Excursion in Egypt (Green Arrow)

[dinah]

Baby blue eyes widened and there was no mistaking the bit of anger that filtered into those usually very calm, collected and assessing blue eyes. Her face remained impassive the smile still firmly in place, the look of apprehension and anger that entered her eyes was one you’d have to be acquainted with to tell, very acquainted. Her pale blue dress hugged her form and parted up one leg to expose the smooth pale skin of her leg and the lovely white sandaled heels that adorned her feet.

The short man stood next to her, not quite reaching her height in her heels, he was an inch shorter then the lovely woman on his arm. The man’s arm curved around back to rest on her hip, a great show of possessiveness in his actions as his neatly combed back black wavy hair fell a little bit into light brown eyes offsetting his darkly tanned skin tone. He continued his walk down the elegant steps that lead up to the living quarters of the palace. He didn’t seem to notice the way the gorgeous woman on his arms had hesitated a moment, the way her body had tensed up for only a moment, before she was all grace once more as she followed Mr. Adian Hassin down the stairs a few seconds behind him, giving him the show of being in charge.

Blonde hair swept up in an elegant manner to leave a few strands framing her face and up to brush the back of her neck. As she touched the final step and stood on the marble surface facing the man in green with arrows and bow on his back, she didn’t quite look him in the eye, not openly as that wasn’t the role she was playing, she knew her place, this was a covert op after all, but she hadn’t been aware of other players and it would seem the Justice League like to interfere big time.

“Green Arrow, what a pleasure to have you in my humble house, how can a simple man such as myself be of service to the all mighty Justice League?” came the words of the shorter Adian Hassin who had to much to his displeasure look up at Green Arrow as the man was a few inches taller then him.

Dinah waited with a held breath for his answer, if he was staying here, that would mean, it would mean they might actually have to talk and it wouldn’t merely be able this intrusion on each other’s turf, it would be far more personal then that. She didn’t want that, but there was a little secret part of her that did want a chance to talk…but were they ready for that? She didn’t know. The last time they’d talked was after her torture and just after he’d kissed his new assistant.

With that remembered her blue eyes hardened slightly and she took a small breath, guarding herself from what would always be Oliver Queen’s secret weapon, his charm.

Dinah Lance aka Black Canary was here undercover for the Birds of Prey investigating Adian Hassin in his questionable actions against the Rebels known as the Regime Redwings, who were opposing his leadership of Egypt. Dinah was merely supposed to get close to him and find proof and Oracle would use it from there to get the man evicted from his seat, but that didn’t explain why the Justice League had decided to take a look at him and so openly, and that gave her something to keep another eye on as if she wasn’t swamped as it was with things she needed to try and find it, and now she had to babysit.

Perfect. Just perfect.

[GREEN ARROW]

Go to Egypt they said. Help out the little guys again they said. It'll be easy they said. Oliver silently swore to pay more attention to those intelligence reports before taking on an assignment in the future. By all accounts it should have been an easy enough job. Show up and publicly put pressure on this upstart dictator and then slink into the shadows for some surveillance to get proof of his dirty dealings. From there it'd be child's play to bring the guy down.

....and then she shows up.

Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, one of the world's premier martial artists and more importantly, his "ex". She slowly made her way down the stairs with an otherworldly grace that Oliver had to struggle to appear disinterested in. The way she was wrapped around that guy's arm had to mean she was undercover for the Birds or something. Funny how small the world was. Arms crossed over his chest, Oliver sized up the official that he'd been sent to investigate. Obvious image issues, "little man syndrome". Christ it was getting easy to read people, maybe he was spending too much time around Bruce these days.

"Well I was just in the neighborhood, robbing the rich and giving to the poor, same old same old, when I heard some rumors about some business with a rebel group in the area. Anything you wanna tell me about there pal? Or are you too...preoccupied?" the Green Arrow responded, sending a quick glance at Dinah, solidifying his position as a stranger eyeing up an attractive woman. She was mad enough at him as it was, last thing he needed was to blow her cover.

[dinah]

Dinah held her tongue even as her eyes widened ever so slightly and there was a slight downward motion of her gloss covered lips. She stayed still and let the little man have his little grope of her rear end, which he didn’t quite make subtle at all. He had to stake his claim on her and let Oliver know just who held the pretty thing on his arm. He curled his meaty fingers around the thin bone of her wrist and squeeze hard, holding on tight and tugging downward to make Dinah lean down to his level as the man placed his lips on her cheek. Once that little display was over, that didn’t mean that the man’s hold was letting up any before those light brown eyes were gazing up the Justice League member with a slight sneer, even he knew that openly snuffing a member of the Justice League was a bad move.

As his fingers were removed from Dinah’s wrist, you’d be able to see a similar bruise just a touch higher then where his fingers had been a moment before, it signified she’d been here for longer then a few days to have integrated herself this deeply with the man, did she sleep with him? One would only hope no, but in some missions morals just had to be put aside for the mission and this was something Dinah was well aware of and something’s were small prices to pay to catch the bad guy.

The blonde brushed her hair back from her blue eyes and her gaze lifted from the floor to Oliver and she cocked her head to the side slightly studying the man a moment and she made a gesture to the man clad in green, with a wave of her hand. “Aren’t you going to introduce us Adian?” she questioned her voice a low, sensational purr but there was a submissive tone in her voice, that Adian picked up on and smiled widely up at her, the man loved to be in charge.

“Of course, of course,” his gaze took on a slightly icier look when he caught Green Arrow looking at his woman. “Introductions first and then we will go to my study and I will discuss with you what I know of the rebels who have been a pain in my side,” he said his thumb caressing the blonde’s knuckles in a tender touch. “Green Arrow, please allow me to introduce to you my fiancé, Natalia Rovanov,” he said introduced watching as Dinah raised her hand a little ways in front of her, offering Ollie her hand, it was customary for him to gently take her hand and kiss the center of her hand just above her knuckles, it was a sign respect. Adian Hassin was very pleased with how quickly she was picking up on the customs of the area.

As Adian Hassin dropped his hand from her rear and began to walk to his study, he didn’t glance back assuming that the two of them would follow him. “Adian I will show Mr. Arrow where he can wash up and I will meet you shortly with refreshments…” she let the words hang there a moment and saw Adian shrug his shoulders, and give her permission, as though it was all his idea. “Of course my dear, thank you,” he said charmingly as he continued on his way to his study.

As she watched him walk away from them and towards his study further down the hall and down another corridor toward the right. She looked at Oliver and gave a slight motion of her head for him to follow her. “Follow me Mr. Arrow,” she said as she lead him towards the hall back down just past the stairs and down another smaller hallway that lead to another set of stairs, but these lead downward to another level.

Dinah took a glance around hall to see if anyone was around before she walked into the small hall bathroom, and held it open for Oliver to so clearly follow her. She kept herself hidden by the door, and once he was inside she promptly shut the door, and curled her powerful, smaller body close to his own and jabbed him once in the chest before her fingers rested against his chest, as if she for a moment needed to feel grounded. “What are you doing here really Ollie?” she questioned her voice a low whisper and her blue eyes looking up at him, waiting for his answer.

She needed to know what he was looking for exactly, and find out the truth and maybe, just maybe things could go smoothly; just this once.

[GREEN ARROW]

Oliver didn't bother to hide his rolling eyes as Hassin did his little song and dance. Yea yea, I get it buddy. You've got a nice piece of arm candy. Queen thought, trying to figure out how much of an ego this small man must have to beat his visitors over the head with an act like this. Though he quirked a brow at the word 'fiance', Oliver managed to keep his composure well enough. Taking Dinah's outstretched hand, he kissed it, holding the kiss just long enough to hopefully get on Hassin's nerves. Straightening his posture, he offered 'Natalia' a toothy grin. "The pleasure is all mine."

With Adian's departure, Oliver obediently followed Dinah through the halls towards the small bathroom, making his way inside after taking an additional scan of the area to make sure there were no prying eyes nearby. Flinching instinctively as the Black Canary jabbed his chest, he lightly grabbed her wrist. "Probably the same thing you are Dinah. This guy's about as dirty as they come and as soon as I find proof I'm putting him down fast and hard. Don't suppose you could offer any advice from experience could you?" he responded in a far more agitated tone than he intended. As soon as the last bit left his lips her regretted it. Averting his green gaze he mentally chided himself for being such an ass. She was working a tough job and didn't need comments like that. Especially not from Oliver Queen of all people.

[dinah]

Dinah frowned at the tone he used with her and it only deepened with his next set of words and her eyes narrowed at the accusation in his voice. She took a step back and it was as if there was more distance now then merely a few inches separated from them.

Her blue eyes went from warm to cold as she expertly twisted her wrist out of his grasp with a violent, yet controlled movement. Her arms moved to cross over her chest in a rather defensive movement. She didn't immediately come back with a response to what he said, it was small sign that what he'd said had gotten to her.

She gave him the stoney silent treatment and assessed him with her gaze. "This is just a mission, Green Arrow, you should understand that. You've never worked a covert op, I shouldn't have expected you to understand," she ran a hand towards the side her face and brushed some of the blonde locks to behind her ear as she uncrossed her arms and seemed to have decided something as she came forward to stand in his personal space as she took a step towards him.

"Adian is doing well at keeping his activities a secret, but I've gotten some a hint of the location, a run down half sunk in house on the outskirts of town. The house seems to have a secret entrance into some lower levels where the rebels are not seen again."

She said with a small frown. "Something is going down there tonight, if you want to tag along you can," her words were low, as she waited, already moving for the door of the washroom, she had to get things set up for the drinks and snacks that she'd be bringing to the talk Oliver and Adian would be having.

[GREEN ARROW]

As she pried herself from his grip he knew that he'd definitely put his foot in his mouth...again. Sighing, he reached up and rubbed the back of his head, searching for the right words to express his regret and apology. Her use of his code name and the swift shift back to the mission were a clear sign of her intentions. She wanted as little to do with him as possible right now and if he was truly honest with himself, he couldn't exactly blame her. "Y-yea. That sounds fine. I'll go through the little song and dance, rattle his cage a little bit and then we'll do it your way later tonight. the crack in his voice was unfortunate but he'd managed to regain his control quickly enough. Confidence was key in an awkward situation like this.

As she made for the door, Oliver reacted without thought once more. Reaching out in an attempt to grasp her hand, he tried to to stop her from leaving for just a moment longer. "Look, Dinah. For what it's worth, I want you to know I'm sorry about what happened between us. I'm not gonna water it down with excuses, I screwed it up even though I knew better. You deserved better than that." As he began to say the words, he couldn't quite look her in the eye but allowing himself that kind of avoidance was the same weakness that had caused the problem in the first place. His green eyes became fixed on her, quite literally facing down his own personal demons. He was not so naive to expect forgiveness, but the admittance of guilt felt good, another weight lifted from his back.

[dinah]

As his warm glove covered hand curled around her own, her blue eyes turned to look back him, her fingers curled along his own, as she carefully watched pressing her back against the door, to avoid ruining the expensive dress that she wore for this occasion, it was all part of the act, she had to play her part and not give herself away, she knew what could happen which blowing her cover, with being discovered and she might not get as lucky as she had before, she didn’t have her knight in shinning armor watching her back all the time anymore.

Her fingers absently curled a little tighter along his hand. Her eyes seemed to mist over a moment, a moment of weakness as she hurriedly blinked the emotions away, as she drew a slow breath, focusing on the here and now, things were in the past and it was best to leave them there, where they belonged. She didn’t hold on to anything, that wasn’t who everyone knew her to be.

His words helped bring her back to the present and she listened to his words and a sad little smile touched her lips at his words, as much as she wanted them to work, she knew there was so much they had to work on and she wasn’t sure they’d get the chance to do so and right now, this mission was important and had the ability to be very dangerous for either of them, if they didn’t get their heads in the game and stay there. She did take his words to heart though, and her grip loosened to a loose hold on Ollie’s hand as she gave a slight nod of her head. As much as she may want them to work, now was no that the time to talk about it, and the longer she stayed here the longer it was that her cover could be blown, or she could be caught or they’d both wind up in a not very pleasant situation.

“We’ll talk when we get finished with this if you want Ollie…” she let the words hang there a moment as she looked at him as if there was more she wanted to say, but she shook her head slightly and gently removed her hand from his and exited the room with caution, before she disappeared down the hallway towards the kitchen to get things set up for the meeting.

Oliver Queen would Adian Hassin in his study, his arms bent, elbows on the table and fingers laced together as he watched the Green Arrow saunter into his office as he studied the man, trying to figure the man out, and what he’d do about this disturbance into his business by the Justice League, he wasn’t sure what he’d do about the man yet. Although he would find something, a way to appease the man, so he would find nothing and would leave that much sooner so he could get things settled. He wouldn’t stop his plans; it would just mean he’d have to be a little quieter about them.

He wasn’t dumb enough to invite the man to stay at his home, when their meeting was over, that would not be happening certainly not with the way the other man had looked at Natalia, that would most certainly not do at all. This man of the Justice League would have to find his own room for the evening, but that did not mean he wouldn’t play the correct host and have his driver take him wherever he wanted to go.

It was a few hours later when things had finally wound down and he’d told the other man all that he knew about the rebel group who was so actively and publically against his leadership. Natalia had brought the refreshments and snacks and had left to give them some privacy. She was a good girl, she followed directions well and she knew when to keep her mouth shut. She would make a good wife, if he decided to keep her, and he wasn’t quite sure yet if he wanted a model for a wife, good eye candy yes, but she wouldn’t be leaving her job, things always did get in the way, she was too independent, he’d give it a little more time see if he could change that, if not he’d get rid of her, it wouldn’t be hard to replace her, no not hard at all.

As the hours passed and the darkness grew, Natalia left for the airport, she had a photo shoot tomorrow morning.

As she slipped away unnoticed Dinah made her way to the meeting point in the middle of the town. Her body clad in her usually attire, the black top, black jacket, gloves and fishnet leggings and her boots. As she leaned against the edge of the roof top, waiting for Oliver to show up, she closed her eyes for a moment to catch her breath as she lifted her gloved fingers into her blonde locks and began to pull her long dyed blonde hair up into a high ponytail and when she opened her eyes again, she looked over, keeping her fingers in her hair for a moment, letting him know that she wasn’t going to drop what she was doing merely for him. It also allowed him time to watch her, as these were old habits he’d watched when they had been together.

[GREEN ARROW]

His words failed him utterly, a rare thing for the Emerald Archer who prided himself as much on his quick tongue as he did on his impeccable aim. Nodding, he followed "Natalia" out of the room and onward to the study where Hassin had been awaiting him. Entered the room with a slightly disinterested gait, the reserve member of the Justice League made it clear that flaunted wealth did nothing to impress or intimidate him. Granted, that wasn't exactly an act considering Queen's own substantial wealth compared to Hassin's little sandbox here. At risk of sounding arrogant, something he admitted happened more often than not, Oliver compared it to a backyard baseball enthusiast trying to show off in front of a professional ballplayer.

A quick scan of the room was all Green Arrow needed to determine strategic entry and exit points as well as several other handy little details that would allow him to utilize the space as efficiently as possible. Finally, he set his gaze on Hassin himself. "Sorry about the wait. I might have dragged my feet a little admiring the place." he said, neatly adjusting the glove on his left hand. It didn't take long for Hassin to start in on his side of the story, supposedly telling the Green Arrow everything he knew about the rebels in the area. Oliver kept essentially silent throughout it, ignoring the obvious bullshit as best he could and offering lipservice 'ahs' and 'oohs' here and there. "Now that we've got some privacy, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. The League's got intel on your dealings with the rebels Hassin. As of right now, we've got just enough to justify a quick glance in your direction as a warning." without a word, the archer's bow was drawn with a broadhead nocked with almost inhuman speed. Loosing it, the green shaft buried itself into Hassin's chair just to the left of the man's ear.

"There's your one warning. Put a stop to it and that'll be the end of it. Make me come back here and it'll be the end of you ya got that bub?" Oliver didn't wait for an answer. Bow in hand he turned and left the room, closing the door with a loud snap behind him. The bit about admiring the halls wasn't completely fabricated. He'd paid close attention to the layout of the halls and the placement of the windows. At the first possible moment he slipped out of a window facing the rear yard and slinking off into the night, his outfit serving as effective camo even in this neck of the woods. He'd sent Hassin the message well enough. Guy's like that couldn't handle shots at their ego. He was going to get worked up alright, and when guys like that lost their cool they made stupid mistakes. Mistakes that he and Dinah would be in an ideal location to capitalize on.

--------several hours later------------

She was even better at hiding her position than he remembered. It was no secret that she could beat his ass in a straight up fight. Hell, there were maybe a handful of people in the entire world that she couldn't beat bloody. That being said, stalking and skulking through the dark was his game. At his core, he'd always been a hunter and not even the Black Canary was going to evade his senses. Watching her work her hair into a ponytail from several rooftops away and about a full floor above, he briefly wondered just how aware of all this she was. It was an interesting thought that had always added to their banter back in the day. Funny how easily he fell back into that before kicking himself back into present day.

Firing a silent grapple arrow after anchoring the rear line, Oliver used the taut line to smoothly slide across the open expanse of air to the rooftop where the Black Canary awaited him. Wrenching his arrow free from its' resting place alongside Dinah, he retracted the grapple line and returned the arrow to his quiver. No reason to leave unnecessary evidence lying around. Fighting the urge to show off a fully conceited grin, Queen did his level best to show a friendly smile. "I always did like that jacket of yours. Hell of a lot classier than a cape. Now then, you've done more legwork than I have around here. What have we got so far?"

[dinah]

Dinah to her credit didn't tense up as the arrow's head dug into the concrete just a little ways off from her position. She had recognized the sound and had not ignored it, no she'd traveled the nearly invisible thread of wire back to the man who'd fired it. He never missed his shot, and it was from her missions with him that she'd come to know him and they'd gotten close, close enough to begin a relationship and close enough for each of them to simultaneously rip the others life apart in the process, as they both violently went their separate ways, and had ignored each other for the last several months, although they'd been hyperly aware of the others presence when ever they'd entered the same room, at least that was how it had been, how it still was. For her at least.

Now was no different as she turned those calm blue eyes in his direction as she watched him zip line from the higher roof down to her level. She ran a flat palm over her hair and made sure it was pressed tight in the high pony tail on top of her head as she watched him make his way over to his arrow and pull it out, and then over to her with the same swagger that he always seemed to have, even now.

At his comment she smirked a little bit and turned her back to avoid him seeing the smile that slid across her face. Her jacket bunched around her shoulders as she laced her fingers together behind her back and scanned the dark city around them. "Much classier then a cape," she agreed with humor in her voice as she tossed her head back slightly moving the blonde strands that had escaped her ponytail.

She planted her feet and turned to look at him, hands placed out along the roof wall's lip as she leaned back sitting down and staying quiet as she considered her next set of words to him.

"We'll be heading west towards the edge of the city and from there we'll head into the underground tunnels. We need proof Hassin is behind these attacks against the Rebels. Hassin is controlling, and he doesn't trust anyone to do the job better then he can. It will work to our advantage when we catch him in the act. If needed I'll make my affiliation with the League public."

As she waited silently curious on his opinion on the plan of action, she cocked her head to the side slightly and gave him a small smile as she went over the number of people that worked for Adian in dirty job department. It had taken months to get to this point and for her to weasel her way into the current position that she was in, but she'd do her duty without complaint as that was her job.

She knew from their current position it would take them about twenty minutes to get to where they needed to be on foot, thanks to all the twists and turns of the older part of town and with cutting time over the roof tops it would take them anywhere from seven minutes to ten, it all depended on their own speed.

"He has about fifty (50) men who work for him, and all of them have records. I'm not worried we are capable of handling them"