Athena and the League of Assassins (An Arrow: Season 3 Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: More Secrets Unveiled

In the hideout... 

Nyssa Al Ghul walked around the computer desk, talking to all of us, myself included, as we stood or sat around in the Arrow hideout, listening to her tell about Malcolm Merlyn's true, real identity, the one he'd really hid from us this whole time. 

'Merlyn was a member of the League of Assassins. My father released him from his obligation to us with the understanding he would abide by its code of conduct.' 

'You guys are professional killers,' Roy replied. 'That is a pretty low bar.' 

'Merlyn's Undertaking violated the League's principles. When you killed him, we considered the matter settled,' she spoke, motioning with her head to Oliver. 'But then we received word from a reliable source that Merlyn faked his demise.' 

'What source?' Diggle asked. 

'Oliver and Evelyn's mother.' Oliver and I looked at each other, then at her. 

'Yeah, well, Oliver's mother wasn't exactly known for her honesty,' Roy spoke. 'No offence,' he added, nodding towards Oliver and I. 'I just can't believe that a guy everyone thinks was dead suddenly... isn't.' 

'Neither did I,' I said, going over to a computer panel. 'Then we found these.' I pressed a button, downloading a hard drive, and multiple photos popped up of Malcolm Merlyn, indeed alive and well. 

'Sara took them two weeks ago,' Oliver said, coming next to me to look at the photos. 

'Didn't the police, you know, find his body?' 

'Merlyn had resources all over Starling,' I replied. 'I'm willing to bet one of them was in the coroner's office.' 

'Since learning Merlyn was alive,' Nyssa said, 'the League has hunted him all over the globe. Running down every rumour, following every whisper.' 

'And one of those whispers put Merlyn back in Starling,' Diggle replied, turning to Nyssa, arms crossed. 

'She tracked him here,' Oliver said, looking at all of us. 'We're gonna retrace her steps.' 

'You said you found evidence on her person?' Nyssa asked. 

'Yes. Roy,' Oliver replied. 

'We found a blank piece of paper in Sara's boot, but why would she be carrying a blank piece of paper?' Nyssa looked at Oliver with a smirk. 

'Do you have a flame?' 

After lighting the blowtorch, Oliver held the small piece of paper to the flame, revealing the writing beneath. 

'Unbelievable,' I said in awe, smiling at the piece of paper with keen interest. 

'Our father,' Oliver said, looking over at me, 'had a notebook with hidden writing just like this.' Diggle took the piece of paper and looked over it. 

'The notebook he recieved from Merlyn, I imagine,' Nyssa spoke. She pointed to the particular ink on the page. 'This is ghost ink. One of the means the League employs for concealing secrets.' 

'It's Sara's handwriting,' I remarked, taking the piece of paper from Diggle and looking it over. 'Notes from her surveillance of Merlyn. Oliver, there's not much to go on here.' 

'There's a couple of things,' Oliver said, taking the paper back and looking over it once more. 'Jansen, question mark.' He looked at Nyssa. She shook her head. 'Dad help, question mark.' He passed it again to Nyssa. 

'Sara reached out to Lance,' Diggle spoke. 

'If Lance knew Merlyn was alive, don't you think he would have told you?' Roy asked. 

'Only if she told him,' Oliver said. 'What matters is what he told her.' 

'How do we find that out?' Nyssa asked. 

Hours later... 

The five of us walked back into the hideout in our full suits, the hunt for both Malcolm Merlyn and Sara Lance's killer having come up empty. Laurel was there waiting for us, with the scratches and bruises on her face still evident from her silly revenge spree the other night that landed her in the hospital and a flat refusal from Oliver to train her. 

'What's going on?' she asked. 'Did you find Sara's killer?' Oliver turned to her. 

'We have a suspect,' he replied calmly. 'Malcolm Merlyn is alive.' Her mouth fell open slightly at this. 'Sara came here looking for him. We think he found her first.' 

'And where is he now?' 

'We're working on that,' I said, putting my daggers back on their rack. 'He got away from us earlier tonight.' Oliver came up next to me, putting away his bow. 

'But not before I hit him with an arrow laced with particulate nanotechnology. Felicity wrote a program that tracks the nanites using GPS.'

'The tracer arrow,' Diggle said. 

'Yeah.' I saw Laurel's face change to one of anger. 

'You had a shot at Merlyn and you didn't kill him?' she asked furiously. 

'I tagged him,' Oliver replied. 

'With a flesh wound!' 

'He's marked, Laurel,' I replied, tiredly. 'There's nowhere in the world he can go where I can't find him.' 

'And when you two do?' 

'We're not killers anymore, Laurel,' Oliver said, facing Laurel. 

'Merlyn is,' she said angrily, coming closer to Oliver. 'He killed Tommy and 502 other innocent people. How many more people are going to have to die before the both of you put him down?' 

'Do you think that's what your sister would want?' I asked her. 

'Yes,' she replied bitterly. 'I do.' She stormed out of the hideout, Nyssa turning to the both of us. 

'Let me speak with her.' Oliver nodded and she left the hideout, just leaving Diggle, Roy, Oliver and I in the room. 

'Merlyn may try to contact Thea,' Oliver said to Roy. He nodded. 

'I'm on it.' He left the hideout too. 

'And then there were three,' I said, leaning against a desk. 

'The tracer arrow program...' Diggle began to say. 'You have Felicity monitoring remote from Central City?' 

'No, she told me an idiot could run it,' Oliver said, seeming just as tired as I was as he pressed the palms of his gloved hands into his eyes. Diggle sat at the computer bench. 

'I will try very hard not to take that personally,' Diggle said. 

'We'll be on the streets,' Oliver said, motioning to me. He and I both grabbed our weapons, and as we left the hideout, he called out to Diggle. 'Talk me in when you have his location.' 

'Copy that.'