Chapter 11: Trust and the Royal Flush Gang
Adam Stiels, PI and part-time sarcastic vigilante, was in a good mood. He was in the Arrow Cave, a place he now considered his second home, and he was working on a puzzle with Felicity. The puzzle was of a cat playing a cello, and it was a surprisingly difficult puzzle.
"This is it. The calm before the storm. The quiet moment before the chaos. The peaceful cat playing the cello before the brooding archer starts to brood about a new villain. It's a real art form, this whole superhero life. The long hours, the constant danger, the occasional puzzle of a cat playing a cello. It's a lot to take in."
Oliver, meanwhile, was doing his salmon ladder workout. He was doing it with a level of intensity that suggested he was trying to exorcise a demon, or a really bad ex-girlfriend. Adam just watched him, a grin on his face.
"You know," he said, "I think I figured it out. The purpose of the salmon ladder. It's not for strength. It's for character development. It's a visual metaphor for your life. You're always climbing up, only to fall back down. It's very dramatic. Very CW."
Oliver just grunted, his face a mask of sweat and pain. Diggle, who was standing nearby, just shook his head. "Don't encourage him, Adam."
"I'm just giving him a little friendly feedback," Adam said with a shrug. "It's what friends do."
The mood, however, shifted when Felicity's computer started to beep. It was a news report. The Royal Flush Gang had returned. They were a group of thieves who wore playing card masks, and they were, as Adam so eloquently put it, "really, really bad at poker."
Oliver's face darkened. "The Royal Flush Gang," he said, his voice a low growl. "My father… he told me about them."
Adam, with his meta-knowledge, knew that this was a painful memory for Oliver. He knew that the Royal Flush Gang was a symbol of his father's failure, a symbol of the city he had failed to save. He knew that this was a moment of weakness, a moment of vulnerability.
[Mission: Help Oliver trust his team.]
Adam sighed. "Guido, you're a real pain, you know that? I have to be a therapist and a superhero. I'm starting to think my job title should be 'Sarcastic Life Coach with a Bow and Arrow.' It has a nice ring to it."
He knew he couldn't just tell Oliver to trust his team. That would just make him more rebellious. He had to be subtle. He had to use his Gu. He had to be a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A sarcastic, chaotic, and very-much-not-a-hero protector.
He focused on his B-Rank Mind Gu. He wasn't controlling Oliver's mind, just nudging his thoughts, a little whisper in the back of his head. He made him think about Diggle's loyalty, about Felicity's genius, about Adam's… well, Adam's unwavering support, and his incredible sarcasm.
He made him think about how they were a team. A family. A group of misfits who were all just trying to do the right thing.
When they finally found the Royal Flush Gang's hideout, Adam used his C-Rank Tracking Gu. He located them in an abandoned casino, a place where they were, as he so eloquently put it, "really bad at poker."
The team, led by Oliver, went in. They took down the gang, and they recovered the stolen money. It was a good night. A very good night.
When they were back in the Arrow Cave, Oliver looked at Adam. "How did you know they would be there?" he asked, his voice a mix of awe and suspicion.
"I'm a good PI," Adam said, shrugging. "And a really, really bad poker player. I know a bad poker face when I see one. And those guys have a really bad poker face."
Oliver just shook his head, a faint, almost invisible smile on his face. He didn't thank Adam. He didn't have to. The trust was there. It was a silent understanding.
[Mission Complete. Oliver trusts his team.]
[Reward: B-Rank Trust Gu and 1,000 Coins.]
[Gu Acquired: B-Rank Trust Gu.]
[Coins Acquired: 1,000.]
He felt a new, powerful buzzing sensation in his gut. The Trust Gu. A Gu that could subtly influence trust, that could make people more open to one another. A Gu that could make him a master of emotional manipulation. A sarcastic, pop-culture-obsessed master of emotional manipulation.
"A Trust Gu. This is going to be so much fun. I can finally make Oliver trust me enough to let me try on his leather jacket. Or make Felicity trust me enough to let me hack her computer. The possibilities are endless. I'm a matchmaker now. A very, very sarcastic matchmaker. It's a good look for me."
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