Chapter 15
Human Target
"The memories we make with our family is everything. "
-Candace Cameron Bure
Ari sat annoyed on the bleachers in the gym. She didn't think Hank was even in the school, but she figured he rushed in when the lights went out. Now she currently had to sit and wait until they came back on before she could leave. It would've been fine if Jamie wasn't also stuck here and he just wouldn't shut up.
"So are you just going to ignore me forever?" Jamie asked and Ari rolled her eyes.
"That was the plan." Ari says letting her eyes scan around the dim lit gym. She knew this could've been a move made by Tobias and she needed to be aware of everything happening around her which Jamie wasn't making any easier.
"I told you I don't know why I made out with that girl, I honestly have no idea who she is and—why do you care who I kiss anyway?" he said turning back to her, hating that she wouldn't look at him.
Ari just let out a sigh before she stood to her feet and walked over to where Hank stood keeping an eye out.
"Can't we just leave?" she asked and the man looked over to her in amusement.
"My guys are doing one more sweep, but yeah I think we should get you out of here. This all just seems a little off." Hank said glancing around once more. Ari let out a huff as she began looking around too. "You know kid, you should cut the guy a break." Ari looked back to Hank with a furrowed brow. "Boys are dumb, and slow and sometimes don't see what everyone else thinks is obvious." Ari turned back to look at Jamie who was looking down to his cell phone before she turned back to Hank who just gave her arm a nudge. Ari let out a sigh as she walked back over to the bleachers to sit, and Jamie lifted his eyes back to her.
"I've already decided that I'm not going to let you ignore me." Jamie said as he dropped to the step beside her. "I'm just going to annoy you until you finally—"
"I like you Jamie." Ari said, not looking at the boy. She thinks she'd crumble into a million pieces if she looks at him and sees the rejection on his face. "That's why I was upset that you kissed Evie. Now shut up please." And Jamie was silent for a moment and Ari was so tempted to turn to him, but she didn't because soon Hank came over.
"We're good to go." Hank said and Ari nodded before grabbing her backpack and walking down to Hank, still not chancing a glance over to Jamie.
"Ari wait!" Jamie called before she could leave. Ari let out a sigh, glancing over to Hank who smiled before taking a few steps away to give the teens some privacy. When she turned, Jamie was standing right in front of her. "So you tell me like me and then just walk away."
"That was the plan," she once again said. She shook her head. "Look it's fine if you don't feel the same—" One Jamie Prescott stole her words when his lips pressed against hers in a kiss that made the girl almost melt into a puddle on the floor. The boy pulled away with a smile as he looked down to the girl who was now standing in front of him with her eyes closed and lips still slightly parted from the kiss. Soon she opened her eyes and looked up to see the smile on his face and couldn't help her own.
"I like you too Locke. Have for while, but I guess—" he shook his head with a laugh. "I didn't think you would like me back." Ari looked over to Jamie for a second before she grabbed him and pulled his lips back to hers. "So I was wrong." he muttered against her lips as he brought his arms around her.
There was a big stupid grin on Ari's face as she stood in the elevator heading up to Oliver's office. Hank stood beside her, glancing over and couldn't help but to shake his head. Once the doors opened, Hank turned to see Katie standing there, a guard behind her. The woman turned to the teen who didn't move, that smile still on her face. Katie looked at Ari with a quirked brown before looking over to Hank who just chuckled.
"What's with her?"
"I think she had a good day." Hank said before nudging Ari's arm. Torn from her trance, the teen looks over to him in confusion before turning to her cousin.
"Oh, hey, when did you get here?" Ari asked and Katie just looked at the teen with a furrowed brow as she finally stepped off the elevator and began walking toward Oliver's office.
Katie walked beside her, Hank and the other guard following behind. She looked over to see a smile on Ari's face, and she found herself trying to figure out why the girl would be so happy. Katie racked her brain during that walk. Well she's in high school...she's a girl in high school...in high school, the only thing that would make me smile like a fool would be—
"Jamie kissed you!" Katie said suddenly and Ari stopped and turned to her with wide eyes. Katie smiled as she saw the shock on Ari's face which means her deductive skills were right. "Oh my gosh!" she turned to the guards and waved them away and so the two men slowed their pace as Katie and Ari began to walk again. "Tell me everything."
"Tell you everything about what?" both turned at Oliver's voice and stopped walking as he walked over to them. "Did something happen at school?" Katie and Ari shared a look before they turned back to Oliver who felt like he was missing something. "Was it Tobias?"
"No, it was not Tobias." Katie said before she walked around him back into his office. Oliver turned his confused eyes to Ari.
"Yeah, it was weird, the power was still out when we left, but no one popped up." Ari said before walking around him as well to go into the office. Oliver found his confused eyes looking over to Hank who turned away as if avoiding his gaze and so Oliver let out a sigh before walking back in to his office as well. He found Ari and Katie sitting on the couch whispering, but stopped when he walked inside. They turned to him with smiles.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on Liver. Shouldn't you be working?" Katie asked and Oliver turned to her and just shook his head. He was about to question them more when there was knock at the door before Thea came inside. She smiled over to Ari before turning to her brother.
"You ready?" Thea asked and Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but once again looked over to Katie and Ari who stared back to him. "Is everything alright." Oliver just held up a finger before he took a step forward.
"If something happened at school, you need to tell me." he said and Katie and Ari looked at him before once again sharing a look that was starting to annoy Oliver. It felt like they were having some secret conversation that he didn't know about. When they turned back to him he assumed someone would say something.
"You're not going to like it." Katie sighed and that just filled his head with so many thoughts. He let out a sigh before turning to Ari.
"Fine, Jamie kissed me and then I kissed him back and I think it will be a thing we do now." she finally said and Oliver found himself plucked from the moment as he stood there looking at her without saying a word.
"Oh my gosh, really?" Thea beamed with a bright smile. "That's—" she glanced over to Oliver and the smile on her face fell. "Ollie?"
Oliver didn't say anything as he stood there staring at Ari, now forced to see what he had been ignoring for a while. Arianna was growing up and becoming a young woman. He wasn't sure he was ready for it, even though he knew it wouldn't matter if he was. It just felt as if every day was another day closer to the day she'd finally leave them.
"Liver?"
"We have to get to the meeting." he rambled off before turning and stalking out of the office.
Ari slumped back on the couch. "I shouldn't have told him."
"Don't worry Ari, he will be fine." Thea said with a smile. She looked over to the clock on the wall before turning back to the girl. "I have to go, but I want to hear all the details." Thea turned and hurried out of the office.
"You know it's looking like a little free time wouldn't be so bad." Katie said slumping back on the couch as well. Ari looked over to her with an annoyed look. "Be a teenager for a while, kiss your boyfriend, go on dates. You have your entire life to be a hero."
"Fine, but can we at least agree that this is temporary. I get my grades back up and get my life back into a working order and-" Ari stopped because her mother's face flickered in her mind and she suddenly remembered the truth. "Who am I kidding. It's never going to work."
"Why not?" Katie asked and Ari turned to her and sighed. "Tell me." Ari just dropped her head to Katie's shoulder.
"It's my mom." Ari finally spoke and Katie's brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything hoping Ari would say more. "She won't let it work."
John stood in the bunker looking between Felicity and Bruce, and he couldn't help but to shake his head.
"That doesn't sound like Steve at all." John finally said. "I've served with that man. I know how on the ball he is with everything he does and I also know he wouldn't let him team slide with being anything other than perfect." he looked over to Felicity.
"We're talking to you because he's your friend, but even you see how crazy this is. Even just him and his team not stopping Ari from sneaking out multiple times. " Felicity said and John just shook his head.
"I wish I could actually talk to him, but-"
"But you're sort of like a wanted fugitive." Felicity said and the man turned to the woman who gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry." Felicity looked over to Bruce who seemed to be deep in thought. "Penny for your thoughts Mr. Wayne." he looked over to her before turning away with a shake of his head.
"Nothing, I'm just trying to figure out how a straight lace, by the book guy like Steve could find himself making so many avoidable mistakes." Bruce said turning to John who folded his arms over his chest.
"You're not saying what I think you're saying." John said and Felicity looked between the men in confusion.
"Wait, what do you think he's saying?" she asked.
"It would make sense given what's been happening." Bruce said.
"What would make sense?" Felicity questioned and both men turned to her. "What do you think is happening?"
"He thinks Steve and his team's subpar protection is on purpose." John says turning back to Bruce. "And I can't see Steve doing that, man."
"You haven't served with Steve in a long time. People change." Bruce replied.
"Wait, I'm confused. Why would they make these mistakes on purpose?" Felicity said.
"Because it would make the people he's protecting easy targets." Bruce said looking back to Felicity.
"And why would he want that?"
Bruce turned back to John who let out a sigh. "He wouldn't, but given the types of things that have been happening, it would mean he's on the payroll of someone who does." Felicity turned away with a nervous gaze.
"Right now this is all just speculation." John said looking between the couple before turning to Felicity who shook her head.
"Well then I should start finding something more substantial." she turned to John. "But whether it's true or not we need to bring this Oliver and Katie." John turned away with a sigh. "John-"
"But what if it is true. I'm the one who suggested Steve. I'm the one who brought him into their lives. If he's really working something else, then-"
"It's not your fault." Bruce said and John turned to him. "Trust me, people change. Right now we have to find out if Steve is one of those people." John gave a nod before they turned to Felicity. "We'll talk to Oliver when he gets here."
"I should head back to check on Rene." John said nodding to both before turning and heading for the elevator.
Oliver didn't say much during the council meeting he was only partly paying attention to. His head was still in shock at Ari's words. Jamie kissed her and she kissed him back. Now he thinks he actually understands the aggressive nature of all the fathers he came across when he was teenager.
Oliver's focus was pulled back to the meeting at Thea clearing her throat and shooting him a pointed look. Oliver simply pulled on a smile before turning to everyone.
"If there's nothing else, then I believe we can end it there." He said before standing to his feet and buttoning his blazer. "Thanks everyone." Oliver watched as they all stood to their feet and began filing out of the room.
"Are you ok?" Quentin asked appearing at Oliver's side as they walked out of the door. "You just seemed out of it during that meeting." he glanced over to Thea who walked on the other side of her brother. "Is it about the extra security I see hanging around?"
"No, Ollie is just dealing with the fact that Ari had her first kiss." Thea said and Oliver suddenly stopped walking. Thea and Quentin shared a look before turning to the man whose face seemed to portray a mixture of anger and annoyance. Quentin couldn't hold his laughter and both Thea and Oliver looked over to him.
"Sorry, just karma is a funny thing." he said and Oliver just shook his head and continued walking.
"We're not talking about this." he muttered.
"Hey, want some advice from a father of two daughters?" Quentin asked and Oliver glanced over to him, but didn't say anything. "Make sure any snot nosed, hormone driven pea sized brain boy who steps to your front door knows you own weapons and that you have no problem using them."
"That advice would hold more weight if both of your daughters weren't tangled up with this young, snot nosed, hormone driven boy." Thea said and they both glanced over to her and she just shrugged. "I'm just saying." she turned to Oliver. "you're overreacting, and you owe Ari an apology."
"What do I have to apologize for?" Oliver asked looking over to his sister.
"She shared with you the news of her first kiss, and you stalked out of the room like someone had just stolen your candy bar. You made that moment about you when it should've been about her."
"Well I'm sorry if I didn't know how to react. In that moment, my initial reaction was to find that kid and beat the crap out of him. She should be glad I chose to go to a council meeting instead." Oliver was headed for his office when Maddy stood to her feet.
"Oh, Mayor Queen—" Oliver stopped and turned to her and he could tell from the nervous expression on her face that he wasn't going to like what she says. "Mrs. Queen wanted me to tell you that she would see you at home. She said they were getting a bit stir crazy in your office." Oliver stood there for a moment before dropping his head and letting out a heavy sigh. "Did you want me to call her?"
"Uh, no-" Oliver looked over to the woman and shook his head. "That's fine. I'll call her myself." Oliver turned for his office once again.
"Oh, Ollie-" Oliver turned to Thea who looked up from her phone. "Kullens is waiting for us." Oliver didn't say anything for a moment and so Quentin walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They're going to be alright."
Oliver looked over to the man and gave a nod before turning back to Thea, "Just give me few minutes." Thea looked at him for a moment, wanting to argue, but she simply gave him a nod before watching as he walked past her back toward the elevator.
Ari wasn't entirely sure what was going on when she and Katie ditched the security guards, only to sneak down to the parking structure to some tinted window SUV. She was even more confused when she climbed into passenger seat of the truck only to find Oliver sitting in the backseat.
"Oh, is your meeting over?" Ari asked looking over to the man whose eyes widened a bit.
"Uh, yeah." he replied and Ari looked over to him in confusion before looking over to Katie who was strapping Robyn into her car seat.
"What's going on?" Ari asked and Katie looked over to her, before looking over to Oliver, her eyes lingering on the man for a while before turning back to the teen.
"That's not Oliver." Katie said and Ari turned her confused eyes back to the man who looked undeniably like Oliver Queen. "I'll explain later, just sit." Katie closed the door before walking around to the driver's seat, and Ari couldn't help but turning to "Not Oliver" and staring at him. She had so many questions. She turned as Katie climbed into the driver's seat, letting out a sigh as she dropped her head back against the seat.
"You know-" the "Not Oliver" from the back seat said. "We haven't been formally introduced."
"And I'm fine with that." Katie says before turning to Ari. "Turn around." Ari glanced back to the man before turning around in her seat. They sat there for a for a few moments before they looked up to the stairwell door opening and there appearing Oliver.
"And that's-" Ari said glancing over to Katie. "That's Oliver Oliver?" Katie just shook her head as Oliver walked over to the truck, climbing into the backseat as well, and glancing over to his double who sat on the other side of his daughter. Robyn seemed to glance between both men, the little girl confused unable figure out why she was seeing two men who looked like her daddy.
"I guess you know what to do." Oliver said and "Not Oliver" nodded before stepping out of the car and heading back inside of the building.
They all sat there for a moment before Ari once again turned.
"Ok, what is happening?"
It wasn't until they were heading toward the bunker was she actually let in on the plan. John had some friend called the"Human Target" who was able to look exactly like anyone afraid of being attacked. Oliver planned on switching out with the man halfway through the day. Ari thought it was a stupid idea seeing as someone could've tried to kill him during the first half of the day, but she kept that opinion to herself.
Ari stood in the elevator down to the bunker, her hands fiddling with the handle of Robyn's stroller as they waited for the doors to open. She glanced back to Katie who stood with an annoyed expression on her face as she looked to the wall in front of her. She caught Oliver glancing over to her as well.
"I'm going to take a wild guess that you were not a fan of the whole "Human Target" thing?" Ari said and Katie glanced over to her and the teen just shook her head and turned away.
"It's his job." Oliver said and Katie turned to him. "John says he's good at what he does. Plus I thought you'd back any plan that doesn't put me in the line of fire." she didn't say anything as she just turned away. "And now you're upset." The doors finally slid open and Ari walked off, pushing the stroller with her, only stopping when she realized Katie and Oliver hadn't moved. Oliver let out a sigh before glancing over to Ari. "Give us a minute." she watched as the doors once again closed, and she just looked down to the squirming toddler in the stroller.
"Your parents are so weird." Ari said, and Robyn's gibberish only made her laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I know, who am I to talk."
Oliver stood his back against the wall as he looked over to Katie who was refusing to look at him.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked and Katie let out a sigh before looking over to him.
"Nothing is wrong, let just-" she went to press the button to open the doors, but Oliver stepped forward to catch her hand to stop her. "I just don't like this." she pulled away and slid her hands through her hair, her back to him. "I don't like that you need an actual human shield to prevent some lunatic from trying to kill you. I don't like worrying about Ari-" she turned to face him. "I don't care how it would've looked, but she shouldn't have gone to school. We all should've just locked ourselves in this stupid bunker until there was a lead on Tobias." she let out a deep breath.
"Feel better?"
"A little bit." she replied before dropping her back against the wall behind her.
"Do you remember what I promised you?" Oliver asked walking over to her, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. "When you feel like it's just too much, you tell me and we're gone." Katie held his gaze and she could see it. She could see that if she told him right this moment that she wanted to just walk away, he wouldn't hesitate to grab the kids and they'd be on the next flight out of this city. She wished she was selfish enough to just say the words. Wished she didn't care so much about this city and the people in it.
"This isn't that." she said dropping her eyes from his gaze. "This is me waiting for the moment I can take the advice I gave to Ari and at least have a little bit of normal." she shook her head and looked back to him. "It's fine, I'm fine." she pulled away and went to open the doors of the elevator, but Oliver caught her hand and she lifted her eyes back to him.
"Twinkie, I know a lot has been happening recently, and we haven't had the chance to focus one just thing, but I promise that when we finally get out from under this dark cloud that is Tobias Church, we will make the time to just be a family. With more normal family moments, like dinners that end with everyone mad at me and leaving the table." Katie smiled at the man before placing a hand on his cheek.
"I will believe it when I see it." she said before turning and opening the doors to the elevator. When they stepped out, they looked over to see Bruce and Felicity near one of the computers, while Curtis, and Rory stood on the other side of the bunker and in the center were the two teens everyone wanted to keep apart. Katie quickly rushed over, placing herself between the two girls, her eyes facing Evelyn. "Ari, go over to Felicity and see if there's anything you can do to help with the search." she didn't sense any movement behind her, but when she turned she watched as Ari glanced from her to Oliver who placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Fine," Ari muttered before heading off toward Felicity. Katie turned back around, her eyes going to Curtis and Rory.
"We should go-" Curtis nudged Rory's arm. "Do that thing we have to do that's not here." Curtis tugged Rory's arm and the two men went scurrying away. Oliver walked up to stand beside Katie, their eyes on Evelyn who waited for them to say something.
"Look I get it, what happened at the party shouldn't have happened. And I'm sorry. I'll apologize to Ari when she's less crazy." and with that the girl turned and stalked away. Katie took a step to go after her, but Oliver caught her arm.
"Not the time to deal with that." Oliver said and Katie turned back to him.
"You're right. But I'm going to definitely deal with that later." she let out a sigh. "I'm going to check on Ari. I think I know what's been happening with her behavior." Oliver frowned slightly. "It's about her visit with Heather."
"And what exactly did Heather say?"
Katie shook her head. "I guess to get Ari back when she's released, she had a plan to make us seem unfit."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"No idea, but it scared Ari enough to promise her mother that if she didn't go through with this plan, she would go back with her if she's released." Oliver looked down to Katie before looking over where Ari stood beside Felicity, the pair talking about something on the computer. "I think it's time I scheduled a meeting with my dear cousin."
"I don't think you should." Oliver sighed turning back to Katie. "I think from now on, all dealings with Heather Locke should be between our lawyers and hers." Katie looked at the man in confusion.
"What do you mean hers? I thought we were paying for her lawyers."
"We were, but then she fired them and hired her own." Oliver shook his head. "While you were gone, I visited her, assuming she was just checking in to see how things were going with Ari, turns out she wanted to meet with me to-" Oliver slid a hand over her his face. "She wanted to make sure there was no push back from me in her attempt to regain custody of Ari if she were to be released." Oliver turned back to Katie. "I told her I would support whatever Ari wanted, and if it was to stay, I would make sure that it happened. I guess that rubbed her the wrong way." Oliver glanced over to Ari before turning back to Katie.
"That woman doesn't have any money for a lawyer, how is she paying them?" Katie asked, and Oliver just shook his head.
"No, idea, but for now, we will talk with our own lawyers to see what we should be doing." Oliver said and Katie let out a sigh. "We'll talk to Ari about all of this later." Katie gave a nod before turning and pulling Robyn from her stroller.
"Fine, I'm going to try to get this one to sleep." Katie said, her eyes glancing over to see Bruce who was looking back over to them. Oliver followed her eyes and glared at the man. "Let me know if something happens." Oliver turned back to her with a nod, before she turned and walked across the bunker.
Felicity rolled her eyes as she looked over to the teen. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you Ari, I think I know how to search for a criminal."
"I'm not saying you don't, I'm just saying that there are new and less ancient methods. All you have to do is let me-"
"I'm not letting you anywhere near my internal coding, so you can just get that thought out of your head." Felicity said and Ari just huffed before going back over to sit in front of the monitor to continue the search. "Can you believe her?" Felicity turned back to Bruce. "I think she just call my methods ancient which they so-" Felicity noticed Bruce's eyes were across the bunker and when she followed his gaze she noticed the glare of Oliver. "I'm getting the feeling he's not happy to see you here. Are you not supposed to be here?"
"Nope." Bruce said before heading off toward Oliver and Felicity's eyes widened as she quickly went to follow, hoping a fight didn't break out. Bruce stepped in front of Oliver who stood a bit straighter as he did. "She seems better. Less angry. That's good." Oliver didn't say anything as he kept his darkened gaze on the man. "You know whether you believe me or not, I didn't know they were going to take her the way they did, and if I had known I would've told you. Hell I showed up to that house just a few minutes before you did."
"I don't care Bruce." Oliver said before turning to Felicity. "Anything so far?" Felicity looked from Bruce to Oliver knowing the tension between the two was still strong in the air.
"Uh, everything's been quiet, except for that power outage at Ari's school. I still wasn't able to figure out what happened there." Felicity said with a shake of her head. "The electric company showed up a few minutes after Ari was brought to your office, but they're still there so I haven't been able figure out what they've found. I'll let you know once I find out." Oliver shook her head.
"If it was Church, why wouldn't he make a move?" Oliver said glancing over to Ari once again.
"She was heavily guarded." Felicity said.
"Yeah, but if it was him, he was able to knock the power out, seems like it was part of a bigger plan." Bruce added and Felicity and Oliver turned to him. "Maybe they wanted to see what would happen if there was a threat."
"You think they followed her to city hall?" Felicity asked and Bruce slightly shrugged as they turned back to Oliver.
"Right now he thinks me and my entire family are in City Hall." Oliver mused as he glanced from Ari and then Oliver to where Katie sat on the floor playing with Robyn. Oliver turned back to Felicity. "He's going to make a move tonight. Has John been able to get anything else from Rene?"
"I think they're still working on it." Felicity said and Oliver let out a sigh. "Hey we're going to find him."
"Well there are no other options." Oliver said turning back to her. "This bastard has targets on my family's backs. I'm going to find him and I'm going to put him down. Let me know when you have something." Oliver turned to leave, but stopped and turned to Bruce. "You should leave." Bruce looked at him for a moment before simply giving him a nod. He turned to Felicity and placed a kiss to her cheek.
"I'll see you at home." he whispered to her before turning and heading over to the elevator.
Once he was gone, Oliver turned to Felicity who was giving him that look he knew oh so well.
"I know what you're going to say and before you say it, just-"
"Ok, I get it. You're upset, but really think about what you're upset about and why." Felicity said. "I'm glad Katie's back Oliver, I'm glad she's here, but we can't forget what happened." Oliver turned away. "We needed to know that thing that made her do all of those terrible things is gone. And maybe the way they went about it was-"
"They waited until I was gone, and then they took her against her will." Oliver turned back to Felicity. "Fine, I agree, they wanted to know the truth, we all did, but I'm angry right now because they chose to go about this without any inclusion from me or from her."
"Except they tried Oliver. They came to you, you threatened to kill Bruce and Diana. They came to your house, then you kicked them out."
"I needed to help John."
"I get it, but there was also an urgency in finding out if there was still an evil entity living inside of your wife." Oliver once again turned away. "Who's to say that if they didn't do what they did, she'd be right here, back with us, fine and with her memories."
"Except she's not fine." Oliver said and Felicity looked over to him in confusion.
"What do you mean she's not fine." Oliver looked back to the woman. "Oliver-"
"With her memories have come the guilt, and anger and sadness, and she's let some of out, but I think she's still holding on to some of it. At this point I'm just focusing on making sure my family is alright." he shook his head and glance over to the elevator. "Everything and everyone else can wait. I'm going to get changed." Oliver didn't say anything else before he turned and walked away. Felicity stood there for a moment, her eyes on him before she glanced over to Katie and she let out a sigh.
After getting changed, Oliver stepped back into the bunker, his eyes searching around for Katie who he didn't see at first. He walked a bit further until he finally spotted her standing in front of the Guardian's suit, displayed inside the glass container. He walked over to her, smiling at the sight of his sleeping daughter whose head was on Katie's shoulder.
"One day you're going to tell me what you think about when you just stare at that suit." Oliver said softly. Katie glanced over to him without a word before turning back to the suit.
"Maybe one day I will." she said before turning to him. "I'm going to lay her down."
"Let me." Oliver says before reaching forward and carefully tugging the child who had a firm grasp around her mother. Oliver chuckled before he was able to finally tug her away, only for her arms to wrap around his neck.
Oliver carried the girl away to lay her down in the back room, while Katie's eyes ventured back to the Guardian's suit.
"So that's it. How is justice served when the accused doesn't even get to defend himself?" Katie turned at the voice that hit her ears that she couldn't have possibly just heard. She whipped around for a source, but she couldn't find him. "You don't want an easy kill, do you?" Katie's heart raced as she moved seemingly getting closer to the sound. That's when she saw it. One of the many gruesome scenes that play in her head. It was Damien Darhk, standing in front of the version of herself that was so dark, so cold, with a twisted smile on her face. They stood in the same spot they were that day. A day she thinks may haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. "Fair fight, no magic, just-" she spun a kick into his chest sending him stumbling back, and he laughed before gaining his footing and rushing to attack.
"Twinkie?" a hand touched her shoulder and Katie nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see Oliver whose concern was written all over his face. She glanced back to see the scene no longer playing in front of her and she let out a shaky breath. Oliver's hand slid around her waist, but she pushed him away.
"I need some air." she said without another word before she headed for the elevator. She heard Oliver's footsteps behind her, only turning to him when she finally stepped inside. "Alone Liver, just give me a minute." Oliver stopped the doors, before they could close, with his hand. Katie took a deep breath. She could see he was worried, and maybe he should be. She took a step forward and placed a hand on his chest, her eyes on his. "Just a minute." Oliver let out a sigh before taking a step back, finally letting the doors close.
"Everything alright?" Oliver didn't turn at Felicity's voice, too tempted to bring the elevator back down so he could head up to see how Katie was doing. Oliver didn't say anything for a moment before turning to the woman.
"You have something?" Oliver asked and Felicity looked at him for a moment, and seeing his obvious evasion of her question.
Felicity just nodded," You were right. He finally made a move. Mayor Oliver Queen is dead." Oliver frowned as he let out a sigh.
Katie stalked out into the cold air of the dark alley, her heart still ramming in her chest. Her breathing hadn't evened out which made her afraid that she was currently having a panic attack. She bent forward, dropping her head between her knees and trying to calm her breathing.
She heard footsteps, and she knew she should stand up straight, be ready for anything that came at her, and yet she held on to her legs and continued her slow breathing.
"Hey, Twinkie?" Of course it was Oliver. She was glad it was Oliver. He placed a hand on her back. "What's wrong? What can I do to help?" Katie didn't say anything as she continued trying to calm her breathing. After a few moments, when she feels her heart beat returning to normal and she feels her breathing slow down, she finally stands up straight, prepared to just toss herself into an Oliver Queen hug, but she only takes a single step toward him before she stops herself. "Are you alright?" his hand now grasping her arm.
"I'm fine." she said and his other hand came to her other arm, his eyes still looking to hers as if to see if she were telling the truth. She continued to look at him, the lights from side of the building allowing them to see the other completely clearly which is how Katie knew she should take a step back out of the man's grasp. He looked at her in confusion for a moment, before he soon realized what was happening.
"You know I like to think I'm pretty good at what I do. So it really hurts my credibility that you just instantly know I'm not your husband." he said and Katie didn't say anything. He reached out to her once again. "Hey are you ok?" she tugged herself back out of his grasp. "I'm sorry I'm just-" he looked her over. "You don't look so hot."
"Yeah, well you won't look so hot if my real husband comes out here and sees you with your hands on his wife." Katie said before nudging her head toward the building. "I'm assuming since you're here and-" she let her eyes look over him, see the bullet holes and fake blood. She knew the man standing in front of her wasn't Oliver, and yet the sight of him with her husband's face, riddled with bullet holes made her heart race once again.
"I'm fine." he said seeing the looks on her face. "It's all fake blood and I'm wearing a bullet proof vest." Katie looked up to his face.
"Is the mask bullet proof?" she asked and the man didn't say anything, but it gave her an answer. She just shook her head before turning and heading back to the building, the Oliver look alike close behind.
The pair rode the elevator in a somewhat awkward silence. Katie felt his eyes on her and when she looked over to him, he quickly turned away.
"That was real smooth." she said and he chuckled before turning back to her. "I'm fine. How about you? Did any of those bullets hit anything not protected by your vest?" the man let out a sigh before glancing down to himself.
"Yeah, I'm good." he looked back over to her. "Thanks for the concern."
"Well I'm a doctor and looking at you right now is just giving me so much anxiety." she shook her head before turning back to the doors.
"You know we still haven't been introduced." he said looking over to her, just as the doors opened.
"And I'm still ok with that." she replied before stepping off. She spotted the real Oliver, who turned to them the moment the elevator opened. Oliver glanced from Katie to the man who looked liked him. He turned back to Katie who stopped in front of him.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, just needed some air and now I'm as good as new." she said with a slight smile. "I'm going to check on Robyn." she didn't wait for him to respond before she was off. Oliver turned back to the man who headed over.
"Sorry about the suit." he said before reaching up and pulling the Oliver Queen mask from his face, and revealing his own. "We haven't been properly introduced." he walked up before tossing the mask and to her annoyance, Ari caught it, a disgusted look on her face as she held it in her hands. The man turned to Oliver with a smile. "Christopher Chance."
Oliver shook the man's hand, "John referred to you as the Human Target." Chris chuckled as he dropped his hand back to his side.
"Well, that works better as a job description, than a nickname."
"This is so weird." Ari said and they turned to see her looking over the mask. She glanced over to Chris. "How exactly does this work? I'm assuming the coding, has to be immaculate, completely precise for it to completely imitate the facial structure of your clients." she looked back down to the mask. "Can I keep this?"
"Absolutely not." Both Oliver and Chris said.
"How's Thea?" Oliver asked turning back to Christopher who let out a sigh.
Robyn was still sleeping, which Katie was glad of. She quietly stepped from the room about to head back over to find out what the next step was. She came to a stop when she saw a streak of blood on the floor. She heard the voices of the others on the other side of the bunker, but her eyes seemed to be following that streak until she happened upon the sight of a human heart. She snapped her eyes closed, suddenly struck with the images of herself driving her hand through Darhk's chest and ripping out his heart only to callously drop it on the floor.
When she opened her eyes she lifted her hand, and even though she knows what she sees is not real, even though she knows the sight of the blood covering her hand is just a creation of her imagination, she can't help but to stare at it. She can't help but to replay the moment over and over again, always coming to one conclusion.
Suddenly Oliver's hand wrapped around the hand she'd been staring at, and her eyes lifted to him, unsure of when he walked over. He brought his arms around her, and she couldn't help but to sink into the hug she so desperately needed.
"It wasn't you." he whispered, and Katie knew it was just another moment he was reading her mind. "You didn't do any of it."
"And yet I'm the one who has to carry the memory of every moment of it." she whispered back. "It's never going to go away and I'm never going to stop feeling it and that's what scares me."
"Twinkie, you're stronger than you think you are. I promise you're going to find your way out of this feeling. And I will be there for you whenever you need me." Katie pulled back slightly to lift her eyes to Oliver who placed a hand on her cheek, before dropping his lips to hers in a soft kiss, but she pulled back and once again laid her head to his chest.
"Is everything ok?" Oliver looked over to see Ari who was standing there watching them. "Wait, you haven't decided that we're going to have to live down here forever, because that so can not happen." the sound of Robyn's cries interrupts the moment, and so Katie pulls out of the hug, but Oliver turns.
"I can-"
"I got her." Katie says looking up to the man. "You talk to Ari." and with that Katie walks around him to go check on the baby.
Ari stands there for a moment looking over to Oliver who doesn't say anything as he stands across from her.
"I'm going to go see if the weird Human Target guy will share his mask secret." Ari turned about to walk away.
"Ari wait." Oliver said and the teen turned to him. "We should talk."
"I have a feeling this conversation is going to be weird and awkward and I'm fine with us skipping it and pretending everything is fine." Ari said and Oliver just chuckled.
"Once upon a time I would've taken you up on that offer, but I think right now we should have the weird and awkward conversation so everything can really be fine with us." he walked over to her and brought an arm around her shoulder. "First tell me about Jamie. Is he a good guy?"
"I'm surprised you're asking. I would've assumed you would've had Felicity do a complete background check on him and his parents." Ari said looking over to the man with a quirked brow.
"Well I am, but I thought I'd get your side as well just to fine tune that conversation me and him will be having." Oliver laughed once again when Ari groaned.
It was a long and awkward conversation that Oliver wasn't sure he was truly prepared for, but he also knew it didn't matter. So he talked to her, listened, told her he wished her and Jamie the best and apologized for his earlier reaction to finding out about her first kiss. It wasn't until he talked to her about the importance of abstinence did she wildly flail her hands to end the conversation.
"I think that's enough with this heart to heart." Ari says with a shake of her head.
"I'm just saying-"
"I know what you're saying and you can trust me when I say that at this point that isn't even on anyone's mind."
"As a former high school boy, I can assure you that's not true." Oliver said and Ari just shook her head. "I'm just saying I want you to be smart and be safe." Ari just nodded. "And if he ever tries to pressure you into anything, there's this move where you can-" Oliver lifted his arm to demonstrate and Ari just shook her head before walking away from him. "I'm going to show you that move!" Oliver heard a light chuckle from behind him and turned to see Chris now changed out of the suit covered in fake blood and bullet holes.
"That sounded like a fun conversation." Chris said.
"It definitely was anything but. "Oliver laughed. "I wanted to thank you for doing this."
Chris just gave a nod, "Being killed is basically my job."
"But-uh, not just for taking the bullets. I heard you got Kullens to cave. I was actually pretty nervous about that meeting."
"Well you shouldn't have been, because you did it." Christopher said and Oliver looked at the man in confusion.
"I was under the impression that I had ducked out before that meeting."
"I don't just put on faces, Oliver." Christopher said. "I become my target, and to do that, I've got to learn everything there is to know about them, more than they know about themselves. I've got to become them."
Oliver seemed to think being him probably wasn't the best job. "My apologies."
Chris turned to him in confusion, "For what? Man, you got a great life." he looked around the bunker. "You're the mayor, you got an adorable baby, a wicked smart little cousin who seems determined to know about my masks." Oliver laughed. "And then you have a beautiful wife who can take one look at me while wearing that mask and have no doubt that I'm not you. No, but seriously, your wife has me questioning my abilities."
"Don't." Oliver smiled with a shake of his head. "She just has a knack for seeing through the masks people wear." Chris saw that look that passed over the man's face as he talked about Katie.
"I'm assuming it's a tough job." Chris said and Oliver turned to him with a quirked brow. "Being the mayor and being the guy under the hood when all you really want to do is be the husband and father." Now that was a statement Oliver knew was true. "Do you want to know what I've learned from being you. Every move and decision you make as the mayor and I'm pretty sure as the hood as well, that family is at center of it. Making sure this city is the best for them as the mayor, while also making sure this city is safe for them as the Green Arrow. I'm sure they appreciate who you are when you wear those titles, but I think they appreciate plain old Oliver Queen, father and husband and it's ok to choose to just be those things sometimes." Chris lifted his eyes and Oliver turned to see Katie walking over.
"So this is your real face." Katie says getting a better look at the man.
"Yeah, what do you think?" Chris asks running a hand across his chin. Katie looked at the man with a smile before holding out her hand.
"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you-" the man took her hand to shake.
"Christopher—Chris Chance." he said with a smile. "And it is a pleasure to finally meet you without you running away from me." he dropped his hand. "And now I have to ask, how the hell did you know I wasn't Oliver?" Katie looked over to him before turning to Oliver and giving the man a smile before placing a hand on his cheek.
"I knew you weren't Oliver because when I look at Oliver, he looks back at me." she said before turning back to Christopher who didn't quite understand what she meant.
"So you're saying I wasn't looking at you?" he asks and Katie just laughed.
"Exactly." she said before turning to Oliver. "Everyone's gone. So I'm assuming we're staying here until Tobias makes his big move."
"Yeah, I've already made calls. Right now the world thinks Oliver Queen is dead and that his family is in a safe location. " Oliver said and Katie just gave a nod before turning away. "You still hate the plan, don't you?"
"I didn't say anything." she said nudging his arm. "I'm sure it will work."
"You really don't." he said looking over to the woman in amusement. "Which means you have your own plan."
"You sound paranoid, Liver, maybe you should get some sleep." Katie says before turning to Chris. "It was nice meeting you." she gave the man a wave before walking off.
"I don't have to be you to know she's definitely up to something." Chris said and Oliver let out a sigh. "You don't think she'd try to go after Tobias on her own?"
"I think that's exactly what she would do." Oliver says turning back to the man. "Which is why I don't think I'm getting any sleep tonight."
The bunker was eerily quiet with no one around. Katie found herself moving between the computers, each running a search for any sign of Tobias Church.
"So Ari finally went to sleep." Oliver spoke and Katie looked over her shoulder as he walked over. "Robyn woke up for a bit, but after a diaper change, she went right back to sleep." Oliver dropped into the chair beside Katie, his eyes looking down to the screen in front of her. He slid a hand across his tired eyes and Katie looked over to him.
"You should get some sleep." Katie said and he turned an exasperated look to her and she couldn't help but to smile. "You seriously think I would run off in the middle of the night to find Tobias Church?" she turned back to the computer that was still searching. "I don't even have a starting point. I mean I could go knock around some of his guys until one of them talks, but that would get old quick." she turned to Oliver who was looking over to her with a quirked brow. "What?"
"How about we just sit here and wait for one of Felicity's searches to turn up something." Oliver says and Katie just rolls her eyes before turning around, kicking her feet up before slouching back and closing her eyes. "What do you think about a date night?" Katie opened her eyes and turned her head to Oliver. "You, me, once a week, some big or small, crazy adventure, just the two of us."
"You're serious?" she asked and Oliver gave a nod.
"Yeah, I mean why not. And then maybe we could make family dinners a regular thing." he smiled as he looked over to her. "And maybe we could do more things as a family. I just—I know I've been busy with being the mayor, and being the Green Arrow, but that's not-" he reached over and took Katie's hand in his. "I do actually want to make memories. Happy memories, with lots of pictures." he looked over to Katie who smiled.
"That sounds nice." she turned away and sighed. "I may have to fit monthly dinners with my father in there somewhere, but it's doable."
"Wait, what?" Katie turned to Oliver and just shook her head.
"I'll tell you about it later." Katie said as she looked down to their intertwined fingers. She looked over to Oliver. "I have a lot of crappy memories, so I look forward making happy memories with you and our family."
"You know we could create some happy memories now." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a quirked brow.
"Are you trying to proposition me for sex in your superhero bunker Oliver Queen?" Katie asked and Oliver spun his chair to face her, and her eyes widened at the sudden move.
"Well if anything would wake me up-" he said and Katie couldn't help but laugh. "I mean I could share some of those dirty thoughts I mentioned earlier." Katie just shook her head as Oliver rolled his chair closer to hers. Katie brought her feet back to the floor and turned to face Oliver before rolling her chair closer to his, their legs intertwining. Oliver's hands fell to her thighs, gently sliding his hands, but she quickly grabbed his hands to stop him.
"We are not-" she stood to her feet to get away, but without a word, Oliver grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap with a squeal. She couldn't hold in her laughter as she brought her arms around his neck. Oliver pushed the hair from her face, before his arms came around her waist, as he looked up to her eyes.
"How are you doing?" he asked and Katie sighed. She really didn't want to dig into her current emotional state. She turned away from his eyes, but Oliver continued to stare at her face and how she seemed to be debating how to answer the question.
"Honestly?" she turned back to Oliver, who gave a her a nod. "It's tough. Like tougher than I thought-" she shook her head before turning her eyes back to his. "I really don't want to talk about the horror flick that plays in my head."
"I know, but I think you should."
"Well do you want to know what I think?" Katie asked as she pulled her leg around to straddle his lap, making sure to roll her hips, and she felt his grasp on her hips tighten. Oliver let out a low groan at the move that only made her smile. She brought her lips toward his in a slow kiss before turning her head, only for his lips to continue nipping at her jaw, and down to the exposed skin down the collar of her shirt that he'd began slowly unbuttoning until it was completely undone. "Where exactly do you see this happening, because we're a bit exposed here, and-" a gasped moan escaped her lips when his lips moved to that sensitive spot behind her ear and she unintentionally rolled her hips again. Oliver let out another groan, once again grabbing her waist. She pulled back, lips parted, slightly breathless.
"I will find somewhere," Oliver declared bringing his arms around her before standing to his feet causing her to squeal with laughter. He tossed her over his shoulder, before spinning around letting his eyes scan the bunker.
"I hate when you do this." Katie says laughing as she hung over his shoulder. "It's also not as romantic as you think, so hurry up!" Oliver found a spot on the other side of the bunker that seemed secluded enough to keep them hidden. He'd only taken a few steps before the doors of the elevator opened. Oliver turned just as Felicity stepped off, coming to a stop the moment she spots the couple. "Is someone there?!"
"Yeah, um-hey Felicity. You're back."
"I am." Felicity says awkwardly as she looks at the man and his wife. "You didn't get John's call."
"Well I was sort of preoc-" Oliver turned his head, suddenly remembering his wife hanging on his shoulder, her butt in the air. " I should-" he turned around placing Katie on her feet before turning to Felicity. Felicity turned back to the man in confusion who she now thinks was acting as a shield for Katie who was fixing her clothes. "So John called?"
"Yeah, I think Rene remembered something and they're on their way here." Felicity said when Katie suddenly appeared from behind Oliver smoothing out her shirt before looking over to the woman.
"Did he say what Rene remembered?" Katie asked and Felicity just shook her head. "Hopefully it's a lead that gets us out of this bunker."
"I mean you two don't look like you were having the worst time." Felicity said before heading over to her computer. The woman stopped and turned back to them. "It is safe for me to go to my computers, right? You guys didn't-" she rose her brows and they looked at her for a moment before Oliver caught on to what she was asking.
"Felicity it's fine, you can go." Oliver said and the woman just nodded before walking away.
Oliver let out a sigh, before turning to Katie who ran her fingers through hair before looking over to him.
"That was close." she said. "So much for some happy memories tonight." Oliver took a step toward her, bringing an arm around her waist.
"Well the night's not over yet, Mrs. Queen." he said and she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips.
"It certainly is not." she said before looking over to see Felicity sitting behind her computer and she once again let out a sigh actually disappointed at the interrupted moment.
John and Rene arrived shortly later. When the elevator opened, John and Rene walked out. It was the first time Katie had seen Rene since his rescue. She walked over to the man who stopped and turned to her. Without a word, she reached up grabbing his chin and looking at the bruising on his face.
"It looks worse than what it is." Rene said and Katie turned back to his eyes. "Really, I'm fine."
"Yeah, well you were beat to shit Rami, I doubt you're fine." Katie says as she drops her hand. Rene turns to her with a furrowed brow wondering if he just heard what he thinks he heard.
"I'm sorry-" Felicity spoke and they turned to her. "Did you just call him Rami?" she looked between the pair. "I didn't know you two had nicknames for each other already."
"Neither did I." Oliver said looking from Rene to Katie. Katie turned back to Rene who turned her. "Are we missing something?"
"Rene and I met before you drafted him on the team." Katie says before turning back to Oliver. "Back when I was a doctor at GMH." Oliver looked over to Rene with a quirked brow. Rene turned to her, his eyes going wide. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Honestly, I didn't think you would believe me. Plus on the list of things you didn't remember, I probably wasn't a priority," he said looking at the woman for a moment. "So you remember?"
"I do." she said with a smile. She looked over to the others who were silently watching and so she turned back to Rene. "I hear you remembered something too."
Rene didn't remember much, and it wasn't completely clear what it meant. Just a conversation he overheard, but he hopes it leads somewhere. Felicity sat behind the computer trying to come up with something.
"The Trust goes to the Brace 0-4 in 72. Could that be any more obscure?" Felicity said as she stared at the screen in frustration.
"0-4 in 72 could be the time and date." Oliver theorized. "4 am., 72 hours after he held Rene?"
John gave a nod, "Yeah, that's soon."
"And the Brace is what the guys in my hood used to call the private airstrip outside Pennytown." Rene said and Felicity quickly typed before she got a result.
"Halpin-Brace Airfield." Felicity said.
"That's the one, and this Trust, I think it's the heads of the crime families that Church controls." Rene said.
"That's a bigger leap than Curtis took at the Beijing Olympics." Felicity muttered.
"When he had me dig my own grave, he talked about bringing this Trust together. That's his big play, man." Rene said looking over to Oliver.
"4 am, that's 20—" Oliver stopped talking and they all looked over to him in confusion.
"What's wrong?" John asked and Oliver turned looking around and they all turned as well trying to figure out what he was looking for. "Oliver, what's going on?" Oliver walked around them, back out to the display of suits, his eyes going to the Guardian's suit still in it's case.
"We just figured out a time and a place Tobias Church is going to be." Oliver sighed before turning back to John. "And now my wife is gone." the sudden realization hit John and he began looking around for any sight of Katie, but Oliver was right she was no where to be found.
"You don't think she'd go there on her own?" Felicity asked standing to her feet and walking over. Oliver let out a sigh.
"She was waiting for a starting point, and she just got it." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "Wake up the team. We don't have much time." Oliver stalked off.
Katie thinks she's been to this airfield before. It was a random thought she had as she skulked in the shadows, peering over to see Tobias during his little bad guy meeting. She turned, pulling the balaclava over her face before closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. Without a second thought, she reached down, grabbing a flash bomb from her side and tossing it in the air above the crowd of people. The moment the flash went off, and their eyes went up, Katie pulled out her gun and began shooting. She dipped down when they began returning fire.
"You know at this point-" she looked up at the voice, a smile coming to her face as she looked up to John currently dawning his Spartan gear. "I would've figured you'd know how a team works. You're not supposed to go off by yourself." he turned, pressing a button on his helmet. "I have eyes on Guardian."
"No," Katie says and he turns back to her. "I'm not the Guardian. Not anymore." she reloaded the clips of her guns. "Cover me, I'm going after Church." before John could say a word, Katie had ran off into the fire fight, only now seeing the rest of the team fighting Church's thugs. Right now she didn't care about any of it. Katie spotted Tobias running, and so she began running after him. She was gaining on him when she came to a sliding halt the moment a sword cut right in front of her path. Katie's eyes turned to the man dressed in all black, with some weird mask covering his face. He pointed the blade of his sword toward Katie. She heard footsteps, and turned as Curtis and Evelyn ran over to help, but she waved them off. "Go, I got this."
"You sure?" Curtis asked, looking between the creepy guy with the sword and Katie who suddenly reached into the sheaths at her sides and pulled out two sais.
"I'm totally sure." she replied and without warning the masked man swung his sword only for Katie to block him with her sais. She sent a kick to his chest before flipping out of the path of another swing of his sword. "You know I didn't figure I'd be in a sword fight tonight." she said meeting a swing of his sword with her sais. "It's actually kind of refreshing, you know." this guy was good with a sword, and Katie was kind of impressed. He was quick, had good form. She actually would've wanted to be his friend if he wasn't a bad guy. But he was a bad guy, and not the one she wanted. "You know I'd love to keep doing this, but I-" he swung his sword knocking one of her sais from her hand, then knocking the other as well, before once again pointing the blade at her.
"You talk too much." he says and Katie chuckles.
"That's actually not the first time I've been told that." Katie says before dropping to the ground, and rolling over to grab her sai. She sat up quickly as the man made to swing just as she was about to throw the blade at his chest, only for the man to filled with bullet holes before either of them could make a move. Katie paused from her spot on the ground still holding her blade when she saw the man holding the machine gun. She looked at him in confusion because he looked to be one of Tobias' thugs. That was until he reached up and removed his face which was a mask to reveal himself to be Chris. "I had that situation under control." she slipped the sai back in the sheath on her thighs before turning. "Where's Tobias?" she didn't wait for an answer before running off.
"I think what you meant to say was thank you!" Christopher called after her.
Katie ran into the hangar in time to see the Green Arrow standing above a bloodied and beaten Tobias Church.
"You got much worse coming-heh- and you don't even know it." Church says out of breath still lying on the floor. He knew he was beaten, knew he wasn't getting out of this, but it was as if he couldn't help taunting the man one last time. "He calls himself Prometheus, and he's gonna end you." Oliver didn't want to hear any more and so he stepped over to the man, grabbing his shirt before sending a fist into his face knocking him out.
He lifted his eyes to the person wearing the balaclava, and he walked over just as she pulled it over to reveal her face.
"You're going to lecture me, aren't you?" Katie asked turning to Oliver who didn't look amused.
"What were you thinking?" he asked. "Coming out here alone, with no back up was stupid and dangerous and you could've gotten hurt." he let out a huff, and waited for her to respond. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Katie turned away in thought and Oliver watched her with a shake of his head.
"Who the hell is Prometheus?" she asked turning back to Oliver who let out a sigh.
Back at the bunker, Katie tended to everyone's wounds. She currently was stitching a cut on Rene's hand. She'd been so focused on his hand, she didn't realize he was staring until she glanced up and met his eyes. He cleared his throat and turned away.
"Sorry." he let out an exhausted sigh.
"What are you apologizing for?" she asked as she cut the thread of the stitch and went to grab a bandage.
"A lot." he said looking back to her as she finished wrapping the bandage around his hand. She stopped and looked up to him. "Mostly for putting you and your family in danger. I was weak and I-"
"Rami, you weren't weak. You were a man in pain. Despite what you may think, you are not superhuman and you can only take so much before you can't take it any more. Oliver and I understand the risks with this path we're on and we both agree that we will do anything we have to, to protect our family which we did." she stood to her feet and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were in an impossible situation, so you don't need to apologize." she turned, pulling off her gloves and Rene stood to his feet about to leave.
"Hey," Katie said and he stopped and turned back to her. "I heard about what happened...with Laura. I'm sorry." Rene turned away and just sighed. "If you need anything, let me know." he turned back to her. "I got your back." he gave her a nod before turning and leaving just as Evelyn walked in. She glanced over to Rene as he was leaving before looking over to Katie.
The teen stopped a few feet away, and folded her arms over her chest. "You wanted to see me?" Katie looked at the girl for a moment before turning and grabbing a chair and sliding it over to her.
"Sit." Katie said. Evelyn looked down to the chair before turning back to Katie. She let out a sigh before lowering herself to sit.
"Look I still haven't apologized to to Ari, but I will." Evelyn said. "I don't see what I did wrong."
"Yeah you do." Katie says grabbing her chair and rolling it over in front of the girl. "You went to that party with the intention to hurt Ari. You may not have known how that would happen, but I figure once you got there and saw Jamie, your plan started formulating."
"And why would I put so much effort in hurting someone I don't like?" Evelyn said. "I seriously just came to a party, met a boy, kissed him and the next thing I know that psycho is attacking me. She's the one you should be talking to, not me." Evelyn let out a huff expecting Katie to say something, but the woman just sat there staring at her. It made her nervous."Was that all or..."
"I'm starting to realize that I don't know much about you Ms. Sharp. Which is very unfortunate."
"And why is that?"
"Because now I need to know everything there is to know about the girl who can sit in front of me and lie so effortlessly." Katie said suddenly rolling her chair closer, making the girl jump slightly. "It makes me wonder what else you have lied about."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Evelyn stood to her feet and Katie did the same.
"Sure you don't." Katie says before glancing up and seeing Oliver walking over. She turned back to the girl who glanced over as well to see the man. "Here's the deal Evelyn, for this team to work, there can be no petty cattiness on or off the field." Evelyn turned back to her. "And I get that I'm not supposed to treat any of you recruits differently or show any kind of special treatment, but Ari is my family, and when I see something that isn't right I will handle it." Evelyn dropped her eyes from the woman. "Ari is not your enemy, and she's not your competition. She's your team mate and you will protect her and she will protect you always. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Evelyn muttered. "Can I go now?"
"Sure, but we should talk again some time." Katie says and the girl turns to her in confusion. "I really do want to get to know you." the girl didn't say anything before she just turned and headed out of the med area.
Once she was gone, she turned to Oliver and she just knew from the expression on his face she was in for a lecture. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
"Twinkie-" it was the seriousness of his tone that made her open her eyes and turn to him. "What you did tonight, can not happen again. This is a team, we move as a team and you being a part of this team means that goes for you too." Katie didn't say anything, but Oliver seemed to have seen something in her eyes. "Unless you no longer want to be on this team." she still didn't say anything, feeling too guilty to say the words out loud. "You told John that you weren't the Guardian."
"I'm not. I don't think I can. Not after everything that happened."
"Twinkie, what happened wasn't your fault." Oliver walked over, placing taking her hands in his.
"I know." she says looking down to their hands. "I know that it wasn't my fault and that I wasn't the one in control and yet-" she let out a sigh as she looks back up to him. "Oliver, you asked me before what I see when I look at the Guardian's suit, and I never had an answer for you. I have an answer now." she dropped her head and closed her eyes. "When I look at that suit I see hope, and I see truth, and I see goodness. And when I would put that suit on, I could feel those things in myself." she opened her eyes and looked back over to her husband. "I don't feel those things anymore and because of that, I don't think I can wear that suit." Oliver pulled his hands from hers and brought them to the sides of her face.
"You said that when you look at me, I look right back at you. Twinkie, I wish you could see what I see when I look at you. Because when I look at you, I see truth and I see hope, and I see all the goodness in the world." she dropped her head when she felt tears prickling her eyes. "I see love, and I see courage, I see the strongest woman I have ever met. I see compassion. I see a wonderful mother-" she looked back up to him with glassy eyes. "And I see my brilliant, beautiful, sexy wife." he pressed a kiss to her lips. "I will spend everyday of my life helping you see that you are not the bad things that happened to you." He pressed another kiss to her cheek before wiping the tear from her eye. "And if you stepping away from the team helps you do that then I will support you one hundred percent." Katie looked at him for a moment in silence before she grabbed his hand.
"You know I'm your partner, right? That when you need me I will always be there. When this team needs me, I will be there." Katie says and Oliver gives her a nod before bringing his arms around her in a hug.
They heard footsteps and turned to see Felicity and John.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt." Felicity said, "There was just something we thought we should share with you." she turned to John who let out a sigh.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked.
"It's about Steve." John said and Oliver and Katie looked over to him in confusion. "We have reason to believe he's a plant." Katie walked over to the pair.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"After what happened the other day with the car stopping, it was just another red flag I couldn't ignore." Felicity said glancing from Katie to Oliver. "So Bruce and I began looking into Steve and we found something." Felicity handed some papers to Katie and Oliver walked over to read them as well. "These are some recent bank statements. He has been receiving fifty thousand dollars every month since he started working for you. The source of the cash is just bounced around always back to nonexistent shell companies making it almost impossible to determine who exactly is paying him. Bruce is still digging into that."
"I'm so sorry." John said with a shake of his head. "I know I suggested him to you. I thought he was a good guy."
"John this isn't on you." Oliver said before looking over to Katie who was still reading over the statement.
"Where is he now?" Katie asked suddenly. Felicity opened her mouth, but Oliver held up a hand to stop her.
"Thank you, for looking into this and for letting us know what you found. It's late, we will circle back to this tomorrow. You guys should go." John and Felicity gave a nod glancing over to Katie before they turned to leave.
"We trusted that man with the lives of our children." Katie says turning to Oliver.
"I know, and we will find a way to handle this. Don't worry, he's not getting away with this." Oliver said. He brought his arms around her waist. "I need you to trust me when I say that we will handle this together."
"I want him and his team gone, and I want to know who he's working for." she said turning away with a shake of her head. "This is ridiculous, we know where he lives, we can just go to his place tonight." she took a step to walk away, but Oliver caught her and hiked her over his shoulder. "Ugh! I hate it when you do this!"
"We are not beating anyone else up tonight."
"It's no longer night, it's actually morning, and a morning beat down doesn't sound too bad to me right now." Katie said uncomfortably hanging on Oliver's shoulder.
"There will be no morning beat downs. We have a couple of more hours before Robyn and Ari wake up, and right now I just want to spend them with you in that nice quiet corner that's totally hidden from the rest of the bunker."
"Liver-"
"Twinkie, do you trust me?" Oliver asked and he heard her huff. "Trust that I will not rest until I get to the bottom of this Steve situation. I am going to find out who he's working for and what information he's been giving them. And if after all of that, I haven't killed him, I'll turn him and anyone else helping him to the police."
"Oliver he was too close to us. If you don't kill him, I will." she let out a sigh. "Now, the blood is rushing to my head, show me this damn corner that's perfect for secret sex."
Hours later Katie found herself sitting in Oliver's office in City Hall, watching his press conference as he apologizes for faking his death. With the news of Church's apprehension and the passing of the ordinance of rezoning on low income housing, he actually got applause. Katie shook her head before turning off the television. She continued pulling the Chinese food containers out of the bag, placing them on the table near the window. She turned when she heard the office door open and smiled when Oliver walked in with a look of surprise.
"What's all this?" he asked walking over and seeing the food that was on the table.
"This is a lunch date." she said turning to Oliver. "Felicity is watching Robyn, Ari's at school, so I thought maybe we could incorporate lunch dates in this life we're trying to have with happy memories." she suddenly frowned. "Please tell me you're free right now and that you don't have to head to some meeting?"
"Don't worry, I am totally free right now." Oliver said pulling off his blazer and tossing it on the couch.
"And are you really free, or have you just decided to ditch any meetings you're supposed to be going to right now?" Katie asked and Oliver just brought an arm around her and placed a kiss to her lips. "That doesn't answer my question." they both turned when his office door once again opened and in came Thea who came to a stop when she saw the couple in a cute, romantic moment she seemed to always interrupt.
"Oh, sorry, I was just coming to see if you were-"
"I wasn't." Oliver said looking over to his sister. "Twinkie brought food, and we're having a lunch date, so I'm going to need the rest of the afternoon free." Thea looked at her brother for a moment, wanting to argue, but she knows it's a losing battle to begin with.
"You need the entire afternoon?"
"Liver, we can have a quick lunch." Katie says and he turns to her with a shake of his head.
"I don't want a quick lunch, I want a nice long, normal lunch with my wife, and then maybe I can finally show you around. City Hall has some really nice corners." He saw the smile that crossed her face.
"Corners?" Thea said and they both turned to her. "Do I want to know?"
"I don't think so." Oliver said and Thea just let out a sigh.
"Fine, I will cover for you. Have your lunch date and make sure you're not caught in these corners you're going to go looking for." Thea shook her head before leaving his office.
Steve Miller was nervous. Moments earlier he'd been sitting in his living room watching Oliver give a speech when Steve thought for sure he was dead. He was very much alive, and Tobias Church was now in custody. Right now Steve felt his entire world crumbling around him. Without knowing what else to do, Steve sends an encrypted message to the one person in this world he thinks he hates beyond measure. He had no choice. He needed to know what the next move was. And so he waits at their usual meeting spot. That spot just so happened to be the confessional of church. As usual, he stepped inside and waited. Steve sat up a bit when he heard the sound of someone entering the priest's booth. He didn't say anything.
The shutter opened, "Confess your sins my child." it was the voice that always caused a chill down his spine. The computerize voice that has changed his life since he first heard it.
"We're in deep shit! Queen is alive and they have Church." Steve said. "If he talks—"
"Don't worry about Church. He's being taken care of. Why aren't you at work protecting your newly resurrected boss?"
"I got a call that we weren't needed today. What do you think it means?" he got silence as an answer and that just made him nervous. "What should I do?" More silence followed his question. He heard the sound of the sliding door and his eyes went wide. "Are you leaving?! Wait, what—what should I do?!"
"You have a job Mr. Miller. You will do that job until I tell you to stop. Do you understand?"
"Yes." he replied automatically, and silence once again filled the air within the confessional. After a few moments, he stepped from the booth, and went to check the other side the find it empty. He turned, letting his eyes scanned the church, but there was no one there. And so he just stood there, mulling over the order he was given. An order he had no choice to follow even if it felt like another nail in his coffin.
Author's note
Ah, a first look at the person pulling Steve's strings. I wonder who they are and what they have planned.
Review replies
Adela: Thank you!
Jason Hunter: Are you using the actor that plays Rick flag from the Suicide Squad? - Yes! I thought he was a cool character to throw in my story.
What will be the villainous name that's going to face Katie? - Don't want to give that away too soon, but it's coming. I will confirm that Steve's confession was with the villain who is targeting Katie.
When evelyn's betrayal is revealed is Katie going to kick evelyn's a*? - I haven't gotten that far yet, but it's a toss up between Katie and Ari.
Are we getting close to the introduction of the second main villain that's going to face Katie? - Yes! as I mentioned before, Steve was actually meeting with Katie's villain, but it was pretty cloak and dagger. We will get more glimpses before the big reveal.
And finally are you going to make a story where the cast of the arrow verse watch your stories? - I want to, I really do, I'm still trying to figure out a way to make it happen.
Guest: Yes, I can't wait for that show down either! That villain has been making so many moves already, but they haven't seen it. I've been so weird with my face claims, but at certain times I see different people. For example, my first intro of Lois and Clark, I was picturing the smallville characters, but now, I'm seeing the man of steel characters. So as of now, my answer to your question is Man of Steel. Yes Supergirl is the CW supergirl version and my batman is Christian Bale. As for Zatanna, I see Gemma Arterton.
Nora-10: Oh Steve is sitting dangerously between a rock and a hard place. There's no winning for the man. I'm glad Rory chose to move forward and accepted Katie's apology, even if she wasn't completely sure what she was apologizing for. Oh Evelyn, eveyln certainly doesn't deserve alot of the things she's been given, but don't worry, that's going to change. I actually like both Affleck's and Bales' batsuits, but if I had to choose, I'd say...Bale. Thanks and stay safe as well!
EchoMoment: First of all, I love this question just because of how random it is! You're right their ages haven't been mentioned. So I'm going to dig inside of my author brain and say...Oliver is, but just a couple of months. I think I could get some funny bits in the story with this. Thanks for the idea!
As always, I want to thank everyone just jumping on this train and seeing where it goes with me! I appreciate everyone who has added this story to your alerts/follows and a special shout out to those who left reviews! You're all awesome! As always, here's a sneak peek at the next chapter
"I heard you had a plan you didn't share with anyone." Oliver said and Katie just pulled off her jacket and hung it up before heading into the kitchen. "Do you want to tell me where you were?"
"I went to the police station." Katie says walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water before turning to Oliver. "Did you check Ari's progress report today?"
Oliver let out a sigh. She was deflecting. "Why were you at the police station?"
Katie took a sip of her water. "We made a deal that if her grades came back up and there was no more fighting, then she could jump back on the team with whatever they were working on, which I figure will probably be Prometheus." Katie turned to him and he didn't say a word. He was waiting for her to tell him the truth. "I went to the police station to steal the throwing star that was found in the latest victim. I gave it to Felicity in hopes that it gives us something on this guy." she waited for him to respond, but he didn't say anything right away.
"You're joking?"
"No, but I did come up with a funny joke recently. What does the Green Arrow put in his beverages?" she asked and he just continued to look at her unamused.