“What’s her name? How did she end up in the system?”
--
On her end of the line, Janet relaxed a bit. That she could give out if he was going to take her in. He’d find out eventually anyway.
“It isn’t for anything that she’s done,” that was a good way to start. Not necessarily ACCURATE... but moving on. That was a complicated mess wasn’t it? “The mother was reported to child protective services in Manchester, Alabama.” She didn’t have to get any more specific as to what kind of endangerment. “She fled the state with the girl in tow and agents finally caught up with them here in New York.” She sighed. “She was removed from her mother’s custody after a hearing.”
She trailed off, knowing that half of that was a matter of if Cissie wanted to see her mother.
“Her name is Suzanne King-Jones, she goes by Cissie.”
--
It was hard to render Oliver speechless. All he could think was, “Damn, that poor kid.”
There was a woman Ollie wished he could forget. Bonnie epitomized the rule why you should never date or sleep with fangirls, no matter how hot they were. She was crazy.
Ollie couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Cissie, as Bonnie’s daughter, to have to endure living with her mother. The mere memory of his encounters with the woman had him craving a good, strong scotch.
As it was, he muttered, “Christ, Bonnie...”
--
The words came across on the phone and for a moment she paused. Had he just said Bonnie? She hadn’t mentioned the mother’s name. Not once. So the fact that Oliver Queen knew the name already...
“You’re... familiar the mother?” That was interesting. Where would someone like Oliver Queen have come across Bonnie King? Well they were both from Star City, that was a given... Was the fact that he was apparently familiar going to make putting Cissie there a bad idea?
She hoped not. She really hoped not. But if it turned out to be, maybe he could give her a recommendation after all...
--
“You could say that,” Ollie said. Suddenly, things were awkward. He wracked his brain for a way to explain his history with Bonnie without revealing his secret identity. He went for a glossed over version of the truth:
“I’ve been an archery enthusiast all my life, and Bonnie King was something of a hometown celebrity after the Olympics. That’s how I met her,” he said. Ollie was deliberately vague with details, hoping Janet would accept his story. “At the time, she was interested in pursuing more... but things didn’t work out the way she wanted. Story of her life, if you ask Bonnie.”
--
Janet had to wonder if this would make things easier or harder. Cissie had never mentioned that she knew this man, at least not personally (then again who didn’t know who Oliver Queen was?). So it shouldn’t be an issue. Assuming that her mother wasn’t brought up… at least that’s what she thought.
“Yes… I’ve spoken to her and read her file.” Other than that Janet didn’t say much more on the topic of Bonnie King. It wasn’t a topic she liked very much. After all she had turned her daughter into a superhero! “It’s rather fortunate though, Cissie is an archery enthusiast too. She’s on the Hawthorne Academy team.” And truth? It was probably the best way to get her to open up.
The caseworker made a few notes on the pad in front of her. “I think that this will work out, Oliver. And I want to thank you for your assistance…” she paused. “With your permission, I’d like to meet with you face to face to discuss a few more sensitive items, and then I can get started on the mountain of paperwork that the state requires…”