Thanks to Chlollie, Sophia and Melonhead my unregistered reviewers and Kudos again to the registered reviewers and those that have alerted or Fave'd
Spoliers: References in this chapter to the brilliant Nolanverse -The Dark Knight.
Kudos to Hellzz_on_Earth for the Beta (any mistakes are mine though)
Chapter 3 - The Bitter and Sweet
The bitter and sweet go hand in hand, Time on the rock and time in the sand, Life worth living don't go as planed, When the bitter and sweet go hand in hand – Chris Lawson Jones
Star City, 11th August 2008
Oliver loved being on his bike. And being on his bike as Green Arrow…priceless. It was just his skills and his ride pitted against the underbelly of Star City and one of the places where he felt truly free.
When he had started as Green Arrow the city had embraced him, citizens on the occasion helping him out or publicly defending him as a gesture of thanks for looking out for them and the city. He'd even worked with the SCPD – off the record and it had resulted in several high profile arrests.
The city's attitude had changed though; he first noticed it shortly after the board appointed Emerson as Executive CEO. That news had come and gone without much fanfare. What had caused the fuss was the several hundred lay- offs that came with Emerson's appointment. Consolidation of projects in the wake of the 'Global Financial Outlook' was cited as the reason.
The citizens had become a little colder towards one another. It was like they were bracing themselves for a dramatic downturn in their fortune, spearheaded by the less than optimistic outlook by its biggest employer and they were keen to make sure that number one was looked after.
But the biggest shift in the public's demeanor which impacted him had come a couple of weeks ago when National Coverage had focused on the terror of Gotham's citizens as a psycho named the Joker challenged the vigilante known as Batman. A lot of people had been threatened, a few good people had died and the city had been thrown into chaos.
Star City now seemed to be gripped by this fear that Green Arrow would bring about similar incidents and had begun to shun him. It was making things incredibly difficult, even his normal police contact had been noticeably silent.
Still Oliver was not deterred; he hadn't decided to be Green Arrow because it was safe or popular to do so, he'd done it so that he could help people. He just had to be more careful about his activities and whose attention he captured.
And right now Green Arrow was tailing Nicholas Crane who had proven to be a very slippery subject, which had only served to make Oliver and the team more suspicious of his activities.
Being seen in the Luthor limo all those weeks ago had proven to be a dead end. Neither Lex nor Lionel had been in town and there was no other evidence to point towards anyone else. As for the hacker, Victor had finally traced the link to a well-known figure named Two Dotcom who was a finger for hire. Problem with that was he (or she) didn't have a known profile, so shaken 'em down for answers was out of the question and they hadn't gotten a bite when they had tried to set up a false job in an attempt to flush him (or her) out.
It was incredibly frustrating not to have any concrete evidence that could be acted on. On the upside, there had been no news reports of any kind on him, his social life or lack of social life, since. Oliver Queen as a commodity seemed to have lost any value.
He noticed the car in front of him slowing down. Great, they were in the docks warehouse district. There was no way for him to enter on his bike without being seen, he was going to have to stash it and continue by rooftop.
Sticking to the shadows he made his way towards an open window. Thankful for the lucky break he listened intently, but wasn't able to get a visual.
"Mr Crane, what can I do for you." Obviously the guy Mr Crane was working for. The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it due to the bad acoustics.
"The next job, I want double what you offered." Oliver rolled his eyes. One didn't have to be a genius to know that that line never got you what you wanted when you were talking to a guy in a warehouse. He heard the obligatory laughter from the boss's associates.
Damn, he was going to have to save the guys ass if he wanted to talk to him. He quickly surveyed the area coming up with a rescue plan, and was about to make a move.
"I like you Mr Crane…you have… spunk. I am open to renegotiating our agreement."
Green Arrow paused. That was new, and totally breaking the cliché. He needed to get a look at whom Crane was talking to. Heading towards another window he cautiously made his way towards it, making sure the roof would take his weight.
Peering in, a flood of thoughts rushed him all at once. The guy in the suit was John Deleon, the current Chief Financial Officer of Queen Industries. Shocked was an understatement. The guy was a ruthless businessman, but meeting Nicholas Crane in a warehouse? Looking at the vehicle parked at the entrance though Oliver became incensed. The license plate gave it away as the Luthor Corp limo. Which meant that it was a good bet that Nicholas had been meeting John that day five weeks ago.
"But first we are going to have to do something about Green Arrow did you know that he followed you here?" he heard John leer. Crap! He'd been spotted; he'd have to figure out how that happened…later.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the warehouse, the roof collapsing beneath his feet under the hail of bullets, leaving Green Arrow exposed to the group now standing in front of him. Thankfully his grappling hook had been able to find something to anchor to and he had landed on his feet unscathed. Surveying the scene it was hardly going to be a fair fight…five guys with automatic weapons, plus Nicholas and John against him. Flight would be his best option.
"Take it easy, gentlemen. I'm just a guy with a bow and arrow." He said, his distorted voice echoing through the relatively empty warehouse.
The men moved to surround him and Oliver centered himself predicting their next moves. They would want to have some fun with him first before shooting him full of bullets, he was sure. Without hesitation he pulled his EMP arrow out and shot it towards the circuit breakers causing a blackout in the immediate area and creating a much-needed diversion with a speed that caught his would be attackers off guard.
The night vision functions in his glasses giving him the advantage, he strategically moved out of the way. It hadn't escaped his notice that John and Nicholas had bolted towards the car Nicholas had driven. Cowards.
He shot out the two front tires preventing the car from going anywhere and blocking the Limo behind it.
He took a moment to look at the duplicitous CFO. While he would dearly love to have chat with Mr Deleon, it was perhaps a discussion Oliver Queen would be better suited for. He released a knock out gas arrow in their direction and waited for the effects to kick in before giving the CFO a good left hook before grabbing Nicholas Crane.
Oliver was now satisfied that Nicholas was a stooge in the grand scheme of things and everyone knew that the stooge was expendable when things went wrong. Judging by the fact that John had realized Nicholas had been followed; things had gone very wrong for his look-a-like. If he was smart he'd get out of town before something bad happened, and Green Arrow was going to give him that opportunity.
Getting out of his Green Arrow gear a while later, the night's revelation another kick in the guts, Oliver felt the need to forget for a couple of hours. Forget that John Deleon obviously had an association with someone at Luthor Corp most likely with the initials LL; that the City he had sworn to protect no longer seemed to want Green Arrow, and even that he as Oliver Queen was unmemorable to the general public.
Wallowing wasn't healthy he knew, but the company of a beautiful woman, the smell of her perfume, the feel of her soft skin under him, …he could do that. Just a couple of hours to forget, be distracted… tonight he would allow himself that luxury.
-xxXxx-
Star City, 12th August 2008
It had been four weeks since she had relocated her life away from him to Star City. He eyed his best friend as she talked animatedly about her current research. He hadn't seen her this carefree for want of a better word since…well since before she had known he was an alien from another planet.
"I just…you know for a moment there it felt like everything was falling down around me and here I am and things are really good." She looked at her friend.
"You haven't heard a word I've said have you?" she asked a little dejectedly.
Clark snapped out it. "Of course I have, and I am happy for you. You worked hard to be taken seriously as a journalist and now you're working on the weekly broadcast current affairs program in the country."
Chloe nodded acknowledging that Clark's response. No one had been more surprised than her when Pauline Kahn had made a personal recommendation that she fill the spot as a researcher for Hour, the nations most watched current affairs program, which happened to be produced by DC Media Holdings the owners of the Star City Register.
She got to work with award winning producers, journalists, and Pauline had been open to her submitting articles to the Register on a freelance basis, should she find the time. Oh and it was totally a plus that Perry White was currently working as a consultant on the show. It was everything Chloe didn't know she wanted and it still provided her with the means and flexibility to investigate other things including Corporate America's least ethical citizen, LuthorCorp and its head Lex.
While at first she thought maybe Oliver had pulled some strings, he had confirmed that QI had no interest in DC Media Holdings and that their CEO wasn't particularly fond of him. It had been a massive boost to her confidence that she had gotten the recommendation on her own merit.
"How's your mom doing?" Clark asked. That had thrown everyone in their little group for a loop. He'd had a frantic call from Oliver on the 2nd of July saying that something had happened to Chloe and her mom and could he please come.
Moira had barricaded her room off and would only speak to Clark. She had been under the impression that she was being held against her will and that if they were truly whom they said they were they would prove it and call Clark.
After everyone had calmed down, Dr Hamilton had examined Chloe and he had declared that she was suffering from extreme exhaustion but should be fine with rest. It had taken her a while to come clean with the team as to the source of her mother's miraculous recovery, and even then it hadn't been a lot of details.
"I was hoping you'd be up for stopping by her place later, I wanted to see how she was doing this morning," Chloe replied. She had been overjoyed on waking up to find her mother fussing over her. They had talked about possibly getting a place together, but for now her mom was still staying at the S.T.A.R Labs facility so that Emil could keep an eye on her.
Emil also had a theory as to how her ability might work but Chloe still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of being part of any "tests" to prove either his or her own theory just yet.
"She's doing okay. I never thought what it would be like for her you know to adjust back into the land of the living. I mean she hasn't really been apart of the world for years and so many things have changed." Aside from her 24 hours of lucidness at the hands of Lex, Moria had spent years in various institutions with varying degrees of functionality. She could understand that her mom needed some time to come to terms with everything.
"You still haven't told me what's up with you." Silence. She studied the face of her best friend trying to decipher what was causing his sullenness today.
"Who is it, Jor-El, Lex…Lana?" She asked going for the top three people that usually caused him concern.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Oh this is never end well."
"When I was at the fortress and my bizarro double was leading my life…you knew it wasn't me didn't you."
"Well" she replied guardedly "I knew something was wrong."
"What tipped you off."
Anticipating where he was going with this she tried to defend her other friend. "Okay first of all in total fairness to Lana, she's never really gotten an opportunity to know all the sides of you. You've always been hiding something from her."
"Chloe…just answer the question please."
"It was little things; I told your double I'd get back to him and he was so persistent, or he asked where something was because he had forgotten about it. But I know that you never forget anything. The biggest tip off though when he said that once some loose ends were tied up he was leaving Smallville with Lana. It just didn't seem to be like a step you would make without talking to someone else about it. It was like your personality was in a whole other universe." She watched as Clark seemed to be struggling with something.
"What's going on Clark?"
"I don't think it's going to work with Lana. I mean she's supposed to know me better than anyone, yet she didn't realize it was someone else in our bed." Ouch that one would have hurt a lot. Still she had learnt a thing or too over the years about getting involved.
"Clark the only ones that are going to know if it's going to work is Lana and you. And having had front seats to the merry-go-around for the last seven or so years, I don't know what else to say to you," she said gently.
"It's not just Lana. You're gone, Lois is Washington and so is mom, I just feel so…alone."
"Clark, I'm less than a minute away although you're going to have to give me the heads up before you come so you don't blow your secret in front of Perry. I would pay big money to see Lois's face on your announcement that you miss her. And your mom…you can have lunch with every afternoon if you wanted too."
"I know, but it's not the same."
"Hmm, I think this is the part of our lives called growing up. I mean as idyllic as our dreams were when we were younger that nothing would change, reality had to kick in sooner or later." She looked at him, waiting for his response.
Seeing she wasn't getting anything from him she decided to offer some comfort. "Look we're still good. You still hold the title of my best friend. As for all our other relationships we can't change the past, we can only try and affect the future and move forward."
"Sounds like something Oliver would say."
"It is. I've learnt a lot from being around him these last couple of weeks. I mean what's the use of having friends who have the benefit of age if I can't learn something from them. I also know if he and the boys hadn't been around, the transition to a life in Star City would have been a lot more daunting."
"Yeah, the team has really embraced you with open arms."
"They're good people. And I like being included in the team activities. Oliver offered you a part on the team too..."
"I know…I'm just not ready to be part of it yet. Oliver seems to be taking good care of you," he said eyeing the Penthouse and the state of the art coffee machine in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I mean I feel like the biggest moocher, he won't even let me pay my mom's bills or give him rent."
"Not exactly what I meant." She raised her eyebrows.
"What did you mean Clark?" He went to open his mouth and then stopped. No he didn't think she needed to know about his chat with Oliver about keeping her out of harms way.
"Thanks for the sage advice. Seriously Chlo, I need you to know how much you mean to me."
"You mean a lot to me too. And you'll figure something out with Lana. You always have, even if it means a little heartbreak." She smiled back at him feeling a sense of freedom. In the past his statement would have kept her heart waiting for him just a little longer. But she had found since being away from him that she no longer felt those little tugs of yearning for him to see her as the girl of his dreams.
Dating Jimmy, even though she had ended it, had been a good experience. Being around Bart who adored her, boosted her personal self-esteem no end and she made sure he knew how much his little gestures meant to her. She was now confident that when the time came she had the capacity to be in love with someone whose name was not Clark Kent and that her years of pining for Clark were behind her. Yep her heart did a little jig. Clark was her best friend, but no longer the love of her life.
"Come on, I think we've had enough Oprah for the morning. Let's grab some muffins and see my mom. Then I need to do some work." She grabbed his hand and headed out of the penthouse door.
-xxXxx-
Lewis had been turning up for work for the last 5 weeks. Truthfully he wasn't sure that he still had a job, however no one had told him not to turn up to work. Plus every now and then his boss liked to pop in, stir the pot and state his case. Not that anyone was listening to him, which was a shame. In his opinion Oliver had a good head for business and would have fought the lay-offs passionately.
So he wasn't all that surprised when Oliver strode in.
"Morning Lewis."
"Morning Oliver."
"Can you let me know when John Deleon arrives, I need to have a chat with him."
"Sure, anything else?"
"No, not at the moment, thanks."
He headed into his office and started his computer. He had a lot of trade and financial statements to get through. His instincts told him that he wasn't going to like what he found, but not knowing was driving him crazy. He hated being behind the game plan and in this case he was hoping there were enough moves left that he still had a chance to mount a defense against his opposition.
While he was looking into the financials the boys had various assignments. He hadn't really seen Chloe much over the last four weeks even though she was still staying with him. Between her starting a new job, visiting her mother and the teams out of town jaunt to take down another 33.1 there hadn't really been time.
He'd sent her an encrypted email giving the cliff's notes on the morning's activities knowing she would be beyond pissed if she got left out of the loop. She or the others would contact him if they found anything newsworthy.
Lewis's voice came over the intercom. "I've confirmed with John's secretary, he won't be in the office for the rest of the week. He's cancelled all his appointments."
Oliver couldn't help but let out a growl of frustration. Green Arrow's appearance may have spooked him, which meant there was a good chance that what ever was in play was being fast tracked. Getting his voice under control he replied, "Can you check if he's made a request for use of one of the corporate jets."
"Sure," came the response. There was nothing else he could do for now except get to work.
-xxXxx-
It was close to lunchtime when Chloe read Oliver's message and she shook her head. What a kick in the guts. That John might have ties to Lex Luthor was an unnerving thought. Then again while Lionel had mellowed out considerably with his status as Jor-El's emissary and Martha's companion, she wasn't sure that he could be completely ruled out from underhanded business dealings.
With everything that had happened since their last morning chat several weeks ago she hadn't been able to see how he was really doing. Their communication had been limited to the tasks at hand. She decided to put in a couple of hours research for both her bosses and then drop by his office with anything she found.
A couple of house later she was dumbstruck. No amounts of fiestas were going to make Ollie feel better after digesting this information; she grabbed her bag and headed towards Queen Industries. The second time she had visited and the occasion no more pleasant than the first time.
Chloe stepped out of the elevator absently playing with her mother's ring which she had started wearing, her heart solemn. With everything she knew about words, there really was no way to spin the information they had found in a positive light. Forcing a smile on her face, she looked at Lewis.
"Ms Sul…."
"It's fine, you can go straight in."
"Thank you."
"Oh and um good luck with everything." Chloe looked at him puzzled.
"I'm finishing up." He gave her a sad smile. Being unemployed again was not something he was looking forward to, even though Oliver had personally given him an incredibly generous exit payment that made him luckier than the rest of his colleagues who had gotten cut a couple of hours ago.
She empathized with the man. Not so many weeks ago that had been her on the receiving line of the "you no longer have a job" email. What else had happened during the course of the day that had gotten Lewis fired?
"Take care, then Lewis."
Squaring her shoulders and shaking off her 'gloomy' face she knocked quietly on the door that still said CEO.
"It's Chloe," she said pushing the door open. Oliver was standing at the window, hands in pockets, shoulders slumped, head bowed.
"Hey," she said softly expecting him to turn around. When he didn't she walked over to the window and placed her hand on his arm, feeling a jolt of electricity from the contact. If it had been any other day, that might have bought a quip from either of them.
He still wouldn't look at her. "Oliver," she said turning him around and peering up at him. Still nothing. Looking around the room she noticed financial statements strewn across the desk, many with big red question marks and circles on them. A good chance then that she wouldn't have to break the news to him.
"Oliver," she tried again…"Ollie." That got his attention. His hands moved to loosely hold her forearms. While they were in each other's personal space, which while it didn't happen a lot she couldn't say she was uncomfortable.
"Ollie," he repeated… "I like the way you make that sound sidekick," he murmured.
She smiled a little realizing that it was in fact the first time that she had used his nickname personally. Before she could say anything further there was commotion outside the room and the doors burst open.
Oliver snapped to attention as a guy pulled Chloe and him apart and laid a right hook into him before being grabbed by Sam Graham and a couple of security guards.
Oliver rubbed his jaw and looked at his attacker. It was one of the employee's that Emerson had fired from the accounting department, Mike…someone.
"You son of bitch," he said struggling against security, "you date my daughter behind my back, knock her up and then dump her to pick up with this piece of trash," wildly pointing to Chloe, several veins in his neck popping.
Oliver was speechless, those accusations were a first in his long career as a labeled womanizer and considering the day he'd had he just couldn't seem to find his voice at that moment for a suitable retort.
Chloe noted Ollie's dumfounded look and immediately came up with another explanation. She bet if she looked at the surveillance that they had on Nicholas Crane that the previously unidentified women he'd been practicing his bad pick up lines on was this man's daughter. Probably thought he would have a bit of fun on the side, while pretending to be Oliver Queen all those weeks ago. Bastard.
Before Oliver could demand the man be removed, Chloe's voice cut in and she got in front of the man's face.
"I don't know you so I going to let your comment about me slide. But… you do not get to come in here and accuse Ollie of something I know he didn't do. Now I realize your upset and that's understandable, but I guarantee you there's another explanation." He went to interject and she cut him off forcefully. "There's another explanation and it doesn't mean that your daughters lying…just that she was lied to."
Mike eyed the ring on her hand and demanded… "Who are you to him?"
"Someone who can account for all of Ollie's movements in the last several months. He's not the cad here…trust me and we can prove it." She pulled up the surveillance footage that AC had taken, during a time that Oliver had been in the office.
"That can't be."
"His name is Nicholas Crane, and he has been the cause of a lot of damage to Oliver's reputation. He is now being investigated by the Feds for Fraud and Theft."
Oliver looked at the group and Chloe in particular, one more emotion being added to the mix that he had been feeling up to that point in time.
"Oliver did you want to press charges," Sam asked.
He shook his head looking at Mike. "No not this time. And I am sorry about your daughter."
Sam motioned to the security guards. "Alright, Mike you will be escorted off the premises." Mike nodded his head and left the office without any further outbursts.
Chloe turned to face her current housemate. "You okay Ollie?"
Oliver had moved to stand beside Chloe his arm protectively around her. "My hero," he said pulling her in closer not caring that Sam was still in the room.
The use of Oliver's nickname hadn't gone unnoticed by Sam Graham, and he couldn't remember the last time Oliver had let a woman use it. She obviously meant a lot to him.
Reaching up to touch his jaw "You certainly attract drama, Queen. We should get some ice on that," she replied lightly.
Clearing his throat Sam spoke. "It would seem that I have perhaps misjudged you Oliver, why haven't you said anything in your defense?"
"I wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Turns out that was the wrong move and it's going to cost me dearly."
"If you are willing to forgive an old man…"
Oliver looked at his mentor, somewhat grateful to have regained his support, but doubtful it was going to do any good in the boardroom considering what he'd been able to find out about John's and Nicholas's activities. Still Oliver took it for what it was.
"Hey, …even I had to do a double take. We're good."
Sam looked at Chloe.
"Chloe Sullivan, Sam Graham."
"Ms Sullivan, pleasure to meet you. I hope to see more of the both of you."
Watching him leave, Oliver turned to Chloe, the revelations of the day competing for his attention not to mention what ever bombshell's Chloe hadn't had the chance to tell him.
"Let gets outta here. I'm starving and I'll think better once I've eaten. Then we can exchange information which will more than likely have me wanting to drown myself in a bottle." He wasn't kidding about the bottle part.
Grabbing his hand and tugging him along she agreed. "Let's go then hero…and no one would blame you if you needed a drink… this whole thing with Deleon and Crane is right up there with the best plots by evil masterminds."
"That it is." He said as he turned off the lights to his office, possibly for the last time because at this point he had no idea how the game was going to play out.
To be continued
AN: Hour is intended to be this universes version of 60 minutes a respected current affairs program in several different countries. It seemed like the kind of environment that Chloe would thrive in.
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