I was stunned. How on earth did this Counselwoman who I had never met before, Ms Rogers, know that I was a vigilante? Was she secretly aliased with Vanch? Or did she just really hate me?
'There are numerous reports on this so called Sapphire Saviour patrolling the streets after Miss Coleman returned to Starling City,' the Counselwoman continued with her unfortunately spot-on accusations.
'Rogers!' The Judge tried to prevent her from saying any more.
'I have plenty of evidence to support this!' The Counselwoman insisted.
'I am not this... Vigilante!' I protested at once. 'I-'
'Miss Coleman, were you or were you not missing for a year in the summer of 2007?' The accusational Counselwoman quizzed me.
'Yes, I did,' I confirmed. 'But if everybody in here knows who I am, they would know that.'
'And wasn't that the exact same time that Oliver Queen was shipwrecked on an island in the North China Sea?'
'Well, yes-'
'Isn't that a bit... Coincidental?'
Where on earth was the Counselwoman going with this now?
'I guess so, but people go missing all the time,' I pointed out. 'Oliver and I were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
'You never told the police, or any lawyers, or anyone, for that matter, what really happened to you that year,' the Counselwoman picked up on the one thing I had prayed she wouldn't. 'It's almost like you are trying to cover up something. Maybe it's about who took you, what happened to you, or... Where you spent the year. So, Aria, please, tell us what exactly happened.'
'I don't like to talk about it,' I said quietly, bowing my head. 'Please, don't make me talk about that year, not now.'
'Actually, you don't get to decide,' the Counselwoman pressed with some awful intent. 'Because whatever happened to you, it made you into a killer. A vigilante. So talk!'
'Rogers!' The judge shouted her name yet again against the murmurs of the jury. 'This is a court case to testify against Cyrus Vanch, our offender, not Miss Coleman, one of the innocent victims.'
I looked over to where Oliver, Tommy and Laurel were sat, Oliver giving me a sympathetic look while Tommy was smiling at me in support. They were the only two who really knew I was on the island, but Oliver was the only person in the courtroom who truly knew what I had been through. Ivo's boat, the Mirakuru... And Sara. I could feel myself starting to cry, this being the first time in a long time I had properly remembered what had happened on the island. Yes, I always thought about my time there, every day another reminder that I was alive and Sara wasn't, but now I was experiencing the whole ordeal yet again. I just couldn't cope.
'Oh, don't cry, Miss Coleman,' the Counselwoman pretended to be sympathetic, but I knew her game. 'You'll have plenty of time to do that behind bars for the rest of your life.'
'This trial is dismissed until further notice,' the Judge interrupted, the courtroom now the exact opposite of silent.
I couldn't tell if the people were agreeing or disagreeing with these new stories, but I did know that they were all talking about me. It was bad enough that this Ms Rogers had brought up Marcus' trial, but now about me being a vigilante because of the island? I was positive she just wanted to blacken my name somehow, but her motives were unclear. What was her vendetta?
Overwhelmed, I shot out of the courtroom, constantly running my fingers through my hair with stress. What was I going to do? How was I supposed to react? Would the jury and soon the rest of Starling City believe that I was the Sapphire Saviour, or that I had been lying for nearly five years about what happened to me in that mysterious year?
There was nothing else for it. I cried, and cried, until I felt calm again. Everything in my life at that moment had been slowly but surely building up, but I had been too stubborn to let it get to me. Now, however, I had exploded, soon becoming a human waterfall.
I felt two arms wrap around me, my tears blurring my vision so that I couldn't tell who it was.
'Hey, it's okay, it's okay.'
Oliver.
'Ollie?' I checked, he replying with a small hum of agreement. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so upset-'
'It doesn't matter now,' he assured me with a soothing tone. 'You shouldn't try to ignore these things; you should face them.'
'I should've thought of that weeks ago,' I laughed, not quite knowing why I had said that.
But Oliver didn't question me; instead, he just carried on hugging me for what seemed like forever, he sensing my utter upset.
'I should've been stronger, out there,' I regretted by weakness after I had calmed down a bit. 'I should've fought my corner.'
'You weren't to know that woman was going to be like that,' Oliver pointed out. 'She was too harsh.'
'How did she know?' I wondered, just so Oliver could hear my utterances in the quiet corridor. 'About me being... Her. And somehow, she knows about the island.'
'I don't know,' Oliver shook his head sadly. 'She knew too much about Lance and Tommy, too.'
'I thought the Crown Counsel were supposed to be just and unbiased,' I commented. 'But I think she was on Vanch's side.'
'I guess that's why the judge stopped the trial,' Oliver thought accurately. 'She was out of line, accusing you of things that had no weight or relation to the actual trial.'
Hurried footsteps travelled our way, Adrian being their owner.
'Hey, Aria, I just heard about what happened,' Adrian told us. 'I wasn't allowed in because apparently that's unfair to Vanch, but the Crown Court are absolutely in the wrong here. Their interests should be for both parties, not just one, and it's bad practise to bring past trials into a case, or make huge accusations with no proper evidence behind them.'
'Who are... You?' Oliver asked in confusion at Adrian's presence.
'Adrian Chase, Aria's attorney,' Adrian introduced himself like always. 'SCPD thought it'd be best for her to have a permanent attorney after all that's been happening.'
'Thank you for coming here, Adrian,' I smiled at his generosity of time. 'You didn't even need to, but you... Came anyway?'
'Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got work to do regarding this,' Adrian told us. 'I need to get everything I can on why you're telling the truth and your not this vigilante this crazy woman is accusing you of being.'
'Once again, thank you so so much,' I beamed, shaking Adrian's hand gladly.
'We should probably find Laurel and Tommy,' I proposed as soon as Adrian had left. 'That Ms Rogers wasn't nice to them either.'
In no time, we had located Laurel and Tommy loitering near the courtroom.
'Are you okay?' was the first thing Laurel asked not even a second after we joined her and Tommy.
'Yes, I am now,' I made sure Laurel wouldn't worry about me. 'Are you?'
'Yeah, the Counselwoman didn't interrogate me like she did with you,' Laurel smiled sadly.
'Tommy?' I went on to see how Tommy was doing after also being talked down by Ms Rogers.
'She was bitter, about something,' Tommy remarked sarcastically. 'She didn't seem to like you, Aria.'
Laurel shot him a look to tell him to shut up, but I just laughed it off.
'It's fine,' I said at once. 'Tommy's got a point. Ms Rogers really had something against me. She accused of something... Ridiculous!'
'You, the Sapphire Saviour?' Tommy said sarcastically. 'That would never happen. You're too nice to kill people, in the Glades.'
It seemed he had forgotten about when I had publicly killed many members of the Culebra Gang to save the SCPD, but I had soon realised that people only see what they want to and forget things they probably shouldn't.
Once Laurel and Tommy had left me and Oliver and alone, my fellow vigilante turned to me, a look of worry on his face.
'They're going to find out,' Oliver whispered seriously. 'If this Counselwoman finds a piece of evidence with some weight once the judge reopens the trial, the whole city will know that you are the Sapphire Saviour. And both Laurel and Tommy will realise that you just straight-up lied to them.'
'You can't talk,' I scoffed at Oliver's comments. 'If they find out about you, they'll react the same. And I don't think I'm the only vigilante Ms Rogers knows about.'
'Wait, what?' Oliver questioned me quickly.
'I already told you she knows too much about my life,' I explained slowly. 'I think she knows about you being The Hood, since the SCPD even think our alter egos are... Together. And, she really made it clear that she knew about me being on the island, with you.'
'Trust Lance to think that we're together,' Oliver shook his head in disbelief, scoffing. 'But, that means that we can't let this woman tell the city about this.'
'Well, the judge dismissing the trial for now is promising,' I pointed out. 'I don't think he liked how the Counselwoman was conducting the case. She was going too off-track from the actual subject; Vanch. And members of the Crown Counsel are quite... Disposable.'
'Are you saying that we just rely on the court to get rid of her?' Oliver asked me, trying to figure my plan out.
'Yes,' I nodded. 'If we Hood-out on her, she'll just have more fuel for her fire. But, if the judge doesn't get rid of her, the Hood can always pay a visit to him. You could tell him some nonsense about the Sapphire Saviour being offended at Ms Rogers for claiming her identity as someone else.'
'I hope it doesn't have to come to that,' Oliver merely replied, but I knew that if it did, he would take up my suggestion immediately.
With that, my phone suddenly started to ring.
'Hey, Aria, it's Adrian,' my caller began. 'I did some digging around the courthouse, and one of the other Crown Counselmen may have told me that Ms Rogers is off the case.'
'That's... Fantastic!' I celebrated at once.
'Well, that's what you get for going against your own code,' Adrian added.
'Thank you, Adrian!' I exclaimed as I ended the call, Oliver giving me a weird look. 'The Counselwoman's has basically been fired, Ollie!'
'That's great!' Oliver was now grinning with happiness and relief.
---
The trial was picked back up the next day, a fairer Counselwoman being the person to question each of the witnesses and Laurel and me, the verdict being that Vanch was in fact guilty. He would be in Iron Heights Prison for at least twenty years. Tommy insisted that it should have been a longer sentence, but I was just happy that it was all over.
However, Oliver was still angry about what had happened in the courtroom, and that there were people out there like Vanch and Ms Rogers who were trying to endanger our crusade, so he decided to take out this rage on a piece of training equipment.
'You might wanna take it easy if you plan on taking someone off that list tonight,' Diggle commented as Oliver took a moment out to rest.
'This is me taking it easy,' Oliver claimed, breaking the wooden sticks he had been using to practise in half.
'So who's our lucky guy tonight?' Diggle asked, trying not to show his amusement at Oliver's angst.
'Ken Williams,' Oliver stated. 'His pyramid schemes stole millions. People didn't just lose their homes, their lives were ruined. Why don't you three call it in early tonight, I'm not expecting much trouble.'
'I can help you,' I proposed, wanting to be useful for once. 'We can get the job done twice as fast.'
'You've been through enough these past few days,' Oliver said softly. 'You need to rest and relax. You look... Tense.'
'I always have to be alert,' I shrugged. 'I'm a vigilante, I work for the SCPD, I keep getting abducted recently. There is no relaxing.'
'Still, I'm sure you have some time to kick your feet up,' Oliver supposed. 'You're off work for the night, and you don't need to catch any criminals. It looks like your calendar's freed up.'
'Fine,'I rolled my eyes with a grin. 'You win.'
'Did you persuade him?' Diggle inquired as I joined he and Felicity back at the computer area of the Arrowcave.
'He doesn't want anyone's help,' I shook my head. 'We should know by now that Oliver's too stubborn.'
'I don't think it's wise for him to go out here, after what happened with that Counselwoman,' Diggle decided. 'Why was he so angry about one person possibly knowing his identity?'
'Because if one person knows, then sooner or later, more people will,' I reasoned Oliver's mindset out for Diggle. 'And it also puts us all in danger. Not to mention his other friends and family.'
'I think you made me finally understand something about Oliver, Aria,' Diggle nodded in thanks to me. 'I'd have thought you were the one who used to go out with Oliver Queen, not Tommy Merlyn.'
'I think if I went out with Oliver, I would just see his strengths, not his weaknesses,' I thought accurately.
'Felicity!' Oliver's voice came booming towards us, directed at Felicity, who as busy at her computer, a suspicious look on her face. 'Did you just-?'
'Computer override your lock?' Felicity finished his sentence confidently. 'Maybe a little.'
'What are you doing?' Oliver immediately questioned her actions.
'I pulled up some information on Mr Williams,' Felicity tried to justify herself. 'Did you know that he's a widowed father of a ten year old boy?'
Oliver held his hands up in despair, not knowing how to react or answer.
'I told you, I'm only in this to help Walter, not be an accessory to orphaning little kids.'
'I'm just giving him a warning,' Oliver debated.
'Has it ever occurred to you that you could do some real good in the city, beyond recovering people's stock portfolios and their saving accounts?' Felicity commented innocently.
Oliver bent over her and turned the locks of the Arrowcave back on.
'You're not the only one who knows how to reboot my system,' he uttered threateningly at the harmless IT girl.
'I made a mistake,' Felicity defended herself, slightly shaken up from the side of Oliver that she had just been on the receiving end of.
'Getting in my way?' Oliver was quick to assume, his voice rising in volume as he spoke. 'I don't disagree.'
'No!' Felicity raised her voice even louder, standing from the computer chair. 'Signing on with you, even provisionally.'
With that, she left the Arrowcave, not looking back once.
'Clever,' Diggle voiced his opinion sarcastically.
'Diggle,' Oliver turned on him next. 'Don't.'
'She was right, Oliver,' I opposed him. 'And you shouldn't go talking to your newest recruit like that. She knows who you are now.'
'She wouldn't say anything,' Oliver claimed, seeming to value his judgement over everything else. 'And she shouldn't stop me from doing my job like that.'
'We're a team, Oliver,' Diggle now joined in. 'She has every right to challenge your ways, your decisions. Now, I know what she did was a bit controlling, but I'm with Felicity, and Aria, on this one.'
'I'm still going out there,' Oliver said while clenching his teeth at our very valid argument.
'Okay,' Diggle merely nodded. 'Neither of us is stopping you. But Felicity might tomorrow, or the day after, by telling the police who the man behind the hood is.'
Once Oliver had left, my phone started to ring.
'Hey, Aria,' Lance hesitantly spoke at the other end. 'I... Forgot about what happened earlier today, its been so busy since I got back here, I shouldn't have called.'
'No, it's fine, Detective, what's the matter?' I reassured him.
'Well, when we were at the courthouse, a priceless jewel, The Sherwood Ruby, was stolen from the Starling City Royal Museum,' Lance expanded on our new case. 'We need you down in the main gallery, stat.'
'What did he want?' Diggle asked me as I grabbed my jacket.
'We've got to catch a jewel thief,' I said somewhat jokingly, Diggle quietly chuckling in response. 'The Sherwood Ruby has been stolen.'
'That sounds like something Robin Hood should know about,' Diggle said ironically. 'I'll tell Oliver when he gets back.'
---
'Aria, you're here,' Lance acknowledged my presence, looking particularly stressed. 'Sorry I called you here, you were supposed to be off the night after that damned trial.'
'Honestly, I said it was okay,' I attempted to reassure him further.
'We were supposed to investigate this earlier, but because of the trial, all my work's been backed up,' Lance carried to stress. 'But, that's not what we're here to talk about.'
Lance showed me to the empty cabinet in the middle of the room, where I presumed The Sherwood Ruby had previously been held, as an abundance of tape surrounded the area. I got the feeling that the artefact was priceless, as it had a whole room for itself, the cabinet alone looking very expensive.
'Do you know who took it?' I asked Lance at once, examining the cabinet with great care. 'There's no fingerprints on the glass, as far as I can see.'
'The perp had no choice but to turn himself in,' Lance told me. 'He was found unconscious just down there.'
Lance pointed to the right of us, where a miniature foyer holding a souvenir shop was situated.
'Why would he be unconscious?' I was growing more intrigued after I was told each piece of information about the case.
'Poor guy didn't have any choice,' Lance said with a hint of pity in his voice. 'He was being controlled by the Dodger with a bomb collar round his neck.'
'That's awful, but seriously, the Dodger?' I repeated what Lance said with a laugh, trying not to sound too sadistic. 'Like the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist?'
'Very funny,' Lance commented grumpily. 'No, the international jewel thief under the codename The Dodger because he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Real name is Winnick Norton.'
'Detective, I'll take it from here,' McKenna appeared next to us swiftly, us both unaware of her presence until she spoke. 'I've been assigned the Dodger case from this moment forward.'
'Oh, McKenna,' Lance looked startled, the stress and tiredness over him taking its toll. 'Sure, I was just telling Aria about Norton.'
'How are you, Aria?' McKenna asked me as soon as Lance departed. 'I thought you were supposedly off for the night.'
'Lance needed me and I helped out,' I shrugged. 'But, it turned out that I wasn't much help, at all. There are no fingerprints, no sign of evidence, nothing. The Dodger is exactly what he is, from the police, anyway.'
'Interpol are gonna give us some info on the Dodger soon,' McKenna disclosed to me, pleased with her work. 'Since he usually operates in Europe.'
'Sounds like he decided to branch out,' I noted aloud. 'But why Starling City, of all places? I'm sure there are rubies in other cities and states with greater value than one at a small museum.'
'That's something we will find out, hopefully,' McKenna revealed. 'Let's just hope he doesn't strike again before we do.'
'I wouldn't count on luck with that,' I remarked glumly, but I could tell McKenna felt the same.