Won't Let You Down (Book Two of The Unmatched Records)

Chapter Fourteen

"Hmm," Malcolm watched them go, tilting his head as Winn and Felicity walked up. "They do look good together."

"I don't know who to give the 'you hurt them, I hurt you' speech to," Laurel mused.

"Protective much?" Winn asked.

Malcolm growled in annoyance. "Oh, go back to playing with your fidget spinner!"

Winn sputtered, eyes wide, as everyone else in the room burst out laughing as Malcolm and Laurel left. "I do not play with fidget spinners!"

"Believe me, that is not the weirdest thing a deadly vigilante could say," James snorted.

"Oh?" Dig raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"I think Slade would actually kill me if I repeated it."

Quentin's eyebrows shot up. "That entertaining, was it?"

James sighed. "You could say that."

***

"One thing that never ceases to surprise me," Oliver mused as he and Kara walked hand in hand down a busy street in National City.

"What?" Kara looked at him curiously.

"How every city seems to be so much brighter and a much bigger delight than Star City," he shook his head.

Kara burst out laughing. "That's what amazes you the most about National City? We're brighter than Star?"

"Well, I might be biased," Oliver shrugged, smirking at her.

"Oh, points to you for that," Kara giggled, making Oliver grin smugly. "Still . . . dark and gorgeous isn't that bad."

"Excuse me?" Oliver laughed.

"Oh, my God, did I just say that out loud?" Kara blushed beet red, fiddling with her glasses.

"If you think you just said 'dark and gorgeous,' yes, you did," Oliver grinned at her, making Kara blush even redder. "You really are adorable, you know that, right?"

"So everyone seems to tell me when I say something like that," Kara mumbled, biting her lip. "Sorry."

"I feel like we just used each other to describe our cities," Oliver chuckled.

"So the city reflects the hero?" Kara nodded thoughtfully. When she saw Oliver open his mouth to say something, she gave him a look. "That is not up for debate. You will lose that argument before you even start it."

"Kara," Oliver sighed.

"You jumped over three dozen Earths to come here and save me," Kara jabbed a finger in his chest. "And sure, the others followed, but you've had my back the entire time. You are willing to do anything to keep me alive and safe. You're a hero to me." He stared at her for a long time, and Kara fiddled with her glasses again. "Rao, I can't say anything right today, can I?"

"You said the right things to end an argument before it began," Oliver shook his head, a mixture of bewilderment and awe in his eyes. "How do you do that?"

"I'm a reporter?" Kara phrased it as more of a question.

"No, I stand by what I called you earlier," Oliver shook his head. "Definitely an angel."

"Stop it," Kara mumbled, biting her lip bashfully.

"If you dislike it that much, then make me," Oliver challenged. When Kara didn't say anything, he chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Knew it."

"Oh, give me a break," Kara sighed, even as she leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued to walk, Oliver releasing her hand and putting his arm around her shoulders instead. They went a few steps before she spoke again. "You know what the weirdest part about this is?"

"Oh, no," Oliver mock sighed.

"No, no, it's a good weird," Kara hastened to assure him. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she continued. "This . . . you and me? It doesn't feel weird. This is . . . what, the third time we've had any interactions whatsoever?"

"The Dominators, Lian Yu, this," Oliver nodded.

"And it doesn't feel . . . I don't know, unnatural," Kara nodded. "I don't feel uncomfortable. It's . . . " She seemed to struggle for a word to say before groaning. "You know, 'nice' does not cut it."

"Right?" Oliver tilted his head.

"I know!"

"No," Oliver shook his head, chuckling. "It feels right."

"Oh," Kara blinked. "Yeah, that works."

Oliver pulled her closer to him, smiling. "It does feel a bit odd. But definitely a good odd."

"Definitely," Kara beamed up at him.

***

"Awesome!" William grinned when Samantha brought their ice creams outside.

"You can thank Kara later," she smiled at her son, handing him his cone and sitting across from him. "She recommended it. Apparently, this was where the 'girls' day' was."

"When there was the bank robbery and the jewelry heist?" William asked.

"Mmmhmm," Samantha nodded.

William considered his ice cream cone, licking it before looking at his mother. "Mom?"

"What?" she asked, tilting her head.

William fidgeted slightly. "Nothing's going to happen to Kara . . . right? She's not going to actually die?"

"Of course not," Samantha shook her head. "Oliver won't let that happen. No one is going to let that happen."

William looked down, biting his lip. "But what if Dad gets hurt because of it?" he asked. "I mean, if it wasn't for Kara taking down that bad man . . . "

"William," Samantha reached over to put a hand on his. "There is no way they're going to let the other get hurt. They're going to make it out of this. We all will."

William looked up at her. "Promise?"

"Promise," Samantha smiled, taking a bite of her ice cream. William smiled back, licking his cone again.

There was a sharp crack in the air, and William jolted when he felt a sharp gust of wind go by his face. At first he looked around, trying to find the bird that flew past him.

But then he heard people screaming, heard a chair collapse.

It took him less than two seconds to realize the chair that had toppled had been his mother's. "Mom?" he dropped his cone, standing up. When he saw what had happened, his eyes widened. "Mom!"

Samantha's ice cream cup was abandoned on the ground, dripping and melting onto the pavement. Dark chocolate liquid mixed with a much thicker red liquid, which was steadily growing in amount as the seconds passed.

Across the street from the rooftops, Hank Henshaw lifted his gaze from his sniper rifle, a small smirk on his face.

In front of the ice cream shop, William screamed and begged his mother to come back as patrons around him started dialing 911, crouching and trying to feel for a pulse.

On the ground, Samantha Clayton's eyes were unseeing as she stared up into the sky, a clean entrance wound where her heart was, red pooling under her.

***

And the first casualty of the SuperArrow war against Cadmus is Samantha. William living with Oliver is such a huge part of Season 6, and it wouldn't be there if Samantha was alive. And I think this is a pretty nice catalyst for the start of the end of the book.

Man, Oliver and Kara never catch a break, do they?

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And to those of you who may not celebrate it, see you soon!