Episode 12: Family Affair—Part 1
Anna ducked a fast swing of Oliver's stick and cut upright, and he parried. She twisted sideways and slipped behind, rendering a strike to Oliver's back. She stepped backwards as he turned around and she smirked. "How long are you gonna let me kick your ass?" she asked. She lurched forward and he just barely got his stick up in time to block hers from hitting his face.
She followed that by shifting her weight onto her left heel and twisting as she swung her stick behind Oliver's legs and pulling, causing him to slam onto the mat with a groan. He attempted to do something like she did, but before he could she vaulted forward and landed a few feet on his other side. "Seriously, though, when are you gonna raise the bar? And I ain't talking about the Salmon Ladder" she said.
"We only started thirty minutes ago" Oliver said, pulling himself off the mat.
"Yeah, and your ass has hit the mat fifteen times" Roy said, from where he sat a few feet from Felicity, watching.
"You're counting?" Oliver asked.
"For training's sake. It's good to keep track" he said, shrugging.
"And I suppose you're scoring the matches, too?" Oliver asked him.
"No, but if I was I'd give Anna a solid ten for that flip thing at the end" Roy replied.
"I'd have to disagree," Felicity said, who was also turned in her chair to watch. "The landing wasn't that stable so a nine seems more realistic." Oliver shook his head as he went back to his corner for starter's stance and Anna chuckled. "Round three," Roy announced, lecherously. "Begin!"
Anna was the first to move out of starter's position, her stick meeting Oliver's. She moved quickly, with expert strikes and extreme flexibility and speed. In seconds, Oliver hit the mat again and this time Roy clapped. "You shaved five whole seconds off your time," he said. Anna went to the end of the mat picked up her water bottle. "How do you do it?" she gulped down half her water bottle then put it back. "A lot of training" she answered.
"Who did you train with?" he asked. As Anna spoke, she stretched backward to touch her heels and succeeded. "A martial arts expert on the east coast. I trained with him from eight to thirteen and then I went to a dojo in Japan and trained there for two years" she said.
"Cool" Roy said.
"I know, right?" Felicity said.
"You two are ridiculous" Oliver called over his shoulder as he stood.
"What's ridiculous is that you can't pin me," Anna said, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you even trying?"
"Of course I'm trying" Oliver said.
"Doesn't look like it from here" Roy interjected. Oliver glared at Roy and he pretended he wasn't looking at them. Oliver sighed as he turned back to Anna, who had just stood from her back-breaking stretch. "I'm trying, okay? But your technic isn't something I'm familiar with" he said.
"Well get familiar with it," Anna said, with a cocky smile. "Because if I can take you down, just imagine who else could take you down." Roy audibly stifled a chuckle and Oliver shot a glare his way. Anna put her stick back on the rack and pulled on her jacket. "Someday, Roy, you'll get to fight me. And then we'll see who's laughing" Anna said, as she passed him to the stairs.
Diggle and Oliver started chuckling upon seeing Roy's sour expression. Felicity patted his shoulder and turned back to her computer, and he shook his head. Anna stopped at the stairs when Felicity called out, "Hey guys, I think we have a problem." She turned around and went to stand behind her chair. "What is it?" Oliver asked, coming to stand beside Anna.
"Okay, so I connected the motion sensors Anna put up on the old toy factory to our system so that we'd know when and if someone ever came back. And someone just did" Felicity said.
"Who?" Anna asked.
"His back is to the street camera, I can't get an ID" she said. Anna squinted to see who it might be on the computer screen. When she saw who it was she gasped and stepped back. "I need to go" she said. She put on her black leather jacket and put her hair up into a pony tail as she left. "Anna, who is it?" Oliver asked. She stopped at the stairs and turned slightly toward him. "Nothing to worry about" she said, putting on her black mask and sliding her gun into her belt at her lower back. She took the stairs two at a time and left the club.
As she got closer to the toy factory she double checked the magazine of her gun. She pushed it back in as she hid alongside the building across the street from the factory. She saw the familiar red and black motorcycle parked by the door and took a deep breath. She held her gun in the two hand position and turned the corner swiftly, aiming the gun at the man standing with his back to the street camera.
The man looked a few years older than her with thick black hair. He wore dark jeans and a dark blue shirt covered by a long black trench coat. He stood with his hands in his pockets and smirked at Anna. "I thought you stopped wearing that" he said, tilting his head. Anna kept the gun trained on him. "Why are you here, Damien?" she asked.
"I need an excuse to see my baby sister?" he asked.
"Why?" she asked, sternly.
"A friend sent me to check on you" he admitted.
"Why did our 'friend' send you to check on me? I don't need a babysitter" Anna said.
"Indeed you don't, but what you do need is someone to make you put the gun down" he said.
"That would be me" a deep voice said from behind Anna. She sighed and rolled her eyes then slid her gun into belt. She turned sideways and glared at the 'hood'. "You followed me? Didn't the quick exit give you the idea I wanted to go alone?" she asked.
"If you're so okay going alone then why did you keep your gun up?" he asked, stepping beside her.
"Because he's unpredictable. I didn't know if he was here for a hug or a kick in the ass" Anna said, turning back t Damien.
"Oh, I see," Damien said, with a boyish grin. "You're in it with Starling City's famous vigilante. Exciting."
"This is Damien…he's my brother" Anna said to Oliver. Damien held out his hand and Oliver stayed still. Damien awkwardly pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. "Can't I at least get a hug? You did say a hug or a kick in the ass, and I choose hug" he said. Anna lopsidedly smiled and hugged her brother. She stepped back and sighed. "Is that all you came here to do?" Anna asked.
"I'm going to stay in town a few days, make sure everything's okay here with you and Sophia. Is your couch open?" he asked.
"Yeah, fine, but if I here you snore I will escort you out at gun point" Anna said.
"Deal" he said, with a thumb up. She sighed exhaustively and pushed his thumb down. "One rule," she said. "Grow up."
"Geez, fine" he said. She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to follow as she started walking the other way.
Anna fluffed a pillow before positioning it on her couch. She got a stack of blankets from the bedroom closet and sat it on the coffee table, next to the couch. Damien came in the living room from the kitchen and sat on the couch beside her. "You better not snore" she said.
"Don't worry," he said, with a wave of his hand. "You won't even know I'm here." Anna gave him a wavering look and started up the stairs.