Post by adrini on Sept 5, 2013 17:47:16 GMT -5
Slade Wilson was impressed. Not only had his clients paid him up front, half the full payment and an extra twenty thousand for expenses, they had gotten him in touch with his back up within thirty-six hours. "Ollie" Queen was successful for a reason, he got things done.
He saw three arrows hit the roof, quickly rooting in the cement. Four people landed on them, he didn't like the fifth he was missing.
Green Arrow was obviously an archer. He wore a detailed hooded suit with a large quiver. He was carrying his bow. Like the others he collapsed the line he rode in on and walked over.
"Mr. Wilson." He said through a voice modulator. They were pros, credit where it was due. "We heard about the situation."
The girl in black and yellow was called 'Speedy'. Thin and lithe she was fast, very fast, and quiet. She was also hooded and hid her voice. "And your plan. We're in."
Arsenal and Red Arrow stood next to them. Both hooded, and very serious.
"I requested Black Canary. I would much prefer to have her with us in this." She was vital to half of his ideas.
Speedy looked at Green Arrow and smiled. "So would we. She's in Bludhaven right now dealing with a personal matter. However." He offered a box.
Slade opened it and found an ear piece. "It's something." He sighed.
It's not the same but I can offer my expertise. Good Evening, Mr. Wilson.
"I hope whatever you're doing in Bludhaven is important." Slade said.
It is, there are many children who need help. Not just the one. You have plenty of support. I'll be back soon enough.
He had to grant that. "Firstly I want you lay off the drug busts for a little while. They've been noticed." He told the team.
Red Arrow looked at him oddly, or so it seemed. It was hard to tell with those hoods. "Isn't that the point?" They all had the voice things.
"Not when it attracts the wrong people.You know the King Pin behind it now. Go after him, the rest will crumble." They saved kids, he wanted people like this around.
The team looked to their leader. "It's a valid idea, we'll consider it. Thank you for the warning. The mission?" Green Arrow prompted.
"I thought the archery school might be the best place. Fairly isolated, few exits, a known location for the girl." Slade saw Green Arrow nod again.
"It is a prime location. We just need the details then. Miss Queen takes classes on monday and wednesday. If she attends on the first they will likely assume she will be present for the second." The archer replied.
Slade couldn't help but smile. He was working with nothing but professionals, and getting well paid for it. "My thinking exactly."
Then we are agreed. The Canary said over the line. We'll keep radio contact, but I would recommend not using your real name.
"Of course not, my radio title is Deathstroke."
>--)->
Cissie King-Jones checked her hair one more time as she and her father drove along the tree lined road. Her father laughed.
"You look fine. They show up in jeans half the time." He turned left and she saw the large metal gate.
"But we're seeing the Queens, at their house!" She beamed.
Bernie smiled, happy she was so excited.
Ollie, as he insisted on being called, had visited him at work. His office had gone rather crazy when the man of the town himself had walked in. He had very politely requested a visit with 'Mr. Jones', and had even waited in the lobby for him to finish his appointment.
Once in his office alone the young man had asked a favor. The man from Mia's past was being investigated, and he had been told to keep the girl at home as much as possible. Mia and Thea had requested Cissie's company, and he and his wife wouldn't mind meeting he and his wife themselves. It was purely a social visit, no interview included, but he would be happy for them to visit at their leisure. He just needed enough notice to clear the calendar and make sure food would be there.
Bonnie normally refused to allow Cissie to make friends, but when it was Oliver Queen asking she couldn't say no. She could back out by saying she was spending the evening with her brother. She hadn't been that fond of the Queen's growing up, though she was glad the playboy had finally settled down.
The large iron gates opened and he drove to Queen Mansion, just as it looked on post cards. Cissie was bouncing in her seat. Bernie was smiling.
They got out of the car and walked up the stone path to the door. He was about to knock when the door swung open and Thea and Mia appeared.
"Cissie!" Thea reached around him and pulled his daughter inside. "About time! How are you at racing games?"
"Thea's just tired of loosing." Mia said as the three disappeared into another room. "I got skills." Bernie heard laughs and giggles shortly.
"And there they go." Bernie looked up to see Ollie walking over, chuckling. "Sorry for the whirlwind. Teenagers."
"Not at all. Thank you for having us." He followed the young man to the kitchen, happy shrieks coming from the family room.
"We're the ones under house arrest. Thank you for coming." He replied. Dinah was sitting at the kitchen table working on a laptop."My wife, you've nodded at each other but never actually met."
Bowstring walked over and shook her hand. "An honor madam. I'm glad to hear you're doing better."
Dinah Queen gave an open laugh. "Much. Another week and I can even start walking again. It's good to finally meet you Mr. Jones."
"Bowstring. I don't stand on ceremony either." The woman nodded, looked at the screen, and closed the computer.
"I'm so glad. You should see the mail we get." He laughed as she stuck out her tongue. "Ollie just threw together tacos, but there's time for the ten cent tour if you like."
"The place is famous enough, if you don't mind." He smiled.
Mrs. Queen held up her arms. "Chariot!" She ordered. Her husband laughed and picked her up.
"My lady. To the den?" Bernie laughed. He didn't understand his wife's issue, they were fun as hell.
The tour didn't take long, and Bernie was sore from laughing by the end of it. The Queens were fond of cracking jokes. They returned to the kitchen just as the timer went off. Ollie put his wife in a chair with a kiss and went to put dinner on the table.
"Are we as mysterious as you expected?" She asked him with a gentle smirk. Bernie shook his head.
"Of course we are." Ollie put side dishes and condiments on the table with a smile. "Everyone wants my secret taco seasoning recipe."
"He means the instructions on the back of the seasoning packet." His wife replied.
"Don't give it away, we have a reporter here." He said quickly.
Bernie gave up and laughed again.
"Rose, Mia, Thea, Cissie! Dinner!" Dinah called as Ollie put the meat on the table.
The girls swarmed the table and took their food back to the game room. He could tell Cissie was having a blast.
"Now we may eat in peace." The former heir said sitting down next to his better half. "Help yourself, please. I'm not as good a cook as Di but I won't poison anyone."
"You're better then you think." Bernie said after devouring two helpings. "I know you don't want to be plastered everywhere but you might benefit from a personal reporter. There are some nasty rumors going around."
He saw Dinah nod thoughtfully. "There are some rather terrible ones out there." She was the subject of several of the worst ones.
"What would there be to report on?" Oliver asked jokingly.
"Human interest, mostly. Remove the mystery and bore people with taco recipes." Bernie said making another helping. "Mostly getting rid of the worst of the stuff said about you guys."
The newlyweds looked at each other, considering it.
"If we don't like something you write?" Dinah asked.
"It doesn't get printed. Or if something is just too personal. Your call." He couldn't believe they were going for it.
"If you would really go for it." Ollie shrugged. "It seems really restrictive for you." Bernie beamed, nodding.
"What would you like to write about?" Dinah asked. "The tacos, the teenagers?"
Bernie shook his head. "I'll call the first installment 'A night at the Queens', more of an intro."
"You can't mention about Mia, and medical stuff is private." Oliver said quickly.
"Easily done." Bernie nodded.
Dinah laughed. "You're going to put your readers to sleep."
Bernie smiled to himself. He was going to help some very good people.
>--)->
Adrien slammed the shot glass on the table. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"King? I'm on the same city board as the man." Diggle refilled her glass. Across the table Oliver offered Dinah another bottle of the stuff but she waved it away.
"Not with the pain meds. Bad plan." The blonde looked at the maps and check lists on the table. "Though I can't say I'm not tempted."
The young man looked at the bottle and put it down. If she couldn't drink neither could he. Not if he was the reason for the inability. Instead he focused on the lists.
"We know the four. We know Slade turned him down, we know others won't." He looked over the list. "The question is who might the others be?"
"It stands to reason that Gaynor might make his own suggestions." Roy added. "That would be neo-nazis, gun nuts, and so forth."
"They can be serious. The ones he'll be about to hire will be experienced. Nothing to trifle with." Jade nervously looked at her partner and her friend. "We need to be careful."
"It's time for cards on the table. We have enemies. Who are they." Diggle looked around the table.
"Lex is up to something. He's targeting meta humans. I might not have gotten involved before but now?" He looked at his wife. "Now it's personal. It will be an issue. He's a powerful man. He won't like that I've limited his reach in the haven projects. It will get messy."
"I'm sorry Ollie. Does he know?" Adrien looked at the two. He shook his head.
"Not yet. But he will."
"My turn." Dinah said. "I have enemies. Many of them. So long as I was hidden I was relatively safe. I'm not anymore. I will have people come here to look for me. Many of them are very, very good. A few will want me back. When I worked for Roulette it got a few hopes up that I would switch sides. They aren't afraid on leaning on people to make a point."
"Gaynor was my secret." Diggle said simply. "I'm just sorry he's gotten this messy."
Roy looked at his better half. "It's time."
"I didn't want to admit this." She looked at the table. "I did switch sides for a time. After I lost Di. Catman walked out on me, I moved out and went to patch things up with our little bird. She told me he was a bad idea but I was stupid and didn't listen. You were already gone." The women looked at each other. "A few days later I found out I was pregnant. I was alone. I knew catman was a mistake, but I didn't have a choice. I started running with people I'm not proud of. They'll contact me. Use my son against me. There's nothing I can do to stop it."
"We can bring him here. Together we can-" Oliver got cut off.
"I was afraid of that." Dinah said quietly. "I'm so sorry. He's with his father?"
"I get pictures. It's not the same." Jade said softly.
"It never is." Adrien said sympathetically. "We'll do what we can. You aren't alone anymore."
Dinah and Jade looked at each other. They both knew what it was to have fallen.
"Jansen might want to add something." Dinah said. "Unless I am very much mistaken."
"You are not." The man said. "Though I am afraid we will overlap to an extent. I escaped from the Court of Owls, with help. I also went back to rescue my daughter from them. They believe to this day they own her. We have built our own defenses here, but our enemies are strong. The trick we used can't be used again. They will become an issue."
"And now we have Merlyn. What do people know about the team? About us?" Diggle looked over a list, it didn't look too bad.
"We haven't messed up yet, I think. I still need to stay hidden. The leg will give me away." Dinah said. "Thankfully in a few days I can be back."
"We know there is an understood connection between us and the heroes. Protectors. It's better then it could be." Roy added. "Slade, a danger?"
"Everyone is a danger. At least he seems to like us. If he connects the dots he'll likely be friendly." Diggle crossed him off the list. "King? He is working with Gaynor. He'll have information."
"I think we have to assume it will happen soon. He'll know we're Team Arrow, we'll know he's Merlyn. The chess game will begin. Did anyone know who you really were in haven, Di?" Adrien sipped her shot.
"Di and I both." Jade said. "The court will know who everyone is soon if they don't already. They tend to stay in haven though."
"If nothing else they might be glad we aren't there to bother them anymore." Dinah added.
"We have time then. When are we flushing out Gaynor?" Adrien nodded. The timing had to be right.
"Wensday after this coming, I think. Di can walk her in, it'll be one cover we can keep for a time. You have a basement, right?" Diggle looked at his teacher.
"I'll grab the girls and secure ourselves down below. And the Jones', if they are there. Just take them out and come home." Brave Bow said, worriedly looking around the room. "Mia's lost one family already."
>--)->
Slade sat at at smoky bar and sipped his beer. His team, him and "Team Arrow" as his daughter called them, had settled on a date for the attack that would allow the canary to be there. It was longer then he liked but at least they had been up front about it. He had not always had as much.
The Queen's had been nothing but gracious, accommodating, friendly and kind. They were not, however, open. The mask they wore was well practiced, polished and the worst kind of half truth. It was part of who they were, the 'leave it to Beaver' part. He understood why, he had been hired to kill them before after all, but he was wondering how long it would take for them to trust him. Making sure Mia was safe might be enough. If it wasn't there would be a talk after all this was done.
Rose was still on personal guard for the girl, though with him in town they had been told that anytime Rose wanted off to see him she need only say the word. Slade was even welcome to come to the house if he wanted. He had declined while the mission was active, for cover reasons, but planned to take them up on it after. Rose was considering staying in Star City to finish her education. They had offered her a place in Star Prep for her final year and even mentioned contacts in a number of prestigious universities if she was interested. It was a very real chance for a better life then he had, or that he could give her, he couldn't blame her if she wanted it.
"A man staring into his beer is a sad sight." Said a known voice behind him.
"Gaynor." Slade took a swig. "Still not interested."
"I know, Dad. Just thought we could talk shop, two mercs on a day off." Charles Gaynor took the seat next to him. If this place was any less full Slade would have considered taking him out here. "Granted you have alot of days off these days."
"I have enough saved up that I can wait for something better." He finished his beer and signaled for another one. If he had to have a conversation with a child molester he would need more beer. "Like genocide or something."
"Oh, spare me the hysterics. You're known all over the grid, and you have no room to talk. I can recite your rap sheet." Gaynor started his bottle. "It's quite impressive."
"And yet kiddie rape isn't anywhere on it." He said. "There are lines even I won't cross."
"Which is why you're sitting in a bar drinking beer and I have a gig to plan. That line is costing you serious dinero. But more for us. This is going to be the easiest four mil ever." Gaynor smiled carelessly.
"By all means, keep being over confidant. I can't stop you but I can cheer when you die horribly." Slade played with his beer. He had to focus on not blowing the teams cover, as well as his own. Gaynor laughed.
"There will be dying alright. We're dealing with an injured crew, and we have fresh recruits. Soon as that little chit shows her face again the team goes down." The man next to him had a terrible look on his face, he was already planning ahead.
Something about what the man said got his attention. "I haven't heard anything about them being injured. You should check your intel again." The team was robust, active. Hell, they were traveling.
"I am the intel. The Canary isn't what she used to be anymore. One of my men got her good, and then she ran up here. No show for a month, on for a few weeks and now off again." Gaynor gloated. "Mr. Green isn't any good with her like that to, so we know his weakness. All we have to do is reopen that wound and the whole team is ours, they'll be too busy helping the little birdy."
"I'm sure her ankle will be fine, she's been fighting a long time." Slade forced himself to relax, he had a bad feeling.
"Nice one, Dad. We got her whole leg. Even Meta's can't ignore that." Gaynor finished his beer and got up. 'We still have a spot if you want it, winning side and all. Think about it."
Slade waited for the man to leave before letting go of his breath, his ringer was recovering from major surgery. No wonder the team had put the plan off. This also meant that they had rescued the girl themselves, putting everything on the line to get her away from Gaynor and his crew. Rose had known, but it hadn't been her place to tell him, he had raised her well.
He needed to talk to Mrs. Queen.
>--)->
Ollie walked into Outreach and waved at Mrs. Helen who was working in the garden.
"Ollie. Visiting the wife again?" She smiled. On nice days the whole compound was out here with laptops.
"Brought lunch. Is it a bad time?" He held up the brown bag.
"Not at all." Mrs. Helen nodded to Dinah's office. "Mostly double checking assignments."
He waved and walked over to the office, hearing the familiar world beats music his wife preferred. He swiped his card and walked in.
Dinah was at her computer checking tacks with a new program he had installed when her leg acted up. It was currently no longer in the foam cast but still very weak and she didn't walk on it too much just yet. She looked up and smiled as he walked in.
"Ollie, you didn't tell me you were coming." She grinned and pulled herself out of the chair to get to him.
He walked over quickly. "The new husband express. Food and kisses, no charge." She smiled and grabbed his free hand, before she led them to the small table in the corner.
"I like it." She looked at him, she was still tired.
"I just called the house, Mia's fine. They're playing hide and seek and I'm told to tell you the house is too big." He pulled the food out of the bag.The drinks hadn't spilled. "Also once all this is over they want to go horseback riding."
His wife laughed. "Not sure what we can do about the house but we can pull off the horses. Chinese?"
"There's a place in the tower, really good. Just grabbed the first thing I saw." He opened his box. "That okay?"
"It's great. Jade was just mentioning this morning how we never get burgers. I never thought about it but she's right." She was happily digging into the meal.
It was a valid point but they dug in. After a couple minutes the intercom on her desk went off.
-A Mr. Wilson to see you, Di. Shall I send him in?-
Di shrugged and nodded, Oliver walked to the desk to respond.
"This is Mr. Queen, it's fine." He said and sat down again. "What does he want?"
"Whatever it is I'd rather deal with it. We're counting on him." She rubbed her leg. "I'm just not sure I'll be up to next wednesday. Can't I stay in 'Bludhaven' a little longer?"
"We'll work something out if it comes to that." He frowned, the leg was never going to heal if it wasn't given time.They still had to protect Mia though.
The door beeped open and Slade walked in the room.
"Slade, I only brought two meals. I can order something in if you're hungry though. Great Thai place nearby." He smiled, he was on stage again.
Slade looked amused and walked over. He stood there.
"Would you like a drink? Coffee?" Dinah asked, motioning to the deluxe machine on the wall. "Help yourself, of course. Whatever you like."
He continued to stand and look at them. They looked at each other, unsure what was going on.
"Just out of curiosity, when did the howdy-dudy act begin? Was it the previous Mr. and Mrs. Queen or did you come up with this yourselves. You live in a business world so it could go either way." He leaned on a pillar.
They looked at each other again, very confused.
"See, I knew you wore a mask. Not that you aren't great folks, but no one is that happy all the time. Arterial injuries aren't 'no big deal', they kill people. Mia's recovering isn't a 'work in progress' it's a reason to get enraged that she has to recover in the first place. Which you did and sued a state. Normal people curse, scream, yell. You don't." He walked and looked pointedly at Dinah. She darted a look at her husband.
"And you. Mia isn't the only person this family is dancing around. People get out of their chairs when you cough. Three people ran over to help you stand up when your crutches slipped. You have body guards around you all the time. There are two in the hall right now. I have a feeling they were hired by you." He turned his gaze to Oliver.
"You're protective of the rest of your family, teams of two or three, staying in doors. It's all cute. Effective, you know what you're doing. When it comes to your wife you're terrified. That kind of fear that comes from a near loss. Like a severed artery from a rescue operation. You were reminded just how mortal she is and haven't gotten over it yet."
Oliver looked at his better half. She raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Hand it over." She held out a hand.
"One more day, you couldn't wait one more day." Ollie shook his head. He pulled out a roll of bills and handed them to his wife. "What put you over?" He asked the man.
Dinah pocketed the bills and laughed at Slade's expression. "Something unhappy I bet. We're just not getting a lot of breaks these days."
"Gaynor visited me. He's calling the fight now, says the canary won't be up to it. And the Arrow will be too distracted. Is this true?" Slade looked at the two, the plaster smiles were gone. Instead they wore a more authentic look, exhaustion. Mrs. Queen in particular looked thoroughly worn out.
"We hope not." Oliver said.
"Green Arrow?" He looked at Oliver, who nodded. "Meaning you are the Canary herself." He looked at Mrs. Queen, in her jeans and professional blouse she could have fooled anyone.
"In the slightly mangled flesh." She said, mindlessly holding her leg for a moment while wincing. "Did Gaynor mention anything else? I might be slower but I'm no rookie. And Gaynor isn't the only person who has a healing factor on the crew. We're unsure I'll be well enough, not sure I won't be."
Slade smiled. "Mr. Queen, you chose very well. Order the Thai, the man is going down."
"I lucked out, she chose me. Grab some jo, we'll get this sorted out." Oliver pulled out his phone. "Pad Thai good enough?"
"It's fine." Slade said and sat down. "Why do you keep holding your leg?" He asked the veteran hero.
"Healing waves. Nervous system, bone and muscle repair. Takes me one third of the time, provided the initial attack doesn't kill me. Just hurts like fucking hell." The woman said. Slade nodded, that made sense. That much pain also explained the strained look on her face.
Her husband pulled out a bottle from her purse. "You're taking a half day. It's slow enough."
She smiled and took two of the pills. "Once we're done planning I claim sleep. The girls can entertain themselves." From how tired she looked it seemed like a good idea.
"My great grandparents started the act, Mr. Wilson." Ollie said as he typed in the order. "It's family tradition at this point. Plus it's fun to see how fast people see through it."
>--)->
"Bowstring, you said you had something good for me ." Bernie sat down and looked his editor. "It had better be." Mr. Rico wasn't one to mince words.
"Yes, I have gotten permission for an exclusive source. I believe it will help the paper greatly." Mr. Rico looked him over.
"Who is this source?" The man asked, intrigued.
"Provided they get final call on what gets published, the Queen's have agreed to accept me as their personal reporter." Bernie smiled as his boss blinked.
"How did you pull that off?" He leaned back in his chair, Bernie normally covered sports events and community stuff.
"I began running into them personally. All I need is the papers agreement, the Queen lawyer has a contract ready." He put the document on the table. "Provided you agree I have three installments finished and approved, and a number of photographs as well."
"Could this be a weekly column?" The man hurried to sign the contract, this was too big to pass on.
"I don't see why not. Feature one family member at a time when nothing more interesting is going on." He smiled, this was a good thing for all involved. Plus it would be a promotion for him.
"Get me the stories. We'll put it in the Saturday special. Well done Bowstring."