Today is the day of Moira's case. I wanted to be there for Oliver and Thea but Oliver claimed it would be suicide because she did help my father in the Undertaking. So, I was at the hideout with Tommy training. Well, I was training. He was watching the news on the monitor.
The moment Oliver and Thea stepped out of their car they were bombarded with reports asking them about their mother. Stupid questions because of some rumors going around like if she was suicide watch? Did they know about the Undertaking? They even asked them about Tommy and me and why we weren't with them.
"It's not fair. They're not the ones on trial," Tommy commented while his leg bounced from nervousness.
I was using the salmon ladder. I moved my body and jumped up, taking the pole with me, to move to the next hole. "That won't stop Jean Loring from using them, and us, as props to drum up sympathy," I commented before jumping up again. "The fact that she confessed on live television that she was an accomplice."
"Yeah, but she also said that Dad coerced her." He let out a breath as he leaned further back into his seat. "That's got to mean something to them."
"People can change their opinion about someone in an instant. They can do a million good deeds only to have their reputation ruined by of one bad thing." I jumped off the ladder. I gave Tommy a knowing look as I fixed my wrapped hands. "Sound familiar?
Lian Yu
I feel so stupid. How could I let my friendship with Sara get in the way of my judgment? If I was smarter, I could have figured out that she's been playing us. Even with the radio, I should have figured out something was happening when she only wanted me or Ollie to talk in the walkie. Now, Shado and Slade are in deep trouble because of us. It's been a year since we've seen Sara, things can change in a year. Just look at Oliver and me.
"You don't have to do this," Oliver spoke out loud, hopefully, Shado could hear us and get Slade away before they could start shooting.
"Ivo says we do," Sara said. "Your friends are a danger to his men."
The man holding us at gunpoint motioned for his comrades to run inside the plane.
"Slade! Shado! Run!" I shouted.
I felt the butt of the gun collide with my side. Pain shooting up when the man knocked me over. Oliver ran over and helped me up as Ivo's soldiers began firing at the plane. The bald guy from earlier walked over toward the opening and looked inside.
"There's nobody here," he said. I let out a breath of relief knowing they made it out ok.
"They must have moved on from their position," Ivo said. He pulled out a small explosive from his pocket,"Chargers are set. Here's the detonator." He held it toward his partner. 4 minutes and 30 seconds is what it read. "Make sure they have no place to return to." He pushed the button as his partner grabbed it, starting the countdown. "Go." Ivo then walked over to Ollie and me. "You two. Now, you're gonna take us to the graves. Let's go. Get them up."
Sara grabbed me while Ivo's main man commander, his best soldier, grabbed Oliver. I kept looking back at the plane. Shado and Slade, please, stay safe.
》》》》
Starling
"They say that STAR Lab's particle accelerator will be turned on right on schedule," I heard the news reporter say as I focused my attention on sharpening my arrows. Maybe I'll do Oliver's when I'm done.
"You know Barry wanted me to see that with him," I told Tommy, eyes not leaving the arrowhead I was currently inspecting.
"What did you tell him?" Tommy asked.
"As much as I love, as you call it, geeking out with him about science, I told him no. I don't intend on being the third wheel while he's gawking at Iris. So I'm hoping this will get them closer."
"She's never going to see him like that," Tommy said. "He's in love with her but has that small crush on you."
I gave Tommy a glare. "Barry doesn't have a crush on me. He's one of my best friends."
"So is Oliver and look how that turned out."
My glare hardened. "This coming from the man who wants Barry to be his brother-in-law."
"Oh, I do. I still do. But I'm saying, Iris won't see Barry the way you see Oliver. They've known each other since they were kids and she hasn't even shown any kind of sign that she's at least into him."
"It sounds like to me, you want to be dating him." I gasped as the door to the hideout opened. "What would Laurel think of this?"
"Ashley! Tommy!" We heard Felicity cry. "He needs help!"
I turned to see her carrying an unconscious Diggle. My eyes widened while I dropped my arrow before heading over. "What happened?" I asked.
"He passed out. I called Oliver to meet us here and -"
"I told you not to call him," Diggle groaned as his body shivered.
"Before that, you said gaw and thud so I didn't take it very seriously."
"She did the right thing," Tommy said as I placed my hand on Diggle's forehead. "Shit, Dig, you're burning up." I looked at Felicity. "Why didn't you take him to a hospital?"
"He needs more than medical attention," Felicity began. "When Dig passed out I sent a sample of his blood to a chemist I know at QC. Guy owes me a favor. Long story. I fixed his parking ticket." Her brows furrowed. "Huh? I guess it's not that long."
"Felicity. The blood sample."
She nodded. "Yeah. It came back positive for trace amounts of Vertigo."
This time my brows furrowed. "What?"
"I never used Vertigo before."
"Yeah, I have. Small advice, don't do it."
Tommy's brows shot up. "You've done Vertigo?"
"It wasn't my choice," I said at the same time Felicity said, "It was forced into her."
"Yet, Diggle was exposed to it somehow," she finished.
"Vertigo's in play again?" we heard Oliver from behind. I didn't realize he came.
"When the Count recovered from his OD on Vertigo he was sent to Iron Heights."
"That got hit in the quake," Tommy muttered in realization.
"He got out the same way the Dollmaker did?" I asked as Felicity went over to the monitor.
"And just like with the Dollmaker, prison officials worked overtime to keep a lid on the escape," she informed us.
Oliver pursed his lips before walking over to our rack of arrows. He twirled one in his fingers and made a move to leave but I stepped in front of him, hand on his chest. "Ollie, I know what you're thinking, don't do it."
"I wanted to kill him when you were hurt, Ash, but I made a choice not to put an arrow in this guy and it was the right choice." He held up the arrow. "I worked this up to counteract the effects of Vertigo" He passed it to Felicity. "Give it to Diggle." Felicity cautiously took it from him. "I...I need to get back to court."
I nodded in understanding. "Go, we can handle things from here."
Oliver leaned down and quickly pecked my lips. "Thank you."
I looked at Felicity once he left. "Ok, we need to figure out how Diggle got Vertigo in his system without his knowledge."
Felicity nodded before heading over to the monitors.
Lian Yu
We just arrived at the graves and Ivo immediately went toward the first skeleton he saw. He kept moving each bone around as if he were looking for something.
"Where is it?" he asked. He got impatient and frustrated. "Come on, where is it?" He got up and glared at me and Ollie. "The Hosen. Where is it?"
"What?" Oliver asked.
"The arrowhead. Every report said it was with these bodies. Both of you said you and your friends were here. Now, where is it?" Neither one of us said anything, which pissed him off more. "Take him outside. Make them show you where their friends are."
The same man grabbed Oliver while Sara had me. The man pushed Oliver to the ground harshly before ordering, "Take us to them."
"We don't know where they are," I said. "We've been your prisoners all this time. They could have relocated or something."
"Oh, really?" the man said. My eyes widened as the man yanked me away from Sara. My back was pressed against his chest while one arm held me by my shoulders with the other hand, which had the gun, pressed against my head. "Maybe this will make you think harder." Oliver's eyes widened as the man cocked his gun. "Tell us where they are or I'll shoot her."
"Let us suggest another option," I heard Shado as she and Slade ran up with their weapons toward Ivo's men.
"You hand them over to us, and we don't kill you all," Slade threatened. I felt so much relief when I saw Slade alive. Half of his face was covered with mud mixed with some herbs, so I had to thank Shado for healing him.
Ivo came out, which made Shado point her arrow at him and Ivo's men cocked their guns.
》》》》
Starling
Adam Donner passed out during Thea's testimony. The same way Diggle did. The reporters are passing it off as him becoming ill, but we all know that's a load of bullshit.
I handed Diggle a cup of water. "How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Fine," he lied while his body continued to shake.
"You have a lousy poker face." I sighed sadly. "Too bad the antidote didn't work."
"This happened to you?" Tommy asked.
Diggle let out a snort. "With her?" he began amusingly. "She almost killed me and Oliver, so we had to handcuff her to the table."
Tommy gave me a look and I already know what he's gonna suggest. "It's not like that, get your dirty mind out of the covers," I said with my hand raised to stop him from talking. The doors opened and Oliver came down the stairs. I went over to him. "Hey, how was court? How's Thea?"
"We'll be fine," he tried to convince me.
"His poker face isn't much better than mine," Diggle commented.
Oliver looked at Diggle in confusion, noticing how he was still shaking with sweat dripping down his face. "Why aren't you healed?"
"Count Dracula decided to change his recipe," Tommy answered as the monitors began to static.
"Hello, Starling City," we heard The Count's voice. Our attention was on the computers. "Miss me? Many of you have noticed that you're not feeling quite like yourself."
"He's taken over all the local station feeds," Felicity said.
"Track his signal," Oliver ordered.
The Count continued and pointed the camera at Donner, "Like our good assistant district attorney here." He pointed it back at himself. "You might recognize him from his work in the ongoing Moira Queen trial." The camera was back on Donner. "Hi, Adam."
"What do you want?" Donner asked, trying to put on a brave face.
"I want what you want. For you to feel better."
"Go to hell!"
The Count had the camera back on him so he could stand next to Donner. "I do think you want the pain to end and I can do that...with Vertigo! It's what all of your bodies crave. Fortunately, the power of relief is right here." He held up two syringes containing Vertigo. "And all you have to do is go to your friendly neighborhood Vertigo dealer and request the cure. Simple supply and demand at work."
"Now, tell me you want this...and it's yours," The Count finished while waving the syringe in front of Donner. He held the needles close to his neck. "All the pain will just...disappear." He put the needles closer. "Say it." He almost punctured Donner's neck. "Say...you want it."
Donner's breathing came out rigid. "I-I-I want, I want it," he stammered.
The Count didn't need to be told twice and he jammed the needles in. Donner's eyes rolled to the back of his head before passing out, but seemed more calm than before.
"You see..." The Count said in an 'ah-ha' kind of way, "...a simple solution. I'm Count Vertigo and I approve this high!" The feed cut off after that.
"What do we do now?" Felicity asked.
"We find him," Oliver stated. "And we shut him down."
》》》》
It doesn't help that The Count broadcasted somewhere using STAR Labs satellite which means he can be broadcasting from anywhere. But, knowing him, The Count would want to stay close to Starling.
Diggle looked like he was getting a little better, but we just need to get him another antidote to cure him. Tommy offered to call Lyla for him but Diggle shot it down because he didn't want her to worry about him.
"I found something," Felicity said. We all rushed toward the monitors but all we could see was...nothing. Absolutely, nothing.
"Are we missing something?" I asked.
"Give me a moment." Felicity started typing. She zoomed in on The Count's eye.
"His eye caught a reflection," Oliver stated. "Can you enhance?"
Felicity nodded. "It hurts me that you feel a need to ask."
"Are those wings?" Tommy wondered.
"It's the city seal," I answered. "Starling's Municipal Records Department."
"That building's been abandoned since the city went digital," Felicity added. "Dollars to donuts that's where The Count is operating out of."
"Not for long," Oliver declared. He walked over to the case and grabbed his suit while Tommy and I rushed to get ours.
》》》》
We arrived at the abandoned building. The Count had countless people making Vertigo for him and many people were lined up to be a part of it. Adam Donner was tied in a chair, looking a lot worse than before. His eyes were red and swollen, almost looking like a bruise. His whole body was covered in sweat. If anything, he looked like he could drop dead at any moment.
Tommy dropped down next to Donner and cut his bindings off. "Go," he said.
The Count was amused. "Be still, my heart," he said. "You're their new partner I've heard so much about."
One of The Count's lackies tried to attack Tommy. Tommy turned around and punched the lackie in the face before tossing him over the railing. The man crashed on top of the empty boxes and finally hit the ground. Tommy dropped to the ground as the next few henchmen flipped the table and hid behind it.
Tommy had is 'X' boomerangs in his hands while Oliver and I dropped down next to him with our arrows pointed at the henchmen.
"Step away from them," Oliver warned them.
The Count chuckled. "Yes, I heard you two developed an allergy for killing," he said before his eyes flickered toward Tommy. "Along with a new...partner."
"Do it!" I shouted.
"Or what?" The Count pushed his test subjects away. "You'll kill me?" He stepped on one of the tables with his arms out wide. A way to mock us because we agreed not to kill anyone.
I hate that he's right. We turned over a new leaf and promised not to kill anymore. The Count knows this that's why he's hiding behind all of these hostages, his test subjects. The only to stop him in that moment is to kill him but we can't without everyone here as casualties. I looked at Tommy and used my eyes to motion to the hostage behind us. He nodded in understanding. I moved my arrow and shot at the propane tank that was in the center of the room while he threw his boomerang at the henchman's hand, making him release the hostage.
The guy yelled and Oliver ran over to knock him out. The three of us turned around and began leaving. Tommy grabbed the hostage by the back of his shirt and dragged him with us.
"You're really on the no killing wagon!" The Count shouted behind. "Shame. Really letting one of life's true pleasures pass you by."
》》》》
Tommy and I were really surprised to find out that Jean, Moira's lawyer, told us to meet them at the courthouse. She didn't tell us any specifics just that Moira needed to talk to us. So we knocked on the door and went in.
"Ashley. Tommy," Moira greeted us.
I quickly went over and hugged her. "Mrs. Queen."
"What are you guys doing here?" Thea asked.
"Your mom called us here," Tommy answered. "Well, Jean called us."
Tommy and I took our seats. I sat next to Oliver while Tommy sat next to Jean.
"Mom, what's going on?" Oliver asked.
"Is it because me?" Thea questioned. "I messed up and now you're bringing Ash and Tommy into this."
Moira leaned over and grabbed her daughter's hand. "No," she reassured her. "None of this is your fault. We're here because of what I did."
"It's not what you did, it's what my dad did," I couldn't help but sneer. "And since he's not here, the next person they're going after is you because you told them the truth."
"Yes, I told the truth, but you don't know all of it," Moira said as if she was getting ready to spill the biggest news of her life. She looked at Tommy. "Laurel does."
"What does she have?" he asked. He shook his head. "She - She didn't tell me anything."
"All of you shouldn't have to find this out in court," Moira said before looking at me and Oliver. "Especially since it's going to hurt you two."
"Find out what?" Thea couldn't help but ask. The anticipation was killing me too.
Moira found the table more interesting at the moment. Is it really that bad? "Years ago. It was many years ago. Robert was engaging in this...his extramarital activities...and I had a moment of weakness." She let out a breath and looked at her kids. "I cheated on him..." Then she looked at me and Tommy. "...with Malcolm Merlyn."
My mouth dropped at the news. Moira and my dad? Together? Oh, my God.
"No," Thea shook her head in denial. "No." She gave a hard glare at Moira. "I asked you about this...last year." Her eyes started to water from the pure rage and anger she must be feeling inside. "You said that there was nothing between you two!"
Moira shook her head. "There wasn't," she told her. "Sweetheart, it wasn't an affair. It was very brief and a long time ago."
I couldn't take the news anymore and got up from my seat. I need some air to process all of this but it didn't stop the anger I have toward my dad. I found an empty bench and sat down. I tried to calm my breathing as I felt my hands shake. The one time I wish my dad was alive just so I can punch him in the jaw.
"Ashley," I heard Oliver not that far from me.
"I hate him, Ollie," I whispered in a shaky voice. My vision became so blurry from all my pent-up anger that I actually started to cry. Oliver took a seat next to me. "I hate him so much."
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "I know you do."
"He always puts his work ahead of everything else," I began listing. "He killed your dad, nearly killed us...twice. He's the reason why we spent five years in hell. He disowned me and Tommy. Your mother went to prison because of him. He destroyed the Glades and almost killed Tommy. Now, adding this...makes me hate him more." I looked at Oliver. "My dad isn't a good man. Even when he's not here, he somehow manages to make our lives a living hell. I just wish there was a body inside his grave so I could spit on it. That's how angry he makes me."
"Besides that confession, how are you feeling?" he asked which got me to chuckle.
"I feel a little bit better." I smiled at him. "Thank you for checking up on me."
"Anytime." Oliver pulled me close and kissed me again. He pulled away with a questioning look. "Why would my mother think this would hurt us?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Who knows?"