Frosty Arrow

Chapter 18

"Thea, I'm just curious, why didn't you loop your brother in on this?" Quentin asked as he, Felicity and Thea looked through the archives.

"Because I didn't want Oliver to risk doing something stupid like breaking Roy out himself." Thea said.

"Good point." Quentin said.

"Found him." Felicity said, holding out a file, which Thea then took.

"During Parker's private practice, he was also a defendant in 3 malpractice cases, all settled out of court." Thea said.

"Check this out. Robert Goodman. It's one of his patients. 22-year-old male referred to Parker back in 2015 after experiencing several violent outbursts. Parker promised the parents he could make their son docile. Instead, Goodman began suffering spontaneous bouts of amnesia." Felicity said.

"What the hell was this guy doing to these people?" Quentin asked.

"It's not clear. Some sort of experimental treatment." Felicity said.

"Looks like Parker's making a career out of it because I am looking at about 8 different cases that are exactly like Goodman." Thea said as she looked over more files.

"Oh, my god!" Felicity said.

"Felicity, what is it?" Thea asked.

"As Goodman's amnesia became more frequent, he eventually lost all sense of identity and was." Felicity said, stopping but they caught the drift.

"This is what they're gonna do to Roy. They're going to erase him." Thea said worriedly.

"I think we should bring Laurel in on this. We could use a legal council to put a case together." Quentin said and Thea nodded.

Roy was now sitting in the same room he'd been in when he was first sent to Level Two with Dr. Parker standing in front of him.

"When did you notice the rage happening?" Parker asked.

"When I saw the inmate with the Grim Reaper tattoo." Roy said.

"Interesting. Why do you think you responded so negatively to him?" Parker asked.

"He was among the group who attacked me on level one." Roy answered.

"Hmm. Well, the good news is you didn't give in to your violent tendencies. You came here. That means the treatment is working." Parker said.

"Dr. Parker, the main reason that I didn't do anything was he was dead. I I saw him being wheeled out of the room with the blue door." Roy asked.

"Unfortunately, some inmates don't respond as well as you to the process. When you're breaking new scientific ground, setbacks are inevitable." Parker said.

"It seems like a ahem Prisoner dying is a little bit more than a setback." Roy protested.

"Look at what we've done together, h-how we've eliminated that part of yourself that was trapped in a cycle of violence. Imagine that on a grander scale. The world would be a much safer place." Parker insisted.

"Right, but people are dying." Roy protested.

"What about them? That sounds like something the old you would say, 4587, the hero who insisted on righting the wrongs of strangers at the expense of the safety and well-being of the people he loves. I thought you weren't that person anymore." Parker said.

"I'm not." Roy lied.

"Good. You need to continue focusing on yourself, on the man you need to be for the sake of the people you love. Like for example, that woman you keep a picture of, Thea. If you're unable to do that, we'll be forced to pursue some other treatment options." Parker said, and that was all Roy needed to hear.

Later on that day, Roy pulled Rachel aside.

"I'll help you escape tonight, but it comes at a cost." Roy said.

"I'm listening." Rachel said.

"I need you to help me expose the truth about Dr. Parker." Roy said.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Rachel asked.

"The evidence we need is behind those blue doors. We break in, we get it, we escape." Roy said.

"That wouldn't be smart. You've seen what happens to people who go into that room. They come out in body bags." Rachel protested.

"Rachel, we are doing this my way, or we're not doing it at all. Neither one of us can get what we want without the other's help, you know that." Roy said.

"You'd risk both our lives to help these prisoners, despite knowing that every last one is a murderer or worse?" Rachel asked.

"You're no better than they are. But more importantly, these people are being treated like they are disposable. No one deserves that. So do we have a deal?" Roy asked, holding out his hand.

"We have a deal." Rachel agreed, somewhat reluctantly as they shook hands on it.