Lydia hummed to herself as she worked on sharpening arrowheads, the clacking of sticks echoing throughout the Foundry as Oliver and Diggle sparred while music played in the background. The change in clacking to the sound of wood hitting flesh had her looking up from her work. She saw Diggle stumbling away while clutching his lower jaw.
"Variable acceleration. Most fighters work at the same pace. You switch it up, you throw your opponent off his game." Oliver said, explaining the technique he had just used on Diggle.
Diggle let out a groan.
"That was nice." he commented.
"Where'd you learn that?"
"His name was Yao Fei."
"He give you one of those scars?"
"One of them."
"And the others?"
Oliver said nothing. Lydia knew why. Those scars were personal, for both of them. Maybe one day they would share the stories behind them with Diggle, but not this day.
"You know, one of these days you two are gonna be straight with me about what happened to you on that island."
"Absolutely." Oliver replied with a smirk.
"But not today."
Diggle shrugged.
"Still some pretty sweet moves."
"Yep. Tonight, I'm gonna use them on him." Oliver said, walking over to the computer and pulling up information on a new target.
"Scott Morgan."
"Oh, I've looked him up before." Lydia piped up, stepping away from the sharpening equipment and walking over to Oliver.
"He runs water and power in the Glades. Tends to jack up the prices to unreasonable amounts and if people can't pay he shuts them down, even in the dead of winter."
Diggle looked at the two of them and nodded before taking a step forward.
"Which is at least a month away. Look at this." he said, changing the information on screen to a news article about a bank heist.
"These guys started at Keystone 3 years ago, then began moving west, hitting banks along the way. This morning they hit Starling City Trust."
The two vigilantes hesitated, prompting Diggle to continue.
"They shot an off-duty cop. He's in a coma and the doctors are saying it's a coin toss whether he'll make it."
"Well, he's SCPD, right? The police will be all over, if what I've learned from Laurel is right. They're very protective of their own." Lydia pointed out.
Diggle frowned.
"Overwhelmed? Underfunded? Listen, these guys don't hit one time. They hit two or three banks per city, which means right now they're planning their next job."
"I think you have the wrong impression of what it is we do here." Oliver said.
Diggle shrugged.
"You take down bad guys with bows and arrows."
"We don't fight street crime. That's a symptom of what's wrong with this city. We're trying to cure the disease."
"CEOs and crooked entrepreneurs, I get it. Listen, I'm just saying, maybe you can make a difference if you think beyond the scope of those pages." Diggle reasoned, gesturing towards the List.
"Diggle, crime happens every day in this city. If we try to stop all of it, we're going to spread ourselves too thin. By focusing on the names on that List, we have a target to aim for." Lydia spoke up, casting a glance at Oliver.
She noticed him pressing his lips together, but said nothing. She knew this mission had a part that was a lot more personal to him: the honoring last request of his father, Robert Queen. Having that goal helped drive him forward. And he didn't appreciate deviations.
YOU ARE READING
Arrow: the Two Archers
Fanfiction"My name is Lydia Rooke. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal. Survive. Now I have returned to my city with a new mission. To save it from those who poison it with crime and corruption. But I can't do that alone. And I can't...
