Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 12: Burned
Mia let everyone have an hour to calm down and eat before she left with Stephanie and Sara to go back to the control room. As promised, Kara stayed behind to keep an eye on everyone, especially Malcolm and Slade. A new seating arrangement was enacted, with Malcolm moving off to a chair by himself, giving the others a little space, while Tommy and Laurel stayed with Thea, Quentin stayed seated next to Moira, and Diggle and Felicity remained on the third couch with Kara.
"Well then," Kara said, lifting the remote. "Shall we begin?"
The scene opened on a massive fire in the warehouse district of The Glades. Firemen form several companies swarmed trying to get the blaze under control. On the ground outside near the command center, Fire Chief Raynes was coordinating efforts.
"Get that hose over to the north face or we're liable to lose the whole block!" he yelled at some of his men. He reached to his shoulder and activated his radio. "Danny!"
"Yes, Keith?"
"Getting a little smokey out here, buddy."
"Just clearing the upper level." Danny replied from inside the building. He looked around and spotted another fireman. "Hey you, over here." He called out. "I can use some help. I got a hot spot."
The other fireman walked over, then calmly unhooked a spray nozzle from his belt and sprayed.
"Hey!" Danny exclaimed, sputtering as the liquid hit his face. His eyes widened as he tasted gasoline. "What-oh! Ohh!" he staggered back, his hand accidently brushing up against a flame. Immediately the gasoline ignited, flames spreading over his entire body. He screamed out in agony as he was burned alive as the other fireman calmly turned and walked away.
Diggle blinked in surprise. "Holy…"
"My god, why would a fireman do that?" Felicity asked in horror.
The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was hard at work, getting himself back in shape. Physically, he was there. But when he tossed up a tennis ball and fired an arrow, the shot went wide; the arrow hit the back wall, while the ball fell to the ground. He stared at the ball, dejected.
"His confidence is shaken." Malcolm noted, a touch smugly.
"That tends to happen when you suffer a major defeat after a string of victories." Diggle noted.
"How you doin'?" Dig asked, walking in the lair. "Rehab going good?"
Oliver stared at the older man. "Any news on Walter?" he asked finally.
"My contact at the Bureau struck out. Same with my guy at Interpol." Dig shook his head. "They're both saying the same thing."
"Either my stepfather doesn't want to be found or someone doesn't want him to be found." Oliver sighed.
Diggle walked over to him. "It's been six weeks, Oliver." He stated. "No contact from the kidnappers, no ransom demand, no proof of life. I hate to sound—"
"Dig," Oliver cut him off. "We both know he's more than likely dead."
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Oliver sighed, frustrated. "Even my contacts in the Bratva can't dig up a lead."
"I wasn't talking about Walter." Diggle picked up the notebook from the table. "Back at fighting weight, looks like. And last I checked, there were more than a few names to cross off in this book."
"Those people aren't going anywhere." Oliver said. "With Walter missing, my family needs me right now."
FIVE YEARS AGO
"Call your people." Yao Fei demanded. "Tell them to bring the plane."
Fyers looked at him contemptuously. "There's no need, Yao Fei. My people will be here shortly." Yao Fei looked at him in alarm; Fyers gave him a satisfied smile. "Do you not think it convenient you captured me so easily?" he goaded.
Ahead, the masked man suddenly appeared, along with several other men in black.
"Go!" Yao Fei yelled to Oliver as he pulled up his hood.
"What?" he asked confused for a moment before he spotted the Mercs.
"Run!" Yao Fei rushed in, attacking Wintergreen, who fought back just as viciously. Oliver took off into the woods, the Mercs firing after him. Oliver weaved between trees. And lost them long enough to look back- just in time to see Wintergreen knock Yao Fei out. Two Mercs grabbed the fallen man and dragged him away. Wintergreen looked back, searching. Not seeing Oliver he turned and walked away with the Mercs, leaving Oliver alone in the forest once more.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the present at CNRI. Joanna was talking to Laurel about a recent case.
"And, Judge Hinkle is ready to grant them another continuance! So I said, hell, no. This trial starts right now." She recalled happily.
"That a girl." Laurel complimented.
"Thanks." Joanna said. She looked up to see Detective Lance walk in somberly, and motioned to Laure who turned around and smiled.
Quentin sighed, a ball of dread filing his stomach. He knew what he was about to do, and it was one of the worst jobs he had as a cop.
"Dad." She said happily. "What brings you by?"
"I need to talk to Jo." He said seriously. Joanna looked up.
"Is everything ok, Mr. Lance?" she asked,
Quentin shook his head, "No." he said. Her worry grew as she saw Chief Raynes walk in behind him in full uniform.
"What's happening?" Laurel asked her father, worried.
"No." Joanna said, realizing as Chief Raynes came up to her.
"Her brother Danny." Quentin explained softly to his daughter. "He was killed on duty last night."
Laurel teared up, realizing the man she had seen murdered was her best friends brother.
"Jo, I'm so sorry." Raynes said.
"No. No, no! " Joanna was screaming as Raynes kept trying to comfort her. Finally Laurel came up and drew her into a hug, calming the distraught woman.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira sat at her vanity staring at a picture of her and Walter, alone in her darkened room.
"Mom?"
Moira looked over and saw Oliver standing in the doorway. "Hey." She said.
"Hey." He came into the room. "I stopped by the Big Belly Burger. I thought maybe you, me and Thea, have some take-out, watch a DVD." He offered hopefully.
She shook her head. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'm not very hungry."
Oliver looked at her sadly. "If you change your mind." He offered, moving off and leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Moira sighed, touched by her son's thoughtfulness, and more than a little angry at Malcolm. She shot him a glare that he studiously ignored.
Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea sat in the sitting room, Digging into their fast food as Oliver looked through the movies. He held one out to Thea.
"I've seen the movie before." She said, munching on fries.
"Cut me some slack." He said, looking over the blu-ray, "I've been gone for a while and apparently I missed the cinematic genius that is Zac… Galafinakis?" he drew out the last name, trying to pronounce it correctly. Oliver looked back at Thea, who shook her head.
"I mean, with mom," she explained. "When you and dad disappeared, she spent more and more time at home." She sighed. "Eventually stopped going out altogether."
"What snapped her out of it that time?" Oliver asked.
"Walter." She smiled at the memory. "One morning, he showed up and, you know, when he gets all British and stern-like." She affected a British accent. "Moira, get dressed. We're going out for lunch." They chuckled. "And, I mean, it worked."
"Hmm." Oliver said, lost in thought.
"You know, I've been thinking." Thea said suddenly. "Maybe Walter wasn't abducted. Maybe he's having some mid-life crisis and he's with some stewardess in Bora Bora, and he's too ashamed to call home and say that he's okay." She sighed. "Just because we haven't heard from him doesn't mean he's… he's gone, right?" she asked, hopefully.
Malcolm glanced over at Thea, who stared at the screen forlornly. She was more than a little distracted since coming back into the room; he wondered if it was worry about Walter, or something else. A small part of him wished he could spare his daughter any more pain, and when he got back he would have to adjust his plans. Maybe he could bring Walter in?
Oliver gave her a small smile. "Right." Suddenly, something on the TV caught his attention and he turned back to it. On the screen was a panel news show; currently they were talking about the Vigilante.
"So what strikes me is that this Vigilante was actually making a difference." The woman on the screen was saying. Oliver and Thea gave the show their full attention. "In the four months that he was active, assaults were down, muggings down. The murder rate dropped by 16%. So in a very quantifiable way, this man in the hood had been a positive force in this city. So where has he been for the past six weeks?"
"Looks like everyone's disappearing." Thea remarked. Oliver just watched on, silent.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Laurel walked in, tired and emotionally drained to find Tommy sitting on her couch. He rose and embraced her, giving her a soft kiss.
"Hey." He said. They sat down on the couch, and only then did Laurel spot something on her coffee table.
"What's this?" she asked, reaching out for the paper.
"It's-it's nothing?" Tommy said weakly, trying to grab it back, Laurel held him off.
"It's nothing?" she said with a smile. "'Reasons I deserve a drawer'." She read. Tommy deftly took it back from her and se tit back on the table.
Laurel glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. He smirked back.
"Okay, we're going to table this for a less tragedy-filled day." He said.
"Yeah, and besides, I don't think we're there yet." Laurel added. Before she could continue, there was a knock on the door. "I should probably get that." She said.
"All right." He agreed as she rose to get the door. Opening it, she found Joanna.
"I need your help." Her friend said.
"Jo, come in." Laurel ushered her into the living room and sat her down, then took a seat next to Tommy.
"I, um I don't think what happened to Danny was an accident." Joanna began. "I think he might have been murdered."
Laurel shared a look with Tommy, and then turned back to her friend. "Jo, do you remember when Sara died? I did all this research to try to find an explanation for why the boat went down. I needed to believe that it wasn't just an accident."
"Never even thought about sabotage." Laurel muttered, glaring at Malcolm. Kara cleared her throat, and she returned her attention to the screen.
"That is not what I am doing, Laurel." Joanna denied. She reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. "I once handled a case for a clerk in the Coroner's Office. He passed me a copy of the incident report." She passed the report to Laurel. "It said that Danny's turnout coat was doused in turpentine. But I checked, and the plant owner said that there wasn't any in the factory." As Laurel looked over the report, Jo pressed her case. "A turnout's supposed to withstand temperatures in excess of 500 degrees. But the coroner said that the fire did not exceed 250. How did my brother burn hotter than the fire that supposedly killed him?" Laurel shared a look with Tommy, and then looked back at Jo, convinced.
The scene changed to the SCPD the next day as Laurel was talking to Quentin, trying to convince him of Joanna's theory.
"Laurel, a fireman died fighting a fire." Quentin said as they walked back to his desk. "I'm not sure I see the crime."
"I did some digging." Laurel pressed on. "Last week, another firefighter, Leo Barnes, was killed in action, same circumstances. Traces of turpentine, and ignition temperatures hotter than the actual fire." They stopped at his desk. "Do you think that you could talk to the fire marshal? You know, encourage him to pursue this?" she asked.
"Look at you, Veronica Mars." Tommy joked, nudging Thea in the side. The girl gave him a weak smile, but didn't add anything. Tommy looked at her, then at Laurel, concerned.
"Well, the fire department has its own investigative unit." Quentin pointed out. "They don't answer to the police."
Kelton, the CSU tech walked up to Quentin and handed him the burn phone The Hood had sent him. "Sorry it takes so long with the detectives." He said. "CSU's been really backed up."
"Well, did you find anything?" Quentin demanded as Laurel looked on.
"The only prints on it are yours, the tech inside is military grade. I can't even trace the manufacturer. Forensics-wise, it's a dead end." Lance sighed as Kelton moved off.
Quentin noticed his daughters attention on the phone and groaned.
"Another case?" Laurel asked.
"Vigilante." Quentin answered, tossing the phone on his desk. "The phone belongs to him."
"Where'd you get it?" Laurel asked, an idea forming in her mind. "I-does he answer?"
"Pretty sure he'll answer for you." The detective groused. Tommy snickered.
"Well, like Kelton said, it's a dead end." Quentin said distractedly. He grabbed up several files from his desk. "Listen, kiddo, I feel for Jo and her family I really do, but, um, there's a lot I can do this end." He quickly downed the rest of his coffee, then grabbed his keys and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I got to go. I love you." Quentin moved off, grabbing Hilton and walking out of the bullpen. Laurel stared down at the desk, looking at the phone that lay there.
The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver's phone began to ring. Hesitantly he picked it up and answered it, not saying a word. "Hello?" He was surprised to hear Laurel's voice on the other end of the line. "I need your help."
Quentin glared at his daughter, who just shrugged. "Well, YOU weren't helping me any…"
The scene changed to later that night. Laurel was alone in her apartment when suddenly the lights went out. She looked up to see The Hood standing across the room, his face hidden by his hood.
"I didn't trust that you'd come." She said, a bit breathlessly. "No one's seen you for a while. Where have you been?"
Oliver activated the voice changer. "You said it was important."
Laurel picked up the file Joanna gave her and rose. "My best friend's brother. He died two days ago fighting a fire. The police and fire department say that he died in the line of duty. But my friend, she thinks he was murdered."
"So you're asking one killer to find another." At her pause, The Hood pressed on. "I heard what you said to your father about me; that I'm a killer. That I have no remorse."
"I think you hurt his feelings." Felicity noted. Laurel sighed, but nodded in agreement.
"Do you?" she asked hopefully. Laurel held out the folder. "Take a look at the file. If Danny de La Vega was murdered, then we have to bring his killer to justice."
The Hood moved up to Laurel, careful to keep his face deep in shadow. He took the file from her. "I'll look into it." He promised, then turned and walked out.
The scene changed to the Lair, where Diggle was deep into a workout on the training dummy.
"You need to rotate your hips, Diggle." Oliver called out as he came in. Diggle paused to catch his breath as Oliver continued. "That's where the power comes from. It's not just your arms, even if they're the size of bowling balls." He joked, then added, "Laurel reached out to The Hood last night."
"Really?" Diggle said, surprised. "Thought the Vigilante spooked her pretty well last time."
"She thinks somebody's killing firemen." Oliver said, handing him the folder.
Diggle glanced through the file. "It looks all in the job. Seems pretty thin." He noted.
"Will you look into it?"
"Yeah. I have a friend who has a friend in the fire investigations department. I'll reach out." Dig promised.
"If you get any leads, tip the police." Oliver said, throwing his hood in his munitions case and closing the lid. His hands lingered on the wood.
"The police?" Dig asked, puzzled.
"Yes, the Police. The ones who are actually supposed to be investigating things like this!" Quentin said sarcastically.
"But I thought you couldn't investigate it?" Laurel noted, causing her father to scowl even more.
"They just need something to jump start them."
"Well, isn't the whole idea of being a vigilante, is that you do the police's job?" Diggle looked at his friend seriously. "You know, Oliver, you've been spending a lot of time around here lately. I thought after six weeks, you'd be anxious to hood up. Hell, I even prepared the 'you got to slow down' speech."
Oliver looked at Diggle, but was saved from responding by loud commotion coming from above them. "Let me see what's going on upstairs in the club." He said. Oliver headed up the stairs and slipped out the hidden entrance he had created on the upper floor, flipping a switch on a fake fuse box to lock the door behind him. He walked out into the main area that was cluttered with scaffolding and plywood to find Tommy yelling into his phone. The other man hung up and threw the phone down on a drafting table in disgust.
"You know, I do realize that it's difficult for you to manage my nightclub, what with there not being an actual nightclub here." Oliver noted, alerting Tommy to his presence.
"Yeah, I just took the liberty of yelling at our contractor." Tommy explained. "I told him if we didn't see any real progress, we were going to bring someone else in to finish the job."
Malcolm looked at his son, pride shining in his eyes. Tommy was oblivious, making another joke to Laurel and trying to pull Thea in.
"Good." Oliver walked around the construction site aimlessly. "How's Laurel's friend? The one whose brother was a fireman?" he asked innocently.
"She is hanging in there, thanks." Tommy replied. "I have something I wanted to bring up." He pressed on. "I was thinking that we could throw a fundraiser for the fire department. Raise some money for the families."
Laurel beamed at Tommy.
"Suck up." Thea muttered, a smile playing on her lips at last.
Oliver smiled. "That's a great idea."
"We could do it here. We could keep the overhead low, make sure we maximize the proceeds to the firemen."
Oliver turned to face Tommy, a sly smile on his face. "Who are you? Where's my friend Tommy Merlyn? The guy who once rented out a pro football stadium so that he could play strip kickball with models."
Diggle looked over at the younger man. "Seriously?"
Tommy shrugged. "Well, I don't like to boast…"
"Pig." Laurel, Thea and Felicity all said. Diggle just flashed him a thumbs up.
Tommy chuckled. "That guy needed a swift kick in his lazy ass." He noted, and the two old friends laughed.
The scene changed to CNRI.
"Jo, you really should take some time off and go be with your family." Laurel was telling her friend.
Joanna looked at her. "You know, I seem to recall when Sara died, you hit the books pretty hard."
"I am not exactly the best example for healthy grieving." Laurel noted wryly as her father stormed in. Laurel looked at him in puzzlement. "Hey." She greeted.
"Can I talk to you, please?" he asked shortly. He led Laurel back out into the mostly empty entrance. "Where is it?" he demanded.
"Where's what?"
"The phone." He said harshly.
"Well, you certainly caught on fast." Laurel groused.
Laurel sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have." She apologized.
Quentin scoffed. "It's stolen evidence! Yeah, you probably shouldn't have! What are you—"
"I had to do something!" she argued quietly.
"That man's a killer." Quentin stated.
"Then why did he give you his phone?" Laurel replied.
Quentin let out a short sigh. "Give me the phone." He demanded.
"He took it back." Laurel lied.
Quentin stared at his daughter, stunned. "You were with him?"
"When Sara died, if someone could have done something to give you even just a little bit of closure, don't you wish that they would have done it?" she demanded.
"If it meant breaking the law, lying to the people closest to them? No." Quentin relied, walking off and leaving a dejected Laurel behind.
"That was a bit harsh, Quentin." Moira noted.
"Says the woman who's made it an art form lying to the people closest to her." Lance shot back.
"Down, boy." Kara warned. He was startled into silence when he saw her eyes glow red for a moment.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver walked into the house and heard his mother speaking to someone in the sitting room. Curious, he walked in to see Moira talking with the COO of Queen Consolidated, Ned Foster.
"Surely there are contingencies for these types of situations." She was saying. "Bring someone over from our London office, perhaps."
"It's not solely a matter of the day to day operations." Ned replied. "We have accountants and the vice presidents to do that. It's about perception. Public confidence."
"Ned, the company will be fine." Moira insisted.
Ned sighed. "I don't mean to be indelicate, but this is the second time in five years that the CEO of Queen Consolidated has vanished under mysterious circumstances ."
"I don't need you to remind me of that." She replied harshly.
Ned had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "The last thing I want to do is upset you." He said.
"Well, then you should consider this visit doubly disappointing." Moira replied, rising. She stared down at the man. "Good day." Ned rose and walked out of the room, pausing to give Oliver a- almost hopeful look.
Thea snorted. "I sure as hell hope Ned doesn't expect Oliver to take over."
After he was gone, Oliver turned back to his mother. "Who was that?"
"Ned Foster." She replied. "The C.O.O. of the company."
"He wants mom to take Walter's place." Thea explained.
"He says that the company's stock price has been damaged by Walter's absence, and my stepping in would help settle the board. But I told him that I needed to be at home, for my family." She stated.
"Mom," Oliver said, looking at his sister briefly before looking back at her. "Thea and I are fine. We can manage here without you." He assured her. "This sounds like something everyone needs you to do."
"Well, maybe I don't care what everyone needs." She shot back harshly, before sighing and stalking out of the room. Oliver watched her leave, and then turned back to his sister. "She's going to be all right, Thea." He assured her.
"Mr. Queen," Oliver looked back to see Diggle standing in the doorway. "We're going to have to get going if you want to make your dentist appointment. Now, sir." Oliver nodded shortly, sent a comforting looked to Thea, and then walked out, following his bodyman's lead. "Eyewitnesses place a '72 Ford pickup at the scene of Danny de La Vega's fire." Diggle started as they walked through the halls of the manor.
"Okay." Oliver replied, not seeing where this was going.
"Stagg Chemical lit up ten minutes ago. I hacked into Stagg's video security feeds. Parked right on the street running along the plant?"
"Same pickup." Oliver realized.
Felicity nudged him good naturedly. "Look at you go, Mr. Hacker Junior."
"I got some skills." Dig said, then grinned at Tommy. "But I don't like to brag."
Thea chuckled, and Tommy relaxed slightly as Thea seemed ready to come out of her funk. He sent a grateful look to Dig, who nodded almost imperceptibly.
"I got your gear in the car." Dig said. Oliver stopped dead in his tracks. Diggle noticed, and then sighed. "Oliver, by the time I get someone on the phone who will even listen to me, at least one of those fireman are going to be dead." He explained, pleading with the man. "They need the man in the hood."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver, now alone, was deep in the forest trying to build a fire. He just managed to get it going when the sound of a twig snapping caught his attention. He hurriedly buried the fire, putting it out and scrambled into the denser brush for cover. A few moments later a Merc appeared, AK-47 in hand. He stopped in the clearing and used his foot to investigate the smoking ruin of the fire. He pulled out his radio.
Slade shook his head. "Sloppy." He noted.
"What, should he have gone back to the cave?" Felicity asked. Slade stared at her, but her question had been earnest, not sarcastic.
"No, that would have been too risky." Slade replied. "He should have made his way as far from the ambush site as he could have, though." Felicity nodded in understanding, and he looked back to the screen.
"I have contact." The Merc said. "Two clicks southwest." He moved on to investigate the area while Oliver hid behind a tree, the K-Bar knife Yao Fei had given him in hand.
Slade's eyebrow rose. He wondered if the kid would actually be able to kill the merc.
PRESENT
The scene flashed back to the present. The fire at Stagg Chemicals was raging; inside firemen were searching for workers and struggling to get the fire under control.
"Portable one to Deputy Chief Seven." A fireman spoke into his radio. "All clear of civilians."
"Copy that." Raynes replied over the radio. "Bail out and wait for second-in companies."
The fireman headed for the exit, but was suddenly put upon by another fireman who whacked him had in the face with the butt of his axe. The fireman's helmet was knocked off and he flipped over the railing, but managed to snag the rail with one hand. Instinctively he reached up, and his attacker grabbed his other hand just as the first lost its grip. The firefighter looked up at his attacker in fear.
"Who are you?!" he demanded, even as the man's grip went slack. The firefighter held on tight, but all he managed to do was pull off the attacker's glove as he fell down into the pit of fire below.
The Hood arrived moments too late to save the firefighter, so instead he moved to attack the murderer. The Hood landed two solid shots before the murder kicked his knee and then swept his legs out with the handle of is axe. The Hood landed hard, and the attacker kicked him once in the ribs for good measure. Stunned, The Hood watched as the man reached into his turn over coat and withdrew a small device. He noted that the man had a tattoo of a firefly on his burned hand right before he attacker activated and threw the device, setting off a small explosion. The Hood pulled himself up and watched as the attacker walked calmly away.
Diggle sighed, disappointed. 'That loss shook him up more than I thought.' He thought to himself.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was sitting on the ground in the dark, staring at his bow, deep in thought.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Back in the past, Oliver was still behind the tree, waiting for the Merc to pass him. As soon as he did, Oliver ran at the man, trying to stab him. The Merc casually batted the knife away, but dropped the AK in the process. The grappled for a moment, Oliver inching the knife closer to the Merc's face before he was finally forced to drop it. The two men, still jockeying for a position of strength, slipped off the edge of a steep him and rolled down, fighting all the way. They rolled off the edge, and the Merc landed first onto a large rock on the edge of a stream. Oliver landed on top of him with his full weight, before rolling off and into the stream.
Slade snorted in amusement. 'Figures.' He thought. "He wanted to kill him on purpose, instead he kills him on accident.'
PRESENT
Back in the present, Oliver lowered his hood. Then, making a decision, reached for his phone and dialed.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where she was engrossed in a case file. Suddenly the Hoods' phone began to ring, and she excitedly picked it up.
"Hello?" she answered.
"I have some information for you." The Hood's distorted voice said. "The killer drives a 1970's Ford pickup. There is a scar on his left wrist from a severe burn and a tattoo of a firefly."
"Well, then you must have gotten pretty close to him." Laurel noted.
"All the men in Engine Company 15 had firefly tattoos. Any one of them could be the killer."
"What should I do with this information?" Laurel asked, confused.
"Whatever you would have done before you met me." He replied, and then hung up.
Laurel hung up, disappointed. "Who was on the phone?" Tommy asked, coming up behind her. "Wrong number." She replied, putting the phone in her pocket and joining him for dinner.
Tommy looked at her, disappointed. She merely shrugged.
Back at the Lair, Oliver was finishing putting his gear in the box. He set his bow down on top of the lid, and then walked away. Diggle watched him, concerned.
"So Laurel's on her own against a murderer who burns people alive?" he demanded.
"I can't right every wrong in this city." Oliver stated bluntly. Diggle frowned.
"No, I get that, Oliver. But maybe you're not back to 100% like you thought." He observed.
"Maybe I'm not." Oliver admitted. Suddenly Diggle attacked him, managing to pin him against the desk. Oliver growled in anger, and then forced himself up, quickly reversing Diggle's attack so that Dig was pinned. He held them there for a moment before letting go, and Diggle hit the desk in frustration.
"What did that prove?" Oliver demanded.
"This is one sturdy desk."
Thea snorted in amusement. "Men." She muttered shaking her head.
Dig rose and turned to face his friend. "And clearly, your problem isn't physical."
"I never said I had a problem!" Oliver shouted angrily.
"You didn't have to, Oliver." Dig retorted. "But this guy, the other archer, he got in your head, he took something from you."
"Good to know." Malcolm remarked, earning him glares from everybody (except Slade). "What? I AM the villain of this story."
"Back to the story at hand." Kara said pointedly.
"That's enough." Oliver pleaded tiredly.
"He took whatever's in your heart that lets you jump off buildings and take down bad guys." Diggle continued.
"Thank you for the analysis." Oliver said sarcastically.
"You can avoid Laurel, Oliver, avoid me, avoid this, as long as you want." Diggle said. "But until you're ready to take a hold of the fear that's in you, you might as well let that archer kill you."
Oliver's phone beeped. Gratefully he looked at it. "Text from Tommy." He said. "I need to run an errand for the benefit at the firemen's station." He headed towards the stairs.
"Maybe while you're at it," Diggle called after him, "you can let me know if you still want to be a vigilante or just a nightclub owner."
The scene changed to Engine Company 15's firehouse. Laurel was walking up as Oliver was walking out.
"Hey." Oliver said to a surprised Laurel. "What are you doing here?"
"I told Joanna I'd clean out Danny's locker." She explained. "And you?"
"Tommy sent me over to make sure the guest list for the firemen's gala was accurate." He said.
"Tommy's been working very hard on that." Laurel said with a smile. "It's very generous of you, Oliver."
"It's truly not." He assured her. The two parted and Laurel headed towards the firehouse. Oliver walked away, then suddenly turned around. "Speaking of Tommy," he said, "he told me that you're being very protective of your drawers." At her surprised, indignant look, he smiled and held up his hands in surrender. "This is not a fancy term for your underwear."
"Are you and I seriously having this discussion?" she asked incredulously.
"That's what I was wondering…" Laurel muttered.
"Well, we're friends." Oliver pointed out.
"Yes." Laurel admitted. "Tommy asked for a drawer."
"And this is bad?" he asked.
"No. It's just I'm an all or nothing type of girl." She pointed out. "First it's a drawer, then it's a closet, half my rent, it's half my life. Am I really ready to do that with Tommy?" she asked rhetorically.
"You could take it slow." Oliver advised.
"I don't things slow, remember? I close my eyes and I jump, just like you." She sighed. "I think that's why we spooked each other. Our feelings our fears, they control us, it's not the other way around. You know?"
"Yeah." Oliver replied.
Laurel gave him a tired smile. "I have to get inside." She said, turning and walking in.
A short time later, Laurel was talking with Chief Raynes. She held a picture of Danny's old unit and was showing it to Raynes.
"I did some research. There are eight firemen in this picture." Laurel stated. "You called yourselves the fireflies."
"Yeah, well, that station house was shut down a few years back." Raynes replied. "All the guys went to different companies, so…"
"Four of these men are now dead." Laurel pointed out.
"It's not all getting cats out of trees, Ms. Lance." He shot back.
"But three of them died within the last six weeks, except for that man right there." She pointed on the picture. "Garfield Lynns. He died two years ago in the Nodell Tower tragedy."
"I remember that." Felicity said, shivering. "Horrible."
"'The Towering Inferno' in real life." Tommy agreed. "I don't know what would have been worse- dying in the fire, or dying in the collapse."
"Fire, definitely." Felicity said.
Raynes was about to respond, but he noticed another figure walking in. "Did you forget something, Mr. Queen?" he asked Oliver.
Oliver gave him a friendly smile. "Just wanted to see if my friend there needed some help." He said pleasantly. "What was the Nodell Tower?" he asked.
Raynes looked at him in disbelief. "How do you not remember that?" he asked.
"I was WiFi-free for a few years." Oliver pointed out.
Raynes looked slightly taken aback at his faux pas, so he explained. "It was 22 stories of glass and steel. Except it turned out that the construction company who built it used substandard materials to save themselves a few bucks. It was nowhere near the structural code."
"Gas line blew." Laurel said sadly. "There was a fire."
"Yeah." Raynes sighed in remembrance. "Melted right through the stanchions. Whole damn thing came down."
"Bad day." Laurel said.
"34 civilians and 6 of my fellow firemen died. Now, do you need anything else, Ms. Lance? Other than reminding me of all the friends I've lost and buried?" Raynes asked harshly, before walking away from the two.
"I could have handled that better." Laurel admitted.
Laurel walked swiftly out of the firehouse, followed just as swiftly by Oliver.
"Hey!" he called to her. "What was that all about?"
"It was nothing, Oliver. I have to go." She blew him off and walked swiftly away, pulling the cellphone from her pocket. She dialed The Hood's number and let it ring. Meanwhile, walking away in the opposite directing, Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out his own ringing phone. He swiftly crossed the street then, back still to Laurel, answered it.
"Hello?" Laurel said as the call was connected. "Are you there?" The Hood didn't respond, so she continued. "I spoke to Danny's old chief. I didn't get anywhere. What am I supposed to do now?"
Oliver considered for a moment before answering. "Nothing. It's my turn." He then hung up and walked away.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island briefly, where Oliver gasped as he came out of the stream. He looked up at the rock to see the Merc, apparently dead.
PRESENT
The scene shifted to Queen Manor. Moira was in her room going through old family photo albums as Thea walked in.
"We have so many of these old photos." Moira said. "I really should have them scanned in."
"Ooh, I could do that for you." Felicity volunteered.
Moira smiled at the woman. "I may take you up on that."
"Well, that's an incredibly ambitious plan." Thea said. "Which will have to wait."
"Why?" Moira asked.
"Because we're going to go out." Thea stated. "To dinner or to a movie or shopping. Anything to get you out of the house."
Moira sighed. "Ohh. No, Thea. I'm just too tired." She declined.
"Really, that's pretty amazing, considering you've been in bed all day." Thea said snarkily.
Moira didn't look back at her, but there was an edge to her voice. "Please don't presume to think that you know what I'm going through."
"I do know." Thea shot back, her voice shaky with emotion. "I lost dad, too. I'm worried about Walter, too. But I don't get to worry about him, because I'm busy worrying about you."
"I never asked you to do that." Moira said.
"Right. 'Cause you don't ask me to do anything anymore." Thea noted. "You don't ask me to do my homework or to be home at a decent hour. I mean, you basically stopped being my parent."
"Well, how's this!" Moira exclaimed loudly, anger really showing in her voice. She finally turned to face Thea. "Don't talk to your mother like that."
"Maybe you should start acting like my mother. So I don't have to act like yours." Thea shot back harshly before turning and walking out of the room. Moira watched her go sadly.
"It's kind of bad when the drug-using lush is acting more responsible than the grown up." Tommy said, trying to ease the tension. It seemed to work, as Thea snorted and slapped his arm good-naturedly and Moira shook her head in exasperation.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was at work on the computer when Diggle came in.
"I thought you were done helping Laurel." He noted.
"The first firefly to die, his name was Garfield Lynns." Oliver stated, staring at the screen.
"Well, being dead kind of rules him out as a murder suspect, right?" Diggle chuckled, then he grabbed a stool and moved to sit next to the younger man. "Oliver I'm sorry I came at you so hard, man. But I've been there. I know what it's like to stare death in the face and be the one who blinks."
"That's not it." Oliver denied. "I've… I've been close to death." He explained. "On the island- more times than I can remember, and I never feared it. 'Cause I had nothing to lose." He sighed. "But when that archer almost killed me; when I stared death in the face then, I thought about all the people that I've let into my life since I've been back. My family, Laurel, Tommy. And that made me afraid. Afraid of what would happen to those people if they lost me-again. And for the first time in so long, I had something to lose."
"Well, you got it backwards, Oliver." Diggle said. "You think the people you let in are taking your edge. I think it gives you one. Maybe a stronger one. You can stare down death with something to live for or not. Something to live for is better."
Felicity patted him on the arm. "Good job." She whispered.
Oliver took his words in considering. The he moved back to business. "All the men in the unit had an alibi for Danny's murder." He started. "The guy that I fought had a firefly tattoo and his arm was severely burned."
"Okay. I don't see where you're going with this." Diggle admitted.
"The Nodell Tower fire." Oliver said. "Some of the bodies were so badly burned, they couldn't even be ID'd off dental records." He looked at Dig. "What if Garfield Lynns didn't die, but was just presumed dead?"
"You know," Laurel said, "he really is quite bright, despite what people say."
"Never say that to his face." Thea warned. "Or he'll get an even bigger head."
The scene changed to the club upstairs. The fireman's benefit was in full swing as Laurel arrived. She walked through the club. Seeing hr boyfriend, she walked up to him with a smile and gave him a kiss.
"You know," Tommy said, "ironically, if we get any more people in here, we're going to violate the fire code."
Laurel laughed, but pulled away slightly and looked at Tommy seriously. "We're good on drawer-gate, right?" she asked hesitantly.
"All good." He assured her giving her another kiss.
"Excuse me." The two lovers looked over to see a smiling Oliver standing there. "Can I borrow Laurel for a second?" he asked Tommy.
"Absolutely." His friend replied. Oliver led Laurel to the bar where the fire chief was nursing a drink.
"Chief Raynes." Oliver called out. Raynes turned around. "Hi." He said.
"Mr. Queen, this is spectacular." Raynes said. "The Starling City Firemen's Relief Association can't thank you enough."
"You guys are the real heroes." Oliver said. "Like at the Nodell Tower fire, which I've been reading up on."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Garfield Lynns was the first man to die in your unit." Oliver continued. "Now, I read that they recovered his coat in the wreckage, but they never found his body?" Laurel looked at him in confusion.
"You always interrogate your club's guests, Mr. Queen? Raynes asked stiffly.
"Why? Do you feel like you're being interrogated?" Oliver asked with an easy smile.
"You could see it on your face at the fire station." Laurel said, realization dawning. "There's more to the Nodell Tower fire than people know about, isn't there?"
"I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen a fire like that." Raynes said in a haunted voice. "It's like some monster out of a science fiction movie. I radioed for my men to get the hell out of there. But Lynns, he wouldn't go. Begged me to send the unit back in. But I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. God help me, I left him to burn." He took a long drink of his scotch. "But I can't bring him back."
"You don't have to." Oliver replied. "He is back."
"What the hell you talkin' about?" Raynes demanded.
"Garfield Lynns killed Danny." Laurel said, the pieces finally coming together in her mind. "And the other men on your unit."
"There's no way he could have survived that fire." Raynes denied.
"You'd be surprised the power revenge can give you." Oliver noted.
In the club, a lone fire fighter in full turn out gear was walking slowly across the dance floor towards the bar. One of the patrons laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Thank you so much." The woman said sincerely. "The people in the city appreciate everything you—" she trailed off as the man turned to look at her. Half of his face was just- melted, covered in scar tissue. Horrified, the woman backed off, and Garfield Lynns resumed his lonely march.
"Jesus…" Quentin said, leaning forward.
"It is impressive." Slade noted. At Quentin's look, he explained further. "That the man could take so much damage and keep going."
"Isn't that what happened to you?" Kara asked pointedly.
Slade turned his steady gaze on her. "I can heal. He can not. Oliver was right- revenge is a powerful motivator."
"You're insane." Raynes told Oliver. "Gar did not make it out of that building."
"Just like you won't make it out of this one."
Olive and Laurel spun around to see Lynns standing there. The deranged fireman threw several devices, one after the other, which exploded, sending fire racing through the club. Oliver put himself in front of Laurel and Raynes stared in shock as Lynns took off his helmet and glared at the fire chief.
As the fire began to spread, Tommy and Diggle started ushering people out of the building. At the bar, Lynns stared down Raynes while Oliver protected Laurel.
"Jesus Laurel, why do you keep putting yourself in these situations?"
"Honestly?" Laurel said incredulously. "This one isn't even my fault!"
"Note to self- fireproofing." Tommy muttered.
"And insurance." Thea added. Tommy nodded in agreement.
"Gar, what the hell are you doing?" Raynes demanded. Lynns unhooked his spray nozzle from his jacket and pointed it at Oliver.
"Run." He told them simply.
"Go!" he urged Laurel, pushing her towards the door. Oliver split off from her and headed deeper into the club, arriving at his secret entrance to the lair. He flipped the switches to open the door, then scrambled down the stairs and slid to a stop in front of his case. He opened it, took out his bow, then reached in for his leathers.
"He needs a better security system than that." Felicity said with a frown.
"Well, the clubs burning down. Good opportunity to change it up." Tommy noted sourly.
Upstairs. Tommy was searching frantically for his girlfriend. "Laurel?! Laurel?" finally he spotted her running towards him. She leapt into his arms. "Laurel!" he said happily, then looking around asked, "Where's Oliver?"
"He's still inside!"
"We can't leave him." Tommy declared, He turned to run back in, but suddenly a ceiling beam came down. "Tommy!" Laurel exclaimed as the couple fell to the floor, dazed.
"You were seriously going to run back INTO the fire?" Quentin said in disbelief.
Tommy stared at him hard. "Would you leave your partner behind?" Quentin regarded the young man in a new light.
"Well, at least I know you won't be burned." Laurel said.
Tommy nodded. "Or crushed by falling debris. That would suck."
At the bar, Lynn's had finished hosing down Raynes with turpentine. "You know how long it takes for your skin to melt?" he asked. "I do. From experience."
"I told you to get out of there!" Raynes shouted.
"And I told you that we could save the building." Lynns retorted. "But you got scared. You lost your nerve. You left me in there to die."
"How did you get out?" Raynes asked.
"I was pulled from the wreckage. Listed as a John Doe in the burn unit, in a coma for months." His voice was quivering with rage. "When I woke up and saw what was left of who I was I only had one thought. To leave you as alone as you left me." He pulled out a zippo and flipped the lid open. He lit the lighter and held it up in a shaking hand as Raynes stared in horror. "Now it's your turn."
Across the room, The Hood appeared. He saw the two men, the lighter in Lynn's hand, and knew what he had to do. He ran towards the men and, as Lynn's tossed the lighter at Raynes, fired an arrow. The arrow struck true, knocking the lighter away from the fire chief and into the flames beyond. Both men turned to stare at the vigilante as Oliver circled Lynns, another arrow nocked.
Felicity pumped her fist. "Nice shot!"
"Eh, I could do that." Thea said with a grin. But as she thought about what she had just said, and what her elder self had told her, the grin fell off of her face.
"Go!" he growled to Raynes, who took off. To Lynns he said "It's over."
"I'm not afraid to die." Lynns said.
"I know." The Hood lowered his bow. "You're afraid to live. Let me get you out of here." He looked at the man, looking past the burns to the man underneath. "Lynns. Let me get you out."
Lynns looked back, and for a moment Oliver thought he might accept his help. "Thanks." Lynns said. "But I'm already burned." He turned and walked towards the fire. "Lynns, don't do it!" The Hood exclaimed, but Lynns calmly held his arm out into the fire. His coat caught at once, and soon his entire body was engulfed in flames. Without a scream, without a sound, Lynns fell to his knees, and then toppled over onto his face, dead as the flames finally consumed his body. The Hood watched sadly, and then moved off to escape the flames himself.
Moira held her hand up to her mouth. "My god…"
"That's sick." Felicity said. "And I think I just threw up a little…"
The scene changed to the next day at Queen Manor. Oliver and Thea were watching a news broadcast covering the events at the fund raiser the previous night.
'Eyewitnesses contend that numerous lives would have been lost if not for the timely intervention of the Vigilante.' The female anchor was saying. 'But these were not the actions of a vigilante. What's been described are the actions of a hero.'
Oliver smiled as he muted the TV. Thea noted the smile, puzzled.
"What's got you all smiley? Your new club's a briquette." She stated.
"It was under construction before. Now it's more under construction." Oliver replied glibly.
Tommy laughed at that.
"Good morning." Both kids looked up to see Moira stride into the sitting room, fully dressed and carrying a bag.
"Sharp suit, Mom! Not used to seeing you without your bedroom wrapped around you." Thea noted.
"Well, I could hardly go to the office in my pajamas." She explained. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office."
"What changed your mind?" Oliver asked.
"Not what. Who." Moira looked at Thea. "My daughter." She looked back to Oliver. "My family. And I promise you, Walter will get back to us. I will keep looking for him and I will find him." She closed up her bag. And looked at Oliver. "And I'll see you for dinner." She said, walking out of the room.
Thea stared at where her mother had been, disbelief etched on her face. "Mm-hmm." She mumbled.
"What?" Oliver asked, turning to look at her.
Thea shook her head. "Just feeling the whiplash. She went from shut-in to chairman pretty fast."
"Sounds like you got through to her." Oliver noted.
"Yeah, I guess." Thea said, unconvinced.
"You probably did, Thea." Moira said. Thea gave her a weak smile, then turned her attention back to the screen. Moira sighed and looked to Tommy, who nodded.
The scene changed to CNRI where Joanna was packing up her things.
"It'll just be for a few months." She was telling Laurel. "My mom, she's taking it so hard."
"Whatever you have to do to take care of your family." Laurel assured her.
"Before I forget," Joanna pulled a small case out of her purse and handed it to Laurel. She opened it to find a fireman's badge. "My brother's badge." Joanna explained. "My mom was hoping maybe you could find a way to get it to… you know, him. As a thank you." She took a long breath. "I don't care what anyone has to say. He really is a guardian angel."
"I'll find a way to get it to him." Laurel promised. Then she engulfed her friend in a hug. "I'm going to miss you."
"Yeah." Joanna said. She grabbed her box and walked off, stopping to say high with the just arrived Quentin Lance.
Laurel sighed. Joanna was her best friend. She hopped they would be able to stop Lynns before he killed anyone when they got back.
"Hey." Joanna said.
"Hey." He returned. "You look after yourself, all right?"
"I will." She promised.
"Good." Lance said. Joanna left and Quentin moved to Laurel. "So Joanna's taking a leave of absence, huh?"
"She has to go be with her family." Laurel said shortly, still upset at him.
"Yeah, well, family's important."
Laurel sighed. "I already apologized."
"It's my turn." Quentin said, catching her attention. "After what happened last night, maybe it's a good thing you got the Hood involved." He looked at his daughter, a small smile on his face. "He didn't take the phone off you, did he?" Laurel sighed, and reached for her purse, and Quentin chuckled as she pulled out the phone. She handed it to him without a word, and he took it with a wry smile. He turned and started to leave, but stopped, fingering the phone. Suddenly he turned back to Laurel.
"Maybe you should hold on to this." He said. Laurel looked at him surprised. "I mean, I may not like the guy's methods, but whoever this guy is, he's got a habit of putting himself between danger and you. And that's not something I can argue with." He handed the phone back to Laurel, who took it wordlessly. "Besides, I shouldn't have this thing anyway." Quentin said as he left.
Laurel looked at her dad, surprised and pleased by his change of heart.
The scene changed to SCPD as Lance walked in the stations IT department.
"Kelton." He called to the computer tech. "We good?"
"I got a strong signal from the crystal vhf transmitter you hid in the speaker, and it can't be backtraced."
"Talk to me like I'm a third grader, please." Lance said, annoyed.
"Next time your daughter calls the Vigilante, we'll be able to listen to every word." He promised the cop.
That pleased look Laurel was giving to Quentin turned to outrage. "You are UNBELIVEABLE!" she screamed, causing Kara to wince.
Malcolm chuckled. "I have to say, Detective. Even to a guy like me that's cold."
Lance glared at Malcolm. "You- shut up. You," he turned back to Laurel. "I'm just trying to do my job."
"And I'm making it easier!" Laurel seethed.
"YES! YOU ARE!" Lance shouted.
Kara whistled loud, causing everyone to wince. "Point of fact- I have sensitive hearing. So let's keep the yelling down a bit, shall we?"
Lance nodded satisfied. As he turned to leave. Kelton spoke up. "I know you swore to bring this guy down, Detective, but using your own daughter as bait, that's stone cold." Lance paused momentarily, then left the room, satisfied in his course of action.
The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was hanging upside down from the salmon ladder and shadow boxing. As he did, he thought back to the Island.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver, now dressed in the dead Merc's uniform, finished hiding the body under some shrubbery. He started looking through the pockets, trying to find a place to put the notebook. In one pocket he found a ring of keys; in the other he found a map of the island, which he studied.
Slade nodded to himself. "That is smart. Kid always did have some brains in his head."
PRESENT
Back in the present, Diggle came into the lair.
"Good thing the fire didn't spread to down here."
Oliver let himself down from the bar. "It's one of the benefits of concrete and steel construction." He exhaled. "Thank you." He said.
"What for?" Diggle asked innocently.
"You know what for."
"So what's next?" Dig asked. "More training?"
"No." Oliver held up the notebook. "We go hunting." He said with a smile.
The memory ended. Tommy looked over to Thea. "Hey," he said, getting her attention. He nodded towards the hallway. "Let's talk."
TBC
A/N: I want to make clear for new readers- My story only covers the first two seasons of the show. Season 3 will have no impact on this story beyond me cherry-picking things here and there. In my story, Thea did not kill Sara.