People Make Mistakes Chapter (4/13)

Banner By: Andrea

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Chapter 4
August 15th 2010



Oliver stepped out of the elevator, a bag of takeout in hand, and walked into the quite apartment. He tossed his jacket over the chair and frowned. Where was everyone? Neither Chloe nor Mia had called him about dinner so he picked up their favorites anyway.

Oliver was hoping to talk with Chloe over dinner about what Rebecca Chase from the orphanage said during their meeting today, but it looked like the house was empty.

“Guys I’m home…Chloe? Mia? Anyone here?”

He placed the bag on the island in the kitchen, when he heard a door down the hall open and close. The sound of heels hitting the marble made him smile. A minute later his favorite blonde appeared in front of him. He grinned as she pulled out a stool and plopped down onto it.

He raised an eyebrow at her tired appearance and started unloading the food from the bag and grabbing a few plates.

“Rough day?”

“You could say that.”

“Where’s Mia?”

“Settling in. We went shopping today to get a few things she needed and didn’t bring with her.”

Oliver nodded.

“You use the company card?”

“Yes.”

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at the tone in her voice. Oliver finally took a minute to look her over. Chloe’s body was tense, mouth drawn into a tight line as she sat there staring off into space, a preoccupied look in her eyes.

He frowned. Something wasn’t right. Oliver reached out a hand brushing it against hers to get her attention.

“What’s got that brain of yours on overdrive Professor?”

She eyed him carefully before taking a deep breath and speaking cautiously.

“I need to tell you something, but I need to know that no matter what I say you’ll stay level headed Oliver.”

“You know you can tell me anything Chloe.”

And though he spoke calmly his heartbeat picked up speed and he swallowed hard. What could she possibly have to tell him that would make his reaction be a non calm one? Was everyone okay? Did someone get hurt? Or…was it something involving them? Was she leaving him? Or was she…pregnant. Oh god…

Chloe must have seen the change in his stance because she spoke quickly trying to dispel whatever was currently putting that deer in headlights look on his face.

“You remember the story Lois and Clark were working on a few weeks ago? Where that body disappeared from the Metropolis Morgue?”

Oliver frowned, confusion settling over his features. She wanted to know if he remembered a story?

“I think I remember you mentioning something about it.”

“Well the body turned up today outside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town…it was Karen Bingham Ollie…”

His stomach sank as an icy chill ran through him and his mouth pulled into a grimace though he said nothing. A mixture of confusion and guilt settled on his face as he dropped onto a chair across from Chloe.

“But…how?”

She shook her head, concern in her eyes as she watched him while speaking.

“I don’t know. I hacked into the coroner’s office and got the photos so I could compare them to the first set that were taken a month ago and they’re definitely the same person only…and this is the really strange part. It’s as if her body healed itself, it almost looked like she died of natural causes.”

Oliver frowned.

“I was there Chloe. That van ran up onto the sidewalk and slammed right into her before backing up and taking off. There were definitely broken bones.”

He winced slightly as that night flashed briefly through his head before he shook it away. Chloe reached out and squeezed his hand lightly.

“I know Oliver. Like I said I compared both sets of photos. I saw how bad it was the first time around. So…I decided to look into it further and found something else that didn’t make much sense. There is absolutely no record of Karen Bingham before she got married at the age of 28. It’s as if she never existed.”

If Oliver thought he was confused before, know even a compass wouldn’t be able to help him find his way into the center of this mess. How in the world could a woman who was killed disappear and then resurface miraculously healed and yet still be dead? Chloe was right it didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t understand…how could she not exist?”

Chloe sighed as she met Oliver’s eyes.

“I don’t know, but I’m starting to think there’s more to what happened that night then we know. Look I’m checking into it, but it’s going to take a few days. There isn’t anything we can do until then so we should try not to worry about it, but I wanted to keep you in the loop.”

Oliver ran a hand over his face and sighed. Things were just never simple. Chloe watched him and she couldn’t help the tightening in her chest when she saw the conflicting emotions on his face. She hated that she was the one bringing back the memories of that night. She squeezed his hand again lightly causing him to glance back at her.

“We’ll figure this out, don’t worry. You know maybe it’s about time you got back out there Ollie.”

His brows furrowed and he shook his head. When was she going to give up on trying to make him done the emerald suit? Knowing Chloe, never. That was just the type of person she was. He knew that she believe in him even if he didn’t believe in himself anymore.

She frowned and right as she opened her mouth to say something Mia made her way into the kitchen. She caught sight of the Chinese food on the island and grinned.

“Awesome you remembered the food. I’m starving!”

Oliver watched the seventeen year old bound into the room and around them before starting to rummage through the food. He smiled briefly, letting go of the tension that had been building up moments ago. He was glad Mia was back in Metropolis.

He’d spent all that time convincing her to give him a chance and stay with him, let him take care of her and then he practically abandoned her in Star City. He looked between Mia and Chloe, a genuine smile on his face before getting up and helping Mia dole out the food.

His two girls…maybe Chloe was right and Mia being back would help him kick the funk he’d been in for the past month. Chloe studied Oliver as he helped Mia and she sighed. She knew he was still ignoring her plea for him to put back on his suit and give Metropolis back one of its hero’s.

But pushing him wasn’t helping. She was certain that having Mia around would help though. And just maybe his teenage protégé would be able to convince him to suit up again because as much as Oliver denied it, the world needed Green Arrow, the team needed him and so did Oliver, even if he hadn’t realized it yet.

A plate being placed in front of her brought Chloe out of her thoughts. She glanced up at Oliver who was looking at her expectantly.

“I’m sorry what’d you say?”

“I said my meeting with Rebecca Chase, the woman from the orphanage, didn’t go as well as I expected so I need a favor from you Sidekick.”

Mia took the seat next to Chloe and grabbed a piece of broccoli from the older woman’s plate with a childish grin. Chloe sent an affectionate look her way as she spoke to Oliver.

“Shoot.”

He watched the exchange between the females in front of him with a smile before looking back at his plate, popping a spoonful of rice into his mouth and speaking.

“I need you to fill out the other set of adoption papers for Nathan. Apparently they don’t like to place children in single parent households, no matter how rich you are.”

He snorted slightly and both Chloe and Mia stopped eating and glanced up at him, but he was too preoccupied with his food to notice. He was shoveling another spoonful of food into his mouth when he noticed the silence around him.

He angled his eyes in front of him and took in Mia’s raised eyebrows and the disbelief on Chloe’s face.

“I’m sorry…you want me to do what?”

Hmm, maybe he should have asked her a different way because by the look on her face he had a feeling his conversation with Rebecca wasn’t the only one that wasn’t going to go as planned today. Oliver let out a heavy breath. It was gonna be a long night.




_____


Lex strode through his newly purchased apartment heading for the office. He glanced down at the phone in his hands impatiently. What was taking them so long? He really needed to start getting more qualified people to work for him if this was the best his current team could do.

He’d been back in Metropolis for less than a day and already he was hitting red tape with the Metropolis Orphanage. Apparently there was someone else attempting to get custody of the boy. Someone who contacted them before he did.

Normally it wouldn’t be an issue. He’d just buy his way through the procedure, but the woman working Nathan Bingham’s case, Rebecca Chase was fast becoming a thorn in his side. Not only was she extremely thorough, but she was as strait laced as they come.

He sat in his chair, slid his finger across the pad of his laptop and waited for it to load. Everything was just booting up when his cell phone rang. He answered it on the first ring, placing the call on speaker as he typed in the passwords to log into his system.

“Yes.”

“The paperwork has been drawn up. It’s being faxed over as we speak.”

He heard the machine buzz behind him and he glanced at it briefly.

“Has Miss Mercer been contacted yet?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. This is everything correct? I don’t want any surprises when I go over there to take my company back.”

“Yes. Two copies were sent, for both shareholders to relinquish their holdings of Luthor Corp.”

Lex smirked as he leaned back into his chair.

“Perfect, good job Bartlett. And what about the body?”

“It’s been found and though they’re confused, no one suspects anything.”

“Good. Tell Dr. Alcott to give me a call later this evening I want to go over the video footage from the last couple of weeks.”

“Will do Mr. Luthor anything else?”

“Is everything set for Friday night’s unveiling?”

“Yes, your invitation to the Luthor Corp Charity Gala will be delivered later today.”

“Excellent. One last thing Bartlett. I want you to find out whatever you can about Rebecca Chase and while you’re at it find out who else is trying to adopt Nathan Bingham. I’m tired of this cat and mouse game. If things aren’t resolved legally by the end of the week, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

“Yes, sir. As soon as I find something I’ll let you know.”

“Good.”

Lex didn’t bother with pleasantries as he ended the phone call and turned toward the fax machine, pulling the papers from the tray. Looks like it was time for him to pay Tess a little visit. He’d save Oliver for the benefit on Friday. There was a predatory gleam in his eye as he grabbed his jacket and grinned. Things were about to get very interesting.

Chapter 5