6 Home Alone

Later that night, Moira and Walter left the house, be it for business or pleasure, they told Thea nothing. They just left in the middle of the night without any explanation.

Thea sat there on her bed with her legs curled to her chest. Her short hair hanging in her face and hiding her expressions. It was clear she was silently sobbing as Caden sat on the side of her bed. He rested a hand on her shoulder, gently caressing it.

She had yet to take notice of the book he had put down on the bed. She was devastated that her father had been murdered by someone, murdered because her father was being nothing more than noble. Though a question began to ring in the back of her head. Why was her father trying to save the city? What was he saving the city from?

She lifted her head from her knees as she stared at the nearby window of her bedroom.

Caden's senses picked up the movement of someone else entering the house. They were familiar, their scent was distinct. Oliver Queen was trespassing in his own home, coming in through the front door. Security was lax, there was no such problem getting into the building alone.

"If I told you that there was a list of people involved, what would you do?" Caden asked as he looked over at Thea who was now turning slowly to look at him, her head tilted as she did so.

Her mouth was partially open. She wanted to ask him why she was dumping this on her. Why she was being given all this information after he showed her a short period of fun, freedom. She liked being in his presence, being close to him and spending time with him. Yet, she didn't see this coming at all.

"A list?" She asked as she let her legs down a bit, crawling closer to him. Her eyes were bloodshot and glossy from the crying.

Caden looked at her for a few moments before letting out a quiet sigh. "Yes... A list of people associated with your father." He responded as he picked the book up that was resting on the comforter undisturbed.

Her eyes rested on the book which he held in his hand, almost staring at it, before passing her sights back to him. "You got that book from the shelf..." Thea exclaimed.

"It's your dads, a copy he left behind as insurance." Caden lied about the book, as it was really Moira's duplicate. Though he wasn't lying as this piece of vital evidence was definitely insurance on everyone who was in this book.

Thea moved to sit beside him, letting her legs hang off the side of her bed. "Is the person who killed my father in this list?" She rested a hand on his leg, grasping at his knee, just about anyone would assume this was a gesture of advancement on her part.

"No, the one who isn't on the list, but has a book, is the culprit. But if you go after the people in this book, it's likely the person who killed your father will rear their head." Caden said as he rested the one hand from her shoulder on her hand. A small smile across his lips as he grasped at her fingers. "What will you do Thea Queen?"

"Could I turn this in to the police?"

He shook his head as she had asked about that course of action, one which would be a simple one. "Everyone who sees this will likely die, if it gets out, or the murderer will just eliminate the loose ends." He handed her the book as he opened it to the front page.

He knew what the picture was on the back of the front cover, which referred to the subway tracks beneath the glades. That would be likely where the seismic charges would be set to collapse the crime ridden section of the city.

"..." Thea stared at the book, at the picture that showed the layout of the subway tracks. She didn't quite understand what they were by just looking at them, but definitely believed they were a grand clue to everything. She reached over with her fingers and flipped the page. The list began, she recognized some of them as they had been associated with the family or even just her father.

Those who were personally associated with her father, she knew plenty of them disliked the glades as it had taken people and things from them. Thea flipped back to the front of the book, but still couldn't put together the whole picture.

"You suggest I attack the people on this list?" Thea asked as she looked up at him with a brow raised, a growing smirk across her lips. She didn't know whether or not to take this seriously. "How would I even do that?"

"I mean, you have a shape shifting dragon at your disposal. Even though we just met today, I have no problem helping you." Caden admitted as he offered a hug in which she accepted. She rested in his arms, resting her chin on his shoulder as she looked over the list behind him in her hand. "Though I do have to tell you something, but you have to promise not to act rash."

Raising a brow hearing him say this, she slowly pulled herself out of his arms and placed the book in her lap. "Since when did I act rash before?" She asked as she frowned up at him, though she knew what he was talking about.

Shaking his head slightly, Caden snickered a bit. "Oliver is the sole survivor of the Queen's Gambit and he's down stairs... And is being forced to work with the United States government."

Thea just sat there staring at him as he had said that her older brother was downstairs. Her mind almost sent her running out the door, but she caught onto the last part of what he said. She had seen movies just like this, if anyone saw and recognized him, they're dead. "Why are you telling me this?" She wanted to know how he knew this, but she didn't ask, if felt dangerous.

"Don't you want to see your big brother?" Caden asked as he stood up and held out a hand to her, a small smile across his lips. "I'm sure Ollie would be happy," he said as she slowly placed her hand in his as she stood up.

Thea had squinted her lids as he had referred to her big brother as Ollie, family and friends typically called him that. This was letting her onto the fact that he knew more than he let on.

"Do you know my brother?" She wanted to clear that avenue before she began to think of something else.

"No, not personally. I'd like to say though, I was once human." He let that little idea linger there, allowing her to believe that at least part of his background was real. The question he had though, was if it was valid in this reality, his identity.

Thea had both of her brows raised, not expecting him to say that of all things. She then looked down at their hands, as he was grasping hers tightly. "Am I able to help my brother?"

"That's part of the plan, we have to hurry though, he's on a tight schedule." Caden said using a tone that sounded similar to that of Liam Neeson when he played Qui Gon-Jin during the Phantom Menace.

Nodding, the two of them rushed down the steps as quickly as they could, even going as far as flinging themselves down along the rail. They landed together feet first and turned to go into the common room just as Oliver was about to put down the pad.

Oliver stood there at the two standing hand in hand in the doorway. His focus was on his little sister who seemed to appear as she did from the party earlier. "When did..." His eyes trailed over to Caden, centering his sight on his eyes. "Snake?"

"Otacon?" Caden retorted with a snort, causing the siblings to shake their head at the metal gear solid videogame joke.

Thea immediately broke away from Caden's hand and ran toward her brother. She basically jumped at him and wrapped her arms tenderly around her brother. "Welcome home..."

"It's only Temporary, Thea." Caden said as Oliver was about to say something, only to nod at Caden with a faint smile across his lips. As they both knew where he was going to go, what he was going to do.

Oliver gently patted his sister's back as she slowly let go of him and took a step back from him. "So, who and what are you?"

"Human turned Magical Dragon thing," Caden stated with a chuckle, "My name is Caden Price." He looked over towards Thea for a moment before smiling slightly.

Thea stood there for a few moments seeing him smile, then glanced over to her big brother again. "Boyfriend," she said with an awkward point of her thumb toward Caden, looking to the ground as she smiled herself. Embarrassed? Not so much. She had just met him today, and now he was her boyfriend, mostly because she said he was.

"Magic...?" Oliver stared at him for a few moments skeptical, but he did recall the strange dragon changing into a cobra before. "Right."

Caden snickered at how skeptical Oliver was coming off as, before reaching into his pocket and appearing to take something out of it. He then held the item out ot Oliver, it was a piece of paper with draconic writing on it.

"What's this?" He looked down at the piece of paper, seeing the weird writing.

"One-way ticket to your bedroom closet, it opens a portal for exactly five seconds, use it wisely and sparingly. It's the only one I'm giving you." Caden informed him of what the item did. All he had to do was rip it in half for it to work. "To use it, all you have to do is rip it in half."

Oliver stared down at it and nodded before stuffing it into his pocket and darting off after pecking his little sister on the forehead. He was joining the hunt for White China on behalf of Argus. From his interactions with the boy, he could only assume that he wasn't going to be coming right home after this. At least he was given some form of way out, though he wasn't sure when he was going to use it.