The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 44

'Where have you been?' Lucas exclaimed as I rejoined the team outside Simon's cell.

'When the lights went off I found my way to the controls room and turned them back on,' I lied. I couldn't just tell them a guy dressed in a yellow supervillain suit had nearly tried to murder me. And anyway, Red Suit had told me to use this cover story, and I had no other ideas.

'Oh, that explains why the lights came on,' Lucas falsely realised. 'But, we still have no clue as to where Simon is. We're going to have to call off the search until some new evidence comes up, but right now, all we can do is prepare ourselves for meeting him again.'

---

'Hey,' Tommy greeted me. 'How was work?'

'Not good,' I said dismally, annoyed at Simon escaping.

'Are you alright?' Tommy asked, concerned, like pretty much everyone lately. But I did have a lot on my mind, and this clearly showed through to everyone around me.

'It's Simon,' I said, realising that Tommy needed to know about what happened. He deserved know, since he also had been abducted by Simon and had helped lock him away too.

'Why?' Tommy worried. 'Has he-has he escaped?'

'Unfortunately,' I said gravely. 'And he left without a trace. He just... disappeared.'

'Do you-do you know who-broke him out?' Tommy panicked, pushing his hair back in stress. 'It's not like he could do it a-alone!'

'No,' I lied. I didn't want Tommy to get involved with Yellow Suit as well. It was my battle I had to face, not Tommy's.

'But, how?' He sat down, nearly lost for words.

---

Back in training, I awaited my first lesson on weapons. And Malcolm was strangely late.

'Malcolm, where are you?!' I shouted at the ceiling, exasperated. I could have been out with Laurel, Oliver and Tommy, but instead I was stuck down here, alone.

Suddenly, my phone rung from my jeans pocket. Immediately, I took it out and held the device to my ear.

'Hey Aria, it's Lucas,' Lucas said, just like the last time I had been in training. It was like the same thing was happening again as it did yesterday. 'You better come quick. There's something you'll want to see.'

Confused, I ended the call and rushed down to the SCPD.

---

When I entered the building, all I could see was a barrier of people surrounding something, whispers going round the crowd in the excitement of an event. And clearly it was all to do with what was in the centre of the room, which I couldn't see due to all of the people in the way.

'Excuse me,' I said rather loudly, trying to be as polite as I could as I pushed in through the crowds.

As I was allowed through, I could see people looking at me and whispering things, making me feel on edge and rather worried. Why was I so important in all of this?

And then I saw what all the fuss was about.

Letting out a cry, I tried to look away. By I couldn't. I couldn't deny what I had just seen.

It was Simon, led on the floor, all the life drained out of him, merely a corpse that met a bitter end. A black arrow was sunk in his chest, right where his heart was, a note tied to the tail of the arrow with the words 'you're welcome' scrawled on it. And it was obvious who had done the deed.

Malcolm.

'When... did this happen?' I trembled as I asked Lucas. It wasn't everyday that you saw a guy, regardless of his crimes, with an arrow in his chest.