"I need some good news," Oliver began as he strolls into the bunker.
"The bad news first," Diggle replied. "Somehow the Mayor did get his hands on a crate of military-grade weapons from Camp Kirby."
The look on Oliver's face meant he was pissed off about something. Well, he did just have a meeting with Mrs. Gap Fish so I'd be piss about that, too. So he should hear the good news.
"But the good news is...if he kept the crate, we might be able to find where he's hiding," I said. I looked at the monitor as Felicity kept typing away. Then I got up and went towards the small tracker and pressed the button, making it glow a bright red. "This is the same make and model of a tracking system the army installs on all of its weapons crates. If they lose a crate, they send out a remote signal that activates the beacon."
Tommy let out a low whistle. "Well, this guy is really clever," he commented before looking at me. "When did you know so much about trackers and beacons?"
"I've always known since I'm smarter than you," I retorted with a slight grin.
"So the Mayor deactivated his beacon," Diggle said. "Send a signal, nothing comes back."
Oliver sighed. "Everyone needs to work on their definition of good news."
Felicity slowly nodded as she spun in her chair. "Ok. How's this...Guess which company designed the tracking system the army uses? I'll give you a hint, their CEO? Always late."
"Nice," Oliver said.
"I pulled up the original plans from the QC mainframe. Turns out there's a design flaw." Felicity opened up a file on the beacon. "The beacon's still susceptible to a subform wave even if it's been deactivated."
"The Mayor turned it off, Oliver. We can turn it back on," Tommy explained.
Felicity opened up the GPS system and got the location immediately. I could see her lips twitching in a smile as she spun back around from her chair. "I believe you ordered the crate of stolen military weapons, Mr. Queen."
Oliver nodded in approval before grabbing my hand and pulled me out. I quickly spun around and yelled thank you to Felicity.
I heard Tommy sigh as he grabbed his daggers. "I guess, I'm third-wheeling again."
》》》》
It didn't take that long for us to find the abandoned building. We crept up through the roof and dropped down. This Mayor noticed that his tracker was still on and smashed it. Too bad we're already here though.
Oliver let his arrow go when one of the goons saw us. Another was about to shoot, but I ran, jumped, wrapped my legs around the guy's neck before flipping him over. The man was knocked out as Tommy went ahead and threw some of his kunai at the shooters.
The men started to fire at us. I notched an arrow before releasing it into one of the shooter's chest. Oliver jumped from one railing to the next, firing his arrow at one of the guys below. Tommy jumped down next and thrust his hands out so the red adhesive could restrain two of the shooters.
"Cover me," The Mayor said as he grabbed the rest of his men and tried to leave.
I jumped down last and onto a table. I grabbed my dagger and threw it towards one of the guys, targeting the Mayor. But some loyal follower jumped in and used his body to shield his friend. He let out a loud grunt before falling on the ground. I grabbed another arrow to take a shot but the guys already left.
"Weapons are secure," Tommy said through his earpiece.
"And the Mayor?" Diggle asked.
"Still in office," I responded as I lowered my weapon.
》》》》
The next morning, I decided to ride with Oliver to Verdant. He still had that pissed off look on his face so when he was driving us, I tried to get some answers out of him. Which was a bit difficult because we were on his motorcycle. But when he parked it inside, I continued my conversation.
"How did your meeting went?" I asked.
"I was in a meeting with a woman who hates me and wants to take my company away, you tell me?" he retorted.
I took off my helmet. "Yeah, but about Mr. Blood. What did he think about your cash for guns idea?"
"He said he'd think about it but Miss Rochev thought we shouldn't be doing it."
I furrowed my brows. "We? I thought it was your idea."
"Which is what I explained to her. She made a valid point that I don't have enough funds to sponsor it because of my...lack of investors."
"Well, if it's investors that you need then I'll be happy to invest some money."
Oliver shook his head. "I'm not asking you to do that."
I wrapped my arms around him. "You're not but I want to. People shouldn't blame your family for the Undertaking when it was my idiot dad who caused it."
"But you're slowly starting to show people that they can trust you again. Even though my name won't be included, I want people to start trusting the company too. And if you get involved then people might believe..."
"Believe what? That I'm trying to support my boyfriend?" I asked with my brow raised. "That your girlfriend can't give you money for funds and investment? Or that the Co-President, who is also your best friend, wants to help in any way that he can? You already asked me to stay out of your fight for your companies ownership. Let me at least help you with this?" I shrugged. "And if you want, you don't even have to list Merlyn Global as one of your investors."
Oliver seemed conflicted. I gave him a sinister smirk and said, "Or you can if you want to? Get that bitch a real reason to look like a gaping fish."
Oliver let out a soft chuckle as he placed one of his hands on my waist. "You really don't like her," he stated.
"Guilty."
"Maybe instead of cash for guns, we just get a small pool and filled it with mud and have you two fight in it. That might help get investors," he joked.
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up," I chuckled before kissing him.
I let out a happy sigh into the kiss. Oliver pulled me closer fully wrapped his arm around my waist. There were footsteps up ahead, making us pull away. We looked to see Sara standing there. She didn't say anything at first, but it was obvious that she wanted to talk. I pulled away from Oliver so he could get off his bike. It's just...I wanted to pinch myself to make sure that Sara is really here this time and I'm not just hallucinating. When Oliver and Sara went ahead, I slapped myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.
"This is real," I breathed before following them.
Oliver lead us towards the backroom. Sara made sure she was ahead of us before she spun around and asked, "Did either of you tell my family that I'm alive?"
"No," Oliver answered.
Sara looked a bit relieved but just that small moment, she did look a bit sad. Well, this isn't something we should tell them. We can't just call Lance and Laurel and say Hey, how's the weather today? Oh, by the way, Sara is still alive and is the other vigilante that's been stalking you.
"Sara," I breathed. "We - We thought you were dead. We saw you die."
"At least it was the first time you saw," Sara said. "It's not really fun seeing someone die twice, is it? And I thought you guys were dead, too. What happened to Slade?"
Her question about my old friend got me to freeze. Oliver saw me tense a bit before he grabbed my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze before dodging the question. "Where have you been?" he asked.
"Everywhere."
"That's not an answer."
"Well, it's the one you're getting." Sara let out a sigh. "About a year ago, I started hearing tales of the Starling City vigilantes. The man in the green hood and the woman in the mask. I knew it was you two."
Wait, so if Sara figured it out then how many other people know?
"Never knew you could fight like that," I said as a compliment. "Where did you pick that up?"
"I met some rough people," Sara said. "Thought I should get rougher."
"Sara, why did you come back?" Oliver asked.
"The earthquake."
"Because you wanted to make sure your family was safe," I concluded. "But now you're still here, watching over them. Protecting them."
"While you let Tommy run around in one of those masks playing hero," she retorted. "I would have thought you would keep Tommy away from everything but I guess your rule of no secrets even means this, too."
"And you want that with Laurel," Oliver stated. "That's why you came here? Because you were hoping that we told them?" There was a loud knock on the door. "I'll get rid of them."
I looked through the window to see Mr. Lance standing out front. I quickly grabbed Sara and pulled her to the side so he wouldn't see her.
"Mr. Lance?" Oliver greeted with a bit of confusion in his voice. Yeah, I'm a bit confused myself.
"Hi," he said. Sara went stiff, so I gripped her hand.
"Something I can help you with?"
"No, I thought I would find Tommy with you. He wasn't at his office and just assumed..." He let out a sigh. "Nevermind. I shouldn't have come here. Maybe I could check Ashley's house and see if she's there."
"Ash's out of town for the evening," Ollie lied. "Her friend from Central City invited her to lunch and wanted to go. But I'm more than happy to help you with whatever it is you need."
Lance sighed, seeing he has no other option. "I'm here about my daughter." Sara's grip on my hand tightened. "Laurel."
"Is she ok?"
"Yeah. Well, no, she's not. She got pulled over for a DUI last night." Laurel? Pulled over? DUI? All in the same sentence? That's something I never thought I'd hear. "I tried talking to her about it, but...she wasn't hearing me."
Oliver sighed. "I - I saw her the other night. She...didn't seem like herself."
"No, I know. She seems like me. I thought I could get Tommy to talk to her and have Ashley try since she went through the same thing because she isn't acting the way Laurel is." He let out another sigh. "I don't know if you know, but after you guys and Sara disappeared I hit the bottle pretty hard. I know all of you are friends. And she needs a friend. Maybe talk to her."
Oliver nodded. "Sure."
Lance made a move to leave. "Mr. Lance."
"Yeah."
Oliver froze momentarily. He wanted to tell him that Sara is alive and is with me right now but he decided last minute not to. "I'd be happy to talk to Laurel. And...I'll see if Ashley could come too."
"How is she doing, by the way?" he asked.
"She was kidnapped by a psychopath and almost made into a doll," Oliver responded. "On top of that, there are still a few people out there that hate her and Tommy because of Mr. Merlyn." Oliver said this a bit louder so I could tell he was directing this next sentence towards me. "She's trying to put everything into her work to make people trust them again and I could tell that she's still carrying the guilt from it. And she almost lost Tommy, in her head, she feels responsible because she never realized the kind of man her father really is."
"Well, she shouldn't," Mr. Lance said. "What almost happened to Tommy was horrible. I can't imagine what she would have been through if he actually died."
"Believe me, sir, I can't either."
Mr. Lance gave Oliver a small nod before he left. Oliver then spun around and came back in. "Where is she?" he asked.
I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean? She's right..." I stopped when I expected to see Sara standing next to me. She wasn't. "...here."
Lian Yu
Just relax, Ashley, and control your breathing. You've been sliced by swords very slowly so a gunshot wound shouldn't hurt as much. Ah, who am I kidding? The bullet is still stuck inside of me and it hurts like hell. I covered my wound as I kept groaning. Bullet wounds shouldn't be hurting this bad but it was like the pain from this only got worse. I grit my teeth together as I noticed a small tray with the tools I need to remove the bullet.
I noticed the Russian man looking at me and asked, "Why'd they do this?"
"They make all of us do this," he responded with. "Supposed to show prochnost." The man lifted his shirt to show me the scar he had. "It's Russian. For strength."
"They - They only did it to see if I'm strong?" I snapped as I clenched my side.
"They're doing this to see if you survive. Living...is not for the weak."
It's either taking the bullet out and stitch myself up or do nothing and just bleed to death. I've been on this hell of an island for a year now, I'm not going to die now. I turned on my side and groaned when the pain got worse. I reached out and grabbed the tray before dragging it towards me. I grabbed the forceps and held it up. I took deep breathes as I lifted my shirt. I closed my eyes for a bit, trying to get my breathing to calm down a bit. With a small nod of my head, I dug the forceps in my wound and started to scream as I felt my skin stretch.
"Ahh!"
》》》》
I didn't know how I did it. But I managed to take the bullet out of my side and was able to stitch myself up before passing out. I have no idea how long I was out but all I know is that the sound of the gate opening is what woke me up. I was slowly waking up when I heard a loud cough coming next to me.
"I'm impressed. Sewing is one of your strong suits," the captain of the ship said. I wasn't speaking. I was so exhausted. And I still wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't. "Now, we can talk." I just glared at the man. "For two years...my crew and I have been looking for grave site. Did you find the graves? Were the bodies...odd? The bones misshapen?"
My mind went back to the skeleton we found before the whole explosion. How that skull wasn't normal? But what the hell did that had to do with it?
I guess me not speaking was the confirmation the captain said because he got his walkie talkie and said, "This is the right island."
》》》》
Starling City
Tommy and I were heading towards the cash for guns event. We don't exactly have guns to give for cash, not that we need them, but it's been a while since we've spent together that wasn't us dressing up and stopping people. It was nice talking to him like this after everything.
"So, she basically kicked you out," I said as he told me about his talk with Laurel.
"Yeah, she did," he said. "But Mr. Lance's is right. Something is going on with her and she's turning to alcohol to solve it." He let out a sad sigh. "I knew something was wrong with her but I just...I thought it was all in my head."
"Like what?" I asked.
"The other day, Laurel and I went to a nice dinner. I ordered us wine. She finished her glass. Then I went to the bathroom and when I came back...my glass was empty. She told me she was a bit parched and I was stupid enough to believe it."
"I'm just shocked that Laurel got pulled over. How many times did she scold you for getting pull over?" I shook my head. "She's going through so much right now. I really hope she's ok."
"She might be if she knows her sister is still alive," Tommy suggested.
"Tommy, I told you, I can't be the one to tell her. I know Sara wants them to know but them finding out is her decision."
"All I know is that it would make Laurel very happy."
"But you have to imagine things through Sara's perspective. Coming home to find your family thinking your still dead while your 'supposed' dead friends are alive. Sara might be a badass vigilante now, but she's probably scared to see their reaction. Do you know how scared I was when I called you?"
"You were scared?"
"I was. I thought if I called you, you would just assume someone was playing a prank on you. Or you wouldn't want to talk to me because of the whole "Sara and Ollie" affair. I was scared that you wouldn't want to see me again because your life was so much better without me in it."
"It did suck the first few months, I'll admit that because every little thing reminded of you. I thought I saw you at every corner. I even mistook a woman for you. I sat by the phone and waited until Dad came in. He told me you were dead and nothing's going to bring you back so I should move on before he left for a while. Now, I understood why he did though."
"Yeah, we owe everything to daddy dearest."
"When have our lives become so messed up?"
"It's always been messed up. But I think it turned out for the better. I mean, I'll admit our bond has hit a rocky path but we did manage to overcome it. If anything, I'd say we've gotten closer than ever."
"Not just us, you and Oliver as well."
I scoffed, ignoring the blush rising. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Two best friends from childhood end up dating," Tommy said. "It really was a big twist of things. Before I thought you would have married some stuck-up rich guy or even Barry, but five years on that island sparked something between you and Oliver. Now all he needs to do is walk up to you, hand you a bouquet of flowers, and say 'hey, we've been best friends for a very long time, will you marry me?'"
I slapped his arm. "You're thinking about this way too early."
"Not really. Most people nowadays wait at least two years before they get married...or a little early if the girl's pregnant." Tommy gave me a questioning look. "You're not pregnant, are you?"
I laughed. "Tommy, there is no way in hell that I'm pregnant." I raised my brow. "Might be a stupid question, given the situation, but is Laurel?"
His eyes widened. "No, no, no. But..." A small smile came to his face. "I do want to have kids with her someday."
"Aw," I said before pinching his cheeks. "Who knew my big brother would want kids?"
Tommy swatted my hand away before he laughed. We heard a loud honking sound before turning around. There was this truck coming towards us with the Mayor and his thugs on the trunk. The driver didn't even stop and was coming towards me and Tommy. Tommy grabbed me and pulled me out of the way before we got ran over.
My eyes widened when they made their way towards the cash for guns event. "Shit!" I exclaimed as Tommy and I scrambled to our feet.
We ran the rest of the way towards the station as we heard gunshots. Tommy and I made it as one of the gunmen shot an officer. We were about to run at them but one of the shooters noticed us and fired. This time I grabbed Tommy and pulled him behind the police cruiser. I heard someone grunting and saw this chick with a punk hairstyle getting shot in the side. I pulled myself away from Tommy and ran towards her.
"You ok?" I asked the girl, who nodded. I looked down to see her hand coaked in blood. I reached up and ripped the sleeve off my jacket before pressing it on her side. "Keep this pressed."
My head snapped up when I heard the tires screeching. The Mayor and his gunmen were driving away.
"Hey, Sin, you alright?" I heard Roy ask. Crap, does he have to be here, too.
"All's good," the girl below me said.
I shook my head before looking at Roy, who was holding Thea. "She's been hit. Get her some help! Go!"
Roy and Thea got up and went to find help.
》》》》
It's all over the news about the Mayor and what happened at the event. Roy and Thea actually got Sin over to the hospital where they were stitching her up. At least they got to her in time before she lost too much blood.
"The coward finally decided to show his face," Diggle said as we watched a clip from the cash for guns event. The Mayor actually showed his face so now everyone knows what he looks like. Don't know if it's a simple mistake or he wanted people to see his face so they know who to follow.
"Vanity is going to cost him," Oliver said.
"I 'borrowed' the FBI's facial recognition software," Felicity stated. There was a loud beep on the computer. "Got a match. Xavier Reed."
"Did he serve in the military?" I asked.
The blonde shook her head. "No military history."
"Family members?" Tommy questioned next.
"Reed was in and out of foster care his whole life. Wait, hold on." Felicity pulled up an article. "In 1996, Reed spent three years with a foster family and their son, Ezra Barnes." She started typing again. "He served three tours in Iraq. He's stateside now."
"20 bucks says he was stationed at Camp Kirby," Diggle wagered.
Felicity pointed at him. "Pay the man. The Mayor's foster brother is assigned to a weapons convoy that carries SCAR 16s by truck. The convoy's scheduled to come through Starling City tonight."
"FN SCAR 16s are military assault weapons with grenade launchers. The man gets a hold of these, guys, it's game over."
Oliver shook his head. "He won't."
》》》》
I guess a big reunion is a theme for this month. Oliver went to the hospital to pick up Sara while Tommy and I went to meet up with them towards the loading docks. Even behind his mask, Tommy was still shocked that Sara was standing in front of him.
"Long time no see," is the first thing Sara said. Tommy just stood there before she ran around him towards the trucks that had the military weapons, with the Mayor holding one in his hands.
Sara took out her metal staff and started wailing on the guys. I patted Tommy on the shoulder before running after her. I took my dagger out and flipped over her before I sliced one of the guy's throats. Another tried to shoot me but I wrapped my arm around his before using the handle on my dagger to knock the side of his head.
"Load up the weapons, now!" the Mayor ordered.
I put my dagger back in the holster before getting my bow and arrow out. I shot one of the gunmen in the leg while Oliver and Tommy jumped down. Two hands wrapped around my neck from behind as the man starting to drag me back. I pulled the arrowhead from my sleeve and lodged it into the man's kneecap. When he lets go of me, I used my bow to knock him out.
"You ok?" Oliver asked as he and Tommy came up next to us.
I nodded. "Behind you," Sara said.
The guys and I looked back as the Mayor held a bazooka gun at us. "Old school weapons. Respect," he said. "But can your arrows do this?"
He fired the missile at us. Oliver was quick enough to grab an arrow and released it. The arrow and missile collided with each other creating this small explosion. The blast wasn't big enough to do any damage but it was big enough to knock us down with our weapons out of our hands. The closest thing to me was Tommy's X-shaped shurikens.
A few more of the Mayor's men were running at us. I immediately grabbed the shurikens and threw them. Each one landed in their chest. Oliver was using Sara's pole to knock the guys out. I nearly ducked out of the way when Tommy used my bow to launch an arrow at the man sneaking behind me. I let out a breath of relief when Tommy, Oliver, Sara, and I switched our weapons back.
"Come on, where are you?" the Mayor asked as he looked around.
Sara somehow ended up behind him before she kicked the weapon out of his hands. She knocked Reed down on the ground before using her staff to choke the man.
"You hurt a friend of mine," she sneered.
"Let him go," Oliver said.
"You can't save a city with forgiveness."
"You don't have to forgive him. But you do have to let him live."
Sara wasn't too happy about it but she let Reed go. The man was gasping for air as he held his neck.
"Bitch. I knew you didn't have it in you," he choked out.
I rolled my eyes. Don't ever call a girl a bitch, you'll just end up in trouble. Sara, of course, didn't like it because she used her staff to knock Reed out.
"I really don't like that word," she spat.
》》》》
"Demonstrations opposing the construction of the new Star Lab's particle accelerator have reached a fever pitch with five more protestors being arrested," the news anchor said on the TV. Ah, I remember Barry telling me how he is so excited to see it. He wanted me to go with him, but I couldn't. "In other news, the recent cash for guns event held in the Glades is credited for getting over 800 weapons off the streets. Still a mystery - the anonymous donor whose generous donation funded the event."
Tommy turned off the TV in our office before looking at me. "Surprised Oliver didn't want to take credit for it," he said.
"Yeah, well, he's been full of surprises lately," I responded with a grin. Then it faltered. "How are you feeling, though? About Sara?"
"The fact that my girlfriend's sister is still alive and I can't tell her about it. I feel like crap," Tommy admitted. "And to make things worse, I've tried talking to Laurel about her problem but she just claims that she's all fine. She actually...she threw me out."
My mouth flew open. "I'm so sorry, Tommy."
"It's not your fault. It's not like you asked her to be kidnapped. I was trying to be there for her and she just - she just doesn't want any help. She's being stubborn like her father. Except this time, I'm not going to let her fall. I'm going to be that annoying person that always ruins her buzz."
"Well, maybe you should go up to her, hand her a bouquet of roses and say, hey, I know you're feeling down in the dumps but will you marry me?" I copied a little bit of Tommy's speech from yesterday.
"Actually, why didn't I think of it sooner?" Tommy said with a smile.
My smile faltered. "Tommy, no. I was joking."
"I know you were but I'm being dead serious. I'm going to ask Laurel to marry me."
"Are you sure this is the right time though?"
"Why not? I love Laurel and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
"Tommy, listen to me carefully when I say this...You're an idiot." Laurel isn't just going to magically get over her drinking problem like that.
He shook his head. "No, I'm not. I just need to figure out when and how to propose to her." He ran over and kissed my cheek before running out of the office. "Thanks, Ash."
"But it's not..." I started before the door slammed shut. "Going to be that simple."
Lian Yu
Man, I've never felt so tired before. My body hurts and my mouth is dry. I really need some water right about now.
My head snapped up when I heard my cage door opening. Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up by two men as the captain stood in front of me. I clenched my teeth together when I felt the stitches on my side being stretched. When I looked at the captain, he had a wicked grin plastered on his face.
"Your days of screaming are just beginning," he said.
I was being dragged along the corridor. My eyes were squinting whenever we passed through any windows with the light shining through them. They dragged me into a room before tossing me to the ground. I landed with a hard thud as the doors closed. I tried to get up as I heard footsteps making their way towards me. I turned my head and saw a pair of boots. My eyes trailed up the figure until I saw a familiar face. My mouth dropped when I saw my former friend in front of me, alive and well.
"S - Sara?" I breathed.