Chapter 10
Follow my lead, oh, how I need
Someone to watch over me...
“Garrett. I haven’t heard from you. I want an update.”
Graham didn’t respond immediately. “I- I’m working on it, Mr. Luthor,” he blustered.
“I see. I thought you’d have proof of Ms. Sullivan’s ability by now. Are you certain that you have no new information for me?”
“No, Mr. Luthor.”
“And what of the Green Arrow?”
“I’m getting close.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.” Lex closed his cell phone then turned to one of his suited minions. “Find Garrett and trail him, if you can. I want to know what he’s up to. Report back to me as soon as you have anything.”
The guard nodded, replied with a curt, “Yes, Mr. Luthor,” and took his leave.
Lex took a sip of his drink, grimacing slightly as the amber liquid sluiced down his throat. “What are you up to, Graham?” he pondered aloud.
* * * * *
Oliver clutched Chloe’s limp body closer to his own protectively as Garrett entered the cell.
“Get up,” he ordered as he drew his pistol, raising it. Oliver noticed two other men entering the room shortly behind Garrett. “Leave her there.”
Oliver didn’t move. “I didn’t know you had friends.”
“I said get up! It’s time for your delivery. She’s of no use to me now.” Garrett motioned to the other two men, tossing one of them a set of keys. “Unlock the irons.” He turned to Oliver again. “And don’t try anything, or I will shoot you.”
Oliver still didn’t budge. “I’m not leaving her here. You’ll have to take us both.”
“She’s dead, Queen. An unfortunate loss for both of us, I’m sure. But where you’re going, a woman will be the last thing on your mind. You won’t have time to mourn her. And where I’m going, I can buy all the feminine company I desire with the money I’ll receive for your capture.” Garrett took a moment to gaze upon Chloe’s face from where he stood. He tipped his head. “Pity. She was lovely.” He then motioned his friends toward Oliver.
A thought suddenly occurred to Oliver, and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. “Wait!” Oliver stopped them. “Can I have a moment? To say good-bye.”
Garrett made a sound of impatience, and waved his pistol in the air. “Very well. Make it quick.”
The men moved off to the far corner of the cell, joining Garrett in quiet conversation. Oliver was certain they were discussing him, and what they’d do with all their money once he was delivered. It didn’t matter to him, because he was going to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening.
Oliver moved Chloe from his lap, lowering her gently to the floor, cradling her head until it touched the ground. Her purse had been tossed haphazardly nearby when she’d knelt next to him. He moved over her, kissing her forehead, as his hand reached for her purse, grasping the shoulder strap, pulling it toward him. The chains clinked loudly and Oliver hoped his body blocked his actions from view. He kissed her cheeks, her eyes, the tip of her nose, all the while fishing around blindly inside her bag, until he’d found what he was looking for. “That’s my girl,” he whispered in her ear. “We’re getting out of here.” He kissed her lips one last time.
“That’s enough, Mr. Queen.”
Oliver froze thinking they’d seen what he’d done, but realized that his time for saying good-bye was over when the three of them stepped forward. Oliver waited until the last minute before moving. He wanted them within reach.
* * * * *
The team had reassembled in the Queen penthouse, all of them returning empty-handed. Victor slumped behind Oliver’s computer, moving the mouse, causing the screen to reappear. “What the…? There’s an urgent email here from Chloe.”
“I told you we should have stayed put!”
“You did not.”
“It was Clark’s idea to go searching.”
“Guys, shut up and let’s read the email.”
The group crowded around Oliver’s desk as Victor opened the email, and read aloud. “Revisiting this story today. Found what we were looking for. Need help with additional resources, immediately.” There was a link to a news story. Victor clicked on it, and a headline appeared. RIDGE FACILITY DESTROYED IN FREAK EXPLOSION.
“The old Ridge Facility! That’s where she is. Let’s go!”
“We don’t know what we’re walking into!”
“Who the hell cares? Chloe and Ollie are there, they need our help!” Bart zipped from the room, and Clark followed him.
When they arrived, they found Oliver chained to a wall, Chloe covered in blood on the cell floor behind him, and one man writhing on the ground having been tazered with Chloe’s tazer gun. Oliver was strangling the other man with a length of iron chain connected to his wrist.
It had all happened so quickly, that Garrett had little time to react, and upon seeing Clark and Bart, he’d made himself invisible, fleeing the scene.
“Oliver! Let him go!” Clark shouted as he watched the man reaching for his throat in a futile attempt to remove the thick chain.
Bart ran behind Oliver to where Chloe lay cupping the back of her head in his hand. “Oh my God! Chloe, she’s dead, Clark! Nooo! We were too late! She’s dead!”
“Oliver, you’ll kill him! Let him go!” Clark broke the chain with one hand, and the man slumped to the ground.
The look in Oliver’s eyes was murderous, but he left the man to lie in a heap. “You should have let me kill him,” he panted, out of breath from his adrenaline rush, as Clark removed the irons from his wrists and ankles.
“Chloe….” Tears slipped down Bart’s cheeks. “What the hell did they do to her? So much blood… we should have waited for her message!”
Clark knelt next to him. “She’ll be okay, Bart.”
Oliver moved to her side, gathered her in his arms and picked her up, cradling her head against his shoulder with a gentle hand. “It’s my blood, Bart. She saved my life.”
“But…”
“I’ll explain everything when we get back, I promise.” Oliver glanced around, holding Chloe close. “Garrett?”
Clark shook his head. “I’m sure he’s gone.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
* * * * *
Oliver lifted Chloe from the tub, he placed her on the floor, over a large towel drying her off, and then wrapping her in it. He carried her to his bed, laying her down carefully. Clark entered the room as Oliver went to pull out a t-shirt from his drawer.
“What should we tell her when she comes to? She’s going to want to know which one of us cleaned her up.”
“She’ll know it was me.”
Clark turned his back as Oliver removed the towel from her body and lifted her head to put his t-shirt on her. “What do you mean? How will she know it was you?”
Oliver paused after getting her arms into the shirt. “She’ll know…. Because...” He stopped once again, pulling the shirt over her, lifting her hips briefly to slip it down over her bottom. The shirt almost reached her knees. “Because Bart would be way too eager to do it, and she’d know we wouldn’t let him. She’d know it wasn’t you, because you’re deathly afraid of breasts, and… I’m not?”
“Very funny.”
“You can turn around now.”
Both men looked at each other, scrutinizing one another, as they stood on opposite sides of the bed, Chloe’s prone form between them. “The truth is, because Chloe and I…we….we’re sort of, together, I think, kind of, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, it’s all so new, and we never talked about what it is between us… it just happened…. Recently, very recently.”
“It’s okay, Oliver,” Clark colored slightly at the inference. “I think I understand. I just don’t want Chloe to be hurt. You have to admit; you don’t exactly have the best track record where women are concerned. Lois, Dinah…” Clark’s voice trailed off.
“Chloe’s different.” Oliver interrupted. “I won’t hurt her, Clark.” He gazed down at her. “I think I’ve had feelings for her for awhile,” he said softly, and Clark couldn’t deny the affection he saw in Oliver’s expression as he looked at Chloe. “I just never acted on them until now.”
Clark nodded, not knowing what to say, or think, or feel. Chloe was his friend. He loved her, and he didn’t know what he’d do if Oliver hurt her in any way.
They both turned toward the sound of Bart’s voice coming from the other room.
“Oh man, she’s going to be sooo pissed at us when she wakes up, and I don’t know if I want to be around for that.”
Oliver smiled. “I’ll stay here with her, and spare poor Bart and the rest of you from her wrath.”
Clark grinned back. “Thanks,” he said, then turned to leave Oliver alone with Chloe. He stopped, looking back. “Garrett knows who you are now. What do you think he’ll do?”
“I don’t know. The man is certifiably nuts. Could be anything. We have to find a way to stop him.”
* * * * *
“You’re looking a little worse for wear aren’t you, Graham?”
Graham did indeed look bedraggled, in need of a shower and a shave. “I figured I’d come here, since your goons are trying to follow me. Ms. Sullivan is dead. Or, at least I think she is.”
Lex stopped his movement. He was about to hit a perfect bank shot, sinking the 8 ball into the side pocket. He straightened, letting the end of the cue stick rest on the floor, as he held it loosely. Oddly, Lex was not happy with this news, and something in him panicked. “How do you know this? Have you seen her?”
Garrett nodded. “Dead, I tell you. But, all is not lost. I know the identity of the Green Arrow,” he said, and then disappeared.
“Come back here! Damn you, Garrett!”
End Chapter 10
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