Chapter Four: The Fourth Time They Met

The next time and forth time they met was almost a year and a half later. He was at a completely different place in his life and he was yet again a completely different person. Throughout that time he had kept tabs on her, making sure she was staying out of trouble. She sure knew how to find it and a few times he was able to get her out of it without her knowledge. She had told him before that her job entailed making a lot of enemies but her enemy list made his look small in comparison. Not only were officers in cases she had reopened finding reasons to dislike her but hard core criminals as well. She had earned the nickname "The Bull Dog" because of her inability to let anything go. In the beginning she was okay bringing down small time criminals, those who had gotten away with robbing a store or stealing purses. As time went on however, she had started looking into more in-depth cases. In particular cases involving kidnappings and people disappearing.

It had first come to his attention that she was involved shortly after the undertaking had occurred. He and his team were in the process of putting the city back together. Information had come in that a small time crime ring was involved in the kidnapping of several displaced residents from the glades. The rumor going around was that street kids were being taken, held and then sold for a profit. The undertaking had kept the police busy as they were in the process of rounding up escaped prisoners and with the rebuilding of the Glades. This however left the clean up for situations like this to him and his team.

He had been patrolling the area where the teens had disappeared when her name had first come up. He had been listening in on a group which was the suspected kidnappers when she came up.

"This Miss Ryan has caused quite a problem for us." A middle aged balding man in a bad suit said. "She needs to be dealt with immediately. The boss won't take kindly to a nosy little girl sniffing around."

"She won't be any trouble." A smaller equally badly dresses man answered.

"She better not be. This is our big push. It has to happen tonight and then we will have enough."

"I'll take care of it myself. She has been snooping down by the docks and getting very close to our cargo."

"If she's there again add her to the itinerary."

"That's the plan. Maybe a taste of what we are capable of is what she needs." He almost laughed with glee. Oliver could feel his blood boil and ducted out of sight as the two men moved in his direction. They stopped just out of his line of sight and continued their conversation. "Just make sure it's handled and that the boss' hands stay clean." After a few more last minute to firm up details the two separated and went in opposite directions. That was when Oliver made his move and headed in the direction of the docks. He knew, like the two men, that she would be there that night. He had to get to her and fast.

Once there he started to scout about and at first he didn't see her. Staying on top of the buildings so that he had a better perspective he heard a scuffle below him. Crouching down and looking over the side he saw a group struggling with two teenagers as they attempted to load them into a big metal crate. They were treating them no better than cattle and not for the first time he wondered what they were being taken for. She was ready to jump from the roof when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly a little spit fire of a girl had come from the shadows swinging a lead pipe at the men who had taken the kids. Severely outnumbered and out matched she continued to fight back and without thinking he jumped down to help. The men where so many in number and so determined to catch their prize that it took him a minute to realize that this had been a trap simply to catch her. The teenagers that where being kidnapped had gotten away and the group had proceeded to go after Abigail.

"Abby!" He shouted above the noise but she couldn't hear him and he couldn't get to her because they kept coming after him. He could hear her scream as she was lifted up and thrown into the crate. By the time he was able to get control of the situation, when most of the assailants had either taken off or had been decommissioned, she was gone.

It took him two days to find her, two sleepless days of non-stop searching. Then he found what he needed. He was mostly going on a hunch but he had a strong feeling this was where they were keeping her, a warehouse on the edge of town. A lot of unusual activity was going on there and at some point he had managed to spot a truck headed in that direction. So he followed winding himself through the streets of the city on the back of his bike. In hind sight he probably should have told his team about this. He had already cut off communication with them and knew when he got back he would be facing a very angry blonde. He just wasn't ready to share her, not with the world, not with anyone. He knew it was crazy and didn't even make sense but she had always been there when he needed her. Maybe not in person but her words always stuck with him, his human connection and she was in trouble. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

When he arrived at the sight he stashed his bike and made his way around to the entrance. Hiding behind some crate to the left he had a good vantage point tosspot the guards at the doors. Surprisingly there were only two. A small number for such a big operation but maybe that was the plan as not to draw attention. He readied his bow and prepared to take aim when a black Sudan pulled up. The two men that he had overheard earlier stepped out and approached the door.

"Is our cargo in place?" One of them asked a guard at the door.

"Yes sir. In place and ready for shipment."

"And what about our problem?"

"She is unruly, gave one of my men a broken nose." This earned a frown

"We need to deal with this before we leave."

"What would you suggest we do?" The guard asked.

"Make it look like an accident, then throw her in harbor. We need to be rid of this problem."

Oliver had heard enough and decided he needed to act now and fast. He slipped around the back and found a way in. The warehouse was dark and quiet but he knew she was in here somewhere. He quickly made his way to the rafters to get a better look just as the men from outside made their way inside. He watched as they came into the center of the room and one of the guards bent to open a door into the floor. The four of them disappeared below. After a few minutes when he was sure the room was clear he made his way below as well. When he reached the bottom he found himself in a long hallway and carefully made his way along the walls, his bow always at the ready. He came to a bend in the hallway and poked his head around the corner. The hallway separated into two separate ones, one leading to the left and one leading straight ahead. He could hear voices ahead of him so he went to the left. Quietly and closely he made his way down the hallway to find doors lining both sides of the poorly lite hallway. Most of the rooms were empty; some had small pieces of furniture. A chair here a desk there but no missing people. That was then he heard the slight notice at the end of the hallway. A slight rattle that to the untrained ear was nothing more than a whisper but to his it was the sound he was looking for. He slowly opened a door to the right of him and peered around the corner and what he found made his blood want to boil. There she was his Abby, blind folded, hands tied above her head as she was handing from a hook from the ceiling. Her feet barely touched the floor and a large purple bruise had formed on her cheek and up under the blind fold. Quietly he approached her and was by her side in a matter of minutes. She must have sensed someone was close by because she started to move around. She opened her mouth to speak or scream but her put his hand over her mouth as he stepped behind her. He felt her stiffen and he could practically feel the fight in her. He whispered in her ear but with his voice disguised she wouldn't know who it was.

"It's alright. I'm going to get you out. I'm going to move my hand so don't scream." He waited for her to relax a bit and to make sure no one had heard them. Slowly he took his hand away and he reached up to get her down.

"Who are you?" She whispered in a gravelly voice.

"An old friend."

"I don't have friends."

"You do today." He helped lower her to the floor. What he wasn't expecting was her sudden fight response. Still blind folded she lashed out with her tied hands and cracked him up side of the head. Not many could surprise him like that; he had though she was too weak. He recovered by shaking his head and grabbing her pulling her up against him. Pulling off her blind fold he pulled off his own hood.

"Abby, it's me, hold still." This got her attention and she quickly looked up at him. A look of relief crossed her face as he smoothed back a strand of her hair. "Are you okay?" He asked her instead of answering however she broke down in tears. He pulled her to his shoulder trying to comfort her but quiet her at the same time. "Shhh, I've got you but we need to get you out of here." She immediately settled down and pulled away from him looking up at him.

"I was wondering when you would get here." He gave her a tight little smile and answered.

"It hasn't happened yet. We still need to get back up to the top without anyone finding us."

"There is a back tunnel. It's how they brought me, through the sewers but Oliver we need to get the kids out. They have them in crates like cargo. We can't leave them." He regarded her for a moment before he answered.

"Okay, what do you suggest?" She smiled up at him as he set to work untying her hands rubbing her wrist where they had been.

"You're not going to like it."

"I rarely do but anything to keep you from getting into more trouble."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She looked at him with a look of disgust.

"It just means you would come back here with or without help. I prefer it was with me. So what's the plan and can you even walk." Her eyes narrowed slightly when she answered.

"First I would crawl if I had to; second we create a diversion and circle back to get them."

"Where are they being held?" He pulled her to her feet and led her to the door.

"The center of the facility, where the hallways split." He nodded his head and led her back the way he came but she stopped him in front of a small grate. "This will lead to the sewer."

"Okay, you stay her and get inside that grate."

He went to leave but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"What are you going to do?" He smiled down at her and pulled his hood up on his head.

"I'm going to create a diversion." He helped her into the grate and headed down the hallway.

Several minutes later after a strategically placed block of c4 and a few arrows into some knees the group of teenagers were free and running back into the glades. He was able to get Abby out and on her way home. Before he let her go though he pulled into an ally and parked his bike. Getting off he turned to face her one last time.

"Are you all right?" She didn't answer at first but took a deep breath, looked away and then back at him. "I will be. I guess I really need to learn to stay out of trouble." She looked down at her hands

"No, you just need to learn to let others help you before you get into trouble." She looked up at him before he continued. "Just remember I will always be there for you Abigail. You just need to ask." She stood up from the bike and wrapped her arms around him. He returned it and leaned his check in her hair.

"Same here" She whispered and then pulled away. "There are still more people like that out there. Those who want to destroy the good in this world. We can't let that happen."

"We won't." He answered back. After a few more minutes they went their separate ways for now. Oliver knew however that it wouldn't be for long. He knew that one day soon they would meet again. What it would bring he did not know but he knew the time would come when he would need his human connection once again.

Thank you for reading. Reviews are wanted and I have a feeling Oliver and Abby are not done just yet. I'm sure inspiration will strike again. Until next time…