Signal Fire
Chapter 16
Lex had explained the entire plan before pressing the speakerphone button, so that Philip, who stood hovering around anxiously, could now be privy to the entire conversation. “And what makes you think I’d help you?” came the deep, raspy voice on the other end.
“Make no mistake, ultimately we’re doing each other a favor. Let’s call it mutually beneficial,” Lex swiveled confidently in his chair.
Philip paced the small office, listening intently, glancing nervously from Lex to the disembodied voice floating up from the desk phone. That Lex wanted to involve an outside party, unsettled him.
Lex, continued. “It would be in our best interests to work together.”
“We do have a common enemy,” the sandpaper voice allowed.
“I’m sure you can empathize with my situation.”
“All too well.”
“Then I can count on you and the False Facers, Roman?”
The gravelly voice on the other end laughed sardonically, causing Lex to smile, and gooseflesh to rise, traveling across Philip’s skin. He shivered. “Taking revenge against Wayne. Kidnapping Wayne Enterprise board members. It’s right up my alley. But the Star City Gazette? What’s in it for me?”
Lex sat upright in his chair. “You help me take down Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne, and I help you regain control of Janus Cosmetics. Think of it; legitimate businessman by day, king of Gotham’s underworld by night. It’s perfect.”
Lex knew he’d find an ally in Roman Sionis. Roman had known Bruce since childhood, and learned the fine art of hypocrisy from his parents when it came to the Wayne family. The masks his parents wore in public caused his resentment to grow, festering over time. When Roman inherited his father’s cosmetics company after murdering his parents, setting their home ablaze, he’d run the family business into the ground. In a last ditch effort to revive the company; Roman had scientists develop a new make-up. Unfortunately, it went to market before it could be tested thoroughly, and the chemicals proved to be toxic, disfiguring several hundred women. Bruce Wayne offered to bail out Janus Cosmetics on the condition that Sionis give up control, and allow Wayne to appoint a new board of directors. Sionis agreed, but couldn’t escape the sense of fury and humiliation he felt over the entire incident. Since that time, Roman Sionis had taken to wearing a black mask fashioned from his mother’s casket. He’d become a force to be reckoned with in Gotham’s underworld, a criminal mastermind, with a league of followers known as the False Facers. Each member wore a mask while on the job, and in his presence.
Lex knew Roman Sionis, A.K.A, Black Mask, had reason to target Wayne. If Lex could convince him that working together would benefit them both, there was no way they could lose. Unlike Philip, Sionis would have no qualms about harming Chloe Sullivan. He was sadistic and ruthless, known for killing his own men on the spot when they disobeyed his orders, and for disfiguring his own estranged girlfriend. Lex knew the man was at best mentally unstable; but weren’t they all?
Lex smirked. “I know you want revenge against Wayne, just as I do. He and Oliver Queen all but stole my company right from under me, just as Wayne took from you. Together, we can beat them, Roman.”
There was a long pause, and then Black Mask finally spoke. “I’ll agree on two conditions,” he rasped. “All of your men must wear masks on the job, and they must follow my orders.”
“Of course,” Lex replied indulgently. “As long as there’s no hitch in the plans, and it all goes down as we’ve agreed.”
The phone line clicked dead. Lex sat back in his chair, a smug, pleased expression crossing his features. Philip closed his eyes, turning away.
* * * * *
After the night of the gala, Chloe and Oliver took a secluded weekend getaway in Malibu, where he’d hinted more than once at his offer of a lifetime ‘merger’. For someone who had wanted to wait for the perfect moment to ask her to marry him, his timing was awful, he knew. He didn’t even have a ring, but that was the least of his worries. There was so much uncertainty now, with the Green Arrow’s reputation teetering on the verge of ruin, Lex out there somewhere plotting against them daily, and Bruce’s warning to keep Chloe safe echoing in the recesses of Oliver’s mind. His timing couldn’t be worse. But maybe it was for those very reasons that he’d wanted her so desperately to be his, permanently; the eminent danger and uncertainty around them, creating the emotional need to keep her forever close to him.
“This will all be over soon,” she’d whispered in his ear, finally speaking after he’d made love to her on the darkened, secluded beach. The pulse of rolling waves lapping the shore echoed the rhythm of their lovemaking, and now the sea breeze cooled their heated skin. Her small hands made dents as she moved them, pressing down against the muscles of his lower back as he lay spent and languid above her, his forearms bearing most of his weight, his face buried against the curve of her neck. She held him there as they calmed, not wanting him to go, wanting to keep him inside her. “And when it is,” she sighed contentedly, “I promise I’ll let Lois know we’ve decided to make it legal.”
He could hear the smile in her soft voice. Lois had been after them for months since Chloe had come to live with him in Star City. Oliver moved his hips forward slightly, still sensitive there, yet pressing himself into her in spite of it. He loved it when she held him, telling him with her body and her hands that she wanted him to stay and remain a part of her. Sometimes after they’d made love, he’d stay inside her for long moments, surrendering to her soft touches and kisses until he grew hard again. Other times, they’d remain connected until it was no longer possible, and they both succumbed to sleep.
“I’m sure Lois will be glad to know,” he murmured against her throat.
“I do want to marry you, Ollie,” she reassured him, clasping him tighter against her. “After this is over.”
“What if it never ends, Chloe?”
Her hand drifted to his hair, fingers threading into the softness, cradling his head. There would always be challenges, danger would always exist around them, but there would be moments of respite, like this one. “It will end. It has to. And when it does, the tabloids will be wondering how much groveling and begging you had to do, to convince me to marry you.”
“Mmmm,” he rumbled against her skin. “The only begging I recall hearing recently was yours.”
A short laugh burst from her lips. “You love hearing me beg for you,” she whispered saucily, nipping his earlobe gently.
“I do. And I just might give you everything you want, every time,” he answered playfully, palming her breast, passing a thumb over her nipple and enjoying the small sound of pleasure she made. “I have to keep my sidekick happy.” He lifted his head from her then, eyes searching hers in the dark earnestly. “Marry me, Mistress Watchtower.”
Chloe thought back to another time, a lifetime ago it seemed, when another man had asked her to marry him. Blue eyes just as earnest as the dark ones she gazed into now, as he offered her a plastic kiddie ring. She thought she had known then what love was. She couldn’t have been more wrong. This man, the man who hovered over her now, filling her body, engulfed in her arms; this man was love. “Yes, Arrow.” It was the only answer she could ever give him.
Oliver’s face broke into a smile for her, and it was all she could do not to melt into a puddle of goo beneath him. His grin turned playful as he slipped from her body, and rolled them on the blankets, eliciting a squeaky giggle from her lips. Chloe, straddled above him now, began kissing him everywhere, her hands and mouth awakening his beautiful body once more, teasing him mercilessly until he was the one begging. Turnabout was fair play after all.
The weekend was over all to quickly, and Monday morning meant back to work, back to reality and the real world.
“Looks like Bruce has his hands full,” Chloe uttered, sipping the last gulp of coffee down at the breakfast table. She handed her portion of the newspaper to Oliver. “This is awful. Why didn’t he tell us about this?”
“Two Wayne Enterprises’ board members kidnapped in two days, and its only Monday,” Oliver answered, his brows furrowing as his eyes scanned the article. The board members had been taken from their homes during the night, dragged out of their beds by men dressed in black, wearing dark masks.
They lifted blonde heads simultaneously to look at one another, unspoken communication passing between them. It was Lex. It had to be.
Oliver folded up the paper, rising from his seat. “I’ll call Bruce, then head into the office later.”
Chloe glanced at the wall clock, picking up their dishes and heading for the sink, depositing them. “I’ve got to get going,” she said, grabbing up her purse and keys from the counter, eager to get to the Gazette, the investigative reporter in her, just itching to find out more information about the Wayne kidnappings.
Oliver grasped her wrist, pulling her up against his side and slipping a hand at the curve of her spine to hold her there. She gazed up at him quizzically as he pulled out his cell phone with his free hand, instead of giving her the good-bye kiss she expected. He pressed one of the buttons, holding the phone to his ear. “Ms. Sullivan is leaving now. Remember my instructions?” He paused momentarily before responding. “Good.”
Her brows furrowed as she watched him slip the phone back into the pocket of his dress slacks. “What was that all about?”
Oliver enfolded her with both arms now, dipping his head to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Nothing. Only that you’ll have company at work today. Bodyguards.”
“What?”
“We can’t be too careful, Chloe.”
“Ollie…”
“Humor me.”
“You’re expecting trouble?”
“Trouble’s your middle name,” he quirked a brow, a playful grin on his lips, trying to dispel her worry.
“Oliver, what’s going on?”
“Just trying to keep Star City’s up and coming reporter, and the defender of the Green Arrow safe,” was all he would say, refusing to reveal his very real fear over Bruce’s warning. If it were up to Oliver, he’d have her stay home at the manor house under armed guard until Lex was behind bars or dead, but he knew she’d never agree to that. Having bodyguards escort her everywhere, when he couldn’t be with her, was the next best thing.
She knew he wasn’t telling her everything, or that perhaps he was simply being overly protective. She willed him to tell her more with her eyes.
“Just a precaution,” he answered softly. “After all that’s happened, it’s not unreasonable, right?”
She sighed. “All right. But they had better stay out of my way.”
“As long as you don’t try to give them the slip,” he touched the tip of her nose with his fingertip.
She rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up in a sheepish grin. He knew her too well. “I won’t.”
“Good,” he murmured in relief, lowering his head once more to possess her lips with his before she headed toward the door.
Like two dutiful Dobermans, her bodyguards stayed with her the entire day. Chloe had the urge to ask if they were housebroken, but thought better of it. They were only doing a job after all, no sense in making their lives miserable when her mood had turned sour over unwarranted comments from co-workers, and her boss, Mr. Byrne, as well. Having to explain the need for two very large men in suits to check the women’s restroom before she entered, and stand outside of it until she’d finished was bad enough.
Chloe submitted another Green Arrow editorial at the request of Byrne. People were eating them up, he’d said. The newspaper’s circulation had increased, and her editorials were the talk of the town. If she kept up the good work, she’d soon be sitting pretty under the Tiffany lamps.
In-between real work, Chloe tried to dig up information on the Gotham kidnappings, but could find no other new information. She’d called Oliver and he’d only said that Bruce was working on it, and that he believed Lex was behind it as well.
Finally, most of the day staff was gone or readying to leave. Chloe glanced at the time on her computer. It was nearing 6:00 pm. She fished her cell phone out of her purse, dialing Oliver to let him know she was on her way home.
“Hey,” she spoke, glancing over her shoulder at Doberman number 1. “Everything’s fine, normal day. I’m about to leave the Gazette building in a few minutes.”
“Good. I’m stuck here at the office for awhile longer, but I shouldn’t be too late.”
“Okay…”
Suddenly there was a commotion coming from the outer lobby area, shouting, screaming voices, the sound of shattering glass as windows were smashed, the echoing report of machine gun fire. People began running toward the inner office where Chloe rose from her seat in shock. She blinked, not hearing Oliver’s panicked voice on the other end.
“Chloe? Chloe! What’s happening?”
Her bodyguards stood at attention, weapons drawn, but the crowd of Gazette workers streaming into the room, made it difficult to discern friend from foe.
“Oh my God,” was all he heard her say.
Dozens upon dozens of men dressed in black military fatigues, dark masks covering their faces, wielding machine guns poured into the room, blazing their way inside, herding the terrified group, aiming at the ceiling, taking out overhead lights. “Everybody get down!” someone yelled. “Get down!”
Chloe couldn't move. She watched, horrified, as people shrieked and cowered beneath the ceiling dust and shattering glass fixtures. Some of the men in black shoving desks and knocking furniture over, out of the way, clearing a space in the center of the room. A large body knocked her down behind her desk. Her bodyguard no doubt. Only when she strained to look over at him, she saw that his eyes were sightless, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Chloe couldn’t stifle the scream that escaped her throat. Another grunt, and thud nearby toppled her chair, and she knew the other guard was dead as well.
“Chloe!!” Oliver could hear it all, muffled through the cell phone, her scream ripping through his heart. What the hell was going on? “Chloe!!” He wasn’t going to wait, and left his office, pressing the elevator button impatiently, heading for the lower level-parking garage.
Suddenly she remembered the cell phone in her hand. “Ollie! We’re under attack!” A shriek of shock and pain escaped her again as someone grasped a hunk of her hair at the back of her head, lifting her up from the floor by her hair. A blur of green leather filled her vision. She gazed up, wide-eyed into the hooded face, shock coursing through her. Dark glasses covered his eyes, but she knew. “Philip?” she panted as his grip on her hair tightened. “Why?” But he didn’t answer; merely shoved her closer to the crowd of others huddled in terror on the floor.
Sick fear coiled in Oliver’s gut at the sound of her cry, his entire body trembling with adrenaline as he willed the godforsaken elevator to move faster. “Chloe!” She didn’t answer, but the cell phone connection was still open, the sounds of screaming and shouting and gunfire still coming from the other end. Oliver fished out his business cell phone from his suit coat pocket, dialing 911. Finally the elevator doors opened and Oliver ran toward his car.
“911 Emergency.”
“Yes, there’s an attack taking place at the Star City Gazette building!”
“We’re already aware of that sir, we have crews on the way.”
Oliver jumped into his car, fumbling with the keys in his panic and haste, cell phone still pressed to his ear. “Talk to me Chloe!” he shouted, pleading now, desperate to hear her voice, willing her with every fiber in his being to answer him. The phone line went dead, and he made several frantic attempts to call her again, getting her voicemail every time. He’d nearly tossed the phone out from the car window in anger as he sped through the garage on his way toward the Gazette Building. It rang.
“Chloe?”
“It’s Bruce. I know you’re on your way to the Gazette. Don’t go. Meet me first.”
“Are you insane? Chloe’s in that building!”
“And if you don’t go off half-cocked, we’ll get her out. Keep your head, or you’ll lose her.”
“No way. I’m going in there and getting her out. Now.”
“Listen to me,” Bruce continued to speak calmly. “You don’t know whom your dealing with. This is not just Lex we’re up against. It’s Black Mask and his False Facers. He practically runs the entire underground in Gotham. He’s the one responsible for the kidnappings. He’s already disfigured and maimed two of my board members. Don’t think he won’t do the same to Chloe. One false move and she’s dead.”
Oliver gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he drove; he could barely breath, his heart pounding with anxiety, the heat rising to his eyes, he pressed his lips together, teeth clenching as tears of anger and frustration threatened. Traffic was becoming congested as he neared the Gazette building, police redirecting cars as the roads surrounding it were shut down. He wanted to tell Bruce to fuck off, to leave him alone and let him handle this. He wanted to ask him what the hell he knew about possibly losing the woman you loved, a woman who meant everything.
Oliver swallowed tightly. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the manor house. I flew in as soon as I could. A source with a last minute change of heart dropped a few hints earlier, and then filled me in on their entire plan moments ago. It was too late to stop it. But we can still save everyone, including Chloe. Meet me first.”
“Son of a bitch…” Oliver growled, fist pounding the steering wheel, his voice trailing off, not wanting to delay further, every part of his soul screaming for him to get to Chloe, now. But he turned the car around, tires squealing, heading back toward Queen manor. “You’d better be right about this,” Oliver answered, his voice hard, threatening.
“Just get here.”
End Chapter 16
“Make no mistake, ultimately we’re doing each other a favor. Let’s call it mutually beneficial,” Lex swiveled confidently in his chair.
Philip paced the small office, listening intently, glancing nervously from Lex to the disembodied voice floating up from the desk phone. That Lex wanted to involve an outside party, unsettled him.
Lex, continued. “It would be in our best interests to work together.”
“We do have a common enemy,” the sandpaper voice allowed.
“I’m sure you can empathize with my situation.”
“All too well.”
“Then I can count on you and the False Facers, Roman?”
The gravelly voice on the other end laughed sardonically, causing Lex to smile, and gooseflesh to rise, traveling across Philip’s skin. He shivered. “Taking revenge against Wayne. Kidnapping Wayne Enterprise board members. It’s right up my alley. But the Star City Gazette? What’s in it for me?”
Lex sat upright in his chair. “You help me take down Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne, and I help you regain control of Janus Cosmetics. Think of it; legitimate businessman by day, king of Gotham’s underworld by night. It’s perfect.”
Lex knew he’d find an ally in Roman Sionis. Roman had known Bruce since childhood, and learned the fine art of hypocrisy from his parents when it came to the Wayne family. The masks his parents wore in public caused his resentment to grow, festering over time. When Roman inherited his father’s cosmetics company after murdering his parents, setting their home ablaze, he’d run the family business into the ground. In a last ditch effort to revive the company; Roman had scientists develop a new make-up. Unfortunately, it went to market before it could be tested thoroughly, and the chemicals proved to be toxic, disfiguring several hundred women. Bruce Wayne offered to bail out Janus Cosmetics on the condition that Sionis give up control, and allow Wayne to appoint a new board of directors. Sionis agreed, but couldn’t escape the sense of fury and humiliation he felt over the entire incident. Since that time, Roman Sionis had taken to wearing a black mask fashioned from his mother’s casket. He’d become a force to be reckoned with in Gotham’s underworld, a criminal mastermind, with a league of followers known as the False Facers. Each member wore a mask while on the job, and in his presence.
Lex knew Roman Sionis, A.K.A, Black Mask, had reason to target Wayne. If Lex could convince him that working together would benefit them both, there was no way they could lose. Unlike Philip, Sionis would have no qualms about harming Chloe Sullivan. He was sadistic and ruthless, known for killing his own men on the spot when they disobeyed his orders, and for disfiguring his own estranged girlfriend. Lex knew the man was at best mentally unstable; but weren’t they all?
Lex smirked. “I know you want revenge against Wayne, just as I do. He and Oliver Queen all but stole my company right from under me, just as Wayne took from you. Together, we can beat them, Roman.”
There was a long pause, and then Black Mask finally spoke. “I’ll agree on two conditions,” he rasped. “All of your men must wear masks on the job, and they must follow my orders.”
“Of course,” Lex replied indulgently. “As long as there’s no hitch in the plans, and it all goes down as we’ve agreed.”
The phone line clicked dead. Lex sat back in his chair, a smug, pleased expression crossing his features. Philip closed his eyes, turning away.
* * * * *
After the night of the gala, Chloe and Oliver took a secluded weekend getaway in Malibu, where he’d hinted more than once at his offer of a lifetime ‘merger’. For someone who had wanted to wait for the perfect moment to ask her to marry him, his timing was awful, he knew. He didn’t even have a ring, but that was the least of his worries. There was so much uncertainty now, with the Green Arrow’s reputation teetering on the verge of ruin, Lex out there somewhere plotting against them daily, and Bruce’s warning to keep Chloe safe echoing in the recesses of Oliver’s mind. His timing couldn’t be worse. But maybe it was for those very reasons that he’d wanted her so desperately to be his, permanently; the eminent danger and uncertainty around them, creating the emotional need to keep her forever close to him.
“This will all be over soon,” she’d whispered in his ear, finally speaking after he’d made love to her on the darkened, secluded beach. The pulse of rolling waves lapping the shore echoed the rhythm of their lovemaking, and now the sea breeze cooled their heated skin. Her small hands made dents as she moved them, pressing down against the muscles of his lower back as he lay spent and languid above her, his forearms bearing most of his weight, his face buried against the curve of her neck. She held him there as they calmed, not wanting him to go, wanting to keep him inside her. “And when it is,” she sighed contentedly, “I promise I’ll let Lois know we’ve decided to make it legal.”
He could hear the smile in her soft voice. Lois had been after them for months since Chloe had come to live with him in Star City. Oliver moved his hips forward slightly, still sensitive there, yet pressing himself into her in spite of it. He loved it when she held him, telling him with her body and her hands that she wanted him to stay and remain a part of her. Sometimes after they’d made love, he’d stay inside her for long moments, surrendering to her soft touches and kisses until he grew hard again. Other times, they’d remain connected until it was no longer possible, and they both succumbed to sleep.
“I’m sure Lois will be glad to know,” he murmured against her throat.
“I do want to marry you, Ollie,” she reassured him, clasping him tighter against her. “After this is over.”
“What if it never ends, Chloe?”
Her hand drifted to his hair, fingers threading into the softness, cradling his head. There would always be challenges, danger would always exist around them, but there would be moments of respite, like this one. “It will end. It has to. And when it does, the tabloids will be wondering how much groveling and begging you had to do, to convince me to marry you.”
“Mmmm,” he rumbled against her skin. “The only begging I recall hearing recently was yours.”
A short laugh burst from her lips. “You love hearing me beg for you,” she whispered saucily, nipping his earlobe gently.
“I do. And I just might give you everything you want, every time,” he answered playfully, palming her breast, passing a thumb over her nipple and enjoying the small sound of pleasure she made. “I have to keep my sidekick happy.” He lifted his head from her then, eyes searching hers in the dark earnestly. “Marry me, Mistress Watchtower.”
Chloe thought back to another time, a lifetime ago it seemed, when another man had asked her to marry him. Blue eyes just as earnest as the dark ones she gazed into now, as he offered her a plastic kiddie ring. She thought she had known then what love was. She couldn’t have been more wrong. This man, the man who hovered over her now, filling her body, engulfed in her arms; this man was love. “Yes, Arrow.” It was the only answer she could ever give him.
Oliver’s face broke into a smile for her, and it was all she could do not to melt into a puddle of goo beneath him. His grin turned playful as he slipped from her body, and rolled them on the blankets, eliciting a squeaky giggle from her lips. Chloe, straddled above him now, began kissing him everywhere, her hands and mouth awakening his beautiful body once more, teasing him mercilessly until he was the one begging. Turnabout was fair play after all.
The weekend was over all to quickly, and Monday morning meant back to work, back to reality and the real world.
“Looks like Bruce has his hands full,” Chloe uttered, sipping the last gulp of coffee down at the breakfast table. She handed her portion of the newspaper to Oliver. “This is awful. Why didn’t he tell us about this?”
“Two Wayne Enterprises’ board members kidnapped in two days, and its only Monday,” Oliver answered, his brows furrowing as his eyes scanned the article. The board members had been taken from their homes during the night, dragged out of their beds by men dressed in black, wearing dark masks.
They lifted blonde heads simultaneously to look at one another, unspoken communication passing between them. It was Lex. It had to be.
Oliver folded up the paper, rising from his seat. “I’ll call Bruce, then head into the office later.”
Chloe glanced at the wall clock, picking up their dishes and heading for the sink, depositing them. “I’ve got to get going,” she said, grabbing up her purse and keys from the counter, eager to get to the Gazette, the investigative reporter in her, just itching to find out more information about the Wayne kidnappings.
Oliver grasped her wrist, pulling her up against his side and slipping a hand at the curve of her spine to hold her there. She gazed up at him quizzically as he pulled out his cell phone with his free hand, instead of giving her the good-bye kiss she expected. He pressed one of the buttons, holding the phone to his ear. “Ms. Sullivan is leaving now. Remember my instructions?” He paused momentarily before responding. “Good.”
Her brows furrowed as she watched him slip the phone back into the pocket of his dress slacks. “What was that all about?”
Oliver enfolded her with both arms now, dipping his head to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Nothing. Only that you’ll have company at work today. Bodyguards.”
“What?”
“We can’t be too careful, Chloe.”
“Ollie…”
“Humor me.”
“You’re expecting trouble?”
“Trouble’s your middle name,” he quirked a brow, a playful grin on his lips, trying to dispel her worry.
“Oliver, what’s going on?”
“Just trying to keep Star City’s up and coming reporter, and the defender of the Green Arrow safe,” was all he would say, refusing to reveal his very real fear over Bruce’s warning. If it were up to Oliver, he’d have her stay home at the manor house under armed guard until Lex was behind bars or dead, but he knew she’d never agree to that. Having bodyguards escort her everywhere, when he couldn’t be with her, was the next best thing.
She knew he wasn’t telling her everything, or that perhaps he was simply being overly protective. She willed him to tell her more with her eyes.
“Just a precaution,” he answered softly. “After all that’s happened, it’s not unreasonable, right?”
She sighed. “All right. But they had better stay out of my way.”
“As long as you don’t try to give them the slip,” he touched the tip of her nose with his fingertip.
She rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up in a sheepish grin. He knew her too well. “I won’t.”
“Good,” he murmured in relief, lowering his head once more to possess her lips with his before she headed toward the door.
Like two dutiful Dobermans, her bodyguards stayed with her the entire day. Chloe had the urge to ask if they were housebroken, but thought better of it. They were only doing a job after all, no sense in making their lives miserable when her mood had turned sour over unwarranted comments from co-workers, and her boss, Mr. Byrne, as well. Having to explain the need for two very large men in suits to check the women’s restroom before she entered, and stand outside of it until she’d finished was bad enough.
Chloe submitted another Green Arrow editorial at the request of Byrne. People were eating them up, he’d said. The newspaper’s circulation had increased, and her editorials were the talk of the town. If she kept up the good work, she’d soon be sitting pretty under the Tiffany lamps.
In-between real work, Chloe tried to dig up information on the Gotham kidnappings, but could find no other new information. She’d called Oliver and he’d only said that Bruce was working on it, and that he believed Lex was behind it as well.
Finally, most of the day staff was gone or readying to leave. Chloe glanced at the time on her computer. It was nearing 6:00 pm. She fished her cell phone out of her purse, dialing Oliver to let him know she was on her way home.
“Hey,” she spoke, glancing over her shoulder at Doberman number 1. “Everything’s fine, normal day. I’m about to leave the Gazette building in a few minutes.”
“Good. I’m stuck here at the office for awhile longer, but I shouldn’t be too late.”
“Okay…”
Suddenly there was a commotion coming from the outer lobby area, shouting, screaming voices, the sound of shattering glass as windows were smashed, the echoing report of machine gun fire. People began running toward the inner office where Chloe rose from her seat in shock. She blinked, not hearing Oliver’s panicked voice on the other end.
“Chloe? Chloe! What’s happening?”
Her bodyguards stood at attention, weapons drawn, but the crowd of Gazette workers streaming into the room, made it difficult to discern friend from foe.
“Oh my God,” was all he heard her say.
Dozens upon dozens of men dressed in black military fatigues, dark masks covering their faces, wielding machine guns poured into the room, blazing their way inside, herding the terrified group, aiming at the ceiling, taking out overhead lights. “Everybody get down!” someone yelled. “Get down!”
Chloe couldn't move. She watched, horrified, as people shrieked and cowered beneath the ceiling dust and shattering glass fixtures. Some of the men in black shoving desks and knocking furniture over, out of the way, clearing a space in the center of the room. A large body knocked her down behind her desk. Her bodyguard no doubt. Only when she strained to look over at him, she saw that his eyes were sightless, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Chloe couldn’t stifle the scream that escaped her throat. Another grunt, and thud nearby toppled her chair, and she knew the other guard was dead as well.
“Chloe!!” Oliver could hear it all, muffled through the cell phone, her scream ripping through his heart. What the hell was going on? “Chloe!!” He wasn’t going to wait, and left his office, pressing the elevator button impatiently, heading for the lower level-parking garage.
Suddenly she remembered the cell phone in her hand. “Ollie! We’re under attack!” A shriek of shock and pain escaped her again as someone grasped a hunk of her hair at the back of her head, lifting her up from the floor by her hair. A blur of green leather filled her vision. She gazed up, wide-eyed into the hooded face, shock coursing through her. Dark glasses covered his eyes, but she knew. “Philip?” she panted as his grip on her hair tightened. “Why?” But he didn’t answer; merely shoved her closer to the crowd of others huddled in terror on the floor.
Sick fear coiled in Oliver’s gut at the sound of her cry, his entire body trembling with adrenaline as he willed the godforsaken elevator to move faster. “Chloe!” She didn’t answer, but the cell phone connection was still open, the sounds of screaming and shouting and gunfire still coming from the other end. Oliver fished out his business cell phone from his suit coat pocket, dialing 911. Finally the elevator doors opened and Oliver ran toward his car.
“911 Emergency.”
“Yes, there’s an attack taking place at the Star City Gazette building!”
“We’re already aware of that sir, we have crews on the way.”
Oliver jumped into his car, fumbling with the keys in his panic and haste, cell phone still pressed to his ear. “Talk to me Chloe!” he shouted, pleading now, desperate to hear her voice, willing her with every fiber in his being to answer him. The phone line went dead, and he made several frantic attempts to call her again, getting her voicemail every time. He’d nearly tossed the phone out from the car window in anger as he sped through the garage on his way toward the Gazette Building. It rang.
“Chloe?”
“It’s Bruce. I know you’re on your way to the Gazette. Don’t go. Meet me first.”
“Are you insane? Chloe’s in that building!”
“And if you don’t go off half-cocked, we’ll get her out. Keep your head, or you’ll lose her.”
“No way. I’m going in there and getting her out. Now.”
“Listen to me,” Bruce continued to speak calmly. “You don’t know whom your dealing with. This is not just Lex we’re up against. It’s Black Mask and his False Facers. He practically runs the entire underground in Gotham. He’s the one responsible for the kidnappings. He’s already disfigured and maimed two of my board members. Don’t think he won’t do the same to Chloe. One false move and she’s dead.”
Oliver gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he drove; he could barely breath, his heart pounding with anxiety, the heat rising to his eyes, he pressed his lips together, teeth clenching as tears of anger and frustration threatened. Traffic was becoming congested as he neared the Gazette building, police redirecting cars as the roads surrounding it were shut down. He wanted to tell Bruce to fuck off, to leave him alone and let him handle this. He wanted to ask him what the hell he knew about possibly losing the woman you loved, a woman who meant everything.
Oliver swallowed tightly. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the manor house. I flew in as soon as I could. A source with a last minute change of heart dropped a few hints earlier, and then filled me in on their entire plan moments ago. It was too late to stop it. But we can still save everyone, including Chloe. Meet me first.”
“Son of a bitch…” Oliver growled, fist pounding the steering wheel, his voice trailing off, not wanting to delay further, every part of his soul screaming for him to get to Chloe, now. But he turned the car around, tires squealing, heading back toward Queen manor. “You’d better be right about this,” Oliver answered, his voice hard, threatening.
“Just get here.”
End Chapter 16
wow!!!
ReplyDeleteHey it's getting good wheres the next chapter??lol
ReplyDeleteplease find the time to write! I cannot get enough of your stories. i have read them all 3-4 times. you are just amazing!
ReplyDelete