Forced By Death

Title: Forced by Death
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: No pairing
Edited By: dh1031
Category: One-Shot
Requested By: Sabrina



(Tess POV)



I watched as she suited up and strapped the gun to her pant leg. She stood up and glared in my direction before taking the folder from my outstretched hand. She leafed through it and glanced up at me.

“Queen Industries? You’re going after Oliver?”

I held my expressions in check before answering her.

“That’s not your concern, just do as your told. Take the team with you incase you run into any trouble.”

I could see her jaw clench as she turned to go. Before she opened the door to leave the facility she stopped, twisted her head slightly toward me, and spoke in a hard voice.

“This is it Tess…I’m done. I won’t let you hold my mistakes over my head any longer…when this job is through, this…arrangement is finished. I won’t do your dirty work for you anymore…”

I raised an eyebrow, but chose not to answer. She waited a minute, I suspect she was expecting some kind of retort from me, before continuing out the door. I sighed. She thinks she has a choice, but the truth is I saw this coming…I knew I’d only be able to control her for so long…eventually she was bound to not care if I told her friends, family…or even the authorities. That’s why I have a contingency plan…

I walked toward my desk, sat down, and opened up my laptop. I pulled up a screen and waited for the picture to pop up. When it did I smiled.

“Hello.”

“Yes Miss Mercer, what can I do you for?”

“Chloe…you’ll be running a mission with her today. She’s on her way there now. When the mission is over, if she tries to leave, I want you to take her out.”

There was a slight pause as she looked at me and she spoke quietly.

“Are you sure.”

“Yes, you have your orders.”

I could see the slight worry on her face. She’s gotten close to Chloe since she’s been working with us…and that might prove to be a problem.

“And if she doesn’t try to leave?”

“Then don’t worry about it, I’ll be standing by to take care of it.”

She nodded over the screen and I closed the video link. I swear it’s getting harder and harder to find decent help these days. I sighed, closed my laptop, and leaned back in my chair. After I get this chip from Oliver, I’ll know for sure if he’s involved with the Green Arrow and his team.
Chloe has proven to be very helpful against her better judgment. It’s amazing the strings you can pull when someone has a dirty little secret…My thoughts drifted back to the night, four months ago, that inspired Chloe to join my team…

*Flashback*

The wind whipped around my face as I jogged down the street. One more mile into town and I’ll head back to the mansion. I turned the corner and passed the bookshop and then the flower shop. It was dark and most of the store windows were empty. I stopped in front of the Talon, placed my hands against my waist and took a few deep breaths.

I have no idea what made me take a jog tonight…I just needed to get out of the mansion and do something normal. Yeah I have a full gym there, but there’s nothing like taking a long run outside. I wiped some sweat off my forehead and then tightened my pony tale.

I was just about to start jogging again when I heard a rustling and then a loud crash. I frowned and looked toward the ally behind the Talon. I walked slowly to the corner and the sounds of a struggle grew louder. I peered around the ally and my eyes widened.

I watched as some guy grabbed Chloe and continuously slammed her into the concrete wall. I started to move forward to help her out, because lets face it even though I’m not crazy about her, I don’t want to see her get hurt by some random guy, but before I was even half way down the ally, she pushed the man, reached out and there was a flash of white light.

I closed my eyes against the shine and when it was over I opened them. The sight before me left my mouth open and eyes wide. Oh my god…I made my way down the ally and I watched as Chloe knelt down slowly next to the man.

She poked at him with shaking hands, but nothing happened. When I finally made it close enough to see the guys face I knew he was dead. His eyes were staring into space and there was a thin line of blood tricking down from his mouth.

Chloe’s head jerked up and she looked at me through red-rimmed eyes. What the hell is she?

“You killed him…”

She frowned and her voice was shaky when she spoke.

“He attacked me…I…I was defending myself…”

I gave her a once over and she looked confused and small.

“What are you?”

“What?”

“What are you?”

She shook her head and swallowed hard.

“I’m just Chloe…I can’t do this with you right now…I have to get help…”

She started to jog out of the ally and I called out to her.

“Help? He’s dead…and you killed him. No amount of help is going to fix that. If you tell the police…or anyone else they’ll send you to jail…and if not jail…Belle Reve…”

I remember Lex saying that was one of her biggest fears…She looked like a deer caught in headlights and I smiled to myself. I can work with this…



Present

I glanced at my watch. She should be back by now. I booted up the computer and was about to contact a second recon team to go after Chloe’s team when the study doors burst open. My head snapped up and I watched Chloe walk through the doors.

Her suit was slightly torn, I could see a few bruises and cuts on her face and arms, and she carried a small package in her left hand. She stopped in front of my desk and tossed the package on it. I raised an eyebrow.

“Rough night?”

She glared at me.

“We ran into some resistance from Oliver’s security team.”

I nodded.

“You appear to be fine, so I’m sure it wasn’t too much resistance.”

She stood there quietly watching me and I cleared my throat.

“That’s all for tonight Chloe…you can go.”

"This is it...I'm done."

My jaw tensed and I tried to ascertain how serious she was about this. She’s said the same words over and over again, but when it comes down to it, she doesn’t want the people she cares about to know what she’s done…what she’s been doing. And that’s what keeps her here.

“We’ve been over this Chloe. You killed a man…accident or no he’s dead because of you. All I need to do is make one phone call and you’ll spend the rest of your life locked up in Belle Reve…if that’s what you want then by all means feel free to walk out that door.”

She hesitated in her bravado and I smirked to myself. That’s right…I saw the determination leave her body as she gazed at me with tormented eyes. Her voice was even when she spoke.

“Fine Tess, you win…for now, but eventually I’m going to figure out a way out of this little arrangement we have…and when that day comes I pray for your sake I’m in a better mood…”

I smiled at her.

“Empty threats my dear…”

“They’re far from empty…you’ll see…you might have forced me into this arrangement by death, but remember everybody has skeletons in their closet…and eventually I’ll find your Achilles’ heel.”

I leaned back in my chair and looked at her. I don’t doubt she’ll try, but she won’t find anything…my skeletons are buried deeper than she can reach.

“It’s time for you to go. Goodnight Chloe…”

She gave me one last look before turning around and walking out of the study. I watched her go and a chill swept over me. All this time I’ve been holding her secret over her head…it’s how I get her to do my dirty work…



It just occurred to me that my plan only works because as much shit as I make her do, she still believes she’s a good person, but if I push her too hard…if I break her…what’s to stop her from using her power on me? Keeping Chloe alive just got a lot more dangerous…



I glanced at the computer screen and sighed. Only time will tell if Chloe is going to become a threat…but I’d rather be prepared then sorry…like the old saying goes…with great power comes great responsibility…