelous superhero giving a performance outside?" he asked Tommy who looked at him in confusion.
"Tommy! Tommy!" said Malcolm as he ran up to him and grasped his arm, getting his attention, "Come with me."
He lead Tommy to the escalators.
"There's an exit on the second floor", he said, "I wasn't leaving until I knew you were safe."
They ran up the stairs but at the end of the hall, two men disguised as waiters with SMP's fired at them and they hid behind a protruding column as bullets passed by.
Suddenly, The Hood crashed through a window and fired an arrow, killing one of them. He hid behind an opposite column as the other man continued to fire.
"Go somewhere safe", he ordered the Merlyns, "I'll hold them off. Go now!"
The Merlyns ran to the stairs.
"Come on!" said Malcolm.
"Where are we going?" asked Tommy.
"Up", said Malcolm.
"Who are those guys?" asked Tommy.
"I don't know", said Malcolm.
"They're trying to kill you!"
"Yeah, it seems that way", said Malcolm as he swiped his access card and the light turned green.
"And we're going up, without any of your bodyguards? Dad!" Tommy exclaimed, "We need to get out of here."
Malcolm turned around and putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder said, "Tommy, take a deep breath and trust me. Upstairs in my office is a panic room."
Leading his son into the elevator, he said, "We get there, we seal it off."
"Merlyn's headed to the penthouse", White told Lawton via comms.
Lawton got into position when suddenly he was kicked away. As he staggered back, he saw Daredevil standing in front of him. While Daredevil and The Hood were approaching, the former had heard Lawton's heartbeat and his chit-chat with the others via earpiece and had decided to stop him.
As Lawton recovered, Daredevil punched him away. Before he could punch him again, a hand grabbed his and flipped him to the ground.
He then heard some footsteps and a breath pattern but no heartbeat. He got up and attacked the one in front of him with a punch but he dodged by ducking and flipped back.
The Hood fired an arrow, killing the other shooter. Three other men came from behind to attack him. He blocked a man's punch and punched him. He ducked to avoid the second man's spin kick while the third one backed a little to save his leg from being smacked by the bow.
The Hood then did a spin motion, smacking all their faces with the bow, knocking them out.
He then saw China White standing in front of him. She threw away her brunette wig, revealing her blonde hair.
"Why do you want Malcolm Merlyn dead?" he asked her.
"I'll settle for you", she retorted.
She brandished her knives and the two walked towards each other. She tried to give him an upward slice with her knife which he avoided. He ducked to avoid another slice before smacking her abdomen with the bow. He ducked to dodge another blow. She tried to sweep his feet from under him but he avoided.
She tried to hit him in a spin motion but he avoided. She kicked him in a spin motion. She tried to punch but he grabbed her hand and smacked her stomach with the bow. He tried to kick but she grabbed his leg and flipped him to the ground before rolling away. The two got up at the same time and glared at each other.
Daredevil tried to sweep his opponent's feet from under him but he jumped back to avoid and tried to give a karate chop to Daredevil as he got up but he side stepped to avoid.
"Get back to your vantage point!" he said to Lawton who complied.
He tried to flip and hit Daredevil's head with his feet which he avoided by side stepping. Daredevil then tried to flip kick his opponent but he leaned backwards to avoid. He then tried to give him another chop which he ducked backwards to avoid and jumped back to save himself from having his feet swept from under him.
"Ah, you are fast, American", he said to Daredevil in an impressed tone, "This is good. This is very good. Many years have passed since last I fought an opponent worthy of battle. Not since I left Japan, have I truly relished conflict, someone with whom I may test my powers, and so I yearn for a man of skill and agility."
Raising his hand, he said, "Before I am forced to kill them!"
"Sounds like a whole passle of fun, hawk-nose", mocked Daredevil, "And now that the preliminaries are over, maybe it's about time that we got started!"
With a snarl, Blue Talon lunged forward, his hand splitting a perfect arc as he swung it in the air but Daredevil avoided it by ducking. He tried to do the same again but Daredevil rolled away.
The two then glared at each other. Daredevil ran at Lawton but Blue Talon jumped in the way and kicked him away.
Daredevil flipped and tried to hit Blue Talon's head with his feet but he dodged by side stepping. As soon as he landed though, Daredevil smacked him on the chest and he staggered back a little.
Being tagged for the first time in a long time, he angrily roared and rushed Daredevil. He attacked with a chop which Daredevil avoided by flipping back and tried to kick him in a spin motion which he avoided by jumping back.
He tried to kick again but Blue Talon parried with his elbow before trying to kick which Daredevil blocked with his foot. He tried to punch twice but Blue Talon swatted his hands away both times. But Daredevil head butted him and he staggered back. He then angrily smacked Daredevil's chest with his hand and he staggered back as Blue Talon kicked him to the ground. He tried to bring a martial chop down on Daredevil but he rolled away and the chop caused a huge crack on the roof. Their fight continued.
Malcolm and Tommy ran upstairs but their path was blocked by two gunmen. One of them slowly moved his gun towards Tommy.
Malcolm suddenly pushed his hand up and away before punching his throat hard, causing him to collapse and suffocate. He then twisted the other man's hand before snatching his gun and forcing him down while still holding his arm. He pointed the gun at his head.
"Wait!" Tommy pleaded but Malcolm shot him and he fell down, dead.
"Go!" he urged Tommy as they both ran to the door.
"You killed him!" said Tommy in shock.
"Surely as he would have killed you", replied Malcolm.
He then quickly typed the code and said to his son, "Move, move, move!"
He dragged Tommy into the penthouse and slammed the doors shut.
The Hood slammed White into a glass cabinet and threw her down. She got up and glared at him.
Daredevil flipped back to avoid a chop and leapt at Blue Talon with a punch but he jumped back to avoid, only to get a kick in the abdomen. He glared at Daredevil.
"Electromagnetic locks", Malcolm said to Tommy.
"What if they cut the power?" Tommy raised.
"This floor is on an entire separate grid", Malcolm explained.
"The glass?" Tommy asked, still worried.
"Lexan", said Malcolm confidently before assuring, "Bulletproof. It's over."
Tommy then looked at his father as if he had seen him for the first time and asked, "How did you know how to do that?"
"What?" asked Malcolm in confusion.
"Fight. Kill", clarified Tommy. Malcolm considered Tommy for a few moments before the flame of decision formed in his eyes. He then walked towards the wall.
Daredevil tried to run at Lawton but Blue Talon swept his feet from under him. He tried to flip at him but he rolled away. Daredevil got up and tried to punch Blue Talon who ducked before striking his elbow. He then struck him on the face and then the chest, making him stagger back.
Malcolm slid the painting away and pressed the fingerprint scanner with his thumb while Tommy said in a confused tone, "Dad?"
The wall slid aside. Malcolm looked at his secret base of operations, where his Dark Archer suit was still hanging neatly, and prepared to tell Tommy everything.
Daredevil recovered and punched Blue Talon on the face and then in the abdomen. Blue Talon blocked another punch and put Daredevil in a chokehold. At that moment, Lawton fired some kind of missile at the window.
The glass exploded and the shock sent Malcolm face first into the wall before he bounded back again, as the impact caused the wall to slide back.
Daredevil angrily did a front flip and freed himself. The two glared at each other as Blue Talon charged again with a chop which Daredevil ducked to avoid and then kicked him on the knee in a spin motion, making him stagger.
China White ran at The Hood and grabbed his head between her feet to flip him down but he grabbed her from behind and threw her down too. As they tried to get up, she kicked him away. He jumped up and popped up his bow with his foot, aiming an arrow at her.
"Freeze! SCPD!"
The Hood realized it was McKenna Hall as he turned to face her.
"Put the bow down", she ordered as she pointed a gun at him.
Malcolm and Tommy were both groaning on the ground but the former managed to get up.
"Tommy, you okay?" he asked to which Tommy nodded.
Daredevil gave a flying kick to Blue Talon and he was thrown to a side. He rushed Lawton who fired three shots before Daredevil pushed him away and tackled him to the ground before punching him out.
The three bullets hit Malcolm on the chest as he staggered back and collapsed on the ground.
"Dad?!" yelled Tommy as he scrambled to his feet and knelt near him, "Dad?!"
"Turn around slowly", McKenna ordered The Hood.
The Hood glanced to a corner and then turning around, fired his arrow at a fire extinguisher. The escaping cloud blinded McKenna while he escaped but White escaped too.
As the smoke cleared, both were gone.
Tommy dragged Malcolm away from the windows and knelt down, opening his shirt.
"Dad", he cried to him, "I'm sorry."
Malcolm suddenly grasped Tommy's hand with his own and assured, "I'm okay. I'm okay."
Tommy realized his father was wearing a Kevlar vest but one bullet had managed to penetrate through a weak spot.
"You're bleeding, you're bleeding", he said to Malcolm.
"I'll be fine, Tom-"
He then slipped back into unconsciousness.
"No, no, no, dad! Dad!" Tommy cried out in desperation. He then heard the sound of glass crunching.
He looked up to see The Hood standing there. In panic, Tommy grasped his gun from his father's waistband and aimed it at The Hood, "No, stay back!"
"I'm not here to hurt your father", The Hood said to him.
"I said stay back", he said again.
Daredevil turned around and realized Blue Talon was no longer there. He walked over to the spot where the man had been but there was no sign of him now. He then heard Lawton getting up. As he turned around, Lawton threw down a flashbang grenade and disappeared.
"Damn it!" cursed Daredevil.
The Hood knelt down and picking up a bullet, sniffed it.
"Curare", he whispered to himself.
"Don't come any closer", Tommy said as The Hood got up.
"Your father's been poisoned", The Hood explained to him, "An assassin named Floyd Lawton laces his bullets with curare. I've dealt with this before. We need to dilute the poison in his bloodstream."
"I said stay the hell back!" said Tommy as he pointed the gun.
"In three minutes, he's paralyzed. In four minutes, he suffocates", said The Hood, "If you don't let me help him now, he's dead before anybody gets here!"
"Help. How?" asked Tommy.
"Fresh blood buys him time to get to the hospital", said The Hood.
"A blood transfusion?" asked Tommy incredulously, "That's insane!"
"It's the only way", said The Hood, "He needs your blood. You're out of time. You need to make a decision right now!"
"Why should I trust you?" screamed Tommy.
The Hood then did something he had thought he would never do. He shut off his voice changer and raising his hands up, he pulled down his hood.
"Because you always have", Oliver said to his best friend.
"Oliver", gasped Tommy, staring at him in complete shock.
As Tommy sat near his father in stunned disbelief, Oliver ran and got some medical supplies from a nearby cabinet and used fletchettes to cut some tubes before attaching needles to their ends.
"Okay", he said as Tommy rolled up his sleeve, "Ready?"
"Do it", said Tommy flatly. He winced as Oliver put the needle into his arm and then wrapped one end of the gauze on his arm.
"Hold his arm", Oliver said as he gestured to Malcolm while Tommy complied. Oliver put the other end into Malcolm's arm and blood started flowing.
"Come on, come on", Oliver muttered.
Tommy looked at his friend and said, "You're the vigilante. Why?"
"Later", said Oliver with a sigh, "He's still going to need medical attention to fully clean out his system, you understand?"
"Okay", said Tommy and looking Oliver in the eye, said sincerely, "Thank you."
Oliver nodded and as Malcolm stirred, he left.
"Tommy", said Malcolm as he looked around.
"I'm right here, Dad", Tommy promised as he grasped his hand. He looked back but Oliver wasn't there.
Later, Malcolm was wheeled away to an ambulance as Tommy was questioned by Lance and Hall.
As the paramedics took Malcolm into the ambulance, Moira looked worriedly. The ambulance drove away as Daredevil and The Hood watched.
Matt and Oliver down the stairs into the lair.
"Another assassin with a blocked heartbeat, huh?" said Oliver as Matt told him what had happened.
"Yeah!" said Matt, "And he was very skilled."
"So how does it feel to save a one-percenter?" Felicity asked him.
"Looks like Malcolm Merlyn's going to be okay", Diggle said, "They're taking him to Starling General. Good thing he was wearing a bulletproof vest."
Oliver looked at John and said, "He's not in the hospital because he was shot. He was poisoned by curare."
Diggle's eyes widened in shock as he gave a sad sigh. He walked past Oliver and turning around said in realization, "Lawton's alive."
"I'm sorry, John", said Oliver sincerely.
John sighed and walked off as Matt asked, "What happened between him and Lawton?"
Oliver did not take his eyes off a retreating John and said, "Lawton killed his brother."
In Starling General, Malcolm and Tommy had reconciled as Moira arrived.
"Malcolm?" she asked him.
Malcolm smiled at her and looking at Tommy said, "Tommy. Could I talk to Moira for a minute?"
Tommy nodded and walked out as Moira walked approached and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, thank God you're alive", she lied but managed to sound genuine.
"We have a traitor in our midst", seethed Malcolm angrily, "I want you to find out who. He just made his last mistake."
Moira nodded and wondered what to do.
Tommy stood outside and heard Oliver approach.
"My dad's going to be okay", he said, "Thanks to you. It's thanks to you."
After a sigh, Tommy said, "No one's asked you what happened to you on that island. You said 'a lot.' That doesn't quite cover it."
"Tommy-"
"I saw you kill those guys who kidnapped us when you first got back, didn't I?" asked Tommy.
Oliver stared at Tommy for several moments and said, "I-I know you have a lot of questions."
"Yeah", said Tommy, "But for now, just the one."
With tears in his eyes, he asked, "Were you ever going to tell me?"
Oliver stared sadly at him as his eyes watered too and he said, "No."
Tommy walked off without another word.
Itto Yamura aka Blue Talon is a minor villain from the Marvel Comics. He appeared in Daredevil #92. He was a badass though as he managed to fight Black Panther (disguised as Daredevil). Their conversation in this chapter was also taken from Black Panther and Blue Talon's conversation in the comics. He is here to even the odds now.
Matt and Laurel finally had their first kiss and have decided to start over their relationship. I hope it was fine.
I think everyone spotted a Stan Lee cameo in this chapter.
Please review. I always appreciate your feedback.