Chapter 28
Ev Crawford, the heroine/vigilante/criminal depending on who you ask, also known as Starling, groans as she regains consciousness. The last thing she remembers she and Ollie were about to knock boots when Yakuza burst in, due to some voyeuristic tendencies on their part she can assume. She and Ollie got separated...no wait. The men attacking them drove them apart.
Strategy. Ev is almost impressed. During the fight someone stuck a tranquilliser dart into her and that was all she wrote until right now.
Ev shakes her head and opens her eyes. Directly in front of Ev on her knees with her hands tied behind her and a gag over her mouth is Dinah. Dinah's head is drooped and her eyes closed so she must still be knocked out. Ev tries to move her arms but they are tied behind her back to her ankles and since she is on her knees and not fallen over the rope must be nailed to the wall or something to hold her up. She can make the same assumption about how Dinah is restrained.
Ev tests her bonds. Not bad but she is pretty certain she can get loose given a little time. She looks around at where they are. Wood walls? No. They're in a crate.
Terrific. They're getting shipped somewhere.
Ev looks down at herself. Well at least they had the decency to redress her. When they burst in she had been down to her underwear. She looks back up at Dinah still unconsciousness. She needs her friend to wake up like now! "Canary," Ev says in a loud whisper. "Wake up!"
Dinah makes a moan through her gag as her eyes flutter open. "Hmmv?"
Ev is going to assumer Dinah was trying to make an inquiry. "We're tied up and you're gagged," she tells her fellow captive.
Dinah's eyes narrow as her brain fires up fully and comes to grasp the position she is in. "Hmvie?"
Ev thinks that was an inquiry about Ollie and probably what happened to them. "They found us and tranq'd me and I don't know how they managed to track us. I don't know what happened to Ollie. How did they get you?"
Dinah rolls her eyes. How does Ev expect her to explain that while she is gagged.
"Any chance of wriggling free?" Ev asks.
Dinah tests her bonds. They're tight and well-tied. This is not going to be easy to escape from.
"So I take it Kijuro wasn't in a negotiating mood," Ev assumes just needing to talk even if Dinah can't reply.
Dinah shakes her head.
"So where does that leave us? Trusting in your ex and current boyfriends to rescue us I suppose. Yeah I can see that going well," Ev says sarcastically. "We're pretty much doomed aren't we."
'No,' Dinah says in her head. Clark and Ollie will find them. She has faith in them...well faith in Clark and that's enough.
While Clark tied up and dumped off the Yakuza men at a police station Oliver had gotten his Green Arrow costume back on. Thank God is all Clark can say. Seeing Dinah's ex in only boxers was starting to make him consider scooping his eyes out. Although if Oliver Queen doesn't stop giving him the evil eye Clark just might be tempted to scoop Oliver's eyes out instead. "So what actually happened here?" Clark wants to know the details.
"I told you. They got the drop on us," Ollie answers in a tight tone.
"But how did they find you? There is no way they could have known about this place."
"They tracked us when you moved us."
That sounded to Clark dangerously close to an accusation. "Unlikely," he counters.
"Yeah because you never screw up right? That's why Dinah's nice and safe...oh wait a minute. No she's not!" Ollie shouts angrily.
"I am aware of that," Clark replies in a low tight tone.
"Just so you know I blame you," Ollie says being deliberately a little bit nasty.
"I blame myself," Clark says, not arguing with Oliver. "But one thing I have learned in my life is that moping around in self-pity and blame doesn't solve anything so why don't we put aside the fact we obviously don't like each other and stick to saving Dinah and Ev. That alright with you? Or do you want to waste the next 10 minutes yelling at each other about who's to blame for what which, by the way, will end with me punching you into the next state...which I can do...easily if you want to push me," he warns Oliver because he is already having to work hard to restrain that urge.
Ollie reigns in his anger. He takes a deep breath. Focus on the task at hand. He can do that and even though he won't admit it out-loud Kent is right. They can settle up later. Find Dinah and Ev first. "Ok. You say they couldn't have followed you here?"
"At the speed I was moving? As I said unlikely. No human would have even been able to see me move. Nothing short of...satellite surveillance...maybe could have and do they have access to that kind of thing?"
Ollie frowns but he has to reluctantly concede the following, "No."
Clark looks around the building searching for clues with his enhanced senses. His eyes spot something lying on the floor. He blurs over, picks it up and blurs back, holding in his hand a blood covered dressing. "Was this Ev's?" he asks because it has her scent on it.
"Yeah. The Yakuza have been chasing her for awhile. They managed to knick her before she showed up in the apartment. It wasn't serious but she stitched it up herself rather poorly and it started to bleed. I patched her back up while you were out," Ollie explains the source of the dressing.
"Knick her? With a bullet?"
"So she said." Ollie then notices the frown on Clark's brow and the look of intense thought. "You think she lied?" he asks, as that is the impression he gets from Clark's expression.
"No...well I'm going with no unless you can give me a reason not to."
Ollie shakes his head. Sure Ev was unpredictable and tended to not tell the whole truth but he can't see any reason for her to lie about this.
An idea comes to Clark. "What if it wasn't a bullet that nicked her?"
"What?"
"Everywhere Ev goes the Yakuza show up...like they're tracking her."
An idea comes to Ollie. He rubs his head. "A tracer. It wasn't a bullet that nicked her. It was a tracking device. It must still be in her and she only thought it was a bullet that nicked her," he bemoans the fact they didn't figure that out sooner. He looks at Clark. "So lets hear what happened with you?"
Clark sighs and retells the whole story about Dinah's abduction.
Ollie's brow draw together. "I know that piece of magic you describe," he says since he has encountered it before. "It's a short range teleportation spell. The Makuda clan dabble in some of the more common easily available magical paraphernalia."
"How short range?"
"They can't have left Metropolis."
"Do you know the Makuda clan well?"
"We've met," Ollie answers blandly.
"Do you know what they will do with Dinah and Ev?"
Ollie thinks trying to put himself in Kijuro's mindset. "This is about revenge for his son. He would want the others of his family to witness it. That means getting them back to Japan and that means a plane. Wouldn't be commercial. Private jet most likely on a civilian airfield."
A glimmer of hope appears in Clark's eye as an idea strikes him that should help them save Dinah and Ev. He declares, "I think I know someone who can help us find where."
The sound of creaking wood interrupts Dinah's and Ev's attempts to free themselves from their bonds as the crate they are in is pried open. A few men come in and detach them from the side of the crate before they are both picked up and carried out and placed down on their knees on the ground.
Once their eyes adjust to the light they can see they are in an aircraft hanger. Apart from their Yakuza captors and one private jet plane it is pretty much empty. Both Ev and Dinah can guess it is a private civilian airfield they are at. That would make the most sense...and this sort of thing has happened to them before more than once so that deduction comes from experience.
A tap-tap-tap sound echoes in the air. A sound which draws ever nearer and louder. Kijuro enters the hangar and the tapping sound is his cane hitting the ground as he walks. He comes to a stop a few feet away from Starling and Black Canary.
"I apologise for the discomfort you must feel," Kijuro says in a calm, even tone. "It is unfortunate but necessary to restrain you in this manner as both of you have a habit for escaping confinement." He looks at Canary. "I also apologise for your inability to talk but I am aware of the power of your voice."
Dinah's eyes narrow as she transmits her not so pleasant thoughts with an intense stare.
"Let her go," Starling says. "She has nothing to do with this. Kill me if you want but just let her go," she offers her life to Kijuro if it saves Dinah in what could be considered an oddly selfless act for Ev.
"No," Kijuro replies simply, rejecting the offer out of hand. "She must bear witness, as must my family, the price to be paid for crossing me."
Starling snorts in a disrespectful manner. "This is what it is about isn't it. This has nothing to do with your son. This is about your ego...your pride."
"Watch your tongue woman," Kijuro snaps in a hard, disrespectful tone.
"Why? You're going to kill me anyway. Before then I might as well tell you the truth and the truth is your son was a pathetic schmuck. He was completely incapable of the task you assigned to him. If you want someone to blame for his death look in a mirror pal...but wait that brings us back to your ego. You can't blame yourself. Your pride won't let you so you decided to blame me instead. Well whatever it takes to help you sleep at night I guess," Starling says in a rather flippant manner.
Kijuro's unemotional expression cracks and twists into anger. In a moment he has taken his cane and struck Starling across the face with it knocking her over on her side with a gash across her right temple.
"Hit a nerve did I," Starling quips with a painful groan.
Kijuro pulls the hidden sword out of his cane and brings the sharp point to directly in front of Starling's eyes. His eyes narrow. "You have a death wish?" he inquires of Starling.
"Not particularly. Do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"We settle it right here and right now. You and me...and we can see if you can succeed where your son failed. Personally I doubt it. He wasn't much of a man and from what I can see the acorn certainly didn't fall far from the tree," Starling insults both Kijuro and his dead son, all with an irritating smirk on her face just to rub it in.
Disrespectful harlot! Kijuro has spent his whole adult life making his clan more powerful. He has earned everything he has gained from his position and now this American dare insult him and his son. He knows she is doing it on purpose to anger him but he'll indulge her. He won't kill her here but he can teach her respect. "Untie her and get her to her feet," he commands of his men.
Ev smiles as she is yanked up. Works every time. Men are so sensitive when you question their manhood.
"I agree to your terms," Kijuro says as Starling is untied. "You and I shall fight and...as you say, settle it."
"One condition. When I win your men let Canary go," Starling amends as she rubs her wrists from being tied so tightly.
Kijuro nods in agreement because he knows she can't win. She cannot beat him so he won't have to uphold anything.
Kijuro's men spread out to form a circle around himself and Starling.
Watching and listening to all this Dinah inwardly worries Ev is making a mistake. She really doesn't think this is Ev's best plan ever. In fact Dinah is pretty certain what Ev is attempting won't work out the way Ev thinks it will which only makes it more important she figures out a way to escape her bonds.
Dinah watches as Ev and Kijuro exchange bows and then the fight begins.
Offices of the Metropolitan...
"It's been far too long since I did this," Chloe's Sullivan's voice enthuses her excitement. Clark had come to her with a potential Yakuza story, which are always popular with the public, and asked for her help in finding the airfield where they might be.
Therefore, right now, Chloe is hacking her way into flight records of planes that have entered the country from Japan. She use to do this a lot when she was younger and was just a plain old reporter and did not have to run an entire publication. Now that she did have to run an entire publication the result had been Chloe doesn't get to do the day to day stuff of a reporter very often and so her hacking skills were just not getting used. She had lamented this fact to Clark one night when she and her staff were having a drink after work. Chloe honestly missed doing stuff like this.
Clark shakes his head a little, amused by Chloe's enthusiastic expression but his amusement is severely tempered by the fact Dinah is missing. The worry that is eating his gut right now shows him just how much he has come to care for her. As for Oliver...he's around. Clark couldn't bring him here because how would he explain how he knew the famous playboy millionaire Oliver Queen. Oliver hadn't been happy about it and let Clark know. Clark frankly couldn't care less about what Oliver thinks and feels. He just wants to find Dinah.
"You said Makuda clan right?" Chloe asks as she tries to bypass a few security barriers.
"Yes."
"I'm sure their leader has an arrest warrant or seven outstanding," Chloe says from a Yakuza story she did a few years back.
"Well if I'm right he's in the country," Clark says, trying not to say he knows for certain because that leads to him getting asked how he knows that which is hard to answer without revealing he's Superman.
"Then we can get him arrested...Ha! That'll boil Perry White's grizzle!" Chloe gleefully cheers at the idea of getting one over on the Planet and its editor.
Clark looks at Chloe oddly. "You ever going to explain why you don't like Perry White?" he wonders because it is not the first time Chloe has seem so cheered at the idea of putting the Planet down.
"Apart from the fact he fired me when I was a cub reporter," Chloe reveals for the first time and boy does she sound bitter about it.
Clark wonders...no. Still now the thought has entered his head he can't shake it. He ponders...did Chloe set up this online paper for the sole purpose of getting back at Perry White and the Planet?
'Question for another day Kent!' he berates himself. Dinah. He needs to find Dinah and hold her and tell her how much she means to him.
"Ok. I'm in," Chloe announces. "Now let us see here. Japan...Japan," she says as she looks through the flight records. "Do you know how far back we're talking?" she asks Clark.
"Um...a few days. Week at the most," he replies making a reasonable assumption from what Ev said about when she arrived in the country. "I would assume it would be a quiet airfield though," he suggests Chloe concentrate on to narrow down the search as he peers over her shoulder.
Chloe works on, her eyebrows pulling towards each other as she concentrates hard. "Here!" she suddenly announces pointing at a line on the computer screen. "This landed 4 days ago from Japan...oh."
"Oh?"
"It's scheduled to leave today."
"Where?" Clark asks with urgency.
"The Nevin airfield...which isn't a surprise. It's owned by one of the Makuda clan's front companies...I think. It has been a few years since I looked into this."
"Chloe," Clark says in a sharp voice to stop her babble.
"Right. Right. We should call the police and let them know."
"You do that. I'll...go see if I can get there and get an eyewitness account of the arrest," Clark thinks up the excuse on the spot as he rapidly leaves Chloe's office.
"Clark!" Chloe shouts after him. She leaps to her feet and rapidly walks to the door. "Clark! Wait. I'll come..." She trails off. He's gone. Chloe walks through her offices. Wow. Did he move fast for a klutzy guy. 'How does he do that?' Chloe wonders.
At the Nevin Airfield...
Dinah watches Ev fight Kijuro more than a little surprised it has lasted this long. They were more evenly matched than Dinah thought they would be...but something is bothering her about this. Something is wrong...which does fit in with the sense of foreboding she had before this fight began.
When a punch manages to find its way through Ev's defences knocking her down and she spits up blood from a cut lip Dinah works it out. Ev has managed to land just as many blows if not more on Kijuro than he has on her yet there isn't a mark on his face which is impossible. It's not like the movies where people hit each other with little to no effect. When you hit someone it leaves impact. Bruises, cuts, swellings...none of which Kijuro has.
He's cheating.
Must be a magical protection charm. Dinah can make that assumption after the use of magic that got her into this situation in the first place. Dinah knew it had to be something because, otherwise, why did Kijuro agree to this fight. It didn't make sense to Dinah when he didn't have to and had them exactly where he wanted...well technically he still does because Ev can't win no matter what she does and if Ev would think past her own arrogance and anger, for one blasted second, she would realise that, instead of getting back up to become a glutton for more punishment. That's the difference between them these days. Dinah has learned to step back and analyse a situation. Ev is still charging headlong into things without thinking...which is what probably got Ev into this mess in the first place.
Of course this just makes Dinah's escape all the more urgent and fortune favours her at the minute because with the fight ongoing no-one is watching her as closely as they should do. No-one has spotted her using the razor blade she had hidden in her boot. Wrists tied to ankles leaves her hands free to reach down that far. Right now she is slowly trying to cut through her ropes as she has been for quite awhile. They're just thick ropes and she just needs a little more time. Ev just has to hang in there a little longer to keep providing the distraction.
The longer this fight is going on the more Ev is struggling to keep her temper in check. It should have been easy. She knows these leader types. They often try to come across as tough but in reality they are usually about as tough as a paper bag. One of her blows gets caught and deflected leaving her left side open. A sharp kick from her opponent to that area generates a cry of extreme pain. That the place the bullet gave her that flesh wound and not surprisingly it's sore and tender.
Starling staggers back clutching at her side.
"You are in pain. Good," Kijuro says in a flat tone. "It is, however, only a fraction of the pain you have caused me when you robbed me of my son."
"You two were close huh? I'm sure there are laws against that sort of thing," Starling says, deliberately implying something incestuous in an attempt to anger him.
"Choose your words carefully. You don't have many left to speak," Kijuro warns her, his even tone cracking with anger as he delivers a dark foreboding of her future.
Starling sucks up the pain and charges in again striking many blows upon Kijuro but when, as Dinah had noticed, you aren't getting hurt, all you have to do is absorb the blows and wait for the opening. It comes and Kijuro strikes back quickly with many punches especially to Starling's vulnerable side. He sweeps her legs from under her and kicks her on the ground repeatedly. He kicks her in the head hard making her already open head bleed harder.
Kijuro stands over her prone form. He gestures for his cane to be thrown to him from the man he left it with. Kijuro catches it and pulls out the sword. He brings the point to Starling's throat. "You are going to die. It was never in doubt. The only question left is do I choose to end it here and now."
Starling looks at him through her pain with a hard glare, showing no fear. "Do it!" she dares him.
Kijuro raises the sword back...
At this precise moment Dinah cuts the rope around her wrists freeing them. She swiftly strikes the two men either side of her in the stomach but she is still down on her knees and her feet are still tied. She pulls the gag off her mouth and unleashes her Canary Cry. The air ripples from the distortion as everyone in the area desperately tries to cover their ears from the attack that makes your very brain vibrate in your skull.
What Dinah doesn't see is the man behind her who kicks her across the back of her head knocking her down and cutting off her hypersonic cry.
Kijuro shakes his head. That was painful despite his magical protection. "I was going to let you live," he tells Black Canary. "Now however you can share your friend's fate. Kill her," he orders, not feeling any need to lower himself to do it personally.
Guns cock and triggers are pulled. The bullets fly through the air and Dinah suddenly finds herself enveloped by a large warm solid mass. A strong earthy smell fills her nostrils. It is a scent Dinah knows intimately now. Clark. A relieved happy smile graces her face.
Lots of 'pinging' sounds fills Dinah's ears as dozens of bullets ricochet off Clark's invulnerable body.
Then there is another sound Diana is also familiar with. The sound of arrows being fired from a bow.
Clark reaches down and snaps the rope binds around Dinah's ankles freeing her. She stands up still using Clark's body as a shield from the hail of gunfire. She looks around and sees the Green Arrow run towards them firing off arrows as he goes until they stand in a group.
"What took you?" Dinah asks, sounding annoyed at them.
"Thanks for the gratitude Canary," Ollie snaps back with attitude.
"Sorry. Would have gotten here sooner but I was busy restraining my urge to punch certain people into the next state," Clark jests, nodding his head at Ollie as the person he is referring to.
Two completely different response from two completely different men. Ollie's only proves why they shouldn't be together if all he can do is snipe back at her while Clark...Dinah loves his humour which just goes to show she has it bad.
Ollie had managed to take down a good half the Yakuza. Easier when you catch them by surprise. The others are currently reloading their weapons. They don't get a chance to as heat streams from Clark's eyes destroying their weapons.
Kijuro watches on his face twisting in anger at the interference. "Get them!" he orders his men to do so by hand before he turns his attention back to finishing off Starling.
"Superman. Get Starling," Dinah orders. "Arrow and I will deal with this."
Clark looks at her with tender concern for but one moment before he blurs off.
Kijuro stabs his sword down only for Starling to vanish and his sword strikes the ground instead.
While Superman saved Starling Green Arrow and and Black Canary were masterly taking down the half dozen men that were left. "Arrow you got one of your explosive arrows?" Black Canary queries as she ducks down under a punch and uppercuts a guy.
Green Arrow smashes a guy in the face with his bow as he replies, "Yes."
"Fire one at Kijuro," Canary says.
"Excuse me?"
"Just do it," Canary snaps impatiently. She doesn't have time to explain and this is one reason she and Ollie broke up because he couldn't just trust her. Always had to treat her like a student.
Ollie really hopes Dinah knows what she is doing. He pulls out an explosive arrow and loads it into the bow. He pulls back the string, aims at Kijuro and fires. The arrow impacts and explodes. Kijuro disappears in the fire and smoke but there are no bits of flesh flying in every direction as one might expect.
A gust of wind indicates Superman's return with Starling in his arms and Ev is not missing the opportunity, no matter how beaten up she is, to lay her hands on Superman.
"What was that?" Superman comes close to yelling incredulously.
"A demonstration of a lack of honour," Canary replies in an even tone, her gaze never wavering from where the arrow struck Kijuro.
The smoke clears and there stands Kijuro, his clothes tattered, but otherwise unharmed. Black Canary speaks out. "Take a good long look at your leader!" she yells to Kijuro's men. "Tell me what kind of honour does he have when he uses magic to give him an unfair advantage in a fight?" Black Canary asks of Kijuro's men. "Unless of course you knew he was suddenly invulnerable to explosions," she adds with a hint of sarcasm.
Kijuro's men, the still conscious ones, look at each other uncertain what to do. Black Canary's words hold truth as evidenced by their own eyes. Their leader had shown a distinct lack of the honour expected from someone in his position.
Kijuro boils over with rage. "American whore!" he yells at Black Canary. "You will not deny my vengeance! The killer of my son shall die!" He then charges at the group of heroes.
Superman's eyes light up as he focuses his heat vision on the tarmac they happen to be standing on and that Kijuro is running across. Under the intense focussed heat the tarmac melts. Kijuro's feet sink in and he topples over into the goop. Superman then unleashes his freeze breath hardening the tarmac which solidifies imprisoning Kijuro.
Dinah has to praise Clark's quick thinking there at trapping Kijuro. Clark is so smart and sexy and...
'Later Dinah,' she mentally rebukes herself for losing focus. Deal with Kijuro now. Praise your Greek God of a boyfriend later.
Kijuro's men seem to stand down at the sight of their boss stuck solid in place in the tarmac. They just linger, uncertain what action to take.
Black Canary takes advantage of the lull to walk over and stand over Kijuro. "Whatever charm you are using may make it impossible to hurt you but you can still be imprisoned," she states in a cold voice.
Kijuro glares at her and mutters many insults in his native Japanese.
Superman, Green Arrow and Starling(who Clark had managed to get out of his arms with some difficulty) walk over next to Canary.
"How did you know about the charm?" Starling asks, pressing a hand to the cut on her head to stem the blood flow.
"Didn't you notice during your fight no matter how many times you hit him that you weren't leaving a mark?" Black Canary asks back.
"Uh...no," Starling admits. She didn't notice that.
Dinah wants to sighs in exasperation. Ev really should know better by now to notice these kind of things. Something will have to be done with Ev.
The sound of police sirens approaching starts to be heard.
"You called the police?" Black Canary asks of either Superman or Green Arrow.
"Yes," Superman replies. Ok technically he had left Chloe to do it while he changed into costume, picked up Oliver and brought him here. "Turns out our friend here has a few outstanding warrants for his arrest," Superman relays the information Chloe had provided.
"Wow. There's a surprise," Starling mutters sarcastically.
Kijuro's men scatter at the sound of the sirens. Well the conscious ones anyway. They don't get very far as Superman moves at superspeed and rounds them back up in seconds, finds some cable to tie them in and dumps them on the ground in a neat tied up little pile.
Starling blows out an impressed whistle at the fact that only took him seconds. She is very envious of the fact Dinah is the one who gets to find out exactly just what else Superman can do.
Meanwhile Dinah's focus has turned to a strange looking circular gold pendant hanging around Kijuro's neck. With his clothes tattered it is easier to notice. Black Canary reaches down and rips it off. She examines it closely. It is covered in archaic symbols and writing. "I'm guessing this is the protection charm," she muses.
"One way to find out," Starling determines. She walks forward and slams a punch across Kijuro's face. Being trapped as he is he can't defend himself. Ev feels immensely good when he spits up blood along with a tooth she just knocked out. She shakes her hand a little. "I would say Canary that you're spot on."
Canary stuffs the pendant into her pocket for later when she can decide what to do with it. It'll need to be studied certainly to figure out how it works. Dinah could ask Zatanna she supposes.
Police cars screech into view as they approach. Despite everything Dinah will have to assess that somehow this has worked out ok. Kijuro will be imprisoned but more importantly when word of his dishonourable actions reach the other senior members of the Makuda clan more likely than not he'll lose his position of leadership. That at least probably gets Ev off the hook with the clan. As for Kijuro himself...well if the hateful glares are anything to go by he won't be giving up his wish for vengeance on Ev any time soon.
Dinah is definitely going to have to do something to make sure her friend is alright...and in fact she already has the nucleus of an idea in her head. She just needs to solidify the details and then talk to Barbara.
Dinah's apartment...
The next day Dinah is back in her apartment packing up her belongings for a more permanent move. The police had taken Kijuro and his men away but by the way they followed Ev here it had left a connection to Dinah Lance.
Therefore Dinah Lance has to move for her own sake. She had managed to sell the police a story about the fracas that was reported by the neighbours as a robbery. Thankfully Yakuza make sure not to leave anything behind so there was no reason for the police not to buy that story and as far as Dinah could tell they had bought it.
Ev herself was in that private medical facility Dinah had been in after her injuries at the hands of Roulette and Titan. They had the doctors remove the tracer from Ev's side and she would be fine...but Dinah is planning to have a long talk with Ev about many things.
There is a knock on her door. Dinah goes and opens it to find Ollie. Dinah should have figured this was coming. "I thought I made my wishes perfectly clear," she says in a harsh tone. "We sorted out Ev and part ways."
"Dinah please," Ollie requests.
Dinah pinches the bridge of her nose and steps to the side to allow Ollie in. She slams the door shut. "Ollie what is there left to say? You apologised. I'm not accepting it. If we meet for our common business I can be professional. Apart from that we have nothing left to say. Go sniff up Ev...oh wait you already did that!" she says angrily.
Ollie's face darkens with anger. "He told you," he assumes Clark told Dinah.
"Uh yeah. Unlike a certain ex Clark doesn't lie, keep secrets and definitely does not cheat on me!" Dinah finds herself yelling almost without meaning to but Ollie just brings it out of her. She rubs her brow and takes a slightly shaky breath as her emotions threaten to overwhelm her. "Ollie. Just go," she begs, because if he doesn't all Dinah can see coming is another shouting match which she really doesn't want to have with him.
Ollie can see it. It's truly over. Finished. All the words he had thought of to say to her won't make any difference. They would just be words and for once all his charm can't repair the damage. He walks to the door.
Dinah stops him. "Oh by the way if I find out you in anyway use your knowledge of who Clark is against him I guarantee they will never find your body," she promises, deadly serious.
"I thought you knew me better than that," Ollie says insulted she thinks he would do that.
"So did I. Right up until I found you with that other woman."
And that's why it is finished. He truly broke her heart. For some reason Ollie either never saw or never allowed himself to see it before but right now he can see the pain etched into her features that shows it as clear as day how much he hurt her. He leaves without another word.
Dinah feels the strength in her legs go. She barely makes it to the couch before she collapses. Her hands go to rub her face and she feels wetness on her cheeks as tears stream from her eyes. She hadn't even realised she was crying.
Next thing she knows is that her face is resting on a warm solid surface and powerful arms are holding her. She cries into Clark's chest for quite awhile until her sobs ease down.
"So can I punch him into the next state now?"
A giggle escapes Dinah's mouth at Clark's question. She wipes some tears from her eyes and leans into his warm soothing chest some more. She feels Clark stroke her hair. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough," is the answer Clark chooses to give. "This may come as a revelation but I don't like him."
"I don't like him very much at the moment either," Dinah says sounding very melancholic.
"But you did once?" Clark dares to ask.
Dinah nods into his chest. "Very much so." She loved Ollie but Clark doesn't need to hear her say that. "I never got to thank you for the rescue," she mentions now.
"You don't have to. It was my fault for not acting the moment it started going wrong," he says guiltily.
"I did tell you not to unless I shouted," Dinah reminds him and in some sense sharing the blame.
Still Clark does feel bad at the fact he hesitated. "I was worried about you," he says, his voice almost choked with emotion.
Dinah pats him reassuringly on his chest a few times. "I'm fine. You saved the day although I was surprised when you showed up with Ollie. I was certain you would have killed each other...ok you would have killed him," she has to correct herself. Ollie couldn't hurt Clark even if he wanted.
"I was tempted more than once," Clark confesses. "And you know I can still catch him and punch him if you want," he proposes with light-hearted humour.
Dinah laughs a little. "Tempting," she says. "But really I just want to put it behind me and concentrate on what I have now," she says, referring to what she has with Clark.
"Sounds good to me."
"So I'm curious about one thing. How did you and Ollie get on long enough to find us? I thought for sure there would have been some alpha male contest between the two of you."
"He tried that act on me but I told him we could waste 10 minutes on that if he wanted or concentrate on saving you and Ev."
"That worked?" Dinah asks, sounding a little sceptical that it would on Ollie. Clark's reaction...that's part of why she has come to find herself caring for him as much as she does. He's not like any of the other men she has dated. One could make the deduction that perhaps that means she has been dating the wrong men up to this point. Ollie would be the best example of this fact.
"Surprisingly yes...and as it turned out he did have a useful understanding of the situation that gave me the idea on how to track you down. Of course your Canary Cry helped. By the way even at miles away; ouch!" he whines about how much it hurts his ears.
"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment."
Clark laughs lightly and plants a kiss on top of Dinah's head. Seeing her upset as she was he had been very tempted to punch Oliver. In fact he is more than a little surprised at how strong the emotion was. This feeling...he's had this feeling before. Clark is pretty certain he is falling in love with Dinah.
Author's Note: I chose not to have Dinah able to forgive and forget Ollie. Sometimes the hurt can be too deep and it just never fades away and there can be no reconciliation of even restoring their friendship. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; The wind up of this little arc and we catch up with a certain Almeracian Queen.
