Arrow: Reckoning Part 2

Running from Stones

The sound of rapid footsteps approached as Lance tried to steady his breathing and prolong his remaining time. Oliver dropped down and carefully rolled Lance onto his back, doing his best not to disturb his injury. The closer view of the arrow emerging from Lance's chest cut short any hope of the attack being less than fatal as Oliver followed the projectile's path straight into the Captain's heart. A sense of shock and failure quickly ran through Oliver's mind, his trap for Slade had not only been a failure but he had also led one of his partners to their death. Lance's eyes began to fade as he fought for a few extra seconds before the darkness. Oliver pulled his phone from his pocket and activated the preset program to call in SCPD backup to his location, his brain doing it's best to function even when he already knew nothing could save the Captain now.

"You missed." Lance stuttered, his body beginning to shut off minor functions and try and keep his heart beating. A smile quickly followed the comment along with a laugh that was cutoff by a violent cough. Oliver knew Lance was attempting to keep the blame from crushing him, but the responsibility of what happened began to weigh heavy on Oliver.

"Captain..." Oliver began, preparing to apologize for what he had done. Lance shook his head and replied.

"It's not your fault...mask or not, I knew the risks." His voice began to weaken with every word, the pool of blood beneath him growing larger by the second. Oliver paused and realized this was the last time he would ever speak to Lance, hating that so much would go unsaid between the two of them. Their partnership and all the good they had done together would simply become a memory and Lance would die not knowing who was under the hood. The conversation at the hospital may have led Oliver to believe that Lance was aware of his true identity, but there was only one way to know for sure. Oliver deactivated his voice emulator and reached for his mask to remove it and show the Captain who he was.

"Stop." Lance said as he reached up and loosely grabbed Oliver's arm, keeping him from removing his mask. Oliver did as Lance asked and kept his identity hidden, hating that he couldn't tell his dying friend the truth but finding himself unable to discover why he didn't want to know who he really was.

"You never once asked me who I am." Oliver began, knowing that Lance's time was short.

"It doesn't matter...because you're a good person." Lance answered, his breath growing heavy as his trembling hand collapsed into Oliver's grip. A grin reached Lance's face as his eyes fell shut one final time and his chest settled. Oliver felt Lance's hand slip from his grasp as he stared helplessly down at his fallen friend. The sound of sirens squealing in the distance grew louder as Oliver stayed beside Lance for a little longer, not wanting him to be left alone until the police arrived to take him.

"Don't move." Warren ordered from behind Oliver, his weapon drawn and aimed at the Arrow's head. He hadn't seen what had transpired but he did see his Captain lying dead with an arrow in his chest and the bow wielding vigilante beside him. Despite the fact of the two men working together for some time now, Warren couldn't put the image before him aside. He had to base the site off of what he saw and the evidence he could see, and right now that evidence pointed directly at the Arrow. Oliver slowly rose to his feet and glanced back at Warren over his shoulder, knowing there was no time to explain what had truely happened. The full force of the police would descend down on him in a matter of seconds and they would all see the same thing that Detective Warren saw, a dead officer and a vigilante beside him. His only option was to flee, in order to fight on and protect the city he would have to get out of this situation and in the process most likely incriminate himself. Warren struggled with his thoughts as he searched for an answer as what could have gone so wrong between the two men who had fought side by side for years to keep the city safe.

"Why?" Warren asked, honestly wanting an acceptable answer for the unthinkable crime before him.

"It wasn't me." Oliver replied as the other SCPD officers began to move in from the ends of the alley around them. Warren glanced toward them for a moment, allowing Oliver the oppurtunity to drop a smoke pellet and engulf himself in the thick cloud before repelling to the rooftop and disappearing. Warren kept his sidearm trained on the smoke as it slowly faded and revealed the Arrow had fled the scene, leaving behind his supposed victim. Warren ignored looking for the vigilante and instead approached his fallen comrade, kneeling beside him to pay his respects as the other officers arrived around him.