Signal Fire
Chapter 14
“Ollie! Holy shit! Come look at this! Quick!” Bart’s agitated voice sounded loudly from the conference room in the Arrow command center. He rose from the overstuffed chair, remote control in hand raising the volume as Chloe, Oliver, Victor and A.C. trotted into the open space, eyes wide at the images appearing on the screen. The words, Breaking News: GREEN ARROW MURDERS? Emblazoned beneath the newscaster in large white letters.
“Oh my God,” Chloe gasped softly, reaching up to grip Oliver’s arm in shock.
The blonde anchorwoman spoke as they watched taped footage of emergency personnel wheeling a covered body from an abandoned warehouse. “It appears that Star City’s most famous vigilante may have inexplicably traded sides, as evidence implicates that either the Green Arrow, or a copycat may have committed more than one murder. The body of Adriana Spencer, ex-wife of former Star City Sanitation Commissioner, James Spencer was found last night in the warehouse district near the Oceanside Docks….”
“What?” Oliver’s astonished voice cut through the newscast, as gooseflesh raised the hairs on his arms.
“…. Preliminary evidence suggests an arrow, similar to those used by the Emerald Archer, was shot through the woman’s heart, killing her instantly. Police are conducting forensics, as well as trying to determine if there is any connection to another murder; the body discovered only this morning, identified an hour ago as Tess Mercer.
The image cut to that of a police official addressing the media. He spoke amid intermittent camera flashes, and reporters shouting questions. “The bodies of two women were found within a mile of each other in the Oceanside Docks area, each with similar injuries. Custom-made arrows, like those we’ve seen before, used by the Green Arrow were found at both crime scenes. We don’t know at this time, if this is the work of the Green Arrow, or someone attempting to implicate him….”
“Someone attempting to implicate him, you dumb-asses!” Bart shouted at the television.
“And we know who that someone is…” Victor murmured.
“Tess is dead?” Chloe could barely speak, unable to take her widened eyes from the screen as an image of Tess appeared behind the newscaster, before cutting to the next top story. “Adriana too?” Chloe gazed up at him worriedly. “Oh, Oliver!”
Oliver had left an arrow embedded in Adriana’s dressing table mirror. And later, when he’d gone to Black Creek to trade himself for Chloe, they’d divested him of his weapons. They had his arrows, his compound bow, his costume, voice distorter, everything he’d brought with him; they’d taken. It would be easy to use them to fabricate a crime scene. His fingerprints would no doubt be on everything, his bow gloves allowing thumb and forefinger to be exposed.
Oliver ran a frustrated hand through his hair, still shocked at what he’d just seen and heard. “Lex can’t expose me. Not publicly. He has no proof, but he can try to ruin the Green Arrow… and me, in the process.”
“But why would they kill Adriana?” Chloe wondered, still in shock, unable to help but feel a bit sorry for the poor woman who’d simply gotten in over her head in her attempt at getting back at Oliver over a failed affair. She’d paid the ultimate price for it; unaware of the true evil she was dealing with.
“Maybe they were afraid of leaving loose ends; afraid she’d talk. I don’t know…” Oliver’s voice trailed off as he moved to sink into the place Bart had vacated. He was weary of a sudden, and rubbed his eyes, resting an elbow on the cushioned arm of the chair, his forehead in his hand.
“We can’t let him get away with this!” Bart’s voice again, shrill and defiant.
“Have you heard from Bruce?” Victor asked calmly, seemingly out of the blue, causing Chloe to glance from him to Oliver in confusion. Why he’d bring up Bruce Wayne at a time like this was a mystery.
Oliver sighed wearily, lifting his head toward Victor, nodding. “It’s going down.”
“What’s going down?” Chloe’s curiosity demanded that she have answers now, especially with the events they’d just seen on the television. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Oliver took a deep breath. He had intended to tell her, but with everything that had happened, and nothing finalized he wanted to wait. “Lex gave Tess control of Luthorcorp in his absence.”
“Yes, I know that, go on.”
Oliver’s palms fell to his knees. “Lex was gone, presumed dead, Tess missing...”
“I know that too. What are you talking about, Oliver?”
“Remember the meeting I had in Gotham?”
Chloe nodded, recalling the hand-written note Adriana left in his pocket about the phony tryst she and Oliver had. “Yeah.”
“It was all about luring board members into a deal with Wayne Enterprises. LexCorp and the subsidiary Wayne Tech have long been rivals. Bruce and I have been buying major shares on the open market. An easy thing to do when both heads of the company are unaccounted for. Bruce got a few of his own people on the board. Luscius Fox helped convince the rest of the members that a merger would be beneficial. When Tess suddenly reappeared, she thought she’d be able to maintain control, and make major decisions, even with Lex around; when in reality, she’d have none. What neither of them suspected was a complete takeover by Wayne Tech. It’s in motion. We’re taking over a subsidiary of Luthorcorp.”
“And now she’s dead.” Chloe pointed out. “Lex saw her as competition.”
“No doubt,” Oliver agreed.
“Yeah, but now Baldy is framing you for her murder,” Bart interjected. “And that other chick too. Who was she?”
“She unknowingly had a small part in Chloe’s abduction,” was all Oliver said, not wanting to go into all the details.
Bart was insistent. “How can we clear the Green Arrow’s name?”
Everyone was silent at that.
Chloe thought for a moment. “Maybe we shouldn’t try,” She spoke softly, taking a seat across from Oliver.
He looked up at her, surprised.
“What do you mean?’ A.C. asked.
“I mean, no matter what we try, it will only bring more unwanted attention to the Green Arrow. Even if Oliver goes off on some saving the citizens of Star City spree, it won’t change the fact that two women are dead, and he’s a possible suspect. Anything he does now will only call more attention to him.”
“What about fingerprints and DNA evidence they might find? If they have my gear, and they’re planting evidence…” Oliver wondered aloud, leaving the rest unsaid.
“Still untraceable to you,” Chloe interrupted. “But if you go out patrolling, there’s a chance they’ll be looking for you, and not only the police, but the average Joe on the street might try having his fifteen minutes of fame by catching the Green Arrow. Besides, you do have a few other enemies aside from Lex, you know.”
Oliver rose from his chair, stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to pace. “We can’t wait until Lex ups the body count. How many will be killed with evidence conveniently implicating the Green Arrow before he stops? Who will be next?”
“You can’t go out, Oliver. You can’t possibly be everywhere at once. And they could catch you.”
“I can’t let more people die either Chloe.”
Chloe stood up and moved toward him, placing a hand on his bicep, soft fingers absently stroking his arm, her expression pleading. “Don’t do anything yet. Let me do some digging. Contact a few of my connections in law enforcement for more information.”
Oliver gazed down at her for long moments, uncertainty and worry in his eyes. This was a new kind of torture Lex had orchestrated. Oliver nodded finally in agreement.
Chloe immediately took up her place at the computer console of the command center. Oliver knew well enough to stay out of her way unless she needed him, and trusted her to do her job. She was good at this. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, and find information that would exonerate the Green Arrow, Chloe could.
A few days later, Chloe entered the Star City Gazette offices for the first time since her abduction, slowing in her steps as she reached Philip’s desk. It was empty. It appeared as though someone had cleared it out. Chloe couldn’t help the prickle that crept up her spine as she stood in front of the desk, staring at it. A copyboy passed by her, and Chloe turned abruptly, stopping him up short. “Tommy, what happened to Philip?”
The young man simply shrugged. “Don’t know, I think he just quit. Came in yesterday and got all his stuff.”
Anxiety crossed her features. Philip had been here only yesterday. Some nerve he had showing up here in the first place. She was silently grateful that she’d taken a few extra days off. She couldn’t face him again. Did he kill Adriana? Tess? Chloe couldn’t be sure, but it was a possibility she couldn’t deny and another shiver coursed through her. Yes, he’d let them go, but Philip was no better than Lex’s dog. One that could seem tame in one moment, and attack you without warning in the next.
Whatever stares and gossip she’d endured the week before over the article about Oliver’s love life had died down, replaced by the latest new shiny story. The public’s attention span could be short, she’d discovered. The newsroom was abuzz with the latest Green Arrow stories. People claimed to have seen him as recently as last night, something Chloe knew was not true; it wasn’t Oliver dressed in green leather. But if someone had his costume they could use it. And a debate began rising among the citizens of Star City over his guilt or innocence. Some were staunch supporters, others condemning him.
Chloe had discovered through her connections at the coroner’s office that Tess Mercer’s body had apparently been moved after death, and that the fatal wound she received was inflicted by a sharp knife, not an arrow. Yet an arrow had been shoved into her body, post mortem. When this information was released it fueled the debate, some claming the arrow placed after death proved that the Green Arrow was indeed being framed. Others claimed he must have stabbed her, then moved her body and shot her as a way of leaving his calling card.
Adriana Spencer however was a different story. She had apparently been bound and gagged, taken to the Oceanside Docks and was killed at the scene; a custom-made arrow piercing her heart.
Chloe’s lips thinned in a grim line as she sat at her desk, brow furrowed, eyes scanning the coroner’s report on her screen. Various fingerprints had been found as well as other DNA evidence, but thus far all untraceable. Still the Green Arrow was considered a person of interest in both deaths. Chloe blew hair out of her eyes and cleared her screen. Maybe she was wrong about not trying to do anything to exonerate the Green Arrow.
She squared her shoulders. “Time to fight fire with fire,” she murmured to herself, opening a new document; the blank page staring back at her. She’d play Lex’s game, and fight back the only way she could. It seemed fitting. She began to type:
“WHY THE WORLD NEEDS HEROES”
Her editorial began by cataloging the major good deeds of the Green Arrow that had been reported and documented in the past year alone. She compared him to every day heroes; police, firefighters, EMTs, teachers, caregivers, any person who worked for the greater good or helped to better their community in any way. She compared him to Batman, and the Red Blue Blur. She rounded out the editorial by stating that we all needed heroes, and people to look up to, people who give us hope, and that the Green Arrow was just one of many. It was unfair to label him a murderer, and the evidence showed obviously, that the crimes committed were the work of some deranged mind seeking to destroy a true hero of Star City.
An hour passed, maybe two. Chloe lost track of time. Satisfied with her work, she printed up the rough draft, and headed toward the floor editor’s office. They gray-haired Mr. Byrne pushed his glasses back up as he talked on the phone, and gestured for her to hand him the paper she held, then waving her away. Leaving his office, knowing it was better not to press him, since he was more agreeable that way; she sat at her desk once more.
She busied herself with other things, stories she’d been working on. She waited.
And waited.
Two hours later the floor editor approached her desk. “What’s the meaning of this Sullivan?”
“I wrote the truth. Facts checked and all,” she defended simply.
“Do you know Adriana Spencer’s funeral is tomorrow?” When she didn’t answer, he crossed his arms over his chest as though considering this fact. A slow smile spread on his face. This would be perfect timing. “I like it. Best work you’ve done yet, Sullivan!” He walked away from her, paper in hand, waving it around, and tossing words over his shoulder, a grin so wide she thought his face would split. “It goes in tomorrow’s editorial column! As is!”
Chloe sank back into her chair, relief flooding her. She picked up her cell phone, excited to share her news with Oliver.
The following day, as promised, her editorial appeared. The paper received hundreds of calls regarding it; most of them positive, and Chloe was quite pleased with herself. Oliver was proud of her too, and appreciated her efforts to gain public support for the Green Arrow. Maybe they could fight this after all. In the mean time, they’d have to try to be one step ahead of Lex, yet he was a master at disappearing at will, and his whereabouts were unknown to the team, making surveillance impossible. Just one false move. He needed to make one move, one mistake and maybe then they’d be able to stop him.
Her desk phone rang the following morning.
“Sullivan speaking, how can I help you?” she answered, her voice cheerful.
“A deranged mind. Interesting choice of words, Chloe.”
Chloe’s blood ran cold.
“Do you really think your insignificant editorial is of any consequence to me? People will have forgotten it by tomorrow.”
She swallowed harshly. “Lex.”
“I’m not finished yet. But by the time I am, the Green Arrow’s name will be synonymous with terror. The murder of two women?” He made a sound of derision in the back of his throat. “This is only the beginning.”
End Chapter 14
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