The Storm After

Chapter 11: Advent of Light and Dark

In the week that passed after Dragon's takeover of Star City, there was a definite shift in the way of life. As Dragon began to spread his reach throughout the city, the civilians were forced to make decisions that most thought they would never make. The reasoning the people had weren't as simple as good versus bad. Those that aligned themselves with Dragon had their own reasoning as well as those who refused. The ones that did, were most likely either willing or did it for the safety of their families. In any case, they were given arms and increased the numbers of the army Dragon had been building. Thea and the rest of Team Arrow reached out to those who hadn't joined Dragon's Army, seeking the aid of those willing to fight with them. It wasn't a simple task, but their persistence allowed them to accumulate a little group for themselves as well.

[X]

It had been three hours since Thea had finished communicating with her brother, who was in Central City. With the way things were, they couldn't afford to wait around and continued their fight. Thea and Roy had infiltrated a warehouse located on the North side of the city, one of the recruits was on reconnaissance and passed on the intel that there were captives held there by Dragon's forces. They were swift and efficient, taking out the first round of henchmen that guarded the entrance with ease. As the last one fell down, Thea looked at his body. She could see the face of a man who didn't belong there, he looked like any regular guy, but as a result of the circumstances, they had crossed paths.

"Nothing's changed..." Thea muttered under her breath, her focus still locked on to the man. "For six years... nothing's changed." Her mind had wondered, reflecting on all the years and the effort Oliver had put into his fight. For so long he has fought, and despite the numerous good he had achieved, there still remained this darkness of Star City. Why? Why was it so difficult to overcome? Her train of thought came to a stop as she saw a figure stop in front of her. It was Roy.

"Hey, you okay?" Roy asked with a concerned look on his face. Thea realising his presence shifted her attention towards him.

"Yeah... it's nothing." Thea replied. It was something worth mentioning, but they were in the field and she knew that she had to refocus. Roy stared at her for a bit before continuing on.

"Okay, well, the targets are up ahead. Let's move." Roy said. Thea acknowledged by giving him a nod and they proceeded further within.

[X]

At the far side of the warehouse, a group of armed henchmen had surrounded themselves with three of their captives. It was a small family consisting of a man, a woman, and their child. They had been bound to chairs. A man from amongst the armed men stepped forward. He was a larger man, heavily built and brawny, his arms were as big as a human's head. He was referred to as Andrei.

"You know things didn't have to be like this. But you really are pushing your limits here." Andrei started, the three captives turned their heads to look at him. They were incredibly terrified.

"I... I told you...we will have the money by next week, so please don't hurt my family..." the man answered, his voice was quivering and full of nervousness. Andrei focused his gaze on the man and stared at him with piercing eyes.

"Oh, that's just not gonna do it. You wouldn't want Mr. Diaz to come here personally, do you?" Andrei asked, leaning down towards the man. The mention of Diaz caused the man's eyes to widened.

"B-B-But I... I really don't have the money to pay for protection... sir." the man replied, his voice was fueled by even more terror. His wife had leaned in and held tighter on his arm. Andrei raised himself back up.

"Then... I guess that means you are no longer needed then." Andrei said. The man lifted his head in haste, a slight glimpse of hope on his face. Andrei threw a punch, it was fast and hit the man in the stomach. The force set him off and toppled him to land on the ground. The woman and child cried and scrambled towards the man. "If we no longer need you, then you're just as good as dead." He had readied his next move but had gotten interrupted by one of his men.