Chapter Six
“Alright, so here is what we are going to do”, Chloe began with authority as she laid out their plan of attack for the day.
“That all works, in theory”, Oliver said thoughtfully, “but that does mean that we have to actually know where Slope it to be able to ensure a meeting”.
With a smug smile, Chloe slipped a piece of paper from between her breasts and handed it over to Oliver.
He raised an eyebrow, unable to keep his eyes from whence the note had appeared.
“What? This dress doesn’t have any pockets”, she defended herself. “Besides, you didn’t really think that I would be less than 100% prepared, did you?”
“I should have known better”, he agreed as he took the paper and saw - in Chloe’s clear, precise writing - the address of a hotel in the centre of the city. “Do I want to know how you got hold of this?”
“Probably not”, she replied with a smirk.
“Anything that I am going to have to bail you out for?” He inquired, continuing to study the script and then the woman sitting before him.
She appeared to be considering this for a few seconds, before shaking her head.
“Chloe”, he prompted.
“Oliver”, she laughed, “it is fine. I promise”. Seeing that he was just continuing to stare at her, she sighed and explained, “I hacked into all of the hotel’s files in Rome searching for his name, aliases and associates. That didn’t work but they couldn’t trace that back to me, even if they were to work out that they had been hacked - which they won’t”. She wasn’t being arrogant, just honest. Only one man in the world would have been capable of such a thing and he was no longer in any position to thwart her.
“Then how did you ...?”
“Simple”, Chloe smiled, “I remembered that I have amazing legs”.
His eyes went down to survey them appreciatively. “I can hardly argue with that, but that doesn’t exactly answer my question”.
“Fine”, she said with an overly exaggerated sigh, “I also remembered that I know Bart. He super speeded his way around Rome about thirty minutes ago with a picture and checked one by one”.
“Wow”, Oliver commented, “that’s a hell of a lot of work”.
“Hence the legs”, Chloe laughed, her attempt at lightness and good humour beginning to seem a little strained. “He started with the most expensive hotels and only had to go around two before he found our man. Slope was registered under an alias completed unconnected to any one I have seen before but it is definitely him”. She produced another item from her bra.
Oliver took the still warm gift and noted, “He has a nice pair of pyjamas”.
“The blue stripes are rather distinguished, are they not?” Chloe agreed with a smile. “So, we can just get going hang out around there, bump into someone, ingratiate ourselves, get an invitation and then”, she mimed brushing off her hands.
“Sound good to me” Oliver smiled.
~*~
“Quick, I see them”, Chloe hissed at her companion. She tried to dash after them but found herself being pulled back. “Oliver”, she protested, “come on, we need to hurry!”
“I know a short cut”, Oliver said, grasping hold of her hand firmly.
“Fine, let’s go”, she allowed him to lead her down a small side street, trotting after him as fast as possible, trusting him to know the way.
“Hurry up”, he called over his shoulder, his words just audible over the gaggle of tourists that surrounded them.
“I’m going as fast as I can”, she snapped. She weaved in between people over the cobbled streets until her fashion choices proved too much. Chloe’s stiletto got caught, her ankle turned and she pitched forwards.
“Chloe”, Oliver whirled around and caught her just before she landed head first on the streets of Rome.
“Are you alright?” He demanded, “What happened?”
“Nothing I just tripped”, she assured him, her head spinning as Oliver set her back on her feet. She tried to take a step to continue with their plan but gasped in pain.
“You’re hurt”, he concluded, “don’t worry I’ll get you to a doctor”.
“No, Oliver don’t be ridiculous. It is just a twist. Quick, go on without me”, she tried to send him on his way.
“I’m not leaving you behind”, he told her sternly, hoisting her up into his arms and continued onwards.
Chloe wrapped her arms around him automatically, even as she tried to protest, “Ollie, honestly I’m fine. Just put me down before you hurt yourself”.
“Don’t be ridiculous Chloe. I hauled Clark out of a warehouse full of Kryptonite once. Carting you around isn’t going to do me in”, he answered as if it were nothing.
Chloe swallowed. She had slimmed down quite considerably over the last year but she knew that she was still no wafer. He had to be extraordinarily strong - and not in a meteor/alien way.
She swallowed again at the thought. She knew that he was in good shape. She had always known it. His good looks, charming smile and muscular physique had not been lost on her upon their first meeting - she was only flesh and blood after all. And it had been no easier to ignore in the Watch Tower. In such close proximity his physical attributes had proven difficult to ignore. Even more so that morning. Even more so now.
Chloe felt herself swallowing again. He was going to think that there was something wrong with her throat at this rate. The warm masculine scent of him surrounded her. The heat of him enveloped her. The feel of him around her, his strong, protective arms, cocooned her from the bustle of people around them.
She had been so preoccupied by her new form of transport that it came as a shock to her when they were suddenly back on one of the main roads. She stared around, blinking, uncertain of their location.
“We lost them”, she articulated in a defeated whisper as she finally succeeded in orientating them and looked in the direction their quarry should have been heading.
“Oh ye of little faith”, Oliver winked at her as he began to stroll leisurely in that direction.
Chloe’s brow furrowed for a second when she heard Oliver’s name being called. She froze but he continued to saunter along, as if he did this every day - which, for all she knew, he might.
“Oi Ollie wait up!” One of the voices, distinctly British, was more insistent this time and Chloe only had a few seconds to school her features into an appropriate expression before the sound of hurried footsteps behind them transformed into a face in front of them.
“For goodness’ sake Queen, get the plunger out and get some of that wax out of your lug holes”, a second face appeared.
Chloe blinked. She had seen the men in question from a distance and in pictures before but up close they were really cute. It was hard to believe that they were nephews of Slope - who was mercifully absent -, just getting their feet wet in the business world. The brothers had both been blessed with curly sandy brown hair - which was slightly over-long and fell over their grey eyes - and perfect ivory teeth which they both flashed with ready smiles.
She had read that they could get out of any scrape using their ‘boyish charms’. At the time, she had thought that they were over stating the facts - and that a cash bribe had been issued. Now she wasn’t so sure. They really were cute.
Chloe blushed as she realised the image that she must be presenting. The image of the sleek business woman had been well and truly destroyed the second that she had fallen over - if not during the mad dash. And it wasn’t as if she could ‘pull a Lana’ either; she was no damsel in distress. Just a messy sloppy lump in her bosses’ arms.
Oliver smiled at the duo and greeted them, “Mason and Daniel, hello”. He jostled her up higher in his arms, getting a tighter grip on her. “This Chl-” He broke off with a cough as he was surreptitiously elbowed in the ribs.
“Claire”, Chloe broke in, reminding him of their story. It was too risky to use even part of her real name and this way they had the advantage that at least it began with the same syllable - giving them a chance to think.
His suggestion: Zoe wouldn’t not have worked as well. There was no safety net with the name Zoe. Besides, she had known a girl called Zoe in high school - she hadn’t liked her.
“Claire”, Oliver covered with a smile. “We had a little accident!”
“So I see”, Mason - the one who was slightly taller and slimmer - replied, “Dan saw the back of your head and thought that it was familiar. We chased you for an entire street before we caught up for you. Half of Rome knows that we are looking for someone called Oliver”.
Oliver smiled, apologetically.
“He was obviously distracted”, Daniel reminded him. “Can we offer you some assistance?”
“Oh yeah”, Mason blushed, having forgotten to ask what he had intended. “Can we help?”
“No, thank-you”, she demurred, forgetting for a moment that this was exactly what they wanted.
“Thank-you”, Oliver spoke over her, pointedly accepting their offer.
“We are close to our hotel”, Daniel smiled.
About 100 meters by Chloe’s count and she allowed herself to be carried that far. She was soon in their hotel suite, laid on the couch where Oliver attended to her ankle. “Don’t look so worried”, he whispered.
“I’m not worried”, she lied, hopefully convincingly.
“It’s not broken”, Oliver assured her with a smile as his large hands ran over her pale, slender limb.
“Right”, she whimpered.
“Does it hurt?” His head shot up.
“No, no, I’m fine”, she promised him, heartily embarrassed. “I told you before, I’m fine. I could have walked”.
“Evidently not in those heels”, he smirked.
“It wasn’t the heel’s fault, it was the cobbles!” She defended her footwear.
“Sure it was”, he continued to massage her ankle.
She shivered. She knew that Oliver was a captain of industry, a titan, the Green Arrow and a seducer of women, but she wasn’t used to seeing him like that. Around her he was more of a sweet, gentle puppy. The assertive part of him was rather appealing. There was something seriously wrong with her. Why was it that she never fell for the puppies?
“Is everything alright?”
Chloe looked up to see, “Daniel?”
“Right first time”, he grinned at her. “Are you alright?”
“Yes”, she returned his smile.
“It’s just twisted. It will be fine with some rest”, Oliver summed up the problem.
“That’s great to hear”, Mason came over and began to hand out cups of tea. It wasn’t a beverage that she was particularly partial to but she took it with a few words of thanks and sipped it. It wasn’t terrible but she still preferred coffee.
The others did the same and got settled. “Ollie”, Daniel started the conversation, “I haven’t seen you since you abseiled down the Thames in a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts on a dare”.
“Has it really been that long?” Mason asked, thinking hard. “Bloody hell, it has been. What have you been up to?”
“No, I mean yes. We haven’t seen each other for ages”, Oliver admitted, running his hand through his hair, “I’ve been busy”.
“So I see”, Daniel said, looking pointedly at Chloe’s hand.
“Subtle”, Mason huffed.
“What?”
“Come on Mase, you know that he held that question in as long as he possibly could”, Oliver joked, transferring his grip on Chloe to pull her forwards so that her legs were draped over his lap and his arm was around her.
“Yeah, I suppose so!” Mason sighed but Chloe could tell that the brothers were incredibly close.
“So, am I going to get an answer?” Daniel inquired, unashamed and unabashed.
“What question might that have been?” Chloe inquired, teasingly placing her hands on Oliver’s shoulders showing off the ring that he had purchased for her for their ‘engagement’.
The brothers smiled as Oliver took her hand and kissed it, “I have had a bit of good fortune haven’t I, baby?”
“You did indeed, my darling”, she answered, in similarly soppy accents.
“I am going to be married”.
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