Chapter 105: Arrow ~ Docket No. 11-19-41-73 ~ Part Three
***
"I solemnly affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
Quentin exhaled slowly, feeling the tension on the rest of the bench he shared with Kara and her family. That was it – the fate of the trial was in Laurel's hands. "Ms. Lance, the defendant here has publicly acknowledged that you were the vigilante known as the Black Canary," Alexa gestured to Oliver. "Is it fair to take Mr. Queen at his word?"
"Yes," Laurel nodded in confirmation.
"And being that the Black Canary is a known associate of the Green Arrow, is it fair to say you know his true identity?"
"I do," Laurel nodded again, a smirk playing on her lips. "I know who the Green Arrow is."
"We came into this trial on the belief that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow based on a former testimony Rene Ramirez gave," Alexa paced in front of her table, making Rene cringe from behind Quentin. "But a man calling himself Tommy Merlyn claims that identity. Ms. Lance, if you would, please, just help me out here," she turned around. "Who's telling the truth?"
Barry abruptly straightened and tapped Sara rapidly, making the blonde glare at him in annoyance. "What?" she hissed.
"I have an idea," Barry answered quietly, "but we need to go,
Sara looked around furtively, then nodded. "OK."
They hurried out of their chairs as quickly and quietly as they could, Ruby twisting in her seat to watch them leave. "What're they doing?" she asked Mon-El in a hushed voice.
"Not sure," the Daxamite frowned.
They were drawn back as Alexa stalked forward. "Ms. Lance," she said firmly. "Who is the Green Arrow?"
Laurel's eyes darted past Alexa to survey everyone in the courtroom behind Oliver. Then her green eyes hardened, and Kara's eyes widened. "Oh, my God," she whispered.
"What?" Alex asked.
But Kara's lips formed a smile as Laurel straightened to her full height while sitting, looked Alexa in the eyes, and declared in a no-nonsense voice, "Tommy Merlyn."
Ruby squeaked in surprise, but Kara let out a little giggle and slumped forward in relief, Alex rubbing her back as the courtroom burst into chatter. "Atta girl," Dig smiled proudly as Rene, Curtis, and Dinah exchanged grins.
"Oliver Queen isthe Green Arrow!" Laurel announced to the courtroom, as if they hadn't heard her already.
"Order!" McGarvey shouted, banging his gavel as the noise level rose. "Testimony being closed. We'll take a short recess and resume for closing arguments."
Laurel stood from her seat, smoothed out her skirt, and shot a smug look at the camera in her face, making James and Winn laugh. She gave Oliver a small smile before she stepped off the witness's stand and headed for the exit, maintaining an air of complete calm even as reporters rushed towards her. "Excuse me," Quentin bolted from his seat to go after her.
***
Laurel was barely containing herself as she opened the doors out of the courtroom, grinding her teeth as reporters swarmed her, swamping her with questions. "No comment," she spat, walking as fast as she could towards the exit.
"Hey, back up!" Quentin was suddenly behind her, shielding her from the press. "Give her a break, please!" Laurel shot a glare over her shoulder for effect, and the reporters halted in their tracks. Relieved, Laurel let Quentin pull her aside. "Listen, are you OK?"
"Yeah," Laurel nodded, taking a few deep breaths. "Concerned for my guys, but yeah, I'm OK."
"Do you think Diaz might carry his threat out?" Quentin asked.
"I think he's insane enough that he could," Laurel admitted.
"But you stood up to him anyway."
"I did," Laurel nodded, taking a deep breath and lowering her voice. "I was by myself for a long time, making some really bad choices before I joined up with some really bad groups. None of them would have had my back, and I would've been fine throwing them under the bus. I would walk through wildfire for Slade and Malcolm. I guess I thought I needed to fly solo for this." She shook her head. "Now I know what it's like to be part of a group that wouldn't hesitate to back each other up. We'll handle this."
Quentin nodded, squeezing her arm. "Go."
Laurel nodded back, walking past Quentin and ignoring the reporters that were still shouting. She made her way towards the parking garage, head held high as she wove past police officers glaring at her. She stepped out into the garage, hearing footsteps behind her.
The door shut as soon as she was out, and she could hear the muffled shouts of officers as they tried to open the door. Laurel just closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. "Bastards," Slade glared at the door.
Malcolm slipped past him and opened his arms, and Laurel sank into his embrace gratefully. "That feltgood," she admitted.
"You were habib albi," Malcolm whispered against her hair. Laurel blinked at the unfamiliar Arabic words, looking up at him in confusion, and he smiled at her. "Love of my heart," he translated.
Laurel blinked rapidly, then giggled and reached up to kiss him. Slade snorted softly and shook his head. "Should I let you two have the garage?" he asked sarcastically.
"Shut up," Laurel grabbed one of Malcolm's arrows and flung it at the Australian half-heartedly, unable to keep the smile off her face.
***
"Earlier, Judge McGarvey said it fell upon you, the jury, to sort out what he deemed to be 'a mess,'" Jean paced in front of the jury during her closing statement. "True, we have contradicting statements. And yes, we have contradicting testimonies, but that is a mess, ladies and gentlemen. That is the textbook definition of reasonable doubt."
She walked back to her seat, and Alexa took her place. "Fifteen minutes after being taken into custody, Tommy Merlyn was freed by members of the Green Arrow's team," she announced, making the spectators shift restlessly. "Now, you might take that as evidence that he is, in fact, the Green Arrow, but I would like to offer you a much more plausible explanation, and that is Oliver Queen has people and resources at his disposal to do whatever it takes to keep his secrets. And don't think that doesn't mean someone falling out of the sky into this courtroom with a false face and a made-up story. Because Tommy Merlyn is just another Roy Harper. He's just another man willing to go to prison to cover up the crimes that that man has committed." She pointed at Oliver, narrowing her eyes to slits. "Don't let him get away with it, not again. Not again."
Ruby swallowed hard, watching Alexa walk back to her seat. "What happens now?" she asked quietly.
"It's up to the jury," Dinah answered.
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