The Starling Saviour

Chapter 53

'But how?' I challenged him. 'We both know what Moira is involved with, and Oliver still won't listen to us.'

'I could... Get information from the inside,' Diggle had a brainwave. 'To Mrs Queen, I'm just Oliver's bodyguard and driver. What if her driver was... Unavailable for a few days?'

'Good idea,' I nodded, a smile on my face. 'You can keep tabs on where she goes, who she meets, and then we can use one piece of evidence to prove to Oliver that she has everything to do with The List.'

'What do you know, Aria?' Diggle picked up on my knowledge of Moira and The List, my enthusiasm giving it away.

'Just... Theorising,' I lied as convincingly as I could, but Diggle's expression told me he didn't believe me. 'I... Was told by someone that Moira isn't the woman she makes herself out to be. She can't be trusted, Dig, and if Ollie doesn't realise that soon enough, I'm not sure what will happen.'

'I'll take your word for it,' Diggle nodded, respecting my privacy. 'But if you hear anything important, Oliver needs to know.'

I nodded back in agreement, but in reality, I knew that I could never let Diggle or Oliver know everything; it was too dangerous. And I wasn't willing to take any risks with either of them.

---

The queue for the coffee machine was a long one as I waited in line during my morning break at the SCPD. With Vertigo having been and gone, it meant I had no excuse to not help Lance in his search for The Hood, and now the Sapphire Saviour. But I didn't want to arrest Oliver or myself especially, so it was becoming trickier and trickier to throw Lance off-track without causing suspicion.

'I am worried about Quentin,' Hilton told me as he joined me in the queue.

'How so?' I wondered why he felt a sudden concern for Lance.

'He's getting too wrapped up in finding those vigilantes,' Hilton pointed out. 'Sooner or later, the investigation's going to take over his life.'

'I thought he already was obsessed,' I chuckled slightly, but the worry on Hilton's face made me retreat from joking.

'He planted a bug on the phone he gave to his daughter, Laurel,' Hilton informed me gravely. 'He's using his family, betraying his daughter, again. It's just one vicious circle after another.'

'Why on earth would he do that?' I inquired in a shocked tone, I also starting to panic as I realised that Lance and the SCPD would be able to listen in on every conversation Laurel and Oliver had. 'That's... That's awful!'

'I tried to talk him out of it,' Hilton bowed his head in shame on his partner's behalf. 'But he's so sure he can catch The Hood, and now that Saviour girl too, and once he sets his mind to something, there's no going back.'

Lance looked devastated as he suddenly approached us, we quickly ending our conversation in the presence of the detective.

'What's the matter, Detective?' I wondered, picking up Lance's upset.

'Lieutenant Pike just shut our Hood investigation down,' Lance explained, quieter than his usual loud imperatives. 'He thinks The Hood's some sort of... of hero. He's being ridiculous.'