บท 87: COINCIDENCE
[College]
Oliver parked his car near Thea's College and rushed out of it and ran toward the security guard stationed near the entrance gate... The guard as always was dozing off lazily. He ignored him and rushed toward her classroom building...
As he entered the hallways, he bumped into some students, "Sorry!" He apologized, rushing onward and searching for Thea's classroom number. 'Damn it! Where is it?' He cursed inwardly, turning left and right, getting frustrated.
"Hey mister, what are you doing here? Students aren't allowed to bring anyone over..." Some female teacher asked Oliver.
"I am searching for Thea Queen," He replied. "It's an emergency."
"Emergency?" She asked with a puzzled expression, "Ah! You must be Oliver. Sorry, but she isn't in class today. Missed her first lecture, second also... Humm..." She called someone to verify her suspicions, "Yeah, she is absent today..." She informed Oliver.
"Thanks," He ran out of the building and went back to his car, dialing Thea's cellphone.
Ringggg!! Ringggg!!
Her phone kept ringing, but nobody picked it up... 'Ok, ok.' He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Being hyper in such a situation won't solve anything, 'Think Oliver Think!' He slapped himself awake from panic mode, driving back to the shooting range. Thea sometimes goes there to practice... Maybe she is there?
He drove like crazy, honking at every vehicle blocking his path, swerving and maneuvering his car as fast as he can... Reaching the shooting range, he jumped out of the car and ran toward the counter. His phone rang, it was from Quentin Lance, "Tell me you found Thea!" He yelled into the phone.
"She is last spotted at the Jimmy's Archery. I am heading there right now. Meet you there." Quentin replied back, hanging up afterward.
Oliver ran out of the counter and drove off again...
Jimmy's Archery was a famous archery training center. He has no idea that her sister was interested in archery... He drove faster, reaching his destination, and jumped out of his car, running toward the counter once again. Quentin was already waiting there...
"Where is she? Did you find Thea?" Oliver asked anxiously.
"There she is," He pointed inside at the range area where Thea was practicing archery with an instructor nearby. "Calm down son..." Quentin placed his hand on his shoulder, "Relax..."
He took a deep breath, calming his nerves down, 'At least she is safe.'
"You gonna tell me what this is all about?" Quentin asked with a stern expression.
"A prank call from a burner phone," Oliver lied to him. "Thought Thea is in danger."
Quentin glared at him suspiciously, "Hummm... You sure about that? If you need help..."
"Thanks, Detective Lance," He thanked him, "I will keep you updated if I get another call. Thanks again for tracking Thea for me."
"No problem..." He nodded, walking out of the range area.
Oliver waited until Quentin left the place before approaching his sister, "Thea?"
"Ollie?" She paused midway, lowering her bow down and looked back at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Why weren't you answering your phone?"
"Phone? You forgot again, huh? I told you last week that I will be taking archery classes here for the rest of this week... Remember?" She rolled her eyes, "Seriously Ollie, when will you start remembering those stuffs? Am I invisible to you?" She complained with a frown. "Anyway, you are sweating buckets, is everything alright?" She took an arrow from the quiver nearby and aimed at the target practice board...
He stood beside her, "Yeah... Everything is fine..." He smiled, wiping away sweat dripping down his chin. "A little higher." He corrected her posture.
"Like this?" She adjusted herself, aiming again.
"Yeah, hold that position," He gave her some pointers. "Now, let it go."
The arrow whizzed across the air, hitting the target board at the edge of the yellow circle... "Nice!" He cheered her up.
"Thanks!" She grinned happily, picking another arrow from the quiver, and prepared to shoot again. "You free? Wanna stick around for a while?" She asked, hoping he would stay a little longer. It's been a while since he spent some quality time with her.
"Sure," He nodded, smiling.
"Wanna compete?" She smirked with confidence in her eyes, already knowing who the better marksman was between them.
"You think you can beat me, eh?" He chuckled.
"Try me," She retorted back.
"Arr, this will be fun!" He laughed, cracking his neck. "Show me what you got, rookie!"
The two started competing in the archery range. Neither backing away and taking a loss, "14th straight game to Ollie the Beast!" Oliver exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah! You got lucky. It's impossible to score perfectly at bull's-eye 14 times in a row. Not possible even by the best players. You must be a robot wearing my brother's skin," She grumbled, glancing over her target board... A perfect circle of arrows was skewed to the heart of the red bull's-eye. It was something unreal.
"I will take that as a compliment. Thank you, the lady is too kind," He laughed.
"Smug much?" She snorted, "2 out of 5!"
"You won't give up, will you?" He laughed. "Well, you are on, miss."
"Fill 'em up!" She told an employee passing by, wanting more practice arrows.
The employee went to the back of the counter and retrieved a fresh new box of arrows and handed it to Thea, "Here you go, miss."
"Thanks!" She took it.
"Come on, the next round starts now!"
They spent the entire day at the Archery range practicing. Oliver had a good time. All the worries and pressure on his shoulders were gone for the time being, "Let's grab something to eat." He suggested, "I am starving."
"Yay!" She cheered, "I know a place nearby, let's go."
It's 6 PM now, the sun was starting to set and the night life was beginning to kick in...
Oliver drove to the restaurant and parked his car nearby, walking toward the entrance with Thea. She stopped before entering the restaurant and turned back toward her brother, "Are you sick or something?" She asked with a worried expression.
"What makes you say that?" He asked.
"You just spent an entire day with your sister without a single complaint or grumbling about the job or work..." She sighed, "Seriously, if there is something wrong. Tell me... Should I call an ambulance or something?" She frowned, taking his temperature.
"I am fine," He chuckled, "Nothing is wrong. Besides, what's wrong with spending time with my sister? If I want to hang out with you, I will do so without any reason... Got it?" He gave her a hug, "Now, come on, I am hungry."
"Sure, sure," She replied back, walking inside and finding a seat in the restaurant.
The two ordered their meals and chatted for a while, waiting for them to arrive. The waiter arrived with their meals and placed them on the table, "Bon appetite."
Suddenly, a message came on Oliver's phone... He picked it up and checked his inbox.
[Sorry, for the trouble. My AI went a bit too far. It must have been nerve-breaking, running around in fear, thinking that your Ex and sister are in danger. But you might want to check the news and thank me later on. Anyway, cherish this happy time while it lasts, because soon, very soon, our little world will be engulfed by darkness. Until then, enjoy! Or you could pay a visit. You still have that card, right? I am waiting for you Arrow.]
'Card?!' He suddenly remembered that night when Bruce Wayne gave him a card when his informant made him drive and almost got herself killed, 'Bruce Wayne!' He took out the card from his pocket and glanced at it, 'Wayne Enterprises...' The company's name was printed on it.
"Ollie, what's wrong?" Thea asked.
"Ah, nothing!" He shook his head, "Just some work-related stuff."
"I guess, I held you up today, huh? Sorry for wasting your time."
"Time wasted with my sister is never a waste," He smiled. "And for the record, you didn't waste my time. I enjoyed myself today. So stop with the self-deprecating thoughts and eat your food..." He opened the news on his phone and checked the latest headlines.
<A massive explosion at the docks has left dozens dead, as the authorities say the explosion was caused by a gift package. But the name of the victim still remains unknown. Some say that it might be the work of a terrorist. The investigation team is still working on recovering the sender's details and the target's details.>
'Shit! It was supposed to be delivered to Laurel! He saved her life.' Oliver felt grateful to Bruce. Even though he didn't like the way he or his AI or whatever did it, but he understood the man's actions and appreciated them.
He scrolled down to the next headline and was shocked...
<Terrorrist shootout near Jackson Drive crossing!>
'What the hell?!' He clicked on the link and read the article.
<At 4 PM this afternoon, an armed group took a group of college students hostage and shot a policeman who tried to save them. The terrorists had a standoff with the SWAT team, but the situation was diffused by a mysterious masked vigilante in a cat suit who appeared out of nowhere and fought the terrorists, injuring them and freeing the hostages. The police are looking for that person to give him a medal for bravery. Stay tuned for more updates.>
He felt speechless after reading that article. It was the first crossing near Thea's college. The classes are over around 4 PM, so, had Thea gone to college today, she might have been taken hostage. The chances are low, but considering how she always goes everywhere without the family car, it could have happened. 'How did he know all of this?'
Oliver closed his phone and enjoyed the meal together without ruining the mood, 'Thank you, Bruce Wayne.'
Meanwhile...
Bruce sat before his supercomputer, updating Jarvis's codes.
"If we hadn't hacked into Star City, things could have turned ugly," He told his AI.
"Yes. The terrorist organizations are expanding too fast. With Penguin dead and his gang dispersed, some of the smaller gangs are taking this chance to expand their influence... The police department is overwhelmed." Jarvis replied back. "Sir. I think it was a mistake to kill him that night."
"Without Penguin's interference, the gangs will start clashing with each other to take over his territory and the weapons manufacturing. And I agree with you. It was a mistake on my part. That's why, I am working overtime trying to fix my mess. Haaa..." He sighed, leaning back on his chair, "How's our guest doing?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Recovering sir."
"Good!" He nodded, "Now, where were we?" He turned toward the three terrorists Selina captured. "You boys are not afraid of death, right? So, we will start small. Start with your little finger, and slowly move up. I promise you pain and suffering..."
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