I didn't have a chance to talk to Marcus before I left for work, as he was in a deep sleep and I felt it was too rude and inconsiderate to wake him for my own interests. Luckily for him, it was a Saturday and Queen Consolidated didn't need him that day.
But I had to go into the SCPD to help Lance with the ongoing case about the shooter. And Lance had found out something very big.
'The Hood paid me a visit last night,' Lance started, raising his eyebrows in both anger and astonishment. 'An assassin called Floyd Lawton, also known as Deadshot, has been carrying out the attacks. And, according to the Hood, one of the buyers in the running for Unidac Industries, Warren Patel, has been the one hiring Lawton.'
'So that's who the killer is,' I acknowledged Lance's research. 'But, what's it got to do with me? There's nothing to analyse here.'
'I needed you to know about the killer,' Lance explained. 'Because I want you to come to the Unidac auction tonight.'
'Why me?' I asked Lance confusedly. 'You have all your men to protect the buyers tonight.'
'You were the only one who knew from the start that there was another shooter apart from the Hood, before anyone else realised,' Lance told me. 'I need you to be another set of eyes at the auction.'
'I'm sorry Lance, but, I can't,' I declined his proposal. 'I have... Other plans tonight.'
I really needed to talk to Marcus and find out the full story, as well as protecting him from The Reverse Flash. He was helpless if he was alone.
'It wasn't a request,' Lance argued. 'And the Queens, who you care about so much, are going to be there. I thought you cared about them?'
'Fine,' I agreed hastily. 'But remember, I'm only a forensic scientist.'
'If I remember correctly, you saved this city from that gang a few years ago,' Lance replenished my mind with the past. 'You fought those men like a cop, and you saved me before it was too late. I know you're more than a scientist, Aria.'
'I'm done with my days as a temporary officer,' I said, shaking my head. 'So don't expect anything spectacular.'
That day, Lance issued each officer, and me, with additional artillery and Kevlar clothing.
'Kevlar?' I asked him with intrigue.
'To protect you from Lawton's bullets,' Lance explained. 'He laces them with Curare.'
'So which side will I be on?' I asked Lance impertinently. 'On the hunting team or as a unsuspecting guest?'
'You'll be with me and Hilton,' Lance raised an eyebrow at my remarks. 'We'll be with the bidders, waiting whilst the rest of my men search the area for Lawton.'
'And what happens if they don't find Lawton?' I supposed.
'Then you'll need to protect the guests from any gunfire,' Lance said.
'You're just using me as the Queens' personal bodyguard, aren't you?' I spouted. 'Or as Lawton's sitting duck.'
'I thought you'd care about that family's safety,' Lance said.
'I do,' I corrected Lance. 'But I don't want to be put in danger for no reason.'
'Well, I believe in my men,' Lance said. 'So Lawton should be gone before anything bad can happen.'
---
We arrived at the auction layer that night, me wearing a dress lined with Kevlar. I had a pistol hidden in a belt over my outfit, and I was on full alert mode.
'I've got him,' I heard Hilton say through my walkie talkie. 'Warren Patel, I need you to come with me, Sir.'
I observed from afar as Hilton escorted who I took was Patel out of the room, Patel pretending to act innocent by wearing a bewildered look on his face.
'Unit 1, all clear,' I heard Lance now speaking on the line. 'Unit 2, you copy?'
'We have Patel in custody,' a man from Unit 2 replied. 'Still no sign of Lawton.'
'Unit 3?' Lance carried on to check what was happening.
'I'm at the northwest perimeter,' a Unit 3 woman answered back. 'All clear.'
'Unit 4?' Lance carried on.
'Parking structure is secure.'
'Unit 5, what's your status?'
'This is Unit 5. All clear.'
But where was Lawton?
'Why are you here?' I heard a voice whisper in my ear.
Oliver was there. And now I would have to protect him.
'The SCPD wanted me here,' I replied vaguely. 'Why are you here?'
'To support my family,' he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
'Of course,' I smiled, making him smile too. 'I hope Mr Steele gets the company.'
'We probably don't have time for that,' Oliver said sadly, looking around the room for something.
Did he know about Lawton?
'What do you know, Oliver?' I asked him in a hushed voice. 'Is this why you're really here?'
'I... Overheard one of the cops talking about some shooter,' Oliver explained unconvincingly.
'Right,' I said, narrowing my eyes and not believing Oliver's story. 'So you know that Mr Steele is in danger?'
'Yes,' Oliver nodded. 'Are you here to protect them?'
'Well, in a sense, yes,' I agreed. 'I'm here to be 'another set of eyes' according to Lance.'
'And have you found anything yet?' Oliver asked me hopefully.
'No,' I replied in dismay. 'But something doesn't... Feel right. Lawton's got to be in here, somewhere.'
Deciding to look around for myself and not rely on my team, I headed out of the auction hall and upstairs into the rafters of the building. That was where Lawton was most likely to be; to get a good view of the scene and an accurate shot, I was sure this was where Lawton would be.
Quietly creeping up the block of stairs, I held my gun out in front of me, ready for attack. It was silent up there, not a soul in sight; the perfect place for Deadshot to hide.
Suddenly, without warning, I heard gunfire from the hall and screams immediately following. The guests sounded so panicked, so scared, and so frightened, and I wasn't there to save any of them.
I had failed the bidders and I had failed my team. But now the only thing I could do was find Lawton and put an end to this before it escalated even further.
Running up the remaining steps of the flight of stairs, I found a boarded up, derelict room that overlooked the main hall. And there was the sound of many gunshots coming from it.
So this was where Lawton was hiding.
'Lance, do you copy,' I whispered from afar, not daring to enter the room just yet. 'I've found Lawton. I'm outside the room he's in now.'
No reply.
'I have Lawton's position!' I repeated myself. 'Do you copy?'
Silence.
I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.
Pushing the door ajar, I silently made my way over to any place I could conceal myself from Lawton, trying to find the best place to take a shot. I didn't want to have to kill Lawton, but to save other lives, it looked like I was going to have to.
As I aimed, I could feel my hands shaking uncontrollably and my palms sweating. I hadn't even used a gun for four years, let alone act as an officer. And Lawton could sense my fear.
Without warning, he turned his gun on me, shooting me in my left arm. I fell to the side, hiding away from Lawton and trying to cope with the pain. Unfortunately my arm wasn't protected from the curare.
Before I could become Lawton's target any longer, one of the windows was smashed in by a green-cladded man with a bow and arrow in his hand. The Hood.
They fought ferociously, arrows and bullets battling against each other. I stayed put as I watched the fight, desperately wanting to somehow help The Hood but unable to find my gun, which I had seemingly dropped in my journey to the side of the room.
'Drop your guns,' The Hood demanded from behind a pillar as he collected his bow from the floor.
'I admire your work,' Lawton praised him ironically. 'I guess you won't be extending me any professional courtesy.'
'We're not in the same line of work,' The Hood shouted, aggravated by Lawton's comment. 'Your profession is murder.'
'You've taken lives,' Lawton reminded him of his criminal activity.
'For the good of others,' The Hood argued. 'You're out for yourself.'
Lawton dropped his gun with a slight nod, as though he was defeated by words instead of violence. However, he soon lifted his gun back up and repetitively shot at the pillar The Hood was hidden behind. The vigilante didn't hang around; he reloaded his bow and aimed at Lawton, shooting him through the eye.
Now Lawton was down, I could leave this place. The Hood tossed me my gun and I unsteadily picked myself up off the floor, brushing the dust off my dress. I felt dizzy, but I was sure I could walk to my car.
'Thank you,' I breathed, before leaving the site in haste.
I then remembered. The Queens. Were they okay? I felt extremely bad for leaving them to their own devices, and Lawton had opened gunfire on the hall when I had left them all to find him. I didn't even help to stop Lawton, and I had abandoned my duties. I was a disgrace.
But I didn't reach the outside of the building
---
I woke up with a jolt, my arm aching and feeling queasy. I was led in the living room of my apartment, Marcus sat next to me, holding my hand.
'You're safe now,' he smiled caringly.
'What happened?' I asked, disorientated.
'That vigilante dropped you off here,' Marcus said with disbelief. 'You were injured fighting the shooter. He said something about a poison in your body?'
'Curare,' I uttered in realisation. 'He hit my arm-'
I looked down at where the wound was, but it was already stitched up and treated.
'Wow,' I gasped at The Hood's handiwork.
After Marcus had gone to bed, the doorbell rang. Marcus wasn't awakened by the sound, but I was still awake.
Oliver stood at the door, his hands tucked in his black duffle coat and he gave me a concerned smile.
'I was going to stop by, but I was too late,' I said apologetic tone, gesturing to my injury. 'But, you're here instead. How are you here at this hour? Surely your mother will have made sure you were home?'
'I had a... Disagreement with my bodyguard,' Oliver said with a small shrug.
'You have a bodyguard?' I said with a laugh. 'I've never seen him before.'
'I tend to ditch him,' Oliver smiled.
'I'm so glad you're not hurt,' I suddenly hugged Oliver. 'And that you're alive. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you.'
'I thought you didn't like me,' Oliver said as we withdrew, a puzzled look on his face. 'I thought you didn't care about me.'
'Well, I thought wrong,' I said wholeheartedly. 'I'm so sorry, Ollie.'
'What about Marcus?' Oliver asked worriedly, looking beyond the doorframe to check if he was there.
'Maybe he's wrong about you,' I proposed. 'Maybe you're the one who's in trouble, not the one who causes it.'
'Thank you, Aria,' Oliver said sincerely. 'I heard how you tried to stop the shooter.'
'Did Lance hear me?' I asked, wide-eyed. 'I didn't think anyone knew I had found Lawton.'
'They did,' Oliver nodded. 'They just couldn't reply to you as the attacks happened.'
'I didn't realIy help,' I shrugged Oliver's compliment off. 'But The Hood did. He's not as bad as everyone thinks, you know. He saved me. And he killed Lawton - well at least I think he did.'
I stopped taking for a moment, thinking about how Oliver and his family must have been affected by the shooting.
'Is your family okay?' I asked Oliver with empathy. 'I know Walter was probably one of the targets.'
'He was,' Oliver confirmed. 'But Detective Lance saved him. Despite his hatred for me and my mom, he helped out our family.'
'Well, that's his job,' I said in a matter-of-fact tone. 'He would never let anyone get hurt.'
We met another awkward silence, the distance I had put between Oliver and I interfering with our conversation.
'Look, Oliver, I'm sorry I... Avoided you since you returned from the island,' I apologised wholeheartedly. 'I thought it was the best thing to do.'
'It's Marcus, isn't it?' Oliver realised.
'I really think he was wrong about you,' I stated. 'And I let him ruin the friendship we had.'
'He made you focus all your anger, all your guilt on me,' Oliver said sadly. 'On Tommy. On your old friends.'
I couldn't reply, for now it all made sense. Oliver was right. And my relationship with Marcus was an unhealthy one.
I just didn't know what to do next.