Arrow ~ Tribute ~ Part One

***

Oliver stepped in the front doors of city hall, raising an eyebrow when he saw a crowd of reporters waiting for him. "Anything interesting on the news last night?" he asked sarcastically.

Reporters instantly shouted questions, crowding in towards Oliver as he made his way to where Quentin, Rene, Thea, and Kara were waiting. "Ladies and gentlemen," Oliver held up his hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, please! If you want to know what I have to say, it would probably help if you could hear me," he looked around. When they quieted, he nodded. "Thank you. Gonna tell you two things, both of which you probably already know. First, this is important. I am notthe Green Arrow."

"If you're not the Green Arrow, then who is?" a female reporter asked.

"Number two," Oliver continued, ignoring the question. "Photos can be doctored. They could have put Bruce Wayne's head on that body. Has Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently?" he pretended to ask Rene before scoffing. "No. Now, if I was running around the city during the day and managing it as mayor while running around at night frightening criminals as a vigilante, that really would make me a superhero, but I'm not. I'm just the mayor. Thank you very much."

Reporters clamored to ask more questions as Oliver turned away, but he just reached for Kara's hand. She took it and followed him up the stairs, the two of them followed by Quentin, Thea, and Rene. "You seem to be taking this in your stride," Quentin remarked.

"I've been here before with you," Oliver reminded him.

"Yeah, but I didn't have a photograph of you in flagrante de arrow."

"Where did Channel 52 get the photo?" Kara asked.

"Anonymous source," Rene answered. "Arrived in yesterday's mail, no return address."

"Let's get the envelope, let's get it to forensics, and let's figure out who leaked it," Oliver ordered.

"And why," Thea added.

***

"Can't let this distract us," Oliver said as the quintet walked out of the elevator. "Where are we with rebuilding the SCPD?"

"Well, I fast tracked the insurance claim, so we should have twenty million burning a hole in our account by the end of the day," Rene answered.

Thea raised an eyebrow.

"I figure we peel off a few bucks and fly off to Vegas," Rene shrugged.

Oliver and Kara both raised an eyebrow at the same time. "That's cute," Quentin said sarcastically. "Think it might be a little suspicious if Oliver left town right about now."

"I need to be in town for the Markovian delegation," Oliver reminded him, heading towards his office.

Rene watched the others follow him, then asked, "So it's all right for to go to Vegas, is what you're saying?"

Oliver rolled his eyes and opened the door to his office, only to pause when he saw a dark-skinned woman in a suit waiting for him. "Hello," he said cautiously. "I don't think you have an appointment."

"No, but I really don't need one," she pulled a badge out of her jacket. "Special Agent Samandra Watson."

"FBI?" Kara asked in disbelief.

"Can we help you with something?" Quentin asked.

"Not really," Watson shook her head. "I'm here as a courtesy to inform you of the investigation I'll be conducting in your city."

"Investigation into what?" Oliver asked.

"You," she said bluntly.

"You're kidding," Thea's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, because the FBI is world renowned for its sense of humor," Watson retorted, turning back to Oliver. "You were on the news last night, wearing the outfit of a known criminal. Can you honestly say you're surprised there's an investigation?"

"No, but I wasn't expecting the FBI," Oliver admitted.

"Well, quite frankly, the local law enforcement has proven ineffective where the Green Arrow is concerned," Watson gave Quentin a significant look.

"Uh, Agent . . . Watson?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," she nodded.

"I was cleared five years ago."

"Of being the Hood, not the Green Arrow," Watson countered. "And you were cleared by the guy who's now your deputy mayor."

"Would you like me to send you a copy of the polygraph that Mr. Queen passed?" Quentin asked mockingly.

"For starters," Watson smirked. "The local AG will be issuing subpoenas later on today. It was nice meeting you, gentlemen, ladies. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

Kara watched Watson leave before turning to Oliver. "I don't like her."

"That makes all of us in the room, I think," Oliver grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as Kara rubbed his back.

***

"At least they caught his good side," Curtis remarked as those in the Arrowcave looked at the photo. When both Felicity and Dinah glared at him, he cleared his throat. "Sorry. Not funny."

"All right, John said you guys have experience putting this particular genie back in the bottle?" Dinah asked.

"Well, yeah," Felicity nodded. "I mean, John's put on the hood before, but I don't see how that's gonna work now, not with photographic evidence."

"What about the Human Target?" Curtis asked.

"The human what now?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"Best cosplayer ever. He can literally make himself look like someone else."

"Yeah, Chase is out of the country right now, only God knows where," Dig walked up. "We have to think of a new way of getting out of this."

"And if we can't?" Dinah asked. "Because assuming Oliver does not go to prison, he's not gonna be able to do anything with a million eyes on him."

"Not to mention that if he's outed – rather, if he outed – it won't be much of a leap to the rest of us," Curtis added.

"One step at a time," Dig decided.

"OK, first step being figuring out where this picture came from," Felicity rubbed her hands together, turning towards the photo.

***

"It came from nowhere," Rene announced as he walked into the office.

"What do you mean?" Quentin asked in surprise.