Arrow: Fracture Part 3

Before Darkness

A single overhead lamp illuminated the dark room as a single man stepped through the doorway, not stopping as the door slid shut behind him. The man moved to his desk and sat down, immediately typing a command on his keyboard and bringing his monitor to life. His dark salt and pepper hair was kept neatly in an old fashioned way, as was his suit and tie. A high aurora of personal respect hung from the man as he brought up a secure chat link on his computer, wasting no time by quickly confirming the identity checks. A glass pad on his desk flashed, beckoning his handprint to scan for authorization. The built-in camera on the monitor thermally scanned the man's face, confirming that he wasn't in fact wearing a mask or anything that would trigger an alarm. The beam of light danced across his eyes again, this time scanning his retinas for any sign of distress or added adrenaline, in case the man was being forced to access the program. The scan ended and confirmed the man's state of condition, granting access to the program. The monitor switched to a new window with the live feed of a women answering the call.

"Yes." She began, her dark black hair dangling from her shoulders.

"Madam Chancellor, I have a report on the situation." The man began, his tone purely business. "The device is finished and in route to our main facility for phase two. As requested I've sent you the arrangements for our strike teams, who will be moving into position shortly."

"I have received this information, which is why I asked for you to call." The Chancellor stated, cutting off her subordinate. The man paused before asking.

"Is there a concern with the arrangements?"

"I understand that you specifically altered Mr. Wilson's assignment, moving him from Starling City to Gotham." The Chancellor explained, stopping to allow an explanation.

"Yes. I didn't think it was best to have Slade Wilson so close to Oliver Queen during such an important event, it could prove disastrous for our operation." The man calmly explained, showing no signs of regret for his decision. He fought to maintain his composure as he felt the eyes of the Chancellor chipping away at any sign of weakness he was hiding beneath his surface.

"Are you sure that is the only reason behind your decision Mr. Whorrsmen?" The Chancellor asked, an eyebrow raised. Her thin smile doing nothing to calm the man's nerves. Whorrsmen took a deep breath and firmly answered.

"My allegiance is to HIVE Madam Chancellor, I can assure you that." The confident smile on her face lingered for a moment as the Chancellor seemed to enjoy the mental torture she ensued in others.

"I'm sure it is. Proceed with the operation Director Whorrsmen." She finished, ending the call with her grin disappearing from the screen as it turned to black.

The light patter of rain against the window gently awoke Oliver as he turned to check the cityscape beside him. The early morning sun was barely breaking the horizon, leading Oliver to wonder what time it was. He glanced over to the alarm clock beside the bed and took note of the early hour and the fact that his bed was vacant for the exception of him. Oliver checked around the room, somewhat taken off guard by neither Felicity or Artemis being in bed at such an early time. The sound of music grew louder as Oliver stepped toward the kitchen where the scent of fresh cooking was billowing from. As he rounded the corner Oliver spotted an energetic Felicity cooking and singing along to the music as Artemis happily pranced back and forth beside her. The sounds of Singing in the Rain lightened Felicity's every movement as she sang along and flipped the pancakes on the skillet. Oliver couldn't fight the impossibly wide grin on his face as he watched Felicity bend over to peck Artemis with a quick kiss on the nose before returning to her singing and dancing. A look of surprise took ahold of her as Oliver snatched her by the waist and began to dance with her. Felicity blushed slightly as she realized she had been singing and dancing in front of him for most likely awhile now.