Fic: Family Ties, Part 2 (DCU; HET)
Author's Notes: People are going to argue with me over Roy's name, more specifically placement of William and Roy. Some Who's Who put the name as Roy William...other Secret Files and Origins put it as William Roy. William Roy, to me, rolls off the tongue easier, more melodically, especially with the last name. Above all, the Irish are a lyrical, musical, talkative lot, so I've always favored William Roy Harper, Jr. based on that piece of his background alone. It's my story, and I'm sticking to it. LOL
The background on Roy's father has also been sparse and vaguely alluded to, mainly in his occupation. To my knowledge, no concrete, in stone ruling was made on Will Harper's background BEFORE he became a father and a forest ranger in Arizona. Again, this is my story and I'm stickin' to it. ;)
The photo album had a broken spine and a peeling cover. The pages were cracked at the edges and a couple of them had missing corners. It had the look of a book of photographs that travelled far and been used frequently. Roy pulled it from the drawer in his office desk but hesitated before placing it into Dinah's hands. He sat heavily into his office chair and leaned back, closing his eyes as he listened to the pages of the album being turned. No one else in the room said a word.
Everyone from the Watchtower conference room was now crammed into his cozy office. Dick and Wally were ensconced on the tiny sofa Roy tucked into a corner for quick naps. Oliver and Hal Jordan stood in the doorway, with Hal leaning in from the hallway, his shoulder on the doorjamb and Ollie resting his back against the inward opened door. Mari, aka Vixen, was cross legged on the floor; he could feel her concerned gaze while Dinah silently stood over him as she flipped through the photos.
"These are your father's." It truly wasn't a question, more of a statement really, but Roy felt compelled to answer all the same.
"Yes, and don't bother looking on the backs of the pictures for information. I've flipped over every single one of them a million times looking for dates, locations, names, anything to discover where they were taken and who those people were. I know a little about my father's past, not much mind you, but I know what kind of man he was." Roy's tone turned defensive. "He was a good man, he was a hero. He saved people's lives and gave his own to do it."
The room fell completely silent, not a ruffle of paper or turning of page disturbed it. No one moved, afraid that if they said anything they would be arguing with Roy regarding his proclamation.
Finally Ollie spoke. "We're not saying your father wasn't brave, Roy, *or* a hero. He proved that saving those kids in that forest fire. Everyone, though, has a past, skeletons in the closet. William Harper was not perfect-"
Roy sat up with a jolt. "I *know* he wasn't perfect!" he spat out angrily, facing Ollie defiantly. "God! Do you think it's easy to ignore that my own father was a member of a extremist subsect of the Irish Republican Army and may have helped bomb various cities and destroy lives? Do you think it's easy for me to know that my father turned traitor on those he considered his family and brethren, selling them out to Interpol in exchange for amnesty and a new life? Do you think I know it wasn't easy for him to take me and run away from everything he believed in when he realized it wasn't right after all? Do you think it was easy for him to raise a child alone because I sure do!" Roy flung his arm in the direction of Lian's room. "I know my father wasn't perfect!" he shouted, emotion welling through him like a wave.
Ollie froze while Roy's tirade continued to echo through the room. Hal pulled back fully into the hallway while Dinah stepped between Roy and Ollie in case Roy threw a punch in his frustration. She knew Roy would have no compunction hitting Ollie but he would never, ever strike Dinah, and not just because she'd wipe the floor with him. The reason was because he considered her his mother, even though there wasn't much disparity in their ages; only about ten years in fact, if that much. It was the maternal feelings Dinah had for Roy that prompted her to ask of him to give them more knowledge that was painful for Roy to bear.
"Tell us what you know about your father."
"The back of the album," Roy huffed, falling back into the chair, causing it to clunk in protest.
Dinah closed the book carefully, flipped open the back cover and revealed a file folder. She froze a second when she opened the broken seal of the black file folder simply labeled "Harper, William Roy. Senior", before pulling out the contents. Inside the black folder was a red file folder tucked neatly inside a blue folder tucked equally neatly into a yellow one. "Roy, where did you get this?" she asked in a near, reverent whisper.
Roy smirked. "I stole it, but I'm pretty sure they know I have it." He reached into the open desk drawer and pulled out another black file folder with the name "Harper, William Roy. Junior" on it. "An old pal in Checkmate gave me the file on me. Interesting read, apparently I'm so maverick I give the mavericks heart attacks."
"What does the black folder mean?" whispered Wally to Dick.
Dick frowned at the two envelopes. "It means Interpol *and* C.I.A. The red file means it started with the F.B.I. The blue folder means C.B.I."
"And the yellow?" asked Ollie.
Roy's smile turned wolfish as he opened his eyes. "MI-5. Me and the old man have files in a lot of places. Who knows what the French and the Israelis have."
Hal snorted. "Does CIA and Interpol have their own colors separately?"
"Purple's CIA and orange is Interpol. We're special. Not everyone gets a lovely black label." Roy's smile faded. "I have to check on Lian." He shouldered his way out of the room and down the hall, leaving everyone in his office, still staring at the folders in Dinah's hands.
"Oh dear," she said.
* * * * *
"Roy?" Roy half-turned to face two of his best friends. Wally and Dick stood side by side in the doorway of his daughter's room. Lian, fitful in her fevered sleep and her father's earlier shouting, had thrown off her blankets and Roy was busy tucking her back in. At the arrival of the group of costumed heroes in Roy's office, Omar discreetly disappeared. No one knew where Roy found Omar let alone how Roy talked the giant African-American to play babysitter to a six year old firecracker like Lian. The man was discreet and efficient. Roy trusted Omar with his most precious possession, so that was good enough for everyone else.
"You okay, man?" Wally walked over to the window and tweaked the curtain shut a bit more, enclosing the room in a comforting cocoon of shadow. Roy nodded mechanically. "You've been hiding this for a while, haven't you?"
Roy's mouth twitched into a pained smile. "Hiding it? No, but I'm not going to tell everyone I know."
"We're family, Roy," began Dick but Roy glared him silent.
"Have you told me every little thing about *your* dead parents, Dick?" snapped Roy, still keeping his voice at a near whisper for Lian's sake.
Dick stiffened but Wally jumped to Dick's defense. "Roy, Dick's father wasn't an IRA bomber."
"And neither was *my* father," Roy said snidely. "Or did you miss the part where he turned traitor and had to run for it or be killed?"
Dick and Wally frowned at each other. "I don't understand," Dick confessed. "You just said that-"
"My father *trained* with them, he plotted with them, but when it came down to the follow through, he balked. He was young, younger than us. It was probably all a game, an exciting, rebellious game until it he realized that it really wasn't and the kind of people he was with were serious. *That's* when he turned on them." Roy hung his head, marshaling his thoughts. "In the file are some interviews made with those that were captured. Despite their snide remarks regarding his honor and his so-called treason to their organization, they all agreed that they had been shocked to have a man like my father join their organization. I think one guy said that he seemed more suited to becoming a priest than a fighter for the cause."
"He was a pacifist?" Wally sounded amazed.
Roy snorted. "I wouldn't go that far. My father had no problem firing guns or engaging in combat. I think he had issues with blowing up school buses, shopping malls and other civilian, non-military targets. And *that* is what Saorfaidh sibh Éire targets. To them the enemy is the enemy, no matter their age or function in society."
Dick watched his friend's agitation flicker over his expressive features. Roy had always been the loose cannon of their age group in the costumed community and it wasn't just because he was the protege of the maverick Green Arrow. Roy contained a personal chaos deep inside him, secret feelings, thoughts, and ideals that were incongruous with his projected mien to the outside world. Those that knew the archer best recognized that aspect of him churning below the surface but it was a rare occasion that the chaos came to the fore. Even now Dick could see the storm brewing below a fine glaze of civility; it would take little to crack through the shell and spring the chaos forth. The question that bothered Dick was whether or not Roy could handle having a threat like this strike so close to home, the one thing Roy guarded more zealously than his daughter: his past.
* * * * *
"This is serious." She was stating the obvious but Mari McCabe felt it needed to be said outloud. "Not that I've ever seen Roy deal badly with a conflict of interest but-" She stopped talking at the snorts of derision from Dinah, Hal and Ollie. "But obviously you have," she amended.
In unison the three of them said, "Cheshire."
"Mmm," Mari agreed, thinking over what she knew about Roy and the infamous assassin. "Valid point." She hesitated. "Could this be a problem, if this woman has ties to Roy's biological father?"
Dinah looked at Mari in amazement. "Haven't you put this together yet?" She turned to Hal and Ollie. Ollie shared her grim expression; Hal still frowned at the file in her hand. "Eva O'Keeffe could be Roy's biological *mother*. More than just a conflict of interest."
Mari and Hal both looked confused. "What do you mean, she could be?" asked Hal. "Look at his damned birth certificate! It will tell you-"
"No, it won't," Ollie interrupted. With a heavy sigh, he went over to the little couch Wally and Dick abandoned when they followed Roy out of the room. "When I took Roy in, I went through the motions of formally adopting him. I couldn't. There are no birth records of a William Roy Harper, Junior, anywhere in the United States that is our Roy. I did discover that his father was born in County Mayo, Ireland, but no record that Harper Senior marrying or having a son. Now whether any of those files," Ollie motioned to the papers in Dinah's hands, "have anything I couldn't find, who knows? As far as I know, Roy's mother's identity is completely unknown except by Roy's father and his mother, whoever she is."
Dinah flipped madly through both files, scowling fiercely as she finished. "No mention of Roy's mother's identity here. *Someone* must know!" she cried in exasperation, tossing the files into Roy's office chair in frustration.
"I've never thought about it," confessed Hal with an ashamed tone. "I merely assumed his mother was dead like his father."
"She still could be," pointed out Mari. She leaned over to grab Roy's file, casually flipping through it. "It doesn't even mention *where* our Roy was born." She looked up at the other three. "He didn't spring out of a cabbage patch. There has to be record *somewhere*."
"You'd think," agreed Ollie with a heavy sigh.
"Now what?" asked Hal with a frown, glancing down the hall from his position in the doorway. "This is a serious situation. I don't want Roy hurt, but..." He let the sentence trail off. He didn't know what his 'but' was for, if he were honest with himself. He loved the younger man as he were the boy's biological uncle and felt protective of him, but he also knew that if Roy had the ability or the knowledge that could help them with the current problem, Roy's help was vital.
"Conflict of interest," Mari reiterated with a deeper frown. "Is nothing simple with you people?"
"Look who's talking," sighed Dinah, moving past Hal to head for Lian's room as well.
The background on Roy's father has also been sparse and vaguely alluded to, mainly in his occupation. To my knowledge, no concrete, in stone ruling was made on Will Harper's background BEFORE he became a father and a forest ranger in Arizona. Again, this is my story and I'm stickin' to it. ;)
The photo album had a broken spine and a peeling cover. The pages were cracked at the edges and a couple of them had missing corners. It had the look of a book of photographs that travelled far and been used frequently. Roy pulled it from the drawer in his office desk but hesitated before placing it into Dinah's hands. He sat heavily into his office chair and leaned back, closing his eyes as he listened to the pages of the album being turned. No one else in the room said a word.
Everyone from the Watchtower conference room was now crammed into his cozy office. Dick and Wally were ensconced on the tiny sofa Roy tucked into a corner for quick naps. Oliver and Hal Jordan stood in the doorway, with Hal leaning in from the hallway, his shoulder on the doorjamb and Ollie resting his back against the inward opened door. Mari, aka Vixen, was cross legged on the floor; he could feel her concerned gaze while Dinah silently stood over him as she flipped through the photos.
"These are your father's." It truly wasn't a question, more of a statement really, but Roy felt compelled to answer all the same.
"Yes, and don't bother looking on the backs of the pictures for information. I've flipped over every single one of them a million times looking for dates, locations, names, anything to discover where they were taken and who those people were. I know a little about my father's past, not much mind you, but I know what kind of man he was." Roy's tone turned defensive. "He was a good man, he was a hero. He saved people's lives and gave his own to do it."
The room fell completely silent, not a ruffle of paper or turning of page disturbed it. No one moved, afraid that if they said anything they would be arguing with Roy regarding his proclamation.
Finally Ollie spoke. "We're not saying your father wasn't brave, Roy, *or* a hero. He proved that saving those kids in that forest fire. Everyone, though, has a past, skeletons in the closet. William Harper was not perfect-"
Roy sat up with a jolt. "I *know* he wasn't perfect!" he spat out angrily, facing Ollie defiantly. "God! Do you think it's easy to ignore that my own father was a member of a extremist subsect of the Irish Republican Army and may have helped bomb various cities and destroy lives? Do you think it's easy for me to know that my father turned traitor on those he considered his family and brethren, selling them out to Interpol in exchange for amnesty and a new life? Do you think I know it wasn't easy for him to take me and run away from everything he believed in when he realized it wasn't right after all? Do you think it was easy for him to raise a child alone because I sure do!" Roy flung his arm in the direction of Lian's room. "I know my father wasn't perfect!" he shouted, emotion welling through him like a wave.
Ollie froze while Roy's tirade continued to echo through the room. Hal pulled back fully into the hallway while Dinah stepped between Roy and Ollie in case Roy threw a punch in his frustration. She knew Roy would have no compunction hitting Ollie but he would never, ever strike Dinah, and not just because she'd wipe the floor with him. The reason was because he considered her his mother, even though there wasn't much disparity in their ages; only about ten years in fact, if that much. It was the maternal feelings Dinah had for Roy that prompted her to ask of him to give them more knowledge that was painful for Roy to bear.
"Tell us what you know about your father."
"The back of the album," Roy huffed, falling back into the chair, causing it to clunk in protest.
Dinah closed the book carefully, flipped open the back cover and revealed a file folder. She froze a second when she opened the broken seal of the black file folder simply labeled "Harper, William Roy. Senior", before pulling out the contents. Inside the black folder was a red file folder tucked neatly inside a blue folder tucked equally neatly into a yellow one. "Roy, where did you get this?" she asked in a near, reverent whisper.
Roy smirked. "I stole it, but I'm pretty sure they know I have it." He reached into the open desk drawer and pulled out another black file folder with the name "Harper, William Roy. Junior" on it. "An old pal in Checkmate gave me the file on me. Interesting read, apparently I'm so maverick I give the mavericks heart attacks."
"What does the black folder mean?" whispered Wally to Dick.
Dick frowned at the two envelopes. "It means Interpol *and* C.I.A. The red file means it started with the F.B.I. The blue folder means C.B.I."
"And the yellow?" asked Ollie.
Roy's smile turned wolfish as he opened his eyes. "MI-5. Me and the old man have files in a lot of places. Who knows what the French and the Israelis have."
Hal snorted. "Does CIA and Interpol have their own colors separately?"
"Purple's CIA and orange is Interpol. We're special. Not everyone gets a lovely black label." Roy's smile faded. "I have to check on Lian." He shouldered his way out of the room and down the hall, leaving everyone in his office, still staring at the folders in Dinah's hands.
"Oh dear," she said.
* * * * *
"Roy?" Roy half-turned to face two of his best friends. Wally and Dick stood side by side in the doorway of his daughter's room. Lian, fitful in her fevered sleep and her father's earlier shouting, had thrown off her blankets and Roy was busy tucking her back in. At the arrival of the group of costumed heroes in Roy's office, Omar discreetly disappeared. No one knew where Roy found Omar let alone how Roy talked the giant African-American to play babysitter to a six year old firecracker like Lian. The man was discreet and efficient. Roy trusted Omar with his most precious possession, so that was good enough for everyone else.
"You okay, man?" Wally walked over to the window and tweaked the curtain shut a bit more, enclosing the room in a comforting cocoon of shadow. Roy nodded mechanically. "You've been hiding this for a while, haven't you?"
Roy's mouth twitched into a pained smile. "Hiding it? No, but I'm not going to tell everyone I know."
"We're family, Roy," began Dick but Roy glared him silent.
"Have you told me every little thing about *your* dead parents, Dick?" snapped Roy, still keeping his voice at a near whisper for Lian's sake.
Dick stiffened but Wally jumped to Dick's defense. "Roy, Dick's father wasn't an IRA bomber."
"And neither was *my* father," Roy said snidely. "Or did you miss the part where he turned traitor and had to run for it or be killed?"
Dick and Wally frowned at each other. "I don't understand," Dick confessed. "You just said that-"
"My father *trained* with them, he plotted with them, but when it came down to the follow through, he balked. He was young, younger than us. It was probably all a game, an exciting, rebellious game until it he realized that it really wasn't and the kind of people he was with were serious. *That's* when he turned on them." Roy hung his head, marshaling his thoughts. "In the file are some interviews made with those that were captured. Despite their snide remarks regarding his honor and his so-called treason to their organization, they all agreed that they had been shocked to have a man like my father join their organization. I think one guy said that he seemed more suited to becoming a priest than a fighter for the cause."
"He was a pacifist?" Wally sounded amazed.
Roy snorted. "I wouldn't go that far. My father had no problem firing guns or engaging in combat. I think he had issues with blowing up school buses, shopping malls and other civilian, non-military targets. And *that* is what Saorfaidh sibh Éire targets. To them the enemy is the enemy, no matter their age or function in society."
Dick watched his friend's agitation flicker over his expressive features. Roy had always been the loose cannon of their age group in the costumed community and it wasn't just because he was the protege of the maverick Green Arrow. Roy contained a personal chaos deep inside him, secret feelings, thoughts, and ideals that were incongruous with his projected mien to the outside world. Those that knew the archer best recognized that aspect of him churning below the surface but it was a rare occasion that the chaos came to the fore. Even now Dick could see the storm brewing below a fine glaze of civility; it would take little to crack through the shell and spring the chaos forth. The question that bothered Dick was whether or not Roy could handle having a threat like this strike so close to home, the one thing Roy guarded more zealously than his daughter: his past.
* * * * *
"This is serious." She was stating the obvious but Mari McCabe felt it needed to be said outloud. "Not that I've ever seen Roy deal badly with a conflict of interest but-" She stopped talking at the snorts of derision from Dinah, Hal and Ollie. "But obviously you have," she amended.
In unison the three of them said, "Cheshire."
"Mmm," Mari agreed, thinking over what she knew about Roy and the infamous assassin. "Valid point." She hesitated. "Could this be a problem, if this woman has ties to Roy's biological father?"
Dinah looked at Mari in amazement. "Haven't you put this together yet?" She turned to Hal and Ollie. Ollie shared her grim expression; Hal still frowned at the file in her hand. "Eva O'Keeffe could be Roy's biological *mother*. More than just a conflict of interest."
Mari and Hal both looked confused. "What do you mean, she could be?" asked Hal. "Look at his damned birth certificate! It will tell you-"
"No, it won't," Ollie interrupted. With a heavy sigh, he went over to the little couch Wally and Dick abandoned when they followed Roy out of the room. "When I took Roy in, I went through the motions of formally adopting him. I couldn't. There are no birth records of a William Roy Harper, Junior, anywhere in the United States that is our Roy. I did discover that his father was born in County Mayo, Ireland, but no record that Harper Senior marrying or having a son. Now whether any of those files," Ollie motioned to the papers in Dinah's hands, "have anything I couldn't find, who knows? As far as I know, Roy's mother's identity is completely unknown except by Roy's father and his mother, whoever she is."
Dinah flipped madly through both files, scowling fiercely as she finished. "No mention of Roy's mother's identity here. *Someone* must know!" she cried in exasperation, tossing the files into Roy's office chair in frustration.
"I've never thought about it," confessed Hal with an ashamed tone. "I merely assumed his mother was dead like his father."
"She still could be," pointed out Mari. She leaned over to grab Roy's file, casually flipping through it. "It doesn't even mention *where* our Roy was born." She looked up at the other three. "He didn't spring out of a cabbage patch. There has to be record *somewhere*."
"You'd think," agreed Ollie with a heavy sigh.
"Now what?" asked Hal with a frown, glancing down the hall from his position in the doorway. "This is a serious situation. I don't want Roy hurt, but..." He let the sentence trail off. He didn't know what his 'but' was for, if he were honest with himself. He loved the younger man as he were the boy's biological uncle and felt protective of him, but he also knew that if Roy had the ability or the knowledge that could help them with the current problem, Roy's help was vital.
"Conflict of interest," Mari reiterated with a deeper frown. "Is nothing simple with you people?"
"Look who's talking," sighed Dinah, moving past Hal to head for Lian's room as well.