A/N: I should have said this sooner. I want to thank ImperiumWife for referencing this fanfic in theirs, and hope that those who haven't checked out "you don't see it?" are missing out on a great fanfic about Robin and Barney.
Chapter 22: No Tag Backs
I ran over, giving Cindy and Casey a hug. Juno came over, squealing, and joined in. Cindy and Casey were getting married.
"Congrats, you two! I'm really happy for you."
Cindy returned the hug. "Thanks, Ollie. I knew you and Juno'd be the ones most excited about this. I mean, you're my best friends."
"So when do you guys think you'll do this?" Asked Juno.
"We're thinking in a year or so. Can't let it happen too soon."
"I hear you. Word of advice:" I said. "A few friends from the bar almost eloped in Atlantic City. They highly recommend against it."
"Good advice, Ollie." Said Casey. "Although we weren't planning on it."
"Do your parents know yet?" Asked Juno.
"You guys are the first to know." Admitted Cindy. "You're that important to us."
"Let's open that champagne." I walked over and grabbed the bottle, and a few glasses.
"To Cindy and Casey." I toasted. "There is no doubt in my mind that this future marriage will last forever." I shot off the cork.
With Marshall's explanation a few weeks ago, I realized the only logical suspect to be tagging the Arcadian without me for the past few months would have to be Juno. It turned out she was even more, to put it politely, eccentric than I put her out to be. But I wasn't mad. In fact, the next conversation we had after the engagement announcement was the complete opposite of an angry confrontation. But that night did not end well, even though it went off to a good start.
"Hail Juno: Queen of the Taggers!" I said when she stopped by my apartment a week after the announcement.
"You heard?" She said sheepishly.
"How many times did you tag the place, J?! I thought we were gonna keep it at a minimum!"
"I've been tagging it weekly since Christmas." She said, awkwardly. She looked like she was waiting for a punch from me. While I admit that I have had my share of bar fights, I'm not one to use fists solely to solve conflict. Ted said Marshall thought like that, too.
"Goddamn it! You could have gotten caught! My friend, Marshall said that Zoey's been taking note of when you've been tagging the place. She could have found out who you are!"
"Well, she hasn't. We had coffee a few days ago, and nothing weird happened. It was on friendly terms and everything. She has no idea what I've been doing."
"Listen, J. I'll be glad to go back to finish the job with you, but here's how we play it next time: We wait until the time is right, then get back at it. You and I must keep a low profile for a while"
"Got it."
"Can I get you to swear you won't go solo on this?"
Juno raised her hands. "I swear."
Juno ended up keeping her promise. But it was quite a wait before I finally decided we had waited enough.
It wasn't until over 2 months had passed before Zoey fought back against me and Juno, without realizing it. That night at the bar, Barney was discussing the plans on the method to blow up the Arcadian.
"I have gotten quite good with a bow and arrow, Barney. I could shoot an explosive one to hit the ones connected to the Arcadian."
After I confronted him about his dad, Barney and Jerry eventually connected as father and son. He ended up thanking me for setting him straight that night.
"Nah," he said. "but that is good thinking, Ollie. I was thinking about either training a real coyote to push an Acme dynamite plunger to activate the explosives, or hook them up to Eddie Van Halen's guitar and they'll spark up with the last note of 'Hot For Teacher'."
"Genius, Barney." I said. "I can't wait to see the look on Zoey's face when the Arcadian comes crumbling down along with her dreams."
"Wow, Ollie. I thought tagging the Arcadian was mean to her, but you are ruthless." Said Ted.
"What?! How did-...Marshall." I groaned.
"I will give you props on you and your friend's creativity in messages, Ollie." Said Barney. "Arthur Hobbs liked how you referenced Ferris Bueller. You guys have made a name for yourselves around my office. People talk about the Mystery Taggers like you guys are Batman."
"First off, I'd prefer to be known as Green Arrow. Second, I'm glad Arthur caught that reference." I said. "Zoey needs to understand that the Arcadian is pointless to save. Once it goes down, better things will come out of it. And by the way, Ted. How the hell do you manage to date her when she's trying to destroy everything you're working for?"
"Simple." Said Ted. "We don't talk about it."
"It's gotta come up sometimes." I said.
"No, you'd be surprised. It's easier to not talk about it than it seems."
Then I looked over at the door. "Ah! Speak of the devil, and she shall appear."
Zoey walked up. "Hey guys." She said to the others. "Bastard." She said to me.
"Nice to see you too, bitch." I replied.
"Meet the lawyer who's gonna help us save the Arcadian." She said, smugly.
As soon as he walked up, I cursed; it was Marshall.
Barney and I were super pissed at Marshall for doing this. Although for slightly different reasons. Barney was mainly angry that Marshall threw away the job at GNB to work with Zoey. I, on the other hand, was furious about Marshall betraying his friends.
"Marshall, what the hell is this?!" I said when Zoey left the bar. "Lemme break it down for you: That. Is. Pierson! She's trying to destroy all our efforts to tear down the Arcadian!"
"Ollie, you don't get it. Arthur has been sabotaging my job interviews. This is me giving GNB a taste of their own medicine by sabotaging their efforts as they have for mine."
"Forget GNB!" I snapped. "These are some of your friends that you are working against. Imagine how hard this must be for Ted and Barney to see their own friend willingly work with the enemy!"
"And I suppose spraying 'Pierson eats it' on a wall in the Arcadian is supporting them?" He noticed my face as I realized something. "Don't worry, I haven't told Zoey who the taggers are. Just don't do it again."
I scowled. "I can't promise that, Marshall. Not after what you've done. Your actions could singlehandedly obliterate everything that Ted and the rest of us have worked hard through his life. Think about that, if you somehow manage to save the Arcadian from getting torn down."
Marshall was dead wrong into thinking that I would stop tagging the Arcadian after what happened. The second he left the bar, I called up Juno.
"Juno, it's me." I said. "The arcade needs to be sprayed." I smiled at my rhyme.
"On it. Meet at your apartment at 2200 hours."
Soon I was pulling my green hood over my head, throwing several cans of spray paint into my bag. I had gotten a little more creative, getting several different colors. We'd be showing Zoey why the Arcadian wouldn't be considered a landmark in a week at the conference.
There was a knock at my door. I slung my bag over, as Juno walked in.
"You good?" She asked.
"Hell yeah. Let's go."
As May was just starting, the night was a little warmer than before. I kept wondering what we would be writing in the graffiti tonight, and how much. I had a burning desire to climb up and spray the lion head stone work into oblivion. That would lose some points in the Arcadian's possible preservation. But I decided that literally risking my neck by climbing up there wasn't worth it.
"Hey, check it." Said Juno. "I got us some music to get us in the zone."
She hit play on her iPod, and started tiptoeing up to the front door. The song was the theme from The Pink Panther. I laughed, and tiptoed behind her as well, both of us stepping in time with the music.
I thought I should just stick to a basic message to write. So, with Juno's help, we wrote in huge multicolor letter on another wall in the entrance hall "Fuck Zoey Pierson."
"We should probably spread it out a bit." Said Juno.
"Agreed." I said. "We'll cover the whole of one floor. But first, let's find a room you didn't give a new color, and get that done."
We went up the rickety stairs and I popped out another two sprays cans, giving one to Juno. We ran down the halls, spraying the walls up. I couldn't wait to see Zoey's face when karma came back to bite her in the ass.
"Ollie! This one!" Said Juno.
I ran over, and we were standing at a closed door.
"This room has not been tagged." She said. "I feel like changing that."
I got my can at the ready. "Kick in the door at the count of 3?" I said.
"Count of 3!" She echoed.
"1..."
"2..."
"3!" We kicked the door in, the door frame's splinters blowing out. I then covered my ears as Juno screamed shrilly, along with the person who was behind the door. No doubt this had thrown a snag in our plans.
Zoey had been waiting for us. She hadn't taken Juno'd tagging lightly, and had been camping out in that room every night for a while. It was only a matter of time before we struck that room, she thought. She was right.
"You betrayed us, Juno!" She screamed. "You know this prick!" She pointed at me.
"Hey! He's not a prick! He's my best friend!" Said Juno. "And I didn't betray you! I was never on your side!"
"That makes you even more wretched! You and Oliver were the taggers all along. How could you do this?!" She was beside herself, practically in tears.
I laughed, walking over to a wall. "Like this!" I said. I gave the wall a good spray, with Zoey screaming at me.
"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!"
"What damage could this do?" I snapped. "This place was a shithole even before we started tagging it!"
"You take that back! The Arcadian is a beautiful, magnificent hotel!"
"Like hell it is! Ted's my friend, and I'm doing him a favor. Once the committee sees the graffiti here, they won't declare it a landmark, and GNB Tower will stand tall here in the next year and a half."
"Not if I turn in the vandals responsible for this!"
"Vandals?" Said Juno. "Vandalism's definition only applies to public or private property. This place is neither, so we're good!"
Zoey looked at Juno in fury. "How could you, Juno? I thought you were my friend."
"I never was. You ruined crossword day for me and Ollie. You made this personal for us."
"That's pathetic. I 'ruin' something for you, and you damage a priceless landmark!"
"Priceless landmark? This place could have the potential to be a landmark if it wasn't such a rundown landfill! I've only seen less graffiti on the Cadillacs in Amarillo Desert! Someone should really clean it up!" I said.
That hit a nerve. Zoey screamed and lunged at me. Juno and I ducked out of the way, and we sprinted off down the halls.
"See you at the conference, bitch!" I called out behind us as we sprinted down the stairs, out the doors, and onto the street. We didn't stop running until we got back to our apartments.
"Did we do our job?" Asked Juno.
"Not sure. All we can do now is wait. Wait until the Arcadian's fate is decided for good. I guess it goes without saying, but I'm done with tagging buildings, even if it's to prove a point. What about you, J? You gonna stop tagging?"
"Yeah, Ollie. The Arcadian was our only target. We're done here."
I'm glad to say that Juno kept her promise. We did our job, and we were given a sort of thanks for our efforts a few weeks later.