They Got What You Need 1/1
banner by: geek_or_unique
Title: They Got What You Need
Chapter: 1/1
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chloe Sullivan and Oliver Queen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 6,060
Summary: This takes place in the Everybody Loves Me universe. It's not the sequel (that's coming soon) although it is from AU!Chloe and AU!Oliver's point of views. It's more like a prequel to the sequel that takes place during the original. Got it? ;) This will make ZERO sense if you haven't read Everybody Loves Me.
They Got What You Need
Lois had talked a mile a minute the entire drive from the command center to the small airport where Oliver kept his private plane. She had alternated between pointing out how unbelievable this entire thing was and asking questions about Oliver’s version of reality. His reality, as in a different reality from the one they were currently occupying. He seemed to be listening to her rants and ravings and interjecting his own commentary as she talked. Oliver was answering Lois’s questions as well even though some of them were really off the wall. Chloe was just grateful they were talking amongst themselves because it gave her the opportunity to sit there quietly and try to process everything in her own head.
She’d seen weird stuff before; like she’d told Lois when she’d been trying to convince her that Oliver wasn’t Oliver, they’d seen much weirder stuff than this. They knew a man who was part fish and another who was half computer. She’d seen people get possessed by demons and she wasn’t all that surprised to know that aliens existed and one of them was a vigilante in Kansas.
It wasn’t that hard for her to grasp that there were other realities, other universes, dimensions, galaxies, whatever a person wanted to call them that existed in the world. She could even accept that there were other versions of everyone she knew, including herself, who lived in those realities. But it was hard for her to wrap her mind around the fact that there were two Oliver Queens who were as different as night and day.
Chloe watched this Oliver for a moment as he spoke about Clark Kent and his various powers and abilities from the seat across from them on the private jet. Lois seemed particularly fascinated by Oliver’s stories about the Blur and as she listened, she interrupted every few minutes to ask more questions. Chloe knew she should probably be paying more attention to what Oliver was saying.
She’d been trying for a long time to put a name and a face together with the information she’d gathered about the Blur. Even with her considerable hacking abilities, she’d never come close to being able to unmask the Blur’s identity. It was a lot easier to understand why she had failed now that she knew he was just a simple farmer when he wasn’t saving the day. She’d also heard Oliver mention something about Clark being a reporter in his reality.
That thought took Chloe out of the conversation again and back to her musings about the two Olivers being so different. Physically, Chloe saw no differences between him and her Oliver, for lack of a better distinction. He carried himself the same way with a natural confidence that bordered on being arrogant. Her Oliver certainly crossed that line into arrogance and maybe this one did too, but she hadn’t seen that side of him. He just seemed more determined than anything and she could understand that. He wanted to go home.
Chloe couldn’t imagine how her Oliver was fairing in this Oliver’s world. She’d seen the worry cross this Oliver’s face when Lois’s words had sunk in and he’d realized that Oliver had probably taken his place. He’d become even more determined after that and he’d gotten them to the airport and onto the jet in record time. He’d mentioned that he lived in Metropolis most of the time in his world so Chloe had to assume that was where her Oliver - she really needed something else to call him - had ended up.
He was probably furious and knowing Oliver, he probably thought the whole thing was a plot someone had devised against him. The man was extremely paranoid and Chloe wasn’t sure why. He didn’t trust anyone although there were times when she thought he trusted her. Not completely, of course, but enough to listen to her once in awhile. He gave her a lot of freedom in the office but Chloe thought that was more laziness than him actually trusting her. If Chloe handled business decisions, Oliver was free to live his party boy lifestyle that he was so fond of.
That was part of the reason she had been so thrown when he’d married Tess. Chloe didn’t think either one of them was capable of loving anyone aside from themselves so she’d known that love had nothing to do with their motives. The marriage made a lot more sense now that she knew it was based on money and revenge. She wouldn’t be surprised if they had a contract drawn up beforehand. It was probably signed in blood since Tess seemed just as reluctant to trust anyone as Oliver was.
She wondered if Oliver had run into the other version of Tess yet. This Oliver had said they were friends and that was a foreign concept to her as well considering how much the versions she knew despised each other. She wondered if the other version of Chloe was friends with Tess in Oliver’s world. The thought actually made her head hurt and she pushed it aside and tried to focus on her counterpart.
Chloe had been so busy thinking about everyone else that she hadn’t given much thought to the other Chloe that was out there, this woman who was another version of her and was actually friends with this Oliver. He’d made it sound like the woman he knew was similar to her and they were obviously close. It had seemed crazy at first, but Chloe supposed she could understand now that she’d spent more time with Oliver. She could see herself being friends with this Oliver.
Chloe found herself feeling bad for the other Chloe who was probably already sick of her Oliver. My Oliver, Chloe corrected herself. She shook her head; she was confusing herself with her own thoughts. This was definitely not the day she’d expected to have when she’d gotten up that morning. She’d actually been hoping that Oliver’s meeting with Jack Crane would go smoothly and she’d have time to slip some information to Victor that she’d uncovered about a drug ring they’d been keeping an eye on. She’d have to remember to do that once she got back to Star City. Chloe didn’t know how long this trip was going to take but she had a feeling if Oliver had his way, it would be quick so he could go home to his life.
She realized the conversation around her had quieted down and Chloe wondered if her cousin had actually run out of questions, which seemed highly unlikely. She glanced at Lois who sat next to her, twirling a pen through her fingers as she looked at Oliver like everything he’d been saying was crazy.
“I still can’t believe this guy is an alien and his disguise is an unassuming farm boy. That just seems ridiculous. How do people not put two and two together?” Lois asked incredulously.
Oliver shrugged. “He makes himself forgettable and he’s got the super speed thing working in his favor. Clark doesn’t stick around long once the save is done. It’s not like he’s doing it for the glory; he just wants to help people. I assume the Clark in this world is the same way. I didn’t see any pictures of him in the articles Chloe showed me.”
“You know hearing that there’s an alien living among us takes me back to my days at the Inquisitor. Can you imagine the editor’s face if I gave him this story? Not that I would,” Lois clarified quickly.
“I wasn’t worried,” Oliver said.
“What about you?” Lois asked. “How did you get involved in this whole superhero business? Do you have some secret power?” Her eyes widened. “Does that mean Oliver has one? I’m assuming he can’t shoot lasers out of his eyes or anything or he probably would have killed all of us ages ago. Well, all of us except for Chloe,” she corrected. “Even Oliver isn’t stupid enough not to realize that he’d be lost without her.”
Chloe saw something flicker across Oliver’s face that she couldn’t read but it wasn’t the first time she’d seen that far away look in his eyes. She wasn’t sure why, but her instincts told her that he was thinking about the Chloe he knew. He’d mentioned that they were close and that he depended on her. But Chloe felt like she was missing something and for some reason, her mind didn’t want to put the pieces together.
“No secret powers,” Oliver said. “I have a good workout routine and a lot of motivation, but I am human. It’s sort of a long story how I got into this business,” he teased, echoing Lois’s word choice. “But I do it because I want to help people and stop people like Lex from taking over.”
“We’re on a three-hour flight to Kansas,” Lois reminded him. Her tone was impatient as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Oliver expectantly. “We’ve got time and I want to hear more about what makes you so different than the jackass we see every day.”
Chloe rolled her eyes at her cousin’s bluntness, but the truth was that she was curious too. She turned to Oliver. “I don’t really know how this alternate reality thing works or how much of a person’s personality gets carried over but does it make any sense to you why you’re one way and the Oliver we know is the way he is?” she asked. Chloe figured that was the most delicate way to ask why he was a decent guy and the Oliver they knew was a selfish jackass. There had to be some kind of explanation as to why the one she knew had turned out the way he had.
“I used to be just like the Oliver in this reality,” Oliver admitted. Chloe and Lois exchanged a surprised glance before turning their attention back to Oliver as he continued. “After my parents died, I was alone and miserable and I took it out on the people around me. I used my money and status to get what I wanted and mostly what I wanted was to be drunk or high and feeling sorry for myself. Then after I graduated from high school, my yacht was hijacked and I was stranded on an island for two years.”
“You mentioned that earlier when you were looking through file I have on Oliver,” Chloe commented. “You said that’s where you honed your skills and decided you needed to change your life.” She had seen something else on his face when he’d been going through the file and now it was starting to make more sense to her. It was like he’d realized whatever was missing from the Oliver’s life was missing because he hadn’t been stranded on an island. Chloe still didn’t understand how one event could alter a person’s course so drastically but it was obvious Oliver thought it had; or hadn’t in her Oliver’s case.
Oliver nodded. “Once I got back to civilization, I knew I couldn’t just pick up where I’d left off. I focused on pulling the company out of ruins first and while I was doing that, I was training in my spare time. I needed to get myself back in shape and I needed to figure out how I was going to help people without letting them know it was me.”
“Yeah I can see why Oliver Queen wouldn’t be able to blend into the shadows after saving the day,” Lois pointed out. Her lips curved into a smirk. “Do you wear some kind of costume? A mask or some tights maybe?” she joked.
“They’re not tights,” Oliver replied quickly. Chloe raised an eyebrow at what sounded like an automatic response, but Oliver continued talking before she had a chance to say anything. “I do have a uniform,” he said pointedly. “It allows me easy mobility and I have a hood, glasses and a voice distorter to protect my identity.”
Lois pursed her lips and Chloe could tell her cousin was debating whether or not she wanted to make another joke about the tights. She must have decided to let it go because she just nodded. “I’m sure the whole bow and arrow thing came in handy when you were on a deserted island, but is it really effective against criminals with guns and knives?” she asked skeptically.
Oliver smirked and leaned back in his chair. “It is when you know what you’re doing and believe me I know what I’m doing.”
For the first time since she had met this Oliver, Chloe saw the familiar arrogance she was used to seeing in the Oliver she knew. He was obviously proud of his skills and she could tell from the way he spoke that being Green Arrow meant a lot to him. Chloe understood that. She did what she could to help stop the evil in the world and she was always trying to find more people to help the cause. It wasn’t easy when she had limited resources and she couldn’t tell anyone who she was or what she was doing.
She found herself thinking about the Oliver that she knew again. He was arrogant all the time, but the only thing she’d ever seen him take pride in was his looks and his money. There had been a few business deals that he’d seemed especially proud of but that was usually because he’d managed to screw over Lex Luthor in the process. That was another thing she’d never really understood about Oliver. She didn’t like Lex either, especially after he had fired her cousin and tried to ruin her reputation, but Oliver seemed to hate him as much as he loved himself. This Oliver had mentioned that he hated him too. She wondered if it would be out of line for her to ask why.
Lois was already asking another question before Chloe had a chance to say anything. “I take it you use your own money to pay for your arrows and your uniform. What about the rest of your team? Do you pay them to do whatever it is you guys do?” she asked.
“They help people because it’s the right thing to do,” Oliver replied. “But I do keep most of the team members on my payroll because they all have living expenses and traveling the world for different missions limits their ability to hold down a normal job. The Chloe in my world is a Queen Industries employee too, but only on paper.” His voice trailed off and he turned to look out the window for a moment.
Once again, Chloe felt like she was missing something. It sounded like Oliver had wanted to say more, but he’d stopped himself. Chloe glanced at Lois, but her cousin seemed oblivious. She could see the wheels turning in Lois’s head and she knew she probably had another hundred questions that she wanted to ask Oliver.
“What about the Lois in your world?” Lois asked. “Does she work with your team of heroes?”
“Sometimes,” Oliver said. “She’s probably more involved now than she used to be but Lois does her own thing. She’s a reporter first. Of course she doesn’t mind the exclusives that the team throws her way,” he added.
“She sounds smart,” Lois said proudly. Amused, Chloe rolled her eyes at her cousin’s enthusiasm for her alternate universe self. Only Lois would act like the other woman being smart was somehow a reflection on her. “So what about Chloe?” she asked. “You said she only worked at Queen Industries on paper. What does she do for the team? Does she suit up and fight crime?”
Oliver was quiet for a minute and then he shook his head. “No, Chloe is our eyes and ears. She’s a computer expert and she researches anything and everything and she keeps an eye on us when we’re on missions or running our patrols.”
“That sounds familiar,” Lois commented. She sent a sideways glance in her cousin’s direction. “This Chloe has been hacking her way into places she’s not supposed to be since high school. Maybe even earlier than that,” she mused. “Now she’s running interference for a bunch of ragtag heroes and a spoiled billionaire with an ego that rivals the size of the Grand Canyon. No offense,” she added with a sweet smile for Oliver. “What else does the Chloe you know do for you?”
Chloe saw that look on Oliver’s face again, the one she couldn’t quite read and instead of answering Lois’s question, he glanced away from them like he needed a minute. Chloe wondered if this was getting to be too much for him. He’d been answering questions for hours, longer than that if Chloe took into account the conversations the two of them had had before Lois even showed up. It was probably hard for him to keep talking about his friends and his life while he was so desperate to get back to them.
“Lois, maybe it’s time to give Oliver a break. You’ve asked him every question under the sun. Let’s just sit her quietly for awhile,” Chloe suggested. She gave her cousin a pointed look, hoping she would take the message and ease up on the poor guy.
For a moment Lois looked like she was going to protest, but then she nodded and reached into her purse for a magazine. Chloe settled back in her seat and she saw Oliver send her a grateful look before he turned and stared out the window once again, getting lost in his own thoughts. She really hoped for his sake that this Clark guy could help them so he could get back to his life and then the Oliver she was used to would be back in this world and they could all move on with their lives.
***
Oliver opened and closed his jaw as he pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek. The small movement hurt and he figured he had a decent sized bruise on his face, but he didn’t think anything was broken. That wasn’t going to stop him from pressing assault charges against Lois. He really should have filed a restraining order against her years ago but he’d always just written her off as a nosy reporter with nothing better to do than interfere in his life. Her attempts at insulting him were amusing and most of the time Oliver thought of her like a gnat that he had to swat away.
But she had crossed a line this time and he wasn’t going to stand for it. He was being held prisoner against his will and she’d had the nerve to punch him in the face while he was helpless to defend himself. That just proved to Oliver that he had been right about her all this time and he should have followed his instincts and used his connections to get her fired. Lex had been smart enough to fire her from the Dailey Planet and even though Oliver despised giving Lex credit for anything, he had to admit that he’d made the right call. Oliver wished he’d done the same and he knew he would have if it hadn’t been for Chloe.
Oliver frowned as he glanced toward the stairs where Chloe had disappeared. He could see there was some kind of loft area above where he was sitting, but he couldn’t see Chloe from this angle. It didn’t really matter though since she had betrayed him too. She had arranged this whole thing, this elaborate conspiracy to convince him that he was losing his mind. She had to have been plotting behind his back all along with Tess. Even thought that was the only explanation that made sense, Oliver still didn’t want to believe that Chloe had betrayed him.
But he couldn’t deny the evidence that was all around him. Oliver had always wondered where Chloe disappeared to in the middle of the day. She probably thought he’d never noticed and the few times he had said something to her about her not being in the office, she’d gotten defensive and reminded him that she was entitled to breaks just like every other employee. Then she would change the subject back to his next meeting or a new proposal or a charity event. Oliver always knew what she was doing but he let her do it because she was good at her job and her performance level never changed no matter how many times a week she disappeared for a few hours.
This place had to be where she was coming all those times. Oliver looked around the room again, trying to see as much of the equipment as he could from the chair they’d stuck him in. Chloe had ignored his question earlier about whether everything was Queen Industries’ technology, but it certainly looked like it from what he could see. The equipment had to have cost a small fortune and there was no way Chloe could afford it on her paycheck even if the other employees had contributed money too. He scowled when he saw the IT guy - Victor - watching him from one of the computer terminals.
“You should know better than to screw over the guy who signs your paycheck,” Oliver told him snidely. Victor just shook his head and went back to whatever he was typing. Oliver clenched his fists behind his back as he tried again to loosen the ropes that were binding him to the chair. He had some mobility, but all he could really do was bring one of his hands to his side. That wasn’t going to help him free himself.
He heard shouting from the other side of the room and swiveled his head in that direction. AC and that kid from the mailroom were playing a videogame. Oliver was furious that they were all acting like it was no big deal that they had kidnapped him and tied him to a chair like he was the criminal instead of them. “It’s good to know that you two are enjoying yourselves instead of doing something to help this situation.” Oliver’s eyes narrowed as he focused on AC.
“I hired you to make sure nothing happens to me and now look at me!” His voice rose as he struggled harder against the ropes. AC wasn’t his favorite person, but for the most part he did his job without complaining too much and he kept to the shadows when he was supposed to stay out of sight at meetings and business functions. But him standing there playing a videogame while Oliver was in peril was insulting.
“You didn’t hire us,” AC replied with a simple shrug. He reached for the remote and turned up the volume on the videogame while Bart snickered.
Oliver opened his mouth to remind him that he had hired him, but then he remembered that Chloe had been the one to talk him into it. AC had no experience as a bodyguard but Chloe had assured him that he could handle it. She’d given him a sob story when she’d wanted him to hire the mailroom kid and she’d gone on and on about how he was practically homeless and a steady job would be good for him and keep him off the streets. Oliver had to admit the IT guy was good with computers even though he had only gone to college for one year. But Oliver never would have hired any of them if Chloe hadn’t insisted that all three of them were a good fit for the company and he had agreed to trust her judgment.
That was turning out to be a costly mistake. He wondered when she’d decided to turn on him. She’d been on his side at one point or as on his side as she was willing to be. Oliver knew that Chloe wasn’t a fan of his lifestyle and she was always telling him that he needed to be more responsible and stop living his life in the tabloids. There were days when he was too hung over to argue and other days where he told her to mind her own business and do her job. Oliver knew she didn’t like him on those days and there were a few times he’d wondered if he’d pushed her far enough to actually walk out on him. But despite all of her misgivings, she had stood by him and she had always helped him keep things flowing at the company no matter what kind of shape he was in.
Contrary to what everyone thought, Oliver cared a great deal about Queen Industries. It was his father’s company and it was important to him that it remained successful. He knew that Chloe played a big part in that success because there were days where he couldn’t handle this life that he was expected to live. She was his right hand and she was the only person in his life who Oliver thought was actually loyal to him. Or she had been until someone had changed her mind. Perhaps that someone had offered Chloe all of this and she hadn’t been able to pass it up for whatever reason.
Tess was the one person Oliver could think of who had the resources to rival his and that was what it would take to pay for all of this equipment as well as the expenses that went into keeping the building itself running. Lex had cut her off, but she had her own money and connections that she’d developed over the years. Chloe and the others had said that Tess had nothing to do with this, but Oliver knew it had to be her. She was pissed off at him because their scheme wasn’t working fast enough and she was tired of living in California and working for him when all she wanted was to run her own company.
He never should have gone along with her insane plan to get her hands on the Luthor fortune. But when Lex had fired her after Lionel died, Oliver had seen it as an opportunity to take down his rival once and for all. Tess had inside information and she hated Lex more than she hated Oliver. Or at least that’s what he’d believed until he’d woken up with the worst headache ever and sporting the ridiculous leather outfit he was wearing.
Oliver glanced down at the vest and the pants that molded to his body like a second skin. There were gloves and armbands that looked like they had small green arrows attached to them. He wasn’t sure what those were made out of and he wished he’d taken a closer look before they’d tied him up. The boots on his feet were simple, but he’d noticed they made no noise when he moved. Now that he thought about it, the costume itself hadn’t made any noise either which seemed strange considering it was leather.
The entire thing had obviously been a custom design tailored specifically for him. He wondered how much something like this had cost and who had gone through the process of creating it. Oliver also wondered why someone had gone to all that trouble. He had to assume that it was Tess who had done it but her possible motives baffled him. Aside from the potential humiliation of someone seeing him dressed in green leather, Oliver didn’t really see how Tess could use this against him. Besides, he was in great shape so it wasn’t like putting him in something formfitting was going to embarrass him.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the kid from mailroom talking about deep dish pizza. Oliver’s stomach rumbled and he tried to remember the last time he had eaten. He recalled having lunch with Chloe in his office while they went over contracts for the merger she was pushing for with Jack Crane, but he was fairly certain that had been the day before. He wasn’t sure what time of day it was. The last thing he remembered before waking up on the couch was getting into his car at the office. He’d had a dinner or something to go to and he’d been running late.
“You should ask Chloe and Lois if they want anything,” AC said. Oliver watched him as he took the game controller and sat down on the couch, never taking his eyes of the TV as he talked to the mailroom kid. Bart, Oliver remembered.
“I think ‘licious is probably too sad about Bossman to eat but I’ll get an extra pizza just in case,” Bart said.
AC nodded. “I don’t like seeing Ollie like this so I can’t imagine what Chloe’s going through.”
Oliver frowned. No one had called him “Ollie” since he’d graduated from boarding school. Truthfully, he’d been glad to see the nickname go because hearing it had reminded him too much of his parents. They’d always called him Ollie unless he’d been in trouble, which he had been a lot of the time. But most of his employees addressed him as “Mr. Queen” except for Chloe and Tess who both called him Oliver. He’d heard Bart call him “Bossman” before and had ordered him to stop doing it but Bart obviously had issues with following directions.
He watched Bart walk over to Victor and they had a brief conversation about appetizers before Victor handed Bart a credit card and he made his way to the door. Victor glanced up and saw Oliver watching them, but said nothing and went back to focusing on the computer again. Oliver was getting really tired of people ignoring him. He glanced in AC’s direction. He was the one he’d spent the most time with aside from Chloe so maybe there was a chance he could get him to start talking.“What did you mean before when you said you can’t imagine what Chloe’s going through?” he asked.
AC turned his head and Oliver could see the surprise in his eyes before he covered it quickly. “She misses the real Ollie,” he said. A sad look crossed his face. “We all do,” he added before turning his attention back to the TV screen.
What the hell did that mean? Oliver wanted to scream and demanded answers but it didn’t seem like anyone cared enough to pay attention to him. Instead, they were only confusing him more. He was the real Oliver and he was going to make sure each and every one of them paid dearly for what they were doing to him. But Oliver still couldn’t figure out the purpose of this charade that seemed to get more elaborate by the minute. Now AC was acting like he was his friend instead of his employee. He had seemed genuinely upset when he’d said that he missed the real Ollie. It didn’t make any sense.
Oliver recalled something Chloe had said when he’d first woken up. She’d tried telling him that he was in a different reality and he had somehow switches places with the Oliver that she knew. Clearly that was part of the scheme that Tess had come up with. They were trying to make him think he was losing his mind and that was the point of this alternate reality world they were trying to convince him existed. They wanted him to think that they were all friends and he could trust them, especially Chloe.
AC and Bart were making it sound like this whole thing was affecting her the most. Bart said she was probably too sad about him to eat. Was she feeling guilty for her part in this? Oliver had no real attachment to any of the guys. They were his employees and he paid them to do their jobs and stay out of his way. But Chloe was different and Oliver figured that was why Tess had gone after her. This plan wouldn’t work without Chloe. She was the key to this whole thing because in her own way, she was the closest person to him.
“I need to talk to Chloe,” Oliver said. He glanced back and forth between AC and Victor, waiting for one of them to go and get her. Maybe it wasn’t too late for him to reason with her. He could make her see that siding with Tess was a mistake and all she had to do was let him go and he’d make sure nothing happened to her. He just wanted her to tell him the truth and tell him why Tess was doing this to him. What was in it for her? Did she want his money since their plan to take down Lex was taking too long?
Neither AC nor Victor acknowledged that he had said anything and Oliver sighed loudly, frustrated. “You’re all going to be sorry that you moved against me. I have more power and connections in this town than any of you can ever dream of. Tess isn’t going to be able to save any of you. I hope you know that,” he said as he glanced back and forth between the two men.
“Tess has nothing to do with this and you don’t live in this reality. Just sit there and shut up until we figure out a way to send you back,” Victor ordered.
Oliver gaped at him. These guys were really starting to get cocky with him. He wondered what Tess had promised them. She was probably going to go back on whatever it was. They were stupid for believing in her. Oliver glanced up toward the loft again. Chloe wasn’t stupid by any means and she’d never liked Tess. So why had she agreed to do this? Oliver’s mind drifted back over the past few days and tried to think if anything out of the ordinary had happened. Nothing was coming to mind.
But something of this caliber would take more than a few days to put together. Oliver glanced down at the suit he was wearing again. It had probably taken weeks to create and that wasn’t taking into account the time it had taken to design it and procure his measurements. He assumed Tess had taken care of that task since she was temporarily living with him even though they had separate bedrooms. Oliver knew he’d probably made it easy for her since he’d come home drunk and passed out on the couch more than once since they’d been married.
Oliver was pulled from his thoughts once again when he realized he had managed to work one of his hands out of the ropes. He looked over to make sure that the guys weren’t paying attention to him and shifted on the chair so he could loosen the other side. He knew if he attempted to run, they would just stop him again so he needed to come up with another escape plan. As he shifted, his hand brushed against the side of his thigh and for the first time, Oliver realized there was a holster there.
He rolled his head from side to side like he was trying to get a kink out of his neck and inspected the holster more closely as he leaned toward his right side. He could see more green arrows, but these were attached to a crossbow that was tucked into the holster. Oliver slid his hand down and ran his fingers over it, carefully avoiding the trigger to make sure he didn’t accidentally set it off before he was ready. It seemed easy enough to use but the angle was going to be tricky.
The double doors flew open again and Oliver was surprised to see Bart rushing back in with a large stack of pizzas. He hadn’t been gone very long and Oliver tried to see the cartons so he could figure out which part of town they were in. He needed to know which direction would bring him to the closest police station so he could report his kidnapping. Oliver tightened his grip on the crossbow and waited for his chance to escape.