Brave New World: Arrow

Chapter 20

"So, William's back." Rene said after Oliver brought him up to speed.

"Yeah and he was very excited to find out that he'd be going to school with Zoe again." Oliver said.

"I still can't believe Laurel thought it was a good idea to restore his memories." Rene said.

"Just to be clear, he doesn't have the memories of his future self, only the memories of his counterpart up until his current age, since that future version of William likely no longer exists." Oliver said.

"Since when do you understand so much about time travel?" Rene asked.

"Two of my closest friends are time travelers. I've learned a thing or two." Oliver said, since Sara was a Legend and Barry was a speedster and both of them had experience in time travel.

"Fair enough, but you want to bring Zoe into this?" Rene asked.

"She's already involved and honestly, I think she deserves to know the truth, plus, she and William both need someone they can relate to, that's their own age. They were friends before, they can be again, especially since Zoe was very proud that her dad is Wild Dog. Plus, it will be easier for you to protect her if she knows the truth." Oliver said and Rene nodded.

"As much as I wish I could protect Zoe from the truth, I also know that I'm not setting a good example to her by lying to her all the time, especially since her mother is currently in rehab for her drug use." Rene said, since that had one condition that Rene had given his now ex-wife that was unshakeable. If Laura ever wanted a chance of seeing her daughter again, she'd need to get clean and stay clean. And that didn't just mean going to meetings, since both Laura and Quentin had shown him that in some cases, those weren't enough. So he'd insisted on her going to rehab and Laura had agreed, if only so that she could get a chance to see her daughter again, since she knew that no judge would grant her custody or visitations to her daughter right now, especially since her drug problem had almost put Zoe in danger.

"At least you got her to go." Oliver said.

"Only because I told her that if she didn't, she'd never see Zoe again. I feel bad enough that my life at Wild Dog puts her at risk, but at least wearing a mask means that I can keep the bad guys from knowing my face. Or at least the ones that aren't our yearly big bad. But Laura knew that continuing with her drug problem would most likely end up putting Zoe in harm's way but she did it anyway." Rene said.

"We can't control other people Rene, believe me, I've tried. Mainly with you." Oliver said and Rene chuckled.

"At least now you trust me to go off book." Rene said.

"And I always should've." Oliver said.

"Hey, water under the bridge man. After all, you forgave me for worse. Speaking of, we are going to be diving into Samandra Watson right?" Rene asked.

"Felicity's working on that as we speak. Something tells me that her obsession with taking me down was personal. Plus, there is the fact that she went through what had to be illegal sources of information to get her intel." Oliver said.

"Glad we agree on that." Rene said.

"And I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's glad that we're back to the way things used to be. Operating from the shadows." Oliver said.

"Yeah. I mean our arrangement with the SCPD was great, but honestly, it feels a lot better to not have our hands tied by those rules and regulations. After all, the whole point of this is to protect people in ways the cops can't." Rene said.

"True, plus there's also the benefits of keeping our secret identities secret, which means that there's a smaller chance of our loved ones being pulled into the line of fire." Oliver said and Rene nodded.

"Speaking of which, when are we making a move on Slade, since he's got to know that you have a kid to bring into the line of fire, since we both know that as long as he has then mirakuru in him, he won't care about bringing an innocent kid into this." Rene said.

"Trust me, I have Argus pulling double shifts tracking him and all his known associates down." Oliver said.

"And what happens when we do find him?" Rene asked.

"Depends on if we have a Mirakuru cure available at the time. If we get that, then I'll use it on Slade and lock him up to give him time to sober out." Oliver said.

"And if we don't?" Rene asked.

"Then I'll finish what I started back on the Amazo years ago." Oliver said.

"Just wanted to be sure, since I don't want to risk Zoe getting caught in his crosshairs." Rene said.

"She won't." Oliver promised.

Isabel Rochev took a deep breath as she entered her boss's office. Though not her boss at Stellmoor International. The boss that she actually did listen too.

"What brings you here at this hour? It could be seen as suspicious." Her boss said when he noticed she was there.

"This couldn't wait till morning. There's been a new development in regards to your special project." Isabel said.

"I'm listening." her boss said.

"We've recently learned that Oliver Queen has a son." Isabel said.

"Show me." Slade Wilson said with a smirk as he took the file from her.

"Very interesting. I can't say I'm surprised the kid has a kid of his own. And that will make my revenge all the more satisfying. Establish surveillance over him." Slade said.

"Right away Mr. Wilson." Isabel said as she walked out of his office.

The following night, Isabel was working late in her own office when suddenly, the lights went out.

"What's going on?" Isabel asked, right as someone jumped through her window.

"Isabel Rochev." Green Arrow said with a grin as he aimed his bow at her.

"What do you want?" Isabel sneered.

"You have failed this city. Now where is he?" Green Arrow demanded.

"Where's who?" Isabel asked.

"Don't play dumb. We both know you're working for Slade Wilson, so where is he? Where is that coward hiding?" Green Arrow demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Isabel said.

"Try lying to someone who hasn't been trained by Amanda Waller and a daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Now where is Slade?" Green Arrow demanded.

"If you know who he is, then you know he'll kill me if I tell you and you won't kill me." Isabel said, a lot more confidence in her voice then she felt.

"How sure are you of that?" Green Arrow asked.

"If you kill me, you'll never find him." Isabel said.

"Maybe, but that's not why I'm letting you live. I'm letting you live to deliver a message to him." Green Arrow said.

"What might that be?" Isabel asked. Trying to keep some fear out of her voice.

"Tell him that I know he's alive and that I'm coming for him before he comes for me. And also tell him I know where his son is. If he wants to fight me, tell him do it like a man and come at me himself. Unless the Mirakuru has turned him into a coward." Green Arrow said, knowing that Slade wouldn't be able to resist a challenge like that.

"I'll let him know so you can dig your grave." Isabel said as the lights flickered and the Green Arrow was gone, leaving Isabel's heart racing.