Banner By: Kyra_And_C
Chapter 9
‘The Man With The Answer’
Lana groaned and shifted, the rough cotton beneath her cheek causing her to frown. Her eyes fluttered open, stomach lurching as she sat up. She glanced around the room, confusion momentarily clouding her mind before a soft but determined voice broke the silence.
“Good, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Lana jerked her head to the side taking in the woman with long dirty blonde hair before bringing a hand up to her stomach. She looked down hands brushing against the white scrubs she wore as her memories came crashing into her.
She’d been kidnapped from the fundraiser that she and Chloe had put together. She remembered the fight in the bathroom and waking up in this medium sized room, but everything between the two was a blur. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, but if she had to take a guess Lana would say it was going on two weeks.
She let out a sigh pulling her feet off the cot and dropping them to the floor slowly before gazing up at Crystal Deverox and swallowing hard to moisten her throat before speaking. “Okay I guess…how long was I out?”
The other woman watched her closely before shrugging. “I’m not sure…maybe about an hour.” Lana nodded while getting up off the makeshift bed and stretching. When she’d first woken up after they took her she’d been afraid, but as the days progressed her fear had turned to confused and then finally to anger.
Something wasn’t right. The men who had them weren’t regular kidnappers. When she was first brought in they’d given her scrubs to change into and then brought her to a room where the two other women were being held.
There were three cots set up around the room, one bathroom and a table. It was sparse and reminded Lana of a doctor’s office without all the equipment. Crystal’s voice brought her out of her thoughts and she turned her head giving the women in front of her, her attention.
“They’ll most likely be bringing Maria back soon…Any clue what they did this time?” Lana shook her head and walked over towards the door glancing out the small glass window. “No…but I was able to get my hands on something that might help us before they knocked me out.”
She turned making her way over to Crystal before sitting down and slipping her hand into her pocket pulling out a scalpel. Crystal’s eyes widened slightly before she motioned for Lana to hand it to her. She did and the blonde lifted the pillow on her bed, turned it over and pushed the pillow case aside letting Lana see the small hole inside the actual pillow.
She placed the scalpel inside of it and before putting it back the way it was. She glanced at the door making sure no one was there before speaking softly. “It’ll help…Maria was going to try and see if she could get her hands on one of those needles they like sticking into us so much…”
Lana nodded and took a deep breath, voice low. “We should try to get everything together soon…I don’t know what they’ve been doing, but I feel off kilter and Maria didn’t look so good the other day. They obviously want more than they say they do…and I know Lex must be out of his mind.”
Crystal nodded as she brushed some hair behind her ear. “Jean Paul too. The last time I spoke with him, he was a wreck. If we can pick the lock…it’s possible we can try to navigate our way out of here.” She glanced at Lana, voice slightly shaky. “Do you think we have a chance of getting out of here?”
Lana pursed her lips. She wanted to say of course they did, but honestly she just wasn’t sure. If it was so easy to escape Crystal and Maria wouldn’t have been there for months, but she was confident with the three of them, they at least had a chance.
She squared her shoulders lightly and spoke with confidence. “I think we need to at least try. I can’t imagine that they haven’t already gotten what they asked for and yet…we’re still here. So it’s time we took matters into our own hands.”
Crystal could see the determination in the other woman’s eyes and she nodded, “You’re right. One week…I’m fairly certain we can have a plausible plan of escape by then.” Lana smiled. “Good…one week then.”
They glanced at the door as Lana sucked in a heavy breath and leaned back against the wall near Crystal’s cot. If everything went according to plan in one week she’d be home with Lex and it would be like this whole nightmare had never happened.
A loud beeping brought Lois out of a not so peaceful sleep as she shifted before her entire body tensed as a hiss of pain left her throat. It took her about five minutes to pry her eyes open and when she did she let out a disgruntled noise closing them almost as quickly as she opened them.
The bright fluorescent lights hurt her eyes so she shifted her head to the side before attempting to open them again. When she finally managed to pry her eyes open the sight in front of her made her chest tighten.
Clark was sitting slumped forward in the small plastic chair his head leaning on his arm that was stretched across her bed. Behind him on the small couch was her cousin still in the green dress from the other night curled against Oliver’s chest his arm wrapped protectively around her.
A grin forced its way to her face. She knew those two were perfect for each other. Lois went to sit up and cried out startling Clark awake. His eyes widened as he sat up straight relief filling his eyes. “You’re awake.” She winced, and gave him a tight smile her eyes softening. “Looks like…what’s a girl gotta do to get some water?”
He pushed the chair back quickly and moved to the small rolling tray to pour her some water. He brought it over and helped situate her into a more comfortable position so she could take a sip. When she finished he put it down and took his seat again, hand clasping hers and bringing it to his lips.
“You scared me to death Lo’…don’t ever do it again.” She squeezed his hand lightly before clearing her throat a frown marring her features. “What happened? I mean…I remember going to meet my source…and then I heard the gunshot…did you find me?”
He shook his head. “No, Bart did. I heard you call, but Bart was closer and as much as I hate to say it we know he’s quicker than I am. So I called him, he brought you here and I met him. How are you feeling?”
She rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Like I’ve been shot…how long was I out?” Clark scratched the back of his head, voice soft as he met her eyes. “This is day two…I’m gonna get Emil. I’m sure he’ll want to check on you.”
He stood and shifted away from her bed before turning back around and leaning towards her placing a light kiss against her lips. “I love you Lois.” She tilted her head and caressed his cheek lightly before he stood up straight. “I love you too Smallville.”
He nodded before nudging Chloe to wake her up on his way out of the room. Chloe grunted as she heard Clark’s voice and shifted burrowing her face into the warm body next to her. Oliver ran his hand down her side and yawned eyes slowly opening.
Lois grinned and gave a small wave. Oliver’s eyes widened and he shook Chloe gently. “Wake-up Sidekick…Lois is awake.” At the mention of her cousin’s name she bolted up right relief filling her face as she got up and moved over to the bed.
She leaned down and hugged Lois carefully before plopping down in the seat Clark had been using, voice still slightly sleep addled as she spoke. “You had us worried.” Lois grinned at Chloe and nodded. “That seems to be the consensus.”
Chloe glared at her cousin crossing her legs as she leaned forward. “What are you grinning about? This isn’t funny Lo’…you could have been killed!” She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “But I wasn’t…I’m fine cuz…well mostly I think.”
Chloe opened her mouth to speak when she felt Oliver come up behind her, his hands gripping the back of her chair. He gave Lois a small smile as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m glad you’re doing okay Lois.” She beamed up at him. “Thanks Oliver.”
His eyes shifted to Chloe, his hand brushing against her shoulder as he spoke, “I’m gonna go grab some coffee for everyone. I’ll be right back okay?” She glanced back and to the side nodding before he leaned down capturing her lips in a short kiss.
She returned it and when he pulled back he dropped a kiss against her head before moving out of the room and down the hall practically slamming into Clark and Emil. He smiled at them. “Sorry I was just gonna grab coffee, do you want some Clark.”
He nodded distractedly, “Sure…thanks again for having them put Lois in a private room…and for making sure they let us stay. I really appreciate it Oliver.” He patted his friends back, “Anytime…morning Emil.” He nodded and shook his head. “It’s evening, but hello Oliver.”
He shrugged, “I just woke up, so its morning for me, Chloe’s still in there. I’ve gotta make a few calls too so I’ll be back with the coffee in a little bit, give you some time to check her over.” They nodded as they walked into the room while Oliver headed down the hall.
He took out his phone and there were several messages. He sighed while pushing a button to bring up his email inbox as he turned the corner and slammed into someone. He let out an ‘oomph’ and shook his head steadying the woman before him.
He really needed to watch where he was going. He glanced up and started to apologize. “I’m so sorry I need to learn to…Oh hello Doctor Wright, how are you?” She paused not expecting to run into Oliver Queen while she was doing her rounds that evening.
“Mr. Queen…good evening. What brings you to good old Metropolis General?” He gave the doctor a lopsided smile. “It’s Oliver. We’ve been working together for three years now; I think we’ve passed the formalities.”
She let out a nervous laugh and nodded before motioning to the hallway with a frown. “Is everything alright? Are you coming from ICU?” He shook his head, “No, the private wing. We were in ICU last night, but when her vitals improved we were moved.”
Regina’s frown deepened. She hadn’t heard anything on the news about Oliver or his wife being hurt. She hesitated briefly, “Is it…is your wife hurt?” Oliver’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “Oh no thank god.” He winced, “That sounded wrong. What I mean is no, my wife’s cousin was shot the other night…so we’re here with her. Chloe is doing just fine.”
He glanced behind him before looking back towards Regina his lips pursed. “Actually if you have time I’d love to introduce you to her. I know she’d be thrilled to meet the woman who’s been spending these past three years working with Emil to find a cure for her Mother.”
Regina swallowed hard. She still remembered the day Emil had vouched for her saying she was the brightest in her field and if anyone could help figure out the key to Moira Sullivan’s genetic make-up it would be her. Oliver Queen had always treated her with complete respect and given her whatever she needed to continue her research for Moira.
But she couldn’t ask him to fund her personal research and that was one of the reason’s she had accepted the anonymous offer that now she couldn’t seem to get out of. She cleared her throat, her body slightly tense. “That would be very nice…I’m actually on rounds right now…and if you’ve been here for more than a day I’m sure you have business to attend to.”
She motioned to the phone and Oliver nodded. She gave him a small smile hoping he couldn’t see the guilt in her eyes as she spoke, voice quiet. “Why don’t we meet up later once you make sure your family is okay and I’ve had a chance to complete tonight’s rounds.”
He grinned and squeezed her arm lightly, “That sounds great. I’ll let Chloe know you’ll be stopping by. We’re in room 2313.” She nodded and gave him a small pat before walking around the corner and stopping short to press her back against the wall and take a few deeps breaths.
Lois Lane was shot? Who in their right mind would shoot a reporter for the Daly Planet…unless she’d gotten too close to something she wasn’t supposed to know. This was her fault…she was the reason Lois was hurt. Regina swallowed hard as a shaky hand reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
She dialed the familiar number and pressed the phone to her ear. It rang five times before going to voicemail and her brows furrowed. Doctor Bernstein always answered his pone…she left him a quick message to call her back before shutting the phone.
She took a deep breath, pushed away from the wall and headed back down the hallway. She needed to get back to the lab as soon as she could. Something wasn’t right and Regina needed to figure out what it was.
Lois had finally managed to get Emil to stop poking and prodding her long enough to tell her she could go home in two days. Apparently she was extremely lucky. The bullet had gone through her side missing all her vital organs, but not by much.
Emil had said he was positive if Bart hadn’t gotten her there as quickly as he did, she would have bled out on the street. And even though his words had shaken her, she wasn’t about to throw in the towel on anything including her investigation.
Especially not after what happened. This meant she was getting close and if that was the case she needed to keep on rattling cages so they could find Lana. Clark’s voice brought her out of her thoughts and she arched an eyebrow at him. “What?”
He frowned brushing some hair off her forehead. “I said are you sure you’ll be okay? Because I can stay…I don’t mind Lo’. The house is really empty without you.” She gave him a small grin, but her words were stern.
“Smallville, I’m fine I promise, go home. Shower…shave…change your clothes check in on the team like you said you wanted to and then come back. I’ve got Chloe here and Oliver is floating around somewhere. I’ll be fine.”
His brows furrowed as he bent down and kissed her briefly worry still on his face. “Okay…but if you need me---”
“I promise to shout out…” He nodded and moved away from the bed as he placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and squeezed lightly as he spoke. “I’ll see you later Chlo, tell Oliver I said thanks.” She nodded. “Will do.” They watched him go and as soon as the door was shut Lois grinned and turned towards Chloe.
“Spill.” She gave her cousin a strange look as she shifted on her seat. “Spill what?” Lois snorted and shifted gently so as not to aggravate the stitches on her side. “I might be on pain meds cuz, but I saw the way you and Oliver were snuggled up on that couch…so spill. What’s going on?”
With everything that had happened since the party at the Ace of Clubs Chloe had pushed what happened between her and Oliver to the back of her head trying to focus on Lois and who could have shot her. But now with Lois awake…well she wasn’t sure how much longer she could avoid it. More importantly she didn’t know if she wanted to avoid it.
Lois watched the expressions on her cousin’s face closely before the blonde bit her lip and sighed. “This really isn’t something you should be worrying about Lois…” She had known Chloe would try to get out of any conversation that involved her love life and so she cleared her throat and gave her a pitiful look.
“I was just shot…and you can’t even give me a little bit of gossip?” It was Chloe’s turn to roll her eyes as she sent her cousin a reprimanding look. “You’re horrible Lois…” She gave the blonde a semi-cheeky grin and Chloe let out a long breath before glancing around the room, voice low.
“If I tell you then you cannot repeat it to anyone. Not even Clark got it?” Lois made a motioned of locking up her mouth and throwing away the key before lifting her hand. “Scouts honor.” Chloe crossed her legs and bit her lip before speaking quietly.
“We kissed.”
Lois frowned, “And…you kiss all the time.” Chloe shook her head. “No, we kissed. Not in public or anything…but in the apartment when we got home from the party at the Ace of Clubs. It was like something just snapped between us and there I was being pushed up against the wall as he…” She trailed off as Lois whistled before coughing lightly.
“Ouch…looks like whistling is out. And oh my god. Crazy hot make-out session with Oliver in the penthouse…check. What else happened? Did you two…” Lois made a motion with her hands and Chloe’s eyes went wide. “No! Of course not…” she glanced down and pursed her lips, “Though if Clark hadn’t of called I’m not exactly sure where it would have gone…”
Lois grinned, “This is awesome and to perfect for words. You and Oliver go undercover; pose as husband and wife and wind up figuring out you have secret lusty feelings for each other! It’s like a mystery or a romance novel!”
Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke in a tight voice. “Lois…do not tell him I told you. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it…” Lois waved her off and opened her mouth right as the door opened and Oliver came in carrying two cups of coffee.
“Sorry it took so long, I had to make a few calls.” Chloe tilted her head in his direction and gave him a warm smile. “Thanks Ollie.” He nodded and handed her the Styrofoam cup before pulling another chair over to Lois’s bedside.
He glanced between the cousins as he brought his coffee to his lips and took a sip eyebrow arched. “So, what did Emil say?” Lois scrunched her nose. “I can go home in two days…any chance you can use that Queen charm to tell him I’m fine to go home today?”
Oliver chuckled at the hopeful look on Lois’s face before shaking his head. “Sorry Lois, if Emil said you have to wait there’s most likely a reason why. I mean you were just shot…you might want to try and rest for a couple of days.”
Chloe smiled as Lois grumbled. She was about to tell Oliver where he could shove his sarcasm when his phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned. Chloe caught sight of the tension in his shoulders and her hand went to his arm causing his eyes to fall on her.
“Everything okay?” His frown deepened as he pressed the button and opened the message. “It’s a 911 from the team…” Lois glanced between them and motioned toward the door. “Go, I’m fine and Clark will probably be back any minute.”
Oliver glanced between the two women and heisted, “You’re sure?” She nodded. “Yes go…the two of you should probably shower and change too…you’re making my hospital room reek.” Chloe grinned as she stood, “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “I expect no less from you cuz.” She bent down and gave Lois a kiss on the cheek before moving towards Oliver who had gotten up and walked towards the door. He smiled at the brunette and told her they’d see her later before placing his hand on the small of Chloe’s back and guiding her out the door.
Lois watched them go with a grin on her face. Oh yeah Oliver and her cousin were definitely all kinds of crazy about each other. She leaned back, took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she waited for Clark to make his way back to the hospital.
Chloe stood in the doorway of Watchtower, Oliver next to her, mouth gaping at the sight before them. Several members of their team were standing in the middle of the room yelling as they motioned around to each other.
Clark took a step towards Victor as Chloe caught him saying something about Lois, and while Bart tried to get him to calm down Victor turned angry eyes on the younger man. Courtney was standing to the side confusion on her face as she tried to get someone’s attention and Chloe could hear Oliver’s mumbled ‘What the hell…’
She straightened her shoulders and stepped into the room voice loud cutting off all sound that had been filling the room moments before. “What the hell is going on here?!” Five heads whipped around to face an angry looking blonde.
Clark glared back towards Victor as he spoke, “I was just asking Victor what he felt was more important than having someone on Lois detail. I specifically came here asking him to have someone following her while she was working on this story and helping to find information for you guys.”
Victor’s jaw tensed. He knew Clark was upset and he couldn’t blame him with Lois being shot, but that wasn’t his fault and he wasn’t about to stand there and let the other man blame him or question his authority with the team.
He crossed his arms over his chest, voice hard. “Which I did. We set up a round-the-clock schedule except for the time you’re with her at night. The reason no one was with her was because it was your day.” Clark frowned. “How am I supposed to know that?”
Victor threw up his hands, “I don’t know, maybe stop by Watchtower on a regular basis and check in like everyone else does. We’ve got protocol Clark. You claim to be a part of the team, but you can’t even follow our rules. Don’t pin this on me because you were too busy to check a damn schedule.”
Oliver pursed his lips, voice deceptively calm as he spoke. “Guys--” Victor glanced at Oliver brows furrowed as he cut into the other’s man sentence. “No…don’t. You know I’m right Oliver. I’m not the first one to mention that Clark isn’t a team player. But while we’re on the subject of checking in what happened to you two the other night?”
Oliver opened his mouth and Chloe stepped forward eyebrow arched slightly at Victor’s tone. There was an air of authority in her voice when she spoke. “One issue at a time. Victor, stand down…” Her eyes drifted to Clark, voice clipped.
“Clark I understand you’re upset about Lois…trust me there isn’t anyone who understands more than me…but it’s wrong of you to blame the team. They’ve been nothing but helpful. Apologize to Victor and then go back to the hospital. Oliver and I only left because we thought you were going right back there.”
He opened his mouth but when he saw the look on her face he sighed and glanced at Victor. “I’m sorry…blaming you was uncalled for.” He turned his eyes on Bart and nodded to the younger man. “Thank you for getting to her in time.”
Bart nodded, face grim. “Sure amigo…” Clark turned and disappeared before Chloe could say anything else. She sighed and moved into the room making her way towards the mainframe and pressing a few keys checking in on everything.
“Now Victor what were you asking about Oliver and I?” He eyed her before leaning against one of the consoles, his voice holding a hint of annoyance in it. “The two of you fell off grid the other night right after you left the party. We tried your coms but they were off and neither of you answered your phones.”
He shook his head eyes landing on Bart. “And then when I had Bart try to figure out what was going on he said something messed up the feed while you were in the apartment. What happened?” Chloe swallowed hard, but before she could say anything Oliver spoke.
“Chloe wasn’t feeling well after the party, I shut off our coms because I didn’t think anything would be going wrong on the ride from the elevator to the penthouse. I honestly don’t remember our phones going off…and…Mia? What are you doing here?”
He had just made his way around the equipment towards Chloe when he spotted Mia sitting next to Bart. Confusion filled his face as he saw a hint of panic in her eyes. “Oliver…hi.” He pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest a frown marring his features.
“What’s going on?” She shook her head and stood speaking quickly…too quickly for Oliver’s liking.
“Nothing.” Before Oliver could ask her any more questions Victor let out a humorless chuckle. “Oh nothing? How about the fact that we lost vital information because the two of you couldn’t seem to keep your hands off each other and eyes on the monitor.”
Oliver’s head jerked between the two of them, eyes widening as his jaw clenched. Chloe winced sucking in a deep breath as Bart shot up and glared at Victor. “You had no right…you knew we hadn’t told him yet…man what the hell is wrong with you. I already told you we were watching the monitors nothing was going on!”
Victor yelled back standing up and stretching to his full height. “Then why couldn’t we find them?” Courtney bit her lip as she spoke softly, “Umm guys…” Bart and Victor continued to fight as Chloe stood, took a deep breath, and shouted. “ENOUGH!”
Bart, Victor, Mia and Courtney all looked at Chloe, mouths clamping shut. She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “We are in the middle of a mission that has taken a turn we weren’t expecting. Stop worrying about who did what and what went wrong and worry about figuring out what is going on now.”
She glanced at Victor, “Do we know who Lois’s anonymous tipster is? Were you able to trace the email address and find a name?”
Victor took a deep breath and nodded as he moved towards the printed and pulled out a few papers before holding them out to Chloe. “Yeah, it was from a Doctor Scott Bernstein who surprisingly was also the one person who Deverox, Caffrey, and Luthor had in common. He’s the guy who worked on all three projects.”
He motioned to Courtney, “I sent Court to check out his place and see what she could find the night Lois was shot, but she never got a chance to go because of what happened.” Courtney cut in then, exasperation in her voice. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you since I got here.”
She cleared her throat and shifted when everyone looked at her. “I wasn’t able to get there that night because Bart called in a 911 when he found out about Lois and we all rushed to the hospital. But the next day I had time so I figured I’d check it out.”
Victor frowned, “Without back-up? You know you’re supposed to link up even on a recon mission.” Courtney rolled her eyes. “Relax, I took Carter with me. Anyway…we got there and I found Scott Bernstein…dead. It looked like a self inflicted bullet to the head and these papers were scattered around his desk.”
She held them out to Chloe who took them and flipped through them slowly. Emails, to Lois and a few to the men whose wives had been kidnapped. Courtney shrugged and spoke softly. “It looks like he’s been behind it all along. If we can follow his trail then maybe we can find the women and this nightmare will finally be over.”
Victor nodded taking a step forward, but Chloe’s brow creased as she held up a hand. “No…this seems…too easy…almost planned out. Why would he leave incriminating evidence just lying around if he was planning on killing himself? And if he was Lois’s informant why shoot her for looking into something he wanted her to look into. It doesn’t add up.”
She moved over to the computer console and started pulling up the files on Scott Bernstein as she spoke. “This feels like a scapegoat routine to me…Victor I want you and Bart to go back in and see if you can pull off another snatch and grab from the husbands. I’ll monitor the mission from Watchtower…”
She glanced behind her and caught both of their eyes for a second. “Think you two can handle that?” They sighed but nodded and moved to go suit up and grab their coms. Chloe turned to Courtney with a smile. “You did awesome. Any chance you and Carter can patrol the hospital tonight just to be on the safe side?”
Courtney nodded with a smile, “Sure Chloe. I’ll let Carter know now.” She nodded at the younger blonde as she moved out the double doors. She pinched the bridge of her nose and Oliver’s angry face left Mia as he glanced at Chloe.
His expression immediately softening as he moved behind her, placing a hand against the small of her back and rubbing it lightly. “You okay?” She nodded leaning into his touch unconsciously. “Yeah…slightly tired…and feeling incredibly gross, we’ve been in these clothes for close to three days now…but aside from that I’m good. You?”
She tilted her head and glanced up at him sideways. He shook his head. “I haven’t decided yet…why don’t I grab you some coffee it looks like we’re gonna be here a while.” She gave him a warm smile, “Thanks.” He nodded, leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of her head before heading in the direction of Watchtower’s kitchen.
He was halfway across the room when he called out for Mia. She winced and gave Chloe a pleading look. The older woman sighed and shrugged. “You should get it over with. Just tell him the truth and when we get home tonight I’ll talk to him.” Mia pushed herself away from the couch and nodded a slight smile forming on her face as she walked in the direction Oliver had just gone. She didn’t miss how Chloe had called Oliver’s apartment home.
Twenty-five minutes later Victor and Bart were linked up and out running the snatch and grab mission and Mia had headed back to Oliver’s penthouse where she’d be spending the duration of her trip. Oliver rubbed the back of his neck as he came over and sat next to Chloe, her coffee in his hand.
She glanced at him taking the mug with a quiet thank you before bringing it to her lips, the strong aroma filling her senses as she took her first sip. The hot liquid splashed against her tongue, the flavor bursting on her taste buds as she let out a small moan her eyes slowly fluttering open only to be met with the sight of warm brown eyes studying her.
She arched an eyebrow and Oliver swallowed hard. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” Chloe flushed and glanced down at her coffee, voice soft. “You don’t need to say that.” His hand came out and brushed against her leg causing her to glance up.
He gave her a tired smile, “I know that…I just…we haven’t really had a chance to talk about what happened the other night…” She nodded and looked back up at him swallowing hard. “About that…” Her voice trailed off and he frowned as he leaned forward in his seat.
“Don’t do that…” She made a face, brows furrowing. “Don’t do what?” He sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t push what happened between us aside. I’m not going to sit here and let you pretend it didn’t happen.” He hesitated, but only for a minute before continuing. “I like you Chloe…I think I have for a while, I was just ignoring it because I didn’t want to risk what we had…”
She sucked in a deep breath and suddenly the conversation they’d had after their lunch with Lex, finally made sense to her. She tilted her head to the side, curiosity in her eyes. “Is that why you were so upset after lunch with Lex last week?”
Oliver gave her a sheepish look, “Maybe…” She placed her coffee down and leaned forward taking his hand in hers as she met his eyes and spoke. “That’s what the talk was about when you came home that night with food wasn’t it? You were worried.”
His face softened and he shrugged while playing with her fingers lightly. “I always worry about you…but yeah, that’s what it was about. Lex said something…and it hit me that if these guys took you…” He shook his head and glanced down quickly before looking back up. “I don’t know what I’d do. You’ve become…an intricate part of my life Sidekick.”
He let out a long breath watching her face closely to try and figure out what she was thinking. Chloe shifted, moved forward and bent down wrapping her arms around him tightly. His arms wound around her instantly, pulling her onto his lap as he returned the hug.
Her voice was soft as her hand rubbed his back lightly. “Ollie I’m right here. No one is going to take me from you. And…I care about you too.” She shifted back so she could look down on him her hand coming up to cup his cheek. “We’re going to find these guys, get Lana and the other two women back and save the day.”
She grinned and he smiled back at her as his hand ran down her arm before gripping her hip lightly. She swallowed heavily to moisten her throat. He watched her for a few seconds before slowly tilting his head up and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.
When she didn’t pull away he cupped her cheek sliding his hand into her hair and deepened the kiss. When he broke apart from her Oliver mated his forehead with hers and let out a light sigh as her hand rubbed his wrist. “What’s going on with us Chloe?”
She bit her lip and gave a one armed shrug. “Do we have to define it? Can’t we just…let it happen?” Oliver frowned and leaned back in his seat as she brushed a hand against his tie. “It doesn’t work that way Chloe…we need to figure things out…”
She let out a heavy breath a pleading look on her face, “Okay…but there’s so much going on right now…between the mission, the team and Lois…can we just wait a little longer before we try to figure out what’s going on with us?”
He pursed his lips and nodded, “Sure…whatever you want Sidekick.” She brushed a thumb under his eye and scrunched her nose. “Don’t pout hero…we’ll figure everything out…eventually. And until then…well we have this.” She pressed her lips against his and he opened his mouth beneath hers, coaxing her mouth to open for him.
She groaned as she shifted on his lap, his hands sliding to her ass as she straddled him. She could feel his hands grazing against her body and as he released her mouth, lips descending to her neck the computers chirped as a robotic voice sounded through the room.
“Incoming communication from Bruce Wayne…”
He sighed and shook his head. “I swear one of these days I’m going to get you all to myself without any interruptions.” She smirked, pushed off his lap, and moved over to the mainframe pressing the accept button on the console.
Bruce’s image appeared on the monitor and she waved. “Hey Bruce, what can I do for you?” He stood hands in pockets and nodded. “Good evening Chloe, sorry to bother you so late…I heard about Lois, I trust she’s doing alright?”
She nodded, “She’s awake, thanks for asking. Any new information of the prototypes?” He frowned and shifted his footing. “No, but I was calling to tell you that the date has been set for the fundraiser and I was wondering if you received your invitation. They were sent out two days ago.”
Chloe covered her mouth as she let out a yawn. “We haven’t been home since Lois was shot, but we’ll check tonight. When is it?”
Amusement filled Bruce’s eyes as he nodded. “Friday, speaking of we, where is your other half?” She opened her mouth but before she could say anything Oliver called out. “I’m right here. Thanks for the information…have a good night.”
She glanced at Oliver and shook her head. “Don’t be rude Ollie, sorry Bruce.” He waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll let you two go. Have a good night Chloe…Oliver.” Oliver rolled the chair towards the computer until he could see the screen. He waved. “Bye batty.”
Bruce scoffed before the feed closed. Chloe glanced at a grinning Oliver and shook her head. “You’re horrible.” He smirked, “You like it.” She tried not to grin back at him as she turned towards the computers. “Quit messing around and help me guide Victor and Bart through the rest of the mission so we can head back to the penthouse and shower.”
Oliver arched an inquisitive eyebrow, “Together?” Chloe rolled her eyes and chuckled. “No perv, not together…” He shrugged as he watched her work. “It was worth a shot…” Warmth filled her as she pulled up different files on the screen.
Even with all the commotion surrounding them at the moment, Chloe couldn’t seem to keep the smile from her face…Oliver liked her and she was more than certain that she liked him too.
Chapter Ten: The Truth in The Lie
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