If you're gonna play the game, you gotta learn to play it right the secret to survivin' is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep
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I hope you'll like this chapter.
Oliver
He had called Sara once they had reached the Bunker, just to check in and see how things with Quentin were going and to let her know about the SCPD's interruption while they had been going through Chase's house. Better she learnt it from him than the news, which he was sure was going to be a shitshow, given the fact that the Green Arrow had been found in the house of the city's beloved star D.A. Yes, having Sara learn about it through the press would be the stupidest choice of action he could take. Her reaction had been as expected and he couldn't fault her for pointing out it had been a stupid idea to begin with.
She wasn't wrong, but he still had to try. Having the SCPD show at had been the least expected outcome from this plan. And most definitely not how he had anticipated his undertaking would conclude. At least hers appeared to be turning out better than envisioned, and she and Quentin seemed to be having an enjoyable evening. That was good. It had been a while since Sara had last spent some quality time alone with her dad. He was glad they found the opportunity. It was important. He knew how much she was still struggling around him, and he really hoped this was helping with the issue and that she'd soon feel comfortable around her father again. Sara had always been a daddy's girl and knowing how difficult it was for her to be around Quentin was breaking his heart.
She was Dinah's daughter through and through, but she'd always been Quentin's little buddy, thanks to her tomboy nature as a child. The bond the two shared had been very powerful and Sara herself had told him on numerous occasions throughout the years that Quentin had been what had kept her going during her years in the League, what had made her keep on fighting and never give up. His braveness and strengths had been her guide- and lifeline. Never give up and never stop fighting had been advice both Laurel and Sara had been given by their father from a very young age on, as a detective he'd known how dangerous the world was and tried to equip his daughters with anything they would need should they ever find themselves in a dangerous situation.
And Sara had just done that. She had never given up or stopped fighting. She might have complied to some degree in order to stay alive, but she had never lost track of who she was and where she came from. The roots she had been provided with as a child had been a lot deeper and stronger than his, but then again, Sara had always known who she was, not like him who hadn't known who he was besides Moira and Robert Queen's son, heir to the Queen fortune. He hadn't known what type of person, what type of man he was. Hadn't known what he wanted to do with his life. Who he wanted to be, what he wanted his life to look like. He had been lost in that aspect regarding his life from a very young age on, while Sara had always known the type of person she was, what she wanted her life to look like, who she wanted to be. Because Quentin, and especially Dinah, had made sure their daughters got the chance to figure that out. They were never told who they were supposed to be, but instilled with a strong set of morals. They'd been taught right from wrong and good from bad. Sara might have ignored their teachings to some degree in her teens, but she had understood the difference. She had known what was right and what was wrong. It was why she had asked him to lie to her family, telling them she had died on the Gambit, why coming home after everything she's been through, everything she had done, even if reluctantly and under duress, she'd feared their reaction. Feared they would no longer accept her, love her because she had been forced to do unspeakable acts while understanding how wrong it was.
Quentin and Dinah had also made damn sure to instill an understanding of the place the real world was into their daughters. Something he hadn't really been able to grasp and only had small glimpses off, up until Lian Yu, given his highly privileged upbringing. His lack of understanding who he was besides his family name and the mixed signals he was given from his parents, chastising him for his behavior but making it go away without any real consequences, hadn't been much to hold on to or default to when being stripped down to the base of the person you are. So it had understandably been easier for him to get lost in it all and lose track of who he was underneath it all. Sara might have played her part to perfection, but that was all it had been. She'd been playing a part. With Ivo, with the League, she might have been able to convince herself to some level, but she had never lost track of her inner voice and moral compass, which had been what had essentially driven her from the League.
He and Dig had been back at the Bunker for almost an hour when Laurel and Thea returned, interrupting his musings about his wife and her father. And what they brought with them was leaving him with a bad feeling. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant, what the feeling was trying to tell him, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. Watching the short recording of Joanna and Adrian Chase made the hairs on his skin stand up and sent a shiver down his spine. It had a certain foreboding sense to it. That he was sure of. And he didn't like that feeling at all. Nothing good had ever come from it and so far, it had never been wrong.
He used the time it took for Felicity to go through the recording to get some training in he hadn't actually done any exercising at the Bunker in a long while, preferring the gym he had at home over the one here, but he needed to do something besides sit around and wait. That would drive him crazy. He gained some more respect for Sara and the way she's been handling things the last several months, not sure how she had managed to not go insane yet, not being able to physically help them. So he worked out while Laurel and Thea got changed and something to eat, her sister insisted on it and he was sure she was trying to distract Laurel from the thoughts that were surely tormenting her after seeing the state her best friend was in, as well as she could. The women returned with take out for everyone after about an hour; he guessed.
"Whole thing's about 30 seconds long. I've been over every frame, and there's nothing to indicate a location." This wasn't at all what he wanted to hear from Felicity after what felt like hours of waiting for a conclusion on her end. Not that it surprised him. It would have been sloppy for Adrian to leave it for them and give them the location, unless that was the plan and that would've brought a lot of other issues and questions with it. And again, leaving the recording at his mother's house meant he had known they'd go there. Sure, it was an obvious route to take. They had expected little to come from it, but still… it also made this finding all the more surprising and worrisome. Adrian's knowledge of their actions worried him. Even more so exactly because they got more out of it than they had expected. It was less that they would go and check those places out, but more that he was aware of their timing. But then again, if he did work with Ruvé, he had access to the entire city; that meant police, traffic office everything. And he'd surely have people keeping track of their movements. If he was working with Ruvé, they were going up against the eyes and ears of the city. Fuck!
But there was no avoiding being seen while being out there, the city was covered with CCTV and personal security cameras. There was no going around that and getting around the city without being seen, not without having access to the entirety of the government's surveillance offices and with that all of their cameras, and that was just a risk he wasn't willing to take. Not with Ruvé in office. There was no way they'd be able to take control without her noticing and that would bring a whole new set of troubles with it. Maybe, once they knew for sure that Ruvé and Adrian were working together, and they know what they are working towards. But not while they were still operating blind. Not while Joanna was still in their enemy's hands.
"At least it's proof of life." He agreed with Dig to some degree. It was proof that she had been alive at the time the recording was made. This was less proof of life in his mind than the fact that they hadn't stumbled across her body yet.
By now the press had been made aware of Joanna's disappearance and that didn't necessarily help the situation, not that it was surprising, Joanna was a successful lawyer at a prominent law firm and having Wethersby & Stone LLP go to the press to ask for help in finding their missing employee was something that was on par for a company on that level and with their status and reputation. Especially since Joanna had no family in Star City itself, not since her brother's murder.
Watching Joanna suffer and almost being taunted by Prometheus was sickening. He didn't really know the woman, but they had met and interacted several times over the years and knowing the part he played in her kidnaping and subsequent torture was soul crushing. Joanna was an innocent. She had as much to do with any of this as the people who were murdered by Adrian, simply because their names created the right acronyms to send him a message. This was wrong and she should've never been put into this situation. He really hoped the recording would be able to give them a solid clue as to where they needed to look for her, even if it looked rather futile right now, given Felicity's words. Knowing now what condition she was in made finding her all the more urgent. There was no telling what else Chase would subject her to.
What also didn't bode well with him and intensified the dread he was feeling was the knowledge that Chase knew Joanna, had probably interacted more with her in the time he had been Star City's D.A. than he had in the years he'd been back home. Adrian knew Joanna, people would call her an acquaintance of his, hell, that was what he had referred to her as during the press conference that had been held earlier today. Watching his performance on camera had almost convinced him he was very concerned and worried about the missing woman. Had he not known for sure that Adrian was responsible for it, he probably would've bought it. Had the information he had been given about the D.A. had come from a less believable source and less convincing. Yes, Adrian Chase had stood on the podium looking distraught and begging whoever had kidnapped her to let her go. And yet, he had been the one who was responsible for her disappearance and the injuries she was suffering. If he had no scruples to do this to a woman he knew and who had never done anything to him, what would he do to someone he didn't know or felt had slighted him, whether it was perceived or true? This wasn't good at all. And worried him greatly. It made him wonder what would happen if their enemy got his hands on one of them. He'd rather not think about it. But his mind kept on circling back to that troubling thought. They just needed to find him and end this before it came to that.
"She was alive when this video was made, but we don't know how long a… sorry." He really wished Felicity would just keep her thoughts to herself from time to time, or consider the effect her words would have before blurting them out. The look on Laurel's face was the reason he had refrained from voicing that fact, everyone in this room was aware of that, there was no need to point it out, they all just chose to go with the more optimistic option, which could lead to a positive outcome. Instead of the more bleak and tragic one. The words being spoken aloud made the reality of that terrifying possibility all the more tangible for Laurel. And the last thing he wanted was for her to focus on the worst-case scenario and letting her emotions guide her.
"It's fine." The tone of her voice said differently. And it wasn't fine. It had been an unnecessary reminder, salt that had been poured in the emotional wound that had been inflicted on Laurel by taking her best friend as a hostage. And not just that, it had been done by someone she knew, someone she respected, someone she had trusted to some degree. This whole entire situation reminded him too much of the mess with Blood and the unforgivable part he had played in that entire ordeal. He should've believed her. At least more than someone he'd barely known. And he was sure Laurel was aware of the similarities, too. Only this time, it wasn't her who was the sole victim of the machinations of someone she'd trusted.
It wasn't fine.
And yet everyone always claimed he had no tact or empathy and was too harsh when driving home a point and giving sometimes much needed reality checks. Sure, he had the tendency to bring up the cold hard facts if necessary to the situation and refused to sugarcoat them because what was the point, but he never unnecessarily stated the obvious and brought pain upon other people. And he knew Felicity wasn't doing it on purpose, but… it wasn't that difficult to think about the outcome of sharing your thoughts with the room before doing so. Especially how Felicity was someone who wouldn't show as much grace as Laurel did, were the situation reversed and she the one who was hurt by the words someone else spoke.
"He'll keep her alive to keep us in check." Damage control was all he could do now, and try to ignite the glimmer of hope again that had been visible in Laurel's eyes since her return, but had so harshly been put out just moments ago. He didn't like the look on his childhood friend's face. Didn't like the implication and the weight behind it, didn't like the reminder what it meant if he was wrong, if he failed… he wasn't sure if Laurel could bear the worst-case scenario, and he wasn't sure if he could bear watching her go through that pain yet again. He had to be right. There was no other choice, not if he didn't want to lose one of the few friends he had left from before, to the repercussions of another tragedy in her life. Losing Tommy had almost killed her. Fuck! He couldn't… the thought of having to helplessly watch Laurel go down another downward spiral was heart crushing and the last thing he wanted to happen.
No, not saving Joanna wasn't an option.
"You don't know that. I never should have put Joanna in this situation. I should've never introduced her to Adrian… I don't know what I was thinking." He hated the tone of her voice, the way she was blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault.
"Laurel, this isn't your fault. You were thinking you were having lunch with a colleague and your best friend, who was also a lawyer. There was no way for you to know." Joanna would've crossed paths with Adrian no matter what. He was sure of it. They did work in the same profession. And the smallest amount of research into Laurel would've provided him with the knowledge of just how close those two are.
"Well, maybe I gave up that right to have a friend, someone outside of all of this, when I put on that mask and decided to become Black Canary." She sounded so defeated and angry at herself. He hated seeing her like this, hated that she felt that way. Hated that Adrian put her in this situation. Made her question her choice of having a friend outside of them.
"Everyone needs somebody, Laurel, and Joanna has been your friend for a very long time. Long before any of this ever started." It was the truth. While he had only met Joanna after his time on Lian Yu, and he, honest to god, couldn't recall whether Laurel had known her before that or not, ever mentioned her to him before that or not, part of him still felt ashamed about the way he used to treat Laurel, how little attention he used to give her when she was talking about college or her friends from college. It just hadn't been something he was interested in, while always proud of her and her achievements, it had not especially kept his interest, not enough for him to be able to recall if Laurel and Joanna had met before they started Law School or not. Fact was, they had known each other for a long time and it would've been outrageous to insist Laurel had to cut her out of her life, simply because she had decided to put on a mask.
"Maybe you were right with the way you tried to handle things when you first came home. Keeping us at arm's length." He knew this was what he had originally and repeatedly tried to do over the years and therefore understood her line of thinking, but he also understood the other side, the side he was usually not on. They needed people in their lives who didn't wear masks, the thought made him smile, remembering the time he had been told just that, the reminder came with a cold shower when he recalled how that night had ended, wiping the smile from his face almost before it had fully blossomed. It didn't keep him from using it as an argument, though.
"No, no, I wasn't. Sara was when she told me we needed people in our lives that don't wear masks. It's the only way for us to stay connected to the world, to not place ourselves above the law. To keep the goal in mind and not lose track of it, and that is to make this city a better place for the people living in it, people like Joanna. We need people who remind us of our humanity to not be swallowed by the darkness." It had taken him a lot longer to understand what exactly Sara had been telling him on that rooftop that night. Longer than he cared to admit, just like he didn't like to be reminded of the fact that he had misunderstood her at first. Well, after he had ignored it, to focus on finding her killer. But he understood now, better than ever. He knew part of it was because he had Sara in his life again. This made it easier to understand her thought process being confronted with it on the daily, the other was Mila. He had never wanted to hold on to his humanity, to push aside the monster inside of him more than he had since learning about his daughter's existence. He wanted to not only do good, but to also be good. To be the type of man worthy of having and raising a daughter. Someone she would be proud of calling her dad.
"Ollie's right, Laurel, this isn't anyone but Prometheus' fault. And we'll find her, and we'll bring her home." He hoped Thea was right. He wasn't sure what it would do to Laurel if they failed. Joanna was to her what Sara was to him, the romantic involvement left aside. She was the one person Laurel trusted completely and confided in, someone she knew she could always count on and be on her side.
They couldn't fail. Failing Joanna meant failing Laurel, yet again. And he couldn't do that. Not again. Failing wasn't an option.
Laurel
She wasn't sure whether to be grateful Ollie had sent them home, or in her case, to work or not. True, there wasn't much they could do right now. Felicity was still trying to get any useful information from the recording they had found, and had promised to let her know as soon as she did. He had also been right that people would start to ask questions if she didn't show up at work. And with people, she was sure he meant Adrian and Ruvé, even if he hadn't said it. She wasn't sure right now if she cared or not.
But Oliver had also pointed out there were people who counted on her, people she was representing, people who'd been waiting for ages to get a court date and she couldn't let them down. She owed them. And Jo wouldn't want her to prevent justice from being served for those people on her behalf. It had been one of the things that had drawn them together and solidified their budding friendship in college, it had been the reason Jo had sought the job at CNRI to begin with.
And there were criminals who needed to be prosecuted, and they wouldn't be if she just didn't show up for work. Some she had helped hand over to the police. Now it was up to her to make sure they got the punishment they deserved. She also hoped work would help to distract her and make her feel less helpless and useful for the first time in what felt like forever. Even if rationally she knew it had barely been two days. But Jo had been missing so much longer and that made their inability to find her so much worse.
It had worked, at least for the most part, and her case load had provided a potent distraction, at least until lunch rolled around and she left her office, only to run into the one person she had hoped to avoid and should've she'd been sure he'd be at court all day. He was supposed to be.
As soon as she set eyes on Adrian, she could feel the red hot fury return as Joanna's broken body and her desperate pleas were pushed to the forefront of her mind again, she strode towards him and it was only when her mind registered the rest of the room, the people within it, one of which was Ruvé Adams herself that she momentarily stopped as Oliver's earlier warning rang loud and clear in her ears.
"We can't let our emotions run wild, not this time. We can't risk the possibly catastrophic consequences it could have for Joanna. Laurel, I understand how you feel, but going straight at him isn't the answer." He had said more, of course he had. It was Oliver, after all. But this had been the gist of it and the thing that had stuck. She had filtered out the rest. There was truth in his words, enough to make her stop and keep her from physically attacking Star City's D.A. surrounded by witnesses, but what they've been doing so far wasn't bringing any results either. Who was to say he'd wait around until they figured out Joanna's location, if they ever would? Felicity didn't sound too optimistic after hours of going through the footage. Oliver had mentioned Sara was working on something that might help. But honestly, how much could her sister do from the safety of her home? If Felicity wasn't able to find the location, what were the chances Sara would fare better?
Her sister was very intelligent, sure, but she wasn't a tech wiz, and she hadn't actually done any field work in years and still wasn't. Whatever usefulness she would have, were she in the field seemed irrelevant at her refusal to participate in anything Green Arrow related, Laurel wasn't even really sure what had changed and why Sara was suddenly getting involved.
She felt bad about some of her thoughts. Of course, her seven months pregnant sister wouldn't be out in the field. She didn't expect her to be. She'd be actually pretty angry at her and the recklessness it would be were she to decide to go out. The last thing she should do was put herself and her unborn daughter in danger. But still, her point stood. What could Sara possibly do to help? Her strengths were in the field, not behind a computer screen. She pushed the thoughts of her sister aside. No, whatever they had been doing until now wasn't working, wasn't helpful, wasn't getting them anywhere. Maybe it was time for a new approach.
"You got some nerve showing up here." The words were out of her mouth before her brain had time to register her actions and the consequences they could bring.
"Why wouldn't I? I take my job very seriously. Speaking of, I thought my assistant had requested the verifications on the latest ComStat reports from the SCPD. What have you been doing?" There was a threatening undertone and a double meaning to his reply. She was sure of it. She shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be doing this.
"I'm on my way to get them right now." Laurel took a deep breath, and walked past Adrian, Ruvé and everyone else in the corridor, pushing the elevator button as soon as she reached it, praying for a quick arrival so she could remove herself from the situation before she lost the little self-control she'd been able to muster.
"Laurel." She automatically turned at her name and watched with horror when Adrian walked towards her. Ruvé and everyone else had disappeared, leaving only the two of them. She prayed the elevator would show up before he reached her, but she had no luck.
"Adrian, I really have to run, my day is fully booked and this is the only window I have to get the ComStat verifications." She tried to get rid of him, hoped it would work, part of her already sure it wouldn't and her gut feeling was not misleading her.
"Just a quick word. I won't keep you. I'll just walk you to your car. You look awful today and I'd hate for something to happen to you. Are you feeling alright? And we both know that you are not on your way to the SCPD." The elevator arrived just as Adrian reached her, and followed her inside, not giving her another choice but to endure his presence and fake concern. The quiet, following after he made sure she knew he had seen right through her lie, until the elevator door closed was stiffening and the knowing, almost taunting and superior way he looked at her, gave her chills and made her blood boil. As soon as the door closed and the cabin began to move, all of her restraint went right out the window.
"You think you're so clever. This isn't over, you son of a bitch!" She couldn't have held the words back even if her life had depended on it, and maybe it did. Who knew what he had planned for her once they stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage. But she was just so done with it all.
"I agree. In fact, I think we're just getting started. I want those ComStat verifications on my desk by tomorrow morning, Bird." The tone of his voice had changed from the friendly one she was used to, to a very threatening one. It reminded her of the way Oliver would switch from charming to Green Arrow in zero seconds flat. She wasn't sure why the way he addressed her took her by surprise, but it did. It shouldn't have, Adrian knowing her identity, or more like Black Canary's identity shouldn't have surprised her, not after everything he had done, especially kidnapping Jo but knowing for sure and suspecting were two entirely different things, and the cold hand of dread was suddenly squeezing her heart. What else did he know? And for how long had he known?
"What did you do to her?" There was no more need to pretend. Not that she expected him to answer her question, or be honest if he chose to, but asking was a reflex she couldn't stop.
"She's fine. Don't worry. As long as I'm around to make sure she gets some food and water. Starvation and dehydration… terrible way to go. Bottom line … I die, she dies. I don't make it back to her in time. She dies. Now you could try torturing me for her location, but we both know that's not really your forte and your friend Ollie, who's very capable of that, has yet to figure out what game we're playing and I'm already ten steps ahead. So even if he'd get his hands on me, who do you think would last longer? Joanna or me?" His words filled her with dread and made her uneasy. Especially the knowledge he seemed to have about them. He knew too much, and what did he mean? She knew Oliver could be brutal when faced with the scum of the earth, but torture… she wasn't sure if she should believe Adrian, if he was telling the truth or trying to rattle her and doubt the Green Arrow. Not that it mattered right now.
"I'm gonna kill you in ways that will hurt." Her mind wasn't ready to really process anything he was saying or the situation in its entirety, at least right now. But she could focus on her feelings and knew damn well what she was feeling and had no qualms about giving voice to the rage and hatred she felt towards him at his words.
"Threating a city official's a felony, Miss Lance, which you should be very aware of given your position. And we both know that's an empty threat. No matter how much you try, you are not, nor will you ever be, your sister. Hasn't your ex-boyfriend driven that fact home yet?" The words stung more than she wanted them to, more than they should. It reminded her of the time she first joined Team Arrow, of Oliver's reluctance, and of him pointing out exactly that. She knew that. She'd always known that. And she wasn't sure why having Adrian point out one of the biggest differences between her and Sara was making her feel lacking. Her reluctance to kill, the almost inability she had when it came to taking a life shouldn't make her feel inadequate. Like she was less. It wasn't a bad thing. Oliver had changed his original way and strayed from killing, well at least mostly, and it didn't change the fact that he was doing good, he was helping. There was a small voice far in the back questioning that statement, but she chose to not listen to it right now. The jab towards Sara and Oliver's relationship would have stung a lot more a couple of weeks ago, before she had had her epiphany and found peace with their relationship and the revelation just how obviously and much they loved each other. It was plain to see, if you were willing.
Another realization hit her like a truck. Adrian not only knew Sara's identity, but did his words also mean he knew Sara and Oliver were involved once again? And if he did, did this mean he knew about the baby? She needed to talk to Oliver, like now. He needed to know. Her mind was going a million miles a minute and she just barely registered his next words.
"This is nice, everything being out in the open now, all the cards on the table, as it were." He smirked at her before stepping away from her and her car, walking back to the elevator she hadn't even realized they'd walked out of during their confrontation.
Leaving her standing in the parking garage all alone.
Notes:
As always I'd love to hear your thoughts and I hope the changes I made to canon and the choices with the dialogue made sense. If not let me know. I did my best but I find it really difficult and a serious challenge to figure out what to keep, what to leave and how to change what I keep to make sense while using different characters and trying to keep the context of the exchange and important parts the same but trying to change the words and interactions to fit with the characters I chose to have them with which differ from the ones in canon.
I'm open to any form of constructive criticism since this is a rather new aspect to writing for me, the Invasion parts are the only ones who kind of fit what I'm doing here now.
Chapter title is from the song "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers.