The Starling Saviour

Chapter 51

In light of what had happened to his sister, Oliver turned to his bow, tracking down and threatening every man and woman related to Vertigo he could. One night however, he was one step closer to finding the very crooks of Vertigo.

'Find what you're looking for?' Diggle asked Oliver as he stormed into the Arrowcave.

'Took down three Vertigo pushers tonight, Diggle, last one finally knew a name,' Oliver answered. 'The Count.'

'The Count?' Diggle questioned him, unimpressed. 'That's worse than The Hood.'

'He probably didn't choose that one himself,' I pointed out with a laugh. 'Like you didn't choose The Hood. I bet Lance did; he's not very inventive.'

Oliver was numb to our jokes, examining his bow and looking as if he was preparing himself for another round of shooting arrows.

'You're not going back out there?' Diggle inquired, concerned for Oliver's sanity.

'I'm not done for the night,' Oliver told us monotonously. 'Whoever this Count is, he has a lot of blood on his hands, and it is long past time he started paying.'

'Alright, well, slow down, Oliver,' Diggle tried to bring his angst down a notch. 'I think you're missing the point here.'

'What?' Oliver fired back at Diggle immediately, before thinking about what his partner was talking about. 'Thea.'

'Her hearing's in a few hours,' Diggle reminded him timely. 'You think she cares more about some drug lord getting his just deserts or you being by her side when she needs you the most?'

'Diggle's right,' I agreed with him, taking Oliver's bow away from him to put his head into brother-mode. 'Don't worry, I'm going to be there with you too. You won't have to support Thea on your own.'

Thea's hearing didn't last for long, the judge wanting to make Thea a public example of Vertigo users, denying her plea. We were outraged, the Queens' status being the cause of great prejudice throughout the courtroom. Moira was especially upset, feeling as if it was all her fault Thea was lashing out and being reckless while not caring about what happened to her any longer.

Thea needed help, but we were at too many hurdles to get her some.

---

'Hello Detective,' I greeted Lance at the SCPD the next day as I was on my way to the lab.

'I saw you, with Queen and his sister, on the news for a moment,' Lance told me with a look of confusion on his face. 'Why you helping that family?'

'Thea doesn't deserve to go to prison for taking drugs,' I gave him my opinion outright. 'And you know that I've been friends with the Queens for a long time.'

'I just don't understand why,' Lance grumbled, his small-mindedness annoying me. 'Thea's just doing what's expected of her; being a troublemaker and a criminal just like her brother is.'

'Thea was a minor when she took the Vertigo,' I reminded Lance. 'She shouldn't be having to go through all this just because of some green coloured pills! It's the dealer selling them who should be put behind bars.'

'The Narcotics Division have been investigating Vertigo and the so-called Count for months now,' Lance informed me abruptly. 'If you want to know more about Vertigo on your impossible quest for justice, go speak to McKenna Hall.'