Déjà Vu
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
She dreamt of him again. Chloe lay in her bed at the mansion; not wanting to move knowing that as soon as her feet touched the floor that it would be difficult to grasp any remnants of the dream and keep them in her mind. It had already begun to fade, just as the sun burns away the mist, wakefulness carried away the visions, leaving only the emotions to linger, as a reminder that she’d dreamt at all.
She kicked off the covers, padding over to the desk where the police sketch sat. She studied it for the hundredth time, fingertips reaching out to trace the pencil-drawn lines of his jaw, his lips. Something still wasn’t right about it, even more so now that she’d seen him up close. He’d given life to the two-dimensional drawing in her hand that she now found completely lacking. She’d been right. He was so much more than what this piece of paper could ever show.
Lex had sent her away for a week to another facility, but after her first encounter with the Green Arrow, what tenuous trust she had in Lex grew thinner. While there, she’d started hiding the medication they gave her between her cheek and gum, spitting it out after the nurse left. The treatments Dr. Benson gave her no longer seemed to be working; she wasn’t certain why. She pretended not to remember much about her meeting with the Green Arrow. But she remembered most of it despite their efforts to cloud her memory. She remembered it, and now he filled her thoughts constantly. What bothered her most was, why? It was a question she needed to answer, and there was only one person who could, and she was staring at sketch of his likeness wishing there was a way to reach him.
Her investigations into the Green Arrow showed that he did indeed resort to tactics that would amount to terrorism, but upon further digging, she’d discovered that his targets were mainly against known criminals; drug lords, crime bosses, and the like, and then there were the stolen priceless artifacts returned to their rightful places. She’d also discovered an unexpected link in his activities. Anonymous donations in large sums, made to charitable organizations, orphanages saved, AIDS research funded. The Green Arrow had been busy. But why had he targeted Lex? It was another question she needed to answer and coupled with her growing distrust of him, it was one she intended to find the answer to on her own.
* * * * *
Lex sat at his desk, pondering the entire situation with Chloe. She’d found an entire folder of information about the Green Arrow, but none of it was useful to him. Most of it he’d already known, and he didn’t believe any of the charitable nonsense she’d shown him. Thus far, the Green Arrow had made no further attempts to contact her, but he still wondered over what possible relationship existed between them.
Her ability had not returned, Dr. Benson came to the conclusion that whatever had happened in the experiment, had probably rid her of it. It was unfortunate, but there seemed to be nothing more to do. He suggested to Lex that they use the visitor database from the ISIS foundation to find more possible test subjects. He might have to send Chloe along to see if she remembered how to use the system, and get past password blocks, however he didn’t want to rouse her suspicion.
Her memory hadn’t returned either, and evidently she didn’t recall much of what had happened during her near kidnapping by the Green Arrow. Lex was satisfied with Dr. Benson’s assessment that she needed no further treatments, unless absolutely necessary, and aside from being an excellent information gatherer, he wasn’t certain what he should do with her. She’d endeared herself to the staff however, and even Lex had to admit that her presence lent a lighter, livelier air to the mansion.
“Excuse me, Mr. Luthor. Oliver Queen is here, sir. He’s waiting downstairs.”
Odd. Why would Queen be showing up? “Let him wait a few minutes, I’ll let you know when to bring him up.”
Oliver stood in the foyer of the mansion waiting.
“Is there a meeting of the billionaire boys club I haven’t heard about?” Oliver turned at the sound of her voice, unable to keep from grinning at her approach. Once again she was nearly stupefied by the sheer beauty of the man, but thankfully managed to maintain her composure around him this time. “Hello Mr. Queen,” she smiled shyly. “I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but I don’t know if you’d trust me not to spill it on you.” She teased, not completely sure that he’d even remember her.
He slipped the manila folder he carried under his arm and extended his hand to her, taking her hand in his. “Please, call me Oliver. And as long as there’s plenty of napkins to go around, I’ll have coffee with you anytime, Miss…”
“Sullivan. Chloe Sullivan,” she supplied, smiling up at him.
“You work for Lex?”
“Yes, well. Just help him out a little.”
He held onto her hand longer than necessary, watching her smile fade slightly, as a fleeting look of bewilderment entered her eyes.
*
“I'm looking forward to your article on Dark Thursday. I hope my satellite images helped.”
“Oh… yeah. Yeah.”
“Good. It was good to meet you.”
*
“Pardon me, Mr. Queen. Mr. Luthor will see you now.”
The light returned to her eyes immediately, and he released her hand. “It was nice to see you again, Chloe.”
“Likewise, Mr.. uhh.. Oliver. I’d better get back to work.”
She smiled over her shoulder as she left, and he watched her walk away, his heart tagging after her.
Lex sat lazily in his chair. Not bothering to stand up when Oliver entered. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“If you wanted to know what I was doing in Metropolis, a simple phone call would have sufficed. We could have talked about old times.” Oliver tossed the manila folder on Lex’s desk. “There’s a copy of my schedule for the week. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”
Lex glanced down at the unopened folder, and then leaned back in his chair. “Come on, Queen. No hard feelings, I was simply curious. Wouldn’t you do the same if I decided to spend time in Star City?”
“The difference is, I wouldn’t get caught doing it.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No. Don’t bother getting up. I know the way out.”
They stared each other down for a long moment, until Oliver turned, and left the office. Checking to make certain that the hallways were cleared, he pulled his comlink from his jacket pocket, and placed it in his ear. “Are the security feeds down yet?” he asked, his voice hushed.
Victor’s voice answered. “Yeah, you’ve got like three minutes to get there, do your thing and get out, because that’s how long the video feed loop is. You remember where Bart told you to find her room?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, go. And don’t get caught.”
Oliver made his way to her room, keeping a cautious eye out for any guards or staff. He opened the door, stepping into the dimness of the room. There were a few folders, post it notes, her laptop, and a smudge worn police sketch of the Green Arrow on her desk. He wouldn’t leave the packet there. Instead he went to her bed. She’d always slept on the left side. Pulling back the covers, he removed the brown envelope from inside his jacket, slipped it under the blankets, and then fixed the bed again.
“Better get out of there, someone’s on their way,” Victor warned.
“I’m out,” Oliver answered as he moved hastily back to the hallway again, and down the steps toward the front door. But he had one more thing to do before he left, and stepped toward the kitchen area in the direction he’d last seen Chloe heading.
“What are you doing, man? Get out of there.”
“Wait. I need to see her.”
“Ollie, if all goes well, you’ll see her tomorrow night.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“I don’t care, I want to see her.”
Oliver stuck his head in the kitchen and leaned casually against the doorframe. Chloe was at the counter, her back to him. She was cutting vegetables, laughing and talking with a short, dark-haired woman he assumed to be the cook. He simply watched her for a moment. His heart ached, missing her, and this domestic scene was a bittersweet reminder of what he’d lost, and hoped to have again with her. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”
His presence shocked both women. “Mr. Queen, did you get to see Lex?” Chloe wiped her hands on a dishtowel, suddenly nervous.
“It’s Oliver, and yes I did,” he smiled. “I think we’ve come to a new agreement. But, I was wondering, Chloe. If I brought the napkins, would you have coffee with me tomorrow?”
“Oh man, that’s lame Ollie,” Victor chuckled in his earpiece, and Oliver cursed himself for not taking it out. Now it was too late to remove it, and he hoped Chloe wouldn’t notice.
Chloe blushed to the roots of her hair. “Oh. Uh. I’d love to… but, uh,” Stop it Sullivan, or the man will think you’re a dolt. Get it together. “I’d love to Oliver, but I’ll have to see if Lex needs me for anything first.”
“He’s got her on lockdown, man,” Victor’s voice again. “But I think she’s diggin’ on ya. What do you think, Impulse?”
“Oh yeah, sounds like she’s definitely got the hots for ya, dude.”
Oliver pulled out his wallet, slipping a business card from it. He stepped closer, handing it to her. “My personal number is listed there, if you can get away in the afternoon, please let me know. I’d love to see you again.”
“Now you gotta admit that was smooth,” Bart said.
“He does have the moves,” Victor agreed.
“No shit, I’m taking notes.”
Chloe glanced down at the embossed Queen Industries card with Oliver’s personal line and cell phone number imprinted in dark green lettering. She smiled up at him, her cheeks coloring. “Thank you Mr…” she stopped and rolled her eyes at herself, laughing lightly. “Oliver. Thank you, and I will let you know before noon.”
Bart chuckled. “She’s got it bad, dude. I think you’re in.”
“Ah, true love,” Victor sighed. “You just can’t keep it down.”
“Great,” Oliver returned her smile. “Talk to you tomorrow, then.”
After he left, Chloe turned to Marianne, the business card clasped to her chest, her mouth agape, and her eyes wide. “What just happened?” Chloe asked the cook.
“All I know is, if you don’t go have coffee with that man tomorrow, I will.”
* * * * *
Lex had a few more visitors, and then was gone for the evening. Chloe wanted to take advantage of his absence, but she’d need to disable the video feeds first. She found it odd at times that although she’d lost portions of her memory, there were still things she’d not forgotten how to do, or skills she didn’t have to relearn. The mind was certainly a mystery, and she was thankful that she’d retained hacking and research abilities; they hadn’t failed her, even if she couldn’t remember something like getting fired from the Daily Planet, or the Green Arrow.
Once the feed was disabled, Chloe entered Lex’s office and copied numerous files from his computer. She then enabled the video feed again, and went to her room, turning on her laptop. Ever present was the drawing of the Green Arrow at her side.
There was a lot to go through. She’d come upon various projects with names like Ares and Scion, but there was so much data, it would take longer than she’d expected to go through it all.
Finally tiring, she decided to go to bed. She’d talk to Lex in the morning about letting her have an afternoon away, hoping she wouldn’t have to be escorted by body guards just to have coffee with Oliver Queen. She undressed thinking about him, and wondering what they’d talk about, little butterflies swarming in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. She pulled the pajama tank top over her head, slipped into the bottoms, and then pulled back the sheets.
And then she saw it. A brown packet in her bed. Her name was written on the front of it, and there was something odd inside. She tore into it, flipping it upside down and shaking out the contents. A car key and what looked to be a building key on a ring fell onto the bed. Chloe stuck her hand inside the envelope, and slid out a folded piece of paper. It was a typed note, and Chloe’s heart beat faster with every word she read.
Chloe,
Meet me tomorrow night on the roof of the ISIS building. Midnight. Come alone, and make certain no one follows you. You’ll need to disable Lex’s security and video systems, but I’m sure you already knew that, and I’m sure you know how.
You might not remember ISIS, so directions and a map are on the back of this note. The building key is on the ring.
Once you leave the Luthor mansion gates, you’ll find a an empty car waiting for you parked behind the stand of oak trees a few blocks west of the mansion. It’s your Yaris.
It’s important that I speak with you.
Arrow
End Chapter 7
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