Red meets Blue

Chapter 1: Barry

"TELL ME THE PASSCODE!!" The thug screams in my ear. I stare at the water and bite back a retort. These guys didn't appreciate sass, and I had already learned that the hard way. When I don't respond, the man grabs the back of my head and shoves it under water for what feels like the millionth time. I struggle against his grip, desperately trying to free myself. A useless fight. He is way stronger than me and apparently really good with knots. The rope around my wrists is slowly cutting of my circulation. I feel panic rising in my chest as I slowly run out of air. He'd hadn't held my under for this long before. He wasn't gonna kill me, was he? No, he still needed the code. Which I didn't actually know but whatever. The man pulls my head out of the water and I gasp for air, relief washing over me. The guy's buddies laugh as I cough.
"Well?" He hiss. "You gonna tell me what I wanna know or are we gonna do this until the bubbles stop?"

"I told you." I manage. "I don't know what the code is."

"Liar. You work with the Arrow. He must have told you. Just tell us, and we'll let you go, kid. No funny business I promise."

Kid? Seriously? I don't even look that young. This time, I can't hold back.
"Surprisingly enough, the masked vigilante who breaks necks as a hobby isn't very open about his plans. Now, in case you didn't get it the first time, I DON'T KNOW THE CODE." Okay, normally I'm not this rude but I was a little grumpy after the whole drowning thing. I was also freaking out internally because I had sent Oliver a distress message like half an hour ago and he hadn't shown up yet. He always comes when I call, or so I thought.

"Alright, I've had enough of this kid's attitude." Another man steps forward, pulling a gun out of his belt. A very deadly looking gun. This was not looking good. I could outrun bullets, but not when I was tied up and on my knees. He cocks the gun and presses it against my dripping wet forehead. "He's not telling us anything anyways. I say we send the Arrow a nice message." My heart pounds against my ribcage. I wish I was braver. I wish I wasn't scared. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it.

"No." Says the first guy, who was clearly in charge. "We'll use him to draw in the Arrow. He'll have to come for his little pet freak here. Then we'll get those codes." Freak? That seems a little strong. The second guy nods slowly, thinking it over in his tiny brain. Just then, one of the guards collapses. A red dart was sticking out of his neck. The rest grab their guns, looking around for the attacker. I couldn't help but smile. Oliver had finally come. And while he was keeping them busy, maybe I could get hands free. Admittedly, sleeper darts weren't really his style and neither was red but it had to be him. Who else? A second man falls to the ground. There were only four guys left.

"Keith! Go deal with this punk!" The first man barks. Keith? Ugh. No wonder he became a criminal. Clearly his parents hated him. Keith takes a few steps into the shadows, but seconds later we heard a scuffling, a cry of pain and then silence. The other guys look at each other. The leader motions to the other two to check it out.

At this point I had got my hands in front of me and was currently working at the extremely stubborn knot when the leader turned to me. He sees what I was doing and chucks
"Oh no, you don't." He said, pointing his gun at me. A shot rings out and I feel a blinding pain in my leg. I cry out and collapse.  I look down through the haze and see blood pouring from my thigh. Of course, he shot me in the leg so I couldn't run. Smart guy. Unfortunately for him, I could heal myself. I could hear fighting and gunfire around me but was a little more focused on my heavily bleeding flesh wound. I manage to sit up and reach down. If I could get the bullet out my elf could start healing. As soon as I tried, though, shooting pains course through me and I nearly pass out. So that wasn't happening. I took deep breaths and decided to check out what else was going on. Everyone was unconscious except the leader. He turns around and around, pointing his gun randomly.

"C'mon then!" He shouts. I notice his gun was shaking ever so slightly. "Come and get me you piece of-" A figure drops down from the ceiling directly on top of him. He hits the ground with a sickening thud and doesn't move. The figure stands and turned to me. It isn't Oliver. He's wearing all black and has tangled, shoulder length brown hair. The weirdest part though, was that his left arm appears to be entirely made of metal. He walks towards me and kneels down so we were at eye level. He looks like he could rip me in half, although his huge brown eyes are full of sadness. I wonder what could make someone who can kill like eight people in five minutes sad.

"You okay?" He says softly.

"I-I-I'm..." I stammer and then, like the incredibly heroic person I am, I pass out. The last thing I feel is his hand on my shoulder.