Green Arrow #11: "Furst Strike"

The plane’s landing was as smooth as any could be. The two men watched as the private plane taxied down the runway, turned right and headed toward one of several small hangars. They gave each other a knowing glance as the plane finally came to a full rest, a blond-haired man with the blond goatee strutting down the steps. His body language showed that he was a man on a mission.

The two men again glanced at each other as they observed their prey. They watched him jump into his parked convertible and speed away.

When he was out of sight, the first man pulled out his cell phone, hit one number and waiting for the line to be picked up. “He’s landed.” Pause. “The Fours predict that he will first head to his apartment to check on his son. When he finds that the boy has flown to Metropolis, he will seek more information from his friend, Agent Fyers. After that, he will either head immediately to Metropolis, or straight to the Fero building for a confrontation with management.” Another pause. “No, Sir, they cannot guarantee which way he will go; he is, as you know, some what unpredictable. Yes, Sir, we have contingency plans set for either course of action. Very well, out.”

His partner stared in the direction that Oliver Queen had departed. “I cannot wait to get my chance at him again.”

“Remember, he is not to be killed. Not by any member of the Deck. The boss has waited too long for this, made sure the deck is stacked squarely in his favor. Once all the cards have been laid on the table, then and only then, will the boss finally take out Green Arrow.”

“I wonder what made him change his mind?” the other one mused. “He had wanted Arrow to suffer, but to remain alive. Why the change plans?”

“I’m not privy to that information, but rumor has it, he doesn’t need Queen anymore. Not since he discovered that the jackass has a son. It’s Connor Hawke that will live on, now.”

His partner shrugged, “Fine, all I care about is giving Green Arrow payback for our first go around.”

“And you will, my King. You will.” The other man said as they both triggered their belts and seemed to vanish into thin air.



Ollie was in a rotten mood as he pulled away. He had received word from Dinah, via the pilot, that the casino’s jet was no longer available to him, and as an afterthought, that Batman was dead. The last thirty minutes of the flight, he had sat in silence and absorbed the information.

Not being able to stand it anymore, he grabbed his phone and dialed his second contact number. It rang twice before Barbara Gordon picked up.

“Hi Ollie,” she answered. Her voice was strained, and he could tell that she hadn’t gotten much sleep. He had always picked up on stuff like that with women. They all had their own tells, you just had to observe them for a while.

“You okay?” he asked.

“As good as can be expected. I appreciate you calling to check up on us, though.”

“Yeah, well, actually there’s a pretty serious problem and I’m needing you to get to the bottom of it.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I got a message from Dinah when I was on my way back from Vegas. The casino jet is no longer available to me. I want to know why?”

“The jet…?” The confusion was apparent in her voice. “Why… the jet… what are you talking about?! One of our closest friends is dead and you’re worried about your airplane?”

“Oh come on, he ain’t dead.” Ollie said in exasperation. “He’s Batman. He has a contingency plan for everything. Now let’s focus here.”

There was such a long pause that for a second Ollie began to wonder if he had lost the connection. When she did speak, it was slow, deliberate, and obviously with a lot of effort not to lose her cool. “Listen. To. Me. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the plane, or the casino at the moment. There are people in Gotham that need me… need all of us. He is dead, Ollie. Dead! I’m going to hang up now and pretend this conversation didn’t happen.”

“For pete’s sake, Babs. Okay, was there a body?”

Another pause before she spoke. “No, the currents under the dam were too strong, even for him. The body is probably half way to Bludhaven by now.”

“Not dead.”

“You’re in denial, Ollie. I understand.”

“Just like we were in denial about Jay Garrick? I’m sorry Babs, but I’m not getting weepy over this, 'cause he’s not dead, and nothing anyone can say will convince me other wise. Now will you help me find out what’s going on with Dinah?”

“No, Ollie, I won’t!” she snapped. “Sorry I can’t drop everything for you, but I’ve got people here depending on me. We’ve got to make… arrangements. Figure the mystery out yourself.”

The line went dead.

Cursing under his breath, Ollie threw the phone down hard on the seat next to him; it bounced several times. “He’s not dead,” He mumbled under his breath as he turned onto Highway 25 and headed to his apartment. “You better not be dead, you son of a bitch.”



“Any word from either of them?” Eddie asked his newfound daughter as he let himself into Ollie’s apartment.

Mia shook her head. “Nothing, but did you hear the news from Gotham City? Seems as though the Batman's dead.”

Eddie cursed and sat down hard on the couch. Before he could respond, though, there was a knock at the door. A look passed between them as Eddie going for his gun, Mia for the door.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Hello, I’m looking for Oliver Queen,” came the female voice from the other side.

“Ain’t here,” Mia stated through the closed door.

“Will he be in soon? My name is Lois Lane and I work for the Daily Planet. I’d really like to talk to him as soon as possible.”

Eddie tucked his gun under his shirt tail, went to the door and opened it a little. He found the attractive brunette to be exactly who she said she was; prettier, actually, than her the picture in the paper.

“What do you want with Queen?” he asked cautiously.

Her shoulders went back instinctively when she was faced with a less than pleasant situation, and this one was building up to be just that, she felt. “I’d rather talk to him about that. Who are you?”

Spunk. Eddie liked that. He couldn’t help but flash a smile. “A friend. Good friend, actually. Have to say, you’re much better looking in person than the picture in your column.” His eyes began to roam.

“Eyes up here, Sparky,” Lois said coldly. “Just let Mr. Queen know that I’m in town and I’d like to discuss the takeover of his company. Here’s my card and my cell number.”

“You could come in and wait, if you’d like.” Eddie said as she started to leave. “Ollie’s got some bourbon stashed away somewhere.”

Lois turned back, her eyebrow arched. “Your mind set seems to be stuck in the nineteen-forties. Journalists don’t go around drinking bourbon in the middle of the afternoon with old men. Thank you for the kind offer, however.”

He scowled at her before slamming the door. He turned to find Mia on the couch holding her hands to her mouth, forcing herself not to laugh.

“Don’t say it,” he grumbled.

“Say what?” she stifled a giggle. “How smooth you are with the ladies?”

“Where the hell is Ollie?” Eddie muttered, ignoring the comment and the continual giggling from his daughter.



“The more things change…” Lois Lane muttered to herself as she walked down the steps of the apartment building and onto the sidewalk. “If he’s the kind of friends that Mr. Queen hangs around with, I’m beginning to believe his reputation.”

“Talking to yourself, Ms. Lane?” a male voice asked from behind her.

She spun around, startled, to find herself facing the man she had been looking for. “Mr. Queen, I was just at your apartment looking for you.”

“Well, you found me. May I ask what the Daily Planet’s star reporter is doing way out here in Star City?”

“I was hoping to interview you, Mr. Queen, about your company’s take-over, and more importantly – the Fero Corporation.”

“First of all, please call me Ollie, and second of all, I don’t have much to say on that subject.”

“You might change your mind when you find out the information I’ve obtained on them. Does weapon smuggling interest you, Ollie? Weapons that seem a bit out of the ordinary.”

He hesitated and she knew she had him. “Listen, as soon as I arrived, I was able to land an interview with the CEO of the company, a Charles Furst. Once I’ve finished my meeting, I’d like to interview you, as well.”

Ollie studied her for a moment, wondering if Clark knew she was here. He admitted to himself that he understood the Boy Scout's infatuation with her. She was gorgeous. “All right, Ms. Lane, you’re on. But we make it a dinner interview.”

“Deal. You can pick me up at the Fairmont around eight.”

She whistled for a cab, got in, and left him standing there on the sidewalk. Now was not a good time to be fighting with Dinah, was his only thought.

He walked into the building, up the steps, and into his apartment, to find Eddie and Mia waiting for him. He hadn’t even thrown his bag on the floor when they began to bombard him with information.

After giving a shrill whistle to settle them down, he plopped himself in his favorite chair. “Now one at a time. Eddie, you said something about Connor.”

“He was staking out your old building when some guy named Dalton and his wife and kid were attacked by someone calling himself the Dart. The wife was killed in the battle and we almost lost Connor. The kid and father disappeared. My contacts said that he worked for Fero, and might be headed to Metropolis, so Connor went after him.”

Ollie jumped up, “And you just let him go?”

“Sorry, Ollie, but I had been hit by a poisonous dart myself. I really wasn’t up to snuff.”

As usual, Ollie began to pace when he became agitated. “Everything leads back to Fero. I ran into Lois Lane outside the building. She’s investigating them as well. Mentioned illegal gun trafficking. She said she was on her way over there for an interview with the CEO, Charles Furst. Damn it! I better get changed and get over there.”

“Changed?” Eddie asked. “Why does Green Arrow need to be there?”

“Because the Fero Corporation is obviously corrupt to the hilt and once Lois Lane starts asking questions, they’ll take it her out quick.”

“You don’t know that,” Mia countered.

“Yes I do. It’s Lois Lane.”



“Please come in, Ms. Lane, Mr. Furst has been anxious to meet you,” the receptionist said as she escorted the reporter into the plush office over looking Star City’s skyline. “Mr. Furst will be in momentarily. Is there anything I can get for you?” the dark-haired woman asked. “Coffee, perhaps, or a taser?”

Lois did a double take, “What did you say?”

“I asked if you’d like coffee or tea.”

“No, thank you.” An odd look passed between them, and for a moment Lois wasn’t sure if the woman was going to leave or not. It seemed as though she didn’t want to, but finally she left the large office.

Lois turned slowly, taking in every inch of the room that she could. She rarely kept a pad of paper with her anymore, choosing instead to use taping devices. There was a large fireplace on the far side of the room, and the picture that hung over it intrigued her. He was royalty of some sort. She had seen the face before, but couldn’t quite place it.

She was so caught up in the painting, that she was startled by Mr. Furst's voice. She hadn’t even heard him come in.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lane, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Quite alright,” she said pleasantly as she took his hand and shook it. The man was dressed in a dark, three piece suit, but she could tell that it didn’t seem to fit him. He wasn’t comfortable in it. “I was just admiring your painting.”

“Ah yes, that is a portrait of King Charles the First. One of the greatest rulers of the three kingdoms. He actually dismantled his Parliament and imprisoned many of his opponents, ruling without one for quite a few years. They called it the Eleven Year Tyranny, but it was also a very prosperous time for England.”

“Are you interested in all British Royalty, or just one’s whose name is so closely related to yours?” she asked with a playful smile.

“Just that one.”

“Isn’t your wife’s name, Elizabeth?” Lois asked suddenly.

“Yes, Elizabeth Furst.”

“What are the odds of that,” Lois mused.

“Do you play the odds, Ms. Lane?”

The sudden shift in question actually caught her off guard for a second. “I’m not much of a gambling woman. I put my faith in what I see and what I know.”

“Like the information on your disc back in Metropolis?” he asked innocently.

Those words ran through her like ice cold waters in her veins “You seem to be well informed, Mr. Furst. I suppose you know why I’m here, then.”

“I know why you thought you were coming here, but I seem to be more informed than you are. There is to be no interview. You came here so that we may hold you until we get the disc back. You’re nothing more than a bargaining chip to us.”

Her mind began to race. What had she done with the disc? It was still in the office back in Metropolis, but they would have surely searched for it. That meant somebody else had it, somebody they didn’t want to have it. Who, though? Clark? Perry? 


“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said as nonchalantly as she could.

He laughed at her. “The ginger-haired boy has the disc, Ms. Lane. We tried to wrest it from him, but we were thwarted by Metropolis’ great protector.”

Now it was Lois’ turn to smile at him. “Superman. Well then, I suppose you know that the jig is up, as they used to say.”

“We know nothing of the sort. It is unfortunate that you discovered our little venture so early. It moved our boss’ time table up a bit quicker, but we were nearly read to move ahead with our plans.”

“Wait a minute. Who is this we you keep talking about? And I thought you were the head of Fero? You’ve got a boss?”

Charles Furst sighed as he seemed to press on one of his gold cufflinks. His form shimmered momentarily before coming back into focus. Now he stood before her with his face and hands as pale as that of an albino’s hand. He no longer wore the suit, but an outfit that was easily recognizable, if not totally strange to her. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he looked just like the…

“King of Diamonds, is my real name. I’m in charge of the Diamond Branch of the organization known as the Deck.”

“Wait a minute,” she said, waving her finger in front of her. She had read something about people dressed up as playing cards. What did they call themselves? The Royal Flush Gang?

As it came back to her, she looked at him a bit puzzled. “King of Diamonds? I thought the Royal Flush Gang was spades?”

“There are four branches to our organization,” the King said as he walked over to his desk and had a seat. “Our Spades Division does have the dubious distinction of also being known as The Royal Flush Gang. They are the most prominent division since they work with the public more than the rest of us… at least as themselves.”

She was shaking on the inside, but she had been in tight situations before, and since this man was obviously one of those that enjoyed hearing himself talk, she knew the best thing she could do was keep him doing just that; at least until she could figure a way out.

“Let me see if I have this straight. The Deck is a world wide conglomerate made up of four divisions, and you are in charge of the Diamond Branch, which works with acquisitions and the business end of things?”

“You catch on quick. Yes, my associates and I do just that. We were the one’s who bought out Luthor Corp. as well as Queen Industries. Our Spade Branch are more field operatives. They help run some of our smaller businesses, but their main purpose is assassination and eliminations.”

Lois motioned to the chair in front of the desk and the King of Diamonds waved magnanimously for her to sit. She did so. “Then there are two other branches, the Hearts and the Clubs. I’m intrigued to know what they do.”

“I’m sure you are. An investigative journalist to the very end, and since this is the end for you, Ms. Lane, I will tell you that our Club Branch is our military branch. The grunts, as it were. Although I’m sure the Royals would not like to be called that.” He chuckled, more to himself than anything.”

“Which leaves the Hearts,” Lois mused. The journalist in her had now taken over to the extent that she was beginning to forget how much danger she was really in. “And since we have the business branch, the military branch, and the assassins, The Hearts would be just that, wouldn’t they. They are the heart of the organization. They coordinate everything and keep things running smoothly.”

“Excellent deduction.” the King said as he applauded her. “Now, this discussion is over for the moment. A couple more of my associates will see to your accommodations, until we get the disc back.”

The door to the office opened and Lois turned to see the Jack and Ten of Diamonds, followed by The King of Spades, enter the room. Lois looked at them, then back to the King of Diamonds. “You’re not very bright, you know. Once Superman finds out what you’re doing, he’s going to come in here and walk through all of you like a hot knife through butter.”

She was startled at the belly laugh that this comment seemed to get from all of them. The King of Diamonds waved his hand, “Oh Ms. Lane, our boss is well prepared Superman.”

“You said it again! Your boss! Who is your boss?”

There was a sudden flash in the room and an older gentleman appeared out of no where. He was wearing a very old fashioned suit and some kind of western hat. “Ah am, little missy.”

“And you are?”

“Oh I go by a few names, but at the moment I liked to be called, the Gambler.”

[/i] Eddie suddenly bellowed in anger. “You are not going to come in here and be the hero again. I’m sick of it. You’ve always got to hog the spotlight. Mister Man-ofAction, who has to save the day. Maybe, just maybe, it’s my turn to save everyone.”

Ollie’s temper flared. “You?! You haven’t done the right thing in so many years you wouldn’t know it if it hit you in the face.”

Eddie’s gun flew up, pointing at Ollie. “Oh look at the pot calling the kettle black. Ever wonder why I’m the only friend you’ve got that keeps hanging around with you? It’s because everyone else eventually gives up on all your bonehead mistakes. I mean, come on, you threw your own partner out on his ear when you discovered he was an addict, and that wasn’t the stupidest move you ever made. Look around you; you couldn’t even keep a hold of your own company.”

Lois’ eyes opened wide. Of course, it made sense. Then she began to feel a bit foolish. How many other men did she know with that kind of facial hair, anyway? Damn, what kind of reporter was she, it was so obvious!

The green arrow was suddenly aimed at Eddie. “Don’t you dare go there! Not from someone who abandoned his own daughter. You’re a moron, Fyers, always have been, always will be.”

Eddie’s eyes blazed and he began to shake with anger, the gun still pointed at his friend. “You want to talk about daddy issues? Why don’t you take a good look in the mirror, pal. You know what, screw this. I know exactly where this is going.” And with that, Eddie took the gun and brought it down hard on top of the King of Diamond’s head. The villain slumped onto his desk.

The two men stared at each other for a moment, the anger slowly ebbing. Green Arrow was the first to speak. “Thanks. I realized the same thing, he had us mind controlled, I just couldn’t snap out of it as quickly.”

The Gambler laughed. “He doesn’t have mind control, son. All my King and Queen of Diamonds can do is manipulate what is already there, buried in someone’s subconscious. That’s the beauty of them two; they just pull it all to the surface so ya’ll can get it off your chest.”

Ollie glanced at Eddie who refused to look back. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. Some of those thoughts had crossed his mind from time to time, but not in any serious fashion… had they? Then his mind snapped to Dinah, and their recent fight, with horrible realization.

Again the Gambler started chuckling. “Yer thinkin’ bout the fight with that pretty little blond of yours, aren’t you? Yeah, think long and hard on that one, 'cause that was all her and all you, son.”

“Stop calling me son,” Green Arrow barked. “Who the hell are you, and why are you doing this? How long have you been working with the Bicycle rejects?”

“I ain’t workin’ with them. They work for me, for my organization. It’s taken me a long time to get where ah am. A long time to finally take back the family business so it can be run the proper way.”

“So the Royal Flush Gang actually works… wait a minute. What do you mean family business?”

“You are as dumb as a mule, boy!” the Gambler said as he walked slowly towards him. “Ah’m standing right in front of you and you can’t even see the family resemblance? How the hell did you even make it where you are today?”

“Not a step closer, old man.”

“Now is that any way to talk to your Great-Great-Great-Grand pappy.”

Ollie’s started to blow off the comment, but looked into the old man’s eyes and hesitated. The eyes, the facial features; they did seem like traits from his father’s side of the family. Especially those blue eyes and that forehead.

“You’re insane,” he muttered. “Even if you were, you’d be dead a long time ago.”

“Oh, ah can see it on your face now. Yer thinkin’ back to the old Queen photos, aren’t you? Yer seein’ the resemblance now; and come on, boy, you’ve been around the block long enough to have seen weirder stuff than this.”

“You… you’re playing mind games with me, and I don’t know why, but this ends now.”

“No, boy, this ends when I say it ends, and I’m no where near done punishing you. Before I kill you, you’re going to suffer for takin’ our fortune and throwing it away like you’ve done.”

“This is insane!” Ollie barked.

“First things first,” Gambler said as he drew out what looked like an old fashioned colt. Green Arrow drew his bow up, but felt it suddenly jerked out of his hands. He turned to watch it float through the air and land at the feet of the Ten of Diamonds.

“Nice trick,” Arrow murmured. “So what else are you planning on doing, gramps?” he asked, making sure the disbelief was thick in his last word.

“Let’s start with this,” Gambler replied as he pulled the trigger on his gun and a small blue projectile shot across the room and struck Eddie right between the eyes.

Lois let out a scream and Green Arrow went to move, but found himself frozen in place. He stared in horror as the gun fell out of Eddie’s hand. He turned and looked at Ollie for a second as the hole in his forehead began to glow a bright blue, then disappeared. Eddie fell to the floor with a loud and sickening thump.

Ollie began to swear like a sailor at the Gambler, when the door to the office blew off of its hinges. Lois and the others turned to see the lobby receptionist come barreling in.

“God-dammit, I’m too late,” she screamed in a rage as she rammed into the Ten of Diamonds. She struck him so hard that he didn’t even have time to let out a cry or defend himself; instead, he flew straight into the office wall, and onto the floor unconscious.

The telekinetic hold he had on Green Arrow was broken. He turned to the dark skinned woman. “I have no idea why you’re here, Grace, but I’m glad to see you. Let’s take them out, and I’m starting with you,” He said as he dove across the desk and tackled the King of Diamonds and both of them falling to the floor.

The King of Spades headed for his old nemesis, but felt himself suddenly falling to the floor as Lois brought her leg out, tripping him. He had no time to regain his balance, and before he could roll over, Lois was up, grabbed the small metal chair, and brought it down on the back of his head. He went out immediately.

Grace was heading towards the Gambler, but a fist to her jaw sent her flying sideways. The Jack of Diamonds grinned at her. “Bet I can hit harder than you can, bitch. I may have a Masters in Business Law, but the boss made sure I was tough enough to bring down the heavy hitters.”

Grace stood back up with a wicked grin. “Buddy, you just bit off way more than you can chew.” They both hurled themselves at each other, their fists actually striking each other with so much force that the concussion shattered the rest of the windows in the office.

Both were knocked backward by the impact, but Grace regained her balance first and leapt onto the Jack, striking him hard several times. “Yeah, you wanna $#%* with the big kids, you better be prepared to get your ass handed to you.”

Green Arrow rose from behind the desk, placing his hat back on his head, but found that the Gambler had disappeared. As had the unconscious Ten of Diamonds and King of Spades. He turned to see Grace get struck in the gut by the Jack of Diamonds knee. As he was preparing a haymaker, she recovered enough to strike him with an upper cut to the chin that sent his body slamming into the ceiling. He fell to the ground, barely conscious.

“Next time, bitch,” he mumbled as he reached for his belt buckle.

“Don’t think so, pasty face,” Grace said as she quickly stepped on his hand. He cried out in pain as she reached down and tore a small device from his belt. She turned to Ollie. “This is how they’ve been doing their vanishing act. No idea what the hell it is, but it’s a pain in the ass, that’s for sure.”

“Green Arrow,” Lois’ urgent cry came from behind the desk.

“Eddie,” Ollie mumbled as he went back to the desk and found Lois checking his best friend’s body. He had practically no color left. “Is he…?”

Lois shook her head, “He’s breathing, but barely. We need to get him to a hospital, now.”

Ollie knelt down, laying his hand on his friend’s chest. “I’m so sorry, Eddie. Hang in there, pal. We’ll get you help. You’re going to be fine.”

After calling nine-one-one, and Mia, Ollie made sure to remove the teleportation device from the King of Diamonds. He went to Grace, who had finished binding the Jack of Diamonds with pieces of metal. The man was unconscious; Ollie decided not to ask how that had happened.

“Why are you here, and make it quick,” Ollie snapped.

“Batwoman sent me here a while ago to infiltrate the company. Right after the team's little run in with Brother Blood. I just recently got some dirt on who they were, but they were watching me pretty close, so I didn’t dare call.”

“Mr. Quee… I mean, Green Arrow,” Lois said as she joined them. “I just got off the phone with my boss. The information that I have to reveal all of this is in the hands of an associate of mine, Jimmy Olsen. That’s the good news.”

“And the bad?”

“It seems that he, Superman, and someone by the name of Connor Hawke, took off for Las Vegas just a few minutes ago.”

This time it was Ollie’s turn to have the color drain out of his face. He turned to Grace. “We’ve got to get back to Vegas, now. If what the Gambler threatened is true, then our friends are about to be in for a world of hurt. They’ll be bringing in everyone from The Deck: Spades, Clubs, the rest of the Diamonds.”

“Then what are we waiting for, let’s go.”

Ollie shook his head. “No, I need you to get a hold of Batwoman and Zatanna. We’re going to need all the power we can muster. You three meet us there.”

“I’m going with you,” Lois stated defiantly.

“Yeah, I know,” Ollie said as he headed for the door, leaving a stunned Lois standing there. “Well, come on!”

She hurried to catch up with him. “Aren’t you going to even try and talk me out of it?”

“Nope, it’s an old routine and with you, it never works, anyway.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Grace called to him as she watched them head down the hallway.

“Better make it quick, sweetheart, cause I’ve got a feeling World War Three is about to start.”


To Be Concluded in The New Outsiders Annual #2[/b]