Arrow

Twenty Six: Caught

"Well this is a surprise, kinda" He spoke, unfazed by our threatening entrance

Jesse and I remained in place, ready to fire our weapons at any given moment

"What are you doing here Jess?" Arden continued, urging his two sidekicks to lower their guns with a nod

Jesse shook his head "You chose the wrong side"

"Did I?" He quirked an eyebrow casually moving closer to us "Or did you?"

My grip tightened, my stance ready

"Shaun is power hungry, you are nothing but a tool to him" Jesse spoke, calm but firm "Are you aware of what he's doing?"

Arden shrugged "You were once a tool too you know, you belonged to me, now look at you, yes, I'm aware, sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the greater good, you should know that" He said, almost proud. He took another step closer, in which I became nervous to 

"Get back" I demanded

Suddenly, his eyes were on me, studying me up and down "I really underestimated you" He began "You're brave, too brave" His smile quickly dropped, his eyes narrow on me

"No" I shook my head slightly "Brave entitles one who takes risks lightly, I do not take risks lightly" I informed him

Arden's gaze averted to Jesse "Smart too" He added "I see the appeal" He mused

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the other side of the wall, shouts of chaos causing me to flinch. Jeremy and Jacob also startled. Arden however barely moved, his eyes held firmly between Jesse and I in front of him

"You brought friends" Arden smiled "Your friends will die"

"And so will you" I snapped bringing his gaze back

He gave a sigh "So what's holding you back? Do it already" He half scoffed, holding his open palms outwards in surrender. I shifted a little. What was holding me back?

My hesitance pleased him, his smile widening into a wicked grin "You won't kill me" He told me confidently "And neither will you" He looked towards Jesse

"No?" Jesse tested, his gun straight, his finger on the trigger, steady

Arden shook his head "No" He repeated "you pull that trigger, Jacob here.." He nodded to his friend "He'll shoot her right between the eyes" He threatened Jesse, looking at me as he pointed to the middle of my head, squinting

Jesse's jaw twitched, easily noticeable from the corner of my eye. I couldn't believe that this was Arden, the same Arden I knew only a week ago. I clearly hadn't known him well, I hadn't ever imagined him to be on the opposite end of my weapon, threatening me with such brutality. I couldn't imagine how Jesse was feeling, watching his friend threaten him, betray him. 

"It doesn't matter if I die" I told Arden "People die every second, I'm no less important to this world as much as you are"

He continued to smile "You don't have to be important to the world, you can be important to just one single person and that's enough to change the entire game" He responded

My eyebrows crossed, confused "What are you talking about?"

"I heard about what happened in the boiler room" He sighed, signalling between Jesse and I with his hand "can't say I didn't see it coming"

My head was spinning, and I wasn't sure if it was because of my high blood pressure, the slowing gunfire from the other side of the wall, or his cryptic babbling 

"You've lost your mind" I told him, impatiently 

Arden allowed a small chuckle out, amused as he stared at me "the tension between the two of you, it's insufferable, isn't it?"