Target Practice- Part One by: Enemyoffun With her grandfather gone,Olivia has now inherited Queen Industries. But that's the least of her problems what with dealing with the press, the Board of Directors and trying to find the person who hired the assassin in the first place.

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Author's Note: Ok I've written a lot of Retcons over the past several months and after every single one of them, I'm always getting asked the same exact question: when is the next Green Arrow story coming. I avoided any solid answers because I couldn't really come up with a storyline. But after giving it a lot of thought and some quick brainstorming over the last few weeks, I finally came up with one :) So here it is---finally---the sequel to How To Take the Kill Shot. I highly recommend that if you haven't read that story then you better read it before this one. I'd like to thank my beta readers---you know who you are, djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter One:

January 19, 2011

The rain drummed lightly on the roof of the limo, like the pattering of little feet. I was staring out the window, watching the water as it ran slowly down the window. When I was little, I used to play a game while watching the raindrops roll down the glass. I used to pick one of them and pretend it was a race. I’d silently urge on my “rain pony” and see if it could get to the bottom of the window before the others. When the “race” was over, I’d pick a new “pony” and start all over again. It was a silly game but it helped me pass the time, especially on long boring car rides. Staring out the window, I felt like a kid again, silently watching the raindrops race one another to the finish line. It was so innocent, so childlike and so relaxing.

Not like life. Not at all like my life. Nothing was simple or innocent about my life anymore. The Old Man was dead, killed by my old archery teacher. The company was at a standstill and things were going to hell. The vultures were already circling the carcass too, even though it wasn’t fully dead. We lost half our stockholders the moment my grandfather’s coffin went into the ground. I think they were all afraid of the idea that their future was now in the hands of a sixteen year old. Hell, I knew I was. For the first time in twenty years, Queen Industries' sales were at an all time low. There was a lot of name-calling and finger pointing too, the Board was in an uproar and all anyone could do was blame the kid. Like it was my fault, some evil bastard killed my grandfather in his sleep. But no one cared about my feelings, I was the dumb tart from England, the “Luckiest Dumb Blonde on the Planet” as the press were dubbing me. They were already comparing me to Paris Hilton.

I just put my grandfather in the ground no less than twenty-four hours ago and they were already lighting the torches. It was outrageous to say the least. Yesterday’s press conference was all over the news. I was terrified the whole time and it showed. It’s not easy being bombarded by thousands of questions all at once. Scarlett tried to field them but there was no organization. That woman was the worst---Lois Lane. She was the biggest shark of them all. Nothing seemed to please her. I think she was just pissed off that I gave the exclusive to her colleague. But there was no way I was going to let that bitch anywhere near me, not after all the stuff with the Green Arrow nonsense.

I sighed thinking about it. That was the worst part, too. Because of all this crap, I didn’t get any time to sneak off and do my thing. The Tower was swarming with press and paparazzi. All of them camped out on my front lawn, waiting for the elusive Bimbo to show her face. Last night someone robbed a bank and the Green Arrow was nowhere to stop it. The day before that there was a car jacking right out in front of the building, in full view of the press and their cameras. All they could do was stop and take pictures. I watched the scene from the closed circuit cameras in stunned silence as the bastards snapped away while a poor innocent man was held up at gunpoint. By the time my security managed to push their way through the crowd, the mugger was long gone. The Green Arrow couldn’t act then either. When I put on the costume I thought things were going to be simple, I thought my life was going to be simple. Now I was finding it hard even to look out my window anymore. How can someone save the city when the whole of its news media was watching her twenty-four seven.

It sucks being a superhero and a billionairess.

I sighed again, banging my head against the glass.

“You’re lucky those windows are tinted,” said the curt voice of Scarlet. “If not you might find that unbecoming pose of yours plastered all over the front page of some rag?”

I scuffed. “Bimbo Under Glass, see story on page 3.”

She sighed. “It’s not that bad and you know it.”

I pulled my head away from the window and turned to her. She was sitting like she owned the world; her legs crossed nicely, no runs in her hose, her shoes worth more than the car we were currently driving in. Not that my shoes weren’t either. Scarlet Jefferies was my grandfather’s Chief of Staff; she ran everything about his life and now mine by extension. She was forty-two; her hair was always piled on top of her head and was more gray than brown. I think it was the stress. She always dressed conservatively; today it was a nice blouse and pencil skirt. Sitting next to her was a bulk of a man in a tailored charcoal colored suit, his head shaved bald, wearing dark shades. He was Spencer, the second half of my grandfather’s personal bodyguard duo. Locke---his other---was in the front of the limo with the driver. With my grandfather now gone, I inherited both of them.Back from the dead too apparently. When Merlyn killed the Old Man, he left the two of them for dead. It wasn't like him to be so sloppy but they both were alive and well.

Lucky me.

“How much worse can it get” I fired back, annoyed. “They think I’m some ditz ready to use my grandfather’s credit card to buy Guam or something.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “They’ve been harsh I’ll give you that but you have to understand, your grandfather was this City. Without him things are going to be rough for a while.”

I nodded. It was no secret that the Old Man helped make San Francisco. His telecommunication branch alone bought and paid for most of the city. In fact, there was a rumor going around that we had more satellites in the air than even the US government. It was an understatement to say that we or rather he created “Star City”.

Without Jameson Queen, there would be no Star City. Right now things were running a little chaotic, the city and its people running a little scared. I think everyone thought I was going to drive things into the ground. It was a scary notion and they wouldn’t be that far off. Yes, I’d been studying the books my grandfather made me read but I was far from running a huge company. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to run the company. I was only fifteen---sixteen if you counted the lie the Old Man told. I was far too young to be running a billion dollar conglomerate. Even Bruce Wayne had help when he took over his company from his parents and he wasn’t even ten then. But people were comparing me to Wayne and not in a good way. I was a blonde girl who came out of nowhere, I was pretty and cute and non-existent. I was labeled a recluse immediately because I didn’t hit the club scene in LA with the likes of Paris and Lindsay and that Kardashian girl with the big butt. It scared the press that I wasn’t a party girl. It also annoyed them because I wasn’t out doing stupid things and whole likes to read about a boring heiress.

I smacked my head on the glass again. This time I let my forehead slide slowly down it so I made an annoying sound as my head squeaked against it.

“Olivia, can you please?” asked Scarlet.

I pulled my head away. “Can’t we turn the car around and forget all this?”

Scarlet looked like she’d swallowed a gold fish. She was one of those people that had everything planned out way in advance. This stop was only the first of many for us. But it was still the one stop I was dreading more than any. I knew it was coming of course, it was inevitable. But I still didn’t like the idea of it. I mean who likes to meet with lawyers and discuss things that were hashed out probably years in advance.

“You can’t skip this,” she said, looking at her Qpad. “It’s very important for the future of your company.”

I shook my head. “His company. I don’t want this, I never wanted it.”

Scarlet pursed her lips. Though she hadn’t been present, my argument with the old man that day was pretty common knowledge around the Tower. Though most of the content was still between those in the room, it was spread around pretty quickly how I blatantly refused to take over the company when the Old Man died. Even when I did the press conference after my grandfather’s funeral, I made it clear that I was going to leave the company in better hands. It was a statement I made without any advisement and one that quickly pissed a lot of people off. The press twisted it in the papers, making me sound like a spoiled party girl. That’s when the “Bimbo” and “Tart” started. It was only yesterday and already everyone wanted to string me up and beat me with sticks.

Scarlet remained calm. But I could tell she was annoyed again, I could hear it in her voice. “Regardless of what you may think, this is now your company. Though it’s not official, there is no way that you’re going to escape this responsibility young lady. The sooner you accept that, the better life will be for you.”

“A life you two created for me.”

She didn’t say anything. How could she after all when we both knew it was the truth. A few months ago, there was no Olivia Queen, only Jonas Oliver. I was happy being a nobody, happy being the girly boy with the breasts that all the guys thought was a girl, happy with my two friends and being anonymous as far as the world knew. Then the Old Man had to come into my life. I wish I’d known ahead of time that he was going to ambush me in that diner. If I had, I would have turned the other way and run like hell. But I didn’t run and I let him railroad me into all this crap. First, the changing of my name and making me pretend to be his sixteen-year-old granddaughter. Then the girl lessons and his trying to groom me into taking over for him. The tip of the iceberg was our big argument, the one in which he told me he knew all about the Green Arrow and wanted me to quit. That one stung more than anything else. All that man did was take and it pissed me off.

Scarlet shifted on her seat ever so slightly. She looked a little upset. I frowned. “I’m sorry” said, finally with a sigh. “I’ve been having trouble processing all of this.”

She smiled sadly and reached forward, giving my knee a gentle squeeze. “Your grandfather’s untimely demise took us all a little by surprise dear. We have been preparing for it for a while now but none of us thought it would end the way it did.”

I nodded, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. I turned away and wiped it off before either she or Spencer saw. The last thing I wanted was for either of them to see me cry. I was done crying, done mourning for a man I barely knew. Did his death shock me? Yes! Did I want revenge for it, more than anything? I thought it ended with Merlyn but then I remembered what he said: he was only the hired hand. Someone paid him to kill the Old Man and that someone was still out there. Last night after the press conference I made a few calls, found a private investigator I could trust and told him I’d pay whatever he wanted as long as he could find me something on the hit put out on my grandfather. I asked Mia to look into it as well. If anyone could find anything, it was her.

“I’m sorry” said Scarlet softly, reaching for my knee again.

I shook my head, still unable to face her as the tears flowed more freely now. “I’m ok,” I said, trying to hide the pain in my voice. I took a deep breath and spoke with a more reassuring tone. “I’m good really. I just…I’m not sure if I can do this.”

Scarlet moved from her seat and sat down next to me. She did something unexpected then. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close, allowing me to rest my head on her shoulder. Scarlet was far from being a comforting person. In fact, I was pretty certain there wasn’t a nurturing bone in her body. But for her to do something like this meant a lot. She held me for only a minute or two before letting go and straightening the front of her blouse. Then she did the same to her bun, making sure not a strand of hair was out of place. I couldn’t help but scoff.

“You can and you will do this,” she said assertively.

“What if it goes badly?”

She laughed. “Have you ever been at the reading of a Will?”

I shook my head. If my parents had a Will I wasn’t there when they read it. My grandfather handled all that stuff without me. I know everything of theirs was put into my name but I’m not sure if that was their wishes or if he did that on his own. Neither of my parents made a lot of money but if I’d been a normal kid, I would have been fairly well off. But as it turned out, I was far from normal. I was the grandson---now granddaughter---of Jameson Queen, well the former Jameson Queen now. I was set to inherit billions of dollars. It was quite daunting to think about. I was just scared that the Will left me out completely. I wasn’t scared about losing a massive fortune; the money didn’t mean all that much to me. I was scared that he didn’t care about me enough. Before I met him in the diner, that was the first time I’d ever seen him face to face. Hell, I was surprised he knew my name then.

Now I was scared that he forgot it.

I started crying again. Scarlet didn’t hug me again but she did take my hand. “It’s going to be all right, you’ll see. Your grandfather didn’t forget you.”

I smiled, wiping away the tears. How did she know? She winked but said nothing more on the subject.

Then she looked at her watch, sighing. “Now can we please get out of this car and go into the building?”

I sighed heavily. We’d been parked in front of the lawyer’s office the whole time, for almost thirty minutes now in fact. The Will reading was actually supposed to start ten minutes ago. This whole time I was just too afraid to get out of the car. Outside there was a crowd of reporters and bastards with cameras just waiting for me to get out? I had tried to ignore them before but it was hard to when they were practically pressed up against the car. It was a scary thing knowing that all these people were out there waiting for me, ready to call me horrible names and print lies about me again.

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Ok, I think I’m ready.”

Scarlet sighed. “Finally.”

Spencer leaned forward and tapped on the partition. A few moments later I watched the driver walk around to my side of the car. I took a deep breath as he opened the door and held an umbrella open for me. I took a deep breath, squinted at all the flashes and stepped out of the car. As soon as I did there was a rush of people, cameras going off, my name shouted over and over again as microphones and mini tape recorders were shoved in my direction. Locke was immediately at my side as he took the umbrella from the driver. Spencer was there too, acting as a giant barricade as we pushed our way through the crowd. The reporters pushed and shoved, trying to get in my reaction. One of them actually grabbed my hair, a felt a tug and some of it actually got yanked from my head. That hurt like a bitch.

Finally though my goons were able to push their way through the mess. I turned only to look at the crowd of Sharks for a moment before I was ushered into the building, glad that at least that treacherous part was over. Now all I had to deal with was the Vultures upstairs and I’d be home free. I felt the dread swell up inside of me---along with my breakfast. But I forced it all down and slowly followed the goons as they ushered me through the lobby and toward the elevators.

My grandfather’s lawyers were Pierce, Pruitt and Peterson. They were big time in this city, with clientele ranging from someone like the old man through actors and politicians. They boasted a lot and had a reputation to back it up. They were one of those big firms that liked to get their name in the news. It was hard not to watch anything high profile and not hear P, P, and P were involved. Standing in the glass elevator, on my way to the twentieth floor was a little daunting though. They had an impressive building, not Queen Tower impressive but still slightly intimidating. There was nothing warm or welcoming about this place at all. At least the Tower had the feel of being welcome. This place was cold and fierce. Everything was stainless steel and glass, lots of sharp edges, no room for comfort. Everyone dressed sharply too and no one seemed to have any manners.

The receptionist for instance had a cruel face. When she saw us enter the building while security held off my unwanted entourage, she turned her nose up at me. I couldn’t help but feel her eyes on me the whole way into the elevator too.

Now that the elevator was finally coming to a stop on our floor, I couldn’t help but feel the butterflies. I was about to walk into a room where my whole future was going to be laid out for me. It was definitely scary. If the Old Man left me nothing then I was fine with that. I still had the house and the money from my parents. It might take a little work but I could get myself emancipated and live alone. Most of my time would be spent at school anyway. Thankfully not that Elias place. I was still technically enrolled but they were giving me some time before I reported for my first class. I talked to the Head Mistress last night about it; she wanted to make sure I had time to mourn. I was suppose to report to class next week. But I was pretty confident I wouldn’t be reporting at all. I’d make other arrangements; maybe even go back to Jack Kirby.

When the doors opened, I was greeted by that same cold interior from the lobby. The little foyer we stepped out in was anything but pleasant. The floors were made of cold white marble; the walls mostly glass. The only color was from a drab print on the wall, some modern art piece of crap with a few blobs of paint on a plain white canvas. Who called that art? There wasn’t even a potted plant. At least the Tower had good art on the walls and shrubbery. We also had class and friendly people who actually smiled when you approached them. If there was a Hell, I suspected it was very much like this lawyer’s office.

“With their money and rep, you’d think they’d be able to afford an interior decorator or something” I found myself saying aloud.

One of the goons---I’m not sure which---snorted.

Scarlet made a tutting sound. “Your grandfather was a highly respected client of theirs. I think it would be wise not to get off on the wrong foot by insulting them.”

I laughed. “Shouldn’t that be the other way around? I mean I’m the wealthy client, shouldn’t they bend over backwards so they don’t offend me?”

Scarlet looked a bit flustered. I couldn’t help but smile. Making her flustered made me feel a lot better. She seemed to think over an appropriate response but never got the chance to say it. Our conversation was interrupted by the clack of heels. I turned and looked toward the hall as a smartly dressed young black woman came toward us. When she got closer, I realized how young she really was. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. She was wearing a gray pants suit, holding an attaché case. She was cute but I felt no attraction toward her. It was one of the perks of being me. Though I appeared female, I wasn’t fully one. I never was fully male either. I did have a crush on a girl named Sandra, we went to a dance together actually---but looking back on it I can’t help but wonder if I didn’t see her more as a role model than a girlfriend.

This girl would have definitely been someone to possibly consider as girlfriend material.

“Miss Queen?” she asked as she stopped in front of us, a bit of nervousness in her voice. I nodded and I saw her physically relax, dropping her shoulders a bit. “I’m Joanna Pierce, my fath…I mean Mr. Pierce has asked me to escort you to Conference Room One.”

Her father? Well I guess that makes sense. After all the Old Man was grooming me to replace him so why wouldn’t Jackson Pierce be doing the same.

I smiled at her. “Lead the way.”

She nodded and slowly turned, making sure we followed her as she led the way down the hall. I was expecting some of the Pierce family to be present here but there was none of that, besides the name of course. Though Jackson was a big name in these parts, his brother was the bigger one by far. Jefferson Pierce was a former Olympic athlete. He was retired from that life now but he’s a big something in Chicago. You hear his name in the news every now and again. But around here, it’s like the man didn’t even exist. If my brother were a big athlete, I’d at least have a framed poster of him or something. There was none of that; it was like Jackson was jealous of the man or something.

I managed to sidle up next to Joanna as we walked. “Your father and his brother don’t get along?”

She looked shocked that I figured out some things. She recovered quickly. “My father doesn’t like to mix the personal with business.”

I nodded. “My grandfather was the same way”

She smiled. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

I smiled back and thanked her.

We got to talking as we walked side by side. She was twenty-five, just finished up a Master’s. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to pursue law or not. She was in the interim at the moment, trying to find herself. To help her make up her mind, her father got her a job as a paralegal at his firm. When I started talking about myself a bit, she seemed really interested. I guess it’s not every day that you meet someone who could potentially inherit billions of dollars in the next few minutes. We tried not to talk about the money though. Instead, she switched topics to her cousin Anissa. Anissa was about my age, she lived in Chicago. She was a big time track star or at least she was striving to be. Joanna was a bit worried about her though too.
“She’s involved with this group,” she said as we stopped at the conference room. “It’s some strange thing with a health club or something.”

She shook her head and sighed as she opened the door. I was about to tell her everything was probably all right but didn’t get a chance. The conference room had those double doors and as soon as she opened them, everyone in the room looked right at me. I scanned the faces, my heart skipping a beat. Now I knew exactly how a deer in headlights felt. It took Scarlet’s hand on my arm to snap me out of my momentary brain freeze. I shook my head and smiled as I walked into the room, Scarlet and the goons following. I turned slightly to see Joanna wave and shut the door. I quickly snapped back to the suits in the room, all sitting at a really long mahogany table. I looked from face to face trying to recognize them but I couldn’t. When I got to the lone woman in the room, I couldn’t help but feel she didn’t belong. Who wears a red dress to a thing like this?

She was blonde and young too, twenties tops. She had vibrant red lipstick and long fingernails. Everything about her screamed tramp to me. She couldn’t help but stare at me too, like she was sizing me up. We locked eyes for a while until she finally got bored and pulled a compact from her little clutch. She turned around and touched up her lipstick.

“Miss Queen” said a tall African American man at the head of the table.

When he stood, I couldn’t help but feel small. Most of his hair was still black but it was slowly going gray, especially around the temples. He had this authority about him and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why he wanted to sit at the head of this very long table. He liked being in power and he liked everyone to know it. I recognized him as Jackson Pierce almost immediately. His face was plastered all over the television whenever someone important did something stupid. P, P, and P dealt with criminal law mostly but they branched out into so many other things as well.

“Mr. Pierce” I said, trying to match his tone but failing miserably.

I once fought a four hundred pound behemoth with rock hard skin. I’d take him over Jackson Pierce any day of the week.

He took off his glasses. “Why don’t you take a seat Miss Queen so we can finally get this thing started?”

I quickly slipped into the nearest seat, making sure it was away from the red dressed viper in the Prada shoes. Sitting next to her was a tall thin man in a suit. I could only assume it was her lawyer. I looked around the table; there were a lot of men in suits actually. I felt kinda nervous now. Sitting on Mr. Pierce’s immediate left was a man in a black suit and yellow tie. His hair was slicked back and could small his overpriced cologne from halfway across the room. This guy was drop dead gorgeous with a smile that could light up the room. But looking at his suit, I couldn’t have been more disgusted. The suit was really high end---I know because my grandfather used to wear similar ones. But it was the cufflinks that did me in. I knew those too and for him to be wearing a pair of those, he must have been a moron who liked to blow his money.

“Good, now that we’re all here and properly seated” said Mr. Pierce “I believe we can begin.” There were nods from all around. I was still really confused. “Now before we start are there any questions?”

“I have one,” I said quickly, causing every head in the room to turn toward me. I gulped but recovered quickly. “Was I supposed to have a lawyer as well?”

There was a light chuckle. I felt like an ass for asking. Mr. Pierce rubbed his temples. “Not usually but given the circumstance it would have been wise to bring your own legal counsel.”

“Seriously?” I said “I mean we’re reading a Will right? I mean I don’t plan on being sued because I got more than someone else for instance.”

There was another round of laughter. Apparently, I was missing something.

Pierce groaned. “This isn’t a Will reading Miss Queen. Contrary to what you might see on TV and in movies, most Will’s are passed among the parties involved. If I am correct to assume so, you received a copy.”

I turned to Scarlet, she nodded. Now I was really confused. If this wasn’t a Will reading than what the hell was I doing here?

I felt all the eyes in the room on me. I felt more than a little embarrassed. This wasn’t my world; these weren’t people I wanted to hang out with on a daily basis. These were all people out to get something from me. I had no idea what was going on but apparently, they weren’t too thrilled to have me there. Hell, I wasn’t too thrilled to be here. I thought I was coming in to listen to some jackass read a Will to me. The room was definitely filled with jackasses; the only thing missing was the Will. Instead, it was people I didn’t know and their lawyers. If I didn’t need her, I would have so fired Scarlet on the spot. But I knew without her I was way more screwed than I already was.

What made it worse was the way the woman in red seemed to glare at me. What the hell was her problem anyway?

Mr. Pierce cleared his throat. “Now that the asinine questions are out of the way” There was more chuckling. “We can get down to business.”

I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Instead, I sat and listened as a room full of suits discussed the future of my company. Well it’s not technically mine until I turn twenty-one, per my grandfather’s request apparently. The gorgeous man in the expensive cologne was Walter Steele, the new CEO of Queen Industries. Well, acting CEO actually. He would be the guy in charge until I was old enough to take over. I was apparently Chairwoman of the Board or whatever they called it. Apparently, they were trying to hash all that stuff out here today. Most of the suits---minus the lawyers were Board members save one who seemed to be a proxy. I had no idea that other billionaires could be Board members for other companies. The proxy was actually standing in for Mr. Wayne, as in Bruce Wayne.

But being Chair was only a small shocker.

The biggest shocker was the woman in the red dress. I was confused as to who she was until Mr. Pierce finally addressed her. “What say you Mrs. Queen?”

The woman looked around, until she realized the man was looking at her. I was confused as all hell. Was she a relative I didn’t know about? I knew for a fact that he wasn’t calling me “Mrs.” because of the way her emphasized Miss when he spoke to me.

“I’m sorry,” said the woman with a laugh. “I don’t go by Queen. It’s Isabel or Miss Rochev. Jamie never wanted me to take his name, said that that honor was for his late wife only.”

I nearly spit my water all over the table. Late wife? What the fuck? The Old Man was married. I turned to Scarlet; she turned a few shades of white. I think she realized then just how much I was unprepared for this meeting. I shot her daggers to which she turned and looked away, clearly surprised that I didn’t know. A small part of me wanted to resurrect the old bastard just so I could kill him with my own two hands. He was married and never told me. Not only that but she was some dumb blonde bimbo who didn’t even know her own name.

I wanted to scream. Instead, I sipped my water and visualized firing a green arrow into the back of this woman’s head.

This was definitely not the meeting I was planning on at all.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF