6: FORWARDS
Quentin Lance and a team of officers were summoned to the scene by The Arrow, and next to The Martyr's body was an arrow containing a recording explaining everything they needed to know about Joseph Sterven and how everything had to be kept secret. Lance understood what had to be done and told passers-by that there had been a suicide; a pure tragedy and nothing more.
...
Diggle, Felicity and Roy all waited in silence until they heard Oliver walk in, darkness in his eyes. He seemed consumed by the death of The Martyr and it had affected him greatly. Felicity swivelled around on her chair to face him and was scared by how she was mirroring the glum and empty looks on the faces of the three men around her.
"We heard about a suicide on the news." Roy said.
"...It was Sterven." Oliver almost choked as he leant against a nearby desk.
"So, it's over?" Diggle asked.
"Well, the people he employed can't be tracked, so...yeah. It's over. I thought it'd been over for so long. You know the worst part? I still respect him. He always had a cause until the very end, no matter how much he changed what the cause was." Oliver explained.
"You have a cause too, and you go about it in a better way." Felicity said.
"Do I? I've killed people too." Oliver stated.
"But the people you punished did wrong. What Sterven wanted to do was kill people for something they might not even do. He had a very twisted version of justice, but you will always know, in your heart, what you're fighting for." Felicity said, walking over to Oliver. Oliver smiled and hugged her.
"Thank you." He whispered.
"For what?" Felicity asked.
"Always knowing what to say." Oliver replied. Felicity smiled.
"Well I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink." Roy said. Diggle chuckled.
"Me too! Unless of course, Oliver has a miniature bomb in a paper cut or shoved up his ass that we need to worry about?" Diggle questioned amusingly. The group laughed.
"Not this time, Digg." Oliver said. Diggle and Roy laughed as they walked up the steps together. Oliver started getting changed back into casual clothes before noticing Felicity was staring at him.
"You know, if I didn't know you well enough to know you do that quite often, I'd find you a pretty creepy woman." Oliver smiled.
"Don't think you've lost. I know you do." Felicity said. Oliver looked at her in slight surprise.
"You really do know me well, don't you?"
"Yep. He's gone, Oliver, for good this time. He caused you pain and he was willing to kill hundreds for his 'cause'. You stopped him. You won, Oliver, despite getting a very nasty new scar to add to your collection." Felicity smiled. Oliver laughed again.
"Yeah, it stings quite a bit. I'm sure a drink or ten will solve that. And besides, I wouldn't have been able to confront him if you guys hadn't thrown the bomb in the water." Oliver teased.
"You make it sound so puny; that was a big deal at the time!" Felicity exclaimed passionately as Oliver changed back into normal clothing. He held his arm out and Felicity wrapped her arm in his as they walked up the stairs together.
"You know, you are allowed to smile. You always look so melancholy." Felicity commented.
"You need to start using words non-geeks will understand." Oliver said and smiled as she thumped him.
"Ah, so hitting you makes you smile! I'll keep that in mind." Felicity giggled.
Oliver and Felicity soon joined their friends and drank together in celebration that the horrors The Martyr had brought them were over for good, though Oliver would always think of Sterven from time to time, but not in the ways he thought he would. He'd think of Sterven in an inspirational way and admire his dedication to the cause. So, whenever he felt lost and alone, Sterven would always be in the back of Oliver's mind to remind him what he was fighting for. In a way, The Martyr would always be the reason Oliver never gave up the fight to save his city and those he loved.