I had been woken up early that day and called into work by Detective Pike after an armed robbery by a gang called the Royal Flush turned deadly and led to Officer Washington being in the hospital. It was a toss up whether he made it out of there or not and it's what led me to be sitting in my office and flipping through the file on the case.
A knock at my door caught my attention and I called out a distracted 'come in' as I continued to read the file. I was surprised to see John Diggle come walking through my office door.
I tossed him a strange smile, "Johnny, what're you doing here?" I stole a glance passed him, just in case Oliver was following him. It had been a whole week since he kissed me and I'd been skillfully avoiding him.
"Don't worry, Oliver isn't here."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Well, let's just say in all the time that I've known the two of you, this is the first time I haven't seen you joint at the hip." I let out a short laugh at that, but it didn't hold any real amusement. I hated this. Lately it seemed like everything was trying to stop me and Oliver from being friends - it was like one hit right after the other. "Wanna talk about it."
"My best friend of twenty something years just kissed me," I pressed my lips into a thin line, tossing the file onto my desk. "There's not much to talk about."
"There's plenty to talk about, just not with me." He countered and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What're you doing here, Johnny," the subject change was painfully obvious, but he let it go.
"The Royal Flush gang, you ever heard of them?"
I stole a glance down at my file before flicking my gaze back up to his, "yeah, they just hit up Starling City bank yesterday. Why?"
"I'm trying to convince Oliver to help get them off the streets, but he's very determined to stick to this list he has." I tilted my head, nodding along. "I was hoping maybe you could help me convince him... show him there's more to saving the city than the corrupt elite."
"Even if I wanted to help you with that, how could I?" I challenged and it was the wrong question to ask. Because John had a plan read before he even walked into my office.
He had me call in to get Stan Washington transferred over to Starling General and then called Oliver saying that some guy he was targeted had tried to kill himself. He explained to me, that he wanted Oliver to see what these guys were doing and how they were effecting the city. Maybe that could convince him to go after them - even more so if I showed up to support my fellow officer.
"Scott Morgan doesn't seem like the type to kill himself."
I turned at Oliver's voice from where I was watching Stan get loaded off the ambulance and gave him a tight lipped smile. "He's not, but it was the best lie we could come up with on such a short notice."
"Lieutenant Merlyn, thank you so much," I turned with a bright smile as Stan's wife held out a hand to shake mine. "I was so happy when you had my husband moved from County Ward to Starling General, now I know he's getting the best treatment possible."
"Anything for a fellow officer," I smiled at the woman. I'd met her a handful of times at Officer banquets and events, when the officers would bring some kind of date. "But, really, you should be thanking Oliver. He's paying the bill," I turned to Oliver, quirking a thinly done eyebrow at him.
He smiled kindly, but I could see the suspicion in his eyes, not that I blamed him. Obviously he hadn't planned to do anything of this and here he was, getting thrown right into it by me of all people when I haven't talked to him in almost a week.
"Jana's husband Stan is a police officer," John was the one to finally explain to Oliver what was going on. "He happened to be making a deposit at the bank."
"The bank that was just robbed," Oliver realized, something passing through his eyes as he met John's. He turned to Jana, "I was so sorry to hear about your husband. Is he going to be okay?"
"The doctors say the next 24 hours are crucial," Jana's eyes grew watery but she did her best to keep the tears at bay. "He should have just kept his head down, you know?"
"It's not in our wiring, Jana," I smiled softly at the girl standing beside me before my gaze flickered over to Oliver's, giving him a pointed look. "From the moment we first get that badge, it's like we have this obligation to save everyone no matter the risk."
Jana reached out to touch my arm, smiling at me before turning the same watery smile towards Oliver, "thank you."
"You're welcome." Oliver waited until the girl was gone before turning to John and I took a slight step back, darting my eyes over to where my car was parked. I wonder if I could make a clean break without either of them noticing? "You lied to me."
"And you asked me to work with you, not for you," John countered, drawing my attention back to them. "And when you did that, you said it was because you understood the kind of man I am. Well, I'm the kind of man who doesn't walk away when there's a chance to make a difference. And neither does Stan Washington, neither does Harley."
Oliver narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth like he was going to say something, but at the last second changed him mind. I frowned at that quirking an eyebrow as I watched his reaction. Without a word, he turned and walked off.
"Oliver, where are you going?" I finally called out, following after him.
"To go make a difference," he mounted his bike, his helmet in his hands. "If you were in my shoes, what would you do?"
I crossed my arms, standing just before him. I smirked slightly, looking back at John and then at Oliver. "I'd say, 'let's go catch some bank robbers'." I held out my hand and with a smile he gave me the bike helmet. I hooked it on over my head and mounted the bike behind him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist just as he revved the engine and took off.
We went back to his little hideout, a bunker in the basement of the old warehouse that he was going to be building his night club in. When Oliver first showed it to me, everything made sense - why he was so adamant about opening this club here of all places. It was a lot less suspicious for him always to be here if it was his new club rather than an abandoned warehouse.
I followed them inside, fixing my wild hair up into a ponytail while John headed straight for the computer. I hung back to look at the row of green arrows he had set up on the display case and reached out to run my fingers along the finely carved wood.
I felt his presence behind me but I didn't turn around, "you make these yourself?" He hummed in response and I cocked my head to the side to see him hovering just behind me as he nodded. It made sense, a shipment of arrows would be easy to track, but if you made them yourself? Nearly impossible to track. They're unique.
"You've been avoiding me," he said, his voice low like he didn't want John to hear.
I finally turned around to look at him, feigning innocence, "what're you talking about? I've just been busy, is all."
Oliver gave me a look, like he didn't believe - I could never get away with lying to him. "I think we should talk."
"I don't think that's the best idea."
I tried to walk around him, but he shot a hand out to catch mine, stopping me, "why not?"
"Because, I don't have the answers you want, Ollie," I whispered, my eyes desperate for him to drop this. His eyes flickered between mine for a silent moment, and I willed him not to make me say it. Finally, he gave in, dropping his gaze to the ground and slowly letting go of my hand.
I opened my mouth, what I was going to say? I never got to figure out because John called out to us before I could. Oliver immediately went over to his body guard, hovering over his shoulder as he gave him the low down of the security video while I hung back, silently cursing myself.
Oliver was my best friend, and that's all he's ever been - I couldn't make feelings come that weren't there. But, I didn't want our friendship to be this now. Awkward conversation, and not being as close anymore. He was the one person I could always go to about everything and now it felt like I had to sensor myself or watch what I say around him so he didn't get the wrong idea.
"Yeah, but even with photo enhancement you're gonna have a hard time getting a clear shot of that ring." John was saying as I walked up behind them.
I frowned curiously at the big, bulky ring on the man's finger, "but, it did leave an impression," I told them and both boys looked back at me. "We got some shots of it. It's in lock up, right now."
Oliver got up and hurried over to the table to grab his duffel bag that held his bow and arrows, and his vigilante costume. I tipped my head to the side, "where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think." He shot back, not even looking at me as he hurried up the stairs. I sighed, watching him go. Just great.