Arrow: Fracture Part 3

D.O.A.

The smell of overheated leftovers lingered in the kitchen as Curtis rinsed off his plate before placing it in the dishwasher while replaying the night's earlier events. He was sure the aroma of gunpowder would attach itself to his clothing and worry his husband, but thankfully the brisk night air had cleansed him during his deadly zip line adventure. The tremors in his hands had almost completely warn off as the Green Arrow had told him they would once his adrenaline subsided, bringing with it a chilly sensation. Curtis took a deep breath to calm himself and appear as natural as possible before returning to the living room to sit with husband. Paul sat eagerly awaiting his partners return, sipping from his glass and smiling to Curtis's clumsiness he had displayed during the evening.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say the healthy appetite and slight unbalance was a sign of you and Felicity getting drinks after work, instead of this working overtime story." Paul joked as Curtis sat down beside him. Curtis paused and wondered if he was really action differently or if he was in fact overacting to appear normal, both worries danced around his head as he unknowingly drifted off into thought.

"Hey, everything okay?" Paul asked, taking notice of his husband's distant behavior.

"What? Yeah, oh yeah everything's...fantastic. I'm just still in work mode, I can't get away from the project Miss Smoak...Felicity had me working on." Curtis lied, knowing that mentioning work would atleast cover him for somewhat of the evening. He couldn't get past what had happened to him and found himself wondering how the Green Arrow handled the aftermath of such evenings, surely the man under the hood had someone he went home to every night. Perhaps it got easier with time or maybe the man was just built for the lifestyle, either way Curtis had a feeling that his late night excursions with Team Arrow weren't over yet.

"Well maybe when you're done with this latest project you'll get some vacation time?" Paul suggested, knowing that the stress was obviously getting to his partner.

"Hopefully, I sure could use a break." Curtis replied as he reached for his drink on the table. A massive gust of air struck the room all at once, shaking the entire building and throwing Paul and Curtis into the air as the wall beside them exploded. The newly formed hole revealed the dark city skyline outside as a group of heavily armored men swung into the apartment via ropes. Curtis and Paul slowly began moving to their feet as the HIVE troops charged them with weapons drawn. Fear shot through Curtis as he saw the multiple guns aim at him and his husband, suspecting that the men would waste no time in eliminating the two of them.

"Secure the target!" One of the HIVE troopers ordered as he motioned toward Curtis. The sound of cracking wood cut through the air from behind Curtis as he watched two arrows penetrate the wall and strike two of the troopers. The front door splintered open as the Green Arrow and his partner leapt into the apartment, closing the gap between them and the HIVE troops almost instantly. Oliver rolled over a table and kicked one troop away before jumping to another, successfully stopping the soldiers from getting close to Curtis and Paul. Diggle charged into the fray alongside his partner, tackling one of the troopers to the floor. Curtis and Paul crawled away from the intense brawl as they watched the masked heroes protect them. Diggle managed to disarm his opponent and throw him into a nearby bookshelf before moving over to Curtis.

"Let's move!" He ordered, ushering Curtis and Paul out into the hallway and towards the roof access staircase. A group of HIVE troops halted their retreat as Diggle instantly moved the men into cover and opened fire on his enemies. The HIVE troops moved behind whatever they could find and engaged the lone hero, knowing they had the advantage with weapons and numbers. Oliver stepped back from the attacking soldier, evading his knife as the two men moved back from the large hole in the wall.

"Resistance. Send Golliath." The HIVE trooper moving to his feet said into his comm as he turned to watch the Green Arrow force the other soldier's head into the nearby wall. The soldier collapsed to the floor in a small pile of drywall, leaving Oliver to face the remaining soldier. The man stood ready for a fight, his stance informing Oliver that the man could handle himself in a one on one situation. Time wasn't on Oliver's side as he knew he had to get Curtis and Paul to safety as fast as he could, prompting him to end this fight before it began. Oliver snapped and arrow to his bow and fired. The soldier snatched the arrow out of the air and tossed it aside, unshaken by the failed attempt to defeat him. Oliver sighed with frustration as he snapped a ricochet arrow to his drawstring and aimed at the floor ahead of his enemy before firing. The specially designed arrowhead struck against the floor and used the kinetic energy to bounce off at an angle before directly striking the soldier in the forehead with a non-lethal tip. The man dropped to his back instantly as Oliver turned to the sound of gunfire in the hallway.