Athena and the League of Assassins (An Arrow: Season 3 Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: Tracing Leads

The motorcycle with Oliver and I on it zipped through the roads with ease. Both of our earpieces beeped, and Oliver paged into his. 

'Merlyn stopped,' Diggle's voice came over the line. 'I got his position.' 

'Go.' 

'Air conditioner factory. 18th and Nelson. You want me to share this with Nyssa?' 

'No,' Oliver replied over the din of the motorbike engine and the cars nearby. 'She's liable to put an arrow in him before I can get any answers.' 

'Agreed.' 

We walked into the expansive, spacious factory. 

'There's no one here,' I said to Oliver. We looked out over the space and then he pressed a button on his suit to call it in. 'This place is empty.' 

'He's not here, Diggle,' Oliver said in the comms. 

'Hello, Oliver, Evelyn,' the voice of Malcolm Merlyn came over the comms. 'You're absolutely right. I'm not at the - what is it, the air conditioning factory? It's a very neat trick you have, but I'm sorry it didn't work out.'

'When I find you -' 

'You absolutely will. We need to talk. But I prefer a venue less conducive to conflict. Nelson Plaza at Coldwater and Fifth, bottom of the stairs. It's a very public place; you two will want to leave your masks behind. I think this should remain between the three of us, so if I even see one of your associates other than your sister, I promise you, you will not see me.' 

A couple hours later...

Oliver and I, minus our suits and masks, came to Nelson Plaza and looked around the area, scanning for any signs of Malcolm Merlyn. Suddenly a familiar voice, a voice we never would have wanted to hear again, spoke behind us. 

'Hello, Oliver, Evelyn! How are you?' We spun around, and stalked up to Merlyn. 'You've accomplished a lot with this city, I see.' 

'We're not here to discuss Starling,' Oliver growled. 

'You two think I killed Sara Lance?' 

'How else would you know she's dead?' I retorted. 

'These streets were mine long before you two laid claim to them,' Malcolm retorted back. 'This is still my city. I chose this place because crowds equal invisibility. Besides, I understand you're not killing people these days.' 

'I'm seriously considering making an exception,' Oliver growled back. 

'As am I,' I snapped, crossing my arms. 'What the hell did you want us here for?' Malcolm shared with me a short glare, then met both of our eyes. 

'Ra's al Ghul has placed a blood bounty on my head. Why would I try to get it lifted by killing the love of his daughter's life? It's illogical!' 

'Sara comes back to Starling,' Oliver replied, still keeping a calm facade, but the anger was simmering underneath. 'You come back to Starling. Sara's murdered.'

'I came back for the simplest and most noble of reasons - Thea,' Malcolm said. Oliver scoffed. 'Six months ago, during the siege, she was almost killed by one of Slade Wilson's Mirakuru soldiers. I protected her!' 

'You're lying!' I growled. 'Thea made it out before the attack.' 

'Unfortunately, she didn't make it out,' Malcolm replied. 'But you two wouldn't know that, because you were out being - what do you call yourselves these days? The Arrow and Athena. That was the night I realised that Thea needs me!'