The Starling Saviour

Chapter 38

'Alright,' she backtracked, guessing I wasn't going to leave the subject alone until I knew the truth. 'It was about that... Vigilance. I didn't want to tell you because I thought it had all died down between you and the officers at the SCPD, but now it seems that not only the police are interested in that hooded hero of ours.'

'But why did she come here to ask you?' I persevered. 'And, if you don't mind me asking, why you, Moira?'

'I'm not completely sure,' Moira told me wholeheartedly. 'Somehow she thought I was involved. But I had nothing to say to her about the subject.'

If Moira did have nothing to say about the matter, then why would Laneace ask her about it? I was missing large chunks of this puzzle, and all this information left me with was confusion.

But what I didn't realise was that I was closer than ever to finding out Molly Laneace and the Vigilante's true identities.

---

'Hey,' I heard a voice, silencing my thoughts as I tapped my pen on my desk at the SCPD.

'Tommy?' I asked in surprise as I spun round to find him. 'How can I help?'

'We still need that dinner with my father,' he proposed, rolling his eyes. 'Tonight. 7:30. Don't be late.'

'You seem happy,' I raised an eyebrow. 'What's gotten into you?'

'I might be getting somewhere with Laurel, finally,' he grinned in elation. 'I'm hosting a CNRI event for her.'

'That's... Great,' I smiled hastily.

For some strange reason, I felt a envious sensation; a longing for Tommy to talk about me like he did about Laurel. But we would never be like we were again, our bond too weak for such relations. And now Tommy and Laurel had each other, their bridges not broken and hearts as one.

And I had no one.

'Are you okay?' Tommy asked me politely, noticing my slight upset.

'I'm fine,' I shook my head to temporarily forget about my feelings.

'Anyway,' Tommy moved on, the uneasy tension between us growing by the second. 'My dad still wants us to go to that fancy restaurant with him to 'strengthen our ties' or some other dramatic crap. And, like I said, tonight.'

'I thought your father would know I have a busy schedule,' I joked to lighten the mood, causing Tommy's mouth to break into a chuckle. 'I'll be there. And I think I'll walk this time, just to be on the safe side.'

'See you then.'

The meal was, well, awkward, to say the least.

Malcolm was trying his best to be polite and relatable, but it just didn't work. Maybe it was that, becuase our previous experiences, I had wanted to stay away from him as much as possible, but it was also obvious that we had lost the few bonds we used to have. And I was more reserved with Tommy after him telling me all about his and Laurel's relationship.

Part of me still longed for a relationship that could never be rekindled, and I was trying so hard to destroy it.

And if I still loved Tommy, then what of Oliver?

'Aria Coleman?' Another voice withdrew me from my thoughts, this time from a woman.

'Hello?' I inquisitively replied, wondering who the shaking young girl before me was.

Her eyes had a scared shine to them, as though she was petrified of something or someone. I wanted the help her, I really did, but I didn't know what to say. Maybe I could've changed her fate of I had been insightful enough.

'Miss Laneace sends her respects,' she trembled. 'She says she knows who you really are. And she's watching you.'

The girl fell to the floor, a knife dug deep in her back. Screams erupted from around me, my forensics team calling officers for help.

Molly Laneace was ruthless. And she knew something about me. Was it my past that she knew, or something I had yet to find out? Was she just a cruel human being, or a time traveller like The Reverse Flash? I needed to find this woman and stop her before she took any other lives in my name.

But, unbeknown to me, I was going to have to wait a little bit longer until I could do that. And that there would be many complications along the way.