Arrow: Fracture Part 3

Bad Blood

The spinning rotor blades on the helicopter covered the sound of the assassins as they sprang into view, circling the team on the building's roof. Lyla and Diggle wasted no time, the moment they had a target in their sights they took action. The sound of gunfire rang out as the assassins moved to evade the incoming fire, ducking behind nearby cover while Lyla and Diggle began to swap targets in an attempt to keep their distance from the surrounding threats. Oliver snapped an arrow to his bow and struck an assassin in the shoulder just as two more charged him. The punches and kicks were fast, each strike followed up quickly by another keeping Oliver on edge as he fought to stay ahead of the attacks. Curtis and his husband stayed near the middle of the team, trying to shield themselves from the ongoing battle around them. A single arrow managed to strike Lyla's arm, leaving only a flesh wound but allowing her defenses to drop. Within a split second two assassins darted toward her, the first sweeping her legs out from under her. Lyla collapsed onto her back just as the second assassin stopped over her and prepared to drop his sword into her chest. The icey unforgiving look in the man's eyes burned into Lyla's as she felt panic takeover as she reached for her gun that had been knocked away. Two arrows dug into the assassin's shoulders and cut his attack short as he stumbled away, dropping his weapon. Lyla glanced over to Oliver and nodded before grabbing the sword beside her and jumping back into the battle. Diggle swiveled back and forth, trying to keep the assassins surrounding him as far back as possible before they overwhelmed him. He snapped his sidearm toward the nearest threat and pulled the trigger only to realize he was out of ammo, prompting him to reload as the assassin charged him. The new magazine struggled into the weapon as the assassin's blade swung back for a powerful strike, only to have Lyla knock it away before hitting her husband. Diggle readied his weapon and moved his back against Lyla's, each covering the other as they prepared for another attack. The sound of panicking screams caught everyones attention as they spotted Curtis being pulled away by a group of assassins. The team moved to intercept Curtis but had no time to react before the League made their move. Oliver charged through a few assassins and watched as Nyssa herself stood in front of Curtis and her troops at the edge of the rooftop. Nyssa smiled as she dropped a smoke pellet and engulfed herself and her men in smoke. Oliver knew better than to run into such an obvious trap, instead moving to the only option he had left. He turned back and saw that his team was completely surrounded, and the League wasn't going to take prisoners.

"Fall back!" Oliver yelled as he fired a flashbang arrow at a group of assassins, creating an opening for Lyla and Diggle to escape through. Diggle continued to cover them as Lyla grabbed Paul and moved to the edge of the roof where Oliver met them and setup a grappling arrow for everyone. Lyla quickly secured herself and Paul to the cables, wasting no time as she began her decent down. Paul clung tightly to the safety harness as Lyla did her best to safely guide them both down the side of the building. Oliver jumped up beside his partner and fired an arrow toward the advancing assassins.

"Go now!" Oliver ordered, motioning Diggle toward the grappling arrow set for him.

"What about you?" Diggle asked, jumping up to fire at the incoming threats.

"I'll distract them. Go!" Oliver replied as he darted off and fired multiple arrows at the assassins, drawing them away from his partner. Diggle silently cursed to himself for leaving his friend in such a dangerous situation, but knew Oliver could handle it. He grabbed the harness and readied it as two assassins leapt over a nearby HVAC unit and prepared to assault him, only to receive a single bullet each. The two assassins crumpled back over the HVAC as Diggle secured his harness and jumped off the roof. Oliver backed away from the three assassins attacking him, each swinging and kicking at him one after another. The four men danced along the roof's edge, each striking one another and trying to overpower the vigilante. Oliver battled his opponents and struggled to stay a step ahead of them, splitting his focus on the fight and his escape. The number of assassins on the rooftop had noticeably dropped as Oliver feared they might have chased after his fleeing team members. A sudden roar ripped overhead as a blinding spotlight shined down on Oliver, instantly separating him from the assassins who backed away from the illuminated hero. The police helicopter hovered over the building and focused on the Green Arrow. The pilots began to bark orders over the radio as Oliver glared at the retreating assassins, knowing they would do everything they could to limit their exposure to the outside world especially when it came to law enforcement. Oliver looked up at the helicopter and watched as it turned slightly to reveal the gunmen sitting inside it, each aiming at the masked hero in case he chose to run. The sound of the roof access door being forcibly opened caught Oliver's attention as he planned out his escape, knowing he had to move fast. He glanced down and spotted a few smaller buildings below and a possible way to lose the police. He looked up to the police helicopter once again and stepped off the roof. The helicopter snapped to follow as Oliver fired a grappling arrow into a nearby building and swung off into the dark sky, swinging between the lower buildings and safely reaching the ground below. The helicopter hovered back and forth as the searchlight snapped all around looking for a glimpse of the hooded hero. Oliver turned away and began to move to his bike he had stashed in a nearby alley. The trek to his bike had been thankfully absent of any more unwanted surprise police appearances. Fighting a two sided war was bad enough, but only adding the police to it would make things dangerously more complicated than they already were. Oliver stomped to his bike and prepared to exit the area and meet up with the others back at the Foundry when a familiar sound caught his attention. The chambering of a single round from Detective Warren's gun as he moved out of the nearby shadows brought a shiver to Oliver's thoughts as he stopped in his tracks.

"I've been studying a few of your tricks." Warren began as he slowly crept up on the vigilante, his weapon gripped tightly in his hands. Oliver gritted his teeth as he remained still and waited for the situation to develop further before he made his move.

"Turn around slowly and get down on your knees." Warren ordered as he wisely moved around Oliver allowing plenty of distance between the two of them in case the vigilante made a move for his weapon. Oliver hesitantly obeyed and moved to his knees, turning his back on his bike and the Detective.

"We're not enemies." Oliver began, hoping that once again his plea to reach out and provide an explanation to the Detective would somehow mend their rocky relationship.

"Last I checked guys in hoods who kill cops are the bad guys. Now shut up." Warren blatantly replied, cutting off any hope for a peaceful resolution. Oliver sighed, knowing that engaging Warren would only hurt his already damaged reputation with the SCPD but allowing himself to be arrested would allow HIVE to go on with their plan. The sound of Warren's handcuffs clinging as he pulled them from his belt alerted Oliver that his opportunity to strike was now when his opponent was slightly preoccupied. A subtle twitch of his finger activated a button on his wrist gauntlet, signaling his bike to fire the Taser Arrowhead sitting ready inside a secret firing mechanism inside the main body of the bike. The arrow shot into Warren's back and caused him to uncontrollably begin to spasm, rendering him unable to apprehend the Green Arrow. Oliver glanced down to ensure that the Detective wasn't injured from the shock, knowing the specialized arrowheads would only deliver enough charge to incapacitate a person but still wanting to make sure. The reaction seemed normal and nonlethal, prompting Oliver to continue his escape.

"That hood doesn't make you invincible...underneath you're still a man...you're still a murderer!" Warren growled as he struggled to fight the remaining muscle spasms traveling through his body. The harsh words stopped Oliver once again as he slightly glanced back at Warren and thought on how his crusade for justice had always been riddled with doubt in the form of the Detective's statement. The same shadow always remained in the back of Oliver's mind, not so much blaming him for all the wrong surrounding him but definitely reminding him that his actions had consequences. Warren's threatening glare was felt through Oliver's hood as he turned back to his bike and shot off out of the alley and into the city.