Fighting for the Heart

Untitled Part 1

Oliver walked into Verdant Gym, the sounds and smells so familiar bringing in a flood of memories and emotions. It had been five years since he had last set foot here and as he looked around he steeled himself against what he was feeling. He was here to meet with John Diggle, the gym owner, and trainer. He had been referred to John by his good friend and fellow MMA fighter Slade Wilson and Oliver hoped that John would take him on and train him. He and his wife Lyla were known among the MMA crowd to be the best and for Oliver to get back to his former fighting skill level he wanted the best. He was also hoping they could recommend a good manager so when Oliver saw John walking toward him; he turned on his Queen charm.

"You must be Oliver Queen?" John said and shook his hand. "John Diggle. I saw your last fight five years ago against Adrian Chase. That was a good fight man."

"Thank you John. Is there somewhere we can talk?" Oliver asked. He wanted to speak in private. There were many in the fighting world that knew his history and he wanted to keep his return a secret for as long as possible.

"Sure. Let's go to my office." John led him through a doorway and down a hall. Coming to the last door he walked inside inviting Oliver to take a seat.

"So Slade said you might be interested in returning to the cage? Is that true?" John said as he sat behind his desk. He leaned his muscular arms on the desk and watched Oliver with a friendly but curious stare.

Oliver cleared this throat before he felt he could speak. "Slade was correct. It has been five years since I last fought and I have finally been fully released from my doctor to return to fighting. I want to know if you and your wife will train me."

John leaned back in his chair. From what he remembered Queen had been in a car with his fiancé when they had been hit by an 18 wheeler. His fiancé had been killed instantly. Oliver had survived but he had been so severely injured that he had spent months in the hospital and then several months of physical training. Everyone thought he would retire and he had plenty of money to do just that, but he wanted to return. John was going to find out why. He always wanted to know the motivation of his clients. He wanted to make sure Oliver was returning for the right reasons.

"Before I tell if you I will take you on, I have some questions. Why do you want to return?" he asked. "Seems to me you could retire based on your record five years ago."

Oliver knew he was going to be asked this question. Fighting ran in his family. His Dad and Mom had been well respected fighters in their own right. And his sister was still fighting in the women's class. So despite the fact that he had won enough matches before to keep him comfortable in life, that was not his reason for wanting to return. Fighting was in his blood. It was all he knew and that was exactly what he told John.

"I have been around fighting my whole life John. It is all I know. From the time I could walk my parents had me near the cage. And I knew when I was young that when I grew up I wanted to fight. The accident derailed that for me and for the last five years I have been struggling not only to walk again but to figure out who I am. I always knew that as soon as I healed I would come back to fighting because it is in my blood. It is what I do. It is my passion."

John looked at him shrewdly. He liked Oliver. He seemed honest and sincere and John knew that he could be great again. He could see the passion and fire in his eyes.

"I will agree to take you on as a client but I have one condition."

Oliver looked at him relieved. "What is that?"

"I want you to let Felicity Smoak be your manager and public relations. She has worked with several of my clients and she is good. Very good. She is the only one I trust to keep my fighters out of trouble."