Shipwreck To Soulmates-Thea Queen

ix. Deadshot

"I have armed security inside." James Holder called out, gripping the remains of his broken beer bottle in his hand. "All I have to do is call out."

"Go ahead." Isobel instructed him. "They can't hear you." His face became bewildered as Oliver and Isobel tossed their weapons onto the floor in front of him.

"What the hell do you two want?"

"How many people died in those fires?" Oliver asked him. His bow was at his side, but that could quickly change. Holder stayed silent. "How many?"

"The court says you don't owe your victims anything. We disagree. James Holder-" James Holder didn't live to hear the end of the sentence. A bullet flew into Holder's chest and his dead body fell into his pool. The vigilantes ducked behind his bar to cover, but returned shots with the shooter on the next rooftop over. All of a sudden, the shots stopped. Mystery man was gone. "He stole our disappearing act."

XXX

Carefully, Isobel weaved the stitches in and out of Oliver's arm. He was hit, but lucky for him it hadn't gone through any bone. She finished quickly, setting down the medical instruments just before noticing Oliver stumble.

"Ollie?"

"The bullet." He rasped, falling to the floor.

Her eyes went wide. "Poison." She leapt over the table, grabbing an old Lian Yu "home remedy" and forcibly shoving down Oliver's throat. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Isobel's hand quickly reached for his neck. Thank god he still had a pulse.

XXX

When Isobel finally stirred, she found herself in a dimly lit cave. She heard the water drip as her head pounded. Every moment she was awake, she wished she was asleep. That she would wake up and be back home or never wake up again at all. The stinging in her arm made her headache fade away. The arrow was still inside her arm. Her head snapped to the left where Oliver laid. He was still unconscious. Isobel's head snapped back to the center as he, who she'd deemed as 'the hooded man,' approached her.

"Who are you?" He didn't answer, but instead stood over her, a small bowl in his hands. "Why didn't you shoot me and my friend?"

As he spoke his native tongue, Oliver began to stir. He kept repeating the same motion, one that Isobel couldn't decode. She shook her head no, trying to express that she didn't understand. Not until she saw the contents of it. The herb and the water made Isobel gagged as she took down half of it before passing the rest to Oliver. Then, without warning, he pulled the arrows out.

XXX

"What happened?" Oliver asked, wide eyed, surveying the room. Thea sat on the couch, two police officers hovering over her. Leslie, Moira, Walter, and Diggle were scattered across the room. Leslie, who had been discharged the day prior, glared at Isobel- who hadn't come home the night before.

"The cops brought her home, she and some of her friends broke into a store, tried on some dresses last night. Lit up the breathalyzer like a Christmas tree. So, how was your evening?" Diggle irritatedly smiled, pissed at himself, as Isobel and Oliver had slipped past him again.

"You mean after we said we had to freshen up and then never came back?" Isobel teased, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Oh, you don't need to worry, Miss Reed. Your girlfriend is way more pissed than I am."

"Shit." Isobel muttered, following Diggle and Oliver into the room.

"Thank you officers." Walter smiled warmly at the pair. "Me and my wife appreciate it. I'll see you out."

Moira's smile faded as the officers left the room. "Last time it was public intoxication. This time breaking and entering. My, how we are moving up in the criminal world."

"You know, when you pay off the store owner, you should check out the merchandise. They got some pretty killer outfits." Thea crassly joked.

"Thea, go get ready for school."

"Uh, you know, I was thinking of taking a sick day."

Moira sighed, clearly not wanting to put up with the behavior. "Fine, then get some sleep." The room cleared quickly, and Isobel found herself following a more than upset Leslie out.

"I'm sorry, Les."

"Where were you last night?"

"Huh?" Isobel stopped dead in her tracks. She hated that she had to lie to Leslie. Again.

"You heard me." She seethed.

"I was with Oliver."

"Again. You're always with Oliver."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Isobel knew exactly what it meant, but she just couldn't fathom the thought.

"How am I supposed to know that you're not cheating on me?"

"Woah, woah, woah." Isobel took Leslie's hands in her own, pulling Leslie's eyes back to her as they averted her own. "Hey, look at me. If I was gonna cheat on you, I never would have walked back into your life. I swear." She rested her forehead on her girlfriend's. "I love you. I would never cheat on you. I promise you that."

XXX

"So, what do you think?" Oliver looked pridefully at Tommy as he opened the warehouse doors. The plan was simple- build a club over the vigilante lair so nobody would suspect a thing. "Great spot for a nightclub or what?"

"Sweet. Though, I gotta tell you man if you're thinking about calling it Queens I don't think you're going to get the clientele you were hoping for." Tommy teased.

"Private office." Oliver pointed towards the back.

"For the one on one meetings I would imagine." Tommy teased once more. "Hopefully the occasional two on one meetings. Man, are you sure you two want to do this?" Tommy snapped back to reality. It's not like either of you really have any experience in running a- well, anything. How about tomorrow night, the three of us, we go and scope out the competition. There's a new club opening downtown. It's called Poison."

"No can do Tommy Boy. Not unless Les wants to come. I'm trying to convince her I'm not cheating on her, so going out to a club is not the brightest idea right now."

"Boo." Tommy pouted childishly.

"Speaking of which, I better go home before Leslie cuts off my metaphorical balls."

"Thank you for clarifying that they were metaphorical."

"Oh, you're so very welcome."