Arrow ~ All For Nothing ~ Part One

***

Oliver, clad in an SCPD jacket, walked down to the river, Quentin joining him on the bank. "All right, we're all set here," the Deputy Mayor reported.

Oliver nodded, looking at the Asian woman standing right by the water's edge. "Captain Hill, thank you for stepping up to lead the department," he told her. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"After tonight, they will be," Hill promised.

"All right, take me through the details."

"We know Cayden James is monitoring traffic in and out of the city – airports, highways, ports, but the shoreline might be the blind spot," Hill answered.

"Specifically, right here," Quentin pointed to where they stood, Oliver eyeing Dinah as she walked up to join them. "There's no satellite flyover for about ten minutes. That's our window."

"And SWAT has the perimeter, so no one's getting in or out without us knowing it," Dinah added.

"Good," Oliver nodded, looking out over the water. "When do we make contact."

Quentin sighed, folding his arms. "Should be any minute."

The surface was quiet for a few seconds, then a man in black SCUBA gear surfaced. He lifted his goggles and trudged up towards them, and with relief, Oliver noted the ARGUS patch on his gear. "Mr. Mayor," he greeted. "I'm Alex Scott, ARGUS."

"Good to meet you," Oliver nodded.

"We're good to move?"

"Yes," he nodded.

Alex nodded, turning and putting his hand to his comms. "All clear on shore," he reported. "Exit, exit."

He grimaced suddenly, face twisting. "What's wrong?" Oliver frowned, gut twisting anxiously.

"No, just some weird feedback," Alex answered.

"Are your comms line of sight?" Oliver asked, anxiety growing.

"No," Alex shook his head. "We're patched in."

"You got to get those things off!" Oliver lunged forward.

Electricity crackled from the earpiece, lancing al through Alex's body. Quentin, Hill, and Dinah all grabbed Oliver at the same time, stopping him from helping Alex further as his body dropped to the ground. Wind whistled past them, and a blue blur followed by a black one and dark purple one, dove down into the water, just as electric crackles started appearing. Oliver stopped, already knowing the worst had happened, even as Kara, Mon-El, and Imra started pulling dead divers from the water.

***

Oliver clicked a button on his keyboard, sighing and watching the transaction take place for the seventh time that week. "Seventy million dollars," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he stood, Thea walking towards him, a similar look on her face. "At this point, we've got maybe another day or two."

"What about the federal government?" Thea asked. "I mean, don't they have plans for this kind of stuff?"

"ARGUS was our best shot, and Cayden James was ready for it," Oliver told her grimly. "I think that we are on our own."

"So does that mean I go forward with the emergency bomb shelters?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "We need a contingency. We have Kara, her team, and the Legion, and if we can do our part, too, that's a place to start."

Thea nodded, making a mental note. "How's William holding up?" she asked quietly.

"Are we talking about here or National City?" Oliver asked.

Thea winced, remembering the conversation Oliver had had with her, Quentin, Dig, and Felicity about the discovery they made regarding Reign. "Both," she replied.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Doing as well as can be expected," he answered. "He's worried about Ruby – rightly so – and he's holed up at an ARGUS safehouse with Raisa and a PlayStation 4."

He walked back to his desk, Thea frowning after him. "You look like you could use some rest."

"I'll get some if you will," Oliver gave her a look.

Thea snorted fondly, folding her arms. "Like brother, like sister, I guess," she teased, making Oliver smile slightly and nod in agreement. "Hey," she put a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, OK? Cayden James is not the first guy to try to take our city hostage. We will figure it out."

Oliver nodded, watching Thea leave, then reached over to turn off his computer. He paused, however, when he heard wind rustling outside the windows. He turned to look, but saw nothing outside. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. "Hey," Kara said quietly, stepping into his office.

"Hi," Oliver smiled, turning off his computer and walking around his desk. "How are you holding up?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Kara smiled weakly.

"I'm not the one who flew into the river to save those divers," Oliver reminded her, giving her a hug, which Kara relaxed into. "I'm . . . as OK as is expected. You?"

"I don't like not being able to save people," Kara mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Me, neither," Oliver agreed, kissing the top of her head.

"Thea's right, though," Kara looked up at him. "We'll figure this out."

Oliver just nodded, relaxing more as Kara put her head back on his shoulder.

***