The Darkness: 3

Part 7

Italics- Lydia's voices

Lydia

Lydia woke up with her sheets entangled through her legs. She ran her hand through her hair and squinted her eyes at the bright sun. When she had leaned over to grab her phone, she noticed that she had missed calls from Oliver and Lance. But there was at least a text from Lance to what was going on; 'someone killed Isaac Stanzler.'

Lydia pulled herself out of bed and opened her closet. "What am I going to wear today?" She asked herself. She put on a red top and black pants and fixed her hair to its signature braided crown. She moved to the shoes and matched the heels to her top and grabbed her bag, heading out the door.

She showed up at the precinct and was greeted by Lance. "What happened?" She asked, sitting down at his desk. "A psycho dropped Stanzler at my doorstep," he explained, setting down a piece of evidence. She took the bag and examined the arrow that's inside.

"The Spade Killer," he commented. "It's a heart," she corrected with a sigh, "It's probably the reason I'm wearing red today. But thank you." Lydia got up and left the precinct, on her way to the Verdant.

When she entered, she saw a line of people waiting behind a table. "What's going on?" She asked Thea. "I'm hiring a new DJ," she explained as someone started playing their music. "Next!" She shouted, cutting off the trash beats. "Good luck," she pursed her lips.

Lydia was heading towards the back when she stopped, seeing Roy angrily clean the tables. "You still struggling?" she asked and he set down the rag. "I'm still mad at myself," he said. "You weren't you," she told him. "I feel like a monster," he let out. "Not all monsters do monstrous things." "But I did," he said.

"You know how you asked me about anchors?" Roy began, "Now that Thea and I are on the outs, I don't feel the same. And I'm still beating myself up about killing someone, I'm... unstable." Lydia leaned in and looked into his eyes, "Be your own anchor. The Arsenal, the one that goes out every night and fights crime." She pulled back with a smile and could tell he felt inspired, before walking away.

Lydia went down the stairs into the hideout where Diggle, Felicity, and Oliver were in. "I saw Lance," Lydia said before Oliver was about to speak. "It's an archer whose MO are heart arrows."

"Carrie Cutter," Felicity said, pulling up her profile on the larger screen, "former SWAT member and has been spotted in the Glades a few times." "Find out where she is," Oliver instructed.

Oliver

"You're about to get a phone call," Lydia said softly, right before his phone started to ring. "Hello." "Hello love," the female voice spoke and he put it on speaker, mouthing 'Cutter.'

"I was wondering if I could help you save the city, possibly a team-up," she said. "Why would I team up with a killer?" Oliver asked, deepening his voice. "Fine. If you don't want a partnership, the Captain will get another body at the precinct," she said with a faint chuckle and hung up the phone.

Oliver looked up at the team and they were absolutely baffled. "Something is definitely wrong with her," Diggle commented. "On it," Felicity said, turning to the computer. "Got it," Felicity said, "she has a psychiatrist. Same place you work at Lydia." "Let's go," he eyed her.

He followed Lydia into her workplace at night and to a different floor from her office. She pulled out her ID and the lock scanned it before it opened. Oliver watched as she ran a hand down the C aisle and stopped at a basket. "Carrie Cutter," she said, opening up the file. She closed it and sighed. "What?" He asked. "Attachment disorder," she said, "She's attached to you."

He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out, "Carrie wants to meet up." "Oliver, anything you say or do that hurts her, she will revolt," she told him. "Then come with me," he said, which she exhaled.