Destiny Rewritten

Chapter 73

Laurel was sitting at her desk in her campaign office when there was a knock on her closed door.

"It's open." Laurel called out as Alex entered her office with some new guy she'd never seen before.

"Who's this?" Laurel asked.

"Ms. Lance, my name is Ray Palmer." Ray said as he held out his hand, which Laurel then shook.

"Hang on, Ray Palmer, as in the founder and CEO of Palmer Technologies?" Laurel asked, since she was well aware of Ray's status, since she knew that her fiance's family had done business with Palmer Technologies in the past.

"Yes, that Ray Palmer." Ray said.

"Please, have a seat. What can I do for you?" Laurel asked.

"Well, my company is currently looking to expand from National City to here in Star City and I thought a good way to help that goal would be to help finance the campaign of the current leader in the mayoral election." Ray said, trying to lay on the charm.

"I have to admit, that is a smart play and might work if it weren't for the fact that I know that something like that never comes without a price. So, before I accept anything from the CEO of the company that is one of the biggest competitors of my fiance's family's company, I'd like to know now what it is you'd like in return." Laurel said.

"Wow, you are really good at playing politics." Ray said.

"I was a lawyer before I decided to run for office, I can tell when people have some other motive, so tell me Mr. Palmer, why are you trying to fund my candidacy. Queen Consolidated is already providing me with more than enough." Laurel asked.

"Well, maybe I should ask why Queen Consolidated is so willing to back you?" Ray asked.

"It's simple, I'm engaged to Oliver Queen and I practically grew up in the Queen Household. I'm on a first name basis with Moira Queen, something very few people can say. I've spent my life showing the Queens I'm responsible and they can trust me." Laurel said like it should be obvious.

"Fair point. Okay look, the real reason I want to support your campaign is because my board and I genuinely believe that you are the best choice to lead Star City. We've gone over all the other campaigns and you're the only one who's plans might actually be in the best interest of this city long term. We want to do what we can to make sure that you're the one who's elected." Ray said.

"Flattery, smart tactic." Laurel said.

"Except it's not just flattery. Mr. Palmer was kind enough to bring us these spreadsheets regarding your opponents designs and he's telling the truth." Alex said as he handed Laurel the files Ray had given him to look over.

"Well, I have to admit, this is very tempting. But Mr. Palmer, you'll understand if I need some time to talk this over with my other sponsors, since I don't want to risk losing their funding, even if I'd be gaining yours." Laurel said and Ray nodded.

"Of course. Here's my card, just call me when you reach your decision." Ray said as he handed Laurel his business card.

"Thank you for your time." Alex said as he showed Ray out of her office, right as Laurel's phone buzzed and she saw it was text from Oliver, saying to get to the base now.

"Alex, I need to go, hopefully, I'll be back soon." Laurel said as she moved to grab her coat.

"You sure?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, sorry, but it can't be helped." Laurel said as she grabbed her bag and headed out.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked as she entered the base to find Oliver, John, Thea, Roy and Winn already there.

"We've finally located Hive's base of operations. We've already alerted the League and we're moving now to hit them." Oliver said.

"Shouldn't we wait for Sara to get back?" Laurel asked.

"We can't risk giving away the element of surprise. Hive will likely be aware something is wrong since neither Andy or Fayad have checked in, so we need to hit them before they move again." Oliver said and Laurel nodded as she moved to suit up.

Oliver was inwardly debating about whether or not he should let Laurel come with them, but in the end, decided that since he couldn't give her a real explanation as to why she can't come, he decided that the best move was to let her come, but redirect her away from Darhk, since he did not want her anywhere near that son of a bitch.

"Actually, Laurel, you and Thea are going to have a slightly different objective at the base." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked as Laurel rejoined them.

"This is the source of Darhk's magic. It's most likely somewhere on the base, I need you two to find it and destroy it to cut off his magic. I can resist it, but at the same time, I want to tip the scales in our favor as much as possible." Oliver said as he showed them an image of Darhk's idol.

"That's still a pretty important assignment." Laurel said and Oliver inwardly sighed in relief that they weren't questioning it.

"Why do you think I'm trusting you two with it. Roy, John and I will join the League in the main fighting. Let us know as soon as the idol is destroyed, since once that happens, Darhk's basically a sitting duck. I'll try to keep him occupied as long as I can, though I'll still be aiming to kill him." Oliver said and they all nodded that they understood the plan as they headed out.