Shadow Justice

59: Don't Jump to Conclusions

Oliver had been in the middle of helping his bartender, Celeste, with serving drinks for the crowd when he suddenly felt something inside him quail with fear. For several moments, he stared into space trying to figure out where the pain and lost feeling emanated from and realized he could not find the Regent. He set the overflowing cup aside and pressed a hand to his head.

"Hey." He looked up and saw Celeste looking at him worriedly. "You alright?"

Oliver shook his head. "I got a little light headed."

She nodded. "I got it covered," she said nodding to the bar. "Most people are out dancing anyway."

"You sure?" he asked half serious.

"Go on," she said. "Get out. Let me do my job."

Reluctantly, Oliver left, making his way up through the crowd to the area backstage where there were fewer people and leaned against the wall cradling his head in his hands. He felt confused, disoriented, and unnerved. His Shadow senses writhed forcing him to knock them aside and focus on the reality of the here and now. Thankfully, Diggle found him before he slipped down the wall like a drunkard.

"Oliver!" The man slipped an arm under his charge's and helped him up. "What's wrong? Celeste told me you didn't look to good," he said tilting Oliver's head up to get a good look at his face. "I see she was being polite. You look awful."

Oliver groaned. "I'm fine," he said. "Physically I'm fine," he corrected when Diggle gave him a disbelieving look. "It's my Shadows. They're..." He searched for the right word, "lost."

Diggle looked around. "Want to discuss this somewhere else?" he asked carefully.

Oliver took a deep breath and felt the disorientation fade leaving a strange sense of loss behind. The vigilante blinked for several seconds before nodding. "I'm alright now," he said firmly. "It just caught me off guard is all."

"What happened?" Diggle asked.

Oliver stood on his own and jerked his head towards the back of the building. When they were further away from people, he said, "I can't feel the Regent." He paused. "I take that back, I can feel him. It's just fuzzy, like through a wall or something."

Diggle crossed his arms in concern. "Should I be worried?" he asked sardonically.

Oliver tilted his head thoughtfully and tentatively reached for his Shadows. They had calmed their frantic flailing and rose at his bidding. Oliver reached out into Starling City noticing how the Shadows there which were not his still eagerly moved to help him. These must be the city's Shadows the Shadow Court mentioned. They helped him locate the faint fuzz that was the Regent.

"He's coming here," Oliver said. "Watch the back door, I'll watch the front."

Diggle nodded but placed a hand on his friend's shoulder one last time before leaving. "You sure you're alright?"

Oliver slapped a hand on Diggle's arm, squeezing it reassuringly before walking off. The bodyguard shook his head. "That boy," he muttered.

He stood by the back door for several minutes before hearing a series of thuds just outside. Curious, he rested a hand on his sidearm and cautiously pushed open the door. He was immediately greeted by the sight of Seto Kaiba collapsed on the ground with a man Diggle recognized as one of Kaiba's bodyguards struggling to wake him.

"Hang on, I got it," Diggle said. He quickly knelt by Kaiba's side and checked for a pulse. Kaiba looked terrible, worse than how Oliver looked earlier. He tapped his ear and contacted his friend and charge. "Oliver," he said, "I got Kaiba. He doesn't look too good."