Gift of Fate Chapter 9 (10/?)
Summary: Oliver has been missing for two years, ever since his boat went down in a sudden storm. Chloe is still grieving for him. What will it take for her to move on and live her life again? What happened to Oliver? Will he ever come back? And who's behind the mysterious disappearances in Star City?
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author's Note: Big thanks to jessicaj703 for all the help on this chapter. I tend to get caught up in the writing and not really think about how it sounds to other people. This is the first time I've tried to write Oliver actually being the Green Arrow, so I could use all the feedback you can give me!
Chapter 9
He was walking home when he saw them. Police cars gathered around an alley, an ambulance off to the side, a covered gurney in the back. It was a scene that was all too familiar. He had seen it almost every day on his way home from work, or on the local news. It was probably stupid for him to walk the few blocks between Queen Industries and his apartment, but some part of him wanted to know what was going on in the city. In the two months since he’d stopped that mugging it had only gotten worse.
Oliver paused across the street, morbid curiosity stilling his steps. He watched as a second, much smaller body, was pulled out of the alley. Jaw tight, he forced himself to keep walking. It was time to do something, to stop what was happening. If no one else was going to do it, then he would.
It was sooner than he would have liked -- he hadn’t had a chance to practice, to get used to the gear and the responsibility, not to mention the fact that he’d told Chloe that it would be a few more weeks after R and D had run into some problems with his gear. But he couldn’t wait any longer. People were dying. He had to do something about it.
***
The news reports were becoming repetitive. Every day was the same story, with only slight changes to the details. Someone had died at the hands of another, whether in a mugging, or a robbery, or for no apparent reason whatsoever. Chloe was getting sick of it. Physically sick of it. Things had just suddenly gotten much worse and she knew it was bothering Oliver. He’d been throwing himself into training and developing the rest of his gear for weeks. It was all supposed to have been ready three weeks ago, but due to some foreseen complications, it been completed only a few days ago.
Unable to listen to the news any more, Chloe turned the TV off and waited. Oliver would be back soon and she had a feeling she knew what he would want to do when he got there.
Sure enough, when the elevator doors slid open five minutes later, Oliver started talking as soon as he saw her.
“I know I said that I’d wait a little bit longer, but I can’t,” he said, running his hands through his hair in agitation. “Things have gotten too bad. Someone’s got to do something and--”
“No one else will,” she cut in. “I know, Ollie. You’re right. You can’t wait and I won’t stop you.”
“You won’t?”
She smiled slightly. “No. Just tell me all about it when you get back.”
Oliver grinned and, though his expression was strained, she could tell that he was grateful for the support.
“Go on,” she said. “Get ready. I’ll be right here.”
Without another word he disappeared down the hall. Chloe leaned back against the couch and tried not to let the worry overwhelm her. On a certain level, she knew that Oliver could handle himself. But she was more than aware of how bad things were out there and the odds that he would make it back to the penthouse unscathed were slim.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there when she heard Oliver calling her name. Shaking off the fears and doubts, Chloe stood and walked down the hallway to the office where he’d set up a secret room for all of his gear. When the contractor had asked questions, he’d explained it away as a vault for company documents.
Tapping on the door, Chloe stuck her head in to find Oliver standing just inside the secret room. The walls were backlit with green light. One wall hung with several different bows, all ranging in size from a small crossbow to a full-sized longbow. The opposite wall contained well organized shelves of various small knives and gadgets as well as arrows carefully placed in holders according to their purpose. The back wall was empty, but she knew that was where his costume usually hung. At the moment, he was wearing it.
She’d never actually seen him in the full gear. The leather vest was snug, but not too tight, and left his well-muscled arms bare save for the bands he wore. His leather pants were also tight, to cut down on excess fabric, but not tight enough to restrict movement. He had the hood pushed back and was wearing leather gloves. Chloe felt her pulse increase slightly and her body temperature rose at the mere sight of him. There was an ache deep in her chest. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him hard, to be close to him the way she once was. But she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind before they could become too overwhelming. It wasn’t time yet. She wasn’t sure when it would be.
When he finally noticing her standing there, Oliver looked up, and smiled nervously. “What do you think?”
“Impressive,” she nodded. “I take it your ego is as strong as ever?”
“Funny,” he smirked. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Depends on the favor.”
“Don’t worry, it’s right up your alley,” he said, tossing a small device. She caught it and held it up. It looked like a bluetooth earpiece. Oliver waved her into the room, grabbing a remote off the bookshelf and hitting a button as he did. A computer screen started to from the ceiling. Pulling a wireless keyboard out of a drawer, he hit a few keys before turning back to Chloe.
“This program taps into all city frequencies and alarms,” he explained. “It identifies them and plots them on this map. This program,” he hit another button on the remote and another screen lowered from the ceiling, “brings up satellite images of the entire city in real time and refreshes every few seconds. It’ll pick up crimes that aren’t reported to the police. And this one,” a third screen appeared next to the first two, “taps into 911 calls and scans for certain words and phrases that might indicate a situation. My comm is GPS enabled, so you can track me on the first screen and the second screen in linked up to the video in my glasses, which,” he added with a slight smirk, “are night vision capable.”
Thoroughly impressed with the setup, Chloe looked from one screen to the next then turned to Oliver. “What’s all this got to do with me?”
“I need someone to monitor all of this and help guide me through the city to get to the crimes as they happen,” he explained. “You up for it?”
She smiled, her fingers curling around her comm device. “Definitely.”
Returning her smile with a broad grin of his own, Oliver pulled up his hood and slipped on a pair of dark glasses. “Then I should get out there. Glad to know you’ve got my back, sidekick.”
“How am I going to convince you to stop calling me that?” she groaned.
“Come up with a suitable code name and we’ll talk,” he challenged.
Chloe nodded, her eyes twinkling. “What am I supposed to call you?”
Reaching up to press a button on the side of his glasses, he started backing toward the balcony doors. When he spoke, his voice was deep and mechanical. “Green Arrow.”
He pulled his bow out of the holster at his hip and it immediately expanded to its full size of about three feet. Anchoring one end of a thin steel cable in the brick near the door, he fired an arrow out over the city. With one final grin, he hit a button on the bow and it collapsed again, this time into a kind of pulley that he hooked onto the line before sailing into the night. Shaking her head, Chloe slipped the comm over her ear and turned back to the screens.
“Arrow, you’re nearest 911 is three blocks east on 32nd Street, in an alley between Markham and Fredericks. Robbery in progress.” She glanced at the satellite images. “Looks like there are two men. I don’t know if they’re armed, so be careful.”
“Copy that, sidekick,” Oliver said. She could hear the grin in his voice and a moment later the comm crackled as he soared across the rooftops.
Chloe saw him land on the roof across from the convenience store being robbed. She bit her lip and grabbed the desk chair from the office, a blanket from the closet, and a cup of coffee, settling in for a long night.
Crouched on top of the building, Oliver felt the rush of adrenaline pumping through him. He turned and shot a zipline into the building behind him and lowered himself down to the street.
He carefully scanned the building. The two burglars were attempting to break into the cash register. Smirking, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it into the building. It landed, shuddering in the wall right above their heads. Startled, the two men turned to look up at the arrow as it began to release a green gas. Within moments, they both hit the ground, unconscious.
Oliver waited long enough for the knockout gas to dissipate before heading into the store. He zip-tied the burglars’ wrists together and tied them to the counter. Straightening up, he touched the comm. “Got ‘em, sidekick.”
“Cool,” Chloe said admiringly. “I placed a call to the police, so I’d get out of there if I were you. I doubt they’ll appreciate the help.”
“No kidding,” he chuckled, moving back to the zipline and retracting it to return to the roof. “Where to next?”
For the next several hours, Chloe guided Oliver from crisis to crisis. He stopped three more muggings, a carjacking, and a drug deal. The sense of accomplishment and rightness washing through him was the most amazing high. He knew there were still people out there who needed help, and that moat of them hadn’t gotten any, despite his presence. But some small dent had been made in the crime wave and for the moment, he’d take that.
He activated the comm in his ear. “I think I’m gonna head back, sidekick.” Part of him wanted to keep at it through the night, but he could feel fatigue tugging at him through the adrenaline rush and he knew it was dangerous to be out there when he was half asleep. “Anything on my way back?”
Feeling a bit relived that Oliver was on his way home, and in one piece, if a little bruised from missing a landing and slamming into a brick wall -- she was going to have to poke fun at him him about that -- Chloe scanned the map of the city. “Two blocks north. Looks like an attempted mugging. Hurry before it gets ugly.”
Nodding grimly, he ran across the rooftops, easily traversing the narrow gaps until he reached the alley. The mugger had a woman pinned to the wall, a gun pressed to her temple. Her purse lay on the ground at her feet, but he was shouting at her for more.
They were too close together for a taser arrow, so he set his teeth and aimed carefully for the hand holding the gun. He waited a beat, reading the man’s body language to be sure that he wouldn’t move, and released the arrow. It sliced through the air with a distinctive whine. The mugger howled, jerking backward. He clutched his arm, the arrow protruding from his wrist. As he dropped to his knees, Oliver landed behind him.
“Run,” he said to the woman.
Whimpering slightly, she took off out of the alley. The mugger struggled to his feet, grabbing the gun with his uninjured hand. Oliver easily knocked it away and landed a punishing blow to the man’s temple. He crumpled in a heap.
Three more men materialized out of the shadows, wielding knives instead of guns. Oliver whipped out his crossbow and managed to hit one with a taser arrow before the other two got right in front of him. Dropping the bow, he blocked a blow aimed at his ribs and dodged another one aimed for his neck. He spun around, twisting one guy’s arm behind his back until he dropped the knife. Oliver threw him into the alley wall, knocking him unconscious. The remaining man lunged at him. Oliver easily dodged him and kicked him in the gut. Another blow to the head and the guy was also out cold.
As he reached for the zip-ties in his utility belt, Oliver suddenly felt a sharp fiery pain in his side. He twisted away reflexively. The guy he’d tazed stood in front of him. For the first time, Oliver noticed the heavy leather jacket the man was wearing. It had obviously helped block some of the charge of the taser. Cursing, Oliver dodged another attack. He grimaced with the movement pulled at his stab wound.
Seeing that his opponent was wounded, the mugger smirked. Cursing under his breath, Oliver managed to knock the other man’s feet out from beneath him. Pain shot up his side and he fell to his knees. Realizing that he was in no condition to fight, he grabbed another taser arrow and jammed it into the mugger’s neck, praying that the leather of his gloves would block the charge.
It did. The man convulsed and passed out.
Moving slowly to avoid opening his wound further, Oliver tied the men up.
“Arrow, are you all right?” Chloe asked in his ear. He could hear the barest hint of worry in her voice.
“Relatively,” he answered, grimacing at the blood on his hands.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.
He could have kicked himself for that. “Another mugger that I didn’t see. Got me in the side with a knife. It hurts, but it’s not bad,” he added quickly.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” she said shortly. “You just get your ass back here.”
Why do I get the feeling that dealing with more bad guys would be easier than dealing with Chloe? Oliver wondered as he fired a line up to the roof and started on his way back to the penthouse.
***
Chloe was waiting in the office with the first aid kit when he landed a little awkwardly on the balcony. Crossing the city on a zip-line couldn’t have been easy with a knife wound to the ribs. He was going to have to find an alternate means of transportation.
“Take your vest and shirt off,” Chloe ordered the moment he stepped inside.
Rather than argue, Oliver did as she said. She glanced at the hole leather and said, “You know you’re probably going to have to replace that, right?”
“I’ve got spares,” he chuckled, trying to hide the wince as he pulled his black undershirt off.
“Of course you do. Sit down and let me get a look at this.”
Again, he obliged rather than argue. Chloe gently inspected the wound, probing it lightly with her fingertips. A shiver coursed down Oliver’s spine at her touch, but he kept his body still through sheer force of will.
“You’re lucky,” she said softly. “It’s not deep.”
She reached for the antiseptic, forcing herself to look only at the wound, not at his sculpted abs, or at his face. Remaining clinical and professional, she wet a cotton ball and gently cleaned the injury. Oliver winced slightly and she automatically took his hand in hers before continuing. When she was satisfied the cut was clean, she slid her hand out of his and carefully bandaged it.
For the first time in a long time, she was acutely aware of how close they were to each other. Except for the occasional flash of emotion, she’d managed to firmly stick him in the friend box. Standing there in front of him, pressed up against his legs, her hands on his side, sent a shot of lust and something more right through her. She glanced up at him and caught the strange expression in his eyes. Her breath caught slightly. Forcing herself back to reality, Chloe stepped away and began packing up the first aid kit.
Oliver felt the loss of her touch with almost physical pain. It had been so long since they’d touched as more than just friends and he yearned for it. He yearned for the feel of her lips on his, their bodies pressed against each other. But she wasn’t ready.
“Not bad for my first time out,” he joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
“Not bad,” Chloe agreed. “You didn’t die, which is a good thing.”
“And I helped people.”
“Always an upside. It’s going to be all over the papers.”
Oliver cocked his head, an idea striking him for the first time. “Are you going to write about this?”
“Are you seriously asking if I’m going to unmask you?” she snapped.
“After all the times you didn’t expose Clark don’t you think I know you better than that?” he exclaimed, slightly offended by her assumption. “I meant are you going to write about my alter ego for the Register?”
“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened just the tiniest bit as she shrugged. “Probably. We’ll see where it goes. If people start labeling you as a bad guy, I may have to step in.”
“It would be appreciated,” he chuckled. Seeing Chloe yawn, he added, “I’m going to pack up my gear and get some sleep. Why don’t you go on ahead?”
“You don’t need a hand?”
Oliver shook his head and grinned. “Nah. This’ll only take a minute. Thanks for all the help tonight. I wouldn’t have done nearly as much good without my guardian angel.”
“I’m hardly an angel,” she scoffed. “But I’m glad I could help. I like actually know where you are instead of just sitting here imagining all the scenarios. I’d probably worry myself into an early grave.”
“We wouldn’t want that.”
“Definitely not. Though next time I’m going to need more coffee.”
At her words, Oliver looked up hopefully. “There’s going to be a next time?”
“Unless this,” she gestured at his uniform, “is going to be a one time thing, there’s definitely going to be a next time.”
“We need to come up with a real code name for you,” he teased.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “We’ll see. Good night, Ollie.”
“Night.”
Alone in the room, he changed into a pair of sweats, took some ibuprofen, and finished cleaning and putting away his gear. With any luck, he was in the process of saving Star City. Now if only he could find a way to save his relationship with Chloe, everything would be right in his world.
Chapter 10 comes with a big surprise!
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author's Note: Big thanks to jessicaj703 for all the help on this chapter. I tend to get caught up in the writing and not really think about how it sounds to other people. This is the first time I've tried to write Oliver actually being the Green Arrow, so I could use all the feedback you can give me!
Chapter 9
He was walking home when he saw them. Police cars gathered around an alley, an ambulance off to the side, a covered gurney in the back. It was a scene that was all too familiar. He had seen it almost every day on his way home from work, or on the local news. It was probably stupid for him to walk the few blocks between Queen Industries and his apartment, but some part of him wanted to know what was going on in the city. In the two months since he’d stopped that mugging it had only gotten worse.
Oliver paused across the street, morbid curiosity stilling his steps. He watched as a second, much smaller body, was pulled out of the alley. Jaw tight, he forced himself to keep walking. It was time to do something, to stop what was happening. If no one else was going to do it, then he would.
It was sooner than he would have liked -- he hadn’t had a chance to practice, to get used to the gear and the responsibility, not to mention the fact that he’d told Chloe that it would be a few more weeks after R and D had run into some problems with his gear. But he couldn’t wait any longer. People were dying. He had to do something about it.
***
The news reports were becoming repetitive. Every day was the same story, with only slight changes to the details. Someone had died at the hands of another, whether in a mugging, or a robbery, or for no apparent reason whatsoever. Chloe was getting sick of it. Physically sick of it. Things had just suddenly gotten much worse and she knew it was bothering Oliver. He’d been throwing himself into training and developing the rest of his gear for weeks. It was all supposed to have been ready three weeks ago, but due to some foreseen complications, it been completed only a few days ago.
Unable to listen to the news any more, Chloe turned the TV off and waited. Oliver would be back soon and she had a feeling she knew what he would want to do when he got there.
Sure enough, when the elevator doors slid open five minutes later, Oliver started talking as soon as he saw her.
“I know I said that I’d wait a little bit longer, but I can’t,” he said, running his hands through his hair in agitation. “Things have gotten too bad. Someone’s got to do something and--”
“No one else will,” she cut in. “I know, Ollie. You’re right. You can’t wait and I won’t stop you.”
“You won’t?”
She smiled slightly. “No. Just tell me all about it when you get back.”
Oliver grinned and, though his expression was strained, she could tell that he was grateful for the support.
“Go on,” she said. “Get ready. I’ll be right here.”
Without another word he disappeared down the hall. Chloe leaned back against the couch and tried not to let the worry overwhelm her. On a certain level, she knew that Oliver could handle himself. But she was more than aware of how bad things were out there and the odds that he would make it back to the penthouse unscathed were slim.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there when she heard Oliver calling her name. Shaking off the fears and doubts, Chloe stood and walked down the hallway to the office where he’d set up a secret room for all of his gear. When the contractor had asked questions, he’d explained it away as a vault for company documents.
Tapping on the door, Chloe stuck her head in to find Oliver standing just inside the secret room. The walls were backlit with green light. One wall hung with several different bows, all ranging in size from a small crossbow to a full-sized longbow. The opposite wall contained well organized shelves of various small knives and gadgets as well as arrows carefully placed in holders according to their purpose. The back wall was empty, but she knew that was where his costume usually hung. At the moment, he was wearing it.
She’d never actually seen him in the full gear. The leather vest was snug, but not too tight, and left his well-muscled arms bare save for the bands he wore. His leather pants were also tight, to cut down on excess fabric, but not tight enough to restrict movement. He had the hood pushed back and was wearing leather gloves. Chloe felt her pulse increase slightly and her body temperature rose at the mere sight of him. There was an ache deep in her chest. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him hard, to be close to him the way she once was. But she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind before they could become too overwhelming. It wasn’t time yet. She wasn’t sure when it would be.
When he finally noticing her standing there, Oliver looked up, and smiled nervously. “What do you think?”
“Impressive,” she nodded. “I take it your ego is as strong as ever?”
“Funny,” he smirked. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Depends on the favor.”
“Don’t worry, it’s right up your alley,” he said, tossing a small device. She caught it and held it up. It looked like a bluetooth earpiece. Oliver waved her into the room, grabbing a remote off the bookshelf and hitting a button as he did. A computer screen started to from the ceiling. Pulling a wireless keyboard out of a drawer, he hit a few keys before turning back to Chloe.
“This program taps into all city frequencies and alarms,” he explained. “It identifies them and plots them on this map. This program,” he hit another button on the remote and another screen lowered from the ceiling, “brings up satellite images of the entire city in real time and refreshes every few seconds. It’ll pick up crimes that aren’t reported to the police. And this one,” a third screen appeared next to the first two, “taps into 911 calls and scans for certain words and phrases that might indicate a situation. My comm is GPS enabled, so you can track me on the first screen and the second screen in linked up to the video in my glasses, which,” he added with a slight smirk, “are night vision capable.”
Thoroughly impressed with the setup, Chloe looked from one screen to the next then turned to Oliver. “What’s all this got to do with me?”
“I need someone to monitor all of this and help guide me through the city to get to the crimes as they happen,” he explained. “You up for it?”
She smiled, her fingers curling around her comm device. “Definitely.”
Returning her smile with a broad grin of his own, Oliver pulled up his hood and slipped on a pair of dark glasses. “Then I should get out there. Glad to know you’ve got my back, sidekick.”
“How am I going to convince you to stop calling me that?” she groaned.
“Come up with a suitable code name and we’ll talk,” he challenged.
Chloe nodded, her eyes twinkling. “What am I supposed to call you?”
Reaching up to press a button on the side of his glasses, he started backing toward the balcony doors. When he spoke, his voice was deep and mechanical. “Green Arrow.”
He pulled his bow out of the holster at his hip and it immediately expanded to its full size of about three feet. Anchoring one end of a thin steel cable in the brick near the door, he fired an arrow out over the city. With one final grin, he hit a button on the bow and it collapsed again, this time into a kind of pulley that he hooked onto the line before sailing into the night. Shaking her head, Chloe slipped the comm over her ear and turned back to the screens.
“Arrow, you’re nearest 911 is three blocks east on 32nd Street, in an alley between Markham and Fredericks. Robbery in progress.” She glanced at the satellite images. “Looks like there are two men. I don’t know if they’re armed, so be careful.”
“Copy that, sidekick,” Oliver said. She could hear the grin in his voice and a moment later the comm crackled as he soared across the rooftops.
Chloe saw him land on the roof across from the convenience store being robbed. She bit her lip and grabbed the desk chair from the office, a blanket from the closet, and a cup of coffee, settling in for a long night.
Crouched on top of the building, Oliver felt the rush of adrenaline pumping through him. He turned and shot a zipline into the building behind him and lowered himself down to the street.
He carefully scanned the building. The two burglars were attempting to break into the cash register. Smirking, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it into the building. It landed, shuddering in the wall right above their heads. Startled, the two men turned to look up at the arrow as it began to release a green gas. Within moments, they both hit the ground, unconscious.
Oliver waited long enough for the knockout gas to dissipate before heading into the store. He zip-tied the burglars’ wrists together and tied them to the counter. Straightening up, he touched the comm. “Got ‘em, sidekick.”
“Cool,” Chloe said admiringly. “I placed a call to the police, so I’d get out of there if I were you. I doubt they’ll appreciate the help.”
“No kidding,” he chuckled, moving back to the zipline and retracting it to return to the roof. “Where to next?”
For the next several hours, Chloe guided Oliver from crisis to crisis. He stopped three more muggings, a carjacking, and a drug deal. The sense of accomplishment and rightness washing through him was the most amazing high. He knew there were still people out there who needed help, and that moat of them hadn’t gotten any, despite his presence. But some small dent had been made in the crime wave and for the moment, he’d take that.
He activated the comm in his ear. “I think I’m gonna head back, sidekick.” Part of him wanted to keep at it through the night, but he could feel fatigue tugging at him through the adrenaline rush and he knew it was dangerous to be out there when he was half asleep. “Anything on my way back?”
Feeling a bit relived that Oliver was on his way home, and in one piece, if a little bruised from missing a landing and slamming into a brick wall -- she was going to have to poke fun at him him about that -- Chloe scanned the map of the city. “Two blocks north. Looks like an attempted mugging. Hurry before it gets ugly.”
Nodding grimly, he ran across the rooftops, easily traversing the narrow gaps until he reached the alley. The mugger had a woman pinned to the wall, a gun pressed to her temple. Her purse lay on the ground at her feet, but he was shouting at her for more.
They were too close together for a taser arrow, so he set his teeth and aimed carefully for the hand holding the gun. He waited a beat, reading the man’s body language to be sure that he wouldn’t move, and released the arrow. It sliced through the air with a distinctive whine. The mugger howled, jerking backward. He clutched his arm, the arrow protruding from his wrist. As he dropped to his knees, Oliver landed behind him.
“Run,” he said to the woman.
Whimpering slightly, she took off out of the alley. The mugger struggled to his feet, grabbing the gun with his uninjured hand. Oliver easily knocked it away and landed a punishing blow to the man’s temple. He crumpled in a heap.
Three more men materialized out of the shadows, wielding knives instead of guns. Oliver whipped out his crossbow and managed to hit one with a taser arrow before the other two got right in front of him. Dropping the bow, he blocked a blow aimed at his ribs and dodged another one aimed for his neck. He spun around, twisting one guy’s arm behind his back until he dropped the knife. Oliver threw him into the alley wall, knocking him unconscious. The remaining man lunged at him. Oliver easily dodged him and kicked him in the gut. Another blow to the head and the guy was also out cold.
As he reached for the zip-ties in his utility belt, Oliver suddenly felt a sharp fiery pain in his side. He twisted away reflexively. The guy he’d tazed stood in front of him. For the first time, Oliver noticed the heavy leather jacket the man was wearing. It had obviously helped block some of the charge of the taser. Cursing, Oliver dodged another attack. He grimaced with the movement pulled at his stab wound.
Seeing that his opponent was wounded, the mugger smirked. Cursing under his breath, Oliver managed to knock the other man’s feet out from beneath him. Pain shot up his side and he fell to his knees. Realizing that he was in no condition to fight, he grabbed another taser arrow and jammed it into the mugger’s neck, praying that the leather of his gloves would block the charge.
It did. The man convulsed and passed out.
Moving slowly to avoid opening his wound further, Oliver tied the men up.
“Arrow, are you all right?” Chloe asked in his ear. He could hear the barest hint of worry in her voice.
“Relatively,” he answered, grimacing at the blood on his hands.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.
He could have kicked himself for that. “Another mugger that I didn’t see. Got me in the side with a knife. It hurts, but it’s not bad,” he added quickly.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” she said shortly. “You just get your ass back here.”
Why do I get the feeling that dealing with more bad guys would be easier than dealing with Chloe? Oliver wondered as he fired a line up to the roof and started on his way back to the penthouse.
***
Chloe was waiting in the office with the first aid kit when he landed a little awkwardly on the balcony. Crossing the city on a zip-line couldn’t have been easy with a knife wound to the ribs. He was going to have to find an alternate means of transportation.
“Take your vest and shirt off,” Chloe ordered the moment he stepped inside.
Rather than argue, Oliver did as she said. She glanced at the hole leather and said, “You know you’re probably going to have to replace that, right?”
“I’ve got spares,” he chuckled, trying to hide the wince as he pulled his black undershirt off.
“Of course you do. Sit down and let me get a look at this.”
Again, he obliged rather than argue. Chloe gently inspected the wound, probing it lightly with her fingertips. A shiver coursed down Oliver’s spine at her touch, but he kept his body still through sheer force of will.
“You’re lucky,” she said softly. “It’s not deep.”
She reached for the antiseptic, forcing herself to look only at the wound, not at his sculpted abs, or at his face. Remaining clinical and professional, she wet a cotton ball and gently cleaned the injury. Oliver winced slightly and she automatically took his hand in hers before continuing. When she was satisfied the cut was clean, she slid her hand out of his and carefully bandaged it.
For the first time in a long time, she was acutely aware of how close they were to each other. Except for the occasional flash of emotion, she’d managed to firmly stick him in the friend box. Standing there in front of him, pressed up against his legs, her hands on his side, sent a shot of lust and something more right through her. She glanced up at him and caught the strange expression in his eyes. Her breath caught slightly. Forcing herself back to reality, Chloe stepped away and began packing up the first aid kit.
Oliver felt the loss of her touch with almost physical pain. It had been so long since they’d touched as more than just friends and he yearned for it. He yearned for the feel of her lips on his, their bodies pressed against each other. But she wasn’t ready.
“Not bad for my first time out,” he joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
“Not bad,” Chloe agreed. “You didn’t die, which is a good thing.”
“And I helped people.”
“Always an upside. It’s going to be all over the papers.”
Oliver cocked his head, an idea striking him for the first time. “Are you going to write about this?”
“Are you seriously asking if I’m going to unmask you?” she snapped.
“After all the times you didn’t expose Clark don’t you think I know you better than that?” he exclaimed, slightly offended by her assumption. “I meant are you going to write about my alter ego for the Register?”
“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened just the tiniest bit as she shrugged. “Probably. We’ll see where it goes. If people start labeling you as a bad guy, I may have to step in.”
“It would be appreciated,” he chuckled. Seeing Chloe yawn, he added, “I’m going to pack up my gear and get some sleep. Why don’t you go on ahead?”
“You don’t need a hand?”
Oliver shook his head and grinned. “Nah. This’ll only take a minute. Thanks for all the help tonight. I wouldn’t have done nearly as much good without my guardian angel.”
“I’m hardly an angel,” she scoffed. “But I’m glad I could help. I like actually know where you are instead of just sitting here imagining all the scenarios. I’d probably worry myself into an early grave.”
“We wouldn’t want that.”
“Definitely not. Though next time I’m going to need more coffee.”
At her words, Oliver looked up hopefully. “There’s going to be a next time?”
“Unless this,” she gestured at his uniform, “is going to be a one time thing, there’s definitely going to be a next time.”
“We need to come up with a real code name for you,” he teased.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “We’ll see. Good night, Ollie.”
“Night.”
Alone in the room, he changed into a pair of sweats, took some ibuprofen, and finished cleaning and putting away his gear. With any luck, he was in the process of saving Star City. Now if only he could find a way to save his relationship with Chloe, everything would be right in his world.
Chapter 10 comes with a big surprise!