Frosty Arrow

Chapter 30

When Oliver came to, he found himself tied up with the council members as a strange black man approached them.

"Gentlemen and lady, this is not personal. I know it feels personal, but it is not. You are all here as a means to an end." The man said.

"Who are you?" Oliver asked.

"I insulted you haven't heard of me. Name's Tobias Church. And lucky for you, I finally figured out a way to make politicians useful. Otherwise you'd all be dead right now." Church said and Oliver immediately caught on.

"You want the Green Arrow?" Oliver said.

"Guess you're more than a pretty face after all Mr. Mayor." Church sneered.

"Your honor. Listen, the Green Arrow is not coming. You're wasting your time." Oliver told him.

"Just for the fun of it, how is it that you know so much about Mr. Arrow?Church asked.

"I have it on pretty good authority that he's tied up right now." Oliver said, totally noting how literal that situation was.

"Are you his buddy?" Church asked.

"I have connections, and I--listen. You let these people go, and I'll make something happen. Do we have a deal?" Oliver asked, trying to find a peaceful way out of this, since while he knew his team was looking for him, he wasn't sure how much luck they were having, so he was trying to stall for time.

"No, we most certainly do not. I don't need your help, Mr. mayor. Do you think I would go to all this trouble without a plan?" Church asked.

"Yeah. But that's because I think you're stupid." Oliver said, deciding enough was enough, just to have Church punch him.

"Take Mr. Queen to a quiet place and teach him some manners." Church said.

"By the way, I wouldn't be too worried about the Green Arrow. What I'd really be preparing for, is the cold." Oliver said cryptically as he was led away.

"What the hell does that mean?" Church asked as Oliver was dragged away.

When Thea arrived at City Hall, she found that it was in chaos.

"Ms. Queen, thank goodness you're here." Councilwoman Pollard said to her.

"Thank you. Has there been any luck on finding my brother?" Thea asked.

"I was going to ask you that since you're closer friends with Quentin Lance." Pollard said.

"Lance assures me that the SCPD is making finding Oliver it's number one priority and I'm sure that the Green Arrow and his team are looking to." Thea said.

"Yes, that's a big relief." Pollard said.

"So, you're one of those anti vigilante supporter aren't you?" Thea asked.

"What could possibly have given you that idea?" Pollard asked.

"I admit that some vigilantes aren't the best people, but we can't just put them all in one category. Vigilantes are just like any other group of people. There are good ones and bad ones and the Green Arrow and his team are some of the good ones. But anyways, I'm not arguing with you over the role of vigilantism while my brother, the mayor, is missing. What's the status here?" Thea asked.

"That's the issue. Since Mayor Queen has not yet named a deputy, there's no one to lead the city in his absence." Pollard said.

"Well we need to figure something out quickly, since without leadership, it's only a matter of time before this city descends into anarchy." Thea said and Pollard nodded as another council member appeared, carrying the town charter in one hand.

"What is it?" Thea asked.

"After reviewing the town charter, we've finally learned who is in charge in the mayor's absence." Councilman Grovner said.

"So, who is it?" Thea asked.

"You." Grovner said to Thea's surprise.

"What?" Thea asked.

"The city charter says that should the mayor and deputy mayor be unable to perform their duties to the city for whatever the reason, the chief of staff is the one who takes over until the mayor returns. And since you're the chief of staff, that means you're the temporary mayor Ms. Queen." Grovner explained.

"Okay then, guess we better get to work. For starters, is the ACU cleared to action?" Thea asked.

"Yes, all the members have been vetted by Captain Lance and while the unit hasn't been announced yet, they have been authorized to act." Pollard said.

"Put them on this. We need to make sure that the cops searching for Oliver are clean. We also need to minimize panic in the city." Thea said as she entered planning mode.

What do you guys think about John suiting up as Green Arrow to rescue Oliver and the others from Church to avoid blowing Oliver's cover?