Ignoring the hushed conversations echoing from all around her keeping her eyes focused in on the photographs spread out across her office desk without reaching up as she cracks her neck instantly curing herself of her discomfort from the previous night to have a few of her co workers glance over towards her from out of the corner of their eye ignoring their stares reaching out gently Helena takes a nearby photo in her hand and raises it up to eye level.
A scene that has been playing out since the early morning to now the early part of the afternoon. The scene of intense focus being delivered by one of the departments fastest rising detectives.
A detective that most thought her rise through the rankings was because of their well known connections and associates inside of the building. Notably her partner one detective Quentin Lance.
But this has proven to be not the case. Instead it was because of her determination. Or some would say because of obsession to ensure justice was delivered.
The same trait that they could see in her partner. An obsession that has been well known through the department for years. Just like another obsession.
An obsession that was fresh on everyone's mind. An obsession that some were even starting to share. The obsession of catching them. The obsession of catching who was considered the people responsible for the events of The Undertaking.
Catching the vigilante known as The Green Arrow and his associate The Black Canary. Two vigilantes that were considered to be extremely dangerous. Dangerous to the point of this.
A weird obsession being directed their way. An obsession that has caused many whispers of rumors to travel through the department. Whispers of a special task force being created to apprehend the vigilantes.
Whispers of using undercovers to find these wanna be heroes and bring them to justice before they could hurt somebody else. Whispers that put everyone on the edge of their toes just hoping they would be chosen for the task.
Just begging to get the chance to catch the people responsible for so many lives being taken that fateful night. Including some of their very own family members.
But for another it was different. For another it proved to be a challenge. Another challenge she would face head on. A challenge that was like none she had ever experienced before.
The challenge of facing off against a pair of vigilantes that would do whatever necessary to get the job done. Whether it was going after the head of the problem in the form of mob bosses to even starting up from the bottom and making their way up to the top leaving a trail of blood behind them.
A challenge that has already left her battered and bruised. Not only physically but her own ego as well. However she would happily pay that price to learn the information that she did the previous night.
Information that answered so many questions on her mind. Questions such as their fighting styles. Some which she could recognize as Muay Thai to even some boxing mixed in.
Found out the types of weapons that they used. The reported bow wielded by the emerald archer that proven to be accurate but as for his counterpart. Some rumors had been debunked while some others had proven to be correct.
Rumors of her voice being able to take down an helicopter at will. Rumors of her scream could shatter bones upon impact. Rumors that started to spread labeling her as what was to be called a metahuman along with some others throughout the world.
Metahumans that were starting to come out of the woodworks along with other vigilantes. All dating back to one pair. A group of heroes that had emerged out of nowhere to do battle against their city's corrupted.
One in which was described to have the strength of hundred men wielding almost godly weapons that could cut through any man like butter.
The other proved to be different. Instead of relying on his strength instead he used the darkness as cover to spring out and attack his enemies.
A duo that she had encountered once before. A duo that had proven to be too much for her before she had eventually made her escape here to this city. A city that she has now found the same problem lurking in the shadows.
Only these two were different. They weren't relying on their strength to get them through the fights. They weren't fighting individually hoping to achieve the same goal. No these two were working as a well placed team. Were working as a unit in their battles.
A unit that was proving to be a problem for her. Especially her. This Black Canary. A woman that was showing she was a force to be reckoned with. A dangerous foe that would take down even cops along with her associate if it meant achieving the result she wanted.
But a foe that did have one weakness it seemed to her. And that weakness was simple. The weakness in the form of her collar. A collar that proved to her that it was truly responsible for the rumors of this woman's power instead of some kind of special powers like others around the world possess.
A weakness she would try to exploit at the first chance but only if she could get by her fighting styles. If she could get through the duos defenses for just one second. Something she knew would prove to be very difficult.
A way that she had no clue how to do. But there was one thing that she did know. In her heart she knew that the bitch kicked extremly hard.
Replacing the photograph with another from her office table taking a closer look at the picture of what is a close up view of the armored convey dented inward hoping to see some sort of detail that she had previously missed from before after a couple of seconds letting out a sigh slowly Helena drops the photograph back onto her office desk and sits back in her seat to look up towards the ceiling.
What am i missing? There has to be something that i'm not seeing.
Taking a deep breath immediately feeling a calming sensation running through her leaning back forward as she glances back and forth through each photograph being displayed to her suddenly as one particular photograph catches her eye reaching out Helena snatches the photo off from her desk and brings it up to eye level.
A photograph that she has stared at before. But this time there was something else drawing her to the photograph. A photograph of the convoy's driver that had died upon impact from hitting the hard pavement.
But it wasn't the deceased that was catching her eye. No it was the background behind the deceased. A hanging street light with a small camera resting next to it. A small prototype that has slowly been tested in the city on a couple of streets in the hopes of easing the citizens worries.
A prototype that make her lips curl up for a brief second before it disappears in a flash as she rises up to her feet with the photograph in her hand to make her way slowly out of the station.
Reaching up to rub his tired eyes suppressing a yawn taking a couple of seconds to blink the tiredness out of his eyes turning his attention back towards his lap reaching down gently tracing his index finger across a large sheet of paper keeping his ears open to every sort of sound echoing from the outside world curiosity of an open window turning back to where he last left off slowly Oliver traces his finger across the paper making sure to memorize everything that he sees.
A paper that was unlike any others. A paper with a special blueprint to a building that had recently been created in the past year. A monument created for what many citizens considered to be a great man.
Some others would say it was a publicity stunt but it still remained the same. The building had been created nonetheless. A building he has once explored. Twice even. But now he wasn't looking to explore it.
Hearing the sound of a doorknob wiggling snapping his attention over his shoulder as he stares at the locked front door leading into the apartment to see the doorknob slowly wiggling followed by a silent click reaching down gently grazing his fingers across a firearm hidden underneath a nearby pillow just as he sees the door slowly opening grabbing a firm hold of the concealed weapon instantly as he sees Laurel standing at the open doorway with a few bags in her hand releasing the breath that he was holding releasing the concealed weapon slowly Oliver turns his attention back towards the blueprint in his lap as he hears the sound of the apartment door closing.
Making sure to apply the locks to the door turning on her heels slowly making her way over to the living room without any delay releasing the bags in her hand causing them to flop down onto the living room table in a sudden move reaching down snatching the blueprint off from his lap slowly Laurel plants herself gently down on Oliver's lap before gently as she feels him wrapping his arms around her waist feeling her lips curling up into a smile reaching out gently she wraps her arms around the back of his neck.
" Still sight seeing i see."
Feeling his own lips curling up as he stares at her smiling face to see her own smile widening by the second nodding his head leaning out gently Oliver presses his lips to Laurel's own.
" Well you know me. I would rather be bird watching with one particular beauty in mind."
Unable to keep her smile from widening shaking her head gently Laurel pecks Oliver on the lips before a few seconds later as she enjoys the sensation of being pulled closer to his chest untangling herself from his body reaching out snatching a bag from the living room table slowly Laurel nods her head at the remaining bag on the table.
" Well i think you have more than earned a well rested break. I hope grinders are okay with you. Our favorite chinese place has closed down."
With a slight nod reaching out snatching the remaining bag from the table as he reaches into the bag and grabs a hold of a grinder tightly wrapped by tinfoil feeling a head gently resting against his shoulder feeling his lips curling up slightly gently Oliver starts to unwrap the tinfoil as he hears Laurel letting out a sigh.
" I know that i'm gonna regret this but what did you find? Anything useful that we can use."
" Nothing that we didn't already know. These blueprints are a bit outdated. From what i've gathered there is a few vitale points inside of the building that once they have been disposed off well…."
" I know. We'll tackle all of this on another night. Right now we have bigger fish to fry and if my timing is correct we should have front row seats to see the main course being spread out."
Without waiting for a response reaching out to grasp a hold of the television remote pressing down on the power button instantly Laurel watches the television come to life before slowly as she raises the volume gently she rests her head back down on his shoulder as a familiar sight comes across the television screen.
A sight she had seen once before. A feeding frenzy outside of Queen Consolidated. But this frenzy was different. It wasn't a gigantic mob scene. It wasn't a protest.
No instead it was a media frenzy. News vans by the handful parked outside of the buildings doors with numerous reporters on hand trying to get an interview.
" That was fast."
Without taking her eyes away from the television screen replacing the remote in her hand with her grinder leaning forward Laurel takes a bite of her sandwich before she rests her head gently back down on Oliver's shoulder.
" What did you expect? Honestly let's just face the facts. Whenever either of us is mentioned in the news it becomes their top story. Whether we like it or not."
" Well thank god we're not going to be back in this city for long. A couple of months. A year tops depending upon if our plan works."
" I agree but we still have work to do. We dealt a serious blow to Moira yesterday and we should start to see the results of our actions shortly.
If i know your mother the first thing that she did once we left was to contact her attorneys to see if there is anyway that she can delay Isabel from becoming the active CEO of Queen Consolidated.
That will take some time for them to look over everything. By then Isabel will have rooted out and taken care of any deadweight inside of the company.
But that's not the problem. The problem is we still need to gather some more evidence linking her to the night of The Undertaking.
We still have the data files detailing the microwave emitter that came from Queen Consolidate data banks but it won't be enough.
The defense could just state that it insufficient data since by now knowing your mother it is most likely that she wiped out the data banks intending to cover her tracks. We need some strong concrete evidence that could help bring her to court."
" And if that doesn't work what then? We know the influence she has on the city. What if the evidence isn't enough?"
Turning her head to look upright as she locks eyes with Oliver reaching out gently Laurel grabs a hold of his free hand.
" Then we are left with no choice other than what we have been doing each and every night we roam the streets. We dish out our own brand of justice."
Without taking his eyes away from her own nodding his head gently Oliver squeezes Laurel's hand to only feel her returning the gesture.
" Then there is only one thing that we can do but are you sure that you want to do this? Maybe it would be better that i do this one alone."
" No, I have to do this. I can't imagine how hard this is for you. Having to face off against your mother like this but the moment you came back into my life, I made a promise to myself.
I promised that no matter what, I would always be there for you. No matter who got in my way. Whether it was my father,your mother,it didn't make the slightest difference to me.
Before even The Undertaking had taken place that woman had hurt you. She may not have set the bombs inside of The Queen's Gambit but she might as well have.
I hold her personally responsible for everything that happened to you on that island and i will not stop until you receive justice for everything she has done to you.
I know what i have to do. It doesn't make it any less easier but in my heart, I know it's the right thing to do."
In a sudden motion without having a chance to react instantly as she feels Oliver's lips pressed to her own after a few seconds of shaking off the shock tossing the sandwich in her hand to the side closing her eyes gently Laurel wraps her arms around the back of his neck as she leans more into his side.
Listening to the sound of birds chirping echoing through the air over the thrashing waves hitting the sandy shore just inches from her bare feet looking off into the distance as he stares off at the sun to see it slowly setting off in the horizon glancing down as he sees a wave of blonde hair resting down on his lap feeling his lips curling up into a smile turning to look back off into the distance for the first time in several months feeling a sense of peace within himself slowly Oliver lets out a content sigh.
A sigh that doesn't go unheard by his companion below. A sigh that makes a smile form across her own face as she scoots more comfortably in his lap before a few silent moments later as she feels her hair being gently stroked turning to look upright to see a smiling face looking down towards her unable to help it Laurel returns the smile.
Without easing up as he continues to gently stroke Laurel's hair to only feel her leaning into his touch feeling his own smile widening slowly Oliver turns his attention back over towards the horizon.
" I see why you love fishing over here now. The moment we sat down here i've felt totally relaxed."
Nodding his head without ceasing his gently stroking movements Oliver turns his attention back down towards Laurel to see her staring off into the horizon.
" I know what you mean. The moment, I found this place and started fishing here this river has always brought me a sense of peace."
Without turning away from the setting sun nodding her head gently in his lap after a few moments of watching the setting sun hearing a silent chuckle coming from up above turning away from the horizon slowly Laurel looks up towards Oliver with a raised eyebrow.
" What's so funny?"
" I'm just thinking how funny it is that you still don't care for anything that i hunt."
" Well it's your fault. I mean eating deer is one thing but it is totally a different thing watching you gut a cute defenseless rabbit. I'll stick to salmon and berries now thank you very much."
Letting out a chuckle shaking his head turning his attention back towards the setting sun feeling slight movement coming from down below glancing down as she sees Laurel reaching back into the back of her shorts to pull out a small black notebook from her pocket feeling his interest only increasing silently Oliver watches Laurel open up the notebook to see her turn towards the back of the book.
" What's that?"
Unclipping her pen from the notebook without looking away with a flick of her thumb slowly Laurel scrolls through the notebook.
" Just something to remind me of who the real enemy is. Ever since we arrived here i've been writing down notes in hope that one day we will see something here that will help us later on."
Glancing up as she sees Oliver nodding his head in understanding keeping her eyes focused on him after a few seconds as she sees him turning his head back towards the river turning her attention back towards the notebook flipping towards the last page with readable handwriting slowly Laurel writes down the name Moira Queen in bold letters before with a series of flicks from her wrists she underlines the name over and over again.
Silently walking through the unusually quiet hallway leading up to her destination keeping a firm hold on her companion's hand as she comes to a stop at her destination in the form of an locked apartment door feeling her hand being gently squeezed glancing over to her side as she sees Oliver looking at her with a look of concern across his face forcing a smile across her own face turning her attention back towards the apartment door taking a deep breathe reaching out with a raised fist Laurel knocks hard on the door before retracting her hand back to stare at the door making sure to mask her emotions.
Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the locked door feeling her hand being gently squeezed returning the gesture instantly as she watches the apartment door come flying open revealing a dazed Quentin Lance unable to mask her emotions any longer feeling a pit of anger rising up deep inside Laurel can't help but stare at her father with a mixture of emotions.
Emotions from shock to even disgust as she takes in his appearance. An appearance that she had seen so many times before. Bloodshot red eyes. The makings of a beard that needed to be shaved. Unkempt casual clothes that looked as though they had been worn for the past few days.
Blinking away the grogginess out of his eyes staring directly forward at Laurel's face reaching out Quentin grabs a firm hold of the open doorway.
" Hey sweetie? Is something wrong?"
Catching a good whiff of whisky from his breathe feeling her anger rising up in the pit of her stomach like a volcano just threatening to explode without giving him a chance to react shoving her way inside of the apartment knocking Quentin off balance slightly stalking her way into the living room as she catches the sight of his living room table releasing a hold of Oliver's hand feeling her anger only rising with every passing second closing her eyes slowly Laurel takes a deep breathe.
A sight that has only made so many emotions start to resurface. A sight that disgusts her. Empty whisky bottles one after another scattered around a filth cluttered table. A glass halfway filled up with whisky resting upon a familiar black journal as though it was a coaster.
" It's not what you…."
Instantly turning on her heels snapping her head around to look towards Quentin with an look of hatred across her face causing him to flinch under her gaze as she blinks back a few tears that are threatening to fall from her eyes slowly Laurel shakes her head.
" Really dad!? Because it looks to me that you have started drinking again! Something you swore to me that you would never do!
Don't you care!? Can't you let go of your own ego for two goddamn seconds!?"
In a sudden motion turning back towards the table reaching out Laurel snatches the half filled glass of whisky off from the table before throwing all of her strength into it with a flick of her wrist the glass goes soaring out of her hand into a nearby wall shattering the glass into thousands of pieces.
Snapping back around furiously wiping at her eyes as she sees Quentin's mouth opening to shut almost instantly stalking her way over without giving him a chance to react rearing back Laurel delivers a vicious slap across Quentin's face causing his head to snap to the side as a red handprint is seen across his face.
Feeling a surge of anger run through him snapping his attention back over towards Laurel seeing her glare unwavering in a sudden motion just as he raises up his right hand suddenly Quentin feels himself being pulled back before he feels his back being roughly thrown into a nearby wall.
Struggling to keep himself on his feet shaking away the cobwebs snapping his attention back forward as he locks eyes with Oliver whom has blocked his sight of a glaring Laurel seeing movement over the young man's shoulder glancing over his shoulder without having a chance to react feeling a series of photographs being flicked into his chest turning his attention down towards the scene of scattered photographs at his feet instantly Quentin's eyes go as wide as saucers as her anger evaporates instantly.
Photographs he can't help but stare down in absolute horror. Photos taken from afar of him meeting with a few selected individuals at Starling City's docks.
Some showing meetings with individuals that he didn't even know whose names were. But some others were different. Much like one staring directly up towards him now.
A photograph of him sitting inside of a well known restaurant in Chinatown meeting with who was once a powerful man before he had met his demise.
A photograph that unaware to his knowledge as he stares down towards the photo remembering that day as though it was yesterday a few tears trickle down his cheeks before he turns his attention to catch a glimpse of Laurel to see her shaking her head at him.
" Laurel? It's…."
" I'm done with you. I'm done caring for someone that doesn't want to be saved. I'm done babysitting the likes of you."
" It's not what it looks like…."
" Really!? Because it looks to me that you have been working for The Chinese Triad! You always saying to stand up for what's right! Was that a lie too!? You make me sick!"
" I did it for you!"
Closing his eyes taking a deep breathe trying to regain his emotions slowly Quentin opens his eyes to look back towards Laurel to see her facial features not wavering.
" They promised me that if i cooperated with them then no harm would ever be done to you. What was i supposed to do!?"
" And you decided to make a deal with the devil before even bothering to ask for my opinion! Did you even consider asking me what i wanted!? I would never make a deal with the devil!
Instead i would look him straight in his eyes and spit in his face before asking is that i'll you got! Just like i have all of my life! I don't care what form he takes whether they are part of The Chinese Triad or so low leveled thug that was pulled off the streets! I will never back away from my beliefs!
Clearly you don't know me too well! In fact you never knew me at all!"
Snapping her attention away from Quentin reaching out Laurel snatches the black journal off from the living room table before she looks back over towards Quentin.
" You don't deserve this. You're nothing but a disgrace to the Lance family."
Turning her head away from a shell shocked Quentin with her facial features softening Laurel turns her head to lock eyes with Oliver.
" Let's go Ollie. I can't bare to be in a room with this man for even another second."
Nodding his head reaching out as he gently takes her free hand within his own with feeling any sort of resistance slowly Oliver leads Laurel through the apartment before mere moments later he leads her down the quiet hallway with only the sound of the apartment door slamming shut echoing through the hall.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone and my 2 reviewers :( I'm looking to see what everyone thinks of the story so far. Mainly of if you like how each of the characters are in this story. The main one i'm looking for opinions on is Helena or Huntress. Should she be more of a badass? Should she have more of an adittude? Let me know what you think.
Pootamis