The Starling Saviour

Chapter 80

I was lost for words. How could a company like Unidac Technologies, who were affiliated with not only Merlyn Global but Queen Consolidated too, be involved in something as evil as this? I didn't know what to do, or who to tell, or how to stop them. I had made too many mistakes as a vigilante, and as Aria Coleman I couldn't destroy a whole operation. Would I tell Oliver? Of course not. I couldn't trust him one bit, and I knew he would just think I was crazy or take over everything; he was too much of a control freak. I needed someone who I could trust, someone who could stop Dr Markov and his team, stop Unidac from destroying The Glades and everyone in it, and do all this with experience and secrecy.

I needed to tell Malcolm.

I rushed to his penthouse, it being an hour before we were to retire home, there being something intangible about everything I had found out that day and the days leading up to it. How could something create an earthquake, and why was it being developed? Who was so desperate to tear a hole through the city and the lives of everyone who lived there? What were Dr Markov or his contractor's motives? Nothing made sense, like in all twisted, terrible mysteries, and I wasn't going to stand by and wait for the inevitable man-made apocalypse that would descend on Starling City.

'You're here,' I breathed as I met with Malcolm, completely flustered. 'I was worried you'd gone home early.'

'No, I had quite the busy day today,' Malcolm's face broke into a small smile, before retracting his happiness as he spotted my anxious expression. 'What is it? Was the Unidac trip unsuccessful?'

'Well, that depends if you know why I really went there,' I stated, slightly worried about what I was implicating myself into. 'I can't fault the company for their productivity or economics, but there is something else you need to know. It's terrifying, and if they do what they please, this city will fall into ruin. They are creating this... Device that can cause an earthquake, two actually, and they're going to put them in The Glades, killing many, many people in the process. And I don't know how we, or anyone else, can stop them.'

'My God,' Malcolm stroked his nonexistent beard in shock, or something. 'Are you positive about all of this? This isn't just a theory? You have proof?'

'I have data on this drive to prove it,' I held out my stolen article, my fingers tightly around it so I wouldn't drop it or lose it. 'And, just before that explosion in my sister's place, I had so much more proof - pictures on my phone, blueprints of what they're planning, and a part of one of the devices - but then, in some coincidence that I think Unidac somehow set up, it was all destroyed, and Elliot was hurt in the process. I can't let thousands more get hurt in this crazy scheme.'

'I will try to let go of our ties to Unidac as soon as I can so they can't borrow our resources in this madness,' Malcolm decided at once. 'But that might take a while, with Samuel questioning us about it while he stays in the dark. Tommy can't know about this either, do you understand?'

I just nodded, Malcolm looking as if he already trusted me but had to double-check I wouldn't recklessly get Tommy involved.

'But, that's not going to do much, really,' I pointed out, anxious. 'It looked like they were near to completion the first time I went to the lab, and that was at least a week ago. Maybe we have a few more weeks until they act, but we can't risk it. We need to stop them, now.'

'It's obvious they already knew you were up to something, and that you took some of their stuff, otherwise they wouldn't have destroyed your home,' Malcolm assumed, probably correct. 'So you can't do anything, Aria. It's too dangerous. It has to be me who stops them, not the both of us, they'll just be suspicious if you try to help. But, thank you for telling me about all this, now I can do what I have to to make sure this city stays safe.'