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 44: Birds of Prey
The memory set opened outside a cab depot as the police prepared to launch a raid. As patrol officers and SWAT members geared up, Lance walked around with a mug shot of their target.
"Hugo Mannheim." He said, showing the picture to each officer. "Warrants out for racketeering, extortion, murder- the goombah trifecta. But he never travels alone, so watch your back, watch your partner's back." He warned. "Let's go." The officers swarmed towards their appointed entrances, while above The Arrow and the Canary kept watch.
"Thanks for helping me keep watch over my dad tonight." Sara told Oliver.
"As long as Slade's out there, neither of our families are safe." He noted. They took off towards the action as shorts started being fired.
Lance watched in confusion. "Not that I mind taking down scumbags, but how am I leading this raid?" He wondered aloud. "I'm a patrolman, not a detective anymore."
"You lead because your fellow officers respect you enough to follow you, despite your rank." Sara said.
Lance shrugged. "Guess that works." He muttered.
"This is the SCPD! Put your weapons on the ground!" officers shouted as the mobsters opened fire. Everyone started shooting, with cops and mobsters taking cover behind the rows of parked cabs. Soon the Arrow and the Canary joined in, taking down mobsters while avoiding the police. Seeing the tide turn, the mobsters started to flee. Oliver spotted one familiar looking man ducking out of the building and moved to follow.
"Move, move, move!" Lance ordered, sending the men after the fleeing criminals. He turned just in time to see another mobster raise his gun and shoot. "Aaah!" he cried out in pain as the force of the bullets threw him back into a stack of rubber hoses.
Laurel cried out in dismay even as Quentin winced. "Don't worry, sweetheart." He told his eldest daughter. "I'd be wearing body armor."
Sara watched in horror as her father was shot, and ran over to his fallen form. She ripped open his shirt to see the bullet had struck him in the vest. "I'm fine." Lance coughed. "Go. Go!" he urged her.
"See?" Quentin said.
Sara took off, running after the man who had shot him. Seeing him scramble up a ladder to the second floor of the depot, she jumped onto the arm of a sky crane and ran up it, jumping the railing right behind the shooter.
Outside, The Arrow drew a bolo arrow and fired. The cords wrapped around the fleeing criminal's legs and sent him crashing down an embankment. He rolled over as Oliver approached, another arrow drawn. "Frank Bertinelli." The arrow said in recognition.
"Oh, shit." Tommy said with dread.
"What?" Thea asked.
"If Frank Bertinelli is there, then Oliver's psycho ex-girlfriend won't be too far behind." He explained, rubbing his wrist.
"My daughter sent you to kill me." Frank said fearfully. Before Oliver could reply, there was a crash of glass, and a moment later the shooter landed on the ground next to Frank HARD. Oliver looked up at the second story window to see The Canary looking down in satisfaction. As more police pulled up, the two vigilante's faded into the night.
Lance shot his youngest daughter a look, which she replied to with an unapologetic shrug. "I'm an assassin. You should be happy the guy's still breathing."
Later, after Lance had helped to load the rest of the mobsters into squad cars, he went off in search of the vigilantes. He soon found them in a small alley behind the depot.
"Hey." He called out in greeting.
Sara rushed over to him. "Dad, are you all right? Are you hurt?" she asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, sweetheart." He said offhandedly. "Listen, I know you don't exactly believe in reading perps their Mirandas, but you can't just toss a guy out of a window." He told her.
"He's lucky that's all I did." Sara reiterated.
"Well, then next time throw him out a lower window." Quentin said wryly.
"He shot you." Sara stated.
"And I'm still here, ain't I?" Lance replied. "Just next time, show a little restraint." He asked gently.
"That was me showing restraint." Sara said.
"Detective." The Arrow interrupted. "We have another problem." He said.
"Yeah, I know." Lance said with a resigned sigh. "With Frank Bertinelli in custody, it's just a matter of time before SHE rolls back into town."
Sara looked back to Oliver. "Who is she?"
The scene changed to the Lair where Diggle pulled up a familiar file. "Helena Bertinelli." He said, introducing her to Sara and Roy. "Daughter of mafia boss Frank Bertinelli."
"Or as I like to call her, Oliver's psycho ex-girlfriend hell-bent on revenge against her father." Felicity said in one breath.
"A bit of a mouthful." Moira said, amused.
Sara looked at Oliver in amusement. "Ex-girlfriend?"
"That's what you took from that sentence?" Oliver said, annoyed.
Thea snickered at that.
"Wait, why does she want her father killed so badly?" Roy asked.
"He had her fiancé murdered." Oliver explained. "She wants payback."
"Puts the many fights I've had with my father in perspective." Sara said wryly.
"I'm not such a bad guy after all, am I?" Lance said.
"No dad, you're not." Sara said with a smile.
"I've been keeping tabs on Helena over the past year." Felicity said, moving to her computer and bringing up her own file. "Last known sighting was a month ago, Palermo."
"She's been busy." Roy said.
"If by 'busy,' you mean torturing and killing Mafioso's that might know where her father is." Felicity said sarcastically, looking at the many pictures of dead bodies Helena had left lying.
Thea blanched. "Well, that's lovely." She quipped weakly.
"Bertinelli's arrest just hit the wires." Dig said. "How long do you think we have before Helena books a ticket back home?"
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver was forced to stand in the middle of the cell block, only being held up due to the chains wrapped around his outstretched arms, as one of the pirates hit him repeatedly in the face. At Slade's order, the man backed off. Slade stared at Oliver for several seconds, before looking at the man behind him.
"Go ahead." He ordered.
"Slade, please- Aah!" he cried out weakly as the man behind him went to work on his shoulder with the tattoo needle.
"So THAT'S how he got that tattoo." Laurel said, feeling nauseous. "Oh, Ollie…"
Slade moved to another man as Oliver continued to cry out. "Why aren't we moving yet?" he demanded.
"We managed to repair the hull." The man reported. "But the engine is too damaged."
"So fix it." He said simply.
"I can't." the man said. Enraged, Slade's hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat. "I don't know how!" he croaked.
"Then find somebody who does." Slade snarled, throwing the man back.
"Not the brightest star in the universe, is he?" Tommy said crossly. "Probably shouldn't have blown up the engine, you dumb fuck."
PRESENT
The scene changed to an AA meeting. "Hi, my name's Laurel, I'm an alcoholic." Laurel said from her seat.
"Hi, Laurel." The group responded.
"I'm glad you're getting help." Quentin told Laurel quietly.
She smiled back at him. "Thanks."
"And this is actually my second meeting today. It's just, uh… It's just so hard, because I don't know what to do with myself all day." She admitted. "I'm a lawyer; well, I was a lawyer. I loved it. But I guess I loved drinking more. I know that I can make it down here with all of you. I just…I'm not sure I can make it out there." She took a shaky breath. "Anyway. Thank you for letting me share." The group clapped in support. Laurel frowned when she heard her phone ring, and her frown turned deeper when she saw it was Adam Donner calling.
"You know, I know everyone here hates Slade," Sara said, "but this motherfucker is worse than Slade ever was, in a way."
"Donner?" Laurel said in disbelief.
"Oh, yeah." Roy said. "Grade-A Asshole."
The scene changed to the District Attorney's office later that day as Donner led Laurel into his office. "Thanks for coming." He was saying. "Sorry about the way things ended here."
"No, don't be." Laurel said. "You did me a favor, Adam. It was the only way I was going to hit bottom, and," she sighed. "And I did."
"I have a point." Laurel said. "He really wasn't the bad guy…"
"That was the one good thing he did," a new voice said. Everyone turned to see Dinah standing in the doorway, staring at the screen. "And then he did this."
"You can only stay if you can behave." Sara warned.
Dinah gave her a tight smile. "I'll behave." She promised. She didn't move to sit; instead she chose to lean against the wall.
"How about you do me a favor now come back to work." Donner offered unexpectedly.
"You want me back?" she said in surprise.
"I'm looking for someone to try this case that just came in, and honestly, yours was the first name that came to mind." Donner said, rounding his desk and picking up a file.
"I'm still facing sanctions from the bar." Laurel reminded him.
"Oh, I got a buddy on the disciplinary committee." He said dismissively. "I squared things for you. An SCPD raid last night brought in Frank Bertinelli." He continued, sitting down across from her and handing her the file. "He came back to Starling to collect on some old debts. Now, the DA's office is clear to prosecute him; for you to prosecute him." He clarified hopefully.
Laurel's eyes narrowed. He wouldn't…
"I appreciate the offer, Adam, but why me?" she asked hesitantly.
"Well, there are Rico counts that your time at CNRI make you ideally suited for." He said. "Laurel, it's a case. If you want it, it's yours. But only if you're ready." He added as she considered the offer.
"Is that son of a bitch using her for bait?!" Quentin exclaimed.
"He wouldn't." Laurel said, not quite ready to believe. "That violates about a dozen ethics rules…"
"But if it worked, he'd get to prosecute Helena, and he probably would have taken most of the credit for Frank Bertinelli as well." Dinah said, shaking her head.
"That son of a bitch!" Tommy exclaimed.
"Told ya." Sara said
The scene changed to Verdant. Thea was seated at the bar doing paperwork when Roy walked up behind her. He dropped a small box next to her. Thea looked at it with a smile.
Roy sighed. "Ah, shit…."
"Yeah, getting to be that time." Mia said, patting him on the leg.
"What's the special occasion?" she asked.
"I got paid. So, you know, if you don't think it's nice enough, you only have yourself to blame for not giving me that raise." He quipped.
Thea opened the box and pulled out a silver bracelet. "Oh! Roy, I love it." She kissed him on the lips. "Thank you."
"Mm-hmm." Roy said, smiling. He glanced up to see the team huddled at the far end of the bar. "Hey, give me- give me a second, I forgot to put an order in." he told her. She nodded as she put the bracelet on, and Roy headed over to the group. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked.
"I got a line on Michael Statton, Helena's fiancé." Felicity said.
"Felicity, he's been dead for five years." Dig argued.
"Which makes the fact that he rented a car last night very impressive." Felicity replied.
"That's Helena." Oliver stated.
"The car's got GPS, I hacked into it." She said, working on her tablet. "Yeah. She's heading straight for Starling City."
Oliver looked over to Roy. "You ready to get back in the field?" he asked.
"Bad, bad idea." Roy sighed.
"I take it you weren't ready to go back out into the field?" Dig said.
"As long as I had the Mirakuru in my system, I wasn't ready." Roy said.
"I thought you'd never ask." Roy said confidently. Oliver smiled at the boy.
A short time later a black Mercedes was screaming down the back streets of Starling City. It rounded a corner, heading into an alley- then skidded to a stop right in front of The Arrow.
He raised his bow, an arrow loaded. "It's over, Helena." He shouted. "Get out of the car!" The car slammed into revers and sped away, doing a 180 turn. It started to move forward, but stopped as The Canary stepped in front of the car.
As Roy stalked up to the door, the window rolled down partway. He froze as a pistol was pointed at him. "Gun!" he shouted in warning, instinctively grabbing the gun. The shooter fired, putting a hole in his hand. Enraged and in pain, Roy's other hand shot through the glass, grabbed the driver by his shirt, and yanked him out of the car, throwing him six feet through a chain link fence into a wall. "Aah!" he cried as he collapsed to the ground. Roy, shaking with rage, stalked towards him. "Don't hurt me!" he pleaded.
"See?" Roy said, gesturing at the screen. "No control. No reason. THAT is what the Mirakuru gave me."
"Stand down." Oliver ordered as he and Sara ran over. "Stand Down!" Roy saw nothing but the shooter in front of him.
"Don't hurt me!" the boy pleaded.
"Speedy!" Oliver shouted. Roy started, finally coming back into himself. He looked over to see Oliver had his bow pointed at him. "Enough! He's just Helena's decoy." He said, annoyed. Roy backed off, and Oliver shifted his aim back to the boy.
Mia shot him an amused smile. "Really? THAT got you to back off?"
"You were always able to calm me down. Even if you weren't there." Roy said, squeezing her hand.
Sara shot a grin at Dinah. "It's sickening, isn't it?"
Dinah chuckled. "Oh, yeah."
"Where is she?" he growled.
"I don't know! Some chick just paid me to take the car for a joy ride." He replied fearfully. "I swear! Please don't kill me." Oliver lowered his bow and sighed.
Meanwhile, an old Volvo station wagon drove into town. "Please don't kill me." The driver begged, his hands tense on the steering wheel. "I'm getting married next month."
Lying on the back seat under a blanket, her crossbow pistol pointed at the man's back was Helena. "Just drive." She ordered.
The scene changed to the Lair the next day. "According to the SCPD, the guy that gave Helena a ride into town is a 22-year-old Poly Sci major at SCU, and a member of Gamma Tau, which totally explains the whole 'I didn't know I was aiding and abetting a known felon' thing." Felicity reported. She spun in her chair. "Anyone with boobs can get a frat boy to do anything."
"Ollie and I were frat boys." Tommy argued.
"I think that about proves her point." Laurel said.
"I was a frat boy." Oliver said.
Felicity smiled up at him. "I rest my case."
"That hurt, Felicity." He patted his heart. "Right here."
"At least she didn't kill him." Diggle noted. "That's something."
"It's not like Helena to show restraint." Oliver pointed out.
"It sounds like you have a type." Sara said, moving up to Felicity's station.
"Keep tabs on the police." He said. "Let me know if they get any leads on her."
"I'll do some canvassing." Dig said, grabbing his coat.
"Hey." Oliver looked up at Sara, who nodded in Roy's direction. He was sitting in the back, unwrapping the bandage from his hand.
Oliver walked over and sat down across from him. "You ok?" he asked as Roy examined his hand.
"Yeah. By this time tomorrow, it'll be like nothing happened." He sighed. "That's one upside to Mirakuru."
"The only one." Oliver replied.
"Amen to that." Roy said.
"Look, I know what you're going to say." Roy interrupted. "I had it under control last night."
"Yeah, so under control that I almost put another arrow in you." Oliver pointed out.
"I was going to back off, but you never gave me a chance." Roy argued.
"The only thing that snapped you out of it was when I brought up Thea." Oliver shot back.
Roy scoffed. "That's why you called me Speedy." He realized. "I-I thought you were trying to give me a nickname. But for the record, don't call me Speedy."
"Noted." Oliver replied wanly. "Roy, you're dangerous. I thought I was helping you control it." He began.
"You are." Roy assured him. "I mean, I can't look at a bowl of water without slapping it."
Oliver sighed, annoyed. "The first time that you're out in the field in weeks, and you're ready to kill somebody? Come on." He was silent for a long moment. "I'm sorry; I should have asked you to do this months ago." He said finally.
"Asked me to do what?" Roy asked cautiously.
"Stay away from Thea."
"That jackass!" Thea exclaimed. "Where does he get off—"
"He's looking out for you." Roy said.
"He's being an ass." Thea countered. "Hell, you just said I was the only thing that could calm you down. Now he wants you to stay away from me?!"
"Not his best call." Mia agreed. Even all these years later, she was still a little angry at Oliver for that.
Roy stood abruptly. "No, I-I can't." he said.
"She's not safe when she's around you." Oliver said. "I'm not sure anybody is when you lose yourself to this rage. You love her. And that's why you're going to do what I'm asking." He said as Roy glared at him, uncertainty in his eyes.
"Such a big uh-oh." Felicity said suddenly.
"Helena?" Oliver asked, jumping up from his seat and rushing over to her.
"Laurel." Felicity clarified, turning up the volume on the news broadcast. 'ADA Adam Donner announced the return of Laurel Lance to the DA's office after a brief sabbatical. She will lead the prosecution of Mr. Bertinelli.' Oliver and Sara looked at the screen in horror, knowing Laurel just had a large target painted on her back. 'Jury selection starts today.'
Back at her desk in the DA's office, Laurel was hard at work prepping for the case when Sara walked in.
"Hey." Sara said. Leaning against her desk.
"Hey." Laurel replied happily. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you picked up some big new case on the news." Sara said. "How come you didn't call me?"
"I was going to, but it all happened so fast." Laurel said. "Plus, I thought you and dad would try and talk me out of going back to work so soon." She looked up at Sara, and then sighed in realization. "Which is why you're here."
"Kinda wish you had." Dinah admitted. "But, I suppose it all worked out for the best in the end."
"I'm just worried about you." Sara said honestly.
"If you're worried I'm going to slip, I'm still going to two meetings a day, and—"
"Laurel, it's not that." Sara said quickly. "Everybody knows what kind of guy Bertinelli is. And not to mention his completely psychotic daughter, who's already on her way back to Starling City to kill him."
Laurel grabbed her jacket and looked at Sara in amusement. "How do you know that?"
Sara laughed it off. "I don't." she lied. "I just want you to be safe."
"And I love you for caring." Laurel said. "But Sara, you've never seen me be a lawyer before. And I am really good at it. And I miss it." She hugged her sister. "I have to run. I can't be late for court."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The Amazo survivors, led by Sara, made their way back to the fuselage. "Yeah, this is much better than the freighter." Hendrik said sourly.
"You prefer boat, Hendrik, feel free to swim back." Anatoly shot back, taking a drink form a canteen.
"Sara said Oliver survived here for over a year." Flynn pointed out. "We can do the same."
"Unless Ivo and his men come find us." Hendrik said darkly.
"We don't know what happened on the boat." Flynn said. "Who's alive and who's dead."
Sara was looking at an arrow that Oliver had left behind, tears pooling in her eyes, when the radio sounded.
**Sara, are you there?**
Sara ran over and grabbed the radio. "Slade! Is Oliver—"
**He's in pain, yes. But he's still breathing-for now.**
"Slade, listen, you won, ok? You have the 'Amazo'. Just let Oliver go, and then you can leave us here!" she said quickly, trying to reason with him.
**Well, here's my problem, Sara. I can't leave.**
"Why not?" she asked.
**During our assault, the ship's engine was damaged. She won't sail. During the attack, unfortunately I decapitated the engineer.** Slade revealed. **So what can we do about our problem, Sara? You want Oliver back, and I need someone qualified to fix this boat. For Oliver's sake, I sure hope a Mr. Hendrik is there with you.** Sara turned to star at Hendrik, who looked back at her uncertainly.
PRESENT
"Non-lethal arrows?" Diggle noted as Oliver prepped his arsenal for Helena. "It's not like you to play with kid gloves." Oliver was silent.
"Uh, he's been playing with 'kid gloves' most of this year." Felicity pointed out.
"How's Roy?" he asked after a moment.
Oliver put down the arrow and clasped his hands. "Like Helena, he is not too pleased with my skills as a mentor." He noted.
"And soon, I wouldn't be pleased with his skills as a mentor." Mia lamented.
"Laurel won't drop the case. She's headed to court right now." Sara said as she entered the Lair. Oliver got up and grabbed his coat. "Where are you going?" she demanded.
"To the courthouse." Oliver replied.
"Well, hey, you forgot your baby arrows." She spat. Oliver turned to glare at her, but she pressed on. "Look, I get your whole no killing spree, but if it comes down to saving Laurel or killing Helena—"
"Sara," he interrupted. "Those aren't the only two choices." He pointed out.
"Well, you were happy enough to let Dig take the kill shot when it was Slade threatening your family." She pointed out hotly.
"This is different." He argued. "I failed Helena. I created the Huntress."
"Yeah, well, you created Slade, too." Sara shot back. She sighed as she realized what she had said.
"That was a low blow." Felicity argued.
"You're right." Oliver said after a moment. "You're right. But when it comes to our families…" he let out a breath. "Neither one of us thinks clearly. Which is why you have to stay here." He told her.
She shook her head. "Ollie. I can't." she said plaintively.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to Laurel." He promised her. "I love her, too." He turned and walked out, leaving Sara alone with Diggle and Felicity. She turned to the two who had been watching the whole exchange.
"What do you guys think?" Sara asked them.
"Oh, I think if the Huntress shows up, you should totally kick her ass." Felicity said at once. Diggle nodded in agreement.
Everyone chuckled at that. "I'm not holding a grudge. Nope." Felicity said with a twinkle in her eye.
The scene changed to the courthouse. As Laurel walked into the lobby, she smiled as she saw Oliver standing there. "Please don't tell me you're worried about me, too." She started off.
Oliver shook his head. "No, I just wanted to watch the trial. I heard the prosecutor was something special." He said with a smile.
Laurel smiled back, and then frowned when she saw Bertinelli being led in by two cops. "That's odd." She noted. "Why are they bringing him in through the front entrance?" Oliver watched in concern, and then a clattering noise caught his attention. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the smoke grenade roll across the floor and stop at the foot of a chair.
"Everybody get down!" he shouted, dragging Laurel down to the ground with him as the smoke went off. People started screaming as the cops pushed Frank down to the ground. They drew their guns, but were quickly killed by crossbow bolts to the chest.
"Helena always did like to make an entrance." Dinah remarked.
"Hi, dad." Frank staggered to his feet as The Huntress strode into the room through the smoke. "Sorry I'm late, but you're a hard man to track down. But it's fitting that you came back to Starling. Where it all began. Where you killed Michael."
Frank grinned at his daughter. "You know, I almost feel sorry for you."
"Helena," she turned, lifting her second crossbow pistol and aiming it at Oliver's throat. "Stop this."
"Oliver, you know I can't." she said.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Frank said impatiently. She turned her attention back to her father. "I said, what are you waiting for?!" Frank shouted again.
Helena stared at him with narrowed eyes. She surged forward, pulling his shirt open to reveal the wire. He laughed as a SWAT team in full combat gear stormed the room.
"They sacrificed two cops for this?!" Lance said, enraged. "Who the hell signed off on this?!"
"Captain Stein, working with Donner." Sara said.
"Helena Bertinelli, put down your weapons and place your hands above your head." The SWAT leader screamed.
"So this was a big trap with you as the bait." Helena said calmly. "What did they offer you?"
"Ah, they didn't have to offer me anything." Frank said gleefully.
"Give up, Miss Bertinelli, the building's surrounded." The cops called out again.
Helena smirked at Frank. "What was it you always taught me, Daddy?" she asked. "Be prepared for anything." The grin fell off his face, and Helena shouted "Now!"
Suddenly half a dozen of the visitors in the lobby reached into coats, briefcases, and bags and withdrew MP5's and opened fire on the cops. As the real visitor's cowered under the chairs the two sides exchanged fire, with each side taking hits immediately.
"This is insane!" Moira exclaimed. "The police are endangering more people than Helena is!"
"I can see seven different ways this ambush would have been effective without endangering any civilians OR Miss Lance." Malcolm stated. "Whoever planned this was incompetent."
"And god help me, I agree with Malcolm." Dinah said with an amused glint in her eyes.
Oliver grabbed Laurel and dragged her into the courtroom, closing the door behind her. Then he turned and bolted across the lobby, jumping over chairs and grabbing Bertinelli, shoving through a door leading outside before Helena could kill him.
"He couldn't take me with him to get Bertinelli out?" Laurel asked.
"He was less worried about Bertinelli taking a bullet than us." Dinah said.
"Fall back, fall back!" the SWAT leader said, pulling his men back to regroup.
"That dumb-ass Stein, I'll have his badge!" Lance exclaimed.
Helena decided to take advantage of the situation. "Take hostages, and fall back." She ordered her men.
Oliver and Frank burst out into a side alley as Cops swarmed all around them. "Hey, hold your fire, hold your fire!" Oliver yelled at the SWAT cops whose weapons were trained on them. "They have hostages!"
"Hold fire" Captain Stein ordered. "Say it again, hold fire."
"They've taken hostages." Oliver told the SWAT leader as Lance ran up.
"Where's Laurel?" he demanded. "Where's Laurel? Is she with you?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lance, we got separated." He told the cop. "She's still inside." He said, as inside Laurel ducked around a corner to avoid the gunmen.
Later that evening, the courthouse was surrounded by police, onlookers and the press as they reported on what they knew. 'We are live outside the Starling City courthouse, where Helena Bertinelli and an unknown number of assailants seized control of the entire building. And I'm not being told, they are holding a number of hostages inside.'
"How did that woman become a member of something called the 'Justice League'?" Lance demanded, still worried about his daughter.
"The League is really big on redemption." Dinah said, looking pointedly at Mia. "She did her time. Then, when her skills were needed, we offered her a probationary spot. She proved herself and earned a full pardon. She was a good friend, in the end." Dinah finished wistfully.
"I want snipers with thermals on top of every building for a two block radius." Stein ordered.
"This was not how it was supposed to go down, Captain!" Stein glared at Adam Donner as he barged into the command tent. "You promised me there wouldn't be any casualties!"
Lance, enraged, stalked up to the ADA. "This was your idea, huh? You son of a bitch!" he grabbed the man by the shirt and slugged him, sending him crashing into the coffee table.
"Nice shot, Detective!" Tommy said.
"Hey, my daughter's in there!" he shouted as two SWAT officers grabbed him, holding him back. "What were you guys thinking, putting all those innocent lives at risk?"
"Listen! I was following orders." Stein argued harshly.
"Yeah, they tried that defense in World War II." Felicity said sourly. "It wasn't a good excuse back then, either."
"Orders?!" Lance parroted, disgusted.
A phone rang, and Stein walked over and answered it. "Ms. Bertinelli. No one has to die today."
**My father does. And unless you hand him over to me, I'm going to start killing hostages.**
Stein glared at Donner. "See this, Mr. Donner, is what happens when you let freaks with masks run wild." He snarled.
"No, this is what happens when you let incompetent assholes run an op." Diggle said.
He looked over to his men holding back Lance and Oliver, who had just stepped inside. "Get them the hell out of here." He ordered.
"Don't touch me!" Lance snarled as he and Oliver were led back out onto the street. Lance stalked out, enraged. We'll see about freaks in masks… he thought to himself as he pulled out the phone and dialed the Arrow.
"Uh-oh…." Thea said worriedly.
A moment later, Oliver's phone rang. Lance looked up in shock as Oliver pulled out his phone, but relaxed when he showed him the screen. The caller ID read 'Mom'.
"It's my mom." He said, answering the phone. He turned and walked several paces off before speaking. "Detective."
Laurel, Thea and Tommy burst out in laughter. Even Quentin chuckled at that.
Moira shook her head in amusement. "I suppose he thinks you nag him in his job as much as I nag him in his civilian life." She said.
"Helena Bertinelli just took ten hostages." Lance told him needlessly. "Laurel's one of them."
"Yeah, I'm aware of the situation." Oliver said, hanging up. He immediately dialed the Lair.
In the Arrow Cave, Felicity answered. "Oliver, where are you? Are you ok?" she asked in a rush as she and Diggle watched the news coverage.
"I'm with Lance as Oliver, and he just called the Arrow." Oliver said, frustrated.
"Oh." Felicity's eyes widened in shock. "Oh!" she turned to Diggle. "It's getting really hard to keep track of who knows whose secret identity." She noted.
"Amen." Felicity said.
"And by his third year, EVERYONE knew who he was." Roy said. "Made things a lot easier."
"Felicity, Laurel is still inside the courthouse." Oliver continued.
"What do you need, Oliver?" Diggle asked.
"My work clothes."
"I'm on it." Dig said. He grabbed Oliver's bow, then moved over to take the suit out of the case.
"Put Sara on the phone." Oliver continued.
"Uh…" Felicity looked around nervously. "She's not here."
"Where is she?" Oliver demanded.
"Where do you think?" Sara asked redundantly.
Inside the courthouse, Laurel was making her way down the hall as quietly as she could. Suddenly the lights went out as the cops cut the power, and a moment later the emergency lights came on. She ducked into a small break room, looking for a place to hide, but was suddenly grabbed from behind by one of the gunmen. Years of self-defense training took over and she belted him hard in the nose with her elbow, but the man held on, picking her up and throwing her into a vending machine. He pinned her there with one hand, the other withdrawing a long knife-
But then he was thrown clear as The Canary arrived. She easily disarmed the man, beat him down to one knee, then sent a hard knee of her own into his face. The blow sent him flying, crashing through a table where he lay unconscious. She turned to Laurel, who looked at her with trepidation.
"Are you one of the good guys?" Laurel asked.
Sara activated the voice changer on her belt. "No, but I'm friends with them." She replied in warbling, distorted voice.
"Thanks for the save." Laurel said to Sara.
"Anytime." She replied.
The scene changed to Verdant. The club was packed, and Roy was trying to navigate through the crowd with a tray loaded with empty glasses when a drunken patron rammed into him.
"Dude, watch it." Roy said.
"Screw you!" the drunk spat back. Roy grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand, and with ease forced him down to his knees, whimpering in pain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Thea talking to the new floor manager, Becky, and with a start let the man go. He anxiously made his way over to the bar nest to Thea and set the tray down.
"Thea, we need to break up." He said without preamble.
"Well, THAT'S direct." Felicity said.
"That was stupid is what it was." Roy said with a sigh.
"What?! " Thea blinked in surprise. "No."
This time, Roy blinked in surprise. "What do you mean, no?" he asked. "Thea, I'm breaking up with you."
"No, you're not." She said stubbornly.
Tommy snickered. "Never underestimate the stubbornness of a Queen." He said.
"You can't make me date you." Roy argued. This was NOT going how he thought it would go.
Thea scoffed. "Roy, yesterday you gave me a bracelet worth every dime that you had, and now what, you want to end things?" she asked unbelieving. "Look, you're clearly going through something right now, and I'm not going to let you go through it alone. I'm always going to be here for you." She promised.
"Sorry, Thea." They looked up to see Becky. "The guy from the private party said we stocked the wrong vodka, and he's freaking me out." She said nervously.
Thea sighed and turned back to Roy. "Look, we'll talk about this later, ok?" she promised him, leaving with the manager. Roy looked at her, and then looked over the blonde. He knew what he had to do.
Thea narrowed her eyes at her future boyfriend. "Oh, you DIDN'T."
"Oh, he did." Mia said tiredly. She shot Roy a look. "You do realize you cost that girl her job, right?"
"In my defense, I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time." Roy said lamely.
The scene changed back to the courthouse. Laurel led the Canary through the halls up to the DA's office, moving ahead of a pair of gunmen. She stopped at a door and fumbled with her keys, trying to get it into the lock. Sara glanced down the hall and saw a pair of shadows approaching as Laurel finally unlocked the door. She led the vigilante in, closing the door and hiding behind a desk as the two gunmen walked past, oblivious.
Sara glanced at her panicked sister in concern. "Are you hurt?" she asked.
Laurel chuckled. "I'm so stupid." She looked up and spied a pair of bourbon bottles, and immediately grabbed one.
"Hey. You don't want to do that." Sara said as Laurel ripped off the cap.
"Oh, no, trust me. I do." Laurel replied.
"What about your sobriety?" Sara asked, then winced internally.
Laurel looked at the masked woman. "How do you know about that?" she asked.
"The 'A' chip on your keychain." Sara said quickly. "30 Days."
"Do you even know why I'm here today?" she asked. "Turns out I'm decoration. Expendable decoration." She said, dejected.
"At least I recognized the fact, even if it was a bit late." Laurel said dejectedly.
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
"This whole trial was a sham." Laurel said, finally voicing what she knew to be true. "I should have seen it. Sara was right. Sara, she's… she's my sister." She explained. "She said that I wasn't ready to come back, and I just thought she was being overprotective."
"Well, sisters can be like that." Sara said after a moment. "You should meet mine."
"Yeah, she can be a real bitch." Sara said with a smile, winking at Dinah.
"She's gone through a lot." Laurel said. "She must have been so strong. I just… I wanted to show her, show myself… That I was still strong, too." She admitted.
"So show me." Sara said quietly.
Laurel looked at the bottle, then at her key-chain. Finally, she picked up the stopper and put it back in the bottle. Sara smiled and stood, then reached her hand down to Laurel. "Let's go." She said. Laurel reached up and took the Canary's hand, and let herself be pulled up.
"Thanks." Laurel said again.
"Anytime." Sara repeated.
The two headed out of the office and were down the hall when Oliver called in.
**Where are you?**
"Inside. I've got Laurel Lance, she's ok." The Canary replied.
Laurel looked at her. "Is that the Arrow?" she asked.
"I'm headed to an egress point in the south wing." Sara continued, ignoring her sister.
"Wait." Laurel said, yanking Sara to a halt. "What about the other hostages? You're just going to leave them?" she asked.
"Look, I need to get you to safety." Sara said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along.
"You don't ACTUALLY think I'd leave all of those other hostages?!" Laurel complained.
Dinah rolled her eyes. "Despite that fact that it was tactically the best plan. Get you out first, then swing back and get the rest. But nooooo, I HAD to be stubborn."
"She takes after her mother." Quentin said.
"Sure." Tommy deadpanned.
Laurel pulled her hand free and stopped again. "I don't understand! What is so special about me?" she cried.
**What's going on?**
"She won't leave." Sara said in annoyance.
"I know Helena." Laurel said.
"I know her?" Laurel said in disbelief. "I had dinner with her once!"
"She's going to kill all of those people; innocent people. You wanted me to show you I'm strong. This is me being strong. I'm staying." She said firmly. "Are you going to help me or not?"
**Get her out of there now!** Oliver demanded, annoyed.
Sara moved a short distance down the hall. "It's not like I can just knock her out." She reasoned.
**I don't want you engaging Helena.**
"What, you're afraid of what she'll do," Sara wondered, "Or what I'll do?"
"Sara," Oliver growled from outside. "You're not a killer."
"I am what I need to be." She said, then reached up and turned off her comms.
Sara sighed. "Always trying to save me." She said fondly.
FIVE YEARS AGO
**Sara, did you hear me?** Slade asked over the radio.
"I heard you. Hendrik's not here." She lied. Hendrik sighed in relief.
Slade grinned. "There's someone I'd like you to say hello to." He held out the mic towards Oliver.
"Don't give him anything, Sara." Oliver said weakly.
"Ollie!" Sara exclaimed.
**One last chance.** Slade said. **Oliver for Hendrik.**
"I told you! Look, Hendrik, he didn't make it to the island, he drowned." Sara lied.
**To think it was only a year ago, you were a little college girl, fretting about boys.** Slade growled.
"What's your point?" Sara asked.
"You're not a good liar." Slade replied. He kept the mic open, and nodded. Another man picked up his instrument- a moistened sponge clamped into a set of jumper cables that were attached to a battery- and jammed it into Oliver's side. He screamed in pain.
"Okay, this is a little too 'Lethal Weapon' for me." Tommy said uncomfortably.
"Oh Oliver…" Moira cried softly, wrapping her arm around Thea as she whimpered in fear.
"Slade!" Sara cried out, terrified. "Stop, please! Look, he's your friend!" he pleaded.
"That is the sound of electricity surging through my friend. Five milliamps, to be exact. Seven causes cardiac arrest." He nodded, and the man upped the wattage and jabbed Oliver again. He screamed briefly before he passed out. "Oliver just passed out with six milliamps." Slade continued. "He'll be delivered with the fatal blow of seven in one hour if Hendrik is not standing here by my side!"
Sara turned to plead with Hendrik- only to find him holding a gun at her head. "There's no way in hell I'm going back there." He growled.
"How much you want to bet he was going back there?" Felicity said.
"No bet." Dig replied.
PRESENT
Helena paced in the room, looking over the hostages. A ring on one young woman's finger caught her attention, and she knelt down. "I was almost married once." She told the woman, who cringed back in fear. Helena stood, kicked over one of the male hostages, and moved to the phone. "It's been an hour, and I'm a woman of my word." She said after Stein picked up. "Just ask my father." She raised the pistol to put a bolt through the cringing man-
Then suddenly a small, silver device rolled into the room, and a moment later erupted into a wall of sound. Everyone cringed in pain and every window in the area shattered as the Canary Cry went off. The moment it shut off, The Canary herself was there, taking the fight to Helena with half of her staff. The other half was in Laurel's hand, who moved to the hostages to begin untying them.
"Well, there's no way THIS won't end badly." Laurel quipped.
"Everything's going to be ok." She assured them.
"Behind you!" a woman cried as one of the gunmen climbed back to his feet. Laurel too her half of the staff and swung for the fences, hitting the man in the head and knocking him out cold.
"Nice shot!" Tommy whooped.
Sara was surprised how good Helena actually was. She took several of her most powerful hits, and then managed to disarm her. Sara was on the defensive as Helena attacked her with her own staff. They separated briefly, each glaring at the other. "Oliver sure does like to dress up his girls." Helena sneered, moving to attack again. Across the room, the second gunman came up behind Laurel and locked her in a choke hold, his other arm pinning hers out and forcing her to drop the staff. Sara blocked the staff and belted Helena with a right cross that staggered her. Helena screamed in rage and rushed Sara, grabbing at her throat with one hand and forcing her back and using all of her strength she pushed Sara backwards out of the broken window. As Sara fell, she withdrew her silk grapple and threw it. It caught on a ledge just in time for her to slow her fall enough to land on her feet briefly before falling down. Helena leaned out of the window and aimed her crossbow pistol…
But it was knocked out of her hand by an arrow fired from Oliver.
She glared at her ex-boyfriend, before ducking back inside the room
Sara shook her head. "I forgot how tenacious she was." She said. "What she lacked in refinement, she made up for in brutality."
"I can't believe she beat you." Laurel said honestly.
"I didn't want to be a killer anymore; but I didn't know how not to be. So I held back." Sara replied. "It took me a while to find a happy medium."
"You all right?" Oliver asked Sara as she pulled herself up.
"Laurel! She's still in there." She said.
Back in the room, Helena took off her mask and knelt down in front of Laurel, who was now bound with the rest of the hostages.
Quentin looked at Laurel in aggravation. "Next time you are in a hostage situation and someone tries to take you out, you say YES!" he said sternly.
Laurel sighed. "Yes, Dad." She said.
"Yes, Dad." Dinah said at the same time, amusement evident in her voice.
"Nice to see you again, Laurel." She said with a grin. The phone rang, so Helena stood and walked over to it. Tossing he mask onto the desk, she picked up the phone.
"Helena, listen to me." Oliver said on the other end of the line. "This has to end."
"I agree. And it ends with my father in a box." She replied calmly.
"The police are never going to hand over your father!" he told her.
"No, they won't." she said. "That's why you're going to do it. Simple trade- my father for Laurel."
The scene changed to Verdant. It was after closing, and Thea was restocking the bar for the next night. "Hey, guys? We need more vodka." She called out. She looked around for Roy or Becky, but saw neither. Huffing in annoyance, she grabbed a box and rose. "Ok I'll get it myself." She grumbled. She headed into the stockroom, and froze in horror at what she saw- Roy and Becky making out like horny freshmen. They broke apart, Becky looking guilty, but Roy just looked… resigned. Tears forming in her eyes, Thea ripped off the bracelet and threw it to the ground before turning and running out of the room.
"Well, you just got HER fired." Thea reiterated.
"You know, this really was your brother's fault…" Roy tried. Mia replied by smacking him on the back of the head.
"You were the idiot that went along with that plan." She replied.
"I ought to deck you." Tommy said seriously.
"I'd let you." Roy told him earnestly.
The scene changed to the SCPD as Frank Bertinelli was being led through the squad room by a pair of cops. "Where are you taking me?" he demanded.
"Safe house." One of the cops said. They all stopped as Lance walked up to them.
"Listen, fronts mobbed with reporters. Let's take Bertinelli out the back." Lance advised.
"Bring the van around." The first cop said to his partner. He moved to go get the van, and Lance took Bertinelli's free arm and the two cops led him to the back entrance. A few minutes later they exited into the motor pool, and the first cop was just climbing out of the van when two tranq darts flew and hit the two patrol officers, knocking them out.
"Whoa! What the hell?" Frank cried out in alarm.
"Don't worry about it." Lance said coldly.
"What's going on?" Frank demanded.
"Just get in the van!" Lance growled, pushing him into the van and locking him in. "Hey! Hey, hey!" Frank yelled as Lance turned to the two Vigilantes.
"SWAT's getting ready to breach the courthouse." Lance told the two vigilantes as they came into view.
"Then we make the trade now." Sara decided.
"Listen, I'm not going to lose any sleep over Frank. But are you really going to serve him up to his daughter?" Lance asked.
"No." Oliver said firmly, looking at Sara. "No one dies tonight."
"What are the odds that THAT will happen?" Felicity asked.
"Not good." Diggle replied.
Back in the courthouse, Laurel was trying to comfort a hostage. "Are you ok?" she asked softly. "Everything's going to be fine."
"I said- no talking." Helena said harshly as she walked around the room.
"We talked that night." Laurel reminded her as she drew closer. "You, Oliver, Tommy, and I. At dinner. I remember you telling me your fiancé was killed. I'm so sorry." She said.
Helena looked down at her with a mocking smile. "Does this make us girlfriends?" she asked sarcastically.
"No." Laurel said quickly. "But I know what it's like to lose someone."
"Ohh. Poor Laurel. Did Tommy dump you?" she asked mockingly, kneeling down in front of her.
"No. He died." Laurel stated. Helena actually looked abashed. "And I couldn't deal with it. So I became a drunk. Every problem I had, I solved with a pill or a drink." She continued. "My friends and my family, they tried to help me, but I wouldn't let them. You don't have to do this, Helena." She pleaded. "It's not too late."
"Yes, I do." Helena replied. "Because once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out." The phone rang and she answered it. "Helena," Oliver said, calling her from the truck. "I have your father."
"Hmm." Helena winked at Laurel, and then rose to get ready to leave.
Outside in the command tent, Stein was getting ready to storm the courthouse. "I want four men teams, diamond formations. Move fast, shoot sharp. One more thing—" he said, looking at his assembled men. "Vigilantes are not the law. If they're wearing a mask, they get a bullet. Let's move out."
"Idiot is going to get innocent civilians killed." Malcolm noted. "I may need to speak to Commissioner Nudocredo when we return."
"Normally talk like that would piss me off." Quentin said. "But in this case, please. Talk to the man. And get that moron busted down to meter maid."
"What do you have against meter maids?" Dinah asked with a smirk.
Moments later the SWAT teamed stormed the courthouse. As the SWAT officer secured the hostages, Stein approached The Huntress, who stood with her back to him.
"Hands up, Bertinelli!" he ordered. "Do it now!" He lowered his gun as the woman turned around- it was the engaged woman Helena had talked to before, dressed in her coat.
"Please don't kill me!" the woman pleaded tearfully. "Please! She-she told me- she told me to wear it or she'd kill me!"
"Where the hell is she?!" Stein demanded angrily.
"How the hell should she know?" Tommy said angrily.
"That woman's lucky he didn't just shoot her." Diggle noted.
Outside, Laurel was being led at gunpoint by Helena, who had traded her costume for a reclaimed policeman's uniform. The two moved easily through the crowd, heading towards Laurel's car. "Don't look so scared, Laurel." Helena advised her. "You might just live through this."
The scene changed to see the police van driving down an empty back road outside the Glades. Inside the back, Frank Bertinelli was fuming.
"So you're just going to hand me over to my daughter?" he exclaimed, glaring at the vigilantes. "I thought you were the good guys!"
"Shut up." Lance ordered. He glanced in his rear view mirror at Sara. "Remember all that stuff I said about restraint? Forget about it."
"Hey." Oliver said quietly, getting her attention. "You can't stop someone like Helena by becoming her." He told her.
Sara stared back evenly at him. "I'll do what I have to to protect someone I love." She replied.
"And now you'll see an example of that." Sara noted.
FIVE YEARS AGO
"Hendrik, please, put the gun down!" one of the survivors, Jerry, said.
"Why? So you can send me back to that hell hole?" Hendrik spat. "I don't think so!"
"It's not for any of us to decide who lives and dies." Jerry stated.
"But in Hendrik's case, I'd be willing to make an exception." Anatoly said grimly.
Hendrik turned the gun on him. "I'm leaving." He said. "Don't stop me."
Anatoly looked at him in disgust. "Good at talking, but you will not kill me." He said confidently.
"Let's find out." Hendrik growled, putting the barrel of the gun to Anatoly's forehead.
Then Sara was there, smashing a pipe across the back of his head, knocking him out. Anatoly smiled and nodded in gratitude.
PRESENT
"Though to be honest, I would have done that for a Klondike Bar." Sara said.
"Yeah, he seemed like a real charmer." Quentin noted.
Captain Stein was supervising wrapping up the operation when his tech man called in. **Sir, we've got a ping off Ms. Lance's cell phone. She must still have it on her.**
"Where?" he demanded.
**A machine shop at Gail Street and Simone.** he replied. **Should we rally up there?**
"Negative." Stein said after a moment. "Hold your location."
**Yes, sir.**
Stein walked up to his 2IC. "Sergeant, keep this position." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." The Sergeant replied. Stein grabbed his assault rifle and ran out of the building, eager to take down some vigilantes.
"Hmmm…. One lone man, armed to the teeth, going out of his way to dispense justice…" Tommy said sarcastically. "Kind of makes him a VIGILANTE, doesn't it?"
"He's Starling City Police, Tommy. They don't understand irony." Malcolm said.
"Hey!" Quentin objected.
The scene changed to the machine shop as The Canary and the Arrow led Frank Bertinelli into the yard. A moment later Helena appeared, still holding Laurel at gunpoint.
"Well, this is irony for you, dad." Helena said. "Didn't you have Jimmy D'Agostino's body buried under the building next door?" she asked mockingly.
"So THAT'S what happened it him!" Quentin said.
Frank chuckled. "I'm sorry, my girl." He said.
"Now you're about to die, I'm sure you are." Helena spat.
"No." he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry for that little girl I used to take to ballet class. Go on ski trips with. The one I used to help with her math homework. Oh, she hated math." He chuckled. "Sorry that I caused her so much hurt. 'Cause she brought me so much joy."
"How can he claim to love her, even after what he did?"
"In his mind, he was protecting her when he had her fiancé killed." Malcolm said. "You'd be surprised what you can justify to yourself to protect the ones you love."
"Or avenge them." Dinah added, though without malice.
Helena angrily shoved Laurel to the ground and lifted the crossbow.
"Helena! Don't kill him." Oliver begged. "You can never come back from that."
"It's too late." She said shakily. "I'm already gone." She stared into her father's eyes, which were surprisingly filled with regret, sorrow, and love. "Bye, Dad." She raised the crossbow-
Then suddenly a spray of automatic fire had everyone ducking for cover as Captain Stein opened fire.
"Damn vigilantes!" he yelled as she sprayed bullets, heedless of who they hit. "You went above the law!"
"Uh, you're being a vigilante there too, Mr. Punisher." Tommy said sarcastically.
"There is no way this guy passed his psych evaluation." Felicity said.
Oliver fired at him, trying to disarm, but Stein ducked. The rogue cop jumped down off the roof and Oliver pursued him.
Helena moved through the maze of machine parts and equipment, stopping as the Canary came into view ahead of her. "Last time this happened, I threw you out a window." She said with a smirk.
"I was holding back." Sara replied. "I won't do that again." The two ran at each other and Sara leaped into the air, throwing a high punch that Helena ducked. Sara landed in a crouch and swept the legs, knocking her down, and then grabbed her by the neck in a hard choke. Helena forced herself up and back, slamming Sara into a crate. She planted her elbow into Sara's gut, then grabbed her by the back of her head and tossed her over her shoulder. Sara landed in a roll and came back up, blocking a follow up punch and landing three hard hits to her jaw, knocking the Huntress to the ground.
Meanwhile, The Arrow entered the machine shop. As he moved around cautiously, he didn't spot Stein taking aim from behind a crate across the room.
"Hey." Stein turned- and was knocked out by a hard punch from Lance. The older cop looked over to the Arrow, who nodded in gratitude before running back out into the yard.
"Nice shot, Dad!" Laurel exclaimed, patting him on the leg.
"Not quite League of Assassins, but still pretty good." Sara added with a smile.
"Psh." Quentin said. "Those League pukes weren't that tough. I took two of 'em out myself, if you remember."
"I don't know if I should be amused or insulted." Mia said with a grin.
Outside Helena got back up and landed a punch that Sara easily shrugged off. The Canary jumped up, and then took the Huntress down with a leg scissors. She scooted around so that her back was braced against Helena's then reached behind her and grabbed the other woman around the throat. She yanked hard, using her leverage to choke Helena. She yanked forward, trying to break the woman's neck.
"Well, that's one way to do it, I suppose." Felicity said, wincing.
"No!" Sara looked up to see Laurel standing there. "You're not a killer." Laurel said.
"You don't know who I am, Laurel, not really." Sara grunted, not letting go.
"Then show me." Laurel pleaded. Sara stared at her sister for a moment, then finally let go. Helena collapsed to the ground, gasping.
Sara smiled at her sister. "Thanks for the save."
"Any time." Laurel replied,
As Sara climbed slowly to her feet, Helena spied a pair of legs partially hidden behind a crate. "No…" she said, scrambling over to where her father lay, dead from the bullets that Stein had so carelessly sprayed. "It was supposed to be me." She said numbly as Lance ran up and quickly cuffed her. In the distance, sirens could be heard as the backup he had called approached. "It was supposed to me who did it." She repeated.
"All right, Bertinelli, that's enough." He said, pulling her up.
Laurel looked to the Vigilantes as the cops pulled up. "Go." She told them. The two took off just as the cops pulled up.
Later that night, Helena sat in the interrogation room, now clad in a prisoner's jumpsuit. She looked up in surprise as Oliver walked in.
"How did you get in here?" she asked as he took a seat across from her.
"My family makes a generous donation to the policemen's retirement fund." He explained. "And every once in a while, I get to call in a favor."
"Hmm." Helena said. "Maybe you could ask them to send me to prison somewhere tropical." She joked. The smile fell off her face. "You know, I thought I'd feel different now that he's dead, but I don't. And you always told me that… killing him wouldn't change anything. You were right." She admitted.
"But I was wrong, too." Oliver admitted as well.
"About what?" she asked.
"I thought I could help you." He said. "Stop you from being a killer. But I was just starting. And I was a killer, too."
"And what are you now?"
"I'm trying to be better." He said.
Helena chuckled sadly. "It's so stupid, but I keep thinking, now that he's dead, my father and Michael are together, and I'm still here. Alone."
Oliver reached forward and grasped her hands. "You're not alone." He assured her. A cop came in and uncuffed her from the table, securing the cuffs behind her back before leading her out of the room as Oliver watched on sadly.
"She spent so long seeking vengeance, she didn't know how to exist once it was taken from her," Dinah remarked. "She spent years in prison, occasionally being released to help with one crisis or another. Eventually she found a new purpose with the Justice League, but it was a long, hard road to get there." She finished, looking directly at Malcolm. He nodded in understanding.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver slowly came back to awareness, still chained upright and feeling agony in his left shoulder. "What are you doing to me?" he weakly asked Slade, who sat across from him.
"In Roman times, a criminal was branded to identify his crimes to the world and to forever remind him of what he'd done." Slade explained. He touched the new tattoo on his back, and Oliver cried out in agony. "Shado wore this tattoo on her back. Now you shall wear it for the rest of your life, however short that may be."
"He really was a sick bastard." Moira scowled.
**Slade.**
Slade walked over to the radio and picked up the mic. "Hello, Sara. I hope you've made the right choice." He said.
In the fuselage, Sara watched as Hendrik was tied up. "Yes." She replied.
PRESENT
The scene changed back to the courthouse. In the DA's office, everyone was busy cleaning up broken glass once again when Laurel walked into Kate Spencer's office. The DA was on the floor, picking up files when she looked up and saw Laurel standing there.
"Look, on behalf of the entire DA's office, I have to apologize." Kate said reluctantly. "Adam Donner's employment here has been terminated. Obviously we had no idea what he was plotting." She added, covering her ass.
"Uh-huh." Laurel, Thea and Felicity all said in disbelief.
"I would hope not." Laurel said calmly.
Kate gave her a dismissive look. "Unfortunately, Adam was not authorized to offer you your job back. I'm sorry, but nothing has changed."
"Yes, it has."
Kate looked up. "Excuse me?"
"You are going to rehire me, Kate. Unless you feel like explaining to the press that your own assistant district attorney was the brilliant mastermind behind tonight's hostage crisis." Laurel said boldly.
Kate took a breath. "Welcome back." She said.
"Well, that was easy." Laurel said
Laurel set the Bertinelli files down on the desk, and turned to leave. "I have to say, I am impressed." Kate continued. "I would have thought blackmail was a little dark for you."
Laurel smiled slightly. "Someone recently told me, once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out."
Dinah chuckled. "Ain't that the truth."
The scene changed to Verdant. Oliver walked up to his old office to find Thea typing on her computer in the dark. "Hey. What are you still doing up here?" he asked, sitting down next to her.
Thea sniffled. "Thinking. Crying." She wiped the tears away. "Roy and I are…' she sliced her hand through the air.
Internally, Oliver sighed. Externally, he looked concerned. "What happened?" he asked.
"You told him to break up with me. Jerk." Thea added, switching her glare from the image of her brother to Roy.
"You get no argument from me." He said.
"I caught him with some slut." She gestured out her window towards the stockroom. "Right over there, actually."
"I'm sorry." Oliver told her honestly.
"He was doing it to push me away, which clearly worked." Thea said. "I just I don't know why. Why is it so hard for everyone just to tell the truth? I mean, Roy can't even tell me the truth of why he wants to end things with me. Mom, she…" she hiccupped, "She keeps all of these secrets. I mean, doesn't it… doesn't it feel like she's still keeping something from us?" she asked.
Oliver swallowed hard. "I don't know, Thea." He said after a moment.
"You're the only one that doesn't lie to me, Ollie." Thea said tearfully, and a piece of Oliver died inside. "You're the only one I know who doesn't keep secrets from me." She sighed. "Just, I got to go."
"Let me drive you." Oliver offered, rising with her.
"No, I just want to be alone right now." Thea said, walking out of the office. Oliver watched her go with a heavy heart.
"Well, there's no way THAT won't blow up in his face." Thea said.
"You've already seen that it has." Mia said quietly, staring at her younger self.
"Is she ok?" he looked up to see Sara walking in.
"She will be. Eventually." He said.
Mia scoffed. "Yeah, only took two decades…"
He smiled at Sara. "You did good tonight." He told her.
"That's what heroes do, right?" she said. He leaned down and kissed her.
In the Lair, Roy watched on the security monitors as Thea left the club in tears. Dig put a comforting hand on his shoulder, telling him it would be okay, before he and Felicity headed out for the night. Roy looked down at the bracelet he had bought Thea, and angrily picked it up and crumpled it into a small metal ball.
Out in the Glades, Thea walked alone, lost in her thoughts. She didn't notice the limo pull up next to her until a familiar voice called out.
"It's a dangerous city." Slade Wilson said. "You shouldn't be out in the streets alone."
"Mr. Wilson?" Thea said in surprise.
Slade smiled as he opened the door, allowing Thea to get into the limo. "Please. Call me Slade." He said.
Moira gasped in fear and Malcolm shot forward in his seat. "There it is." Mia said. "The beginning of the end. Within twenty four hours, my relationship with my family would be destroyed. Within three weeks…" she sighed. "Well, three weeks, three more hours. Let's press on, shall we?"
TBC
A/N: Why is a patrol officer leading a raid?
So who here saw Summerslam? I thought Stephen Amell did pretty good for a non-wrestler- the only celebrity I can think of that got more involved in a match was Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania 24. And the rumor is that he and Stardust will have one more match, and it will be one-on-one. And i'm kind of looking forward to it.
We should be getting a trailer for Season 4 any day now, and according to the producers it will break the internet.
Finally, I just had a week off- and I spent most of the time writing the bridge stories. As I write this, I have only 2 more to write. I plan to have one story for each member of the viewing party, so question- should I releases them all as separate stories, or should I make them part of a multi-chapter story instead?