The Docks
A drug dealer running through the docks, ducking in and out of warehouses as the Hood pursues him. The dealer made it out onto the docks and started climbing up to a catwalk, and had one hand on it when a black and red arrow pierced his leather jacket, hanging the man fifteen feet in the air by one arm.
"Oh, come on, man! I'm just trying to make an honest living!" he shouted to the Huntress and the Arrow as they stood on the docks behind him.
"There's nothing honest about what you do!" Helena yelled back.
"Who supplies you with Vertigo? Tell us now and we will let you live." Nate said.
"Please! They'll kill me!" The dealer pleaded.
"I'm gonna kill you if you don't tell me what I want to know!" He drew an arrow and aimed at the guys crotch. "Tell me now, otherwise I will un-man you!"
"Okay, okay! We call him The Count, that's all I know." He screamed in fear. "I swear to God!" he closed his eyes, waiting for the arrow. When it didn't come he opened his eyes and looked around to see the vigilantes had vanished. "Hey! Get me down from here!" he yelled to no one.
The Lair
Lyla followed Nathan down the stairs as he and Helena returned from their hunt.
"You guys find what you're looking for?" Lyla asked.
"We killed 7 Vertigo pushers tonight, Lyla." He replied, walking over to his computer. "Last one finally knew a name. The Count."
"The Count? That's worse than The Hood." Lyla quipped. Seeing Nathan wasn't taking off his gear, she frowned. "You shouldn't be going back out there."
"I'm not done for the night." He replied, entering information into the computer. "Whoever this Count is, he is the one making Vertigo, and he needs to be stopped."
"Wait, Nate, Lyla's right. You're missing the point." Helena argued as she changed into civilians clothes.
"What?" Lyla and Helena looked at him, and Nathan closed his eyes in frustration. "Thea."
"Her hearing's in a few hours. You think she cares more about some drug lord getting his just desserts, or you being by her side when she needs you the most?" Lyla asked. Nathan nodded, acquiescing.
"You don't have to be there, you know," Nathan said to Helena, to which Helena shook her head.
"You were there for me where my bastard father was concerned. Let me be there for you now." Helena said, to which Nathan was grateful for.
Queen Manor
Thea was in her room, making herself presentable when Nathan came to her door.
"Hey, we should get going. I've learned from experience that judges don't appreciate the value in being fashionably late." He quipped.
Thea chuckled lightly. "Got any other tips?"
"Let the lawyer do all the talking." Nathan started, walking into her room to stand by her. "They'll give you a pad and paper but do not play tic-tac-toe. Judges don't appreciate that, either." Thea sighed, and he smiled at her. "Come on, Speedy." He encouraged her.
"I know, I know." She said tiredly. "I keep on trying to get up and go, but just don't." she sighed again. "I wish dad and Ollie were here."
"I'm here." Nathan offered, placing his hands on her shoulders comfortingly.
Moira walked up to the door. "We should leave now, Thea." She said.
The Courthouse
Much like the last time Nathan came here, the press was swarming, though this time it was for Thea. They shouted questions as the three Queens waded through them.
"Ms. Queen!"
"Thea, over here."
"Can we get a comment?"
"Just one comment!"
"Thea, are you going into rehab?"
"Miss Queen, are you being expelled from Balliol Prep?"
"Are you worried about the outcome?"
Thea nervously reached back towards Nathan, and he grabbed her hand in support. He shielded her as much as he could until they finally reached the courthouse doors.
Inside the courtroom several minutes later, the pre-trial began.
"Docket ending 1-10-5-6, People vs. Thea Dearden Queen." The bailiff read out. "Possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of a controlled substance." The bailiff handed the trial sheet to the Judge, who read it over briefly.
"Counselors, I understand you've reached a plea agreement." Judge Brackett said.
Thea's lawyer, Marcus Bradley, rose. "We have, Your Honor." He started. "Given that my client is a juvenile, the people have generously agreed to probation." Nathan looked back to see Laurel and Helena sitting amongst the people. He also spotted Chien in the way back, disguised with a black wig, sitting next to someone else that he had not been expecting to see, but was glad none the less.
"Juvenile?" Brackett said, looking down at the sheet. "Says right here she's 18."
"She is 18 now, Your Honor, but at the time of incident and subsequent arrest, she was still two days shy of her 18th birthday." The lawyer responded before continuing, "Ms. Queen has no priors."
"Well, just because Ms. Queen's family sweeps her priors under the rug, doesn't mean they don't exist." Brackett argued harshly, making Nathan glare a hole in his head, "You get your client off," he looked over to the prosecutors' table, "and you help your boss avoid dealing with the drug that's sweeping across our city like the plague. Everyone wins, except us, the people of Starling City."
"Your Honor, with all due respect—" Bradley started, but Brackett cut him off.
He looked down at Thea. "Ms. Queen, like it or not, you are now the poster child for this menace." He stated harshly, "Maybe if people see that the Queen family can't get away with using Vertigo, they'll think twice before using it themselves. The plea arrangement is denied." He banged his gavel. "This case will proceed to trial." Whispers filled the courtroom as Thea looked back at Nathan in fear and confusion.
Queen Manor
Moira, Thea and Nathan came in, followed by Bradley.
"They can't do this." Moira said, indignant. "That man cannot send my daughter to prison."
"What are our current options?" Nathan asked as Thea sat on the back of a chair.
"An interlocutory appeal." Bradley said. "But trial judges have discretion to reject plea agreements. I think you might want to prepare yourself for the possibility that this isn't going to go our way." Thea looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen. I'll get to work on the appeal." Bradley promised, and then left to get to work.
"Well, so much for the best criminal defense attorney in the city." Moira sighed, shrugging helplessly. Nathan put a comforting hand on her arm, and she took a breath. "Thea, we will handle this, I promise." She told her daughter.
Thea scoffed. "Like you promised Walter you'd always stay faithful to him? I feel better already." She said, sarcastically.
"That's enough!" Moira shouted.
"Don't worry. Sounds like you won't have to be putting up with me much longer." Disgusted, she walked out of the room.
Moira turned to Nathan, helpless. "What!? Does she not realize how serious this is?" she asked rhetorically. "She took drugs. She drove. She could have killed someone, or herself."
"I know." Nathan said softly as he pulled his mother into a hug.
"All that judge is looking for is someone to make an example of." Moira ranted. "What does it have to be her?"
Nathan considered for a moment. "Maybe it doesn't." he said thoughtfully. "Listen, I have a meeting to go to. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm not the one facing prison." Moira remarked sadly as she pulled away. Nathan turned and walked out, remembering…
Flashback
Nathan was locked in a cage while Yao Fei circled outside.
"You working for them now?" he asked as the man paced outside the cage silently. "Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were friends." He paused. "Or something like that. I mean, why'd you bother saving me if you were just going to hand me back over to them? Just… get me out of here." He pleaded quietly.
Yao Fei looked at him for a long moment. "I cannot." he said finally, setting a cup of watered down soup in the between the bars.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Don't leave me here! I came back for you! Do you hear me? I came back for you!" he knocked the cup of soup to the ground and threw himself back against the cage, defeated.
Flashback End
SCPD
Nathan walked in to Vice's squad room.
"Hi, I'm looking for Detective Hall." He said to a patrolman. "I was told he works in Vice."
"Nathan?", our hero heard. He looked over to an attractive Indian cop in her late twenties, dressed sharply and very familiar to him.
"McKenna Hall." He said, surprised.
"Hi." She said with a surprised smile of her own.
"Here I was, expecting a middle aged guy in a bad suit…" he said walking over to her. "And I got McKenna Hall."
"I live to surprise." She said, giving him a hug.
"Well, I remember. What was that club that you got us kicked out of?" he asked. "The Club Deville?"
"Okay, in my defense, there was no sign that specifically said you had to keep your clothes on." She said, the two of them chuckling at the memory.
"So, a cop? I guess you're not hitting the party circuit anymore." He stated, following her as she moved around the office.
"Oh, I still go to raves." She said, filling some paperwork. "I just go undercover now. And I have to dress slightly more appropriately to hide my badge and gun."
"Hmm, bet that's fun."
"Not at fun as it sounds. So what do you need with a vice cop, Nathan?" she asked, pausing to look at him.
The smile vanished from his face. "Vertigo." He said simply with a tired look in his face. McKenna looked at him in sympathy.
"Right. I saw your sister on TV. I'm sorry about." She told him. They started walking again.
"The judge is trying to make an example of her" Nathan explained. "So I was thinking, you could find the person selling the drugs, it make take some of the heat off Thea."
"Easier said than done."
"Did some digging and came up with a name." Nathan continued. "Um, The Count?"
McKenna stared at him for a moment. "Nathan, we've known about The Count for months." She said finally.
"Oh." Nathan replied, dejected. McKenna made her way to her desk and picked up a thin file folder.
"I wish this was thicker," she said, handing him the folder, "but we really don't have much on him yet. Love to say we're going to catch him before your sister's trial, but it's highly unlikely."
She looked at her watch. "Oh, I am late for my shift." She said, gathering her things.
"Well, if you hear of anything about this guy, just…let me know?" Nathan asked politely. McKenna looked at him with a soft smile.
"I always loved how much you cared about your sister." She said. "But leave the policing to the police, okay?"
"Okay." They smiled at each other as Nathan walked out of the squad room. As he walked out, Detective Lance walked in. He glared at Nathan's back as he left, then turned to Hall.
"What did Queen want?" he demanded.
"He's an old friend, sister's jammed up." McKenna said. She looked at the older cop. "Anything else, Sergeant?" she asked
"No." he replied. He considered her as she walked out of the room.
Old abandoned juvenile detention center
The drug dealer Nate and Helena had roughed up sat alone in the darkened kitchen, waiting. He wasn't waiting for long as three men entered, and he sat up straight and gasped as the first man pulled a gun and held it to his head.
He was tall, dressed in black with a black pea coat, his black hair spiked. He walked up to the dealer, who had raised his arm in front of his face to protect his face. The Count looked at the hole in the man's jacket. "You need a tailor." He quipped.
"You know about the vigilantes, the hood guy and his girlfriend." The dealer complained. "They just cornered me, man."
"The vigilantes?"
"I didn't say anything." He promised his boss.
"Oh, I know." The Count said. "You can't divulge secrets you don't know." The dealer smiled a little in relief. "But examples must be made." The Count continued, walking behind the dealer. As he did, he pulled out a double syringe and jabbed it into the dealer's neck and injected its contents. "Vertigo, in its purest form." He explained, pulling out the needles. The dealer started shaking and sweating profusely. "When injected directly into the bloodstream, it affects the thalamus region of your brain. Which is where all of the information from your pain receptors is collected. No doubt you're in excruciating pain." The Count continued to circle the man. "But actually, you're not. You just think you are. I've seen it last for days, until finally the heart gives out."
The dealer screamed in pain. The Count kneeled in front of him and wagged the gun in front of his face, getting his attention. "One bullet left." He said, placing the gun in the Dealer's hand. "Now, you can use that bullet to shoot me and take your revenge," he said with a smile as the dealer shakily raised the gun, pointing it at the Count, "or you could shoot yourself, end your suffering. It's your choice." He raised his hands and backed away. The dealer raised the gun, trying to aim through the excruciating pain. Finally, though, the pain became too much and he jammed the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger, killing himself.
"The Arrow and The Huntress." The Count said after a moment. "Coming for me." He withdrew a handkerchief from his jacket and used it to pick up the gun, then pocketed it. He stood and considered. "Interesting." He said, and then led his men out of the room.
Laurels Apartment
Next day
Laurel was sitting at her table, looking at an article about Thea's trial on her tablet when Tommy walked in.
"I'm learning you're not much of a morning snuggler." He said, kissing the top of her head.
"And I'm learning that you don't like to wake up at any hour that ends in a.m." Laurel quipped.
"That's true." Tommy nodded. "Yeah. So if you're busy being a lawyer all day and I'm managing a night club all night, when exactly do we get to see each other?" he asked, taking a sip of coffee. There was a knock at the door. "Hmm." He put the cup down. "I got it." Tommy walked to the door and opened it- to see Nathan standing there.
"Hey." Tommy said, surprised.
"Hey, man." Nathan replied.
"Hey, how- how is Thea holding up?" Tommy asked, trying to recover from the awkwardness.
"She's doing okay. Thank you." Nathan replied. He looked past Tommy to Laurel. "Umm… look, I'm sorry bro but I actually came to talk to Laurel."
Yeah." Tommy said, moving aside to let Nathan in.
"Hey." Nathan said as Laurel came over.
"Hi." She replied.
"Thank you for coming to court yesterday."
"Yeah, of course." She said. "But I don't think the judge is willing to move off his position. Taking a hard line against criminals is a platform for his reelection." Laurel advised.
"I was hoping you might talk to your father." Nathan pleaded without further preamble. "He's inside the system, and maybe he cashes in a chip with Judge Brackett, gets him off throwing the book at Thea."
"Nathan, I don't—" she started, but Nathan cut her off.
"Laurel, I am working on something on my end, but…" he paused for a moment to collect himself. "If it doesn't pan out, this is my best chance to help my sister. Please." He pleaded.
Laurel sighed. "I'll see what I can do." She said. "But no promises." She added.
"Thank you." He told her, then patted Tommy on the arm and left the apartment.
Auto Repair Shop aka Starling City Bratva HQ
Next day
Nathan and Helena walked in, dressed inconspicuously, with Nathan carrying two large duffle bags.
"Isn't this the Bratva's HQ for Starling City?" Helena asked, remembering her father had mentioned this.
"Yeah, I'm pretty well respected in the Triad and the Bratva." Nathan explained, stopping the woman. "Babe, whatever I say, whatever goes down, just go with it." He told his girlfriend as Alexi approached. "Good to see you again." He greeted the man in Russian.
"Good to see you to. Long time." He replied. "Particularly for Bratva captain." Helena masked her surprise at that.
"I needed some time to figure out where to invest my interests." Nathan replied. "I decided to go with pharmaceuticals." He dropped the bags at Alexi's feet. "And I don't mean weak shit like aspirin."
"A wise choice." Alexi commented. "Mepheodrone would be a good investment for you. It's the newest thing."
"I was thinking more along the lines of Vertigo." Nathan countered with a smile. "Even newer thing."
"Tough market, Vertigo. Only one seller." Alexi noted.
Nathan nodded. "I know. I was hoping you could help a brother out and arrange a meeting with said supplier."
"He's difficult man. And he does not like new friends." Alexi warned his fellow Bratva.
Helena handed Nathan a folder, and Nathan held it out to Alexi. "This is everything the police have on him." He said. "Tell him it's a gift."
"I will see what I can do." He said, taking the folder. "Provided you do favor for me."
"Of Course. Anything for a brother." Nathan said in Russian.
Alexi looked to one of his comrades, who moved off. "It is unheard of for an American to hold such a position of esteem in not just our organization, but the Triads as well." He looked at Nathan hard. "Mr. Queen." Nathan nodded, acknowledging that Alexi knew who he was. "Anatoli Knyazev." He continued. "He speaks very highly of you."
"He should." Nathan replied as Helena looked on, "I saved his life multiple times and helped him become Pahkan."
He and Helena stared as Alexi's associate dragged a man into the room. He nodded towards the man. "What did he do?" he asked out of morbid curiosity.
"Something I told him not to." He replied. "Now the favor. Kill this man for me, and I will believe your interest in our organization is genuine. And then I will arrange a meeting with The Count."
Nathan moved over to him. He took the man from the goon and snapped his neck without even hesitating. Nathan let the corpse drop to the ground, and the goon moved over to check for a pulse. Helena herself didn't really care, as she was used to seeing similar executions, having been to some of her father's operations growing up. Finding no pulse, he nodded at Alexi, who in turn smiled at Nathan.
"Thank you." Alexi said in Russian.
"What are brothers for?" Nathan replied.
Flashback
Yao Fei was escorting Nathan out of his cage.
"So I'm out of the gates now." He was saying, his naiveté showing, as Yao Fei pushed him on. "What's going on? Are we getting out of here?" The Asian man said nothing. "Where are you taking me?" Nathan demanded. Soon, he found out.
Fyers men were in a circle, surrounding two men who were fighting. One looked to be another prisoner, the other was the man in the black and orange mask. Wintergreen was taking the other man apart, and soon he had the man down. He looked over to Fyers, who nodded in ascent, so Wintergreen picked the man up- only to send him back down a moment later, this time without a head.
"While I admit that bout was particularly one-sided, would anybody else like to give it a try?" Fyers asked, and Yao Fei shoved Nathan into the circle. "The point of these little gladiatorial distractions is to strengthen unit cohesion." He continued. "To that end, I think our newest recruit ought to be afforded the opportunity to try his hand." He grinned cruelly at Yao Fei, who handed his AK to another soldier and stepped into the circle. The two men faced off as Wintergreen stepped out, sheathing his sword.
Flashback end
Nathan and Helena were walking back to their car. "Just out of morbid curiosity, why did you kill him?" Helena asked.
"Because my connections in the criminal world are too valuable to risk for just one lowlife." Nathan said.
"Then why not got to Chien?" Helena pondered.
"Because Chien can only do so much to lessen the Triads business. She can get away with getting the Triad here in Starling out of the sex trafficking business and lessen drug trafficking by 10% but that is the most she can do without risking her place as leader."
Inside the shop, Alexi was on the phone. "He's a captain. And he has lots of money. Are you interested?" he asked.
On the other end of the phone, The Count considered with a smile. "Hmm. Let's say…yes."
Queen Manor
Laurel and Nathan were seated across from Thea in the sitting room.
"My father was able to get Judge Brackett to back off his hardline stance." Laurel was telling the younger girl.
"Your father hates me." Thea said, glowering.
"No he doesn't." Nathan argued.
"Nate's right." Laurel agreed, nodding towards Nathan. "My father hates him."
"Look, nobody asked you to get involved." Thea started.
"I'm the one who asked." Nathan interrupted, drawing a surprised look from his sister.
"The judge has agreed to a sentence of 500 hours of community service and two years of probation." Laurel said. "Provisional on the appointment of someone to act in loco parentis."
"In loco what?"
"It means that the court will appoint an individual to assume responsibility for you." Laurel explained. "Me."
"I say thanks, but no thanks." Thea said snidely.
"Thea!" Nathan said sharply. "You don't actually have a choice."
"Oh, actually, I do." She snidely replied. "See, I'm 18 now and I can make my own decisions. So I decide not to be your ex-lover's office monkey." She said sarcastically.
Laurel looked at her awkwardly. "Well, if you change your mind, then." She said. She rose from the couch and Nathan showed her out.
"Thank you for trying." He told her softly. "I'm gonna talk to her, see if I can't knock some sense into that thick skull of hers."
"Yeah." She replied, walking out. Frustrated, Nathan turned back to his sister.
"Thea," he started. "You are in serious trouble, and rightly so. Doing drugs and driving? What the hell were you thinking!? That was beyond stupid. That is a good deal that Laurel got you!" he exclaimed. "It's also the only deal you're going to get! Why aren't you jumping at it!?"
Thea scoffed. "I already have a mother."
Nathan scoffed. "You're going to go to jail if you don't accept the deal and it will ruin the rest of your life."
"No." she chuckled, rising from the couch. "I want to ruin mom's life." She snarled. "She's a liar and a cheat. I mean, deal with it Nate. You can pretend all you want to that she's a saint, but I hate her. And she betrayed dad." She began to storm off.
"So you're just-you're going to go to jail to spite her?" he said incredulously. Nathan stopped and turned her around to face him, and forced her against the wall. He loved his sister, but it was passed time he gave her some tough love.
"The thing is, it won't hurt mom, it will only hurt you." Nathan said coldly at Thea, "No one wants to hire someone with a prison record. And now that your mom knows about your drug habit, you won't be getting an allowance once you get out. And then there's the physical and psychological scars prison will give you."
"And for the record, Mom didn't cheat on dad." He said, taking a softer tone with her. "He cheated on her."
She stared at him, her arms crossed. "Is that the best you can come up with?" she asked.
"It's the truth. Dad wasn't the man he said he was." Nathan stated. "When Oliver and I were 7 and 8 years old, we were curious children. By accident, we walked in on Dad one day, and he was in the middle of screwing his secretary. I was too young to understand, so my subconscious locked the memory away. I didn't even remember it until after he died." He continued, admitting a truth he had vowed he never would. "He wasn't the man he said he was and that he just wished he wished he had more time to right his wrongs."
"I don't believe you." She said shakily, shock and heartbreak written on her face.
"Yes, you do." Nathan countered.
Thea glared at her brother. "Leave me alone." She demanded, storming out of the room. Nathan sighed and turned around- to see his mother standing there.
"How dare you." She growled quietly. Nathan stared back at her impassively.
"Mom, she's legally an adult now. She is old enough to know the truth." He said simply.
They glared at each other for a moment before Lyla walked in. Moira sighed in frustration and walked out of the room.
After she was gone, Lyla walked over to him. "Nathan, the Russians called. The meeting is set." Lyla told him. "It's tonight."
Garage
the night
Nathan and Lyla stood with Alexi and his associate.
"You know why they call him The Count?" Alexi asked. When Nathan said nothing, he explained. "When he was developing this drug, he experimented on the homeless. Prostitutes, runaways. The police would find their bodies, puncture marks on their neck, like a vampire." He looked at the younger man. "You should not be in such a hurry to meet this man."
"The Count shouldn't be in such a hurry to meet me." Nathan corrected mentally.
Tires squealed and a SUV pulled up. Several men came out, and Nathan and Lyla held up their hands to be frisked. Once they were cleared, The Count stepped out of the car.
"Thank you for this." He said, waving the folder Nathan had given Alexi. "But I'm not overly concerned about the SCPD. Now, I understand you, my good sir, wish to participate in the feel good business."
"Indeed." Nathan said.
"And why is that?" The Count enquired.
"Well, I am opening a nightclub here in a month, and I'd like my customers to have a little… something extra on side."
"Well, as it happens, I'm looking to expand my brand." The Count said happily. The bags of money were thrown down, and one of the Count's men produced a small briefcase. "A good wine's value is measured by its vintage. The number of years it took to ferment." He said, opening the case to show it was filled with baggies containing the little green and black pill. "Vertigo is measured in lives. 56 people died to perfect this high." He waved a baggie in Nathan's face, and then threw it back in the case. "Believe me when I say that they did not die for nothing."
"Yep,this mother fucker is gonna die. PAINFULLY!" Nathan shouted mentally while his face gave no indication of his true thoughts.
He closed the case and was about to hand it to Nathan when more squealing tires caught everyone's attention.
"The cops! We've been set up!" someone screamed as several patrol cars arrived on the scene.
"Now they decide to be good at their jobs?" Nathan pondered at the truly annoying inconvenience cops were to him and his work.
"Let's get out! Go! Go!" The Count, his men, Alexi and the Russians, and Nathan and Lyla scrambled to leave as Lance and dozens of other Officers got out of their cars with their guns drawn.
"SCPD! Put your weapons down!" Lance shouted. The Count's men and some of the Russians opened fire, which the cops returned. Nathan looked around and saw The Count making a getaway and took off after him, ignoring Lyla's shout.
He caught up to them and tossed the one dude over the rails, making him drop 50 ft, but when he reached his boss, the Count spun and jabbed his dual syringe into Nathan's chest, injecting the pure vertigo directly into Nate's heart.
"No witnesses." The Count said as Nathan staggered back, his body on fire with pain.
Up top, the Count's men managed to take off in the SUV, but were blocked from escape by McKenna Hall. She drove at straight at them as they drove towards her, firing her pistol out the driver's side window while driving one-handed. She managed to tag the man hanging out of the passenger side, then the driver, causing the SUV to skid to a halt. She did as well, jumping out of her car, her gun pointed at the SUV.
"Get out of the car!"
Back in the stairwell, Lyla ran up to Nathan as he pulled the syringe out of his chest, his Kyuubi features fully active as his healing factor had already fixed the damage the drug would have caused.
"You ok?" Lyla asked.
Nathan handed the syringe to Lyla. "Yeah, we got to go." He said, as they both made a break for it.
Flashback
Yao Fei was beating the crap out of Nathan. Nate was able to throw a few punches in during his beat down, but Yao Fei either avoided or blocked them. Finally, Yao Fei spun into a choke hold, squeezing tightly. Finally, Nathan went limp, and Yao Fei dropped his 'lifeless' body to the ground.
Flashback End
The Lair
Nathan was on his computer, running a picture through of The Count that his clone had taken from a distance through every law enforcement agencies database. He heard the door open to see Helena and Chien with worried expressions on their face.
"Hey," Nathan said, when he was taken off guard when they both hugged tightly, before hugging them back, "Hey I'm okay."
"Lyla told us you were injected with pure Vertigo. What were you thinking? If it wasn't for your superpowers, you could have been-" Helena said with worry, her fear of losing him on full display.
"But I'm not." He said before he gave each of his girlfriends a kiss, "So don't you worry."
His computer went off, signaling it had a match. "While the Cops busted up the meeting, I was able to get a picture of the bastard, and it looks like we have a match." He walked over to the computer to see who it was. "Cecil Adams. Originally, this guy had a bachelors in biochemical engineering and psychology, having gone Columbia University. Before he vanished off the radar, his psychiatrist his parents made him go to had noted the he was a drug abuser, and was obsessed with the euphoria that meth brought him, and he was using his knowledge to make something that made an even better high. When his psychiatrist tried to help him, he raped and killed her in his insanity and vanished. His parents were later found dead in their home." Nathan finished with a glare, before typing something real quick. "Okay, this guy is fucking dead."
"What are you doing?" Helena asked.
"I'm running his face through every camera in Starling city, trying to seeing if can get a general idea of where his HQ is at. I don't feel like searching through every inch of a city with 1.5 million people in it."(1) He turned and sat down in the computer chair.
"Well I am completely in agreement with you. In fact, I can get the Triad behind this as well." Chien said with her arms crossed.
"How would you get them to do that?" Lyla asked as she walked in.
"Well, you know how some scientists say that sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine? Well, Vertigo in its pill form can be incredibly addictive. This drug is designed to get people hooked, more than the usual drugs on the market. Count Vertigo is literally trying to monopolize the drug market with this stuff. The drug trade is still one of the triads main sources of income. Him trying to put us out of business is…well, bad for business. I can get them behind it."
Nate sat in the chair for a moment before grabbing his coat and the syringe. "Lyla, follow me." He ordered.
"Nate where are you going?" Helena asked.
"I need to check up on my family. I'm pretty sure McKenna Hall spotted me there last night, plus I don't have the right equipment to analyze this here." He said, holding up the syringe before he left with Lyla in tow.
Queen Manor
Nathan and Lyla walked in to see Moira sitting with Detective's Lance and Hall.
"What's wrong? Is everything okay with Thea?" Nathan asked, worried.
"This isn't about your sister, this is about you." Lance said, rising. "Last night we got a call from a C.I., busted up a drug sale between a big time dealer and the Russian mob."
Nathan looked at McKenna with a raised eyebrow. "'We'? Last time I checked, you worked Vice." He stated.
"Joint task force. Vertigo's got everybody holding hands." McKenna said.
"Like I said Last night, drug deal gone south." Lance interrupted, getting up. "An eyewitness put you at the scene."
"Whoever he is, he's mistaken." Nathan denied.
"Yeah?" Lance said, moving in closer until they were in each other's faces.
"Back. Off. Detective." Nathan growled. "This did not end well the last time you tried this with me." The two glared at each other, and Quentin looked like he was about ready to punch Nathan.
But it was McKenna who spoke next. "I saw you, Nathan." She said. Nathan looked at her.
"Is this true?" Moira asked.
Nathan sighed. "I was checking into The Count." He began. "He's the guy who sold drugs to Thea. And I figured if I could find out what he looked like, then I could give your sketch artist something to go on. So I paid a low-life with a Russian accent who could pass for Russian Mob more money than he's ever seen in his life to arrange a meeting."
"And? Did you get eyes on him?" McKenna asked.
"No. It was total failure" Nathan lied to the cops' disappointment.
"All right, are you pressing charges against my son?" Moira demanded.
Lance glared at Nathan, but there was understanding in his eyes. "You get involved in this again, you'll see the inside of a cell, and unlike last time, you will not see the way out." He promised.
"Detective." Nathan said, stopping the man before he could storm out. " Thank you for what you did for Thea." He said sincerely, extending the olive branch.
"My daughter asked me for a favor and I did it. And that's the end of it." With that, Lance turned and walked out.
McKenna walked up to Nathan. "Hope you don't think I sold you out." She said.
"Nah." Nathan assured her. "You're just doing your job." McKenna smiled at her ex-boyfriend and walked out.
Moira sighed and rose to her feet. "What on earth were you thinking?" she demanded.
Nathan scoffed. "At least I'm doing something to help my sister instead of twiddling my thumbs."
"By running around with the Russian mob and a murderous drug dealer? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Mom, look, you can pretend all you want, but the real reason that you're upset is because I told Thea the truth about dad." Nathan stated bluntly.
"She never needed to know that." Moira exclaimed.
"Yes, I did." They turned to see Thea walk into the room. "I'm old enough to know the truth, Mom."
Moira sighed. "It wasn't about your age. It was about preserving your memory of your father. He loved you." She continued. "No matter his faults, he loved you."
"I said that I wished you had died instead of him, but you still didn't say anything. Why?" she asked tearfully.
"One day, I hope you're lucky enough to have a daughter, and you'll know why." Moira said.
Thea threw herself into her mother's arms.
"I'm so sorry for what I said." She said, crying into her shoulder.
"I know, I know." Moira whispered, holding her daughter close. Nathan watched them for a moment before walking out of the room.
"Now what?" Lyla asked as he came into the foyer.
"Like I said, we analyze the Vertigo." Nathan replied, bounding up the stairs. "It's in liquid form, which means it contains water. So maybe we can trace back to where in the city The Count is cooking up this horse shit. And when we figure out where the hell this cockroach is nesting, we call the exterminator." He said as he got his coat and they walked out.
Flashback
A Merc dropped Nathan's body onto a small rocky outcropping overlooking a waterfall. He was about to roll it into the river when Yao Fei spoke up.
"Děngdài." Yao Fei said. He looked to Fyers' "Wǒ huì zuò" Fyers nodded to the man, and Yao Fei jumped down. He leaned by the body, reached underneath, and then a moment later rolled Nathan off the outcropping and into the river below.
Flashback end
The Lair
Later
"Mmhm. Yep, I see the info downloading now. Alright, thanks Cait." Nate hung up the phone, having gotten in touch with an old friend from college, Caitlin Snow, to help him figure out where Vertigo was being produced. She was in Starling City, checking up on something in the STAR LABS warehouse, so he had given it to her and she checked it while she was here.
"The solvent used in the Vertigo sample was run off water originated within a ten block radius of where East Glades meets the bay. Nothing there except for an old juvenile detention center abandoned about three years ago." She looked over to Nathan. "Cutbacks." She explained. As Nathan went to grab his gear, Lyla looked at him with mild worry. "Look I know you have to go out there but are you sure you're not experiencing any Vertigo side-effects?"
Nate tossed her a ball and said, "Hold that to your side."
Lyla nodded, and then moved over to the workbench. She held out the tennis ball, and Nate fired a shot, embedding the ball in the wall, before turning around and leaving.
"Well, guess that answers that." Lyla quipped.
Count's Hideout
Two of the guards at the facility were patrolling the perimeter, when two silenced gunshots were heard, and they both fell dead. At the entrance, one of the two guards were hit by a silenced sniper shot. The other tried to call it in but was stopped with a headshot. The rest of the Triad quickly arrived, sealing off all the exits, quickly moving in.
Nate and Helena made their way up the stairs, killing every single one of the Count's guards with quick shots.
Inside the main hall, one of the Count's men ran in to raise the alarm.
"They're here!"
"They who?" The Count asked
"The-!" Before he could say, an arrow came out of his head, killing him. One of the guards turned to see Nate, only to be shot. Another had his throat pierced by Helena's bolts. The scientist's tried to run, but then the Triad came in through the other exit and riddled them with bullets.
In the main hall, Nathan ripped the last guards heart out and turned his attention to the Count.
"You should have stuck to your depraved elite." The Count raged, holding a gun on Nate. "I am merely providing people with what they want! I am providing a public service!"
"So are we." Helena shot a bolt, disarming the crazed drug dealer, then leapt up onto the table he was standing. The Count threw a wild hook but Helena leaned back, avoiding it. He tried to stab her with his double syringe, but she caught his wrist and broke it, causing him to drop the syringe which she caught. She then pivoted on her knees, avoiding the crazy man's other wild hook and jammed the Count's double syringe into his left lung. "Enjoy the fruits of your labor." She hissed as he squeezed the plunger, injecting the drug into the Count.
The Count grunted in pain as the drug coursed through his system. "Strap him to the table." Nate ordered. Two Triad members did so. Meanwhile, a third brought out a small portable pump and hooked one end up to a large vat of liquid Vertigo. The other end was equipped with a long tube hooked up to a syringe needle.
Nathan roughly gripped the drug dealers hair and said, "You love Vertigo so much?" He asked rhetorically before stepping back, "Then drown in it!" He plunged the syringe needle on the hose into the Counts heart, and turned on the pump. Vertigo could quickly be seen being pushed into the Counts heart and the moment it did, he started convulsing violently, as he started to continuously hack up blood and his veins began to swell, until they could be seen through every inch of his skin and they were turning bright green. This continued for a minute until he stopped convulsing, a pool of his blood underneath the table, and his veins remained permanently enlarged, visible and green. Nate checked his pulse and he was dead.
He turned to Chien, "Have the bombs been placed?"
Chien turned to a member, who nodded and she said, "Yes."
"Good. Get out of here. The SCPD will be here in 7 minutes." He gave Chien and Helena a quick kiss, before they ran.
7 minutes later
"Freeze!"
Nathan turned around with his hands crossed behind his back as a dozen cops who had just arrived, including Lance and Hall.
"Put your hands up now!" Lance shouted. "You're under arrest for murder!"
"Really?" Nathan argued. "That's your excuse?" He motioned with his head to the dead freaks around him, "They deserved it."
"Not according to the law!" Lance shot back. "The people that think you're a hero, people like my daughter, if they could see you now… you're no hero." He sneered. "You're what I always said you were- a killer."
"That might actually hold meaning to someone who actually believes the law works. But I know better. The law doesn't work when the system is corrupt. You hate me, not because I go outside the law. But because I am the one who protects this city, not you."
"You fools are part of the very system that enables people like this freak show and Justin Clayborne to trample on the weak and the innocent. To infect everyone with their disease of corruption. Did you know his name was Cecil Adams? He raped and murdered his physciatrist when she tried to help him heal from his meth addiction, and then murdered both of his parents. He was going to dump Vertigo into the cities water supply, potentially infecting all the two million souls in this city. Had you gotten here before me, you would have let him live, claiming he is 'clinically insane' and then he'd eventually get out and do it all over again. I made sure he couldn't."
"You talk about Clayborne but you tortured him to death!" McKenna yelled.
"The guy engineered a disease and infected thousands before increasing the prices for the medicine to fight it by 10,000% just so he could make a profit. If anything, I didn't make him suffer enough. You fools don't seem to understand I don't do this to be a hero. I do this to protect this city. There is almost no line I won't cross to get the job done. Allow me to demonstrate." Suddenly red lights turned on all over the whole building.
"I have already rigged the entire building to blow. The only reason it hasn't is because I am holding down the dead man switch. If my finger comes off this trigger for any reason, the entire building goes off like a mini-nuke. I told you once before detective Lance, you will never catch me. Why? Because I am 10 steps ahead of you. I know you're next move long before you make it. Now, I'm gonna walk out of here, and then you have three minutes to vacate the premises before I blow this place to kingdom come. Or you can shoot me and kill yourselves in the process. Your choice", slowly, every cop lowered their guns, with Quentin being the last, "Wise choice." Nathan quickly ran out. The cops ran out the other way, though Quentin had to be dragged away, since he tried to follow Nate. True to his word, three minutes later, an explosion caused a small mushroom like cloud to erupt as the entire building exploded, causing the cops to count their blessings.
CNRI
Next Day
Nathan was escorting Thea to her community service.
"Juvenile delinquent reporting for duty." Thea said nervously to Laurel as the older woman approached with a smile.
"Since you lost your driver's license, I'll pick you up at five." Nathan told her.
"Six." Laurel interrupted. "We have a lot of work for her to do."
"Well, then, let's say seven." Nathan teased with a grin.
"Is it too late to choose jail?" Thea wondered aloud.
Both Nathan and Laurel said "Yes." In unison, and then laughed.
Laurel handed Thea a stack of folders. "I need you to go through these files and pull out all the documents dated March 2007. Do you think you could do that?" she asked.
"I think I can." Thea assured her. She moved towards an empty desk, but stopped and turned back to Laurel. "I know now how badly I messed up." She said. "I really appreciate this, Laurel. Thank you."
Laurel smiled at the younger girl. "We are going to make an upstanding citizen out of you yet, Speedy."
As Thea sat down to start working, Nathan smiled warmly at his ex-lover. "Thank you." He told her. "And this will be good for her, having a role model like you."
"Oh, you're not so bad." She argued.
Laurel smiled wistfully, staring at Thea. "And besides, it'll be nice to have her around."
Nathan's phone rang and he looked at the screen. "I got to take this. Excuse me." He told her, and then moved off, answering the phone. "Hello?"
"Well, you're in luck. The Count's dead." McKenna said. "The hood busted up his lab and killed everybody, including the Count, before blowing the whole place to hell." She assured him.
"Wait, he blew it up? Are you okay?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, we got away before it blew up, so none of the cops got hurt." McKenna said.
"Thanks for letting me know." Nathan replied.
"It was great seeing you, Nathan." She said.
"You, too. I'll see you around."
"See ya." McKenna hung up the phone with a smile.
Flashback
Yao Fei leaned next to Nathan's body. He reached underneath and, unseen by Fyers or the other Mercs, slipped a map into Nathan's vest pocket. He looked back at Fyers, who nodded, and then reached down to roll Nathan off the cliff. Before he did, though, he touched a spot on Nathan's neck, just below the chin, and then a moment later rolled Nathan off the outcropping and into the river below.
Nathan landed in a deeper part of the lagoon and floated for several moments before blot awake. He gasped as he pulled his had out of the water, then weakly struggled to swim to shore. He crawled onto the rocks and hauled himself further onto dry land before collapsing, utterly spent. Feeling something in the pocket of his vest, he frowned and reached in, pulling out a map. Unfolding it, though, he found that Yao Fei had left him a message. On the map a path was marked in red, with an 'X' marking the end of the path. Above the 'X' was written one single word.
"Shengcún." Nathan read aloud. "Survive." He folded up the map and staggered to his feet, then tiredly began walking the path.
Flashback End
Back in the present, Nathan's recollections were interrupted as he saw a familiar blonde walk by. He waved, and she came inside, stopping at the table. Nathan got up and greeted the blonde. "Kara Danvers"(2), Nate said happily as the two old friends gave each other a hug.
Kara and him used to go to the same junior highschool and highschool, though he was 2 years above her. They were each other's first girlfriend/boyfriend though that didn't last for more than a couple months back then due to the age difference, so they just remained good friends. Though they had maintained contact when he went off to college, at least until the Gambit went down. He hadn't had a chance to contact her between everything going on.
"Hey, Nate," Kara said cheerily, like the little ball of sunshine she was, "It's great to see you. I was so happy when I heard you were alive, but then-"
"Hey its okay. I get it. New dream job and all that is gonna keep you busy," Nathan said, "So, did Grant finally loosen her leash on you a bit, or are you here on vacation?"
Kara thought for a minute before saying, "Cat wanted someone to get an interview with you, and I volunteered, seeing as we're old friends, plus I needed an excuse to see you. I mean, you didn't call or text so…" She trailed off.
"Well in my defense? 5 years of social isolation plus I didn't know your number." He looked at his watch. "We can do the interview tomorrow, but it's only 7:30 and we are old friends. Let's go have some fun," He said mischievously.
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to impose-" She tried to say, but Nate stopped her, "Kara, I have not seen you in 7 years. I am gonna have some fun with an old friend before you have travel 300 miles back to National City(3)." Nathan got up and motioned for her to follow. After a moment of pondering, she got up and the two friends went to go have some fun just for one night.