Actions

Work Header

I Scream But No Sound Comes out

Summary:

When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

Notes:

This story came from one idea I had, which was 'what if Oliver's PTSD wasn't so easy to hide or ignore'.

Chapter Text

Oliver stood looking out over the Starling City skyline as Dr. Lamb and his mother spoke out in the hallway. He knew what was going to happen in a few moments. Moira would come into the room to tell him how happy she was he was alive, only to learn how much he’d changed in the last five years. He needed to treasure these last few moments before reality set in for her.

“Has he said anything about what happened?”

“He hasn’t said anything. I want you to prepare yourself, the Oliver you lost might not be the one they found.”

Soon, far sooner than he would’ve liked, the door opened behind Oliver and his mother stepped into the room.

“Oliver?” He turned and gave his mother a sad smile before walking closer to her. “Oh, my beautiful boy. I missed you so much.” He didn’t respond but hugged his mother tighter. They broke apart a few seconds later. “When I got that call from the embassy, I couldn’t- it was like a dream come true.” It was at this moment that Moira Queen realized something. “Oliver, please say something.”

He took a few steps back and shook his head. He didn’t speak, he couldn’t make the words come out. He gestured to the doctor with two hands, miming writing something with a pen. Lamb handed him a pen and a notepad, and he began to write something down. He held the paper up so Moira could see.

I can’t.

“Doctor? Why didn’t you tell me-?”

“His mutism isn’t caused by a physical injury. His throat, esophagus and vocal chords are all perfectly intact. The old term for it was selective mutism, where a person is physically capable of speaking but doesn’t for an unknown reason. Its widely believed to be a result of trauma.”

“Can he recover?”

“Yes, its possible but it won’t be an easy or short process.”

Oliver had to stay overnight for observation, so Moira went home to break the news to Thea, Tommy and Walter. All three reacted similar to how Moira had. She wasn’t sure any of them truly believed it.

The week after Oliver came home was frustrating for everyone. Sure, he could use his phone to text people, but it felt weird and rude to do when face-to-face with someone so he relied on writing things down. He could tell they were getting annoyed at having to stop and read his responses for every conversation. Thea kept trying to make him talk, to make him say anything and became annoyed when it didn’t work. His mother seemed dead set on filling all the silence. In addition, it felt like they were suffocating him, always wanting to be there in case he needed anything. On the eighth day he was home, Tommy made a suggestion. He could tell Oliver was getting frustrated with trying to talk to his family and often feeling ignored.

“Why don’t we all learn ASL? That way he doesn’t have to write everything down.”

“I’m not sure that’s-“

Before she could finish, Oliver knocked on the table once to get their attention. He held up his notepad.

I know some ASL already. I think it’s a great idea.

“I know it sounds like a good idea Oliver, but the doctor said you would recover and speak again. we just need to be patient.”

Oliver was too upset at his mother’s blasé attitude to point out that Lamb said he might recover, and he might speak again. Might and will were two different things.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Oliver starts his mission and hits a bit of a snag, and a few people make a first appearance.

Notes:

PLEASE READ:
1) So, Oliver's still gonna be a vigilante. Due to his condition, he has to make a few adjustments. Oliver and Tommy weren't kidnapped, because Moira thought it would be a waste of time.
2)I'm adding some minor, background details/story for a few characters.

Chapter Text

Laurel paused and put her cup down as Tommy finished his sentence. “Did you ask me to get coffee with you just to try and make me forgive Ollie?”

“What? No, I- its been the elephant in the room for a week and it just kinda occurred to me that you might still be angry. Understandably.”

“If he wants my forgiveness, why isn’t he here to ask for it himself?”

Tommy froze while thinking of an answer. Oliver’s condition was his private business and it wasn’t his place to tell Laurel about Oliver’s mutism. “About that, he’s….. he’s not in a good place. He can’t- I’m positive he wants to talk to you, but he can’t.” he sighed. “Let’s talk about something else.”

 

Oliver snuck into his target’s office. Adam Hunt was still at the office, no doubt finding new innocent people to swindle out of their life’s savings. He was so focused on his work, he didn’t look up to see who was there or even comment. Last night, he'd sent an untraceable e-mail to Hunt, ordering him to return the money he'd stolen from people. Oliver nocked an arrow and fired so that it would miss Hunt’s head by a few inches. That got his attention.

“Who-? What do you want?”

Oliver pressed a button inside the sleeve of his jacket.

A male voice that sounded a little robotic spoke. “You have failed this city.” Seconds later, Hunt’s security showed up and Oliver made his escape out of the window. He’d sent his message; the router arrow would do the rest.

Oliver let out a sigh as he made it back to his father’s old steel factory that he was using as a base. One name down, countless others to go. First, though, he needed to fix the recording he used. It still sounded too robotic in his opinion. He wanted it to sound like a human voice being run through a modulator, not a talking computer. He worked on that for a few hours, unsuccessfully, before heading home.

 

Two days later, Oliver’s phone broke. Since that was his main way to communicate with people, he needed to get it fixed, fast. Walter mentioned a QC employee who could help.

Oliver found himself knocking on the door to Felicity Smoak’s office the following morning. She spun around and he saw that she had blonde hair, square glasses and was chewing on a red pen.

“Can I help you?”

He handed her the note he’d written on the ride over. Hi, my name is Oliver Queen. I was wondering if you could help me.

“No problem. What’s the issue?” she asked. He began writing something down when she spoke again. “Wait, not to be rude, but it just occurred to me that you might be deaf or hard of hearing and me talking wouldn’t help that much. Can you hear me?” He nodded. “Would signing be easier? If you know ASL that is, I don’t know if you do. Not that you have to learn it, I think more people should but- I’m gonna stop now.”

She thought it was a little odd that he didn’t just say what he wanted, but she supposed he had a good reason for not talking and didn’t want to push him. it wasn’t her business anyway.

He didn’t make any noise, but judging by the way his shoulders moved up and down, he was laughing at her babbling. He also had a smile on his face. He slowly signed “I know some ASL, but I am not very good” to her.

“That’s okay. I just didn’t want to make you write if signing was easier for you. How can I help you?”

My phone broke. I mostly communicate via text. Walter said you might be able to fix it. He handed her his phone.

She looked the device over before turning back to him. “I can fix this. I can also- if you want, I know an app or two that you might find useful.”

How?

“You type in what you want to say and it reads it aloud.” She told him. He looked unsure, so she started to backtrack. “Only if you want. And I’m sensing that you aren’t interested. Forget I said anything.”

I need to think about it. If I change my mind, can I come back and have you download it for me?

“Yeah, no problem.” She removed the back of the phone to start repairing it. “This might take a little bit, so why don’t you sit down?”

He took a seat next to her and watched her work. After about five minutes, he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. How do you know ASL?

“My cousin was born deaf. My whole family learned it so she could communicate with us. One of the apps I mentioned? I created it for her.”

That’s amazing.

“Thank you for being amazed.” She smiled. “And voila! Your phone is fixed!”

You’re a lifesaver. He left her office in a much better mood than he expected. Not only was his phone fixed, but he’d enjoyed his conversation with her and she hadn’t flooded him with questions like everybody else did.

Chapter 3

Summary:

Oliver deals with a new obstacle, his family and friends still don't 'get it' when it comes to his condition and he asks someone for a favor.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Oliver got back to the Queen Mansion, he found his mother standing in the foyer talking to an unknown black man in a suit.

“Good, you’re here.” she said when she heard the door open and him walk in. “Oliver, there’s someone I want you to meet. This is John Diggle. He’ll be accompanying you from now on.”

Why?

“We’ve received some….troubling things in the mail since your return. That combined with your….condition made me decide to hire Mr. Diggle.”

His mother was lying to him. It had surprised him at first, but after losing his voice, Oliver had gotten much better at reading people, and telling they were lying. It had saved him on the island shortly before his rescue. He knew how to tell if someone was lying, and Moira Queen was definitely lying. Or at least not telling the whole truth.

I don’t need a babysitter. He didn’t even respond to the implication that he needed help function because he couldn’t speak.

“This is something I need. We just got you back and-“

Oliver turned and went to his room. he was really starting to get tired of everyone ignoring what he wanted. Or acting like he couldn’t make a decision for himself. He guessed now he had to add ‘ditch my bodyguard’ on his to-do list before heading out every night.

 

The next morning, Oliver sat in one of the mansion’s sitting rooms, staring blankly in front of him.

“I want to help you Oliver. Please give me a chance to do that.” Dr. Brown, the therapist his mother had hired for him, said. “You’ve been through a very traumatic experience. I can understand your reluctance to discuss it.”

I’m not going to talk about it.

“If you don’t talk about it, you might never move past it. You might never regain your voice.”

What’s wrong with that? I’m fine like this. He scribbled quickly. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t convey his tone when writing things down. He meant for it to sound nonchalant, but based on the doctor’s expression it didn’t read that way.

“Are you being reluctant because you don’t want your family to know what happened? Because, as a medical professional, I’m barred from sharing anything you tell me.”

He didn’t want his family to know what happened, that much was true. He also thought the doctor’s words were crap. He was sure the man meant it, but his mother would somehow find a way to know.

The rest of the hour consisted of Brown trying to make Oliver answer questions about his emotional state and Oliver refusing to answer and staring into space. When the hour was over, Moira came into the room.

“How did it go?”

The doctor gave a meaningless reply about this being the first session, but how things looked promising. Oliver left the room without bothering to tell his mom anything or saying goodbye to the doctor. He didn’t want a therapist and definitely didn’t need one his mother hired. He was a grown man, he could find his own psychiatrist if he wanted.

After the doctor left, his mom tracked him down to ask what he thought, if he liked Dr. Brown. Oliver told her he didn’t need a therapist. Her lecture was interrupted by Tommy showing up to drag him out of the house.

“C’mon, its Ladies Night at Poison.”

No. I’m not going. He wasn’t interested in being around so many people. They’d ask him about the island or why he didn’t talk. Both situations made his anxiety worse, which in turn made him more on edge and hypervigilant.

“I finally have my wingman back.”

I said no.

“Chicks dig the whole silent, mysterious stranger type. That, and your new post-island look, will have them flocking to you.”

Not interested.

“Why not?”

I’m just not. Saying that should be reason enough.

He didn’t want to be mad at Tommy, he really didn’t, but this attitude was getting annoying. Tommy acted like the island was some kind of vacation or cool experience to brag about. It wasn’t. He lost his father, his innocence, his voice and a lot more there.  He and Thea both acted like Oliver’s silence was a choice half the time. Before his friend could argue, Oliver left.

 

It took Oliver a week to work up the courage to go back to Queen Consolidated to see Felicity. Part of it was because he’d had a string of bad days recently between flashbacks from the island and fights with his family. Part of it was because he didn’t want to bother her, wallowing in his self-worth issues. Ollie had been confident, cocky even. Oliver, however, felt like he didn’t deserve to have survived more often than not and was unsure most of the time. He supposed in addition to undiagnosed PTSD, he likely had some form of anxiety as well. the day he worked up the courage to go back to QC, he found her office and knocked on the door.

She turned around, saw him and smiled. “Hello, Oliver.” He waved. “What brings you to my office?”

Sorry for stopping by unexpected. I had a question about something with my phone but I couldn’t just text you because I don’t have your number.

“Well, let’s fix that then.” She said as she wrote her cell number down on a pink sticky note and handed it to him. “Since you’re here, what’s the question?”

He made up some story about not understanding how to load music onto his phone and she patiently walked him through the steps. Even though he’d only met her a week ago, he felt more comfortable around her than anyone else these days. Excluding Felicity, the person he felt most comfortable around was Raisa, mostly because she didn’t try to fill the silence like everyone else.

“Was there anything else you needed help with?” Felicity asked, snapping him back to reality. He reached for his notepad. It was now or never.

No, but He began to write but then crossed it out. I know we just met, but I wanted to ask Will you teach me ASL? I know some but want to learn more. I want to be able to communicate with it and not just fingerspell everything.

“You want me to teach you ASL?” She repeated. He prepared himself for her to say no, that she didn’t have enough time or something. “I’d love to. It can’t be during the workday though, but my evenings and weekends are usually free. We could do Saturday mornings or something.”

Saturday would be good for me. I’ll get out of your hair now. he wanted to show off the little ASL he already knew, so he signed “Thank you, Felicity.”

“You’re welcome, Oliver.” she signed back.

He left Queen Consolidated for the second time in a row with a smile on his face. He made it back to the mansion and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. He walked inside to find several people in the foyer talking. Upon hearing the door close, everyone turned towards the door. Moira looked annoyed, Thea looked bored, Tommy looked concerned but it was the fourth person that made Oliver nervous.

“Enough’s enough, Ollie. We need to talk.” Laurel said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?

Chapter 4

Summary:

Confrontations happen and everyone seems intent on alienating Oliver further.

Notes:

This chapter is mostly an insight on how Oliver feels about everyone's attempts to 'help' him.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Enough’s enough, Ollie. We need to talk.” Laurel said.

Oliver gulped and subconsciously took a step backwards. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked for some way, any way, out of the room. Everyone just stood there, watching him. Trying to gauge what he was going to do.

“You cheated on me with my sister, you got her killed and you didn’t even think to try and apologize.” Oliver stayed frozen to his spot. “Five years and you have nothing to say to me?”

“I told you this wasn’t a good idea, Laurel.” Tommy piped up.

“No, you kept telling me how sorry he was. How he just needed time to work out what to say. I think five years was long enough to think about it. If he really is sorry, I wanna hear it from his own mouth.”

Oliver looked between his two oldest friends and something dawned on him. Tommy hadn’t told Laurel about his condition. She didn’t know he couldn’t speak.

You didn’t tell her?

“I was hoping you’d be better by the time she confronted you.” Oliver wanted to yell about how stupid that sounded. It would be months, if not years, before he’d get ‘better’. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. None of them seemed to understand that trauma, especially the trauma he’d been through, wasn’t that easy to ‘get over’ as they thought.

“Tell me what?”

I can’t talk Laurel. I haven’t been able to speak since I came back.

“You can’t talk? Are you kidding me? Of all the excuses to have, you decided on mutism? If you don’t want to talk to me, don’t wanna give me the apology I deserve, just say so.”

I CAN’T!

“It’s not an excuse, Laurel.” Moira began. “Oliver underwent something traumatic on the island. As a result, he’s lost the ability to speak.”

“Fine, you want to pretend to be traumatized because you don’t have the balls to admit you messed up, go ahead. When you decide to drop the act, I’ll be waiting for that apology.” Laurel said before leaving the building.

Oliver was left facing his family and Tommy and resisting the urge to throw something. He didn’t want to see Laurel, he’d made that clear. Yet somehow, no one stopped her from coming here and confronting him. He doubted anyone even considered how he might feel for his ex-girlfriend to show up and demand an apology. Not to mention the likelihood she wouldn’t believe them about his condition and mock him for it.

“Look, Ollie, I-“

No.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

I don’t wanna hear it. How did you think that was going to go? Did you think I’d see Laurel and my mutism would be cured? Did you think she’d be ‘understanding’ about my condition? Did you think at all? Or are you just let her do this without thinking about how it might effect me?

“I understand that that wasn’t easy, but it doesn’t justify getting angry at Tommy.” Moira interjected.

I’m not just mad at him. You had no right to tell her what you told her. My condition is my business. It isn’t your secret to tell. Not to Laurel, not to anyone. Did it occur to you that I didn’t want her to know that?

“Oliver-“

He stormed right past his mother and went upstairs. He wasn’t going to listen to whatever she had to say, whatever excuse she was going to give. She was smart enough not to follow him. Thea wasn’t.

“Did you really need to do that?” she asked. “We get it, you have trauma you’re dealing with. You aren’t the only person with problems.”

No, you don’t get it. None of you do. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Losing Dad? That was the easy part. None of you get it and none of you care.

“Don’t say that we don’t care.”

You don’t though. Mom wants me to get ‘better’ so I can take over QC. Tommy wants his wingman back. You want the asshole older brother you had back. He’s not coming back, he’s gone.

“I don’t know why I even try to talk to you. You know, I felt closer to you when you were gone than I do right now.” Thea said before storming off.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on Oliver’s door. He opened it to find his mother standing there. “Where were you?”

Out.

“Out where? Mr. Diggle didn’t seem to know where you were. You have to let him do his job.”

He didn’t know because I snuck out. I don’t want or need a bodyguard. I’m not going to pretend that I do. I don’t know how to make it any clearer to you.

“I need-“

Oliver slammed the door in her face. This is where conversations always ended up with his mother. it was never about what Oliver wanted or needed, it was about what she needed. Or what QC needed. Or what ‘the family’ needed. Never about Oliver.

“Leave it alone, mom.” He heard Thea say from across the hall. “He wants to be a miserable mute for the rest of his life, let him.”

 

The next morning, Oliver came downstairs for breakfast. Luckily, everyone else had already left for the day so he didn’t need to deal with his mother or sister. Diggle was sitting in the dining room, waiting for him.

“Good morning, Mr. Queen.”

Oliver nodded back and began eating. About halfway through, he realized he hadn’t even ‘spoken’ to Diggle once. He might not have wanted him there, but he didn’t want to be rude. So far, all John had done was his job.

It’s nothing personal. I want you to know that.

“I know.” It was frustrating for John to have a client that didn’t want his protection, as he tried to tell Moira with no success. “Your mother’s worried about losing you.”

No, she’s angry things aren’t going the way she wants. My return wasn’t as the prodigal son she wanted.

“Your condition is-“

My condition isn’t the problem. I’m doing just fine without my voice, and without her help or yours.

“Still, I have a job to do, and until your mother starts listening to you or fires me, I’m gonna do it.” He wasn’t stupid. He could tell Oliver was struggling with a lot of issues, PTSD and anxiety being the biggest ones. He also knew Mrs. Queen’s attempts to make him talk were doing more harm than good. At the same time, he wasn't Oliver's therapist and it wasn't his job to help Oliver recover. Still, he felt some sympathy for what he was going through.

“You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan. You want to know what I learned?”

There's no place like home?

“No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield. Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore.”


Since he was still worn out from all the excitement and action yesterday, Oliver decided to forego his usual habit of ditching Digg and instead wandered around the mansion and its grounds for the day. He didn’t have any pressing Hood business and wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with going into down and coming across other people, or worse, the press.

It was a little after 3pm when Oliver began staring at the pink sticky note Felicity had given him. He wanted to text her, just to say hi, to make sure she had his number, but didn’t quite know what to say. Just saying ‘hi’ seemed lame. Asking her questions about herself might resort in her wanting to get to know him better and asking about the island. He didn’t have any questions about his phone to use as a cover. He settled on something short but nice and sent the text before immediately regretting acting so soon.

>>To: Felicity- Hey, it’s Oliver. You gave me your number but I forgot to give you mine.

Each time he read it, he had a different reaction. Was it too short? Too formal? Would she be mad he texted her out of the blue? Before he could work himself into too much of a panic, his phone dinged, showing he had a reply.

>>From: Felicity- Hi! Now I have your number :)

>>To: Felicity-I hope I’m not bothering you or anything.

>>From: Felicity- It’s been a slow day and it’s almost over, so no worries. Are we still on for Saturday?

>>To: Felicity-Yes, wouldn’t miss it.

>>From: Felicity-Good! Let me know where/when.

>>To: Felicity-I should let you decide that.

>>From: Felicity- It doesn’t matter to me. Jitters is fine, or we can go somewhere a little quieter/less busy.

He began to panic. He didn’t want to choose somewhere so public for this. Public meant other people would be around. They’d recognize him and ask questions. The truth about his condition would get out. Everyone would know, everyone would judge him. The paparazzi and everyone and their mother would have something to say about him. Not to mention the number of people who wouldn’t believe him or mock him for his trauma. Before he could work himself into a real panic attack, his phone buzzed again.

>>From: Felicity- The library’s usually quiet on Saturday mornings if that helps. They have private rooms we can use. You don’t need to decide now, just think about it.

>>To: Felicity- Ok, I’ll let you know.

“What are you smiling about?” Thea asked as she walked into the room. he quickly hid his phone and the smile dropped off his face a little bit. He shrugged. “Of course you aren’t going to tell me.”

I wasn’t smiling about anything specific. Its just been a good day.

“Good day meaning?”

It’s hard to explain, but it was a good day. A good day meant Oliver didn’t have flashbacks or a panic attack. He didn’t get into arguments with people who didn’t grasp what he was going through. It meant he did something besides think about the island and hate himself for what happened there. How about you?

“I had school, so not great. I’m glad you’ve decided to stop moping.”

“Who’s stopped moping?” Moira asked as she entered the room.

“Ollie. He said he had a good day today.”

“You did?”

Yeah, I didn’t really do anything, but it was still a pretty good day.

“I’m happy to hear that. The Bowens are coming over for dinner, so you might want to change.” She looked over at his sweatpants and T-shirt as she spoke.

He sighed and left the room. One step forward, two steps back. Two hours later, when Raisa came upstairs to fetch Oliver, he wasn’t there. An hour earlier he’d snuck out via a window in one of the guest rooms and headed to his father’s old steel factory. Maybe he would suit up and hit the streets tonight.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?

Chapter 5

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity have their first lesson.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver’s frustration with his mother boiled over into the Hood’s activities that night. More than a few would be purse-snatchers and drug dealers were on the receiving end of his anger. If they hadn’t been poisoning the city, Oliver might’ve felt bad about his actions, but they were, so he didn’t. He finished his patrol shortly before dawn and headed back to the mansion.

After a few hours of restless sleep, he went downstairs for breakfast and found himself face-to-face with his mother.

“You weren’t at dinner.”

I never said I’d go.

“Your immaturity has lost its charm.” She said in a displeased tone. “Since you weren’t here, care to tell me where you were?”

Out.

“That’s isn’t an answer, Oliver.”

I’m 27 years old. I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.

“Yes, you’re an adult. One who just came back from five years of isolation and can’t speak. Excuse me for worrying about you.”

You don’t know the difference between worrying and smothering. I spent five years on my own, why would I want you or anyone watching my every move and judging everything I do?

“I’m not judging your every-“ she began to say. He rolled his eyes, silently scoffed and walked away.

He spent the rest of the day locked in his room, avoiding everyone. The only person he spoke to was Felicity and that was to ask if they could meet at the library around 10 the next morning, which she agreed to.

 

Oliver left the mansion while everyone else was eating breakfast the next morning. He didn’t want to sit through yet another tense meal or have to explain where he was going when he excused himself. He was nervous, but trying to keep the feeling hidden.

As Digg drove, he looked at his charge in the backseat. Based on how restless Oliver was, he was either nervous about where they were going or excited. Perhaps both. In any case, it was a refreshing change from the normal broody billionaire.

“Where exactly are we heading, sir?” He asked as they reached the edge of town. Oliver had asked for a ride into the city, but hadn’t told Diggle where in the city.

The library.

John didn’t think Oliver was a library kind of guy, but didn’t voice that opinion. His job was to keep Oliver safe, not comment on his social schedule. He focused back on the road as Oliver’s phone began to buzz. He had a text from Felicity.

>>From: Felicity- I’m on my way. If you get there before me, the rooms are on the second floor. Grab one and text me where you are.

>> To: Felicity- Ok, see you soon.

 

They reached the library at around 9:45. Oliver found an empty room on the second floor and waited inside. As he waited, he began to get more nervous. He was worried he’d have a flashback or panic attack in front of Felicity. Or that she’d realize how messed up he was and leave. Or ask about his speech or the island. The longer he sat, the more panicked he became. John noticed he was working himself into a frenzy.

“Mr. Queen, you need to breathe. Long and slow.”

He followed the advice and calmed down somewhat. Then, he saw the time. it was 10:10. She was ten minutes late, she wasn’t coming. She’d changed her mind. Of course she did. Why would she want to help or even know someone as fucked up as him? As his panic rose again, the door to the room opened.

“Sorry I’m late. There was construction down the street that took me longer to get here.” Felicity said. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

He took several deep breaths as he wrote his response. I’m fine.

“If you say so.” She remarked, before turning to John. “Sorry. Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak.”

“John Diggle.” He then turned to Oliver. “Mr. Queen, I think I’ll wait outside while you two work.” He could tell Oliver was nervous to be around Felicity. He didn’t want to make his anxiety worse by making him feel more crowded. Besides, Felicity didn’t seem like much of a threat.

“How are you Oliver?” Felicity asked. She signed as she spoke.

“Fine.” He signed back.

“That’s good.” She said. “I think we should do kinda half immersion and half traditional teaching. Because there are some important signs you should know but I don’t wanna spend too long on basics or things you might already know. How does that sound?”

What do you mean by immersion?

“I teach you sign by using it when I’m also speaking. Also, you respond to me in sign whenever possible. It makes learning easier and seem more natural. Does that sound good?”

“Yes.” I should warn you, I’m not the best student.

“Don’t sell yourself short.” She said. “Let’s see what signs you know.”

He knew the alphabet, some greetings, how to tell someone his name and ask theirs and some beginner ASL, like pronouns, please and thank you and how to ask how something is signed.

“That’s pretty good.”

“Thank you.”

They spent the next hour going over some more common signs and phrases. Ones that, in Felicity’s opinion, everyone should know. Like how to ask where the bathroom is or how to tell someone they’re signing too fast or to repeat themselves. They spent another hour conversing mostly in sign to give Oliver experience holding a conversation.

Diggle came into the room. “I hate to break this up, but your mother keeps calling.”

Oliver shot Felicity an apologetic look before standing up. “Thank you. See you next Saturday.”

“You’re welcome. Practice when you can and I’ll see you next week. Text me if you have any questions.” She told him as he left.

“So, sign language?” John said to Oliver as they got into the car.

It seemed like a good idea. My mother doesn’t need to know.

“Hey, I’m your bodyguard, not your babysitter. She asked where you were, I said the library and that was it.”

He didn’t respond to that and they drove back to the mansion. Regardless of what he walked into when he got home, today had been a good day and he enjoyed his time with Felicity.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 6

Summary:

Oliver continues to clash with his family and grows closer with Felicity.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Where exactly have you been?”

I met up with a friend.

“That’s good. Who, if I may ask? Tommy? Carter? Steve?” His therapist had indicated to Moira that a good sign that he was recovering was any attempts he made to return to his old life. Connecting with old friends, mentioning plans he had before the accident, reminiscing of any kind, any of it was a good sign and should be encouraged.

No, it was a friend I met after I came back.

“Oh, that’s nice. Why didn’t you reach out to one of your older friends?” Dr. Brown hadn’t told her what Oliver making new friends meant. Did it mean he was adjusting or was it the precursor to him pushing everyone further away?

I didn’t want to. I’m allowed to have more than one friend. He wrote more than that, but Moira only read the first two sentences before she started to argue.

“I never said you were only allowed one friend. You’re putting words in my mouth.”

This reminded him of another issue he was having since coming back. Since he didn’t make any sounds, everyone found it easier to just not listen to him and only read half of what he wrote. It was the nonverbal equivalent of interrupting him mid-sentence to go on an unrelated tangent. If she had kept reading what he wrote, his mother would’ve known he made a few new friends, a slight exaggeration since Felicity was the only one he made, who made him feel normal. He reached out to said friend because he thought it was better than staying cooped up in the mansion and avoiding everyone there.

He didn’t stay talking with his mother for much longer and headed upstairs. After making a plan to deal with his current target, he decided to take a shower. Ever since returning, he felt like he couldn’t get warm. Hot showers always helped allieviate that feeling. He was moving around his room in only a towel when the door opened and Thea rushed in. she didn’t even try to knock.

“Ollie, I- where did you get those? Mom said there were scars, but-” she said upon seeing his scars. She was met by her brother’s very angry look. “What?”

DON’T YOU KNOCK?

“Oh, like you would’ve let me in.”

That still doesn’t make it okay. You can’t just barge into someone’s room without at least pretending to care about their privacy.

“Fine, I’ll do that next time. What happened to you?”

A lot. And that’s all I’m going to tell you. Once you know, you can never unknow it.

If she ever knew what he’d gone through, what he’d done to survive, she’d hate him. if anyone knew, they’d hate him. He could live with being estranged from certain people, but couldn’t stand the thought of losing them entirely.

“Is that why- is this why you stopped talking?”

These are part of it, yes. Stop asking me about it. It doesn’t make things any easier.

“Ollie, I’m so sorry.”

He hated this. He hated feeling like this. He hated that this had to happen, she had to see his scars, to understand that he wasn’t messing around and wasn’t acting like this on a whim. She didn’t know what else to say, and forgot why she came in, so she left the room. Oliver’s more depressed and self-loathing thoughts began to creep in as he sat on his bed.

His family really should stop trying to bring the old Ollie back and try to get as far away from him as possible. He was a monster. He ruined everything he touched. He should’ve died instead of his dad. Or Sara. Or Shado. He didn’t deserve to live. He started spiraling down into the darkest parts of his mind when his phone chimed, letting him know he had a text.

 

>>From: Felicity- I hope today was helpful.

>>To: Felicity- It was. Thank you.

He felt like he couldn’t just leave the conversation at that, so he messaged her about something he considered a safe topic. Her tech. He didn’t like answering questions about himself but learning more about Felicity, and keeping things focused on her made things slightly easier for him.

>>To: Felicity- About that app of yours.

>>From: Felicity- We can talk about it next week, or you can stop by QC when you get a chance.

>>From: Felicity- Whichever works for you. I just can’t really explain it that well over text and I can’t walk you through it over the phone.

 

Monday morning, Oliver snuck into Queen Consolidated around 10. He didn’t drive in with Walter, since it might give his mother the wrong idea. He wasn’t interested in starting at the company, he just wanted Felicity’s help. Being the son of the founder and the stepson of the current CEO meant no one tried to stop or question him on his way to her cubicle. He knocked on the door so he wouldn’t startle her.

“Hi, Oliver.” She said warmly.

‘Good morning Felicity.’ he signed. I wanted to know more about your app. Is now a bad time?

“No, I’m just updating some of the cybersecurity protocols. I can do that in my sleep.” She answered. “Please don’t repeat that to your mom or Mr. Steele.”

Your secret’s safe with me.

“Thanks.” She said before launching into a spiel about the app she created, what features it had and what it can do. “-it will read aloud what you write, and only what you write, so keep that in mind.” He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “It can’t read minds. If you spell something wrong or leave words out, it won’t know that that wasn’t what you meant, assume its right and say it. For example, if you mean to write ‘I can’t wait to see it’ but you leave out certain words, it’ll just say ‘I can’t see it’. If you’re writing your name, but you accidentally type an ‘s’, it’ll announce ‘my name is olives Queen’. That kind of thing.”

Well, I don’t want people to think my name is Olives. He wrote. He wore a grin when he showed the notepad to her. He learned a long time ago how important facial expressions were. Both on the island, and during his one year off of it in Moscow, being able to read someone’s intentions from their face kept him alive. If he wanted Felicity to know he was joking, he had to show it via his expression.

“Yeah, you don’t look like an ‘olives’ to me.”

Is it okay if I don’t use it right away? The app. Oliver liked the idea of the app. He liked having the option but that didn’t mean he was determined to use it.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

You seem proud of it and I don’t but I’m not sure if I want to use it yet. I don’t know if I’m ready for I don’t want to hurt your feelings.

“You won’t hurt my feelings. I didn’t tell you about it because I wanted you to use it, I told you because I wanted to offer you the option. Whether you use it or not is your choice.”

He thanked her and stood up to leave. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday.’

“Yes, you will. 10am, I promise not to be late this time. hopefully.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 7

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity grow closer, questions are asked and Thea makes a suggestion.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The following Saturday Oliver and Digg arrived at the library to find Felicity in the same private room as last time waiting for them. She looked up when the door opened and greeted the two men excitedly.

Oliver had spent the last week spending as little time around his mother as possible. He realized days ago that his therapist was telling Moira empty platitudes she wanted to hear and nothing that was helpful for Oliver. Everything he said revolved around getting the old Oliver back, not helping Oliver really heal. Thea had gone out of her way to be more sensitive towards Oliver over the last few days. It made things awkward, but Oliver could tell she was really trying as opposed to just doing the bare minimum. He’d spent some more time with Tommy, but it was mostly watching sports at the mansion and not leaving the grounds. He continued to hunt names on his father’s list, much to Digg’s annoyance every time he evaded him.

Digg said hello to Felicity before preparing to leave the room. “You can stay, if you want. I mean, if Oliver’s okay with that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to go.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but this is for Mr. Queen and I suspect he’d like the privacy.” John answered before closing the door. Moira had tried to get more details out of John last Saturday about where Oliver was and who he’d been with. He’d already realized that her reasons for asking weren’t entirely selfless and chose to be as brief as possible. Oliver had met with a friend at the library because it was quiet. John didn’t know how he met this friend or what they talked about because he was keeping an eye out for any threats against Oliver. She couldn’t reasonably argue against John doing his job instead of eavesdropping.

“I don’t think he likes me.” Felicity said to Oliver after Digg left. As always, she signed as she spoke, giving Oliver a more immersive experience.

He doesn’t not like you. He scribbled out. He put the pen down and began to sign. ‘Good morning.’

“How are you doing today?”

‘Ok. You?’

“I’m doing great. Let’s see, what did we cover last time?” She asked him. “I hope you practiced.”

‘I did. Maybe not enough.’

“It’s okay. Its hard to get into the habit. Especially if you don’t have someone to sign with.” She said. “Show me what you remember.”

They worked for an hour before Oliver wrote down a question he’d been thinking about for the last week. Everyone wanted him to share what happened. Everyone, it seemed, except her.

Why haven’t you asked me about it?

“The island?” she asked, wanting clarification. He nodded. “Do you want me to ask about it?” he shook his head. “That’s why. I don’t ask because I don’t want you to feel like you have to answer. If you ever want to tell me, you can. You can tell me anything.”

‘You don’t want to know?’

“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable by asking. What I want doesn’t matter, its your story Oliver. You get to decide who you tell it to and when. I don’t get to demand answers from you, nobody does.”

‘I wish everyone felt that way.’’

“I’m sorry they don’t. I hope they’ll realize it eventually.” She said. “This got really serious, didn’t it? Do you want to call it a day or-?” She left the question hanging, waiting to see what Oliver would say.

That’s probably a good idea. I’m sorry.

“You don’t need to apologize. In fact, you shouldn’t. You’re dealing with some heavy things. Not everyone understands what that’s like. It’s never an easy or linear process.”

‘But you do?’

“That’s a story for another day.” Felicity said sadly. It wasn’t an easy thing to talk about, even years later.

They said their goodbyes and Oliver and John left. On the way to the car, Oliver wrote something down and showed it to Digg.

“I don’t dislike Felicity. I assumed you wanted to be alone. And you’d feel crowded in a room that small with two other people.”

Oliver didn’t respond, but he was probably right. With his PTSD and anxiety, he didn’t like enclosed spaces. He also didn’t like feeling like he was being watched, which is why he escaped from Digg at least once a day. Having a bodyguard didn’t make his paranoia any easier.

 

For Oliver, the next few days were exactly the same as the last week. Moira wanted to know everything he was doing and lectured him for forgetting his latest therapy appointment. He didn’t forget, he just chose not to go. Tommy was still trying to talk him into returning to the party scene. Thea continued to try and repair her relationship with Oliver. She was trying, so he met her halfway. It helped that she stopped asking him about the island, which made him less defensive. Over those few days, Oliver took down two more names on his father’s list. Their crimes weren’t as widespread as Adam Hunt or deadly as Martin Somers, but they had failed the city and needed to face justice.

He was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast on Wednesday morning when Thea sat down next to him. “So, what do you do during the day?”

Shouldn’t you be at school?

“I’m going in late, doctor’s appointment. What do you do during the day?”

I read, try to catch up on things I missed. Go for jogs around the property. Watch movies in the family room. On occasion, I go into town to see a friend.

“You should call them. See if they can meet you for lunch.” She suggested. Oliver shot her a look. He didn’t know why she was suggesting it. Did she think something was going on? “What? Whoever this friend is, when you came back from seeing them last time, you were in a good mood. Besides, this place is practically a museum and you’re gonna get cabin fever. Its just a suggestion.”

“Thea, we need to go.” Moira said, coming into the room. “Good morning Oliver.” They left and Oliver finished his breakfast. Maybe Thea’s suggestion was worth a try.

>>To: Felicity- Do you wanna get coffee today?

He sat staring at the phone until she replied. What would she think of his text? Would she interpret it the wrong way? How did he want her to interpret it?

>>From: Felicity- I never say no to coffee. Is everything okay?

>>To: Felicity- Yeah, everything’s fine. Just wondering if you were free.

>>From: Felicity- Ok, just checking. I can meet you around noon. Jitters?

>>To: Felicity- Do you know of another place? They’re always busy and I don’t do well with crowds.

He regretted the message as soon as he sent it. He shouldn’t have told her about his dislike of crowds. It would remind her of how damaged he was and she’d think he couldn’t function.

>>From: Felicity- There’s a small, independent coffee place down the street from Jitters. And their coffee tastes better. Also, they have really good sandwiches. I’ll text you the address.

 

Oliver and John arrived at the coffeehouse at 11:45. Oliver wanted to get there before Felicity and have time to get a table and calm down. He settled for a table along one of the walls, close to the exit but not too close to the doors. He was just starting to relax when the door opened and Felicity walked in.

“Hey.” She said sitting down.

‘Hi, Felicity. How are you?’

“I’m doing well. Did you order yet?”

‘No, I just got here.’ Oliver avoided ordering in public as much as possible. It felt awkward having to write his order down. He was also worried the staff would recognize him, make a scene and then everyone would know about his issues.

“What do you want? I’ll go order for both of us.” Felicity offered. Since the only drink he’d ever tried was plain, black coffee, he ordered that. She nodded and went to get in line, wanting to  look over the food options while she was waiting.

After a few minutes, Oliver saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over. he thought Felicity was coming back to the table. He found himself face-to-face with Laurel instead.

“Hello Oliver.” He waved. “I see you’re still pretending to be mute.”

“Excuse me?” Felicity’s voice came from behind her. She moved around Laurel, put both coffee orders and her sandwich down, and stepped in between her and Oliver. She crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak further. 

Notes:

Uh-oh.

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 8

Summary:

Felicity and Laurel have a confrontation.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“I see you’re still pretending to be mute.”

The tentative smile on Oliver’s face fell off when Laurel said that. He wasn’t faking, he wasn’t pretending, and he wasn’t exaggerating. For five years, all he’d wanted to do was call his mother and tell her he was alive. He wanted to return home, hug Thea and tell her how much he missed her. He wanted to joke with Tommy that he was right about boats sucking. He wanted to do all of those things, but he couldn’t.

“Excuse me?” Felicity’s voice came from behind her. She moved around Laurel, put both coffee orders and her sandwich down, and stepped in between her and Oliver. She crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak further. She didn’t yell or even raise her voice. She didn’t want to cause a scene, not when she could see Oliver was already on edge. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Who are you? More importantly, who do you think you are?”

“Laurel Lance.” She stated.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me? Because it doesn’t.”

“Look, you don’t know our his-“

“I don’t care what your history is. Oliver’s a friend of mine. He was sitting here, minding his own business and you decided to come over here and harass him.”

“I’m not harassing him. I’m a lawyer and-“

“What does your job have to do with anything? Last time I checked, being a lawyer doesn’t mean you can’t break the law. And it doesn’t exempt you from behaving like a decent human being.”

“He’s faking a mental illness!”

“Is he? How do you know that? Are you a psychologist?”

“Because I know him. There’s no way his five years away made him so traumatized he went mute. This is just another excuse he has to get out of admitting he messed up.”

“No, you knew him. And you don’t really know what happened to him over the last few years, so how can you say he is or isn’t traumatized? And no one fakes being mute. Deaf or blind, yes, mute, no.” Felicity said. “On top of that, your whole attitude needs go.”

“My attitude?”

“I don’t care what your history is. I can tell you don’t like him, though. Rather than get your coffee and be on your way, you decided to come over here and confront him when he wasn’t doing anything. Mocking him and his condition, accusing him like you did, I think that shows what kind of person you really are more than anything else.” She said. “You wanna yell at him for whatever he did, fine. But there’s a time and place for that, and I think you know this wasn’t it.”

Laurel didn’t respond and left in a huff. Next time she spoke to Oliver, she’d need to be sure his new friend wasn’t around. Clearly, she was protective of Oliver and insisted on defending him. She was still sure he was faking it, and until proven otherwise, would treat him as such.

After Laurel had left the building, Felicity sat down in the seat in front of   Oliver. “Sorry that I went a little ‘grr’.”

‘Thank you.’

“You don’t have to thank me. She’s lucky I didn’t use my Loud Voice. I mean, why would you be faking?”

Your Loud Voice?

“The voice I use when I’m angry. A lot of people find it scary. I didn’t use it because I didn’t wanna cause a scene. Well, a bigger scene I suppose. Are you okay?”

‘Fine.’ It’s frustrating that she doesn’t believe me. Or that she thinks I’d go to this extreme to avoid talking to her. I wasn’t the best person before the accident, but I wouldn’t sink that low, even then.

“I know you wouldn’t. I don’t think the problem is really you.” she said, which earned her a confused look. “The thing she’s angry about, whatever it is, she had five years to let it stew. Five years to focus on it and become more and more angry and build up this false version of you in her head to justify it. The problem isn’t you, it’s her.”

It’s kinda me. What I did to her was wrong and she deserves an apology.

“Whatever you may have done, it doesn’t justify her accosting you in public or mocking the situation you’re in.”

He wasn’t sure that was true but dropped the matter. They talked a little more, but what had happened hung over their heads and neither wanted to break the silence and discuss it further. They said their goodbyes and Felicity went back to work. A few minutes after she left, Oliver sent her a text.

>>To: Felicity- Thank you, for standing up for me.

>>From: Felicity- That’s what friends are for.

He wasn’t completely sure that was true. His mom and Tommy both stood there when Laurel confronted him at the mansion, despite knowing he hadn’t gone to see Laurel for a reason. They also definitely suspected he wouldn’t react well to such a confrontation because he very clearly had anxiety. Thea had been the same way, but was working on it.

>>From: Felicity- Sorry that the way I handled it made you feel uncomfortable.

>>To: Felicity- What do you mean?

>>From: Felicity- I know you don’t really like drawing attention to yourself. Other people started looking over to see what was happening. I noticed that was making you nervous.

>> To: Felicity- You didn’t do it on purpose and you were trying to help. I’m not angry or anything.

 

With the excitement over with, Oliver and John drove back to the mansion. Oliver went up to his room and picked up the book he’d just started reading. In the last two months, he’d read more than he had in the two years before the island. The practice helped calm him down and allowed him to escape into another world for a little while. He was about halfway through the novel when he heard his mother calling his name. Closing the book, he left his room and went to find her. She was standing in the living room with her arms crossed. Oliver’s ‘therapist’ was sitting behind her, looking sheepish.

“Would you like to explain what’s going on with you?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?
I know everyone wanted to witness the Loud Voice, but Felicity knew it wasn't the time or place for that (unlike Laurel).

Chapter 9

Summary:

Moira confronts Oliver, Thea meets someone new and Oliver makes a long overdue decision.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver was about halfway through the novel when he heard his mother calling his name. Closing the book, he left his room and went to find her. She was standing in the living room with her arms crossed. Oliver’s ‘therapist’ was sitting behind her, looking sheepish.

“Would you like to explain what’s going on with you?”

He didn’t respond and simply blinked slowly at his mother. He knew she was going to say whatever she wanted to say and whatever response or excuse he gave wouldn’t matter.

“Dr. Brown told me you haven’t been to any of your appointments lately.”

He was aware of that and did it intentionally. He never said he would go. He never asked for a therapist. It was his mother’s idea to contact the doctor and his mother kept insisting on him talking to the man. The whole thing was a waste of time, in his opinion, and all the advice and recommendations the doctor gave during that first session were useless in his opinion.

“Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

I never said I’d see him.

“Oliver, we agreed-“

“Hey, what’s going on?” Thea said coming into the room.

“Nothing, your brother and I are having a discussion about his therapy.”

Oliver tapped Thea on the shoulder and handed a piece of paper to her. “You want me to read this?” He nodded, so she read it out loud. “We, and that’s underlined for emphasis, didn’t agree. We didn’t discuss it. You demanded I do it. I never said I would.”

Oliver didn’t want or need a therapist and he definitely didn’t need that therapist. Given Brown’s habit of disclosing things to Moira, he wondered if the man was just weak willed or unethical. He was debating bringing that matter up to someone else, like the American Psychiatric Association.

“Oliver, its not that-“

“Why are you making him do this? He doesn’t want to.”

“Thea, this is a very delicate situation.”

“I know that, but if he doesn’t want to go to therapy, he shouldn’t have to. He’s an adult, he can make his own choices. He clearly doesn’t want to, why are you trying to make him?” she asked. “Your insistence isn’t going to make him want to do it. if anything, it’s making him avoid it even more. Why are you so focused on this?”

“I want my son back!”

“We got him back. He’s standing right there.” Thea said, pointing to Oliver.

The archer, meanwhile, heard his mother say that, turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. It was one thing for Moira to talk about how much she missed ‘the old Oliver’ but to claim the Oliver who’d returned from Lian Yu wasn’t her son anymore hurt deeply. It both hit on everything he felt insecure about and reminded him of how alienated he felt from his mother now. He needed to move, to do something to clear his head.

Thea found Oliver in the backyard, running laps around the property. She waited for him to notice her before saying anything.

“Are you okay?” he shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Wanna talk about it?” Another shake. “Okay. Let’s go see what’s on TV.”

The siblings were halfway through watching The Goonies, which had been one of Oliver’s favorite movies as a kid, when Thea turned to him. “This friend of yours, the one you went to see today, can I meet them?” He looked nervous about answering, so Thea backtracked a little. “I don’t mean, like, right now, but can I meet them soon?” He nodded but didn’t say anything else. Both of them spent the rest of the day avoiding Moira.

Oliver took his anger towards his mother and funneled it into his activities as the Hood that night. His father’s list had plenty of names on it, and he had plenty of frustrations to work out. On a whim, he decided to try out Felicity’s app on tonight’s target. It didn’t work perfectly, but with the app, he could say more than ‘You have failed this city’. Him confronting his marks and telling them what he wanted from them and why worked better than his practice of sending threatening messages until now. Even if he didn’t use the app as Oliver Queen, it was useful for his night job.

After a few more days of Moira trying to get Oliver to see things her way, Tommy attempting to get ‘his old wingman back out there’, and Laurel trying to get Oliver alone to confront him, the archer had had enough. Thea was still supportive as ever, but there were too many unsupportive people around him for her to be very helpful. He asked Digg to drive them into the city. He needed to ask Felicity for another favor and wanted Thea to meet his new friend. The car pulled into QC’s garage.

“Why are we at Queen Consolidated? I thought you didn’t want to work here?”

My friend works here and I need to ask for a favor. I also want you to meet her. Oliver said as they got out of the car.

“Oh, your friend is a woman.” Thea said with a hint of suggestiveness. Oliver threw her a look that said ‘its not like that’. Her smile dropped a little bit. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to- let’s go meet her.”

Oliver led the way as the trio made their way to the IT floor and found Felicity’s office. He knocked on the open door and Felicity’s head shot up from her computer.

“Oh, hi Oliver. Hey, Digg. Hi, girl I haven’t met before.” Felicity said. Oliver began signing something to her, which surprised Thea. “Oh, so this is Thea. Nice to meet you, I’m Felicity Smoak.”

“Nice to meet you too. You know sign language Ollie?”

“He knew I signed, so I’ve been teaching him for the last few weeks.”

‘Please, don’t tell mom. She wouldn’t understand.’

Felicity relayed the message to Thea with a frown on her face. “I won’t. It’s- thank you, Felicity.”

“For what?”

“Well, since you’ve been helping Ollie out, since you two became friends, he’s seemed happier. So, I guess thank you for being his friend.”

“I’m happy to have a friend like him.” She responded. “What brings both of you by? Not that you have to have reason. I mean, maybe you just wanted me to meet Thea, but if that wasn’t the only reason you came by, I didn’t want to- sorry, that happens sometimes, the babbling.”

Thea, Oliver and Digg all had amused looks on their faces. “Ollie said he wanted me to meet you, I asked a few days ago if I could meet his new friend. He also said something about wanting to ask for a favor.”

‘I want to move out.’ He signed. ‘I was hoping you and Speedy could help me.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 10

Summary:

Oliver's decided to move out. How will his family react?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘I want to move out.’ He signed. ‘I was hoping you and Speedy could help me.’

“You want to move out?” Felicity asked. Thea turned to look at her brother and asked the same thing.

He began to feel the room get smaller as they asked him that. He’d thought long and hard about this, but he didn’t take into account their reactions. His anxiety didn’t make him good with confrontations or having to explain his side of things. the walls started to close in and he felt a panic attack about to start. Was he being stupid? Oversensitive? Would Thea hate him? Think he was abandoning her?

Digg stepped around both ladies and started talking. “Hey, hey, Oliver. Look at me. Felicity, Thea, take a step back. It’s okay, Oliver. Just breathe.”

After several moments of silence and Oliver taking many deep breaths, it seemed his panic attack had been stopped in its tracks and he could focus again. Thea and Felicity both began to apologize.

“I didn’t mean to say it like that, I wasn’t expecting that to be the favor.”

“Sorry, Ollie, I- I didn’t mean to make you-“

Oliver shook his head and started waving his hands back and forth, in the universal gesture of ‘forget I said anything’.  Wanting to move out was stupid.

“No, you want to move out. That’s perfectly fine. Let’s talk about it.” Felicity said. “Remember what I said about your feelings being important too?”

I can’t stay there. With the way Mom keeps acting, and what she said, I can’t. it’s just making things worse.

Thea nodded in understanding. Felicity raised an eyebrow at what he’d written. Clearly something was going on that he didn’t want to share. As curious as she was, he didn’t want to talk about it so she wouldn’t press.

“I’ll help you look for a place.”

“Me too.” Thea agreed.

“I know we haven’t been friends for long, but if you need to, I have a spare room you can stay in.” Felicity suggested. She didn’t know what was going on at Oliver’s house, but she sensed he was damaging his own mental health by staying.

‘I don’t want to trouble you.’

“You wouldn’t be. You don’t have to take me up on the offer, but its there if you need it or change your mind.” She assured him.

“Ok, lets talk details.” Thea said, wanting to move away from the heavy stuff for a while. “Apartment? Condo? What features do you want?”

They spoke for several hours while Felicity worked and Thea had a list of some things Oliver was looking for. The Queen siblings went home, and went their separate ways. Thea started looking online for places that matched Oliver’s criteria. Oliver went to his room, wanting to distract himself from his racing thoughts. Planning calmed his mind somewhat, so he planned who his next target would be. When that didn’t work, he began packing. He wanted to have a bag ready to go in case things at the mansion got even worse and he needed to leave immediately. Having a go-bag made it easier for him to deal with his hypervigilance.

The next day, Oliver only left his room for meals. Around 4pm, his mother came into his room and told him Laurel was there to see him. He told her he didn’t want to see Laurel, remembering the last time he saw her and what she’d said. He wasn’t sure that his mom wouldn’t ignore him, so he locked himself in the bathroom for an hour before texting Thea to make sure Laurel wasn’t there.

Nothing important happened over the next few days He worked out, avoided his mother and read. He and Thea visited a few of the places he was looking at in secret. Roughly a week after he’d gone to see Felicity, Oliver was walking towards the kitchen when his mother accosted him.

“Care to explain why Jean Loring sent leasing paperwork over for you to sign to rent a penthouse in the city?”

He froze and got a deer in the headlights look. It was now or never. I’ve decided to move out.

“No, you aren’t moving out.”

Yes, I am.

“No, you aren’t. I won’t allow it.”

I’m an adult. You can’t stop me.

“You’re an adult without a job, living off of our family’s money. If you leave, you’re cut off.”

Logically, Oliver knew she couldn’t do that. He was 27, he’d gained access to his trust fund at 25. Short of having him declared incompetent, which she couldn’t actually do, his mother had no say in this. It was the implication that made him panic though. Would she stop him from seeing or talking to Thea? Was this all a means of maintain control? What lengths would she go to to keep him at the mansion? He started to get agitated and then Thea came into the hallway. She could tell Oliver didn’t feel comfortable with the conversation that was happening.

“What are you two arguing about?”

“Your brother wants to move out.”

“Okay, and? He’s 27 years old.”

“I won’t allow it.”

“You won’t let him?” Thea asked incredulously.

“No, I won’t.” She said firmly.

The brunette nodded before taking her cellphone out and dialing a number. She’d need back-up for this. “Hey, can you come to the mansion?....he did and….no, it didn’t….he could really use some support…..ok, I’ll see you soon.” Thea hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Moira demanded to know.

“A friend of Ollie’s.”  

Across town, Felicity hung up her phone and got into her car. Thea hadn’t told her exactly what was going on, but from her tone, it wasn’t good. She still hadn’t gotten the whole story about why Oliver felt he needed to move out, but something told her it would make her furious.

 

 

Notes:

Thoughts?

Chapter 11

Summary:

The Queen family meets Felicity, and she has some things to say.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Luckily, Felicity had the foresight to text John that she was coming over to the mansion. She’d never been there before and didn’t want to have to deal with any issues getting onto the property. It would just mean it took her longer to get to Oliver. Digg replied with just ‘ok’ so she’d know he’d seen the text. She texted back asking how bad the situation was, but didn’t get a response.

Soon enough, Felicity pulled into the driveway leading up to the Queen mansion. Digg was outside waiting and waved her inside, past the other members of the security team.

“Do you know what happened?”

“He told his mother he wanted to move out and she wasn’t happy. She’s threatening to cut him off and he started to shut down.”

“Oh.” She said as she followed him further into the house. They reached a formal sitting room, where Oliver was seated on the couch, Thea was next to him and a woman she recognized from the news, Moira Queen, was standing. “Oliver?”

“Who are you?” Moira asked, less than politely.

“I’m a friend of your son’s.” she answered before walking past her to get closer to Oliver. “Are you okay?”

‘No.’ he signed.

‘Do you want to leave?’ she signed.

‘Yes, but she won’t let me. She wants to cut me off. What if she doesn’t let me see Thea again?’

‘I don’t think you or Thea would let that happen.’

“What exactly are you doing?” Moira asked.

“Talking to Oliver.” Felicity said in a confused tone.

Tommy, who’d come into the room shortly after Felicity, spoke up. “Since when does Ollie know sign language?”

The blonde turned to Oliver and silently asked him if it was okay for her to tell them the truth. He nodded. “Since he asked me to teach it to him.”

“Oliver, we agreed-“

‘No, you agreed. I wanted to learn ASL, so I found someone to teach me.’ Felicity interpreted for him.

“Well, while I’m sure he appreciates your help, he won’t be needing it anymore.”

“Isn’t that for him to decide?” She responded. “Just like where he lives is for him to decide.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know that Oliver wants to move out. He told you about his plans and you told him he couldn’t leave. Despite the fact that he’s a 27-year old, fully functioning adult.”

“That’s what I said.” Thea remarked from the couch.

“Oliver can’t function on his own, he-“

“Doesn’t talk, I know. And while that’s difficult, its not as bad as you seem to think it is. He can still hear, he can see, he can feed himself, clothe himself, take care of his personal hygiene. The only thing he can’t do is talk, which he’s figured out ways to work around.” she said. “He’s an adult. I’m sure he has access to his trust fund, making him financially independent, and his condition doesn’t hinder his ability to take care of himself. What’s the problem with him moving out?”

“I won’t allow it.”

“Again, he’s an adult.”

Tommy stepped in, wanting to diffuse the situation. “Look, you and Oliver haven’t known each other for very long, but-“

“No, I haven’t. But he is my friend and I defend my friends. Whatever she said to him made him feel unsafe here, so we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”

‘Forget it, Felicity. They won’t listen. They never do.’

“What do you mean?”

‘I keep telling them that I’m not the Oliver that left, but they don’t get it. Tommy wants me to use the island as a way to pick up women. My mom wants me to take over QC. I’ve told them, but they don’t listen.’ He said, not looking at anyone. ‘My mom hired a therapist I don’t want, and he told her everything that happened during our sessions. She wants to know where I am all the time and doesn’t understand why I might want privacy or to be alone after so long isolated. I tell her I don’t wanna see Laurel but she keeps letting her come over. She doesn’t even look at me when we try to have a conversation.’

“What?” She said with an edge to her voice.

‘She doesn’t look at me. She’ll read what I write down, most of the time not all of it, but doesn’t look at me when she talks anymore.’

“Do you have a bag or something packed?” She asked Oliver, who nodded. “’Go get it.” He left, feeling Tommy and his mother’s eyes on his back. She’d heard enough. It was Loud Voice Time. “He’s leaving.”

“No, he’s-“

“No, he’s leaving. He wants to leave, and frankly, I’m starting to think its better for him mentally if he does.”

“What does that mean?”

“Ok. let’s go down the line.” She pointed to Tommy first. “You’re an asshole. He doesn’t want to see Laurel. He doesn’t wanna go bar crawling or use his trauma to get laid. He keeps telling you this, and you still don’t seem to get it. He’s different now, accept it or get out of his life.” She then turned to Thea. “You’re fine, because you’re trying. We can talk about some of the stuff that happened when he first got back later.” Lastly, she turned to Moira. “You, I don’t even have the right words to express how angry I am at you on his behalf.”

“What do you-?”

“One, you’re controlling. He shouldn’t need to tell you where he is every second of everyday. And he’s ditching his bodyguard half the time so that Mr. Diggle can’t report back to you. Two, you clearly don’t respect him. He said he didn’t want a therapist and you just ignored him. The therapist you got him should lose his license for sharing anything that happened during one of their sessions. You keep trying to get him to talk to Laurel despite the fact he’s said multiple times that he doesn’t want to see her. Having met her, I don’t blame him. You seem to think he’s just going to ‘snap out of it’ when it comes to his condition, but that’s not how trauma works. Then, there’s the talking thing.”

“Talking thing?”

“When you two have a conversation. You read what he writes but you rarely read all of it. You read the first sentence or two but don’t bother to be the rest. That’s the nonverbal equivalent to me shouting at the top of my lungs every time you open your mouth. On top of that, when you talk to him, you don’t even have the basic human decency to look at him. You talk to the wall, or to Thea when you’re addressing Oliver. How would you feel if someone did that to you? Why should he want to talk with you or even be around you when you act like that?”

“Who do you think you are?”

“I think I’m a friend of Oliver’s who’s tired of people treating him like crap for not being an irresponsible, reckless and easy to control idiot after going through five years of trauma. You might be his mother, and Tommy, you might’ve known him since you were three, but that doesn’t mean its okay for you to treat him like that.”

By now, Oliver had come back down with his bag. She stood to leave, with Moira, Tommy and Thea following behind them.

“Ollie, you can’t-“

“Oliver, be reasonable-“

“Text me when you feel up to it.”

Oliver turned around, gave Thea a short hug and continued walking. They got into Felicity’s car and she drove away from the house.

“Mr. Diggle, tell Mr. Thompson to close and lock the front gate until further notice.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ma’am.” Digg told her. “They are trying to leave. Doing anything that keeps them from leaving can be considered false imprisonment, such as locking the gate.” The former soldier doubted Felicity would take things that far, or that they’d have much of a case, but Moira was all about image, and the story wouldn’t make the Queen family look very good.

 

Felicity stopped at a red light and Oliver tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t have done that.’

“You didn’t want me to help you?” She asked, a little hurt.

‘No, I’m glad you helped, but this could be bad for you. You work for my family’s company. My mom could have you fired, and blacklisted.’

“She could, but it wouldn’t be very smart of her.” She admitted. “Even if she does, it was worth it. I meant what I said about people not treating you like crap. If I lose my job because I stood up for my friend, I’m okay with that.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?
-----------------------------
To clarify: its very rude, where I live, not to look at someone when you speak to them. It's also incredibly rude to only acknowledge an interpreter and not the person you're having a conversation with. Yes, the interpreter (ASL or otherwise) is there for a reason/job, but that doesn't mean its okay to pretend that the person they're interpreting for should be ignored. Moira's doing a version of that, and Felicity knows that's not okay.

Chapter 12

Summary:

Felicity and Oliver have a frank discussion, and Moira doesn't get her way (again).

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver stared straight ahead of him until he felt the car come to a complete stop. He couldn't understand why  Felicity had defended him so strongly against his family. Yes, they were friends, but she’d only known him for a few weeks. He wasn't sure he was worth the risk of her losing her job.

They'd stopped outside of a small condo in a middle class neighborhood of Starling. Felicity turned her car off and turned to Oliver, who'd been frozen since they’d left the mansion.

“Well, it's not much, but it's home.”

‘Thank you, Felicity’

“You don't need to thank me. I hate to say it, but staying where you were, it wasn't good for you. Having Thea around helped some, but you were dealing with too many others who either didn't believe your condition was real, or minimized it.”

‘They were trying their best.’

“No, they weren't. I've met too many people like them before, I know the difference.” She sighed. “The way you were being treated was bad for your mental health. And trying to get ‘the old Ollie’ back probably set your recovery back significantly. Therapy’s about learning to live with trauma, not pretending it never happened.”

Felicity led Oliver inside her condo and showed him the guest room. It wasn't much, but it made Oliver feel safer than he did at the mansion. He thought it might be because he knew she wasn't a threat and wouldn't make his anxiety worse. He tried to ignore the warm feeling inside of him every time he saw Felicity. 

 

Felicity knew she might go into work tomorrow only to get escorted out by security. It was possible, but given what her contract said, it wasn't likely. Even if she did get fired, she wouldn't regret it. She'd stood up for a friend who needed it. Besides, she had plenty of other projects, not related to QC, that were making money.


 

Queen Mansion

Moira and Tommy were still standing in the foyer in shock. They had no idea what had just happened.

“Who was that woman?”

Both turned to Thea for answers. “Her name's Felicity. She's a friend of Ollie’s.”

“And you called her because?” Moira asked.

“He needed someone in his corner other than me.”

“Well, whoever this Felicity is, she's a fool if-”

“Felicity? As in Felicity Smoak?” Walter, who'd just arrived home from a business meeting, asked.

“You know her?” His wife asked.

“Yes, she works for the company.”

“I want that woman fired!”

“Why? Because she stood up for Ollie and didn't let you walk all over him?” Thea asked angrily. “And you wonder why he wanted to leave.”

“Clearly, I missed something.” Walter remarked.

“Ollie wanted to move out. Mom tried to stop him and made some threats. He started having a panic attack, so I called Felicity, who's a friend of his. She stood up for him and they left a little while ago.”

“That woman is incredibly rude and-”

“She told you and Tommy that your behavior towards Oliver wasn't helping him and that you need to accept that he's different now. She only did that after you made it clear you didn't care what Oliver wanted and kept arguing with her.” Thea said.

“Still, I want her fired.”

“That would be a big mistake." Walter said. "She could sue for wrongful termination, since you don't hold a position at the company and I’d be firing her for something that has nothing to do with her performance or behavior at work. It would also cost us millions of dollars since we use some of her proprietary software for internal uses and we’d need to either pay a higher price to use it or develop something else after she stopped working there. Not to mention the number of projects we’d need to scrap that she worked on, since she retains legal ownership of those projects, as stated in her iron clad contract.”

Queen Consolidated was jumping to hire Felicity the second she graduated. Her choice came down to QC or Wayne Enterprises. Then, QC offered her what Wayne wouldn't, she’d keep ownership of anything she developed. They were too focused on snapping up the purported next Steve Jobs to consider a less extreme option.

“So, we can't do anything.” Moira said.

“You could try taking what she said seriously and changing your behavior.” Thea said before sauntering away.

Moira and Tommy were left standing in the foyer. Moira was too busy feeling insulted that someone had stood up to her to think about anything that was said. Tommy was struggling to understand what had just happened. Did Felicity have a point? Had he been ignoring the clear signs Oliver had been giving out?

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?

Chapter 13

Summary:

Felicity talks with Walter about what happened while Moira refuses to give up.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The day after Oliver had moved into Felicity’s guest room, the blonde woke up and went into work like normal. Yes, there was a very slim chance she could get fired for what she did, but she wasn’t going to hide from anyone. If they were going to fire her, they’d have to tell her in person.

She got to her office and started checking her emails. She also began processing help desk tickets, since it was her day to do that in the rotation. She was so busy doing that, she didn’t notice as an hour and a half flew by. Then, there was a knock on her door. She looked up to see Walter Steele there.

“Good morning, Ms. Smoak.”

“Mr. Steele, hi.” She said politely. She was trying not to show how nervous she really was. While her contract was ironclad, QC had managed to work around those before when they really wanted to.

“I was hoping to speak with you about a personal matter.”

“It’s about Oliver, isn’t it?” she asked. “Or better yet, my coming to his defense last night. This is probably the part where you fire me.”

“You aren’t fired. I don’t know what happened when you arrived at the mansion last night or what was said. But I can’t, and I won’t, fire one of our best employees for personal reasons. Your contract says so. Your friendship with Oliver has nothing to do with your performance at work or your behavior while in the office. And I’ve always believed one’s personal life should be separate from their professional one.”

“Okay. Uh, thanks for not firing me.” She wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond.

“At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite and ignoring that line of separation I just mentioned, could I ask you to pass one message along to Oliver?”

“Yeah.” She said, hesitantly.

“Could you ask him to message me, when he feels up to it? I understand he may need some time to think about it, but please tell him I’d like to speak with him.”

“Can I be honest?” Felicity asked. Walter nodded. “It might take him a while.”

“Understandable. I won’t keep you from work any longer.” He said before leaving her office.

 

Laurel walked into the mansion like she owned the place. Up until now, she’d come over to try and see Oliver. Today, however, she’d been invited by Moira Queen. The woman had only told her she needed to see her about an urgent legal matter. This was the first time Moira wanted Dinah Laurel Lance, attorney at law, and not Laurel Lance, Oliver’s ex-girlfriend.

“He’s not here you know.” Thea remarked, unhappy to see Laurel. she didn’t know what had happened between her, Ollie and Felicity, but she could guess it wasn’t good if Oliver would lock himself in a bathroom to avoid her.

“He’s not?”

“Nope. Moved out.” She was hoping Oliver would also pull his head out of his ass and act on his feelings for Felicity soon.

“Ah, there you are Laurel.” Moira said, entering the room. She led her through the house into one of the smaller sitting rooms. “I suppose you would like to know what this is about.”

“Yes. Does it have something to do with Oliver?”

“Yes. He’s moved out, which I disagree with.” She said as she handed her a stack of papers. “This is every document I have relating to Oliver’s trust. I want to know what I have to do to cut him off.” If he was going to make this difficult, then she would make things difficult.

Laurel read through the paperwork. It didn’t look good for Moira. There wasn’t any kind of clause barring Oliver from accessing his trust fund. He wasn’t required to marry before a certain age or hold a job or anything. The only thing he needed to do was turn 25 and outlive the person who set up the trust by 90 days. Since the trust was set up by his grandparents, he’d done that. Additionally, Moira was not the trustee of the fund, and thus couldn’t prevent Oliver from receiving what he was entitled to.

“Based just on these documents, you can’t.”

“What do you mean I can’t?”

“Oliver needed to do two things to access this money. He needed to turn 25, which he did. And he needed to outlive his grandfather by 90 days, which he did. Since it was Mr. Queen’s parents who left him this money, you don’t have a case to challenge the will in court.” She said. “The only way to control this fund is if you were to obtain guardianship over Oliver.”

“Oliver’s 27.”

“Yes, but if an adult is proven to not be mentally competent, the court will assign them a guardian to make decisions, including those involving his finances, on his behalf.”

“There’s just one problem: we can’t prove that.”

“Why not?”

“Oliver had to be evaluated by a psychologist before they would release him from the hospital. He was later evaluated by a different, court-appointed psychologist when we were in the process of bringing him back from the dead legally. Both evaluations were submitted to the court.”

“So, there’s nothing I can do.” Moira said.

“Nothing for now. Give me a few days.” She insisted. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this, but having Moira as a client would help her career. CNRI needed donors and this might give her a chance to snap Oliver out of it. "Estate law isn't my specialty, there might be some obscure law I'm unaware of."

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 14

Summary:

In which Thea is the world's best sister, Felicity is mystified by how delusional Moira is and Tommy finally picks a side.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Thea stuck her head out of her bedroom door and checked the hallway. When she saw is was empty, she closed the door, locked it and pulled out her phone.

>> To: Ollie: I need you to Facetime me RIGHT NOW!

>>From: Ollie: What’s wrong?

Rolling her eyes, she went down further in her contacts and dialed the number. “Are you with Ollie right now?”

“I just got home, so I can go grab him. Why?” Felicity answered.

“Can you put me on speaker?” She said hurriedly. She could hear Felicity pressing buttons on the other end.

“Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Mom and Laurel are up to something.”

At Felicity’s place, she gave Oliver a look as he processed what Thea was saying. “When you say up to something, what do you mean?”

“Laurel came to the house. Mom seemed to be expecting her and took her into one of the rooms we never use.” She told them. “I waited a little bit before following after them. Mom seemed- it just felt off to me. I might’ve stood outside the room and listened in. They were talking about Ollie’s trust fund and how to cut him off.”

“They can’t.” Felicity pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s what she told Mom, but then Laurel said something about incompetence.”

‘They can’t prove it. I was evaluated and deemed mentally sound.’ Oliver signed to Felicity.

She repeated what he said to her. “Thea, did either of them say anything about what they were going to do?”

“Mom told Laurel Ollie had been evaluated and everything. She told her she’d need a few more days, saying estate law wasn’t her specialty and she needed to look further into it.” She said. “Can they- could they get him declared incompetent.”

“They could try, yes, but its gonna be an uphill battle. Mental illness isn’t the same thing as being mentally incompetent. His situation, what he’s been through, what he’s dealing with, it doesn’t prevent him from making sound decisions or taking care of himself.” Felicity admitted. “Was Walter there or do you think he was involved?” She hadn’t had a chance to tell Oliver about him visiting her earlier that day.

“No, he was at work. And when he found out about Ollie moving out, he seemed supportive. Well, he said that it might be what he needs. Why?”

“He stopped by to see me today. He asked me to ask Oliver to contact him when he feels ready.” She answered. “I only said I’d pass the message along. Then, you called and I didn’t want to say anything before knowing if he was a part of this.”

“I don’t think he is.” Thea told her. “What do we do?”

“For right now, nothing. We need to see what they’re going to try first. A very naïve part of me hopes Laurel won’t be able to find a loophole and your mother will just drop it.”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Thea said angrily.

Oliver began saying something. ‘Can you ask if mom talked to Jean Loring?’ Felicity repeated the question.

“No. I think Mom’s gonna fire her for not telling her about Oliver buying his apartment or wanting to move out.”

“Um, not to be rude, but does your mom not understand how the law and legal ethics work?” Felicity wondered. “Because this is like the fifth thing she either doesn’t know or wants to ignore about the law. Oliver came to Jean, as a client, to go through the process of buying the apartment. He paid her with his money, not your mother’s, making him her client and she had no obligation to tell Moira anything. How did she find out anyway?”

‘She opened the envelope of paperwork Jean sent over.’

“Oh, so she committed a felony by opening mail that wasn’t addressed to her.” Felicity said. It honestly surprised her how much crap Moira got away with. “Ok, we’ll call Jean as soon as we get off the phone and talk with her. See what Oliver’s options are.”

‘Thanks for the heads up Speedy.’ Felicity repeated the message and they ended the phone call.

Their next call was to Jean to discuss options. She asked Oliver to come to her office the next day. That call ended and Oliver asked Felicity if he could talk with her and Digg about something the following night.

 

Tommy tried to call Oliver after he stormed out of the mansion with Felicity, but all of the calls went unanswered. It took him about 12 hours to realize that calling someone who was mute wasn’t the best idea. That just made him feel even more guilty because of how willfully ignorant he was being. He stopped trying to contact Oliver for a little while, needing to figure out what to say. He knew ‘sorry I was a sick who ignored your trauma’ wasn’t very helpful.

It was while Tommy was working on what he wanted to tell Oliver and how he wanted to approach him that Laurel called. Other than random booty calls, she hadn’t reached out to him in a few days.

“Hey.” He said, answering the phone.

“Hi. I need to ask you something.”

“Sure, anything.”

“How much time have you spent around Ollie since he came back and would you be willing to testify about the changes in his behavior?”

“What?” Laurel repeated the question. “What’s this about?”

She didn’t fully explain what Moira’s plan was, just said that Oliver was refusing to listen to his mother’s wishes and things might have to go to court. Laurel didn’t want having Oliver declared incompetent to be their first plan of attack, but she needed character witnesses in case things came to that. Tommy, Oliver’s best friend, was the ideal person to testify about his odd behavior recently.

“I haven’t spent much time with him and I don’t feel comfortable doing that.” He said honestly.

“It’s for his own good. He needs a wake-up call.”

Tommy didn’t want to argue, knowing it wouldn’t do any good and made an excuse to end the conversation. He immediately texted Oliver, no longer worried about how angry his friend might be.

>>To: Ollie: Laurel just called me. She asked about me testifying about your recent behavior. I think she’s trying to have you declared insane or something.

Moments later, he got a response.

>>From: Ollie: Meet me at Loring & Wasserman tomorrow at 10am. Thanks for the head’s up.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 15

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity talk to Jean, Tommy tries to right his wrongs and Felicity's done playing defense.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity stood next to Oliver as he looked up at the office building in front of them. Jean Loring’s practice, Loring and Wasserman, took up the top floor. When she saw Oliver gulp slightly, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently, showing her support.

“We’ve come this far, let’s keep going.”

‘Thank you.’

They walked into the building and Felicity was pressing a button for the elevator when Tommy called out to Oliver. They turned around to see him jogging over to them.

“Hey, how- how’ve you been?” he asked awkwardly.

‘Not great.’ He answered honestly. As always, Felicity translated his words. ‘I wish I didn’t have to be here. I wish it didn’t come to this.’

“Come to what?”

“You’ll see when he tells Jean what’s been going on.” She told him. “Other than Laurel’s phone call, can you think of anything else they’ve approached you about in regards to Oliver?”

“Not that I can think of. What’s- do you know what they’re up to?”

“We’ve got suspicions.” She answered cryptically as the elevator reached the correct floor. Felicity approached the receptionist and explained they had an appointment with Jean. They were led into a small conference room and offered refreshments. After about five minutes, Jean came into the room.

“Mr. Queen, nice to see you.” She said as she shook his hand. “This is more of a crowd than I was expecting.”

“I’m here as his interpreter.” Felicity explained. “And I’m also a witness to some of the things Oliver wanted to discuss with you. As is Tommy.”

“Ok, what’s this about?”

“We think Moira Queen and Laurel Lance are planning to try to have Oliver declared mentally incompetent.”

“And what makes you think that?”

‘I wanted to move out, as you know. When I told my mother, she threatened to cut me off, which she’s unable to do because I have fully access to my trust fund.’ Oliver signed. ‘Thea overheard them discussing loopholes and Laurel brought up that if I were declared unable to make sound decisions-‘

“You’d be placed under the guardianship of another person, with your mother being the most likely choice.” Jean filled in. “Why would she do this? I believe you, but I need to know more about her angle.”

“She’s a control freak.” Felicity said. “Oliver’s behavior since he came back isn’t what she wanted. She wanted a prodigal son, but he’s different now and she refuses to accept or acknowledge it. Her behavior was making Oliver’s mental health worse, so he wanted to move out. She refused to let him.”

“Do you have anything to add, Mr. Merlyn?” Jean asked.

“Last night, Laurel called me out of the blue. She asked how much time I’d spent around Ollie since he came back and whether I’d testify about his changes in behavior. She wouldn’t tell me much beyond that. I told her I didn’t feel comfortable with what she was asking, and she claimed Oliver needed a wake-up call.”

Felicity snorted. “Of course she did.”

“Could you elaborate?”

“She thinks he needs a wake-up call because she thinks this, Oliver not speaking, his changes in behavior, the symptoms of PTSD, are all an act, so that he doesn’t have to apologize to her or face what he’s done. Her words, not mine.”

“She thinks he’s faking?” Tommy asked.

“Yes. She made that clear when she accosted him in a coffee shop when he was just sitting there, not bothering anyone.” Felicity explained. She didn’t mention that Laurel had been calling and texting Oliver repeatedly for the last two days.

“So, you’ve come here so we can be prepared in case Laurel and Moira move forward with their plan.” Jean summarized. “I’d be happy to represent Oliver in that case. Or any other attempt they make.” She wrote something down before turning to Oliver. “I don’t suppose you brought the forms I sent over regarding your new apartment?”

‘No. My mom saw that the envelope was from me and opened it. She read the forms and confronted me, which led to me telling her I was planning to move out.’

“She opened your mail?”

‘Yes.’

“I had those forms delivered by courier because I knew the situation was unique. The courier wasn’t supposed to let go of that envelope until it was in your hands.” The attorney said, distressed. “I gave very specific instructions.”

“Having known Mrs. Queen, you probably persuaded the courier to leave it with her. She lives in the house and would be able to give it to Oliver.” Tommy pointed out.

“But she was aware those documents weren’t meant for her. By opening them, his mother committed a federal offense.”

‘It’s not surprising after what she did to my therapist. She forced me to see him, and even though I didn’t tell him anything substantial, he disclosed everything that happened in our sessions to her.’ Felicity repeated what he said.

Jean sat up straighter at the news. “Can you prove this? We could use it to show that Moira isn’t acting in Oliver’s best interest. And, if you want, we can sue the doctor for breach of confidentiality.”

“I don’t know. I might be able to find some proof.” Felicity said.

‘It would be my word against hers.’

“It wouldn’t just be yours. We can subpoena the doctor. Someone else may have overheard a discussion they had, such as Thea or Walter.” Tommy said. “Hell, if they had this talk at your house, Raisa or one of the security team could’ve heard it.”

“Speaking of Thea, will you be okay if I step out into the hallway really quick?” Felicity asked. Mentioning Thea and the mansion reminded her of something. She went into the hallway and called Thea. The teen was supposed to be at school but skipped for the day. “I need to ask you a question about Laurel.”

“She hasn’t been back since last night.”

“Good, but that wasn’t the question. Is there any kind of record of people coming and going from the mansion? Security cams? Anything like that?”

“I think Walter had some put up about two years ago. I’m not sure.”

“That’s okay. I was just wondering.” She hung up and went back into the room.

 

They wrapped up their meeting with Jean and left. Tommy asked Oliver to text him when he was ready to talk and Felicity and Oliver went back to her condo. They pulled up outside and found Laurel standing there.

“What are you doing here? Leave.”

“I came to talk to him.”

“How did you know where he was?” Felicity asked. “Oliver, stay in the car.”

“Moira told me he was staying with you.” She said, looking at the building with disgust.

“Ok, but how do you know where I live?” Felicity asked. “I’m not in the phone book.” She could think of two scenarios. Either Laurel looked her up using DMV records, which she didn’t have a valid reason to do, or she ran her name through a police database, which would only require asking her father for a favor. Felicity pulled out her phone and started dialing. “Yes, hello. I’d like to report a trespasser on my property.”

“What are you doing?”

“You’re on my property, I’ve asked you to leave. You’re refusing to leave, meaning you’re trespassing.”

Laurel scoffed and stormed off, getting into her car. Felicity told the dispatcher the trespasser was gone.

Over the next few days, Laurel continued to show up at Felicity’s condo at random times, demanding to speak with Oliver. She also called and texted him multiple times a day. Twice, she came to QC and confronted Felicity.

Unfortunately for her, Felicity kept detailed accounts of this happening and, after her second appearance at QC, Felicity and Oliver went to the SCPD with everything they had. Luckily, Quentin Lance didn’t work at the precinct they went to. Luckier still, the officers they spoke to weren’t his biggest fans and didn’t warn him about the charges Oliver and Felicity were pressing.

 

Laurel was at a fundraising lunch for CNRI, trying to drum up investors from Starling City’s elite when two men in suits she didn’t recognize approached her.

“Dinah Laurel Lance?” One of them asked.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been served.” He said, handing her an envelope and walking out.

The other attendees were staring at her and whispering among themselves. Laurel opened the envelope and read what was inside. It was a temporary restraining order. She wasn’t to be within 500 feet of Oliver Queen or Felicity Smoak. Moments later, two uniformed officers entered the restaurant.

“Stand up please.”

“What? No. Why?”

“Because you’re under arrest for harassment.” One of the officers said. “Stand up or I’ll have to add ‘resisting arrest’ to your charges.”

Feeling eyes on her, Laurel stood up and let herself be escorted out of the building.

Notes:

Thoughts? Comments?

Chapter 16

Summary:

Laurel's arraignment hearing takes place, Oliver comes clean about something and pressing charges throws a wrench in Moira's plans.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Laurel was escorted out of the restaurant and into a police car. The cruiser drove to a SCPD precinct downtown where Laurel was taken inside and booked. The entire time she tried to convince the officers that this was a mistake and demanded that they call her father.

As luck would have it, they were taking Laurel into a holding cell when Detective Lance showed up. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’ve got a warrant for her arrest. We arrested her. She’s here.”

“On what charges?”

“Why are you asking Lance? You don’t work at this precinct, its not a major crimes case and you aren’t exactly neutral in all of this.”

“I’m asking as a professional courtesy.” He reasoned. “This is a misunderstanding. Drop the charges.”

“I can’t do that. Two people came in wanting to press charges and they had enough evidence to warrant arresting your daughter. There’s nothing I can do.” The officer didn’t say it, but even if he could drop the charges, he didn’t want to. Lance was a good cop, unless his daughters were involved. He had a tendency to sweep things under the rug whenever they were involved.

“Who pressed the charges?”

“I’m not gonna tell you that and you know I’m not gonna tell you that. You can’t be involved with this at all. If you keep trying to get information on this case, IA’s gonna have to get involved.”

Lance grumbled, promised his daughter they’d work this out and stormed away. The arresting officer asked Laurel if she wanted to call an attorney, but she smugly responded that she’d be defending herself

“Well, your arraignment won’t be until tomorrow morning.” He informed her before walking away.

 

Moira was impatiently looking at the clock. Laurel should’ve been here by now. She called her cell phone and left a message. Thea came into the room right as she was ending the message.

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Laurel. She was supposed to meet with me to discuss- it doesn’t matter. I wonder where she is.”

“I don’t think she’s gonna be able to meet with you today.” Thea said knowingly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Laurel got arrested a few hours ago, so she’s a little busy right now.”

“Arrested? On what charges?”

“Why would I know?” Thea shrugged before leaving the room.

Laurel was under arrest. That just wouldn’t do. Moira needed to act quickly to make Oliver see sense. She couldn’t do that if her lawyer was in a prison cell. She asked one of the servants to bring the car around. She needed to get to the SCPD and clear this mess up.

Moira arrived at the closest police station and asked to see the officer that arrested Laurel Lance. No one there knew what she was talking about. She started making a fuss and then the captain came out to address her. He refused to answer any of her questions and told his men to ignore her. Eventually, she got frustrated and left, threatening to call the mayor.

 

 

Knowing, or at least suspecting, that Laurel’s arrest would garner attention on them, Felicity, Oliver and Digg were holed up at Felicity’s condo. Over the few weeks that he’d been Oliver’s bodyguard, they’d become friends or at the very least friendly. And after he didn’t stop Oliver from leaving the Queen mansion, Felicity trusted him.

Around dusk, Oliver told them he wanted to show them something. He drove them to an abandoned steel factory in the Glades that used to belong to Queen Consolidated. He led them into the building and down into the basement. This was where his lair as the Hood was set up. He pulled out his phone and opened Felicity’s app.

“I needed to tell both of you the truth. I’m the vigilante.” It read out.

“You’re the Hood?” Felicity asked.

‘Yes.’

“Why?”

“People are poisoning this city. Starling City is dying because too many people, people like my father, failed it. I want to bring justice, real justice, to this city.” The program read.

“That’s why you kept ditching me.”

“Does this, does it have anything to do with your….vocal issues?”

‘Yes and no. The experiences that turned me into the vigilante also took my voice, but it didn’t cause it.’

“I’m not- I can’t do this, Oliver.” John said turning away. “This is not- I’m out. I’ll keep the secret but-“ he left.

“Does it help?” Felicity asked quietly. “Doing this, being the vigilante, does it help you?”

‘A little. It makes me feel like I survived for a reason.’

“Okay then.” She said. “Are you planning to head out tonight or-?”

‘No. but I didn’t want to lie to you anymore.’

 

Early the next morning, Laurel was taken out of her cell and escorted to the courthouse. Her father, Moira Queen, and her friend Joanna were the only people who seemed to be there supporting her. Part of her was hurt that Tommy hadn’t come. Just before the hearing began, Moira spotted Jean Loring entering the room but didn’t have time to address her.

The bailiff began to speak. “Dinah Laurel Lance. You’re charged with three counts of harassment, two counts trespassing, one count of stalking, and one count of illegal information gathering. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty.” She answered. “And this is ridiculous.”

The judge banged his gavel. “I will not have outbursts in my court room.” He turned to the DA. “What is the People’s recommendation?”

“Ms. Lance is an attorney herself. She has a number of active cases and we don’t deem her a flight risk.” The DA answered.

“Fine. Bail is set at 10,000.” The judge announced. He was about to bang his gavel when Jean stood up.

“Your Honor, if I may interject.”

“Who are you?”

“Jean Loring. I represent one of the parties pressing charges against Ms. Lance. I move to add an additional stipulation to her bail. She’s aware of who is pressing charges against her. I move that she, nor anyone acting on her behalf, attempt to directly contact her accusers.”

“Objection. This condition prevents me from being able to build a defense against these charges.” Laurel argued.

“The People will provide you with copies of the evidence and a list of witnesses. I don’t see why you should need to contact the alleged victims yourself.” The judge said. “Overruled.”

Laurel’s bail was paid and she put in a motion to move the trial date up. Jean went to her office and told Oliver and Felicity how the hearing went.

 

After her bail was posted, Laurel left the station to find Moira waiting. “How exactly did this happen?”

“Oliver’s new friend decided to fight dirty. Which….complicates things.”

“How?”

“They both have restraining orders against me, which means I can’t be within a certain distance of them which means I can’t approach Oliver to ask him to talk things out with you.”

“So we’ll take the matter to court.”

“That’s also a problem, because any sane judge will throw out the case if I’m in the process of being tried for harassing and possibly stalking Oliver.”

“Well, let’s hope Oliver drops the charges.” Moira said, leading Laurel over to her car.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?

Chapter 17

Summary:

With Laurel's arrest now public knowledge, some people try to make the whole situation go away while others gain some clarity.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity sat with Oliver when Jean told them the news about Laurel’s arraignment. She told them she was trying to have the trial date moved up because she thought the charges were ridiculous.

“Who’s representing her?” Felicity wondered aloud.

“She’s decided to represent herself.”

“Isn’t there a saying about lawyers who represent themselves?”

“Yes, they have a fool for a client. This is good though.”

‘How?’ Oliver signed to Felicity. He’d been arrested before, but his parents always bailed him out, so he didn’t know how the actual trial process worked. She repeated the question to Jean.

“Laurel isn’t acting rationally. If she hired a lawyer, that person would be more objective and try to find a way to argue against the facts. From what I’ve seen, she’s focusing on her own feelings and opinions and will probably continue doing that.”

‘So she’s probably going to make a mistake.’

“I want both of you to keep an eye out. Laurel, her coworkers at CNRI, her father. If any of them approach you, I want you to contact me immediately. Actually, if anyone other than the two detectives you gave your statements to approach you and asks about this case or the charges, call me.”

“Will do.” Felicity promised before hanging up. “How are you doing?”

‘I wish it didn’t come to this. I wish she could’ve just left me alone and my mother would just listen to me.’

“I’m sorry this is happening too.” She told him. “You haven’t changed your mind though, have you?”

‘No. I don’t like this, but its what I need to do.’ He told her. ‘Thank you.’

“For what?”

‘Helping me, believing me. Giving me a place to stay. Not screaming or running away when I told you the truth.’

“John’s gonna be back, he just needs some time. I can see why it’s a lot to process. And you never have to thank me.”

 

Tommy was sitting in his room at Merlyn Mansion. He had his laptop open with several articles about PTSD, trauma and helping a friend going through a difficult time loaded in different tabs. He knew this was a little nerdy, and he would’ve laughed at himself a month ago, but he wasn’t sure how to help Ollie. He didn’t know how to help his friend, but maybe one of these articles or websites might.

He was halfway through with an article on the Mayo Clinic’s website when his phone rang. He answered it without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Where have you been?” Laurel asked.

“Well, right now I’m at home looking through-“

“Why weren’t you at my hearing?”

“Hearing? What hearing?”

“My arraignment. I got arrested yesterday.” She said angrily.

“For what?”

“Ollie and his new friend went to the police with this made up story about how I’m harassing them and how she thinks I’m stalking Ollie. It’s ridiculous. And you- you, didn’t even show up when I needed you to.”

Over the last few days, he’d thought a lot about his relationship with Laurel recently and some of the things she was saying was making him a little uneasy. “What do you mean?”

“I needed you there to support me. And you weren’t there.”

“How was I supposed to be? I didn’t know this was happening. You didn’t tell me, you didn’t ask anyone to let me know, and I’ve been holed up in my house for two days. I didn’t know any of this was going on.” He said. “So, now that you’ve yelled at me, what happens now?”

“Now, I’m gonna get even with Oliver and his friend. They had me arrested, they embarrassed me. I’m gonna make them pay.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Tommy told her. “It might make things worse.”

“I know what I’m doing.” She said, practically growling, as she hung up the phone.

 

Felicity woke up the next day, got dressed and went to work. She sat through two meetings for potential collaborations before grabbing lunch and returning to her office. Her good mood vanished the second she entered her office and found Moira standing there.

“Hi.” She said warily.

“I want to talk to Oliver about something. Where is he?”

“Why do you wanna talk to him?”

“That isn’t your concern.”

“Well, when you consider he’s currently pressing charges against Laurel, you keep trying to make him talk to Laurel and her bail will get revoked if she tries to talk to him, yes it is.” Felicity explained. “And also, I’m not his babysitter.”

“My son is sick.”

“No, he isn’t. He’s just thinking for himself and you don’t like that.” She countered. “I think you should go, unless you want to discuss the upgrades I’m making to the company firewall.”

“Or what?”

“Well, I’d have to contact the judge presiding over Laurel’s trial and inform him that Laurel, through you, is trying to contact Oliver despite knowing she isn’t supposed to. I don’t want to do that, but I will.”

“Are you threatening her? Or me?”

“How is asking someone to respect a valid restraining order threatening? Oliver wants to be left alone. As do I. I’ll tell him you came to visit, and if he wants to talk to you, I’m sure he will.”

The Queen matriarch must not have had anything to say, because she let out a huff and left. The rest of Felicity’s workday went by smoothly, in spite of the strange looks her coworkers were giving her.

 

She drove home and got out of her car. She was locking the vehicle when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see a man old enough to be her father approaching her.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name is Detective Lance.”

“You really shouldn’t be here, detective.” She said.

“Oh really, and why’s that?”

“You know why. Let me guess, you’re here to try and convince me to let you talk to Oliver about the case against Laurel.”

“He killed one of my daughters and now he’s trying to get the other one locked up.”

“No, he isn’t. He wants to be left alone. Your daughter refuses to leave him alone. Things were escalating and he, we, needed to do something. If Laurel had just left him alone, there wouldn’t need to be a case.”

“Yeah, because he’s totally innocent in all of this.”

“In this? Yes. Because he’s gone out of his way to steer clear of your family, but she won’t let him. And before you say it, whatever happened five years ago doesn’t justify the harassment he’s been dealing with.” She argued. “And now, you’re here trying to fix things for her, which isn’t gonna look good.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, you’re a cop. I’m a victim and potential witness to the crime your daughter is being tried for. This isn’t your jurisdiction, either.” She pointed out. “At best, you’re a man with a blindspot, at worst, you might be a crooked cop.” She stepped around him and walked to her front door. “That’s all I have to say to you, detective.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 18

Summary:

Felicity talks to Oliver about her surprise guests, Thea tries to encourage her brother and Oliver has some self-worth issues.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity walked into her condo and let out the deep breath she was holding in. She wasn’t a very combative person by nature, nor was she big on confrontation. The last few days, however, had brought out that side of her. She walked into her kitchen, where she was surprised to see Oliver cooking something. She didn’t want to startle him, so she dropped her bag on the table with a quiet thud, causing him to turn around.

“Hey.”

‘Hi. How was work?’

“It was fine, until your mom showed up. She wanted to talk to you.”

‘Did she do something? Cause a scene?’

“No, she was just a little unpleasant, and didn’t understand why I wouldn’t budge. I’m mostly annoyed that she’s interrupting my workday, and the workday of other employees, for a personal matter.”

‘Did you tell Jean?’

“I’m not sure if I should. She didn’t bring up Laurel or the case, so I can’t say she was definitely trying to pull something. At the same time, telling her feels like the right move.” She said. “But first, I need to check to make sure the external cameras are on.”

‘Why?’

“Because Laurel’s father was waiting for me when I got home.”

‘Are you okay? Did he threaten you?’ Oliver felt guilty. Ever since he met Felicity, he’d been making her like more complicated. Maybe he should just leave, so that she wouldn’t have to deal with his problems.

“I’m fine, but I need to call Jean.” She promised him. “And get that ‘this is all my fault’ look off of your face. You can’t control the actions, or overreactions, of other people.” She looked past him to what he was cooking. “What is that?”

‘I made dinner. I wanted to thank you for helping me so much. It’s just some pasta and grilled chicken but I thought-‘ This was hard for him. Talking about his feelings was hard. Expressing himself was hard. Even if he didn’t need to speak, it was difficult for him to tell Felicity what he wanted to say.

“I can’t wait to try it, thank you.” She said before heading to her room to change.

They ate dinner before Felicity called Jean. She told her about Moira’s visit at her work and her conversation with Lance. She mentioned that Moira didn’t outright say what she wanted but Lance made his motivations clear. Oliver sat beside Felicity as she and Jean discussed what to do.

“There’s a question I’ve been….reluctant to ask, but since Laurel seems determined to fight this out, I need to know.” Jean said. “Is there anything in your past that I should know about, Felicity?”

“In what sense?”

“Laurel may try to attack your character while attempting to prove her innocence. I need to know, and the DA’s gonna need to know, if there are any skeletons in your closet that she might find. I don’t want you to be blindsided.”

“I had a stalker my first year of college. My ex-boyfriend hacked into the Department of Education right after we broke up my senior year and he went to prison. And then there’s Emily, my cousin who she might bring up.”

“Why would she bring up your cousin?”

“I’d rather explain to you in person, but she’s the reason I learned sign language and why I’m being so protective of Oliver.” Felicity said. “The rest is kinda- like I said, I’d rather not tell you about it over the phone.”

“That’s fair. Could you stop by my office tomorrow and we’ll discuss it?”

“Yes.” Felicity agreed before wrapping up the conversation and ending the call.

Oliver was looking at her with a concerned look. ‘Did something happen to her? Do you wanna talk about it?’

“Thanks for offering, but I’d prefer not to.” She told him, getting up from the couch. “I think I’m gonna go read alone for a while. You didn’t do anything, I just- I need some alone time.” She assured him as she went into her bedroom. This situation with Laurel was bringing up a lot of painful memories for Felicity.

After she disappeared into her room, Oliver’s phone buzzed. He saw that he had two texts, one from Tommy and one from Thea.

>>From: Tommy: Laurel called me. She sounded kinda unhinged, talking about how she was going to make you and Felicity pay. I told Jean about it, but I wanted to tell you too.

He didn’t respond and his breathing started to become shallow as he worried about what she might do. It took him several moments to calm himself enough to read Thea’s text.

>>From: Speedy: Have you made your move yet?

>>To: Speedy: What move?

>>From Speedy: Felicity. I know you like her, are you gonna ask her out???

>>To: Speedy: No, I think I’ve caused her enough problems already.

>>From: Speedy: That’s complete crap. You like her, I’m pretty sure she likes you. Ask her out. You deserve to be happy.

>>To: Speedy: I’m a mute with PTSD and a ton of other problems. She deserves better than someone like me.

>>From Speedy: Yes, you’re mute. And yes, you have some issues, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be happy or that you aren’t good enough for her.

>>From: Speedy: I’ll drop the subject after this, but think about it for a second. Felicity’s the first person who you said made you feel normal. And she doesn’t treat you any differently because of your situation.

>>From: Speedy: I gotta go. Homework to do.

>>To: Speedy: Goodnight Speedy.

 Oliver wandered into the bathroom and locked the door. While he thought about what Thea said, he stared at himself in the mirror. He did have feelings for Felicity, that much was true, but he didn’t know if she had feelings for him. On top of that, he was so damaged, physically and emotionally, that he didn’t think anyone would want him. He wasn’t sure if he deserved to be happy after everything he’d done. Felicity was happy and amazing, like sunshine personified, while he was all darkness and pain. He thought the only thing a relationship with him could bring her was pain.

There was a light knock at the door. “Oliver? Is everything okay? You’ve been in there for about ten minutes. Just, if you’re okay, knock twice for ‘yes’.” Felicity said. He knocked twice on the door. “Do you just need some time alone?” He knocked twice more. “Okay, I’ll give you some space.”

He heard her footsteps move away from the door. Oliver stared at himself in the mirror and opened his mouth. Maybe, if he started talking again, if he could convince people he was normal, this whole thing would go away. All he had to do was move his mouth and make sound come out. He started moving his lips, but no sound would come out. He stood there for several moments, trying to will some noise, any noise, to come out, but was met with silence. Depressed, he turned away and unlocked the door, leaving the room. Felicity was on the couch, watching something on a low volume and looked up when the door opened. She stood up when she saw his expression.

“You’re crying. What’s wrong?”

‘I tried.’ He signed. ‘Nothing would come out.’

“What?”

‘I tried to speak, to say something, but the sound wouldn’t come out. I thought maybe, if I really tried, I could talk again and this would all go away, but it didn’t work.’

“Oh, Oliver.” She said, moving closer to him. “Is it okay if I hug you?” He nodded, so she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry. I don’t think it’s about effort, it’s about healing and time. You’re on the way, but you aren’t there yet.” She told him. “And that’s okay. It’s okay not to be okay.”

‘Thank you, Felicity.’

When he went to bed that night, he thought back on his conversation with Felicity. She had made him feel so much better, which only convinced him that he wasn’t good enough for her.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 19

Summary:

Oliver and Tommy talk and Felicity tells Oliver something.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The next morning, Felicity was getting ready for work when Oliver walked over to her. He seemed determined but had a nervous look on his face. She smiled at him and waited for him to say or do whatever he was worried about.

‘Good morning.’

“Morning.” She responded. “How are you feeling?”

‘Better than yesterday.’ He signed at her. ‘Is it okay if Tommy comes here this afternoon? I wanted to talk to him, but I don’t wanna meet him in public because of the press.’

“He’s your best friend, of course he can come over.” She told him.

‘But it's your house.’

“You live here too, and anyone on Team Oliver is welcome here.”

‘Team Oliver?’

“All of the people who want to support you and make sure you aren’t forced to do things you don’t wanna do. You, me, Tommy, Thea, Digg, Jean. Team Oliver.” She explained.

‘I don’t know if Digg still counts.’ He said. They hadn’t heard from the retired soldier since Oliver revealed his secret identity.

“He called me a little while ago. He wants to talk to you, about what you told us. He admits that he was too surprised by the revelation to fully listen to your arguments.” She said. She looked over to the clock. “Sorry, I gotta go. Work and all that. Tell Tommy I say hi.” She grabbed her bag and headed out.

On her way to work, Felicity stopped by the SCPD and told the detectives about Moira’s visit to her office and Lance coming to her home. She wasn’t sure what, if anything, would come of it, but wanted to do things the right way just in case.

 

Knowing that Digg was open to talking, Oliver sent John a message just asking how he was doing. He wanted to ease into the conversation about Oliver being the Hood and John’s feelings about it. Digg said he’d spent the last few days thinking about what Oliver had told them, and why he was doing what he was doing. He admitted that while he didn’t fully understand Oliver’s reasons, he could see where his motivations were coming from. Oliver ended the conversation by asking John to meet him at the foundry the following night.

 

Around noon, Oliver texted Tommy and asked if he’d come to Felicity’s house. He was finally ready to talk like Tommy had suggested in Jean’s office. His friend almost immediately agreed and drove over. When Oliver let him into the house, he launched into a long speech.

“First, I wanna say I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t take what you were saying about your state seriously and I’m sorry that I didn’t pick up on how you were reacting when I did that. I guess I was so excited to have my wingman back, I ignored anything that didn’t fit the image of you I wanted. But, after Felicity pointed a few things out, and some research on my own, I realize how selfish and hurtful my actions were.”

Oliver pulled out his trusty pad of paper and started writing. You did research?

“My best friend has PTSD and he’s trying to recover from five years of trauma. Of course, I did. I read a bunch of articles about PTSD and trauma so that I wouldn’t be such an asshole inadvertently.” Tommy chuckled. “I mean, I don’t know anything about what you went through, and I wasn’t sure what else to do, so…”

You didn’t need to do that much.

“Yes, I did.” He insisted. “So, what did you wanna talk about? Crap, that wasn’t a good word to use.”

Hearing the word ‘talk’ doesn’t upset me. You don’t have to avoid using it. I use it all the time. I get kinda annoyed when people avoid words like ‘talk’ and ‘speak’ or feel bad for saying it. He handed the sheet over to Tommy before starting to write on another one. I don’t wanna talk about what happened. I think it’ll be a long time before I’d even consider it. No one seemed to get that except Felicity and Digg and later Thea, which is why I’ve spent so much time with them.

“That makes sense.”

I’m not Ollie anymore. Even if I could talk, I don’t think I could ever be him again. Too much has happened. And as painful as it's been for you all here, for me its' been way worse. I spent five years trying to come home, dreaming about it. But when I finally got home, everyone was trying to get the ‘old me’ back and no one seemed happy since I wasn’t Ollie and my mother claims she still hasn’t gotten her son back. Imagine how that feels.

“That’s awful. And again, I’m sorry for making things worse.”

You didn’t make things worse, just the same. But it didn’t make it any easier I have issues, and they aren’t just PTSD and mutism. Some of the ‘I want Ollie back’ behavior brought those issues to light.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Helping stop Laurel and my mom is doing a lot. Other than that, what you’re doing now is good. I think there might be a Rockets game on. The conversation had gotten a little too heavy and veered too far into Oliver’s mental state. He wanted to backtrack. Tommy read the note, said they should watch it and handed Oliver the remote.

Tommy left around four and Felicity came home a little after five. She looked upset, but wouldn’t say why. Oliver wanted to respect her privacy, so he didn’t push. They were eating dinner, some Big Belly Burger she’d picked up, when she finally spoke.

“I have a meeting with Jean in the morning. Its about Emily. I’m not looking forward to it.” She admitted. “There’s- I don’t think of myself as an angry or vindictive person, but if Laurel brings her up, all bets are off. She should’ve left you alone to begin with, but if she crosses that line, I won’t be able to just let it go.”

‘I can come with you, if you want.’ He offered.

“I’d like that. Just- there’s something I need you to know before you agree.” She told him. “Emily- she’s- she isn’t- she passed away, and I blame myself.” 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 20

Summary:

Emily. and Felicity's, story is told.

Notes:

Warning: this is not a fun chapter. It's not a happy chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Emily- she’s- she isn’t- she passed away, and I blame myself.” Felicity admitted.

‘Why do you blame yourself?’ Oliver signed.

“I didn’t- when I tell you the story, you and Jean both, then you’ll understand. How did it go with Tommy?”

‘Good, we talked about his behavior and came to an understanding. He was acting like an asshole, but a well-meaning asshole. If that makes sense.’

“It does, kinda.” She told him.

The night was quiet and then Oliver mentioned needing to take care of something Hood-related. ‘I’ve been putting the fight off for longer than I meant to.’ he had given Anthony Venza, a major drug dealer in Starling several days to turn himself in or get out of town. The man hadn’t taken him up on that offer, so Oliver needed to pay him another visit.

“If you need to go, you should go. Just- be safe, and be careful.” She told him.

 

It wasn’t difficult for Oliver to find Venza. After their confrontation days ago, the dealer hadn’t even bothered to find a new hideout. He wasn’t sure if the man didn’t take the threats seriously or if he was just stupid.

“Oh, you’re back. Here to threaten me again?” The man yelled at Oliver after he’d stormed into the building and taken out his security. “News flash, it doesn’t work if you aren’t gonna back it up.” Oliver didn’t react other than to raise his bow and aim it at Venza. “Look, I’m not leaving. I’ve got a good business built here. I’ve got the drugs and this city’s got plenty of junkies willing to pay whatever I ask to get their fix. I leave, and someone else’s just gonna take my place.” Oliver released the arrow and watched as it hit Venza in the shoulder. He didn’t want to kill him, just to wound. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

Oliver lowered his bow and attacked the man. He had gotten the confession he needed. The building he was standing in held more than enough proof that Venza was making and selling drugs. He just needed the dealer to still be here when the police arrived. Knocking the man out wasn’t difficult and he was already hearing sirens when he was tying the man to his chair so he couldn’t escape.

Oliver left his recording arrow, with Venza’s full confession on the desk for the police to find before making his escape. His father’s list now had one less name on it for him to deal with. He went to the foundry, changed out of his hood and returned to Felicity’s condo a little before dawn.

 

The next morning, Felicity knocked lightly on Oliver’s door a little after eight. “Hey, my appointment with Jean is at nine, so if you still wanna be there, you should probably get up soon.” She said from the hallway before walking away.

Oliver was up, dressed and ready to go within five minutes. Felicity had been very supportive of him. He wanted to be just as supportive of her. He didn’t know why Emily was a sore subject or why Felicity seemed to be dreading this meeting, but he was determined to be there for Felicity, however she needed him to be, so that she wouldn’t have to talk about it alone. If the blonde was surprised that he was ready so quickly, she didn’t say anything other than to ask Oliver if he wanted to eat something before they left.

The drive to Jean Loring’s office was quiet and they were shown into a conference room as soon as they arrived. Jean came in a few moments later.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were joining us as well, Oliver. Is that ok with you, Felicity?”

“Yeah, I kinda- I asked him to be here. Nothing against you, but I wanted a friend here with me.” Oliver gave her an encouraging smile and turned back to Jean.

“That’s understandable. We can start whenever you’re ready.”

“I don’t know where to start, actually.” She said, looking down at her hands. “’I guess I should tell you why Laurel’s likely to bring Emily up. Emily and Oliver’s situations are very different, but they have some similarities and she’s- I’m afraid she’s going to argue that I’m projecting my guilt about Emily onto Oliver’s situation.”

“In what way?”

“I feel like I didn’t do enough to help her.” She said. “My cousin, she was born deaf. We all learned sign language as soon as we knew. We wanted to be able to communicate with her. Emily- you know how sometimes people who are deaf have issues being understood when they speak? Emily learned to talk, but since she could never hear herself, she didn’t know how words were supposed to sound. The enunciation, volume, pitch, she couldn’t hear any of that, so she was missing the important feedback that hearing children learn from when they start talking. It didn’t really become a problem until she started school. Her first day of school, she tried to talk to the other kids, to make friends, but it didn’t work out very well. Kids can be mean and they started making fun of her. She ended up switching classes when the teacher noticed. So, from kindergarten until the start of 11th grade, she didn’t talk around anyone who wasn’t family. The county got her an interpreter for school and she communicated using ASL.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“Her 11th grade English teacher was an asshole. He knew she was deaf. He knew she had a right to use an interpreter, but he didn’t care. He singled her out because he saw an interpreter as being a distraction for the other students. I think he just didn’t wanna accommodate her and was hoping to force her into changing schools. He added a graded speech to the curriculum and pulled Emily and her interpreter aside and told them that if she used the interpreter, he’d give her a failing grade. Now, no one in my mom’s family takes that kinda crap lying down, so my uncle raised a fuss, justifiably. They sided with Emily, but the damage was done. Everyone in the school knew about it and because teenagers are mean, they started picking on her. Trying to get her talk, mocking the way she signed. Those kinds of things.” Felicity said. “I- I was at MIT when this happened, so all I could really do is text or Skype her and try to make her feel better. That app I built, I built it so that she wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of crap every single day. I was trying to make things a little better for her.” Oliver reached over and squeezed Felicity’s hand. He could sense that the hard part of the story was coming. “But I wasn’t able to finish it before-.”

“Before what?” Jean asked in a kind voice. She didn’t want to press for details, but she needed to know the full story.

“She was being bullied, badly. And nothing I did, nothing my mom did or my family did, was able to help her. We tried but it became too much for her. So, she came home from school one day and she-.” By now, Felicity was sobbing. “And it’s my-“

Oliver could fill in the blanks. Emily’s peers bullied her to the point where she didn’t see a way out and she killed herself. Felicity blamed herself for that happening. ‘It’s not your fault.’

“Yes, it is. She tried to Skype me, but I was studying for a test and-“

‘It’s not your fault. You tried the best that you could to help her. You weren’t the one to make her feel like that was her only option and you couldn’t have known she was going to do that.’

“I’m going to give both of you a moment.” Jean said, standing up.

“No, I- I wanna get this over with.” Felicity said. “After that happened, I finished the app. I couldn’t help Emily, but I could help other people. I also swore that I wouldn’t let that happen to anyone else if I could prevent it. Then, I met Oliver and he asked me to teach him ASL and we became friends. Then, I found out his mother was trying to force him to speak and browbeat him into doing things her way and not caring how he felt and-“

“It reminded you of Emily and your promise.”

“Exactly. But I- I’m not helping Oliver because of Emily. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. No one deserves to be treated like that.” Emily’s death was a pivotal moment in Felicity’s life. It was the reason she created half a dozen apps to help deaf people, blind people and others with disabilities. It was also when she decided she wasn’t going to ignore it or look the other way when people, like Laurel Lance and Moira Queen, went out of their way to make people struggling with mental illness feel worse about themselves. She wasn’t going to sit by and just let people behave like that.

‘I know.’ Oliver signed.

Jean didn’t need to hear anymore from Felicity and they came up with a plan in case Laurel used Emily to discredit Felicity. “I’ll admit, it will surprise me if she’s foolish enough to bring her up. On the surface, it might look like some form of trump card, but digging any deeper and it only makes your character look better. I think I should look into Ms. Lance some more, see what information I can dig up.”

“Can you also find out how she knows where I live? Because I’m purposefully not in the phone book and she had to get it from somewhere.” Felicity stated.

“Yes, that’s on the top of my list.”

Felicity and Oliver thanked Jean and left. Felicity was no longer sobbing, but she was still crying. “Kinda glad I took a personal day from work for this.” She said, trying to lighten the mood.

‘You don’t have to pretend to be okay.’ Oliver told her. ‘Why don’t I drive?’ She handed him the keys and he drove them back to her condo.

They went inside and Felicity made a beeline for the freezer and pulled out some ice cream. “Sorry, I just- I really need this.”

‘You don’t need to explain. I know that wasn’t easy to talk about.’

“I don’t think its ever going to be.” She admitted as she dug her spoon in for more. “Want some?”

‘Thank you, but no.’ He told her. He considered something for several moments before finally saying it. ‘Tell me about Emily. Something happy.’

“She was an amazing artist. I have this painting she did in my room. It’s the view from the roof of the apartment building my mom and I used to live in. It’s beautiful.” She said with a smile. “She also- she had the weirdest sense of humor. She’d find the most random things funny and then I’d laugh because she was laughing.”

‘She sounds wonderful.’

“She was.” Felicity wiped away some of her tears. “I’m sorry. You’re dealing with enough issues as is, I don’t wanna add mine on top of that.”

‘You aren’t. You have supported me for weeks. I want to return the favor.’ He said. ‘But it isn’t your fault. You, your family, you all did everything you could. Even now, you’re doing more than you need to. Emily’s death isn’t your fault, and you shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened.’

“And you shouldn’t blame yourself for what’s happening now. Your mom, Laurel, Laurel’s father, its not your fault.”

‘It is though. If I tried harder to be normal, then maybe-.’

“I don’t wanna interrupt you, but no. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

‘Neither did you.’

The room fell silent. “You know what I kinda wanna watch? Harry Potter. Emily loved those movies. I’ve got all of them, but I haven’t watched them since- well, in a long time.” Felicity remarked.

‘Let’s watch them. If its okay that I watch them with you?’

“Of course, I’ll go grab them.” She said as she put the ice cream back into the fridge and went into her bedroom. She came back holding a stack of DVDs.

Oliver and Felicity spent the rest of the day watching the first three Harry Potter films. Oliver had only read the first two books, but made a mental note to ask Felicity about the others.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 21

Summary:

Oliver and John talk, Felicity and Thea talk and they get some less-than-good news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity and Oliver were just finishing up the third Harry Potter movie when Oliver realized what time it was. He was supposed to meet Digg at the foundry soon to talk. He didn’t want to blow the other man off, but he also didn’t want to leave Felicity alone. He decided to text him instead, asking him to come here.

‘Digg is on his way.’ He told Felicity.

“He is? Why? What’s wrong?”

‘Nothing. I wanted to talk to him about me being a vigilante. We were going to meet at my father’s old steel factory but I didn’t want to leave you alone.’

“Oliver, I’m a big girl. You don’t need to worry about me.”

‘I don’t need to, but I do.’ He responded.

“Aren’t you sweet.” She remarked as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”

Oliver’s cheeks reddened when she kissed him and he was trying to figure out how to respond when there was a knock at the door. He went over to answer it after seeing it was John.

“Hey man.”

Hi, thanks for coming.

“No problem. Is everything okay with Felicity? You said in your text that you didn’t want to leave her here alone.”

We met with Jean today. Felicity had to tell us what happened to her cousin. It’s not a happy story. It hasn’t been a very good day.

“So, you wanted to support her since she’s supported you.” He remarked knowingly. “Okay. Makes sense. Let’s talk about why I’m here. You’re the Hood.”

I’m not a fan of that name.

“Is there another codename you wanna go by?” Digg asked. Oliver didn’t have an answer to that. “If you don’t pick a name, the police or press are gonna name you themselves.”

 

While John and Oliver were talking, Felicity hid in her room to give them some privacy. She didn’t want to intrude on their conversation and she was also worried Oliver might be more focused on making sure she was okay than coming to an understanding with John or explaining things.

She was working on a piece of code when her phone rang. She saw Thea was calling her and answered. “Are you anywhere near your mother or Laurel right now?” She asked immediately.

“No, of course not.” The teenager answered. “I was just calling to say hi.”

“Hi. Sorry if it sounded like- I wasn’t accusing you of anything, its just- I want this whole mess to be over.”

“Me too. Mom keeps making comments about how she ‘just wants to fix things’ whenever I’m in the room. I think she’s hoping I’ll call Ollie to try and get him to come back here. Like I’d make him step foot in this place with what’s going on.” She said. “How- how is he?”

“He’s struggling. Your mom’s behavior, the situation with Laurel, its stressing him out. And he’s starting to feel guilty because their actions aren’t just impacting him. I keep telling him it isn’t his fault but he doesn’t seem to believe me.”

“He’s blaming himself? That’s ridiculous.”

“To you and me. maybe. But to him, its not. He thinks that if he tried harder to be normal or something, none of this would be happening. Its not true and I think deep down he knows that, but the guilt still remains.”

“He doesn’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

“Again, we both know that, but he doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Another thing he doesn’t want to admit.” Thea remarked. He didn’t want to admit that what was happening wasn’t his fault. He didn’t want to admit that he had feelings for Felicity.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, its nothing. I- I was trying to encourage him to do something, but he kinda shut down and I haven’t tried to mention it since.” She hurried to say. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure? Because I can try to broach the subject with him if its important.”

“It’s not.” Thea insisted. “Can I talk to Ollie for a second? I don’t need to talk with him, there’s just- there’s something I want him to hear from me.”

“Yeah, let me go get him.” Felicity left her bedroom and walked into the living room where Oliver and John were. “Sorry, Thea wants to talk to you.” She talked into the receiver. “I’m gonna hand him the phone okay?”

She could make out the sounds of Thea’s voice but couldn’t decipher what she was saying to Oliver. He listened to his sister with rapt attention for just over a minute before handing the phone back to Felicity.

‘Tell her I love her.’ He signed. ‘And I’m sorry I haven’t said it before now.’

Felicity repeated the message and Thea said her goodbyes before hanging up.

 

John didn’t feel comfortable staying after Thea’s phone call. Clearly, whatever she’d said to Oliver had made him very emotional, and the man wasn’t used to other people seeing him like that. John told Oliver that they’d talk more later and let himself out. Oliver and Felicity were alone in the living room once again. It was quiet for a solid five minutes.

“Oliver, are you okay? Thea’s phone call seemed to really- if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

‘I didn’t tell her I loved her when I got back. I spent five years wanting to just hug my family and tell them I loved them, but when I came back I couldn’t. I lost a lot over five years, but I think that’s the worst. They took my voice from me.’

“They?”

Oliver had slipped up. Until now, he’d never mentioned there were other people on the island with him. It was now or never. ‘I wasn’t entirely alone on the island. There were others there, and they tortured me.’

She didn’t say anything right away and Oliver stood up from the couch and started to walk away. “Wait, please. Stop.” She said, following after him. “I’m sorry, I just- I don’t know what I’m supposed to say or do here. ‘I’m sorry that happened’ doesn’t feel like enough. It’s not enough. And I don’t wanna downplay what you told me by trying to relate. Nor do I wanna ask if you’d like to talk about it, because I’m pretty sure you don’t. Just, tell me what you need from me, please.”

‘You still want to help me?’ He was afraid that if anyone found out what happened to him, they’d think he was weak or think he was damaged. They wouldn’t look at him or treat him the same.

“Of course, I do. What you said, it doesn’t change anything about us.”

‘You don’t think I’m weak or pathetic because I was tortured?’

“No. Oliver, you survived on your own for five years. You dealt with some very traumatic things happening to you. You aren’t weak. In fact, you’re probably the strongest person I know.” She told him.

‘I need some time alone for a little bit.’

“Okay.”

She didn’t see Oliver for the rest of the night. The next morning, he was already in the kitchen when she came in for some coffee. It didn’t look like he’d slept very well. She was about to ask if he was okay when her phone rang. She saw that it was the detective they’d spoken to about pressing charges against Laurel.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Smoak, this is Detective Parks. I have Mr. Donner, the ADA here with me. Is now a good time?”

“As good a time as any.”

“Ms. Lance filed a motion to move up the trial date.” The attorney said. “I just received word that its scheduled to start on Monday.”

It was Thursday, meaning Felicity and Oliver only had four days before they were due to appear in court. “The trial starts Monday?”

“Yes. Both you and Mr. Queen will be called to testify and it was important that you know. I was wondering if we could meet either today or tomorrow to go over a few things to prepare. I also wanted Mr. Queen to have a chance to meet with the ASL interpreter we’d be using.”

“I’ll- let me talk to Oliver and I’ll call you back.” She said before hanging up. “I take it you heard most of that.”

‘Yes.’ He said with a frown. ‘I wanna get this over with.’

“Me too.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 22

Summary:

Laurel's trial begins

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver spent the four days before Laurel’s trial working off his nerves by crossing names off of his father’s list. He knew it might not be the healthiest way to cope, but he had too many conflicting emotions about the trial and couldn’t think of another way to get all of that energy out.

Felicity spent the time helping Oliver with a few things related to his self-assigned mission. Outside of his mission, she doubled down on some of her personal projects. Her nerves about how the trial would go manifested as her feeling the need to finish all of her unfinished projects and start the new ones she’d been putting off. Unfortunately, Monday came a lot faster than either Oliver and Felicity were ready for.

Thanks to John, Oliver and Felicity both arrived at the courthouse and were able to make it through the crowd of paparazzi unharmed. Laurel’s arrest hadn’t gotten much attention when it first happened; people in Starling got arrested every day.  Then, word got out that Laurel’s ex-boyfriend was the one pressing charges and the press jumped on that instantly. Oliver Queen’s name sold papers, so of course every tabloid in town had shown up to dig up some dirt. Oliver was just happy that, by county law, only respectable news outlets, such as the Starling Times, were allowed to sit in on court proceedings.

They were taken to a small office on the second floor of the courthouse where they’d wait until they were called as witnesses. Oliver had spent plenty of time in courtrooms in his younger years but he’d never been there as a witness or victim. To make matters worse, the person he felt the most comfortable around, Felicity, couldn’t be in the courtroom when he testified because hearing his testimony could impact hers.

‘I don’t think I can do this.’

“What makes you say that?”

‘They- I might get asked about the island, she might ask about it. And I….its a room full of people I either don’t know or don’t feel comfortable around.’ He told her. ‘What if I freeze up?’

“Do something for me, okay? Just in case you get nervous. Don’t look at Laurel, look at John, or look at Thea, or even the translator. They aren’t getting called as witnesses, and they’re both here. Forget about everyone else, just focus on them. You can do this.”

Felicity said that just in time, because a few moments later, a bailiff opened the door. “Mr. Queen, they’re ready for you.”

“Remember what I said.”

 

Oliver walked with the man down the stairs and into the court room. Everyone turned to gawk at him as he walked from the door to the witness stand, but he just focused on taking one more step. He heard his mother try to get his attention, but tuned her out. if he looked at anyone, he’d probably bolt and that wouldn’t look good. He eventually made it to the stand and swore to tell the truth.

“Please give your name for the record.” The DA started.

‘My name is Oliver Queen.’ He signed and Madison Green, the ASL interpreter provided by the court, repeated what he’d said.

“Can you give us your account of events concerning Ms. Lance’s actions towards you?”

‘It really started a few weeks after I came home. I was in a coffee shop, waiting for Felicity to order, when she walked up to me.’ He signed. ‘She asked me if I was still ‘faking’ being unable to speak.’

“What happened next?”

‘Felicity overheard Laurel say that and came to my defense.’

“Mr. Queen is, of course, referring to the events shown on the surveillance tape we submitted as Exhibit B.” The DA told the jury. “What happened next?”

‘She started showing up at my house, demanding to see me. I usually left or hid when she came by.’

“No one noticed you were avoiding her?”

‘My sister did. I never talked to my mother about it, but I think she might’ve been the one who kept inviting her over.’

“And how did you feel about that happening?”

“Objection. This isn’t relevant.” Laurel said, standing.

“How the victim feels about being harassed isn’t relevant?” The DA asked rhetorically.

“His feelings matter, but since I was invited to be there, my presence during this time shouldn’t be used as evidence against me.”

“I’ll allow it. Answer the question, Mr. Queen.”

‘Angry and annoyed. I’d stated I didn’t want to see or talk to Laurel, but no one seemed to care what I thought.’ He answered. ‘My hope was if I kept avoiding her, she’d stop coming around and leave me alone. It didn’t work, especially after I moved out.’

“What happened after you moved?”

‘She began to call and text me multiple times a day, I never answered any of them. More than once, she showed up at the place I was staying, trying to see me, despite being told I didn’t want to see her.’ he told them. ‘I just wanna be left alone.’

“I have no more questions.” The DA said, sitting down.

Laurel stood up, and the look on her face reminded Oliver of the shark that bit him on Lian Yu. “Hello, Oliver.”

‘Hi.’

“Could you tell us about the events that caused you to stop talking?”

“Objection!” The DA said. “This isn’t relevant. We’re here to determine if Ms. Lance harassed and stalked Mr. Queen.”

“I realize that but-“

“And asking him to revisit unrelated trauma is cruel and unfair to him.”

“Sustained. The cause of Mr. Queen’s muteness is banned as a line of questioning.”

“Of course.” She said. “How long have we known each other?”

‘About 15 years.’

“So, you could say we’re friends. good friends. Is it not possible that I was simply a concerned friend, worried about you and that’s why I tried so hard to see you.”

‘When you found out I was mute, you accused me of faking it to avoid apologizing to you. At the coffee shop, you asked me point blank if I was still faking. Every message you left for me involved either claiming I was faking or demanding I talk to you.’

“Tell me about Felicity Smoak.”

‘She’s my friend. She’s the one who taught me ASL and I’ve been staying at her house since I moved out of my family’s home.’

“And how long have you known her?”

‘A few months.’

“You moved in with her after only knowing her a few months?”

‘I couldn’t stay at my family’s house anymore and she offered me her guest room while I figured things out.’

“Why couldn’t you stay there?”

“Again, relevance?” The DA asked.

‘I didn’t feel comfortable there. Partially because my mother knew I was avoiding you, and didn’t seem to care.’

“She was trying to help, trying to get you to reconnect with your old friends.”

‘Every time I see you, you have something nasty or cruel to say to me. and if she wanted to help me, she would’ve listened to me and not tried to force me to see you, or force me to see a therapist.’

“Your mental health-“

“The witness’s mental health isn’t the matter at hand.” The DA said. “Nor are Moira Queen’s motives. She isn’t on trial, neither is Mr. Queen.”

“No more questions.” Laurel said.

“Very well. Mr. Queen, you can step down.” The judge said. Oliver stood up from the witness stand and moved towards the door.

“The prosecution calls its next witness, Felicity Smoak.” The DA announced.

Felicity passed Oliver in the hallway and gave him a reassuring smile. She wasn’t sure how convincing she was, but hoped it eased his worry a little bit. She went to the witness stand and swore to tell the truth.

“How did you meet Oliver Queen?”

“About a week after he was found, he came into my office. His phone had broken and someone said I could fix it. I think it might’ve been Walter Steele, but I don’t know for sure. After our first meeting, he came back to ask another tech related question. That was when he asked if I could teach him ASL.”

“And how did Oliver know you knew ASL?”

“It came up when we first met. I didn’t know if he was writing things down because he had some kind of hearing loss or if he was simply mute. I asked him if ASL would be easier for him. I started teaching it to him and we became friends as a result.”

“Please describe how you met Ms. Lance.”

“Oliver had texted me, wondering if I wanted to get coffee. I think he just wanted to get out of the house. I’d gone up to order, leaving Oliver alone at the table. When I came back with our drinks, Laurel was standing next to the table. I heard her ask, in a rude tone, if Oliver was still faking being mute.”

“And what was your response?”

“I got angry. He was just sitting there, he hadn’t tried to get her attention. He didn’t approach her. And she just walked up and decided to insult him. I asked her who exactly she thought she was and why she thought saying something like that was appropriate.”

“And what was her response?”

“She claimed that, since I didn’t know her history with Oliver, I wouldn’t understand. I said I didn't care what their history was and her behavior wasn’t appropriate, regardless of said history. I asked why she thought it was okay to harass him and her response was that, since she’s an attorney, she can’t harass anyone.”

“Objection! That’s not what I said.”

“Overruled.” The judge said. “You’ll have a chance to cross-examine the witness. Sit down or I will hold you in contempt.”

“When was the next time you saw or heard from Ms. Lance?”

“Two days after Oliver started staying with me. We came home from a meeting, and she was outside of my house. She demanded to talk to Oliver. When she refused to leave, I called the police, but she left before they arrived.”

“And after that?”

“She showed up a few more times. She also visited me at work more than once to confront me. After her second time coming to my place of work and causing a scene, Oliver and I decided to involve the police.”

“Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’d like to enter Exhibit C, video surveillance from outside Ms. Smoak’s home and Exhibit D, visitor logs from Queen Consolidated into evidence, along with this sworn statement from a Mr. George, a member of the company’s security team.” The DA said. He played the tape, which showed Laurel appearing outside of Felicity’s house multiple times. He stopped the tape after seeing a few visits and turned back to Felicity. “How did Ms. Lance get your address? She claims she was just a concerned friend, trying to help Oliver. If that’s the case, her coming to your house shouldn’t be out of the ordinary.”

“Because I never gave her my address and neither did Oliver.”

“She looked you up in the phonebook then.”

“She couldn’t have. I’m not listed, intentionally.”

“If you aren’t listed, then she had to get your address some other way, like the police database or your employee file, correct?”

“Yes. Except, QC digitalized their system a year ago. The system keeps track of any time personnel files are viewed and who views them. The last time anyone looked at my file was in June, ahead of a performance review.” Felicity explained.

“So, Ms. Lance got it from either the SCPD database or DMV records, both requiring a warrant. Unless, of course, Ms. Lance just asked her father to look up your name.”

“Objection, that’s hearsay.”

“Sustained. Reword the question or it’ll be stricken from the record.”

“Fine. Could you think of another way someone, any random person, could find your address?”

“No.”

“No more questions.” The DA said, sitting down.

“We will be taking a recess for lunch. We’ll reconvene in one hour for cross-examination.” The judge said before banging his gavel.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 23

Summary:

Laurel gets her chance to cross-examine Felicity.

Chapter Text

When the judge announced they were taking a recess for lunch, John went out and grabbed some Big Belly Burger. He knew today was going to be a tough day for both Oliver and Felicity and wanted to do something to make the day suck slightly less for them.

Moira allowed Thea to skip school for the day so she could be there for the trial. She likely was hoping seeing both of them there would appeal to Oliver, make him miss his family and want to come home. When recess was called, Thea snuck away from her mother to find Oliver. She gave him a hug and praised him for doing so well on the stand. She knew it couldn't have been easy for Oliver to face Laurel or talk about some of the issues he was dealing with.

Sooner than anyone wanted, everyone was called back into the courtroom and Felicity returned to the witness stand. Unlike with Oliver, Laurel didn't pretend to be friends or at least friendly with Felicity.

“You said earlier that there was no way I could've gotten your address. Isn't it possible that Oliver told his mother where he was staying so she wouldn't be concerned and that she provided me with your address?”

“No.”

“No, that's it? You don't want to elaborate on that?”

“I could, I guess. It's possible that he could've told her my address but he didn't because from the moment he left the mansion with me until right now, he hasn't had any contact with his mother.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he told me, several times, that he didn't want to see or speak with her if she kept treating him the way she was. She didn't care about what he wanted, or what he thought would help him the most because it conflicted with the plans she'd made for him and hoped if she just kept pushing him, he'd be the son she wanted.”

“Uh, objection. What does this question have to do with the charges we’re discussing?” The DA asked.

“It doesn't.” The judge concluded. “Get back on track.”

“If I could just make a comment, your honor. It's related to Ms. Lance’s argument or at least, the one I think she’s trying to make.” Felicity said. The judge nodded for her to continue. “Oliver didn't want his mother to know where he was. He wouldn't have told her where he was staying, so she couldn’t have just given you my address. The DA already pointed out the two ways you could've found it out. And what happened the day after your arrest lends credibility to his theory.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When your father showed up at my house, trying to intimidate Oliver and myself into dropping the charges. Despite that fact that he doesn't even work in the department that arrested you.”

“You're lying!”

The judge banged his gavel. “I told you no outbursts in my courtroom. This is your second and last warning. Next time, I’ll hold you in contempt.”

“You have no evidence to support that claim.”

“Yes, I do. I gave the detectives the video tape, which they gave you a copy of, because they're required to.” Felicity said. “Along with my statement explaining that I chose not to make a big deal out of it because I think his anger was misplaced.”

Laurel took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. She'd ignored most of the evidence the DA had shared with her because she knew she was innocent and didn't see the point in wasting her time looking at it.  “Let's take a step back. You're a graduate of MIT.”

“Yes, I graduated at 19 with two Masters degrees.”

“And you moved to Starling, with those degrees, to become an IT technician.”

“No, I didn't. I'm not Geek Squad. I mostly work in applied sciences but I have a few projects in the technical division, mostly related to the company's cyber security or next generation processors.”

Laurel didn't understand most of what that meant. “Still, I find it awfully suspicious that the heir of Queen Consolidated became friends with one of his family's employees. How can we be sure that you aren't using Oliver to advance your career?”

“I'm not a manipulative person. And I don't need Oliver's friendship to be successful. I was already respected in the industry before he was found. And I work at QC because it gives me the chance to help more people than I could if I developed my projects independently. Google my name and you can see for yourself. In fact, some of the things I've been praised for the most are pieces of technology I created and developed without any input or assistance from the company.”

“So, you didn't befriend Oliver to benefit yourself. Perhaps to make yourself feel better.”

“Meaning?”

“Isn't it true that your cousin Emily was born deaf?”

“Yes.”

“And she wound up committing suicide. I think your guilt about what happened to her is being projected onto Oliver and everything you've done to ‘help’ Oliver is to assuage your own guilt.” Laurel concluded. Felicity could see a few of the jurors looking at Laurel incredulously for the question. They couldn’t believe that she’d brought that up in this context.

“Yes, Emily committed suicide, and I regret that I wasn't able to help her. Thank you for bringing that up, since I love being reminded of a family tragedy in a room full of strangers." Felicity said that last part sarcastically. "She passed away, and I spent the next few years trying to make sure no one else has to go through what she went through. I've developed apps and other tech to help not only deaf people like my cousin, but also blind people and those living with physical disabilities. Emily's death made me want to make this world a better place and make life easier for people. Someone else's insistence that Emily talk, despite knowing she didn't want to, is what led to her death. Oliver left home because his mother was doing that. She believed she could just force Oliver to talk and not put in any of the effort to help him get his voice back. He tried to get away from you because you continually insist that he's faking. I'm not his friend because of Emily and I didn't help him because I felt guilty. I did it because I'm a decent human being.” Felicity said.

“Oliver's mental health-”

“His health isn't the point. We aren't debating Oliver's health. This trial is because you keep harassing him, and me, and we wanted it to stop. I was tired of your showing up at my house. And my work. Oliver was tired of you going out of your way to attack him for something that happened five years ago.”

“He killed my sister.”

“Except you, and your father, keep forgetting something. Sara got on that boat willingly.” Was it fair for Felicity to throw Sara’s death in her sister’s face? Since Laurel decided to use Emily, Felicity thought it was more than fair.

“Look  you-”

“That's it. I'm holding you in contempt of court. When we finish today, a bailiff will escort you to a holding cell.” The judge ordered. “Ms. Smoak, I'm giving you a warning. Your behavior is out of line.”

“Sorry, your honor.” Felicity apologized.

Laurel’s defense was falling apart. Her argument was that Felicity was using Oliver, either to advance her career or to alleviate her guilt. She’d been so sure one of those theories had been true that she didn’t build a more solid way of arguing against the charges against her.

“No further questions.”

“Very well. Court is adjourned for the day. We will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9AM.” The judge said, ending the first day of the trial.

 

Oliver and Felicity fought their way back through the throng of reporters and went home. Laurel was escorted to a holding cell as the judge informed her she would be for her behavior in court that day. She knew she could simply apologize and would be let out, but she refused to. Felicity’s testimony had provoked her. While she was thinking over what happened in court, and trying to figure out what she was going to do for her defense now that her ‘Felicity is an untrustworthy, manipulative shrew’ argument had been ruined, someone came to visit her.

“What exactly was that?” Moira asked. “I hope your defense is more concrete than what I just saw during your cross-examination.”

“It doesn’t need to be. Stalking charges never result in convictions. The victims have to prove they feared for their safety, which is difficult because you can’t prove fear.” She said. “Which leaves the harassment charges, which are misdemeanors.”

“And the illegal information gathering?”

Laurel shrugged, not bothering to answer. Since when was asking her father for a favor a crime? She skipped past the paperwork, yes, but that was because she couldn’t fail Moira and needed to give Oliver a wake-up call.

“You should go. I didn’t do anything wrong. Soon, this will be over and we can get back to the real problem on our hands.”

Moira said goodbye and left. She passed Laurel’s coworker Joanna on the way out. Joanna had seen the very end of the trial today and realized Laurel was in over her head. The trial wasn’t going in her favor. The jury didn’t seem to like her and, on top of that, she doubted Laurel’s defense would go very well. She wanted to convince Laurel to let her represent her. She was more objective, given her distance from the crime being discussed. Laurel turned her down, saying she didn’t need someone else to represent her, just like she didn’t need the DA’s deal. The other attorney left and made a phone call to Quentin, hoping he could talk some sense into his daughter.

 

The second day of the trial began. After the pleasantries were observed and everyone was seated, the prosecution called their next witness.

“We call Thomas Merlyn to the stand.”

If looks could kill, Tommy would’ve been struck dead the second Laurel saw him enter the court room.

Chapter 24

Summary:

Tommy testifies and the jury reaches a verdict.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The second day of the trial began. After the pleasantries were observed and everyone was seated, the prosecution called their next witness.

“We call Thomas Merlyn to the stand.”

If looks could kill, Tommy would’ve been struck dead the second Laurel saw him enter the court room. 


 

Last Thursday

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Laurel asked Tommy with her arms crossed. She wasn’t asking a lot, just for Tommy to testify on her behalf at her upcoming trial. She needed someone to say that she wasn’t stalking Oliver and that everything she was doing was to help him.

“I mean ‘I can’t’. If I could help, I would but I can’t.” He said. He was surprised she was even asking him for this, since the DA’s office gave her a list of their witnesses early in the week and his name was pretty high on that list.

“And what’s so important that you can’t reschedule it to help me? You do realize that Ollie’s new friend is trying to ruin my life and my career, right?”

If Tommy was more confrontational, he’d point out that Laurel had done enough to ruin her own career without help from Felicity. He didn’t though, because he wasn’t confrontational by nature. Instead, he went a different route. “Do you know what today is, Laurel?”

“November 13th.” She answered.

“Yes, which means tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of my mother’s death. Time sure flies, doesn’t it? I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

“I’m sorry Tommy, I-“

“I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” 


 

Present

Laurel was still processing Tommy’s arrival as he was sworn in. She came back to reality when the DA stood to question Tommy.

“Objection!”

“The prosecution hasn’t even asked a question yet.” The judge said.

“I object to Mr. Merlyn being called as a witness.”

“On what grounds?”

“I was not informed he was being called.”

“Your Honor, how long must we deal with this level of unprofessionalism?” The DA asked. “Mr. Merlyn’s name was on the list of witnesses we submitted to the court last week. The same list Ms. Lance acknowledged receiving. This is the third thing Ms. Lance was informed of, and objected to.”

“Do you have a legitimate reason why Mr. Merlyn’s testimony shouldn’t be allowed?” The judge asked.

“We were…involved. Romantically.”

“Mr. Merlyn, do you feel that you can give an accurate testimony on this matter without allowing your past with Ms. Lance to sway your responses?” The judge asked. Tommy nodded. “I also ask that the members of the jury take Mr. Merlyn’s past relationship with the defendant into account when reviewing his testimony. Please begin, Mr. Donner.”

“Tommy, could you tell me how you became involved in this case?”

“Yeah, I- I realized, with some help from Felicity, that I wasn’t being as supportive of Ollie as I could’ve been. So, I started doing some research on PTSD and things like that.” Tommy took a deep breath. “While I was doing that research, Laurel called me.”

“And what happened during that call?”

“She asked how much time I’d spent around Oliver since he returned and whether I’d testify about changes in his behavior. I told her I didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

“Did she tell you why she was asking?”

“She didn’t, but I learned why after. From someone else.”

The DA had been clued in on what Felicity and Oliver believed Laurel was planning, and decided not to pursue that line of questioning right now. He shifted gears.

“After your intial phone call, when was the next time you spoke with Ms. Lance?”

“The day after her arrest. She called me demanding to know why I wasn’t at her arraignment. No one made any attempt to tell me she’d been arrested, including her, so I was confused about why she was so angry.”

“And did she say anything else during that call?”

“Yes, she said that Oliver and Felicity embarrassed her. That she needed to get even and they had to pay.”

“So, not only did Ms. Lance repeatedly ignore Oliver and Felicity’s numerous requests to leave them alone, she decided they needed to be punished for doing something about the harassment. No more questions, Tommy.”

Laurel stood up and approached the wtiness stand. “I find it interesting that you’re here, since last week, you told me you were too busy mourning your mother to testify.”

“I told you I wasn’t able to testify on your behalf. I told you I was mourning my mom. I never said that my mother’s death was the reason I wasn’t able to testify.” He clarified. “When you asked me, Donner had already provided his list of witnesses. My name was very clearly on it.”

“The ‘someone else’ you learned my reason from, was it Oliver or Felicity Smoak?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Who was it then?”

“Objection, relevance? What Mr. Merlyn learned is not related to this case.” The DA said.

“Speaks to the credibility of his statement.” Laurel responded. “Who did you learn it from?”

“Jean Loring.”

“Mrs. Loring, as in Oliver’s attorney. Why would she reveal that information to you?”

“Because Oliver and I met with her the day after you called me to discuss something.”

“What did you discuss?”

“Again, relevance?” The DA asked. “Can Mr. Merlyn first say if what was discussed is relevant to the stalking, harassment or illegal information gathering charges before we go down this road?”

“Does your topic of conversation relate to the charges facing Ms. Lance?” The judge asked.

“No.”

“The objection is sustained.”

Laurel didn’t have any more questions, and admitted so. The prosecution rested and Laurel called her first witness, Joanna.

Since Laurel hadn’t looked at most of the evidence, her defense consisted of the idea that she was trying to help Oliver but was perhaps a little too forceful in doing so. She wasn’t able to explain to the jury what she was trying to help Oliver do, which weakened her argument. All of her witnesses were character witnesses, who were asked to testify on the kind of person Laurel was, not any facts of the case.

Joanna’s testimony painted Laurel as a determined lawyer, always trying to fight for what’s right and defend those who needed it most. The images she painted was marred when the DA cross-examined her and asked how often Laurel mentioned Oliver or Felicity in the last month. She was forced to admit that Laurel often brought them up, and usually not in a kind way.

Her father testified next. He insisted that Laurel was innocent and placed the blame, unsurprisingly, on Oliver. The DA wasn’t sure if the jury even listened to what he said. What father wouldn’t claim his daughter was innocent or that the situation was just a big misunderstanding?

The DA stood to question Lance, and the trial finally got interesting. “Mr. Lance-“

“It’s Detective Lance.”

“Sorry, detective. How did you get Felicity Smoak’s address? We’ve already shown the court that you appeared at her house following your daughter’s arrest.”

“From the police database.”

“And what reason did you have to look up that information? Certainly you’d agree that, given the situation, searching her name would be a conflict of interest.”

“I looked her up in the system before Laurel’s arrest.” Quentin said.

“Still, I’d like to know why. I think we all would, since Ms. Smoak’s record is clean.” Quentin looked over to Laurel for a split second. “May I remind you that you are under oath, detective?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“You plead the fifth. Probably because you looked Ms. Smoak up for Laurel, without a warrant or any kind of authorization. She probably just asked for a favor. It must be nice for her, not having to follow procedure like the rest of us.” The DA said. “No more questions, Your Honor.”

Lance left the courtroom and the judge called for a recess. Laurel sat at her table, fuming at the turn of events. The DA was gathering his papers and looked over to her.

“I already know how you’re going to answer, but do you wanna make a deal?”

“I’ll take my chances.”

 

The recess ended. Everyone was called back into the courtroom. Laurel and the DA both gave closing arguments. The jury was sent to deliberate.

‘What do you think will happen?’ Oliver aksed Felicity.

“I think, or at least I hope, they come back with a guilty verdict on most of it. The illegal information gathering charge is a little hard to prove, Lance didn't admit to it and we couldn't find any evidence, but she didn’t really have much of a defense at all.”

The jury returned before the end of the day. They’d reached a verdict. “In the case of Dinah Laurel Lance against Starling City, how do you find the defendant?”

“On the charge of illegal information gathering, we find her not guilty. On the charges of trespassing, harassment and stalking, we find the defendant guilty.” The foreman of the jury said.

“What?” Laurel shouted. She lost. How did she lose?

“Bailiff, take Ms. Lance into custody for contempt. Again. Sentencing will take place tomorrow.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 25

Summary:

Laurel, Quentin and to a lesser extent Moira face the consequences of their actions.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When the verdict was read aloud, there were a number of different reactions in the room. Laurel looked like she’d been hit by a truck, as did Moira albeit for different reasons. Lance looked livid. Tommy was resigned. Thea was almost giddy. The brunette had liked Laurel five years ago, but she wasn’t a fan of how she was acting now. She brought this on herself, and Thea was happy to see it wasn’t going to be swept under the rug. Felicity was relieved, while Oliver was torn between relief and guilt.

He was happy this mess was over, and that Laurel wouldn’t be able to treat him the way she had been anymore. He also felt bad that things had gotten to this point where taking Laurel to court and getting her convicted of a crime was the only option he had. Was there something he could’ve done differently? If he’d tried harder, would things have gotten this bad? The questions started to chip away at him as the furor died down and people started to leave the courtroom.

“We should probably get out of here.” Felicity said, pulling Oliver from his thoughts. “The press are gonna find out the verdict any second and I don’t wanna have to deal with that.”

‘You’re probably right.’ He responded. ‘Wanna get food?’

“My three favorite words.” She said with a smile.

Diggle helped them avoid the press long enough to exit out of the backdoor of the courthouse, with Tommy following after them. Felicity invited Tommy to get food with them, wanting to extend an olive branch to him.

Moira watched Oliver, Felicity and Tommy leave and, for the first time, started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. No matter what she did to try and get his attention, Oliver hadn’t looked at her at any point during the trial or his testimony. “Where is he going?”

“Probably out with his friends to celebrate.” Thea said. “I mean, they did win.”

“Celebrate? Laurel could go to prison.”

“First of all, she probably won’t. She was convicted of misdemeanors and at most she’ll spend a few weeks in jail. Second, she had plenty of chances to back off or take a deal and she didn’t. Third, she was harassing Ollie who’s just trying to get his life together. Who’s side are you on?” Thea asked. “I’m going to Ashley’s. I’ll see you at home.”

 

When the verdict was announced and Laurel was taken into custody, Lance got out of his seat and tried to follow after her. He was stopped by the bailiffs who wouldn’t let him into the holding area where she was. At the moment, to them, he wasn’t an officer of the law, he was just a father. Being Laurel’s father didn’t get him very far.

When it became clear that if he didn’t back off, he’d be taken into custody as well, Lance yelled to Laurel that everything would be okay before storming out of the courthouse. There had to be something he could do, some favor he could call in to get Laurel the smallest sentence possible.

He went back to the precinct, unsure of what else to do. Quentin was just starting the paperwork he’d let pile up over the last week when two other detectives walked in and approached him. They introduced themselves as Detectives Jones and Montoya, from Internal Affairs.

“We need to talk about your testimony today.” Montoya said.

“I don’t see why you do.” He countered.

“Yes, you do. You just don’t wanna admit it, because of what it means for you and for your daughter. We’ve already talked to Captain Stein. You’re on admin leave until the investigation’s over.” She responded.

“You can’t be serious.”

Before either of the IA detectives could respond, the Captain came out of his office. “Lance, they’re serious. You’re on desk duty. Give your case files to another detective.”

Quentin handed his files over and spent the rest of the day at his desk. As the day went on, he got angrier and angrier about the situation.

 

The bailiff escorted Laurel to a holding cell where she’d stay for the night. He closed the door, but didn’t walk away immediately. “Since you’re staying the night, is there someone you wanna call to bring you a change of clothes or something?”

“No, but I need a Petition to Appeal form.” She answered.

“You got convicted of a misdemeanor. You haven’t even been sentenced yet, and you already wanna appeal it?” In the 15 years the bailiff had been working in Starling, he’d never had something like this happen. He thought she was a little crazy before this, but now he was convinced. There were people falsely convicted of murder waiting years for an appeal, but she wanted to appeal a few misdemeanors.

“Yes. Get me the form.”

“Sorry, county clerk’s office is closed.” He told her before walking away.

Laurel changed her mind about calling someone when she realized she’d have to wear the same outfit again for sentencing if she didn’t ask someone to drop fresh clothes off.

 

The next morning, Oliver sat down in the courtroom, waiting for Laurel’s sentencing hearing to start. She hadn’t been brought in by the bailiff yet, but he was already nervous. Felicity sat on his right side. Tommy took a seat on his left. Thea sat next to Tommy, while John sat directly behind Oliver. They wanted to be sure that Oliver knew he had support, that he wasn’t alone.

When the door opened and Laurel was brought into the room, Felicity reached over and took Oliver’s hand.

‘It’s gonna be okay. The hard part is done.’ She signed to him with her other hand.

The judge came in and the hearing started. “Will the defendant please rise?” he said and Laurel stood. “Until now, you’ve had no criminal record, which is something I’ve taken into account when deciding your sentence. As has your work at CNRI. I sentence you to three years’ probation, which will require you to meet with a probation officer on a regular basis. You’ll also be fined $1,000 per offense and you are responsible for the court costs this case has accrued. I’m upholding the order of protection both victims obtained. Additionally, you are barred from seeing, contacting or using a third party to contact Mr. Queen or Ms. Smoak for the duration of your sentence. Failure to abide by the orders will result in violation of your probation.” He read out. “Are there any remarks you wish to make before we end this hearing?” Laurel shook her head. “Very well. Court adjourned.”

Oliver, Felicity and Tommy left as soon as the sentence was announced.

 

As Laurel was led out of the room, she tried to think of what her next step should be. She’d already started building her case arguing that Oliver wasn’t mentally sound. She wasn’t going to throw all of that work away for nothing. She also knew, if the sentence stayed the same, it would three years before she could take Oliver to court. Getting the conviction overturned was vital to her and Moira’s plans, but getting her sentence reduced could work just as well.

Moira watched Laurel being escorted away and started coming up with Plan B. Perhaps she’d acted too quickly when she approached Laurel to help her get Oliver back on track.

“Too bad she wasn’t fast enough to file that motion.” Thea remarked.

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you really think no one knew what you and Laurel were planning?” She said as she stood up. “Now that Laurel’s been convicted of stalking Oliver, no judge would even consider hearing the case.”

 

“So, that was a pretty good outcome, right?” Tommy asked as they left the building. “I mean, she has to leave you alone now or she goes to jail.”

“It’s more or less what we wanted.” Felicity admitted. “I mean, we didn’t want her to go to prison, but the judge could’ve just fined her and stopped there, so- overall, the best we could hope for.”

‘I wish it didn’t have to come to this.’ Oliver said.

“I know.” She responded. “Well, the last few days have been emotionally draining, so I think we’re gonna go.”

“See you later.” He said before heading to his car.

Oliver and Felicity got into Felicity’s car and drove towards her condo. He’d been thinking about something for a while, and after the last few days, he decided it was time to do something about it. Out of the corner of her eye while she was driving, she saw Oliver’s hands move.

She pulled over so she could face him. “Everything okay?”

He took a deep breath. It was now or never. ‘I have to tell you something, but I don’t want it to ruin our friendship.’

“Nothing you say, other than admitting you’re a Nazi or white supremacist, could ruin our friendship.” She told him. “What is it?”

‘I….I have feelings for you, Felicity.’ He told her. He turned to see her reaction.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Wanna yell at me for that ending?

Chapter 26

Summary:

Felicity responds to Oliver's confession, Laurel learns her sentence won't be the only consequences she faces and Moira starts to wonder if maybe, she made a mistake.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘I…I have feelings for you, Felicity.’ Oliver told her. He turned to look at her, waiting for her to say something.

“You- when you say feelings, what exactly do you mean? Like friendship feelings or the other kind of feelings?” She asked.

‘The romantic kind.’ He answered. She was silent for several moments and he started to panic. ‘I messed this up, didn’t I? Forget I said anything.’

“No, I- you didn’t mess anything up. It’s- I have feelings for you too. The romantic kind.” She blurted out. “Your confession caught me kinda off-guard because I didn’t know you felt the same way and I- this doesn’t happen to me.”

‘What doesn’t happen to you?’

“I was never the prom queen. I was never the girl who every guy had a crush on. No one’s- every other person I’ve had feelings for hasn’t returned them.” She said quietly. “In fact, most of them thought I was annoying.”

‘They’re idiots then. You’re wonderful.’

“No, I’m not. I talk way too much, half the time I don’t even say anything important. I get wrapped up in my work. I make references no one outside of Comic Con would get. And if my nervous, babbling, ‘everything’s gonna be okay’ mentality doesn’t put them off, my intelligence does. Or my attitude or my stubbornness. Or just how mean I can be when someone hurts me or someone I care about.”

All of that was true, but Felicity was also worried about something else. Oliver had been through a lot, and Felicity had been nice to him when a lot of other people weren’t. She was worried that he was putting her on a pedestal or building her up to be this perfect, infallible woman who never did anything wrong and was going to somehow save him. She wasn’t perfect and she didn’t want him to think that she was.

‘I like the fact that you babble. It makes it easier for me to talk to you because I don’t feel like you’re sitting there, waiting for me to respond. You aren’t just trying to fill silence, but you also aren’t talking to me just because you think you should be. I like your references, because I’ve gotten to learn more about you and some things I missed while I was away. And you get so excited about those things. I might be a pessimist, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you feeling optimistic about things, You’re passionate about your work. You’re compassionate, even with someone you’ve only known for a week. You didn’t know me well at all but you were willing to help me, you came to my defense. As for you being mean, you aren’t.’

“You can’t really say that. If Laurel hadn’t been convicted, I was gonna do something to punish her. If the judge hadn’t interrupted me when I brought up Sara, I was gonna get very nasty just so that she’d regret bringing up Emily. The only reason I haven’t hatched a similar plot for your mother is because Thea’s a minor.” She said. “Like I used to tell my mom, I’m a good person until you piss me off.”

‘That’s not true. You’re a good person, but everyone has their limits. Your very firm stance on certain things is part of why I feel the way I feel about you.’ Oliver realized how he felt about Felicity weeks ago. It had taken him a long time to work up the courage to tell her. He was shocked and astounded that she returned his feelings. He was convinced that his mutism, his PTSD and all of his other problems made him impossible to love. He didn’t think anyone could love him, let alone someone as amazing as Felicity.

Felicity was quiet for several moments. “So, you have feelings for me. I have feelings for you. What happens now?”

‘If I remember correctly, this is the part where I ask you out on a date.’ He said. ‘Will you go out with me?’

“Yeah. 100%.”

 

Laurel left her meeting with her probation officer and headed to CNRI. She hadn’t been to the office since her arrest and knew there’d be a large pile of work waiting for her. Most of it was probably mundane paperwork, but the repetition would give her some time to think about what to do next.

She felt like everyone in the building was staring at her as she walked into the office, but ignored them. Her trial had been a big deal because of who Oliver was, but soon the buzz around it would fade and Laurel’s image would recover. She just needed one big win and then no one would care about her issues with Oliver. Laurel got to her desk and saw that most of her case files were gone.

“Where are all my files?” She asked Joanna who gave her a pitying look but didn’t answer. “Jo?”

“Allison reassigned your cases after your arrest.”

“What?! She can’t-“

“Ms. Lance, could I speak with you in my office please?” Allison, the woman who ran CNRI said as she walked up to the pair. Laurel gave a tense nod and followed her into the woman’s office. “We need to-“

“Why did you reassign my cases?”

“You were on trial. We couldn’t just ask our clients to wait until your case was resolved to handle theirs.” She explained.

“My trial’s over, so I can get back to work.”

“Your trial is over, but you weren’t acquitted. The charges weren’t dropped. You were convicted on almost all counts.”

“Yes, of misdemeanors.”

“Misdemeanor or not, you’re a convicted criminal. And your trial got a lot of attention. Most of it wasn’t good. And the Washington State Bar Association is considering an investigation into ethics violations. Your name is connected to this office’s. How would it look, for us, if you kept representing our clients in court?”

“So, you don’t wanna look bad.”

“We rely on public funds and charitable donations to keep this office open. In order for us to continue to help the people we serve, we can’t have you front and center making headlines. CNRI needs to distance itself from your actions and your behavior.”

“That’s it then? I’m fired?”

“No, you can assist on cases. Help others with research and discovery on their cases. We can’t have you taking on your own cases or representing anyone right now.”

“So, you want me to be a glorified paralegal.” Laurel scoffed.

“The only other alternative would be firing you, and we didn’t want to resort to that.”

 

Moira came back to the mansion after the sentencing and ran into Walter, who was carrying a suitcase. “Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving for Sydney tonight. This trip’s been in the works for several weeks.”

“Oh, right.” She said with a sigh. “I completely forgot about that happening.”

“Yes, you’ve been preoccupied with other things.” He remarked in an even tone. Saying Moira had been focused on only one thing over the last few weeks would’ve been an understatement. Walter was also convinced that everything she was doing was only making things worse in the long run.

“Is there something you’d like to say?”

“I need to go or I’ll miss my flight. We’ll talk when I get back.” He said as he made his way out of the house.

“Well, that went well.”

“Thea! I know you’re upset with me but-”

“No, no buts. You don’t get to make excuses. You’re in this situation because of choices you made. You could’ve avoided this.” She said, moving upstairs.

Moira stood alone in the foyer and thought about Thea’s words. Should she have done something differently?

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 27

Summary:

Oliver relives a moment from his past and Thea gives Moira some hard truths.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver struggled against his restraints. He needed to get out of there. He needed to stop the mercenaries that had captured him.

“You can struggle all you want, Mr. Queen. You won’t escape.” Their leader said as he circled the chair Oliver was captive in. “I believe its time that you and I had a chat.”

“Fuck you.” Oliver spat out.

“There’s no need to be rude.” The man stated as he broke one of Oliver’s fingers. “Let’s try this again.”

He wasn’t sure how long it went on for. It could’ve been hours or it could’ve just been minutes. He’d be asked a question, he wouldn’t answer and they’d torture him. He tried to keep quiet, but past a point, the pain became too much and he started to scream. He felt ashamed when that happened, and his torturer seemed to notice.

“Go right ahead and scream Oliver. No one can hear you. No one will save you. It doesn’t matter.” The man told him. “I think that’s enough for today.”

Instead of leaving the room as Oliver expected, as he always did, the door opened and a gurney was wheeled in. Someone was strapped to it. The person looked around and Oliver saw that it was Felicity.

“if you won’t tell me, perhaps she will.” The torturer said with an evil glint in his eye.

“Stay away from her!” Oliver shouted as he tried once again to break free. He was exhausted and on the verge of passing out, but he needed to break free. He had to save Felicity.

He could sort of hear a voice calling out to him. “Oliver? Oliver! OLIVER!”

 

With a gasp, Oliver shot up out of the bed. He looked around, panicked, and realized he was panting. Felicity was standing in the doorway looking worried. “Are you okay? No, of course you weren’t. You were thrashing around and whimpering. I didn’t wanna startle you, but I also didn’t want to just walk away and not try to help you.”

It had been a dream. Just a dream. Felicity was safe. The man couldn’t get to her. He was dead, his corpse was rotting on Lian Yu where he belonged. Oliver took several deep breaths and calmed himself down. It was dream. It wasn’t real.

‘Sorry I woke you up.’ He signed shakily.

“You didn’t, I was already awake.” She told him coming into the room. “Do you wanna talk about it? It seemed like a pretty bad nightmare.”

‘Memory. It wasn’t a dream; it was a memory. Or, at least, it started that way.’ He said. ‘I don’t wanna talk about it, if that’s okay.’

“Okay, then you don’t have to.” She said. “Whatever it was, it’s over now. You’re past it. You survived.”

‘Barely.’

“You might’ve barely survived, but you did survive. That’s important.” She said. “And while I’m not happy those things happened to you, I’m happy you survived them so that I got to meet you.” He gave her a tight smile but didn’t say anything. “It’s a little after seven. You should try and get some more sleep.”

‘I don’t think I can. I’m surprised I was able to sleep as much as I did.’

“Ok, well, I just started the coffee if you want some. I gotta go get ready for work.” She said, leaving his room.

 

Thea was eating breakfast when her mother came into the kitchen. She spent the whole previous night avoiding her because she didn’t think she could be in the same room as Moira without wanting to scream at her. She pretended to not even notice her mother walking into the room.

“Do you- have you spoken to Oliver recently?” Moira realized, after Laurel’s trial ended, that she’d gone about trying to help her son in the completely wrong way. She shouldn’t have gone to Laurel for help, nor should she have tried to control him in the first place.

Thea finished chewing her food and swallowed before answering. “Yes.”

“How is he doing?”

“Not great lately. The situation with Laurel, which you didn’t make any easier, wasn’t easy for him.” She answered. “Overall, he does seem to be doing better, according to Felicity.”

“Does he- if I tried to reach out to him, do you think he’d be willing to talk with me?”

“I don’t know.” The brunette answered honestly. “Maybe one day he’ll want to talk to you, but right now- you messed up badly. It’s gonna take a long time for you to undo the damage you caused.”

 

“When this is over, I’m gonna make both of them regret crossing me.” Laurel muttered to herself as she slammed another law book closed. She didn’t graduate at the top of her class in law school to end up like this. Her career was going exactly the way she planned until Oliver came back to life and he and Felicity ruined her career and trashed her image.

“Huh?” Joanna asked. She thought Laurel was talking to her.

“Oliver and that blonde bitch. I’m gonna get even with them.”

“I don’t know about Felicity Smoak, but the way you talk about Oliver…it kinda sounds like you still have feelings for him or something.”

“The only thing I feel is hatred.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” Jo responded, before seeing the time. “I gotta head to a deposition.”

 

Oliver’s dream was still fresh in his mind when he suited up to hit the streets as the vigilante later that night. It wasn’t rare for him to have flashbacks or nightmares about the island, but this was the first time his nightmares involved someone else. He started to worry. Was getting close to Felicity going to put her in danger? Could he protect her if someone tried to hurt her?

He put his concerns about Felicity on the back burner, as he needed to focus when he broke into Nelson Ravich’s office building. He was advancing towards the man when suddenly, Ravich began to smirk. A second later, he felt a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

“You should’ve brought a friend.” Ravich taunted.

Oliver’s hood wasn’t completely bulletproof, but it was made out a material that was supposed to be bullet resistant. The fabric kept the round of going into his body, but it still hurt like hell. He quickly took care of the guard before turning his attention back to Ravich. He pressed a button in his sleeve that played a recorded message.

“Nelson Ravich, you have failed this city.” The message went on to demand he return the $70 million he’d embezzled from ordinary citizens and that he had 24 hours to comply. He made it back to the foundry to ice his shoulder for a little bit before heading back to Felicity’s house. While he was recuperating in the lair, he came to a conclusion. No one knew who the vigilante was; no one had even gotten close. He could keep Felicity safe. He would keep her safe. On the way home, he sent her a text.

>>To: Felicity- About our date, how’s tomorrow sound?

>>From: Felicity- Sounds good to me!

He smiled at her response. Everything would be fine.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Due to boring, real life stuff, there won't be a chapter next week.

Chapter 28

Summary:

Felicity and Oliver (finally) go on a date.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Two days after Laurel’s sentencing, Moira woke up to find she had a message from Malcolm Merlyn. He wanted to see her immediately. She’d been so caught up with Oliver’s situation and the trial that she’d taken a step back from Tempest. Clearly, Malcolm wasn’t too pleased by this move. She went to his office first thing to see what he wanted to speak with her about.

“You wanted to see me.”

“Yes, Tempest is…behind schedule, thanks in part to your….recent distractions.”

“My son returned from the dead. He survived the accident you swore wouldn’t have any survivors. I had every reason to prioritize Oliver.” She pointed out.

“Perhaps, but we still don’t know what, if anything, he knows about his father or our undertaking.” He said pointedly.

“I didn’t see the point in wasting the time or resources to hire men to abduct a man who isn’t able to speak.” She said bluntly. “Even if he did know something, he couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Talking is not the only way to communicate or relay information, Moira.”

“He’s been back over a month. He hasn’t even mentioned Sara or Robert once. He doesn’t talk about his life before the island at all. Whatever happened there, it traumatized him. So much so that he nearly has a panic attack whenever the word ‘Gambit’, ‘yacht’ or ‘island’ are mentioned.” She said. “Whatever he might know, and I doubt he knows anything, he’s repressed it.”

“I suppose that’s good enough for now.” Merlyn said. “Now we should discuss Starling City’s newest self-appointed savoir, the Hood.”

“What about him? He’s just a random vigilante.”

“Nelson Ravich, Martin Somers, Adam Hunt. All targeted by him, all members of the List. In fact, every person he’s gone after has been on the List. That isn’t suspicious to you?”

“It’s one hell of a coincidence.”

“That’s one word for it. Watch your back, Moira. Someone’s onto us.” He said before dismissing her.

 

Oliver stood in front of the mirror in his room. His date with Felicity was tonight, he knew he should get ready. He was standing there in a towel and he couldn’t take his eyes off of his scarred body. He was so damaged, not just mentally but also physically. How could someone like Felicity be attracted to someone like him? He shook his head, trying to will the bad thoughts away. He put on a shirt so he couldn’t see his scars. He had a date, he needed to get dressed.

He needed to psych himself up first though. This was his first date in five years. He was terrified about something bad happening. The problem with anxiety was that Oliver could think of countless ways this date could go wrong. What if the paparazzi showed up? What if the waitstaff caused a scene when he tried to write his order down? What if he had a panic attack in the middle of dinner? What if he said the wrong thing and it offended Felicity?

Before he could work himself into a panic, he managed to get his phone out and text Thea. 

>>To: Speedy- I need you to do me a favor.

>>From: Speedy- Sure. Anything.

>>To: Speedy- Tell me this isn’t gonna blow up in my face.

>>From: Speedy- What’s not gonna blow up in your face?

>>To: Speedy- My date. With Felicity.

Seconds later, his phone started to ring. Thea wanted to FaceTime him. It occurred to him in that moment that he hadn’t told Thea he was going to ask Felicity out or that she’d said yes. He accepted the call and saw his excited sister on the other line.

“She said yes? Well, I knew she would but- yay! And it’s gonna go great. Everything’s gonna be fine. Just breathe.” She said. “What are you gonna wear?” He shrugged. “Are you going somewhere fancy?” Oliver gave the universal signal for ‘kinda’ and waited for Thea’s reaction. “Do you have a polo or button-down shirt and some slacks?” He nodded. “Wear that, no jacket.”

‘Thank you, Thea.’ He signed.

“Wait, did you say thanks? Did I interpret it correctly?” She asked. Thea had been learning ASL in her spare time and was excited that she picked some of it up. Oliver smiled and nodded. “Yay! I gotta go, but good luck!”

 

Oliver changed and went into the living room to wait. He and Felicity had agreed to leave around 6, since they had a reservation at 6:30. He wanted to be ready whenever she was. He was pleasantly surprised to see her walking out of her bedroom right as he walked out of his. He took in the sight of her and froze on the spot.

‘You look beautiful.’

“So do you. Wait, I didn’t- handsome. You look handsome. That’s what I meant to say.” She told him. “Ready to go?”

He nodded. They walked to her car and she drove towards the restaurant. He wanted where they were going to be a surprise, but he couldn’t really make it work considering someone had to call to make the reservation and he didn’t think to ask Tommy for help until it was too late.

They were shown to their table and thankfully, since the restaurant was small and intimate, they arrival didn’t attract too much attention. Too many people around made Oliver nervous.

“You know, I’ve driven past this place a few dozen times but I’ve never tried it. Always wanted to though.” She said after they were seated.

‘I did too. I’m glad we get to experience this place for the first time together.’ He told her. ‘I’m really glad you said yes to dinner.’

“I’m really glad you asked me to dinner.” She said with a smile. “How loudly did Thea scream when you told her? She hasn’t exactly been subtle.”

‘I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.’ His sister was many things, soft-spoken wasn’t one of them.

A waiter came and took their drink orders. Felicity ordered a glass of merlot while Oliver asked for a club soda. He nodded and left. Felicity tilted her head in confusion.

‘I’m not a big drinker these days.’ He told her. Part of his avoidance was due to alcohol leaving him with less control, which scared him. He was always on edge and when he drank, he actually became more on-edge because he was worried about it dulling his senses. Most of the reason Oliver didn’t drink very much, however, was related to an incident when he was missing. He tried to figure out how to word his reasoning but she stopped him.

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. You don’t drink and that’s all you need to say. Will it bother you if I have wine?”

‘No, not at all.’ He said. The waiter returned and took their food orders. Felicity interpreted for Oliver and they were alone once again. ‘I know you keep saying I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to, but there’s something I think you should know.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

What do you think Oliver's gonna tell Felicity?

Chapter 29

Summary:

Oliver tells Felicity a few things about his past and her reactions surprised him.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘I know you keep saying I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to, but there’s something I think you should know.’ Oliver signed. It was better for everyone if she found this out now, rather than later.

Felicity slowly put her drink down and turned her attention fully to Oliver. “Okay, what is it?”

‘I had to do….certain things to survive. Unthinkable things.’ She needed to know exactly how messed up he was. She needed to see that he was a monster and that he deserved to be alone and unhappy.

“We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of.”

‘It’s different. I hurt people. I- I’ve killed people, Felicity. I did a lot of that when I was missing.’

It was silent for several seconds. Oliver was waiting for her to get up and leave. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. Felicity, meanwhile, was trying to find the right words to express what she was thinking to Oliver.

“Did you want to?” She asked quietly. “Those things you did, did you do them because you wanted to or because you had to?”

‘I had to. I was- if I didn’t kill them, they would’ve killed me. I was just trying to stay alive.’

“Exactly. I won’t say that it doesn’t matter, because it does. What you went through matters. But, you did those things because you were trying to survive and make it home. Surviving doesn’t make you a bad person, Oliver. And the fact that you feel so torn up about it means you’re still a good person. You feel guilt, you have regrets. It hurts but its good.”

‘I’m a monster.’

“No, you aren’t.”

‘Yes, I am. I should’ve- I should’ve tried harder.’

“You were on an island in the middle of the ocean, I think you did the best you could.” She said sympathetically.

‘I wasn’t there the whole time.’ he admitted. ‘There was a year where I was- I wasn’t on the island. I actually came back here for a bit. I had to break into my dad’s office and I saw- I saw you. You were babbling to yourself and- it made me smile, for the first time in years.’

“You saw me?” She said. “If you were here, why didn’t you-?” She stopped herself before she could ask why he didn’t just come home then. She figured, like everything else, it wouldn’t be easy to talk about.

‘There was someone who wouldn’t let me.’ He answered. ‘I don’t wanna talk about it.’ What Waller had done to him when ARGUS no longer needed his “skills” still made him furious and devasted to this day. Her actions ranked higher than the Gambit sinking on his list of worst things that ever happened to him. He didn’t want to think about it, he refused to think about it. Thinking about it only resulted in him feeling more pain.

“You don’t have to talk about it. I’m glad I was able to make you smile, even if it didn’t last very long.” She said, reaching over to take his hand. “You did the best you could. You kept yourself alive. You found your way home. That’s what’s important.”

After that very heavy conversation, Felicity started telling Oliver about one of her new projects. She knew their previous conversation had brought his mood way down and hoped talking about something completely unrelated would cheer him up. It took a little while, but eventually his mood lifted and they were able to enjoy their meal.

They left the restaurant and drove home. While stopped at a light, Oliver started signing. ‘There’s something else I need to tell you. My dad made it to the life raft, but he didn’t- he asked me to right his wrongs just before he died. It’s why-‘

“Why you became the vigilante.” She finished. “I’m sorry.”

‘He wanted to save me. He died trying to save me.’

“It doesn’t make watching him die, which I’m guessing you did, any easier.” She said.

He sighed. ‘I should be the one apologizing. Our date was supposed to be fun and I keep bringing up depressing things.’

“Not including the two very heavy discussions we had, I enjoyed myself. I think you did too.” She assured him. “And the things you told me, I feel like they’ve been weighing on you for a while. They’re important to you, they’re important to what happened to you. You aren’t selfish for wanting to ease some of that burden.”

‘You are amazing.’

 They reached Felicity’s condo and she parked the car. “So, this date went well.”

‘Yes, it did.’ He agreed. ‘Wanna go on another?’

“Definitely.”

His face turned into a huge, happy smile. He started fidgeting with his hands. ‘Can I kiss you?’

She nodded and he leaned in to kiss her. It was the perfect end to a not-so-perfect night.

 

Thea woke Oliver up at 7am the next day to FaceTime him and ask him how the date went. While she was able to get some stuff out of him, Oliver wasn’t big on sharing, so she wound up calling Felicity soon after to get a more detailed account of the night. Felicity didn’t tell Thea any of the private things Oliver had shared, but she told her most of the other stuff and that they were going to go out again, which thrilled the teenager.

 

Laurel walked into work. When she walked past a few of her coworkers, they all suddenly got quiet. Annoyingly, she was used to it. Ever since her trial, rooms tended to fall silent when she walked in. She held her head high and continued on her way. Once she cleared her name and made Oliver and Felicity pay, they’d all regret the way they treated her. She’d made sure of it.

She logged onto her computer and opened up a web browser. She was about to type in a website when a headline caught her eye.

OLIVER QUEEN FINDS NEW LOVE? Below the headline there was a picture of Oliver and Felicity, clearly on a date. It was probably taken discreetly by another customer, but it was clear that the photo was of the pair and they certainly looked cozy.

As soon as she saw the picture, she let out a scream. “WHAT?!”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 30

Summary:

Laurel hears some hard truths and Oliver and Felicity have a lazy day.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

OLIVER QUEEN FINDS NEW LOVE? Below the headline there was a picture of Oliver and Felicity, clearly on a date. It was probably taken discreetly by another customer, but it was clear that the photo was of the pair and they certainly looked cozy.

As soon as she saw the picture, Laurel let out a scream. “WHAT?!”

A few other attorneys snorted or rolled their eyes at her reaction. They knew she’d see the story eventually and had been waiting to see her reaction. It wasn’t startling that she was angry. They went back to work. Joanna and Allison, their boss, walked towards her.

“Laurel, is there a problem?” Allison asked.

“No, no problem. I was just….startled by something.”

“Ok, please remember this is an office environment in the future.” She said before walking away.

“You okay?” Joanna asked.

“He moved on. With her.”

“I know you’re still really pissed, but him dating someone doesn’t seem like a big deal.”’

“It is. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to pick me, to come begging for me to forgive him, for Sara. and they we’d-.”

“Wait, back up. You wanted him back? I thought you hated him?”

“I’m angry but Ollie and I just work together. We’re supposed to be the city’s power couple. But now he’s mute and I can’t very well date a mute.”

Joanna thought Laurel’s last sentence was messed up in about six different ways but didn’t say anything. Instead, she focused on something else she’d said. “I’m your friend, you know I’m on your side, but that doesn’t make sense. You wanted to hate him and you also wanted him to come crawling back. You can’t have it both ways.” Joanna said. “’I gotta get back to work.”

 

Oliver walked out of his room that morning and was surprised to see Felicity sitting in the living room, typing away on her computer. It was Friday and he’d been expecting her to be at work by now. She either heard his door close or sensed him standing there, because she turned to look at him with a soft smile.

“Good morning.”

‘Morning. I thought you’d be at work.’

“Normally, I would be, but luckily, Queen Consolidated is pretty flexible when it comes to telework. I don’t have to go in everyday, but a lot of my projects work better if I’m in the office.” She told him. “Sorry if I’m gonna mess up your plans to do….whatever you do when I’m not here.”

‘Oh, I wasn’t complaining.’ He told her. ‘Have you had breakfast yet?’

“Well, I made myself some toast and coffee.”

‘That doesn’t count as breakfast, no protein.’ He told her as he walked into the kitchen. ‘I will make you something.’

He came back about ten minutes later with an omelet and handed the plate to her. “Wow, you really didn’t need to go to this much trouble.”

‘It wasn’t any trouble.’ He told her.

After breakfast, Felicity went back to work and Oliver decided today was a good day to read one of the books that had been on his list for a while. He took a seat on the other side of the couch and opened the book. They stayed like that for a few hours, Oliver reading and Felicity hard at work doing some coding. It was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence.

“Good book?” She asked at one point.

‘So far, yes. I didn’t think I’d like it, to be honest.’

“Why not?”

‘When Thea mentioned it to me, I thought it was gonna be….a girly book.’

“A girly book?” Felicity repeated.

‘Like a romance novel or Twilight or something. You know.’

“Really? Well, I guess that makes sense. She is a teenage girl, but I think she knew you’d be more interested in Percy Jackson than Twilight.” She said. “Are you at a good stopping point?”

‘I guess. Why?’

“Because I think it might be time for lunch, and since we’re both here, we should eat lunch together.” She suggested. “I’ve got some stuff for tomato soup and grilled cheese or we can go out somewhere.”

‘Tomato soup and grilled cheese.’ He said. ‘I missed that a lot.’

They both got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen together. Oliver heated the soup while Felicity made grilled cheese sandwiches. “So, other than reading, what are your plans for today?”

‘Usually I work out a little, but I don’t wanna be a distraction. Or I can go to the foundry and do that.’

“If you wanna work out here, I’m not gonna stop you.” She said. “I can go into my room or come in here if it makes you feel better. How do you explain being at an old steel factory late at night anyway?”

‘I own the building and the official story is that I’m in the process of renovating. Don’t know what the cover story will be.’

“Well, construction and renovations take a while, so you’ve got time.” She told him. The topic moved onto something else and before they knew it, Felicity realized she should get back to work. She opened her laptop back up and got to work. After a few assurances, she convinced Oliver that his exercise wouldn’t be a distraction.

She looked over the top of her computer as he did some push-ups and sit-ups on the floor of the living room. He moved over to one of the walls to do a headstand for a while and a few other exercises he needed to do against the wall, but she didn’t turn to watch him work out once he moved away from the couch. He came back into her line of sight and did another set of push-ups and sit-ups. When both sets were done, he realized how sweaty he was and took his shirt off.

He heard a quiet gasp from the couch. Felicity was sitting there, looking at him with a hand over her mouth. His eyes widened as he realized he was shirtless. He was shirtless and Felicity could see his scars. She could see his scars and now she knew how damaged he was. He picked his shirt up from where he dropped it and went to flee the room.

Her voice stopped him. “Please don’t go lock yourself in your room. I don’t want you to sit in there, all by yourself and think negative thoughts. I’m sorry I gasped. I was taken a little off guard.”

He put his shirt back on before responding. ‘Because you finally see how damaged I am.’

“You are not damaged, Oliver. You have scars, yes, but its because you went through something traumatic. I knew you had scars, but knowing you have them, and seeing them are two different things.” She said. “Do you-? Do they hurt?”

‘Not physically.’ He answered. ‘But every time I see them, I remember how I got them. They’re a part of me and I hate them, because they’re a reminder of what they did to me.”

“You’re right about one thing, they’re a part of you. And I can understand why you might see them that way, but they don’t just represent things that happened to you, they also represent that you survived those things.”

‘You aren’t disgusted by them?’

“No, of course not. They make me sad, but that’s because I get upset when I think about the things you’ve gone through. You survived things many people couldn’t. You have scars, but that doesn’t change the way I see you, the way I feel about you.” She told him.

‘You’re….unlike anyone else I’ve ever met.’ He said after a long moment of silence.

“I try.” She said with a soft smile. “Why don’t you finish your book?”

Oliver realized she was probably right, and sitting in his room wallowing wouldn’t help, so he sat back down on the couch and continued the book he was reading.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?

Chapter 31

Summary:

Oliver tells Felicity about the List, which leads to a surprise revelation, Thea meets someone new and Laurel just can't help herself.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The day after Oliver had accidentally let Felicity see his scars, he woke up to a message from his mother. The text was rather long, and he was surprised to find his mother even knew how to text, but he read it anyway. The message was longer than it needed to be, but it could easily be summarized as Moira apologizing for her behavior and then asking Oliver to come to the mansion so they could talk. His emotions were hard to pin down after reading it. He was pleased his mother was finally starting to realize she was in the wrong. He was upset, and a little angry, that it had taken her so long and such drastic steps to realize it. The most pessimistic part of his mind thought this might just be another attempt to manipulate him. Oliver closed the messaging app for now. He didn’t need to respond right now.

He walked into the living room and found Felicity in front of the television. Her body was twisted in a strange shape and he immediately thought back to watching Shado do yoga on the island. Before he could become too immersed in his memory, she noticed him standing there and moved out of her pose.

“Hey! Did my video wake you up? I’m sorry.” She said quickly.

‘Nope. I woke up a little while ago.’ He assured her. ‘You do yoga?’

“When I have time. It helps me de-stress.” She shrugged. “What are you up to today?”

‘I’m not sure yet. Probably working on the List.’

“The List?”

‘I- I don’t wanna get into how I got the list, but it’s how I decide who the Arrow should go after.’ He told her. ‘They all failed this city in one way or another, and I need to stop them. That’s where this comes in.’ He held up the small, beige notebook he carried with him most of the time. It was too valuable to his mission, and too important to him on an emotional level, to risk it being misplaced.

“That journal has the list in it?” She asked. He noticed something off about her voice. She wasn’t asking out of pure curiosity. Or to keep the conversation going. She recognized the item and he wanted to know why.

‘Yes. Why do you ask? Have you seen it before?’

“Yeah, I- right before he went to Sydney, Walter asked me to look into a notebook that looks exactly like that one.” She admitted. “He seemed really freaked out by it, which is weird since the pages are just blank.”

‘They aren’t though. The ink can only be seen if the pages are exposed to either heat or UV light.’ Oliver admitted. ‘Where’s his version now?’

“In my bag. It isn’t his though. I don’t think he’d be as scared as he was if it belonged to him. But if he’d just found it and wondered why it was hidden or something…” She trailed off. She didn’t want to accuse Moira of anything, but it seemed like the notebook belonged to her and Walter wanted to know about it in order to protect her.

‘Can I see it?’ He asked. He didn’t want to jump to any conclusions until he confirmed the books were the same. He also knew, if they were the same, the other notebook would have the complete list. Oliver had torn out a few pages of his father’s copy in order to keep a fire on the island going, not realizing how valuable those few tiny sheets were. Felicity gave him the book and he locked himself in his room, studying it. She was a little worried, but she also knew the notebook was more than just a collection of paper to him.

 

Thea had woken up bright and early Saturday morning and snuck out of the mansion. She left partially because she wanted to avoid her mother, and partially because she wanted to visit Oliver. Her main reason for sneaking out though was that she needed to get to a rec center right outside the Glades by a certain time. Thea had started teaching herself ASL by watching videos online. She soon realized that she didn’t just want to understand Oliver, she wanted to be able to communicate fully with him in sign language. She started looking into classes and learned there was one held every Saturday at the rec center. When she got there, the room was empty except for the instructor and one other person, a teenager wearing a red hoodie.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her, clearly recognizing her. He was convinced she was either lost or came here as some kind of publicity stunt.

“Isn’t this where the sign language classes are held?” She responded. “I’m Thea.”

“I know. I’m Roy.” He said. “You wanna learn sign language? Why?”

“Why are you here?” She countered.

“Stephanie needed at least one person to show up so the center wouldn’t cancel the class.” He said, nodding towards the instructor. “I’ve known her since forever, so when she asked I couldn’t really turn her down.”

“My brother is mute. He either uses ASL or he writes things down. I wanna learn so that I can still have conversations with him. This is the only class in the city.” Thea admitted.

“I see we have a full house today.” Stephanie said, getting their attention. “Let’s get started.”

 

Oliver studied the notebook from Felicity for about an hour before he was convinced he’d gotten every name on the list written down. Now, he knew the names of everyone his father wanted him to save the city from, not just most of them. He left his room and gave the notebook back to Felicity, thanking her.

‘Sorry I ran off with it.’

“Well, I didn’t even know what it was until you told me. I thought your stepfather was just being paranoid.” She said. “And I don’t need to know the whole story to know that that notebook’s not just a notebook to you.”

‘My father gave it to me right before he died. While we were on the life raft.’ He said. ‘It was his dying wish.’

“Like I said, its not just a notebook to you.” She said. “Ugh, I need to head to the store. We’re almost out of milk and toilet paper, among other things.”

‘I can go.’

“Nah, it’s okay. You do most of the cooking, I can do the buying.” She waved him off. “There’s a shop just down the street.”

‘Can I come with you then?’ He asked. ‘I think I need to get used to being around more than just you, Tommy, Thea and John.’ He might not like people for the most part, but he recognized that he needed to start getting more comfortable around others. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life only leaving the house to fight crime.

“Okay.” She agreed and they left soon after.

They were walking through the store when Oliver told Felicity he’d forgotten to grab something in one of the other aisles. He told her he’d be right back and left to go get it. Felicity stayed in the cereal aisle, trying to remember which type of Cheerios she hated.

“It’s a phase you know.” A voice, an annoyingly familiar voice, said from her left. “You and him, I mean. He might like you, but in the end, he’ll always pick me.” Laurel said with a smirk.

Felicity put the cereal box down and turned to face her directly.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 32

Summary:

Laurel makes a big mistake and Lance refuses to give up.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“It’s a phase you know.” A voice, an annoyingly familiar voice, said from her left. “You and him, I mean. He might like you, but in the end, he’ll always pick me.” Laurel said with a smirk.

Felicity put the cereal box down and turned to face her directly. “I can’t tell if you’re delusional or just stupid.”

“You’re calling me stupid?”

“Yeah. Do you not know what the words ‘restraining order’ mean? You aren’t supposed to be near me or Oliver.”

“This is a public place. You can’t demand that I leave.”

“No, you’re right, I can’t. But the parameters of our orders against you clearly state that, if you happen to be in the same public place with us, you are barred from approaching us. Which you have now done. So, you’re either delusional, stupid or no one taught you that in law school.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Felicity was right. She was supposed to avoid them in public, as stated in the restraining order they had. Still, Laurel saw them standing there, looking so happy and she just couldn’t resist. She had to say something. “I’ll have you know that- oh, hi Ollie.” She said with a disgusted tone. “Decide to come back after she yelled at me for you? Are you that scared of me?”

‘I’m not scared of you.’ He signed and Felicity translated. ‘I forgot something. And I don’t need Felicity to yell at you for me.’

“Oh really?”

“Look, I don’t know if you followed us or if this was a genuine coincidence, and I kinda don’t care. We’re trying to buy groceries, so can you just go away? You’re mad things didn’t turn out your way, you’re pissed Oliver moved on.” Felicity said. “We get it. Let’s move on because this is getting a little pathetic.”

“Pathetic? You-!” Laurel started to yell.

“Is there a problem here, folks?” A man dressed in the store uniform, probably the manager, asked walking up to them.

Laurel seemed to realize other people could overhear their argument and stormed off.

“Not anymore, but I was wondering if we could talk in your office.” Felicity said. She was fairly sure this store had security cameras and that footage would be useful. “It’s a bit of a complicated situation.”

“Right this way.” He gestured towards the back of the store. They talked to the manager for about fifteen minutes. The man was more than happy to give Felicity a copy of the security footage. It even had audio that proved Laurel approached Felicity, not vice versa.

‘What are you gonna do?’ Oliver asked Felicity on their way out of the shop. ‘With the tape I mean.’

“I don’t know. I should give it to the SCPD, have them bring her in for violating her probation. I don’t know if that’ll make things better though.”

‘How could they get worse?’

“It’s gonna sound dumb, but I kinda hoped that, since she’s supposed to leave us alone, she’d take the time to deal with some of the underlying issues she has. It’s like- she’s not just angry, she’s obsessed. And if she goes to prison, she might never work on those issues.” Felicity didn’t like Laurel. She didn’t think she ever would, but some of her actions made her feel sorry for her. The attorney clearly had a lot of problems and Felicity was a compassionate person by nature.

‘It’s not dumb to hope someone will stop being self-destructive. At the same time, she needs to be the one to decide she needs to change. And it’s not our responsibility to help her.’ He told her.

 

Felicity decided to wait until Monday morning to decide if she should go to the SCPD and deliver the store surveillance video to the detectives. Two days gave her enough time to think things over fully and consider what would happen.

 

“Lance, what the hell are you doing?” One of the other detectives asked Quentin when they walked past his desk. He was hunched over a bunch of case files, reading them like they had the answers to life. “Thought you were in administrative leave.”

“I am.” He answered.

“What are you doing with a bunch of open case files then?”

“It’s a…a side project. Helps with the boredom.” He said. He’d tried to look more into Felicity Smoak, but got nowhere. Oliver was a different matter. He knew the man was lying about something, covering something up. He was going to find out what it was. Even if it meant pouring over every open case file since Queen's return.

The other detective looked at him warily before going to talk to their captain. He didn’t know why Lance was obsessing over the vigilante case files, but he thought their commanding officer should know.

 

 Monday morning, Laurel went into CNRI. Joanna asked her how her weekend was, which led to Laurel venting about what happened at the store. Over the last week, Joanna had realized how much Laurel needed help. The time for just suggesting she leave Oliver alone was over.

“Why did you talk to them at all?”

“I just saw them and I needed to make it clear to her that-.”

“No, you didn’t. You could’ve and should’ve kept on shopping and not even let them know you were there. You’re my friend, but you need to start seeing a therapist or something.”

“I’m not crazy!”

“I didn’t say you were, but all I ever hear is you complaining about Oliver and Felicity. You keep insisting you need to ‘get even’ with them. Now, you violated your probation to try and get under her skin. That’s not good.”

“I didn’t talk to her for long.”

“That doesn’t matter. You still violated the restraining order. That’s all the court’s gonna care about.”

“It’s not gonna get to that. It’ll be my word against theirs and the manager only came over at the end of our conversation.” She waved her friend off.

“You really think a store in 2012 isn’t gonna have security cameras?” Joanna countered.

Around 11:30 am, two SCPD officers came to CNRI and arrested Laurel for violating the conditions of her restraining order, and thus her probation. As she was being escorted out the building, she was yelling about how they ‘couldn’t do this to her’ and how she’d fight to clear her name. Joanna watched it play out and regretted not encouraging Laurel to seek help sooner.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 33

Summary:

Felicity tries to make something clear to her coworkers and gets a surprise visitor.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The day Laurel got arrested, again, Felicity was at work. She’d been in the middle of a meeting with the board about one of her projects when the story broke. She didn’t plan it that way, but it was excellent timing since she doubted any of the board members would so much as glance at their phones during her presentation. She didn’t count on their assistants though.

All at once, phones began to vibrate with the news update. The board ignored it, but Felicity saw several of the younger people in the room grab their phones and subtly look at them under the table.

“Is something wrong Miranda?” The COO asked his EA.

“Laurel Lance was just arrested for violating her probation.” She said. All eyes turned to Felicity. The blonde fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course everyone cared more about her reaction to this news than the groundbreaking things she was working on. Technological breakthroughs weren’t as important as tabloid drama, after all.

“We’re hoping to begin production in the next three weeks.” Felicity said, wrapping up her presentation. “Why is everyone staring at me? If she got arrested, that’s because of something she did.”

“We know that, but I feel like this may be a good time to discuss this situation and it’s impact on the company.”

“It’s impact on the company? There hasn’t been one. Stock prices have risen, not lowered. The court case didn’t impact productivity. I don’t see how it’s impact Queen Consolidated.” The CFO spoke up. Felicity gave him a small smile. She’d always liked the CFO.

“It’s not just about stock price, its also about perception.” Someone from PR said.

“Perception.” Felicity said, kind of in disbelief. “Do you know how many times the company was mentioned by name in court? Twice. Once in referring to piece of evidence and a second time when the defendant decided to grasp at straws. I’m trying to put the whole situation behind me, we both are. And, I know Oliver’s name being on the side of this building doesn’t help, but we’ve both done all that we could.”

“We still need to make a statement.” The PR person said. “Get ahead of any more press on this.”

“You’re better at that than I am. Why don’t you handle that and I’ll get back to working on my implantable biostimulant for people with serious spinal injuries?” She suggested. “Glad we cleared that up.”

She spent the rest of the day in her office, trying to ignore the curious employees who wanted to know what happened and attempting to work out what was missing in her prototype implant. When she was about to leave, she saw a text from Oliver.

>>From: Oliver- There’s a very excited blonde woman on the front step. Are you expecting someone? Should I let her in?

>>To: Oliver- This is gonna sound weird, but send me a picture.

Felicity was pretty sure she knew who it was, but she needed confirmation. A few seconds later, Oliver sent her a picture. As she both expected and feared, it was her mother.

>>To: Oliver- It’s my mother. Let her in. Tell her I’ll be home soon. She knows ASL, so she won’t be weird about you signing.

She really should’ve seen this coming. Between how long she’d been avoiding talking to her mother, the court case and the recent publicity, it wasn’t surprising that Donna would come for a visit. She just wished her mom would’ve told her she was visiting before appearing at her front door.

 She unlocked the door to her house and saw Donna sitting on one end of the couch, facing Oliver who was telling her something. It was such a small moment, but it made Felicity happy to see Oliver seem so relaxed around someone who wasn’t her or Thea. She knew he heard the door open because his shoulders tensed slightly.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? How you meet people who end up being important in the most mundane situations?” Donna asked. “’Hey sweetie. Oliver was just telling me about how he met you when his phone broke.”

‘I’m glad it did.’ He signed after waving hello to her.

“Me too.” She told him as she walked over to hug her mother. “How have you been?”

“Good, I wish you would’ve told me what was going on with that girl before it was all over the news.” She said pointedly.

“I know, but it wasn’t your fight.”

“After what she said about Emily-.”

“Mom, it wasn’t your fight. It was Oliver’s and to a lesser extent, mine.”

‘I’m sorry she said those things.’ Oliver told both of them.

“You don’t need to apologize.” Both Smoaks said at the same time. Felicity then continued. “Can we please start talking about something else?”

“Ok, let’s talk about the very handsome man you’re living with.” Her mother said. “And the fact that you didn’t tell me you were dating someone.”

“We had a lot going on, and we just- our relationship is new. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“You’re getting to know each other, but you live together.”

“Mom, its complicated.” She said in a warning tone. Felicity and Oliver had done things out of order, and she was perfectly okay with that. She just didn’t want Oliver to freak out about it and think he needed to leave. “We didn’t do things the normal way, but normal’s boring and it works for us.”

“Oh, I’m the last person that’s ever gonna tell you to be more normal.” She remarked.

“I’m gonna go change into sweatpants. Will you two be okay?” Felicity asked.

“We’ll be fine.” Donna assured her. “So, Oliver, tell me a little more about yourself. What do you like to do?”

‘I read a lot. I just finished the first book in the Percy Jackson series after my sister recommended them.’ He answered. ‘I also like cooking and I’ve started experimenting with food.’

“Oh, a man who cooks.” She remarked. “What’s your favorite meal you’ve made so far?”

‘The chicken parmigiana I made for Felicity a few days ago. It sounds lame, but I like sharing my cooking with other people, especially Felicity.’ Oliver remembered the night he’d made the dish for her. It wasn’t an important night or anything, but it stood out because of how much she said she liked it. Seeing her so excited made him really excited. A smile formed on his face when he thought about it.

Donna saw the look on his face and a soft smile formed on her own face. It was easy for anyone to see that Oliver really cared about Felicity. “Yeah, Felicity’s pretty special, isn’t she?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 34

Summary:

Quentin just can't quit, Donna, Felicity and Oliver discuss the board's actions earlier that day and Thea stops by for a visit.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“You’re joking.” Captain Pike said, looking at Lance with a bored expression. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“it’s not.”

“So, you’ve lost your mind then.”

“It makes sense!” Lance argued.

“In what universe does Oliver Queen being the vigilante make sense?” Pike countered.

“The Hood appeared after Queen came back from the dead.”

“Yeah, its quite the coincidence.”

“It’s not-.”

“Look, Quentin, we both know what this is. Your daughter’s trial didn’t go the way you wanted it to and you wanna make Queen pay for it somehow. So, you’ve come up with some crazy theory to fit your bias.” The captain said. “I’m not gonna sit here and enable that. Queen isn’t the vigilante and you aren’t even supposed to be looking at those files. You’re still in hot water with IA. Don’t make it worse.”

 

Felicity came back out into the living room after changing her clothes and Oliver changed the subject before Donna could say anything else about his feelings towards Felicity. He cared a lot about her, he was pretty sure that he loved her, but he was also worried that it was really soon in their relationship to tell her that. He didn’t want to tell her and freak her out, since saying ‘I love you’ was a huge step in any relationship.

“So, how’s Vegas?” Felicity asked her mother.

“Good. The girls at the Grand are good as well. They say ‘hi’. Amber, a new waitress, told me she saw you at some kind of press conference on TV a few days ago.” Donna answered. “She asked if we knew each other.”

“And of course, you spent the next hour gushing about how proud you are of me.” Felicity knew the other woman had probably caught the press conference where Queen Consolidated announced a number of upcoming biomedical projects they were starting.

“Yes, and why shouldn’t I? I raised a successful, compassionate, genius child, on my own, who’s done a lot of impressive things to help others.” She said. “Not only am I allowed to brag about you, I deserve to.”

‘Your mother is right.’ Oliver signed. ‘You’ve helped a lot of people. Most of whom you’ll probably never even meet. You should be proud of yourself.’

“I am, its just- your ex-girlfriend’s making things hard.” She said with a sigh.

‘What did she do? I thought she got arrested today.’

“She did, but her arrest made the news, while I was doing a presentation in front of the board. And they wanted to talk about it, and how its effecting the company.” She explained. “I don’t know why they don’t understand the phrases ‘I’m trying to move on’ and ‘I didn’t escalate things’. But, you know, blame the victim and all that.”

“They’re giving you a hard time because you did something about being harassed?” Donna asked angrily. “You should’ve quit right then and there and taken your big, beautiful brain somewhere else.”

‘That doesn’t make sense.’ Oliver said after a few moments. ‘The thing with Laurel doesn’t have anything to do with QC. And since the trial started, stock prices and profits have both risen.’ Felicity and Donna looked at him in confusion. They were surprised he knew that. ‘I inherited my grandfather’s stake in the company. I get earnings reports and I pay attention to how the company’s doing. It’s doing well, and the board shouldn’t make you explain yourself to them.’

“Well, your name is also involved in the Laurel fiasco, and its on the side of the building, so they can claim there’s a presumed association between the case and the company. It’s still a load of crap.”

“Can we stop talking about boring business stuff?” Donna asked. “I’m visiting you for the first time in two years. I don’t wanna hear about boring work stuff.”

“You won’t hear me compl-.” Felicity began to say but there was a knock at the door. She stood up. “I swear to Google, if Lance is here to hurl accusations.” She muttered as she made her way over to see who it was.

“Who’s Lance?” Donna whispered.

‘Laurel’s father who’s a detective.’

Felicity checked the peephole before opening the door. “Hi, Thea.”

“Hey. I’m sorry to drop by like this, especially without calling, but I was wondering. Is Ollie here?” She asked.

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” Felicity said, moving out of the way so she could come inside.

“What? No, everything’s fine. Just haven’t seen him in a while.” She answered, walking inside. She saw Donna. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a guest. I can come back. I should’ve called.”

“You’re already here. Thea, this is my mother Donna. Mom, this is Oliver’s sister.”

The two women exchanged greetings and Oliver waved hello to Thea. The teenager took a deep breath before responding. “Sorry, I don’t wanna mess this up.” She said before she began to sign. ‘Hi Oliver. It’s nice to see you. How are you doing?’ She then looked to Felicity. “Did I- did I do it right? I’ve been practicing but-.”

“It was perfect.” Both Smoak women said.

‘You- you’re learning ASL?’ Oliver signed, slower than usual. ‘For me?’

‘Of course. You’re my brother and-.’ She stopped signing. “I don’t know how to sign the next part yet. I wanted to learn so you wouldn’t have to write everything down or text me all the time. I wanna be able to have a conversation with you.” She looked at him hopefully.

Oliver felt something wet on his face. It took him a few seconds to realize he was crying. Thea looked like she was going to apologize but then he said something. ‘Don’t say sorry. This is…I’m crying because I’m happy.’ When he’d come back from the island, Oliver thought he’d be miserable. He expected to be miserable. He couldn’t have predicted meeting Felicity. He thought his family would reject him for being different now. He expected to lose the few real friends he had from before the island. He couldn’t believe that Thea was so accepting of him and willing to spend her free time learning to communicate with him a little better. ‘Thank you, Speedy.’

Thea stayed for about an hour before she went home. Both Queen siblings thought it was nice to spend time together without the trial or Moira’s actions hanging over their heads. After Thea left, Oliver, Donna and Felicity spoke for a few more hours before Donna decided to go to bed. That was when Felicity realized they had a problem. Her condo only had one guest room, and Oliver was staying in it. She couldn’t ask him, or Donna to sleep on the couch. Felicity tried to convince Donna to take her bed, but her mother wouldn’t hear of it. Oliver then volunteered to sleep on the couch, but Felicity was worried it wouldn’t be comfortable to sleep on and didn’t want him to be sore the next morning. Oliver and Donna both insisted that Felicity not sleep on the couch either.

“The solution’s simple, sweetie.” Donna said. “I’ll take the guest room and you two share Felicity’s bed. You’re both adults. I think you can handle it.”

Her logic made sense, and it was the best possible option. Felicity and Donna stripped Oliver’s bed and changed the sheets. Donna went to bed and Oliver and Felicity stood awkwardly in the living room. Neither was sure what to do now.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 35

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity have to share a bed, and they're roommates. (Oh my god, they're roommates). Also, Oliver finds out some information about the List.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“The solution’s simple, sweetie.” Donna said. “I’ll take the guest room and you two share Felicity’s bed. You’re both adults. I think you can handle it.”

Her logic made sense, and it was the best possible option. Felicity and Donna stripped Oliver’s bed and changed the sheets. Donna went to bed and Oliver and Felicity stood awkwardly in the living room. Nether was sure what to do now.

“You know what? She’s right. We’re grown-ups. We’re probably making this a bigger deal than it really is.” Felicity said.

‘You’re probably right. Like always.’ Oliver signed. He wasn’t as confident as Felicity seemed to be, but decided to go with the flow.

A few seconds later, Felicity yawned. Oliver did as well. “Well, I guess that means its time for bed.” She declared. “Come on.” She gestured for him to follow her into her room.

Even though he’d been living there for weeks, Felicity’s bedroom was the only room in the house he hadn’t been in to. it was her personal space and he didn’t want to invade her privacy. He was also fairly certain she wasn’t hiding anything groundbreaking or life-altering in there. He entered the room and saw that the walls were painted a pale purple shade. He looked around and noticed that the room fit Felicity’s personality really well. He could quite explain it, but it suited her. He noticed a frame painting hanging on one wall and moved closer to it.

‘Was this the painting Emily made for you?’ He asked.

“Yeah, it- you remember me telling you about that?”

‘I remember most of the things you tell me.’ He answered. ‘It’s a fantastic painting. She was really talented.’

“Yeah, she was.” The blonde said with a soft smile. Then, she realized they needed to talk about logistics of sharing a bed. “Which side? I mean, do you have a preference?”

‘I was gonna sleep on the floor. It wouldn’t be the first time.’

“No. if I’m not letting you sleep on the couch, I’m definitely not letting you sleep on the floor.” She said sternly. “Do you care which side?”

Oliver looked around the room. The bed was situated in the middle of the room. There was a window on the opposite side of the room as the door. If he slept closer to the window, he knew he had a way out and wouldn’t feel boxed in. If he slept closer to the door, though, he could protect Felicity from an intruder. He doubted he’d do much sleeping to begin with, between his nightmares and his nerves. He looked between the window and the door for several moments before making a decision.

‘I’ll take the left side.’ The side that was closer to the door. If someone broke in and wanted to hurt Felicity, they would need to get past him first. ‘If you don’t mind. I think I’ll be able to sleep better on that side.’

“Fine by me.” She said. “So, do you wanna- should we make a wall of pillows or something?”

‘For what?’

“So you won’t worry as much. I can tell you’re worried about having a nightmare and hurting me. It’s the look on your face. You need to get some sleep, so if putting up some pillows makes you worry less, helps you get some sleep, we can do that.” She said.

‘Not pillows.’ He signed. If he woke up and couldn’t see her, he would go into a panic. ‘Is there a blanket we could wedge between us. It won’t sit as high as a stack of pillows.’

Felicity found a fluffy comforter she rarely used and folded it a few times before putting it down the middle of her king-sized bed. It was enough of a barrier to satisfy Oliver, but he could still see her from where he was laying. With that matter settled, they wished each other goodnight and went to sleep.

Oliver stayed awake, staring at the ceiling for a while. He found it difficult to shut his mind off most nights. After an unknown amount of time, he heard a strange, but cute, noise coming from next to him. Peering over the blanket wall, he saw that Felicity was fast asleep. He should’ve known that even her snores would be adorable. He let the noise lull him to sleep.

 

Felicity woke up the next morning and felt a weight around her abdomen. She was confused and couldn’t figure out what could be laying on her. She opened her eyes and looked down. There was an arm wrapped around her waist. A hairy, male arm. Oliver’s arm. The blanket wall had been pushed over, and at some point during the night, Oliver had snuggled up against her. Slowly, Felicity tried to extract herself from under his arm, but when she moved, his grip tightened. Realizing the only way to get free was to wake Oliver up, she quietly said his name. he stirred but didn’t awaken. She repeated it, a little louder, but still close to a whisper. Nothing. She tried one more time, and this time, his eyes opened.

He seemed to realize the position they were in and quickly moved his arm. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-.’

“It’s okay. You didn’t hurt me and I wasn’t uncomfortable.” She assured him. “I just need to use the bathroom.” She jumped out of bed, relieved herself and came back into the bedroom. “Don’t look so guilty. I’m not mad or anything. It was kinda nice. How did you sleep?”

‘Pretty good.’ Better than pretty good. Last night was one of the best night’s sleeps he’d had since coming back from the island. ‘No nightmares.’

“That’s good. Actually, no, that’s great.” She said, before looking at the clock. “I’m change and gonna make some coffee. I’m working remote today, but I like keeping my routine consistent, you know?”

He nodded. Felicity changed out of her pajamas and was about to head out of the room when he waved to get her attention. ‘Last night was nice. I like sleeping next to you.’

“Aw. You’re so sweet.” She said, leaning over to kiss him. “I like sleeping next to you too.”

Donna looked only slightly smug when they walked into the kitchen smiling while she was drinking her coffee. Her plan to bring those two closer together had worked.

 

Donna’s visit lasted a few more days. Felicity and Oliver continued to share a bed during her stay. They only had one ‘bad’ night when Oliver had a nightmare, but nothing serious happened. He didn’t lash out or hurt Felicity. She told him later, after it had passed, that his limbs twitched a lot and let out a sound that was close to whimpering. Oliver went out as the Hood twice while Donna was visiting and took down two lesser known people on his father’s list.

The day after Donna left, Oliver began investigating Frank Chen, a former associate of his father’s. When he realized Chen had connections to the Triad, he knew he needed to act sooner rather than later. When he first approached Chen, trying to scare him, an unexpected thing happened.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Chen asked after Oliver had taken out his security. “You’re targeting the List. The members of Tempest.” He didn’t receive a response. “How do you even know about the Undertaking?”

Oliver fired an arrow just past his head and whole Chen was recovering from the panic he felt, the archer escaped. Tempest. The Undertaking. It sounded very ominous. Ominous, and like something his father would want him to stop. Was it possible he had missed the real meaning behind his father’s last words?

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I know everyone wanted some sexy-times, but it just didn't feel right at this stage.

Chapter 36

Summary:

Felicity and Oliver begin to investigate Tempest, the blonde finds something surprising, and Laurel receives an unexpected visitor.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After his confrontation with Frank Chen, Oliver barely remembered making it back to the foundry or changing out of his green hood. His mind was replaying what happened with Chen over and over. The words kept repeating in his mind. He was somehow able to make it back to Felicity’s in one piece, despite not paying much attention to the road as he drove.

It was Friday night, so the blonde was wide awake when he got back. She turned the TV volume down when he came in and turned to face him. She was about to ask how it went when she saw the look on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

‘Chen said something when I confronted him. He seemed to know about the List.’

“That’s….unsettling. Did he say anything else?”

‘He implied that the people on the List were part of some group called Tempest. And he mentioned something called the Undertaking.’ Oliver told her. ‘The name sounds…’

“Familiar?” She filled in, but he shook his head. “Ominous?” He nodded. “Like something your dad would want you to stop?” He nodded again.

‘What if I’ve been doing this wrong all along? What if this Undertaking is what my dad meant by telling me to right his wrongs?’

“That’s possible, and if that’s the case, its good that you learned about it.” She said. “But the fact you’re learning about it now doesn’t mean you failed.”

‘It feels like I did.’ Of course, Robert wanted him to stop the Undertaking. He felt foolish for thinking his father wanted him to take down each person on the List one at a time. That would’ve taken years. He’d wasted so much time fulfilling his father’s last wish in the wrong way.

“Oliver, from what you told me, your father gave you the notebook, told you to fix what he broke and died. I hate being that blunt, but it’s the only way for me to say it.” She said. “He didn’t tell you what that list was, how you were supposed to use it, any of it. You had no way of knowing about Tempest’s existence or that this Undertaking was being planned. Not unless you learned it from someone else. Which you did. You were doing what you thought he wanted because you didn’t have any reason to think the List was part of some major plot.”

‘Why couldn’t he have just told me?’ He asked.

“I don’t know. I think that’s one question we’ll never get an answer to.” She said. “But Tempest and the Undertaking, those sound like mysteries we can solve. You now know they exist, there’s a connection between the group, the List and whatever the Undertaking is. What do you wanna do now?”

‘Find out what Tempest and the Undertaking are. What they’re planning. I don’t even know where to start.’ He said.

“Why don’t I do some research into Tempest. You can look into more connections between the names on the List. And I think another visit to Frank Chen might be in order. It seems like he’s kinda chatty, which is good for us.”

‘Us?’

She gave him a funny look. “Did you think I wasn’t gonna help you or something?” She asked. “Not a chance. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” She then yawned. “I’m gonna get some searches started, but then I’m going to bed.”

‘Sleep well.’

 

While Felicity and Oliver were talking, Chen had recovered from the terror of facing down the Hood. As soon as he was sure the archer was gone, he called the other Tempest members. They needed to know what had happened. He found himself in Malcolm Merlyn’s office, along with Moira Queen and half a dozen others, within the hour.

“-took out my security to have ‘a word’ with me.” He said, as he finished telling the story.

“And what exactly did he say?” Malcolm asked.

“He didn’t say anything beyond ‘you have failed this city’.” He left out the part where the Hood didn’t say anything because he let slip about the List, Tempest and the Undertaking. “I think it’s clear now that he’s targeting the List.”

“We knew that.” Moira said. “But the List doesn’t just relate to our undertaking. This is the first time a member of our group has been targeted.”

“You think he knows, somehow, what we’re doing?”

“Specifics, I doubt, but he clearly has a very good idea.” Malcolm said. “Well, we can’t do much for now. Moira, if I could speak to you?” The others left and Moira waited for Malcolm to speak. “There’s only so many people who could have the List that weren’t in this room.”

“Not this again. Robert drowned. He wouldn’t have had time to tell Oliver about the List, let alone give him his copy of it.”

“It’s unlikely, but its possible. The only person who can say for sure is Oliver. Maybe he doesn’t have the List, maybe this is all just a coincidence. I’d rather be certain, wouldn’t you?”

“And how are you gonna do that?”

“Easy. This Hood wanted someone’s attention. He finally caught mine.” He said before walking away.

 

Laurel let the prison guards lead her down the hallway to the visitors room. They’d told her she had a visitor, but she couldn’t imagine who it was. Her father maybe. Joanna. Other than those two, she couldn’t think of anyone who would visit her here. unless it was Oliver and Felicity, coming to gloat. She took a seat at one of the tables and her jaw dropped.

“Mom?”

“Sorry I didn’t visit earlier.” Dinah said. “I didn’t think things would get this far.” When she didn’t stop Sara from leaving with Oliver five years ago, she had no way of knowing things would end up like this. Sara dead, Oliver traumatized, and Quentin and Laurel doing everything they could to get revenge on him for an accident.

“Well, they did, because of Ollie and that stupid, blonde-.”

“They didn’t put you in here, you did.” She said, cutting Laurel off. “Your actions got you arrested and imprisoned.”

“Easier for you to say, you left.”

“Yes, I did. Maybe that was a mistake, but I can’t change the past.” She said. “You need to stop this. Let go of all of this anger.”

“He killed Sara! He hasn’t even said sorry! He’s faking being sick so he doesn’t have to. And he got me locked up here because I was the only person who didn’t fall for his lies.”

“I don’t think Oliver’s smart enough to fool multiple mental health professionals.” Her mother said. “I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told your father earlier today: What happened to Sara was an accident. You need to stop trying to punish him for it. Look at where your anger has gotten you.”

 

The next morning, after a very unrestful night, Oliver walked out into the living room to find Felicity hunched over her computer. She was talking to herself and typing furiously. She saw him move and looked up.

“Good morning. You look…did you sleep okay?” She asked. She didn’t want to say it, but he looked exhausted.

‘No, I didn’t.’ He answered truthfully. Ever since Donna had gone back to Vegas, and he went back to sleeping in the guest room, he hadn’t been able to sleep very well. ‘Nightmares.’

“I’m sorry.”

‘You didn’t cause them.’

“I’m also sorry for what I’m about to tell you.” She said. “It’s about Tempest. It’s a fake company, no surprise there, but they own a warehouse in town. I can give you the address.”

‘Why is that something you feel sorry for?’

“Because your mother invested $2.2 million in the fake company. A few months after your father’s yacht went missing.” She said. “And it looks like that wasn’t the only time she’s given them money.”

‘You think she’s a part of this…group?’

“I think its possible.” Felicity answered.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

No chapter next week, because I'll be on vacation.

Chapter 37

Summary:

Walter returns from Australia, and Oliver makes a discovery.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘You think she’s a part of this…group?’

“I think its possible.” Felicity answered. “Walter got the List from her. Chen said the names on the List were part of, or at least connected to, Tempest. Your mother invested in this fake company. I don’t know what it means, but its one hell of a coincidence if its not related.”

‘Why would- she paid them after the Gambit went missing?’ Oliver asked.

“Yes. Eight weeks after the yacht was reported missing.” She answered. She stopped herself from telling him that the money was paid right before the search for any survivors was called off. She didn’t want to dump too much on him at once.

Oliver stared into space for a few moments. He didn’t want to believe that his mother was involved with these people, the people his father wanted him to stop. He also couldn’t manage to convince himself that she definitely wasn’t affiliated with them. Five years ago, it would’ve seemed impossible, but now, after her recent behavior, he couldn’t say that he knew she couldn’t be involved. He decided to push those thoughts aside for now. ‘You said there was a warehouse Tempest owns?’

“Yes. And I’ll give you the address, after we discuss it with John tonight.” She’d called him earlier and asked him to come to the abandoned steel factory that night.

‘Why wait?’

“In case it’s a trap. Even if it isn’t, if you both check it out, you can search the building faster.” She said. “Besides, its broad daylight and you’d be spotted by the police, which you don’t want. I’ll keep digging into Tempest while we wait.”

 

Walter’s return from Sydney was awkward to say the least. He arrived home in the early morning, so the family had breakfast together. Things were still noticeably strained between him and Moira, and judging by Thea’s behavior, she was still angry with her mother. The teen did seem excited that he was home, however. She told him what she’d been up to while he was in Australia and he listened with rapt attention.The meal ended when Moira left the table, saying she needed to attend a meeting about an upcoming charity event.

“Have you seen Oliver since the trial ended?” He asked casually.

“He hasn’t come back here, but I’ve seen him.” She said. “He’s doing a lot better. I think he realized he had more people on his side than he thought during the trial and that helped him feel less broken about not being able to speak.”

“I’m glad.” He said.

“You should text him and ask if he’s willing to speak with you. It doesn’t hurt to ask and if he’s not ready now, he may be soon.”

“I spoke to Ms. Smoak and asked her to pass my message along.”

“That was before the trial even started, before Laurel’s arrest.” Thea reminded him. “And he’s come a long way since then.” She stood up and left the table. Walter sat there for a little while longer, thinking about Thea’s words.

 

Around dusk, Oliver and Felicity left her condo and drove to Oliver’s lair. He hated calling it that, but Felicity joked that that’s exactly what it was, and since he didn’t have a name for it, ‘the lair’ would have to do. ‘Lair’ sounded better than ‘the abandoned steel factory Oliver inherited and had no other use for’ anyway. Felicity started up the computers in the hideout and triple-checked her findings while they waited for John.

Fifteen minutes later, he came down the stairs. “Sorry I’m late. What’s this about?”

“Oliver confronted someone on his dad’s list. The man was rather….chatty. He said he knew the Hood was targeting the List, and implied that some, if not all, of the names on the List are part of some secret group called Tempest. And they’re planning something.” She told him. “It’s called the Undertaking, which is appropriately ominous.”

“Do you know what they’re planning?”

“Nope, not yet.” She said. “But I did find out that they have a warehouse in town. Oliver wants to go check it out and you going with him is a better idea than if I go. I’m useless in a fight.”

‘I don’t think that’s completely true.’ Oliver told her. ‘You’re a badass.’

“Maybe, but I don’t have any of your ninja moves and I wasn’t taught how to kick ass and take names in the army like Digg was.” She said doing karate hand gestures.

Digg and Oliver left as soon as Felicity gave them a location. The building wasn’t in a bad part of town like Oliver had expected. Sure, it was out of the way and the area around it wasn’t busy, but the location didn’t seem as suspicious as he would’ve guessed. He supposed that’s why they’d been able to keep things under wraps for so long. The warehouse didn’t attract any unwanted attention, and thus Tempest didn’t attract attention.

They approached the main entrance and saw that there was a keypad on it. “Looks like we need a passcode. Or the Hood can just shoot the lock.” John said. Oliver took an arrow out of his quiver, nocked it and prepared to fire.

“No, do not shoot the lock.” Felicity told them.

Oliver lowered his bow and John spoke. “Ok, we won’t. Just out of curiosity, why shouldn’t we?”

“Because it could be wired to an alarm. Or worse, shooting either the keypad or the lock could trigger some failsafe that destroys whatever’s inside. That keypad’s advanced, its gotta be connected to something I can hack. Give me a minute.” She began typing furiously. “Okay, found the password. It’s Robert.”

“Just to clarify. Passcode’s Robert, as in Robert Queen?”

“Yup.” She said awkwardly. Any doubt she had about Moira being a part of Tempest vanished when she discovered the passcode.

Oliver entered the code and the door unlocked. Silently, he and John made their way inside. There weren’t guards inside the building, and other than the keypad, there didn’t seem to be any security measures in place. The warehouse was mostly one giant, open room. Most of the empty space was filled up by debris. Oliver froze as soon as he saw it, but Digg kept moving until he saw realized what they were looking at.

“There aren’t any cameras in there I can hack, so someone wanna tell me what’s going on?” Felicity said.

“It’s the Gambit.” Digg whispered. “Someone salvaged the remains of the Gambit.” He raised the flashlight in his hand to get a closer look at the sunken boat. Something caught his eye. “We have a problem.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 38

Summary:

John and Oliver discover something that will change everything, and everyone else struggles to figure out what to do with this information.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“There aren’t any cameras in there I can hack, so someone wanna tell me what’s going on?” Felicity said.

“It’s the Gambit.” Digg whispered. “Someone salvaged the remains of the Gambit.” He raised the flashlight in his hand to get a closer look at the sunken boat. Something caught his eye. “We have a problem.”

“Problem? What problem? Are you in danger? Is someone else there?” She asked.

“No, none of that.” He answered. “There’s a…..there’s a giant gaping hole in the side of the Gambit. I don’t think what happened was an accident.”

Felicity closed her eyes. Never in a million years would she have guessed that the Gambit had been salvaged and stored right under everyone’s noses. She couldn’t imagine how this felt for Oliver. “And Oliver?”

“He hasn’t moved since he saw the debris.” He whispered.

“Take as many pictures as you can and get out of there.” She told them.

“Why?”

“I think this has been a secret for way too long, don’t you?” She asked. “I’m gonna call the police.”

Digg took pictures of the debris from as many angles as possible. Some were close up, others were wide shots showing that most, if not all, pieces had been found and assembled. He told Felicity when he was done. She disabled the lock on the building and called 9-1-1. Oliver had stopped staring at the debris and was now focused on the ground in front of him.

“Oliver?”

He didn’t look at John or try to communicate anything. He just turned and walked out of the building. They were a few blocks away when they heard sirens coming towards them. The police cars drove right past them to the warehouse.

“Queen’s Gambit found salvaged in Starling” was the top story on the 11 o’clock news and the headline on the next day’s paper. Digg took Oliver back to Felicity’s condo, still dressed in his green hood. He’d been near-catatonic since he saw the yacht. He just sat on the couch, staring ahead of him.

“Oliver?” She asked quietly. She knew he’d have a reaction to seeing the Gambit. She expected one, and she knew it wouldn’t be good. She wasn’t quite expecting this though. He was clearly in shock, and she couldn’t get a read on him. “Do you wanna change out of your hood?” Finally, a reaction. He shook his head. “Is it okay if I sit down next to you?” He nodded. She took a seat on the couch next to him. After a few minutes, he reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “I know.” They stayed like that for over an hour, in silence, before Oliver began signing.

‘It wasn’t an accident.’

“Based on the photos John sent me, no it doesn’t look like it was.” She said.

‘The island, Sara’s death, my condition. It all happened because the Gambit sank. Someone did this to me.’

“And we’re gonna find out who. We’re gonna make sure they pay for this.” She promised him.

‘How?’

“I found the warehouse, didn’t I? You found out about Tempest, didn’t you? We’re gonna find the answers to this.” She said.

‘Someone did this to me.’ He repeated.

Felicity reached a hand up and started rubbing Oliver’s shoulder. She didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to say, no words would fix this. She could, however, remind Oliver that he wasn’t alone. After a few moments, he leaned over so that his head was resting on her shoulder. She started running her fingers through his hair. She felt him start to shake and a few tears fell onto her shirt. He was crying and she sat there, holding him, until his tears dried up.

 

Malcolm, furious, stormed into Frank Chen’s office. He demanded that every Tempest member be available for a meeting immediately. Not wanting to attract the wrong attention, the meeting wasn’t being held at Merlyn Global Group this time.

“How the hell did this happen?” He shouted.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have kept the debris in a warehouse in the city.” One of the members said.

“Or it shouldn’t have been salvaged at all.” Another said, looking pointedly at Moira.

“I thought it would bring me closure. It didn’t, but I couldn’t bring myself to dispose of it either.” She defended.

“Well, now the whole city knows the Gambit was salvaged. The building’s under lockdown by the SCPD, the Coast Guard and several federal agencies. The giant hole in the side of it isn’t gonna stay hidden for long.”

“Robert had plenty of enemies. And this type of things is like catnip for conspiracy theorists. I’m not worried about the Gambit being found.” Malcolm said. “I wanna know how the warehouse was found. It’s owned by a shell corporation. The security is too advanced for someone to just stumble into the building. Someone knew about its existence and decided to search it.”

“You don’t think the man in the hood-?”

“Someone had to tip off the SCPD.” He reasoned. “And the Hood has been sniffing around our business a lot lately.”

“How would he even know about Tempest in the first place?” Chen asked.

 

The day after Oliver and John found the Gambit, the archer was still somewhat in shock. Still, it was better than the previous night. He was reacting to things Felicity said to him at least and not just staring into space. The problem was that he couldn’t quite process what had happened. His mother was part of some group called Tempest. Tempest at the wreckage of the Gambit in a warehouse. The Gambit was most likely sabotaged. Did his mother know the Gambit was sabotaged? Did she help sabotage it? His brain couldn’t handle thinking about those questions, so he wandered around in a haze.

Around noon, there was a knock at the door. Felicity, who was home, went to answer it. She turned the knob and Thea stormed in, followed by Tommy.

“Is Ollie here? Did you see the news? Does he-?” Thea and Tommy had both woken up to the news. The authorities were being tight-lipped, but one station reported that it was possible there was foul play involved in the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit. For them, it was like déjà vu, five years earlier, they woke up to the news of the yacht being lost.

“Yes to the first two, and I don’t know about that last one.” The blonde answered. “He’s in the living room. He’s not quite- I don’t think he knows how to process the news.”

“Is it okay if we see him?” Tommy asked.

“I’m not gonna stop you, just….if he doesn’t respond or react, don’t be surprised.” She said. “And ask him before you touch him.”

Oliver’s sister and oldest friend rounded the corner into the living room and saw him sitting on the couch. He saw them and stood up. He didn’t greet either of them, but walked over to Thea and wrapped her up in a hug. He was devastated by what he’d found and he knew the news would also devastate his sister. Thea broke down in his arms, and Oliver felt a tear roll down his cheek.

“I, um, I’ve got no clue what to say here.” Tommy admitted.

“I don’t think anyone does. I don’t think anyone could ever think of the right thing to say.” Felicity said.

Oliver spent the day with Felicity, Thea and Tommy. They didn’t do anything, but he liked being reminded that he wasn’t alone. While Thea and Tommy were there, Felicity excused herself to get some programs running. She wanted to know everything Moira and Tempest were involved in, immediately.

A few days after the story broke, after the press realized Oliver wasn’t going to make an appearance any time soon, Felicity telling Oliver about her day when there was another knock at the door. She opened it to see Walter standing there.

“I apologize for showing up unexpectedly, but I’d like to speak with Oliver.”

“I’ll see if he’s up for company. The last few days have been difficult.” She said evenly. She went and asked Oliver if he wanted to see Walter. To her surprise, he agreed. She went back to the door. “He wants to talk to you. Please don’t mention the Gambit.”

She showed him inside and excused herself, wanting to give them some privacy.

“Hello Oliver.”

Hey Walter. It’s good to see you. Oliver scribbled on a notepad. What brings you by?

“There’s something I need to discuss with you, and I don’t know if it can wait.” He said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

What does Walter want to tell Oliver?

Chapter 39

Summary:

Walter and Oliver talk, Laurel hears something surprising and someone learns a surprisingly piece of information.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Walter walked into Felicity’s living room and sat down in the chair across from the couch. “Hello Oliver.”

Hey Walter. It’s good to see you. Oliver scribbled on a notepad. What brings you by?

“There’s something I need to discuss with you, and I don’t know if it can wait.” He said.

Oliver immediately started to panic. Is Thea okay?

“Thea is fine, Oliver. She is struggling to comprehend…. recent events, but nothing has happened.” He assured him. “Before I say what I need to, I must apologize.”

For what?

“When you first returned home, I wanted to give you space. You knew me only peripherally before you left, and wanting to get to know you better could wait. You were adjusting and trying to find some form of normalcy. I wanted to allow you time to do that.” He explained. “And, unfortunately, in giving you space, I was complicit in allowing others to treat you in a way that wasn’t conducive to your well-being or mental health.” He sighed. “Specifically, your mother. I want, and need, to apologize for that. I wasn’t seeing how her actions were impacting you.”

It’s not your fault. She No one could’ve known she’d react the way she did.

“Still, I should have at least tried to talk to her about her behavior. I didn’t, and that is on me.” He said. “I’m not here to talk about your mother, I came to talk about you.”

What about me?

“I want to ask how you are doing, and if there’s anything I can do to help you?”

The last few days have been difficult. A nightmare. I was doing really well, and then the SCPD found what they found.

“I can imagine.” Walter said. “Things between your mother and I are strained, and I know you don’t know me very well, but I wanted to tell you that, if you ever need my help, I’m here. I would like to get to know my stepson.”

I’d like that too. He wrote.

Walter placed the envelope in his hand on the coffee table. “Your father once told me that if anything happened to him, I should give you the contents of this package. I’d nearly forgotten about his comment until the news of the Gambit being found broke.”

What’s in the envelope?

“I don’t know. Your father handed it to me sealed, and as you can see, the seal is intact.” He said. “Open it when you’re ready.”

Thank you.

Walter stayed for about fifteen more minutes before taking his leave. He knew Oliver had a lot on his mind and a lot to think about. Felicity considered reminding him that she had the notebook he’d given her, with Moira’s copy of the List, but stopped herself. If he wasn’t going to ask for the List back, she didn’t see a reason to remind him.

 

Laurel sat in her cell and stewed. Oliver got her thrown in prison. He’d somehow turned her own mother against her. She might get disbarred because of him. if anyone should be in prison, it should be Oliver, not her. A guard came and unlocked the door to her cell. It was time for breakfast. Laurel made her way through the food line and sat down at an empty table.

Most of the inmates glared at her. When she first arrived at the prison, she kept yelling and whining about how her being in prison wasn’t fair, and how they couldn’t do this to her. Nothing ever came of it, and most of the other women viewed her as an entitled bitch who thought she was better than them. A few guards were sure the only reason she hadn’t been attacked before now was because her father was a cop.

Laurel was choking down her oatmeal when someone called out to her.

“Hey, Lance, you hear the news?” One of the women at the table next to her yelled.

“Did I hear what?” She said, barely containing an eyeroll.

“They found the boat your baby sister died on.” She said. “Someone rigged it to blow. Seems you were a bitch to your ex for no reason.”

“You’re lying.”

“I don’t give enough of a shit about you, or your fucking dead sister, to lie.” She said with a scoff.

Laurel sat glaring at her food for the rest of breakfast. When a guard was escorting her back to her cell, she asked him if the news were true. He told her the remnants of the Gambit had been found, and that the authorities hadn’t dismissed the possibility of foul play.

As she sat in her cell, for the first time since Oliver returned, Laurel started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. Maybe Oliver wasn’t to blame for Sara’s death.

 

After Walter left, Oliver and Felicity watched a movie. The blonde had searches running for anything suspicious happening in or around Starling for the last nine years. She had another laptop open that was looking into every business deal, charity organization or opportunity Moira Queen was involved in or connected to. She didn’t know who Tempest was or what their plan might be, but she was determined to find an answer eventually.

Oliver must’ve been exhausted, because he fell asleep a third of the way into the movie, leaning over so that his head was resting on Felicity’s shoulder. He woke up when the credits started to roll.

‘Sorry.’

“You don’t need to apologize. Did you have a nice nap?”

‘Yes. I sleep better around you.’ He answered before his cheeks turned red from embarrassment.

“Aw, don’t be embarrassed. It’s nice. And I like sleeping with you too. I mean, around you, because we haven’t- you know what I mean.”

‘Yes, I do.’

“Do you wanna- maybe tonight, we should sleep in the same bed. I mean, I miss you being next to me, and maybe if you know you aren’t by yourself, even subconsciously, you might sleep better.” She suggested.

He looked at her for several moments. ‘I think it’s worth a shot.’

 

John had just gotten off the phone with Carly. He called her once a week to check in and see how AJ was doing. His feelings for his brother’s widow were complicated, but he wanted to make sure, no matter what, that they were looked after and that his nephew had exactly what he needed. He’d just hung up the phone when there was a knock at his door.

He opened it to find a surprising person on the other side. “Lyla? What are you-?”

His ex-wife cut him off. “I don’t have time for pleasantries right now, Johnny. I know you’ve been working with the Hood, or the Arrow, or whatever name he’s going by. There’s something Oliver needs to know.”

“How-? You said ‘Oliver’, not ‘Oliver Queen’. You know him. How?”

She sighed. “He wasn’t on that island the whole time he was “dead”. We met about three years ago. In Moscow.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 40

Summary:

Lance, Thea and Walter all deal with the fallout of the Gambit being found, Oliver and Felicity get a little bit closer and Oliver reunites with someone he never expected to see again.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Digg had just started to ask Lyla why she was here when she cut him off.

“I don’t have time for pleasantries right now, Johnny. I know you’ve been working with the Hood, or the Arrow, or whatever name he’s going by. There’s something Oliver needs to know.”

“How-? You said ‘Oliver’, not ‘Oliver Queen’. You know him. How?”

She sighed. “He wasn’t on that island the whole time he was “dead”. We met about three years ago. In Moscow.”

“He left the- you knew he was alive?” He asked.

“It’s complicated.” She said. “We were in Moscow, he was my partner. I need to talk to him.” She needed to talk to him now.

“We’ll go in the morning then.”

 

After he left Felicity’s condo, Walter drove back to Queen Mansion. His discussion with Oliver had gone better than he anticipated and he hoped Oliver knew that he was sincere in his desire to help. He arrived home to find the mansion quiet and made his way upstairs. He ran into Thea on his way to his bedroom.

“I take it I missed dinner.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t in the mood for a family dinner anyway.” The teen responded. “Where were you?”

“I went to see Oliver. I wanted to see how he was doing after the news broke. How are you faring?”

“I don’t know, I mean- I thought they died in a storm. A storm, which meant it was beyond anyone’s control, no one could’ve stopped it. I could hate the ocean as much as I wanted for taking Ollie and my dad away.” She said, “But that’s- it’s not- the police don’t think it was an accident, and if that’s the case, then it means-.”

“It means someone killed your father and tried to kill Oliver.”

“it’s not just that, its- have you actually seen Oliver’s scars? Because I have. I walked in on him once, before I realized- he has a lot of scars, too many to be self-inflicted or accidental. I’m starting to think he wasn’t alone, and if the Gambit sinking wasn’t an accident, it means whoever sabotaged the yacht is responsible for what happened, what someone might’ve done to him.”

“That thought hadn’t occurred to me.”

“What hadn’t occurred to you?” Moira asked from behind them.

“What the far-reaching implications of the Queen’s Gambit being tampered with means.” He said. “How are you handling the news?”

“It’s been….tough. And an unexpected shock.” She said.

 

“Lance, my office, now.” Captain Pike said as he walked past Quentin’s desk. He was unhappy about the situation with Lance and IA and now he had even more of a reason to regret ever meeting the detective.

Quentin stood and walked into the room. “You hear back from IA? Am I reinstated yet?”

“You were never discharged, just moved to a less public area.” Pike said. “And no, I haven’t heard from them. We need to talk about yesterday though.”

“Frank, you have kids. If all of a sudden, you learned the accident that killed one of them might not have been an accident, you’d want to know what happened too.” Lance argued. Yes, he’d gone to the warehouse where the Gambit was found. He tried to ask the SCPD officers, as well as the feds, what they knew about the yacht. They all told him that they couldn’t tell him anything. “Five years and I still don’t know how Sara died.”

“I know, which is why I convinced the officers not to tell IA. You weren’t there as a detective, you were there as a grieving father. You can’t do that again, though. I don’t have the same sway with the feds as I do the 12th precinct.”

 

After the movie ended, Oliver and Felicity went to bed. He changed in the bathroom and waited for her to already be under the covers before he came into the room. She gave him an encouraging smile before wishing him goodnight.

That night, Oliver dreamed about the night that Gambit sank. Ever since they’d found the boat, he’d relived the same memory of the storm causing the boat to capsize. He saw Sara reach for his hand before being sucked into the dark water below her. He remembered his father pulling him out of the water and onto the lifeboat. He recalled his father’s last words to him and the sound of the gunshot that ended his life.

He could hear the crashing of waves against the boat, and knew what came next. This was the part of the dream/memory where he washed up on Lian Yu. However, before he could see the shore, he was woken up by a noise.

“Oliver? Oliver.” Felicity whispered. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t sit up from where he was laying, still startled by the nightmare, but he signed out something to her. ‘I was having a nightmare, about the Gambit. I’m not okay, but I’m not not okay either.’

“Okay.” She said. “Is there something I can do to help?”

‘Can you- no, its dumb.’

“It’s not dumb, tell me.” She said quietly.

‘Can you- can I hold you? Just until I fall asleep?’ If he could feel Felicity, he knew he wasn’t alone. Her head on his chest, or her fingers running through his hair grounded him. It kept the nightmares at bay.

“Sure.” She said as she moved the pillow separating them out of the way.

It was a little awkward at first, but they eventually found a position that worked for them. Felicity had her head resting on Oliver’s shoulder and he had one arm around her. She fell asleep somewhat quickly, and as he listened to her even breathing, he found his eyelids getting heavy.

 

Oliver didn’t wake up again until a ray of sunshine came through the window and hit his eyes. If he had to guess, it was between seven or eight AM, much later than his usual wake-up time of 4:30. Felicity was still sound asleep on his chest, and for the first time in weeks, Oliver felt rested. He was trying to figure out how to get out of bed without disturbing his girlfriend when she stirred.

“Why is my pillow moving?” She asked sleepily. She looked up. “Oh, that’s why. Good morning.”

‘Good morning. Did you sleep well?’

“I did, thanks to my comfy pillow.” She said with a smile. “What about you?”

‘Good, I- I only had the one nightmare.’

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked. She didn’t want to push him to talk, but she also wanted to give him the chance to talk if he chose to.

‘I don’t wanna be too detailed but- it was a memory. Of the night that Gambit went down. It’s been five years, but I can still feel the water on my face and when I close my eyes, I-.’

He closed his eyes and his hands started shaking.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You don’t have to say anymore.” She said as she rubbed his arm. “It’s December 2012. You’re in Starling. You’re home. You survived. I’m right here.”

Oliver calmed down after several moments and they both got out of bed. She followed him into the kitchen and talked with him while he made omelets for both of them. They talked about random things: projects she was working on, books he had just read. It was took early for them to discuss, or even think about, Tempest or the Gambit or his crusade. They were finishing up breakfast when there was a knock at the door.

Felicity opened it to find John standing there with a brunette she’d never seen before. He told her there was something important the woman needed to tell Oliver. 


 

Moscow- Late 2009

Amanda Waller had just finished explaining to Oliver Queen, the newest asset she’d “recruited” for ARGUS why she’d taken him to Moscow. There was, allegedly, going to be a sale of weapons-grade Uranium, helpful for make nuclear bombs, on the horizon. Waller believed that between his friendship with Anatoli, a known Bratva member, and his combat skills, which foiled Fyers’ operation, he was the best choice for the job.

“And why exactly should I help you?” He asked, crossing his arms. She’d just admitted to knowing he was alive and leaving him on Lian Yu. This meant her inaction also made her somewhat responsible for what happened to Shado and Sara.

“You are going to work for me whether you like it or not.”

“Might as well kill me now then.” He said.

“I have a better idea.” She countered. She then told him her offer.

“What?”

“You heard me.” She said. “Do we have a deal, Mr. Queen?” Oliver nodded. “Good, follow me and you’ll meet your partner.”

He followed Waller out of the bedroom he’d woken up in. They walked downstairs and she introduced him to Lyla Michaels, who would be his partner for the mission. 


 

Starling Present

Felicity led John and Lyla into the kitchen. Oliver looked up when he heard footsteps. As soon as he saw Lyla, he tensed. She was about to open her mouth and speak when a knife whizzed past her head and hit the wall.

“What the hell Oliver?” John started to ask.

Oliver, meanwhile, was glaring at Lyla, to everyone’s confusion. They hadn’t seen him that angry at anyone or anything ever. Oliver slowly signed something, without taking his eyes off of Lyla. Felicity interpreted.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lyla?” She interpreted. “Why did you bring her here, John?” She crossed her arms. “I’d like to know that too, as well as why you don’t seem surprised to be getting this type of reaction.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 41

Summary:

Felicity and Digg learn why Oliver hates Waller, and by extension Lyla, so much.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver was glaring at Lyla, to everyone’s confusion. John and Felicity hadn’t seen him that angry at anyone or anything ever. Oliver slowly signed something, without taking his eyes off of Lyla. Felicity interpreted.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lyla?” She interpreted. “Why did you bring her here, John?” She crossed her arms. “I’d like to know that too, as well as why you don’t seem surprised to be getting this type of reaction.”

“I-.” She started to say. She had a plan in her head on the drive over, but suddenly, her mind went blank. “Johnny, I know what he can do. If he wanted me dead, I would be.”

Oliver, meanwhile, continued signing. ‘I met her the one time I was off the island.’

‘Is she the person who wouldn’t let you come home?’

‘No, she works for her though. The woman’s name is Amanda Waller. The group is called ARGUS.’ He admitted.

‘Do you want me to make her leave?’

‘Not yet. I wanna know why she came.’

Felicity looked over to Lyla who was trying to find the right words. “I suggest you start talking soon, or the only secret AGRUS is gonna be keeping anymore is the last place Amanda Waller took a dump.”

“Felicity, that’s really not-.” John said. He didn’t know what was going on, why Oliver had reacted like this, but he was worried they were jumping to extremes.

“Look at him and tell me this isn’t necessary.” She said, pointing to Oliver. “When the trial was happening, when you found the Gambit, he didn’t have as bad of a reaction as he did when your friend walked into the room. That tells me that whatever she did to him, whatever Waller did, was worse than what happened to the Gambit.” She turned to Lyla. “Well?”

“I didn’t know.” She said quietly.

“You didn’t know what?”

“Oliver, the deal you made with Waller, I didn’t know that that’s what she meant.” Lyla said after clearing her throat.

“What do you mean? What deal?” Felicity asked. 


 

2010

Oliver went to the ARGUS hideout. He and Lyla had stopped the sale, the nuclear material had been recovered. The world was safe, or so it seemed. His left pec was still sore from getting his Bratva tattoo. Anatoly had made him a captain just before ARGUS swarmed the building to stop the sale. He wondered how the man would react if he knew Oliver only came to Russia, only joined the Bratva, because of ARGUS.

Oliver couldn’t bring himself to worry too much at the moment though. He kept his word, now it was time for Waller to keep hers. Waller, and a handful of other agents were already in the building. Lyla wasn’t, but Waller told him she was finishing up some paperwork.

“I must admit, as troublesome as you were, you came through.” She said.

“Yeah, so now its time for you to fulfill your end of the deal.” Oliver said, crossing his arms.

“First, a toast. I think you’ve earned that.” She said as she poured a brown liquid into two glasses. She handed one to Oliver and they clinked glasses before he took a sip.

“Stall all you want, I haven’t changed my mind.” He said, putting the glass, which was still mostly full, down. Waller nodded to someone behind him and a second later, everything went black.

 

Oliver came back to consciousness slowly. He could hear voices, but his eyelids felt heavy and he couldn’t quite open them yet. The voices speaking were very close to him.

“How pissed do you think he’s gonna be when he wakes up?” A man said.

“How pissed would you be?” Another man said. Oliver recognized his voice. The man was an ARGUS agent. What was going on? “We need to go. This place freaks me out and I don’t wanna be here when he wakes up, do you?”

“I feel kinda bad.”

“Don’t.” Both men stopped talking and Oliver heard them walk away.

He heard the whirl of machinery. It sounded like either an airplane or a helicopter. He finally got his eyes opened and saw a small military aircraft flying over him. Next to him was a duffel bag, containing his bow and some clothes. He sat up and wanted to vomit. He was back on Lian Yu.

Waller had lied to him. Lyla had lied to him. They both gave their word Oliver could go back to his normal life after he stopped the Uranium from being sold. He was wary of Waller, but he thought he could trust Lyla. She was his partner; he’d told her how much he just wanted to see his family again. She sat there and nodded along while knowing he wasn’t going to go home after this.

Before he could get too angry, a missile hit the ARGUS plane. It looked like the kind Fyers’ missile launcher had had. Looking at the smoke trail, it had to have been fired from on the island. He was back in Lian Yu, back in purgatory, and just like the first time, he wasn’t alone.

He grabbed the bag, knowing whoever fired that missile would want to know why a plane had landed here. Oliver needed to not be in the clearing when they arrived. He made his way back to Slade’s downed plane and hid his stuff before going to investigate who else was here.

He went back to the clearing he’d woken up in and started looking around. Then, the hair on the back of his neck started to stand up. He was being watched.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” A voice said from behind him.

 

Lyla entered the safehouse after she’d finished cataloging evidence from the mission. She didn’t know why Waller insisted she oversee it and not a different agent. The brunette was tired enough as is. Waller was looking over case files, preparing to pack up and leave Russia.

“Where’s Oliver?” Lyla asked.

“He was eager to go, so I sent him on his way.”

“What story did you give him to tell?” She wondered. She was a little upset she hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to her partner, but knew he was happier than anyone than this was over.

“Story?”

“For how he was found? His disappearance was kinda a big deal. When they find Oliver Queen miraculously alive, that’s gonna be a big deal too.” Lyla said. Waller just gave her a look. “You aren’t sending him back to Starling, are you?”

“No. Oliver Queen was a useful asset. He’s no longer useful to us. And if he were found alive, people would definitely have questions.”

“You told him if he helped us stop the sale, you’d give him his life back.” Lyla pointed out.

“And I have. I’m sending him back to his life on Lian Yu. He should’ve been more specific when he took my deal.” Waller said as she put the last file in the box. “I imagine he’ll be waking up on the island right about now. Grab your stuff, we’re leaving.” She saw the look on Lyla’s face. “Don’t tell me you feel bad for him. The world already thinks he’s dead, its not like anyone’s waiting for him to show up.”

Lyla knew there wasn’t anything she could do right now. Quitting ARGUS wouldn’t solve anything and she didn’t have the clearance to commandeer a plane and get Oliver off of Lian Yu. At least, not yet. One way or another, she was going to help Oliver. She owed him that much. In the meantime, she needed to wait for the right moment and hope Oliver could survive the island.

For two years, Lyla struggled with the part she’d played in Waller’s deception. She knew Oliver probably hated her; he probably thought she’d been in on the secret. The day Oliver Queen was found alive was the first day Lyla felt like she could breathe properly. Her ex-partner was alive. Now, she just needed to make things right with him. 


 

Present

“She did that to him?” Felicity asked. “And you still think I shouldn’t burn the agency to the ground, John?”

“I don’t think you should dump all their files onto the dark web. It’ll mean chaos and innocent people will be caught in the middle.” John said. “I’m still on the fence about destroying them though.”

Oliver stood up from his seat and walked over to Lyla. He stared into her eyes before signing something to Felicity. ‘You said you didn’t know Waller was tricking me. Why should I believe you?’

“Do you remember the last conversation we had, Oliver? ARGUS had recovered the…. Material we were looking for, you went back to the safehouse and Waller pulled me aside. Do you remember what I said?”

‘You volunteered to pretend to be the person who found me floating in the middle of the ocean with no memory.’ He answered. ‘That doesn’t prove you didn’t know.’

“You were my partner. You saved my ass when I got made and Kovar tried to kill me. Do you really think I’m so heartless that I wouldn’t have told you the truth? Tipped you off? Or tried to help you? Waller betrayed you, and made me complicit in it. I didn’t know until after you left, and I spent two years trying to find a way to get you off of that damn island.”

“Ok, let’s say we believe you. Oliver found his own way home. Why are you here now?” Felicity cut in.

“Like I said, I was complicit in what Waller did. I need to make up for that.” She said. “And after the Gambit was found, I looked into a few files in ARGUS’s backroom that you might find interesting.”

“Tomorrow.” Felicity insisted. “Come back tomorrow and tell him, He- I think today’s been tough enough. Unless it’s about an immediate threat.”

“It’s not. I know this was a lot to drop on you. Let’s go Johnny.” She said before walking out of the kitchen and leaving the house altogether. Digg apologized for bringing her here without knowing the full story and left.

 

Felicity waited to hear the door close before she spoke. Her eyes hadn’t left Oliver’s since Lyla had finished telling her side of the story. “Do you want to be alone for a little bit?”

‘No. Please don’t leave me alone. I don’t wanna be alone.’

Felicity held a hand out, waiting for Oliver to take it. He looked at it for a few seconds before sliding his hand into hers. She led him into the living room and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

‘You shouldn’t be. I was stupid.’

“You weren’t stupid, Oliver. You were manipulated. That’s a very big difference.”

‘I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.’

“Ok. Did I ever tell you about the first computer I ever built?” She asked him. He shook his head. “Well, buckle up, because its my favorite story. It all started when I was five…”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 42

Summary:

Lance gets a visitor, Thea makes an unexpected move, Malcolm comes to a conclusion about something, and Oliver and Felicity learn what Lyla wants to share with them.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After John and Lyla left Felicity’s house, they drove back to Digg’s apartment. John had plenty of questions about what had just been revealed, but couldn’t figure out which one to ask first. He also knew asking a question he might not like the answer to, while driving, might not be the best idea. They walked into his apartment and he walked over to a cabinet, pulling out a bottle.

“You look like you could use a drink.”

“Well, if you’re offering.” She said. He poured her a glass, and then one for himself. “I know you’ve got a bunch of questions.”

“Why did Waller need Oliver in the first place?”

“Oliver wasn’t alone on the island. I think you know that by now. One of the people he crossed paths with was a member of the Bratva. He actually helped Anatoli get off of the island, even if it meant he couldn’t leave. Anyway, a few weeks after Anatoli returned, Waller found intel that there was going to be a sale of weaponized uranium. Anything’s for sale in Russia, and anything for sale, the Bratva knows about.”

“So, she used him to get close to Anatoli.”

“Pretty much. Oliver joined the Bratva. It allowed him to get more information that way. That’s also when he saved my ass.”

“What happened?”

“I got made. We knew where the buy was going to be. I’d already given Waller the info. All we needed to do was show up at the sale, reclaim the material and arrest everyone there. I was leaving the restaurant where I’d overheard the conversation, and passed it to Waller, when an enemy of the Bratva, his name was Konstantin Kovar, cornered me. He’d been watching everyone involved for days and realized I was an American agent.”

“They captured you.”

“Yes. And because Waller is Waller, she didn’t care. She had her intel, she got what she needed and was going to leave me to die. Losing one agent doesn’t matter to her as long as the job gets done. The Russian government is willing to torture spies to death, what do you think a bunch of Russian mobsters would do?” She said, taking another sip of her drink. “Oliver saw me get nabbed and followed them to where they took me. I was in some dingy room for most of what happened, but he went in, without back-up, and took them all out. He saved my life. Only reason I’m sitting here talking to you. And Waller dumped him back on that hellhole of an island as soon as she didn’t need him anymore.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I should’ve at least suspected. If Waller was willing to let me die, if she makes everything so difficult for people who want to work for ARGUS, why would she treat someone she coerced any better? I just hope he’ll eventually forgive me.”

“He will. I think he just needs time.” John assured her.

 

Dinah Lance had come to Starling when the news about the Queens Gambit being found broke. She took a sabbatical from work when Laurel was arrested, and was about to go back when the yacht’s debris was found. She needed to be in Starling when the authorities released their findings, whatever those findings happened to be. That was how she found herself sitting in her ex-husband’s apartment as he paced back and forth.

“We gotta- the feds, they aren’t gonna tell me anything. It’s an open case, interagency cooperation, all of that. But I did overhear that Sara’s body wasn’t on board. It’s not- We gotta talk to someone else.”

“Who would you suggest?”

“The one person who was there.”

“No.” She said bluntly. “The last thing he needs is for our family to bother him again.”

“But Queen’s-.”

“He was the last person to see Sara alive, I know. He’s been through enough. He doesn’t need either of us banging down his door, demanding that he relive that night.” Dinah reasoned.

“You don’t wanna know what really happened?”

“I do. I just don’t want to cause Oliver Queen, who’s only crime was inviting Sara along, more pain by forcing him to discuss what’s probably the worst day of his life.”

“Well, I don’t care. I need to know.”

“And if you ask, if you even try to talk to him, you’ll pay for it.” She said. “Leave him alone. Wait for the investigation to be over. Sara wouldn’t want this.”

“Don’t use her as a smoke-screen.”

“Right. Only you and Laurel are allowed to use her as an excuse. I forgot.” She said before she grabbed her purse and stood up. “She was my daughter too, you know. Has it ever occurred to you that your actions tarnish her memory? Or are you just that obsessed with having someone to blame?”

 

Roy waited for the weekly ASL class to be over before he decided to talk with Thea. As always, he and Thea were the only people who showed up, aside from Stephanie. Still, he wanted to wait until after class ended so that if he made things awkward, he wasn’t stuck in a room with her for over an hour. Over the last few weeks, the pair had gotten closer. He’d gotten to really know her and realized that there might be feelings there.

“Hey, Thea- I, uhm-.” He began to say.

“Do you wanna get coffee sometime?” She asked him before he could finish. “Maybe right now, since the lesson’s over.”

“I- what- yeah. I’d like that. I was actually about to ask you myself.” He finished lamely.

“I guess I got tired of waiting.” She teased. “Jitters okay?”

He nodded and they headed to the coffee shop. They both ordered and took a seat at a table in the corner. They talked for a little while before he broached a topic he’d avoided so far, since meeting Thea.

“How’s your brother doing?”

“’He’s- he says he’s fine, but he always claims he is. I know finding…what the SCPD found wasn’t easy. But he’s got me, and Tommy and Felicity. I think he’ll be okay.” She answered. “Actually, I think you should meet him.”

“No, I- he probably has other things on his plate.” He reasoned.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet Oliver, it was just a lot of pressure. Thea cared a lot about Oliver and he didn’t want to make a bad impression.

“I want you to meet him. Maybe not today, but soon.”

 

The day after Oliver learned the truth about what Waller had done, and how Lyla had also been deceived by her, John and Lyla returned to Felicity’s house. He wasn’t quite willing to trust his former partner just yet, but he was willing to listen. Especially since she claimed to have intel on something related to the Gambit.

Lyla took a seat in the living room and the group just stared at one another until Felicity spoke. “Okay, this is super awkward. Let’s not pretend like its not. Staring at each other isn’t gonna make it better. You said you had some information?”

“Yeah.” Lyla said. “ARGUS has…it’s not quite a watchlist, but it nearly is. When certain things are purchased, we like to know about it.” She placed a piece of paper on the coffee table. “Those items were purchased on September 23, 2007. Which is-.”

“Four days before the Gambit went missing.” Felicity finished. “And these look like the things you’d need to build a bomb and hide it on, say, a boat.”

“Exactly. An analyst at ARGUS owed me a favor. He backtraced that money to the same fake company that was housing the Queen’s Gambit’s debris.”

“The people who destroyed the Queen’s Gambit also kept the evidence from being found. That’s not surprising.” She remarked.

“No, but this is.” She put another piece of paper on the table.

It showed the delivery receipt of the materials. Anything that could be used as an explosive needed to be signed for when it was delivered. Felicity didn’t recognize the signature, but Oliver stiffened when she handed him the paper.

“What is it?” She asked him.

‘That’s Malcolm Merlyn’s signature. He- he’s involved?’

“I take it he recognizes the signature.” Lyla remarked. “ARGUS has been…keeping an eye on this group, the account that bought the explosives, since 2007. Waller doesn’t believe their activities are concerning, which is completely in character. As soon as I read “Queen’s Gambit” and “possible foul play” however, I pulled what I could, what ARGUS kept track of, to give to you.”

“And She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is okay with you doing this?” Felicity asked.

“She didn’t stop me from taking the files. I don’t think she cares one iota about this, since the Gambit being discovered means she can’t use the information as leverage.”

“If I ever meet this woman, I’m gonna punch her in the face.” The blonde remarked.

Lyla gave them the rest of the files and the trio spent the next few hours working their way through everything. Felicity insisted on making several pots of coffee since caffeine was the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything according to her. Digg and Oliver didn’t understand the reference.

 

“What should our next move be, sir?” Michael Adams, one of Malcolm Merlyn’s cronies asked.

Over the last week, the Hood became aware of Tempest’s existence, the debris of the Queen’s Gambit had been found, an investigation into the yacht’s sinking was opened and Merlyn was pretty sure someone had hacked into their system. It felt like they were taking fire on all sides, and no one was quite sure what to do.

“If you ask me that question one more time, I will kill you.” Malcolm was stressed and hated being asked these things. “How much do the feds know?”

“We don’t know. None of our applicable contacts are part of the investigation.”

“None of them?”

“Correct.” He answered.

“Plan B then. The Hood found the warehouse. We need to get his attention off of what was found inside.”

“Meaning?”

“He wants a fight, I’ll give him one.”

 

After a few hours, Oliver, Digg and Felicity reached a good stopping point. They’d gone through most of what Lyla had presented them with, and needed to take a break anyway. John left and Felicity found herself alone with Oliver once again.

“I’d ask if you’re doing okay, but I already know the answer is going to be “no”.” She said quietly.

‘My mom was involved with what happened, what’s happening. Malcolm is too. I don’t- do you think Tommy knows?’

“He definitely doesn’t know.”

‘What makes you sure?’

“His behavior. I don’t think if he knew, he’d have been so happy you were alive, or so upset about your condition. I’ve never met his father, so I can’t talk about him, but Tommy doesn’t know how to lie.”

‘Still, my mom is part of Tempest, so is Malcolm. And my dad’s best friend bought the explosives that-.’

“I know.”

‘That means she might’ve known what he was going to-. What if she knew?’ Every time he learned something about his mother recently, Oliver convinced himself he couldn’t learn anything worse. Every time, he’d been wrong. He really wished he’d stop being wrong. ‘What if she let this happen to me?’

“Let’s not sit here and think about “what ifs”. We don’t know what she knew or when she knew it, but we’re gonna figure it out. I promise.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 43

Summary:

The Dark Archer strikes, the city reacts and Moira finally makes a good decision, but is it too late?

Notes:

A huge thank you to RoyArtHan for giving me some serious inspiration/suggesting some of the plot points this chapter introduces.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Adam Hunt was in his office building. Ever since his encounter with the Hood, things hadn’t gone well for the businessman. Not only did the people he conned somehow get their money back, and then some, but the whole ordeal led to him being investigated by the FBI, and the SEC. The added heat caused his few legitimate dealings to suffer and he’d been forced to sell off some of his things in order to cover for the costs.

Now, he needed to get out of town. The FBI had come nosing around again, and he had a feeling they’d finally found the proof they were looking for that he’d committed embezzlement, among other crimes. He was packing up his office, grabbing the few things he absolutely needed before flying to China, where he’d be harder to extradite. He was just finishing up when an arrow flew past his face. He looked up in fright.

“You again? What do you want? You’ve already taken enough from me!” He shouted. What else could the Hood possibly want?

“It’s nothing personal.” The archer in front of him said, stepping into the light. Hunt had been wrong. The Hood wasn’t here. The archer in front of him was dressed all in black, not the Hood’s green, and only his eyes were visible. “I can’t afford loose ends.” He nocked another arrow and released it. This one struck Hunt in the heart, killing him.

Malcolm left Hunt’s office. For his plan to work, he needed to draw the Hood out. In order to do that, he needed to make sure he caught his attention. Going after his known past targets was the best way he could think of.

 

Within a few hours, the CSIs were going through Hunt’s office, trying to figure out what had happened. Given the weapon used, the anti-vigilante task force had been assigned the case. The task force consisted of five officers, all of whom had grown bored with the assignment in the last few months. The Hood was too smart to get caught, and due to the fact that all he did was intimidate 1%ers and smash a few things, the majority of the detectives thought the funds allocated to them should be used elsewhere.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” McKenna Hall, one of the detectives, said to her partner.

“The Hood killing Hunt? Maybe his previous actions were building to this.”

“I don’t think so. According to Hunt’s statement, the Hood wanted him to return the money he stole. He did that, why come back?” She reasoned. “And if he did escalate to murdering his targets, which I doubt given how reports say he actively tries not to kill, I think he’d choose someone he hadn’t already gone after.”

“The guy’s a lunatic. You can’t try to reason with-.”

“This might not have been him. Could be a copycat.”

 

News of Adam Hunt’s death made the morning news. Oliver, Felicity and Digg were both unsettled by the idea of someone else targeting the List or there being a copycat. They decided to keep a close watch on the investigation, trying to work out what was going on and how to stop whoever this other archer was. Oliver was about to turn the report off, when one of detectives investigating walked up to a podium. It was his old friend McKenna.

“Oliver, everything okay?”

‘I know her. Well, I knew her. Before the island. I never pictured her being a cop.’ He said. ‘Her name’s McKenna.’

“Maybe you should stop by the station and say hi.” Felicity suggested.

‘What?’

“Well, one, you can connect with an old friend, which isn’t a bad thing. Two, if you stop by to say “hi”, you can put a bug on her phone and we can keep an eye on the investigation.” The blonde explained.

‘You want me to bug a police detective’s phone?’

“I’m saying its an option.” She clarified. “If you don’t want to do that, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can think of something else. I do think you should think about reaching out to her though.”

 

Malcolm was in his office. The murder of Hunt had caught attention, but he didn’t believe it was enough. He didn’t want anyone to think this was a fluke occurrence. His next move needed to be bigger, and more specific.

“Your work with Hunt was impressive.” Michael Adams remarked.

“I don’t need your empty compliments.” He said. “That wasn’t impressive in the slightest. And I’m not trying to be impressive, I’m trying to issue a challenge.”

“What would you like me to do, sir?”

“The Hood, he has to have some technical prowess, or a partner. Finding out about Tempest through research would take a very particular set of skills. Very few people could’ve found the breadcrumbs we left behind.” He reasoned. “If I ask you to get me a list of people in the city with that level of skills with a computer, can you manage not to fuck it up too badly?”

“I will certainly try my best.” Adams said before walking out of the office.

As Adams left, Moira stormed in. “I’m done.” She declared.

“Pardon me?”

“I’m done. With Tempest, with the Undertaking, with you. I am done.” She repeated.

“You’re done when I say you’re done.”

“You have no idea what I’ve lost because of you, because of this crusade of yours. You have your money, you’ll have your machine soon enough. What else do you need me for? Nothing. So, I’m done now.”

“We’re in the spotlight, Tempest is being investigated, because of you. Because you couldn’t leave that useless boat at the bottom of the ocean where it belonged. You don’t get to be done.”

“You could’ve had the debris destroyed and I couldn’t have stopped you. I salvaged the Gambit, you left it in that warehouse.” She countered. “I’ve given you enough. I need to focus on my family now.”

“Speaking of which-.”

“No, there’s no “speaking of which”. You’re going to leave me and my family alone, Malcolm.”

“Or what?”

“You aren’t the only one that’s resourceful or has useful friends.” She warned as she left.

That night, a second one of Oliver’s old targets was killed by an archer. The police were equally confused, especially since during the second murder, the Hood had been spotted on the other side of town, fighting the Triad. They weren’t willing to announce his innocence, but they’d started to operate under the assumption that the killer was a copycat and not Oliver himself.

 

Oliver heard the news about the second death and broke down when he got home. He wanted to make things right, to right his father’s wrongs. He wanted to get to the truth about the Gambit sinking and stop whatever the Undertaking was. He never wanted anyone to die.

‘This is my fault.’ He told Felicity.

“No, its not.”

‘The archer is targeting my old marks. He’s trying to draw me out. If I didn’t start doing this, those men would-.’

“They’d still be taking advantage of innocent people. I’m not saying they deserved to die, but you didn’t do some horrible thing by exposing them.” She said. “This could also just be a distraction. Tempest’s warehouse was found, they’re under a microscope. Maybe they’re trying to shift attention off of themselves by framing you.”

‘Two men are dead because of me.’

“No, they aren’t. They’re dead because of the other archer. You’ve been trying to do what you think it right, regardless of the consequences. Don’t let this other archer take that away from you.” She said, running one hand through his hair. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

‘I’m a vigilante who threatens people with arrows.’ He pointed out.

“Threaten people? Yes. Smash up their stuff? Yes. But you don’t kill people, even if it would make things easier for you.”

‘Dead bodies get too much attention.’ He told her. ‘I learned that from Lyla.’

“Really?”

‘In Russia, I was- I wasn’t in a good place. I thought killing anyone in my way was the best way to get home. She convinced me otherwise, that direct confrontations weren’t always the best solution.’ He said. ‘And as much as I believe in what I’m doing, I didn’t want anyone to know about it at first.’

“Well, I’m glad Lyla was able to get through to you back then.” She said with a smile. “My point is, we should find this archer and not spend any more time blaming you.”

Oliver was about to respond, when there was a knock at the door. Since he was closer, he went to see who it was. Felicity followed behind him in case someone needed to speak to the visitor. He looked through the peephole and relaxed.

‘It’s Thea.’ He signed before opening the door and letting his sister inside. ‘Hi.’

“Hi Ollie!” Thea said, and signed, at the same time. “Hi Felicity!”

‘Hey Speedy. How are you?’

“I’m good. Sorry to just drop in like this, I know I should’ve called-.”

“You’re Oliver’s sister and this is his home. You don’t need to call or ask to come over.” Felicity assured her.

Oliver looked at Felicity for a second. She was right. This was his home, it felt like home to him. He should probably start contributing towards the rent or groceries or something, since he wasn’t just a guest. Before he began overthinking, Thea spoke again.

“Earth to Ollie?”

‘Sorry. I got distracted by a random thought.’ He told her.

They walked into the living room and sat down. They spoke for a little while. Thea told them how her ASL lessons were coming along. Felicity told them a little but about work and Oliver mentioned a few of the books he was reading. He asked about how Walter and Moira were doing. Thea’s answer about Moira surprised him.

“She’s- you’d think the Gambit being found would make her feel….something strong. It took me days to work up the courage to see you because I was so devastated by it. But she’s- she seemed upset, but not as much as I thought she would be. Like, you know how you see sad stories on the news, and they bum you out, but you get over it soon enough? That’s kinda what her reaction was.”

“She might’ve just been too shocked to say anything.” Felicity suggested. She doubted it was likely, given Moira had a connection to Tempest, but didn’t want to tell Thea that. “She spent years thinking a storm caused everything and now, that might not be true.”

Oliver asked if they could change the subject, which they did. After about half an hour, Thea cleared her throat. “I came over for a reason, actually. There’s- I need to tell you something.”

‘You aren’t in trouble, are you?’

“No. I just- I met someone. A guy, I want both of you to meet him. Maybe in the next few weeks?” She said. Felicity looked to Oliver, who was staring at the floor. “Ollie, please say something.”

‘This boy, he’s your boyfriend?’

“I guess. We’ve gone out on one date. I really want you to meet him, both of you, but please don’t go all “overprotective brother” on me.”

‘I don’t plan to. Just answer one thing for me. Is he- he’s not like me, is he? The way I was before….before the island.’ He asked her. Oliver didn’t want to be the stereotypical overbearing brother, but he did want his sister to be happy. He wanted Thea to be as happy as he was with Felicity. He didn’t want her to waste her time with guys who didn’t deserve someone as amazing as she was

“No. I met him at my ASL class. We became friends and he asked me for coffee. Well, I asked him right before he could get the words out, but it’s the same- he’s a good guy. Please promise me you’ll give him a chance.”

‘I promise. I just want you to be happy, Speedy.’ He told her.

They made a plan for Thea and Roy to come over for dinner sometime the next week. Oliver offered to cook and being home meant he would feel less on edge, meeting a new person. Thea left in a good mood, excited to introduce Roy to Oliver.

 

The next day, Malcolm Merlyn was in his office, going over some reports in preparation for a board meeting when his lackey, Michael Adams, walked in. “I have that list for you, sir.”

He took the piece of paper from him without looking up and began skimming it. “This is page 1, I assume?”

“No, that’s the entire list.” He said.

“In a city where three major corporations are headquartered, you’re telling me only nine people have the skills to this?”

“Our cybersecurity is quite advanced. Only an expert could have followed the breadcrumbs, as you said, or accessed our files undetected.”

“This should be easy then.” Malcolm said standing up.

“It should?”

“You really are an idiot. Did you not notice all nine of these people work in the same department, at the same company?” He asked as he hit the intercom button in his office. “Mary, please reschedule the board meeting for tomorrow. Something unexpected has come up.”

Today was going to be a very rough day for Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences department.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 44

Summary:

The Dark Archer makes his move.

Notes:

To RoyArtHan- I know you've been looking forward to this. I hope I did it justice.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The day after Thea stopped by Oliver and Felicity’s house, the blonde went into work like normal. One of the projects she was working on had just been approved to begin testing, so she needed to be on site to instruct the others in Applied Sciences which tests she wanted run first and how she wanted to conduct the testing. She kissed Oliver goodbye and told him she’d see him around 5:30.

Oliver worked out for a few hours that morning before he starting digging into one of the names on the List. The man, Nick Major, wasn’t a heavy hitter, but he was still taking advantage of too many people just because he had money and power on his side. Oliver knew firsthand what it felt like to be powerless, truly powerless, and knew the man needed to be stopped. 


 

Lian Yu- Post-Moscow

After Oliver had been found in the middle of the field, the two men who found him, probably mercenaries, dragged him to their leader. They had set-up a base in the same spot Fyers’ own base had been located. The similarities made Oliver want to puke.

He was dragged into a tent and restrained to a chair. He was testing the furniture, looking for a weak spot in the wood, when someone else entered the tent. The man wasn’t large, he wasn’t scarred and didn’t look crazy, but something about him made Oliver uneasy. The man was dangerous, and he probably wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this situation.

“There are two ways this can go. You can tell me what I want to know. Or you can decide not to, in which case it will force us to hurt you. And you will be hurt in ways you didn’t think were possible.”

Oliver just stared at him.

“So be it.”

He called another man into the tent. The man had a tool kit, full of torture devices. Some he may have even invented himself. The man started off slow, he used painful methods, but nothing Oliver hadn’t seen or survived before. While he worked, his boss asked Oliver who else was on the island and if there were other planes that would be stopping to land.

“I don’t see why you’re being so stubborn.” He said at one point. “You have nothing to do with what’s going on. We have no issue with you. None of my questions are, at least I don’t believe they are, unreasonable. Answer my two or three questions, and I will send you home.”

Oliver had heard that one before, three times actually. Fyers told him that, and it was a lie. Ivo said the same, and it was also a lie. Lastly, there was Waller. Again, a lie. As Oliver studied him in silence, he watched the man’s face closely.

“I don’t know why or how you wound up here, but I don’t think you want to be here. I can help you get home.”

Another lie. His facial expression was meant to seem trusting, but his eyes weren’t convincing. He tried to make his body language seem relaxed, but when he spoke, there were movements he couldn’t control. He was projecting deception, the same way some Bratva members did. It was subconscious behaviors that he hadn’t noticed until Lyla pointed it out to him.

“Mr. Smith, it seems our guest still doesn’t want to share.” The man said to his colleague. “I will leave you to what you do best. Call me when he’s ready to talk.” He left the tent and his lackey picked up another torture device.

After several hours, they stopped. Oliver screamed, but he never answered any of their questions. They told Oliver they’d give him some time to “think things over” and check back in the morning. He didn’t get much sleep, as they kept waking him up. He had honestly expected them to wait a little bit longer before they started using sleep deprivation as a method of torture.

The cycle continued for weeks. He got little sleep. They fed him just enough food so that he wouldn’t starve. Past a point, they stopped asking him questions altogether. Someone would walk in, torture him for a little while. Then, someone else would take over. He didn’t know what they wanted for most of the time he was captive. He convinced himself that they didn’t want anything, only to hurt someone.

The day Oliver escaped their grasp was the day a military helicopter flew over Lian Yu. 


 

Starling- Present

The test on Felicity’s newest piece of tech was going well. The device, an implant meant to stimulate damaged nerves in people with spinal cord injuries, had passed the first two tests with flying colors. They were about to call it a day, and schedule the next test for tomorrow when the lights cut out.

“What was that?” Felicity’s coworker Curtis asked. “Did we- the lights just cut out. They aren’t supposed to do that. This building is-.”

“Curtis? Be quiet.” She said. “Something’s wrong.”

A moment later, the door to the lab they were in was kicked open. A person dressed all in black walked in, pointing an arrow at them. Then, he spoke. “Do exactly as I say, and I won’t kill you.”

Terrified, they both raised their arms in surrender. He ordered them out of the lab and into a large, open area in the center of the building. The other people who worked at the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Building were huddled together in the area.

“Which one of you works for the Hood?” The archer asked. “Answer me, and the rest of you can go.” The room was silent, except for the nervous breathing of the scientists. “Which one of you works for him?!”

“We- why would you think any of us know anything about that?” One man asked.

“Call it a hunch.” The Dark Archer responded. “If you won’t answer my question, I guess I’ll need to lure him out.” He responded menacingly. He started pacing in front of the employees. He looked one over, before moving on to the next employee. He finally stopped in front of Felicity. “Ah, Felicity Smoak. Just the person I need.”

“Need for what?” She asked, looking up. She couldn’t see the man’s face, but guessed that he was smirking at her.

He pulled her up from her seat and had her record a message for the police. The Dark Archer was holding everyone in Applied Sciences hostage, and would start killing hostages if the Hood didn’t show up to face him in the next hour.

 

Oliver was starting to make dinner with the television on in the background. He was going to have a quick dinner with Felicity before leaving to confront Nick Major. The news report he was watching was interrupted by breaking news. Several people were being held hostage. The station then began playing a video they’d been sent by the hostage-taker.

“Good evening, Starling City.” Felicity read out. Oliver dropped the plate he was holding when he heard her voice. “For the past four months, this city has been plagued by a vigilante-.”

Oliver didn’t stay around to hear the rest. Felicity was in danger. She was being held hostage by the Dark Archer. He didn’t need to hear the threats. He needed to save her. He turned off the TV and rushed out of the house.

 

“Isn’t that your brother’s girlfriend?” Roy asked Thea, pointing to a TV in Big Belly Burger. Thea spun around and saw the hostage video. She pulled out her phone and was about to text Oliver when Tommy called her.

“Do we- should I- you saw the news, right?” He asked.

“Yes. Have you talked to Ollie?”

“I wanna text him or something, but this doesn’t seem like a great time. I don’t think he’s in the mood for-.”

“He shouldn’t have to be alone.” She pointed out.

“No, he shouldn’t. When this is- wait, he just texted me. He said he’ll text when Felicity’s safe. He doesn’t want to talk until he knows she’s okay.” Tommy read.

“What if-?”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. The SWAT team’s probably on its way. The Hood too. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

 

Somehow, Oliver managed to drive his bike to Digg’s apartment, and began banging on the door.

“Oliver, what are you-?” Digg started to ask. Lyla was standing behind him. Oliver pushed past both of them and turned the TV on. The video was over, but the news was still discussing the situation. “Is it the Dark Archer?”

Lyla’s phone buzzed. She glanced down to check it. “Yes, at QC’s Applied Sciences.”

Oliver held up his trusty notepad. Felicity’s there. He has her. WE NEED TO GO!

Digg understood his feelings, but he didn’t think them going was wise. “The SWAT team’s been called, Oliver, they can-.”

I don’t care. It’s Felicity! They’re in danger because of me. She could die, because of me. I CAN’T LOSE HER! He turned to Lyla. You want me to trust you again? Help me.

“What do you need?” Lyla asked him. Yes, she wanted to regain Oliver’s trust, but even if that wasn’t the case, she’d offer to help. It was her job to protect people.

Someone needs to get the hostages out of there while I fight the archer.

“We’ll handle it.” She said.

“You want him to fight the guy alone?”

“He can handle himself, Johnny, take my word for it.” She said as she walked away to grab her guns and ammo. The group made a quick pit stop at the foundry before heading to the Applied Sciences building. The SCPD and SWAT had finished setting up a control center. Oliver could see a few officers from the vigilante task force talking to the SWAT officers.

The trio stuck to the shadows and snuck around the assembled law enforcement. He’d visited Felicity at work a few times, so he knew where all the exits were. He led Lyla and Digg to one of the hidden exits, and they went inside.

They cleared the smaller offices before heading further into the building. John was about to round a corner, when Oliver held him back. He signaled that he was going to find move to the other side of the hallway to get a better view. He moved into position and peered around the corner. He couldn’t see the Archer from where he was standing, but he could see a few of the hostages.

“It’s been an hour and he’s not here.” The Dark Archer said. “That’s unfortunate for one of you.”

Oliver took a deep breath and nocked one of his arrows. He then heard the Dark Archer pull back his bowstring. Oliver rushed around the corner and released his arrow. Miraculously, his arrow knocked the black arrow off course, causing it to miss its intended target.

“Finally. I knew this little show would catch your attention. When the two bodies didn’t, I knew I needed to up my game.” He said in a smug tone. “Let’s see who the better archer is.” He fired an arrow at Oliver, which he dodged.

Oliver’s strategy was to push his opponent backwards. He wanted to take the fight as far away from Felicity and the other scientists as possible. He didn’t want them anywhere near the line of fire. The two archers fired arrows back and forth, moving out of the way to avoid being hit. While they fought, Lyla and John slowly began evacuating the hostages out of the area. Soon, everyone except the two archers were gone. John and Lyla had to physically drag Felicity out of the building.

“Let go of me.” She yelled at them.

“Can’t do that.”

“Give me your earpiece then.” She demanded.

 

When he noticed the hostages were leaving, the Dark Archer grew angry and changed tactics. He started aiming at more vital areas. When he ran out of arrows, he started fighting Oliver hand-to-hand. He hit him harder than Oliver was expecting, knocking the wind out of him. Oliver fell backwards onto some boxes.

“That’s the best you can do?” The Dark Archer taunted. “The whole city’s gonna see this. You might as well make your last moments entertaining.” Oliver looked up and saw there were a few spy cameras set up around where they were fighting. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were broadcasting the fight live.

The Archer moved to hit Oliver again, but he ducked out of the way. “Ah, still some fight in you. Not enough though.” He went to hit him again, but Oliver beat him to the punch and landed a strong hit to his ribs. He thought he heard a few crack.

Getting angrier, he swept a leg out, knocking Oliver to the floor. “I know about the List. About Tempest. They want you dead. Why do you think I hunted down your partner?”

Hearing that Tempest was connected to the Dark Archer, and that he’d attacked Applied Sciences in order to find Felicity and draw him out, Oliver’s anger intensified. He already hated the Archer, but now, based on what he just said, he wasn’t sure if he hated Waller, Fyers or the man in front of him the most. He went to hit the man, but his fist was blocked.

“It’s a shame it has to happen this way. You’re a good fighter, but you aren’t a killer.” He taunted.

“Oliver, can you hear me?” Felicity’s voice said. “I’m gonna assume you can. I’m safe. Everyone’s safe. Do… do what you need to do and get out of there, okay?”

Hearing Felicity’s voice, hearing that she was okay, it revitalized Oliver. He broke free of the Archer’s hold. He hit him twice in the face, knocking him backwards. The Dark Archer went to grab his bow, which he’d dropped to fight Oliver, but he shot him in the hand with an arrow. Grunting, he pulled the arrow out and rushed towards Oliver. Before he could make contact, Oliver used one of his earlier tactics against him and swept his leg out, knocking him onto the ground. When he tried to stand up, Oliver fired an arrow into his knee. The Dark Archer grunted in pain. Despite the injury, he stood back up, only for Oliver to aim a powerful kick at his injured leg. If he was lucky, he’d only have a hairline fracture or dislocated knee.

Oliver moved towards him, intent to remove his mask and find out who the man was. Before he could, the Archer released a smoke bomb at the same time SWAT rushed into the building. Not wanting to deal with the police, Oliver fled. With everyone focused on the SWAT team’s movements, no one noticed a side door open slightly as he walked out.

Diggle and Lyla met him around the corner as planned. As soon as he was out of the police department’s sight, he found himself holding a crying Felicity. He held her for several moments before pulling away.

‘Are you okay?’

“Am I okay? I wasn’t fighting that nutjob! Are you okay?” She asked. “Did he hurt you? Is anything broken?”

‘I think I’m gonna be sore tomorrow.’ He said.

“Let’s go home and put some ice on…well, everything.” She suggested.

 

Across town, Malcolm Merlyn was holed up in his bedroom. Thankfully, he managed to find a doctor who made house calls and didn’t ask too many questions years ago. The doctor was looking him over, cataloging his extensive injuries.

“How bad is it?”

“You have a collapsed lung and three cracked ribs. Your hand is- I don’t know what the damage there is yet. We’d need to take an X-ray. As for your leg, you have a dislocated knee and the damage from the- the projectile injury.”

“How long will it take to heal?”

“Weeks if you’re lucky. Months if you aren’t.” He answered.

The doctor showed himself out and Malcolm sat in bed thinking. He’d clearly underestimated the Hood’s abilities. As soon as he was fully healed, he intended to have a rematch. Michael Adams, per Malcolm’s orders, went out and crashed the CEO’s car. He needed a reason to explain his injuries and a car crash was the least likely to draw too much attention.

 

“’How the hell did this happen?” The police commissioner yelled as he stormed into the bullpen where the anti-vigilante task force was working. The officers had finally cleared the scene and returned to their office. “How did the Hood manage to sneak in without being spotted?”

“We don’t know.”

“You don’t know? We’ve been looking for this guy for months. He killed two people-.”

“The archer in black killed them. He admitted to it.” McKenna spoke up. “We all heard it, along with the rest of the city.”

“There’s a vigilante at large, detective. I don’t care if he is innocent of those two murders, he’s still a vigilante and last I checked, you’re still a police officer. He-.”

“He saved 12 people tonight. He saved them when we couldn’t. SWAT wasn’t in position; the Archer’s deadline was nearing. He’s breaking the law, yes, but he also saved 12 people.”

The news was already replaying footage from the Hood’s daring rescue. McKenna didn’t want to say that the Hood was a hero outright, but his actions tonight spoke for themselves.

“How do you think it looks when the SCPD won’t act quickly, so a vigilante has to? He made us look like amateurs. Stop him, that’s an order, before he makes this department look any worse.” The commissioner ordered before storming off.

“Why do I get the feeling that he’s not worried about the department looking bad?” McKenna asked her partner.

“Because he thinks if we catch the Hood, he’ll get reelected.” He answered. “I don’t know what he expects. Only way we’re gonna catch the Hood is if he decides to walk in here and give a full confession.”

“Well, Lance is convinced he solved the mystery months ago.”

“Yeah, Oliver Queen doesn’t seem like the archery type to me.” Her partner joked. “We should keep looking for clues, the task force hasn’t been shutdown yet. Tomorrow, maybe we should go back through his targets and the arrests that followed. That might indicate something.”

 

Oliver, Digg, Felicity and Lyla to the foundry so Oliver could change. He thanked John and Lyla for their help and left with Felicity. The trip back to the house was quiet. He realized when they entered the building that, while he hadn’t left the stove on, he did leave a bunch of food out, which he now needed to get rid of. He threw it out while Felicity sat on the couch. She said she was okay, but he could tell she was a little shaken up.

‘I’m really glad you’re okay.’ He said, taking a seat beside her. ‘When I saw you on the news- I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared. Not even- I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.’

“Well, I probably wasn’t as scared as I should’ve been. I knew you’d swoop in and save everyone.” She said.

‘Of course. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you, ever. I’ve already lost too many people I love.’

“Wha- you just said you loved me.” She pointed out. He started to fidget. “Relax, I love you too.” She said with a smile.

‘I didn’t- I wasn’t going to tell you…like this.’ He said.

“There’s a saying about the best-laid plans going wrong.” She said lightly. “Hey Oliver, guess what? I love you.”

‘I love you too.’ He said. ‘Let’s go to bed.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 45

Summary:

The aftermath of the scene at Applied Sciences is experienced by many people. Oliver is reminded, yet again, that he even though he might feel alone, he isn't.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Oliver and Felicity confessed their feelings for one another, they both went into the bedroom. While they both would’ve preferred to stay awake and talk about this big moment in their relationship, they were both way too exhausted to stay awake much longer. Oliver kissed Felicity and then they both went to bed. Felicity fell asleep easily, curled up against Oliver while he stayed awake, thinking about everything that had happened that day. The Dark Archer had gotten close, incredibly close, to taking away something he wasn’t ready to lose. Oliver couldn’t let that happen, or anything like the Archer’s attack happen again.

 

Diggle and Lyla made it back to John’s apartment. They both knew they had a lot to talk about, but after the night they’d had, those conversations could wait. John was about to offer to let Lyla crash at his place when her phone rang.

“Michaels.” She said, answering it.

“What exactly did you think you were doing?” Waller asked on the other end.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She answered before hanging up. She didn’t have the energy or desire to talk to Amanda Waller right now. Or in the foreseeable future.

 

The next morning, Oliver woke up when he heard quiet, but insistent, knocking on Felicity’s front door. He debated letting whoever it was tire themselves out and leave, when the yelling started.

“Felicity! Fel-ic-ity!” The person on the other side of the door yelled.

Oliver maneuvered Felicity off of his chest to answer the door. The movement woke the blonde up and she looked up at him sleepily. “What’s going on?”

‘Someone’s at the door. Go back to sleep.’ He told her.

“M’kay.” She said, rolling back over.

He slipped out of bed and down the hallway to the front door. He opened it to find Donna Smoak standing there. She looked torn between excitement and terror. “I saw what happened on the news. Is Felicity okay? Are you okay? I tried calling, but she didn’t answer and after it had been a few hours, I decided “screw it” and flew out here.”

‘Sorry. Felicity’s okay, completely unhurt. We- by the time we got back last night, it was really late, so we just went to bed. She’s asleep right now.’ He answered.

Donna calmed down considerably and took a seat on the couch. “You probably think I overreacted.”

‘Not at all. You were scared, it’s….it’s Felicity.’ He answered. He wanted to tell Donna he would’ve done the same thing, or admitted he dropped everything to go make sure she was okay, but he didn’t feel right telling her that.

Oliver went into the kitchen to make some coffee when he heard the bedroom door creak open. Felicity stepped out, rubbing her eyes. “Oliver, I- Mom, you’re here.”

“Of course I’m here! My babygirl got kidnapped by some crazy archer-guy and wasn’t answering my calls.” She said as she ran over to hug her daughter.

“Sorry, Mom, I- it was a long night.” She responded. “But I’m okay, thanks to the Hood.”

“The Hood?”

“Starling’s masked hero. He saved me and my coworkers.” She told her mother. She was about to continue when her stomach rumbled. “Wow, why am I so hungry?”

‘We didn’t eat dinner last night.’ Oliver reminded her as he handed Donna some coffee. ‘We were supposed to, but then- we just came home and went to bed. I’ll make breakfast for all of us.’

Donna and Felicity both tried to tell Oliver that he didn’t need to do that, but he waved them off. Even though Felicity hadn’t gone into detail about what happened the night before with her mother, he still felt on edge about the whole thing. If something had happened to Felicity, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive it. What if he hadn’t gotten there in time? What if the Dark Archer had shot her? He could feel himself getting panicky, so he turned his attention to the eggs he was scrambling in front of him. He watched the food cook and zoned out, until he heard the faint buzzing of Felicity’s phone.

“Hello?....Oh, hi, Mr. Steele- Sorry, Walter, you did ask me to call you Walter. I know it’s a workday but…oh, I guess I should’ve checked my messages… thank you…..I’m okay I guess. I think I’m still kinda….I don’t know. Yeah, I’ll see you next week. Goodbye.” She hung up.

“Who was that?” Donna asked.

“Walter, Oliver’s stepfather, and my boss. He gave everyone that was at Applied Sciences the rest of the week off. He also wanted to see how I was doing.”

“That’s very nice of him.”

“He’s a nice man.” She answered with a smile.

Oliver came into the living room balancing three plates with scrambled eggs and toast on them and handed two to the Smoaks. Breakfast was mostly quiet, with Donna asking Oliver every now and then about books he was reading or movies he mentioned wanting to see.

 

McKenna sat back in her chair and sighed. After what happened last night, everyone’s attention was on the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, but right now, all they had were a bunch of witness statements that didn’t reveal very much. They didn’t know how the Dark Archer got inside the building. They didn’t know how the Hood did either. The Hood appeared and fought the Dark Archer. Two people they couldn’t see, due to the power being cut, helped get them out of the building while the fight was taking place. The Dark Archer had taken down all of the security cameras when he broke in, and the two good Samaritans weren’t spotted on the spy cameras he’d set up.

“I feel like this is a waste of time.” McKenna’s partner said when he heard her sigh.

“Because we have no leads?” She asked.

“That, and he saved a bunch of people last night. I don’t think many people are angry he wasn’t caught. And the witness statements didn’t give us a whole lot.” He said. “Find anything interesting when going through his old targets?”

“I don’t think we even know how many people he’s gone after.”

“What makes you say that?” He asked.

“Adam Hunt, plenty of white collar criminals, when they were confronted by the Hood, they reported the attack. And we got either a confession or ample evidence the next day, after he confronts them again. A few others, guys like Anthony Venza for one, the ones who don’t wanna even pretend to be respectable, the Hood went after them. Anonymous tips were called in about the Hood confronting them, but they denied it. We still get confessions from them, though.” She explained. “I’m thinking he’s gone after plenty of people we don’t know about, and some of his targets turned themselves in before he could come back.”

“I never understood why he pays them a visit twice.”

“Maybe his goal is for the people he thinks “failed this city” to go to prison.” She guessed. “Or maybe they think he’s bluffing and the second visit is to prove he’s not.”

He stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I’m too exhausted to have this talk right now. We’ve been on shift for 18 hours. I’m going to bed. You should do the same.”

 

Moira walked into Frank Chen’s office under the guise of having a brunch meeting with him. They’d both seen what happened the night before, and neither had heard from Malcolm since a few days earlier. Moira might’ve claimed she was “out” but that didn’t mean she was ignoring what the previous night’s events would mean.

“Still no word?”

“None.” He answered. “I suppose he’s still licking his wounds. He claimed no one could defeat the Dark Archer.” They both shivered at the man’s mention. Everyone in Tempest was scared of the Archer except Malcolm. Then again, Malcolm was the only person who’d met the Archer from their organization.

“Well, the Hood did.” She pointed out. “Still, I was expecting something from him this morning.”

“I wasn’t. He’s never been one to admit when he’s been defeated.” Frank said.

They made small talk for a little while longer before she left his office. They were both worried about what the Dark Archer’s defeat meant. If the Hood could defeat him, what would he do to the other members of Tempest?

 

Malcolm was laying in bed, stewing in his anger. Drawing the Hood out, fighting him, it was supposed to lead to him prevailing and ridding the city of his filth and himself of an unforeseen headache. Instead of defeating the Hood, and moving on with the Undertaking, he needed to convalesce and rethink his next move. Making matter, and his mood, worse was the fact that his loss at the hands of the Hood was all the new stations and newspapers seemed capable of talking about. Every time he changed the channel, another station was playing the footage of their fight.

Malcolm sat in bed and stewed and planned his revenge for the next time he confronted the Hood. He may have lost this round, but next time he’d be ready. Next time, he wouldn’t just defeat the Hood, he’d unmask him and kill him for all the world to see.

 

Since Oliver made breakfast, Felicity and Donna agreed that it was only fair that they clean up the mess. They were in the kitchen, washing dishes, when there was another knock at the door. Unlike when Donna arrived, these knocks were a lot louder and more insistent. Oliver saw who it was and opened the door.

Thea stormed past him, into the house, followed by Tommy. They both looked worried, and Thea looked a little angry as well.

‘Speedy, what are you-?’

“You were supposed to text both us yesterday once Felicity was safe. You didn’t.” She said, crossing her arms. “So, we decided as soon as it wasn’t too early to show up, we’d come and see both of you.”

‘I’m sorry. I- last night was hectic.’ He said, not looking her in the eyes.

“Um, not to be “that guy” but can someone tell me what he just said. My ASL is very limited right now.” Tommy remarked.

Thea summarized Oliver’s response before speaking again. “I understand that, and I can only guess how scared you must’ve been, but- I was scared too. Felicity’s my friend, I didn’t know if she was okay. I also didn’t know if you were okay, you know emotionally, because of what was going on. We both were, and then you never told us what was happening.”

‘I’m sorry. I had to make sure she was okay and then we came back and were so exhausted and- I’m the worst.’

“You’re not “the worst” Oliver. Don’t say that. You made us worry, that’s it.” She remarked. She was about to ask where Felicity was when she and Donna came into the room.

“Are you seeing double?” Tommy asked her.

“Did you hear that? He said we look like twins.” Donna told Felicity.

“I don’t think that’s what he meant, Mom.” She responded. “Donna, this is Oliver’s best friend Tommy. Tommy, meet my mom.”

They exchanged greetings before taking a seat on the couch. Thea quietly asked Felicity how she was doing, trying not to upset the blonde. Felicity answered that she was okay, all things considered, and she was happy the Hood was there to save everyone.

While Felicity was talking to Thea, Donna turned to Tommy. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“I don’t know what there is to know about me that hasn’t been in a thousand tabloids.” Tommy was so used to just being “billionaire Tommy Merlyn” that he didn’t know how to respond.

“Oh, most of the stuff they write is completely made-up.” She said. “Tell me something real. It could be anything. A hobby, a favorite movie, something.”

Tommy’s mind was still blank, so he spit out the first thing he could think of, without really thinking. “I used to play the piano.”

“When was the last time you played?”

“A long time. I was a kid when I gave it up.” Not since he lost his mother. “I stopped because- I lost someone and it was too painful to continue.”

“Have you ever thought about trying again? Maybe it’ll hurt a little less now.” Donna guessed the person Tommy lost was his mother, she remembered reading about Rebecca Merlyn’s death. She might not know him very well, but she could tell he missed her a lot. She suggested he start playing again as a way to feel closer to her. “I always wanted to learn an instrument, but I just don’t have the natural talent for it. I tried, but I read music about as well as I could understand Felicity’s math homework, which is to say not at all.”

They sat talking for about an hour before Felicity pulled Oliver aside. She said she needed his help moving something, leaving Thea and Tommy with Donna. He followed her into the guest room.

“You doing okay?”

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

“I was thinking you might feel a little overwhelmed and just wanted to check.” She said. “If you need to take some time, recharge, they’ll understand.”

‘I’m good, but thank you.’ He said before his smirk turned mischevious. ‘Now that I have you all to myself, though.’

He bent down to kiss her. Their mouths opened at the same time and he slid his tongue into her mouth. They weren’t sure how long they stayed like that before Felicity pulled back. Oliver looked at her with a worried expression.

“Sorry, I just- I needed air. You didn’t do anything wrong. You did- no complaints from me. 10 out of 10.” She told him. “Seriously, never stop kissing me like that.”

‘If you insist.’ He said as he bent down again.

 

“Did they really just ditch us to make-out?” Tommy asked out loud after Oliver closed the door behind him and Felicity.

“It looks like they did.” Thea said with a smile. “I’m not upset about it. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen Felicity this happy in years either.” Donna remarked. Felicity and Oliver’s relationship might be unorthodox, but she didn’t care, having seen how happy Oliver made her. “Good for them.”

After about ten minutes, Felicity and Oliver must’ve realized everyone would be wondering where they were and came out of the spare room. Tommy and Thea were both smiling, but didn’t say anything, while Donna looked like she was about to yell in excitement and jump up and down. After about twenty minutes, Oliver’s sister and best friend both had to leave. Thea was supposed to meet Roy for lunch while Tommy decided he was finally ready to see Laurel in prison. They hadn’t spoken since before her trial and he needed closure on his feelings for her. Before she left, Thea made plans for Oliver and Felicity to meet Roy in the next few days. Donna realized her adrenaline had worn off and noticed how tired she was, having jumped on a red eye flight to Starling and not getting any sleep. She decided to take a nap in the guest room, leaving Oliver and Felicity alone.

‘You were wrong.’ Oliver signed as soon as she left.

“About what?”

‘I’m not a hero.’

“’Yes, you are. You saved a bunch of people last night. That’s pretty heroic.” She argued.

‘John and Lyla did that. I just fought the Dark Archer. I didn’t even manage to stop him. I could’ve. I should’ve.’

Felicity sighed. “You know, I really don’t like it when you do that. I don’t like it when you try to downplay good things you do because you don’t think you deserve to feel good about yourself. You do. John and Lyla helped you save a dozen people, which means you saved a dozen people.” She said. “You might not see yourself as a hero, but after last night, a lot of people do. As for the Archer, if he comes back, we’ll make him regret it. You can do all of the karate and I’ll hack ever piece of tech he owns to freak out on him and emit the sounds of farting animals. Oh, and I’ll steal all his money and donate it to people he hates.”

He bent down to kiss her. ‘Thank you.’

“For what? Not that I don’t like being kissed by you but- what’s it for this time?”

‘Always knowing how to make me smile.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 46

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity talk about confronting the Dark Archer the night before in more detail, Tommy visits Laurel, and the task force gets a surprise.

Notes:

Happy Friday!

RoyArtHan, if you're reading this, I used/adapted a few of the ideas you mentioned. Hope you like what I did with them.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After Oliver and Felicity kissed for a little while, the blonde remembered she had some personal projects she’d been meaning to work on that she hadn’t had a chance to get to in a while. Apologetically, she asked Oliver if it would be okay if she worked on them now. She was happy to have the next three days with no work commitment, but she knew she needed to occupy herself.

“It’s not that I wanna stop kissing you, I think I made my position on that clear, its just-.”

‘You’ve got projects you wanna finish. It’s okay.’ He answered. ‘I don’t mind.’

“You sure?”

‘I’m sure. We don’t need to spend every single second together. Work on your projects, make the world a better place.’ He told her as he picked up the book he’d just started reading. ‘I can entertain myself.’

Felicity gave him a grateful smile and grabbed her tablet out of the bedroom. She wasn’t sure how long she spent going over the code for a new app that she just couldn’t get to work right, but when she stood up to get some more coffee, she noticed Oliver wasn’t reading his book any longer. Instead he was staring at the TV, which was muted. Footage of his fight with the Dark Archer was playing.

“Why are you watching that?” She asked him.

‘I need to study it.’ He answered, not looking at her.

“Can you look at me for a sec, please?” She waited until he turned his face towards her before she spoke again. “I wanna make sure what you’re doing isn’t unhealthy. We both know how you react to bad things happening and I don’t want- please don’t tell me you blame yourself for what happened, for him showing up at Applied Sciences. It’s not your fault.”

‘I know. At first- when I saw you on TV, the message he made you give the SCPD, I couldn’t help but thinking it was all my fault. I panicked. You were in danger, and it was because of me, at least that’s what I thought. I needed to fix it, I needed to save you, so I raced over to Digg’s, because I needed to help you, but I couldn’t do it alone. I blamed myself, but now that you’re safe, now that I can see you’re okay and nothing bad happened, I know its not my fault. The Archer attacked Applied Sciences and Tempest set him loose on you and your coworkers. It’s their fault, not mine.’

“If you aren’t watching this because you feel guilty, why are you studying the footage? I’m not saying you can’t but- I don’t get it, and I wanna understand.”

‘I wanna see where I can improve. I’ve never been able to see what I look like when I fight before. Now, I can see where I need to adjust.’ He told her. ‘I also wanna study his fighting style. I wanna know what his strengths and weaknesses are, in case he comes back. He has training, but I don’t recognize his fighting style. I’ve never seen anyone fight like that. I don’t like unknowns.’

“Okay.” She said. She didn’t see a problem in Oliver continuing to study the tape, so she didn’t try to stop him from doing so. “Speaking of Tempest, what should we do about them? I mean, they’ve been backed into a corner by the investigation but-”

‘But that won’t last forever.’

“Exactly. I know she’s your mother but- if we don’t do something, I have a feeling a lot of people are going to get hurt.”

‘I don’t know what to do. She’s my mom, but at the same time, she’s….not a nice person. Not a good person.’ He said. ‘My father would want me to stop the Undertaking. Or maybe he changed his mind and that’s what’s in the envelope Walter gave me.’

“You haven’t opened it yet?”

‘I’m kinda….I’m scared to. What if whatever’s in there is worse? Worse than what we’re dealing with now?’

“Whatever it is, when you’re ready, we’ll open it together and deal with it.” She promised him.

“I’m awake and I’m about to walk into the hallway!” Donna shouted as she opened the door.

“Why are you announcing your arrival?”

“You two are…an item, and I left you here alone. I wanted to make sure I didn’t…..see anything you’d prefer I didn’t see.” She answered. “Didn’t wanna embarrass anyone.”

“Mom, its not- we haven’t- we just started sleeping together.” Felicity blurted out. “And by together I mean, in the same bed. We’re not quite at that stage of- why have neither of you interrupted me?” She looked between her boyfriend and her mother, both of whom looked amused. “You’re both mean.”

Donna suggested that, since Felicity had the day off, they could spend some time together. The last time she visited, she hadn’t gotten much of a chance to see Starling and wanted to see more of it now. The two Smoaks and Oliver left shortly thereafter to explore the city.

 

“Are we gonna talk about that?” Diggle asked Lyla out of the blue.

“Talk about what? I crashed here last night after we got done at Applied Sciences.”

“You didn’t just crash here, though. You slept here, in the same bed as me.” He pointed out. “And as your ex-husband, I don’t know how I’m supposed to see that.”

“Don’t ruin a good thing by overthinking it, Johnny.” She said right as her phone rang. This was the sixth time Waller had called so far. “I think I should get this. Before she sends a black ops team to bring me in.” She sighed and answered the phone. “Michaels?”

“Would you care to explain what that was last night and why exactly you hung up on me?”

“You saw the footage, you know exactly what I was doing, and why. People were in danger, so I did what I could to help them. As for hanging up on you, I’d had a long night already. I did tell you I’d call you back.”

“You save people for a living, although less overtly. It’s not what you did, its who you were working with. Why exactly are you helping Oliver Queen?”

“I guess I didn’t see a reason why I shouldn’t. And I guess I kinda owe him.”

“If this is about what happened in Moscow, you need to get over that. It was years ago, I don’t know why you insist on holding onto that.”

“Of course you don’t, which is why you don’t understand why I’d help him.” She rebutted. “Now, since I am on leave, I’m gonna get back to my vacation now.”

“This conversation isn’t over.” Waller warned before hanging up.

“It never is with you.”

“You’re on leave?” Digg asked.

“Yeah, my last op got messy, like it always does when the Triad is involved. Someone above Waller’s head ordered me, and the other two agents involved, to take a few weeks of leave. I didn’t feel like going anywhere, so- here I am.”

 

Tommy let out a deep breath as he waited for Laurel to arrive in the visitor room at the prison. He hadn’t seen her since her trial and hadn’t made any attempt to contact her afterward. He had started to realize the inequality in his relationship with her and was still considering that when she was arrested for violating her restraining order. By now, Tommy knew he and Laurel weren’t good for each other. He knew their relationship didn’t really have a future and was essentially toxic, yet here he was. He had been in love with Laurel, or so he thought for so long, and been friends with her for so much longer, that it didn’t feel right for him to just completely cut her out of his life without trying to get closure.

The door on the other side of the glass opened and Laurel walked in. When she saw him, she glared but took a seat and picked up the phone.

“What are you doing here?”

“I thought it was time I paid you a visit.” He answered.

“Why? So you can feel less bad about betraying me?”

“I didn’t betray you.”

“You testified against me!”

“You were in the wrong. Oliver and Felicity hadn’t done anything to you, except ask you to leave them alone.” He said. He could tell she was about to go on a tirade, so he spoke up before she could get started. “I’m not here to relive what happened. How- how are you?”

“How am I? I’m in prison, Tommy. How do you think I’m doing?” She said. “I don’t belong in here. I should be at CNRI, fighting for justice. And helping my dad figure out what happened to Sara.”

“So, you heard the news then, about the Gambit being sabotaged?”

“Oh, I head. One of the inmates was more than happy to rub that in my face.” She spat out. “It doesn’t change anything. it’s still Oliver’s fault.”

“How? Someone tampered with the boat, he couldn’t have known. How is it still his fault?” Tommy asked incredulously.

“Sara was on that boat because of him. It doesn’t matter why it sank, her death is still his fault.”

Tommy sighed. He didn’t know what he was expecting. Maybe a naïve part of him hoped, after some time to reflect, and upon hearing the news, that she’d stop hating Oliver so much. That hadn’t happened. It seemed she was incapable of letting go of her hatred for Oliver. “I guess this is goodbye then.”

“What?”

“You can’t stop blaming Oliver for everything, and I don’t wanna be around you when you act like that.” He said. “I hope everything turns out okay for you, but- I can’t do this anymore.”

“You’re dumping me? While I’m in prison?”

“You’re the one who didn’t want to become official. So, I’m not dumping you. I’m just….moving on.” He said, standing up. “Goodbye Laurel.”

Tommy left the prison and went home. He was rummaging around in the fridge when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up to see his father ambling towards him. unsteadily, looking way worse for wear.

“What happened to you?”

“Car accident. Nice to see how much you seem to care, since you didn’t even know.” Malcolm remarked snidely.

Tommy walked away before he pointed out that Malcolm completely abandoned him after his mother died for two years. Not knowing his father was in a car accident was nothing compared to that.

 

After Thea left Oliver and Felicity’s place, she went back to the mansion. Walter was at work. Her mother was off doing whatever it was Moira Queen did during the day, meaning Thea had the house to herself. She’d skipped school to make sure Oliver and Felicity were okay, so she supposed she should do her homework or try to get the work she missed. She realized, halfway through doing her history homework, that none of her teachers had asked to speak with her alone recently. Her math teacher even made a comment on her improved work. She wasn’t sure how, but she was doing better at school recently.

After she was finished with the reading she needed to do, she took out her phone and saw she had a text from Roy.

>>From: Roy: Hey, how’s your brother & his gf after last night?

>>To: Roy: Freaked out but they’re both ok.

>>To: Roy: I want you to meet them on Friday.

>>From: Roy: What?

>>To: Roy: I want you to meet them. They invited us over for dinner. Ollie’s gonna cook.

>>From: Roy: You sure that’s a good idea? I mean, we come from very different places.

>>To: Roy: They don’t care. Please? I really want you to finally meet them.

She added a sad-looking emoji for effect, and he texted back saying Friday worked for him.

 

The antivigilante task force was hard at work trying to find any clues as to the Hood’s identity or the Dark Archer’s. Even though their entire battle happened on video, at no point did the Dark Archer’s mask come off, and somehow, the Hood’s green hood stayed firmly on his head for the entire fight. McKenna had given up on that particular train of thought and was exploring the idea that the Hood actually had gone after more people than they knew about. She was trying to find some connection between the lesser-known victims when three people in suits walked into the bullpen. They were all dressed in basic black suits, and a comment about them being the Men In Black ran through her head. One of the men then cleared his throat.

“My name is Agent Anderson. My partner and I are with the FBI. This is Special Agent Dinan, with the US Coast Guard.” He pointed to the man on his left and then a woman on his right. “We need to speak to your superior officer.”

“In there.” McKenna said, pointing to the lieutenant’s office.

The three federal agents walked into the office. They spoke with the lieutenant for a few moments and then all four officers came into the bullpen.

“For the time being, we’ll be investigating the hostage situation at Queen Consolidated separately from the other activities of the Hood.” The lieutenant said. “And the FBI and the Coast Guard will be leading that investigation.”

“Why?” One of the cops asked.

“Because when your green archer fought the archer in black, the one in black said, and I quote, “I know about the List. About Tempest. They want you dead”. Now, while we don’t know what “the list” is, the rest of that comment caught our attention.” The FBI agent said. “Because Tempest owns the warehouse where the remains of the Queen’s Gambit were found. That’s a detail we’ve kept very closely guarded, so we’re quite curious how the black archer knew that name.”

“You think the hostage situation has something to do with the Gambit sinking?” McKenna asked.

“We’re exploring all options at this point.” Dinan answered “We’re gonna need to see all of your evidence and all of the witness statements.”

“Should we-?” McKenna’s partner started to ask. He saw the look on her face and backtracked. “Nevermind.”

“No, clearly you’ve got something important, if that look means anything. What is it?”

“It’s just- the woman who filmed the message, Felicity Smoak, is Oliver Queen’s girlfriend. And McKenna here, is an old friend of Oliver’s. Should we ask them to come in?”

“At this juncture, no.” The federal agents hadn’t approached Oliver to question him about the Gambit since they wanted to do it in a way that didn’t overwhelm or distress him. “If we need to, we will.”

 

Oliver, Felicity and Donna wound up going to a small shopping mall in a less busy part of town. Felicity realized she needed some more clothes for work, while Donna could never resist the offer to go shopping. Sure, they butted heads over their style choices, but it was a fun experience for mother and daughter. At one point Oliver went over to the men’s section of a store, just to browse. He didn’t see anything that caught his eye and returned to where Felicity and Donna were. He caught the end of their conversation.

“No, I know you didn’t see his face, honey.” Donna said. “I’m talking about his butt.”

“You wanna know if I saw the Hood’s butt?”

“I’ve seen the footage. He fights crime in skintight leather. I’m just asking if you got a good look at it. Is it as firm as it looks in photos?”

“I….wasn’t really paying attention to that part of him.” She answered. She wanted to agree, Oliver had a very nice backside. She was also mortified that her mother was talking about his ass. To make matters worse, Oliver was standing behind Donna, giving Felicity a flirtatious look. “You didn’t find anything you liked?”

He shook his head. ‘I don’t get fashion anymore.’

“You and me both. Why are ripped jeans a thing, and why do they cost so much?” She remarked. She and Donna went to the fitting rooms to try on a few things before checking out. on the ride home, Felicity noticed Oliver seemed distracted.

“Everything ok?”

‘Yeah, just thinking.’

“About what, hon?” Donna asked.

‘What to make when Thea comes over for dinner with Roy. I said I’d cook but I don’t know what to make.’ He wanted dinner to go well. He wanted to meet Roy, who Thea seemed to care a lot about, and make a good impression. ‘I don’t wanna mess anything up.’

“You won’t. and whatever you make is gonna be amazing. Seriously, its criminal how easily cooking comes to you.” Felicity told him.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 47

Summary:

Malcolm runs into someone he'd prefer not to, Thea and Roy talk about Oliver, Moira gets a harsh dose of reality and Oliver confronts Frank Chen a second time.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After his run-in with Tommy, Malcolm ambled back to his room. He hadn’t heard from any Tempest members yet, but he also wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of them. Still, he found it suspicious that none had even bothered to call after the Dark Archer’s fight with the Hood. Were some of them beginning to doubt the effectiveness of the plan for the Undertaking? He decided he would give them two more days before doing something about the radio silence. Tempest was already weeks behind schedule, further delay was unacceptable.

Malcolm reached his room and was about to get back into bed when hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. “What are you doing here?”

“I suspect you already know.” The person standing in the darkness answered.

“How did you manage to sneak in?”

“You know better than most that there is nowhere we cannot find you.”

“You’re here to kill me then?”

“No. Merely to relay the Demon Head’s displeasure at your actions.”

“My actions?”

“Thanks to your stunt against the vigilante archer, I believe your city calls him The Hood, people across the world have seen the League’s armor. We are meant to be a rumor, being caught on video ruins that attempt.”

“The League isnt-.”

“My father released you from your oath, but do not be foolish and believe he isn’t watching. It is rare for him to even give such a warning.” Nyssa said before leaving the room via the window.

 

Despite Felicity’s assurances that dinner with Thea and Roy would go well regardless of what Oliver chose to make, he couldn’t calm himself down enough to make a decision about what to make. There was too much he didn’t know about Roy, and meeting new people was always difficult for him. It was making him even more nervous that he was going to meet someone Thea really cared about.

He decided the best way to calm himself down was to talk to Thea. She knew Roy well, she could give him a general feel for him and warn him of anything that should be avoided.

 

“Why does your phone keep buzzing?” Roy asked as he started to take a bite of his burger. For the last two minutes, Thea’s phone had been buzzing every few seconds.

“I’m getting a text. It’s probably that group chat I have with my friends.” She said, going to unlock her phone. She pressed the icon for her text message app and saw she had nearly a dozen texts all from Oliver. “No, they’re from Ollie.”

Roy swallowed slowly. “Everything okay?”

She skimmed the messages, looking for anything concerning, and breathed out a sigh of relief when she’d read the entire text chain. She wasn’t happy that Oliver was stressed, but she was glad something bad wasn’t happening. Knowing Oliver was just as nervous about meeting Roy as Roy was about meeting him made her feel better as well. “It’s fine. He’s fine. He just needed to ask me some stuff. Are there any foods you’re allergic to? Is there anything you don’t like to eat?”

“I’m not allergic to anything. And I’ll eat whatever get put in front of me. Except zucchini.” He answered.

“Okay, I’ll let him know.” She said with a smile. The other questions from Oliver, asking what topics he should avoid, she could answer later, after her dinner with Roy was over.

“I don’t think he’s gonna like me.”

“Why do you think that?” She asked, tilting her head.

“We come from very different worlds, Thea. I mean, you’re Thea Queen and I’m some nobody from the Glades. And your brother-.”

“Ollie spent five years on an island without money or running water. He doesn’t care about that kinda things you’re worried about anymore. What matters to him is that I’m happy, which I am.” She assured him.

 

 

After receiving Thea’s reply about Roy’s culinary tastes, Oliver felt a lot calmer. His sister promised to answer his other questions later, but he could reasonably plan dinner now that he knew he didn’t need to be cautious about anything besides Felicity’s nut allergy. He was walking out of the bedroom when he heard Felicity and Donna talking.

“So, you two have gone from living together to sleeping together.”

“Yup.” She said. “And we also…. After we got back from….after what happened at Applied Science, we kinda said “I love you’ for the first time.”

“You did?! Why wasn’t that the first thing you told me when I showed up?!” Donna exclaimed. She hugged her daughter. “Oh, baby. I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m happy too.” She said with a smile. “Oliver, you can come out now.”

The archer should’ve known she could sense him standing there, but he sheepishly came into the room. He walked over to Felicity and took her hand. ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I also didn’t want to interrupt.’

“It’s okay.” She told him. “I still would’ve told you if you were in here. You know that, right?”

‘I know.’ He said. A piece of Felicity’s hair fell into her eyes and he pushed it aside.

“Honey, what happened to your arm?” Donna asked. When he reached up to tuck the piece of hair away, Donna noticed he had a scar on his wrist. It looked like whatever had caused it was wrapped around his wrist.

Oliver tensed, as did Felicity. “Mom, its nothing.”

“Felicity-.”

“Mom. Please.”

Donna seemed to realize how uncomfortable Oliver was, and opened her mouth to apologize. Before she could say anything, he told Felicity he was going to go read for a little bit. Felicity was left standing in the kitchen with her mom.

“I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have-.” She hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. Her question was more of a kneejerk reaction than anything else. Still, she could tell she’d ruined the mood.

“I know. It’s okay. When I first saw his scars, I gasped and he wanted to lock himself in his room for the rest of the day.” Felicity said. “He’s very self-conscious about them. I know that was a natural reaction, but-.”

“Don’t mention his scars again. Got it.”

“Not unless he brings them up.” She said, “I’m gonna go check on him.” She walked into the bedroom and found Oliver sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. “Hey…”

His head shot up. ‘I’m sorry, I-.’

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” She said, walking over to sit next to him. “My mom said something by accident that brought up some unpleasant memories. You reacted to being reminded. It’s no one’s fault.”

‘Maybe if I wasn’t so-.’ If he wasn’t weak, if he wasn’t a coward, then he wouldn’t react like this.

“I love you, but stop talking. Traumatic things are traumatizing for a reason. How you react says nothing about how strong or brave you are.” She said. “And you’re the strongest person I know. Let me see your hand for a second.”

‘What?’

She held her hand out. “Can I please see your hand for a second?”

Cautiously, he placed his hand in hers, nervous to see what she was going to do. Gently, she traced one finger along the scar on his wrist. She was pretty sure it was from him being handcuffed or otherwise restrained for a long time, or perhaps it was from him trying to break free. In either case, the experience had left scars, both physically and emotionally. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

‘No.’

“Good, because you’ve been hurt enough and I don’t want- you deserve snuggles, not struggles.” She told him. “I know it feels otherwise, but this doesn’t make you weak. Having this scar, it means you survived.”

‘Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I did.’

“I know.” She said before lifting his hand up to her mouth and pressing a kiss to the scar on his wrist. “But you did. Don’t forget that.”

 

The vigilante task force’s work began to slow once the FBI and Coast Guard showed up. They were focused on figuring out what happened to the Queen’s Gambit, and didn’t care all that much about the Hood’s activities. Much to the police commissioner’s annoyance, the SCPD were told to prioritize investigating the hostage situation over whoever the Hood elected to terrorize today. When the commissioner tried to make a stink about it, he was told by Agent Anderson to take his complaint to the Attorney General of the United States and see what he had to say. The FBI wasn’t willing to lose a possible lead on the Gambit’s sabotage because a local police chief was worried about re-election.

“So, let me see if I have this right,” McKenna’s partner said to Agent Dinan, “you’re here because the black archer mentioned something called Tempest.”

“Yes.”

“And Tempest is somehow connected to where you found the Queen’s Gambit?”

“Yes.”

“So, you think the archer has something to do with the Queen’s Gambit sinking?”

“We believed its possible. The debris was found in a warehouse owned by Tempest. Tempest isn’t the name of a licensed organization, being more of a shell company. Therefore, how would a random person know about it?”

“And you have no idea who anyone in Tempest is?”

“No, but we have some of the best cybersecurity and forensics specialists in the world. It won’t be long before they find a name we can look into. After all, someone had to pay for that warehouse.”

“Was it sabotaged?” McKenna asked after a long moment. “The Queen’s Gambit. Everyone’s been saying it was but-.”

“We’re still investigating.” The agent responded.

McKenna was about to point out that that wasn’t a “no” but decided not to. Part of her, quite a big part in fact, hoped it wasn’t sabotaged, only because of what that would mean for Oliver and his family.

 

After Thea’s date with Roy was over, the brunette went back to the mansion. The place was starting to feel more like a museum than a home these days. Walter seemed to avoid Moira sometimes. Thea was avoiding Moira. And the building had felt empty for years, ever since the news came about the Gambit being lost at sea. Still, Thea was only 17, for a few more months at least, and couldn’t move out on her own.

Thea entered the house, waved goodnight to Raisa who was leaving for the night and nearly ran into her mother.

“There you are, Thea. Where have you been? You missed dinner.”

“Nowhere. I went to dinner with a friend.” She knew how her mother felt about people from the Glades. She wasn’t ready to tell her about Roy or that they were dating. Based on Moira’s reaction to Oliver moving out, the conversation wouldn’t go well.

“You skipped school to hang out with your friends? The principal called about your absence.”

“I needed to see Ollie, to make sure he and Felicity were okay.” She admitted. “After that, I went to visit a friend.”

“Speaking of Oliver, how much longer is he going to punish me like this?” She asked. “I asked to speak with him weeks ago, and he hasn’t even bothered to respond.”

“Do you blame him? He wanted to leave, you tried to stop him.”

“I’m his mother. We’re his family, this is his home.”

“I don’t think he’s been at home here for a long time, maybe since before the Gambit sank.” She said plainly. “And you might be his mother, but you tried to have him declared mentally incompetent. Did you think he was just gonna forgive and forget about that?”

“I’m his mother.”

“That doesn’t give you carte blanche to do whatever you want with no consequences. You don’t get to use it as an excuse to justify doing something that cruel to him, especially when all he wants is to figure out what to do now. if anything, you being his mom makes what you did, or tried to do, worse.” Thea rebutted. “Oliver’s been doing a lot better since he left. I think that says enough. I hope you destroyed Laurel’s notes.”

“Why?”

“You care about our family image, right? That’s why you kept ignoring what Ollie wanted and tried to force him to be someone he isn’t anymore. Imagine how it would look if that information got out. Laurel didn’t exactly react to her conviction well. She’s not gonna be in prison forever, and I don’t think her law career’s gonna fair very well. She could play the grief-stricken sister and paint you as the real villain.” She pointed out. “For a woman who’s whole philosophy is that the ends always justify the means to preserve the family’s image, I’m surprised you didn’t burn everything the second the verdict was read.”

Having said her piece, Thea went upstairs and away from her mother.

 

After some time, and a bit of coaxing from Felicity, Oliver left their bedroom and went back into the living room. Donna had been watching TV and immediately turned it off when they entered the room. As soon as she saw Oliver, she began apologizing.

“Oliver, honey, I’m so sorry I made you feel uncomfortable.” She said. “I- it won’t happen again.”

‘It’s okay. I overreacted.’ He said.

“No, you didn’t.” She said. “I knew you don’t like talking about what happened and I shouldn’t have brought it up. You didn’t do anything wrong. Do you forgive me?”

‘Of course.’

Felicity announced she was in the mood for a burger, so she ordered Big Belly Burger to be delivered to her house. She, Donna and Oliver ate mostly in silence before Donna decided to turn in early.

‘I need to see Frank Chen.’ Oliver told Felicity after she was gone.

“See him or see him?”

‘The second one. I confronted him, and then we started looking into Tempest and I haven’t gone back. I need to know more about them and-’

“And your choices are him, your mother or Tommy’s father, so he’s the obvious choice.” She concluded. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

‘I promise. It’s just a conversation.’

 

Oliver found Frank Chen leaving his office, same as last time. He fired an arrow at the lightbulb directly above the man’s head, getting his attention.

“What are- I didn’t have anything to do with what the Dark Archer did!” He shouted. “I don’t want to be a part of this.”

Oliver didn’t respond, and continued to stand there. He hoped standing there in silence would cause Chen to panic and reveal more information.

“You wanna go interrogate someone, interrogate Malcolm Merlyn. He’s the one behind all of this.” He continued. “I'm not the one who called the Dark Archer, I’ve never even met the man, he was. This Undertaking, Tempest, it was all his idea. I’m only going along with it so my family will be safe.”

Oliver nocked an arrow and fired it at Chen. The man ducked out of the way, and he used the distraction to escape. He went back to the foundry and changed out of his hood before heading home. Felicity was still awake, waiting for him.

‘I need to know everything you found out about the Gambit and Tempest.’ He told her. ‘I know there’s some stuff you don’t wanna tell me, but I need to know.’

“In the morning.” She said. “You’re gonna need to get a good night’s sleep first. Trust me.” When Felicity found the few things she hadn’t shared with him, she didn’t get any sleep that night. She knew for him it would be way worse.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Due to personal reasons, I will not be updating next week.

Chapter 48

Summary:

Felicity gives Oliver some bad news and they meet Roy.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver went back to the foundry and changed out of his hood before heading home. Felicity was still awake, waiting for him.

‘I need to know everything you found out about the Gambit and Tempest.’ He told her. ‘I know there’s some stuff you don’t wanna tell me, but I need to know.’

“In the morning.” She said. “You’re gonna need to get a good night’s sleep first. Trust me.” When Felicity found the few things she hadn’t shared with him, she didn’t get any sleep that night. She knew for him it would be way worse.

‘In the morning.’ He repeated.

They walked into the bedroom together and he kissed her on the forehead before snuggling up under the covers. Felicity fell asleep fairly quickly, but rest evaded Oliver. He was too nervous about what Felicity needed to tell him. Whatever it was, it had to be bad. It had to be even worse than what he already knew, which was saying a lot. The archer started going over scenarios in his head, imaging what it could be. Eventually, Felicity’s even breathing lured Oliver to sleep.

 

“Beloved, I am in the middle of a mission.” Nyssa said upon answering her disposable phone. There were only two people who knew the number, but only her lover would call her at this time.

“I know, I just- Sarab let slip where you were and-.” The woman on the other end responded. “I need to ask a favor. I know you can’t go see my family but-.”

“If I have time, I will check on them for you.” She said before saying goodbye. Nyssa had already checked on Sara’s father, and learned where her sister currently was. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain what had happened to Sara.

 

Oliver was awake at dawn. He didn’t want to be rude and insist Felicity wake up to tell him everything she knew, so he went into the kitchen and made some coffee. When that was done, and she wasn’t awake, he began tidying up the kitchen. He needed to keep his hands busy to avoid getting more anxious, but it seemed like nothing he did fully eased his anxiety. After about an hour, Felicity stepped out of the bedroom and found Oliver rearranging the spice rack.

“How much sleep did you end up getting?” She asked, leaning against the doorframe.

‘A few hours at most.’

“Well, that’s better than nothing. I knew- I didn’t wanna tell you everything and then have you spend all night, sitting up thinking about it. I wanted you to have time to deal with it, and have me around to help you.” She took a deep breath. “And we can talk whenever you’re ready.”

‘I think I am.’

“The money your mother invested in Tempest, she paid it eight weeks after the Gambit went missing.”

‘I already knew that.’

“As soon as that payment cleared, the search for survivors was called off.” She said quietly. “The Coast Guard wanted to keep looking, but your mother claimed, loudly, that they were using your family’s fame to boost their own reputation and, to preserve their image, they agreed to call off the search.”

‘Ok.’

“That’s not all. She paid on November 22nd.The search was called off November 24th. And I don’t know when it was found, but the warehouse where the wreckage of the Gambit was stored was purchased on November 17th.” Felicity couldn’t say Moira found the wreckage and then bought the warehouse, but that was the most likely explanation. Oliver and Robert’s corpses weren’t on board, meaning there was a chance they’d survived as far as she was concerned. The average person, after finding the yacht but no bodies, would’ve continued the search instead of ending it.

‘She knew it had been tampered with, and she still paid.’ He said. ‘Dad and I- we weren’t on board. She didn’t know we were dead. She didn’t- she stopped looking.’

“Yeah.” She whispered. “Shortly after the search was ended, the phone calls between her and Malcolm began. They talk frequently, but not often enough that it would be suspicious.”

‘Chen claims he’s the mastermind.’ He told her. He couldn’t remember if he’d told Felicity about Frank’s confession the night before. ‘Did she- is there any sign she knew about the sabotage before-?’

“I can’t say one way or the other. I’d like to believe that, if she’d known the Queen’s Gambit was going to sink, she wouldn’t have let you board but-.”

‘You can’t say for sure. How fucked up is that? My own mother, and I can’t say with any certainty that she didn’t play a hand in the worst five years of my life.’

“Now you know why I didn’t wanna tell you last night.” She responded. “The rest of what I found is more of the same. Shady business dealings, meetings with people on the List, donations to charities that don’t exist and investments in companies that aren’t real.”

Oliver stood up. ‘I need to go.’ He suddenly felt the need to go, the need to not be in Felicity’s house for a little while. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to clear his head.

“Of course. Come back when you’re ready.”

‘You don’t wanna come with me?’

“I do, but if you’d rather be alone, I understand.”

‘I don’t. Being alone, it makes me- I don’t like being alone.’ Oliver didn’t know which was worse: the time he spent on the island being tortured, or the time there he spent completely alone. Both messed with his head. They were terrible in different ways and, despite thinking he deserved to be alone, he actually hated it.

They went to the foundry where Oliver spent a few hours making arrows and firing them at various targets in the lair. Felicity watched him practice while debating whether telling him everything she knew was the right thing. He deserved to know, but she was worried she hadn’t told him in the right way.

 

After several hours, Oliver had calmed down significantly and told her he was ready to go home. The big dinner where he’d meet Roy was supposed to be that night and he wanted to get back to the house and get some of the prepwork done so he’d have time to talk to Thea’s boyfriend a little before dinner.

“We don’t have to do this tonight, you know.” Felicity pointed out. “We can call Thea, ask her to come tomorrow if you want. She’ll understand.”

‘That’s not necessary. Besides, cooking will help clear my head.’

“If you’re sure.”

They drove back to the house and Oliver got to work. He decided to make his famous chicken parmigiana. Felicity added the “famous” moniker after her first time eating it. Oliver secretly thought the dish was lucky, as it was the first full meal he’d ever made from scratch for Felicity and thus he had a good track record with it. Felicity, being somewhat of a disaster in the kitchen, was trusted to set timers and read packaging, but that was it. She also served as the designated taste tester, but that part would come later.

‘What should I talk about?’ He asked Felicity while he was waiting for the pan to heat up. ‘I wanna have something to say, a safe topic.’

“I don’t know, this is my first time meeting Roy too. Sports? The weather? Thea?” She suggested. “Those seem like good places to start, and you can figure out the rest as you go.”

 

“Okay, what topics should I avoid again?” Roy asked Thea over the phone as he walked into his house to change for dinner. He wanted to make a good impression on Oliver, and showing up to dinner dressed in his uniform from Sink, Shower & Stuff probably wouldn’t do that. Working in retail wasn’t great, but it paid the bills and kept him out of trouble.

“Pretty much anything about the Gambit, the island, or his mutism.” She answered. “Safe topics are what books he’s reading, TV shows, sports, me and of course, his favorite topic.”

“His favorite topic?”

“Felicity, duh.” She said with a laugh. “You wanna score some points and get him to talk more, ask him about how he met Felicity. That’s his favorite story to tell.”

“I’ll remember that.” He said. “Where am I meeting you?” They hadn’t talked about how they were getting to Felicity’s, just that they were driving together. He didn’t have a car, so she’d be the one driving, but he didn’t want her to pick him up. He was kind of avoiding letting Thea see where he lived, since it wasn’t the best area.  She suggested the Jitters where they’d had their first date and he agreed.

Roy changed and took the bus to Jitters, arriving a few minutes behind Thea. They got into her car and drove to Felicity’s neighborhood. Halfway there, something occurred to Roy.

“I didn’t ask about Felicity.” He said with dread.

“What?”

“I’ve been so worried about Oliver, I didn’t even think about meeting Felicity. What if I do good with Oliver, but she doesn’t like me?” He said.

“Felicity is pretty much sunshine in human form. I don’t think its possible for her to not like someone, except Laurel, but she doesn’t count. She’ll like you, relax.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Before too long, they reached the house and Thea rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door was thrown open by Felicity. “Hi!”

“Hey, Felicity.” Thea said. “Felicity, this is Roy. Roy, meet Felicity Smoak.”

“Nice to meet you. Come in. You came just in time, I’m pretty sure my mom is about to bust out baby pictures of me to show Oliver.” She said in a fond, but exasperated tone.

“Donna’s here?” Thea asked. Roy’s eyes widened.

“Yup. And don’t look so scared, Roy. My mom’s not gonna bite.” She said, moving out of the way. “Mom! Oliver! Thea and Roy are here.”

Donna ran over from the living room and hugged Thea tightly. She then hugged Roy, introducing herself as she squeezed him. Oliver walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands off. He hugged his sister before letting go and waiting for her to do the introductions.

“Roy, this is Ollie. Ollie, Roy.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Thea talks about you a lot.” Roy said, while also signing along.

‘You too.’ He said. ‘I hope you’re both hungry.’

“I am.” His sister cut in. “What did you make anyway?”

“His famous chicken parmigiana.” Felicity told them.

‘It’s not- she’s the one who decided its famous.’ He said shyly. ‘I hope that’s okay with everyone.’

“I love Italian food.” Roy blurted out. Thea nodded in agreement.

“Felicity, can I borrow you and your mom for a second?” She asked before turning to Roy and Oliver. “Sorry, this is a no-boys-allowed conversation.”

Both Smoaks nodded and followed Thea to the living room, leaving Oliver alone with Roy.

“What’s so important that-?”

“Roy’s really nervous about being alone with Ollie, and I thought if they got that out of the way, they’d both be less stressed.” She answered. “I know they’re gonna get along, but until they actually talk-.”

“Say no more. Oliver’s nervous too.”

 

“So, Thea said you read a lot. What are you reading now?” Roy asked.

‘I just finished the last book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.’

“Those are the books with the kids descended from Greek Gods, right?”

‘Yes. Speedy recommended them when I got back.’

“Speedy?”

‘Thea. I call her Speedy because when she was a kid, she was always running after my friend Tommy and I.’ He said with a smile. ‘She didn’t tell you about her nickname?’ Roy shook his head. ‘I think I’m the only one allowed to call her that anymore.’

“So, you finished the Percy Jackson series, what’s next?”

‘I haven’t decided yet. There’s another series by that author, and Felicity suggested I read The Hobbit.’ He shrugged. ‘I should probably make a list or something.’

“I’d offer a suggestion, but I don’t read that much.” He admitted. “How’d you meet Felicity, anyway?” Roy remembered Thea’s advice about how asking about Felicity was a good way to earn brownie points with Oliver.

‘After I- a week after I got back, my phone broke. I needed to get it fixed, so I asked Walter, who said there was someone at QC who could fix anything. I knocked on her door, she turned around and the rest is history.’ He said fondly. ‘Well, she fixed my phone, I came back a few days later and asked if she’d teach me ASL, and after that, the rest is history.’ Suddenly, there was a ding from the kitchen. ‘Looks like dinner’s ready. Can you tell the others?’

“Yeah, no problem.” He said. He went to where Felicity, Donna and Thea were standing and told them dinner was ready. Felicity went to lend Oliver a hand, and he turned to Thea. “That wasn’t very smooth.”

“What are you-?”

“You wanted to let Oliver and I talk alone, I get it, but you three weren’t even talking to each other. Instead you were watching us talk.” He pointed out.

“No, we- okay, yeah. We were, but you both were nervous and we wanted to get the awkwardness over with.” She responded. “Come on, let’s eat.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 49

Summary:

The dinner party continues, Moira is forced to do something she'd prefer not to and the federal agents learn something surprising.

Notes:

Thank you to RoyArtHan, for inspiring some parts for this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Roy followed Thea and Donna into the dining room. Oliver was setting dishes down on a potholder while Felicity had grabbed a bottle of wine and walked into the kitchen. Thea noticed that the hacker seemed to get as far away from Oliver as possible, and wait for him to not be holding anything, before she pulled the cork out. The slight jump Oliver made when it popped told Thea that he probably mistook the sound for something else at some point. The thought made her sad. Felicity came back into the room holding two wine glasses.

“Okay, wine for Felicity, wine for Donna.” She said, putting both glasses down and filling them. “Thea, do you want some? Roy?”

Thea looked to her brother, wanting to know what he thought. She was underage after all. ‘One glass won’t hurt, as long as you aren’t driving.’

“I’m driving, so I shouldn’t. Maybe next time.” She said. “Do you have soda?”

“Smart decision. And yes, to the soda question. Roy, wine?” The blonde asked. Roy wanted to say no, but he didn’t want to offend or upset Felicity for saying no. “If wine’s not your thing, we have water, soda, juice, coffee. Chocolate milk.”

“Water’s fine.”

The hacker nodded and walked back into the kitchen. She handed a bottle of water to Roy, a soda can to Thea and placed a glass down in front of Oliver. “And club soda for Oliver.”

Thea raised her eyebrow slightly at Oliver turning down wine. On reflection, she realized she hadn’t seen him drink anything alcoholic since coming home. Felicity took a seat and Oliver pulled the lid off of the dish dinner was in. She clapped her hands together excitedly.

“I love Oliver’s chicken parmigiana so much.” She said. “And I don’t wanna make too big of a deal about it, but your lives won’t be the same after you eat it.”

Her boyfriend lowered his head slightly to hide his blushing before he served everyone a helping of the food, and then himself. Everyone started eating at the same time, but Oliver paused, wanting to see how Thea, Roy and Donna liked his recipe.

“Ollie, this is-.”

“I think this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” Donna cut in. Thea and Roy both nodded in agreement.

“Now you understand why I call it his famous chicken parmigiana, because its so good. it deserves to be famous.” Felicity said. “It’s literally the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. And by thing, I mean food, of course, not- not something else. Not that I put other things in my mouth. Well, I have, but not…what you’re thinking. Unless that wasn’t what you were thinking, in which case- how am I still talking? Someone stop me. Please! Because I keep talking about things being in my mouth and-”

Oliver rested a hand against her cheek and brought his lips closer to hers. After a few moments, they separated and Felicity let out a sigh. “Thank you.” Oliver went in for another tender kiss. When they broke apart, Felicity had a contented smile on her face. Oliver was about to pull away when she kissed him, just as softly as he did with her. When pulling away, she rubbed her nose against his for a few seconds.

“Aw.” Thea said, reminding them they weren’t the only ones in the room. She thought the scene was adorable. Roy was sitting there with a sappy smile on his face while Donna looked like she was trying not to scream about how cute and perfect for one another they were.

Everyone went back to eating. As Roy was getting a second helping, he asked Felicity a question he’d been wondering for days. ‘How are you doing, by the way? What happened at Applied Sciences must’ve been-.”

“I’m fine. I- it was terrifying. The Dark Archer, I didn’t know what he’d do, but then…then, the Hood showed up.” She said. “I hate that name, “the Hood”. Whoever came up with it has no imagination. Anyway, he showed up, and thanks to him, everyone made it home okay.”

“I wish there was a way I could thank him.” Donna said, almost too quiet to be heard.

“Mom?”

“The Hood, whoever he is, he saved you from that awful- I don’t wanna get sappy, but if something had happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“It’s not just the hostage situation that makes him a hero.” Roy said. “I’ve lived in the Glades all of my life. It’s not the best area, but before he came along, it was a lot worse. He’s had a bigger effect on crime in the Glades than the police have. It’s safer than its ever been.”

“You’re both right.” Thea said. “He’s a hero. The police keep trying to paint him as a menace but- I mean, look at what he’s done, how he’s helped people.”

Felicity gave Oliver a small smile when she heard what Thea, Roy and Donna thought of the vigilante. She’d been trying to convince him for a while that he was a hero, and that people saw him as one. He seemed to think she was just saying that to make him feel better, but clearly, he had proof she was telling the truth. While Oliver felt warmth in his chest when they called him a hero, he just wasn’t sure he believed it. Felicity then said that while she was okay, she wasn’t ready to talk about what happened in more detail.

‘How is school going?’ Oliver asked his sister.

“Good. I- except for math, all of my grades have gotten a lot higher.” She answered.

“I might be able to help with that.” Felicity cut in. “Did you know I was Nevada’s three-time state Mathletics champion?”

‘Only three times?’ Oliver asked with a smile.

“Oh, boy.” Donna sighed, taking a sip of wine. She’d heard this rant plenty of times and knew what was coming.

“I would’ve been a four-time champ, but they didn’t let freshmen compete, which is something I’m still a little angry about.” She answered. “But, back to Thea, if you need help, let me know.”

“Will do.”

Dinner finished and, since Oliver cooked, Felicity and Donna insisted on cleaning up afterwards. Neither Smoak thought it was fair for Oliver to both cook and do all of the clean-up. They went into the kitchen while Thea, Roy and Oliver moved into the living room.

Since Oliver shared the story of him meeting Felicity, he asked them to share the story of how they met. He already knew, from Thea, that they met at ASL classes, but he wanted a little more detail. After Thea wrapped up her story, she excused herself to the bathroom.

‘Thank you.’ Oliver told Roy when she walked away.

“For what?”

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Thea this happy. Thank you for that.’

“I have a record.” Roy said quietly. Dinner had gone well. He liked Oliver and Felicity and got the impression that they liked him. At the same time, he knew it was a matter of time before the truth about his past came out. He really liked Thea, her brother was important to her and he didn’t want his past to cause any problems. “I know it’s a matter of time before-. I wanted you to find out from me.”

‘I don’t care about that.’

“Really? You don’t even wanna know what I did?” He responded. “It was an armed robbery charge. The gun wasn’t loaded but-.”

‘I’ve done worse than that. I can’t and won’t judge.’ Oliver said. ‘When I told Felicity some of what I’d done, do you know what she told me?’ Roy shook his head. ‘She told me that we’re more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. Some days I don’t know if I believe that, but- record or not, you make my sister happy. And that’s what I care about.’

Thea came back from the bathroom as Felicity and Donna came out of the kitchen, having finished cleaning up. The group sat in the living room talking for a few hours before Thea and Roy decided it was time to go. The pair left, with promises to come back for more of Oliver’s amazing cooking.

Donna decided to go to bed not long after, wishing the pair goodnight.

 

“You cannot be serious.” Moira said sternly into the phone.

“Do I not sound serious?” Malcolm asked. “Does my tone imply I am joking? Because I was under the impression that its easy to understand what I mean.”

“What good will this possibly do?”

“We will finally, once and for all, have an answer about what your son does or doesn’t know.” He answered. “If you’re unwilling to do this, I can arrange it.”

“No.” She said. “I will handle it.” While she couldn’t believe what Malcolm had suggested, she knew the best way to do it, without hurting Oliver too badly, was to make the arrangements herself. She wasn’t willing to risk Oliver’s safety, as tense as their relationship currently was, by trusting Malcolm.

“And you tried to convince me that you were “done”. How’s that working out?” He taunted before hanging up.

 

“I delivered your message to Malcolm Merlyn. I have yet to complete the other two tasks you assigned to me.” Nyssa reported when she called Nanda Parbat.

“Neither task?”

“It’s been a quiet day in Starling City.” She responded. “And you specified that I shouldn’t attempt to draw either individual out.” Nyssa was here for three reasons. Giving Malcolm his only warning was just one of them. She hoped it wouldn't take her long to complete her other two tasks.

“So I did. I will call in a few days, and I expect a better report then.”

“Yes, Father.” She said before hanging up.

 

“Did you see them?” Roy asked as Thea drove away from Felicity’s house.

“See what?”

“He had scars. On his wrist. They kinda looked like- like they were from handcuffs or something.”

“Ollie has a lot of scars. I think- I don’t think he was alone on that island. I’m pretty sure someone- someone did that to him.” She said. She kept her eyes on the road, but Roy could see she was tearing up a little bit.

“He said he was alone.”

“And if he told everyone he wasn’t, if my mom knew he wasn’t, he’d be in even worse shape than he already is.” If Moira knew Oliver wasn’t alone, she would’ve been even more tactless than she already was when dealing with him.

“Is your mom really that bad?”

“Yeah. Ollie and I have started to realize that.”

 

“Oh fuck.” Agent Dinan said as she read the next page of the report in her hands.

“What do you mean?” Anderson asked. He’d been working with the woman for a few weeks at this point, but this was the first time he’d heard her do anything close to swearing.

“Our people started looking into the crew of the Queen’s Gambit, anyone on board, anyone with access, as well as when it last had maintenance performed on it.” She explained. “I wanted to know what they’ve been up to in the last five years.” If the Gambit was a victim of foul play, they needed to know who could’ve tampered with the yacht and why. A number of people could’ve wanted Robert Queen dead, but few would have access to his boat.

“Okay…”

“Read this.” She handed the report to him. “The damage to the Queen’s Gambit could’ve been caused by a mechanical malfunction. Or a bomb. And the last person who worked on the engine before it went down died the day after that yacht went missing. I hope I don’t need to explain what that indicates to me.”

“You don’t.” Anderson said. “Oh, fuck. What do we-?”

“The only thing we can do.” She said. “Talk to the only person who was there.” The entire task force had hoped they could complete the investigation without needing to talk to their one witness. “I think it’s time we interview Oliver Queen.”

 

‘I should probably go out.’ Oliver told Felicity after Donna had gone to bed.

“You should, or you want to?”

‘Is there a difference?’ He asked. ‘I- there are so many people I still need to-.’

“It’s late. Is there anything pressing? Anyone you need to stop tonight?” She said. “It’s been a very long day for you, and I think we should just go to bed.”

‘I can’t just pretend-.’

“All the people we need to stop, they’ll still be there in the morning.” She told him.

Felicity liked to think she understood Oliver pretty well. She knew how important being the Hood was to him. How dedicated he was to saving the city. Yet, she also knew that he needed to rest at some point. He needed to, occasionally, take a night off to relax and reset. In trying to honor his father’s last wishes, he’d run himself ragged.

Felicity let out a yawn, which Oliver thought was cute. Then again, he thought a lot of things she did were cute. It was probably too late to patrol now anyways, and any targets he could’ve picked would already be at home. He nodded in agreement and followed Felicity into the bedroom.

They got into bed and she curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you.”

‘I love you too.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 50

Summary:

Oliver tries to plan something, but his plans are derailed. He remembers how he escaped his captors on Lian Yu

Notes:

I just want to say thanks to everyone who's read and left comments on this fic. I can't believe we've reached chapter 50 already.

This chapter gets angsty, so prepare yourself.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The morning after the dinner party, Oliver and Felicity slept in. It was a Saturday after all, so they didn’t end up getting out of bed until around 10 o’clock. Oliver had woken up around dawn, as he always did, but he couldn’t find the motivation to get up. He was comfy and warm in bed with Felicity, and more importantly, she was fast asleep on his chest and he was worried moving would wake her up.

Instead, he laid there for a few hours, just watching her sleep and thinking about how much he loved her. He couldn’t believe someone as amazing as her would want anything to do with him, much less love him. Ever since he lost his voice, he was convinced he was too damaged and messed up to deserve anyone’s affection. Yet, thanks in part to Felicity, he now had more support than he ever thought possible.

Felicity yawned a little bit and opened her eyes, using one hand to rub the sleep away. “Hm. Morning.”

‘Good morning.’ He told her. ‘Did you sleep well?’

“Uh-huh.” She said, still sounding half asleep. “Got any plans for today?”

‘Not until nightfall. What about you?’

She shrugged. “Nope. I’m just gonna do whatever I want.”

‘So you aren’t going to be busy this afternoon.’ He said.

“No, unless you’ve got something planned that you didn’t tell me about.” She said. “Did you have something in mind?”

‘I do, but it’s a surprise.’ He told her. They hadn’t gone on any dates recently, and he wanted to rectify that. He got out of bed and went to grab his phone. He’d need either Tommy or Digg’s help pulling this off.

 

McKenna was woken up early by her phone ringing. She answered the phone, barely conscious but the voice on the other end jolted her awake. It was Agent Dinan, telling her the federal agents needed to see her as soon as possible. She threw on some work-appropriate clothes and ran out of the door. She lived on the other side of the city from her precinct, so it took her some time to drive to the station. She rushed inside and found Anderson, Anderson’s partner Reeves, and Dinan waiting. She noticed most of the other cops on the vigilante task force weren’t there.

“Hey.” She said awkwardly. “Where’s-?”

“We want to keep this as small and quiet as possible.” Dinan explained. “We’ve reached the point in our investigation where we need to talk to Oliver Queen. As one of his old friends, we were hoping you’d come with us when we talk to him. We know he might not react well to being questioned.”

“I don’t- I haven’t talked to Oliver since before the acc- since before he went missing. I don’t- I’ll come, but I think there’s someone we should talk to first. To better gauge the situation.”

“And who would that be?”

“Felicity Smoak.” The officers looked ready to argue, to point out that she was a civilian. “I’m not saying we tell her everything, but from what I know, Oliver doesn’t do well with people he doesn’t know. Having her there will make him less on edge, since he trusts her. She can also interpret for him if need be.”

It hadn’t escaped anyone’s notice, especially the task force’s, that Oliver didn’t make many public appearances these days. This meant knowing how he might react to the officers, or their questions, was difficult.

“Do you think she’ll agree?” Reeves asked.

“I think she will.”

 

Shortly after Nyssa ended her conversation with her father, she got a lead on the second person she needed to see in Starling City. The man had broken the League’s code and she needed to execute him for it. She supposed a large city was the ideal place for someone fleeing the League to hide, but unfortunately for him, Ra’s al Ghul had eyes everywhere. She decided she would wait and strike the following evening to make sure he wasn’t allied with someone else.

Sara called her in the mid-morning, but she let the call go to voicemail. She needed to focus on her missions and not allow herself to be distracted.

 

“What are we doing here again?” Tommy asked as he and Oliver got out of the car. They were parked in front of a restaurant that he’d never heard of.

I’m planning a date for Felicity. Oliver wrote down. I want to surprise her.

“But here? Why not Table Salt, or The Station?”

Too many people. Besides, we both like hidden-gem restaurants.

“Okay, but I could’ve just called and made a reservation for you. I don’t- I don’t understand why we had to drive out here.”

This is the first stop. There are a few more we need to make. He answered before heading inside. He didn’t want to admit it, but he hoped that if he made a reservation in person, he could convince the staff to accommodate his needs, such as him not wanting a table with his back to the door or too far from an exit.

The staff were more than willing to do as he asked and Tommy and Oliver left the restaurant and headed to the next destination. Moira had taught Oliver that he shouldn’t arrive to pick up his dates empty-handed. He might not be on the best terms with his mother at the moment, but that piece of advice stuck. Thus, Oliver found himself in a flower shop, trying to figure out which bouquet Felicity would like the best. He asked Lyla to meet them there, since he didn’t know anything about flowers and wanted to make sure he didn’t pick out bad ones. Even Oliver didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she agreed to help. He made his selection, and arranged for them to be delivered later.

“Okay, we have food taken care of. And flowers. What’s-.?” Tommy was cut off when he fell to the ground. Then, Lyla fell to the ground too.

Moments later, something hit Oliver in the neck and he lost consciousness as well. 


 

Lian Yu

“You know, I didn’t believe it before, but you’ve convinced me.” Oliver’s captor told him, almost casually. “You really want to die, don’t you?”

Oliver, as always, didn’t respond.

“I mean, we don’t even know your name. You wouldn’t even tell us that. And you were screaming at one point, so we know you can talk.”

It wasn’t until the man said that that Oliver realized he hadn’t screamed in a long time. He couldn’t remember the last time any sound came out of his mouth. At first, not answering had been a matter of stubbornness. Then, he reached a point where he realized it didn’t matter. He was never going to get home. He’d never see his family again. He might as well die now.

“Does it really matter?” Mr. Smith said, entering the tent. “He hasn’t told us anything, and I don’t think he ever will.”

“Well, we did stop asking questions. And yet, we haven’t released or killed him yet.” The man said.

“It’s not about getting information any more.” Smith said. It might’ve made him sadistic, but he was enjoying this. Oliver had survived more than anyone else he’d had the pleasure to “work” with. “Speaking of which, what should we start with today?”

He started perusing his tools, watching Oliver to see his reaction. Whichever one Oliver seemed the most adverse to was the one he’d start with. When Oliver didn’t react, he shrugged and picked up a lighter. Burning parts of Oliver’s skin was a good place to start, he supposed.

Smith was nearing him with the tool when suddenly, three armed men ran into the tent.

“We have a problem!” One of them yelled.

“What?”

“A helicopter flew over the island.”

“And?”

“It’s turning around.” He said. “And it looks like its military.”

Smith turned to Oliver. “Who did you contact? How did you signal for help?”

“Why are you asking the guy who doesn’t speak?”

“Because he’s the only one on this island that would call for help.” Smith drew a knife and cut the zipties holding Oliver to the chair. He then handed a handgun to one of the mercenaries. “Take him deeper inland and kill him.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t have information for us. He’s useless and if the chopper is military, we can’t let them find him here alive. Who knows what he’s overheard?”

The merc took the gun and dragged Oliver, who was barefoot and bleeding, into the forest. None of the others followed. This was his one chance. If he played his cards right, he could lose the mercenary and escape.

He moved slowly, careful to avoid any traps or explosives still hidden on the island. This seemed to annoy the mercenary, who wanted to kill Oliver and get this whole charade over with.

“Walking slowly only makes me wanna kill you even more.”

Oliver sped up a little bit, but then stopped, slumping against a tree. The mercenary stormed over to him, to drag him to his feet, but made the mistake of having his gun arm closer to Oliver than his free arm. Using the last bit of strength he had, Oliver wrestled the gun away from the mercenary. Before he could react, he shot him in the head, killing him.

Oliver hobbled back to Slade’s wrecked plane. Thanks to the herbs that grew on Lian Yu, his own first aid skills and a lot of luck, he was able to sew most of his wounds closed and heal his other injuries, even though it took weeks.

Once he was healed, Oliver went looking for the mercenaries again. This time, he killed them before they even knew he was there. He wouldn’t let them take him again.

The helicopter that flew over Lian Yu didn’t land. Instead, the ASIS agents flew home and reported that there was no sign of the island being inhabited. 


 

Starling City

When Oliver came to, there was a man in a red mask looking down at him, with two others behind him. He tried to stand up, but found his wrists were restrained behind him. He immediately started having a flashback to the island and didn’t hear what the man said, causing him to get tazed. Tommy was tied up in the corner, and Oliver expected he’d shake off the drugs within a few minutes. He couldn’t see Lyla, which was concerning since she’d made plenty of enemies working for ARGUS.

“I said, I ask a question and you give me an answer.” Red Mask #1 said. “Did your father survive the accident?”

Oliver just stared at him blankly.

“You don’t really think anyone believes your little mute act, do you?” Oliver didn’t respond. “Have it your way then.” He grabbed the tazer once again.

 

Felicity and Donna were in the middle of doing some online shopping when there was a knock at the door. Felicity went to answer it and found three people standing on the doorstep, only one of whom she recognized.

“Felicity Smoak? Hi, my name is-.”

“McKenna.” The blonde blurted out. “Sorry. That was probably weird. It’s just- we saw you on the news and Oliver said he knew you so even though we haven’t met, I….know who you are.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “But you didn’t come here to see if I knew who you were. How can I help you?”

“This is Agent Dinan and Agent Reeves. They’re on the taskforce investigating the Queen’s Gambit sinking. We need to speak with Oliver.”

“He’s, uh, he’s not here. He went out, I can call him if you’d like?”

“We’d like to speak with you before we speak with him, if that’s alright. We know things haven’t been easy for him lately.” Agent Dinan said.

“That’s an understatement.” She said. “Sorry, come in.” She moved out of the doorway so the detective and agents could come inside.

 

Thea walked into the kitchen of the mansion to get a snack. Moira was always discouraging her from snacking, seeing it as something the Queens simply don’t do. But the teenager was hungry and sometimes, she wanted something to eat without asking Raisa to make her a whole meal. She was about to sneak off with her food when she bumped into Walter.

“Hey.”

“Good afternoon Thea.” He said before spotting the snacks in her hand. “It seems you and I had the same idea.” He walked over to the pantry and grabbed some pretzels. “You came home rather late last night.” His tone was curious, not accusatory.

“Yeah, I was- I’ve kinda been seeing someone, and last night, we went over to Ollie and Felicity’s so they could meet him.”

“It went well I take it?”

“Really well. Roy and Oliver were both nervous, but they got along really well. I was a little nervous when I first told Ollie, but he was supportive before he even met Roy. Just said he wanted me to be happy. He took up cooking, and his food is to die for. Plus, spending time with Ollie and Felicity is always fun. They’re so cute together, perfect for each other even.” She said. “I’m really glad you suggested her to fix his phone.”

“I didn’t intend for this to happen, but I’m happy I suggested her as well.” He said. “When will I get to meet this young man of yours?”

“I don’t know, I can’t- he lives in the Glades, he works a retail job. Mom wouldn’t exactly want “someone like him” to come here for dinner. But I don’t care about that, because he makes me happy.” She said. Then, her eyes lit up. “Maybe next time we go to Ollie’s for dinner, you could come and meet him.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“I don’t think Oliver or Felicity would mind.” She said.

“And how was Oliver? I can imagine the scene at Applied Sciences-.”

“He seemed fine, then again, Felicity’s the only one who can really tell when he’s upset. We, uh, on the ride home, Roy mentioned something he noticed. About Oliver’s scars.” She said quietly. “He has scars. Around his wrists. They look kinda like- like he was handcuffed for a long time. long enough to leave scars. And he has other scars. I think- I don’t think he was alone on that island. I think someone might’ve hurt him. Why would- who would do something like that?”

Walter put everything in his hands down and pulled Thea into a hug. “I don’t know. I can’t fathom- we can’t undo what happened. But Oliver is home and safe now. He’s loved. If there is some higher power, he’ll live a long and happy life without any more suffering.”

 

Felicity told the officers what she could, and then her phone rang. “Hey John.”

“Have you heard from Oliver?”

“He’s with Tommy. He said he was working on a surprise for me for later.”

“No, he’s not.”

Felicity’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”

“Lyla was meeting them to help with the surprise. Oliver knows you really well, but he wanted her perspective on something. She hasn’t come back, or even called.” He said. “Her phone’s going to voicemail, and so is Oliver’s. I found the car, but not them. It looks like- .”

“Don’t say it. Please don’t.” She said.

“We’ll find him.” He promised her.

“I’m more worried about what shape he’s gonna be in when we do.”

“Ms. Smoak, is everything okay?” McKenna asked.

“Oliver, Tommy and my friend Lyla met to do something. He said he wanted to surprise me with something. Lyla’s boyfriend just told me he hasn’t heard from her. And I haven’t heard from Oliver, which isn’t good.” She said. “John found their car, but- I don’t know where they might be or what might’ve happened.”

The agents looked at one another. Aside from not wanting anything to happen to Oliver in general, he was also their only witness. It was awfully suspicious that he would be missing the day they wanted to talk to him.

“He hasn’t been missing long enough to file a police report.” McKenna said sadly.

“No, but he is a witness we need to locate.” Dinan said. “So we can look for him without needing to wait.” The law enforcement officers left.

As soon as they were out of the house, Felicity tried to track Lyla, Oliver and Tommy’s phones with no luck.

 

Oliver stopped hearing their questions after a while. This situation was familiar. Too familiar. He never would’ve expected torture to become something that felt routine to him, but it was. Rather than listen, he was trying as hard as he could to stay in the present. He needed not to have a flashback, and even more importantly, find a way to get out of here.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been here, but by his estimate, Tommy woke up a while ago, and after yelling a lot, hoping to get someone’s attention, the gang had put duct tape over his mouth. When he continued to yell, they dragged him to a different part of the building. Lyla was awake, and while Tommy was making a fuss, she moved so that she was in Oliver’s line of sight, in case either of them were able to break free.

“Did your father make it to the island?” The leader of the gang asked. “Did he tell you anything?”

“He might not be mute, but he sure as hell is stubborn.” One of the others remarked.

The leader put down the knife he was using. “I don’t know about you, but I think we should give Mr. Queen some time to think things over. And I could use a smoke.”

He and another gang member walked out, leaving the third one behind to keep an eye on them.

“Did you really kidnap one of the wealthiest and most famous people in the city?” Lyla mocked to get the man’s attention. “You realize Seal Team Six is probably looking for him right now.” She was pissed. Once again, her partner was in danger. He’d been tortured, again, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Not only was she worried about him physically, but emotionally as well. In Moscow, Oliver talked, a lot. Whatever happened after Waller betrayed him had to be incredibly traumatizing for him to stop speaking. Lyla was pissed, but she needed to focus right now. She needed to get Oliver and Tommy out of there before she could give into her anger. She was almost done getting her restraints off, she just needed a bit more time.

Seeing an opening when the man turned to Lyla, Oliver dislocated his thumb, as Anatoly taught him. He snuck up behind the man and knocked him out. He used the knife to cut Lyla’s bonds before helping her up. He’d need her to get rid of the other two without further injury. They needed to be out of the way before he could do anything else. One of the gang members came back into the room and saw Oliver had gotten free. He opened fire, but Oliver ducked out of the way as Lyla picked up the unconscious man’s gun and began firing. Sneaking around, Oliver managed to incapacitate the second man with a little more difficulty than the first. Then, the leader came back in and saw his two friends passed out. Oliver held him off, using as little of his skills as possible. The man clearly depended on his weapons too much, since once he’d lost his gun, Oliver was able to easily overpower him.

With all three men unconscious, Oliver began digging through the gang leader’s pockets. He had no idea where his phone was, or Lyla’s or Tommy’s or where they were. He held out the disposable phone he found to Lyla.

“Do you want me to call Felicity first?”

He nodded, punched in her number and handed the phone to Lyla.

“Oliver?!” Felicity asked frantically on the other end.

“He’s here with me. We were taken. Tommy too.” She reported.

“Are you hurt? Is Oliver?”

Lyla knew Oliver was injured. She’d watched them torture him. She also knew she couldn’t tell Felicity that over the phone. “I can’t say one way or the other. I don’t suppose you could call in an anonymous tip to the police? Maybe the Hood was seen or heard fighting people in this warehouse.”

“Consider it done.” She said. “Can I- can you put Oliver on the phone?”

“I don’t think that’s gonna be enough this time.” Lyla said honestly.

Felicity ended the call so she could tip off the SCPD. Lyla found Tommy, who’d been shoved into a dingy office and told him the Hood rescued them. He wanted to go home, but she mentioned the police would probably be on their way, since the Hood promised to call them.

Expecting a beat officer, they were shocked when McKenna and two people who looked like they were Men in Black agents responded to the call, along with plenty of uniformed officers and EMTs.

Oliver had taken a seat as soon as he heard the sirens. McKenna and the two agents kept looking over at him, but he didn’t look up. An EMT was trying to convince him to let her look him over but he didn’t react at all. Lyla tried, believing it was a trust issue, but he flinched away. He didn’t respond to anyone, didn’t look at anyone. He just stared. That was, until he heard Felicity yelling for someone to let her through. His head shot up and he looked at her hopefully.

McKenna waved her through and she ran over to Oliver. They were both on the verge of tears. ‘I knew you’d find me.’

Felicity didn’t respond. Instead, she wiped the tears away from his eyes. She reached for his hand but saw there was blood dripping onto the floor. The old wounds on his arms had been opened back up. She looked to the EMT. “Can I get some gauze?”

“I tried to bandage those but-.” The woman said.

“He wouldn’t let you, but he might let me.” She said softly. She gestured for Oliver to take a seat and sat in front of him, wrapping up his wrists.

The officers hauled the Red Mask gang away. Dinan and Reeves took Lyla and Tommy’s statements. McKenna was supposed to get Oliver’s but she could tell now wasn’t a great time.

“Let’s go home.” Felicity said once Oliver’s wounds were seen to. As they walked out, she told McKenna she’d let her know when Oliver was ready to talk.

The ride home was silent. Oliver was staring at his feet the entire time. He shuffled into the house after her and let himself be led into the bedroom. As soon as he sat down on the bed, he began crying. Felicity sat next to him, running her fingers through his hair. Donna knocked hesitantly on the door, seeing Oliver sobbing. She didn’t speak, but took a seat on his other side and started rubbing his back. No one spoke for a long time.

He was still sobbing when there was a knock on the door. Donna went to answer it and returned a few moments later with John and Lyla.

“Oliver, I’m so sorry.” Lyla said. “I should’ve-.” She should’ve done something. She should’ve broken free faster. She should’ve stopped the gang from abducting Oliver in the first place.

Felicity shook her head. This wasn’t Lyla’s fault. Oliver ran out of tears soon after. They moved to the living room, but he was still spaced out.

Half an hour later, Tommy and Thea arrived. Tommy called her after the SCPD left, saying Oliver could really use his friends and family right now.

Oliver spent the night surrounded by his friends and family. Tomorrow, he’d worry about letting them see him like this. Tomorrow, he’d convince himself that this was all his fault. Tonight, he just let them comfort him and felt privileged to have so many people care about him.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 51

Summary:

Oliver, Felicity and friends start to deal with the fallout of the previous day, as do people across the city.

Notes:

The feedback I got last chapters was....wow, that's all I can say. Thank you all so much!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity, Tommy, John, Donna and the rest of Oliver’s support system wound up crashing at Felicity’s house. Donna slept in the guest room. Tommy took the couch while Lyla and John said they could both fit on the loveseat. Oliver slept in Felicity’s bed, with his girlfriend on one side and his sister on the other.

Normally, Oliver wouldn’t sleep easily, but he was so exhausted from his ordeal that he fell asleep soon after lying down. Felicity found herself unable to sleep. She was too upset by what had happened. Too angry that someone had hurt Oliver, again, for her mind to be calm enough to get some sleep.

Instead, she stayed in bed and pondered. The men who kidnapped Oliver were hired to do so. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Lyla, but based on how the former soldier acted, they took Oliver to question him. Since no one even suspected he was the Hood, there was only one topic they’d ask about. There were only so many people who’d want to know about the Gambit sinking, and even fewer who were desperate enough, or had the proper resources, to organize something like this. It was also mighty suspicious that Oliver was taken the same day the SCPD wanted to talk to him. She laid awake and started making a list of everyone who fit those criteria.

The next morning, Oliver was still asleep when Felicity heard someone moving around her kitchen. She walked out of her room and found Lyla and John making coffee.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Digg asked her.

“Nope. I didn’t get any. I couldn’t. My brain was all- it wouldn’t shut off.” She said. She looked over to Lyla. “I don’t wanna ask Oliver, because I don’t know how he’ll respond to my question, but I need to know. They wanted answers about the Gambit, didn’t they?”

Lyla took a deep breath. “Yes, they wanted to know if Robert survived. What he might’ve told Oliver. That’s all I feel comfortable telling you about what happened.” She liked Felicity, but she didn’t want to invade Oliver’s privacy or break his trust by telling her exactly what the Red Mask Gang did to him to try and get him to talk.

“That’s all I wanted to know. Actually, I don’t even want to know that, but if he’s trying to deal with what happened, knowing makes it easier for me not to babble about the wrong thing.” She said. “And I can guess they thought he was faking his mutism, too.” Lyla didn’t respond but her face told Felicity everything she needed to know. “It’s not your fault. I can guarantee that’s the first thing he’s gonna tell you.”

“Feels like it is. My gut was telling me something was off and I didn’t-.”

“None of us could’ve seen this happening.” Digg said.

Felicity poured herself some coffee and went back into her bedroom. Both Queen siblings were still fast asleep. She grabbed her tablet and started looking for answers about who’d done this to Oliver. Someone paid the Red Masks and she was going to find out exactly who and make sure they paid for it. Thea woke up just as she breached the SCPD’s firewall to see the gang members’ records.

“Hm. Morning.” Thea said before looking at her brother. “He looks so peaceful.”

“Yeah.”

“And he didn’t- he didn’t seem to have any nightmares last night. That’s good, right?” Thea asked.

“I don’t know. He could’ve been too exhausted, mentally and physically, for that kind of sleep activity. Or it could’ve been that he knew he wasn’t alone.” She answered honestly. “Ever since we started sleeping together, he doesn’t seem to have as many nightmares. And by sleeping together, I mean, literally sleeping. In the same bed, not- not the other meaning.”

Thea chuckled and got out of bed to get some coffee.

As soon as she left the room, Oliver’s eyes popped open. He and Felicity just stared at one another, not sure what to say.

“Good morning.” She said after a while. She figured that was one of the few things she could say without asking a question that would make him shut down or seemingly like she was pretending the previous day hadn’t happened.

‘Hi.’ He answered. ‘Is everyone still here?’

“Yup. Where else would they be?” She said. “They care about you, they wanna make sure you’re okay. And if you’re not okay, they wanna be here in case you need them.”

‘I- they probably have a million other things to do.’

“Nothing that’s that important.” She said. “Look at me, please. There’s something important I need to tell you.”

Oliver cautiously sat up and looked at her. What did she want to tell him?

“It was not your fault. What happened yesterday, it was not your fault. You shouldn’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything to deserve what happened yesterday. The only people to blame are the monsters who hurt you and whoever hired them. Not you.” Oliver looked uncertain. “When the Dark Archer attacked Applied Sciences, was that my fault?”

‘No. Of course not.’

“Then yesterday wasn’t your fault. I need you to believe that, to believe me, okay?” She said. “There’s something else I need to say too. And it’s important, it’s incredibly important that you listen okay? You’re not weak. You’re not pathetic, or damaged or broken, or disgusting. You’re not a monster, either. I know you think that, I know that after yesterday, you feel that way, but it’s not true. You’re a good man. You’re kind and strong and loving and the bravest person I’ve ever met. You’re a hero Oliver, and I love you so much. Love doesn’t even do it justice to be honest, but we don’t have a bigger word. And it’s so important, incredibly important, that you understand that.” Oliver leaned over so that his head was resting against her shoulder. “I will wake up everyday and tell you that every single day, even when we’re old and gray and my boobs are all saggy. Because I love you, because you love me and because you deserve to hear it.”

He didn’t respond but cuddled up next to his girlfriend for several minutes. Felicity stomach started to rumble and she got out of bed, knowing she needed to have breakfast soon. Oliver moved to get up to, but when he looked at the door, his expression shifted into one of fear. On the other side of the door, there were people. People that he liked, yes, but he wasn’t ready to see them yet.

“It’s okay, if you need a moment. If you aren’t ready to see them yet. Do you want me to go grab you some coffee?” Oliver didn’t like feeling vulnerable, and last night, he felt incredibly vulnerable. She knew he might want to stay locked in her room all day so that he wouldn’t have to see anyone. She didn’t want that to happen, but if that’s what he needed, she wouldn’t make him go.

‘Coffee, please.’ He said.

She gave him a sad smile, kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the room. Walking into her living room, she saw that everyone else was awake. Donna, Tommy and Thea had tears in their eyes. John and Lyla didn’t, but she knew it was because they were better at hiding their emotions. They must’ve heard what she told him. She gave her mother a look and shook her head. Oliver wasn’t ready to see anyone yet. Donna frowned before asking who wanted breakfast. Felicity poured a cup of coffee and took it into her room to give to Oliver. When she came back into the living room, Thea spoke.

“Is Ollie-?”

“He wants to be alone right now.” Felicity said before she could finish.

“Is he- this is gonna set him back, isn’t it?”

“Most likely, but he has us. We can help him through this.” She said.

The only reason Tommy got any sleep was because he was so exhausted the night before. Now, as he sat in Felicity’s living room, he saw Oliver getting tazed every time he closed his eyes. “How are we-. Thea, will you answer your freaking phone?!” Thea’s phone had been chiming every thirty seconds or so, and the noise, combined with Tommy’s heightened emotions made him snap. “Sorry, it just- it keeps beeping and after yesterday, I don’t- oh god, I just made it about myself, didn’t I? I’m such an asshole.”

“It’s not a competition.” Digg said. “What happened to Oliver yesterday is traumatic for Oliver, but you saw that happening and couldn’t do anything to stop it and that’s traumatizing for you. But Thea should probably find her phone, since it sounds like someone’s trying to get a hold of her.”

While John had been explaining this to Tommy, Thea was moving the couch cushions and blankets around, looking for the offending device. It must’ve fallen out of her pocket the night before and now she had no idea where it had gone to. There was a knock on the door right as she pulled out from in-between two cushions.

Felicity looked at one of her surveillance cameras and opened the door. A very exhausted Roy Harper was standing on the steps, along with Walter who looked concerned about Roy’s state.

“Roy, are you-?”

“Did Thea…..not…..get……my messages?” He asked as he tried to catch his breath. By the look of things, he’d run here from somewhere.

“She just found her phone.” Donna said before going into the kitchen to get Roy some water.

“Oh. Well, I called her last night, and she didn’t return my call. This morning, I woke up and what happened with Oliver was on the news, but they didn’t say if he was okay, and I still hadn’t heard from Thea. So, I thought I’d come over a check. I barely caught the first bus, but I missed the next one, so I kinda….ran here.” He said. “Is he-?”

“He’s…. Sorry, hi Walter.” Felicity said. “I didn’t mean to ignore you, its just that Roy looked like he was about to have a heart attack.” She then introduced him to Donna and Lyla, who he hadn’t met.

“Good Morning, Felicity.” The British man responded. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you all, although I wish it were under better circumstances.”

The group fell into silence. Everyone wanted to talk about how to help Oliver, but no one knew how and they weren’t sure how to address the situation.

“When is this shit gonna stop happening to Ollie?” Tommy asked. “First, the Gambit sinks, then he gets trapped on that island whatever happened there made him lose his voice. Then, Laurel and Moira try to have him declared incompetent and-.”

“His mom tried to do what?!” Donna and Roy both asked in unison. Then, Roy continued. “Is that why he doesn’t want to see her?”

“Yes. He came home, and he was different and she wouldn’t accept it, which is why he wanted to move out. After he left, she hatched the idea in an effort to regain control.” Felicity answered honestly. “He, uh, I think its gonna be a long time before he’ll even consider it.”

Walter looked horror-struck by the news. He thought Moira’s behavior, which was abhorrible, was why Oliver was so reluctant to come to the mansion, but clearly, it was something much worse. He made a vow to himself that he’d be there for his stepson whenever Oliver might need him. He felt foolish and naïve for not noticing this earlier. He wondered if this was part of the reason Thea seemed terrified about Moira learning about Roy or where he was from.

Lyla, meanwhile, had a much different reaction to the news. She was so angry upon hearing that that she couldn’t form words. Instead, she took the coffee mug in her hands and chucked it at the wall, where it shattered. Everyone looked at her, and she moved to storm out. Digg grabbed her arm before she took more than a few steps away.

“I need to go.” She whispered to him. “There’s something I gotta take care of.”

 “I know you can make her disappear, but that’s not what he needs right now.” He reminded her.

“Fine.” She turned back to the group. “Sorry about your mug, I’ll-.”

“I got it from IKEA for like a dollar. Don’t worry about it.” Felicity said.

“I hope I’m not breaking some unspoken rule, but you didn’t answer Roy’s question earlier.” Walter said. “How is Oliver?”

No sooner had he asked that than the door to Felicity’s room opened. Oliver shuffled out of the room, looking at his feet. Thea told him good morning and he looked up.

‘Roy and Walter are here?’ He asked.

‘Of course they are. They were worried about you.’ Felicity signed back. ‘If its too much, I can tell them-.’

‘It’s not. I’m just surprised.’

‘You’re a good friend, and a good brother, Oliver. People care about you.’ She said. ‘We were going to have breakfast. Are you hungry?’

‘Yes. I’ll cook.’

Thea didn’t know enough ASL to completely follow the conversation, and Roy didn’t feel comfortable essentially “listening in” so he didn’t watch them talk, but Donna did. “Oliver, honey, you don’t have to make breakfast. One of us can-.”

‘Please. I want to say thanks and it- I need something to focus on.’ He told her. ‘It’s just a few omelets.’

“I’ll give you a hand then.” Donna offered before turning to the others. “Oliver’s gonna to make breakfast for everyone, to say thanks.” Everyone started to object, but she put her foot down. “He’s very adamant about it.”

‘You need anything, you need a minute alone, let us know.’ Felicity said. ‘We’ll need to change your bandages after, okay?’ Oliver nodded and he and Donna went into the kitchen.

“That was- I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.” Thea said lamely. “Last night, he was-.”

“He still is, he’s just trying to hide it. They had us in that warehouse for over five hours before the Hood showed up.” Lyla said.

Thea bolted into the bathroom. She was going to be sick. She managed to get the toilet seat up milliseconds before emptying the contents of her stomach. Then, she continued retching. Roy had followed after her, and sat beside her, holding her hair and rubbing her back as she began dry-heaving. While Thea was dry-heaving, Tommy had collapsed into a heap on the couch. Those men had tortured Oliver for hours. They tazed him and burned him and while Tommy logically knew he couldn’t have done anything to stop them, he wished he would’ve tried.

Walter was about to ask Felicity a question when Donna walked out of the kitchen. “Breakfast is almost ready. Hope you guys are hungry.”

John and Lyla walked towards the kitchen. Felicity waited for Walter, Tommy, Thea and Roy. “I know this is hard. I- no one like seeing someone they care about suffer. Just don’t- Oliver doesn’t like talking about how he feels or what he’s been through because he thinks it makes him a burden. He thinks if anyone knows how much he’s survived, they’ll think he’s weak or pathetic. So, don’t ask him to talk about it. Don’t get upset if he kinda shuts down, even if you can’t see why or what caused it. And, if he says he’s fine, even though he’s not, don’t push because he’ll clam up, thinking he’s upsetting you by just feeling the way he does. It’s not you, it’s not a trust thing, it’s about him feeling comfortable sharing the information.” She said. “Other than that, let him drive the conversation.”

They sat down for breakfast. It was awkwardly, unbearably quiet at first, so Donna got the conversation going by asking Walter, Lyla and John, who she hadn’t met before now, to tell her a little bit about themselves. Walter explained a little bit about his interests and hobbies. Lyla mentioned that she’d served with Digg, she worked for the government and was in town on vacation.

“I’m- I was Oliver’s bodyguard.” Digg answered.

“Was?” Thea asked.

“Last night, Moira fired me because I didn’t stop what happened.” To be honest, he was surprised Moira had even remembered that he worked for her, since it had been weeks since she made any attempt to contact him.

“It was your day off, though. It was your day off and Oliver was running errands. No one could’ve known that- that’s a load of crap.” Thea said, not wanting to go on a tangent about what happened. “Not to mention, she hired you mostly to spy on Oliver.”

‘After breakfast, I wanna talk to you for a second.’ Oliver told Digg and Felicity translated.

“I gotta start learning ASL.” Tommy remarked.

 

“Well, I hope you’re satisfied!” Moira shouted as she walked into Malcolm Merlyn’s house.

“Why would I be? You weren’t able to learn anything and the men you hired were captured alive, thanks to the Hood.” He responded. “Meaning they’ll be questioned by the police, who will wonder how paid them to abduct Oliver.”  Malcolm was livid. Moira’s ruse had gotten no results and to make matters worse, Tommy had been with Oliver when he was taken. Those thugs could’ve nearly hurt his son. The purpose of making her find out what Oliver knew was to punish her, not to put his family in danger.

“I used an intermediary. Besides, I’m sure you can find a way to keep them quiet.” She turned to leave.

“We still don’t know what your son knows.” He reminded her.

“I think if he knew anything, he would’ve told them as soon as they started hurting him.”

“And if he really is mute, but does know something?”

“He doesn't. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a family brunch I’m missing.” She returned home to find Walter and Thea both gone. She couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that came over her when Raisa told her they were both gone.

 

The task force investigating the Queen’s Gambit reconvened the morning after Oliver, Tommy and Lyla were rescued by the Hood. None of the officers had gotten much sleep the night before, but being away from the office at least gave them the illusion of getting some rest.

“We decide it’s time to talk to Mr. Queen and he gets abducted that same day. That seems mighty suspicious to me.” Agent Reeves said. Either it was the world’s most unfortunate coincidence, or Tempest somehow knew the Coast Guard was getting ready to interview Oliver. The last thing they wanted to deal with was a leak.

“Not just to you.” Anderson said. “But if they were trying to get rid of him, as a witness, why would they torture him as well?”

“It might not be about getting rid of him. It might be about finding out what he knows before we can.” Dinan said. “Thankfully, we’ve got all three men in custody and plenty of time to interrogate them.”

“What do we do about Mr. Queen in the meantime? Until we know why, until we find out who’s behind what happened, he’s in danger, as is anyone around him.” The agents all knew the Red Mask gang were just hired muscle. Whoever was the mastermind behind the abduction would try again.

“We can keep his house and Applied Sciences under surveillance for now. If we’re keeping any eye on him and Ms. Smoak, the two people Tempest has targeted so far, we can prevent a second attempt.”

“Are we sure he was the target?” One agent asked. “Sorry, but he was with an ARGUS agent when he was taken. Are we not going to even entertain the idea that-?”

“If Lyla Michaels was the target, why would they have tortured Mr. Queen?” Dinan said. “He was the target, her being there was a coincidence.”

McKenna was about to ask a question when two agents came into the room.

“I heard back from one of our techs. You’re not gonna believe this.” One said.

“No, you’re gonna wanna see what I found out first.” The other said.

 

After Nyssa confronted her target, she returned to her hideout. The man had broken the League's laws regarding children and he needed to die for the offense. Nyssa took no pleasure in killing a former comrade, but she wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend he didn’t deserve his fate.

She turned on the police scanner and was shocked to hear activity regarding Oliver Queen. Turning the volume up, she learned he had been abducted and the SCPD took several hours to find him. They weren’t giving much information over the radio, but she assumed he’d been injured in the event, if not tortured for information. One officer reported that the Hood had rescued them, and she supposed that was true from a certain perspective.

After a few hours of sleep, she called her father, informed him their renegade soldier was no longer a concern, and reported it would be a few more days before she could approach the Hood, her final mission. No warrior would return to battle the night after such an ordeal.

 

Breakfast was wrapping up when there was a knock at the door, Felicity checked her cameras and saw it was a delivery person of some kind. She opened the door and found a large bouquet of flowers being handed to her.

“We tried to deliver yesterday, but received no answer.” The driver said. “Sign here.”

“Who-?”

“Don’t know, i just deliver them. There’s a card in the bouquet, ma’am.” He wished her a good day and left.

Felicity found the card in question and opened it. Oliver had written a very sweet and heartfelt card and she started tearing up. She put the flowers in water before rushing over to Oliver.

“Thank you so much.” She said as she hugged him.

‘You like them?’

“Of course, I do. They’re wonderful.” She said. “And what you wrote in that card? You must’ve been a writer or poet in another life.”

‘It wasn’t that good. I didn’t- I couldn’t put it into the right words to do it justice.’

“I think you said it perfectly.” She said. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

Oliver ducked his head so no one would see him blushing. Since Oliver cooked breakfast, Roy, Thea and Tommy offered to clean up. Everyone moved into the living room and Felicity pulled Oliver aside to change his bandages. They went into the bedroom and Felicity unwrapped one of his wrists in silence.

‘I’m sorry.’

“For what?”

‘That you have to take care of me like this. Again.’

“Everyone needs help sometimes.” She said quietly. “You make sure I eat something other than take-out, and that I don’t spend hours hunched over a computer. I help you with things like this. We take care of each other.”

‘It’s not the same. And we were supposed to have a date night last night, but that was ruined too.’

“Yes, it was, but not because of you.” She said. “You were trying to do something nice for me, to surprise me. You didn’t ask for- I’m angry, but not at you. I could never be mad at you for what happened.” She finished putting a new bandage on his wrist, and put her hand in his. “Come on, let’s see if the others wanna watch a movie or something.” She knew it wouldn’t fix what happened, it wouldn’t make him forget the previous night. But she wanted Oliver to take his mind off of it, just for a little while.

He stood up and followed her out of the room, their fingers still entwined. Everyone was sitting in the living room and Felicity suggested they watch a movie. After going back and forth for a while, they settled on watching Disney’s version of Robin Hood.

“Ollie and I used to watch it all the time when we were younger.” Thea said. “It was his favorite movie.”

“Really?” Lyla asked, trying to keep a straight face. John and Felicity were having trouble not smiling too wide when they heard that.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 52

Summary:

The task force gets an interesting update, Digg gets a surprising offer, Lyla and Felicity bond and Waller sucks, just in general.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver, Thea, Felicity and the others watched Robin Hood. When that was over, they couldn’t agree on what to watch, but the conversation turned into favorite movies when everyone was a kid. Tommy liked Aladdin, Roy argued for Tarzan, Thea loved The Little Mermaid and Felicity loved Beauty and the Beast. Lyla and John didn’t say what their favorite movies when they were really young were, but they agreed that Mulan was their favorite Disney movie.

“Why Mulan?” Tommy asked.

“Because she’s a badass who saved China.” Lyla responded.

They kept talking about movies until Walter’s phone rang. Without looking, he answered it. “Hello Moira.” He said politely. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Oliver go completely still. He watched his stepson, who was very fidgety all of a sudden. “I decided to take a few hours for myself today. With recent events, I haven’t had much time to devote to my interests. There’s a cricket game on soon that I thought I’d- of course. I’ll see you when I come back, after the game. Goodbye.” He hung up. “I apologize.”

“Why did you lie to Mom?” Thea asked. She wasn’t angry he’d lied. If anything, she was relieved because she had no idea how her mother felt about what had happened, and part of her was a little scared to find out.

“I didn’t want her to come here, using my visit as an excuse, or demand that I put Oliver on the phone. He’s an adult and if he doesn’t want to speak with her or see her, I won’t force him to or play a part in her forcing a confrontation.”

Walter liked to think he was an observant person. That’s one of the reasons he believed he’d become such a successful businessman. Being rather observant, it didn’t escape his notice that Oliver’s reactions to hearing his mother mentioned were seeming uncomfortable at best, and terrified at worst. He refused to cause his stepson further discomfort or pain.

‘Thank you. I’m just- I’m not ready. I won’t be for a while.’ Oliver said.

“There’s no need to thank me, Oliver. This is what family does.” He assured him. “There are a few things I need to take care of, to prepare for Applied Sciences to reopen tomorrow. I hope none of you will be upset if I take my leave.”

“Not at all.” Felicity said. The others nodded or murmured in agreement. She thanked him for stopping by and said she’d see him the next day.

‘I’m glad he stopped by.’ Oliver told Felicity. ‘We aren’t close but- he’s trying, and that means a lot.’

‘Me too. And I know what you mean.’

“I really need to learn ASL. I feel like those two are being all adorable and I’m the only one who doesn’t understand it.” Tommy remarked.

“I only know the basics.” Lyla admitted. “So, you’re not the only one.”

“Still, I gotta find a class or something. You two met at an ASL class, right?” He asked Roy and Thea, who nodded. “Any chance there’s a space left?”

The pair looked at one another and burst out laughing. The class usually only had the two of them after all. “I think Steph might have one or two slots left.” Roy said.

“Is there some kinda inside joke that I missed?”

“You’ll see.” Thea said. “It’s Saturday mornings at 10 at the rec center in the Glades.”

 

Agent Dinan looked between the two agents that were arguing over who had the more important news. The first one had been working on tracking down financials for Tempest, trying to discover who belonged to the group. The other agent was assigned to going over the evidence from the warehouse. Neither gave any indication as to what they found, or why it was important, so the conversation was going in circles.

“Ok. Enough.” She said. “What do you have?”

“We tracked down the money that bought the warehouse.” The first agent said.

“And you?”

“We matched the 9-1-1 call he Hood made to us last night to an older call recording.” The other one said.

“You matched it to a dispatch call?”

“Yes. The Hood uses a voice modulator, but all of the metrics match a call that was made about six weeks ago.” The agent answered.

“What was the first call about?”

“It was the call that led the SCPD to the warehouse where the wreckage of the Queen’s Gambit was found. The Hood’s the one who found the Gambit.”

“If only we could interview the Hood.” Dinan said. “You said uncovered who bought the warehouse?”

“Yeah. And you’re not gonna like it.”

“I don’t like anything about this case, and I really don’t like when people waste my time trying to be dramatic.” Agent Anderson said. “Whatever it is, spit it out.”

“The money was wired from an account belonging from Moira Queen.” He handed Anderson a piece of paper. “Look at the date. It was purchased a week before the search was called off. We’re still digging into her financials, but there was another large transaction five days later.”

“Keep digging. I wanna know everything you can tell me about transaction she’s had. Every job, every charity, every investment. If she had a paper route when she was eight, I wanna know about it.” The FBI forensic accountant nodded once and left the room. “So, we have a sabotaged yacht, a billionaire who survived against all odds and a wire transfer from Moira Queen that was paid right before the search for survivors was called off. Does that seem fishy to anyone?”

“Looks like we finally have a prime suspect.” Dinan said. “We do need to talk to Mr. Queen, though, soon.”

“Felicity Smoak said she’d let me know when he was ready to talk.” McKenna said. “And we still haven’t talked to the kidnappers.”

With so many things still up in the air, now seemed like the perfect time to interrogate the Red Mask gang. Two refused to talk and demanded lawyers. The third didn’t answer they questions, but did tell them that he didn’t see the Hood in the warehouse.

“If the Hood wasn’t the one who knocked you out, who was?” Agent Reeves asked.

“Queen. I don’t know how he knew what to do, or where he learned it, but it was him.” He said. “And that’s all I’m saying.”

Reeves walked out of the room and turned to the agent who’d sat in on the questioning with him. “That’s not the most unrealistic story I’ve heard.”

“Oliver Queen was tied to the chair, I thought. His two friends said so, and his wrists-.”

“The Hood could’ve cut him loose.”

“And him beating that guy in a fight?”

“None of these guys seem like they’re great fighters to me. You know who definitely is? John Diggle, Oliver’s bodyguard. He wasn’t just Army, he was Special Forces. Oliver Queen comes back from five years away, maybe he doesn’t feel safe, even with someone guarding him, so he asks Mr. Diggle to teach him to fight. He learns enough to deal with that guy.”

 

About an hour after Walter left, Oliver remembered what Digg had said about his mother firing him. He pulled John aside, saying he wanted to speak with him. The two men went into the kitchen to talk in private.

My mom really fired you?

“Yeah. I’m a little surprised she even remembered I was working for her. I wasn’t there, you were taken and she blamed me.” He said. “Not your fault. Don’t even think about apologizing. I’ll figure something out. Security jobs aren’t hard to find. My next client might actually want me to protect them.”

Maybe not. You know, I happen to be looking for a bodyguard.

“Really?” Digg crossed his arms.

Yeah. I can pay you the same as my mom was, and that way, you won’t need to make up excuses for our “other” job.

“I do already know all of your escape tactics.” He said. “Okay.”

You don’t know all of my tactics. There were some diversion tactics Oliver learned during his time working with Lyla that he wasn't desperate enough, or properly equipped, to use yet.

With the matter settled, they walked back into the living room where the others were still talking.

 

While Oliver and John were talking, Roy, Thea, Tommy and Donna began debating what movie they should watch next. Lyla noticed Felicity wasn’t paying much attention to the argument. The blonde had moved to the dining room, away from the group and was focused solely on her tablet.

“What’s so fasincating?” She asked.

“Trying to narrow down who ordered Oliver’s kidnapping.” Felicity answered. “Those bastards kidnapped you three in broad daylight. They tied him to a chair and tortured him and he was worried about them hurting you or Tommy if he couldn’t stop them. He must’ve been so scared, and felt so helpless. They tortured him, they hurt him over and over and told him his condition wasn’t real. They tried to make him- they ahd him for hours. He probably started having flashbacks because of them. He was starting to get better and they- Someone hired them to do that. That monster is out there, right now. They probably think they’re safe, that there’s no way the SCPD or the feds can find a connection. They hurt him, and they probably don’t feel sorry for it at all. They hurt one of the best people I’ve ever met, the man that I love and I can’t just let them get away with it. They’ve got no idea what they did. So, I’m going to make them pay for it. I’m going to tear away everything they care about. Everyone’s gonna know who they are, what kind of person they are. They wanna hide in the shadow? I’ll force them into the light where the whole world can see what they are. I’m going to make them regret even thinking about coming after Oliver, and everyone else they’ve hurt, everything else they’ve done. When they’ve lost everything, when everyone they love rejects them, when all they feel is complete and unending despair, then I’ll be satisfied.”

“I do not want to get on your bad side.” Lyla remarked. She liked Felicity for the peace she seemed to bring Oliver, but she found herself respecting this side of the blonde as well. felicity Smoak was sweet and loving, but clearly, she had a dark side and would unleash Hell to protect or avenge someone she cared about. “How can I help?”

“Ever done any hacking?”

“I taught Oliver how to hack, and while he’s not on your level, only because we didn’t have time to teach him more advanced concepts, he was pretty much a prodigy. I’m the one who showed him basic and intermediate-level netrusion procedures and how to counter-act them. Then, he turned out to be a natural and I was the taking notes.” She answered. “Why do you ask?”

Felicity went into her bedroom and came back holding an older model tablet. “I built this myself, as a side project. It’s impossible to hack, impossible to trace. Not as good as this one,” she pointed to the one she was using, “but its pretty badass if I do say so myself. Think you can work with this?”

Lyla took the tablet from her and started looking at the operating system and software already on the device. “Definitely. What do you have in mind?”

 

“Uh-oh” Digg said, walking out of the kitchen and seeing Felicity and Lyla huddled together. “You two are definitely planning world domination over here. I think we should be scared, Oliver.”

“Maybe we are.” Felicity said. “But don’t worry. We’ll have a place for you in the new world order.”

“Ollie!” Thea called out. “Come here and settle an argument. Tommy thinks Pixar is better than Disney. Roy agrees with me, but Donna agrees with Tommy. We need a tie-breaker.”

Oliver walked over to settled the argument about which movies were better. After he walked away, Digg turned to Felicity and Lyla.

“Whatever you’re planning, I want in.”

“We aren’t planning anything.” Lyla said. “Yet.”

They walked over to join the rest of the group. Felicity sat down next to Oliver right as Tommy spoke. "Oh, by the way, Zita's called me." Zita's was the restaurant Oliver had made a reservation at for him and Felicity, which they were supposed to go to last night. "They saw what happened on the news. The owner wanted me to let you know that they're gonna leave a spot open in the reservation book for whenever you wanna reschedule."

"That's very nice of them."' Felicity remarked.  

 

Nyssa crept closer to the warehouse, which was still being processed by the SCPD and FBI, and slipped under the crime scene tape when the nearest officer wasn’t looking. Given how high-profile the kidnapping victims were, she expected more security around the area and was rather surprised to see that wasn’t case. Perhaps they believed they’d already collected all the necessary evidence.

She walked into the open area of the warehouse and looked around. Members of the League of Assassins were meant to be ghosts and trained to leave no trace after they completed a mission. The men who abducted Oliver, Tommy and Lyla clearly were not. She could more or less piece together what happened.

There was a wooden chair knocked over in the middle of the room, with zipties wrapped around one of the vertical bars. No doubt, Oliver Queen had been restrained to this chair and broken free. There was a puddle of blood behind the chair, which could be the result of him breaking free or the methods his captors used to torture him. Nyssa wasn’t sure.

Oliver had broken free, and based on the shoeprints in the blood, he rushed towards one of the kidnappers. Most likely as a blitz attack. Taking down the second kidnapper went nearly the same as the first. The last one put up more of a fight, based on the number of boxes that had clearly been knocked over during the altercation. The second and third fights, he had help with, meaning one of the other hostages, most likely the woman since Tommy Merlyn’s statement said he was locked in another room when the Hood rescued them, knew his secret.

Knowing how the confrontation ended, Nyssa turned her attention to learning what occurred before Oliver broke free and incapacitated the criminals. Based on the amount of blood she saw, Oliver had been kept prisoner for several hours. During those hours, the criminals most likely questioned Oliver, tortured him for not answering, began questioning him again and the cycle continued. He’d been injured but not hospitalized, so she guessed they might’ve used knives, tazers and other, less deadly weapons as opposed to guns. Methods that would hurt Oliver, but didn’t have a high risk of killing him before they got the answers they wanted.

Oliver Queen had been tortured for hours. He managed to get himself free and took down not one, but three armed kidnappers. He had enough strength left, after hours of torture, to take them down, despite how exhausting and traumatizing the ordeal had been.

Nyssa had been skeptical when her father sent her to Starling, but having seen proof of his strength and capabilities, she was willing to admit that she was impressed. She hadn’t met many people who could’ve done what he did.

 

“What do you mean we aren’t investigating?” ARGUS agent O’Neil asked.

“The abduction has nothing to do with any open ARGUS investigation, nor does it fall under our jurisdiction.”

“An ARGUS agent was one of the people abducted.” He pointed out. “With a high-security clearance.”

“Agent Michaels wasn’t on a mission, she was on leave. Meaning she wasn’t an ARGUS agent in that warehouse, she was just a civilian for all intents and purposes.” Amanda Waller answered. “Investigating this would be a waste of resources, don’t you agree?”

 

“Rewind that.” Chien Na Wei ordered one of her lackeys.

The man looked at her in confusion. “Why do you-?” He didn’t understand why the Triad was interested in this video.

“Are you questioning me?” She asked with an edge to her voice.

He shook his head, scared of what she might do, and rewound the video. It was news footage of Tommy Merlyn and a brunette woman being led from a warehouse to a waiting car.

“Well, Agent Michaels.” Wei said with a smirk. “It looks like I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 53

Summary:

Walter learns about public perception, McKenna considers something important, Tommy has a conversation with Malcolm and Thea remembers one of the good times.

Notes:

I'd like to thank RoyArtHan, who inspired some of the wording for certain conversations in the this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Walter walked into his office where a few department heads were waiting for him. Most notably, the head of Applied Sciences and Public Relations. He suggested they move into the conference room and waited for everyone to get settled.

“Thank you for coming in, Walter. We would’ve understood if you hadn’t been able to, given….recent events.” Mr. Correll, the head of PR said.

They were meeting to discuss the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences building reopening. The SCPD had declared the building was no longer a crime scene, so QC was able to begin working out of the office once again. Given how high-profile the Dark Archer’s attack had been, the company was expected to hold some kind of press conference, at least, to mark the occasion. They had planned on a small ceremony and the group was now meeting to go over the speeches that were going to be made.

“The last week has been difficult, that is true, especially yesterday. It’s also true that here isn’t where I’m most needed at the moment, but I currently don’t know how to help Oliver. I’m choosing to focus the matters I can control and the problems I’m able to solve.” Walter said.

“I read the statement you prepared. It’s eloquent and well-crafted as always. The only thing feedback I really have involves some changes in wording to convey a consistent message.” He said, handing Walter a copy of the speech. “Even though it may be too soon, I feel we should discuss opinions about Oliver and your wife.”

“May I ask why?”

“As much as we’d like to think your family is separate from QC when it comes to public opinion, that’s not the case. Before the- when Oliver was in the tabloids frequently, his behavior reflected on his father, which in turn reflected on the business. And now, matters such as the court case, and what happened yesterday, also impact how the company is perceived. Which is an unfortunate, and unpleasant reality we need to consider.”

“And how is the company being perceived?” Walter asked. He wished his personal life didn’t impact his professional life, but Correll was right.

“Overall, Oliver’s doing well where public opinion’s concerned. There’s always a faction that will be negative, but according to various field reports from reputable media companies, he’s receiving a lot of support. And press coverage overall has been favorable to him.”

“What are they saying?”

“Since he hasn’t made a statement, and no one’s made a statement on his behalf, most of what’s being reported are rumors. What mental illnesses Oliver may be struggling with. The things that happened on the island he was marooned on. Why he’s now mute. There are a few insane theories suggesting he wasn’t really on the island or that the man who returned isn’t actually Oliver Queen, but his secret twin. Good thing no one believes the National Inquirer. The only things that’ve been confirmed are that he and Ms. Smoak are a couple and he is unable to speak. The falling out with his mother hasn’t been confirmed, but most believe it’s true.”  

“That’s good to know.”

“I’m afraid not everyone is being viewed as kindly. There’s very little being said about Thea, since she’s a minor, so I’d say the coverage of her is neutral, but leaning towards positive. Moira, on the other hand, is not being perceived very well.”

“The public doesn’t like Moira?” One of the other department heads asked.

“The record from Laurel Lance’s trial is available to the public. There was nothing damning in it, but it didn’t make her look very good. She then didn’t make any kind of statement about it, which didn’t look good. When Oliver was found, she didn’t seem to take any time off to reconnect with him. She didn’t take a step back from her charities and societies. She was silent when the Queen’s Gambit’s wreckage was found by the police. Most damningly, last night when the news broke that Oliver and the two others that had been taken were found, she was at an event. At best, she looks like she’s completely apathetic to what’s happening, and what has happened, to Oliver.”

 “How badly is it affecting our image?”

“Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be too damaging yet, but we may need to discuss a course of action if the trend continues.” Correll said. “Walter?”

“I will talk with her.” There were many things Moira and Walter needed to talk about. The rest of the meeting consisted of them reviewing details for the re-opening of Applied Sciences, which passed pretty quickly.

 

With the three members of the Red Mask gang waiting for their lawyers, there was nothing the task force could do with them until the attorneys arrived. They doubted these guys had the resources to hire the best representation possible, so they suspected someone was going to try and make a deal. While they awaited the lawyers’ arrival, the agents looked over the evidence again.

McKenna was reading Tommy’s witness statement, but didn’t get very far before she dropped the file and ran out of the room. Dinan found her in the stairwell.

“You okay, Hall?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. I just-.”

“No, you’re not. And you shouldn’t be. A man who’s already been through Hell was kidnapped and tortured. It’s tough for me to read those reports and I don’t even know Oliver Queen. I can’t imagine what this is like for you. If you need to take a step back-.”

“No. I can handle it.” She said. She didn’t want to say that she “owed” it to Oliver to find out the truth, because it sounded cliché, but that’s more or less how she felt. If they could get to the bottom of what happened, the previous day and five years ago, maybe it would bring him some kid of peace. “I just needed some air before- how did they know?”

“What?”

“Someone paid them to kidnap and…question Oliver. If he’d been with Mr. Diggle, they wouldn’t have been able to take him. But, his bodyguard wasn’t there, so either they lucked out or whoever hired them knew it was his day off.”

“You think someone close to him ordered three men to kidnap and torture him?” Dinan asked. “Well, I suppose its possible.”

She asked one of the other agents to look into who could’ve known Digg’s schedule and that he wouldn’t be with Oliver on Saturday. The lawyers for the three gang members arrived and, predictably, all tried to trade immunity in exchange for information. Unfortunately for them, the task force wasn’t feeling very forgiving. The three kidnapping charges they were facing, alone, meant there was no way they weren’t going to be spending the next decade or so in prison. The Red Mask member who’d been the lookout was the first to make a deal, in exchange for not being placed in general population in prison.

 

“I didn’t call my dad.” Tommy said in the middle of Donna telling everyone a story about the first science fair Felicity ever participated in. He blurted it out and then looked around sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t trying to interrupt but, I haven’t talked to him in a few days, and last night, I picked up Thea and came here, so I never told him I was okay. I’ll be right back.” Malcolm and Tommy were not on great terms, by any means, but they were the only family the other one had. He should at least let him father know he was safe.

He went into the guestroom and called his father, who answered on the first ring. “Hey, Dad, I realized in all of the confusion last night that I didn’t call you to let you know I was okay.”

“Are you okay?”

“Physically, yes, but I think I’m still in shock from what I saw. They tortured Oliver. In front of me. I can’t even- he must’ve been so scared, and they kept insisting he wasn’t really mute, which definitely isn’t gonna help, but I don’t know-.”

“I’m sure Oliver will be fine.”

“I don’t think so. They- I’m just glad the Hood showed up when he did. If those guys hadn’t been stopped, I don’t know what would’ve happened. They might’ve- He saved us.”

Malcolm was tired of hearing about how the Hood was a hero and all of the praise that was being heaped on him. He was an obstacle in Tempest’s way, not Robin Hood. No one, especially Malcolm’s own son, should be praising him. “For once, I’m glad your mother is no longer with us. I’m glad she didn’t live to see how pathetic you are.”

“What?”  Tommy wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Some comfort would’ve been nice. Or reassurance. Contempt wasn’t something he expected to hear.

“Your mother would be ashamed of you if she could see you now.” He said before hanging up.

Tommy needed a few minutes to collect his thoughts before he left the guest room. Despite him being estranged from his father, he never felt like Malcolm hated him, until now. When he calmed himself down somewhat, he went back into the living room.

“So, did I miss the end of the story? Did you win that science fair?”

“Of course I did. Timmy Wilson’s mom wasn’t happy about it, saying that his volcano should’ve won.”

‘You built a computer and his mom thought a volcano was better?’ Oliver asked.

“Yeah, because she was the head of the PTA, so her precious baby boy wasn’t allowed to lose.”

“I really did hate Karen.” Donna said. “There are very few people I hate, but she was one of them.” Karen was very judgy towards Felicity’s family, especially the fact that Donna was a single-mother and made no effort to hide it. “I think I’ve embarrassed Felicity enough for one day. So, let’s hear a story from someone else’s childhood.”

“God, I have so many.” Thea said while trying to think of one story to tell. “You know, Ollie used to be quite the Power Rangers fan.”

“Really? I don’t remember that.” Tommy said.

‘I watched it because you wanted to.’ Oliver said. ‘And because you’d get grumpy if I didn’t record it.’

“He’d record it?” Roy asked.

“Our parents, for some reason, they didn’t want me watching Power Rangers. I don’t know why. Anyway, Ollie had a TV and VCR in his room, and he could watch it, so he’d record it.”


Starling-2003

Moira and Robert told their children they probably wouldn’t be home until after very late, and left for the charity event they were going to. They told Thea to behave for Raisa and warned Oliver that the house needed to look exactly the same when they returned. Their eighteen-year-old son nodded and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

As soon as the door closed behind the Queens, Thea grabbed her brother’s arm as if to pull him away. “C’mon Ollie. I wanna watch!”

“Woah, calm down Speedy. The tape’s not going anywhere.” He joked.

“But I wanna know what happens!” The eight-year-old said.

“Okay. Let’s see how the Rangers get out of this mess.” He said, allowing himself to be dragged away.

Moira and Robert had walked in on Thea watching Power Rangers once and banned her from watching it again. Oliver wasn’t sure why, since the show was campy, but appropriate for her age. He didn’t agree with their logic, so he’d been recording episodes and watching them with Thea later.

When their parents traveled for work, or went to events, he and Thea would sit in the living room and watch the show on the biggest TV in the house while eating snacks. Halfway through the second episode, Oliver’s top of the line Nokia phone rang. He paused the tape and answered it.

“Ollie, where are you?” Laurel asked.

“Home.”

“You’re supposed to be my date for Jessica’s party.”

“I can’t come tonight. I’ve gotta watch my sister.” He lied. Laurel was starting to get a little too intense for him and he wanted to slow things down. He was starting to get freaked out. Needing to watch Thea seemed like a reasonable excuse not to spend the night with her.

“Can’t Raisa-.”

“It’s her day off. My parents tried to find anyone else, but couldn’t.” He said. “I’m not coming. I’m sorry.”

“Typical.” Laurel scoffed. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Oliver gave a noncommittal noise and hung up. “Now, remind me what was happening?”

“Raisa’s watching me. You don’t have to stay.” Thea said.

“I want to. Who else is gonna watch Power Rangers with me?” He said.

They watched for about three hours before Raisa told them it was time for Thea to go to bed. She grumbled about having to go to bed when Oliver didn’t, but put on her pajamas and got ready for bed. Oliver came in to say goodnight.

“Ollie?”

“Yeah, Speedy?”

“Thank you for watching with me.” She said.

“You’re welcome. We’ll watch more next time Mom and Dad have to go to a boring dinner.” He promised. “Good night.”

“Night.”


Starling- Present

“So, that’s why you needed to “watch Thea” a lot back then.” Tommy remarked. He thought it was a little odd that Oliver hadn’t spent more time partying during their last year of high school and the summer before college.

‘Yeah, it was. I wanted to spend time with my sister.’

“When the Gambit, during that first year, I used to lock myself in his room and watch the tapes he made. For a moment, it felt like he was with me again.” Thea said, finishing her story.

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Felicity said. “You stayed in to spend time with your sister.”

“He did stuff like that a lot, he just didn’t want anyone to know.” Thea said. “I think he was worried it made him seem less cool.”

‘I cared too much about the wrong things back then.’ Oliver said. ‘Is the show still on?’

“Yeah, it still is. But I couldn’t- watching it alone wasn’t fun.” Thea said.

 

Walter returned to Felicity’s house after his meeting with the department heads. He could’ve gone back to the mansion, but quickly realized that he didn’t want to. He arrived just as Thea was finishing her story about Oliver watching Power Rangers with her. She mentioned she was hungry, so Oliver and Donna volunteered to make dinner for everyone. Felicity and Lyla slowly, and inconspicuously, pulled away from the group so that they could continue searching for answers about Oliver’s kidnapping. Digg, Thea, Tommy, Roy and Walter in the living room.

“This isn’t the first time, is it?” Thea said after a few moments. “I’m not imagining things, or seeing what I want to see, am I? Ollie’s been tortured before. On the island.”

“I don’t- he’s never said it to me, he might’ve told Felicity, but yes, i’m pretty sure he was.”

“I thought he was alone.” Roy said.

“I think everyone assumed that and never asked Oliver, and if they did mention him being “all alone”, he didn't correct them.” Walter said.

“Did I ever tell you how impressed I was with your brother before I even met him?” John asked Thea, who shook her head. “Back when I first heard on the news how Oliver had survived as a castaway for five years, my first thought was to wonder how he managed to do that. Then, when I heard someone was looking to hire a bodyguard for him, I started doing research on him - I always research my clients, to find out if they've got known enemies, allergies, phobias, anything that might come up. With Oliver, one of the topics I focused on was the island he was rescued from, Lian Yu. In English, that name translates to 'Purgatory'.”

“That’s not ominous or anything.” Tommy remarked.

"There's not much information about Lian Yu online, but I found some stuff about the chain of islands that it's a part of - and I can't remember the name of those islands, but I know that in English it translates as 'Dragon's Teeth Islands'. I found some data on the weather they get: usual temperatures, wind speed and direction, frequency and volume of rainfall, stuff like that."

"So... what's it like there?" Roy asked.

"The weather we're getting right now, in January? This is what Lian Yu gets in the middle of summer. It rains heavily most days, too, which is good news and bad news: it's a source of hopefully-clean water; but on the other hand, it makes it real difficult to keep a fire going for warmth and light, and it increases the risk of hypothermia."

"Oh, god..." Thea said.

"I also looked up what happened to the Gambit. By my best guess, the yacht sank in the middle of the night, meaning Oliver probably had some kind of sleepwear on at the time - maybe pajamas, or underwear and an old t-shirt? Or maybe he was naked in the shower when it happened? Bottom line, he didn’t have appropriate clothes for the climate. If he was lucky and made it to a life raft, he would’ve had the contents of its survival locker - but those things are only really meant to last for a week or so at the most. If he wasn't so lucky, then he wouldn't have even had that much. The Army spent a lot of money and a lot of time training me to survive, operate and fight in remote and dangerous environments and extreme climates around the world before my first tour. So, I know how hard it is to survive somewhere like Lian Yu when you've got the right clothing, equipment, and training to do it, and you're with others who've all been through the same training. Even then, surviving in a place like that is tough. It's dangerous. You let your guard down for one second, make one mistake? Someone possibly dies. After that research, I figured that if it had been me in that situation instead of Oliver? No equipment or supplies, barely any clothes, no backup, just my training and experience to give me an edge? I figured I would’ve had maybe a five percent chance of surviving the first year. Five years?" Digg shook his head. "Forget it. And from what I could find out, Oliver had no survival training at all."

"There's something else, isn't there? Something else you know, or something you're not sure about..." Thea said. "Please... please tell us."

"Okay. But you need to know up front, this is pretty nasty stuff. On one of the articles about the Dragon's Teeth Islands? I found a note that they were garrisoned by Japanese forces in World War Two."

"Oh, god... Do-do you think some of those soldiers were still on the island? Like the ones who didn't accept or believe the Japanese surrender and holed up in caves on islands in the Pacific?" Tommy said, surprising Thea. "I enjoyed studying history at school, okay? It was the one class I paid attention in."

"I guess that's possible, but... back when I was in the Army, between my first and second operational deployments, my unit was sent out to Okinawa for a training exercise on a nearby uninhabited island. Before we first went out there, we were warned it had been garrisoned by the Japanese during the War... and their standard procedures included laying minefields everywhere. There had been a major operation to clear those islands of mines, but there was a risk that one or two of them might have got missed."

"So... not only did my brother have to worry about dying from the cold or thirst or starvation every single day for five years, but he was on an island covered with landmines, and could’ve been blown to pieces at any time?"

"I think so, yes. Maybe I'm wrong? Hell, I sure hope I am. But… I'm sorry."

“Don't be.” Thea said. While Digg had been talking, Roy began to hug her while Walter was holding her hand. “You didn't put the mines there, right?"

"Oliver was cold, wet, and starving the whole time, and had to worry about landmines... AND someone tortured him." Tommy said, rubbing a hand over his face. “I guess naming the island Purgatory fits.”

“Yeah, it does.” John said.

They sat there in silence, wondering how exactly Oliver managed to survive. Donna came into the living room and everyone Oliver had whipped up some spaghetti and that it was ready. Dinner was a quiet affair, although everyone was sure to compliment Oliver’s cooking. They all had a lot on their minds, especially the group that had been talking to Digg.

 

Slowly, people began to disperse after eating. Walter went back to the mansion. John and Lyla went back to Digg’s apartment. Roy had to leave, since he had an early shift the next morning. Tommy felt like he’d been imposing, so he went home as well. Thea asked if she could stay, wanting to spend some more time with Oliver before school the next day, and Felicity and Oliver agreed without hesitation.

The next morning, Oliver borrowed Felicity’s car and drove Thea to school. He would’ve taken his bike, but didn’t have an extra helmet for a passenger and didn’t want to risk something bad happening. He pulled up in front of the school and got out just as Thea did.

“So, I guess I should go to school now.” She said.

‘Yes. Go to school. Learn things, get smarter.’ He said. ‘I know I can’t really judge but-.’

“You were smart, but you didn’t have a reason to care. It’s different.” She told him. “Can I- I wanna hug you, is that okay?” Instead of responding, Oliver held his arms open. She immediately hugged him as tightly as she could. “I love you, big brother.”

‘I love you too. Don’t text me during school, but I’ll talk to you later.’

Thea walked into the building and Oliver got back into the car. Unbeknownst to them, another student had snapped a picture of them hugging and posted it online.

 

“You didn’t need to come, you know.” Donna told Oliver as they walked from the parking lot towards the front doors of the Applied Sciences building. The ceremony to reopen the building was going to begin soon and there were already people gathering. “Felicity would’ve understood-.”

‘I want to be here for her. I don’t like crowds but- I want to support Felicity more than I like avoiding attention.’ He responded. ‘Besides, I’m in disguise. Maybe no one will recognize me.’ Oliver was dressed in casual clothing and wearing a knitted hat. If he stayed away from the cameras, there was a chance no one would see him and there wouldn’t be a scene.

“Yeah, maybe. If this becomes too much, just let me know and we’ll leave.” She told him as she scanned the crowd. “Oh, Digg and Lyla are here. I wonder why we didn’t just carpool.” They made their way over to where the others were standing.

After a few minutes, Walter walked over to the microphone and the crowd grew quiet. “I’d like to thank everyone for attending the reopening of Queen Consolidated’s Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Building.” He briefly spoke about the company’s desire to make the world a better place. “The employees of this department will, no doubt, make this company and this city proud with the accomplishments they achieve here and the stride they will make. Of course, we should not ignore the elephant in the room. This building was temporarily closed following an attack, one that could’ve had dire consequences. The Hood is only one man, but in his selfless and heroic actions, he’s shown himself to exemplify the fundamentally indomitable and charitable nature of the human spirit. He risked his life to save members of the Queen Consolidated Family’ and for that, I’d like to thank him from the bottom of my heart. Our founder, Richard Queen, once said the thing that made Queen Consolidated successful wasn’t our products, but our people. Without the right people, including those standing behind me,” he gestured to the Applied Sciences staff members on stage, “this company would not be what is it, and the Hood’s actions saved lives. Since we’re unable to thank him personally, Queen Consolidated has decided to thank him by following his example. I’d like to announce the Hood Initiative, where the company will fund various charities in the Glades, including programs at Glades Memorial Hospital and the Rebecca Merlyn Clinic. The Hood, whoever he may be, is doing his part to make the Glades a better, safer place to live, and now we shall do ours. There will always be cowards and bullies and terrorists like the Dark Archer. And they can threaten us. They can even frighten us and hurt us. But we shall neither yield nor break. We refused to be cowed and conquered. We will remain true to ourselves and we will go on to enjoy greater success and happiness in our lives, despite their best efforts to deny us. We will never surrender.”

With his speech done, Walter walked away from the podium. The head of Applied Sciences stood and began making his own speech. While he was talking, Felicity found herself scanning the crowd, seeing who was there. Walter leaned over to speak to her. “Your mother, Mr. Diggle and a certain gentleman we both know who's trying very hard not to be noticed, are here. Just behind the woman in the red hat.”

Felicity looked out at the crowd and spotted her mother, Digg, Lyla and Oliver standing in the crowd. She gave a little wave to them before turning her attention to the person speaking. It meant a lot to her for Oliver to come, especially after the last few days. The ceremony ended and the crowd dispersed. Felicity told the team she’d been working with before the attack, that she’d be heading into the building in a moment.

“You came.”

‘Of course, I did. I wanted to support you. Besides, I’m in disguise.’ He joked.

“It’s a great disguise. I didn’t even realize it was you.” She said with a smile.

“I don’t wanna interrupt you two,” John said, “but I think someone just saw through Oliver’s get-up.” One of the reporters was staring at them and whispering to her cameraman. “We might wanna go.”

“Go, I’ll see you guys later.” Felicity said.

“I’ll text you later about that….project we talked about.” Lyla said.

The blonde nodded and turned to her boyfriend. “I’ll see you tonight, Oliver.”

‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She signed before heading towards the building. She walked inside as she heard someone calling Oliver’s name. Turning around, she saw Digg closing the door to the car and driving away before the reporter could ask any questions. She smiled and went to the workshop where her team was waiting.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 54

Summary:

Felicity and Lyla continue their investigation, Oliver starts one of his own, the task force gets some answers and Thea realizes a few things about her friends from school.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Thea was walking through the cafeteria when she felt eyes on her. She was used to the feeling of being watched, but this was different. Students at her school normally either looked at her with envy or distaste. They either wanted to be her or they wanted her gone. Today though, the looks were different. There was a sense of curiosity in their gazes.

She sat down at the lunch table, with her friends, and started picking at her food. Since she didn’t spend the night at the mansion, and thus Raisa didn’t make her a lunch, Oliver packed her one. She’d tried to dissuade him, but he said he didn’t want her to just eat junk food, but something nutritious instead. After she started to get weirded out by the looks, she turned to the girl next to her.

“Why is everyone staring at me?”

“You don’t- you really don’t know.” She said. “You haven’t checked Instagram have you?”

One of the other girls at the table, Mandy, scoffed. Mandy and Thea were more “frenemies” than actual friends. It didn’t surprise Mandy that Thea was so full of herself that she’d “broken” Instagram and not even known it.

“No, I’ve been in class.”

“And? Since when do you pay attention?” Her friend challenged. “You and your brother, your little goodbye this morning is practically crashing the app.”

Thea turned back to her food and ate. As she sat there, and the girls around her started talking about boys, drinking and parties, Thea realized how out of place she was feeling. She used to care about that stuff, but now she didn’t. She tried not to think too hard about it though. These girls were her friends, right?

 

Felicity could tell that the bigwigs at Applied Sciences were trying very hard not to ask too much of anyone today. Even though only a handful of staff had been on sight when the Dark Archer attacked, all of the employees were being treated with kid gloves. After a short, pointless meeting with the department head that everyone needed to attend, she, Curtis and the others went to their work stations.

“So, how was- how are you doing?” Curtis asked her. “What happened was terrifying for me, but to have the Dark Archer be that close to you-.”

“I’m fine. I keep telling myself that I’m okay, everyone’s okay. No one besides the bad guy was hurt. I’m not trying to play it off, but I- I’m fine, I feel great.” She said. “What about you?”

“Still a little freaked out.” He answered. “The bright side was that we got almost a week off of work. What did you get up to?”

“Not much. Spent time with Oliver, and my mom, and a few friends. It was great, until Saturday, but I don’t wanna talk about that.”

“Yeah, I- I thought you might not.”

They turned their attention to their work and the project they’d been working on before the Dark Archer so rudely interrupted them. Before Felicity knew it, it was lunchtime. She went to the office fridge and pulled out the lunch bag with her name written on it. Only her name was on the outside, but inside, Oliver had put a sticky note on top of the Tupperware container her food was in.

Food to feed your amazing, beautiful brain so you can keep coming up with wonderful things. was written along with an explanation of what it was. Felicity smiled, while wondering if Oliver debated adding a little heart, before deciding not to.

“That looks delicious, what is that?” One of her coworkers asked.

“A turkey, provolone wrap with avocado mayo.” She answered, after reading Oliver’s note about what it was. “My boyfriend made it for me.” She knew Oliver sometimes felt like he was a burden on her, but the way she saw it was that they both took care of each other when the other needed it.

Her coworker looked down at her own lunch, of peanut butter and jelly, before looking back up at her enviously. “Well, I hope it tastes as good as it looks.”

 

Tommy left the press conference and drove back to his father’s house. He just needed to grab enough clothes to last a few days and then he’d be gone. After their phone conversation yesterday, he didn’t want to even be in the same building as Malcolm. He’d stay at the Ritz Carlton downtown for a few days if that’s what he needed to do.

He walked into the mansion and made a beeline for his bedroom. The less time he was in the mansion, the less likely he was to run into his father. Tommy packed enough clothes to last a week and was coming down the stairs when a voice spoke.

“Sneaking out again?” Malcolm said.

“I’m 27. I think I’m past the point of needing to.” He answered. “You look….better.”

Malcolm still looked like he’d been put through the ringer, but he looked a lot less messed up than he did a week ago. “It’s amazing what some peace and quiet will do.” Peace, quiet, and some tricks he learned in Nanda Parbat had helped with the cuts and bruises, but the more serious injuries, including his knee, could only be healed if he immersed himself in the waters of the Lazarus Pit. He knew Ra’s would never allow that, so he needed to let his knee heal naturally. As soon as he was healed, he’d make the Hood pay for humiliating him like that.

“I’ll get out of your hair then. So you can have even more peace and quiet.” Tommy remarked before walking out.

He was able to get a hotel room and dropped his bags off there before heading to Oliver and Felicity’s house. He knew that’s where his best friend would be.

 

Oliver, Digg, Lyla and Donna returned to Felicity’s house. They’d gotten away from the reporters just in time, but now Oliver felt like he had nothing to do. Lyla distanced herself from the others, saying she was helping Felicity with a project and that she wanted to have something to show her after work that day. She took a seat in the dining room and got to work on the tablet Felicity had given her. Before leaving for work that day, Felicity had started running a program to find out everything she could about the Red Mask Gang, including tracking down whatever payment they received to abduct Oliver.

While Lyla was working, Oliver was rummaging around in the kitchen. Donna and John sat at the counter, watching him. Every so often, Oliver would reach for something in his pocket, come up empty, get a look of sheer panic before calming down. It was starting to worry Donna.

“What do you keep looking for?” She asked him.

‘My phone. The police still have it.’ He told her. He knew it seemed odd that he was so fixated on having his phone. Anyone else would’ve just bought a new one. It wasn’t just a phone to him, though. And it wasn’t because he texted everyone either. That phone was the reason he met Felicity. It was an important item to him. And right now, it was in the evidence room at the police station. ‘I keep- I forgot they had it.’

“You can use my phone if you need to.” John told him.

‘It’s not that.’ He said. ‘I had- there were things I’d bookmarked and- I only have them saved on my phone.’

“I’m sure Felicity wouldn’t mind if you use one of her tablets. It might help you find what you’re looking for.” Donna suggested. “Unless it’s a surprise for her and you don’t want her to see it in the search history or something. Then, don’t do that. You can’t hide things from her. Take it from someone who was never able to research birthday or Hanukkah presents unless I went to the library.”

‘The only surprises will be new recipes to try.’ He told Donna.

She left to grab Felicity’s tablet, the one the blonde thankfully used for recreation, from the living room. She was walking back to the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. She opened it and let Tommy in.

“I thought I’d stop by and say hi.” He announced when he walked into the kitchen behind her. “So, what are we doing?”

“Oliver’s looking for some new recipes to try.” She answered. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one excited to see what he makes next.”

‘I might not make something as big as chicken parm for a little bit. I’m trying to think of lunch ideas for Felicity to take to work. Food that’s good that’s also healthy for her.’ He said. ‘I need her to- I want her to know that I care about her as much as she cares about me and-.’

“You don’t have to do that, you know.” Donna said. “Felicity knows you love her. You don’t have to make her lunch everyday for her to remember that.”

‘But it’s- she helps me a lot, she takes care of me. There are times that I can’t- I’m a mess and this is the only way- it’s the only way that I can show her-.’ He tried to explain. The words just wouldn’t come out right. He needed to feel like he wasn’t mooching off of Felicity. ‘I don’t want her to think I don’t appreciate her. Some days-.’

“Oliver, please calm down and look at me for a second.” She said. She then started signing. This seemed like a conversation just the two of them should be having, without being overheard. ‘I don’t know how much Felicity told you about Emily. I know you know she committed suicide, but I don’t know what other details she might’ve shared. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told her when she was struggling after it happened. She was in a bad place, thinking what happened was her fault. Some days, you feel like nothing’s changed, nothing’s different. And some days, some days getting out of bed is the only thing you can do. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but needing help, having bad days, it doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean you don’t love her or that you’re a burden. She loves you. You love her. End of story. If you want to make her lunch everyday, there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t think you have to in order to prove something. And that’s not the only way you show her that you love her.’ She gave him a reassuring smile. “And don’t try to argue with me. I’m a Jewish mother, I will win.”

Oliver, feeling slightly better, raised his hands in surrender. Using the spare tablet, he started looking for new dishes to try. He knew he needed to run some by Felicity later, so he bookmarked them and tried to decide what he should make for dinner.

“Johnny, can you come here for a second?” Lyla asked from the dining room. Digg walked into the dining room, where Lyla was still hunched over the tablet she was using. “I think I found something.”

“What?”

“I think I found out who paid for Oliver’s abduction.” She said in a grave tone. “When Felicity gets back from work, I think the three of us should talk.”

After an hour of rooting around the cabinets, and seeing what ingredients they had, Oliver realized it was the perfect weather for chili. He also had the right ingredients to make it. He got the base started before heading into the living room. Not in the mood to read, he turned on the TV. He was startled slightly to see his own face on screen. The reporters were discussing the Applied Sciences press conference and Walter’s announcement.

“Hey, at least you’re sober and fully dressed this time.” Tommy joked, having seen Oliver’s face. “Sorry, if that was- sorry.”

‘It’s okay. You’re right.’ He said. ‘I just don’t know why they’re so interested in me.’

“Well, you were Starling royalty, and then- anyway, you haven’t done a lot publicly since you came back, so any sighting of you is a big deal to them.” His friend reminded him.

“-and after the announcement of the Hood Initiative was made, and the press conference was over, Felicity Smoak headed into the crowd where she had what appears to be a romantic moment with Oliver Queen.” The anchor said. “I have Timothy Hoffman, a certified ASL interpreter here with me. Tim, are you able to tell me what was said?”

“Due to the angle, I’m afraid I can’t tell you what Mr. Queen’s initial comment was. However, at the end of the conversation, it seems that he signed “I love you” to her and she signed “I love you too” in response.”

“Thank you, Tim. While Oliver Queen and Felicity’s Smoak’s relationship was made public a few weeks ago, no one was aware of how serious-.”

Before the woman could finish, Oliver turned the TV off. The thought of reporters looking around for a scoop on his relationship made him uneasy. He turned the TV, told Donna and Tommy he was going to go take a nap and went into his bedroom. Digg saw him walk into the bedroom, waited a few minutes and then followed him in.

Instead of Oliver actually trying to rest, or reading, John found him pouring over Robert’s journal. He was studying the List intently, and writing a few names down on a piece of paper.

“’What exactly are you doing?” He asked him.

Figuring out who my next target is.

“I thought you had a plan. That one dealer and then-.” Oliver was more or less going down the List in the order the names were written. He switched it up on occasion, but only in between targets.

No. They can wait. There’s someone else I need to deal with first.

“Who?”

The Dark Archer didn’t trip any alarms when he attacked Applied Sciences. He probably had help getting in, knowing the layout, and if I hadn’t almost beaten him, getting out. I need to find that person. We can’t risk something like that happening again.

“You think a QC employee helped him?”

There are quite a few who’s names are on the List. Only one of whom works in Applied Sciences and miraculously wasn’t there when he attacked.

Digg thought it was weirdly poetic. Felicity was spending her free time trying to track down the person responsible for Oliver’s kidnapping. Oliver, meanwhile, had shifted his focus to hunting down anyone who had something to do with the attack on Applied Sciences. It was impressive, and a little scary, how much each was willing to do for the other.

 

“Okay, I’m going to make this very clear.” Agent Dinan said as she and Agent Reeves took a seat in front of the Red Mask member who agreed to talk. “If I find out anything you tell me is a lie, if it’s even a slight misdirection, this deal goes away and you’ll wind up in gen pop and there’s nothing I can, or will, do to help you. Understood?”

“Agent, I don’t appreciate the tone you’re using with my client.” The man’s attorney said.

“Your client kidnapped three people and tortured one of them for nearly six hours. He’s incredibly lucky we’re even willing to make a deal.”

“I didn’t torture no one.” The gang member insisted.

“No, you just watched.” She shot back. “Let’s start with who hired you.”

“I don’t know. Thus guy reached out to us.”

“Describe him.”

“Didn’t look like the kind to get his hands dirty. One of those Wall Street types. Said he had a “client” that needed someone questioned.”

“And you agreed to the job.”

“For the money he offered? I woulda kidnapped the president if that’s what he asked.”

“This Wall Street type have a name? A description?”

“Didn’t give us his name. Looked like some stuck-up rich white dude.”

“Okay, so he hired you on behalf of his client. Wants you to question Oliver Queen. Question him about what?” Agent Reeves asked.

“The freak accident with him and his dad. Did his old man survive? What did the old man tell him? Stuff like that. Client didn’t think his dad died when the boat went down. Seemed convinced he knew something, was told something, before he died.”

“And the decision to torture Mr. Queen, whose idea was that?”

“Not mine.” He said. “That all you wanna know?”

“One last thing. How did you know where to find Mr. Queen?”

“We got a call from the guy who paid us. Told us when he’d be without his bodyguard and what car to look for.”

Between the questions, the amount of money the gang member mentioned and the details of how they were able to grab Oliver, Dinan was thinking that this looked even more like someone very close to Oliver than before. The only reason why she wasn’t sending someone to arrest Moira Queen was because she couldn’t figure out what the motive for having her own son tortured was.

 

After a few hours of trying to figure out the best time and place to question the Applied Sciences employee who was also on the List, Oliver realized it was almost time for school to let out. He drove across town to pick Thea up, arriving a little early. There didn’t seem to be many other people waiting for the day to end, so he got out of the car. Even though it was January, the weather wasn’t too cold and sitting in a parked car for several minutes always felt strange to him.

Oliver was looking around, trying to keep the boredom at bay when he saw a dark-haired woman who was around his age. She was looking at the map of some kind and not paying attention to her surroundings. A few feet away from him, she turned to cross the road. Seeing a car coming, he darted forward and pulled her out of the street before she was struck.

“Thank you.” Her voice had a slight accent to it, but he couldn’t place it.

‘You’re welcome. Are you okay?’ He signed as a reflex before realizing she probably didn’t know ASL.

To his surprise, she began signing back. ‘I’m perfectly fine, due to your intervention. I’m normally much more self-aware. I don’t suppose you can point me in the direction of the Grell Museum?’

‘Five blocks that way and take a left on Adams Street.’ He told her.

“Thank you. My name is Nyssa.”

‘I’m Oliver.’

Nyssa thanked him again before walking in the direction he told her. Her first encounter with Oliver hadn’t lasted long, but she was able to glean some information about him based on him “saving” her from the oncoming car.

A few moments after she walked away, the bell rang and Thea’s school day was over. Her day had been slowly going downhill since lunch. Nothing happened, but she was more aware of people staring at her and whispering behind her back. She was glad it was over for now. Thea walked outside, and started scanning the parking lot for one of her family’s bodyguards. Her face lit up when she saw Oliver leaning against a car. She didn’t quite sprint over to her brother, but it was pretty close. She considered running over and giving Oliver a hug, but wasn’t sure how he’d react.

When she was a few feet away, Oliver opened up his arms in invitation and she ran to hug him. He hugged her back tightly and spun her around before putting her back on her feet. She was acutely aware that other people were watching, and probably recording, this.

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” She said as she opened the car door.

The video of Oliver picking up Thea broke Instagram even more than the picture of him dropping her off. It even wound up on the news later, since a sighting of Oliver Queen was so rare these days.

 

Moira was not having a good day. It started when Walter came home very late the night before and didn’t even sleep in their bedroom. Thea was gone before she’d had a chance to speak with her this morning, as was Walter. Then, at the Applied Sciences ceremony, Walter announced the Hood Initiative that Queen Consolidated was going to start contributing to. A change that she didn’t know about and hadn’t been discussed with her. As soon as the press conference ended, she received an angry call from Malcolm, demanding that she kill the initiative before it could start, since it interfered with the goals of the Undertaking. Now, to top it all off, she wasn’t able to get ahold of Walter.

After a few hours of calling his cell, and office, and not reaching him, she started to grow impatient. She parked herself in the sitting room right inside the front door of the mansion so that, as soon as Walter returned home, she’d confront him about the press conference. She was trying to decide the best angle she could use to convince him when she heard the doorknob turn.

“Hello, darling.” She said when he walked into the house.

“Good evening.”

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day.” She stated.

“I know. I apologize but I was in meetings nearly all day. Even my lunch break was spent working.” He told her. He’d been avoiding her. There were a number of things he wanted to discuss with her, her actions towards Oliver his main concern, but he was holding off until he could collect his thoughts more fully. “I went from one meeting to another as soon as the press conference was over-.”

“Speaking of the press conference, I saw it. And I’d like to talk about the Hood Initiative you announced. Queen Consolidated will not be funding that.”

“Yes, it will. We’ve already committed the funds to the various groups.” Walter told her. “Short of the board voting to retract our pledge-.”

“It will. Call a board meeting if you must, but I will not allow this to happen.”

“You may not agree, but the other shareholders may. The largest shareholder I believe is fully in favor.” He hadn’t had a chance to discuss the matter with QC’s biggest stockholder, but he had a feeling he’d be on Walter’s side.

“I’m the biggest shareholder.” She pointed out.

“I’m sorry, but you are not. Oliver’s return from the dead, legally, meant he was given back his inheritance, which includes 35% stock in the company. Your share, along with Robert’s, was around 10% if I’m not mistaken.”

“Oliv- he doesn’t know a single thing about running a business!” She yelled. “Even if he did, he can’t handle the pressure it entails. If he can’t attend the meetings, which he won’t because he avoids responsibility like it’s the plague, he’ll need to select a proxy, someone he trusts. I’ve done a good job over the last five years, so I’m the obvious choice.”

“I think your recent actions, including your conspiracy with Ms. Lance, have made it clear that you may not have Oliver’s best interests at heart.” He said. “But you may have a point, I should allow the stockholders to weigh in on this. I will get a meeting scheduled.”

Moira was annoyed and walked off. Even if Oliver didn’t side with her, or didn’t let her become his proxy, she could still persuade the board. The other stockholders would surely see that she was in the right.

 

Felicity returned home from work to find everyone on Team Oliver except for Roy and Walter there. She was sure that Walter was dealing with something business related and that Roy probably had work. As she greeted everyone, she asked them how their day had gone and received mostly positive news.

Oliver went into the kitchen to make dinner, along with Thea, who volunteered to help him tonight. Tommy and Donna started discussing a book she’d mentioned to him the previous day. With the others distracted, Felicity turned to Lyla and Digg. “Ok, what did you find?”

“Before I tell you, I need to know you aren’t gonna do something that can be traced back to you.” Lyla said. “I’ll help you make these monsters pay, but not if you get caught and wind up in prison with them.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t plan on getting caught then.” She responded. “But based on that warning, I think I know what you found.”

“I don’t know for sure. My gut says I found something, but I don’t have the same level of skills that you do. Still, its pretty damning.” She said before handing the tablet to Felicity. “I could only trace the wired funds that far but-.”

“But I think, once I run my more powerful program, we both know what account that’s coming out of.” The blonde sighed. “Do you think the Feds know?” She knew how fast her programs worked, but she didn’t know about the FBI or Coast Guard. They had to play by different rules because they were the government.

“Not yet. I’d say, unless they get very lucky, it’ll be a few weeks before they can find out where the payment initiated.” Lyla guessed. “If they’re even to track it that far at all. What are we gonna do?”

“Exactly what I said I was gonna do. Slowly at first, but eventually so fast she can’t keep up, I’m gonna completely and utterly destroy everything that woman has ever built or done.”

“She?” Digg asked.

“I think you know who I’m gonna say is behind this.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 55

Summary:

Felicity and Lyla plan, the task force tries to catch a break and Oliver makes chili.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“What are we gonna do?” Lyla asked Felicity after she’d shown the hacker what she discovered about Oliver’s abduction.

“Exactly what I said I was gonna do. Slowly at first, but eventually so fast she can’t keep up, I’m gonna completely and utterly destroy everything that woman has ever built or done.”

“She?” Digg asked.

“I think you know who I’m gonna say is behind this.”

“She’s his mother, why would-?” There was more exasperation than disbelief in his tone. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe them, since Lyla and Felicity hadn’t been wrong at any point so far. He just couldn’t understand, from any angle, why Moira would do something like this. She paid for her own son to be abducted and tortured.

“I don’t know. Why did she keep the Gambit a secret? Why did she try to get Oliver declared mentally incompetent? Why does she suck, just so much?!” Felicity responded.

“Everything okay in here?” Donna asked, poking her head in.

“Everything’s fine, I just- I found out some frustrating news.” She said quickly. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Her mother looked skeptical but turned back to her conversation with Tommy. The blonde then turned to Lyla. “I think we should dig deeper. If I wanna completely destroy Moira, I need to know all of the dirt she has. Besides, it’ll give us time.”

“Time for what?” Lyla asked.

“Anything we leak or expose needs to be minor, but damaging to her image, until February 1st. After that, I’m bringing in the big guns.”

“What happens on February 1st?”

“Thea turns 18 on January 31st. I want Moira to pay, a lot, but I don’t wanna cause Thea problems while she’s still legally a minor.”

Neither Digg or Lyla saw any problems with that plan. They all knew Moira had plenty of skeletons in her closet, even small ones, that they could use to ruin her image for the next few weeks. Lyla was pretty sure that most of Moira’s smaller secrets would only be scandalous if someone found out what she did to hide them. Oliver getting thrown out of a bar two months before the Gambit sank wasn’t as juicy as Moira paying the bar owner to keep quiet.

Felicity had just started a new program to look into every aspect of Moira’s financials and online life when Thea told everyone dinner was going to be ready in about ten minutes. She just finished saying that when there was a knock on the door.

Tommy opened it and invited Walter inside. Oliver’s stepfather asked if he’d be intruding on their evening if he joined them for dinner, and everyone assured him that he was more than welcome. Roy arrived just as everyone was sitting down to eat.

“Sorry, I got kinda caught up with….work.” He finished lamely. He’d been dealing with an irate customer who wanted to return something that the store didn’t even sell and it took him way longer than necessary to make it clear to her. He was embarrassed that he worked in retail and didn’t want to ruin Walter or Tommy’s impression of him by revealing too much.

“You’re right on time actually.” Felicity said with a smile. “We’re having chili, by the way.”

The young man took a seat and Oliver served him some of the chili. Everyone, except Oliver, immediately dug in. He held back, wanting to see what everyone thought of it.

“This is-.” Felicity started to say before needing to take a gulp of water, “it’s good but it’s spicy.”

‘Too spicy?’ Oliver asked sheepishly.

“No, just-. I’m gonna grab some chips and sour cream.” She said, standing up. She could guess that Tommy and Thea were also having a hard time handling the spiciness. “It’s good, it’s really good, but spicy, so I’m getting some things to alleviate the heat.”

“Don’t look so scared.” Donna told him. “It’s delicious, some of us just like spicy food more than others.”

Felicity came back with the condiments and tortilla chips and everyone continued eating. Throughout the meal, people praised Oliver for his chili and were shocked that this was his first time ever making the dish. Conversation turned from food to how everyone’s day went.

“Roy, you said you were at work and got caught up. I can’t remember if I asked what you do?” Walter asked.

“I- uh- I work in retail.” He said quietly. “Not great, but it pays the bills and- college wasn’t really an option for me.” He was happy to have managed to finish high school without incident and hadn’t tried to get into college or even wanted to go.

“There’s nothing wrong with a job in retail.” Walter responded.

“Very true. I mean, I’m a cocktail waitress.” Donna added. “How long ago did you start taking ASL classes?”

“Stephanie started her program at the end of 2009, so about three years?” He answered.

“Have you thought about getting certified? You’d need to prove you’re fluent in ASL, but if you get certified, you could work as an interpreter. Even just part time.” She suggested. “I did it as a side job for a few years when Felicity was younger. If you wanted some unsolicited advice, I’d say you should at least look into it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Thea, sensing that Roy was feeling a little uncomfortable, started telling everyone about how school went. She even told the group that she and Oliver broke Instagram twice. Her brother asked what Instagram was and how exactly they “broke” it. She explained in detail and told him about the picture of him dropping her off and the video of him picking her up that were responsible.

‘That’s nice, but I don’t understand why anyone cares.’ He admitted. ‘Why is taking my sister to school and picking her up a big deal?’

“You’re kinda- since you don’t go to clubs or make headlines for bad behavior anymore, people are really fascinated whenever they see you do anything.” Tommy said.

“There’s also an image factor.” Walter told him. “You are behaving much differently than you did before you boarded the Queen’s Gambit and many are curious about the “new” Oliver Queen.” He took a deep breath. Now was the perfect time for Walter to mention the meeting that needed to be held. It was good timing, but he wasn’t happy that a shareholders meeting needed to be called. “I need to admit something to you, Oliver. While I enjoy your cooking and being able to eat with everyone here, that’s not why I stopped by.”

“Is something wrong?” Felicity asked the question that everyone was thinking.

“No, nothing’s wrong. There’s just something I needed to tell Oliver. Your mother wasn’t happy about the announcement of the Hood Initiative, although I can’t say I understand why. She wants the company to reverse course.” Felicity, Lyla and Digg all gave one another looks. This was something they needed to look into further. This must have something to do with Tempest. Walter, not seeing their expressions, continued. “She’s….requested that a meeting for all of the shareholders be held so that they can vote on whether the board should retract the pledge Queen Consolidated has made.” He said. “I know it is out of your element, but I believe you should attend at least this meeting. You can also designate a new proxy at the meeting.”

“New proxy?” Lyla asked. She hadn’t missed the CEO’s wording. Based on Walter’s expression, he wished she would’ve.

“For the five years that Oliver was away, given that he was reported dead, his shares were passed to Thea. Since Thea was, and still is, a minor, her mother was serving as the proxy. Now that Oliver is here, he can either continued to let Moira be his proxy, he can name a new one, or he can attend these meetings himself and vote on them.”

‘Can you be my proxy?’ Oliver asked Walter. Felicity interpreted for him.

“I’m afraid, as CEO, it wouldn’t be proper to be the proxy of our biggest shareholder. However, as your stepfather, I can help, and I’d be happy to help, you select a new one.”

“Ollie’s the biggest shareholder?” Thea asked. She’d never taken much interest in the family business and the few times she asked her mother her questions were waved off.

“Your grandfather Richard owned 35% of the company stock at the time of his death, which Oliver inherited.” He explained. “It will take at least a week to get such a meeting scheduled, due to how busy some members are, so no decisions need to be made right now.”

Oliver nodded once before turning to Donna and Roy. ‘If I go to this meeting, could one of you come and interpret for me? If Felicity isn’t able to because of work? I don’t- I want someone I know to speak for me, if that makes sense.’ They both nodded. ‘Thank you.’

The rest of dinner was quiet. Donna, Tommy and Felicity tried to keep the conversation flowing, but the subject of Moira was an instant mood-killer. Dinner ended, everyone pitched in to clean up and then people started to depart. Roy left to catch the bus. Tommy went to his hotel and Walter told Thea they should head back to the mansion since it was a school night. Oliver and Felicity said goodbye to everyone, and Oliver promised Thea he’d pick her up after school the next day.

 

“Kinda surprised Mom didn’t call me at six AM, demanding to know where I slept last night.” Thea said as she got into the car with Walter. “Did she say something to you?”

“No, which leads me to believe that she didn’t know.” He answered.

“Seriously? She hired Digg solely to spy on Oliver but she’s so oblivious to me that she didn’t realize I wasn’t there. That’s a new low for her.”

“I agree. However, I think it may be for the best if we don’t inform her that she’s wrong.” He said. “I’ve noticed a change, a good change, in both you and your brother recently, and I’m certain some distance from your mother has contributed to that.”

“She’s my mom but- is it bad that I agree with you? Am I being a bad daughter?”

“I don’t think so, no.” He told her.

When they reached Queen Mansion, Moira was home but wasn’t waiting for them. She didn’t even seek Thea out to say goodnight or anything. The teenager went to sleep and was secretly a little happy that she was less than a month away from being an adult.

 

After the federal agents had talked to the look-out for the Red Mask gang, they sent a sketch artist into the room. The gang member’s description of the intermediary that was used wasn’t especially helpful, but they hoped having a sketch drawn would at least point them in the right direction. While the artist was in the interrogation room, Dinan went to tell the other officers what she’d learned from the lookout.

“So, we’re looking for someone with deep pockets, who thinks Oliver Queen can talk and wants to know if Robert survived.” Agent Anderson said. “Please tell me I’m not the only thinking our main suspect is-.”

“You’re not, but before we talk to her, we need to be sure.” She said. “And we still need to talk to Oliver Queen.”

“Hall and I will stop by Applied Sciences tomorrow to talk to Ms. Smoak about scheduling some time.”

“Good, in the meantime, I want the other two gang members on lockdown until they get sent to Iron Heights. Task force members are the only officers interacting with them.” Dinan ordered.

“You think something’s gonna happen?”

“I think if Moira Queen is behind the abduction and if it had something to do with Tempest or the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit, then she might try to make sure no one’s able to tell us anything.”

The lookout was able to provide a surprisingly accurate sketch. The task force was able to identify the man based off of the sketch as Jason Fontenot. Unfortunately, Mr. Fontenot was found dead shortly after McKenna was able to identify him using the DMV database. While the SCPD were processing the scene, Agent Reeves showed up and insisted on taking over the investigation. The assigned detective, Andrew Marks, tried to argue that this was “his turf” but didn’t get very far when Reeves pointed out that the FBI outranked local police. Marks then had a very unpleasant phone conversation with Michael Adams, having to admit that he couldn’t do as Malcolm asked and botch the investigation.

 

After the others departed, and Donna decided she was going to read for a while, Oliver, Felicity, John and Lyla were the only ones left in the living room. Oliver and Felicity were both full of nervous energy but neither said why they were so amped up.

“So, other than drop off and pick up Thea, and make dinner, which was amazing, what did you do today?” Felicity asked her boyfriend.

‘Found some new recipes.’ He answered. ‘And did some research on my next target.’

“Are you sure- I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but are you sure you’re in the right headspace for that? No one, and I mean no one, would fault you if you needed to take a few days to recenter.” She said. “Your mental health is important and I don’t want you to go back out as the Hood before you’re ready.”

‘I’m ready.’ He told her. He wasn’t completely confident that he was, but he needed to take Doug Miller off of the board, for everyone’s sake, but mostly Felicity’s. ‘I wouldn’t head out if I didn’t think I could handle it.’

“Okay.” She said.

‘What were you, Digg and Lyla being so secretive about earlier?’ He asked. ‘I didn’t want to call you out in front of everyone but- I know something’s going on. Please, just tell me.’

Felicity, Lyla and John all shared a look. When it became clear that no one else was going to answer, Felicity took a deep breath. “It’s about what happened on Saturday. Or rather, who was behind it. The people who took you, they were hired to do so.”

“And today, I spent most of my time, trying to figure out exactly who hired them.” Lyla said. “We didn’t- the people who took us, who hurt you, are in custody, but we didn’t want to let the person behind it get off scot-free. I found something this afternoon.”

‘It was my mother, wasn’t it?’ He asked. He didn’t look shocked, just sad and miserable. ‘I suspected it might’ve been her. The way they- after everything we’ve learned about my mom’s activities, I can’t say I’m surprised.’

“And, not to sound like a shrink, but how do you feel about this?” Digg asked.

‘I don’t- I can’t answer that yet.’ Oliver said. ‘Do you need my help? She’s my mother, but she’s a threat. We can’t- something needs to be done, but how do we make sure Mo- Moira is held accountable without causing Thea or Walter to suffer? Or the company?’

“I don’t want you to worry about that. We’ve got it handled.” Felicity said. “And I’m not gonna take her down in one fell swoop. I’m too vindictive for that.”

‘You have no idea how dangerous she is, what she might do. If my mother was willing to pay people to-.’ He started to sign but then his hands started shaking. ‘She let-.’ He stopped again. He tried a few more times to say what he needed to say before finally, it became too much. He started to break down and cry.

Felicity was already sitting next to Oliver, so he leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder, much like he did the night they found the Gambit. He started shaking and Felicity’s could feel his tears land on her shirt. Lyla took a seat on his other side, and gently wrapped an arm around him. She wasn’t sure how to comfort Oliver, but hoped being there, him feeling her there, would help ground him and help him realize he wasn’t alone.

‘They hurt me, because of her. She paid them to hurt me.’

 

“I understand you were nearly run over by Asim.” Ra’s said when Nyssa called him to give him an updated report. “Might I inquire as to why you would order one of your own allies to nearly kill you?”

“I decided it was better to first meet the Hood as Oliver Queen. It was the most solid tactic to glean the information I needed to know about him.”

“His fight with Al Saher-.”

“Displayed his skill level and reaction time. It didn’t accurately or effectively demonstrate his character.” She said. “Just because he was a worthy opponent of Malcolm Merlyn doesn’t mean he would become our ally.”

“Why would he not? Our enemy is his enemy.” Her father asked.

 “Hence why I wished to encounter him first as a citizen before meeting him as a vigilante.” She said. Secretly, she had a feeling that Oliver’s motivations weren’t as simplistic as the League’s were. They were after Malcolm because he exposed their existence. Oliver Queen had more complex reasons than that.

 

Laurel was escorted from her cell to the prison cafeteria. She hadn’t had any visitors since Tommy dumped her, and wasn’t too upset about that. Still, no visitors meant that they days all blurred together. When people talked about how they didn’t want to go to prison, they mentioned how they’d miss their families or the loss of freedom. No one ever talked about how boring and tedious prison was. She got her food and sat down at an empty table. Like most days, the other inmates avoiding her like she had a disease.

“Hey Lance? How’s it feel to be replaced?” One of the women yelled in her direction. She didn’t respond. “Oh, you’re ignoring us now? Funny how you couldn’t do that to your ex.”

“What do you want?”

“I wanna know how it feels to be replaced. Something happened to your ex that’s worse than him meeting you.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked.

The woman smirked. “I don’t think I should tell you. It might give you ideas.”

 

The person on the List Oliver had been tracking before Applied Sciences was attacked, Nick Major, turned out to be one of the smarter names on the List. The Hood had paid him a visit once before the hostage situation. After seeing the Hood fight, and most people agreed that he beat the Dark Archer, Major spent a few days looking over his shoulder, waiting for the Hood to strike, before just turning himself in to the police.

As a side effect, there were no loose ends Oliver needed to tie up before going after Doug Miller, the assistant director of Applied Sciences. QC’s Head of Applied Sciences had been in Gotham for a conference the night of the attack, so Miller was left in charge of the department and facility on the night of the attack. Meaning he had the authority to disengage any and all of the security measures that night.

Even though he was still a little off-balance as a result of being tortured, Oliver convinced Diggle to drive him to the foundry. He suited up and went to Miller’s apartment.

Doug Miller was rummaging through his fridge, looking for a late night snack, when an arrow flew past his face. He spun around and saw the Hood standing there, aiming at him.

“Doug Miller, you have failed this city!”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 56

Summary:

Oliver makes an interesting new acquaintance, the task force learns some troubling information, Lyla discovers something significant even if she doesn't realize it, and Felicity approaches Oliver about something she hasn't had time to discuss with him yet.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Doug Miller was rummaging through his fridge, looking for a late night snack, when an arrow flew past his face. He spun around and saw the Hood standing there, aiming at him.

“Doug Miller, you have failed this city!”

“I- What do you want?” Miller asked fearfully.

“Tell me everything you know about the attack on Applied Sciences.” Thanks to some slight modifications to the program Oliver initially used to “talk” as the Hood, Digg was easily able to make his words sound like the Hood’s voice. It made it a little easier for the Hood to ask questions this way. Digg was hiding in the shadows, speaking for Oliver.

“They made me do it! The Dark Archer and Tempest.” He said. “Please- please don’t kill me.” Miller tried to ignore the feeling of wetness moving down his leg. He wasn’t the first person to soil themselves upon coming face-to-face with the Hood, but it was still embarrassing.

“You’re part of Tempest.”

“Unwillingly. They found out I- they’ve been blackmailing me.” He said. “No one was supposed to get hurt. He just told me to shut off all of the security measures around 5.”

“Thank you.” The Hood said calmly before firing another arrow in Miller’s direction. The man ducked out of the way and when he finally looked up, the Hood was gone. Miller shakily got to his feet, cleansed himself in his bathroom and vowed to call Malcolm Merlyn first thing tomorrow and tell him about the Hood’s appearance. He didn’t notice that the arrow that was still stuck in his wall was blinking.

 

Oliver signed “Thank you” to Diggle for being his voice as they made their way out of Miller’s apartment building. The rest of their plan should go off without a hitch. Digg was going to make an anonymous phone call to the SCPD to report a Hood sighting, prompting them to investigate. While investigating, the SCPD would find the recording arrow and hear Miller’s full confession.

“No need to thank me, but I’m curious about why you didn’t tell Felicity what we were doing tonight.” John said.

‘It’s not her fight. I wanted to- I needed Miller to be off of the board. It’s the only way I’ll know she’s safe.’

“Fair enough, but she might be grumpy that you did this without her.” He said. “So, are we calling it a night?”

‘You can if you want. I’m a little too riled up to stop right now.’ Oliver said. He could tell that John wanted to argue. ‘I’ll patrol a few blocks near the foundry. I doubt I’ll come across anything going on.’

Digg nodded and left to call the SCPD. Oliver decided he was going to patrol four square blocks around the foundry and if he didn’t run into any situations he needed to intervene in, he’d go home. What he told Digg, about being too restless to go home, was true, but it wasn’t the only reason he wanted to patrol. He’d taken what Roy had told him at dinner, that the Hood had made the Glades safer than it had been in years, seriously and knowing he was helping people made Oliver feel very good about himself. Very few things made Oliver feel better about himself anymore. He spotted one mugging, which he was able to stop very quickly, but the rest of his patrol was quiet. Towards the end of his circuit, he had the strange feeling that he was being watched. At one point, Oliver looked to an adjacent rooftop and saw a figure standing there. As soon as he spotted the figure, the person turned and walked off.

A few moments later, someone stepped out onto the street in front of him. Oliver could tell a few things about this person. First, the person was a woman, based on the way she moved. Second, she was well-trained, given that not many people had the ability to sneak up on him or track him down. Third, she might be connected to the Dark Archer, since the outfit she was wearing looked similar to the Archer’s. Fourth, she didn’t immediately appear to be a threat, but was clearly dangerous.

To his surprise, the woman didn’t attack him. instead, she held her arms out to show that she wasn’t holding a weapon and waited for him to act. Unsure of what to do, Oliver raised one arm and waved.

‘I hope you do not mind if I sign. A person's voice reveals more about them than most people think, and while I am not your enemy, I am reluctant to give away such valuable information to one I just met.’ The woman signed.

‘As long as you don’t mind if I sign as well.’ He responded. He supposed it made sense that being mute or deaf weren’t the only reasons one might use ASL, especially if the person was a spy, assassin or vigilante. He supposed continuing to sign would work in this context and not reveal his secret identity.

‘I mean no harm to you nor any innocent person in this city. As for my enemies, death is a kindness I am not merciful enough to grant them- save one. You know him as the Dark Archer.’ Nyssa said. ‘I have come to Starling to ask for your help.’

‘It’s been a long night for me. I’m happy to discuss this with you in the next few days. But not here.’

‘Fair enough. I will find you at a better time.’ She said before walking away and disappearing back into the shadows. He hadn’t automatically dismissed her message or tried to attack her, which she saw as a good sign. Oliver Queen was looking more and more like a valuable ally against Malcolm. In addition, based on what he’d been doing prior to stopping the robbery, it seemed that Oliver wasn’t fighting crime simply to fight crime, but for a deeper reason. If he was doing this for the hell of it, he wouldn’t have requested to discuss Malcolm at a later time.

 

Oliver changed out of his hood and drove back to Felicity’s house. He crept back inside and got into bed next to Felicity. In her sleep, she rolled over to snuggle into his side. She got settled onto his chest and murmured something to him. “Glad you’re safe. Wish you’d asked for my help.”

‘It was something I needed to do myself.’ He responded before closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.

 

The next morning, Felicity slept through her alarm. As a result, she was rushing around the house trying to get ready for work. She was in the living room, trying to put on her shoes while also drinking a cup of coffee and making sure her bag had everything she needed for the day. The TV was playing in the background, not that she was paying much attention, until her mother asked Digg to turn it up.

“-Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences assistant director Doug Miller was arrested this morning in connection with the Dark Archer’s attack on the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences building last week.” The morning anchor read. “The SCPD released a statement earlier saying they have evidence that he assisted the terrorist in gaining access to the building and helping him take the employees there hostage. No further comment was made, and while the department hasn’t confirmed or denied any information, there are rumors that the Hood tipped them off about his involvement. We’ll be giving live updates on this story as more details become available.”

Felicity immediately looked over at Oliver, who was studying the toaster, waiting for the bread to pop. She finally got her shoe on and walked over to her boyfriend. “Something you wanna tell me, Oliver?”

‘I didn’t just patrol last night. Digg and I went to confront Miller.’

“Why? I mean, I get why but I don’t understand the urgency.”

‘I needed him to be dealt with. He- as long as he wasn’t in custody, he was a threat to you, and everyone you work with. The Dark Archer wasn’t caught, he wasn’t stopped, what if- as long as Miller was at QC, he could’ve put you in danger again.’ He explained. ‘I- I need you to be safe. He didn’t know how to fight, he didn’t even try. The best “defense” he had in place was a home security system that was a joke. As soon as I knew he was connected to Tempest, I knew he needed to go, to keep you and everyone else safe.’

Felicity looked at Oliver for a few seconds before she lunged forward. She kissed him. It was a gentle, slow kiss at first. When he didn’t seem to mind, she deepened the kiss and put a little more lust behind it. They kissed until they heard John’s not-so-subtle cough from a few feet away.

They pulled apart and Felicity blushed slightly. “I gotta get to work, but I will see you later.”

As Oliver watched Felicity walk away, he found himself wishing that it was 5:00 already.

 

McKenna, Dinan and Reeves sat around a desk and listened to the recording the Hood had left behind when he visited Doug Miller’s apartment.

“Doug Miller, you have failed this city!” The familiar voice of the Hood yelled

“I- What do you want?” Miller asked fearfully.

“Tell me everything you know about the attack on Applied Sciences.”

“They made me do it! The Dark Archer and Tempest.” He said. “Please- please don’t kill me.”

“You’re part of Tempest.”

“Unwillingly. They found out I- they’ve been blackmailing me.” He said. “No one was supposed to get hurt. He just told me to shut off all of the security measures around 5.”

“Stop the tape.” Dinan said and Reeves did so. “So, we were right. The attack was at least partially an inside job.” The task force was under the impression that, given how easily the Dark Archer managed to get in and out of the building, he had to either one, work inside the facility or two, have an accomplice who worked there. Solving that mystery had taken a backseat after Oliver Queen’s abduction, but it was something a few agents were working on.

“And thanks to our friend in green, the inside man is in custody.” The FBI agent responded. “Then, there’s the matter of the Red Masks’ contact turning up dead. Which lead do we follow?”

“Both. Anderson will talk to Mr. Miller, find out if he wants to tell us about any of his Tempest friends. You should keep investigating Jason Fontenot’s death. Hall and I will go talk to Felicity Smoak and if we’re lucky, we might also get a chance to talk to a few of Miller’s coworkers. Find out what they might know about the group’s plans.” Dinan said.

Everyone agreed to the plan and the group split up. Dinan and McKenna drove to Applied Sciences and asked one of the security guards to escort them to where Felicity was. When they entered the lab, they were surprised to find Walter Steele and another man standing there as well.

“I probably won’t be able to look through his entire system today, he had access to so much, but by end of business tomorrow, I should be able to give you somewhat of an idea.” Felicity told them. “And if the authorities- oh, they’re already here. Hello, Detective Hall.”

“Hi Ms. Smoak. I hope we’re not interrupting.” McKenna said.

“Are you here regarding Doug Miller’s arrest this morning?” Walter asked. “’Because Queen Consolidated will cooperate with your investigation in any way we can.”

“Mr. Miller is part of the reason why we’re here.” Dinan said. “Could I speak with you and Mr.-.?”

“Josiah Hudson, QC’s head of security.” The other man with Walter said, introducing himself.

“Could I speak with you and Mr. Hudson outside for a moment?” Both men nodded and followed Dinan into an office next door. "Given what we now know, we need to treat anything Doug Miller touched as possibly being related to the attack and the Dark Archer. Do you know how much Miller had access to?"

"Most projects Applied Sciences has ever worked on, past and present; the details of a whole bunch of our long-term contracts; and QC's purchase of Unidac Industries back in October. Probably a lot of Unidac's projects, too, but we're still checking on that." Hudson said, sounding angry.

"Does anyone know why the Dark Archer attacked your Applied Sciences division? I doubt we can take his claim that the Hood has a partner who works there at face value."

"We already considered the idea that the whole thing was a smokescreen for some kind of industrial espionage or sabotage: but so far, we’ve found no evidence to back it up. We checked into the backgrounds of the twelve hostages: nine of them are the most qualified experts on cyber security in Starling City, so that might explain why the Dark Archer figured one of them works with the Hood - he was just starting with the best in town and working his way down. We think the other three staff were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right now, we're trying to figure out how badly the company has been compromised, how to beef up our security, and try and identify any other employees who might have a hidden agenda - the only people I can be absolutely sure of at this point are Mr. Steele, myself, and the twelve people who got taken hostage by the Dark Archer. We've already changed all of our access codes and passwords, but that's just a band-aid. We really need a complete overhaul from the ground up after a discovery like this - it's a lot worse than just some rival company trying to steal confidential information. And...well, Mr. Steele, we just don't have the budget for that. I really am sorry to put you on the spot like this."

"That's quite alright, Josiah. I was already in the process of scheduling a board meeting sometime next week to discuss the Hood Initiative; I shall simply add an increase to your department's funding to the agenda. In the meantime--" Walter pulled a check out of his pocket and handed it to Hudson. "--my stepson called me and insisted he helped fund the overhaul in the short-term until the budget increase is authorized by the board."

"Sir... this is for 10 million dollars." Hudson said in shock.

"Oliver cares a great deal about the company, and especially about the safety of our employees.” Walter said. “He insisted on providing at least some funding to help protect them out of his own pocket. Oliver also informed me that he will be voting in favor of your budget increase at the board meeting."

"Thank you, Mr. Steele. And please pass along my thanks to Mr. Queen?" Hudson said. “I should get back to the office, if you’ll both excuse me.”

"That's... extremely generous, Mr. Steele."

“That’s just who Oliver is, Agent Dinan."

"Mr. Queen is a shareholder in Queen Consolidated?" She asked Walter. “I didn’t know that.”
"He's the biggest shareholder, actually.” He clarified. “Our founder Richard Queen passed his shares down to Oliver, which is around 35% of the stock. Most are unaware due to the fact that, prior to the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit, Oliver left that aspect to his parents to handle and Robert went to great lengths, for unknown reasons, to keep Richard’s will from becoming widely circulated.”

The tidbit about Richard Queen’s will intrigued her, but it was another comment that caught her attention. Oliver Queen was the biggest shareholder in the company and his parents, more specifically his mother, had been his proxy before he went missing. It sounded insane, but Dinan was pretty sure she may have stumbled upon a motive for sinking the Queen’s Gambit.

“-would you suggest?” Walter said.

“I’m sorry? I’m afraid I missed your question.” She responded.

“I asked if there were any measures you’d suggest that we take, as a company, while the investigation into Mr. Miller’s actions is ongoing.” He said.

“I’d suggest stopping any major projects he was working directly on, or leading the team for, until you can be sure that the data or designs weren’t compromised or falsified.” She said. “I know that may not be good for business, but-.”

“Our bottom-line isn’t as important as the safety of our employees. Applied Sciences is not our only department creating and innovating. Thankfully, there were a number of projects that Doug wasn’t permitted to see or have any knowledge of.”

“He was the assistant director of the department, may I ask why he wasn’t allowed to work on certain projects?”

“There are a few staff members who are very protective of the projects they propose and insist on having more control of the process and only reporting directly to the head of the department.” He answered diplomatically. There were actually only two employees that that applied to, one of which was Felicity who had never really talked to Miller and didn’t want someone she didn’t know, and hadn’t worked with before, involved in her work.

 

While Walter, Hudson and Dinan were discussing Miller, Felicity spoke with McKenna. The detective started out by just asking how Felicity was doing and how she felt after the scare last week. Within a few minutes, the conversation turned to Oliver, as Felicity expected.

“I know he’s had a rough few days, and I understand if he needs more time, but I thought I should at least follow up about speaking with him.” McKenna said.

“I thought that might be why you two came here.” Felicity said. “Are you going to ask him about what happened during his abduction or about the Gambit, like you wanted to when you showed up to my house?”

“Both, if possible.”

“I’m not a psychologist, but if you ask him about what happened when those….monsters abducted and tortured him, he’s gonna shut down completely. He might be ready to talk to you about the Gambit though.” She said. “I mean, I’ll ask, if you’ll agree not to question him about the abduction. You have Lyla and Tommy’s statements already, and as much as I want to help, I don’t want to make him talk before he’s ready.”

“I’ll discuss it with the others, but that seems reasonable.” McKenna told her. “Here’s my card. After you speak with Oliver, even if he says he’s not ready, please give me a call.”

Felicity took the card and told the cop that she’d let her know what Oliver said.

 

During Felicity’s lunch break, which consisted of her eating another delicious wrap made by Oliver, she got a call from Lyla. Today, they were beginning their slow plan to ruin Moira’s image for all of the horrible things she’d done to Oliver. Felicity’s programs had finished digging through most of Moira’s online activity and now, the ARGUS agent wanted to discuss a few of the things it had found.

“I thought we agreed that today, we’d be leaking that clip of her talking about the Starling City Children’s Society.” Felicity said when Lyla mentioned how much data the program had discovered.

The clip in question was a soundbite Moira had paid nearly a quarter million dollars to suppress. It consisted of her saying she didn’t care one iota about the charity, only that she was seen being philanthropic. She stated the funds raised at the event rarely actually went to the cause and more or less blamed the kids’ parents for living close to the poverty line. It wouldn’t completely destroyed her image, but it wasn’t a good look and it was a good start for Felicity’s master plan.

“We are, but a few of the things your program found stood out to me.” Lyla said. “Mostly because of the timing.” There were two transactions in particular, happening a few months before the Gambit sank, that caught Lyla’s eye. She wanted to explore this instance, and the person who was paid, further.

“In what way?”

“The person she paid? She paid her more than once in a very short period of time.” Lyla said. “I think its worth at least looking into.”

“I agree. Let’s talk about it later.”

 

When Felicity got home from work, her mother, Digg, Lyla, Oliver and Thea were already there waiting. She suspected that if Tommy wasn’t on his way, he probably stopped by during the day to see his friends. Everyone talked about their day for a while before Oliver asked her what was wrong.

‘You seem….off. I can’t really explain it.’ He said.

“Your old friend McKenna came to see me. She- I didn’t get a chance to tell you, because you were abducted but the task force that’s investigating the Queen’s Gambit, they stopped by on Saturday. They want to talk to you about that day.” She blurted out. The only way to tell him was to just say it outright and not try to sugarcoat it. “I said I’d talk to you, see if you’re willing to talk to them.”

‘I- I don’t know if I am.’ He admitted. He looked over to Thea, who was showing Donna something on her phone. ‘But I think- I need to try. Can you ask if Tommy and Thea can be here when I talk to them? I haven’t told them a lot, and I don’t want them to find out from someone else.’

“I’ll ask.” She said. “After dinner, I’ll call McKenna, okay?”

Dinner was quiet after that. Oliver was a little on the broody side, thinking about how to answer the task force’s questions without revealing too much information. Once dinner was cleaned up, Felicity called McKenna and told her Oliver was ready to talk, about the Gambit and only the Gambit, when the agents were. Since Felicity worked from home every Thursday, it was decided that the interview would take place on Thursday. Oliver and Felicity had two days to get ready for the emotional rollercoaster the questions would entail.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Due to Thanksgiving/personal stuff, there probably won't be an update next week.

Chapter 57

Summary:

Team Arrow discusses logistics, Walter comes to a realization and the taskforce makes a troubling discovery.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Oliver and Felicity scheduled a time for McKenna and the taskforce to stop by and ask him about the Gambit, everyone moved into the living room. While they were walking, Oliver pulled Thea aside. He told her he was going to tell the taskforce about the night the Gambit sank soon. He asked if she could be there, since there were a few things he hadn’t told her about that night and he didn’t want her to learn it from someone else.

‘I didn’t mean to keep it a secret but-.’ He started to tell her. He hated lying to his sister.

“Ollie, you aren’t- those memories are traumatizing. I can’t blame you for not wanting to relive that.” She said. “I don’t- you know I won’t be angry, right? Not matter what it is you want me to know, I won’t get angry at you.”

He wasn’t so sure about that, but dropped the subject. Everyone talked in the living room for a little bit before people decided to depart. Thea didn’t want to tempt fate and risk Moira noticing how little she was home, so she drove back to the mansion after dinner. Donna mentioned wanting to explore the city’s night life and tonight being as good  a night as any to do it. This left Oliver, Felicity, Digg and Lyla in the house.

“Can I ask a question that’s been bugging me all day?” Felicity asked out of the blue. The three others nodded. “I know the SCPD arrested Doug Miller because they got a very in depth confession from him. How exactly did you-? Because you couldn’t know what he’d say or what you needed to ask, I know you can’t type fast enough to ask the right questions in the moment, and you couldn’t just pause to type them so- I’m just wondering how that worked, logistically.”

‘Digg helped me out.’ Oliver signed at the same time that Digg answered.

“I did the questioning; he did the intimidating.” He said. “The great thing about voice modulation is that it really could be anyone talking. It helped that Miller wasn’t terribly observant, especially after the first arrow went flying past his face.”

“So, you two did what?” Lyla asked. “Oliver confronted him while you stood out of sight and asked questions?”

“Pretty much. We might wanna look into alternatives, though. In case the Hood needs to question someone again and I can’t stay hidden.”

“That’s a problem for another day.” Felicity said.

‘Have you started your revenge against my mom?’ Oliver asked her. His facial expression didn’t give anything away, so she wasn’t sure how he was feeling. ‘For what she did?’

“Yeah, but we’re starting small. You know what I realized about your mom? Image is what matters to her most, so that’s the first thing we’re going after.” She said. “Plus, if we leak small things over the next two weeks, it won’t harm someone I actually care about. I want your mom to pay, but I don’t want it to cause Thea problems. Once she’s 18, I’m gonna take things to a more serious level.”

‘Thank you, for trying to protect Thea.’ He said before taking a deep breath. ‘Something happened during patrol last night. After Digg left. I ran into someone, a masked woman. I don’t know who she is, but she seems to be on our side.’ He didn’t like keeping secrets. Secrets had a tendency to get other people hurt, or worse, killed. So, he knew he needed to tell his friends about meeting Nyssa and what she said to him about the Dark Archer.

“What makes you say that?” John asked.

 

Nyssa looked at her disposable phone and took a deep breath before answering it. “Hello?”

“Is there a reason you’ve been screening my calls?” Sara asked her. “Did I do something?”

“No, beloved, you did nothing wrong. It’s just- this assignment isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.” She said. It wasn’t that Nyssa was struggling to complete her mission, it was that the reality of meeting Oliver Queen and learning about his life was harder than she expected it to be. How could a person have gone through so much pain and still be an honorable man? “Fortunately, I may have discovered an ally.”

“Really? Who?” Sara had only been told that Nyssa was in Starling City to on her father’s orders to defeat the Dark Archer. Ra’s purposefully made sure that only himself, Nyssa and the one assassin with her knew the full extent of her mission. She wasn’t sure if Sara even knew the Hood existed or Oliver was alive. She didn’t want to tell Sara either tidbit over the phone.

“A man who has as much reason to want the Dark Archer defeated as my father does.”

“Have you- how’s my family?” She asked.

“Your father seems to be doing well. I haven’t had an opportunity to spy on your sister.” She answered honestly. She had no reason to believe Detective Lance was unwell and she hadn’t had time to see Laurel.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s swamped with work and everything. Just- focus on your mission, but if you do get a chance to check in on her, please let me know how she’s doing.” Sara said. “I need to go. It’s time for training.”

 

 As soon as the McKenna and Dinan came back from Applied Sciences, they got back to work. McKenna decided to help some of the Coast Guard and FBI agents go through the information Queen Consolidated handed over from Doug Miller’s computer. Dinan, meanwhile, entered the office, sat down at her computer and told everyone to leave her alone unless it was an emergency. The FBI portion of the taskforce spared her a look before going back to what they were doing. One of the agents from the Coast Guard spoke up.

“I haven’t seen “Serious Dinan Face” in years.” Agent Andrew Doyle said. He’d been working with Dinan for about five years and knew her well enough to know her demand to not be interrupted wasn’t coming out of nowhere. “You have a lead, don’t you?”

“I have a theory, and for once, I really hope I’m wrong.” She said.

 

“Well, I supposed it could be worse.” Felicity said after Oliver finished telling her, Lyla and John about meeting Nyssa. “Like you said, she seems to want the Dark Archer gone as much as we do.”

‘She wants to kill him.’ Oliver had killed before, yes, but he was adamant about not doing it again. In Russia, he’d learned from Lyla that killing wasn’t the only way to get things done. After Russia, the only people he killed were the men on the island who tortured him. Even then, he only killed them because he knew if they found him again, they’d continue to torture him and then kill him.

“Unfortunately, it may come to that.” Lyla said. “I know you avoid killing as much as possible. I’d like to think that our adventures in Russia played a hand in that. However, if it comes down to it, if that’s the only way to stop the Dark Archer, we may need to kill him.”

‘I don’t wanna be the person I was when she found me.’ He admitted.

“You won’t be.” She told him.

“Stopping the Archer is only one part of the problem.” Felicity piped up, “He’s been quiet lately, probably recovering from the ass-kicking he got at Oliver’s hands. Tempest, though, they need to be dealt with, and we don’t even know what the Undertaking is or what they’re up to. The Gambit taskforce is looking into the group, but I think we should dig as well.”

‘There’s something I wanna take care of before we dig a little deeper into Tempest.’ He said. ‘Miller said Tempest was blackmailing him, do you know what they were holding over him?’

“Not yet, but I’m on it.” She said. “Let me guess, while I look, you and Digg are gonna go chase down some leads?”

‘Something like that.’ Based on his research, there were five Queen Consolidated employees who were on the List. Miller was in jail, so that meant there were four more people he needed to confront before Queen Consolidated was free of Tempest’s influence.

Oliver decided the first person he’d confront was Ben Hawthorne, from QC’s legal department. The man sputtered and begged Oliver not to hurt him when he saw the Hood standing in his office. Oliver didn’t respond other than to fire an arrow into the wall behind him. Attached to the shaft was a typed note which read “Turn yourself in, admit to everything or our next conversation will be a lot less pleasant.” The note was signed “The Arrow”. Oliver was tired of being called “The Hood” and decided he liked “The Arrow” better. He wanted to be called that from now on.

He returned to Felicity’s house to find her still researching Doug Miller. About half an hour after he got home, she found out Miller was being blackmailed for embezzling. On the 11 o’clock news, Ben Hawthorne turning himself in was a big story, along with the revelation that the Starling City vigilante was calling himself “The Arrow”.

 

McKenna was usually the first person on the taskforce to make it into the precinct in the morning. She was surprised to enter the bullpen and find Dinan was already there. Closer inspection made McKenna realize that the agent hadn’t left last night. More agents arrived before she could comment.

“You pull an all-nighter?” Reeves asked Dinan when he spotted her.

“Yeah, and this shit just keeps getting worse and worse.”

“How bad?”

“I can’t even quantify it.” She said. “I’ve been looking over satellite imagery of Lian Yu from before and during the time Oliver Queen was on the island.” She pulled up one of the images she’d found on screen. “This was taken October 13, 2007. The Gambit sank on or around September 27th, so about two weeks later. You see this bright orange spot?” Lian Yu was a temperate climate and based on what the US government knew, it was covered in trees. Therefore, the bright orange shape on the image stood out and wasn’t naturally occurring.

Reeves tiled his head slightly and squinted. “That looks kinda like-.”

“A life raft? That’s because it is. The Queen’s Gambit had orange lift rafts. So, we know how he got to the island, but here’s the problem,” she pulled up a map of the North China Sea, “These are the Dragon Teeth islands, which Lian Yu is part of.” She gestured to another part of the map, “this is the area where the Gambit was believed to have sunk. It’s a hundred miles away from that island. No one could’ve swam that far, even in perfect weather, which according to weather reports, wasn’t the case that night. I thought he had grabbed onto a piece of debris maybe? Some furniture that was knocked loose when the yacht cap-sized? He had to have been holding onto something to survive long enough to reach Lian Yu. The raft is the best explanation.”

“Okay. I get the feeling this isn’t all you found.” Anderson said.

“It’s not. Look at where on the beach its stationed.” She pulled up the overhead image again. “It’s above the tideline. He pulled it up there to keep it from getting washed out back to sea. And it stayed there, for three years. I don’t know where it went or why, but in fall of 2010, it disappears from the shore.” She took a deep breath. “For that raft to stay in the same spot for so long without getting blown away by the wind or a storm or just high tide, it would’ve had to be weighed down.”

“He was using it to signal for help.” Reeves said. “Smart. He had to know that he might be there for a while, he might need to leave to find food, drinkable water. Waiting for a passing plane would be too much of a gamble, but having the raft, which is designed to stick out, out in the open would signal that someone was on the island.”

“The fact that he signaled for help is the good news, not the bad news.”

“How much bad news is there?” Anderson asked.

“A lot. By my count, there are at least three pieces of bad news.” Dinan answered as she zoomed in on a ridge on Lian Yu. “Look at this. it’s a regular shape, not natural.”

“Is that- it looks like a pile pf rocks, but they don’t match the terrain. A back-up signal?” Reeves said.

“It’s not high enough to be seen from the air or a passing ship.” Dinan said.

“It’s a grave.” McKenna said. “Someone else on the Queen’s Gambit made it to the island and then died.”

“Possibly. Or even worse, someone from the Gambit made it to the life raft and died.” She said.

“You think he spent days, maybe longer, floating in the middle of the ocean, starving and dehydrated, with a dead body next to him for company?”

“Maybe. It could’ve been someone he knew, even his father. Unless we exhume the body, we can’t know for sure. The person could’ve died from anything: shock, an injury from the accident, starvation, a heart attack.” She said. “And it gets worse.” She pulled up another image. This one showed three more graves. “One showed up in May 2008, another November 2008 and the last March 2009. Four graves in total. I don’t know if they were on the island before Oliver or after, but they died, and he buried them.” She sighed. “There’s some weird activity starting in September of 2008 that I haven’t had a chance to look into yet, but I’m working on it. All I know is that when Oliver was found, there was a wrecked cargo ship offshore and it wasn’t there when he arrived.”

“You think a ship went to Lian Yu, found Oliver, and whoever else, on the island and didn’t call it in? They must’ve been doing something very illegal.”

“That’s not even the worst part.” Dinan said.

“Let’s hear what the worst part is.” Reeves said.

Dinan nodded once and pulled up a schematic. “This is the search grid the Coast Guard used to search for survivors for the Gambit. On November 15th, we started searching the Dragon Teeth Islands. Nine days later, on the 24th, the search for survivors was called off.” She stopped for a few moments, needing to collect herself before she could continue. “A search aircraft was scheduled to fly over Lian Yu the morning of November 25th.”

“Fuck.” Anderson said. “You would’ve spotted the life raft.”

“Definitely. The spotters in the back would’ve seen the raft, and then the graves. They would’ve realized someone had to be alive to dig them and called it in. Getting a search party wouldn’t have taken more than twelve hours. Oliver Queen could’ve been home as early as the 27th.” She said. “We were this fucking close. We nearly had him!”

“That’s not even two months after the storm that sank the yacht. Don’t searches normally last longer?” Reeves asked.

“It varies depending on the situation, but we knew the Gambit had survival equipment. It sank close enough to the Dragon’s Teeth Islands to justify searching them for survivors. We should’ve searched for another month, maybe two.” Dinan answered. “And we would’ve, if Moira Queen didn’t hold a press conference accusing the Coast Guard of using the search to garner publicity. She complained to the right people, brass got antsy and caved on continuing the search.”

“And we know the warehouse holding the Gambit’s debris was purchased before the search was called off. By Moira.”

“Time for the last piece of bad news.” Dinan said. “Did you know that, at the time of the Gambit’s accident, 45% of Queen Consolidated’s stock was owned between Robert and Oliver Queen? Guess who inherited that stock when they were reported dead?”

“Moira.”

“Well, Moira and Thea. Oliver owns 35% of the stock, but when he was declared dead, his share was inherited by Thea, who was 12 at the time so Moira was her de facto proxy.”

“There’s something that’s been bugging me.” McKenna said. “Don’t rafts and life preservers all have GPS equipment these days? Shouldn’t you have been able to locate the raft using that?”

“Yes, we should’ve. Both the raft and the life preservers had transponders. No signals were received from any of the yacht’s gear, which combined with everything else makes me think all of the survival equipment was sabotaged.” Dinan said.

“So, if I’m hearing what you said correctly, the Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged, as were all of the survival equipment. The search for survivors was called off the day before Oliver would’ve been found. The person who demanded the search end had something to gain from Oliver not being found and she possibly found the wreckage before calling off the search.”

“Yeah. Good news is that that’s the end of the bad news for now.” She said.

“We’re supposed to interview Oliver Queen in two days. What do we- are we going to bring this up or should we not?” Anderson asked.

“Let’s see what he tells us first. He may not want to talk about the graves or whatever else happened to him there.” She answered. “And I definitely think we should leave out the bit about us almost finding him. Until we finish our investigation at least.”

 

That morning, Walter woke up at his normal time and prepared for the day. He went into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast and found Thea sitting at the counter, going over something.

“School doesn’t start for another few hours.” He said.

“I know, but I have a test today and I wanted to get some last minute studying in.” She said. “This isn’t for school though, its for Ollie.”

“For Oliver?” He asked.

“Last night, he- he’s gonna talk to the people investigating the Gambit soon. He asked- he said there were some things about that night that he’d never told anyone.” She said. “He wants me to be there, so that at least I can hear it from him. And that got me thinking that maybe I can help the investigators? I was 12, but I can tell them what I remember during that time, and a little bit after. I don’t- I don’t know if what I can tell them is helpful but, I mean, it can’t hurt to offer, right?”

“I’m sure the investigators will appreciate whatever information you have to share.” He told her.

“Is there anyway you can write me a note to get me out of school on Thursday? I wanna be there for Ollie and I don’t know what time-.”

“I’d be happy to. I’ll tell them you have a family commitment, provided you make up the work.” He told her. “What subject is your test today in?”

“History. I’m pretty sure I’ve got it down, but I just wanna go over a few things.” She said. “Especially since I’m doing so much better in school.”

“I always knew you could be an excellent student if you applied yourself.” It was no secret that Thea was very smart, but for years, she just hadn’t cared enough to try. She wasn’t the only member of the Queen family with that problem. “I hope I’m not being too embarrassing when I tell you that I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“Thanks Walter.” She said with a smile. The smile dropped off her face and she gathered her books when she saw Moira walk into the room.

“I see she’s still giving me the silent treatment.” Moira said. Then, her phone began to ring. She was in full damage control mode after the recording leaked last night and was trying to salvage her image. Walter ate his oatmeal while she argued with the person on the phone and was finishing up when she finally hung up. “How much longer can she hold a grudge?”

“You think she’s holding a grudge.”

“Of course she is. I didn’t coddle Oliver enough after his five-year vacation ended and he left to spite me and she was looking for another excuse to be a moody teenager.” She said. 

Walter was usually a very eloquent man, but when he heard Moira describe Oliver’s time on Lian Yu as a vacation, knowing only what Diggle had told him, he was speechless. If she truly believe Oliver’s experience was anything close to a vacation, or that Thea is avoiding her solely because she’s being a teenager, then she was even more callous and cold than he thought. He was beginning to wonder why he had fallen in love with her. “I need to get to the office.”  He left the kitchen before she could respond.

 

That day was a pretty quiet day for everyone. Thea aced her test. Felicity continued to look into Doug Miller’s projects at Applied Sciences. He seemed to have extra interest in the projects Unidac Industries, QC’s newest acquisition, was working on. She informed Walter and Josiah Hudson of this, who in turn informed the authorities. Oliver spent the day in the foundry with Digg and Lyla, training. Partially it was because he had gotten into a routine and didn’t want to mess it up, but mostly he was nervous about talking to McKenna and the federal agents the next day and wanted to burn the excess energy off. John and Lyla were more than willing to help him with that. Roy joined Oliver, Thea, Felicity, Donna, Tommy, John and Lyla for dinner at Felicity’s house that night, which consisted of enchiladas. After dinner, Oliver suited up to confront the next QC employee who was on the List. He returned to the house and found everyone was still awake. Lyla was having a heated phone conversation with someone.

“-well, then I guess this is the last time you’ll hear from me.” She said before hanging up.

“What did you just do?” Felicity asked. The other woman hadn’t been very verbal, so it was hard to tell what they’d been arguing about or even who was on the other end of the phone.

“Something I should’ve done years ago.” She answered.

 

Thursday morning came quicker than anyone would’ve liked. Felicity and Oliver were both up at dawn. John and Lyla arrived around seven and Tommy and Thea arrived a little before nine. Felicity tried to get some work done, and Thea and Tommy tried to spend some quality time with Oliver, but everyone was too nervous about the conversation they knew was coming.

Around 10:30, there was a knock at the door and John answered it. McKenna, Agent Dinan, Agent Doyle and Agent Reeves walked into the living room. Reading the room, the investigators knew any small talk or exchange of pleasantries wouldn’t go over very well.

“I suppose we should just get right to it then.” Dinan said.

Reeves asked if he could speak with Digg in the kitchen, while Doyle asked to speak with Lyla in one of the guest bedrooms. This left Dinan and McKenna to interview Oliver. The taskforce discussed it and felt that Reeves or Doyle might put Oliver too on edge for him to answer questions.

“Before we begin, are you two sure you wanna be in here?” McKenna asked, looking at Tommy and Thea. “Some parts may be hard to hear.”

“We’re sure.” They said in unison.

“Okay. We can start whenever you’re ready, Mr. Queen.” Dinan said.

‘Call me Oliver.’ He said. ‘Mr. Queen is- please call me Oliver.’ Felicity interpreted for him.

“Oliver. Whenever you’re ready, please tell us about the day the Gambit left Starling’s marina.” She said. The Gambit sank two days after setting sail. The taskforce hoped asking about the day he left wouldn’t be too hard of a place to start.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I know I ended it right at "the good part" but I wanted to devote an entire chapter to the next part and not split things up.

Chapter 58

Summary:

Oliver tells a very abbreviated version of his story, which is even worse than anyone imagined.

Notes:

A huge thank you to RoyArtHan for inspiring/helping me figure out the wording for a lot of parts of this chapter. I'd probably still be stuck on certain parts if not for her.

As a side note, this chapter is very, very long. Consider it an early Christmas/Hanukkah/other Winter holiday gift from me to you.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Okay. We can start whenever you’re ready, Mr. Queen.” Dinan said.

‘Call me Oliver.’ He said. ‘Mr. Queen is- please call me Oliver.’ Felicity interpreted for him.

“Oliver. Whenever you’re ready, please tell us about the day the Gambit left Starling’s marina.” She said. The Gambit sank two days after setting sail. The taskforce hoped asking about the day he left wouldn’t be too hard of a place to start.

Oliver took a deep breath. He knew this conversation wasn’t going to be easy. There was so much he needed to say, but so little he wanted to share. Sensing his hesitation and anxiety, Felicity reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. She wanted to say something, tell him it was going to be okay, remind him he was loved and nothing would change that. Those words wouldn’t help, so she said something she knew would make him feel a little better.

“The events you’re gonna talk about, they’re in the past. You survived them. Remember that, okay? You survived what happened.”

‘Okay.’ He signed with one hand before he looked over to the two investigators. He was about to start telling the story when the door burst open.

“That took way too long!” Donna exclaimed, with shopping bags in her hands. “You’d think people had better things to do at 10am on a Thursday than go get some bagels.” She stopped, seeing everyone gathered around Oliver. “Is Oliver being interviewed now? Did I miss the beginning?”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” McKenna asked.

“Donna Smoak, Felicity’s mother. I went out to get some food, because food might make things a little better but there was this huge line and-.”

“I’m sure Oliver appreciates the food, but it may be better if he-.” She started to say. She wasn’t sure Oliver wanted Felicity’s mother to hear what he was going to tell them.

“The only way I’m leaving is if you arrest me or Oliver asks me to leave.” Donna said. “If he wants me to leave, I will, but if he doesn’t, I want to be here to support him.” She didn’t mention it, but she also suspected Felicity might need to take a break if Oliver’s experiences were half as bad as she feared. If her daughter needed to “get some air”, Donna was willing to interpret for Oliver. “Oliver, would you like me to go?”

‘It doesn’t-.’ He wanted to say it didn’t matter to him, but deep down, he knew it did. ‘You can stay, but promise me something. And this goes for everyone. If it becomes too much, if you need to leave because its too hard to hear, then go. Don’t stay because of me.’

Everyone nodded or murmured along in agreement.

“Okay, Oliver, tell me about the day you set sail, if you don’t mind.” Dinan said.

‘I was- I didn’t want to go at first. It was a work trip with my dad, where I thought he’d spend the entire voyage lecturing me about my life choices. But I also….Laurel was talking about getting more serious and I- I went to get away from her, just for a little bit.’ He said. ‘Dad seemed….. He was distracted. I thought he was worried about work, the meeting he was attending in China. I don’t- nothing seemed odd or out of place. We cast off. Last thing I saw was my mother waving at us from the docks. The first day at sea was fine. I spent most of it locked in my cabin with Sara, but that night-.’ He paused. ‘We were approaching a storm. Sara and I could hear the thunder. I asked Dad if it was something to worry about, but he said no. I went back to my room, trusting his assessment. Sara and I were talking and then- then, the whole room started to tilt and was filling with water. Sara, she-  she tried to reach for my hand but got sucked out into the water. I tried- if I’d been a little closer I could’ve- her hand slipped through my fingers. I was pulled under a few moments later.’ He stopped and rubbed his hands back and forth across his legs, trying to somehow soothe himself. He looked up again, but this time focused on a spot on the wall, not looking at anyone. ‘When I surfaced, I tried to find her. I kept screaming her name. I thought, if I made it, maybe she did to. I was still yelling when Dad pulled me into the life raft.’

Everyone’s jaws dropped, except the two agents’. They were barely able to internalize their shock though. Until now, Robert Queen surviving the “accident” was only a theory to the taskforce and a pipe dream of Thea’s. The teenager looked ready to speak up, but Felicity gave a tiny shake of her head, indicating that she should wait.

‘The bit after he pulled me onto the raft is a little fuzzy. I remember my dad, he- he started messing with something on the raft. I didn’t know what he was doing. He must’ve realized I was lost because he told- he said he was trying to activate the GPS signal on the raft and the life vests. I watched him try to switch the one on his vest on, so I started to copy him. It was the middle of the night, and I was so cold, I- it probably took me seven tries before I was able to pull the cord and flip the switch the right way. But the beacons, they didn’t switch on. Dad started pulling out the spare vests from the locker, maybe the ones we had were duds or the batteries were dead, I thought. They wouldn’t activate, none of them. They were waterproof, they were supposed to work even in the worst conditions. They should’ve worked! I didn’t- back then, it was so cold and I felt so lost that I- I didn’t realize what was going on. Dad figured it out. I think he knew they had to be- someone sabotaged them. I didn’t really make the connection until- until the Gambit was found. I’d blocked out so much of those days, but when I saw the news I started remembering and-.’ Oliver started tearing up. ‘I tried to hard to forget and- I hope I’m wrong, I wanna be wrong. I don’t-.’

“We can take a break if you want.” Dinan told him. “You don’t have to tell us everything today.”

“She’s right. If you need to take a break, we can.” Felicity said gently.

‘I don’t think I can handle doing this again. I need to- you need to know what happened and I can’t- I want to get this over with.’ He said. ‘When I started remembering, I remembered Dad’s face when the GPS wasn’t working and I- The Gambit was sabotaged, wasn’t she? Please tell me I’m not crazy. Someone- someone did this to us, to me. It wasn’t an accident, was it?’

“We can’t say for certain, not until we finish our investigation, but it’s possible.” Dinan said.

“Someone did this to him?” Tommy asked.

 

Digg sat down at Felicity’s kitchen table while Agent Reeves took a seat directly opposite him. Reeves was a no-frills, no-nonsense type of guy and based on what he knew about John Diggle, he was the same. The agent decided to just dive into the point. “Oliver was abducted on your day off. Prior to the kidnapping, who would’ve known that it was your day off?”

“Oliver and Felicity, obviously. Lyla because we had plans for later that day. Donna and Tommy knew because either Oliver, Felicity or I mentioned it in passing. I can’t say for sure that Thea knew, but its possible she did. I just can’t be completely sure.” He answered. “Oh, and Oliver’s mother, of course.”

“Moira Queen knew when your day off was?” Reeves asked, and received a nod of affirmation. “Can I ask why you said “of course” in regards to her?”

“I was on her payroll back then. She knew whenever I was off-the-clock. She fired me after Oliver was found, for not being there. The next day, Oliver found out and hired me himself.” John shrugged. “Oliver’s the first client I’ve had that I’ve actually liked and, I’ll admit, he impressed me, so I took the job.”

Since it hadn’t seemed relevant at the time, the taskforce didn’t look into who hired Digg to protect Oliver. His record in the military spoke for itself and his transition from the Army to working private security wasn’t unusual. “When Mrs. Queen hired you, did she mention any specific threats or worries she had about Oliver’s safety?”

John let out a quiet scoff and shook his head. “Nothing like that. When she interviewed me, she was very clear in what she wanted. She mostly wanted me to stick close to Oliver and report back to her on what he did, where he went, who he saw, et cetera. I’ve had a client ask that before, for me to spy on their kid, or their spouse for them, and I usually say no. I’m a bodyguard, not a babysitter.”

“But Oliver was different, you agreed. May I ask why?”

“I did some research on Lian Yu and Oliver before I met with Moira. I didn’t know exactly what he’d gone through, but just based on the climate of those islands and how ill-prepared some trust fund kid would be on his own, I knew it wouldn’t have been easy. I’ll tell you what I found out on the Internet alone.”

 

Agent Doyle had been briefed, along with the other agents, on Oliver’s conditions about answering their questions. He couldn’t blame him for not wanting to talk about the kidnapping by the Red Mask Gang when it was still so fresh in his mind. The agreement did put Doyle in an interesting position. Lyla was an eyewitness to the kidnapping, and unlike Tommy Merlyn hadn’t been moved to a separate room after an hour, and as a federal agent, she was trained to notice things others often didn’t. This meant that Lyla was the best source of information about the kidnapping and the events that followed.

“I have to ask, you know how protocol is, but is Oliver Queen a person of interest to ARGUS?” He supposed it was possible that Lyla knew Oliver through John or Felicity, but it was more likely that she was captured with him for a professional reason.

“As of last night and according to Amanda Waller, the director of ARGUS? No. In fact, she made it clear how “irrelevant” he was to ARGUS.”

“May I ask why you were discussing him with Director Waller?”

“I called in a favor. I wanted to find out if someone pinged Oliver’s phone, in case that was how they knew where to find him. I got my answer, which was no, but Waller found out.”

“And she wasn’t happy?”

Lyla scowled. “Amanda Waller is never happy. About anything. On a good day, she’s an ice cold sociopath who doesn’t make decisions based on the value of people’s lives. On a bad day, she’s worse. Yesterday was a bad day, so she didn’t understand why Oliver still being alive wasn’t enough for me.”

"Can I ask how and when you originally came to meet Oliver? You two clearly have some kind of history and I think it started before he was found alive"

"We do. And I'm sorry, but the answer to your question is classified."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm really sorry, and I honestly wish I could give you the full answer, I want to give you the full answer. Unfortunately, the only answer I'm legally allowed to give you is that the circumstances under which I first met Oliver are classified under SCI access."

"I understand."

"If you want to find out more recent information about whether or not Oliver is a person of interest to ARGUS, you'll have to find someone who still works for them."

"You're no longer an ARGUS agent, then?"

"No. Waller and I got into it last night, and I ended up telling her I was resigning with immediate effect. Oliver was in the room, he heard my side of the conversation, and he offered me a job as Felicity's bodyguard right after I terminated the call. It'll make a nice change to have a boss who I trust and is a damn good friend: and even better, someone who won't treat me like disposable garbage."

"It sounds like there's quite a story behind that."

"There is. Oliver saved my life after Waller wrote me off as an acceptable cost of doing business - and it cost him, you have no idea how bad the consequences were for Oliver, what he sacrificed because of me."

Doyle wrote down that Lyla possibly had been on Lian Yu at the same time as Oliver. Once the agents returned to their offices, he’d inform the others. Changing gears, he asked Lyla about the manner of their abduction.

 

‘I was so tired, and cold and hungry.’ Oliver told the two agents. He was getting to the part of his story where things would become harder and harder to tell. ‘It was just Dad and I. We- we were drifting for days, the supplies were running low and- I didn’t see the gun, not until he- he told me to survive and then he- he pulled the trigger.’ Tommy and Thea both gasped. Thea also began silently crying. Donna covered her mouth at the revelation. Even the agents were surprised by the turn of events. When they learned Robert had made it to the life raft, they thought he might’ve died from an injury or shock, not suicide. ‘I- I don’t know how many days the raft drifted after that, but when I reached the island I thought I’d died. As soon as I landed, I dragged the raft up onto the beach, above the tideline and weighed it down. I thought maybe someone would see it and send help. Or I could do what Tom Hanks did in Castaway and somehow put it out to sea. Now, it seems like a stupid plan, but then- I never thought something like that would happen to me.’ He explained. ‘I also- I needed to bury my dad. His body was- birds were trying to- I couldn’t let them have him. I had to chase them away, to keep his body- I found a blanket in the supplies and I covered him with it. I tried to dig him a grave, I had to use my bare hands and the ground, it was so cold and hard, and without any tools- instead I started building this pile of rocks. I build a platform-type thing, to protect him from the elements and any animals that- I had to protect his body. I kept having to chase the birds away while I worked. When the bottom was high enough, I put him on the base. I- I don’t know what made me do it, but before I covered him up, I went through his pockets. In case he had a letter or something- something that Thea or- or Mom would want. Something I could bring home.’

“Did you find anything?” McKenna asked gently.

Oliver nodded, wiped a few tears away and pulled something out of his pocket. ‘This is what I found.’ He held it out so the others could see it, but didn’t let go of it. It was a small picture of Oliver and Thea. He was a teenager and she looked to be around seven or eight. The photo was torn at the edges and faded. He then looked at his sister. ‘Do you- when I first came back, do you remember what I said to you, Speedy? How you were with me the whole time?’

“Y- yeah, you- I thought- I assumed that meant you thought about me a lot. I didn’t- I had no idea-.”

‘I did. I really- this photo was my lifeline, my hope. I wanted to see you again. I felt like I’d missed you so much when I went to school and- I never wanted to leave you. But I- when I found this, I didn’t- I was scared I’d never see you again. I-.’

“Ollie, you- can I hug you?” She asked him. He nodded and held his arms open. She practically dove into his arms and hugged him as hard as she could. It was quiet for several moments as the Queen siblings hugged and comforted one another. Thea had never verbalized it, but she was scared of never seeing Oliver again when he went missing. She had spent so much time drinking and doing drugs because the thought of never seeing her brother again, never knowing what happened to him, was too much to handle at times.

Oliver and Thea broke apart after a few minutes and, while she didn’t move away from him, he returned to telling the story. ‘I kept this picture with me. Everytime it was- when someone took it away from me, I always made sure I got it back. I needed it. I couldn’t- I almost lost it so many times and if I didn’t know where it was, I- I missed you so much it hurt and I- I convinced myself that as long as I had the picture, I could get home. It was my- when things got bad, and then worse, this picture, my memories of you and Tommy, are what kept me going.’ He took a deep breath. He knew he needed to get back on track. ‘I spent all day making the grave. It was dawn when I started trying to dig and I put the last rock on the grave right as the sun set. It wasn’t for another- I don’t know how long it was. Nothing ever really changed on Lian Yu, or so it seemed, but it was at least six months before I went to that spit again. it seemed okay, undisturbed. I carved his name on a piece of wood and put it on top. That was the same day we buried Yao Fei.’

“Who was Yao Fei, Oliver?” Dinan asked.

‘He was the first person I met on the island.’ It didn’t escape her notice that Oliver said “first person” not “only person”. She nodded, encouraging him to continue. ‘He’d watched me bury Dad, but I didn’t know it. He was being careful. His English wasn’t great and I didn’t even know what language he was speaking. It wasn’t until after I met Slade that I found out it was Mandarin. I didn’t know why he was on the island, all I knew was that he was around Dad’s age and it looked like he’d been stuck there for a while. His clothes were ripped, his hair was crazy and wild. He watched me bury my dad and decided I was harmless, or pathetic. Either way, he guessed I wasn’t a threat to him, so he took me back to his cave. He told me- he said the island was dangerous. I thought he meant because it was an island, the wilderness and we could get hurt or starve or freeze to death.’ He paused again. ‘I was wrong. Very wrong. After a few weeks, we were checking the traps and snares we used to catch food. He was a terrible cook, but we still ate it, there wasn’t an alternative. I went into some bushes, to grab a dead rabbit, and then- then someone grabbed me.’ He started trembling. ‘I didn’t- I thought he was the only other person on the island; I didn’t know where they came from. They- they had a camp that they dragged me to. To their leader, Fyers.’

“Was Fyers someone who was shipwrecked too? Can you tell me his full name?” Dinan asked.

‘Edward Fyers. And he wasn’t shipwrecked, he was there on purpose.’

“Do you know why he was there?”

‘He was a mercenary. His men were looking for Yao Fei when they found me. They were hired to go to the island and find him, They needed him.’

“Do you know what they were hired to do and why they needed Yao Fei?”

‘Later, about two days before- before we buried Yao Fei, Fyers said his employer wanted to create the right economic conditions to cause a huge change in the stock market and make a ton of money. His boss needed him to make that happen, but he didn’t know what needed to be done. He was sent to the island with orders to secure the area and wait for orders. Ferris Air Flight 637, Paris to Hong Kong. Fyers was told to shoot it down.’

“How would shooting down a commercial plane affect the economy?”

‘I didn’t really understand the explanation he gave; I don’t even know if it was true, but he claimed shooting down the plane would cripple the Chinese economy, affecting the market and they’d have to ground all civilian air travel.’ He took a deep breath. Talking about Fyers’ plan was easy because he didn’t have a personal attachment to it. Discussing how they stopped Fyers was a different story. ‘One of Fyers’ men radioed the plane pretending to be an air traffic controller at the Hong Kong Airport. He diverted them off-course from the flight plan. To avoid dangerous weather- instead it put the plane within range of Fyer’s giant missile launcher. Slade said it used S-300s.’ Oliver then described the weapon to Dinan since she didn’t seem familiar with the make and model. ‘Yao Fei was- they needed a scapegoat. They thought Yao Fei, a former general in the Chinese military, was a good person to claim credit for the attack and keep suspicion off of themselves.’

“I assume Yao Fei was killed while stopping Fyers.” McKenna said.

‘Yes. We only survived because of sheer luck.’ He admitted.

“I’d like to back up a bit. Could you tell us what happened when you first met Fyers?” Dinan asked.

‘He showed me a picture of Yao Fei. It was from before he was on the island. Fyers wanted to know where he was. I didn’t- it didn’t feel right, so I said I didn’t recognize the man in the picture.’ His hands started shaking and to calm himself, Oliver began rubbing his finger and thumb together, almost like a nervous tic. ‘That was when I found out I was on Lian Yu, he told me it was Mandarin for Purgatory. He said- he said he was going to make it feel like Hell for me. That was when Wintergreen came into the tent. He didn’t have the same gear as Fyers or his men, his was better. He had- he also carried a sword. It was like a katana but- I don’t know the technical term for it and I’m probably not describing it well, but- I just know how much it hurt when- when he started cutting me. It wasn’t always the same. Sometimes he sliced shallow cuts that hurt but didn’t bleed a lot, other times he stabbed me and- he really liked making me scream. I don’t- I can’t tell you how long I was there, it felt like months, but Fyers decided I didn’t know anything and told him to kill me. That was when Yao Fei showed up. He fought his way into the camp and got me out, but we- we got separated. He gave me a map and told me to run. I was so tired, I should’ve stayed but- he told me to run, so I ran. Wintergreen overpowered him and he was captured. I went to a spot he marked on the map, and that’s where I met Slade.’

 

Reeves only had one response to the information John had told him about the climate and terrain of Lian Yu. “Wow.” He then remembered that, while this information might interest the others, it didn’t answer the question he asked. “How does this relate you why you accepted Mrs. Queen’s job offer?”

“I figured- he seemed like someone who wanted to be left alone. He’d survived things that would’ve killed almost anyone else. I knew if I said no, the next person she interviewed might be willing to spy on him, who cared more about their paycheck than his well-being. I guess I felt sorry that he was going from being on that island to being watched 24/7. So, I took the offer, knowing he’d be different from the rich kids I usually get hired to protect. The next day, I was introduced to Oliver.”

“How did it go?”

“Not well at first. He was as unhappy at being assigned a “babysitter”, his words, not mine, as I thought he’d be. He knew why I was there, his mom didn’t react well to his mutism, among several things. It didn’t take me long after to figure out that he wasn’t alone on that island.” Digg let out a deep sigh. “He has scars on both his wrists, they go all the way around, like you’d see if someone was handcuffed or ziptied for a long period of time. He’s never said anything to me about what happened when he was restrained, I don’t know if he’s even talked to Felicity about it, but- it’s no wonder he doesn’t speak any more. Hell, I’m impressed the trauma didn’t induce some kinda fugue state or coma.”

Reeves made a few notes, all the while trying to remember that he was supposed to be objective. He wasn’t supposed to get invested in his cases. He was a professional. This case, however, would stick with him for a while.

“Speaking of Moira, how would you describe their relationship?”

“Oh, man.” He paused. “Look, before I answer, you need to know that its possible I misread things. Some people express their feelings better than others. Some people act differently when they’re alone with someone they love and trust than when they’re around someone they barely know, someone like me. I’ve had clients avoid anything emotional or touchy-feely when I’m within earshot. When I met Moira, she’d spent years believing Oliver was dead and that she’d never see him again. Out of the blue, at least to her, he turned up alive and he wasn’t the same kid that got on that yacht, the son she remembered. It was a huge shock to her.”

“I’ll keep all of that in mind, but what’s your opinion on their relationship?”

“They don’t seem to have one. I never saw her make eye contact with him, or look at him more than for a split second or two. When she’d talk to him, it was like she’d look anywhere that he wasn’t. If he wrote something down, she rarely read more than a sentence or two. I don’t think I saw her touch him at any point. No hugs, no kisses, not even accidental touches like their arms touching when one of them moved. She was….cold is the only way to phrase it. I can’t speak for moments I didn’t witness, but it seemed that the only time she interacted with him were in passing or when she wanted something from him, usually trying to make him attend some event or another with her. On top of that, I…..she was obsessed with this idea that Oliver needed to just brush off the last five years, take a job at QC and live the life she and Robert planned for him since birth.” Digg paused again, unsure of the best way to phrase the next part. “Oliver was…..on a good day, his mom just made him nervous. On a bad day, I think he was genuinely scared of her. Being around her was bad for his recovery and his health. After he moved out, after Felicity managed to get him out of that house, I came to visit and saw that Oliver was more relaxed around Felicity, on what he claimed was a “kinda” bad day, than I’d ever seen him before. I think it was the first time he felt truly safe. Everytime his mother is mentioned, though, he acts nervous at best and fearful at worst.”

“You said Felicity Smoak “finally managed to get him out” of the mansion. Could you elaborate?”

“Oliver was dealing with a lot. Not just PTSD, but anxiety and self-image issues because of what happened. He knew he couldn’t stay at the mansion, but- his plan was to move out without his mother knowing. He found an apartment, all he had to do was sign the paperwork, but Moira found out first. He told her he wanted to leave and she said he couldn’t. She wouldn’t allow it and he kinda- he shut down, thankfully, Thea was in the room and called Felicity. She raced over to try and help him. Moira didn’t like being told “no”, especially by some “nobody” like Felicity. She said Oliver couldn’t leave and he wouldn’t need to learn ASL any longer. That he wouldn’t need to use it.”

“What happened then?” The agent asked, barely managing to keep his facial expression in check.

Digg smirked for the first time since the interview began. “Felicity turned to Oliver, asked him to grab his bag and wait for her in the foyer. When he was out of the room, she let Moira have it. I don’t think anyone had called Moira Queen out like that in a long time, if ever. After she told her off, she met Oliver in the foyer and they walked out to her car. Mrs. Queen ordered me to tell the family’s head of security to lock the gates until further notice.”

“Did you?”

“No, instead I told her that trying to prevent them from leaving was false imprisonment.” He shrugged. “I’m not a lawyer. I know a case like that wouldn’t have gone anywhere in court, but it would look bad for the family. So, she backed off. She then attempted to get her husband to fire Felicity, but Mr. Steele said it would be wrongful termination and a huge mistake for QC. There was nothing she could do, and she didn’t take that very well.”

“Was that the last time you spoke with her before you were fired?” Reeves asked.

“Yes. To be honest, I thought she completely forgot she was paying me until I got that call.”

 

Oliver quickly told the others who Slade and Shado were and how he met them on the island before finishing the story about Fyers. ‘Yao Fei died trying to stop Fyers. After we buried him, everything was quiet for a few months. I don’t know how long, but summer ended and winter hadn’t started yet. We- Slade, Shado and I- we were just trying to make it from one day to the next. Fishing, hunting, trapping animals. We trained a lot too, there wasn’t anything else to do so, they taught me how to defend myself. One day, we- a ship appeared off the coast of the island. Slade said it was a freighter. It kept moving closer. We thought- we thought it was a miracle, we were gonna be rescued.’ He said. He started trembling again. ‘We were wrong. We were so wrong. If the Amazo,  that was the name of the ship, if it hadn’t come to the island, Slade- Slade and Shado might still be alive.’ Oliver glossed over how he was captured and brought on board the freighter, but told the two investigators that once he was on board, he was shot by the captain and forced to dig the bullet out. That it had been a test.

“The men aboard the ship, the crew, do you know why they’d come to the island?” McKenna asked.

‘I didn’t at first. When I first met Yao Fei, he had a bag of herbs that were native to the island. They had incredible regenerative properties, great for killing infections or preventing them to begin with. After Fyers was…gone, but before the ship arrived, we found this old bunker when we set out to map the island. According to Slade and Shado, it was probably a lab of some kind from during World War II. We searched it looking for supplies- a radio would’ve been like winning the lottery, but clothes, weapons, blankets would’ve made the trip worth it. Instead, we just found corpses. They were everywhere. Some looked normal, but others- it was disturbing to see. Even Slade, an experience soldier, and Shado, a med student, were freaked out by the bodies. We found out that the Japanese Empire discovered the herbs and their military was trying to make something new with them. A medicine, probably. From the notes Slade translated for Shado, the few test subjects that survived the initial injection, the drug, Mirakuru as it was called, worked like a steroid, but even more powerful. Ivo, the scientist who hired the crew of the Amazo, he came to Lian Yu looking for it. Or the recipe. I don’t know why he wanted it. To sell it maybe? Drugs like that would make a fortune, if the side effects were removed.’ Oliver didn’t elaborate much on Ivo’s time. Partially to avoid letting slip about Sara, but mostly because of how things turned out with Slade. He told them that Ivo killed Shado and the Amazo was blown up with Oliver and Slade aboard. Oliver was washed back to the island and Slade drowned.

“Oliver, would you- at a later point in time, do you think you’d feel up to describing some of the people you mentioned, Slade, Shado, Yao Fei, the prisoners on the Amazo, to a sketch artist?” Dinan asked. “It’s possible that some of them might be considered missing persons.”

‘I don’t- I can’t go through this again, but- I can try to draw them? Or Speedy maybe?’ He suggested before turning to his sister. ‘Do you still draw?’

“It’s been a while, but I can try.” She said. There was a slight break while Felicity went looking for some blank paper and pencils for the siblings to use. Oliver started to sketch Yao Fei while he told them about the third year he was marooned. Since he’d been in Moscow that year, he lied and said things were quiet. He was alone on the island and he focused on staying sane and making it from one day to the next. He and Slade had spent months discussing plans to escape the island, but now those plans seemed impossible. He finished his drawing of Yao Fei, and began drawing Shado, when it was time for him to talk about the next group of visitors to the island. He spent some time describing Slade and a few of the others to Thea to improve the drawings.

‘As much as I hated being alone at the time, it wasn’t long before I wished I was alone again.’ He signed. ‘I don’t know how many days I’d been on Lian Yu at that point, or how long it had been since I buried Shado and made an empty grave for Slade, but one day I went to check on the graves and- and the raft was gone. I’d weighed it down so- someone moved it, or destroyed it. I wasn’t alone. I went back to my hideout and that’s when- that’s when they grabbed me.’

“Who grabbed you?”

‘I don’t know. they never- I never learned their names. I don’t know how long they kept me captive for. Or how long Smith, that’s what I called him in my n head, tortured me. They asked me questions at first, but I didn’t answer. I tried not to scream but I did anyway. It just took longer for him to make me. They asked but I didn’t- I never answered. He liked making me scream. I didn’t say anything. I-.’ He looked at Felicity. ‘I don’t wanna say the next part.’

‘Why not?’ She signed back.

‘Because it- Thea and Tommy will hate me. Your mom will think I’m- and you’ll never want to-.’ He’d never talked about this part of his time away in detail. He was terrified that if the others knew how he felt, what he’d almost let happen, they’d see him as weak or pathetic.

“What’s going on?” McKenna asked Donna. The other woman just shook her head. While she knew what was being said, she didn’t feel comfortable telling the detective. Clearly, whatever happened next was more traumatizing than anything else he’d described.

“Oliver, can you look at me please?” Felicity said softly. He looked in her direction, but not in her eyes. “Please, Oliver, I want you to look me in the eye, okay?” He needed a few moments to work up the nerve, but he did eventually make eye contact with her. “Thank you. Please listen to what I have to say, okay? It’s important. You’re safe. I promise, you’re safe. No one can hurt you. John and Lyla are both here, only a few feet away and they have weapons. If anyone tries to hurt you, they’ll kill them. We aren’t gonna let anyone hurt you.”

‘I’m not worried about someone hurting me.’

“Okay. Well, I need you to listen to something else, okay? It’s even more important than the first thing I said. Nothing you say, nothing that’s happened, will change the way anyone feels about you. We’re Team Oliver, remember? Team Oliver all the way. Nothing will change that you’re Thea and Tommy’s brother.” Thea and Tommy both nodded in agreement, wiping their eyes. “Nothing you say will change how much my mom loves you. It won’t make Walter think badly about you. No matter what it is you’re scared to say, it won’t change the fact that you are Lyla and John and Roy’s friend. And nothing, not one single solitary thing in the entire universe, can change the fact that you are the man I love with all of my heart. We love you, Oliver. All of us. And we will NEVER, ever hurt you or reject you. Ever.” Oliver pulled Felicity closer to him and hugged her as tightly as he could. After a few minutes, Felicity spoke again. “Now, if you wanna stop, you can. If you want to continue, you can do that too. If you want to give the super short version, you can also do that. It’s your choice, okay?”

‘I wanna- I told this much. I can get through the rest.’ He said. ‘Just- this was- I hate this part the most.’

“This is the part of the story that Oliver dislikes the most.” She told the others. “And he- he says it was the worst part of his time away.”

‘Smith liked to make me scream. I didn’t answer his questions, no matter what they did to me. I wasn’t being defiant, I was- I gave up. I’d given up. I just- I tried to escape, I did everything I could, tried trick I knew to free myself, but nothing worked. I just- I wanted it to be over. I knew I was never gonna make it home. I’d never see Thea or Tommy or my mom again and I hoped it wouldn’t- I just wanted it to end, so I could- I wanted the pain to stop.’ He started crying. ‘I wanted Smith to kill me, but he didn’t; he wouldn’t because hurting me was too much fun for him. They didn’t- they stopped asking me questions at one point. I don’t remember when. All I remember is- I heard Smith and his boss talking one day, about me. The boss said I’d stopped screaming days ago. I didn’t- he was right. They took- they took my voice from me and I didn’t even realize it. The last person to hear my voice was….them.’

He managed to sign the last word before he completely broke down in tears. His hands shook too much for him to continue signing. Felicity moved him so that his head was leaning on her shoulder and she could run her fingers through his hair while he cried. There was nothing she could say to make it better, but she could remind him that he wasn’t alone. Donna, Thea and Tommy moved closer to Oliver as well, and engulfed him in a group hug of sorts from his other side.

 

Sensing that they were intruding, McKenna and Dinan both excused themselves, saying they needed to speak with Reeves and Doyle. McKenna went to talk to Reeves while Dinan conferred with Doyle. McKenna was looking for a reason to give them some privacy while Dinan had a theory.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Dinan asked as she entered the guest bedroom where Lyla and Doyle were talking. “There’s a question I’d like to ask you, based on something Oliver told us.”

“Shoot.”

“Did he ever mention a man named Smith to you?” She asked. “That isn’t his real name, but what Oliver called him. I was wondering if-.”

“No.” Lyla said flatly. “The few times he’s talked about that time, he hasn’t given names. Just “he” or “they”. No names.”

 

“Smith is- he’s not around anymore, is he, Ollie?” Tommy asked and then immediately regretted. Oliver hadn’t said what Smith did to him, no descriptions of his torture methods, but based solely on his friend’s reaction, this man had to be pure evil.

‘No, he’s not. I killed him. I couldn’t- they untied me one day and- I got away and I couldn’t let him take me again.’ Oliver answered. This was the first time Oliver admitted to someone other than Felicity that he’d killed someone. ‘I’m a murderer.’

“No, sweetie, you aren’t.” Donna said. “You were put in an impossible position. You did what you needed to do in order to survive.” She also thought he’d done the world a favor by making sure Smith and the men with him couldn’t hurt anyone else.

Dinan and McKenna returned along with Reeves and Doyle. “We’ve gotten more than enough information. We’d like to thank all of you for agreeing to speak with us. We don’t wanna waste any more of your time.”

“Here.” Thea said, handing out the stack of drawings she and Oliver had done. “These might help you with…you know. You said these people’s families might still be looking for them, right?” She then went into her bag and pulled out the journal she’d been writing in all week. “I also- I tried to write down everything I remembered from when Dad and Ollie went missing. I don’t- it might not help but I thought maybe-.”

“Ms. Queen, are you 17 or 18?” Reeves asked.

“Seventeen, but only for another two weeks.” She said.

“Okay. We can’t interview you without an adult present if you’re under 18. It’s the law, unfortunately.”

“If I come by tomorrow after school with Walter or Tommy or Felicity, can you talk to me then?” She asked.

“Definitely.”

Thea said she’d see the taskforce members soon before returning to her seat next to Oliver. The agents then showed themselves out of the house. They all piled into one car and drove in silence back to the precinct.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 59

Summary:

Team Oliver, and the task force, recover from the emotional rollercoaster of hearing Oliver's story and try to make sense of it.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Digg and Lyla walked out of the kitchen and guest room respectively when they heard the investigators saying they were going to leave now. They waited until they heard the front door close before they came into the living room. They saw Felicity, Donna, Tommy and Thea all huddled around Oliver and went to join the group. Lyla dragged the seat Dinan had been sitting in closer to the couch while John took a seat on the other side of Donna.

No one spoke for at least an hour, instead sitting in silence and comforting Oliver. The archer was the first person to say something.

‘I need to tell Lyla something. Can everyone turn around while we talk?’ He asked. Everyone nodded and turned away, including Felicity. He nudged his girlfriend, indicating that he hadn’t been including her in “everyone” when he made the request. ‘I didn’t tell them about you or about going to Moscow. I didn’t know- I didn’t want you to get in trouble or to give her a reason to-.’ Oliver didn’t know what paper trail, if any, ARGUS left behind when they “recruited” him. He wasn’t sure if he’d signed some kind of agreement to keep quiet and the last place he wanted to be was in the same room as Amanda Waller again.

Lyla leaned in closer so that she could whisper. “I told them we’d met, but said they needed to get the right clearance for me to say more. It was the best answer I could give.” She sighed. “And when they get what they need, I’ll tell them everything. Including what happened to you after.”

‘Thank you, Lyla.’

“You know what I think?” Felicity announced after the pair were done talking. “I think we could all use a nap.”

“I agree with you there.” Thea chimed in.

Oliver, Felicity and Thea headed into the master bedroom. As he was leaving, he pulled Donna aside. Partially to thank her for being there, he hadn’t expected her to be there when he told his story but he was glad that she was, and partially to ask her for a favor.

‘I know this isn’t fair to ask, but- John and Lyla deserve to know what I said, but I- I can’t- telling it all over again-.’

Donna put one hand over Oliver’s shaking ones, causing him to look her in the eye. “You never need to ask. I was gonna offer to tell them, later.” She said with a sad smile. “Go get some rest.”

The trio went into the bedroom to lie down while Donna took her seat back on the couch. She told John and Lyla that Oliver had asked her and Tommy to tell them what he revealed to Agent Dinan and McKenna. She started the same place that Oliver did, the day the Gambit set sail.

  

 

The members of the taskforce drove back to the precinct in silence. When they entered the office they were working out of, several other agents look up at their arrival. All four looked like they had a lot on their minds, but two in particular looked especially troubled.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why do you both look like you’ve been hit by a truck?” Anderson asked McKenna and Dinan.

“It wasn’t the worst part.” McKenna answered.

“I don’t-.”

“Oliver Queen didn’t just tell us about the night the Queen’s Gambit went down. He also told us most of what happened to him on Lian Yu.” Dinan said. “And the Queen’s Gambit sinking, him watching his father die, that was one of the easier parts of the story to hear. I can only imagine what it was like for him to live through.”

“How bad did things get on that island?” Anderson asked.

“I- I’m gonna need some time before I can read those notes but, of all the people I know or have worked with, and I’m including Seals and Special Forces guys in that number, I can only think of a few who could’ve survived what Oliver did.”

“Ok, so I’m thinking we should start with the other interviews first.” Anderson said, looking between Doyle and Reeves, waiting for one of them to start.

“John Diggle couldn’t tell me anything about the Queen’s Gambit, obviously, but in telling me about his time working for Moira Queen, he shared more than I think he realizes.” Reeves said. “She pretty much hired him to spy on Oliver for her.”

“And did he?”

“He said he took the job because he knew if he didn’t, she’d hire someone else, someone who probably didn’t give a shit about Oliver’s mental state of happiness. So, he said yes and spent months telling her as little as possible and using the fact that he’s a bodyguard as an excuse about why he didn’t know more.”

“What do you mean?” McKenna asked.

“His job is to protect Oliver from harm, right? It’s not to be superglued to his side every second of the day and in some situations, being too close makes it harder to properly protect him. I’ll give you an example. Months ago, when Oliver was still living with his mother, he and Felicity Smoak used to meet at the public library on the weekends, so that she could teach him ASL. This was before they were dating, they were just friends, but Mr. Diggle could tell that there was an attraction there and more significantly, Oliver felt comfortable around her. They would meet in one of the reading rooms, so Diggle waited outside, in front of the door, and told Mrs. Queen that Oliver went to the library to meet a friend in one of the reading rooms and that he didn’t know what they discussed because he was outside. She probably thought he joined a book club or something.” He sighed. “Eventually, she stopped asking John to report on Oliver’s activities. He also told me she was aware that he was off-duty the day Oliver was abducted by the Red Mask gang. Oh, and in his own words, when Oliver moved out of the mansion, and into Felicity’s house, and Moira discovered she couldn’t stop him, and Walter Steele wouldn’t fire Felicity, she didn’t take it very well.”

“That’s not surprising.” McKenna said. They all gave her a look. “I went to school with Oliver, remember? I spent time around his family before everything that happened, and I’ve dealt with Moira Queen. People don’t say “no” to Moira Queen. And things always go her way. She’s a control freak, especially when it comes to her kids.”

“Do you think Oliver leaving might’ve prompted her to-?”

“I don’t know. In all honesty, I really can’t tell you anything.” She said.

The room fell into silence for a few moments. Then, Doyle spoke. “Lyla Michaels met Oliver Queen during the time he was missing.”

“When?” Dinan asked. Oliver hadn’t mentioned meeting Lyla in his interview, but he had been vague about some stretches of time, so it was possible he’d left her out of the story.

“She couldn’t tell me. ARGUS loves making everything top secret.” He said bitterly.

“And she wasn’t stonewalling you?”

“No. I know what it looks and sounds like when someone’s doing that. She apologized to me, multiple times, and said she couldn’t talk about it. I think if she had the choice, if ARGUS wasn’t forcing her to keep it quiet under the guise of “national security” or whatever excuse Waller has this week, she would’ve walked in here the day we arrived, with the entire story ready to tell.”

“So, we need to get the necessary clearance to hear the story.” Dinan said. “I wonder why Oliver didn’t mention meeting her.”

“Maybe he thought it would get her in trouble.” He said. “Look, Michaels wants to talk to us, she just can’t. And I think the fact that she can’t has been eating her up inside for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like I said, she couldn’t tell me the circumstances of how she met Oliver, but she did say that Oliver saved her life after Waller wrote her off as a necessary sacrifice. She said that he sacrificed a lot as a result. For all I know, by saving Lyla, Oliver missed the chance to get rescued.”

“This case is insane. ARGUS, two groups of mercs, a ship of pirates, a psychotic doctor, Australian intelligence. Only thing that’s missing is a wizard.” Dinan scoffed.

“What do you mean, ASIS, mercs and pirates?” Anderson asked.

“Like we said, the Queen’s Gambit sinking was just the beginning of Oliver’s story.” McKenna said.

Not feeling emotionally ready to get into detail, they gave a basic outline of what Oliver had told them and what matched up with the satellite photos they had. They briefly explained who the key players in his story were, including Shado, Slade, Fyers and Yao Fei, as they spoke.

“I should’ve stopped the interview.” Dinan said when she was done. “As soon as he told us about his father’s grave on Lian Yu, I should’ve stopped the interview.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Doyle told her. “No one could’ve known the amount of tragedy he’d been through.”

“The poor man’s mute, Andy. That should’ve been my first clue, and the only one I needed.”

“It was a painful and horrible ordeal for him to experience. It was painful for him to relive in order to tell us what happened, but now we have a chance to make sure it wasn’t for nothing.” Reeves said. “We confirmed that the beacons on the life raft and vests were tampered with. And I don’t know what family they had, but this could give the Gulongs and Wilsons closure.”

“Did he- we know what happened to Robert Queen, but not anyone else on the Queen’s Gambit. Did he say anything about the other crew members?” Anderson asked.

Dinan explained what Oliver had shared about Sara’s death, him believing that if he’d acted a little sooner, been a little closer, he could’ve saved her. When she was finished, Anderson started telling the others what he discovered about the death of the intermediary the Red Mask Gang had been contacted by.

“Anyone know where we go from here?” Doyle asked. “Because we got a lot of information, but I don’t know what takes priority over what.”

“First we need to check the aspects of Oliver’s story that can be verified. Look into the people he mentioned by name: Slade Wilson, Dr. Ivo, Edward Fyers. Shado and Yao Fei might require outside help but-.” Dinan said. “We also should check in with Queen Consolidated next week about the growing list of company employees that the Arrow has gone after. As for the rest, we’ll need to wait and see, and get clearance.”

“I know some people in DC I can talk to about the issue with Lyla Michaels.” Reeves said. “A few of them owe me a favor. They probably won’t release anything to us, but one of the guys I went to the academy with might be able to expedite the process.”

“Not to mention Thea Queen is gonna stop by tomorrow.” McKenna said.

 

Around 6pm, Roy was walking towards Felicity’s house when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He turned to see Walter getting out of his car and walking towards the house.

“Hi Mr. Steele.” He said nervously.

“Good evening, Roy. And please call me Walter.” The British man responded.

“Oh, sure. Sorry. Do you think- I don’t know if its okay for me to be here. I mean, I don’t know if Oliver wants just family or-.”

“I think its safe to say that you count as family now.” He assured the younger man.

They reached the door and Roy was about to knock when Digg opened the door and let them inside. They exchanged greetings with Digg and Tommy. Walter could hear people talking in the kitchen, but otherwise didn’t see anyone.

“Tommy, why don’t you see if Oliver and Thea need help in the kitchen?” John asked. Tommy nodded once and went into the kitchen. “Sorry. I know you’re gonna wanna know what happened and I don’t think Tommy wants to hear this for a third time.”

“May I ask where Felicity, her mother and Ms. Michaels are?” Walter asked.

“After the agents left, Oliver was in bad shape. It was worse than after he was abducted. Felicity, Lyla, Thea and Donna, even Tommy, they didn’t wanna let go of him. It was like they were scared if they let go, he’d…. after about an hour, Felicity suggested everyone take a nap because the ordeal had been so draining. Oliver, Thea and her went into their room for a nap. The two Queens crashed within minutes, but I’m pretty sure Felicity didn’t sleep. Lyla and I hadn’t been in the room when Oliver was being interviewed, the feds wanted to ask us a few things about his abduction, so after they went to take a nap, Donna and Tommy filled us in on what he said, with Oliver’s permission. Around 4, Thea and Oliver woke up. They weren’t great, but the nap had helped somewhat. Oliver said he wanted to make dinner for everyone, its one of his coping strategies and they’ve been in the kitchen while I’ve been trying to keep Tommy occupied. Donna and Lyla convinced Felicity to try to get some more sleep and they’re in with her. Hopefully she’s getting some rest, but they might also be talking, or crying it out, or both.” Digg said. “He gave us permission to tell you what he told the feds, if you guys want to know. He doesn’t- he said if you’d feel uncomfortable, he’d understand. He made everyone promise that if the story was too much, they’d leave. He’s worried, terrified, that you’ll have nightmares because of what happened.”

“I’ve had nightmares before.” Roy said. “And I know it sounds dumb, but he survived. When I think about what I already know, that’s what I keep telling myself. He survived. That’s what matters, right? Count me in.”

“Well said.” Walter commented before taking a deep breath and preparing himself. “And I concur.”

“Okay.” Digg said, gesturing for the two men to sit down. “Oliver started- well the feds asked Oliver about the day they set sail first. He said he didn’t want to go on the trip at first.”

 

Nyssa waited for the task force members to move onto discussing the death of Red Mask gang’s intermediary before she lowered the volume on the receiver. A few days ago, she’d had Asim, the assassin traveling with her, plant a bug in the task force’s office. At the time, she claimed it was to make sure they didn’t interfere with the League’s plans for Malcolm. It was also partially to learn more information about Oliver.

 

She was holed up in a safehouse a block away from the precinct. She hadn’t left the building all day, knowing that today was the day Oliver was going to be interviewed and wanting to know what he shared. As she listened to McKenna and Dinan retell Oliver’s story, she found herself growing more and more upset. When one of the agents asked about other passengers on the Gambit, and Nyssa heard Oliver’s account of how Sara slipped through his fingers that night, she couldn’t hold her emotions in any longer. One, possibly two, tears fell down her cheek and she wiped them away, stunned that she’d shown such emotion.

Asim returned from his mission, which was to check in on Malcolm, and found her in the same position as when he left. He was about to comment when Nyssa’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“When were you going to tell me?” Sara asked, angrily.

Nyssa froze in panic. There were a lot of things she hadn’t told her beloved. Was it that Oliver was alive? His mutism? That he was the Arrow? That Laurel had been sent to prison? “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Ollie’s alive. I’m guessing you know that because you’re in the same city as him.” She said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Father ordered me not to, and I think you know why.”

 

“You can’t keep living like this, Quentin.” Lucas Hilton, Lance’s old partner, said as he looked around the man’s apartment. “It’s unhealthy.”

“I’m telling you, Queen’s up to something.”

“The only thing he seems to be “up to” is trying to recover from the last few years of trauma. He’s not the Arrow, man.” He said. “And this fixation of yours is making you a laughingstock.”

“He is! What? Are you saying its just some coincidence that this vigilante shows up a few days after Queen was found?”

“I think you’re upset about Laurel going to prison. You’re angry about Oliver being alive when Sara isn’t and I think you never recovered from her death. He’s alive and she’s gone and that makes you so angry that anything, any excuse to hate him, is justified. Oliver Queen is trying as hard as he can to just figure out how he’s supposed to live. He’s not a vigilante, he’s not some monster. He’s just a kid who’s been through a lot.”

“And I’m saying-.”

“You remember Ted Grant?”

“Yeah. I took the girls to one of his fights.”

“He runs a boxing gym in the Glades now. Do me a favor, as your partner, go to his gym, hit a bag for a while. You need to find something to do that doesn’t involve Queen or booze.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“I could smell it when I walked in.” Hilton said. “I know IA’s taking a while, but you need something to do, some way to keep busy, or you’re gonna drive yourself crazy and to drink. At least give it a shot?”

“Fine. I’ll give it shot. Who knows? I might even have fun.”

 

It took two hours for the news of Oliver Queen’s abduction to travel from Starling to Central City. It took Dinah Lance the better part of a week to decide if now was the right time to visit Oliver and apologize for her family’s behavior towards him. She ultimately decided that she’d waited long enough and that she needed to at least try. If he didn’t want to see her, she’d respect his wishes and leave, but she knew she needed to at least try. Sara may have gotten onto the Gambit with Oliver, but Dinah was the one who didn’t stop her from leaving.

 

As with everyone else who’d heard Oliver’s story, even the very abbreviated version that Digg was telling, Walter and Roy couldn’t hide their horror at what he’d been through.

“It was even worse than we imagined.” Walter said. He could practically hear Moira’s comment about Oliver’s “five-year vacation” and wanted to vomit. “And I let Moira treat him the way that she did.”

“Walter, you couldn’t have-.”

“I knew he was struggling and I didn’t- I convinced myself to give him time to reconnect with Thea and Moira before trying to get to know him. I-.”

“Digg’s right. You couldn’t have known.” Felicity said, walking into the living room. Her eyes were red. Clearly, she’d been crying. Judging by Donna and Lyla’s expressions, she wasn’t the only one. “None of us could’ve. We- even though Oliver told me a little bit about what happened on the island before today, I- you were doing what you thought was right with the information you had at the time.”

Walter was about to respond when Tommy came out of the kitchen and said that dinner was ready. Everyone moved into the dining room and sat down. Oliver walked in carrying a large casserole dish and Thea followed behind him with a bowl of pasta.

“You made chicken parmesan.” Felicity said with a wistful smile.

‘Of course. It’s my favorite.’ Oliver signed. It was his favorite because it was her favorite and it was her favorite because it was the first thing he’d cooked for her. Today had been a very long day for him and he wanted some comfort food. Nothing said “comfort food” to Oliver like chicken parm. ‘Thank you.’

‘For what?’ She signed back to him.

‘I don’t think I could’ve gotten through today if I didn’t have you in my life.’ He said.

Dinner wasn’t very lively. Wanting to avoid the elephant in the room, or anything that might upset Oliver, the conversation started out as small talk before the subject of the Arrow came up. Everyone was a little surprised to learn that QC had multiple employees that the Arrow had brought to the authorities’ attention. Walter and Donna both expressed gratitude that they were caught before anything else could happen. Oliver didn’t say much during dinner, but Felicity could tell that listening to the others talk, and not being able to dwell on the events he’d recounted, helped keep him calm. After dinner, everyone talked for a little while longer, mostly idle chit-chat, before people started to depart.

Tommy drove back to his hotel, having not informed anyone that he’d moved out of his father’s house. Roy had an early shift the next day, and Tommy offered him a ride home. Walter also excused himself, knowing Moira would notice his absence. He asked Thea if she was going to come home, and she said no. She was going to spend the night at Oliver and Felicity’s. She wasn’t ready to leave her brother just yet. Moira already thought she was spending the night at a friend’s house. Lyla and Digg both stayed behind as well.

About an hour after everyone left, Donna decided to go to bed. Thea didn’t want to impose any more than she already felt like she was, so she slept on the couch. Lyla and Digg agreed to share the loveseat again.

After everyone was situated, Oliver and Felicity went to bed themselves. As they were laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, Felicity rolled onto her side so that she was facing Oliver. She ran her thumb along his cheekbone gently. He wrapped one arm around her waist and looked at her.

“I love you so much.”

‘I love you too.’

“I know today was hard, and I know the next few days are gonna be hard too.” She said. “But I want you to remember something. You’re the strongest, and bravest, person that I know. You’re a good man, Oliver.”

‘I’m not that-.’

“No, you are. I went to MIT, remember? I’m a genius. Are you telling me, a genius, that I’m wrong?” She asked playfully. “I love you; you deserve to be loved. And I’m gonna tell you that, every single day, because you need to know how important you are to me.”

Oliver let a small smile form on his face. It was the first real smile he’d had all day. He loved the way Felicity made him feel, the way he felt warmer every time he was near her. ‘I love you so much. I used to think it wasn’t possible to feel this way about someone, to love someone this much. I was wrong.’ The only person he could think of that he loved this much was Thea, but she was his sister. It was a different type of love.

“I didn’t think I could either.” She admitted quietly. They fell asleep in that position, facing one another with Felicity gently caressing his cheek.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 60

Summary:

Oliver has a pretty good day, Thea gives her interview, Tommy gets some reassurances, Malcolm get bad news and Felicity tries to get back into her normal routine.

Notes:

There's some tooth-rotting fluff at the very beginning and very end of this chapter. I regret nothing because Oliver deserves ALL of the nice things.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver slowly felt himself wake up. When he first came home, he had trouble sleeping past dawn, due to the sleep schedule he’d developed on Lian Yu, and would wake up abruptly at the slightest noise. Ever since he started living with Felicity, however, he found himself sleeping for longer and not waking up so suddenly. Since they started sharing a bed, her sleep patterns more or less became his. His body knew now was the time to wake up because this was around the time Felicity woke up every day.

Oliver opened his eyes and found Felicity already awake and looking at him. “I like watching you sleep.” She said. “Wow, that sounded less creepy in my head. What I meant was, when you’re asleep, you look so relaxed and peaceful and I like watching you not have to worry about anything. Sorry if I just made it weird.”

‘You didn’t. I….watch you sleep sometimes too.’ He admitted before he leaned forward to kiss her. ‘Good morning.’

“Good morning.” She said, kissing him back. It wasn’t a deep, passionate kiss, just a little peck but it put a smile on both of their faces. She looked over her shoulder to check the clock. “Woah, I woke up a little earlier than usual. Do you know what that means?”

‘Does it mean we can stay here for a little longer?’ He asked. He knew he’d need to get up eventually, that Felicity would need to go to work. It didn’t necessarily mean they had to do those things now.

She kissed him again. “You bet your ass it does.”

‘Good.’ He said as he pulled her closer to him. ‘Because I’m not ready to let you go yet.’

They cuddled together for a little bit longer, chatting about gift ideas for Thea’s birthday and debating what they should watch for their next movie marathon. When Felicity’s alarm went off, they finally got out of bed.

 

“Have any of you had a chance to look through the journal Thea Queen gave us?” Agent Reeves asked when he walked into the office. “I feel like one of us should at least skim it before she comes in.”

“I’ve started to.” Dinan said. “And I’ve read official reports that are less organized than this.”

“What do you mean?”

“She put a table of contents, kinda, in the front of the journal. She’s got a section of events right before the Queens Gambit set sail. The next section is about the immediate aftermath, what she remembers from the search, the funerals and so on. The next is stuff that happened over the next few years that caught her attention. The last part chronicles everything from the day Oliver was found to the day he was kidnapped.” She explained. “I’m still in the first section, but nothing stand out to me.”

“That’s….wow. I didn’t expect her to be so thorough.”

 

Oliver made Felicity, Thea, Donna, John and Lyla pancakes for breakfast before Felicity needed to leave for work. Lyla, Felicity, John and Oliver walked out of the house towards the former ARGUS agent’s car.

Oliver handed Felicity her lunch bag and she hugged him. “I’ll see you tonight, ok Oliver?”

He nodded and bent down to kiss her goodbye. ‘I’ll be waiting.’

Lyla and Digg were saying their own goodbyes and when they ended their hug, Lyla turned to Oliver. “I wanna thank you, for trusting me, even though I-.”

‘We all know who’s really to blame.’ He signed. ‘I didn’t know before, but I know now.’ He moved closer to her and hugged her for a few moments before pulling away. ‘You didn’t do anything to make me not trust you.’ He gave her a small smile.

The two women got into the car and drove away. Digg and Oliver watched them drive off and only went inside once the car had turned off of Felicity’s street. Walking inside, Thea was rummaging through her backpack while Donna was on the phone with someone.

“I realize that….yes, I know…..I don’t know yet.” She said to the person on the other end. “Yeah, I guess that is what I’m saying….no, I won’t change my mind…..thank you for everything over the years.” She hung up the phone.

“Everything okay?” Digg asked her.

“I kinda just…lost my job. Well, technically I quit when Bobby threatened to fire me, but it’s the same principle.” She said. “It was time for me to move on anyway.”

“I thought you loved it.” Thea said.

“I did, I do, but it’s not the most important part of my life and when Bobby tried to make me choose, I chose the part that matters most to me.” She said. Donna knew if she went back to Las Vegas, Felicity and Oliver would understand why she needed to go. The problem was that she was not comfortable leaving them so soon. Maybe it was time for her to finally leave Las Vegas behind. “I’m gonna go get more coffee.”

She walked into the kitchen. Oliver watched her leave before following. ‘Did you quit because of me? Because of what happened?’

“Oh, honey, no. Truth be told, this has been a long time coming.” She told him. “I’d like to tell Felicity myself, if that’s okay. I know she’s gonna think this is her fault, just like you thought it was yours. She needs to hear from me that I’m happy about this.”

Oliver agreed to let Donna tell Felicity what had happened. He then asked Thea if she needed a ride to school.

 

Lyla and Felicity were halfway to the office when the brunette noticed how worried the blonde looked.

“Am I doing the right thing here?” She asked. “Should I hav- I should’ve taken today off. After yesterday, leaving him wasn’t a good idea.”

“Felicity?”

“This isn’t gonna help him, me leaving. It’s too soon, isn’t it?”

“Felicity!” Lyla said, raising her voice slightly.

“Sorry, I’m babbling, aren’t I? I’m sorry, it’s just-.”

“You’re worried about Oliver, about being away for most of the day after what happened yesterday. Don’t worry. I hate leaving him too.”

“So, are you going to turn around or-? Because I can take the day off and-.”

“Oliver seemed to be in a pretty good place when we left.” Lyla pointed out. “Did anything happen last night to worry you?”

“No, he- he slept soundly. And he didn’t go out as the Arrow. I think he slept for a solid six and a half to seven hours.”

“And he’s not gonna be alone. Your mom, Johnny, Tommy, they’re gonna be with him. They’ll help him keep his mind off of things that upset him, they’ll make sure he’s okay. And Oliver knows when to press his limits and when not to. I think one of the reasons he’s been doing so well is that he has a routine, a sense of normalcy. We should try to keep things that way, which means Thea going to school and you going to work. Go to work, be the genius that you are and help change the world. When the day’s over, we’re gonna go home and eat dinner and you can tell Oliver about your day and he’ll tell you all about his.”

Felicity took a deep breath. “You’re absolutely right.”

 

Oliver drove Thea to school, arriving with about twenty minutes to spare. Rather than get out of the car immediately, Thea turned to her brother.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay today Ollie?”

‘I promise I’ll be fine. I’ve got Donna, Tommy and Digg, I won’t be alone. If I ask for a minute to myself, they’ll give me some space, but- I’ll be able to keep myself busy until its time to pick you up and wait for Felicity, Lyla, Roy and Walter, if he can come, to eat dinner with us.’

“You- I kinda asked Tommy to pick me up today.” She admitted. “I’m sorry, it’s just- That way I can go straight to the SPCD and tell them- I didn’t wanna ask you to-.”

‘That’s okay. I guess I’ll see you a little later then.’ He said. He didn’t want Thea to see that he was upset that she needed to talk to the feds in the first place, because he knew this was something Thea needed to do for herself. If she thought he’d be upset, she might not do it and then feel conflicted about it later. So, he tried his best to reassure her.

“And you’re sure you don’t mind doing this? Driving me to school I mean?”

‘Speedy, if I’d gotten my way after I graduated high school, I would’ve done all online classes so that I could’ve spent more time with you. That’s what I wanted to do, but Mom and Dad- they wouldn’t let me. I’m glad I’ve got the chance to do this with you now.’

Thea was glad she didn’t put on mascara today, because if she had, it would’ve been ruined. She wiped her eyes before she started signing. ‘I love you Ollie.’

‘I love you too, Thea.’ He held his arms open, offering her a hug and she threw herself into a warm embrace, squeezing tightly for a few moments before loosening her grip.

‘I love you so much. I never stopped loving you all those years you were gone and I always will. I don’t care how much you’ve changed or what happened to you in that hellhole. I will always, always, love you and I promise I’ll never, ever hurt you or treat you like Mom did.’

‘I love you too. I’ll see you later, okay?’

‘Okay.’ Reluctantly, she got out of the car, needing to head to class. Oliver also got out of the car and gave his sister one last hug. She headed into school and barely noticed how many people were staring at her.

Tommy was already at the house when Oliver returned from taking Thea to school. He and Digg were talking at the kitchen table, so he waved to his friend before taking a seat on the couch. Not in the mood for reading, Oliver started flipping through the channels on the TV. He didn’t see anything worth watching and was about to turn the TV off when Donna sat down next to him.

“How about a movie?” She asked. “We were debating kids movies a few days ago, and Felicity has most of them…”

‘Does she have Beauty and the Beast?’ He asked. ‘I remember her saying she liked it, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.’

“Well, we should fix that.” She said with a smile before getting off of the couch and looking through her daughter’s DVD collection. “Found it.”

They started the movie and Donna sat next to Oliver, filling in some of the quiet parts with stories about Felicity’s favorite parts of the film. Belle and the Beast were dancing to “A Tale as Old As Time” when Donna realized Oliver was asleep.

“I’m so happy you and Felicity found each other, Oliver. All of us will be here for you. You’re never gonna be alone again, I promise.” She said in a gentle tone. “You’re not a monster Oliver. I know its hard now, but hang on and remember that.” When the movie ended, Oliver was still asleep so Donna put in another DVD.

 

Diggle, meanwhile, was trying to talk Tommy out of his belief that he was a horrible person. So far, he seemed to be as stubborn as Oliver.

“Ollie spent five years fighting everyday to stay alive and what did I do? I spent most of that time in a drunken stupor, trying to talk Laurel into sleeping with me. And, I wasn’t there for Thea when she needed me. I’m a total screw-up. I’m the worst.”

“No, you’re not.” John said. “There are plenty worse than you. Edward Fyers, Billy Wintergreen, whoever the hell Smith actually was. I could keep going.” The younger man shifted uncomfortably. “Are you saying you’re worse than them? Not just one of them but all of them? You’ve made mistakes, its true, but unless Felicity gives you a time machine, you can’t change or erase them.”

“Felicity has a time machine?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“Maybe not yet, but if I had to bet money on who’d create one, I’d pick her. Nothing stops Felicity Smoak when she sets her mind to something.” Digg responded. “And you’re trying to change the subject. You made mistakes, but you stopped sooner than you wanna admit. When you got called out when Oliver left the mansion, you didn’t just ignore what Felicity told you, you re-evaluated things. First thing you did after Laurel called you about testifying against Oliver was to warn him. You’ve done everything you could to help him since then. He doesn’t know how to put it into words, but he’s thankful to have you. And, after everything you heard yesterday, you’re here, supporting him. Seems to me like you’re very, very far from being the worst.”

“I was useless when he needed me though. They took us, those men in the masks, and I couldn’t- I couldn’t get loose or yell loud enough for help or- my dad was right. My mom would be ashamed of me. I’ve always been useless and I always will be.”

“So, Oliver and Lyla are useless?” Digg asked rhetorically.

“Wait, what?”

“I’m asking if you think Oliver and Lyla are useless.”

“No, I wasn’t saying that at all. Of course not.”

“I agree. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t completely lost your mind. Lyla and I? We were soldiers, the Army spent a lot of time training us to be aware of our surroundings. And Oliver? He’s probably experienced more than I have. He was trained in a life-or-death situation in one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Oliver and Lyla are trained to deal with the unexpected and still, those assholes in red masks got the drop on the two most capable and dangerous people I’ve ever met and took you three down in seconds.” He sighed. “You don’t have training or experience like we do. So don’t beat yourself up for what happened. it wasn’t your fault, and its not Oliver’s or Lyla’s, even though they both blame themselves. You three got taken by surprise by a group of capable and experienced guys.”

Tommy was quiet for several moments.

“Oh, and one other thing. I don’t know your father, but he sounds like an asshole. You shouldn’t go around listening to assholes. It's a waste of your time.”

 

The day passed quickly and soon Thea was walking out of school. She saw Tommy leaning against the door of his car and he waved to her when she walked out of the building. They got into the car and drove towards the SCPD.

“You know you don’t need to do this, right?” He asked her. “At least, not today.”

“I wanna get this over with. If this helps them find the person who sabotaged the Gambit even a little bit faster, its worth it.” She said. “If you don’t wanna be there when I talk to them, I can give Felicity or Walter a call.”

“No, no. I’ll be there the whole time, I just- I didn’t want it to be too much for you.” He admitted.

 

“This isn’t- its not too boring for you, is it?” Felicity asked Lyla. The day was almost over, but the blonde just wanted to make sure Lyla wasn’t dying of boredom. She’d spent most the day sitting off to the side while Felicity worked and reworked her blueprints for a project. The blonde loved geeking out over tech and science, but not everyone liked the same things she liked. She hoped Lyla wouldn’t be too bored being her bodyguard.

“It’s not boring, it’s quiet. And trust me, quiet is better.” She responded.

“Okay, because I- I know you’re mostly doing this because Oliver asked you to. Because he’s worried that something else is gonna happen and-.”

“Do you- you were talking to your mom when Oliver offered me this job, do you know why I took it?” She asked.

“I could guess, but I’ll probably be wrong. I’m guessing it wasn’t the free food.” Felicity joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“He said he was asking me to work for him because he trusts me with your life, you and Thea’s. He trusts me to keep you safe.” She took a moment and collected herself. “’For two years, I was scared that if I ever saw Oliver again, he’d hate me. He’d think I’d betrayed him. And- when we met, Oliver and I, we didn’t just work. He told me about Thea, and the way he looked when he talked about her, he gets the same way when you’re around. You and Thea, you’re not just important to him. You’re….you’re sacred to him. He doesn’t care if he gets hurt, but if you or Thea are in danger? It destroys him. For him to trust me with both of you after everything, I couldn’t say no to that.” By now, Lyla had a few tears running down her face.

Unsure of what else to do, Felicity moved closer to Lyla and gave her a hug. “I trust you. And thank you, for helping him survive Moscow.” They hugged for a little bit before breaking apart. “I just remembered, we didn’t get a chance to talk about those two transactions of Moira’s you noticed. What made them stand out to you?”

“Who she wrote the checks to.”

 

Dinan read Thea’s journal while taking notes about what to ask during her interview with the teenager. Thea’s recollection of what happened before the Gambit set sail wasn’t very eye-opening, but her entries after the Gambit went missing were enlightening, especially where her mother and Malcolm Merlyn were concerned.

As far as she remembered, Moira had hidden in her room for the entire time the Coast Guard was looking for Oliver and the only person she let in was Malcolm, completely ignoring Thea’s needs. The first time Thea saw her mother for more than a few moments after the Gambit went missing was the day she held her press conference demanding that the search for survivors be called off.

Dinan started to wonder if Moira called off the search so that she could move on to Malcolm Merlyn? The only reason she didn’t think that was the case was Walter Steele. If Moira killed Robert in order to be with Malcolm, why would she marry Walter?

As thought-provoking as Thea’s memories of the days around the Gambit sinking were, it was the section about Oliver being found and returning home that grabbed her attention the most. That part held the most promise for getting some much needed answers about Moira.

Dinan looked up from her notes when she heard McKenna call her name. The detective walked in, followed by Thea Queen and Tommy Merlyn. They took a seat near Dinan’s desk and the Coast Guard investigator was about to greet Thea when Tommy spoke.

“So, uh, who’s in charge here?” He asked. “That probably sounded really demanding, but I was curious on the drive over. I mean, one agent here has to be in charge, right? Or at least, more in charge than some of the others?”

“Agent Anderson and I are the senior agents.” She answered. “He’s FBI, I’m with the Coast Guard. You haven’t met him because he was working on a different part of this case yesterday.” While she’d been interviewing Oliver, Anderson was investigating the Red Mask gang and Jason Fontenot’s murder. “And we drafted Detective Hall here into helping us out.”

“Did you have a chance to read through what I gave you?” Thea blurted out.

“I did. I wanna ask you about-.”

“Wait, before you ask, Ollie asked me to tell you something. He’s sorry that he had to skip over a few things and that he couldn’t give you more information. He just-.”

“Please tell your brother that he has no reason to apologize. Summarizing five years of events in a few hours is nearly impossible. On top of that, the events he was telling us about? He told us more than he needed to.” She said. “He’s a very brave man. I’d like to ask you about when Oliver came home. We can talk about some “pre-Gambit” events in a bit.”

“What do you wanna know?”

“Those first few weeks, tell me a little more about them.”

“Well, Ollie- we didn’t know about his voice until Mom told us, and I guess she didn’t know until the hospital. The first time I saw him, I…” She began telling Dinan about everything between Oliver leaving the hospital to the day he moved out with Felicity.

 

“Sir, I apologize for interrupting you while you recover, but we’ve run into a slight problem.” Michael Adams said, walking into Malcolm’s study.

“What is it now?” He barked.

“Queen Consolidated has halted all Unidac projects. As a result of Doug Miller’s arrest.” He said. “I’ve begun making inquiries with our other conta-.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll handle this, since you clearly can’t.” Malcolm said before turning around, dismissing his lackey. He reached for his cell phone. He had no idea what Moira thought she was doing, but it needed to stop, now.

 

In telling her story, Thea reached the moment Moira and Oliver began arguing about Dr. Brown, his therapist. While she’d been talking, a few of the other agents had moved closer to hear what she had to say. She explained that Oliver had asked her to read out his message about not wanting a therapist and that she’d agreed with him and asked her mother why she was being so pushy.

“And then she- she said- my mom said-.”

“Miss Queen? We can stop if you’d like-.”

“No, I need to do this. You need to know this. it’s part of why I told Oliver I wanted someone else to come with me. In case this came up. I knew it would hurt him to- you need to remember, Oliver was standing right next to me when this happened. He was looking right at her and she said- she said “I want my son back”. Even not knowing what I know now, about what he’d been through, I- how can you say that to someone? Especially your own son?”

“It’s a good thing Lyla doesn’t know that that happened.” Tommy remarked. The agents turned to look at him, all intrigued by what he’d just said.

“Could you elaborate?” Reeves asked.

“I, uh, did Digg or Lyla tell you what Moira tried to do? Her and Laurel?”

“He mentioned they seemed to be planning something.”

“They were trying to have him declared mentally incompetent.” Tommy said quietly. “This was after Ollie moved out. I don’t know what they were thinking, what their justification was-.”

“Control.” Thea said. “You weren’t there until the end the day he left, but Mom told him if he moved out, she’d cut him off. Except she can’t because Ollie’s old enough to access his trust fund. So, they- she asked Laurel to find a loophole, and the only one she could think of was having Oliver declared incompetent because the court would assign him a guardian and they wanted it to be my mom.”

“And what does this have to do with Ms. Michaels, if I may ask?”

“I might’ve accidentally blurted it out a few days ago.” Tommy said. “Everyone was shocked, and angry, but Lyla- she smashed a mug against the wall, grabbed her jacket and looked like she was gonna go have a word with Moira but Digg stopped her.”

Dinan added the incident to the list of things to bring up with Lyla when they finally got clearance to talk to her about her history with Oliver.

“Right after Laurel started working on that with Moira, she tried to talk me into testifying about Oliver’s mental state if they went to court about it. I turned around and called Ollie. It just didn’t sit right.” He said. “I’m just glad Thea overheard them talking and told him what they were planning.”

“Is that why they pressed harassment charges?” McKenna asked.

“Yes and no. I think they would’ve reached a breaking point eventually, with how…..adamant Laurel was that she needed to talk to Ollie, but knowing what they were doing? It gave them a reason not to wait for her to go away.” Thea answered before moving on to sharing a little bit about Moira’s behavior since Oliver moved out.

Soon, the sun was setting and Thea mentioned they should head home. Before she left, Dinan asked her if she could look at a few photos and say if she recognized anyone.

While Thea was doing that, Tommy pulled McKenna aside.

“I didn’t get to say this yesterday, or Saturday, but its nice to see you.”

“Thanks. I just wish it was under better circumstances. Much better ones.”

“I know what you mean.” He said. They stood in silence for a few moments. “I know this might not be allowed, because of you helping the feds and investigating, and I’ll understand if you say “no”, even if that’s not why, but- I don’t suppose you wanna grab a cup of coffee and catch up?”

She smiled. “I’d like that, but maybe not in the next few days. Why don’t you text me Monday or Tuesday?”

He agreed just as Thea was finishing up. They walked out of the precinct together and drove to Felicity’s house.

 

When Felicity came home, Oliver was reading in the living room. She kissed him hello before Donna asked to talk to her. She told Felicity that she had quit her job and was moving to Starling as soon as she figured out what she was going to do. To her satisfaction, Felicity seemed excited that her mother was going to move closer.

Thea and Tommy arrived, looking upset but not distraught. Everyone agreed not to ask them how the interview went, since they probably wouldn’t want to talk about it. Roy arrived next, but Walter didn’t join them for dinner. He had a very late conference call with an overseas affiliate, so he was stuck at the office.

Oliver reheated some leftover chicken parmesan from the night before and everyone sat around the table enjoying themselves. Being Friday night, everyone wound up staying and crashing at the house.

As Oliver and Felicity were getting into bed, he turned to say goodnight to her. ‘Today was a pretty good day.’ It had been a better day than he expected it to be.

‘Good, I’m glad.’ She responded. ‘You deserve to only have good days.’

He wasn’t sure that he believed that, but didn’t argue with her. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She signed back. He started to curl up behind her, the way that they normally laid while cuddling. She put a hand on his arm. “Wait, I wanna try something.” He looked at her curiously. She gently moved him so that he was laying down with his head on her chest. She began running her fingers through his hair. “I feel bad that I’m always the cuddlee, and I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about being the little spoon, so- is this okay?”

‘It’s perfect.’ He told her before relaxing into the mattress. Felicity’s fingers carding through his hair lulled him to sleep.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 61

Summary:

Felicity makes a mistake, Laurel gets a visitor and Lyla hears some promising news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Felicity started to wake up, the first sensation that she felt was that there was something heavy on her chest. Her brain wasn’t fully awake yet, so she briefly wondered if something had fallen on her overnight. Then, the weight on her chest moved slightly, she felt a tiny gust of air on her collarbone and she remembered. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see Oliver, still asleep with his head lying on her chest.

He had one arm around her waist, holding her close to him. He looked so comfortable and happy in that position that she almost wished she could reach her phone so that she could capture this moment on film. She watched him sleep for a bit, enjoying the quiet of the morning.

After a while, Oliver’s breathing changed and his eyes blinked a couple of times as he started to wake up. He gave his girlfriend a sleepy, but happy smile and tightened his grip around her waist a little bit, pulling them even closer together.

When Oliver woke up in bed with Felicity, the first things he felt were warm, happy and overall, loved. He didn’t need to wake up suddenly. He never felt like he needed to jump out of bed and do anything. Here, in bed with Felicity, he could enjoy some peace, even if it was only for a little while. Once he was awake enough to do so, Oliver raised himself up slightly so that he could kiss her.

“Good morning.” She said when they pulled apart.

‘Good morning.’ He signed back, reluctantly letting go of her in order to respond. ‘I wish there was a way I could sign without needing to stop hugging you.’

“How about we come up with a secret code?” She suggested. “Like, three quick taps mean “I don’t wanna stop hugging you, but I need to sign something”. Or is that too lame?”

‘It’s a good idea, but maybe not three short taps. I do fidget sometimes and if I start tapping, it might send the wrong message.’ He moved back to his previous position with his head on her chest and her running her fingers through his hair.

“Well, we don’t need to figure it out right now.” She assured him. “Did you sleep well?” He nodded but didn’t say anything. “That’s good.” The conversation died off there, and they were left in a comfortable silence.

After several minutes of the couple cuddling together, Oliver pulled himself into a sitting position and turned to Felicity. ‘Do you think Tommy’s okay?’

“I think he’s as okay as he can be right now.” She answered. “Do you think something’s wrong?”

‘He’s been weird the last few days, off. And he was like this before I got interviewed.’ He said. ‘I think it has to do with the kidnapping. I wanna ask but-.’ Oliver knew first hand how annoying it was to constantly be asked if everything was okay when he wasn’t ready or willing to talk about things. He wanted to know what was bothering Tommy, but he didn’t want to seem like a hypocrite.

“Well, I think we leave Tommy be for right now and when he’s ready to talk about it, he’ll tell us.” She suggested.

‘You’re right, as always.’ He said before kissing her again.

This time, instead of it just being a quick peck, Felicity tried to deepen the kiss. Oliver seemed to have the same idea, and soon they were French-kissing. The position they were in was awkward for Oliver, so he maneuvered so that he was hovering over her, but not lying on top of her. One of his hands was in her hair with the elbow holding his weight, while the other was cupping her cheek. Felicity had one hand caressing his stubble with the other one wrapped around his torso.

Felicity moved her head slightly after a few minutes, causing the hand around Oliver’s midsection to slip lower by accident. Like a bucket of cold water had hit him, Oliver pulled away from Felicity and moved so that they were no longer touching at all and he seemed a hundred miles away. He started breathing erratically as well.

“Oliver?” She asked in confusion.

He held up one shaky hand. She didn’t know if it meant “Stop” or “give me a moment” or something else. She sat up all the way and watched him take several deep breaths and try to calm himself down.

“Do you want me to leave you alone for a little bit?” She asked when his breathing seemed calmer. He shook his head vigorously. He didn’t want her to leave. “Okay. You’re safe, Oliver. It’s January 19, 2013. You’re in Starling City, you’re at home. Whatever you’re remembering, it’s over. No one can hurt you. You’re safe, Oliver.”

Oliver was able to calm himself down after a few minutes and when he came back to himself, he gave Felicity a sheepish look. ‘I’m so-.’

“Don’t apologize. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” She told him. “Can you- are you up for telling me what caused you to have that reaction? You don’t have to tell me the story, you don’t have to answer at all if you don’t want to, I just- if its something I did, I wanna be sure I don’t do it again.”

‘Your hand, it- it was- I don’t like being touched where your hand was.’ He answered. He knew it was Felicity, he knew she’d never intentionally hurt him, but the memories he couldn’t escape made it impossible for him to separate Felicity’s touch from much crueler hands in that moment.

“Okay.” She said. “It won’t happen again, I promise. And I’m sorry.”

‘You didn’t know.’

“I can still be sorry, and I am. It was an accident, yes, but it made you uncomfortable. It made you feel unsafe, and that’s not okay.” She said. “I’m gonna make some coffee. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”

Oliver needed a little bit of time alone, she could tell. She also wanted a few moments to collect her own thoughts. Seeing Oliver in pain wasn’t easy for her and being the one to cause it, even if she hadn’t meant to, was difficult. He gave a small nod and she walked into the living room.

She was partway to the kitchen when Lyla spotted her and saw she had tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Felicity just shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it right now. She started to make a fresh pot of coffee. The pot had just finished brewing when Oliver came into the kitchen. She poured him a mug and handed it to him. When he took it from her, their fingers brushed for a few seconds and he gave her a tiny smile. He wasn’t mad, he just needed a little bit of time to recover from his flashback. He took a few sips as Donna and John wandered into the kitchen as well.

‘Where are Roy, Tommy and Thea?’ Oliver asked, noticing they weren’t in the living room, dining room or kitchen.

“They left about twenty minutes ago to head to their ASL class.” Donna answered. “We thought you two were still asleep and they didn’t want to wake you.”

After Oliver finished his coffee, he asked the others if scrambled eggs were okay for breakfast. Everyone agreed and he started getting out the ingredients to make them. Breakfast was quiet and once it was over, Felicity mentioned she needed to head out to get something. Lyla went with her, hoping she might get an answer about why Felicity was so upset today.

 

“Umm….are we in the right place?” Tommy asked as Thea and Roy led him into the room of the rec center where the ASL classes were held. He entered the room and was surprised that there was only one other person in the room. “Did the location change or something?” Thea and Roy looked at one another before they started cracking up.

“I see we have a full house, and then some, today.” Stephanie said, looking up from her phone. “I’m Stephanie, the instructor.”

“Tommy. Merlyn.” Tommy replied.

“Oh, I know.” She said. “Roy, why don’t you and Thea do some more of what we were working on last week while I see where Tommy’s at skillwise?”

“Oh, I’m- I’m not anywhere. I’m at level zero, if I could go into the negative, I’d be in the negative.” He said.

“I doubt that, but let’s see.” She said, leading him to two chairs.

 

Felicity drove to the foundry and as soon as she made it to one of the computers, she started typing furiously. She hadn’t said anything to Lyla the entire drive over either. The former ARGUS agent let the behavior slide for about fifteen minutes before she spoke up.

“Felicity, you wanna explain to me what’s going on?”

“I need to- the girl Moira wrote those checks to, I’m trying to find her like we’d talked about.” She answered, not looking at the other woman. She needed to take down Moira, she needed to make things better for Oliver. This was the only way she could do that right now.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Lyla said. “Clearly, something happened this morning, something that upset both you and Oliver. Do you wanna talk about what it is?”

“I- we were kissing, one of my hands slipped and- I made him have a flashback.” She said. Tears started to fall. “Everything was fine until I messed it up.”

“What was his reaction?”

“He froze and started to panic.” She said. “I made him- he had a panic attack because of me. What if-?”

“Okay. Stop before you talk yourself into believing you’re a terrible person. Because you’re not. I’m guessing whatever the trigger was, you didn’t know about it until it happened.” She waited for Felicity to nod before continuing. “I’m also going to assume that you’re never gonna do that particular thing again. And I’ll go a step further and say you’ve apologized to Oliver and he’s tried to downplay it, as something like “you didn’t know” or “he should’ve told you”. Oliver’s gonna be okay, he’s a little off-kilter and this happening after the last few days doesn’t help, but it’s going to be okay. They’re called “accidents” for a reason.”

“Why do I feel like a complete monster right now, then?”

“Because you love him. You love him and you accidentally did something that hurt him.” She said. “So, if you wanna stay down here for a few hours, looking for Samantha Clayton to make yourself feel better, I’m not gonna stop you.”

“I need to do something. Something useful.” She said. “You recognized the name. You told me he mentioned her in Moscow, but you didn’t really say how she came up, or what he said.”

“He told me he’d had a fling with her during one of his and Laurel’s “breaks” and that he got her pregnant.”

“Oliver has a child?”

Lyla shook her head. “A few weeks after she told him about the baby, she had a miscarriage.”

“Or Moira found out, stepped in and made her get rid of the baby.”

“I don’t know, which is why I wanna find her and see what she did with those two checks.”

Felicity kept typing. “Well, I can’t tell you what she did with those checks, but I found her. She lives in Central City.”

“What else can you find out about her?”

 

After a lot of debate, the agents ended up having to draw lots to decide who was going to go to the Cassidy Women’s Penitentiary to interview Laurel. They knew, based solely on the court transcript, that interviewing her wasn’t going to be easy and that the conversation would take up more time than it needed to.

Reeves was unfortunate enough to draw the short straw, so he drove out to the prison and requested to see Laurel Lance. He was taken to a private visitation room, normally reserved for inmates to meet with their lawyers. About five minutes later, Laurel was shown into the room.

“Who are you?” She asked as soon as she sat down.

“My name is Agent Reeves. I’m with the FBI.’ He answered. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“About what?”

“A few different things. The wreck of the Queen’s Gambit for one. Moira Queen for another.” He said. She just looked at him for several moments. “I can wait for your lawyer to arrive if you’d like to-.”

“I’m my lawyer.” She said sharply.

Reeves’ research indicated that while Laurel had been a lawyer, the state of Washington had disbarred her. He could’ve pointed this out to her, but if she hadn’t been informed by the state bar, it wasn’t his job to tell her.

“Right, my apologies.” He said.

“Why are you investigating the Gambit?” She asked. “We already know who’s responsible for what happened.”

“We do? Who is it then?” He asked, wondering if the truth about the “accident” was some kind of open secret in Starling. Something every knew about but no one dared mention.

“Ollie, of course!” She yelled. “it’s all his fault.”

“You’re saying Oliver Queen caused the Gambit to sink?” He repeated.

“He didn’t- no, he didn’t make it sink, but what happened to Sara, that was all his fault.” She insisted. “And he’s the reason I’m in here. If he’d finally grown up and stopped faking his “condition”, I wouldn’t be in here.”

Reeves made a note that asking Laurel about the Gambit was a waste of time, as it was clear that the yacht only led to her ranting about how Oliver had killed her sister and that everything that had happened to her between then and now was his fault.

Laurel’s rant about Oliver faking his mutism died down and the FBI agent was finally able to get a word in edgewise. “Switching gears for a moment, I’d like to discuss Moira Queen with you. More specifically, something we uncovered during an investigation unrelated to the Queen’s Gambit. Someone we spoke to informed us that Moira Queen approached you about having her son declared mentally incompetent.”

“I can’t talk about what one of clients discusses with me. Attorney-client privilege.” She said.

“Yes, but you’re no longer an attorney.”

“WHAT?!”

“The Washington State Bar Association disbarred you.” He said. “Did Moira Queen ask you to help her have Oliver declared incompetent?”

“Yes.” She spat out.

“Did she specify why she wanted that to happen?”

“He wasn’t listening to her, he wouldn’t do what she wanted. He was faking being mute to avoid having to apologize to me. He needed some kind of a wake-up call and we were the only ones willing to do it!”

As she spoke, she grew angrier and angrier. Yes, Oliver had ruined her life, but Moira played a hand in that too. She came to Laurel for help, but when their plan went awry and Laurel needed help, Moira did nothing. She should’ve done something, pulled some string or another behind the scenes, to make this whole situation go away. Oliver and Felicity were at the top of Laurel’s shitlist, and now, Moira was right below them.

Reeves asked a few more questions, mostly centered around what Moira’s plan was to prove Oliver’s mental state, which Laurel answered in as few words as possible, still too angry. He thanked her for her time and left. A guard escorted her back to her cell.

“Where were you?” Her cellmate asked in disinterest when she returned.

“Some agent wanted to talk to me.”

“Talking to cops, not a very smart move in here.” The woman said before going back to her book.

 

Lyla insisted that Felicity didn’t spend the whole day hiding in the foundry, so after the blonde got a few searches up and running, Lyla announced they were going to Jitters for a snack before heading back to the house. She was pretty sure that Oliver was having as much of a bad day as Felicity was because of what happened and she didn’t want both of them to mope around.

Lyla got a regular coffee when they reached the coffee shop while Felicity ordered one of their seasonal lattes, which took longer to make. Given that it was broad daylight and they were in a busy coffee shop, Lyla left Felicity by the counter to wait for her drink so that she could put a little bit of cream in her coffee. She was putting the lid back on the cup when someone called her name.

“Agent Michaels.” Dinan said, adding a few sugar packets to her coffee. “Didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“Not an agent anymore. It’s just Ms. Michaels now.” She said. “They don’t have coffee at the SCPD?”

“They don’t have good coffee there.” Dinan answered. “Besides, I get a little stir crazy being in that office for too long.” She could only reread her notes so many times before she couldn’t stand looking at them anymore and felt the need to be anywhere except in the office.

“Understandable, but I get the feeling you didn’t approach me just to say hi.”

Doyle had asked some of his buddies in different agencies if they recognized the name “Lyla Michaels” after he interviewed her. He wanted to know what the taskforce might uncover when they got the clearance they needed to talk to her. One of his buddies, in DC, had plenty to say about her. She served six years with Army intelligence and three tours in Afghanistan. After she was discharged, Waller personally selected her for ARGUS. She then became something of a legend within ARGUS and others in the Beltway Set were convinced she’d be the director once Waller moved on.

Knowing that, Dinan wasn’t surprised that Lyla saw through her act. She looked to make sure that Felicity was still waiting for her order before answering. “We’re working on getting the necessary clearance to be read in on how you first met Oliver. I thought you should know.”

Lyla nodded. “Good. The second you do, call me. I don’t care if it’s 2AM. Don’t wait a single minute. Call me.”

“Of course.” She was slightly taken aback by how serious the other woman was acting.

“What happened- what Waller did to me was bad enough, but what she did to him, I- someone needs to know, someone needs to make sure she doesn’t- the very second you get that call, you understand me?”

“We’re working on it. I promise, we’re gonna get that clearance.” Dinan said. “And, no matter what you say, what we find out, we aren’t going to interview Oliver again. Not about this, or anything else. He- we wanted to solve this without needing to talk to him and I’m very sorry we couldn’t.”

“Okay, I got my cookie, I got my latte. Crisis averted.” Felicity announced, walking over to Lyla. “Oh, Agent Dinan….hi. How are- should I ask you how you are? Is that appropriate? Sorry, I’ve just never- I don’t know what to do in this situation.” She trailed off.

“Hello, Ms. Smoak. I’m doing well. I should probably get back to the office. I hope you both have a nice day.” She answered before leaving.

“Did I interrupt something?” Felicity asked.

“Nothing important.” Lyla answered. “Let’s go.”

 

After Sara had confronted Nyssa about Oliver being alive, and Nyssa not telling her, Sara yelled for a few minutes before hanging up. She vowed they’d finish this argument in person. Nyssa didn’t hear anything from her girlfriend on Friday, and decided to leave Sara to calm down rather than call her and try to explain.

Mid-day on Saturday, her phone rang again. “Ra’s is refusing to let me leave Nanda Parbat right now.”

“I suspected he wouldn’t allow you to come here. That’s why I didn’t tell you about Oliver Queen being found alive or returning to Starling City. You’d want to come here and Father wouldn’t react well.”

“Have you seen him?” She asked.

“A few times in passing, yes.”

“Probably when you went to check up on Laurel, I’m guessing. Those two are-.”

“I was doing something related to my assignment both times I’ve spotted him. And he and your sister don’t seem to be together.” Again, Nyssa didn’t want to lie to Sara but at the same time, she couldn’t very well recap the entire saga of Laurel’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment over the phone.

“Just wait. It’s only a matter of time before-.”

“With all due respect, beloved, the Oliver Queen you knew isn’t the same man who returned home last year.” Nyssa cut her off. “I need to go, there’s a task I need to complete.”

They said goodbye and hung up. Nyssa suited up to toy with Malcolm a little more. It would be a shame if he thought she’d left him to his own devices.

 

After ASL class was over, Tommy decided to treat Roy and Thea to lunch. He was starting to feel guilty for all of the food of Felicity and Oliver’s that he was eating. He also wanted a chance to talk with the couple in front of him without an audience.

“How are you both doing after the last few days?”

“I’m….doing as well as I can be.” Thea said. Roy only nodded in response.

“That’s good.” He said. “I didn’t have any nightmares last night, which is an improvement from Thursday night.”

“You had nightmares too?” She asked.

“Of course I did. After hearing what happened, the little bit that Ollie shared, I-.”

“I know.” Roy said, understanding what he was trying to say. “When Digg offered to fill Walter and I in on what was said, you know what I said when he mentioned Oliver’s worried about upsetting us? I said I’d had nightmares before. I was such an idiot, how dumb of thing to say.”

Thea was about to respond when her phone rang. It was Walter, so she answered it. “Hello?”

“Your mother is wondering where you are.” He said. “I think it would be a good idea if you spent a few hours at the mansion today so that she doesn’t become suspicious.”

“Ugh, fine. Tell her I went to visit Tommy but I’m on my way home.” She said before hanging up. “Why can’t my birthday come faster?”

She explained to Tommy and Roy what was going on. Tommy drove Thea back to the mansion. Moira tried to confront her daughter about where she’d been but the teenager just stormed upstairs and slammed her door shut. After dropping Thea off, Tommy and Roy went to Oliver and Felicity’s house.

 

After Felicity and Lyla left after breakfast, Oliver walked over to the couch and just sat there, staring into space. He’d messed up this morning. He’d had a flashback and now Felicity didn’t want to be around him. He shouldn’t have reacted the way he did, he should’ve pretended like he was okay. Why didn’t he just pretend he was fine?

Donna, sensing something was wrong but not sure what to do, asked Oliver if he wanted to watch a movie or something. He just shrugged and slumped against the couch. Donna, Digg and Oliver sat there in silence for a while before Donna decided enough was enough.

“Did you and Felicity have a fight?” She asked. He shook his head. “Do you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

‘What’s wrong is me.’ He signed. ‘My brain’s fucked up. I can’t- sometimes I can’t make the images and the memories go away and- this morning, I couldn’t and she finally realized that I’m not worth the effort. So, she left as soon as she could.’

“There are so many things wrong with that sentence that I don’t know where to start.” She said. “Oliver, Felicity loves you. There’s nothing you can do or say that will change that. And Felicity doesn’t run away from anything.”

‘Why did she leave with Lyla then?’ He asked.

“I think she wanted to give you some space, after whatever happened this morning happened.” She said. “Or maybe, whatever happened, whatever memory you had to relive, she thinks its her fault it happened. So, she needed some time.”

Oliver shrugged again, not believing the reassurances Donna was trying to give him. Digg was about to add something when the front door opened. Lyla and Felicity walked in.

Felicity gave Oliver a nervous but hopeful smile, which he returned. “Any space on that couch for me?” She asked. She wasn’t sure what to do here.

‘For you? Always.’ He signed, moving over slightly. His girlfriend took a seat next to him, close enough that their legs were touching, but not much else. She wanted to let him decide what he was comfortable with. After a few moments, Oliver took her hand in his.

‘I’m sorry about this morning.’ She signed to him. ‘I know you wanna say I shouldn’t be or that its not my fault, but I hurt you. I made you relive some really sucky things, and I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, but I did.’

‘You don’t think I overreacted?’

‘Not at all.’ She assured him. ‘And you aren’t bad or weak or stupid because of how you reacted. You’re human Oliver, a wonderful human, but we all have our limits. I’m sorry for hurting you. Do you forgive me?’

‘I forgive you.’ He told her as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her a little bit closer to him.

Donna, Lyla and Digg all smiled, happy that Oliver and Felicity seemed to be recovering from what happened this morning. Donna was about to say something when Tommy and Roy walked in.

“Thea’s at the mansion. She doesn’t want Moira to notice she’s not there as often. She’ll probably be here later.” Tommy announced. “While she’s away, though, we’ve got some planning to do.”

“Planning for what?” Donna asked.

“Her birthday’s on the 31st. She’s turning 18. Do any of you know what she wants? Have you started coming up with plans?” He asked. Everyone shook their heads.

“I don’t think she’s gonna want anything big, like a huge blow out.” Felicity said. “Maybe something that’s just us?”

Everyone started suggesting ideas, but they couldn’t decide on anything. Tommy thought they should have a small party. Oliver mentioned dinner. Donna suggested a day of total relaxation. Lyla and Digg both mentioned that they should also include Walter, in case Thea had mentioned anything to him or if Moira had planned something. They couldn’t come to a consensus about what to plan.

“Well, her birthday’s a Thursday, so we could do something small on the actual day and then something a little bigger or longer on the Saturday after.” Roy cut in. “Like, dinner, presents and cake on her birthday and then on Saturday we have a movie marathon or treat her to a spa day or something.”

“Roy Harper, you’re a genius.” Felicity said.

“You know my last name?” He asked.

“If it’s online, I can find it.” She replied.

 

Thea stormed out of the mansion. She knew she just needed to get through the next week and five days. Once she was 18, she could move out and only have to see her mother if she wanted to. Twelve days never felt so long though.

Moira cornered her and made a comment, pretending to care where Thea had been and the teenager lost it. All of her anger at her mother for the way she’d treated Oliver, all of her resentment for the way she locked herself away after the Gambit sank, neglecting Thea, it was all so fresh in her mind that when Moira made her comment, she snapped. She pushed past her mother and walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you.” Moira ran after her. Thea made it outside and plopped down on the grass of the front lawn.

“Thea-.”

“No, can you please just- whatever you’re gonna say, just….dont.”

“My son pretends I don’t exist and all I ever get from you lately is contempt.”

“Maybe you should think about why that is.” She remarked. “I wanna be alone right now. Please, just go.”

Moira watched her daughter for a few moments, and when it was clear that Thea wasn’t going to move or look at her, she sighed and went back into the house. Thea stayed sitting on the grass, looking out at the driveway and let herself get lost in thought.

She only came back to reality when she saw a car drive up to the gate and someone step out of it. The woman looked familiar, so Thea stood up and walked over to the gate. She froze when she got close enough to see that the driver was Dinah Lance.

“Thea, I don’t know if you remember me, but-.”

“I know who you are.” She said.

“I’m looking for Oliver. There’s- I need to talk to him.”

“I think Ollie’s had his fill of Lance family members.” She said.

“Laurel and Quentin, I won’t try to justify what they did. It was wrong, the way they’ve treated him is horrendous and unfair. I don’t- I’m here to apologize to Oliver, not to upset him.”

“Well, he’s not here.” Thea said.

Dinah started fidgeting with something in her hand. She held out an envelope to Thea. “I spent my train ride trying to figure out what I was gonna say if I got a chance to talk to him. Can you- will you pass this along to Oliver when you see him? That’s all I ask.”

“How do I know this letter isn’t gonna upset him?” She asked. “You say you just wanna talk, that you wanna apologize but-.” Dinah had always been the nicest of the Lances, she was the only one who was willing to let Thea attend Sara’s funeral, but Quentin and Laurel nearly caused a scene when they saw her. Dinah was nice, from what Thea remembered, but that was five years ago and people changed.

“The envelope’s unsealed. You can go ahead and read it if you’d like. Just, please, give it to Oliver.” She said before turning to get into the car.

“You came all this way to deliver a letter?”

“No, I’m in town for work for the next few days.” Dinah lied. “I came a little early to deliver a letter.”

Dinah drove away and Thea stood in front of the gate, staring at the envelope in her hands. What was she supposed to do?

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 62

Summary:

Thea continues to avoid her mother, Malcolm gets a visitor, Oliver tries to recover more from his flashback that morning and the task force gets some interesting, but unsurprising, news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Walter tried to pay attention to the meeting he was sitting in, but his thoughts kept drifting to Oliver and Thea. Were they both okay? He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake by suggesting Thea spend some time at the mansion that day.

“-need to discuss the press’s reaction to the announcement of the Arrow Initiative and a few other things.” Mr. Correll, the head of QC’s PR department said. “While there are some who are skeptical of our motives in setting up such an initiative, response has been mostly positive.”

“And what do the detractors say?” Another man asked.

“Mostly that we’re doing it solely for PR, given how the closing of the steel working plant meant higher unemployment in the Glades. That our contribution will be spare change compared to the revenue we see. Some of the less blatantly biased concerns surround whether this is a one-time donation or if we’ll be donating on a regular basis.”

“I will be sure that’s addressed when the stockholders discuss the Initiative next week.” Walter noted. “Provided they don’t vote to end the Initiative, which I don’t see happening.”

“Some of the stockholders want to end the program?”

“Only one has expressed that desire. They will be discussing that. As well as funding for security upgrades. A few other matters might be added to the list as well.” He said. “I suspect it will be a long meeting.”

“Well, I hope they don’t mothball the project, because it’s announcement helped raise the share price and we didn’t see as much of a decline following Miller, and other employees, arrests as we expected. It’s been good for PR, even though we didn’t create the project solely for that reason.” Correll said. “While we’re on the topic of the board, or more accurately board members, I feel I should mention Thea and Oliver’s public profiles. It’s good news. Thea learning ASL has attracted attention, good attention. As have the public sightings of Oliver with either Felicity or Thea. One person on Twitter referred to the pictures of them out and about as their daily dose of wholesome content. I wish I could say that feeling was shared among the whole family but-.”

“My wife’s been experiencing a great deal of bad publicity lately. I’m aware.” Walter said. “Do I even want to ask for specifics?”

“I feel that you should know, even if its unpleasant.”

 

After Dinah left, Thea stared at the envelope in her hands for several moments. Should she read it? Burn it? Call Oliver and ask him what he wanted to her to do with it? Unsure of what to do, she went back into the mansion and tried to avoid her mother. As she neared her room, she heard footsteps coming towards her and tried to hide.

“You’re a little old to be playing hide and seek, Miss Thea.” Raisa said with a smile on her face when she saw Thea hiding behind a large vase.

“Sorry, I thought you were- it doesn’t matter.” She said.

“Are you going to go visit Mr. Oliver tonight?”

“You know where I’ve been going?”

“I had a suspicion.” The Russian woman answered. “Come to the kitchen before you leave. I made some of those cookies he liked when he was a boy.” She said before continuing down the hallway.

Thea watched Raisa walk away and a small smile formed on her face. Moira had never been the most maternal person, and after the Gambit sank, she felt like Raisa was more of a mother to her than her own mother. It was nice to be reminded that Oliver hadn’t been as alone as he thought he was. The teenager went to her room and locked the door before pulling out her phone. She hit the button to FaceTime Felicity and hoped she wouldn’t think something was wrong.

 

Everyone at Oliver and Felicity’s house was talking about ideas for Thea’s birthday when Felicity’s phone started going off. People were still talking so, after seeing who it was, she raised her voice slightly.

“I love all of you, but shut up. Thea’s trying to FaceTime me.” She said. “So, let’s not ruin the surprise, okay?” Everyone quieted down and Felicity slid her phone across the screen to accept the call. “Hey, everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I just- there was a visitor at the mansion today.”

“What is your mother trying to do now?” Donna scoffed. “Sorry, I just- I’ve got some opinions about that woman and- never mind. Not the time.”

“It was Dinah Lance, Laurel’s mom.” Thea said. “She stopped by wanting to talk to Ollie, I told her he wasn’t here and she gave me this letter she’d written him. I didn’t- I wasn’t sure what I should do with-”

‘What does it say?’ Oliver asked his sister. ‘You don’t- can you open it and tell me if she’s- if it’s gonna upset me?’ He could see that Thea looked a little uncomfortable. ‘If you don’t wanna do that, it’s okay. I’ll ask someone else.’

“No, I will, I’ll do it. I just- I’m nervous about what it says.” She explained. She set the phone down and opened the envelope. “Here we go.”

Everyone with Oliver was huddled behind Felicity so that they could see Thea reading the letter and watch her expression. She didn’t seem to be angry, which was good, but after a point, she did start tearing up. When she finished, she cleared her throat before speaking.

“This letter, its- there’s nothing mean or intentionally hurtful written. She doesn’t seem to- this wasn’t written to be malicious or cause you pain, its- after the Gambit was lost, after the search was called off, my guidance counselor told me to write you and Dad a letter, to get my feelings out. This reads like something like that.” Thea explained. “She- it doesn’t say anything hurtful, but it won’t be easy to read. There are parts that are kinda heavy. Especially after the last few weeks.”

It was hard to believe that the hostage situation at Applied Sciences, and Oliver’s abduction by the Red Mask Gang and his interview with the task force had all happened in the last two weeks. It was a lot to deal with.

‘You’re right. I think- thank you, Speedy, but I don’t think I should read the letter now.’ He told her. ‘Can you bring it the next time you visit though?’

“Of course.” She told him. “Oh, and I’ve got a surprise for you the next time I see you. Don’t worry, it’s a good surprise.” They said their goodbyes and the video call ended. Thea, reluctantly, was having dinner at the mansion to make Moira less suspicious of where she kept disappearing to.

“Thea’s gonna move out of the mansion the moment she turns 18, isn’t she?” Donna asked. “I think she should, and not just because I need a roommate.” Everyone gave her strange looks. “Oliver, Felicity, I love both of you, but I can’t stay in your guest room forever. Besides, I’m sure you want a little more privacy sometimes.”

“I don’t….not like having you here.” Felicity said. She liked her mother being around, but it was true that there were times that having her mother living with her got a little annoying. Donna staying with them was nice, but sometimes she needed her space.

“Which is Felicity-speak for saying that you like me being here most of the time, but sometimes I get on your nerves. It’s okay to say you need your space.”

“Well, I don’t want you to think I want you to leave, it’s just-.”

“Felicity, it’s okay.” Her mother said. “I love getting to spend more time with you, but I think I need a place of my own too.”

“Have you started looking for places Donna?” Digg asked.

“Not yet. I need to pack up everything in Vegas and see how much space I need before I go looking.”

“I should probably do that too.” Tommy muttered. Everyone looked at him. “I might’ve- I don’t wanna talk about it right now, but I don’t wanna live in my dad’s mansion anymore. So, for the last few days, I’ve been staying at a hotel.”

‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ Oliver signed. He signed a little slower than usual so that Tommy could try and understand what he was saying. His friend sheepishly asked him to repeat himself before he understood what he was being asked.

“Ollie, you were dealing with a lot and it just seemed like- I didn’t wanna be that friend. A hotel is fine for now until-.”

“Oliver, whatever happened to the apartment that you found?” Felicity asked her boyfriend. “Did the realtor relist it or- because if you own it, Tommy could move in there for a bit, until he finds his own place. Or Thea or Mom.”

‘I don’t- I’ll call Jean and ask. I kinda…. I forgot about it, with everything that happened right after and-.’ He said. ‘I’ll find out from Jean on Monday.’

Felicity was about to say something when her phone went off again. This time, it was an alarm for something. “Sorry, I gotta go….do something real quick.” She leapt up from her seat and walked into her bedroom. Oliver followed right behind her, confused about what was going on.

‘Everything okay?’ He asked her as she walked into the ensuite bathroom.

“Everything’s fine. I just need to do something.” She said, rummaging through one of the cabinets. She pulled out a small box with a smiling woman’s face on it.

‘Can I sit with you while you do it?’ He asked. ‘Or is it something…..too personal?’

“It’s not. I just- this isn’t my natural hair color.” She said. “I get it dyed at a salon, but every six weeks, I need to touch up my roots. You can sit in here with me, but it might be boring.”

Oliver took a seat on the edge of the bathtub and waited for her to start. Her leaving after what happened this morning really messed with him. He thought he’d ruined everything and she might not come back. Now that she was here, he didn’t want to let her go. He knew he was being a little bit clingy, but couldn’t bring himself to care.

Felicity started taking things out of the box and laying them out on the counter. While she was getting ready, she told Oliver about some of the things she was working on at QC and how her progress finding out more about Tempest was going. She didn’t want to bring up the incident this morning, or her reaction. Soon, she had all of the dye applied to her hair and just needed to wait until it was time to wash it out.

“Will you be my timer?” She asked him. He nodded and took the kitchen timer from her. “I tried using my phone once, but I ignored the timer when it went off and it made my roots the wrong color. It was annoying to even out.”

‘I dyed my hair once.’ He said. ‘I lost a bet against Tommy and he made me dye it pink.’

“Why aren’t there any pictures? You’d think the press would love that.”

‘My parents came home, saw me with pink hair and drove me to a salon outside of town to get it fixed.’ He answered. ‘They could only do so much, so I wore a lot of hats for a while.’

“Probably a smart move. Still, I wish there were pictures of it.” She said. “Then again, I made sure the pictures of me in my goth phase can’t ever make the light of day.”

‘You had a goth phase?’

“I was fifteen and wanted to rebel.” She said with a shrug.

They talked while they waited for the timer to go off. Once the time was done, Felicity washed her hair to rinse the excess dye out. She let it dry for a little bit before walking back out into the living room holding Oliver’s hand. The others were in the middle of a conversation, so they just sat and listened for a bit.

 

Malcolm hobbled slowly from his bedroom to the kitchen. He was somewhat surprised that Tommy hadn’t come rushing back home, deciding that life was too hard already. He supposed it was only a matter of time.

“You’ve become quite the hermit.” A voice said from behind him.

“What are you still doing here, Nyssa? You delivered your message your mission’s over.”

“You don’t know what my mission entails. Perhaps, it is just beginning.” She countered. “Or maybe, I doubt you fully comprehend the seriousness of the message my father sent me to deliver. Make no mistake, we are watching you. Closely. I would advise that you do not further anger my father or bring attention to the League of Assassins. In any manner.”

Nyssa disappeared into the shadows before he could respond. Malcolm, still recovering from his battle with the Arrow, and annoyed by the Undertaking being delayed, did the only thing he could think of in that moment. He grabbed the closest thing to him and chucked it at the nearest wall.

Belatedly, he realized it was a clay statue Tommy had made for Rebecca when he was five. He never understood why she held onto their son’s crappy art projects to begin with. He hobbled out of the kitchen towards his training room. He needed to hit something.

 

A few minutes after Thea walked into the mansion and went upstairs to lock herself in her room, Walter came home. He’d been in a business meeting for a few hours, although he wouldn’t tell Moira what the meeting was about.

“I heard that Applied Sciences has put all of its projects on hold.” Moira said when she saw him.

“Not all of them. A majority of ours and all of Unidac Industries’ projects have been temporarily suspended.”

“You can’t do that. Some of those projects can’t be delayed. The projects are suspended, unsuspend them.”

“Moira, there is a team of federal agents investigating the attack on the Applied Sciences Building by the Dark Archer. All of Queen Consolidated’s employees that the Arrow has targeted are known accomplices of that man. The same task force investigating the Queen’s Gambit.”

“What does any of that have to do with Unidac?”

“Miller had access to those files, those projects and we don’t know what he might’ve done at the behest of his blackmailers. And, remember, the Dark Archer is still at large. As long as he’s free, there’s no telling what they might do next. Some of Unidac’s projects, as beneficial as they may be, have the potential to be weaponized. I can’t, in good conscience, let those projects see the light of day under these conditions.”

“Surely, if Miller was going to do something, any damage would already be done by now.”

“We don’t know for certain. There hasn’t been enough time to thoroughly audit everything. And until we have absolute certainty, I stand by my decision, a course of action the authorities recommended we take. If you wish to discuss this further-.”

“I do.”

“-I’ll add it to the agenda for the board meeting next week. You’re welcome to try and muster support from enough members to win the vote. Given you will need a minimum of 41% to agree with you, instead of 6%, I believe it will be an uphill battle.”

“I’m sure I can convince Oliver to-.”

“I doubt it. He knows who Doug Miller is, following his arrest, and what his job involved. He actually reached out to me and suggested I take the same steps the federal agents advised us to. He was relieved when he heard I’d already done so. Because someone he cares about very much was attacked and could’ve been killed by the Dark Archer and Miller admitted to helping facilitate the attack.” Walter said.

“What does the attack have to do with the Gambit?” She asked. Had they somehow figured out the Gambit was sabotaged?

“I’m not sure. They’ve been rather tight-lipped about parts of their investigation that don’t involve me, so I can’t say why they’re investigating both or what possible connection the two matters might have.”

 

It had been a very long day for the task force. There were so many facets to this case, and each new piece of information they uncovered made the investigation more and more complicated. They’d spent the day chasing down leads on various things. Some were looking for answers about Jason Fontenot’s death, others were looking into Oliver’s kidnapping. A team was working in things related to Applied Sciences, another on IDing the people Oliver mentioned in his interview. And, of course, there was the group of agents investigating the Gambit’s wreckage itself.

Some of the new aspects of the case had overshadowed the fact that they still didn’t have confirmation about what had happened with the Gambit and it began to fall by the wayside. Then, Doyle got a call.

“Shit.” He said as soon as the techs finished explaining their findings to him. “Yeah…uh-huh. Okay. Send it to me now. We need to- ok, I got it. Thanks. Come to the precinct once you’re done there, in case someone has questions about this.” He hung up and turned to Dinan and Reeves, who were working nearby. “It’s official. The Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged. Forensics sent their results over to our explosive experts and they confirmed their findings. Definitely wasn’t an act of God.”

“Someone put bombs on the yacht?” Dinan repeated. “Do they know how many or what kind?”

“Just one IED. Placed against the inner hull on the port side. Based on the residue and a bunch of stuff the techs could explain better, it was well hidden. Crew only would’ve found it if they were looking and did a thorough, top-to-bottom search. The placement was picked to cause maximum damage and make the Gambit sink as quickly as possible. You’re gonna get the reports in just a second but- soon as that bomb went off, nothing could’ve saved that boat.”

“Did they find anything else in the wreckage?”

“All the liferafts, except the one, were still on board along with the vests. Only a handful were mostly intact and not corroded or decayed, they looked like they’d been tampered with too. It’s amazing there were any survivors.”

“So, it’s official then.” Reeves said. “This isn’t an accident, its mass murder. Or terrorism.”

“The mechanic who mysteriously died after the yacht set sail? He was a Marine, served as a combat engineer.” Dinan added. “He’d know enough about explosives to sabotage the Gambit.”

“How long can we sit on this? When do we legally need to go public with this information? Not the details, obviously, but that the Gambit’s “accident”’ is now a homicide and/or terrorism investigation?” Doyle asked.

“Protocol says a week at most, which is enough time to redo any testing that’s been done to confirm results. It also doesn’t account for any open investigation immediately related to the discovery at hand.” Dinan said.

“Meaning?”

“Only way we can hold off for longer than a week is if the Red Masks suddenly remember something they didn’t mention or we exhume the mechanic’s body.” She explained.

“That’s a no-go.” One of the other agents said. “Records say he was cremated.”

“I swear to god, there are spy novels with less complicated plots than this.”

“You’re telling me. And now we’ve got Thea Queen’s interview to add to everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Between what John Diggle said in his interview, and the woman’s own actions, its fair to say that Moira Queen is either connected to the sinking of the Gambit or she knows something about it. She bought the building where we found the wreckage for god’s sake. And yesterday, Thea mentioned that, in addition to ignoring her after the Gambit sank, every time she asked her mother about the family business, her questions were brushed off.” She said. “That, combined with everything else, reeks of a woman trying to maintain control over the company.”

“You think she arranged for the Gambit to be sabotaged?”

“It’s a theory that’s looking more and more plausible. Robert and Oliver dying gave her 45% of the shares and telling Thea not to worry meant she could rest easy for at least six years, ten if she could talk Thea into going to college before claiming her inheritance. Oliver turns up alive and one of the first things she tries to do is have him declared incompetent and put him under her influence.”

“Is there a chance Thea’s in danger by living with her mother?” Doyle asked.

“I don’t think so. From what I can tell, she’s close to everyone on “Team Oliver” as Felicity Smoak called them. If she goes MIA, stops responding to their messages, Moira Queen’s gonna have one very angry ex-ARGUS agent on her hands, at least.” She said. “Once the 31st comes, Thea’s an adult, there’s nothing Moira can do. It’s 11 days, eight of which, she’ll be at school for most of the day.”

 

After talking with the others for a little bit, Oliver decided he should start making dinner. He was a little upset that Thea and Walter couldn’t join them, but planned to make enough so that they could have leftovers when they stopped by tomorrow. He squeezed Felicity’s hand to get her attention.

‘I’m going to make dinner. Will you lend me a hand?’

“You know- I’ll try, but I’m not great in the kitchen, just to warn you.” She said.

‘You aren’t that bad.’ He assured her. Mostly, he wanted to stay near her for as long as possible. ‘Come on, maybe I can teach you something new.’

She nodded, stood up and walked towards the kitchen with him. In the doorway, she stopped and turned around. “Hey Lyla, you know that email we talked about?” Felicity put a little too much emphasis on the word “’email” but no one said anything. “I forgot to send it, but its loaded onto my tablet. Can you send it while I help Oliver?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Lyla said, grabbing the tablet. She typed a few things in before pressing send. “And, done.”

“Thanks, I didn’t wanna forget to do that.” She said with a smile before following Oliver into the kitchen.

The “email” in question was a series of documents showing that one of the charities Moira donated to frequently, and was once on the board of, used less than 1% of its funds on the actual cause and the rest on parties and events for the charity as well as “travel expenses” for donors. Like Felicity had vowed, she was going to slowly chip away at Moira’s reputation, long enough for Thea’s birthday to come and then, she was going to sink her.

‘What was that about?’ Oliver asked Felicity.

“If it works, you’ll know. If it doesn’t, I’ll explain later.” She said. “I wanted to help Thea out.” She clapped her hands together once. “So, what are we making?”

 

Thea stormed into the dining room at the mansion and slumped down in her seat. Walter gave her a sympathetic smile. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to have dinner with her mother, but she couldn’t see a way out of it that wouldn’t make Moira more suspicious than she already was. The teenager kept telling herself that she was so close to being an adult. She just needed to get through a few more days.

Moira told Thea not to slouch, which was ignored. She was about to repeat herself when her phone began ringing. She’d told Thea, many times, no phones at the table, but clearly, Moira didn’t make rules that she herself needed to follow. She looked at the screen and hit “ignore”. It started ringing again a nanosecond later.

“Now is not- what?....Well, where did they get that information?” She asked. “How can you not know? It’s your job to know.”

“Mom?”

“Not now Thea, this call is important.” She said before turning back to her call. “No, I don’t want you to “go find out”. I expect you to already know.”

Thea’s eyes went from Moira to Walter. “She insists I be here for dinner, and then she does this. I don’t- I’m not gonna sit through listening to this. I’m gonna head out. Get dinner somewhere that there’s less drama. You coming?”

“Not tonight.” He said reluctantly. “Tell Tommy that I say hello.”

Tommy was the only “safe” person they could mention within earshot of Moira. When Oliver was mentioned, she either tried to minimize how she treated him or acted heartbroken in an attempt to manipulate Thea or Walter into siding with her. If Felicity was mentioned, she became enraged. Everyone else was a non-entity to Moira.

Thea nodded, went to see Raisa about the cookies she promised and snuck out of the mansion. Someone came in and cleared Thea’s place setting after she left. After more than half an hour on the phone, Moira came back into the dining room.

“The press have gotten ahold of some private documents related to one of my causes. We need to get Correll on damage control.”

“I will give him a call, but given that this is a personal matter, I’m not sure what he’ll be able to do.” He said.

 

For dinner, everyone at Felicity’s was having white chicken chili, since it was cold out. While Oliver and Felicity cooked, though mostly Oliver, he made sure he wasn’t too far away from her for more than a few moments. Felicity picked up on this and started to realize that leaving after Oliver’s flashback this morning to “give him some space” wasn’t a good idea. Today had been an emotional enough day, so she decided she’d bring it up in a few days when it wasn’t so fresh. The chili was just about ready when the door opened.

“Finally!” Thea exclaimed. “I’m free!”

“I thought you were having dinner with your mother.” Tommy said.

“I was, but then something happened. She got a call right as we were sitting down, some charity issue she’s blowing out of proportion. Anyway, I wasn’t gonna sit around and wait, so I left.” She said. “And I come bringing goodies. Where’s Ollie?”

“Kitchen.” Digg responded.

Thea walked into the kitchen and found Oliver and Felicity straightening things up while holding hands. “I’ve got a gift for you.” She said in a sing-song voice before holding out a container to her brother. “Raisa made those cookies that you loved as a kid.”

‘She knew you were coming here?’ He asked. Did that also mean that his mother knew?

“She didn’t know, but she gave me the cookies in case I happened to run into you.” She explained. “After everything she’s done for us, I couldn’t just tell her no. And I think we both know that she wouldn’t tell Mom anything at this point.” She pulled a cookie out of the container. “Come on, eat one. You know you want to.”

‘After dinner, okay? Double chocolate chip cookies and chicken chili don’t mix.’ He said. He had missed Raisa’s baked goods.

Everyone sat down and ate. Oliver sat next to Felicity and held her hand for most of the meal. The conversation went all over the place, from Donna’s future move, to asking Thea what she wanted for her birthday to Digg sharing a story about his nephew AJ. After dinner, Thea brought out Raisa’s cookies and everyone tried one. When Oliver bit into his, he started to tear up.

“What’s wrong?” Felicity asked him.

“They don’t taste the same, do they?” Lyla asked. She knew people who’d encountered the same thing. They had a dish from their childhood they were nostalgic about, but it didn’t taste the same as an adult. “You have good memories associated with these, but now that you’re eating them again, it’s not the same.”

‘No, I- it tastes exactly the same.’ He said. ‘They taste….’ Like home, they tasted the way he felt around Felicity. ‘Do you think Raisa will give me the recipe if I ask?’

“I’m sure she will.” Donna said.

They saved the rest of the cookies for Oliver to have later, knowing they were his favorite. After dinner, everyone went into the living room to talk. After a few hours, Oliver realized how tired he was and said he was going to bed. Felicity made her excuses a few minutes later and went to bed as well. Lyla and John went back to Digg’s apartment. Donna slept in the guestroom while Tommy slept on the loveseat and Roy and Thea fell asleep on the couch.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Oliver asked Felicity as they got into bed. She nodded, preparing herself for whatever he might ask. ‘Can we sleep like we did last night? I liked- I like being the big spoon, but I also liked the way we fell asleep last night?’ He liked the feeling of laying his head down on Felicity’s chest and falling asleep in her arms.

“Of course.” She told him. He laid down in the same position as the night before. “You never need to ask, and if you wanna change positions, just let me know.”

‘Okay.’ He signed.

Felicity started to run her fingers through his hair, after making sure he was okay with that. She began to whisper, not really saying anything important, but talking, hoping that her voice would lull him to sleep. It worked and soon, Oliver was fast asleep.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I don't know if there will be a chapter next week. It will depend on how the finale goes, in all honesty.

Chapter 63

Summary:

Oliver, Felicity and friends have a nice day. Just a nice, quiet, fun day with only a little bit of angst.

Notes:

This chapter is mostly just fluff and people bonding because I couldn't bring myself to write something even a bit more angsty or serious this week.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sunday morning, Felicity woke up the same way that she did on Saturday. She felt a gust of air on her neck and slowly opened her eyes. Oliver was cuddled up next to her with his arms wrapped around her somewhat tightly. His hold wasn’t uncomfortable, but it seemed like subconsciously, he was scared of letting her go. His eyes were closed and he looked very peaceful. There was a small, happy smile on his face as he slept and Felicity had to make a huge effort not to start babbling to herself about how nice it was to see her boyfriend so at ease. She didn’t want to wake him up.

One of her arms was underneath Oliver, but the other one was free. Turning her head slightly, she saw that her phone was sitting on her nightstand near the edge. She grabbed it, it was close enough to grab without disturbing Oliver, and took a few pictures of Oliver peacefully asleep. She then switched it to video mode and propped it up against her alarm clock so that she could get a short video of Oliver fast asleep. She watched Oliver sleep and was about to turn off the camera when he began to stir.

He blinked a few times before looking up at her lovingly. He wasn’t fully awake yet, but he gave her a sleepy, content smile as he leaned up to give her a quick good morning kiss. He laid his head back down on her chest and a few moments later, felt her lips on his forehead. He leaned up again to kiss her and when he pulled away, he spotted the phone.

Felicity gave him a sheepish look, she wasn’t sure if he was okay with her recording him sleeping. Oliver looked at the camera for a moment before giving a wave and turning back to his girlfriend. They spent the next few minutes kissing. He started by giving her short little pecks, which turned into soft and tender, but longer kisses. As time passed, their kisses became more passionate and heated. When they needed to pull apart for air, Felicity put one finger against Oliver’s lips. She loved kissing him, but didn’t have that much endurance or skill at holding her breath.

Instead of just waiting for her, or pulling away, Oliver kissed her fingertip playfully. He then took her hand and kissed the rest of her fingers, causing her to giggle.

“If you keep doing that, things are gonna get too hot for video.” She said. Felicity was attracted to Oliver in every way, including sexually. She wanted to become more intimate with Oliver, but knew their relationship wasn’t ready for that yet. They were taking things slowly and if yesterday’s incident taught her anything, it was that she needed to pay closer attention to his body and reactions to her touching him. “Which is something I think we’re both on board for soon.”

Two things crossed Oliver’s mind as he shifted to face her better. One, he had no idea how he was so lucky to have her. And two, his growing erection had been rubbing against her leg while they kissed. His cheeks turned red and he went to pull away.

“Hey, none of the guilty-Oliver-face.” She said. “You’re attracted to me. I’m attracted to you, and if there weren’t other people in the house, I’d suggest we explore this part of our relationship a little better. Just not right now.”

His eyes darkened in arousal as he processed what she was saying. Even after seeing his scars, she found him desirable. It was a great ego boost, at least. He moved to kiss her again, passionately, but not as fevered as before. He wound one hand through her hair and used his other arm to circle her waist. She started to run both hands through his hair as well.

 

Roy didn’t know what woke him up. Maybe it was his body’s natural clock, or something completely random. All he knew was that when he opened his eyes, Thea was still laying on his chest fast asleep. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, and then heard a snort from next to him. Tommy was awake and looking at Roy with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What?” He whispered.

“Nothing, it’s just- you two are cute.” Tommy answered. “Second cutest couple I know, after Olicity of course.”

“Olicity?” Roy asked. “As in- oh.”

“Yeah, it was trending yesterday. And that’s the only reason I know.” He said. “Beats “Feliver” which would be the other way to Bennifer their names.” He let out a chuckle. “Anyway, I know I’m not Ollie, and it won’t mean as much coming from me, but I’m glad she has you.”

“Just because you two don’t share parents doesn’t mean you’re not her brother.” Roy pointed out.

“I don’t deserve to be called that.” He said. “When the Gambit- when she needed me most, I wasn’t there for her. Between my dad and- she needed me and I wasn’t there.”

“Maybe, but according to her, you did the best you could and you at least tried. Unlike some other people.”

“Yeah, I guess that counts for something.”

 

John and Lyla decided that, since it was Sunday, they should have breakfast, just the two of them, before they drove to Felicity’s house. Not only was there no reason to rush over there, but there were a few things they needed to talk about regarding their own relationship.

“At the risk of you telling me not to overthink it, what does you no longer being an ARGUS agent mean for us?” Digg asked Lyla.

“Well, what do you want it to mean?” She responded. “Because our problem wasn’t that we fell out of love. We just- we didn’t know how to be us without a war to fight.”

“Looks like we might’ve found one.” He said, referring to Oliver’s mission. “I still love you.”

“I love you too.”

It was quiet for a few moments and then Digg spoke again. “I didn’t get a chance to ask, but how are you doing with everything Oliver said?”

“I don’t-.”

“The two of us and Oliver and Felicity are the only ones who know about what Waller did to him. Hearing what happened after she double-crossed him, it couldn’t have been easy for you to hear.” He said. “So, honestly, how are you dealing?”

“Not great. He saved me from being- from a terrible death and when he needed me to return the favor, I couldn’t. I kept telling myself that I needed the connections I had at ARGUS, that by staying I could somehow use the agency to help him, but I- he was my friend, my partner and I couldn’t save him.”

John didn’t say anything, but he walked over to where Lyla was standing and engulfed her in a hug. He knew Lyla did everything she could once she learned about Waller’s treachery. Lyla knew that as well, but hadn’t learned how to accept it. They stood there, holding one another for several moments before deciding to head to Felicity’s house.

 

The sound of Roy and Tommy’s conversation woke Thea up and she started chatting with them about things while they waited for everyone else to wake up. It wasn’t very late and there was nothing pressing that warranted waking the others up. In the midst of their conversation, Felicity and Oliver came out of their bedroom holding hands.

Both of their lips were swollen and Felicity was blushing. Her hair was incredibly tousled and Oliver’s was sticking up at weird angles. They seemed completely at ease and greeted everyone happily. Oliver then led Felicity into the kitchen so that she could have her first cup of coffee of the day. The couple seemed lighter and more carefree than they had been in weeks. Thea, Roy and Tommy thought their current behavior was adorable. They liked seeing the people they cared about so happy. Donna came out of the guestroom a few moments too late to see Oliver and Felicity in their blissed out state, but Thea made sure to tell her that both of them seemed to be doing much better this morning.

Felicity was on her second cup of coffee, and Oliver was jokingly trying to convince her to eat some real food before she had more caffeine, when John and Lyla arrived. With everyone except Walter present, Oliver decided they should have brunch and set about making pancakes for everyone. As everyone sat around eating, Donna spoke.

“Thea, I know your birthday’s coming up soon, and it’s a big one. Any plans you’ve got in mind? Any gift ideas you wanna share?” She asked. “The last time person I bought a birthday present for was Felicity, and she always just asks for tech or tech-related stuff so….please give me an idea.” Donna was the only person, besides maybe Lyla, who could ask Thea a question like that and not risk making it seem like she was fishing. Yes, she wanted to know what Thea wanted for her birthday, but the group needed to know what she had in mind for the festivities.

“You don’t- you don’t need to get me anything.” She said. “I- I’m not gonna say that I don’t want anything but…” The only thing Thea had truly wanted for the last five birthdays was for Oliver and her father to be alive. She got half of that wish granted and asking for anything else seemed selfish. “I guess I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t wanna make it a big deal though.”

‘Fair enough’ Oliver said. ‘Are you going to- will you stay at the mansion after your birthday?’

“If I could move out today, I would.” She said. “Being there is- Mom switches between ignoring me and wanting to know everything I’m doing at all times. It’s- I’ve got so many memories there, but it just doesn’t feel like home anymore.” She sighed. “But I can’t just pack up all of my stuff and crash on your couch indefinitely. I wanna find a place before my birthday comes, but I’ve been putting it off.”

“Any area in particular?” Tommy asked.

She shrugged. “Don’t know. If all else fails, I’m sure Roy would let me move in with him.” She looked at Oliver to judge his reaction.

‘If that’s what you want to do, do it. I’d have to be a hypocrite to say you can’t do that.’ He said, squeezing Felicity’s hand under the table before continuing. ‘Living together is a really big step, though, so you might wanna think it over and discuss it as a couple before you make any decisions.’ He then looked at Roy, who looked uncomfortable. ‘And Roy? It’s okay. I trust you.’

Roy wasn’t uncomfortable because he thought Oliver wouldn’t react well. That was part of the reason, but mostly he was worried about Thea. He lived in the Glades; there’s no way she could live there, or even visit him there. There were a lot of people who hated the Queen family, and all rich people, in the Glades. Roy was pretty convinced that Thea was the one, even so early in their relationship, but he couldn’t ask her to move into his rundown house in the Glades, nor did he want to live off of her money and feel like a burden. Roy nodded distractedly at Oliver’s statement, and made a mental note to talk to Donna after breakfast.

“Well, if you two talk and decide you’re not ready to take that step, I’m looking for a roommate as well.” Donna said. “We could share an apartment. It’ll be like Friends!”

“I love that show.”

“Me too. Felicity and I used to watch it together when it was first airing.”

“Yeah. I loved Monica and Chandler’s story, but I hated how they treated Ross and Rachel for so long.” Felicity added.

“You mean having them dance around each other for no reason?” Thea said. “I hated that too. The writers didn’t need to put in drama for drama’s sake. Let them be happy!”

‘Yeah. Why can’t characters be in happy and healthy, stable relationships? It’s more entertaining to watch them unite to overcome problems than just making them get together and split up 14 times.’ Oliver said. He didn’t watch Friends regularly, but remembered everyone complaining about Ross and Rachel’s relationship.

“Exactly!” Felicity said. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

After brunch was over, and everything was cleaned up and put away, Felicity suggested that Team Oliver have a lazy day just watching movies and hanging out at the house. Everyone agreed and moved to the living room to decide what to watch. After some debate, they started watching A Bug’s Life. About twenty minutes into the film, Roy asked Donna if he could speak with her in private.

She nodded and led Roy over to the dining room table so that they wouldn’t be overheard. Based on his expression, she was expecting to hear bad news and prepared herself for that.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about my future and-.”

“You’re leaving Starling City?” She whispered in shock.

“No, no. I’m- not at all. I couldn’t- I’m not leaving.” He assured her. “But I was thinking about what Thea said, about moving in with me, and I- she can’t move into the Glades. It’s not- the Arrow has made things better but some people- as Robert’s daughter, she wouldn’t be safe there. But I can’t afford to move working retail, so- you suggested that I could become an ASL interpreter. I wanna know how I’d go about doing that.”

Happy that Team Oliver wasn’t about to lose a member, Donna relaxed and leaned back in her chair. “Well, there are two roads you can go. You can get the certification and work for an agency, or go it alone and work in a freelance capacity.”

“Do they-if I applied to an agency, would they run a background check?” He asked nervously. “I….did some dumb things when I was younger.”

“I don’t know what Washington’s requirements are, but they probably will.” She admitted. “Since agencies work with government departments, doctors and law enforcement, they have to do a certain level of due diligence. But you also might not need to find an agency.”

He knew what she was thinking. If Oliver found out he was going to start working as an interpreter, he’d hire Roy in a heartbeat. “I can’t ask Oliver to hire me to do that.” He said.

“What if he’s the one asking?” She replied. “What if he asks you to be his interpreter, not because he feels like he has to, but because he trusts you?”

“I’d probably mess everything up.” He said.

“No, you wouldn’t.”’ She sighed. “QC’s gonna have a board meeting sometime this week. If you’re off, I think it would be a good experience for you to see if you wanna become an interpreter.”

“Aren’t- if I interpret for Oliver, what are you gonna do?” He asked. Oliver only needed one interpreter after all. Having both of them there seemed pointless.

“In day-to-day situations, or short interactions, one interpreter is fine, but for meeting and events, especially long ones, its perfectly normal to have two or even three interpreters there to tag in and out as the event progresses.” She said. “Think about it, okay?”

He nodded and they went back to where the others were watching the movie. A Bug’s Life was followed by Toy Story, but partway through the movie, Thea stood up and ran into the guestroom. Everyone was startled by this, and Oliver stood up to go talk to his sister, but Felicity rested a hand on his arm.

“I’ll go. I think I might know what this is about.” She said with a smile. “When we’re ready for hugs, I’ll come get you, okay?”

‘Okay. I’m sorry if I did something to upset her.’ He said.

“I don’t think that’s what happened.” She said sadly before going into the guestroom.

When Felicity closed the door behind her, Thea looked up and tried to wipe her tears away without letting the blonde see it.

“Hey, sorry I ran in here. I killed the mood, didn’t-.” She started to say.

“Please don’t pretend like you’re okay if you’re not.” Felicity said. “You’re allowed to be sad. You’re allowed to cry. In this house, we acknowledge our feelings, the good ones and the bad.” She took a seat next to Thea. “Can I ask why the movie upset you?”

“I forgot that- it’s stupid.” She said.

“No, its not. Did the movie remind you something from before the Gambit?”

“Yeah, it- the night before Dad and Ollie left, he tried to cheer me up because I was upset he was gonna be gone for so long, So, we watched Toy Story. And I- Buzz fell out of the window and it was like I was back in the mansion five years ago.” She said. “Which is stupid because-.”

“One, stop calling your feelings stupid. Two, it’s the furthest thing from it. For years, that was your last memory of Oliver. Now, you’ve got plenty of time to make more memories with him, but for a long time, that was the last time you saw him. I still- certain things remind me of my cousin and I have the same reaction as you just did.” She said. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“I ruined the movie marathon.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.” Felicity sat with Thea until her tears subsided and then stood up. “Now, I’m gonna go get Oliver, because I told him I’d grab him when we were ready for some hugs. I’ll be right back.”

Felicity asked Oliver to come into the guest room and told him Thea could use a hug from her big brother. After each one convinced the other that they were okay, they started to hug. Felicity left the room, giving them some privacy. Everyone else was in the living room with the movie paused, trying not to look like they were eavesdropping.

“What happened?” Tommy asked.

“They just need a few moments.” She responded.

A few minutes later, Thea and Oliver walked out of the guestroom and sat back down on the couch. Digg pressed play on the remote and Oliver sat there with one arm around his sister and another around Felicity, keeping both of them close.

Once Toy Story was over, it was around lunchtime and Oliver went into the kitchen to start cooking. Even though not everyone was needed to help cook, the group gravitated towards the kitchen so that they could keep the conversations going. As Oliver was walking Roy through how to cut onions the right way, Tommy pulled Felicity aside.

“I kinda need a favor.”

“A favor or a favor?” She asked.

“I- there’s a difference? What’s the difference?” He asked. “Anyway, you know how yesterday, I said I was staying in a hotel? Well, I’ve got some things at my dad’s house, things I don’t wanna- when he realizes I’m not coming back, I’m sure he’s gonna dump all of it, but-.” After Malcolm returned from wherever he went after Rebecca’s death, he’d tried to purge the house of everything that reminded him of her. Unbeknownst to him, the housekeeper went through the pile and pulled some things out to give to Tommy. She felt like he should have some keepsakes and things that had been his mother’s. He kept some of it, and it was those items that he was worried about his father getting rid of.

“But there are things that are important to you, things you don’t want him to throw out or destroy.” She finished. “What do you need from me?”

“Can I borrow your scary, ex-spy bodyguard to help me sneak in and out without having to see my father?” He blurted out.

“Well, you’d have to ask her, but I think she’ll agree.” Felicity said. “Digg probably will too.”

“Thanks.” He said. “If my dad throws out some of that stuff, I don’t-.”

“We’re not gonna let anything like that happen.” She said firmly. “And if you wanna talk about why you moved out, consider this my open invitation to do that.”

“Thanks, but- I’m not ready yet.” He said with a tight smile.

There was a knock at the door and, after Felicity checked the cameras, she let Walter inside. He greeted everyone and apologized for stopping by unannounced. Nearly everyone told him that he didn’t need to call ahead before coming to visit. He came by to tell Oliver that the date for the board meeting had been set for Tuesday and which topics were going to be discussed. Oliver hadn’t chosen a proxy, so he’d be attending this meeting in person.

“I don’t know if you’ve made arrangements for an interpreter, but-.” Walter began to say.

‘Roy, I know its short notice, but Donna agreed to help me out, and I read online that for meetings, having two interpreters is better than one. Do you think you could-?’ Oliver asked the younger man. He might’ve picked up on part of Roy and Donna’s conversation earlier, and was testing the waters.

“You- you trust me that much?”

‘Of course I do.’ He said. ‘You’re my friend. I feel comfortable around you and I- I don’t do well with social interactions. This meeting is important and I- I want the person being my “voice” to be someone I trust and feel comfortable around. And its not fair of me to rely on Felicity to do that all the time.’

“Okay. I’ll do it.” He said.

“I assume you’ve made arrangements for interpreters then.” Walter said. “Fantastic. As the CEO, I look forward to a productive meeting. As your stepfather, I feel I should warn you that your mother is preparing for a fight.”

“What do you mean?” Donna asked, with a slight edge to her voice.

“Many of the items on the itinerary were added at her request. And, she’s become accustomed to these meetings going her way. Things may get…..unpleasant when they don’t.”

Walter joined them for lunch, after a tiny bit of convincing from Thea. In truth, he wanted to join them, but didn’t want to intrude or invite himself. After everyone was done eating, Felicity volunteered to clean up, and Oliver lent her a hand. Lyla suggested that the others go into the living room so that they wouldn’t be in the couple’s way.

“I’m really glad they found each other.” Tommy said, watching his best friend and Felicity move almost in sync as they cleaned up from their meal.

“They are adorable, aren’t they?” Donna said. “And I understand we’ve got Walter to thank for that.”

“Well, all I did was give Oliver the name of someone who could fix his phone. I didn’t know he’d meet…well….” Walter said modestly.

“The love of his life?” Thea said. “None of us could’ve known.” She didn’t want to say the words, but Felicity saved Oliver in more ways than one. Thea was scared to think about what might’ve happened to Oliver, or what state he’d be in, if he’d never met Felicity.

In the kitchen, oblivious to what the others were talking about, Felicity was trying to put a dish away, but couldn’t reach the right shelf. Oliver walked up behind her and effortlessly lifted her up slightly so that she could reach the correct height. When he put her back down, she spun to face him.

“I could’ve just gotten a step stool.”

‘I wanted to show off how strong I am to my beautiful girlfriend. Is that not allowed?’ He asked playfully.

“I’ve decided I’ll allow it.” She said, before leaning up to kiss him. He returned the kiss, and when they stopped kissing, they stood there for a few moments, rubbing their noses together.

“They’re so cute! I can’t take it.” Thea exclaimed, causing everyone to look at her and start laughing.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 64

Summary:

Oliver takes care of a few things, Lyla and Digg help Tommy with something and the one of the federal agents gets a surprising phone call.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity and Oliver slowly but surely cleaned up the kitchen after lunch, stopping a few times to kiss as they went, while the others sat in the living room pretending that they weren’t watching the couple being adorable in the kitchen. When Oliver and Felicity joined them, still holding hands, everyone quieted down.

“Gossiping about us?” Felicity teased.

“About how happy we are that you two found each other, yes.” Walter said. “You deserve to be happy.”

Oliver ducked his head so that no one could see him blush and was about to argue, but Donna spoke first. “You’re damn right about that. You give the rest of us hope.”

Now, Oliver was really blushing and Felicity threw her arms around him and let him rest his head against her shoulder until the blushing subsided. He wasn’t used to being praised and she knew he’d convinced himself that he didn’t deserve to be complimented.

“I certainly was lucky to meet him that day, wasn’t I?” She said.

‘I was the lucky one.’ He signed, still hiding his face.

Everyone seemed to sense that Oliver wanted to change the topic of conversation, so Walter asked everyone if they’d seen Planet Earth yet. With the attention no longer on him, Oliver calmed down a little bit and was able to relax. Halfway through the discussion about the nature documentary, Tommy blurted something out.

“Can I talk to Digg and Lyla for a second?” His earlier conversation with Felicity was fresh in his mind and the more he thought about the things left behind at Merlyn Mansion, the more anxious he was to get those things to his hotel.

Digg and Lyla both gave each other confused looks, wondering what the problems was, but stood up and followed Tommy into the kitchen.

“Sorry if I made it seem like there was this huge issue, it’s just that- when I moved out, I didn’t take all of my stuff with me. And I’m scared that my dad’s gonna just trash everything of mine when he realizes I’m not coming back. Most of that crap, I don’t care about, but there are some…..sentimental things I wanna hang onto. If that makes sense. I know it's not your job to help me move but-.”

John and Lyla looked at one another. They wanted to help Tommy, and they knew helping him would give them the perfect time to gather information about Malcolm and the mansion. They knew he signed for the explosives that sank the Gambit, plus Frank Chen had claimed that Merlyn was the leader of Tempest. They couldn’t just pass up an opportunity like this.

“We can go over there now if you want.” Digg said. “Or tomorrow. Oliver and Felicity are having a lazy day at home so-.”

“I- I don’t wanna sound neurotic, but if we could go today, it would make me a lot less anxious.”

“I’ll go tell everyone we’re gonna give you a hand with something.” Lyla said, walking towards the living room. She told the others that Tommy asked for their help with moving. Walter was the only one fazed by this news, but he didn’t seem upset by it. Tommy, Digg and Lyla left a few minutes later.

 

Tommy drove straight to Merlyn Mansion from Felicity’s house. As they entered his neighborhood, Digg spoke.

“So, your plan is to be able to get yourself out from under your dad’s thumb for good right?” He asked. “Do you know how that’s gonna work? Money-wise I mean.”

“I- I’m not exactly sure. I know my mom set up a trust fund for me, but beyond that….”

“Can your father access it?” Lyla asked him. He looked even more uncertain. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“First thing tomorrow morning, go see your lawyer. Your mother’s and grandparents’ lawyers as well. Find out what assets you have and which ones your father also has access to. I don’t just mean the trust fund your mom set up, but everything you own. Your grandparents could’ve named you in their will and you just don’t know it. If you have to depend on that trust, and your father is a signatory, he could cut you off and that would be a big problem.” She said. “You can open an account, with just your name on it, and transfer money from the trust to that account and your dad won’t be able to touch it.”

“My mom’s will was read when I was seven. My dad knows what she left me.” He pointed out. “Same with her parents’ wills.”

“That’s true, but if your mother wanted you to have something, with your father having no access to it, her lawyers would’ve found a way to phrase it as such in her will. I’m not just referring to money or stock either. She might’ve left you a letter or something she knew you’d want that was sentimental.”

Tommy nodded along with what Lyla said. “Thanks for helping me with this. I seriously owe you. I know it makes me sound like a total wimp, but my dad’s kinda-.”

“An asshole.” Digg said.

“I was gonna say terrifying, but asshole works too. He was just- after Mom died, he was always so cold. I mean, he lost his wife, but I lost my mom, and he acted like he was the only- anyway, lately, he’s gotten even worse. I think I’ll do a lot better with two ex-soldiers, including an ex-spy, there to keep me from backing out.”

“Tommy….what exactly did that part about an ex-spy mean?” Lyla asked carefully. “And who have you mentioned it to?”

“Oh, I was joking. It’s just- you’re all mysterious. And other than making a joke to Felicity earlier, I haven’t- Wait, did I accidentally blow your cover? Were you really a secret agent?” He said. “You know, that actually makes perfect sense. I mean, you said you worked for the government but-.”

Lyla sighed. “Yes, some of what I used to do could be considered “spy stuff”, but you can’t mention it to anyone. Anyone. Okay?”

“Judging by the fact that Digg doesn’t seem surprised, I’m guessing he knew. Can I ask who you worked for or is that one of those “if you tell me, you’ll have to kill me” things?”

“I used to work for ARGUS, which you haven’t heard of because that’s exactly how they like it. That’s the most I can really say. For now at least.”

“Well, I feel even better about bringing you both with me now.” He said as they pulled up outside the mansion. The garage door automatically opened and Digg and Lyla saw a number of high-end cars.

“Tommy, how many cars do you own?” Digg asked.

“Four. This one.” He said, referring to the car they were in. “Plus those two,” he gestured to two cars near the front of the garage, “and there’s a Range Rover behind that red sports car.”

“And you own them? Your name is on the registration? They aren’t just your dad’s that he lets you drive.”

“No, they’re mine. Why do you ask?”

“Well, there are three of us. Lyla can drive one, I can drive another, and we can get them out of here. We’d need to come back for the last one, but we can take them to the Ritz and you decide if you wanna keep them or sell them.”

“That would- yeah, if we could do that, I’d appreciate it.” Tommy said. “Even if we can’t get all of them out, I- I wanna take the cars, but I’m more worried about the rest of my stuff.”

“Okay.” Lyla said, getting out of the car. “Let’s get packing then.”

The trio made their way inside. Tommy stopped at every door, expecting to run into his father. They didn’t see Malcolm, so he was either out or in another part of the house entirely. They reached Tommy’s room and he started pulling out which items he refused to leave without. It took them about three hours to get everything packed and into the cars, but Tommy wanted to be absolutely sure he hadn’t missed anything and didn’t want to have to come back. The manager at the Ritz, wanting to keep a guest happy, arranged for a valet to be dropped off at Malcolm’s house as they were leaving to drive Tommy’s fourth car back to the hotel.

 

After Nyssa reminded Malcolm that he was being watched, she spent that night patrolling the streets of Starling. Even though she and Oliver weren’t formally allies, she intended to do what she could to protect the city while he was recovering from a few emotionally charged days. After sunrise, she returned to her hideout to rest. When she awoke, Asim was already awake.

“Have there been new developments?” She asked.

“The authorities have found evidence that the vessel was sunk by an explosive charge, Warith.”

“Which begs the question: why would Al Saher want to kill Robert Queen in the first place, and what is he trying to hide from us?”

“Indeed. Robert Queen was not a trained warrior. The only threat he could have posed, that would warrant such a drastic response, would have to be in the form of information. It was possible he did not fully understand the significance of what information he had.” Asim said. “Although, that leads to another question. Why would Al Saher wish to conceal his actions from the League?”

“I can only assume that what he is doing violates our laws and would incur the wrath of Ra’s al Ghul.”

“We should simply slay him now. His death would bring his plot to an end. He is injured, vulnerable. Easy to kill.” He said. “Regardless of what plans he has, he revealed the League’s existence to the world. It would be an honor to slay him on your behalf, for that transgression alone.”

“No. Killing him may not cause his plot to die with him. We could turn him into a martyr for those who may follow him.” She said. “While he lives, we can determine what his intentions are, through questioning or surveillance. We cannot act rashly.”

Asim bowed his head. “As the Warith al Ghul commands.”

“We are not alone, either. The Arrow is a skilled warrior and knows far more than we presently do. He struck me as reasonable when I encountered him and I feel he will make an excellent ally in this endeavor.”

“The Demon Head was wise to send you to approach him.”

 

With the main question about how the Queen’s Gambit sank answered, some members of the task force turned their attention to the Queen Consolidated employees who turned themselves in for being part of Tempest after the Arrow confronted them. The other people he’d confronted made narrowing down his procedure even more difficult.

Dinan and Reeves turned to McKenna when they were trying to find a connection. “The SCPD was tracking the Arrow weeks before we showed up. Any theories you can share?”

“Not much. The thing about him is that he kinda has two different approaches. He doesn’t seem to be fighting crime at random.”

“Meaning?” Reeves asked.

“Some of the people he’s….confronted, I think he targeted on purpose. He attacks their offices or homes. Businessmen, drug kingpins, gang leaders and so on. But sometimes, he fights street crimes, things he can’t really predict will happen. Muggings, street-level drug deals, rapes, they’ve all dropped drastically since he showed up. It’s almost like he’s got a strategy, but I don’t know what it is. He’s hitting both ends of the criminal underworld though, bosses and street-level.”

“Well, he could be patrolling the Glades maybe?” Dinan said. “That would explain the random, everyday, low-level arrests that are happening. But you can’t work out how he’s finding his “deliberate” targets?”

“I kinda- I’ve got a theory, but no way to prove it. Not unless he walks in here or calls us and tells us I’m right.” McKenna answered. The two agents gave her a look that indicated she should continue. “I know the SCPD is off the Dark Archer case, but in the video, right before the Dark Archer name-dropped Tempest, he said something about a list. Mentioning Tempest got you guys interested but, I’m thinking that, maybe, the Arrow’s targets, the ones he’s purposefully confronting, are on a list, possibly connected to Tempest, and he got a copy of it.”

“That would explain a few things. I’ve got no clue what that list could possibly be for, and I don’t think I wanna know, but it's not a bad theory.” Dinan said.

 

After taking everything to the Ritz Carlton, Tommy, Digg and Lyla returned to Felicity’s house just in time for dinner. Since Oliver had done a lot of cooking over the last few days, everyone feasted on a collection of leftovers. Dinner was quiet, but delicious and one-by-one, everyone went their separate ways. Walter drove Thea back to the mansion and remarked on how refreshed he felt after spending only a few hours with the rest of Team Oliver.

The next day, Felicity woke up at her normal time and had to talk herself into getting out of bed and going to work. For one thing, she was comfy in bed with Oliver. For another, she didn’t want to leave him again so soon after the incident on Saturday. When she asked him if he’d be okay after she left, he waved her off and told her he’d be okay for a few hours.

‘I was gonna surprise you, but…..I was planning on stopping by at lunch to take you out.’ He said. ‘I’m hoping that can maybe start being a regular thing with us?’

“Lunch dates with you are always welcome.” She told him. “I’ll see you at lunchtime then.”

He smiled and kissed her goodbye. She and Lyla got into her car and drove off. Oliver told Donna that he had a few errands he needed to run and left with Digg. They went to Jean’s office and asked her about the apartment he’d been in the process of purchasing when he moved out of the mansion. She admitted that she wasn’t sure what the status was, and told him she’d look into the matter. After leaving her office, Digg was surprised when Oliver asked to be taken to the foundry.

“So, what are we doing first? Sparring? Salmon ladder? Shooting at tennis balls?” Digg asked.

‘Later. I need to cross those last two QC employees off of the List first. I want the company free of Tempest before the meeting.’

“It’s daytime.”

‘I know. I wasn’t gonna wear my suit.’ He smirked. ‘And I figured I shouldn’t let the skills Lyla taught me in Moscow go to waste or get rusty.’

“Okay, that makes sense, but…..they’re gonna be at work.”

‘Exactly. Trust me, Digg. It’s all part of the plan.’ He said. ‘I hope I won’t need to confront them, not after the way the others made headlines. I’ll break in, leave a note where David Judge and Alex Melissi will see as soon as they walk in and leave. If I’m right, they’ll turn themselves in at 7pm at the latest and the cops won’t know I was there until hours after I’ve left.’

“Makes sense. And I’m not gonna complain about not staying up all night to bust these guys.”

‘I’m hoping we won’t go out tonight. I wanna be well-rested for the board meeting tomorrow. I think I’m gonna need it.’

 

Around 10am, Felicity and Lyla were getting snacks in the cafeteria when Lyla brought up something she’d heard Felicity and Curtis discussing earlier.

“Can I ask you something about the spinal implant you’re working on?”

“Yeah, of course.” Felicity said.

“What security features will it have?” She asked. “If people can ping cellphones, and some hackers can hack into cars and mess with the brakes, what’s gonna stop them from doing the same with the implants?”

“I- Curtis!” She yelled, causing her colleague to come over to the table.

Lyla repeated her question and then continued. “I also think you should consider a way to protect the chip from being accessible remotely. If they can be accessed remotely, there’s a chance a criminal could shut down the implant or send instructions to the body parts the implant effects.”

“Oh, my- we gotta make sure the implants’ security are better than airtight.” Felicity whispered with a look of horror on her face.

“You’re absolutely right, I can’t believe someone would think to do something like that but-.” Curtis started to say. “What kind of monster-?”

“Unfortunately, there are plenty of people in this world who’d try.” Lyla said. “I only understand bits and pieces of the technical jargon, but I thought I should bring the subject up while the project's still in a design stage.”

Curtis looked thoughtful and said he was going to go run some numbers on the issue. Lyla turned to Felicity who looked shocked. “Sorry if I derailed-.”

“You didn’t derail anything. In fact, it's possible you just saved someone from experiencing something traumatic.” She said. “I need to talk to Walter.”

“About the chip?”

“Not just that.” She said. Lyla’s job was as Felicity’s bodyguard, but her comments made it clear that she’d also be a valuable consultant. Her contributions made it at least worth broaching the topic with Walter.

 

The task force agents were each working on their own parts of the investigation when McKenna walked into the bullpen. A few people seemed surprised to see her since she mentioned that she was spending the day with the SCPD, catching up on a few of her other cases.

“I thought you all should know that two more Queen Consolidated employees turned themselves in. They’re downstairs and they’ve already confessed to working for Tempest, and decided to come clean after a visit from the Arrow today.”

Doyle looked at McKenna, then out of the window, and then back at her. “It’s broad daylight. I thought he operated solely at night.”

“Until now, he has.”

“He clearly didn’t come to their offices, because we would’ve heard about it, meaning he confronted them at home. Shouldn’t they have been at work?” Anderson said.

“They were. They both told the same story. They were at work and got a call from a blocked number tell them to take the rest of the day off and go home. As soon as they walked in, they found a note instructing them to report to the nearest police station and tell us everything they know about Tempest and everything they’ve done for the organization.”

“And they actually did what the notes said?”

“Without a second thought. You might wanna go down and talk before the commissioner closes the case, and carts them away to save face.”

“Andy, Reeves, why don’t you go relieve the SCPD of interrogation duty.” Dinan said. “I’ll-.” Her phone began to ring. She hit a few buttons before accepting the call. “Dinan…..you’re who?....Yeah, and I’m just supposed to believe-….Okay, yeah…..We appreciate that….so there is a List….ok, I’ll do that. Thank you.” She then hung up. “Well, that’ll probably be the weirdest call I get in my whole career.”

“You wanna fill the rest of us in?”

“That was the Arrow. I recorded the conversation to review later, but he claims the five Queen Consolidated employees that are in custody are the only ones on the List, yes there actually is a list, and it’s the one that Dark Archer mentioned. He just sent me a copy.”

“Did he say anything about the List that stood out to you?” Doyle asked.

“He didn’t say where he got it from, but said it’s a list of names with no contextual information. He investigated the names and discovered they are all criminals with connections to Starling. He said he wanted to clean house at QC before getting in touch with us, and Tempest only has one asset left with ties to the company.”

“Let me guess, Moira Queen.”

“The one and only. He seemed sure that by now we were at least suspecting Mrs. Queen of being up to something, and promised to send us any evidence he finds that will stand up in court.”

“Helpful.” Anderson said. “His voice give anything away?”

“He used a modulator and didn’t use any slang terms that might help us narrow down his identity.”

 

While on his lunch break, Roy stepped out of Sink, Shower and Stuff to give Donna a call. He couldn’t believe Oliver was going to put so much trust in him and he was scared of messing it up. As he’d been working, more questions and worried occurred to the younger man. What if he wore the wrong thing? What if he broke some unwritten rule? He hoped Donna could give him some answers and help him stay calm.

“Hi Roy, how is-?”

“I’m kinda freaking out. What do you wear to a board meeting? Because I don’t own a suit and-.”

“Do you have slacks and a button-down shirt?”

“Somewhere….I think.”

“Check when you get home tonight. If you don’t have one, I’ll bring one of Oliver’s for you.” She said. “Some people might be there wearing suits, but business casual, which is what I just described, is fine. any other worries?”

“Is there- you’ve done this before. Are there any rules that I should know? Am I allowed to interpret while Oliver’s still signing or is that some huge faux pas?”

“With ASL, you can interpret as he signs. Unlike with say, translating English to Spanish, you don’t need to hear what he’s saying, translate it into another language and then repeat it.” She said. “The one thing is that you can’t editorialize.”

“I don’t- I don’t know what that means.” He admitted.

“It means you can’t change what he said to make it sound better or more polite. If he signs “that’s a stupid idea”, you can’t turn around and tell the others that he said “I’m not sure if that would work”. Outside of cursing, you need to tell them what he said as close to verbatim as possible.” She explained. “Also, unless you don’t understand what he’s saying, or it doesn’t make sense, like maybe he used the wrong word, I wouldn’t respond back to him in ASL. Non-speakers tend to think we’re talking about them if they aren’t hearing at least half of the conversation.”

“Oh. Good to know.”

 

After Oliver dealt with the two QC employees who were part of Tempest, he and Digg took Lyla and Felicity to lunch before they returned to the foundry. Oliver said he wanted to work on some arrows, so John took some time to work out while he did that.

When he reached a reasonable stopping point, he walked over to Oliver to see what he was working on. There were about two dozen flechettes laid out on the table in front of him.

“I’m noticing you’re not using green. Thinking of changing your look?”

‘No, the green is….it’s important to me. I’m not changing it.’ The green motif came along with his hood, which was the only connection he still had to Shado and Yao Fei. ‘These aren’t for me. Remember the archer I met last week?’

“Yeah, the mystery woman Felicity dubbed “Libby”.” He said and Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Short for Lady in Black.”

‘I said I’d see her in few days, and that was a week ago. I thought I should bring her a gift. Partly as an apology, but also as a gesture of goodwill.’ He explained. ‘These match the fletching of her arrows, and the carving on this box,’ he gestured to the wooden box he set down to his left, ‘matches a pattern I noticed on her quiver.’

“Wow, that’s…..you’ve got an eye for detail. Do you always put this much thought into gifts?”

‘Wait til your birthday and you’ll see.’

Oliver sent Felicity message telling her there was something Arrow-related he needed to take care of, and he wouldn’t be home when she got back. He also messaged Donna and Tommy and told them he needed to stop by the apartment he’d bought, which Jean learned he still owned, and that once he was done there, he’d head to the house.

Instead, Oliver put on his suit and started to patrol the Glades. In truth, he was hoping his presence would lead to running into the mystery woman once again. He was just happy that it got dark pretty early this time of year.

Oliver had leaped from one roof to another when he heard light footsteps behind him. Slowly, he turned to see Nyssa standing there.

‘I wish to apologize that I have not been able to meet with you before now.’ She signed before he had a chance to greet her.

‘I was going to apologize for the same reason.’ he admitted.

Even though he couldn’t see her face, he saw a change in her eyes and guessed that she was smiling. ‘I suppose this means neither of us need apologize then. I have noticed the media coverage of your recent actions, so I am at least somewhat aware of what has kept you occupied since our last encounter. I was pursuing leads of my own, unfortunately to no avail.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that. Any way I can help?’

‘I am hoping we can help one another in the near future. First, simply by comparing our information and perhaps, if we are able to make sense of it all, we can develop a plan together.’ She said. ‘But not tonight, as there is another matter I must see to. One unrelated to my desire to stop the Dark Archer.’ She decided it was time to tell Sara a little bit more about what was really happening in Starling with her family.

‘I wish you luck with your other task.’ He said. ‘Before you go, I have a gift for you.’ He removed a bag he had strapped to his back and pulled out the wooden box he’d shown Digg earlier. ‘I wasn’t sure what was expected or polite when meeting an ally, so I thought a gesture of goodwill might suffice. The only thing I know about you is that you are a warrior and well-trained in using different weapons. I don’t know how to forge a blade, and us archers are specific about our arrows, so I hope these are acceptable.’ He opened the box so that she could see the flechettes inside.

Nyssa removed one from the box and tested the weight and feel of it. ‘These are excellently crafted. Thank you.’

‘Thank you for the compliment. I hope they serve you well.’ He said. ‘I should go. I don’t want to keep you from your other tasks.’

‘Until our next meeting then.’ She signed before leaping off of the roof and onto a nearby shorter roof.

 

Having delivered his gift, Oliver returned to the foundry and changed into his street clothes before heading home. Since Oliver wasn’t able to make dinner, Felicity decided it was the perfect day for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, which everyone was enjoying when he arrived. No one mentioned the board meeting the next day, but it was clearly on everyone’s minds.

Felicity and Oliver turned in early and as they were lying in bed, she asked him how he felt about the meeting.

‘I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.’

“I’m sure you’re going to knock their socks off. Where did that phrase come from anyway? I mean, it kinda rhymes, but I can’t figure out how that became a phrase that means good luck. I don’t know. English is a really weird language.”

‘I heard from someone that it was the second hardest language to learn.’ He told her.

“Doesn’t surprise me. Who told you that, if I’m allowed to ask?”

‘You can always ask.’ He said. ‘It was Shado, actually.’

Felicity just hummed in response. She wasn’t sure what to say and she didn’t want to pester Oliver to explain either. This was the first time Oliver had mentioned Shado, or anyone else from the island, casually in conversation. It felt like a big milestone.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 65

Summary:

Oliver goes to the board meeting, Tommy reconnects with McKenna and Nyssa makes a confession.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver woke up way earlier than he meant to on Tuesday morning. Part of him wanted to think he woke up so early because he’d gone to bed earlier than usual the night before, but deep down he knew the truth. He was nervous about the board meeting and that made it difficult to sleep in.

Knowing he was going to surrounded by people he didn’t really know was enough to make him anxious, but Moira would also be there. This would be the first time Oliver had seen his mother since Laurel’s trial and the first time she might try to talk to him since the day he moved out of the mansion. He was dreading it a little bit.

Waking up early did have one advantage, though. He was able to watch Felicity sleep peacefully. Laying partially on top of him, she slept on, letting out cute snores occasionally. Oliver watched her sleep and gently ran his fingers through her hair as he stared up at the ceiling, reminding himself of all of the reasons why he shouldn’t be nervous about the meeting. Walter would be there. Digg would be there. Roy and Donna, both of whom he trusted, were going to interpret for him instead of someone he didn’t know. He knew what items were on the schedule, so he was prepared to discuss them. Seeing his mother would be uncomfortable, but he wasn’t alone or unaware of what he was walking into.

Oliver felt Felicity shift slightly on his chest and he looked down just in time to see her open her eyes and look up at him with a sleepy smile.

“Good morning.” She said, leaning up to kiss him. “Sorry if I have morning breath.”

‘Morning. Your breath smells wonderful.’ He replied.

“You’re my boyfriend. You have to say that.” She countered. “Couldn’t sleep?”

‘I’m a little nervous.’ He admitted. ‘What if the rest of the board thinks I’m still the same stupid playboy?’

“You’ll prove them wrong.” She said. “No, you didn’t graduate from college, or go to business school, but you’ve been keeping up-to-date on the company since you came back, and you aren’t the type to start talking about something you don’t understand.” She sighed. “Proving to people that you’re better, or more qualified, than they think is a Smoak Family rite of passage. Do it. Become one of us. One of us! One of us!”

‘I feel like that’s a reference to something I haven’t seen.’

“It is.” She shrugged. It was quiet for a few moments and she looked over at her clock and noticed the time. “I’m up early. And you’re up early. What should we do with all of this extra time?” She said with a smirk.

‘I can think of a few things.’ He said before he moved them so that he was laying on top of her. They began kissing, and after a few minutes, he moved his lips away from hers and down to her neck. He reached a spot at her collarbone and she squirmed before letting out a laugh.

“Sorry, its just- with your stubble, that tickled.” She said. Oliver got a very mischievous look on his face as he went back to what he was doing.

 

Digg woke up, had a cup of coffee and was about to jump in the shower when he noticed Lyla waking up. He kissed her good morning and told her he was going to take a shower.

“Are you telling me or inviting me?” She asked suggestively.

“Oh, there’s always an open invitation.” He said as he walked into his bathroom. He was starting to turn the water on when she got into the shower behind him. “You decided to join me after all.”

“You made me an offer I just couldn’t refuse.” She said with a smile.

Digg and Lyla ended up leaving later than they meant to and arriving at Felicity’s house a little later as a result.

 

Walter, keeping with his tradition on board meeting days, was up at six AM and out of the house before seven. While he didn’t have a voting interest, as CEO he was responsible for running the meeting. Heading into the office early gave him time to narrow down any last-minute details and give him enough time to confront any problems with the meeting that popped up. Today, he had another reason for leaving Queen Mansion so early: avoiding Moira.

Walter wasn’t the only resident avoiding Moira, as Thea had arranged for Tommy to pick her up while Moira was still getting ready for the board meeting and taking her to school.

 

Felicity and Oliver got out of bed when Felicity’s alarm began to go off. They walked into the kitchen where Donna was already enjoying a cup of coffee. Oliver said hello to her and went into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

“Your morning is clearly off to a great start.” Donna said knowingly to her daughter. “If the giggling I heard was any indication.”

“Mom, we- Oliver and I haven’t- you didn’t hear what you thought you heard.” She explained. “We’re not….there yet.” This morning was the first time Oliver had seen Felicity topless. Sex was on the horizon, but still a little while off.

“Oh, I didn’t think you were, but you’ve clearly moved beyond just hugging and kissing.” She said. “Just remember that these walls aren’t very thick.”

“Mom!”

“Okay, fine. I’ll stop.” Donna said. “How’s he doing? Nervous?”

“Yeah. He hasn’t been in the same room with his mother since the trial, not to mention the nerves about being around a bunch of new people.”

Donna was about to say something when the doorbell rang. She stood up to answer it and found a very nervous Roy standing on the other side. She let him in and asked him if he’d had breakfast or coffee yet. He said he hadn’t and followed her into the kitchen.

“Is this- am I dressed okay?” He said, trying to smooth out the wrinkles of his shirt. “This is the only button down I have, but I don’t own an iron and-.”

“Give me a sec.” Felicity said. “I think Oliver has a few shirts that don’t fit him anymore.” She went into the guest bedroom and walked out a few moments later holding a light blue Oxford shirt. “Try this on.”

“I can’t- I don’t wanna steal Oliver’s clothes.”

‘It’s just a shirt, Roy.’ Oliver said. ‘And it doesn’t even fit me anymore. See if it fits.’

Roy took the shirt from Felicity and went into the bathroom to change. He walked out, still feeling anxious but looking a little more prepared for the day. They sat around the dining room table and began eating the scrambled eggs Oliver had made for breakfast. Halfway through eating, John and Lyla let themselves in. “Sorry we’re late. We…..got sidetracked by something at home.” Lyla said.

Judging by the look on both John and Lyla’s faces, Felicity, Donna and possibly Oliver knew what that “something” was. No one said anything though, other than ask if they wanted breakfast as well. After breakfast, and the clean-up, Felicity and Oliver both went to change out of their pajamas. Felicity barely had time to appreciate how good Oliver looked in his suit before she needed to leave.

As always, Oliver walked Felicity and Lyla to the car, this time accompanied by Digg, Roy and Donna.  He handed Felicity and Lyla lunchbags.

‘I hope we can go out to lunch like yesterday, but in case the meeting runs too long, well-.’

“You wanted to make sure we still had yummy, and healthy, lunches.” Felicity said with a smile.

‘Exactly.’ He said before kissing her. ‘I love you.’

“I love you too.” She said, giving him a quick peck. “Go knock the board’s socks off.”

“Oh, you two!” Donna exclaimed before hugging Felicity. “Have a good day at work.” She pulled away from her daughter and hugged Lyla, much to the woman’s surprise. “You take care too, Lyla.”

“I will, Donna.” Lyla said, still a but surprised by the hug.

Felicity and Lyla got into the car and drove away. After Felicity’s car turned off of the street, everyone else piled into Digg’s car.

 

The board meeting was scheduled to begin at 9, but most of the board liked to arrive early so that they could talk amongst themselves. Oliver was the first to arrive, and walked into the boardroom while the staff was still setting everything up. Walter was talking to a man Oliver didn’t recognize in his office, but when his stepfather spotted him, Walter introduced him as Daniel Correll, the head of Public Relations.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Queen.” He said.

‘Please call me Oliver.’ Oliver signed, and Donna interpreted for him.

“Oliver. If you have a moment, after the meeting, there’s something I’d like to speak to you about.” He wasn’t sure how Oliver felt about the press or what he might want to do about making a statement, but he didn’t see the harm in asking.

‘It will depend on how long the meeting is, so I don’t want to promise something I can’t commit to.’

“If not today, then we can find another time, I’m sure.” Correll said, before saying he needed to head to his own office.

Board members started to trickle in soon after. A few had known Oliver before the Gambit sank and clearly weren’t sure how to approach him. One man, Charles Winston III, a friend of Richard Queen, was the first to approach Oliver.

“Hello Oliver. I don’t know if you remember me from when you used to visit your grandfather at the office. Charles Winston.” He said. Winston was in his mid-80s, but still sharp as a tack.

‘I remember you. Your assistant gave me the best candy.’ Oliver replied with a fond smile. There had been a few times that Oliver visited his grandfather before his retirement when Oliver was eight. They only part of the visits that he really remembered, being a kid, were the people who gave him candy or soda. Donna told Winston what he’d said.

“I suppose that would stand out to a five-year-old.” The man said with a laugh. “I’m sorry, I’ve been rude and not asked either of your names.” He said, addressing Donna and Roy. “I hope I haven’t made a bad impression.”

Donna waved his concern off before introducing herself and Roy and saying they were here to interpret for Oliver. He simply nodded and asked Oliver how Thea was doing and what he thought about the company’s recent market performance.

Once Charles broke the ice with Oliver, a few other board members approached him to talk. Between Oliver’s lack of public appearances since returning and this being his first board meeting, most shareholders wanted a chance to at least speak with him, but weren’t sure how to approach him.

Moira entered the board room and was surprised not only to see that Oliver had arrived before her, but that he was talking to Charles Winston, one of the board members from her father-in-law’s time as CEO and one of the stockholders who always seemed to oppose her suggestions. Him speaking to Oliver wasn’t good if she wanted Oliver to side with her. She was about to greet Oliver, breaking up their conversation, but was caught offguard by Digg’s presence.

“Mr. Diggle. I’m not sure why you are here. I thought I made it clear that you are no longer an employee of mine.” She said.

“You’re right, I’m not. My new employer, however, insisted that I be here.” Digg said, looking over at Oliver.

She didn’t stop think about what that meant, instead walking over to speak with Oliver. Part of her was proud that he had at least worn a suit to look the part of a respectable stockholder, even if he was out of his depth and didn’t realize it.

“Oliver, honey, it’s nice of you to come, but you didn’t need to. I’m sure there are other, more personal matters, you need to focus on at a time like this.” She told him. “I’ll happily keep serving as your proxy.”

‘This company is Dad’s legacy, it’s also Grandpa Richard’s.’ He responded. This time, Roy interpreted for him, after Donna encouraged him to. ‘I might not be interested, or qualified, in working here, but I think I should at least fulfill my duties as a shareholder and come to meetings.’

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Moira asked Roy.

“My name’s Roy Harper. Donna and I are here to interpret for Oliver during the meeting.” He responded.

“I can speak for Oliver perfectly well myself.”

“Oliver, I didn’t know that your mother knew sign language.” Donna said. This was a trap. Donna hadn’t expected Moira to set-up her own trap, but she wasn’t going to complain at the opportunity. Oliver didn’t look away from his mother, but just shook his head. “Oh.”

“Oliver, I wish you would’ve told me you were thinking of coming to this meeting.” His mother said. “I would’ve happily discussed the agenda with you, and as your proxy, shared any concerns or ideas you had with the others.” Moira’s plan to get what she wanted out of this board meeting was based on Oliver not showing up and having not appointed a different proxy so that she could swing the vote in the direction she wanted. “You’re not quite- I hope you didn’t come here to try and prove something.”

‘I don’t want or need a proxy at the moment. I might appoint one later, just in case. There are some things I wanted to address with the board. Thank you for protecting Thea’s interests when I was gone, but that time is over.’ He signed. ‘And I wouldn’t have come to this meeting if I didn’t think I could handle the pressure.’

Charles Winston, and few other board members watched this interaction with interest. Clearly, there was a rift between Oliver and Moira, as the press had started to speculate. They weren’t sure what to make of Oliver as a shareholder yet, but it was safe to say he wasn’t squarely on Moira’s side. A number of them didn’t like the way Robert had run the company after his father’s retirement or the way that Moira had voted against the company’s best interests over the last several years. Now that Oliver had claimed his shares, they wanted to see how the power shift would go. Additionally, a few of the men in the room were insulted at how condescending Moira was being towards her own son, implying he was too weak or stupid to handle a meeting.

Before Moira, or anyone else, could comment on Oliver’s statement, Walter called the meeting to order. While there usually weren’t assigned seats, for this meeting, everyone had a name plate. Moira’s seat was nowhere near Oliver’s due to Walter’s intervention.

“I didn’t know we had assigned seats like in elementary school now.” Daniel Bowen, one of Carter Bowen’s uncles, joked as he took his seat. He had been a part of Moira’s alliance since Robert’s disappearance.

“We have some new faces joining us and given that our agenda is rather long, I thought it best to avoid needing to make introductions.” Walter explained. “Now, before we discuss the first item, I believe Mr. Queen wanted a chance to address the board.”

Oliver and Donna both stood up. He took a deep breath before he started to sign. ‘I want to thank Walter for allowing me to address the board as a whole. I apologize for not being present at the last quarterly meeting in October.’ The last board meeting took place while Oliver was still living at the mansion and, for obvious reasons, he wasn’t in the right mental space to even consider attending. ‘The time that I was away changed me, I doubt most of you realize how much, but the trials I went through also gave me a sense of clarity. This company is my grandfather’s life’s work, it’s my father’s legacy, and I have every intention of doing all that I can to honor their memory. Since I came home, I’ve paid close attention to Queen Consolidated and taken great interest in how the company performs and operates. I hope that, together, we’re able to make this company the best that it can be.’ Oliver sat back down after he finished his statement.

“Thank you, Oliver.” Walter said. “Now, the first order of business is to discuss funding for security upgrades. The head of our security division has informed me that upgrades will cost an estimated $20 million.”

“That price is unrealistic and outrageous.” Moira said.

“A man, a suspected terrorist if the news is to be believed, was able to walk into one of the company’s facilities easily, while armed. That….break-in could’ve turned into a massacre, on live television. And we later found out that he had a man on the inside who was doing who knows what to aid him.” A woman named Elizabeth Pelletier, who normally served as a swing vote, pointed out. “We should at least discuss what upgrades are being proposed.”

“I’ll second that.” Richard Deckard said. “Is this proposal covering all facilities, all Starling facilities or just the Applied Sciences building?”

“We’re focusing on headquarters and Applied Sciences at the moment.” Walter said. He started to explain what Josiah Hudson had recommended and how it would benefit the company. When he was finished, Moira was about to argue against every point he made, but Oliver started to say something.

‘This company became what it is because of its employees. In all of the number crunching and penny-pinching, we shouldn’t forget that this company would be nothing without its employees. And they shouldn’t be afraid or feel unsafe when they’re at work.’ He said. ‘Studies show that companies that don’t make improvements after an attack like the one that took place lose value and some of their most valuable employees soon after.’

“Oliver, you don’t- $20 million dollars is a lot to ask.” Moira said. He shouldn’t be here and his comments just now proved it.

‘Purchasing Farlow Unlimited, which the board voted to buy four and half years ago, cost over five times as much, and that subsidiary not only has made no profit, but every year for the last three has reported a loss.’ He countered. ‘Unlike the proposal for that purchase, which you championed, the proposal from Mr. Hudson has clear and tangible goals and benchmarks.’

Moira seemed to be at a loss when Oliver referenced one of the many decisions made by the board, against Walter’s advice, that Moira had pushed through at Malcolm’s request. Charles Winston, meanwhile, gave Oliver a look of respect before turning to look at the next person who spoke.

 

Tommy sat in Jitters, nervously tapping his fingers against the table. His coffee date with McKenna was happening today, and he’d arrived early to make a good impression. Unfortunately, getting there early meant he had time to get nervous about messing things up. Right on time, McKenna walked into the coffee shop and spotted him.

“Hey, thanks for meeting me.” He said, standing to hug her.

“Well, it has been a long time.” She said. They went to the counter to order before returning to the table. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Well, I spent the last few days unpacking.”

“You moved?”

“Yeah, my dad- we’ve never been close, as you know, but after he got hurt, he became even more of a dick than usual.” Tommy explained. “And then after- after what happened to Ollie, Lyla and I, he said something that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive.”

“Your dad was hurt? I didn’t hear about that.”

“I think he wanted to keep it quiet. He crashed his car awhile back.” He said. “Actually, I think all of the press from the “Arrow vs. Dark Archer fight” kept the attention off of him. It happened that same night.”

“Huh, weird.” She said. “Well, I’d tell you what I’m up to, but you already know everything I’m allowed to disclose.”

“You don’t have a life outside of work?” He joked.

“Lately? Not really.” She answered. “As an old friend of Oliver’s, so not as a cop, how’s he doing?”

“I think he’s doing the best he can. Just trying to take it one day at a time.” He said.

They stayed at Jitters for about an hour. When the baristas started to give them weird looks for hogging the table, they took it as a sign to leave. On the way out, Tommy asked McKenna if he could take her out to dinner soon. She agreed.

 

The board approved the budget increase with a vote of 64%. Moira realized bitterly that the shareholders that were part of the “old guard”, those who hadn’t been supportive of Robert as CEO or her proposals since Walter took over, sided with Oliver, giving him enough votes, in addition to a number of “neutral” shareholders, those who weren’t solidly against Moira but also weren’t allied with her on everything.

After the vote on security measures, Donna and Roy swapped seats and Walter raised the subject of the stop-work order on most of Applied Sciences’ projects since it was connected to the need for increased security. Once again, Moira was very vocal about her opinion that work should start once again. She made it clear that, as far as anyone was reporting, Miller had been working alone and that one bad actor shouldn’t derail the company’s entire future.

“I ordered those projects be put on hold out of concern for what Doug Miller may have tampered with or sabotaged. He had access to most of the department’s files.”

“Most of them?” Daniel Bowen asked.

“Certain technology and software are proprietary and owned by specific employees. Said employees weren’t always willing to allow Mr. Miller access to that property.”

“And by certain employees, I assume you mean-.” Moira started to say.

“There are several, and the projects those employees are working on haven’t been effected by the stop-work order.” Walter said.

“You haven’t explained why you put that order in effect.”

“The day after Doug Miller’s arrest, I was visited by two federal agents who were investigating him and the attack on the building. They advised the company stop any and all projects Miller was involved with until would be sure that nothing had been compromised or tampered with. An associate with experience in the military and intelligence community made a similar suggestion.” Walter answered, referring to Lyla. They hadn’t finalized her position as a part-time consultant, so he referred to her as simply an associate for now. “Additionally, a few shareholders, including Mr. Queen, reached out to me about their concerns.”

All eyes turned to Oliver. Moira’s eyes narrowed when she heard that Oliver had been communicating with Walter without her knowledge.

‘After I saw the news, I was concerned that something he was working on could be turned into a weapon or something. It might not have been my place, but I wasn’t sure what steps the company might take.’ He said.

Oliver didn’t want to make it seem like he didn’t have faith in Walter as a CEO, so he played the “I don’t know much about business” card.

Moira and a few of her allies argued that whatever damage Miller had done was done and they believed work should start up again. If the company hadn’t found evidence of foul play by now, then maybe there wasn’t any.

“You can’t audit something like this in less than two weeks.” Deckard said. “Not when we’re talking about months or years of work.”

“And putting those projects back into the production too soon opens us up to liability. Not to mention we could be the victim of corporate espionage.” Winston said. “He could’ve sold our designs to Kord Industries, or Star Labs, or Wayne. What percentage of projects are still active?”

“About 15% of the projects that were active prior to Doug Miller’s arrest. There are also a number of projects that have been proposed since then that Miller wouldn’t have known about or seen.”

“So, they aren’t just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs.”

“No, they’ve been quite busy.”

 

Nyssa put off calling Sara for as long as she could reasonably justify waiting. First, she blamed the time difference between Starling and Nanda Parbat. Then, she claimed she needed to focus on the discussions of the task force. Lastly, she decided she couldn’t call Sara on an empty stomach, so she ventured out to get food. When she ran out of excuses to delay, she called her beloved.

“Hey.” Sara said when she answered the phone. “Is this a social call or-?”

“There are a number of things I’ve kept hidden from you recently, and I believe now is the best time to be honest with you.” She said. “If you recall, during our last conversation, I claimed the Oliver Queen you knew is not the same man who returned to Starling City.”

“Yeah, I remember. I’m curious why you’re bringing this up.”

“I don’t know what happened to him after the events with Slade Wilson that you told me about, but whatever he went through was traumatic for him.” She said. “So traumatic that he no longer speaks.” Nyssa explained that Oliver had struggled to adjust to being home, until he met Felicity and started building a support system. She explained that he’d started fighting crime as the Arrow and how he seemed to be doing better mentally recently. She even told her about how sightings of Oliver and Thea, or Oliver and Felicity, tended to break social media. After discussing Oliver, she told Sara about her mother’s career, then her parent’s divorce and how her father had hit a professional snag.

“Okay, but Laurel- she’s doing okay, right? Kicking butt as a lawyer.”

“I’m afraid not. Your sister, from what I understand, didn’t have the best reaction to Oliver’s return or his mutism. In fact, she maintains that its all an act so that he doesn’t have to apologize to her.” She said. “I don’t know how to tell you this but-.”

“Please, just say it.”

“Laurel is in prison. She began stalking and harassing Oliver and his girlfriend. They were granted a restraining order, which she repeatedly violated. After too many violations, her probation was revoked and she’s currently serving a three-year sentence in a minimum security prison.”

“I- thank you for being honest with me.” Sara said. She was saddened to hear that her father and Laurel weren’t doing well, but the blow was softened by knowing her father had begun getting sober and that her mother was doing well.

 

The board voted to wait until the federal agents or the team auditing Applied Sciences had finished their investigation before starting work on the projects that were on hold. Once again, the vote was decidedly not in Moira’s favor, much to her annoyance. When she controlled 45% of the stock, the biggest victory she’d won was a 54% vote, so seeing Oliver manage to sway 30% or more to his side was frustrating. The board agreed to break for lunch before addressing the last item on the agenda. Everyone stood up, and Oliver left the room followed by Digg before Moira could reach him.

“So, how did I do?” Roy asked Donna.

“Pretty well so far.” She said. “I think the hardest thing to get over is the nerves, but you’re doing great.”

Oliver left the boardroom, and snuck into the stairwell. Yesterday, the task force had given Oliver his cellphone back, informing him that nothing on it was evidence related to his abduction. He decided to FaceTime Felicity, wanting to hear her voice.

She picked up almost immediately. “Hi, honey! Lyla, Curtis, say “hi” to Oliver!” He could hear two voices saying hi from farther away. “How’s the meeting going?”

‘It’s a little boring and my mom being here isn’t exactly ideal.’ He told her. ‘I think a few of the board members are starting to like me.’

“That’s good.” She said. “Any important developments?”

‘There’s still one topic we need to talk about, but its been going well so far.’ He said. ‘I’m sorry we can’t meet for lunch today. This meeting is taking forever.’

“You can take me out to lunch tomorrow. I’m fine with my turkey wrap that my very thoughtful boyfriend made.”

‘I wish I could have lunch with you, instead of a bunch of old guys though.’ He said with a pout. ‘You’re more fun to talk to.’

“Of course I am.” She said. “Go eat lunch. I’ll see you at home. Love you.”

‘I love you too.’

He and Digg went to a sandwich shop around the corner from QC and picked up food for themselves, Roy and Donna. They sat together in the board room eating and chatting. Moira returned from her own lunch to see Donna and Oliver talking.

“You’ve done great so far.” She told him. “You should be proud of yourself.”

‘Thanks, Donna. I kinda- I expected this to go badly. After everything that’s happened-.’

“You’re more than just the things that have happened to you, remember?” Donna’s way of talking to Oliver seemed very maternal. Moira found herself feeling jealous that her son was opening up to this random woman more than he’d ever opened up to her.

Curious, she walked out of the room and into Walter’s office. “Darling, I was hoping to speak with you about something.”

“As long as we’re not discussing the two matters the board has already voted on or the topic we’re about to debate.” He said. Years ago, when Moira was the biggest shareholder by proxy and she kept making the board vote against Walter’s suggestion, she’d enacted a rule where they wouldn’t discuss board meetings after the fact. To keep the peace, she claimed. Walter was reminding her of that agreement, in case she wanted to try and sway him.

“I wanted to ask you which agency you contacted to hire Oliver’s interpreters.”

“I didn’t. Oliver informed me that he was bringing his own people to the meeting.” He said.

“How did he find them?”

“Donna is Felicity’s mother and Roy is a friend Oliver met a few weeks ago.” When Donna introduced herself, she didn’t reveal her last name. No one thought it was odd, since she was basically there as support staff, and knowing her name didn’t seem critical.

“Felicity’s mother is his interpreter? Surely that’s a conflict of interest.”

“I don’t see why it would be.” He said. “She knows ASL, she’s worked as an interpreter before and he trusts her. She’s here as a favor to him, since he wasn’t given much notice to make other arrangements.”

“I don’t see why he’d need an interpreter, I can-.”

“As a shareholder, Oliver has a right to be present and given his condition, he needed an interpreter, whether it be provided by Queen Consolidated or he bring his own.” Walter didn’t want to have this argument now, but it could be said that Oliver was disabled, seeing as his mutism was a type of speech-impairment, not to mention his PTSD. He had a disability, and as a result of several federal laws, he had a right to an accommodation, in this case an interpreter.

Moira was going to respond, but Walter’s watch beeped and he realized that the lunch break was over. The stockholders filed back into the boardroom and the meeting began once again.

 

Walter announced that the last item on the agenda was the Hood Initiative, now called the Arrow Initiative. He claimed that one shareholder was against the company being associated with the Arrow and didn’t believe the funds being dedicated to the initiative should go towards it.

“Should we even be getting involved with this?” One man asked. “The Arrow is a criminal.”

“We aren’t working with him, its just using the name.”

“The question still stands.”

‘I think we should.’ Oliver said. ‘The company has slowly been giving back less and less for years, even before my father’s death. And the charities Walter mentioned in his speech are critically underfunded.’

“It’s not our duty to save the Glades, if that’s even possible.”

‘No one’s saying we have to save the Glades, but we can help make the area better.’ He responded. ‘People in this city used to help one another. We don’t anymore, and that’s very sad. At least to me.’

“This is a business. We can’t decide things based on emotion.”

“Stock prices, and profits, have risen since the Arrow Initiative was announced.” Winston said. “Whether you’re feeling philanthropic or not, the announcement is good PR and thus good for business.”

“We all give back, but this company-.” Moira started to say.

“With all due respect, Moira, given recent reports, you aren’t exactly the best person to talk about donations and charity.” Elizabeth Pelletier said. “The Glades have improved over the last year, I think we all know who the biggest cause of that is, but even before that, the area was never unsalvageable.”

“Why are we even arguing about this?” Someone asked. “Queen Consolidated committed the funds. If we back out now, we’ll look unethical and might have a mob, whether physical or online, on our hands for reneging. Besides, who argues against giving to a good cause? Or several in this case?”

The board members were tired, and a little annoyed. They wanted to get this meeting over with. Walter asked if they were ready to vote, which they said they were.

Moira’s proposal to abandon the Arrow Initiative failed with a vote of 18% to 82%. Even some of her allies voted against the move. With the agenda completed, Walter ended the meeting. On the way out, Moira finally managed to get close enough to Oliver to speak with him.

“You came to a meeting. You proved that you’re taking things more seriously, but I think I should be your proxy. I’ve done well by you and your sister.”

‘Every matter we talked about in there, we differed on. If I hadn’t been here, you would’ve used my shares to vote the way you wanted, not the way I wanted.’ He said. ‘I think that shows that you shouldn’t be my proxy, since we don’t have the same intentions.’

“Oliver-.”

Oliver looked at Donna and began signing. ‘I wanna go pick up Thea. I don’t wanna continue this conversation. Does it break some kind of rule if I ask you to lie right now?’

“Oliver says he has an appointment he really needs to get to. You’ll have to continue this conversation later.” She told Moira. Oliver, Roy, Digg and Donna all got into the car before she could say anything. “The “rules” only apply in the meeting, and you can always ask us not to say something if you preface it with “please don’t repeat this”. Team Oliver, remember?”

‘You’re right.’ He said with a smile. Digg, Donna and Roy returned to Felicity’s house and Oliver drove to Thea’s school to pick her up. The meeting had gone a lot better than he’d hoped.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Sorry that this chapter had a lack of Olicity goodness, I wanted to have the board meeting contained in just one chapter.

Chapter 66

Summary:

Oliver tells the others about the board meeting, Dinan develops a theory and a blast from someone's past shows up.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the meeting adjourned, Moira disappeared to give Malcolm the bad news. The silence she received in return spoke volumes louder than any amount of yelling or berating he could’ve done. She attempted to offer to fix the issue, but he hung up on her. When the call ended, Moira rushed back to Walter’s office to talk to him.

“How could you do that to me?” She asked. “Allow me to embarrass myself like that?”

“I didn’t do anything other than run the meeting, which is part of my duties as CEO. Aside from provide additional information when, and only when, it was relevant or a shareholder asked.”

“You contradicted everything I said.”

“Because the numbers didn’t agree with the point you made, or I objectively didn’t believe what you proposed was in the company’s best interests.” He said calmly. “You were not the only person whose views contrasted mine, either. Mr. Winston, Mr. Deckard, and Oliver were all-.”

“Speaking of Oliver, how could you tell him about this meeting?” Moira lost her edge because Oliver had been there. Oliver was there, according to her logic, because Walter told him about the meeting and convinced him to show up. “He didn’t have any business being here.”

“He owns a substantial amount of stock in the company.” He said. “The date of this meeting came up while we were discussing Queen Consolidated.”

“You’ve been talking to him?” She asked. “He refuses to answer any of my texts, or call, but he’ll communicate with you.”

“When he first came home, I told Oliver to come to me if he needed anything. After he moved out, he reached out to me with questions about the company.” Walter lied. Soon, he’d tell Moira how shocked and appalled he was by her actions, and her colluding with Laurel, but he wanted to wait until after Thea’s birthday at least. Until they had that conversation, he wasn’t going to say that he sought Oliver out to apologize for being complicit in Moira’s behavior.  “If Oliver chooses not to respond to your messages, I can’t force him to.” Moira scoffed and stormed out.

 

While Moira and Walter were arguing, Charles Winston III and Richard Deckard were discussing the meeting as they made their way out of the building. “This was the first time in years one of these meetings has felt even the slightest bit productive.” Deckard said.

“I agree. The debate was an actual discussion instead of a waste of time.” Winston said.

“Why Moira insisted on making us debate at all, for years, is beyond me.”

“It’s not that complicated. She did it for the same reason why she does everything: for appearance.” He grumbled. “Oliver surprised me though.”

“Really?”

“Five years ago, we all know what kind of person he was, or at least seemed to be. He was acting too much like Bobby for my taste.” Charles explained. Having known Robert since he was young, Winston never stopped calling Robert “Bobby” no matter how many times the man tried to correct him. “Today, though, it was like Richard Queen had come to the meeting.”

“I was certainly impressed by how he handled himself, even with his mother trying to baby him.”

“Baby him? Ha! She wouldn’t look at him, didn’t even try to touch him. She was only acting that way because, if she convinced him he couldn’t handle the meeting, like a big boy, she’d get her advantage back.” Winston said as he reached his car and his driver opened the door for him. “I wouldn’t have been nearly as polite if someone spoke like that to me.”

The two men said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

 

Oliver pulled up outside of Thea’s school right as the bell rang to dismiss the students for the day. He got out of the car and leaned against it so that she’d see him as soon as she came outside. He watched the doors open and his sister make a beeline straight for him. When she was a few steps away, she leaped slightly, and Oliver caught her in his arms and spun her around before placing her down on the ground.

‘Good day at school?’

“Eh, it was okay. I’m happy it's over.” She shrugged. It wasn’t that Thea didn’t like school because she found herself liking it more recently. She was happy it was over because it meant she could spend the next few hours with Oliver and Felicity. It also meant that she was one day closer to being 18. She threw her bag into the backseat and got into the passenger seat. “Looking good, by the way.”

‘Thank you.’

“I’m guessing Felicity also enjoyed the sight of you in that suit.” She teased.

‘She did, but I haven’t seen her since this morning.’ He admitted before starting the car. ‘I had to miss our lunch date, because the meeting ran long. And I need to change before I start dinner, or I’m gonna ruin this suit.’ Felicity told him that he looked “so sexy it shouldn’t be legal”, her exact words, in the suit and he wanted to give her more time to appreciate the outfit, but it didn’t seem possible now.

“I’m sorry.” Thea said sympathetically. She looked upset for a few moments before she perked up. “Hey, just because you can’t keep the suit on until she comes home doesn’t mean you can’t dress up for her another time. Maybe your next date night? Or the next time you have a meeting or something? There’s also Valentine’s Day coming up soon.”

He nodded, thinking about what she said, and they drove home. Thea told Oliver about her day at school and, while she wanted to hear everything about the board meeting, she knew they’d probably talk about it at dinner, when the rest of Team Oliver was there.

 

While Oliver was picking up Thea, Donna, Digg and Roy were relaxing at Felicity’s house. Today had gone pretty well, much better than anyone had expected, but they were all happy the meeting was over. Digg got a call from Carly and went into the kitchen to answer it while Donna and Roy stayed in the living room.

“I think today went great!” Donna said.

“Yeah, Oliver and Walter really kicked butt back there. They won every argument, and I didn’t ruin everything or get so nervous I passed out or puked.” He responded. He was only half-joking, since he didn’t know if he’d done a good job interpreting or not.

“Roy, sweetie, you did great. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been doing this for years. I bet, if you ask Oliver later, you’ll find that he was even more anxious han you.”

“He looked so calm the whole time though.” He said in confusion.

“I think he didn’t want his mother to see how nervous he was, use it against him. He has this tic, I first noticed it because of my old job at the casino, where he rubs two of his fingertips together. He did that multiple times when he wasn’t signing, usually right after he’d finished signing and waited to hear reactions. You both did awesome jobs covering your nerves.” She assured him. “And if Oliver offers me a job, I think I’m gonna take it. I think you should too, we make quite the dream team.”

“I- I mean, it sounds like a good opportunity, I just- I don’t know. I don’t wanna get this job only because I’m dating his sister, you know?”

“That’s not why he’d offer you a job at all. You’re not just Thea’s boyfriend. You’re Oliver’s friend. After all, he’s not just my daughter’s boyfriend, he’s also my friend. I like him, he’s become like a surrogate son to me. If Oliver offers you a job for personal reasons, it’ll be because you’re his friend, who he feels comfortable around and trusts. And today, you proved that you’re qualified for this job.” She could tell that Roy wasn’t completely convinced, but was coming around to her position. “You don’t have to decide anything now, okay? And if you’re worried for some other reason, John and I have your back.”

“Yeah, we do.” Digg said, coming back into the room. “What do we have his back on? I missed that whole conversation because Carly called me.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it just- Andy’s birthday is on Friday and that’s always a tough day for her and AJ.” He said.

 

After his lunch date with McKenna ended, Tommy went to a meeting with his mother’s and grandparents’ lawyers. His grandparents hadn’t left him much money, at least compared to his father’s current net worth, but there were a few heirlooms in the family vault that they left him. He also learned the current value of the trust fund that his mother had set up for him before her death. It wasn’t quite as large as Oliver’s, but he could live comfortably for the rest of his life without needing to work. He made sure to get copies of every document they showed him so that he could discuss it with his lawyers the next time he stopped by their office.

He left the attorneys’ office and drove to Felicity’s house. He arrived just as Thea and Oliver were pulling up and walked inside with them. Oliver asked for someone to start boiling some water while he changed out of his suit.

 

Felicity’s lunchtime FaceTime call with Oliver was the highlight of her day. She spent the rest of her workday trying, and failing, to figure out why the user interface for one of her programs wasn’t connecting properly to the backdoor coding she’d done. She was finding it hard to focus, knowing that the board meeting was today and hoping it had gone well. When she spoke to Oliver at lunch, he said things were looking good, but there was a chance that might’ve changed. Around four, she decided she needed to take a step back and stop obsessing about the problem until tomorrow. When five o’clock hit, she and Lyla were the first ones out of the building.

“I don’t usually run out of the office at full speed but-.”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” Lyla said. “I wanna know how it went too.”

“It went well. At least, I hope it went well. I feel like if it hadn’t my mom or Digg or Roy would’ve at least texted to give me a head’s up. Unless he asked them not to. Which would be bad. Oh my god, what if it became a complete disaster and-.”

“Felicity. I’m sure it went as well as it could’ve gone. And, while Roy, Donna and Johnny would listen to Oliver’s request, if they felt like we needed to know, they would’ve said something.” Lyla said, trying to calm the blonde down. “Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill.”

When they left the parking lot, they didn’t notice a sedan with tinted windows parked down the street. The driver pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

“Yes, I have confirmation.” He said. “Agent Michaels is undercover at Queen Consolidated.”

“Any sign of a partner?”

“Nope. I think she’s solo on this one.” He answered.

“Excellent.” Chien Na Wei said on the other end. “We will strike tomorrow.”

 

Felicity and Lyla arrived at the house and as soon as they entered, an alluring smell caught their attention. Felicity loved Oliver for many reasons, and Lyla loved him, platonically, for countless others, but neither woman would lie and say one of those reasons wasn’t because he was an amazing cook. Lyla walked over to Digg to kiss him hello while Felicity went into the kitchen where Oliver was.

She was a little disappointed that he’d changed out of his suit, but greeted him and gave him a big kiss as soon as he knew she was there. When they broke apart, after Thea cleared her throat and warned them about a pot simmering, Felicity sighed happily.

“I know you love your Henleys, but you looked very handsome in that suit.” She told him. She then lowered her voice to a whisper. “And it made me think very grown-up things.”

‘Oh, I plan on wearing it again very soon.’ He told her. ‘I didn’t think it would look good covered in food though.’

“Yeah, Armani and raw chicken really don’t mix.” She joked. She was about to ask how the meeting went when Tommy jokingly asked if they were ever going to be fed.

Roy playfully hit him on the back of the head while Donna put him to work setting the table. In a few minutes, everyone sat down to eat.

“So, this is where we usually talk about our days.” Felicity said. “Anyone feel like going first?”

“I had a date.” Tommy blurted out. “Well, it was coffee, but she agreed to an actual date afterwards.”

“Ooh, who’s the date with?” Donna asked.

“McKenna Hall.” He said. “I just wanted to catch up with her, so we got coffee but it turned out that we just really clicked. If that’s weird, Ollie, I understand and I-.”

‘It’s okay. You deserve to find someone.’ Oliver told his friend. ‘The date went well?’ he signed slowly, but there were a few signs the others needed to explain to Tommy before he could answer.

“Yeah, we really hit it off. I mean, we were friends in school, but- it went well. I think she likes me.” He said. “I almost got us kicked out of Jitters because we were so chatty and kept hogging the table.”

“That’s good.” Digg said. “Who’s going next? Thea? Felicity?”

Oliver sighed and put his fork down before he started signing. ‘The board meeting happened. It was better than I thought. The other shareholders didn’t- I think I’ve earned the respect of at least a handful of them. They didn’t treat me like- they listened to what I had to say.’ He said. ‘And we “won” the fight on all three issues being discussed.’

“You can tell me that you don’t wanna talk about it,” Tommy said, “but this was the first time you’ve been around your mother since you moved in here. How did that go?”

‘During the meeting, it was okay. I didn’t have to sit near her, but before and after-. She still doesn’t get it.’ He said. ‘She acts like this….rift between us is because I’m upset she threw out an old stuffed animal or something.”

“Um, I hate to contradict you, Oliver, but during the meeting, it wasn’t okay.” Donna said quietly. “She talked to you like you were a child, trying to convince you that you couldn’t handle being on the board and that you should really let her worry about all of those complicated things. You handled it like a champ but- her behavior wasn’t okay.”

‘It made her look bad, not me.’ He pointed out. ‘I wanted part of the board to respect me, and the way I reacted to her helped do that, I think. Plus, the more she tried to convince me to leave, the more desperate she looked, especially since she kept losing.’

“The majority sided against Mom?” Thea asked in surprise. Moira was used to getting what she wanted, and probably reasoned that enough of the board might side with her, or at least side against Oliver, that she could push things through, but clearly, she’d been wrong. “I wish I could’ve seen her face.”

“So, to recap.” Lyla said. “Tommy’s coffee date went well. Felicity and I were productive at work. Thea had a good day at school and the board meeting went better than any of us thought it would. A good day all around.”

“I’d say so.” Roy said. He then saw that Oliver had a concerned look on his face. “Something wrong?”

‘Daniel Correll. I was supposed to stop by his office after the meeting, but I forgot. I was eager to get away from Mom and-.’

“He didn’t say you needed to meet today. I’m sure you can stop by tomorrow or we can give him a call and explain. He’ll understand.” Donna said.

‘I should apologize in person.’ He said. ‘That seems like the responsible thing to do. Would either of you mind coming with me tomorrow to speak to him?’

“Not at all.” Roy and Donna said in unison.

The rest of dinner was quiet. Thea’s upcoming birthday was a big topic of conversation, as was Donna trying to figure out the logistics of her moving to Starling. After a few hours, everyone went their separate ways, with Thea deciding to crash with Tommy at the Ritz.

Felicity and Oliver decided to call it an early night and retreated into their bedroom. Felicity changed into her pajamas and laid down on the bed. Oliver joined her and started unbuttoning her pajama top.

“Can I help you?” She asked playfully.

‘I was doing some very important recon this morning, until we had to get dressed.’ He answered. ‘I wanna get back to what I was doing.’ He returned to unbuttoning her shirt. While seeing Felicity shirtless was nice, he hadn’t had the chance to truly appreciate the sight that morning. Soon, her shirt was completely unbuttoned and he had an unobstructed view of her chest. ‘There we were.’ He smirked when he saw that one of her nipples was already hard.

“Don’t judge. It’s cold in here, okay?” She said.

‘I’ll warm you up then.’

He rubbed his hands together a few times, to warm them up, before he started to caress her breast. He was gentle at first, worried that he might get a little too excited or rough. After a few minutes, he started to massage one of them and his girlfriend let out a tiny moan.

“Do that again.” She told him. He repeated the motion and she let out a blissful sigh. He moved so that it was easier for him to touch either breast and gave her left one the same treatment her right one had been getting. She noticed how mesmerized he seemed to be by her chest and let out a giggle. “Anyone with boobs can get a frat boy to do anything.”

‘I was a frat boy.’

“I rest my case.” She said. “Not that I’d want a different frat boy touching my boobs.”

‘You better not. They’ll need to fight me for the honor.’ He half-joked.

They fooled around for a little while longer before falling asleep.

 

Nyssa leapt down from one roof and went into a roll as she landed on the next one. She hadn’t seen Oliver tonight, but supposed he might need a few more days before he was ready to resume vigilante duty. She would do what she could to protect the streets of Starling during his respite. The patrol gave her a way to keep her mind off of her earlier conversation with Sara anyway.

 

The next day, Felicity went to work, like normal, and Oliver promised they’d get lunch together later that day. Remembering both Felicity’s reaction to him wearing a suit, and Thea’s advice, Oliver changed into a different, but still very nice, suit from yesterday after she left and told Donna he was ready to head to Queen Consolidated to talk to Correll whenever she was. She changed and they headed out with Digg.

They arrived at the company headquarters and Oliver found Correll’s office, knocking on the door. He looked up from his paperwork and greeted Oliver.

‘I’m sorry about not stopping by to see you yesterday after the meeting. I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you. I came by stop make an appointment so that we could talk when it’s convenient for you.’ Oliver said.

“I have some free time right now, if you’d like?” Correll offered. “If we need to make an appointment to talk in more detail, we can set it later.”

‘Thank you.’ He said, stepping further into the office. ‘I meant to stop by yesterday, but- after the meeting, my mother-.’

“I’ve heard things are strained between you two, and frankly, well your mother’s recent behavior has been….well, I don’t know how to describe it. But I completely understand why you might’ve wanted to get out of here as fast as possible yesterday.” He said evenly. “I wanted to speak with you about your public profile. You’ve become very popular recently and for all of the best reasons.”

‘You mean those pictures and videos people keep taking and putting on that Instagram thing that Thea keeps saying we broke?’ Oliver said. ‘I don’t quite understand what it is, but she told me a bit about it.’

“Yes. People are still posting photos and videos of you and Thea. A clip of you two from yesterday made the news. The fact that you were in a suit made some people think you might be taking a job here or on track to become CEO.”

‘I can’t- I don’t- I didn’t even graduate college, and after- I can’t handle a job like that, or much of any job to be honest. I need to- I didn’t mean to cause anyone problems. Walter’s doing a great job as CEO and I-.’

“Oliver, it’s okay. It’s just speculation. No one’s taking it seriously. You didn’t cause any problems for Walter or this company.” He said. “To be honest, you’ve only made him, and all of us, look better in the last few months. The reason I wanted to talk to you is to ask how you’d feel about a press conference or even just releasing a statement.” He took a deep breath. “You should know that there are a lot of rumors flying around about you that no one’s gone public with because the media can’t get anyone on the record.”

“Rumors about what?” Digg asked. “Is there something we should be concerned about?”

“The rift between Oliver and his mother.” He said before looking back at Oliver. “There’s always been speculation about what happened on that island and how it's impacted your physical and mental health. What your plans for the future are. There’s also a great deal of interest in your relationship with Ms. Smoak, though a lot of that’s been publicized already. The general consensus is that you’re in a happy, healthy relationship. Felicity being so successful and well-regarded in her field has been well-received. I’m not sure if you saw the pieces, but a few weeks ago, several articles detailing her career path were run. I hadn’t known that she marketed and sold her first piece of software at the age of 14 until I read it.”

‘Good.’ Oliver signed with a smile. ‘I’m glad people are starting to realize how amazing Felicity is. She deserves more recognition than she gets.’

“You’re damn right about that.” Donna said. “Sorry, just- having a proud mama moment over here.”

“You’re Felicity’s mother?” Correll asked and Donna nodded enthusiastically in return. “I can only imagine how proud you are of her.”

They talked for a little while longer before Correll had another meeting he needed to get to. Oliver hadn’t made a decision yet about what to do, but he made it clear that a press conference was out of the question. He believed it would be too much for him to handle. They dropped Donna off at Felicity’s house before stopping by Applied Sciences to pick Lyla and Felicity up for lunch.

 

McKenna walked into the task force’s area right when her shift started. She’d tried to meet up with her team, but they had no real leads and it was common knowledge that the commissioner wanted the Gambit investigation wrapped up so that the federal agents would lead and he didn’t have to play nice anymore.

“You left in a hurry yesterday afternoon.” Dinan remarked as she was reading over her notes for the fifteenth time.

“I was meeting Tommy Merlyn for coffee.”

“You could’ve just said you had a date.”

“It was just coffee, two old friends catching up….but he did ask me on a real date when we parted ways. And I said yes.”

“Turned on the charm, huh?”

“Nope. He was just- well, it was nice and he wasn’t trying too hard to be cool or mysterious, you know? It wasn’t an act.”

“I had a guy ask me out like that once.”

“How’d that go?”

“Well, I married him and we have three wonderful, but somewhat aggravating kids, so I’d say it went well.” Dinan said. “Anything interesting come up over coffee?”

“He talked about his college days, a few things that happened after Oliver went missing. A bit about Oliver’s first few weeks home. I shared some stories from the academy and my time as a beat cop. The most surprising thing he told me was that he’d moved out of his family’s house. His dad was a huge dick to him after he got hurt and said something after the situation with the Red Mask Gang that was the final straw.”

“Malcolm Merlyn was injured? I didn’t hear about it. The again, I can’t remember the last time he was spotted anywhere.”

“Yeah, because the same night he crashed his car, the Dark Archer attacked Applied Sciences.” McKenna said. “Kinda buried the story and Malcolm probably wanted to keep it quiet anyway.”

“Did Tommy say where his father was hurt?”

“He said his hand was bandaged and he was limping. He didn’t know if he had any broken ribs, but the one time he saw him, Malcolm was moving like his whole body hurt.” She answered. “Why?”

“Malcolm Merlyn vanished for two years after his wife died. He was the only person Moira would see after the Gambit went missing. And the same night that he was in an accident where he injured his leg, hand and possibly ribs, the Dark Archer fought the Arrow and took an arrow to a knee, a hand and might’ve gotten some busted ribs.” Dinan said. “I could be grasping at straws but I think it’s worth at least entertaining the idea that Malcolm Merlyn could be the Dark Archer.”

 

Digg, Lyla, Oliver and Felicity had lunch at a small, family-owned deli in the middle of the city. Digg and Lyla made an excuse about “needing to see the whole restaurant for security purposes” so that Oliver and Felicity could have a table to themselves. A few other customers snapped some covert pictures, but overall, the couple’s presence wasn’t a huge deal.

The end of Felicity’s lunch hour came far too soon and it was time for her to head back to work. Oliver and Felicity kissed each other goodbye, which another customer got a picture of, before she and Lyla got into the car and drove away.

They were halfway back to the office when Lyla realized someone was following them. She made a sudden right turn, much to Felicity’s surprise.

“Uh, you were supposed to go straight and-.”

“We’re being followed. I need you to call Johnny.” She said. Felicity pulled out her phone right as someone leaned out of the passenger side of the car tailing them and fired, hitting the side mirror. “Keep your head down until I say so.”

“Who is-?”

“I don’t know.” Lyla admitted.

Felicity remembered that she needed to call Digg and finally dialed the number. “Hey, John? Lyla and I are kinda- someone’s chasing us and shooting at the car.”

“Where are-?”

“Tell him we’re at 18th and Crenshaw, heading towards Nelson.” Lyla said. “He needs to meet us at Adams Street.” Felicity repeated the directions and John told her they’d be in position shortly.

 

Behind them, Chien Na Wei was getting very annoyed that Lyla had so easily spotted the car chasing her.

“I don’t know where she thinks she’s going. It’s not like we can’t just follow her.” The driver said.

“You should be doing less talking and more driving. You were supposed to run her off the road before she spotted us.” She said. “I want her taken alive.”

“And the passenger?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Lyla accelerated in front of them and they followed suit, not wanting to lose her.

 

‘Drive faster.’ Oliver signed to John.

“I can’t speed too much or we’ll get pulled over and we won’t be much help to them if we’re busy getting ticketed.” He said. “It’s less than a block away. We’re gonna make it.”

He brought the car to a stop where Lyla said and within moments, Lyla’s car was rushing towards them. Followed by a blacked-out SUV, a sketchy looking sedan and two men on motorcycles with machine guns.

“I kinda wish you were wearing your other suit right now.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 67

Summary:

Lyla faces-off against someone from her past, other people react and Felicity gets asked a question no one's asked yet.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘Drive faster.’ Oliver signed to John.

“I can’t speed too much or we’ll get pulled over and we won’t be much help to them if we’re busy getting ticketed.” He said. “It’s less than a block away. We’re gonna make it.”

He brought the car to a stop where Lyla said and within moments, Lyla’s car was rushing towards them. Followed by a blacked-out SUV, a sketchy looking sedan and two men on motorcycles with machine pistols.

“I kinda wish you were wearing your other suit right now.” Oliver didn’t find himself disagreeing.

 

McKenna was walking through her old precinct when suddenly, every cop around her jumped to their feet and started rushing towards cruisers. A passing officer, who she’d gone to the academy with, told her that there was a high-speed chase slash shoot-out happening nearby.

She pulled out her phone to check for alerts and brought up a live news feed. “-haven’t confirmed who the pursuers are, but sources have told me that they saw Felicity Smoak in the front car.”

She ran into an empty hallway and dialed her phone. “Have you seen the news?....That’s Felicity’s car. I recognize it from the warehouse.” She hung up and two seconds later, her phone rang again. “Yes, I saw it….” She did her best to wrap up the second conversation as quickly as possible as she headed to her car.

 

“How close are we to 18th and Adams?” Doyle yelled as soon as he hung up the phone. Dinan picked a bad day to decide to go back to the warehouse where the Queen’s Gambit had been found. “We need to get there. Now!”

Around him, the field agents on the task force scrambled to get what they needed and leave. They hadn’t known that the car being chased and shot at was Felicity’s until McKenna called him and told him.

 

Lyla was reaching the intersection where Digg and Oliver were idling and Felicity noticed, from her position hiding her head, that she kept looking out of the passenger side window.

“Okay, when I tell you to, I want you to recline the seat back as far as you can and sit up at the same time.” Lyla told her.

“I- my hand-eye coordination isn’t really-.”

“Felicity? Do you trust me?” She asked.

“Of course!”

“Then trust me that this will work.” She said. “Okay? And….Now!”

Felicity sat up and yanked on the lever, reclining the seat as far as it would go. She was practically lying on the backseat by this point. As soon as Felicity’s head was behind Lyla, the former ARGUS agent slammed on the brakes.

One of their pursuers who was on a motorcycle and directly behind them, crashed into the back of Lyla’s car at the sudden stop. The rider flew off of his bike, which took the brunt of the hit. Felicity was about to say something when Lyla raised her handgun and started firing through the passenger side window at the other biker. One bullet managed to wing him, causing him to pull back. Lyla sped off again.

Digg watched the vehicles that were chasing Lyla and Felicity. The two bikers were alone. The sedan had only one person shooting at them, while the black SUV had at least three armed men inside of it, all shooting at the car. One from the front passenger seat, one shooting from behind the driver and another who was leaning out of the sunroof. Wanting to take care of the biggest threat first, he waited for Lyla, the two bikers and the sedan to pass them before he stepped on the gas, colliding with the SUV and sending it into a spin.

The vehicle was still drivable, but now Digg was blocking its path and the man shooting from the sunroof was hunched over, likely due to a few broken, or at least cracked, ribs from the collision.

Oliver was about to get out of the car, but Digg motioned for him to stay put. “I’m the bodyguard here, remember? If you get out, ready for a fight before I do, it’ll look suspicious.”

The archer reluctantly nodded and watched Digg get out of the car, firing a few shots at the gunmen. One fired back, while the passenger got out of the car and made to slip past Digg, on Oliver’s side. Seeing his chance, Oliver waited for the gunman to get closer enough before throwing the door open, hitting him with it. Before the Triad member could react, Oliver hit him in the face and wrestled the gun away from him. The man tried to take it back, but Oliver used his fighting experience to his advantage and overpowered the man.

Digg was still exchanging gunfire with the other gunmen when something flew past his ear. A second projectile flew past him a moment later. Sirens started to blare from nearby. Then, one of the gunmen started yelling to his cohorts in Mandarin. Oliver honked the horn, getting Digg’s attention. Digg hit the last man standing before walking over to his own vehicle to see what Oliver wanted.

‘We should go.’ He signed. ‘They’re stuck here.’

“What do you-?”

‘Tires.’ He responded. Digg looked back at the SUV and noticed there were arrows sticking out of each of the tires on the van’s driver’s side. The tires were completely deflated.

“Your mysterious friend, I’m guessing.” He remarked. They drove away and made it to the next street as three police cruisers surrounded the SUV. “Wait, do you speak Mandarin?”

‘Yes. Drive.’

 

Nyssa peered out of the window of the abandoned apartment she was hidden in. There had been just enough time between Oliver driving away and the police arriving that she was able to retrieve the two arrows she fired. Thankfully, this road wasn’t very busy, so no one spotted her or saw her fire her arrows. Without the arrows, it would look like the tires had been shot out and the authorities wouldn’t know about a third archer active in the city.

She told herself that she’d only intervened in the shoot-out because the sooner the Triad was dealt with, the sooner Oliver would return his attention to Malcolm Merlyn, his real enemy. The fact that she felt a warm feeling for helping didn’t have anything to do with it, or so she told herself.

“This was the best strategic move.” She said. “It’s not as if he is my friend or anything.”

 

Lyla was starting to think she and Felicity were in the clear after the two bikers were out of commission and Digg separated the SUV from the sedan. She was proven wrong, since soon after the sedan became the only car trailing them, a fire truck came to a stop at the next cross street, blocking her exit.

“What the fuck do they think they’re doing?” She yelled.

In the sedan Chien Na Wei smirked. There was nowhere for Lyla to run.

“Where’s my- ah, there it is.” Felicity said, picking up her phone. “What year’s the car they’re in?”

“I don’t- why does it matter?” Lyla asked her. She knew Felicity probably had a reason for the question, but was a little preoccupied at the moment. “It’s not new.”

“Do you think it’s older than a 2008?” She asked.

“No, newer. Why?”

“Gimme just a- got it.”

To Lyla’s surprise, the car swerved and crashed into a pole. The driver’s airbag deployed. “How did-?”

“I kinda….hacked into the car’s computer, messed with the brakes and made them crash.” She said. “The passenger does not look happy.”

Lyla saw a woman with white hair, very distinct white hair, step out of the car. She was a little taken aback that the Triad would come after her in broad daylight. It seemed much more reasonable, to her at least, to think the attack was caused by Tempest instead.

“Do not get out of the car.” Lyla told Felicity in a serious tone. “No matter what happens, stay in the car.”

“Okay.” She said. She wasn’t planning to get out of the car anyway.

Lyla reloaded her ammo and stepped out of the car. The only reason she was willing to meet Wei face-on right now was because she knew the Triad leader preferred blades to guns.

“How’d you find me anyway?”

“You were all over the news after you got kidnapped with two billionaires. It made things easy.” Wei said. “I told you I’d make you pay for disrupting my business.”

“Are we gonna talk or are we gonna fight?” Lyla responded. She could see John making his way towards her. She just needed to keep the Triad at bay long enough for him to take care of anyone else in the car and get Felicity to safety.

The other woman didn’t respond, but kicked a leg out at her opponent. Lyla blocked with her arm and they started to fight.

 

“What the fuck is this?” Doyle yelled when he arrived at the spot where the majority of the SCPD was responding to the call. They were positioned on the other side of a parked fire truck.

“We’ve cut off their escape so that we can move in once we get into position.” One officer said.

“Move the engine. Now.” He yelled.

“You don’t have jurisdiction here, Navy Boy.” Commissioner Nudocerdo said smugly.

Doyle didn’t bother pointing out that he was Coast Guard, not Navy. “Yes, I do. The car being chased, and shot at, belongs to one of my witnesses and you just blocked their only exit.” He said before turning to one of the firemen standing there. “Move the truck, now, or I’ll have you charged as an accessory.” One of the firemen, Danny de la Vega, gestured to his buddy to move the engine so that it wasn’t blocking the exit. “Rathbone, get this idiot away from my crime scene.”

“Idiot? The mayor will here about this. You’re done. Your days working in this town are-.” The police commissioner ranted as Agent Rathbone led him away from the scene.

 

Digg’s car reached Lyla as the fire truck started to move and Lyla managed to land a particularly hard hit on Chien Na Wei’s stomach. Both women had taken multiple hits, but Wei was looking slightly worse for wear than Lyla.

“Is that all you’ve got?” The white haired woman asked, despite sounding pained.

“Not at all.” She responded, aiming a kick and hitting her in the ribs. She was about to hit her again when a voice called out.

“Federal agents! Drop your weapons and stand down!”

“Heh. Your friends finally showed up.” Wei said. “I knew you couldn’t beat me by yourself.”

Lyla was still close enough to her to strike her, so she hit her in the face, hard enough to make her reel backwards. Lyla then took a step away and raised her hands to show Doyle and the other responders that she wasn’t armed or looking for a fight. Now surrounded, Wei let the task force arrest her. As soon as she was in handcuffs, Oliver bolted out of Digg’s car to check on Felicity.
‘Are you okay?’ He asked as he started checking her for injuries.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks to Lyla.” She told him.

Digg told Doyle that there was an SUV full of Wei’s accomplices behind them, having already been apprehended. The agent asked how this fight started and Digg admitted that he wasn’t sure, just that Lyla called him saying they were being followed.

“Obviously, we didn’t expect it to turn into….that.” He said.

“Are there any recent threats to Mr. Queen or Ms. Smoak recently that you’re aware of?” Doyle asked. “A broad daylight attack is bold, and whoever is targeting them-.”

“Felicity wasn’t the target.” Lyla said. “I was. The woman I was fighting, I encountered her when I worked for ARGUS. She’s a member of the Triad. I didn’t expect her to find me here, or attack while I was- Felicity could’ve been-.”

“You’re okay. She’s okay. Your nemesis is stopped. That’s what matters.” Digg said.

Felicity and Oliver were still off in their own little world, each assuring the other that they were okay. He was overcome with worry, even though the Triad had been stopped. He had no idea who they were or why they’d target him. Was this an attempt by Tempest to silence both of them?

 

Thea was in the middle of math class when the PA system came to life. “Mr. Nanes? Can you please send Thea Queen to the front office?” The secretary asked.

“Certainly.” Thea’s math teacher said before gesturing to her to pack up her things. Students started muttering to themselves, wondering what Thea had done to get into trouble.

Thea herself didn’t know, but grabbed her stuff and walked to the office. She saw Tommy standing there, looking worried. “I talked to Walter, and he agreed that it would be okay if I signed you out early.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Right. You were in class, paying attention and didn’t see the news.” He said. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

“No, tell me now. What’s going on? Is Ollie-?”

“I don’t know, okay? All I know, all anyone knows, is that Felicity, Oliver and their bodyguards got into a car chase with people shooting at them. We’re going to Felicity’s house and hopefully, by the time we get there, we’ll know more.”

“So, you don’t even know if they’re-.”

“Ollie was able to keep himself alive on the island. Digg and Lyla were both special forces. I think they’re gonna be fine. A little banged up, maybe, but okay.” He said. “Let’s go.”

Thea threw her backpack over her shoulder and followed Tommy out of the building. They got into Tommy’s car just as a news van came racing down the street and parked as close to the school as it legally could.

“Freaking vultures.” She muttered under her breath. Yes, she was rich and famous, but it creeped her out that paparazzi would wait outside of her school to ambush her. She was still a minor after all, and they’d been doing this for years.

Tommy made an agreeing noise and they drove off, heading to Felicity’s house.

 

The SCPD officers who’d responded to the car chase and shoot-out wanted to start questioning Oliver and Felicity, but after Agent Doyle kicked their commissioner off the scene, they wisely decided to hold back. One officer that had been on the Anti-Vigilante Task Force with McKenna asked Doyle if they should start getting their statements once Chien Na Wei and the other Triad members had been arrested and taken away.

“Now wouldn’t be a very good time to interview them.” Doyle answered. “They’re still shaken from what happened.”

Oliver was still fussing over Felicity and she was trying to convince him that she was okay, all things considered. He didn’t want to interrupt them.

“So, when should-?”

“I’ll talk it over with the rest of my team and we’ll get in touch with Ms. Smoak and Mr. Queen when we feel its appropriate.” He said, brushing the cop off. He didn’t want to involve any more members of the SCPD than were already assisting on the Gambit investigation, especially after his confrontation with the commissioner. Now, more than ever, he wished the task force could be read in on Lyla’s past with ARGUS and how it related to Oliver’s time as a castaway.

“I don’t wanna make your job harder, but if you don’t need to speak with Oliver or Felicity, I’d like to get them out of here before every photographer in the city shows up.” Digg said, walking over to Doyle.

“Dinan, Hall or one of the others can get a statement from them in the next few days.” He said. “I know there’s some information Dinan’s been trying to figure out how to tell Oliver.”

“Felicity teleworks on Thursdays, so if she wanted to tell Oliver, when he’d have as much support as possible, tomorrow would be a good day to do that.” John said before walking away.

Doyle nodded, making a mental note to tell Dinan that later. He expected Lyla to get into the car with Felicity and Oliver, only to be surprised when she walked over to where he was standing.

“Any ETA on getting that clearance?” She asked.

“Still working on it. The joys of bureaucracy.” He said. “Do you- is there a time-sensitive issue you’re worried about?”

“No, I just- I’m worried. I don’t trust Waller and she’s got a vindictive streak like you wouldn’t believe.” She said. “I don’t wanna give her time to plan anything, if you catch my drift.”

“Believe me, it’s a high-priority.” Doyle said. Lyla nodded and walked away. He was astonished at how much she wanted to discuss sensitive information like this.

 

Lyla’s car was considered to be evidence, so they had to leave it at the scene, but the group piled into Digg’s vehicle, which just had a dent from colliding with the Triad’s SUV and drove away. Lyla and John sat in silence in the front seat, while Oliver spent the whole car ride practically wrapped around Felicity. The attack earlier had made him extra clingy.

Felicity’s phone ringing a few minutes away from the house was the first sound anyone in the car made since the chase came to an end. It surprised Felicity and she jumped, before pulling the device out of her pocket.

“Hi Walter…..we’re okay. Shaken but okay. I don’t think- well, they do say that great minds think alike…..oh, I don’t know if- not the whole day, I don’t think its necessary…yes, I’m sure….okay, bye.” She said before hanging up. “Walter told me that I could take the next two days off, to recover from- I don’t know if I’m gonna do that. I might try to get some work done from home, I don’t wanna feel like I’m letting Curtis or my team down, you know?”

“I think they’ll understand.” Lyla said. “Felicity, I’m so-.”

“If you’re apologizing, stop it.” She said. “I’d make a threat, but I can’t think of anything specific right now, but it’s gonna be dramatic and slightly annoying, so just use your imagination.”

“The people chasing us were-.”

“Please, just- not today, all right?” She asked, tiredly. “I wanna go home, take this bra off and eat brownies. Oliver, will you make me some brownies?”

‘I’ll make you as many brownies as you want.’ He told her.

“Good.” She said with a smile.

They pulled up outside the house and got out. As soon as they stepped inside, they were surrounded by people asking them if they were okay and what happened. Donna, Thea, Tommy and Roy meant well, but it was a bit much.

“Mom, Mom. Mom!” Felicity yelled, cutting her mother off mid-sentence. “And everyone else, I love all of you, and I know you’re worried, but right now, Oliver and I just wanna change and have a few moments to calm down and breathe, okay? We’re okay. Everyone’s okay, but we need some space. And Oliver promised to make me brownies.”

The others seemed to realize they were being a bit overbearing and let Felicity and Oliver retreat to their room to change and take a breather. This gave Donna and the others time to hug Digg and Lyla and thank them both for keeping Oliver and Felicity safe.

“Good thing Felicity’s bodyguard is an ex-super spy.” Tommy remarked as he watched Donna hug Lyla. He then got a guilty look on his face. “Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to-.”

“It’s fine.” She said. “Oliver and Felicity both already know and there’s no way I’m going back to the agency so-.”

“You were a spy?” Thea asked. “What agency are you-?”

“Wait, Ollie and Felicity know about-?”

“That’s….a story for another day.” She said, just as Oliver and Felicity came out of their bedroom, now dressed in casual clothing.

Oliver was holding Felicity’s hand and only let go to ask the others if anyone wanted to help him bake some brownies. Thea and Tommy both offered to be assistant bakers while Donna said she’d help Felicity “supervise” the process. Roy didn’t give an excuse, but followed the others into the kitchen anyway.

No one wanted to ask for details about what happened, so Donna asked Felicity how things at work were going. Asking Felicity about one of her projects had always been one of the easiest ways to get her talking. She started explaining her latest project, which slowly got her to open up more and distract everyone from what had happened, they didn’t forget about the chase, but it took their minds off of it while the brownies baked. Roy then asked Oliver how his meeting with Correll went, after the conversation tapered off.

 

Dinan stormed into the task force’s office and looked pissed. The other agents weren’t sure if she was pissed about the attack happening, pissed she wasn’t able to be involved with the Triad’s arrest or pissed for a different reason.

“What do we know?” She asked.

“The target was Lyla Michaels, not Felicity Smoak. It seems she’d had encounters with the leader of the group, a woman named Chien Na Wei, while with ARGUS. It could be just bad timing.” Agent Rathbone said.

“With this case, we can’t be too sure.” She responded. “Anything else?”

“They’re shaken, but otherwise unharmed. And Michaels really wants us to be read in on her mission already.” Doyle said. “Her….enthusiasm is-.”

“If what she needs to tell us is half as bad as what I’m imagining, I don’t blame her.” Dinan said.

“How’d your search go? Find anything at that warehouse that we missed?”

“Nothing we missed, but something we didn’t know.” She said. “I was talking to Hall this morning, and she mentioned that Malcolm Merlyn was in a car accident the night the Dark Archer attacked Applied Sciences and just so happened to be injured in the same places that the Dark Archer was.”

“You think there’s a connection?”

“I think it’s possible, but I needed to ask Agent Mars if she could track Merlyn’s movements over the last two decades.” Agent Mars excelled at finding people, and uncovering their tracks when they reappeared. The joke at the FBI was that if even God couldn’t find someone, Mars could. Everyone joked that in her past life, she must’ve been a spy or a bounty hunter.

“Two decades?” Doyle repeated.

“Call it a hunch.”

 

After all of the brownies Oliver made were eaten, everyone moved into the living room and continued their conversations. About an hour passed and Oliver realized the adrenaline was wearing off and how tired he was. At Felicity’s encouragement, he laid down to take a nap, with his head on her lap. The others started talking, but at a lower volume so that he could get some sleep.

Once Oliver was sleeping, the group broke apart. Thea went to work on her homework, while chatting with Roy. Digg and Lyla talked amongst themselves and Donna announced that she was going to clean up the mess from the baking earlier. Tommy wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so he sat in the living room in silence with Felicity.

Felicity absentmindedly ran her fingers through Oliver’s hair as she sat there, deep in thought about something. Soon, the quiet became too much for Tommy and he blurted out something he’d been wondering for a while.

“You can yell at me for being nosy, or insensitive for asking this, but- Does it ever bother you?” He asked Felicity. “That Ollie can’t speak?”

Felicity stopped her ministrations. “And you want my fully honest and complete answer?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have asked if- if you don’t wanna answer, you can tell me buzz off.” He couldn’t tell if he’d upset, or angered her, or not.

Felicity looked down at Oliver for a moment, muttered something Tommy couldn’t hear, and then looked back at Tommy. She took a deep breath before opening her mouth to answer. “Yes and no.” She said plainly. “Oliver doesn’t speak. He could regain his voice, or he could never speak again. He doesn’t have a voice in the same way that you and I do, but I don’t love him any less because of that. I love Oliver for who he is, exactly who he is, and that includes his limitations.”

“But it does upset you somewhat?” Tommy asked.

“Well, it’s not easy for him to live the way that he does. It’s not easy seeing him struggle and get frustrated when he isn’t understood or he feels like he isn’t being listened to.” She said. “There’s also- Oliver wasn’t born this way, something happened that made him lose his voice, and there’s a part of him, I don’t know how big that part is, but there’s a part of him that believes that if he gets his voice back, if he could speak, he’ll be “fixed”. All of his problems will go away, it’ll be like nothing ever happened and I- I love Oliver, but….it doesn’t work that way, I wish it did.” Her voice started to crack, remembering what happened when Oliver tried to speak but couldn’t, in the hopes it would make the mess with Laurel and the trial go away. How distraught he was. “Oliver being nonverbal doesn’t upset me, but seeing how upset, discouraged and frustrated he gets at his condition does upset me. That’s….the best way I can really explain it.”

It wasn’t until Oliver reached up to wipe away Felicity’s tear that she or Tommy realized he was awake. “Ollie, I-.”

“How much of that did you hear?” She asked him, worried he might take her words the wrong way.

‘Enough. I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She signed back. ‘I hope we didn’t upset you.’

‘You didn’t. We never- we talk about how I feel about it all the time, but not how you feel. How you feel matters too.’

‘I love you. You love me. Voice or no voice, that’s what really matters.’ She said before she bent her head down to kiss him.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Special bonus points if anyone gets some of the references I made in this chapter.

Chapter 68

Summary:

The task force gets a few surprises, while Team Oliver gets some surprises of their own.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the arrest of Chien Na Wei and the other Triad members, Doyle decided to leave them in interrogation rooms for a little while. He wasn’t in any rush to question them, knowing that Wei wouldn’t break very easily and needing to give her an incentive to tell him what he wanted to know. The US government’s counter-terrorism legislation was working in his favor at the moment.

Doyle was surprised then, when about two hours after Wei’s arrest, he was walking towards the interrogation room and found two armed men leading her out of the room.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going with my perp?” He asked the two men.

“I’m afraid Ms. Wei will be coming with us.” Someone said from behind the trio. A black woman with her hair pulled back in a bun stepped out of the room. “Amanda Waller, director of ARGUS.”

“I’ll cooperate. I’ll tell you everything.” Wei said, her eyes had widened in fear. She wasn’t stupid. She’d heard about some of the things that happened to ARGUS prisoners, people who were never seen again. “Whatever deal you wanna make, just- don’t let them take me.”

“This isn’t an ARGUS case. You have no authority here and I can’t just let you take our prisoners.” He said.

“I don’t want your prisoners, plural, just Ms. Wei here.” She said with an eyeroll. “Pittman.” One of the agents handed Doyle a document. “And this gives me the authority to take Ms. Wei into ARGUS custody, in the interest of national security.”

Doyle read it and had to fight the urge to start yelling expletives. The paperwork did give her that authority and, short of making the Justice Department fight against Homeland Security for Wei, there was nothing he could do to stop Waller from taking Wei into her custody. “Our investigation isn’t concluded yet. If we have questions for Ms. Wei-.”

“You should’ve asked them during the two hours she sat waiting in an interrogation room.” Waller said. “We’re done here.”

The team from ARGUS continued on their way and Doyle headed back to the task force’s office to tell Dinan, Reeves and Anderson what had happened with Waller.

“I really don’t get that woman.” Reeves said. “Lyla Michaels gets kidnapped, while she’s an ARGUS agent, and Waller does nothing. She gets attacked as a civilian and she’s already here.”

“Didn’t Michael’s say that Waller places no value on her agents’ lives?” Dinan asked. “Do we think Waller saw an opportunity when the chase was televised or was she just waiting for this to happen?”

“You think the director of ARGUS suspected something like that would happen and did nothing?” Anderson asked.

“I think it’s kinda convenient that she managed to get here, with the necessary paperwork to take Chien Na Wei into ARGUS custody, in under two hours.”

“What do we do now?”

“Nothing we can do.” She said with a sigh. Dinan had half a mind to go find McKenna, tell her Waller had sniped Wei and then not-so-subtly imply that she should inform Tommy, and by extension Oliver, of the news. She decided that route would cause more problems than it solved. “Until we get that clearance for Michaels’s story. Waller didn’t say anything to you about it, did she?”

“Nope.”

“She wouldn’t know, anyway.” Reeves pointed out. “My buddy made sure that paperwork went to someone higher up the food chain than Waller.” Amanda Waller was the director of ARGUS, but there were a number of people she still answered to. People who were much more visible to public. People who got a little twitchy when Oliver Queen or the Queen’s Gambit were mentioned. “She’s not gonna know until after we get the whole story from Lyla.”

 

Oliver and Felicity listened intently as Tommy brought them up to speed on things with his move and finding out more about his mother and grandparents’ wills. In hindsight, it was stupid of him to let his father worry about all of those things, knowing what he now knew and having realized what kind of person his father was.

“And I- I’ve got another meeting with my lawyers in a week, but- I think I’m finally turning into a real adult.” He said, finishing his explanation.

“I’ve been known to have that affect on people.” Felicity joked. “In all seriousness, that’s good to hear. I know you were never close to your father and you two have grown even further apart-.”

“He called me pathetic and told me he was glad my mother was dead.”

“What?!” Not only did Felicity exclaim that, but Donna, Thea, John, Lyla, and Roy did as well. Judging by the look on Oliver’s face, he was thinking the same thing.

“After Ollie, Lyla and I were kidnapped, I called him to let him know I was okay. I was little emotional, understandably and I kinda started babbling about how terrifying it was and how scared Ollie must’ve been and- and he said he was glad my mom was dead so that she didn’t have to see how pathetic I was now.” He said. “I knew we weren’t close, but I never- I didn’t know he hated me until that night.”

“Well, your father just skyrocketed to Number 3 on my shit list.” Lyla said.

“Only #3?”

“I can’t talk about #1 and #2 is Moira for what she tried to do to Oliver.” She said. Unless Waller died a horrible death, she’d always be #1 on Lyla’s shit list. Malcolm was already pretty high, since they knew he was shady, but the way he treated his son, his only family, pushed him even higher.

‘Your dad’s full of shit.’ Oliver said. ‘He’s so wrong it’s not even funny. When I think of Aunt Rebecca, when I think about your mom, I always remember how kind she was, how much she cared about everyone, whether they were her family or complete strangers. She loved you so much, Tommy. I don’t know if you remember this, but I slept over at your house when we were five, and your dad asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. You didn’t know, you were five, you hadn’t decided what you were gonna be, and he- he made a joke, a mean one, and you started crying a little bit and I-.’

“You said I promised to show you my GameBoy, and I hadn’t.” He finished. “I remember that.”

‘After you showed it to me, and you didn’t seem upset, I left your room saying I was gonna get a drink. I was looking for your nanny when I heard your parents arguing. Your mom was furious at your dad, at what he’d said. She lit into him for making fun of you like that. She told him that it didn’t matter if you became a business man, like him, or an astronaut or a chef or whatever you wanted. She said the only thing she cared about was that you got to be happy, that you felt fulfilled and loved. Your mom only ever wanted you to be loved, more than anything else. Your mom would never think you were pathetic. Ever. I think it made him jealous, that Rebecca loved you more than she loved him.’

“Look what I’ve done with my life, though. For five years, I-.”

“For five years, you were mourning your best friend, and Sara and Robert, who, if the stories I’ve heard are true, did more to raise you than Malcolm has.” Felicity said. “That’s not nothing.”

‘Your dad never deserved you or your mom.’ Oliver said. ‘He’s a dick and he’s wrong. And your mother would’ve torn him a new asshole if she had heard what he said.’

“Tommy, I know I’m not your mother,” Donna said, “but I am a mother, so let me just say that I know she’d be proud of you, proud of the man you’ve become. And I’ve got half a mind to drive to your dad’s house and give him a piece of my mind.”

“As funny as that would be, yelling at man who’s barely able to walk wouldn’t be much of a victory.” Tommy said, letting out a laugh.

“Your dad can’t walk?” Digg asked.

“Yeah, he- I guess I didn’t tell any of you, but he crashed his car, kept it quiet for the last month because of stock prices or something. I don’t care. I’m done caring about him.”

“Can we- I don’t wanna be a downer, but can we stop talking about heavy things?” Thea asked. “Between what happened earlier and all this stuff about Malcolm Merlyn, I- doesn’t anyone have good news?”

“My seven-year-old nephew has decided that he’s no longer going to be a zookeeper for Halloween. He’s gonna be an astronaut.” John said. “I got to hear all about the costume he’s gonna get to go trick-or-treating in.”

“It’s January.”

“I know, and I’m sure the next time I talk to him, he’ll have changed his mind, but for right now, he’s settled on astronaut.” He shrugged.

This turned into a conversation about Halloween costumes everyone had worn and which one they thought was the best or funniest. Most of Tommy and Oliver’s costumes after the age of 13 were, admittedly, stupid but they were teenage boys so it was to be expected. Thea’s were pretty standard and some of Felicity’s took people by surprise.

“You were Death? Like with a black cloak and fake scythe and all that?” Roy asked.

“No, more like- did you ever read the comic Sandman? Death in that story is this chill Goth girl, and since I was Goth at the time, it just kinda fit.”

“You were Goth?” Thea repeated. “You, Felicity Smoak, who lights up every room she walks into, were Goth? You wear pajama pants with cupcakes on them!”

“I was fifteen and wanted to be edgy.” She said. “I was too smart to pull off being a slacker so….everyone makes bad style choices at 15.”

‘Are there pictures?’ Oliver asked.

“No, I destroyed them all.” She said.

“Not all of them.” Donna said. “I’ll show you the ones I kept after I’ve moved.”

“Not if I get to them first.” She warned.

Dinner was quiet that night and everyone headed out or to bed early. As they were lying in bed, Felicity told Oliver that she’d overheard Doyle telling Lyla that Dinan had some news she needed to share with the rest of them.

‘Do you think they found something about Tempest or about the Gambit?’

“I don’t know. I’ve decided not to think about it, because if I try to guess what it is, I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight.” She said. “We’ll find out when she reaches out to us. I hate not knowing though.”

‘I know what you mean.’

 

The next morning, Oliver was driving Thea to school when there was a knock on Felicity’s front door. She opened it to see Dinan, McKenna and Reeves standing on the porch. “We’re sorry to stop by without prior notice, but we were hoping for a chance to speak with Oliver?”

“He’s- uh, he’s not here right now.” Felicity said. “He went to take Thea to school. He’ll be back in- how long does it normally take him?”

“Like half an hour.” Donna answered.

“This isn’t good news, is it?” Lyla asked.

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“I know it’s an open case and everything, but has that woman, the one who tried to kill Felicity and Oliver yesterday, said anything?”

“Ms. Wei is- she’s no longer in our custody.” Reeves said.

“She was rel-.”

“Waller stormed in and took her, didn’t she?” Lyla said, cutting off Donna’s question. It didn’t really surprise her that Amanda would do something like that. “Yeah, she does that.”

“Yes, she’s in their custody now.”

“And Waller’s agency is DOD?” Felicity asked.

“Homeland Security.” Dinan said.

“And Eric Graves is the current Secretary of Homeland Security, correct?” She asked. Reeves and Dinan both nodded. “Good to know.” Felicity was starting to get an idea, a terrible, wonderful idea.

The three investigators sat in the living room in silence while they waited for Oliver to return. No amount of small talk would make the upcoming conversation easier and they didn’t want to go down that road just to fill the silence.

Finally, the door opened and Oliver walked in, followed by Tommy. Walter, Roy and Thea were the only members of “Team Oliver” not in Felicity’s house at the moment. They greeted him and Dinan suggested that he sit down so that they could talk.

“I’m sorry, Mr.- Oliver, I have been trying, and failing to find the right time to give you this information, but- we recently got confirmation  that our forensic analysis has determined beyond any doubt that-.” Dinan started to say. She saw Oliver reach over to grab Felicity’s hand for support. “That you were right. The Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged. It wasn’t an accident.”

“Oh, fuck.” Tommy said.

Oliver was pretty sure this was what an out-of-body experience was like. He could see Dinan, McKenna and Reeves in front of him. He could feel Felicity’s hand squeezing his and hear Donna, Tommy, Lyla and Digg say something. He knew all of this was happening, but his brain couldn’t process it. It didn’t feel like reality to him.

“Oliver?” Felicity asked softly. “Do you wanna take a minute, have some time to yourself?”

He shook his head. He already knew the Gambit was sabotaged, he’d known since he and Digg found the wreckage, but hearing someone else say it, knowing all other possibilities, no matter how insane they sounded, had been ruled out, meant the whole thing was real. It meant that some of the truths about his mother and Tommy’s father couldn’t be ignored any longer. ‘Thank you, Agent Dinan. Thank you.’

“I- I am so sorry. I really am.” She knew what she was supposed to say, the script she was supposed to stick to, but something about this case made it impossible to repeat the boilerplate offer of sympathy. “I wish-.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but maybe we should give them a moment.” McKenna suggested. “Ms. Smoak, we’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.”

Felicity and Donna both nodded and turned back to Oliver.

 

Correll spent most of Wednesday afternoon fielding calls from every news source in the country about the attack on Felicity and Oliver. His department gave the same response to all inquiries, which was that neither Queen Consolidated nor the people involved were ready to make a statement at this time. He was choosing to focus on the fact that Oliver and Felicity were both alive and unharmed, and he was thankful that he didn’t have Moira Queen, or anyone else, pushing him to release a statement to calm everyone down.

He ended up staying late on Wednesday and getting into work early on Thursday. He knew it was going to be a busy day, and he wanted a chance to talk to Walter before anything else grabbed his attention. Thanks to a head’s up from Walter’s EA, Correll knew the exact moment that Walter arrived and jumped into the elevator to head to his office.

Walter had just taken a seat at his desk when Correll knocked on the open door before entering.

“I gather this is about the attack on Oliver and Felicity?” Walter said.

“Yes. Footage from cell phones of what happened, the short bits that were caught on film, have gone viral. Some clips are of the car chase, others depict Oliver tackling one of the armed men and there are some of Oliver and Felicity- I mean, Ms. Smoak, reuniting and making sure the other is okay. Some ASL interpreters have been making the rounds on news programs-.”

“What has the reaction been?”

“We’ve been getting calls since the chase started yesterday, questions about how and when Oliver learned to fight, and by who. Rumors floating around that Oliver was never on an island, but was away working for the CIA, or an alien race, or both. Other theories say the attackers were sent by the Dark Archer or that Felicity Smoak was the target because of one of her unreleased projects.” He took a deep breath. “From the “how does it impact the company” perspective, it hasn’t. No one knew what to make of Oliver until only a few weeks ago. Until he was spotted with her at the reopening of Applied Sciences, he wasn’t making public appearances, and he hadn’t made any kind of statement, but after yesterday- can I speak frankly?”

“Please do.”

“People are calling him a hero. Some more skeptical sources phrased it as him only fighting the gunmen because Felicity was in danger but- a heroic act is still a heroic act.” He said. “There is a slight problem, and I feel Oliver might react better if he were to hear this news from you. I spoke to a lot of reporters yesterday. None of them believe that Oliver was actually alone on the island. They’re convinced that there were dangerous people marooned with Oliver, and someone taught him how to fight. There are also- in some clips, you can see scars on Oliver’s wrists, ones he didn’t have before he went missing. I’ve been fielding questions about how he got those scars.”

“Close the door, please, Daniel.” Walter said. While Correll was doing that, Walter hit a button on the intercom, telling his EA that he wasn’t to be disturbed by anyone, including Moira, unless it was an emergency. Correll sat back down and gave Walter a perplexed look. “What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room. I don’t want to see it in any press releases, official statements, or any other kind of documentation. Not only does it pertain to an ongoing federal investigation, but it’s not something I want being shared regardless of that.”

“Okay.”

“Oliver has admitted to me, and a select few other people that he trusts, that he was not alone on the island. He hasn’t shared with me what happened beyond very basic and sparse details. I know he spoke to you about PR and possibly making some kind of statement soon. Normally, I wouldn’t reveal information like this without talking to him first, but after yesterday’s events, I don’t think asking him about this right now would be helpful to anyone. And with the added interest, I’m telling you so that you can better advise him on what to do moving forward. I hope I can rely on your discretion.”

“You can, and I hope I have proven that I can be trusted with sensitive information such as this.” He said. “I will release a very brief statement, letting the media know that Oliver and Felicity Smoak are safe, unharmed, and asking for privacy after what happened. I’ll also start narrowing down my list of potential interviewers for when Oliver’s ready, to those who I know will respect the boundaries Oliver wants to set.”

“Thank you.” Walter said. “The last thing anyone wants is for his experience to be turned into a spectacle.”

Correll left Walter’s office to give his department an update on what to say when news sources reached out with questions. Even though Oliver wasn’t an employee of the company, he needed to be sure that everyone toed the company line.

 

Donna told McKenna, Dinan and Reeves that Oliver was ready to hear more after about half an hour. Giving everyone time to breathe and process was appreciated and while no one seemed happy, they seemed slightly calmer and less blindsided by the news.

“We will do everything we can to find whoever is responsible for this.” Dinan said firmly. “And….we have received some assistance from the Arrow, despite his need to keep his distance due to-.”

“I’ll say what Dinan is too polite to. The SCPD, in general, and our commissioner specifically, is why the Arrow’s helping us from the shadows. He’s been pushing for the Arrow’s arrest for months." McKenna cut in.

“Yes, that. Although, I can say that the Arrow’s aid has been invaluable to our investigation.” She sighed. Time for more bad news. “Due to rules and regulations, we have to publicly release this information by Saturday and announce that the investigation is formally considered a terrorism case. We didn’t want you, or the families of those who died, to learn this information at that time.” As they were talking, Agent Anderson was visiting Moira Queen, Doyle was meeting with Quentin Lance and one of the other agents was trying to get ahold of Dinah Lance to give her the news.

‘The Dark Archer- when he attacked Applied- in the video, he mentioned something called Tempest. Is that the name of the group that did this?’ Oliver asked.

“We believe so. The Attorney General’s Office has determined that they fit the description of a terrorist organization and we’re treating its members as such.”

“Is there- there’s gotta be a way you can help the Arrow.” Tommy said. “Can’t the warrant be cancelled or something?”

“I really wish it could.” McKenna said. “If it were up to me, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but the commissioner- this comes down to politics.”

“We want the same things you do, in regard to the Arrow, but we haven’t figured that part out yet. We’re trying, but without a clear path forward…..we don’t want his involvement to be generally known just yet.” Dinan said.

“Yeah, then the commissioner can’t screw everything up trying to get reelected.” McKenna scoffed.

“Makes sense.” Donna said. "The not-letting-people-know part, not the part about your idiot boss."

 

“Get out of my house.”

“I beg your pardon?” Anderson said. He’d told Moira Queen the truth as plainly as possible. The Queen’s Gambit had been sabotaged. They believed it was an attempt to kill Robert. Sara, Robert and the crew members’ deaths were now considered murders. As soon as he finished telling her that, she’d told him to leave.

“You heard me. You told me what you needed to tell me. I want you to leave.” She said. “I need to be with my family.”

Anderson doubted that, since her family seemed to be avoiding her, but left because he wasn’t going to waste time arguing with her. After he was gone, Moira sat in the living room, staring into space. The federal agents had finally uncovered the truth. The rest of the world didn’t know yet. Her part in what followed wasn’t known yet. Moira could use this, their findings, to her advantage.

 

“Is this all you came to tell us?” Felicity asked. She could tell by the look on Dinan’s face that the agent wanted to say something else.

“Not exactly. Mr. Merlyn-.”

“Please call me Tommy. Every time I hear “Mr. Merlyn”, I think it means my dad’s here and he’s terrifying on a good day, not that he has that many and I-. Not the point. What did you wanna ask me?”

“Just a few questions about your father’s recent injuries and the timing. If I understand correctly, he was in an accident the same night as the attack on Applied Sciences. Since that was the same night as the Dark Archer’s attack, we just wanna be sure he’s not a potential target.”

“Um, yeah. Sure, what do you wanna know?” Tommy said.

“Could you describe them?”

“Well, his knee is busted and he’s got one hand all bandaged up. And he was moving really slowly, like he had hurt his ribs.”

“Which knee and which hand?” Reeves asked.

“Left hand, right knee.”

“And he said he was in a car accident?” Felicity said. “That doesn’t make any- oh my god, you think Malcolm Merlyn’s the Dark Archer!” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I probably could’ve- but that’s it, isn’t it? Because there’s no way a car crash could hurt his left hand but his right knee? How could that even happen with just one car? But the Dark Archer, he got an arrow through his left hand and another through his right knee. Plus, his ribs got cracked during his fight with the Arrow and- what Tommy just described fits his injuries, and its convenient that his “accident” happened the same night as the attack and-.”

“Crap, you’re right.” Tommy said. “My dad’s- fuck, my dad’s a freaking supervillain. I mean, I wish I could say that doesn’t make sense but-.” Dinan opened her mouth to point out that she hadn’t said they thought Merlyn was the Dark Archer, but he kept going. “I mean, he spends hours a day doing “fencing” and works out a lot, and he also vanished off the face of the earth after my mom- that’s probably when he- if Shado and Slade could teach Ollie enough to take down those men yesterday, without any equipment on an island, then my dad could’ve learned in-.” He started to hyperventilate. “If he’s the Dark Archer, and the Gambit, you think my dad sank- Ollie, I’m so sorry, I- why can’t I breathe?”

“You’re hyperventilating.” McKenna said. “You need to take a deep breath.”

“I can’t, I-.”

“Tommy? Look at me.” Lyla said. “Do exactly what I do.” She spent a few moments just taking deep breaths so that Tommy could mirror her and not pass out.

Everyone then turned back to the agents. “I can’t confirm or deny who is considered a suspect. Hypothetically speaking, however, if you did happen to guess the identity of a suspect, we’d strongly advise you to be careful not to do or say anything that might alert them to our suspicions.”

“Not gonna be a problem.” Tommy said. “I’m the only one on Team Oliver that’s ever been around my dad and I moved out. Walter doesn’t- does QC have any business deals with Merlyn Global, does anyone know?”

‘Not that I know of. All of the projects I’ve seen in reports don't mention the company.’ Oliver said.

“We started- in the last few years, the two companies have started moving in different directions.” Felicity said.

“Good, because if my father is-.” Tommy’s response was cut off when Reeves’s phone began to ring.

“Reeves.” He said. “You did….I’m gonna be owing you favors for the next decade…..no, send it to me right now….yeah, once you email it, follow the normal procedure….I gotta go, like now.” He said. A second later, his phone pinged, indicating he had an email. He read it and turned to Dinan. “We’ve got it.”

“Got what?”

Reeves handed her his phone. “Exactly what we were waiting for.” He turned to Lyla. “I called in a favor with a buddy of mine. I think its time to talk about what you couldn't tell Agent Doyle.:

“You got the clearance?” Lyla asked.

“See for yourself.” Dinan said, handing Lyla the phone with the document pulled up. “I think we should have this conversation elsewhere.”

“That’s not gonna be necessary.” Lyla said. If she’d gotten a call when she was alone or with John, that would’ve been one thing, but now, most of Team Oliver was there. “I did some digging, after I talked to Doyle. While I couldn’t tell you anything, because of the clearance issue, Oliver’s never had that restriction, so hypothetically, he could tell everyone here what happened anyway, so- us leaving the room would just waste some time.” She’d tell the agents some of the details she didn’t want Oliver to hear at another time, but for now, for telling the basics of the story, there wasn’t a reason to leave.

“Fine.” Dinan said. “Why don’t we begin with how you came to be on Lian Yu and how you met Oliver?”

“I’ve never been to Lian Yu. Oliver and I met in Moscow.” She said, bracing herself for the reaction Tommy, Donna and the agents would have.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 69

Summary:

Lyla reveals how she met Oliver and what went down in Russia.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Why don’t we begin with how you came to be on Lian Yu and how you met Oliver?” Dinan asked Lyla.

“I’ve never been to Lian Yu. Oliver and I met in Moscow.” She said, bracing herself for the reaction Tommy, Donna and the agents would have.

“You weren’t there the whole time?” Donna asked.

“How could you have met Ollie in Moscow if he was- Ollie got off the island. I don’t-.” Tommy trailed off.

‘I lied about what happened after the Amazo sank.’ Oliver admitted. ‘The Amazo sank, and I was on Lian Yu for weeks afterwards, I don't know how many, but then one day I woke up in-sorry, Lyla, this is supposed to be about you, not me.’ When Oliver woke up, on an actual bed, in Moscow, he’d thought everything had been a dream at first. The Gambit, Fyers, Ivo, he thought it was all some crazy nightmare. He expected his mother, Tommy or Raisa to walk through the door at first. Then, he looked around the room and didn’t recognize it. He looked down at himself and saw his scars from his encounters with Fyers’ men and the Amazo’s crew. Seeing the scars snapped him back to reality.

“We’re interested in hearing whatever information any of you wish to share.” Reeves said.

Lyla looked over to Oliver and knew he wasn’t going to continue. Talking about this was difficult for him and his statement of “you came here for Lyla, not me” was his out for stopping. She cleared her throat and spoke. “I can only tell you what I know about how he got to Moscow and that’s either what Waller told me or gossip around ARGUS. It seems Waller had been keeping an eye on Lian Yu the year the Amazo was there. After it was said and done, she sent a team to retrieve Oliver from the island and bring him to Moscow.”

“Director Waller knew there was someone on Lian Yu, and did nothing?” Dinan asked.

“Just wait. If you think you’re mad now, it gets worse.” She responded. “Oliver was my partner when I was in Moscow.”

“He worked for ARGUS?”

“Technically yes, I’ve got no clue what his exact legal status was. I don’t think he does either. That’s why he lied about his third year on the island when he first talked to you. He doesn’t know what he signed, a contract, an NDA, so he just skipped over it. At first, I was his training officer, then I became his handler.”

“Handler? You went into the field, Oliver?” Dinan asked.

Oliver nodded while Lyla answered. “Oliver’s main assignment was to infiltrate the Bratva, he was to get close to Anatoly Knyazev, learn the location of the site where they were storing eight tons of stolen U-235, material they were arranging a black market auction for, and relay that intel to ARGUS so that the material could be recovered before it was sold. My job was to be his back-up and extract him once his part was done.”

“U-235, as in-?” McKenna asked.

“What’s used to make nuclear weapons, yes.” She said. “I think I first should give you all some context in order for the whole story to make sense. I’ll start with Knyazev.” She sighed. “Trained to be a naval engineer in the USSR. He was about to be deployed when the KGB found out about him and recruited him. They trained him as an interrogator. He had a knack for it, extracting information no one else could. With the KGB, he started being known as “The Beast”, a couple analysts at Langley found out about his moniker and dubbed him “The KGBeast”. Everything we know about him points to him being a high-functioning sociopath and borderline psychotic. Only thing he cared about was power and his own ambition. When the Soviet Union collapsed, he moved from the KGB to organized crime. He did even better in the Bratva than he did in the KGB, rose quickly through those ranks. In December of 2006, he disappeared. Fell right off the face of the earth. The Solntsevskaya Bratva got into multiple skirmishes with the Hong Kong Triad because the Pakhan thought they had something to do with it.” She took a breath. “March of 2009, Knyazev turns up alive with no explanation. Within the next five weeks, he’s the Pakhan. Then, he’s wiping out every one of the old Pakhan’s loyalists and their families. Then, he started targeting other gangs, wanting to be the Pakhan of all Pakhans. Some other organized crime syndicates united under a man named Konstantin Kovar. In September of 2009, Knyazev masterminded a heist which stole eight tons of Uranium-235 from the Russia military, which put him, and the Bratva, on ARGUS’s radar.”

“So, Knyazev had enough nuclear material to build several bombs, or a couple thousand dirty bombs.” Reeves said. “How did Oliver get involved?”

“Director Waller sent me to Moscow Station and assigned me to the task force searching for the uranium. In six weeks, we got nowhere. Then Waller turned up in person and told me I was being assigned a new partner. She told me he was a civilian who knew Knyazev - more importantly, he had saved Knyazev's life, and Knyazev was very grateful to him for it. My partner's job would be to exploit that relationship, infiltrate the Bratva and Knyazev's inner circle, get the intel we needed, relay it to us, and then get out. Then Waller introduced me to Oliver Queen.” At another time, Lyla would tell the agents about Oliver’s mental state when they first met, how he’d been clearly traumatized and shouldn’t have been in the field.

“You knew Knyazev?” Dinan asked Oliver.

‘He was on the Amazo. One of the prisoners Ivo used as a test subject.’ He answered. ‘I didn’t even know his last name. I thought-.’ Oliver thought Anatoly was a normal person, his friend possibly. He didn’t know what kind of person Anatoly really was. ‘I- I’m gonna go- I don’t wanna hear this next part.’ He didn’t want to hear Lyla explain the kinds of things the Bratva did or see everyone’s reactions. ‘I’m gonna go read. If anyone needs to step away, come sit with me. Lyla, come get me when you start talking about the actual assignments we went on.’ With that said, he walked into his and Felicity’s bedroom.

After the door closed, Lyla took a deep breath. “This might sound bad, but it’s good that he left because I don’t wanna talk about his mental state back then in front of him, but it matters for what comes later. But it was obvious even during our first meeting that Oliver was deeply traumatized. He didn't have scars around his wrists back then, but the way he was reluctant to let anyone touch him suggested he had been abused. He reacted badly to loud noises, he was hyper-vigilant - it was obvious he'd seen combat, more than once, and wasn't handling it well. He barely slept, maybe for one or two hours a day at the most; and when he was asleep, he had such horrible nightmares that it was not a restorative activity for him. He threw himself into training so intensely that I guessed it was a form of displacement activity for him - it kept him from thinking about whatever had happened to him. The good news was that Oliver let his guard down around me. I realized he didn't see me as a threat or someone who would deceive him. He was scared of Waller, though. I later discovered that Oliver was very perceptive, he excelled at noticing microexpressions and other indicators in people's body language that revealed hidden hostility and deceit. Early on, I briefed Oliver on Knyazev's history. It all came as a complete shock to him. To Oliver, Knyazev was just a man who spoke bad English with a heavy accent. I also briefed Oliver on the Bratva and their criminal activities, and Knyazev's career with them, what he'd been mixed up in. He'd run an orphan farm and been mixed up with slave trading, and learning about those was what destroyed any goodwill Oliver might have had left for him."

“O- orphan farm?” Donna asked.

“Before I explain, I wanna repeat something Oliver said during his interview with Agent Dinan. If you need to leave, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can go sit with Oliver, you can take walk or whatever. I’m not gonna make you stay and hear something that’s gonna upset you. And it probably will.” Lyla said. “The Soviet Union had a large number of orphans in state run orphanages. The situation isn’t that different today. Criminals have always seen orphans as revenue sources and exploited them as such.”

“I think I’m gonna go sit with Oliver.” Donna said. Tommy sat there for a moment before following her out of the living room.

“When you say “exploited” what do you mean? Sex slavery? Forced prostitution?” Reeves asked.

"In some cases, yes. The best-looking orphans in Russian state institutions are the most at-risk of that: they're young, easily controlled, and have no one looking out for them - the administrators are easy to bribe or threaten into cooperating, and the rare one who defies the gangs ends up dead very quickly. Russian intelligence also 'recruit' pre-teen orphans and train them as 'swallows' - to sexually blackmail foreign nationals. After a couple years, their 'careers' are over - the lucky ones get to walk away, while most of are killed to keep them from talking about the operations they were involved with." She grimaced. “However, Russian gangs make even more money by 'adopting' orphans and then 'farming' them - for blood and bone marrow, at least to begin with, taking large quantities on a regular basis. The orphans are held within the 'farm' and kept fed for years: then when they're old enough, when their bodies have grown enough, they get 'harvested' - their organs, blood and bone marrow all get sold on the black market, their hair gets sold to wig-makers, their teeth... you get the general idea. One such farm that I saw while with ARGUS was an apartment with a single bedroom: thirty kids were being held inside. I didn't realize it at first, but learning that things like this even existed was heart-breaking for Oliver. About five minutes into that briefing module, he leapt out of his seat, grabbed a trash can and puked up into it. I later found out he kept thinking about Thea - he kept - he kept imagining- I'm-I'm sorry, I can't--"

"It's okay, Lyla. We understand." Reeves said. Dinan and McKenna both looked like they wanted to vomit and Felicity and Digg both had tears streaming down their faces.
She took a moment and wiped her eyes before continuing. "Th-thank you. Uh... yeah, learning that 'Anatoly', this strange friend and ally of his from the island with a weird accent, had been involved with things like that? It hit Oliver hard." Lyla said. "Director Waller was... satisfied by the end result. She never feels happy about anything: satisfaction is as close as she ever gets."

"Why did Director Waller feel satisfied by this?" Dinan asked.

"Because it meant Oliver had no divided loyalties: there was no risk of him sympathizing with Knyazev and endangering the operation." She said. “I don’t wanna relive that anymore, if that’s okay. I wanna talk about what training Oliver was like, because it was enlightening.”

“Enlightening how?”

"I could teach a new skill to Oliver over the course of three or four weeks, either one hour a day or one hour every two days. By the end of that time, not only would he have mastered that skill, but he would have taken what I had taught him and figured out how to build on it. Unarmed combat techniques were a great example of this: I would spend a couple weeks teaching Oliver a martial art, he would master all of the moves I had shown him, and then he would start coming up with his own moves, completely original stuff that fitted with the overall style of that particular martial art - and then he taught them to me. He never got arrogant or overconfident, either - he always paid attention, he stayed focused... he was the perfect student, and a great teacher. Truth is, I learned nearly as much from him as he did from me. By the end of my first hour of training Oliver, I concluded that the only way he could possibly have flunked out of college even once, let alone so many times, had nothing to do with his intellect or his ability to apply himself - it had to have been because he simply didn't want to be there. And whenever we ate together or had downtime together, it was pretty obvious why: Thea. Oliver talked about her constantly, he opened up to me about how much loved and adored his sister, and he was terrified that if he went home, he would somehow screw up the lives of everyone he loved. He thought he was somehow toxic, damaged goods, and they would all be better off without him... and that just broke his heart. He was torn between how badly he wanted to be loved by his family and feel safe again, and his fear that they would reject him, or suffer because of his presence, or both. I think that played a large part in his original motive for agreeing to work for ARGUS - Oliver thought that after everything that had happened to him, and the things he had done, he didn't deserve to go home and be loved, to feel happiness. And I can't be certain, but I think Waller may have exploited that." Lyla scoffed. “She certainly exploited the fact that all he wanted to do was see his sister again.”

“What do you mean?”

"At the end of my first week partnered with Oliver, I filed a report on our progress. I noted that Oliver had already given me all of the information he possessed regarding Knyazev, and that his traumatized mental state was of such an advanced degree that it would be a mistake to deploy him in the field. I also noted that Oliver was pessimistic about his chances of success: he felt that if he deployed in the field, he would somehow screw everything up, and the best thing he could do is stay out of the way and leave everything to trained and experienced professionals. I concluded with a recommendation that we give Oliver a cover story and send him home as soon as humanly possible, as he was not capable of completing the mission. I also outlined six alternative approaches we could take to locate and secure the U235 before it was sold."

"So what happened?"

"Waller told me she had already considered and discarded the alternatives I suggested as unworkable, and that Oliver was ARGUS's only realistic chance of mission success. She then told me I had two choices: either I could remain Oliver's partner and carry out my orders, or she could assign one of the agents on Moscow Station to replace me as his new partner."

"What did you do?"

"The agents from Moscow Station treated me like crap, and Oliver even worse. It wasn't enough to cause us problems, but if Oliver had had to rely on one of those assholes to keep him alive?" She scoffed and shook her head. "There was no way he would survive. The mission might be a success, but Oliver could not have survived - they would have used him then abandoned him after he was no longer necessary. Look, I liked him, I felt sorry for him. We weren't friends yet - we simply didn't know each other well enough at that point - but I cared about Oliver. Sure, I wanted that uranium taken out of play: but getting Oliver home safely had become a big priority for me. So, I told Waller I'd stick with my current assignment, and hoped I could do a good enough job of teaching Oliver the skills and knowledge he would need to stay alive that we could pull off both objectives: recover the uranium and get Oliver home safely."

Dinan felt like she was starting to put the pieces together of how Lyla and Oliver became so close. “I’m guessing Waller didn’t give you very much time to train him either.”

“Nope, and she kept interrupting the training I did to send us on “milk runs”. Yeah, those turned out to be anything but, always becoming something bigger. By the time we started on our actual assignment, we’d captured a terrorist mastermind, exposed an ARGUS mole, and recovered a French bioweapon that they lost back in the 1970s. And then there was the Starling assignment.”

“Starling assignment?” McKenna asked. “Oliver was here? While he was-?”

“I’m gonna go tell him to come back out here. The rest isn’t too bad, except for the end, of course.” She said. Lyla stood up and walked over to Oliver and Felicity’s bedroom. She knocked on the door and told Oliver, Tommy and Donna that they were done with the heavy stuff at the moment. The others returned to the living room and sat back down.

‘Where are we?’

“Our mission to Starling.” She answered.

“So, to clarify, you’re saying that you and Oliver traveled to Starling when working for ARGUS?” Reeves said.

“Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. There was another operation running: Oliver and I never got looped in on it, what its objective was, so I can't tell you anything about it, I honestly don't know. But there was a Queen Consolidated employee - Kang, Peter Kang, I think his name was. He was pretty high up in the company. He had some data that ARGUS needed access to, data which was somehow relevant to the other operation, and he had stored it on the company's servers. QC's cyber security had recently advanced by an insane amount - I later found out that's because Felicity had just been hired, and she licensed the company to use her proprietary security software, so a cyberattack was a no-go. Waller was convinced Oliver still had biometric access to the company's security system, and that he could use that to find and download a copy of the data."

"Oliver was inside Queen Consolidated's headquarters?" Felicity asked. “Was this the night of February 17?”

"Yeah, it- How do you know the exact date?”

“And he accessed the system using a fingerprint scanner, I’m guessing.” She said. Both Oliver and Lyla nodded. “I know because I thought my system had a massive flaw when someone who was supposed to be dead managed to open a bunch of files. I spent weeks trying to find out why that glitch happened.”

‘Sorry, honey.’ Oliver signed.

“Oh, I can’t stay mad at you.” She smiled. “ But I’m glad I wasn’t crazy.”

"That mission was... a lot happened while we were in Starling outside of that mission." Lyla said, steering the conversation back on track. She didn’t know if she could do this again.

"Could you elaborate on that?" Reeves asked.

"We were staying in an apartment safehouse, anonymous, way off the grid. We flew in before dawn, collected our gear and reconned QC in the early morning, then headed to the safehouse to rest up ready for the night. I was beat from the jet lag, I fell fast asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Oliver didn't sleep, but that was hardly unusual back then - like I said, he always had horrible nightmares, sleep was something he avoided as much as he could. Several hours later, I got woken up by Oliver tripping over something while he was trying to be stealthy. And, no, he wasn’t sneaking out. He was sneaking back in. That's... well, that was when I learned exactly how much, how completely I can trust Oliver."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"He'd snuck off to see how Thea was doing. He easily breached the Queen estate's perimeter security - using the training I gave him, I might add. He saw Thea; Thea didn't have a clue he was there. She was... she was standing by a couple gravestones, and they hadn't been there before Oliver boarded the Gambit that last time. Thea was talking to them - to her dad and Oliver. He could have gone home, right then. Hell, Oliver should have done just that. Just walked right in, and held a press conference live on the front lawn within a half hour - Waller could never have got him back after something like that. Too high-profile."

“Why didn’t he?”

"Yeah, I wondered the same thing at first. He told me. He was scared of Waller, and the other ARGUS agents he'd met had treated him badly, so it wasn't the agency. And while he wanted to see that uranium taken off the board, Oliver was convinced he would just screw up the whole operation if he was involved, so it wasn't that." She looked away. "Me. It was because of me. I was the reason he stayed. Oliver told me I was his friend, he cared about me, he trusted me, and he didn't want to get me in trouble. For him, it was as simple as that. I had no clue what to say, what to think, how to react. I-I knew how much going home meant to him... for him to give up on a chance to do that, to be with his sister again... all for me? I was amazed. The night after Oliver infiltrated QC, Tommy was holding his twenty-fifth birthday party. Oliver was worried that Thea would try and crash the party, and maybe get in trouble - there would be a lot of booze there, and... well, he was really worried about what could happen. I agreed to help Oliver to get in there without anyone recognizing him: he wore a hoodie with the hood up, and we went in together; if anyone got close, I would block their line-of-sight of Oliver's face. We were just two more anonymous faces in the crowd. Thea showed up with her friends, but I tripped a guy so he spilled his drink on her: she was pissed and left right after that, she was there for only a few minutes. Mission accomplished. Oliver and I followed her: he wanted - he needed to see as much of her as he could. She got in her car, and drove off home. We had a near-miss when Oliver bumped into Tommy, it was a total accident, Tommy just came right out of nowhere - but he was so drunk, he could barely keep his eyes open, and passed out shortly after.”

“Ollie was- he was right there and I was too drunk to realize-? What if I hadn’t been, what if I’d-.” Tommy started to say.

‘Don’t go down that road. Trust me.’ Oliver said. ‘It only- don’t blame yourself for not knowing.’

“Oliver slung him over his shoulder and we took Tommy upstairs to his room: Oliver put him to bed, and I put a glass of water and a couple painkillers on the nightstand for when he woke up.” Lyla said. “Oliver... he broke down crying. Told Tommy how much he missed him, that he was his brother and loved him, kissed him on the forehead. Tommy never woke up the whole time we were there." She didn’t mention her and Oliver finding Laurel Lance in a compromising position with Carter Bowen when they walked downstairs, but it had bothered Oliver at the time. “And that was it. We went back to the safehouse, then caught our flight back to Moscow the next morning."
"Why were you in Starling City for so long after you completed your assignment at Queen Consolidated?" Dinan asked.
"I wish I knew. I mean, my best guess is Waller wanted us on hand for in case the agents assigned to the operation we were helping with needed backup? But for all I know, it could have been something else completely. I really don't know, she never bothered to tell us. That was one of the many reasons I hated working for her. She told us to stay at the safehouse after we got the data she wanted: then the morning after Tommy's party, she told us to return to Moscow." She said. “The next few weeks consisted of Oliver getting the last key details from the Bratva about the auction and preparing for the bust.”

“The auction gets interrupted, the material was secured and all of the mobsters were arrested, I assume.” Reeves said. “What happened next?”

“I fucked up.” She said. “I got made. It was the day the auction was happening. Oliver slipped me the last bit of intel. I relayed it to Waller and headed back to Moscow Station. They grabbed me en route.”

“Knyazev’s men?”

“No, Kovar’s. He’d been watching Anatoly and I was either stupid or careless but they figured out who I was, that I was an agent. I’m not going to go into what they were threatening to do to me. I’m sure one of your colleagues whose knowledgeable about the Bratva can fill you in, but I thought I was going to die there. No one would know what happened to me, and I knew Waller wouldn’t try to rescue me. By this point, she had what she needed, my death would be an acceptable loss.” She said. “I was sitting there in the dark, an effective intimidation tactic, when I heard screaming and gunfire, followed by footsteps. Then, someone yelling my name. It was Oliver. He’d found me. He took down every one of those bastards by himself.” She sighed. “We spent that night, while the rest of ARGUS was dealing with the Bratva, at a safehouse we’d set up, no one else at Moscow station knew about it. The next day, he asked me what we should do, what our next move should be.”

“And what was it?” Dinan asked.

“God, I was such a fucking idiot, I- in hindsight, I did the stupidest thing imaginable. We could’ve gone to the US Embassy, we could’ve made up some story, but I- fuck, I said we should report in with Waller, at Moscow station.”

“What happened after you returned to ARGUS’s Moscow Station?” Dinan pressed. Oliver was found on Lian Yu, after being in Moscow. She didn’t know how he’d wound up back on the island.

“Waller, she-.” Lyla started to say, but couldn’t get the words out. Oliver was holding Felicity’s hand as tightly as he could without hurting her and kept his eyes planted on the floor.

“I think I can answer that.” Felicity said. “I know- this part of the story is one that I’ve already heard. I think it might be better if- do you mind if I-?” As much as this part of the story infuriated her, she already knew how it ended. She wasn’t there when it happened and Oliver was alive, he’d survived. She could tell this part without breaking down because Oliver and Lyla both made it out of the situation alive.

“Please, I can’t-.”

“Waller sent Lyla to catalogue evidence from the operation. Then, she drugged Oliver and had two agents fly him back to Lian Yu.” Donna, Tommy and McKenna gasped. Reeves and Dinan both looked disgusted.

“Why would she do that?”

“When Oliver first arrived in Russia, he didn’t want to help Waller. He didn’t trust her and then she promised he could have his life back when it was over.” Lyla said. “After I was done cataloging evidence, after she’d already double-crossed him, I confronted her about it, and she said she kept her promise. She gave him back his life on Lian Yu. She even had the gall to say he should’ve been more specific and when I got angry, she said it wasn’t like anyone would miss him, since he was already declared dead.”

“How could anyone do that to another person?” Donna asked.

“She can’t- we can’t let her get away with this.” Tommy said.

“She will, because it’s Waller.” Lyla said. “She’ll hide behind “national security”, the same way that she always does.” She took a deep breath. “I wanted to quit ARGUS right then and there. But I knew that wouldn't do any good, it wouldn't help Oliver. So, I was patient and waited and watched for an opportunity for something, anything at all that I could use to help him. Whenever I had a big block of leave, a week or more, I used my savings to finance expeditions to Lian Yu, to go there myself and try to rescue him; I tried every trick I could think of to get someone, anyone at all, to go to the island so they could save him. Nothing worked. I failed, every single time. I failed him. I even thought of approaching his family, but I guessed Moira wouldn't believe me. I could have convinced Thea, but she was fifteen, sixteen years old at the most, I doubted she could help me to bring him home. Tommy, I would’ve approached you, but ran into the same issue. Besides, what could I have told them? Illegally disclosing classified material is a big deal, no matter the reason for it. And then one morning, I switched on the TV and saw a news story about how Oliver had been found, rescued. I finally felt like I could breathe properly, as if a huge weight that had been pressing down on my chest for two years had finally been removed. I just needed to find a way to make things right with him, and time to go see him."

“I wouldn’t count on Waller getting away with what she did.” Reeves said. He wondered what his buddy, who helped them get the clearance, would think about this information.

“You don’t know her very well. She’ll find a way, a scapegoat.”

“Lyla, I love you, but I’m gonna go with Agent Reeves on this one.” Felicity said. “Because Waller has never dealt with me before, but she’s about to learn an important lesson. Never piss off a Smoak woman.” There was already a plan forming in Felicity’s mind.

‘Please don’t put yourself on her radar.’ Oliver said. ‘She will- what if she tries to do something to you? She’ll come after you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, because of me.’

“Oh, honey, please don’t worry about me. Everything’s going to be okay.” She said, hugging him. “I was just talking a big game.” That was a tiny lie, but since Felicity didn’t have a finalized plan, she could justify not being truthful. Tommy was right, though, Waller couldn’t get away with this.

‘I’m gonna go lay down.’ Oliver said. Even though he didn’t need to do much during Lyla’s interview, the experience was exhausting for him. He felt drained. He stood up and Felicity followed him, wanting to make sure he was okay. They ended up cuddling in bed in silence.

 

“Where the hell are Dinan, Hall and Reeves?” Doyle asked the other agents on the task force.

“Hell if I know. They should’ve been back by now.” Rathbone said. “Do you think something bad happened?”

“Or something good." Anderson cut in. “Think about how much we learned after one conversation with Oliver Queen. Maybe, knowing what he now knows, he, or Tommy Merlyn, have more information to share.”

 

While Oliver and Felicity were cuddling, Dinan asked a few questions about the car chase the day earlier. She wanted to ask more about Moscow and Waller, but knew that right now wasn’t a good time to do that. This was how she learned that Wei thought Lyla was still an ARGUS agent and had found her as a result of Oliver, Tommy and Lyla being kidnapped by the Red Mask Gang.

“Given what you’ve told us about the abduction, we have reason to believe that-.” Dinan said.

“Whoever sank the Gambit paid the gang to kidnap and question Oliver.” Digg summarized.

“You think it’s my dad, don’t you? Makes sense, I mean, if he’s really the Dark Archer then-.”

“We haven’t conformed anything about your father, other than the fact that he’s injured, and we can’t rule out any suspects.”

“You think someone else is involved, don’t you?” Lyla said. “You suspect someone, but you can’t discuss it because it's an open investigation. The Red Mask Gang attacked on Johnny’s day off, and you don’t think that’s a coincidence. There’s only one person not on Team Oliver who’d know that he was off that day.”

“His mom. You really think she’d-?” Tommy asked.

“She already tried to have him declared mentally incompetent. When we were found, Moira was spotted at a charity event, she didn’t leave after the news broke. From the photos, she didn’t look worried, didn’t look like she felt much of anything. No one’s that good at hiding their emotions.”

“Oh my god, you think- I guess it makes sense. Tempest can’t be just my dad, he’d need minions and my dad was always close with Robert and Moira.” Tommy said. He remembered a few of the details Thea mentioned in her interview as well. Moira hid in her room after the Gambit went missing. She didn’t let anyone in to see her, except Malcolm and the next day, she demanded the Coast Guard call off the search. Had Moira helped cover up what happened?

“That’s- I think I’m gonna be sick.” Donna said. “What kind of person- what kind of mother-?”
Before she could finish the thought, Oliver and Felicity came out into the living room again. About an hour had passed between then taking a break and now.

‘I need to go pick up Thea from school. Can you- I know you’re busy, but I don’t think I can- someone has to tell her the truth. About the Gambit.’ Oliver signed. He didn’t want her to know too much about the Bratva or Moscow yet, but she deserved to know about the Gambit right away. ‘I don’t wanna- I’ll figure out how to tell her about Russia another day, but-.’

Felicity told the agents what he said and Dinan answered. “I’ll break the news to her, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

‘Thank you.’

While everyone wanted to come with Oliver to pick up Thea, his car could only fit so many people. In the end, Oliver, Tommy and Felicity piled into the car and drove to Thea’s school.

When Thea saw the trio waiting for her, she knew something was wrong. “Oh god, what is it now?”

“Not here.” Tommy said.

The teenager rolled her eyes and got into the car. “I’m not just some kid. You need to-.” She argued.

“Thea, do you trust me?” Felicity asked. “Do you trust Tommy and your brother?”

“Of course!”

“Then, please, trust us when we say this isn’t the time or place for this.” She said. “How was your math test?”

“You’re really asking me about school when there’s clearly something-.”

‘I wanna hear about your day. We all do.’ Oliver said. ‘Please.’

Thea told them about her classes and a few exciting moments she’d experienced, all while she tried to figure out what Oliver, Tommy and Felicity weren’t saying. Her story about her day took up the ride to Felicity’s house and she was about to ask them what was going on, again, when Digg opened the door and she saw the three investigators in the living room.

“Oh.” Thea said. “You learned something didn’t you? That’s why Ollie and Tommy are acting weird and wouldn’t tell me what’s wrong. It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Thea, why don’t you sit down?” Donna suggested.

“Ollie was right, wasn’t he?” She blurted out. “His theory that the Gambit was sabotaged was right?”

“I’m afraid so.” Dinan said. “We- due to some rules regarding transparency, this information is being released on Saturday, and it's being announced that what happened is now considered an act of terrorism. We needed to inform the families before then.”

“I- someone did this to them. Someone killed my dad, they killed Sara, they tried to kill Ol-.” Thea managed to get that much out before she started sobbing.

The agents decided that now was the right time to leave. Dinan and Reeves both left their cards in case anyone had questions or concerns later. Team Oliver sat in the living room, recovering from the series of bombshells the day had dropped on them.

 

Dinan, Reeves and McKenna returned to the police station and shared the information Lyla had given them regarding her mission in Moscow with Oliver. Nyssa’s bug picked up every single word and, by the time Dinan was relaying how Oliver ended up back on Lian Yu, she was far past the point of speechlessness. One thing that struck her as odd was the level of loyalty Oliver Queen inspired within people, as compared to Ra’s who relied on fear and force to keep his men in line.

After hearing about Waller’s underhanded tactics to “get rid” of Oliver after he prevented the sale of nuclear weapons, Nyssa found herself wishing she could have a few moments alone with Waller, and no witnesses.

 

Dinah’s brain didn’t even process the agent leaving her hotel room. After a few hours of agents from Central City’s FBI office trying to get in touch with her, she answered the phone and informed them that she was in Starling City at the moment. Shortly after that, an agent named Mars arrived at her hotel and said she had information to share.

The woman, who reminded Dinah of both her daughters, explained that the task force had concluded that the Queen’s Gambit hadn’t sunk during a storm but had been tampered with.

The professor was so in shock that she couldn’t manage to get any questions out before another one hit her. After several moments, she asked for Agent Mars’s card and thanked her for telling her the truth. Later, after she’d had time to wrap her mind around the news, she’d ask about Sara’s body and if her daughter had suffered. For now, she was too shocked to even think about those kinds of things.

 

Thea stopped crying at some point and wiped her eyes. She then asked if Walter had already heard the news. When no one seemed to know, she said that one of them should tell him. Felicity called Walter and asked if he’d be coming over for dinner.

“I wouldn’t want to impose.” He answered.

“I really think that you should come over.” She said. “There’s been- there’s something we need to tell you. A few things, actually.” She wanted to make sure he came, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to think that something even worse than Oliver’s kidnapping had happened. “Please, if you can make it for dinner, that would be-.”

“I will see everyone at 5:30 sharp.” He said. “It’s unpleasant news, I take it.”

“Yeah. It is.” She said before ending the call.

 

“A scene from the streets of Starling City has gone viral tonight.” A news anchor read aloud. Most of the bar patrons ignored the broadcast, not caring about the area. “Billionaire and former castaway Oliver Queen was spotted fighting off armed, masked men during an apparent shoot-out.”

Hearing Oliver’s name led to one patron’s head snapping up to look at the screen.

“Authorities haven’t given a motive for the attack, but one things clear: Oliver Queen can fight.” The anchor said.

“Not bad, Kid.” The man said, watching the video.

“You say something, mate?” Another patron asked.

“Just saying he fights pretty well for some American trust fund brat.” Slade said before returning to his drink.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theries?

Chapter 70

Summary:

Team Oliver deals with the aftermath of the information revealed last chapter, the task force regroups and learns something new and Nyssa, once again, has to be the bearer of bad news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Walter got off the phone with Felicity, he headed downstairs to talk to Correll. While he didn't know what exactly she and Oliver needed to tell him, he had a feeling whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Correll looked up from his computer when he heard a knock on his door. While his expression didn’t change much, Walter could tell that he was nervous about whatever he needed to say. The CEO couldn’t say that he blamed his colleague one bit for a reaction like that.

“How bad is it?” Correll asked.

“To be honest, I don’t know. Felicity wouldn't tell me anything over the phone, other than try to impress upon me that nothing was wrong, but she and Oliver would really like to talk to me.” He said. “Which, I believe, means that nothing additional has happened, but maybe some new information was discovered.”

“About what, do you think? The Gambit? The attack on Applied Sciences?”

“I don't want to begin to speculate, as the last time I tried to assure myself that things couldn't be “that bad” I was horrifically wrong.” He said. “If what they tell me is something that I feel you should know, so that you’re prepared for inquiries, I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Walter.” Correll said. “And I hope the news doesn’t turn out to be as bad as you fear.”

 

After Dinan, Reeves and McKenna were finished discussing what Lyla had told them about Oliver’s trip to Russia and the evidence supporting their theory about Malcolm, they asked the other agents how telling the respective families went over. Doyle reported that Quentin Lance was a mix between angry and devastated, and Agent Mars said a similar thing about Dinah. Agent Rathbone hadn’t returned from Cassidy Women’s Prison, where he’d been meeting with Laurel, and Anderson waited to share his experience with Moira until last.

“Well, she kicked me out, saying she needed to be “with her family”, but other than that, she didn't really have a reaction.” Anderson said.

“Do you think she was in shock?” McKenna asked, because someone had to. As investigators, they needed to be objective, which meant they couldn't just assume that the reason why Moira didn't seem upset was because she was guilty.

“Either in shock, or she already knew. I think the best way to see which one it is is to wait and see what she does on Saturday, when the press release comes out. Not to mention the fact that, while we suspect she knew, we haven’t figured out how long she’s known. Did she know from the beginning? Did she find out at some later point?”

“I’m really hoping it’s the second one.” Dinan said. “Not just so that Oliver doesn’t have to find out his mother tried to kill him, but because if she knew beforehand, I don’t think Oliver, John Diggle or Felicity Smoak would be able to stop Lyla Michaels from trying to hurt her when that comes to light.”

Reeves was about to say something when Agent Rathbone walked through the door. “So, how did breaking the news to Laurel Lance go?”

“That woman is certifiably insane.” He said. “Because, even though Oliver Queen was on the Queen’s Gambit, and not to be rude, but he wasn’t worth killing at the time, it being sabotaged is somehow still his fault.”

“You know, she’s kinda had this obsession with Oliver since, like, the sixth grade, so the fact that she went from “he and I are destined to be together” to “everything that goes wrong is his fault” really isn’t that surprising.” McKenna said.

 

After the agents left Felicity’s house and Thea had calmed down somewhat from the revelations, the teenager walked over to Tommy and threw her arms around him. “Not that I don’t love hugs, but what exactly did I do to deserve this?” He asked her.

“It’s because you were right.” She said. “When you said that the school parking lot wasn't the right place to tell me what was going on, you were right. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, I just can’t believe-.” He stopped himself before he blurted out what Lyla had shared, which Thea didn’t know yet. He’d almost said that he couldn’t believe Oliver had been in his house three years ago and he was too drunk to realize it. “This is like something out of a soap opera.”

“I know. What’s next? Evil twins? Amnesia?” She joked.

Felicity, meanwhile, was sitting in the corner of the room wedged between Oliver and Lyla. It didn't take a genius to be able to tell that today had been a very, very trying day. Especially for the two of them who had to relive one of the worst times in their lives. While she wanted to comfort them, she knew that there wasn't anything she could say that could make things better. Instead, she just sat there, with one arm brushed up against Lyla and her other hand holding Oliver's.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” She asked. “It's about your tattoos.”

‘Sure, what is it?’

“Did you get them when you were...partnered with Lyla?” She had been curious about how Oliver got his two tattoos and what the reason or symbolism behind them were. He had a dragon tattooed on his left shoulder blade and a strange star symbol on his left pec. 

‘Just the one I have right here.’  He said, patting his left pectoral.

“Oliver, you still have that?” Lyla asked, sounding panicked. “You need to get it removed or covered up.”

“I don't- why does he need to get rid of it?” Felicity asked.

“It was his initiation tattoo, for joining the Bratva.” She said. “And everyone who knows that he joined them is rotting in some ARGUS black site, so-.”

“So, if anyone else in the Bratva saw Oliver’s tattoo, something bad would happen.”

“Exactly. I meant to- there wasn’t-.” Lyla had meant to say something to Oliver after he was done with ARGUS, but obviously things hadn’t gone the way she thought they would. She’d completely forgotten about Oliver getting the tattoo until Felicity mentioned it. If someone in the Bratva saw that Oliver had that tattoo, they’d come after him and everyone he cared about, as punishment for having tattoos that he didn't “earn” in their eyes.  “I can make some calls. An old Army buddy of mine became a tattoo artist, he’ll do a cover-up if I ask.”

‘I don't wanna cover it up.’ He signed. ‘I wanna get it removed.’ The tattoo was a reminder of what happened in Russia, and what he’d done there, to stop the Bratva, to have Waller keep up her end of the deal, haunted him and made him hate himself. He wanted to erase that time completely, with the exception of him meeting and training with Lyla. ‘Do you think there’s someone in Starling who does that?’

“Tattoo removals?” Felicity said. “I can find you one. just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “You could get it removed by this time next week.”

‘I wanna do that. I don't wanna- I’ll keep the dragon because of what it means, but the other one, I never wanna be reminded of that time.’

“I’ll see what I can find online.” She said with a small smile. She was happy that she could do something to help Oliver now, as opposed to what she and Lyla were doing, which would help him in a more long-term sense. 

She started searching for tattoo removal procedures in the city and after a while, Oliver decided that maybe he should get started on dinner. When he mentioned he was going to start cooking, Tommy spoke up about something he felt was being overlooked.

“So, are we not gonna talk about the other revelation we had today?” He asked. “Because McKenna and Dinan weren’t just here to tell us about the Gambit.”

“They weren’t?” Thea asked.

“No, they- they wanted to know about my dad and his injuries. He got into a “car accident” on the same night as the attack on Applied Sciences.” He said. “Except, his injuries match up with the ones the Dark Archer would have.”

“They think he knows the Dark Archer?”

“I’m pretty sure they think he is the Dark Archer.” Tommy responded. “And then there’s the bit about your mom.”

“What about her?”

“So, the Dark Archer is connected to Tempest, who own the warehouse where the Gambit was found, and an organization like Tempest wouldn’t have just one member.” Digg said.

“Okay.”

“Tempest would wanna know what happened when the Gambit sank, and there’s only one person who could answer those questions. They might hire someone to ask Oliver about it.” Lyla said. “Your families have always been close. And the only person not in this room who’d know that Johnny wasn’t working the day Oliver, Tommy and I were kidnapped was-.”

“My mom. You think she-?”

“Is there any chance that we’re wrong? About Malcolm and Moira?” Donna asked. “That we aren’t trying to connect a bunch of unconnected dots?”

“‘Not likely. If we were completely off the mark, Dinan or Reeves would’ve just flat-out said we were wrong. But they didn’t. They went with the “cannot confirm or deny information about an open case” route, which means it’s pretty likely.” Lyla pointed out.

“They wouldn’t want us starting a witch hunt.” Digg said. “So, they said they couldn't comment and then started talking in hypotheticals.”

“That was legal tightrope walking - she did everything by the book and upheld the letter of the law."

'But she made it very easy for us to read between the lines. Telling us we're right without technically telling us anything.'

"So, it's true. My dad's a supervillain."

"And Mom-- Mom had Ollie tortured." Thea said, tearing up. Oliver held his arms open and she rushed over to be comforted by her brother. “Oh my god, if she did that to him then, she- it’s probably too late for me to try and get emancipated, isn’t it?”

“Six days, six hours and fifty-nine minutes.” Lyla said.

“What?”

“Sorry, it’s- something I started doing on assignments.” She said. “If I knew I was going to be finished with an assignment at a certain time on a certain day, I’d keep track of how close I was to it once I was more than halfway there. Your birthday is next Thursday. As of midnight, that night, you’ll be an adult and can do whatever you want, as long as it’s legal. You can move out of the mansion and never have to go back there again. Midnight on Thursday is six days, six hours and now fifty-eight minutes away. And you’ll be in school for most of that time. You’re almost at the finish line.”

“Huh, I guess I never thought about it that way.” She said. “Can we- Walter and Roy are gonna stop by tonight. I don't know when Roy will be here, but Walter’s gonna be here in less than half an hour and I don’t wanna be- I don’t think he should walk in on us debating to what extent Mom is- if we could change the subject, I think that would be best.”

No one disagreed with Thea’s reasoning, so Donna decided to start telling some funny customer stories she’d gathered over the years. It was a good way to get everyone’s minds off of the heavy topics they’d talked about that day, and would be discussing later. While Donna told her stories, the others helped Oliver prepare dinner and put plates and silverware out on the table. At exactly 5:30, true to his word, Walter arrived for dinner. As soon as he entered, the others could tell that he was as nervous as they were about the news that needed to be shared. Felicity argued that they should have dinner before they had any serious conversations, and no one found themselves disagreeing. Roy arrived about five minutes later and everyone ate while making awkward small talk.

“Okay, I think I've stalled having this conversation for as long as I can.” Felicity said. “We had a visit this morning, from Agents Dinan and Reeves, and SCPD Detective Hall. It was about the Queen’s Gambit.”

“The task force has concluded their investigation?” Walter asked.

“Not exactly.”

 

In the two hours between the task force regrouping at the police station and now, Nyssa had picked up her phone to call Sara and stopped herself from initiating the call over two dozen times. News traveled slowly to Nanda Parbat, but she knew news would eventually reach the League’s fortress. Meaning sooner or later, the announcement of what happened to the Queen’s Gambit would reach Sara. 

Nyssa didn’t think Sara should be the last person to know the truth. Steeling herself for the unpleasant conversation that was about to happen, she dialed the phone.

“Hey Nyssa.” Her beloved said when the call connected. “I’m sorry for ending our last call so abruptly but-.”

“It was a lot to hear. And I'm afraid I have more information you need to know.” She said. “Are you alone?”

“Yes. Why? Did something happen? Is my dad-?”

“Your father, mother and sister are all fine, beloved.” She said. “But I have become aware of something troubling. It relates to the Queen’s Gambit. As you know, Oliver Queen has been protecting the city as the Arrow. Several weeks ago, he discovered the wreckage of the yacht in a warehouse in Starling City and alerted the authorities. A task force made up of multiple agencies has been investigating the wreckage and the accident ever since. They recently made an important discovery about why the Queen’s Gambit sank. It appears-.”

“Nyssa, I love you, but you’re stalling. Just come out and say whatever it is.”

“The Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged. Someone placed a bomb aboard the vessel before it set sail.”

“It wasn't an accident.”

“No, it seems that it was not.” Nyssa said. “Your family has been informed, as has Oliver Queen’s. The task force will be making an announcement to that effect on Saturday when they announce that all of the deaths deemed accidents are now being investigated as murders and the “accident” is being reclassified as an act of terrorism.”

“I- I need to go.” Sara said. “I have to- thank you for telling me but-.”

“No need to explain. This news is…. please call me when you feel up to it.” Nyssa said before ending the call.

After the Heir to the Demon calmed herself down enough, she put on her armor and headed out onto the streets of Starling. The Arrow wouldn't be making an appearance tonight, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be someone protecting its citizens. Even without having to relive his ordeal in Russia, the revelations about the Queen’s Gambit or Malcolm Merlyn’s alter ego were enough for him to need another night off. Part of her was pleased that Oliver was already aware, or at least suspected, the truth about Malcolm, as she wouldn't need to spend time trying to convince him of the truth.

 

Walter and Roy were both silent the entire time Felicity explained what the task force had revealed about the Queen’s Gambit and their suspicions about Malcolm. A year ago, the idea of Malcolm being the Dark Archer, or even connected to Tempest, seemed impossible, but now, the suspicion couldn't be so easily overlooked. Walter looked incredibly relieved when Tommy told him that he'd already moved out of Merlyn Mansion after a fight with his father. Walter mentioned that he wanted to warn Correll of the announcement that would be happening on Saturday, but said he wouldn't give more detail other than the fact that the press conference would be about the Gambit, at least not if he wasn't able to talk with the task force beforehand and hear their opinions on whether it was a good idea to share that information.

“I'll admit, I was hoping that the investigation would reveal that there was no foul play involved in what happened.” Walter said.

“Me too.” Roy chimed in.

“We all were hoping that.” Felicity said. “There is something else that you should know.” She took a deep breath. “And this will also be news to Thea.” Everyone looked at her in confusion. She grabbed Oliver’s hand and signed ‘Trust me’ before she continued. “There was a brief period between 2009 and 2010 when Oliver wasn't on the island. He was in Russia.”

“How did you get from-?” Roy began to ask at the same time Walter asked a question of his own.

“Why were you found on Lian Yu if-?”

“Someone found him on Lian Yu and brought him to Russia. The person requested his help with something, and promised that when they were done, they'd help him get home. When their business was done, that person double-crossed him and he ended up back in Lian Yu.” She said. “In Russia was where Lyla first met Oliver.”

“You knew Ollie was alive and you didn't tell anyone?!” Thea yelled at the former ARGUS agent. She knew this wasn’t her fault, but she couldn’t bring herself to yell at Oliver.

“I was the only person other than the one who betrayed him who knew. I didn't have any proof; it was just my word. I- I was worried that no one would believe me.” Lyla said. “I spent the next few years trying to get to Lian Yu and bring him home, but- I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Why do I get the feeling that there's a lot more to this story?” Roy asked.

‘There is, but I'm not ready to tell it.’ Oliver responded. ‘I just didn't want to- I didn't want to lie anymore. Not to everyone I care about.’ He was still keeping a number of things from them, mainly his “green secret” as Felicity called it, but he was trying to figure out the best way to tell them and when the best time would be. 

“We understand, Oliver.” Walter said. “And when you're ready, we will be here to listen.”

The group fell quiet for a little while, until Thea mentioned something that had been on her mind for the last few days.

“I think I should start moving out.” Thea said. “Mom- after everything, I don't wanna be there any longer than I have to. But I also don't wanna have a moving truck show up on my 18th birthday and cause a scene.”

“You could always do it in stages. Or under the radar.” Felicity said. “If your mother enters your room and all your stuff is gone, that's suspicious, but if you slowly start removing things, clothes, keepsakes, toiletries, bit-by-bit over the next six days, it won't be as obvious. You might be able to play it off as you donating those items or decluttering.” Everyone looked at her, wondering if she knew this from experience.

“Years ago, I had a friend who needed to get out of a bad situation.” Donna said. “Felicity and I did what we could to help her.”

‘You can stash your stuff at my penthouse that's just sitting empty.’ Oliver told his sister. ‘Whatever you wanna do, we’ll support you.’

“Thanks, Ollie.”

After the heavy topics had been discussed, the group splintered off. Thea asked Felicity for help on an assignment she’d just gotten. Roy started talking to Oliver and Tommy about gift ideas for Thea. He had a few bouncing around but wanted to see what they thought of his suggestions. Donna and Walter started to discuss books while Digg turned to Lyla.

“Feel better? Or not better, but less burdened?”

“Definitely. I didn't realize how much it- secrets can be heavy.”

“And that one was one of heaviest ones I think anyone's had to carry in a long, long time.” 

Eventually, people began to depart. Roy and Walter had work the next day, Thea had school. Digg and Lyla wanted to head home. Tommy joked that the bed in his hotel room was feeling neglected. Everyone said their good nights and left and Donna decided to turn in early. As he was leaving, Digg mentioned that he was going to work tomorrow during the day but wouldn't be available tomorrow night, as he always spent Andy's birthday with Carly and AJ. Oliver told him not to worry about it, as he wasn't planning to leave the house Friday night anyway. 

 

The next morning, the task force came into work to two big surprises. One was that one of the techs finished analyzing the phones and personal effects of the arrested Triad members. The contact list alone was a gold mine for the FBI’s organized crime unit, but McKenna found one number on the list particularly interesting. 

“You gotta be kidding me.” She said.

“What?” Anderson asked. “What are you seeing that we aren't?”

She pointed to a name on the list. “This one, Brian Nudocerdo, the police commissioner.”

“It's possible that the contact info was intentionally entered under a fake name. Just to play Devil's Advocate for a moment.”

“Except, that's actually his number.” McKenna said, pulling out her own phone and showing his name in her contacts. It was the same number. “When the Anti-Arrow task force was started, he gave all of the detectives his personal phone number so that, in his words, he'd know the second the Arrow was off the streets. Pretty sure he just wanted to claim the arrest for himself, but- anyway, that's not a fake contact.”

“Run the phone records immediately.” Doyle ordered the technician. “We need to know who else is in the Triad’s pocket.”

“Did Keller talk with you already?” The tech asked Agent Rathbone. “About the tires?”

“No, why would tires-.” As he said that, one of the CSIs walked into the room.

“You will not believe what happened to that SUV involved in the car chase.” She said.

“Let me guess, Keller?” Rathbone said. “I thought they were shot out.”

“They were, just not by John Diggle and anyone with a gun.” She said. “Unless he also carries a longbow.”

“The Arrow was involved in the fight?”

“Either it was him, or there's a third archer in town.”

“How is there any doubt? His green arrows are pretty distinctive.” Doyle asked.

“Well, the arrows aren't there. The damage to the tires is consistent with being pierced by an arrowhead. Bullets couldn't have done the type of damage we saw. One of my colleagues is still running the numbers, but whoever shot those arrows had to be at least on the third floor, possibly the fourth.” Keller said. “But since someone took the arrows before the SCPD had control of the scene, all we know is that it was an archer, not necessarily the Arrow. I need to get back to the lab now.” Keller left and once she was gone, the agents began talking about her revelation.

“I don't think it was the Dark Archer, just based on his injuries, so I think we can assume it was the Arrow.” Dinan said. “Still not sure why he'd be there though.”

“He's been changing up his methods lately, Judge and Melissi are proof of that.” Reeves said. “Or maybe he just happened to stumble upon the situation and felt the need to intervene. Not sure why he’d retrieve his arrows though.”

“Maybe he didn't. An arrow fired by the Arrow? That could fetch a lot of money on eBay. Or a shadier site.” Anderson said.

“They're evidence.”

“Plenty of people on the Internet wouldn't care.” 

 

Moira was sitting in her living room, reading Page Six when her phone rang. She nearly ignored it, but saw that Malcolm was calling her. She feared what he might do if she ignored his call. 

“Hello, Malcolm.”

“I understand you received a visit from an FBI agent yesterday. Would you care to explain why you didn't inform me?”

“It didn't seem important.”

“Our work, which would be closer to completing if you hadn't bungled the last board meeting, is being threatened by the FBI's investigation and you don't think a visit from them is important?” He asked. “What did they ask? What did you discuss?”

“They asked about the week before Robert set sail.” She lied. “Did he seem worried about something? Was anything abnormal? I told them exactly what we agreed I would, if anyone ever asked about that time. He was clearly asking simply as a formality.” 

“Good.”

“The world believes Robert was killed in a tragic accident, why would I want the FBI of all people to suspect the truth?” She asked. “My bed is made, Malcolm, I'm lying in it.”

Unbeknownst to Moira, someone had overheard the end of her conversation with Malcolm.

 

Felicity rolled over in bed and found herself only a few inches away from Oliver's face. He could somehow sense that she was facing him, because his eyes opened a few moments later.

‘Morning.’

“Good morning.” She said before letting out a yawn. “How did you sleep?”

‘Not well.’ He admitted. ‘Lyla talking about Russia...brought a few unpleasant memories up.’

“I’m not surprised.” She said. “I mean, I hoped that that wouldn't happen, but I’m not surprised that it did. I’m sorry you had bad dreams.”

‘They weren’t all bad.’ He said. ‘When I first fell asleep, I dreamed about you.’ He had had a pleasant dream about Felicity, but then the dream ended and he woke up. It was after he fell back asleep that the bad dreams and memories came.

“You did? What happened in the dream?” She asked. Oliver got a guilty smile on his face. “Oh, it was that kinda dream.”

His face turned red. ‘Sorry, I-.’ 

“Oliver, honey, sweetie, my love. You can have as many sexy dreams about me as you want.” She told him with a laugh. “In fact,” she moved so that she was straddling him. “Is this okay?” She wanted to make sure that their position didn’t make Oliver uncomfortable. He nodded. “Great.” She pulled her top off and pulled one of his hands up so that he could touch her breast. “I think that you should tell me a little more about your dream, and maybe, we can make it a reality?”

‘We’re not ready for part of it.’ He said. ‘But I like where this is going.’ He pulled her down closer to him and started to massage her breast. While his left hand was massaging one of her breasts, he started kissing the other one. Felicity let out a quiet moan and buried her face in his neck. He continued his ministrations, switching sides at one point so that each of her breasts felt equally loved. She started nuzzling his neck and kissing along his jawline, all the while trying not to be too loud. She inadvertently started rubbing her pelvis against his and could feel his erection growing just behind where she was situated.

“Oliver, I’m gonna-.” She started to say. He began to pull away and was about to ask if he should stop. Before he could, she let out a very loud moan and he could feel her legs shaking around his torso. He watched as she caught her breath and her body came down from its high. “Wow, that was-. That’s the first time I’ve ever…. had that lead to that.” She started to blush. “Sorry, I probably should’ve-.”

‘Don’t apologize for anything, especially what just happened.’ He told her. 

She moved off of him and laid down with her head on his chest. He started running his fingers through her hair. “I feel kinda bad though, because you’ve…. been paying very good attention to my needs, but yours-.” She gestured to his erection.

‘You don’t need to do that.’ He said. ‘I wanted to make you feel good. You don’t have to reciprocate. Besides, I- all I need is you, here, in my arms.’ He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he might have if Felicity tried to touch him in that area, and he didn’t want to find out at the moment. Instead, he wanted to enjoy cuddling with his girlfriend.

“Well, that was one hell of a way to start my Friday.” She said with a smile. She leaned up and kissed Oliver on the lips before pulling away. Then, she heard something fall in the kitchen. “Oh frak, my mom definitely heard me. That’s embarrassing.”

‘Maybe she didn’t.’ He said, trying to reassure her.

They stayed lying in bed for almost another hour before heading into the kitchen. Donna was sitting in the living room, watching some TV and asked them both how they slept with a knowing look on her face.

“I think I’m gonna take you up on your offer to stay in your penthouse, Oliver.” She said. “I’ve intruded enough on Felicity's hospitality and should really start looking for my own place.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 71

Summary:

Oliver has a relaxing day for once, Roy makes a decision, Donna meets someone new and the task force learns something new.

Notes:

Sorry this chapter is a little late. My schedule's been weird lately.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity and Oliver stayed lying in bed for almost another hour before leaving the bedroom. Donna was sitting in the living room, watching some TV and asked them both how they slept with a knowing look on her face.

“I think I’m gonna take you up on your offer to stay in your penthouse, Oliver.” She said. “I’ve intruded enough on your hospitality.”

Felicity groaned and started looking through the cabinets in order to hide her embarrassment. It was one thing for her to think her mother had heard her and Oliver’s sexual activities, it was another thing for her mother to comment on it.

“Felicity, why are you embarrassed? We had this talk before you went off to college.” Her mother said. “It’s completely natural for-.”

“Mom, I don’t need the sex talk again.” She said. “I just- it’s weird for me when you talk so casually about my sex life. So, if we could just pretend that you didn’t hear what you heard this morning, so that I don’t want to die of embarrassment-.”

“Okay, fine. As I keep telling you, I just want you to be happy, and you seem to be.” Donna said. “And I’m serious about moving out soon. It’s time I get out of your hair.” She sighed. “Though, I guess I should figure out what I’m gonna do about all my stuff in Vegas while I’m thinking about moving.”

“Your lease isn’t up until April, right?” Felicity asked. “We’ve got plenty of time to deal with that.” She was going to say something else, but her stomach began to rumble. “And that’s my cue to eat some breakfast.”

She went into the kitchen where Oliver was making scrambled eggs. She watched him cook as she poured herself some coffee. He finished making the eggs and handed her a plate with a soft smile.

‘I didn’t know if you were getting sick of omelets. So, I made something different.’

“I could never get sick of anything you cook.” She told him before putting a forkful of food into her mouth. She told him that the food was good and they ate in silence. When they were both finished, she started cleaning up. “Oh, and there’s something I forgot to tell you earlier because…you know, we got distracted.”

‘What is it? Is something wrong?’ He asked her.

“Nope.” She moved closer to him so that she wouldn’t be overheard. “The kind of dream you had about me? I’ve had those kinds of dreams about you too.”

‘Really?’ He still found it hard to believe that someone would find him attractive with how scarred he was.

“Yup. I’ve been having them for a while, actually.” She said, blushing a little bit. “It’s natural and I like that you’ve been dreaming about me.”

‘Good, because I like dreaming about you.’ He said as he gave her kiss. ‘But not just those dreams. Because, sometimes, I just have dreams of us doing boring, happy couple stuff.’

“Really?”

‘Why wouldn’t I dream about my favorite person?’ He asked rhetorically. ‘Do we have any plans for today?’

“None that I know of. My plan is to have a quiet, relaxing day after Wednesday's surprise and the conversations that happened yesterday.” She answered. “I’m thinking a Netflix marathon, maybe?”

‘Sounds perfect to me.’

He took her hand and they walked back out into the living room. Donna was no longer sitting on the couch, but the door to the guest room was closed. Felicity and Oliver sat down on the couch and she started looking through the options on Netflix, trying to decide what to watch.

“What are you two up to today?” Donna asked, stepping into the hallway wearing a pair of yoga pants and long-sleeve shirt.

‘Just having a relaxing, lazy day in.’ He told her. ‘Are you going somewhere?’

“I’m getting a little bit of cabin fever, to be honest.” She said. “I’m gonna go downtown. Do some shopping. See if there’s any exciting events coming up.”

“Don’t go too crazy buying shoes.” Felicity joked. “Remember, you only have two feet.” It had been a running joke in the Smoak family for years that Donna had too many shoes. Felicity’s thing was technology and Donna’s was fashion.

“I make no promises.” She said before saying goodbye and leaving the house.

‘I don’t understand the shoe thing.’ Oliver admitted.

“It’s kinda a running joke. When I was like five, my aunt and Emily were over and my mom was showing my aunt something in her closet and I loudly asked her why she had so many shoes, when she only had two feet. And since then, it’s just been a thing with us.” Felicity said with a smile. “Now, do any of these shows look interesting to you?”

‘What’s Parks and Recreation?’

“It’s a sitcom by the same guy who created The Office. I think Parks and Rec is just what we need.” She said, pressing the button to start watching.

Lyla and Digg arrived after the first episode was over. Oliver made sure that Lyla was okay after the emotional rollercoaster the day before, and she said she was doing as well as she could be, all things considered.

‘I think I wanna tell everyone the truth soon.’ Oliver admitted. ‘About me being the Arrow.’

“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Digg asked.

‘You don’t think I should?’

“No, it’s not that. It came out wrong. What I meant to ask was if you’re sure you’re ready to do that?” He said. “It’s a big step.”

“And the last few weeks have been….a lot.” Felicity said. “I’m not saying you should and I’m not saying you shouldn’t. I’m just saying that it’s been a crazy month.”

‘I wasn’t thinking about telling them this week. And I don’t think I should next week, because I don’t wanna steal Thea’s thunder for her birthday, but maybe the week after? I think that gives me enough time to figure out how to tell them.’

“I think that’s a great plan.” Felicity said. Lyla and Digg nodded in encouragement.

With the plan somewhat decided, the group turned back to the TV and continued to watch Netflix.

 

Walter arrived at Queen Consolidated and was told that there was someone in his office waiting to speak with him. He took the elevator to the top floor and walked towards his office, intrigued and slightly concerned about who might be waiting for him. He entered to find Dinan and Reeves talking to his executive assistant.

“Good morning, Agent Dinan, Agent Reeves.” He said politely.

“Good morning, Mr. Steele.” Dinan said. “I was wondering if we could have a few moments of your time?”

“Certainly.” He said, gesturing to his office. He asked his EA to make sure they weren’t disturbed before following behind the investigators and taking a seat at his desk. “Before we begin, I think I should inform you that yesterday, Oliver and Felicity shared some of the information you told them with the rest of Team Oliver. They didn’t go into much detail, but they did tell us that you’ve determined the Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged and your suspicion of Tempest’s involvement, and the Dark Archer’s. I know you can’t comment on an open investigation, but they also shared with me their theories on who the Dark Archer is. Although, I won’t be sharing any of that information or those theories outside of those already “in the know” as it were.”

“May I ask who is on “Team Oliver”?” Dinan asked him. She was pretty sure that she knew the core group, but wanted to be sure how many people were aware of what was going on.

“Of course. Felicity gave us that nickname, and it seems to have caught on. The group consists of Oliver, naturally, Felicity and her mother Donna, Thea, Lyla Michaels, John Diggle, Thea’s boyfriend Roy Harper, Tommy Merlyn, and myself.”

Dinan turned to Reeves. “Roy Harper, have we met him?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“I supposed that’s possible.” Walter said. “He was at work both times you visited Felicity’s home to speak with her and Oliver. Oliver intends to offer Roy a job as one of his interpreters, so you’ll probably meet him soon. Roy is a good friend of Oliver’s, we’ve all grown close to him, and he trusts him completely. Which is why Oliver’s decided to offer him a job.”

“Is Mr. Harper a professional interpreter?” Dinan asked.

“Not at the moment, but he’s been taking ASL classes for over three years, which is incidentally how he and Thea met.” He said. “I apologize, I’ve somewhat gotten this conversation off-track, as I’m sure Roy’s friendship with Oliver is not why you asked to speak with me.”

“We thought now would be a good time to ask if anything was discovered when looking into Applied Sciences.” Reeves said.

“The security team has made great progress in overhauling and updating our security measures, but they aren’t quite complete. The stop-work order on the projects Miller worked on are still in effect. I like to believe we’re doing everything we can to combat the influence of Tempest. Though, if you feel differently or that we may have missed something, I’m interested to hear your thoughts.”

“I can’t think of something you may have missed, but we may be able to give you some peace of mind.” Dinan said. “The Arrow contacted us regarding Tempest following Alex Melissi and David Judge’s arrests. He believes that he has successfully removed all of Tempest’s assets within the company.”

“The five employees who surrendered themselves to the authorities, they all were affiliated with Tempest?”

“They confessed to their association, yes.” She said. “Needless to say, this information needs to be kept confidential.”

“Of course. May I share this news with Team Oliver, or at the very least Oliver and Felicity?” He asked. “I know it would bring them both peace of mind, as he’s been concerned that she might be in danger while at work still.”

“I think that’s perfectly fine.” Dinan said. The two agents stood up to leave.

“There is something I feel I should share with you, regarding a conversation I overheard this morning.” He said. “Between my wife and Malcolm Merlyn. He was asking her about a conversation she had with one of your colleagues yesterday.”

“Yes, Agent Anderson went to see her to inform her of the news about the Queen’s Gambit.”

“That makes sense. What doesn’t have a simple explanation, however, is what she said to him next. I’m paraphrasing somewhat, but she mentioned that, as far as anyone knew, Robert died in an accident and said she didn’t want anyone, especially federal investigators, to think otherwise. She ended the conversation saying she’d “made her bed” and was lying in it.”

Neither of the agents were sure how to respond to that information. It certainly gave credibility to Malcolm and Moira both being involved with what happened to the Gambit, but they couldn’t figure out why Moira would lie to her fellow conspirator.

“I’m not sure why she might say that, but thank you for letting us know.” Dinan said. “Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Steele.” She and Reeves left.

Once the two agents were gone, Walter asked his assistant to call Correll and asked him to come to his office. Correll arrived and Walter told him to expect a flood of calls over the next few days.

“May I ask why?”

“There is going to be an announcement tomorrow regarding the Queen’s Gambit. The task force has reached a point in their investigation where they can release some of their findings.” He answered. “And, because I know what your next question will be, I’m not sure what those findings are.”

 

Donna was sifting through dresses on a sales rack when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She looked up to see a woman stepping out of a fitting room to look in the mirror. The woman spun around a few times, looking at her outfit before frowning and turning to go back into the fitting room.

“That looks great on you.” Donna said, loud enough for the woman to hear. “Sorry, I know you don't know me and probably don't care what I think but, I think that color looks really good on you.”

“Thanks.” The woman said with a smile before going back into the fitting room. 

Donna went back to her shopping and forgot about the woman, other than feeling happy that she'd made someone feel better. She ended up buying a few things. On her way out of the store, she passed by the woman again. 

A mother and her five-year-old daughter walked past the woman and she immediately burst into tears. A few people turned to look at the woman, but no one approached her. Donna turned around and approached the crying woman.

“Do you need anything? Water? Tissues?” She asked. 

“No, I just-.” The woman said in between her sobs. 

“Why don't we get out of here? You want some coffee? My treat.” She suggested.

The woman wiped her eyes. “That would be nice.” The two women left the store and walked to a coffee shop down the street. Donna ordered while the woman sat at the table and tried to calm down. “You probably think I'm a crazy person.”

“No, I think something really upset you. And I try not to judge.” She said. “I'm Donna.”

“Nice to meet you, I'm Dinah.” Dinah said. “The little girl, she reminded me so much of-.”

“Of who? If you don't mind me asking.”

“My daughter Sara. I recently found out that… I found out some bad news.”

“Your last name wouldn't happen to be Lance, would it?” Donna asked. “Because I think I know why you're upset.”

“How did you know?” Dinah asked.

“Oliver Queen is my daughter’s boyfriend. And he got the same news yesterday that you did.” She answered. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

“You know Oliver? Is he- I know this sounds like a stupid question, but how is he doing?”

“About as well as you'd expect. He found out that the traumatic accident that changed his life wasn't exactly an accident. Thea gave him your letter, by the way, but I don't know if he's read it yet.” 

“I’d be surprised if he had, based on everything else that’s going on.” Dinah admitted. “Can you- I don’t wanna make you be a messenger, but can you please tell him something for me?”

“Sure.” Donna would tell Oliver what Dinah said if and only if her message wasn’t harmful. “What is it?”

“It’s not his fault. Please tell him that it’s not- what happened, he’s not to blame. I know Quentin and Laurel keep- I want him to know that I don’t blame him. Not that what I think matters, but I just- I know he probably thinks it’s his fault.”

“I’ll tell him.” She promised.

They moved onto lighter topics for a little while before Dinah said she had to go. Donna told her it was nice meeting her and gave her her contact information in case she ever needed to talk. Donna returned to her shopping spree and Dinah got into her car and drove to the SCPD station where the federal task force was working.

 

Roy wasn’t sure how things had gotten to this point. He’d come into work today, just like any other day. There wasn’t a big event in the store that would make him think he was going to have a bad day. Yet, it wasn’t even noon and he already had a middle-aged woman, with the typical “can I speak to your manager” haircut, screaming at him because an item that had been on sale over a month ago was no longer on sale. Roy had tried to explain things to her, or at the very least, get her to stop screaming, but she wasn’t interested in being rational. Part of the reason he was so annoyed was because he knew Oliver would hire him as an interpreter. He knew that he didn’t need to put up with stuff like this.

“Terrible, terrible customer service!” She yelled. “I want to speak with your manager-.”

“Is there a problem, ma’am?” Roy’s manager asked, coming over to where he was. Another employee had told her over the walkie-talkies what was going on.

“Are you the manager?” The customer asked. “Thank god! This mixer is supposed to be $169.99, but it’s marked as $199.99. It’s supposed to be 15% off. Last time I was in here, it was 15% off and your stock boy here is refusing to sell it to me at the price it was advertised for.”

“You know what?” Roy said before the manager could respond. “I quit. I’m tired of dealing with entitled people like this.”

“Entitled? How dare-?”

“You’re the one screaming at a guy who makes minimum wage over a $30.00 difference. Because of a sale that ended in December. Do you really have nothing better to do with your time?” He then turned to the manager. “I’ll wait in the back for you to finish up here, and then I’ll fill out whatever paperwork you need from me.”

He walked towards the back of the store while the manager dealt with the unhappy customer. After about twenty minutes, the manager came back to her office and asked Roy if he was serious about quitting. He admitted that he’d gotten an offer for a better job, a slight fabrication, and today made him realize that he couldn’t take retail anymore. He filled out the termination paperwork, turned in his keys and uniform and cleaned out his locker. Because it was protocol, the manager had to walk him out of the store.

“You gave her what she wanted, didn’t you?” He asked out of curiosity.

“The customer’s always right.” She answered sarcastically. “Although, you got her pretty good. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He said before exiting the store.

He walked to the nearest bus stop and boarded a bus that would take him close to Felicity’s house.

 

“’Okay.” Agent Anderson said, looking at the files in front of him. “We have the yacht, we have the warehouse. We also have a list of names, some are Queen Consolidated employees, connected to Tempest, which is somehow connected to the warehouse and the yacht. Why would they need someone from HR to cover up the "accident", though?” Having a source in QC’s Legal department and Applied Science made sense but some of the other employees? They didn’t have skills that would help with sabotaging the Gambit or covering it up after the fact.

“Maybe they didn’t.” Doyle said. “We’ve been assuming that their goal was sabotaging the Gambit. What if that’s only part of it?”

“You think that was part of some bigger plan?”

“I don’t think the Dark Archer would’ve tried to kill the Arrow if there wasn’t something bigger at stake. We’ve been assuming the Undertaking was, you know, everything with the Gambit, but what if it hasn’t happened yet?”

“So, Queen found out about it and they killed him?” Anderson asked.

“Maybe, I don’t know. I just think it’s worth exploring.”

“I can’t say that I- can we help you?” He asked, looking at the doorway where Dinah Lance was standing.

“I’m looking for Agent Mars.”

“She’s not here, Ms…?”

“Lance. Sorry, my name’s Dinah Lance.” She said. “I had some- there are a few things I wanted to ask her, and something I wanted to tell her, about my- about Sara.”

“Well, I’m not Mars, but I’ll give her a call.” Doyle said. He led her over to a corner of the room where they could have some privacy. He sat with Dinah until Agent Mars arrived and took over.

“Dr. Lance, what are you doing here?”

“You asked if I remembered anything from before they set sail. I was too upset at the time to tell you that- I need to- this is all my fault.”

“I promise you, it’s not.” Mars said.

“It is though, because I- I knew she was going on that trip, with Oliver, I let her go. I told her not to... I told her not to do it, not to Laurel. But she said she was in love and she had to follow her heart, even if nobody else thought it was right. Just like... I told her... when she was a little girl... Just like I told her I once did. So I let her go, and she-  I killed her, I killed my baby.” She stared sobbing.

Mars gave Dinah a hug and tried to comfort her, telling her that she couldn’t have known what was going to happen and that it wasn’t her fault. While the information wouldn’t help the investigation, none of the agents could bring themselves to admit that to her.

“Wait, I- Sara’s body, did you-?” Five years ago, Dinah had buried an empty coffin. She was hoping that somehow, her body had been found and she could be put to rest.

“I’m afraid we didn’t find her body on board.” Mars said sadly.

Dinah started crying again, devastated that she had no idea what had happened to her daughter and couldn’t put her to rest. In her hideout, Nyssa felt a pang of guilt at Sara’s mother’s distress.

 

Moira sat in her living room after the conversation with Malcolm ended and thought about her options. The walls seemed to be closing in around Tempest. She doubted the federal agents were aware of the Undertaking, no one who’d been arrested or turned themselves in already had any knowledge of what their goals really were, but sooner or later, they were going to uncover something damaging.

The way she saw it, she had two options, possibly three. She could do nothing and hope they never found out about her connections to Tempest. She could go to the task force immediately and admit to everything, in exchange for immunity. Or, she could wait a little while longer, let the agents get a little further in their investigation, and then go to them and confess everything, in exchange for immunity.

She decided to wait, for now. She had no guarantee of her safety, Thea’s or Walter’s at the moment, but if she waited, and picked a better time, maybe when the investigation hit a roadblock of some kind, the FBI might be able to put the family in protective custody or something.

“Oh, Robert, why did you get us into this mess?” She asked aloud.

 

Tommy spent a few hours in his hotel room, trying to make sense of the documents he’d gotten from his mother and grandparents’ lawyers. While he knew he could’ve waited for his appointment with his own lawyers next week, he didn’t want to walk into that meeting completely unprepared. The problem was that he didn’t know how to read legal documents and the only lawyers he was on speaking terms with were Jean Loring, and his own, and they were both probably very busy.

Unsure of what else to do, Tommy pulled out his phone. “Hey, I’m sorry to bug you, but you’re kinda the smartest person I know.”

“Kind of?” Felicity asked. “I think I’m offended.”

“Okay, you are. You’re the smartest person I know. Do you know anything about wills and estates and legal stuff like that?”

“I don’t know a ton about that. I’m more familiar with contracts, but between you, me and Google, we might be able to get somewhere.” She said.

“Ok, cool. Do you mind if I drop by? I know today’s your day off and-.”

“You don’t need to ask, Tommy.” She said. “Me and Oliver are here, just watching some Netflix with John and Lyla.”

 

Tommy arrived at Felicity’s house right as Roy was getting off of the bus. Unlike when the younger man usually visited, he had a backpack thrown over his shoulder. They greeted one another and Tommy asked about the bag.

“What’s with the backpack?”

“I kinda- I had to deal with one “Karen” too many and I quit Sink, Shower and Stuff. And I’m hoping that wasn’t a mistake.”

“It wasn’t. You’re a smart guy. You wouldn’t have quit just to quit.” He said. “Besides, we both know Oliver’s gonna offer you a job. He’s already offered Donna one and I think he’s trying to figure out how to offer you a job without making it weird.”

Roy just shrugged and followed Tommy up the front steps and waited as he knocked on the door. Oliver opened the door and looked a little surprised when he saw Tommy and Roy standing there. He let them inside and greetings were exchanged.

Felicity and Tommy moved into a corner of the room, so that she could take a look at the paperwork he’d brought with him. Roy took a seat on the couch and tried to figure out what they were watching.

“Oh, sweet. I love Parks and Rec.

‘Felicity just introduced me to it.’ Oliver said. ‘I like it so far.’ He didn’t ask Roy why he was here, when he’d usually be at work. Roy didn’t seem to be injured or upset, so he figured he’d tell him when he was ready. He turned back to the television.

 

Felicity and Tommy went through the documents he’d brought with him. They had to consult Google more than once to figure out what certain things in the wills meant, but he soon had a pretty good idea of what he’d been left and he started making a list of questions to ask his lawyers when he saw them.

“Why is this legal stuff so confusing?” He asked.

“They do it on purpose. Partially to cover their butts and the rest, I don’t know, because they wanna seem cool.”

“Well, it's mostly mumbo-jumbo to me.” He said. “Where’s Donna?”

“She decided to treat herself to a shopping spree. Said she needed to get out of the house after the last few days.”

“Yeah, I can’t say I blame her.”

They joined the others in front of the TV. The episode Oliver had been watching ended and he pressed pause so that the next one wouldn’t start. He turned to Roy.

‘I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this, but- I need an interpreter who I can trust, and you and Donna worked together really well at the meeting. So, I was wondering if- I want to offer you a job as one of my interpreters.’ He said. ‘I understand if it would be too weird or if you don’t want to quit the job you already have, so don’t think you have to say yes, but-.’

“Well, I’ve had enough of retail.” Roy said. “In fact, I just quit, because I couldn’t take it anymore, so yes. I’d like to work as your interpreter.”

‘Okay, well, I need to talk to you and Donna later, alone, about official stuff like salary, but thank you so much. She said yes to the offer when I asked her yesterday.’ He said.  He’d asked Donna yesterday when they were both in Felicity’s bedroom, to avoid listening to parts of Lyla’s story about Moscow.

The group continued to watch TV and laze around until Donna came back from her shopping trip. She said it was mostly uneventful, but noted that she’d made an acquaintance. She didn’t immediately tell them she’d met Sara’s mother, as now didn’t feel like a good time. Everyone just hung out and talked some more until it was time to pick Thea up from school. Oliver picked her up and brought her back to the house.

Around 4:30, Digg stood up to leave. He was going to spend the evening with Carly and AJ. Everyone wished him a goodnight and told him to tell them hello.

 

AJ, Carly and Digg had a quiet night in at Carly’s apartment. Today was always a weird day for them, being Andy’s birthday, but they managed to make it through. AJ spent most of dinner telling his uncle about his new hero, the Arrow. Digg listened with rapt attention and tried to ignore how weird it was to hear his nephew talk about Oliver so reverently. Eventually, AJ’s bedtime came and he went to bed, with some whining about how he wasn’t tired and it was Friday. After he went to bed, Carly and Digg had a chance to talk.

“I know you’re not gonna listen to me, but please be careful. Your job is dangerous.” She said. “I lost Andy already. I don’t wanna lose you too.”

“You’re not going to.”

“Two days ago, you were in a car chase that ended in a shoot-out. You could’ve been killed because someone wanted to kill your client.”

“Oliver wasn’t the target.”

“What?”

“They weren’t after Oliver, or Felicity.” He repeated. “They were after Lyla.”

“Lyla? Why would they-? First of all, when did Lyla come back into your life? Second, why would they be after-?”

“After Lyla left the Army, she got headhunted by a government agency. She made a lot of enemies of some serious bad guys while working there. Her boss was an asshole, kept risking her life needlessly, and that's only the start of the problem... Last week, things got so bad that Lyla quit. Oliver immediately asked if he could hire her as Felicity's bodyguard, and Lyla accepted just as quick - she's friends with Oliver and Felicity, she knows they're good people, and..." He sighed. "The problem is, one of her old enemies tracked Lyla down, looking to do god-knows-what to her, and we all helped Lyla to fight the bastards off."

"'We'? Who's 'we', John?"

"Me, Oliver and Felicity. Oliver's damn good in a fight - not in the Arrow's league, but he's at least as good as I am." He got a smile on his face. "And Felicity? She kinda killed one of the bad guys' cars... using just her phone."

"Impressive. So... Lyla's back, huh? Are you guys trying again?"

"Yeah, we are."

"Good."

"Yeah?"

"John, Lyla is the love of your life, and you're hers, just like Andy and I were each other's. You two belong together - anyone who's seen you in the same room for a couple minutes can see that. I'm glad you're figuring things out together. Just do me a favor? Be careful out there... both of you. AJ needs his uncle, and I hope he'll get to know his Aunt Lyla."

“She wants to meet him too. She didn’t come with me tonight because, well, neither of us thought it would be appropriate.”

 

The rest of Team Oliver watched movies until very late into the night before people started to depart. Tommy went back to his hotel. Lyla gave Roy a lift home before going to Digg’s apartment. Donna went to bed and Thea slept on Felicity’s couch again.

Felicity and Oliver went to bed and cuddled for a while. “Today was a nice day.” She said.

‘Yes. It was nice to have a chance to relax, to get a break from things.’

“I know exactly what you mean.” She said with a smile. She leaned up and kissed him. “Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

‘What?’ He asked in confusion.

“My mom used to say that when tucking me into bed. You’ve never heard it before?”

‘Nope, but same to you. Sleep well.’ He said before pulling her in closer and turning off the light on the nightstand.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 72

Summary:

Oliver gets back to his mission, the task force makes an announcement and someone starts to have second thoughts.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Oliver and Felicity woke up the next morning, they walked out into the living room and were somewhat surprised that there weren't a bunch of people already there. Felicity knew Thea, Roy and Tommy had probably left for their ASL classes, but Donna, John and Lyla were also absent. She was about to ask Oliver if he’d heard from anyone when her phone started going off. She had texts from her mom and Lyla.

The text from Lyla said that she and John would stop by a little later and she wanted to discuss the next move they were going to make against Moira. Donna’s text was a little more interesting.

>>From: Mom: Hi baby. I figured you and Oliver might want some time to yourselves. I know you love us, but I'm pretty sure having us always be at your house is a little annoying. I convinced the others to let you two have some “alone time” today (make of it what you will). And we’ll see you tomorrow or Monday.

“It looks like it's just us for the moment.” Felicity said. “Mom seemed to realize that having everyone here, all the time, was starting to be a bit much.”

‘I hope they don't feel bad.’ He said. ‘Having people over is nice, just-.’

“All day, every day is a bit too often. And you don't wanna kick Tommy or Thea out, or tell them you want to see them less often, but it doesn't mean you don't need some time to yourself. Or that we don’t need time where it's just us.” She finished.

‘Exactly.’  He said. ‘Plus, with everyone here all the time, I haven't been able to go out as the Arrow. What if something happens because I'm not around to stop it because I can't get away?’ 

“Well, I think that's only a problem for the next couple weeks until you tell everyone, or at least some of the group your secret.” She said. “In the meantime, maybe we’re going on a date. Every night. A date with crime.”

‘I can't ask you to lie for me.’

“It wouldn't be a lie. We'd be together, doing an activity as a couple. One of us would be getting dressed up for it.” She said. “In all seriousness, I know how important this is to you. You took the last few days off, because of everything, but when you're ready to go back, we’ll figure it out.”

‘I think I should patrol tonight. I have no idea what might've happened over the last week.’ He said. ‘And Tempest might've been cleared out of QC, but that doesn't mean they're gone.’

“Okay, then.” She said, walking over to one of her book shelves and pulling out a tablet. “Why don't we figure out who you should visit next?” She handed Oliver the tablet. “Don't worry. It's untraceable. A little old, but it'll work just fine.”

‘I don't even know where to start.’ He admitted. ‘With QC, it was easy. I knew the employees' names, but for the rest of Tempest, I feel like there are just too many options.’

“The way I see it, there are two choices here. Start with Malcolm Merlyn and work your way out from there. Or, pick a name on the List and figure out how they connect to other names on the List or other events that have happened. Not to mention, you could continue with what you started with Frank Chen, which will also lead you somewhere.”

‘I think I'm gonna start with my mom.’

“Not to be bossy, but don't do that. It's a bad idea, especially at this stage. Leave your mom to me and Lyla.” She said. “With Chen or Merlyn, there's a degree of separation. They're not your family. It's a little easier to stomach what you might find.”

‘You're probably right.’ He said. ‘I think I'll start with Malcolm. Can I hack into his phone records with this?’

“If I didn't know you better, I'd be insulted by that question.” She responded. “I'll tackle Frank Chen.”

‘Not my mom?’

“My voice of reason, aka Lyla, isn't here, so no. She's the one who pulls me back from going too far too soon.” Felicity said with a smile. “But there is something I meant to text her about.” She pulled out her phone, sent a short text, and turned to her own tablet. She started searching for recent news stories, only to come across a surprising article. “Oh, wow.”

‘What?’

“Even though you haven’t been running around at night, there have been a few sightings of the Arrow over the last few days. Your friend in black. Libby as I’ve decided to call her. I’m guessing.”

‘Maybe.’ He said with a shrug. ‘Although when I first met her, it sounded like she was focused solely on the Dark Archer.’

“Or maybe, that was all she felt comfortable telling you.” Felicity suggested. “You don't know her very well, meaning she also doesn't know you very well. The trust isn’t quite there yet.”

 

Digg was telling Lyla about his Friday night with Carly and AJ when Lyla’s phone dinged, indicating she had a text message.

“Sorry, it’s Felicity.” She said, opening the message and reading it.

“Everything okay?” Digg asked.

“Yeah, just- Felicity reminded me of something I meant to ask the task force about.” She said. “It’s not a pressing matter. It can wait until Monday, or even next Friday.” She closed the message and shrugged it off.

>>From: Felicity: Maybe you should mention Samantha if you “run into” Agent Dinan again. I’m sure Oliver wants to know where his child is buried.

“So, AJ’s a big fan of the Arrow, huh?” She asked with a smile.

“Wants to be him when he grows up. Carly didn’t seem too thrilled at the thought of him and sharp objects together.”

 

Linda Park looked over at her cameraman and asked him if he had any idea what this press conference was about. He said that he was told the same thing she was, late last night, which was that there was going to be an announcement from the federal task force that was investigating the Queen’s Gambit. 

“They’re probably just gonna tell us that they don’t have anything to tell us yet.” He said. 

“I’ve got a feeling that’s not it.” She argued. “My gut is saying otherwise.”

“Really? Your gut’s saying that? We mostly cover sports.” Her cameraman pointed out. “We’re only here because the boss didn’t see the point in sending someone else out here when we were already in town for the Rockets-Diamond game.”

Linda looked around the room. It was a little surreal for her to be in the same room as reporters like Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow. “If the announcement was that there was no announcement, I don’t think CNN and the AP would be here.”

Before he could respond, a handful of agents entered the room and approached the podium. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Agent Andrea Dinan, I work for the Coast Guard Investigative Service. I will be updating you on the most recent findings in our investigation into the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit and then Agent Anderson, of the FBI, will take a few questions.” Dinan turned to a new page. “Upon investigation of the wreckage of the Queen’s Gambit, discovered on December 27th, we have come to the conclusion that the yacht was not sunk as a result of a storm, as previously believed. We believe the Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged by persons currently unknown. The event is now being investigated as an act of terrorism and the deaths of those aboard are being classified as acts of murder moving forward.” The press all seemed to get over their shock at the same time and began signaling that they had questions. “Agent Anderson will now field questions.”

She stepped away from the podium as Anderson moved to her spot. 

 

Frank Chen saw the news and nearly fainted. He was now considered a terrorist. When the government learned of his involvement, which seemed likelier now than a month ago, they would throw the book at him. Even for the slight part he played in sabotaging the Gambit, he was going to be facing years, if not life, in prison. And that was solely for what happened to Robert’s yacht. If they learned about the Undertaking as well, even if it was stopped, his life would be over. 

He wasn’t sure what to do. If not for the threats against his family, he could turn himself in. He might be able to trade his testimony for immunity or being put into Witness Protection. He wasn't sure if the government, for all their resources, could keep his family safe from Malcolm though, and his determination to destroy, and then remake, the Glades at any cost.

As he paced his office, he wondered how Malcolm, Moira and the other, more prominent members of Tempest were reacting to this news.

 

“Sir, have you been watching the news?” Michael Adams asked, walking into Malcolm’s study.

“Why would I? Nothing they say is news is actually newsworthy anymore.” He responded. “I mean, think about it. Last week, a major story was that the bastion of charity, Moira Queen, is only philanthropic because it makes her look good.”

Without saying a word, Adams turned on the television. Every channel was airing the press conference about the Queen’s Gambit. A crawl at the bottom of the screen was paraphrasing Dinan’s announcement that the Gambit was sabotaged.  Reporters were asking about suspects and if the task force had an indication of what the motive might be, but Malcolm didn’t hear the response. All he could focus on was the fact that the task force had figured out the truth about Robert’s death. He was starting to think that maybe, he should’ve been less focused on the Arrow and more focused on learning what the task force was doing.

“Sir, a number of your associates have already tried to reach you.”

“Tell them to wait. And lie low. I’ll deal with this.” He said. After he had another long conversation with Moira. He thought she’d told him everything yesterday, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

 

While the press conference was going on, Thea, Tommy and Roy had been enjoying a nice, post-ASL class cup of coffee. When the customers around them started looking at their phones, looking at Thea and whispering among themselves, they figured out that the news had finally been released.

“We should get out of here.” Roy said.

“And go where? If we leave, someone might follow us to Felicity and Ollie.” She pointed out. “He doesn’t need-.”

“What do you say we head back to the Ritz and gorge ourselves on junk food and watch Netflix?” Tommy suggested. “Because you’re right, the last thing he needs right now is a bunch of reporters following us and bothering him.”

 

Moira yanked the curtains closed and ordered the maids to make sure all of the curtains were closed completely. Already, there were reporters camped outside of the mansion’s gates, hoping for a glimpse of a member of the Queen family after the revelations only a few moments ago.

She’d been in the middle of trying to repair her latest PR disaster when the news broke and she found herself receiving dozens of calls all at the same time. She told the staff not to answer the phone for any reason. She looked down at her cell phone and saw that Malcolm was calling her again. She hit “ignore”, not ready to speak with him just yet.

For once, Moira was happy that Thea was a sullen teenager who refused to leave her room. She hadn’t seen Thea all day and doubted her daughter was even aware of the bombshell that had just been dropped.

 

Agent Doyle dropped his file folder onto the table in one of the interrogation rooms and looked at the man sitting opposite him. When David Judge had turned himself in on Monday, and sang like a canary about Tempest, the agent had thought they’d learned everything that they needed to.

“Why is my client here?” Judge’s lawyer asked. “You questioned him plenty on Monday and, in case you’ve forgotten, he already entered a guilty plea.”

“We wanted to follow up on some things.” Doyle answered before turning to Judge. “Now, when you turned yourself in on Monday, you admitted to being a member of the group known as Tempest. You confessed that your role within Queen Consolidated’s accounting department made you valuable to them. That one of the tasks they gave you was to make sure no one else within the department noticed accounting discrepancies related to something you called “the Undertaking”. And that you were to notify the appropriate members if someone became curious.”

“And?” Judge asked.

“How big of a discrepancy are we talking about?”

“It depended. Sometimes it was only a few thousand, others it was a couple million.” He said. “Most of it, I covered up by there being an accounting error, someone entering numbers wrong. Bigger “discrepancies” were written off as losses by subsidiaries.”

“But this money was embezzled to fund the Undertaking. What was it used for?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t high enough in the group to know.”

“Do you know what the Undertaking is?” Doyle asked.

“I don’t know any specifics. Like I said, I wasn’t important enough to know. Based on the last conversation I had with Doug Miller, a day or two before his arrest, Tempest is really interested in Applied Sciences. Pretty sure one of the projects is vital to it.”

“So, the Undertaking is an event that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Not as far as I know. They recruited me at the end of 2007. Told me it would be about five years before my debt was paid.”

“Your debt?”

“I had a gambling problem. Owed a lot of money to some bad people. I worked for them and they paid the debt off.” Judge said with a shrug.

 

“Is everything okay Oliver?” Felicity asked her boyfriend. “It’s just that you’ve been staring at the tablet, without blinking, for about twenty minutes.” Several hours had passed since they started their respective research projects. Felicity now had a pretty good idea of why Chen was loyal to Tempest despite his disgust with their actions. He was being threatened by Malcolm Merlyn. Oliver, however, had started looking at Malcolm’s recent phone records and seemed fixated on something he found.

‘The night the Dark Archer attacked Applied Sciences, around what time did the SWAT team come in?’ He asked.

“It would’ve been a little after six, I think.” She said. “Why?”

‘Merlyn made a call at 6:07 to this number.’ He showed her on the tablet. ‘Belonging to Michael Adams, who is officially a “leadership consultant” with Merlyn Global Group-.’

“Translation: Malcolm’s lackey.” She cut in. “Sorry, you were saying?”

‘He called Adams. Twenty minutes later, he made another call to a Dr. Bactes.’ Oliver explained. ‘Without speeding too much, which would draw attention, it would take Malcolm 20 minutes to get from the Applied Sciences building to Merlyn Mansion, at that time of night.’

“So, you think he called Adams to pick him up, post-fight, and Dr. Bactes to take a look at him after he was home.”

‘I mean, it fits with the timeline.’ He said. ‘Do you think this could be it? Or am I just grasping at straws?’

“You’re not.” She said. “Is this a smoking gun? No. But I’d say it’s worth paying a visit to Adams, or Bactes at least.”

‘I was thinking the exact same thing.’ He said with a smile. ‘Can you give Digg and Lyla a call? I might need the Arrow’s “voice” for this.”

Felicity texted John and Lyla and told them the basics. Oliver was ready to return to patrol. He figured out who he was going to pay a visit to tonight and he was hoping John could help him get his point across. Digg, of course, agreed and they made plans to meet at the foundry later that night.

 

Due to Felicity’s house being unlisted, and very few people knowing her address, she and Oliver were able to travel to the foundry later that afternoon without being harassed by the media or being spotted by anyone. Oliver was even able to get a short work-out in while they waited for Digg and Lyla.

“So, who are we paying a visit to tonight?” Digg asked when they arrived.

‘Malcolm’s lackey and the doctor he called the same night Applied Sciences was attacked.’ Oliver answered.

“I thought you were looking into Frank Chen?” Lyla asked Felicity. “And also, Moira?”

“I did. Oliver might not be an MIT grad like me, but he knows his stuff.” She said proudly. “He’s the one who found Michael Adams and Dr. Bactes.”

“So, we’re taking it slow tonight and only dealing with those two.” Digg said. “Smart move, since it’s been a few days since the Arrow was last spotted.”

‘Those two, plus any random street crime we encounter, and I need to have another word with Libby. I’ve left her waiting for long enough.’ Oliver clarified. ‘We’re kinda playing catch up here.’

After the sun had fully set, Oliver donned his green hood and headed out with Digg. They made their way to Michael Adams’s home. “You know, we might wanna look into finding a way for me to do this from the foundry.” John said. “‘Because eventually, word of the Arrow’s very handsome partner is gonna get out.”

“Very handsome partner, Johnny?” Lyla responded.

“I am not calling myself his sidekick.” He responded. 

“I’m working on that. The “Digg does the Arrow voice from the foundry” thing, not the sidekick slash partner thing. There’s already a camera in his suit, I added it earlier today, and that’s the next step.” Felicity said. “Although, if we wanna get technical, Lyla was his original partner. The Arrow and... Lyla. That doesn’t have a great ring to it though.”

“My callsign used to be Harbinger.” Lyla said. “If I ever end up in the field, that’ll be the best codename for me.”

“We’re outside Adams’s condo.” Digg reported. “Not going to be chatty for a little bit.”

Oliver let himself into the condo through the fire escape and Digg hid just out of sight. The archer waited for Adams to unlock the front door, and as soon as he entered the condo, he fired an arrow past his head. Adams jumped about five feet in the air when he saw the arrow fly past his face.

“Michael Adams, you have failed this city!” The Arrow growled at him.

“What are you talking about? I don’t-.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know what you did the night of the Dark Archer’s attack.” The Arrow continued.

“He made me, he said he’d-.”

“Turn yourself in to the authorities, or I’ll be paying you another visit. Tell them everything you know about Tempest and the Undertaking.” Oliver then shot an arrow into the floor. A few seconds later, smoke started coming out of the tip and filled the room. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

 

After confronting Adams, Oliver visited Dr. Bactes. It took even less time for him to scare the doctor and warn him to turn himself in before he was forced to return. He didn’t even need to use smoke to cover his exit, as the doctor ran out of his house and jumped into his car before Oliver could fully finish his threat.

“Well, that’s two players off the board. How many are left?” Digg asked.

‘Too many.’ Oliver responded.

“Adams just walked into the SCPD.” Felicity reported. “No word on Bactes, but I’ve got a feeling he’ll be joining his acquaintance soon.”

Oliver said he wanted to patrol for a little longer and told Digg that if he wanted to head back to the foundry, he could. He admitted that he might not be able to approach the woman in black unless he was alone and he really wanted to speak with her. Digg nodded, told him to stay safe and let them know if he needed an assist later, before turning in the direction of the foundry.

 

Nyssa was not soft on crime. As a child, her father had always justified the League’s tactics by saying that the people they killed were all criminals and crime could not be tolerated under any circumstances. Hearing that mantra for years had instilled in her a very black and white view of crime and how criminals should be approached. Nyssa hated criminals, but felt a stronger dislike for men who attacked women than a murderer or thief. It was rather in-character, then, when Nyssa finished incapacitating a man who’d tried to drag a woman into an alleyway and looked to a nearby rooftop and saw a figure in green watching her.

The Arrow raised one arm, gave her a small wave and took a few steps away from the edge. Nyssa gave the attacker one last disdainful look and made sure his intended victim had gotten to safety before making her way up to the rooftop.

‘Hello, my friend. It has been some time.’ She signed.

‘Yes, longer than I intended for it to be.’ He agreed. ‘I hope you’ve had a chance to test out the gift I made for you. Even if only to train.’

‘I did. They perform beautifully.’ She said. ‘Do you make all your weapons?’

‘Except for my bow. I enjoy making things far more than destroying them.' He admitted, holding his bow out so that she could get a closer look at it. 

While she didn’t take the bow from him, she looked at it very closely and noticed similarities to the bows her half-sister’s students tended to favor. Was it possible Oliver had been trained by Talia? She doubted it was likely, based on what she’d heard the taskforce say about his time away, but she couldn’t completely rule out the possibility. 

'My bow was a gift from my mentor upon completion of my training. Did your mentor gift your bow to you under similar circumstances?'

Oliver frowned and shook his head. 'No. I... inherited it, I suppose. I was in love with a woman. She was kind and gentle, yet also a fierce fighter and an exceptional archer. It belonged to her. She died, and a friend of ours told me she would have wanted me to have her bow, and this hood. Her father had them before she did, and she inherited them when he died. I don't know where or how he came by them. Perhaps he had a mentor who gifted them to him as yours did, or maybe he just bought them in stores? I doubt anyone is left alive who could tell me. No, my mentor had no training in archery when we first met. She was skeptical about its utility at first: but after she saw me using my bow in the field, she told me she was woman enough to admit she had been wrong, and asked me to train her. I taught her what little I knew, then we practiced together and so improved our skills. She became as good as I am in the end.'

Nyssa let out a slight chuckle. This woman, Lyla Michaels most likely, sounded like someone she wanted to meet. ‘While I appreciate the anecdote, I doubt you sought me out to discuss your bow.’

‘You’re right.’ He signed. ‘When we first met, you said you wished to discuss the Dark Archer.’

'I am hoping we can compare and trade information. But first, I think we should go somewhere we can converse unobserved.’ She said. ‘I am willing to go anywhere you wish, and I have no objection if you want friends or allies of yours to join us.'

'Very well.'

'But I will not be disarmed. That is not negotiable.'

'I have no objection to you being armed. Please follow me.' Together, they made their way to a clock tower in the Glades. Before he settled on using the foundry, Oliver considered using the tower as a base of operations. 'As you can see, we have clear fields of vision and fire covering all main approach roads and the back alleyways, multiple routes through which to escape, and plenty of cover. We can remain unobserved, and if we are interrupted, this place is easily defensible. If confronted by overwhelming numbers, it will be a simple matter to conduct a fighting withdrawal.'

'Good.'

'Also--' He struggled with how to say the next part, before shrugging and saying exactly what he thought. 'Also, the view is beautiful at night. You can see half the city lit up from here, the lights shining brightly resisting the darkness...'

'I, too, can see and appreciate the beauty you describe. Thank you for sharing it with me.' She paused for a moment. Oliver had shared quite a few personal things with her tonight, so it was only fair that she did the same. 'I wish my Beloved were here with us: she would enjoy this view's beauty.'

'I know how you feel. However, my own Beloved is not very comfortable with heights, and I never want to make her feel uncomfortable.' He said. ‘I will admit, I didn’t expect anyone else to be interested in the Dark Archer or what he’s done.’

‘I feel somewhat of a sense of responsibility for his recent actions, although I am not comfortable disclosing why at this time.’ She responded.

‘Fair enough. It would be unreasonable for me to expect you to reveal all your secrets, given that this is only our third time meeting one another.’ He said. ‘I know members of the task force investigating the Queen’s Gambit are aware of him, and looking into him, but no one else, aside from you.’

‘Let’s discuss him then.’

‘I know he’s currently injured. I know he’s a member of a group known as Tempest and they have a plan, known as the Undertaking, although I don’t know precisely what that entails.’

‘I would be surprised if you did, as he’s been operating in the shadows for years.’ Nyssa said. She then told Oliver that the Dark Archer was a formidable fighter. She admitted that she watched the footage of him and Oliver fighting in Applied Sciences and shared her opinion on how Oliver could improve in preparation for another confrontation. Then, she broached a subject she had been reluctant to address until now.

‘I do not know if you are in communication with any members of the federal task force.’

‘I speak with a few of the agents. Sporadically.’ He admitted.

‘Good. I have my ways of knowing some of what they know.’ She told him. She didn’t want to put Oliver on the defensive, so she didn’t admit to bugging their office. Only that she had a general idea of what they knew and what theories they had. ‘They have a theory regarding who the Dark Archer is.’

‘I know.’

‘What if I told you that I know who is under that mask?’ She asked, and waited for Oliver’s reaction.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 73

Summary:

Oliver and Nyssa have a chat, the task force gets a number of surprises and Donna makes a slight confession.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘I do not know if you are in communication with any members of the federal task force.’ Nyssa said.

‘I speak with a few of the agents. Sporadically.’ Oliver admitted.

‘Good. I have my ways of knowing some of what they know.’ She told him. She didn’t want to put Oliver on the defensive, so she didn’t admit to bugging their office. Only that she had a general idea of what they knew and what theories they had. ‘They have a theory regarding who the Dark Archer is.’

‘I know.’

‘What if I told you that I know who is under the mask?’ She said, and waited for Oliver’s reaction.

Oliver stopped for a moment. If he asked Nyssa for the truth, the name of the Dark Archer, it would most likely confirm his worst fears. At the same time, knowing wasn’t overly useful at the moment. He couldn’t stop Malcolm on his own, or with Nyssa, and her word wouldn’t be enough to convince the authorities. Additionally, removing the Archer from the equation could completely derail the Undertaking, or it could have nearly no impact. There were too many unknowns still. Additionally, since he couldn’t see Nyssa’s face, except for her eyes, he couldn’t read her facial expressions or detect deception.

‘Well, if you were to tell me, I’d ask how you know that, and I have the feeling that you’re not ready to reveal that much of yourself to me. This is the longest conversation we’ve ever had.’ He said. ‘Besides, even if I know his identity, and I’ve got a very strong suspicion about who the Dark Archer is, there’s no way that we can act on that information at the moment.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There are so many other, less important people, who are less public figures, who’ve helped him along the way, who’ve fed into making him so difficult to stop, making Tempest so difficult to stop. We have a list of his contacts. Those people are both easier to remove from the equation and more vital. Tempest might be able to replace the Dark Archer, if needed, but if Tempest is gone, he couldn’t replace them.’ He said. ‘I can’t go to the federal agents with a name based solely on you confirming my suspicions. But the confessions the task force will be hearing tonight can convince them to investigate.’

‘Confessions?’ Nyssa signed.

‘I visited two men tonight who I think helped the Dark Archer after he was wounded in our battle. One’s a doctor, the other is…..a lackey of someone high-ranking in Tempest.’ He said. ‘If they’re smart, they’ll already be at the police station, turning themselves in and making their confessions.’

‘And if they are not smart?’

‘Then, I’ll pay them another visit. I don't want to, there are dozens of more names connected to the Dark Archer that I need to investigate, but those people can wait a day if the need arises.’

Nyssa nodded once. ‘You said the Dark Archer was wounded. Do you know what his injuries are?’

‘I shot him in the hand with an arrow. He has several broken or in the very least cracked ribs. His knee alone will keep him out of commission for several more weeks.’ He said. ‘Long enough for the task force to fully investigate the confessions being made tonight and determine that Malcolm Merlyn is the Dark Archer.’ He looked intently at Nyssa, waiting to see how she’d respond to his statement.

‘You said you did not want me to confirm his identity.’

‘I also said that knowing his identity at the moment probably wouldn’t make as big of an impact as we think.’ He answered

‘Very well. I will tell you if you are correct in your conclusion or not when you approach me and ask.’ She said. Oliver not wanting confirmation now didn’t make sense to Nyssa, but since he was already on the right track, she didn’t see the harm in letting him continue based on assumption. ‘Speaking of your encounter with the Dark Archer, I will admit, your fight against him was impressive. Not many have been able to match him in combat or wound him.’

‘Thank you. Although I’m not hoping for a rematch, I’ve been watching footage of that night in preparation.’ He said before letting out a sigh. ‘I think I’ve told you everything that I know in regards to the Dark Archer, at least, everything I’ve been able to confirm. Is there anything else you’d like to share with me?’

‘No confirmed information, but I will share a strong suspicion that I have. While I don’t know what the Dark Archer’s plans are, or the plans of the organization he works with, it likely comes with a high body count and a personal motivation.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘If the reason wasn’t personal, I doubt he would have televised his attempt to defeat you. And if his plan only affected one person, perhaps a handful, there wouldn’t need to be a conspiracy to achieve it. And I would not rely too heavily on the list you have, if I were you.’

‘I don’t. After all, the leadership of Tempest seems smart. Putting their own names on a list like that wouldn’t be very intelligent. I wasn’t sure how long we’d get to talk, so I didn’t bring a copy of that list with me, but next time we meet, I will.’ He and Felicity had been looking into Malcolm’s phone records. They were also trying to dig through Chen’s as well. Knowing who Malcolm contacted the night he attacked Applied Sciences would be nice. Knowing who he called after the Gambit was found would be better, as it would give a more complete picture of who Tempest’s leadership was.

‘That would be appreciated.’ She answered. ‘Until next time, Arrow.’

‘Until next time.’ He responded.

He walked towards the stairwell while she fired an arrow out of the clock tower and rapelled down onto a lower roof nearby.

Nyssa left the meeting with two conclusions. One was that there was no way her father had any hope of recruiting Oliver to join the League of Assassins. The second was that working with him in order to stop Malcolm and the Undertaking was going to be a very interesting experience.

 

While Oliver was meeting with Nyssa, Felicity, Digg and Lyla sat in the foundry. Felicity was a little nervous about Oliver being in the field on his own. It wasn’t that she didn't trust his skills, or thought that he was making a bad choice meeting with Nyssa, but it was a little nerve-wracking to think about Oliver out in the field, alone, with everything that was going on. She was hoping that her nerves weren’t obvious to Digg or Lyla.

“He’s gonna be fine, Felicity.” Lyla said.

“It’s that obvious that I’m nervous?” She asked.

“Well, no, but you did just say that you hope your nerves aren’t obvious to us.” The other woman answered.

“Frak. Why can’t my thoughts just stay in my head?” She responded. “It’s not that I think he’s gonna make a mistake or anything, it’s just-.”

“You’re worried that something’s gonna happen to him, and he doesn’t have back-up right now. It’s not- there’s nothing wrong or abnormal in the way you’re feeling right now.” Digg said. “I felt it all the time when I had a mission, or if I knew Lyla was gonna be on one. You just gotta remind yourself that Oliver knows what he’s doing and he makes smart decisions. That’s all you can do.”

“I hope you don’t get this nervous when I start going into the field.” Lyla said. “Because I don’t think that much stress is good for you.”

“You’re gonna start going into the field?” He asked.

“I’ve been thinking about it, yes. I haven’t- I haven’t made a final decision about it, but- I joined the Army because I wanted to make the world safer, I joined ARGUS for the same reason. Both of those turned out to be a little more complicated than I thought they’d be. What Oliver’s doing is….I think I wanna do it.”

“Would you want your codename to be Harbinger like before or-? Are you gonna use a gun or a bow and arrow? What were you thinking in terms of armor or costume design?” Felicity asked. “Oh, there are so many things we need to figure out for this!”

“Felicity, breathe. I haven’t decided yet. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” She said. “And until I do, can you two promise not to mention it to Oliver? I just- I need to figure out HOW I’m going to approach him about this.”

Digg and Felicity both nodded. The blonde then noticed the time. “Oliver’s been gone for a while. Do you think-?” As she said that, the door at the top of the stairs opened. Oliver came downstairs, looking pleased with himself. “Things went well, I take it?”

‘I got to talk with “Libby” for quite a while. And not just about the Dark Archer. She has a girlfriend who she seems to be very in love with.’

“Aww. Yay!” Felicity exclaimed. “What? I love love. And Libby deserves to be happy.”

Meanwhile, Lyla and Digg gave him confused looks. They weren’t sure why he’d chosen that detail to share first, instead of something related to the Dark Archer, Tempest or the Undertaking. 

Oliver then started telling them about what he and Nyssa discussed in regards to the Dark Archer and Tempest as a whole. No one seemed to understand why he didn’t want to know the Archer’s identity, but when he explained his reasoning fully, they could see his point. There was a lot they needed to do before they should focus on turning him in.

 

Due to how high-profile the task force’s assignment was, there were agents working on it around the clock. Dinan, Doyle, Anderson and Reeves all worked normal hours, unless something called for them to stay at the station late, but at any time of day, there were at least a few agents at the SCPD.

Agent Rathbone was sitting with another agent, trying to find enough evidence to oust the police commissioner, when a patrol officer knocked on the open door of the office they were using. 

“You’re with the Gambit task force, right?” He asked.

“Yes, Officer-?”

“Anastas.” The cop said. “I’ve got two men downstairs saying they wanna speak to someone on your team. I tried to ask them what it was about, but they say they’ll only talk to a fed.”

“Did they give you their names?”

“Yeah. One’s a Michael Adams and the other only introduced himself as Dr. Bactes.”

The doctor’s name didn’t ring a bell, but a few Tempest members mentioned dealing with someone named Adams. Rathbone knew “Adams” wasn’t a rare last name, but it was worth talking to the man.

“Has anyone else spoken with them? Anyone in the SCPD?”

“Just me and the desk sergeant.” Anastas said.

“I know you’re not on this task force, but I need you to do me a favor.” Rathbone said. “Can you make sure no one else approaches them until I come downstairs? I need to make a quick call.”

“Sure. It’s a quiet night.” Anastas said before heading downstairs.

Rathbone turned to the other agent. “Keep working on this. I’m gonna call Dinan. See what she wants to do.” 

He walked over to the corner and dialed Dinan’s cell number, the one she never turned off. She answered right away and he told her the situation. She told him to have someone take Adams and Bactes to interrogation rooms. She then said she was on her way and told him to call Reeves as well.

Reeves didn’t look happy about being awake at 1am when he arrived at the station, but Rathbone was pretty sure that would work out in the task force’s favor. Since both Michael Adams and Dr. Bactes had turned themselves in, there was no rush to question them. After a short argument, Dinan and Reeves agreed to question the doctor first, as he was an unknown figure in their investigation so far.

“Dr. William Bactes, you are a primary care physician?” Dinan said after she took a seat in front of the man. Another agent managed to find enough information about Bactes and Adams while Dinan and Reeves were on the way over.

“Yes, I’m a general practitioner. I treat a select number of patients. People who don’t want the publicity of being seen in the ER and the speculation that follows.” He answered. He’d made a living keeping powerful people’s drug problems, love children and foolish injuries under wraps. He’d also made a fair amount of money under the table by patching up members of Starling’s criminal element. “And I need to speak with you in regards to one of my patients.”

“You are aware that doctors are not allowed to discuss patients without their permission, right?” Reeves asked.

“I know, but I took an oath to do no harm and that doesn’t only apply to my patients.” Bactes said. “I may lose my license for this, but the alternative would be being an accessory to something much worse.”

“Well, we’re listening.”

“The night of the attack at Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences, I received a phone call on behalf of one of my patients. I was asked to come to his home, which isn’t unusual for me as many of my patients are private, to treat him for an array of injuries. Some broken and cracked ribs, a projectile injury in the hand, a dislocated knee.”

“And this patient would be?”

“Malcolm Merlyn.” The doctor said. “And I know, he’s told people of his car accident to explain his injuries, but-.”

“But what?” Dinan asked.

“When I arrived, he was dressed in the same clothing that the Dark Archer wore when he attacked the Queen Consolidated division.”

“What made you decide to come forward now?”

“I was visited by the Arrow and he made it clear that I should tell you everything or else our next conversation wouldn’t be so friendly.” Bactes said. 

“Dr. Bactes, you’re under arrest for being an accessory after the fact to the attack on Applied Sciences. You have the right to remain silent.” Reeves said, starting to recite the Miranda rights to the doctor. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you. Have you heard and do you understand these rights?”

“Why are you asking me that? I just confessed.”

“You weren’t under arrest, so we have to read you your rights. Have you heard and do you understand your rights?”

“Yes.” He said. 

“Okay, do you want a lawyer?” Bactes shook his head. “All right. Let’s start at the beginning. What time were you called to Merlyn Mansion?”

“It was shortly after 7pm.”

They went through every detail of that night and both recorded Bactes’ confession and took notes of what he said. Dinan wasn’t sure what, if anything, would hold up in court, but they wanted to have everything in writing and on tape just in case. The doctor seemed to come to his sense soon after, and asked for his lawyer, saying he’d be willing to divulge information about other patients in exchange for a deal.

Once Dinan and Reeves finished with Bactes, they went to see Michael Adams.

“Before I say anything, I’d like to call my lawyer.” He said. “I am willing to negotiate a deal, but I will not be questioned without an attorney present.”

“Do you have a specific one in mind or should we call a public defender?” Dinan asked. 

Adams looked insulted by the question and said he had a lawyer already. Reeves took him to a phone to make the call before escorting him back to the interrogation room. His lawyer arrived twenty minutes later, which was surprising since it was past 2 in the morning, and spoke with Adams alone for about ten minutes.

“My client is willing to speak with you, in exchange for a deal.” The lawyer said.

“What kind of deal are we talking about here? Reduced sentence? Dropping some of the more serious charges? Witness protection?” Reeves asked. “I need to know, so I can run it up the food chain, if you catch my drift.”

“Witness protection would be ideal.”

“And what is your client offering in exchange for being placed in witness protection?” Dinan asked.

“Information about the sabotage of the Queen’s Gambit. The names of the leaders of Tempest. What they’re planning and why.” Adams said. 

“Before I wake the US Attorney up at….2:47 in the morning, just answer one question for me: did you turn yourself in willingly or did someone convince you to do it?”

“I had a brief encounter with the Arrow.” Adams admitted. “To show that I’m not trying to deceive you, I’ll give you one piece of information for free.” He gave them the identity of the person who killed Jason Fontenot, the man who hired the Red Mask Gang. 

“And how do you know he was killed by this Karl Iscove?” Reeves asked.

“Because I was told to wire him $100,000 dollars when Detective Marks reported that the body had been found.” He answered.

“Sit tight.” Reeves said. “We’ll be right back.” Dinan and Reeves left the interrogation room to call the U.S. Attorney’s office.

As expected, the U.S. Attorney who’d been assigned the cases related to the Gambit wasn’t happy about being woken up so early. Her ire was lessened when the agents explained that they had someone in custody, with a high-degree of access to Tempest, willing to talk. 

“How willing does he seem to be?” She asked.

“Very.”

“Then he can wait until it’s a decent hour. I’ll be there at 10am tomorrow.” She said before hanging up.

 

The rest of the night was quiet. Oliver and Felicity went home after he finished explaining what happened during his meeting with Nyssa. Digg and Lyla went home a little before them. When Felicity got back to her house, Donna was already home and probably asleep. She held a finger up to her mouth to tell Oliver to be quiet.

‘I feel like I’m 16 again and trying not to get caught sneaking out.’ He signed to her.

‘I never had that particular experience.’ She replied. ‘Then again, I spent so much time in my room studying at that age that it was rare for me not to be at home.’

‘Nerd.’ He teased.

‘Don’t be mean.’

The next morning, when she was getting a cup of coffee, Felicity asked her mother what she’d been doing the day before. Donna revealed that she’d made a friend earlier in the week and they’d spent the day together. “Still, it seemed like you were out all day.”

“Well, she’s been having a hard time, recently, and she needed someone to talk to and just let her cry, last night.” Donna said. She looked in Felicity’s direction, but wouldn’t meet her eye.

“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”

“I didn’t know who she was, and she didn’t know who I was.” Donna blurted out. “When we first met, we were just two women who met one another and happened to hit it off.”

“That answer makes me more worried than I was before.”

“It’s Dinah Lance, Sara’s mother.” Donna admitted. Felicity found it interesting that she said Sara’s mother as opposed to Laurel’s or Laurel and Sara’s. Clearly, the inflection was meant to convey something. “She’s- she’s not like Laurel or her ex-husband, from what I’ve seen. She’s- when I told her I knew Oliver, the first thing she asked was how he was doing. And she wanted me to tell him that what happened wasn’t his fault.”

“Good, because it's not.” Felicity said. “But I don’t think today is a good day to bring that up. I mean, yesterday was the day that….you know what happened yesterday.”

“I know. I just kinda hope, when he’s ready, if he’s ready, he’ll reach out to her.” She said. “I think I’m gonna start packing today, get ready for my move. My suitcase is gonna be a little bit easier to deal with than an entire apartment, but- I should get started on that.” Donna turned and walked into the guestroom.

Felicity took her coffee back into her bedroom. Oliver was still in bed, but sitting up and looking intently at the ghost tablet she’d given him. “Find anything interesting?”

‘I found Malcolm’s phone records from the day the Gambit was found.’ He said. ‘When the story broke, he called six people. Two people I haven’t heard of and I don’t think I’ve met, Michael Adams, Carl Ballard, who my father used to play golf with and Frank Chen.’

“That’s only five. You said he called six people.” Felicity said softly.

‘My mother was number six.’ He said. ‘I think you knew that.’

“I had a feeling, but the phone records prove it.” She said. “I’m so sorry.”

‘Is it bad that I’m hoping, eventually, learning these kinds of things about my mother won’t hurt anymore?’

“No, but there’s also a part of you that holds onto this belief that maybe this person, who’s your parent, isn’t as bad as they seem to be, that there’s a benign explanation for what they’ve done. And you’re worried that if you stop believing in that, you’ll lose faith in everything.” She told him. “My dad wasn’t exactly a good person.”

 

At exactly 10am, U.S. Attorney Alexa Van Owen walked into the SCPD precinct, ready to meet with Michael Adams and his attorney to discuss a deal. She had a feeling that this case was only going to get more complicated, and the court case exponentially so, and wasn’t going to turn down the chance to turn a member of Tempest into an informant.

“All right, where’s the witness who’s so important that you woke me up at 2 in the morning to ask me to come down here?” She asked Anderson.

“I’ll take you to him.” He said, standing up from his chair. “I don’t know who call-.”

“You’re Agent Anderson, correct?” A voice said from behind the lawyer. 

“May I ask what you’re doing here, Mr. Chen?” McKenna asked Frank Chen. She supposed he might be here hoping to get answers about the Queen’s Gambit investigation, but he looked nervous. Incredibly nervous standing in the doorway. “Agent Anderson, this is Frank Chen. He’s a prominent local businessman.”

“For more than five years, I have been working alongside other members of Tempest under duress. In exchange for myself and my family being put into witness protection, I will testify against any members of Tempest you arrest. I can also give you information about something they are planning called the Undertaking.” Chen said. “And the Hong Kong Triad.”

Anderson and Doyle, who happened to be sitting there, both barely avoided dropping their jaws. Adams turning himself in felt like a gift. Chen arriving and offering information on Tempest, the Undertaking and the Triad felt like Christmas, their birthdays and Hanukkah all rolled into one.

 “Would you like an attorney to be here while you make your statement?” Doyle finally asked.

“I have a legal degree, even though I haven’t practiced law in years.” Frank said. 

“Anderson, can you sit with Mr. Chen while I grab Dinan? I think she’s gonna wanna hear this.” He said before leaving to find his partner. Van Owens negotiated a deal with Adams’s lawyer while Dinan and Doyle listened to everything Chen had to say.

Frank Chen told them everything from the names of Tempest’s highest members to things they manipulated from behind the scenes, like elections, to who ordered the Queen’s Gambit to be sabotaged. In contrast, Adams gave names and some details, but not as much as Chen.

“There’s still something I don’t understand.” Doyle said. “If Robert Queen was part of Tempest, why did Malcolm Merlyn have him killed?”

“Because his idea of “saving the Glades” and Malcolm’s were polar opposites. See, Robert wanted to improve the area with social programs and charitable donations. Open up some businesses, help lower the unemployment rate. Malcolm’s idea was to destroy the neighborhood so that they could be rebuilt later, “better”. Or so he claimed.”

“So, they clashed over how to achieve the Undertaking.”

“Not exactly. It’s one thing to leverage knowledge of Adam Hunt’s dodgy business dealing to make him donate to the city food bank. It’s another to casually plan the deaths of thousands of people. Robert found out what Malcolm was planning. I was supposed to meet him in China where we were going to plan a way to foil Malcolm’s plot. Instead, I betrayed him to Malcolm. I’m the reason Robert is dead and the Queen’s Gambit was lost at sea. It wasn’t until Robert was declared dead, and everyone stopped looking for answers that I found out what Malcolm was planning.”

“Which would be what?” Dinan asked.

“You’ve arrested Doug Miller.” Chen said. “Did he say anything about Unidac Industries?”

Needless to say, Dinan, Doyle and the rest of the taskforce had no idea which lead to chase down first after the initial interview with Chen was over. They needed to find evidence that supported what Chen said. They needed to reach out to the relevant organizations about some of the other details he divulged. Mostly, they needed to know what was happening with Unidac Industries.

As everyone split off to do different things, chase down different leads, Dinan realized that the best people to talk to about Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences division were the people who worked there. She called Walter and after she apologized for interrupting his Sunday, asked if he could meet her at the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Building tomorrow morning.

 

Walter ended his call with Agent Dinan and something about the conversation made him uneasy. Perhaps it was the fear of the unknown revolving around Tempest and Queen Consolidated. He called Thea to check on her. 

“Hi Walter!” She said happily as she answered the phone.

"Thea... could you please confirm - for the sake of my peace of mind - that you are not within the mansion at present?"

"No problem at all - I'm with Roy and Tommy at Tommy's hotel room, he let us crash here last night."

"I'm glad to hear that. Could you please do me a small favor?"

"Okay?"

"I've been thinking about your mother’s behavior recently and calling it concerning may be an understatement.” He said. He didn’t mention his conversation with Dinan because he didn’t want to worry Thea and he wasn’t entirely sure what it was about. “Could you refrain from returning to the mansion for the time being?"

"Trust me, Walter, that is absolutely noooo problem at all. I already did all my homework as of Friday night, I've got my boyfriend and one of my big brothers, a comfy couch, a big TV, a Netflix account, and room service here delivers some kickass pizza that has to be eaten to be believed. I'm all set to keep my head down again for today, so I don't have to dodge the paps or worry about accidentally leading them over to Ollie and Felicity's place."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your Sunday."

"Thanks, Walter! I hope everything goes okay for you, too."

“You do the same.” Walter said. He ended the call with Thea and made one more call. “Hello Felicity. I received a call from Agent Dinan, asking me to meet her at the Applied Sciences building tomorrow morning. I believe it would be best, for all involved, if you were there as well.”

 

Felicity got off the phone with Walter and turned to Oliver. She was going to relay what he told her to Oliver, but the look on his face stopped her. “Everything okay?”

‘Frank Chen turned himself in to the task force.’ Oliver said.

“What?”

Oliver explained that he found a way into the SCPD’s system and he’d used his access to look at their surveillance cameras. They saw Chen enter the building over an hour ago, but he hadn’t left the building yet. Additional hacking revealed that he was in an interrogation room with Agent Doyle, making a statement.

 

“You’re not going to believe this.” Agent Mars said, entering the bullpen.

“After today, I don’t think anything would really shock me.” Dinan said. “But go ahead and try.”

“Follow me. We need to do this in private.” Mars led Dinan to a secure room where she had an encrypted laptop set up. There was an older gentleman visible on screen. “You wanted me to find the next of kin of everyone Mr. Queen mentioned in his statement. I figured the Australian government might be the easiest place to start. I reached out to ASIS and-.” She pressed a button so that she wasn’t on mute any longer. “Agent Dinan, this is Wade DeForge. He’s an ASIS section chief. I contacted him to tell him about the deaths of Slade Wilson and Billy Wintergreen.”

“And as I was telling your associate, I think someone’s given you incorrect information.” DeForge said.

“I’m sorry?” Dinan asked.

"Yeah, we've known that Billy's dead for a few years, now, the sick bastard. As for... look, can you hang on for a couple of minutes? It'll be easier to just show you... I'll stay on the line with you, I'm not trying to fob you off or anything, I just need to get someone to join us."

"Okay."

"Beauty." DeForge removed his headset and spoke to someone off-screen. "Then bloody well get his arse out of the shower, then! Hand him a towel and get him in here!" He looked back at the camera and put his headset back on. "Sorry about that, he's on his way, now. It's damn lucky you called today, it's the last day of his contract and the brass won't renew it."

"Okay...?"

"Ah, here he is." DeForge looked up. “Yeah, I know. You were in the shower. Stop whining in front of the Americans.” Dinan and Mars heard someone grumbling and then someone took a seat next to Wade.  “As you can see, Agent Dinan, Slade Wilson is alive, and a pain in my ass.”

"...I'm sorry, but Oliver Queen said you drowned when the Amazo sank." Dinan told Slade.

"Well, that's easily done - I spent a couple of years thinking that was what had happened to Oliver." Slade said. “I know it’s a dumb question, but how is the kid doing?”

 

Nyssa sat in her hideout and listened to what her bug was picking up from the SCPD. Not only had the two men Oliver mentioned last night turned themselves in, but a strong ally of Malcolm's had also decided to do the right thing. Unless she was mistaken, his plans would soon fall apart around him.

"Should we tell the Demon Head Al Saher's plot has been foiled, Warith?" Asim asked Nyssa.

"No, seeing as it has not yet been foiled. He may have a contingency plan in place in case this plan was disrupted." She answered. "Al Saher has always been frustratingly adapatable."

"And what shall I tell the Demon Head in regards to your progress with the Arrow?"

"It is too early for me to make a determination on that front, as he no doubt expected."

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 74

Summary:

Dinan learns a few interesting things from Slade, people in Starling and beyond process the news about the Gambit, Felicity and Oliver do some experimentation and Walter learns some troubling news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“As you can see, Agent Dinan, Slade Wilson is alive, and a pain in my ass.”

"...I'm sorry, but Oliver Queen said you drowned when the Amazo sank." Dinan told Slade.

"Well, that's easily done - I spent a couple of years thinking that was what had happened to Oliver." Slade said. “I know it’s a dumb question, but how is the kid doing?”

Dinan paused for a moment before answering. “How much news about his return or current state has reached you guys?”

“Footage of his car chase with the Triad made the news down here already.” DeForge said.

“And I know he doesn’t talk anymore.” Slade added. “So, you don’t need to break that news to me.”

“Good. He’s- he’s doing about as well as you’d expect, given everything he’s been through. According to someone close to him, he’s doing better than he was when he first came home.” She said. “I can’t really tell you that much more beyond that. You should know, after the sinking of the Amazo, Oliver believed you were dead. He dug a grave for you.”

“Of course he did, the sentimental fool.” Slade said. “He’s on an island, barely surviving, and he expends the little energy he has to “bury” me. He never should’ve ended up there.”

“Something we all agree on.” Dinan said. “And he wasn’t supposed to.”

“What?” Slade said. DeForge looked equally confused.

“The news hasn’t reached you yet?” She asked. “The yacht Oliver was on, the Queen’s Gambit, it was sabotaged. Someone sent him to that island.”

“Do you know who? Does he know it was tampered with?”

“He knows it was sabotaged. We haven’t made a determination as to who it was yet.” She said. Frank Chen had admitted to his part in the sabotage, but they hadn’t been able to substantiate his claims yet. “Now that we know you’re not dead, I’d like to get a statement from you in regards to the events between 2007 and when the Amazo sank in 2009.”

“Just those years? Not what happened in 2011?”

“What happened in 2011?” She asked.

“After Slade reappeared in Sydney, he started making a fuss about other people on that island that needed to be rescued. He never named names, but I’m pretty sure he was referring to Queen.” DeForge said. “After over a year of him bringing it up, at every opportunity, the pollies were worried he might take matters into his own hands and cause some kinda incident. So, in January of 2011, we sent a helicopter to Lian Yu. We couldn’t justify a landing if there wasn’t signs of someone living there. The agents who went only spotted an abandoned camp from the air, so it was reported as unsuccessful.”

“We should’ve landed.” Slade spat out. “We should’ve at least tried to search the island. How do you expect to see proof of life, from the air, on an island covered in trees? At the same time, there’s no way Oliver could’ve slept through the noise that bird was making. I told him how to signal a passing aircraft for help. That’s when I gave up on finding him, why I thought he was dead. I don’t understand why he didn’t signal us, if he was there.”

“I can’t say why either.” She responded. She had a feeling of why Oliver didn’t signal for help. This must have happened when Oliver was a prisoner of Smith’s. Thinking back, she realized that Oliver had never explained how he got away from Smith, or any events that happened between Smith torturing him and him getting rescued. “Back on topic, I’d like to ask you about Edward Fyers and the crew of the Amazo. Perhaps we could set-up a time to discuss this over another secure call?”

“Did you miss the part where I said this was Wilson’s last day?” DeForge asked. “He can fly to Starling and talk to you in person.”

“Mr. Wilson?” Dinan said.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can get a flight to the States. Still confused about why the US Coast Guard is investigating what happened on a Chinese island. The Gambit sinking, yes, but Lian Yu?”

“I’ll explain more when you get here. It’s a complicated story.” She said before ending the video call.

 

After learning that Frank Chen had turned himself into the task force, Oliver and Felicity weren’t sure who the next person they could target was. They didn’t know how much Chen would be telling the agents or how many people on the List they still needed to worry about.

“Maybe we should take a break from the List for a moment.” She suggested.

‘What do you mean?’

“Well, the task force is gonna do what they can with what Adams, Bactes and Chen tell them. And Libby is working on the Dark Archer. Plus, I have a meeting at Applied Sciences tomorrow. Maybe we should focus on street crime for a little bit.” She explained. “Unless that sounds like a bad idea.”

‘No, it makes sense. I think it’s a great idea.’ He said. ‘But until then, what do you wanna do today?’ It was late morning, so they still had most of the day ahead of them. The other members of Team Oliver were away from the house, so it was just Felicity and Oliver.

“I have a few ideas.” She said with a smile, as she took Oliver’s hand. He followed her back to the bedroom. She closed the door behind them and nudged Oliver so that he’d sit down on the bed. “I figured we should take advantage of the house being empty for a little while.”

‘I like the way you think.’ He said, although he looked a little nervous.

“Hey, honey, look at me for a second.” She said. “If you start to feel uncomfortable, or you wanna stop, all you have to do is let me know, okay? Just tell me what you need, including if you need to stop. I won’t be upset, or angry, or offended, I promise.”

‘But what if-?’ After what had happened last week, Oliver was worried because he didn’t know what parts of his body might trigger him. What if, instead of shying away, he lashed out and hurt Felicity? ‘I don’t even know what some of my triggers are.’

“I know, and I don’t wanna say “it’s okay” because it sounds flippant, but there is nothing wrong with you not knowing right now and being apprehensive when it comes to these things.” She said. “But I also don’t want you to try and “grin and bear it” if we start doing something sexual and it makes you uncomfortable or you realize you don’t wanna do it anymore. I may not be very…. experienced in that area, but, well, it’s more fun if both participants are enjoying what’s happening, you know?” She took a deep breath. “On Friday, when you gave me a….VERY nice start to my day, you didn’t seem ready for me to return the favor, which is fine, and if you never want me to do that, that’s fine with me, and we’re not ready for sex sex but….what I’m trying to say is that maybe we can experiment? Figure out what you’re comfortable with, at least right now. We can figure out if you have other no-no zones.”

‘No-no zones?’ He asked in amusement.

“Sorry, I remembered that from when I took sex-ed and it’s the first thing that came to mind.” She said. “Do you wanna maybe give it a shot?”

‘You really- even with my scars and mental health problems, you still wanna- you’re attracted to me?’

“Of course.”

Oliver leaned over and kissed her tenderly. It was a slow, sweet kiss and when they broke apart, he didn’t pull away, instead nuzzling his cheek against Felicity’s. ‘I love you so much.’

“I love you too.”

‘I- I wanna give it a try. I don’t know how well this is gonna go, but- I wanna give your idea a try.’

“Okay.” She said. She didn’t think things would go terribly wrong, but she kept that opinion to herself. She didn’t want Oliver to feel even worse if he did have a bad response to being touched somewhere. “Do you wanna leave your shirt on or take it off?”

‘My shirt?’

“I figured starting with your chest and working my way down to your, um, man parts, would be better than heading straight for that area.” She explained. Oliver didn’t talk about the torture he’d endured in detail. She had no idea if said torture involved harming his genitals or assaulting him. She didn’t think starting with his privates was a good idea. “We’ll get there when you’re ready.”

‘Okay.’ He was a little bit relieved by her reasoning. He debated with himself for a few moments before he pulled his shirt over his head. ‘Please don’t- no, it’s stupid.’

“Your feelings aren’t stupid, Oliver. What’s up?”

‘When I first came back, and Tommy kept trying to get me to pick up girls with him, he said some girls were into scars and would wanna “kiss mine better”. I don’t- I’m not asking you to pretend they’re not there, but-.’ He couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted to say.

“Don’t fixate on them?” She suggested and he gave her a half-shrug. “I won’t.” She gently laid him down on the bed and laid down next to him on her side. Felicity kissed him on the lips before kissing her way down his neck. “Is this okay?” Oliver nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna touch your shoulders now. If you want me to stop, just let me know.” She gently ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. She squeezed his bicep and let out a giggle. “Sorry, I just- your arms are so muscle-y and solid.”

‘My girlfriend really likes watching me do push-ups and pull-ups.’ He said with a smile. ‘Almost as much as she likes my cooking.’

“She clearly has good taste.” She joked before turning back to her mission. She ran her hands back up his arms and started running her hands down his pectoral area. “Is this still okay?”

‘It’s perfect.’ He said, before he lifted a hand up to trail his fingers down her chest. ‘But you shouldn’t get to have all the fun.’

“Lemme finish my exploration of your pecs and then it can be your turn.” She said. Avoiding his Bratva tattoo, because she knew he hated it, she left a trail of kisses across his chest until she reached his nipples. “Okay, I think that’s enough exploration for one day.”

He turned so that Felicity was now on her back and he was hovering above her. ‘Good. My turn.’ He lifted her shirt up so that he could more easily see her boobs and started kissing them. She threaded her fingers through his hair, and when he touched a particularly sensitive spot, she accidentally tightened her grip. His head shot up to look at her. ‘Did I hurt you?’

“No, that just- it’s a sensitive spot and it felt good.” She said. “Did I hurt you? I kinda pulled your hair and-.”

‘It didn’t hurt, but- maybe loosen your grip just a little bit.’

“Sorry, honey.” She said apologetically. She kissed the top of his head before kissing him on the mouth. “I should probably cut my nails too. They’re getting a little long.”

‘Are you gonna keep the color?’ He asked. Felicity’s nails were painted light blue. Nothing fancy but he thought it was cute that, while Felicity didn’t match her fingers and toes, the colors were coordinated.

“I don’t know. I like the blue, but I might change it up. Go with red. Or maybe green.” She said. “What do you think?”

‘I don’t know much about nail design.’ He didn’t want to tell her that green sounded like a good idea, because he didn’t want to sound weird or make her think that he was being possessive or something by suggesting she wear “his” color.

Felicity and Oliver stayed in bed for a little longer, talking and exploring one another’s bodies.

 

Unsurprisingly, the announcements made at the task force’s press conference dominated the news through Sunday. Not many people were willing to believe it. It sounded like something out of a spy thriller. The few that could believe it, wondered what it meant. If Robert Queen could be murdered in such a public fashion, and have the case go unsolved for five years, who else had the terrorists managed to kill? How many “tragic accidents” like his were the furthest thing from unintentional? Inexplicably, people had started leaving flowers outside the gates of Queen Mansion and on the sidewalk outside of Queen Consolidated.

While many were focused on Robert Queen, and the deaths of the others on board, one person in particular was thinking about the attack’s lone survivor. Charles Winston III couldn’t get his mind off of Oliver and what this announcement meant.

He watched the press conference again. “Upon investigation of the wreckage of the Queen’s Gambit, discovered on December 27th, we have come to the conclusion that the yacht was not sunk as a result of a storm, as previously believed. We believe the Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged by persons currently unknown.” Dinan was saying on screen.

“You’re watching this again?” Charles’s son said, poking his head into his father’s den.

“I keep thinking that, if I watch it again, it’ll make more sense. I won’t be as surprised by what she says.” He answered. “That poor boy.”

“Yeah, what happened to Robert was-.”

“I wasn’t talking about Bobby.” Charles said. “I meant Oliver.”

True to what he’d told Oliver at the stockholders’ meeting, he remembered when Oliver would visit his grandfather at Queen Consolidated. He was a sweet, energetic little boy who managed to get Charles’s assistant wrapped around his little finger. A happy boy who just seemed so excited that he was getting to spend the whole day with his grandpa. Robert’s death was sad, but knowing that little boy grew up and had to endure so much suffering, and he must’ve endured a lot to end up mute, was a downright tragedy.

“What was it that Mom used to tell me?’ Winston’s son asked. “Bad things happen to the people who deserve it the least. Still, I wish there was something that could be done.”

“You, me and half the city.”

 

“I think it’s time that we talk to Queen.” Lance told Dinah over the phone.

“No. I can’t do anything to stop you from trying to talk to him, but I don’t want any part in it.” She insisted.

“You don’t wanna know what really happened that night? What happened to Sara?” He asked. “She’s your daughter.”

“You think I’ve forgotten that?” She challenged. “I wanna know just as much as you do, maybe more, but I’m not gonna corner Oliver and demand that he gives me answers. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“Please, he deserves-.”

“Do you remember the very first time we met Oliver? I don’t mean, when he started dating Laurel, I mean the day Laurel introduced us to her new friends Tommy and Oliver? Because I do.” She cut him off. “He was, what, seven? Do you remember how excited he was to meet you? That he got to meet a real police officer?”

“What about it?”

“That little boy, who was so excited to meet you, so excited and happy about life. I don’t know how you can look at Oliver now, and not see that little boy. Not see how sad it was what happened to him.” She said. “We deserve answers, you’re right. We need justice for our daughter, but- I’m not going to make someone who’s suffering feel even worse, just because he might be able to give me answers. I’m not going along with this. I’m not going to argue with you about this anymore. You’re going to do what you want, just like you always do, but I’m not going to be a part of it.”

“Di-.”

“No. Nothing you can say justifies what you’re suggesting. Especially since we now know that someone did this to Sara. Someone killed her, and it wasn’t Oliver.”

“He invited her on the yacht in the first place!”

“Do you really think that Oliver would’ve brought her if he knew? That he would have boarded that boat if he knew?” She asked rhetorically. “You and Laurel, you’ve got the same problem. You can’t let go of your anger, even for just a second.” She hung up before he could say anything else.

 

“’Hey, Looney Lance, you hear the news?” An inmate yelled at Laurel when she entered the prison cafeteria. Mostly, the other inmates left her alone, because being associated with her was bad for their reputation. They only spoke to her if they had to or to taunt her.

“What news?” She asked with a sigh.

“The boat your sister died on? Someone sank it on purpose.”

“You’re lying.”

The other woman looked directly at the guard behind Laurel. “You saw the paper this morning, right newbie? Am I lying?”

Laurel turned to look at the guard. “It was all over the news.” He said. “It’s being investigated as an act of terrorism.”

“You really shouldn’t have been such a bitch to your ex.” The woman said to Laurel with a smirk.

 

Donna spent the day moving into Oliver’s penthouse and buying some necessities he hadn’t purchased yet, such as plates and cutlery. Roy gave her a hand, since Thea or Tommy would attract too much attention at the mall. Instead, Thea and Tommy stayed at the Ritz. She worked on her list of things she absolutely refused to leave at the mansion when she moved out, while he sorted through his own stuff to determine how much of what he’d taken he really wanted to keep.

“Okay, this one is totally on me and not Digg or Lyla.” He said, looking through his closet.

“What makes you say that?” Thea asked.

“Because I don’t think they would’ve looked at my closet and thought that I definitely needed a tuxedo.” He said, holding up the garment in question. “Not really a necessity.”

 

Oliver, Felicity, Digg and Lyla met at the foundry that night. Oliver shared Felicity’s idea about not going after anyone on the List that night, and instead focusing on random street crime. The task force would have their hands full with Chen and the other people who had turned themselves in recently.

Oliver changed into his hood and Digg was preparing to head out with him when Felicity stopped him. “Wait, I wanna test something out.”

‘Test what out?’

“You know how we were talking about your, how did you phrase it Digg? Oliver’s very handsome partner, who provides the voice work?” She teased. “Anyway, I wanna test out something for the suit, so that Digg doesn’t have to be in the field, and possibly expose his existence, to do the Arrow Voice.”

‘You pulled something together already?’

“Yeah, it wasn’t that- I mean, it’s just a microphone and a receiver. I don’t even know if it works but-.” She said, trying to downplay her achievement.

“It’s going to work.” Lyla said. “Because you’re you.”

“Thanks.” She said. “Anyway, I figured tonight might be a good time to test it out?”

‘Sure. Do I need to do anything or-?’

“Pull your hood up, that way it's harder to see if your lips are moving, and let us do the rest.” She said.

Oliver left the foundry while Felicity was checking the equipment and getting Digg set-up on the mic. “Ok, comm check.  Arrow, do you read me?” Oliver gave them a thumbs up on his bodycam. “Okay, we’re gonna test the mic. I’m gonna mute my comm line for a sec, so you’ll only hear what comes through the receiver. Digg, do the honors.”

“You have failed this city!” Digg said dramatically.

Felicity unmuted her line. “Did it work?”

Oliver signed ‘yes’ in view of the camera. ‘It works perfectly.’ He added.

“Okay, we’re gonna keep an eye from here, and hope I’ve worked out all the bugs.” She said.

Patrol was very quiet for Oliver. He noticed that the amount of street crime had decreased since his fight against the Dark Archer. There was still some happening, but it was a mere fraction of what was going on a month earlier. He broke up a few purse-snatchings and other, minor crimes before realizing it was dead and calling it a night.

 

The next morning, Lyla woke up bright and early. She had been thinking a lot about the past few days and something Felicity had mentioned to her on Saturday. She knew part of the reason Felicity mentioned Samantha was because she wanted to dig up all of Moira’s secrets, but she also hated mysteries. No one knew what happened to Oliver’s child. Lyla, as much as she wanted to expose Moira, wanted Oliver to finally get some closure on that matter. So, she waited until 7am and made a call.

“Hello Agent Dinan? I hope I haven’t called you too early.” She said.

“No. I actually just got into the office.” Dinan answered.

“Ok, good, because something kinda occurred to me last night and it felt worth mentioning.” She said. “It’s about Oliver and something he told me in Russia.”

“Oh. What is it?”

“I know this isn’t really your job, and if you can’t look into it, that’s fine, but- on a very bad night in Moscow, after a particularly bad milk run, involving an orphan farm, Oliver confessed to me that he’d fathered a child before he boarded the Gambit. He had gotten a girl named Samantha Clayton pregnant, and then two weeks later, she told him she’d lost the baby. He didn’t really have a chance to ask her if there was going to be a funeral or- he didn’t get a chance to mourn his own child.”

“You want us to find out where the child is buried, if there was a funeral.”

“Yes, I think it would help him a little bit. He felt guilty for not being there for the mother when it happened, and he wanted to give her space, but then-. Like I said, I know it’s not your job to do this, but- even if all you can do is find her, or give us a nudge in the right direction, we’d appreciate it.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.” Dinan said. She ended the call and sent an email to Agent Mars, asking for a small favor.

 

As Felicity was getting ready for work, she was incredibly nervous. The task force asked to meet with Walter today about something related to their investigation, and he’d asked her to join them. She was curious about what information they had uncovered while also being worried that, whatever they learned, it wasn’t going to be good. Oliver tried his best to soothe her nerves and convince her everything was going to be okay, but he was just as concerned as she was.

After it felt like she’d paced the length of her living room for the thousandth time, Digg and Lyla arrived. Felicity and Lyla headed to work soon after, and Lyla didn’t try to ask Felicity what was wrong and let the blonde genius babble nervously about her most recent updates for one of her apps.

They reached the Applied Sciences building a little early. Felicity checked in with Curtis and her other coworkers and told them she’d be in a meeting, and she didn’t know how long she’d be gone for. She and Lyla walked together to one of the conference rooms and found Walter talking with Josiah Hudson and Agents Dinan and Reeves.

“I hope it is all right that I invited Ms. Smoak.” Walter said. “She can give better answers about specific projects than I can, and I wasn’t sure what you wanted to speak about.”

“That’s fine.” Dinan said. “And I hope everyone is aware that what we discuss in here is part of an ongoing federal investigation and shouldn’t be shared with anyone.” The others nodded. “Good. Following the announcement on Saturday, a number of individuals turned themselves in to our agents. Some, I will admit, were convinced to do so by the Arrow, while others wanted to clear their consciences. We believe we’ve uncovered why the Dark Archer was interested in Applied Sciences.” She didn’t mention the Undertaking right away, not wanting to spook anyone. “It seems Tempest is planning something and intends to use one of your projects to do fulfill their plans.”

“Do you happen to know which project?” Walter asked.

“Doug Miller admitted that they seemed to have an interest in projects by Unidac Industries, but one of the people we questioned yesterday mentioned something called a Markov device. Are any of you familiar with it?”

“Markov device? That- oh, I know what that is!” Felicity said. “It’s not called that. It’s a seismic electrical generator. Dr. Brion Markov’s the man who designed it.”

“And where is Dr. Markov? Is he in the city?” Dinan asked. “We’d like to speak with him.”

“’He should be at the Unidac building.” Walter said. “Josiah, could you please give him a call?”

Hudson left the room to call Markov. Half an hour later, Markov walked into the conference room.

“I understand you had questions about my machine, Mr. Steele?” He said.

“I do, as well as Agents Dinan and Reeves.” Walter said.

“Well, it’s quite a simple idea, with a complex execution. I spent years studying seismic activity and it occurred to me that-.” Markov, like any expert, had a tendency to get off track and he was probably going to lose the agents somewhere in the middle of his explanation.

Felicity realized the conversation might move a little quicker if she cut to the chase. "Umm... Doctor Markov? If I understand correctly, at its most fundamental level, the function of your device is to take seismic activity and use it to produce electrical power. Now, this probably sounds crazy, but... could it be weaponized in some fashion? Could someone reverse that process? Hook the device up to a city's electrical grid, pump a lot of power into the device, and use it to artificially create seismic activity? I mean, okay, I know it probably sounds silly, like something out of a comic book or a TV show..."

"Oh, dear me, no, no, that's not silly at all, my dear! Why, nearly every process in the world can be reversed - admittedly with varying degrees of difficulty. Except for making toast, of course: you just can't de-caramelize bread after it's been toasted, no matter what you try, it is completely irreversible. But in answer to your question, I can assure you, Miss Smoak, it is simply impossible to..." He paused. “It is simply impossible to reverse... to reverse the procedure... oh. Oh dear."

"Doctor Markov? Is something the matter?" Reeves asked.

“I shan't be a minute, I just need to perform some preliminary calculations!” He opened up his laptop and started typing. “Oh, no... no, no, no, no, no... That can't be, it simply can't be-- oh, I see it is. Oh, good lord...What have I done?"

"Doctor Markov? What is it? What's wrong?" Walter asked.

"I have spent thirty-two years working to make this project a reality and so benefit and enrich humanity. It was my childhood dream. And I fear I must now tell you that my device must never, ever be built; this project must be terminated and the plans destroyed." He let out a sigh and looked heartbroken. “Miss Smoak is quite correct. I shall have to run some more advanced simulations to be absolutely certain, but on the basis of these preliminary calculations, I am convinced that it is indeed possible for my device to be misused in such a manner that it would create artificial seismic activity - artificial earthquakes. We are talking about a weapon of mass destruction, the effects of whose use would appear to be the result of an entirely natural disaster."

"How destructive would the effects be, Doctor?" Dinan asked.

"That depends a great deal on the geological stability of the location where it was used. However, in a city such as, say, Los Angeles, which is built astride a tectonic faultline and routinely experiences natural seismic events? One of my devices would probably level at least half of that city, and damage most if not all of the other half. Starling City is a good deal more geologically stable; but I should imagine that one device could destroy at least half a dozen city blocks or so, and probably closer to double that many."

"Then this project is terminated with immediate effect.” Walter said. “I’m sorry this is the only way, Brion.”

"It held so much potential to do good... and yet all this time, it held such capacity for death and destruction as well..." He let out a sigh. "Mr. Merlyn will be ever so shocked and appalled..."

"Merlyn? I assume you’re referring to Malcolm Merlyn and not his son.” Reeves said. Felicity noticed that Dinan and Reeves gave each other strange looks before Reeves had asked the question. They must’ve gotten confirmation, or at least some evidence supporting the idea that Malcolm was the Dark Archer.
Markov nodded. "Of course, yes! Wonderful fellow - I first met him back in '96, I think it was; he was ever so fascinated by my work, and we stayed closely in touch ever since. He even invited me over to his house so I could give him presentations on my device, on how it would work and the sort of locations and conditions where it could generate the most power - he was simply captivated by it, hung on my every word. Splendid fellow. He was even more enthusiastic than any of my students over at the local university, and that's really saying something - I teach part-time, you see. Oh, well. I suppose I'll have to give him a ring and tell him the bad news..."

"Actually, Doctor, we would appreciate it if you didn't inform anyone about this." Dinan said.  "We need to keep this information under wraps while we're conducting our investigation, you see. We'd be really grateful to you."

"Oh, I see! Yes, yes, of course, how silly of me. Yes, don't worry, I shan't tell a soul. Umm, when I next talk to Mr. Merlyn - we generally have a chat at least once or twice a week, you see - what CAN I tell him?"

“All Unidac projects are still suspended, right Walter?” Felicity asked. The CEO nodded. “You could just tell him that the project is still suspended and you don’t know when that might change? That’s close enough, right?”

“I would advise telling him something along those lines, if the subject comes up.” Dinan said.

“Right, yes, of course - thank you." Markov said. “I’m so happy this was brought to my attention. We were in the final stages of development, nearing construction, when work was halted.”

“Thank you very much for your time, Doctor.” Dinan said.

Markov left the room and the agents started gathering up their papers. Walter, however, had a question he felt compelled to ask.

“I wonder how Tempest became aware of this project.” He said. “Only a select few people, outside of the scientists on Dr. Markov’s team, knew of the project. Prior to our purchase of Undiac, which happened only a week or two before the attack, only myself, the head of this department and the shareholders had any information about any of Unidac’s projects.” He looked at the two agents. “You told me that Queen Consolidated had no more employees connected to Tempest. Should I be concerned that one of our stockholders is involved in this?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 75

Summary:

Felicity reacts to the news from Dr. Markov, Laurel gets verification of something, Oliver decides to take a chance and Starling gets an overdue visitor.

Notes:

This chapter is a little shorter than normal. It was hard for me to find the motivation this week.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Dr. Markov left the room and the agents started gathering up their papers. Walter, however, had a question he felt compelled to ask.

“I wonder how Tempest became aware of this project.” He said. “Only a select few people, outside of the scientists on Dr. Markov’s team, knew of the project. Prior to our purchase of Undiac, which happened only a week or two before the attack, only myself, the head of this department and the shareholders had any information about any of Unidac’s projects.” He looked at the two agents. “You told me that Queen Consolidated had no more employees connected to Tempest. Should I be concerned that one of our stockholders is involved in this?”

Dinan and Reeves looked at one another before Reeves answered.

“Mr. Steele, official regulations prohibit us from commenting on an ongoing investigation.”

Walter looked ready to argue, but Dinan spoke before he could. “Hypothetically speaking, if you were to suspect someone of being involved with Tempest, then we would advise that you be careful not to let them realize your suspicions. Everyone on “Team Oliver” is clean, so if you want to discuss your suspicions with someone, I’d advise sharing your idea with them.”

“I understand. We wouldn’t want-.”

“Holy mother-frakker.” Felicity blurted out. “Sorry, I just- something dawned on me, related to this and I-.”

“What is it?” Walter asked her.

“Mr. Hudson came to me after the Dark Archer attacked the building and asked me to-.”

“There was a withdrawal of $2.6 million from one of our subsidiaries back in 2007 that Accounting couldn’t provide an explanation for.” He said. “I remember.”

“Well, it didn’t take me long to figure out where the money went, but then all this other stuff happened, and I’m not normally the type to bring my personal life into my work life, but I didn’t quite know how to address-.”

“Felicity?” Lyla said. “Breathe. Short sentences. Take as long as you need.”

“Right. Short sentences.” She took a deep breath. “The $2.6 million was wired into Mrs. Queen’s account, or at least it was supposed to be her account, and the person who signed off on the wire, because the bank wanted approval, was David Judge, who’s a member of Tempest. Which in hindsight is a bit fishy.”

“Do you remember what date that wire was sent?” Reeves asked. “The more detail we have, the easier it will be to investigate this. I won’t comment on the validity of the “fishiness” here, but we want to be thorough.”

“It was sent on November 14th. Because of the amount being over $1 million, it would’ve taken two days to clear, so the funds would’ve been available on November 16th.” She said. The day before someone purchased the warehouse where the Gambit was found. “I didn’t know how to bring this up to you, Walter and I didn’t wanna put Josiah in that kind of position. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, Felicity.” Everyone looked at the federal agents.

“We’ll look into it, and talk with Judge, but as you said, the money might not have ended up in Mrs. Queen’s account. We’ll figure out what happened, but until then...” Dinan said.

“I know. Don’t let anyone know of my suspicions.” She said. “I’m sorry. If I had any idea that what I found was- I would’ve-.”

“We understand, Ms. Smoak.” Dinan said. “We’ll get out of your hair now, let you get on with your day.”

“Wait, I- I just have one question, Ms. Smoak.” Reeves said. “Not about the money, but about something you asked Dr. Markov. How did it occur to you that the generator design could be used as a weapon? That’s not something most people would think of.”

“Well, it’s kinda- you said that Tempest is a terrorist organization, and  Oliver and Lyla explained that the only three real motivations that the leaders of terrorist groups have are money, politics, or killing people they hate, I started trying to figure out what Tempest's goals might be. If we're right about who we think Tempest's leader AND the Dark Archer are, then it's not about money, because he's already a freaking billionaire; if it was something political, then he could’ve got elected to public office years ago; and if he just wanted one person dead, or to kill a small group of people, then he's already perfectly capable of doing that as the Dark Archer. So that just leaves wanting to kill lots of people all at once, and after you revealed that Tempest were interested in a new piece of technology that Unidac was developing, I immediately started wondering if Tempest's plan was to take something intended to be harmless and weaponize it.” She said. “And now that I’m explaining this, I realize I’ve seen this before.”

“You have?” Dinan asked.

“Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, or lame or both, but it happened in a comic book. Well, it wasn’t an artificial earthquake but- in Justice Alliance, the Legion of Injustice had a plan exactly like this, only they were gonna sabotage a geothermal power station to trigger an artificial volcanic eruption.” She said. “It’s actually one of Blaze Comics' most famous plot arcs.”

“What’s the practical use of Markov’s device over a WMD?” Hudson said. “I’m just saying, there are more….convenient ways to kill a bunch of people.”

“Do you want my honest opinion as both an ex-intelligence agent, and my current job as- what’s my title here again?” Lyla asked. “Project consultant? Anyway, a WMD going off in the middle of a city, that would cause a panic. Dr. Markov’s invention would’ve looked like a natural disaster, which would raise fewer eyebrows. After all, there isn’t a way to stop an earthquake, so if it had been successful, the focus would be on recovery and rebuilding and not finding someone to blame.”

“That makes sense.” Felicity said. “I mean, someone had to train the Dark Archer, and whoever did, I doubt they’d approve of a bunch of innocent people dying, but if they’re killed by a so-called act of god, that’s a different story.”

“That’s something we’ll definitely be looking into.” Reeves said before he and Dinan left.

 

After the agents left, Walter went back to Queen Consoldiated’s headquarters while Felicity went back to the lab where her team was working. Curtis and another employee, Ray Palmer, were looking at schematics for the spinal implant they were working on. Her brain barely registered half of what they were saying, her mind still on the conversation with Dr. Markov.

“Felicity?” Curtis repeated. “How are you feeling after the….attack?” This was his first time seeing her since they ended up in a car chase with the Triad.

“Attack? Oh, yes! The attack.” She said, snapping back to reality. “Yes, well, I- I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

“Um, okay.” He said, a little puzzled by her reaction. “What about you, Lyla?”

“I appreciate your concern, but this isn’t the first time something like that has happened to me. I’m fine.” Lyla answered. When she saw the look of confusion on Curtis and Ray’s faces, she elaborated. “I had a very…..interesting job before this one. It wasn’t my first car chase.”

“You were a total badass, and Digg and Oliver were there to take down the other guys with guns.” Felicity said.

“You were a badass too.”

“They keep playing that clip of you fighting that white-haired woman on the news.” Ray said. “Almost as often as the clip of Oliver fighting one of the gunmen.”

“They’re running that still?” Felicity asked.

“Even more often, since the federal agents made their announcement about the Gambit. The footage has a lot of people wondering how and when Oliver learned how to fight, and who taught him. One channel even called up a fighting “expert”, although I don’t know what that means or what made that guy an expert. Anyway, they called this expert who said it couldn’t have come from self-defense classes or just learning karate. He claimed it was probably a soldier or a cop or someone like that.”

“Yeah, well,” Felicity winced, “Oliver-. when he first came home, he was struggling with feeling very hyperaware, so he talked Digg into teaching him how to really defend himself, not just what a self-defense class would teach.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Curtis said. “Don’t get me wrong, but Oliver doesn’t strike me as the “spy” type and if there was someone else on that island who taught him, he would’ve told someone.”

Felicity and Lyla both made non-committal noises before Felicity asked where they were on solving the problems with the implant, most notably, its potential to be hacked.

 

After Laurel left the mess hall, she went back to her cell. She sat there, contemplating what to do next. She needed to talk to someone she trusted about the Gambit updates. She also still needed to make sure Moira paid for her part getting her sent to prison. Moira had escaped being punished thus far, but Laurel had enough dirt to harm the Queen matriarch.

Realizing there was someone who could help her with both problems, she called a guard over and asked to use the phone.

Due to good behavior, Laurel had phone privileges, so the guard escorted her to a phone and gave the usual spiel about her only being allowed a certain amount of time before the call would cut off. He walked away to give her the semblance of privacy.

“Hello?” The person on the other end asked, confused.

“Is it true?” She asked. “Jo, what they’re saying about the Gambit? Is it true?”

Joanna sighed. “What have you heard?”

“There was an announcement that it was sabotaged by…someone.” She said.

“It’s true. They’re investigating it as a terrorist attack.”

“And has- did they say anything about Sara? Did they even mention her?”

“They didn’t mention anyone by name. The feds were trying to keep things under control.”

“So, it was all about Ollie, and his dad, and no one cared about Sara.” Laurel scoffed.

“That’s not what I said at all.” She said. “They said the Gambit was sabotaged, they took maybe three questions, and ended the press conference. No one on that boat, including Oliver, was mentioned.” She let out a sigh. “Is that all you called to talk about? Because there’s not much more I can say, and I’ve got some cases I need to-.”

“That’s not the only reason why I called.” Laurel said. “I had a bunch of notes in my apartment, about an important case, and I need you to do something with them for me.”

“Your dad boxed up all your stuff after you were arrested, but I guess I can stop by his house and ask to look through it for you.” She said. “What do you want me to do with it? And what case? Allison gave all your cases-.”

“This wasn’t a CNRI case. It was for a case I was building with Moira.” Laurel admitted. “I need you to take my notes and release them to the press. There’s gotta be some newspaper or magazine willing to pay for dirt on the Queen family.”

“What?”

“I lost everything because of Moira. Because she came to me for help reining Oliver in. My reputation, my law degree, my freedom.” Laurel said. “She needs to pay for what she did to me. I shouldn’t be the only one who has to suffer. Sell the story to whoever will buy it. I’ll split the money with you.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna do that.”

“What? I thought we were friends.”

“We are, but this is a “tough love” situation. I should’ve done this a long time ago. This needs to stop. You need to stop. Moira might’ve brought you the case, but she didn’t make you stalk Oliver or violate your parole. I’m not gonna help you further ruin your life.” Joanna said. “Good luck with everything.”

“No, Jo, wait-.”

“Time’s up Lance.” The guard said, walking over to Laurel.

“I just need-.”

“Your phone time is over. Hang up or I will.” He told her.

“I’ll talk to you later.” Joanna said before hanging up.

Laurel was escorted back to her cell and spent the rest of the day stewing over the conversation.

 

The conversation with Markov stayed on Felicity’s mind, so she didn’t get very much work done for the next few hours. Thankfully, Curtis and Ray knew what they were doing and didn’t rely on her too heavily for input as they tried to find a solution to some of the issues with the chip. Wanting to be somewhat productive, she started brainstorming upgrades for a different program of hers.

A knock on the door of the lab drew her attention. She looked up to see Oliver and Digg standing there. “Hey boys. Wow, is it already lunch time?”

‘It is.’ Oliver said with a smile. ‘Are you ready?’

“Yeah.” She answered. She turned to Curtis and Ray. “I’ll see you guys this afternoon.”

“Have fun.” Curtis said. “Hi, Mr. Diggle, Mr. Queen.”

Both men nodded back at him. Oliver took Felicity’s hand and followed her out of the lab. Digg and Lyla followed with smiles on their faces.

Knowing that the press was still interested in Oliver’s coming and goings, especially after the announcement on Saturday, the group decided to play it safe. They went to Big Belly Burger, where Carly seated them towards the back and she could make sure no one bothered them.

‘How has your day been so far?’ Oliver asked his girlfriend.

“I had a very…..illuminating meeting with the task force and Walter.” She said, before switching to ASL. ‘I think we might’ve figured out what the Undertaking is.’

‘Really? What is it?’

‘Unidac Industries, one of our subsidiaries, has been working on a machine that turns seismic energy, earthquakes, into power.’ She told him. ‘It can be misused to reverse the process, it could cause an earthquake. The project’s been suspended indefinitely, but you still should know.’

‘Why would Malcolm wanna cause an earthquake?’

‘Natural disasters don’t raise as many eyebrows as another kind of attack.’ Lyla added. ‘He wouldn’t be the first person to think of it.’

Oliver nodded solemnly and Digg asked Felicity about some of her projects so that the mood would lighten a little bit. She started talking about some of the upgrades she was thinking of making, along with a new app she was working on. They spent the rest of lunch listening to Felicity talk about her projects, with Oliver and Digg throwing in suggestions here and there.

After lunch, they got into Digg’s car and headed back towards Applied Sciences. Felicity mentioned that there was something she needed to stop by QC’s headquarters to grab. Oliver looked nervous about the idea of stopping there, but she promised it would be a quick stop and he wouldn’t have to get out of the car if he didn’t need to.

Digg pulled the car up out front of Queen Consolidated and they noticed a bunch of flowers and signs had been laid out near the door. Oliver looked confused, while Felicity gave him a sad smile and got out of the car to head inside. True to her word, it only took her two minutes to get what she needed and get back in the car. She stopped on the way back out to look at some of the signs.

‘What’s with the flowers?’ Oliver asked her.

“You really don’t- they’re for your dad. Well, all the people who died when the Queen’s Gambit sank.” She said. “It’s like a vigil or memorial. To show support, to mourn their loss.”

‘Is that- I thought people only did that on TV.’ He said.

“Well, people have different reactions to news like what the feds announced over the weekend, and it is a tragedy so- I’m not too surprised that people are doing things like this.” She explained.

Oliver nodded and they continued on their way. He kissed Felicity goodbye when they reached Applied Sciences before he and Digg returned to the house. The paperwork to hire Roy and Donna was already done and Roy and Tommy were spending the day helping Donna decorate the penthouse.

 

“Hey, uh, Mars?” One of the FBI’s accountants asked Agent Mars as he walked into the bullpen.

“Yeah?” Mars responded. “Also, what’s with the look?”

“Why are you looking into Samantha Clayton?” He asked.

“Dinan asked me to. Did I- she didn’t tell me why she was asking, just wanted some background info on her. Is she a person of interest? Did I swoop in and steal your thunder or something?”

“Not exactly. I’m looking into Moira Queen’s finances and I came across her name this morning. Then, I heard from Keller that you were also looking into Samantha Clayton.” He said. “I was thinking that maybe, before either of us goes to Dinan, we could share notes.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

 

When Oliver got back from lunch with Felicity, he watched TV for a while, but every channel was talking about the Gambit, so he stopped because he didn’t think watching the news coverage was good for his mental health. He spent a little while going through the pantry and seeing what ingredients he had and if he needed to go grocery shopping soon. He had a lot of nervous energy, so he ended up doing some tidying up while Digg made some calls to a few police officers whose names were on the List. Confronting them in their homes wasn’t a good idea, so they decided to just call them, as the Arrow, and persuade them to turn themselves in.

When Oliver ran out of things to clean, he decided to try reading. He picked up a book, and was surprised when an envelope fell from between the pages.

“You okay?” Digg asked after Oliver kept staring at the envelope.

‘This is the letter Dinah Lance gave to Thea to give to me.’ He said. ‘Do you think I’m ready to read it?’

“I don’t know. You’re the one who has to decide that, but if you’re not ready- there’s nothing wrong with that.”

‘I think I should at least try.’ He said before pulling the letter out of the envelope.

 

Dear Oliver,

            I’ve written this letter more times than you can imagine. And yet, after so many drafts, I’m still not sure what I want to say. Or rather, what I should say. I guess I should start with the most important thing, the one thing I want to be sure you know. Something you need to know. Sara’s death was not your fault. I know you might blame yourself; I know Quentin and Laurel keep saying it is, but it’s not. They never learned to handle their grief, but this letter isn’t about them, its about you. I just wanted to be sure that you know that it’s not your fault. You weren’t responsible for Sara’s death and I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life carrying a burden like that.

            I’m not sure what to say here. I can tell, from the news coverage, that you’ve been through a lot. I feel insensitive mentioning it, but ignoring it felt wrong in a different way. I hope you are doing well, whatever that means. You deserve to find some peace, and closure. I sincerely hope that, somehow, you get it.

I don’t know if you’ll ever read this letter. I’m not sure if I’ll work up the nerve to send this to Thea. I didn’t think, after everything that’s happened, you’d be happy if I just turned up unannounced. If you feel comfortable reaching out to me, if you’re willing to speak with me, I’d like to talk to you. I’ve attached my contact information. The choice is completely yours to make, and if you decide not to, I completely understand and will respect your wishes.

Once again, I hope you’re doing well. You’re a good man, Oliver. You always have been, even if you didn’t always believe it. I hope you’re able to get the help you need and you find happiness.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Dinah Lance

 

Oliver finished the letter just as the front door opened. He looked up to see Felicity and Lyla were home for the day. His girlfriend had a worried look on her face and asked him what was wrong.

‘Why would something be wrong?’

“Oliver, honey, you’re crying.” She said. “What happened?”

‘Nothing bad, I just- I read Dr. Lance’s letter. It- these aren’t bad tears. They’re not happy ones, but-.’

“No, I get it.” She said. “You’re okay, though? Relatively?”

‘Yeah. She- she doesn’t blame me, for what happened. She- it sounds like she really hopes I’m doing better and getting the help I need.’

“I’m glad.” Felicity said, taking a seat next to Oliver and leaning her head onto his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. When he was emotional, Oliver had a tendency to be clingy, but Felicity didn’t mind.

After sitting there for a while, Felicity's stomach started to rumble. Oliver realized that he hadn’t made dinner and apologized. He planned on making dinner, but then he found Dinah’s letter and lost track of time. ‘I meant to. I just-.’

“Oliver, it’s okay. I love your cooking, but you don’t need to cook every night.” She told him. “You know what sounds like a great dinner idea? Tomato soup and grilled cheese. I think we could both use some comfort food right now. How’s that sound?”

The archer agreed that it sounded like a good idea, so he made grilled cheese while Felicity heated some tomato soup on the stove. After dinner, they went to the foundry. Oliver spent a few hours patrolling before calling it a night.

 

Slade was nudged awake by a flight attendant, who told him his red eye flight was about to land in Starling. Disoriented, he let out a grunt in response and ignored the unhappy look the woman gave him. His sleeping during the flight was the first time he’d slept since he heard the Gambit was sabotaged, and the first time he slept well since learning Oliver was alive and rescued from Lian Yu. He was glad he had an old buddy from the Service who now worked for an airline and owed him a favor. He was able to get a flight to Starling a lot quicker.

The flight landed and the passengers disembarked. Slade went through customs. It was too late for him to head directly to the feds to talk to them, so he left the airport and had a taxi take him to the closest hotel. While he was getting checked in, he saw a newspaper sitting on the desk.

“Who or what is the Arrow?” He asked the clerk.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 76

Summary:

Slade tells a story and Felicity and Oliver come clean about a few things.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning, Felicity let out a loud groan when her alarm started going off. Instead of turning it off, she rolled back over and snuggled into Oliver’s side. She started muttering about how she didn’t want to get up. Oliver poked her in the side so that she’d look at him when he signed to her.

‘Why don’t you wanna get up?’ He asked. ‘Do you feel sick? Is there something wrong at work?’

“No, it’s not that. I just- I’m really comfortable.” She admitted. “Snuggled here, in bed with you. I’m really comfy and I don’t wanna have to get out of bed, and change. I don’t wanna have to put on pants. Or a bra. Bras are the worst.”

‘You gotta go to work. You wanna make the world a better place.’ He told her.

“I don’t “gotta” do anything.” She said petulantly. “The apps and software I’ve already released make enough money that I don’t need to work.” Felicity didn’t like to brag, but she had plenty of money. Not as much as Oliver or Tommy, but enough to live comfortably on. She had released her first piece of tech before she got her driver’s license and her last few apps had really taken off.

‘You like your job though.’ He said. ‘You like what you do and you seem so excited about your projects.’

“But I’m comfortable.” She said before sighing. “You’re right. I should go to work. The biostimulant needs a lot of work, and I’ve got security upgrades to install. And if I stop going to work, I’ll probably get really, really bored.” She let out another sigh before extricating herself from Oliver and getting out of bed. He sat up a few seconds later. “You didn’t need to get up.”

‘I wanted to.’ He said. ‘I also wanna talk to you about something. Do you- I think I wanna talk to Dr. Lance, before she leaves town. Do you think that’s a good idea?’

“It depends. What are hoping to get out of talking to her?” She responded as she started looking through her closet. “Because if you wanna talk to her to get some closure, or give her some form of closure, then I say you should do it. But if seeing her results in you blaming yourself for what happened, or something like that, then I can’t say that you should. Because, while Mom seems to like her, and while her letter seemed genuine, I don’t want you to put your own mental health at risk for her. You don’t owe that to her.”

‘I know, but I think- I need to do this. For me.’ He said. ‘Closure, like you said.’

“Well, I hope it goes well.” She said with a smile as she slipped her shoes on.

They ate breakfast and talked until Lyla and Digg showed up. Oliver handed Felicity her lunch and kissed her goodbye.

“I’ll see you tonight.” She said as they walked towards the door.

‘I’ll be waiting.’ He said with a smile.

 

“She really hasn’t noticed yet?” Roy asked Thea. He was driving her to school, since Tommy had a meeting with his lawyers today and she didn’t want to bother Oliver, even though Roy was pretty sure Oliver would never see it that way.

“Nope. Not at all.” She responded.

“How can your mother not realize you’re moving out?” He asked as they pulled up near the school.

“Well, in order to know that, she’d need to spend five seconds not thinking about herself or her image. And I’m pretty sure if she does that, she’ll explode so-.”

“I used to think my parents were absentees, but jeez. Your mom’s kinda making my mom look like Mother of the Year.” He said. “But I guess that’s good, because it’ll be easy for you to move out without her trying anything.”

“Yeah, but it would be nice if she actually seemed to care.” Thea said before getting out of the car. “At least I had Ollie when I was growing up.”

 

Slade didn’t want to appear too eager to meet with Agent Dinan and give his version of events on Lian Yu, so he planned his trip to the police station so that he’d arrive about five minutes after 9AM. This way, there was less of a chance that he’d arrive before she did for the day. Still, he didn’t want to wait very much longer to talk to the agent.

He walked into the precinct and was directed to the floor where the federal agents were working. He approached the first person he saw and started to introduce himself.

“I’m here to see Agent Dinan.” He said. “Name’s-.”

“Slade Wilson.” The agent said. “Wait, I thought you were dead.”

“I get that a lot.” He said. “Agent-.”

“Rathbone. C’mon, I’ll take you to the Andys.”

“The Andes?” Slade asked. “What does a South American mountain range have to do with this?”

“Dinan’s first name is Andrea, and her partner’s first name is Andrew. People call them “the Andys.” Rathbone explained.

He led Slade to Dinan’s desk, who stood up to greet him. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Mr. Wilson.”

“Please, call me Slade.”

Across the street, Nyssa’s eyes widened when she heard Slade’s voice and learned he was alive. While she shouldn’t have been shocked by his survival, Sara had survived the same thing he did, knowing it was possible was far different than learning he was alive.

“I’m wondering why the Coast Guard is investigating Lian Yu.” He said.

“We didn’t start out investigating what happened on the island.” Dinan admitted. “In the process of getting Mr. Queen’s statement about the night his father’s yacht sank, he ended up telling us quite a bit about his five years away. A number of events he witnessed turned out to be related to several open investigations and cold cases.” She paused. “Oliver told us he met you roughly six months after he washed up on Lian Yu.”

“Sounds about right. I don’t remember the exact date we met, but he’d already had the “pleasure” of meeting Fyers and Billy. I could tell by looking at him, he’d already been through more shit than any normal person should’ve.”

“In what sense?”

“If Oliver hasn’t gone into detail about the ways Billy tortured him, I’m not going to betray that. He never told me all of what that dick did to him, but he was terrified of Billy. I don’t blame him, even if Billy didn’t do all of the things he threatened him with. Wintergreen used to be a good man. He was my best friend for over fifteen years. I saved his life and he saved mine, so many times that I literally lost count. He was the godfather to my son, Joe, but Billy threw away every last piece of our friendship when he chose to sign up with Fyers. He tortured me and Yao Fei before we escaped, but by the time Oliver fell into their clutches, Billy had grown even more 'creative', even more cruel, than ever before." He shook his head. "I was so angry... I hated Billy so much after I learned what he'd done to Oliver. More than anyone I'd ever hated before - and believe me, that is saying something. It took me the better part of a month, but I convinced Oliver that he was safe from him, from both of them.”

"Do you know if Billy Wintergreen might still be alive?" McKenna asked. She’d walked over while Slade was explaining how he met Oliver. While the question was worth asking in a professional capacity, she was also worried about her old friend.

"That's impossible. I drove his sword through his right eye and into his brain." He answered. “He died quickly, far quicker than he deserved. There's no way he survived that. And Oliver watched me kill the bastard. The kid still had plenty of nightmares after that day, but none of them involved Billy anymore."

"Good. Thank you." She said.

“After I met up with Oliver, and he started to recover from what they’d done to him, we hatched this plan to get off the island.” Slade said. “There was one plane that landed on the island. Every ninety days, like clockwork. We were gonna “commandeer” that plane, and I couldn’t do it without him.”

“You were?” Dinan asked.

"Attacking Fyers' airstrip required two people. My sniper rifle had survived the crash, and I'd custom-built it with an integral suppressor, so I was able to pick off six of the sentries without raising the alarm before I ran out of ammunition - after that, I moved in and dealt with the other four using my blade, to keep from making any noise that could alert the airstrip's radio operator. Oliver's job was to kill the radioman. Fyers' men had set up a portable air traffic control tower, the same kind used by disaster relief agencies, and the windows were made of bullet-resistant glass - my rifle's ammunition didn't have nearly enough stopping power to penetrate that, at least not on the first shot, and that would cost us the element of surprise. If the radio operator contacted Fyers' main camp, Fyers would use the long-range comms gear there to warn off the supply plane, and send reinforcements to the airstrip - and then we would have been cancelled. The supply plane only came once every ninety days, and I didn't think we could survive long enough to wait for the next one."

“What went wrong during the attack?" Doyle asked.

"Nothing went wrong. We came, we saw, and we wiped out Fyers' men. A while after we'd secured the area, the pilot came over the radio to report in - and okay, yes, Oliver and I got a bit of a shock when the pilot issued a challenge code." He paused, like he was trying to remember something. "'Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth...' And I had no clue what the correct response was."

"So... what did you do?"

"Nothing - it was Oliver who had the answer. He recognized it as a quotation from a book he read in college, 'The Odyssey' - and even better, he knew what came next: 'Nothing is bred that is weaker than man.' He was right, too. The pilot accepted the response and confirmed he was on schedule to arrive as planned." He sighed. "I'll admit, I was damn impressed: Oliver had been shipwrecked, witnessed his father's suicide and his girlfriend drowning, or so he thought, buried his father's body after it had been bloating in the sun for more than a week right next to him, been tortured and humiliated by a sadistic monster, nearly been killed god only knows how many times - I even nearly killed him myself when we first met.” At the shock on the agents’ faces, he elaborated. “He was wearing a uniform he'd taken off the corpse of one of Fyers' men he'd killed, so for obvious reasons I mistook him for one of the enemy. Then I'd put him through ten days of intensive combat training, before we had to travel to the airstrip. That was no easy trip - Oliver trod on a landmine right before one of Fyers' patrols turned up, and getting out of that situation was pretty difficult to say the least. And yet after all of THAT, it only took Oliver a few seconds to not only recognize the quotation, but to remember how the rest of it went as well. 'Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.'"

“But something went wrong after that.” Dinan said. Given that Slade and Oliver hadn’t returned to civilization in 2008, something clearly hadn’t gone according to plan. The question was what went wrong and why. Dinan found herself hoping, somehow, that whatever went wrong wasn’t that bad.

"I told Oliver that as soon as we were airborne, I planned to contact my superiors and order an airstrike on Lian Yu to send Fyers and all his men straight back to hell. He wasn't happy about that, he told me he owed Yao Fei his life. I argued that sacrifices had to be made to end whatever plans Fyers had, that the situation was bigger than the life of one man.” He said. "And professionally speaking, I was right - my brass would have agreed with that analysis of the situation and the potential geopolitical consequences that could ensue from failing to shut down Fyers' operation by whatever means were necessary. But Oliver... he's a good kid, always has been. So he saw things very differently. Oliver told me that he'd led a selfish life and he didn't want to be that person. Now personally, having read between the lines of all the stories he'd told me up to that point about his little sister and his best friend and his parents and grandparents, I thought he was being overly hard on himself, and everything I learned later supported that conclusion, but..." Slade shrugged. "Oliver refused to leave Yao Fei to die. I told him he had three hours before the plane left, and that I would not wait for him. He asked me to call his family if he didn't make it back in time, then he left. I stayed in the tower 'til after daybreak. The supply plane checked in, and I told them they were clear to land. Oliver still wasn't back yet, so that meant something had gone wrong." He paused again. “I should have waited for the plane to land, ambushed and killed the crew, then taken off, left that godforsaken hellhole behind and had ASIS bomb it flat. That would have been the professional thing to have done. Instead... instead, I went after Oliver. I hoped I could extract him from whatever mess he'd got into, then get back to the airstrip before the supply plane landed and we could escape."

"Why did you go to help Oliver?" Dinan asked. “As you said, this was your ticket home. You didn’t know him for very long. Why take the chance?”

"Have either of you ever met him? Personally, I mean?"

"Yes, we've both interviewed him, and we notified him when we discovered that the Queen's Gambit had been sabotaged."

"He affects people, changes them. I saw it happen with Yao Fei and Shado, it happened to me. Oliver's got a habit of doing things that will surprise and impress you, he will inspire you. And the more time you spend in contact with him, the more he will change your perspective of things, without even meaning to or trying to. That's what happened with me." He sighed. "The day we attacked the airstrip, I still barely knew Oliver. I'd been hard on him, and half the time I was frustrated with him because I knew that I needed his help to escape Lian Yu and his progress in his training was slower than I wanted it to be - and I was being unreasonable, no one could have advanced as far as I wanted Oliver to in that sort of timeframe. But I had been trapped on that island for over a year by that point, a YEAR of being cold and wet and starving and hunted non-stop, so I was nowhere near at my best by then. I knew that Oliver had everything to live for. And he was no soldier, he wasn't much good in a fight back then. He was exhausted and we hadn't had anything to eat in over eight days - it would not have been selfish for Oliver to have simply waited for the supply plane with me, it would have been perfectly reasonable for him to have done that. I think Yao Fei would have understood if he'd known. Instead, Oliver was willing to risk sacrificing his ticket home, and his life, all to save a man he barely knew. Yao Fei might not have been a monster, but he was hardly a saint either: there's a reason he used to be one of the best covert operatives in Chinese military intelligence. But Oliver didn't know about any of that: he just knew Yao Fei had helped him, so he felt indebted to him, and that was all the reason he needed. And while Oliver didn't have much of a plan... whatever the faults of his course of action, I recognized there was something selfless, even heroic about what he was doing. More than that... I recognized that Oliver was right. Leaving Yao Fei to die might have been the logical thing to do, the professional thing to do - but it wasn't something that either of us could stomach doing, not after everything we'd been through. And leaving Oliver to die... I just couldn't do that. I found I was right - Oliver had been captured, and Fyers wanted to entertain his men by making a spectacle out of Oliver's death. He was bound and Billy was all set to kill him... and the bastard was taking his time, dragging it out. The good news was that while most of Fyers' guys were gathered to watch the show, they didn't have nearly as many sentries out as normal. So, I snuck into their armory tent, made off with some C4 and a rifle, planted charges all round the camp, found a good sniper's nest, then I started detonating the charges and picked off a few of Fyers' men. While they were running around wondering what the hell was going on, I moved in... and that was when I ran into Billy. We fought, and I drove his sword through his right eye into his brain. Nothing human could have survived that. And that was when Fyers shot me. Got me in the shoulder and dropped me flat on my arse. That was when the kid came charging in - laid down suppressing fire on Fyers' position to keep his head down, then he got me up, got me moving, and disarmed and dropped one of Fyers' men who got in our way. That was when the damn supply plane passed overhead, and we knew we were screwed. Getting back to the Fuselage was not easy, and by then my GSW had turned septic. Oliver went back to Yao Fei's cave to grab his stash of herbs, brought them back, made up a poultice with some of them and brewed some more up in a tea - those fixed me right up."

Dinan wrote a few things down on her notepad while Slade reminisced. “If it’s okay, I’d like to talk about Fyers’ big plan and how it was stopped, from your perspective.”

“Can I- is it okay if we take a break for a little bit? That was a very…..intense time.” Slade said. The other agents nodded. Doyle asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee or anything.

 

Felicity was trying to figure out a particularly tricky line of code when someone knocked on the door to her office.

“Um, Miss Smoak? There’s a call for you.” A woman Felicity had seen before, but hadn’t talked with, told her.

“Take a message and tell them I’ll give them a call back.” She said.

“I- I’m not gonna tell the CEO that you’re too busy to talk to him.” The woman responded, causing Felicity to look up from her screen.

“Oh, it’s Walter Steele.” She said. “I didn’t know it was Mr. Steele. Usually, it’s someone either asking me for an unreasonable favor or looking for a story.” She stood up and went to answer the phone. “Good Morning Walter.”

“Good morning, I was wondering if you and Ms. Michaels are available for a meeting this afternoon, to discuss our conversation with Dr. Markov with Josiah Hudson.” Walter said.

“I have some time around 11. I know that’s not in the afternoon, but-.”

“11 works perfectly. Given the situation, we will be meeting in my office.” He said before hanging up.

Felicity told Lyla what the deal was, and she went back to her work for a little bit before leaving to head to Queen Consolidated’s headquarters. When they arrived at Walter’s office, Josiah was already there, talking to him.

"I've already started enhancing the security of the technical data related to Dr. Markov's project, Mr. Steele. Luckily, no one seems to have noticed, what with all the current upheaval from our overhaul and upgrade of security measures. The feds sent a team of agents over yesterday morning, and I'm working with them to keep this situation completely airtight."

"Thank you, Josiah. I’m impressed that you’ve already begun implementing these measures at such short notice."

"Thank you, sir."

"I hope you don't mind me asking this, but I would very much like for Miss Smoak and Miss Michaels to look over the new security measures.” Walter said, gesturing to Felicity and Lyla. “I believe you're already well-acquainted with Felicity's expertise; and Miss Michaels was previously a federal agent, working in the intelligence field, and as such has a great deal of expertise in covert operations."

"Of course, Mr. Steele. In fact, I was already planning to ask Ms. Smoak to check over the new arrangements; and if you're vouching for Ms. Michaels..." He turned to Lyla. "...well, ma'am, I'm very interested to see what insights you have to offer."

"Thank you, Mr. Hudson - I'm more than happy to help." Lyla said, shaking his hand.

 

While Felicity and Lyla were meeting with Walter, Oliver was in the foundry with Digg, working out. He wanted to get a long workout in while he processed his feelings about the last few days. It had been a long few days, a lot had happened, and he’d been so focused on moving forward that he was ignoring the need to process everything.

As Oliver took a break from doing the salmon ladder, he decided to check on something from the day before. He looked at something on Felicity’s computer and smiled.

“What are you so smiley about?” Digg asked.

‘All the cops you called yesterday, the ones working for Tempest? All but one have turned themselves in.’ He said.

“Nice.”

‘I know. It’s just a matter of time before the last one gets caught or turns himself in.’ He agreed. ‘And, as a consequence, a bunch of dirty cops, ones who had nothing to do with Tempest, turned themselves in to Internal Affairs.’

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

‘It’s great. The last thing this city needs is dirty cops.’ He answered.

 

“We gotta do something about the commissioner.” Agent Anderson told his partner. “We know he’s dirty. We’ve got more than enough proof that he’s in the Triad’s pocket, at least. We need to talk to Starling’s IA department.”

“If we get rid of Nucerdo, they might replace him with someone worse.” Reeves responded. “Or he’ll find a way to weasel his way out of it. A phone call or two, and a prisoner’s word isn’t enough.”

“What’s it gonna take then?”

“We need to catch him in the act. Or get recorded proof after the fact that he’s working for the Triad. But the chances of a judge giving us a warrant with what we have aren’t great.”

“So, we’re playing the long game for a little longer.”

Asim made a mental note to mention this conversation to Nyssa later, for the next time she encountered the Arrow.

 

After taking a short break, Slade told the agents his recollection of Fyers revealing his real mission and Yao Fei’s death. He started with Yao Fei betraying them, in the hopes of saving Shado, and leading Fyers’ men to the wrecked plane.

“I was still injured, and we were outnumbered, so we went with them.” Slade said. “Not like we had a choice. Fyers told us everything. He was hired to wreck the Chinese economy. He needed a scapegoat, which was why they’d kept Yao Fei alive for so long. He tried to refuse, but Fyers was gonna kill Shado, so he caved. Yao Fei recorded the message Fyers ordered him to, and then the bastard shot him in the head.” He sighed. “When they tied us up, Yao Fei was the one who restrained Oliver. He handed him a knife and while Fyers was directing his performance, Oliver cut himself loose. After Yao Fei died, he cut the rest of us loose and we attacked.”

Slade briefly explained how Shado redirected the missile to destroy Fyers’ camp and the gunfight that killed most of his men.

“And I’m guessing that’s when either you or Ms. Gulong killed Edward Fyers.” Dinan said.

"No, neither of us got the bastard - I was wounded after the final battle with Fyers' men, and Fyers was holding a gun to Shado's head, holding her hostage, trying to bargain his life in exchange for passage off the island - not that any of us believed he would hold up his end of any deal. Oliver got a clear angle and took the shot. It was a clean kill, a head shot." He smiled. "Couldn't have done better myself."

Dinan’s eyes widened at the revelation that Oliver killed Fyers. They decided to call it a day shortly after he was done. He agreed to come back the next day and talk about the Amazo and what happened with Ivo.

 

Thea walked out of school and looked around. She was expecting to see Tommy or Roy, and smiled when she saw Oliver leaning against his car. She rushed over to greet him. He hugged her and apologized for not picking her up from school the day before.

‘I’m sorry. I meant to but-.’

“Ollie, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Are you okay? Did something happen?”

‘I read Dr. Lance’s letter after I had lunch with Felicity yesterday. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed, until Felicity and Lyla came home.’

“I’m sorry.”

‘I’m not. It was something I needed to do.’ He said. “Let’s go.’

On the ride back, Thea told Oliver how moving was going. She was just getting started, but planned to spend all day Friday, when Moira would be at one of her many monthly meetings for charities, to pack the majority of her stuff. Oliver promised to help her.

“Do you wanna- you kinda left the mansion in a rush, and haven’t been back. If there’s something you need, that you didn’t mean to leave behind, I can- I’ll pack it for you.” She offered.

‘I’m pretty sure I’ve already got everything that matters to me.’ He said. ‘But I’ll think about it.’

 

On her lunch break, Felicity had called Oliver. She felt like she and Oliver should tell the rest of Team Oliver at least the basics about what happened in Russia and what Dr. Markov had revealed. She knew how Oliver felt about secrets, and she didn’t see the point in hiding the truth about the Markov Device.

Felicity went first, and told everyone about the Markov device, what it’s intended purpose was and what the task force believed Tempest planned to do with it. She made sure to emphasize that the project had been shut down and would never see the light of day.

“Ok, but what if someone steals the designs or schematics or whatever the term is?” Tommy asked.

“We’ve increased the security, by a lot. Closed all the loopholes in the system we could find. I doubt anyone working for QC could open those files, let alone an outsider.”

“Oh, well. That’s good.” Thea remarked.

‘There’s something I need to tell you.’ Oliver said. ‘Last week, I wasn’t ready to tell you about what happened in Russia. At least, not all of it. Because that time wasn’t-.’

“You don’t have to explain, Ollie. If you weren’t ready then, and you’re not ready now, I can wait.” She said.

‘No, I need to- I won’t tell you all of it, but you should know more than what I said.’ He said.

Slowly, and with several breaks, Oliver told Thea a little more about what happened in Russia. He didn’t go into specifics about the “assignments” he was given while in Moscow, but he explained that he’d been conscripted into working with ARGUS to infiltrate the Bratva. He didn’t want to lie to her, but there was no way he was going to tell his sister about the orphan farms or human trafficking rings he’d dealt with. He concluded the story by explaining that he’d been drugged and sent back to Lian Yu when ARGUS was done with him.

“How can- who does that to someone?” Thea yelled. “Asks you for help and then stabs you in the back? I should- that woman can’t get away with this.”

Oliver and Felicity both responded at the same time. Oliver remarked that there was nothing they could do, Waller had already gotten away with it. Felicity had another perspective.

“She won’t.” She vowed. “I’m gonna make her pay for this. I don’t know how or why, but I’ll make her regret doing what she did.”

‘Felicity…’

“I’m not going to do anything illegal, or shady, that she can come after me for.” She said. “No. I’m gonna take her down, in broad daylight. Where she can’t hide.”

“Wow.” Tommy said. “I never realized this, but you’re kinda scary when you wanna be.”

“Thank you.” She said. “I think this was enough for one night. We should probably watch some mindless TV, to get our minds off of things, for a while.”

The others agreed. They turned on some cartoons and tried their best to take their minds off of the discussion they’d just had for a while. After a few hours, everyone went home or went to bed.

 

After he was finished with the task force, Slade wandered around the city for a few hours. His wandering turned into him heading to a bar to get a drink. One drink turned into multiple and he took a taxi back to his hotel. He got into the elevator and the doors were about to close when someone yelled to hold the door. He held the car and waited for the person to catch up.

A woman entered the elevator and pressed the button for her floor. She stared ahead of her, but got a strange look on her face after standing there for a few moments.

“Is everything okay?” He asked her.

“This is going to sound weird, but I think I’ve met you before.” She answered.

“I don’t think we have.”

“Maybe we haven’t met, but your face is familiar to me. I just can’t place it.”

“I just have one of those faces I guess.” Something about her felt familiar to him. Not in a “we’ve met before” way, but she reminded him of someone.

“You’re probably right.” Dinah said as the elevator reached her floor. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

“No harm, no foul.” He assured her. “Have a nice evening.”

“Thank you.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 77

Summary:

Oliver bakes cake, Slade finishes telling his story and Dinah is reunited with someone.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Wednesday morning, Oliver woke up earlier than he normally did. He wasn’t quite sure what caused him to wake up so early and tried to go back to sleep. When he couldn’t fall back asleep, he turned his attention to his sleeping girlfriend. Felicity was laying on her side with her head on his shoulder. She was peacefully asleep and every few minutes she let out a quiet snore. Oliver thought she looked adorable and enjoyed holding her and watching her sleep.

“I can feel you staring.” She muttered. “Nothing’s wrong, right?” He shook his head and she felt the motion. “Good.” She opened her eyes and rubbed them. “Just can’t get back to sleep?”

‘Yeah, but I don’t know why.’

“Sometimes there isn’t a reason why. Sometimes you just get up super early for no reason.” She said. “What are you up to today?”

‘Making Thea’s birthday cake and finishing her gift.’

“Ooh, the mysterious gift that you’ve been working on. The one you’re keeping a secret, even from me. I’m excited to find out what it is.” She said. “Is that everything you’re doing today?”

‘I think so. Unless…never mind.’

“No, don’t say “never mind”. Unless what?”

‘If your mom isn’t busy, and I have time, I was thinking, just thinking, that maybe I should see if I can meet with Dr. Lance. Or at least talk to her.’ He said. ‘I wanna- I don’t want Speedy’s birthday to be overshadowed by anything, including my concern about that.’

“I’m pretty sure, if you mention it to Mom this morning, she’ll make sure she’s not busy so that she can do this with you.” She said.

‘What about you? What are you up to today?’

“Working on some firewall updates for the company servers.” She said. “Oh, and one of my apps is going live at noon today, which I’m excited about.”

‘It’s going live today? Which app? What does it do?’

“It analyzes and interprets handwriting and reads it aloud. When I was getting feedback on the screen-reading program I developed for blind people, I realized there were plenty of apps that can read printed text, but there wasn’t a solution for handwritten text.”

‘That’s…..you’re remarkable.’

“Thank you, once again, for remarking on it.” She said before giving him a kiss. “I hope it goes well.”

‘It will be perfect.’ He assured her.

They got out of bed and started to eat breakfast soon after. Just like the previous day, Oliver handed Felicity her lunch and kissed her goodbye soon after John and Lyla arrived. Oliver texted Donna shortly after Felicity left and asked if she could help him with something today. Donna’s response was almost exactly what Felicity said it would be.

>>From: Donna:  Of course I can help, sweetie! 😊 Just let me know what you need and when.

>>To: Donna: Whenever you have time today is fine.

Oliver wanted to talk to Donna, but he didn’t want to bother her with his request. He didn’t want to impose or monopolize her day.

>>From: Donna: I’ll head over once I finish what I’m currently doing. See you in about an hour.

Oliver put the phone down and walked into the kitchen. He started pulling out baking supplies.

“Making Thea’s cake?” Digg asked.

‘Let’s call this attempt #1. That way, if I mess up, I’ve got time to try again. I’ve never tried making a cake from scratch before.’

“I’m sure it’ll be good.” His friend assured him.

 

Slade went to the police station just like the day before. Just like yesterday, when he sat down in front of Dinan and Doyle, he wasn’t sure where to start.

"You know about the Amazo, and I'm guessing Oliver's explained at least a bit about Anthony Ivo, Sara and the Mirakuru he was searching for, right?"

“What do you mean Sara?” Dinan asked. “Are you referring to Sara Lance?”

“He didn’t tell you she survived the Gambit sinking.” Slade said in realization. He quickly explained that Sara had wound up floating on a piece of debris and Ivo found her and took her aboard the freighter. “You know, it makes sense that he didn’t say anything.”

“Why does that make sense?”

“Well, I can think of a few reasons. I think, most of all, he would’ve wanted to spare her family. She survived the Queen’s Gambit sinking, only to drown a year later. I think hearing that she survived that “accident” but still died would’ve been too much for them to hear. It’s also possible that the memories were too distressing for him to relive or what happened afterwards was so traumatic that he doesn’t even remember her being there.” He explained. “Oliver did tell you about Ivo, the Amazo and the Mirakuru though, right?”

"Yes."

“Did he mention Ivo having a research assistant of some kind during that time?”

“Yeah, a woman but he didn’t give her name.” Doyle said.

“That was Sara. Ivo was- you know what I’ve learned in my career? The worst people I’ve met will try to justify their actions by saying they’re not “that bad”. A rapist will say at least he’s not a murderer. A murderer will say at least he’s not a child molester or that at least he doesn’t kill puppies. Ivo was kinda the same way. He was experimenting on people, using them as lab rats, but when he found Sara, disoriented and alone, he made her his assistant rather than let the crew get their hands on her. As if not doing one bad thing excused everything else he did.” He remarked.  "Before we discuss what happened on the island and aboard the Amazo, do you mind if I tell you about some research I did on Ivo after I got back to Sydney? It won't take long, but it should help make sense of what happened."

"Okay, sure."

"Thanks. By the way, I forgot to give you this yesterday." He handed them a portable hard drive. "That's everything I found out about Fyers and Ivo. It's all research I did on my own time, nothing to do with ASIS, so you won't need to worry about inter-agency cooperation or paperwork related to it. There's nearly half a terabyte of data on there - not that it's much use. Mostly I just found out who WASN'T involved."

“This will certainly come in handy, especially since Fyers is practically a ghost.” Doyle said.

"So, Anthony Ivo. He was a world-leading geneticist, mapping the human genome, trying to cure diseases like cancer, that sort of thing. He was married, and around the turn of the Millennium, his wife got diagnosed with a terminal illness - I think it was MacGregor's Syndrome? I might be wrong about that, though - it should all be in the files. Ivo spent a few years trying to cure her, and he managed to slow down the speed at which her condition deteriorated, but that was the best he could do. Then one day he took out loans from a couple banks, borrowed even more money from several loan sharks, and vanished."

"And somewhere after that, he found the Amazo." Doyle said.

"Right. The clinic where his wife was being treated received the occasional phone call from him, checking on her condition or wanting to talk to her, but that was it. Their last contact with him was back in late February 2009 - the exact dates in the files - and I was rescued by an oil tanker heading for Manila in early March, so I think he called his wife for the last time either shortly before we attacked the Amazo, or maybe even during the assault itself."

"Okay... so you think Ivo wanted the Mirakuru to save his wife?"

"Yes, and I think that's the reason he mixed up a cure for the Mirakuru's effects, too."

"Cure? Why would he need a cure for it?" Dinan asked.

"Did Oliver tell you about Mirakuru's side effects?"

"Yes, he said it worked like steroids, only more powerful." Doyle said.

"Right. I don't have any actual evidence, I'm going purely by guesswork here, but so far as I can tell, the experiments Ivo conducted on his prisoners? He had two objectives. First was to find a way of administering Mirakuru that would reliably not kill the subject - after all, nearly everyone who was injected with Mirakuru died horribly. And I think Ivo's second objective was to develop a reliable cure, which would leave the subject healthy but back to normal."

“Why would he want that?”

"Are you familiar with the effects that powerful steroids have on human biology?"

“Sure. Enhanced strength, but with a cost - mood swings, irrational behavior, paranoia, a heightened sense of aggression. Given Oliver's description of Mirakuru, it would result in these effects but to an even more extreme degree."

"Right. I can confirm that Mirakuru did indeed have all of those effects." Slade admitted.

"Really? Do you mind if I ask how you know that - did you find notes from the Japanese laboratory, or aboard the Amazo related to Ivo's experiments?"

"I can confirm it from firsthand experience."

"Slade, I've interviewed people who were under the influence of steroids before, and you're not exhibiting any of the behavior I would expect."

"That’s because I can also confirm from firsthand experience that Ivo's cure worked. And so far as I know, there is not a single drop of Mirakuru left on the planet. Trust me, we're all better off."

"I see. Why- Is the reason you were injected with Mirakuru related to the Amazo's arrival?"

"Yes. During our second encounter with Ivo's forces, Oliver was captured and I sustained third-degree burns to the right side of my face and upper torso. I had a lot of trouble breathing, too - I'm pretty sure my lungs were full of crap from the smoke. By the time we found the wrecked Japanese submarine, and the stock of Mirakuru aboard it, I only had minutes to live, I literally had nothing to lose - so I told Oliver to inject me." He took a breath. "When I came to, I was alone - Ivo and his men had captured the others, then left me for dead. I had no pulse, so I had experienced clinical death. The Mirakuru had all sorts of weird effects on me, including the enhancement of my senses. Shado and Oliver's scents were familiar to me, and I was able to track them to a nearby clearing. Then I heard a gunshot, and I broke into a run. Ivo had just killed Shado. When I turned up, Ivo fled. I killed every single one of his men. Oliver, Sara and Shado were still bound; Oliver was kneeling over Shado’s body. I later found out that Ivo had been playing some sort of sick mind game with Oliver, trying to convince him that HE was responsible for Shado's death, that it was his choice. Because both Sara and Shado were bound in front of Ivo, but Oliver supposedly “jumped” to shield Sara and that meant he chose her, which meant he chose Shado to die. The horrifying thing is, it worked. Oliver blamed himself."

 

Donna arrived at Felicity’s shortly after Oliver pulled the cakes he’d made out of the oven. He made two identical ones so that he could taste one and if it was good, frost and decorate the other one. While they waited for them to cool, he and Donna made small talk. She let him ask her about the weather and how the move was going while he worked up the nerve to tell her why he’d asked her to come over.

‘I kinda wanna ask you something, but I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.’ He signed.

“Oliver, you might not be my son.” Yet, at least, from Donna’s perspective. “But you are family. All of Team Oliver is family now. Nothing you could ask would make me uncomfortable.” She assured him. “But take your time.”

‘I wanna reach out to Dinah Lance. I read her letter and I- I think I should talk to her.’ He said. ‘And I don’t know if she knows ASL, so- I think if you were there, since you know both of us, it would go a little better.’

“Do you wanna meet with her today or-?”

‘I was hoping you could call her, and ask if she has time today? If she’s busy, I understand, but I think the longer I wait, the harder this will be for both of us.’ He responded.

“I’ll go give her a call.” Donna said before leaving the kitchen to call Dinah.

Oliver tasted the cake he made. It tasted exactly the way it was supposed to. He gave Digg a slice to see what he thought.

“This is some good cake.” John said. “You sure you weren’t a baker or a chef in a past life?”

‘As far as I know, nope.’

Donna came back into the room after a few minutes. She told Oliver that Dinah said she could meet with him this afternoon.

 

Slade briefly explained the week or so following Shado’s death, when he, Oliver and Sara were trying to figure out what to do. They came to the conclusion that, the only way forward, was to attack the freighter and kill Ivo. "Our attack on the Amazo worked out better than we had dared to hope. Ivo's men didn't know what was going on; we'd set the prisoners loose and they were all over the place, looking for payback and adding to the chaos; and Oliver was tearing through the enemy like a man possessed... or on Mirakuru. The pirates felt trapped, and their fear was contagious - most of them were as good as defeated before we even saw them. And then Oliver found Ivo... and that's when everything went to hell."

"What do you mean?"

"Ivo loved to play mind games. Remember how I said Ivo convinced Oliver that it was his fault Shado was dead? Oliver made a mistake in not killing Ivo on sight, and letting him talk. Ivo started playing his games again. Oliver already had a huge guilt complex, tended to blame himself for everything that went wrong. Ivo exploited that easily. And then I turned up, and I made the same mistake as Oliver - I should have killed Ivo soon as I saw him. God knows I wanted to, for killing Shado, for everything he did to Oliver. But I heard them talking, so I listened." He sighed. "And I was so fucked up in the head - from being stuck on the island for so damn long, from the Mirakuru, from losing Shado - and Ivo was so damn good at getting inside people's minds, and he'd already convinced Oliver... I believed him. I believed Ivo. It was total crap, of course - Oliver would never have done anything to hurt Shado. But... but..."

Dinan leaned forward. "Slade, I understand. From everything you've told us about Mirakuru, it sounds like you were nowhere near in your right mind." She hoped her words comforted Slade, but wasn’t sure if they helped or not.

“Now I know that, but it doesn’t excuse what happened because I listened to that asshole.”

"Okay. Can you tell me what happened next?"

"I tried to kill Oliver. And then things got... well, I'm not sure what happened next."

"Why is that?"

"I remember doing things, seeing things, that are impossible. I remember killing Oliver. Obviously, that didn't really happen, it couldn't. I also remember Addy being on the ship, and fighting her."

"Addy? Oliver didn’t mention anyone by that name."

“My ex-wife - Adeline Kane. Have you heard of the Gotham Kanes, started Kane Chemical back in the 1930s?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"Addy is one of those Kanes. She was working for an American agency when I first met her - the CBI, Central Bureau of Intelligence? They're called something different, now - I think their new name is ARGUS, or something like that? Yeah, Addy wasn't exactly interested in the country club scene, she caused a bit of a scandal when she joined the US Marine Corps, then the CBI talent scouted her for a SAG team - the Special Activities Group, the CBI's paramilitary operations wing. We were very similar and that was a big part of why we were so attracted to each other to start with." He said with a wry smile. "Ironically, that's also why we split up - we were TOO similar. Anyway, I remember Addy being aboard the Amazo, and us fighting, and killing each other. Again, that obviously couldn't have happened. I remember a lot of stuff like that - like fighting Fyers and Billy, seeing my son and my father - and my dad died when I was a teenager, about twenty years before we attacked the Amazo. I even saw Thea Queen - not as she is now, but how she looked in Oliver's picture. And the whole time, I saw Shado. She was everywhere, everywhere I looked, always whispering in my ear, demanding that I avenge her death, that I make everyone responsible for her death suffer in the most horrible ways possible, including torturing them - things that Shado, the REAL Shado, would NEVER have said or wanted, things that would have horrified and sickened her."

"From everything that you and Oliver have told us about Shado, I would have to agree." Dinan said.

Slade took a few moments, trying to keep his composure.  "My-my next clear memory is of fighting Oliver. We-we were belowdecks, in the Amazo's cargo hold, where Ivo had kept his prisoners - they were all gone, it was just Oliver and me and Sara down there. I think it was the same night as when we attacked the ship? But I'm not sure, I-- I don't know-- Something was wrong, something had gone wrong - there were fires burning in the hold, and I could hear explosions from somewhere else in the ship. I was trying my best to kill Oliver, and he was trying not to hurt me."

"Slade? Slade, Oliver is safe. He's okay, he's perfectly fine, he's got a good support system. He made it home, he's been reunited with his little sister. Whatever happened, whatever you did to him or tried to do to him - he's fine now."

"Th-thank you. There was a cargo hoist - it got knocked loose and fell out of the overhead when an explosion rocked the ship. I was pinned under it, trapped. Even with Mirakuru boosting my strength, I couldn't lift the hoist off me. Then there was another explosion, and the ship tilted to one side, and the hull-- a breach opened up right next to Sara. She and Oliver, they were reaching out to each other-- I saw her hand slip through his fingers as she was sucked out through the hull breach. He-he was screaming her name. Once, back before Shado escaped from Fyers, Oliver told me about the night the Gambit sank, how he saw Sara drown - or at least, he thought she did. It happened the exact same way. He saw her die like that - twice. But this time..." He shook his head. "Sara wasn't so lucky, this time. She didn't turn up on the island, else Oliver would have found her; and after I got back to Sydney, I searched for any sign that Oliver or Sara had survived the same way I did. I found no trace of her. What that must have done to Oliver..."

"Can you...? You don't have to continue if-if you don't feel comfortable doing so, Slade."

"Thanks, but-- I need to do this, you need to know this. Oliver was standing over me, a weapon in one hand, and in the other a hypodermic-- He'd found the cure, Ivo's cure for Mirakuru. I was ranting and raging and screaming at him, blaming him for Shado's death, telling him that it was his fault she was dead, his fault that Sara was dead...Oliver could have killed me then. It would have been the easiest thing in the world, and the safest choice. Especially since he had no clue if the cure even worked or not. Oliver threw his weapon away. He was crying. He told me that when we first tried to escape the island, it was as strangers; but when we attacked the Amazo, it was as brothers. He told me... he told me he loved me, his brother. He said he wanted his brother back. Then he jabbed me in the neck with the needle and pushed the plunger down to inject me with the cure."

"Which clearly worked, given that you're not displaying any of the signs of being influenced by steroids." Doyle said.

"Yes, it worked. Getting injected with Mirakuru - that was like having every part of my body doused with thermite and ignited, burning alive from the inside-out. Getting injected with the cure? That was even worse. I fainted after maybe a second or two at the most." He said. “Next thing I knew, I was being fished out of the water by the oil tanker.”

Slade had reached the end of his story and the agents, who had plenty of questions, weren’t sure which ones to ask first. Between the extra information he’d been able to provide surrounding Ivo and the hard drive he’d brought with information about Fyers and his mission, it felt like they had even more questions than when they started.

“This was….a lot of information.” Dinan finally said. “Thank you for sharing it, but-.”

“You need some time to process all of it, I’m guessing.” He said. “I don’t blame you. I’ve got nowhere else to be, so if you need a few days, I’ll still be in town.”

The agents nodded and finished taking their notes regarding his statement. McKenna had only heard the very beginning and the very end of his testimony, due to being called away by another agent. She was about to ask Dinan a question when a voice spoke from behind her.

“Hey McKenna, I was wondering- holy shit.” Tommy said. “That’s- you’re Slade Wilson.”

“Have we met?” Slade asked.

“No, I- My name’s Tommy Merlyn. Ollie- I just wanted to thank you for helping him stay alive when he was- wait, I thought you drowned. Does Ollie-?”

“We haven’t had a chance to break the news to him yet, Mr. Merlyn.” Dinan said. “We only learned he was alive a few days ago.”

“Tommy, huh? The same Tommy who was Oliver’s accomplice in stealing an ice cream truck when you were at Princeton?” Slade said.

“He told you about that?”

He shrugged. “We were desperate for something to cheer us up. I’d run out of stories about my son and he’d run out of stories about his sister. Shado didn’t have any anecdotes she wanted to share.” He said.

“Ollie’s gonna be so happy to hear you’re alive.”

“Please don’t tell him. At least, not yet.” Slade said quietly.

“Why not?” Tommy asked in confusion. To hear Oliver tell it, Slade was practically his brother. Why wouldn’t he want him to know he was alive?

“I spent a year and a half trying to find a way back to that island to rescue him, and another year and a half convinced he was dead and it was my fault. I need some time to wrap my head around the idea that he’s in the same city as me, and might wanna see me.” He explained. “Not to mention how he might feel about this news.”

“Fair enough.”

“May I ask why you’re here, Mr. Merlyn?” Dinan asked.

“Please don’t call me that. It makes me think my dad’s here.” He said. “I came to pick up McKenna.” He turned to the detective. “Do you have lunch plans by any chance?”

“No, I don’t.” She said with a smile. “I’ll be back in about an hour.” She left with Tommy. They had lunch at a nearby deli.

 

Malcolm was beginning to get very annoyed. Not only was Moira ignoring his calls, but Michael Adams, his incompetent right-hand man, also wasn’t answering his phone. The idiot probably forgot to charge it and let the battery die. With Malcolm housebound due to his injuries, all he could do about it was sulk and plot.

“Next time I see him, Michael and I are gonna have a long and uncomfortable chat.” He said to himself. “And Moira needs to be reminded that answering my calls isn’t optional.”

He stewed in his anger a little bit longer. He was angry he was injured. He was angry the League had already caught onto him. He was pissed that he was being ignored by people who were supposed to be loyal to him. Perhaps it was a mistake to have gone so quiet after the attack at Applied Sciences. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number Adams had put in there months ago.

“Hello, I’d like to hire you.” He said. “I could use someone of your talents….oh, money is no object. I’ll tell you more when you get to Starling City.”

 

Oliver and Donna made plans to meet Dinah at 1pm at the library. No one would bother them there and the chances of any press being around were very low. Oliver arrived a little early and took a seat at a table in the corner on the second floor. Dinah arrived not long after.

“Hello Oliver.”

‘It’s nice to see you, Dr. Lance.’ He responded. Donna interpreted for him. ‘I’ve been trying to figure out what I was going to say to you, ever since Thea told me about your letter but-.’

“But it’s kinda impossible to find the right words, isn’t it?” She said sympathetically. “Just….say whatever is on your mind.”

Oliver nodded, took a few moments to collect his thoughts and began signing.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 78

Summary:

Oliver reconnects with Dinah, McKenna starts to get curious about something and Thea realizes how much has changed in only a few months.

Notes:

This chapter is a bit on the shorter side. Sorry about that.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver and Donna made plans to meet Dinah at 1pm at the library. No one would bother them there and the chances of any press being around were very low. Oliver arrived a little early and took a seat at a table in the corner on the second floor. Dinah arrived not long after.

“Hello Oliver.”

‘It’s nice to see you, Dr. Lance.’ He responded. Donna interpreted for him. ‘I’ve been trying to figure out what I was going to say to you, ever since Thea told me about your letter but-.’

“But it’s kinda impossible to find the right words, isn’t it?” She said sympathetically. “Just….say whatever is on your mind.”

Oliver nodded, took a few moments to collect his thoughts and began signing. ‘First of all, I wanna say I’m sorry that everyone keeps making this about me. I wish it wasn’t.’

“What do you mean?”

‘I tend to turn off the news when the acc- the Gambit is mentioned, and I try to avoid seeing articles about it, for my own sanity.’ He explained. ‘But I know- they’re mostly about me or my dad. And everyone else second. Some of them don’t even mention Sara or Mr. Hackett or anyone by name. I wish they didn’t do that.’ Oliver didn’t think it was fair that everyone else aboard the Gambit were seen as afterthoughts, that the media didn’t think their deaths mattered. ‘Just because they weren’t billionaires doesn’t mean they don’t matter. Sara was my friend and she doesn’t deserve to be- to be forgotten.’

“She’s not.” Dinah said. “You haven’t forgotten about her. I haven’t. The rest of her family hasn’t, even if they’re not dealing with it in the best way. She may be gone, but she’s not forgotten.”

‘Do you- is there anything you wanna ask me?’ He knew she had to have questions. How did Sara die? Did she suffer? What were her last words? While he didn’t particularly want to answer those questions, he thought the right thing to do was offer to give her some form of closure.

“No.” She answered to his surprise. “I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want Sara’s death to overshadow her life. I choose to believe that it was quick, and that she didn’t suffer. And I don’t wanna make you relive that night by asking a question I don’t know if I want an answer to.”

‘If you change your mind, let me know.’ He said. He could appreciate that she was trying to be sensitive to his needs. He could also understand why she’d prefer to live in ignorance about how Sara died. Still, he knew that people tended to change their minds and she might decide later that she needed to know. He didn’t want her to feel like it was a one time offer.

“So, read any good books recently?” She asked him. She didn’t want him to feel like she only reached out to him because of the news. Dinah cared about Oliver, not just because of Sara. She wanted to get to know this Oliver better and see how he was doing.

‘I finished the Percy Jackson books recently. Everyone keeps recommending things to me. My sister tried to make me read Twilight. I love her, but that wasn’t gonna happen.’

“Oliver, as we’ve discovered,” Donna added, “is an excellent cook as well.”

‘It helps me focus. And I like it.’ He explained. ‘And my cooking isn’t that good.’

“Yes it is. Don’t be modest.” She turned to Dinah. “The cooking genes skipped me and my daughter. If it wasn’t for Oliver, Felicity would be living off of take-out and frozen food.”

‘I just like doing it and everyone else happens to think I’m good at it.’

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Dinah said. “There’s an old saying about how if you do what you love, you’ll always love what you do.”

Oliver, Donna and Dinah stayed at the library for about an hour before deciding to call it a day. Dinah saved Oliver’s number in her phone and told him she’d like to keep in touch with him, even after she returned to Central City.

 

“Sorry, he wants what?” Linda Park asked her cameraman after he got off the phone with their boss. The game Linda had been sent to cover happened Sunday night and she was wondering why they were still in Starling.

“You heard me.” He responded. “He wants us to try and get an interview with Oliver Queen.”

“Did he forget that I cover sports? Not current events?”

“He doesn’t seem to care.”

“How about the fact that Oliver Queen hasn’t made any statements or given any interviews since he came home?” She asked. “What makes him think Queen will talk to me when places like 60 Minutes and The New York Times are getting turned down?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, okay? I’m just repeating what he told me. Which is that we have to request an interview and officially get turned down. Although, I’ve got no clue who we’d even send a request like that to.”

“I guess Queen Consolidated is where we start. Since he doesn’t seem to have a publicist and it is his family’s company. They’ll pass it along to whoever deals with that stuff.” Linda said. “This is insanity. He could’ve at least given this assignment to someone with the experience for an interview like this.”

She called Queen Consolidated and was transferred to the Public Relations Department. When she mentioned wanting to schedule an interview with Oliver, Daniel Correll, the head of PR got on the phone. She made her request again. He said he’d pass the request along to the appropriate people and ended the call.

“Well, at least you didn’t get a straight up “no”.” Her cameraman said.

 

McKenna and Tommy spent the first part of their lunch date catching up. They had agreed on their first date to keep McKenna’s work with the task force out of their relationship. He didn’t want put her in an uncomfortable position. She appreciated that attitude. While she liked what she did, and she knew it helped people, she didn’t want her job to take over every aspect of her life.

Tommy was telling McKenna about one of the books Oliver had recommended to him when he noticed her mind seemed to be on something else. “Everything okay?”

“What- yeah, I’m sorry.” She said. “I didn’t mean to- I was paying attention, I promise.”

“It seems like there’s something on your mind. Is it work?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I- I expected I’d have more time to process Slade’s interview before-.”

“Before you had to interact with Ollie or anyone close to him.” He finished. “I should’ve called before just showing up. Or least texted. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You couldn’t have known and I-.” She sighed. “I’d rather not talk about work. What’s going on with you?”

Tommy didn’t have much to share, but he told McKenna what was happening with his mother and grandparents’ wills and his attempts to become independent from Malcolm. He jokingly said that he was finally learning to be a grown-up at the age of 27.

“And your dad hasn’t noticed you’ve moved out?” McKenna asked.

“Nope. Not yet. Nice to see how much he cares.” He deadpanned.

“Wait, has anyone been wondering where your dad is? I’m surprised no one’s noticed he hasn’t been seen in a month.” She said. “I thought at least people at his company would want answers.”

“Well, for the last 20 years, my dad’s built up a reputation as being kind of a recluse. He stopped caring about being “seen” by the right people or keeping a high profile in the media. Being known mattered, but not being too well-known. So, if he goes a month without leaving the house, no one’s likely to noticed. As for his company, I don’t know what he’s told them. I doubt anyone high-ranking enough to question him has the guts to do it. Dad’s never appreciated people who stood up to him.”

“You think his company, all of the shareholders, have no idea that he’s injured?” She asked him.

“If I had to bet money on it? Yeah. Why would he tell them anything?”

“That’s a good point.” She conceded.

 

Walter was getting off of a conference call with QC’s branch in Shanghai when there was a knock on the door to his office. To his surprise, and slight dread, Moira was standing there. Walter had loved Moira once. He supposed it was possible that he even still loved parts of her, but the woman in front of him didn’t resemble the woman he’d married, and not only because of the secrets that had been exposed.

“Good afternoon.” He greeted her.

“Hi. I was wondering if it was possible for you to take a late lunch.” She said. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in days. And Thea’s been avoiding me, so-.”

“I should have the rest of the day free. Let me just check with Janine.” He said, before pressing the button on his intercom. Walter’s assistant informed him that he had nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. While he wasn’t eager to talk with Moira, he knew he couldn’t avoid her forever.

Walter and Moira walked into the elevator to leave mere seconds before Daniel Correll exited the other elevator, on his way to see Walter. When he was told the CEO had left for the day, he made an appointment for first thing the next day.

They went to Table Salt and were seated in the middle of the room. Quite a few people turned to look when they saw Moira enter the room, and then turned back to their meals. The couple sat there for a few moments. Walter didn’t have much to say and Moira wasn’t sure where to start.

“I’ve made mistakes, I know that.” She said finally. “Probably more than anyone will ever know.”

“Moira, no one is holding the fact that you’ve made mistakes against you.” He said. “But you seem unable to admit they were mistakes, and when those mistakes hurt people, you don’t apologize. That is the biggest problem you have.”

“I can admit when I-.”

“No, you can’t. You think that Thea is ignoring you because she’s just being a teenager. We both know deep down that it’s more than that.” He countered. “And that’s without counting your behavior towards Oliver.”

“I won’t apologize for trying to-. I was trying to help him.”

“If someone else you knew had done a similar thing to their son, or even considered it, I would’ve heard about how inappropriate her actions were for weeks.” He said. “Regardless of how much she tried to claim she had good intentions.”

“So that’s it then? Both of them have decided to cut me out of their life?” She asked.

“I don’t know. But you can’t expect either of them to be the one to take the first step.” He said.

Moira quickly changed the subject. The rest of lunch consisted of her complaining about her recent bad PR and an event she was organizing. As Walter sat there and made the occasional comment, he realized how much of their relationship was entirely about Moira.

 

“Refreshing the page won’t make time pass any faster, you know.” Curtis told Felicity. The blonde had spent the last few hours refreshing the Internet page between tasks and groaning when the screen remained blank.

“You don’t know that.” She responded. “It makes me feel like it is.”

“What’s she doing?” Lyla asked Curtis.

“Waiting for reviews for my latest app to come in. It went live today and normally, I’ve gotten feedback by now.” Felicity answered. “And I can hear you.”

“Well, no news is good news, right?”

“Not with this stuff. Not if you’re me. No feedback means that it’s terrible and everyone hates it.” She said. “I’m kinda a perfectionist if you haven’t realized already.”

“Well, you- there’s a review.” Curtis said, pointing to the screen.

Felicity spun around to look at the screen. She read the review once. Then, she read it again. “Well, this guy likes it.”

“He’s not gonna be the only one.” Lyla assured her friend.

 

After leaving the library, Oliver drove Donna back to the penthouse before heading to the foundry. He had a little less than an hour before he needed to pick Thea up from school. That was plenty of time for him to finish her present, which he was making himself. Oliver made his own arrows, naturally, but he was curious to see if he could make other things out of raw materials. Thea’s upcoming birthday gave him the perfect opportunity to experiment and test his skills.

He spent the last few weeks making a custom bracelet for Thea with her birthstone. He thought a bracelet was a good project for beginners. He just needed to make a few adjustments and put a few finishing touches on it and then he’d be done. He hoped Thea liked her gift. Oliver finished his work and wrapped the bracelet in gift wrap. He then drove to Thea’s school and waited for her classes to end for the day.

 

“So, what time on Saturday?” Mandy asked Thea on the way out of class.

“What are you talking about?” She responded.

“Um, your party? You forgot to send me an invite, but-.”

“I’m not having one.” Thea admitted.

“You’re not having a party? For your 18th birthday?” The other girl asked incredulously. “Your birthday party is a bigger deal than prom. You can’t just not have one this year.”

“Well, I’m not. So, everyone better find something else to do.”

“You’re having one, but you didn’t invite me. Right?”

“No, I’m spending it with my family for once.” She answered. “I didn’t want a big party, so I didn’t plan one. Tell anyone who’s asking that there’s not gonna be a party.” Before the other girl could say anything, she walked out of the building.

Thea looked around and saw Oliver leaning against his car waiting for her. She ran over to hug him and told him about her day as they drove to Felicity’s house. Thea was so excited about her birthday tomorrow, mostly because it meant she was finally free from Moira.

“You know, a year ago, even six months ago, I would’ve been excited because Mom would be getting me a new car. Or something equally unimportant and unnecessary.” She said. “I can’t believe I used to think things like that mattered.”

‘You were a teenager. You still are a teenager.’ He responded. ‘It just shows how much you’ve grown as a person.’

“Because of you.”

‘No, because you accepted that those things didn’t really matter.’ He assured her. ‘You knew those things didn’t mean anything, but just like me, you thought stuff would make me happy.’ He let out a breath. ‘I know you don’t care about stuff, but I hope you really enjoy your gift.’

“Oh, I still like presents. I just realize that someone buying me a fancy gift, doesn’t mean they love me.” She said. “I wish it was tomorrow already.”

‘You’re almost across the finish line. Less than ten hours to go.’

“Any chance I can stay at the house instead of going back to the mansion tonight?” She asked hopefully.

‘You know you never have to ask.’ He told her. ‘This way, tomorrow I can be the first person to tell you ‘happy birthday’.’

Thea and Oliver arrived at the house. They reminisced about some of Thea’s earlier birthdays while they waited for the other to arrive. Felicity and Lyla were the last to arrive. They were getting settled, Thea turned to Oliver.

“You didn’t have to get me anything for my birthday. I already got the one thing I wanted.”

‘You did?’

“Yeah. I got my brother back.” She said before playfully hitting him in the shoulder.

Wednesday night was very quiet. Everyone had dinner, except Walter who was spending time with Moira, and they spent the night just talking. Oliver told the story of the night Thea was born and some cute stories from her childhood. Around 10pm, Tommy, Donna, Digg and Lyla went home. Roy and Thea were spending the night at Felicity’s house.

 

The next morning, Thea and Roy woke up to the delicious scent of pancakes being cooked. It smelled so good that Thea woke up from a dead sleep and asked when breakfast was.

“The pancakes are almost ready.” Felicity answered. “Oliver just wanted to- oh, here he is.”

Oliver walked out of the kitchen holding a plate with a stack of pancakes. There was a candle stuck in the stack. He handed the plate to Thea. ‘Happy birthday.’

“Thanks Ollie.” She looked down at the plate. “Wait, are these- these are Raisa’s famous cinnamon roll pancakes.”

‘Yes, they are. Walter got her recipe for me.’ He answered. ‘I wanted you to have your favorite on your birthday.’

“Best. Birthday. Ever.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 79

Summary:

Thea's birthday is celebrated, Walter has a strange meeting and Slade makes a discovery, but mostly, Thea's birthday takes place.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Wait, are these- these are Raisa’s famous cinnamon roll pancakes.” Thea said, looking down at the plate Oliver had just handed her.

‘Yes, they are. Walter got her recipe for me.’ He answered. ‘I wanted you to have your favorite on your birthday.’

“Best. Birthday. Ever.” She exclaimed. “And yes, I’m including when I was five and Mom and Dad got me a pony.”

‘You fell off the pony and broke your arm. I hope this birthday is better than that one.’

“Your parents bought a five-year-old a pony?” Felicity asked. “Wow, and yes, that “wow” was meant to sound judgy because I’m being judgy. Not of five-year-old Thea, but- oh, you know what I mean.”

“Sparkles was a very nice horse though.” Thea defended. “But you’re right. That is a bit extreme.” She finally took a bite into the pancakes and let out a moan. “These taste just like Raisa’s.”

“Woo-hoo! You passed inspection.” Felicity told Oliver. “Now that the birthday girl has approved, can I have some pancakes please?”

Since it was Thea’s birthday, and these pancakes were her favorite breakfast, he wanted her to try them first. Felicity understood his reasoning, but her sweet tooth was making her feel a little impatient.

“Did someone say pancakes?” Donna asked as she walked into the living room. Roy heard her knock on the door and let her inside. “I take it this is Thea’s special birthday breakfast. Felicity and I did the same thing on her birthday. We’d go to-.”

“Lou’s Diner on Decatur Boulevard. They had the best apple pie in Vegas.” Felicity finished fondly. “It was a Smoak tradition until I went to MIT.”

Roy just smiled as Felicity told them about her traditions, while Oliver and Thea both looked like they were torn between being happy for Felicity and upset that they’d never had a tradition like that with Robert and Moira. Because of how busy their parents were, Oliver or Thea’s birthday celebrations were often rescheduled for a later date. Felicity and Donna both wanted to comfort them and tell them that this could be their new tradition.

‘You should finish your pancakes, Speedy.’ Oliver told his sister. ‘You gotta get ready for school, since you’re skipping tomorrow.’

“You’re skipping school tomorrow?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah. Mom’s got a meeting for one of the charities she works with, so she’ll be gone all day. That’s when I’m gonna move all my stuff out.” The teenager explained. “Why?”

“I’ve got a little bit of a confession to make.” Felicity said. “You know how someone keeps releasing documents that make Moira look bad? Well, that was me. Still is me, since I’m not done. I was….I kinda held back on releasing the really damaging things until after your birthday. Until you became an adult, there was a chance that- I was mad at your mother, I’m still unbelievably pissed at her, but I didn’t want you to have to deal with the more serious consequences. So, I need to go do something really quick, so that you’ll be able to move tomorrow without interference.” She rushed to the bedroom and started frantically typing on her tablet. She needed to delay the latest piece from being released until Saturday morning. Once she was done, she came back into the kitchen. Thea sat there, unsure of what to say, how to thank Felicity, until the blonde came back into the room. She was still speechless.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” Donna asked her daughter. “Lyla and John normally show up around this time.”

“It’s Thursday. I work from home.” She said. “Can’t beat a fifteen-second commute.”

Everyone started talking. Oliver was telling a story about Thea’s fourth birthday, when she’d convinced him to get a “princess makeover”’ with the rest of her preschool friends. During a lull in the conversation, Oliver broached the topic of gifts.

‘I was thinking we’d do gifts at dinner tonight, that way you’re not opening them and having to rush off to school.’

“Sounds perfect.” She answered right as Donna looked at her phone, smirked and went to open the front door. Donna signed to Oliver, out of Thea’s sight, that Tommy wanted to make an entrance.

Donna came back into the kitchen and a few moments later, the door was thrown open and someone singing “Happy Birthday”, badly, could be heard. Thea turned around to see Tommy walking in with about twenty balloons.

“Happy Birthday!” He yelled. “Looks who’s finally an adult!”

“Thanks, Tommy.” She said with a smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t buy an airhorn.”

“I didn’t think that would go over very well.” He admitted. “Felicity’s neighbors might file a noise complaint.” Tommy was worried that a loud, blaring noise might not be good for Oliver, but he didn’t want to kill the mood, so he blamed Felicity’s neighbors.

Thea finished her pancakes, changed and got ready for school. Keeping with their pattern, Oliver drove Thea to school and they just talked about random things on the way there. He pulled into the parking lot and she was about to get out of the car when he grabbed her hand.

‘There’s something important I need to tell you, something I wish someone had told me.’ He said. ‘Two things, actually. First, now that you’re 18, the press doesn’t have as many restrictions when it comes to photographing you or following you. School will be safe, because there are minors here, but if you’re just out and about- I want you to be safe, and to feel safe. If you ever don’t feel safe or they become too much to handle, call me or Felicity. Digg or Lyla can-.’

“I will. I promise. I wish they’d leave us alone, but- I’m gonna be fine.” She told him. “What’s the second thing?”

‘I’m so proud of you. I’m proud of the person you’ve become, how much you’ve grown.’ He said, tearing up a bit. ‘I can’t believe my baby sister’s an adult now.’

“Oh, Ollie.” She said before leaning over to hug her brother.

They got out of the car and shared another hug. ‘Have a nice day. Learn things, be smart.’

“I love you, Ollie.”

‘I love you too, Speedy.’ He signed before she walked into the building. He then got into the car and drove home.

 

Moira walked into the mansion’s dining room and her face fell. Walter was alone in the room, eating his breakfast. He looked up when he heard the door open.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.” She said. “Thea left already? I was hoping I’d at least get to tell my daughter happy birthday, regardless of how much she hates me. Instead, she’s so eager to avoid me that she rushed off to school.”

“Thea’s been doing better in school recently. Perhaps we shouldn’t discourage her from doing so.” He said. He tried to sound neutral, but it was difficult for him not to take Moira to task over the things she’d done. “I should get going. Work never stops.” He picked up his plate and took it into the kitchen. He thanked Raisa for breakfast and left.

 

While Oliver was dropping Thea off, and Felicity was getting everything set-up to work from home today, Lyla and Digg arrived. They’d been hoping to make it to the house in time to wish Thea happy birthday before she left for school, but just missed her. Roy, Lyla and Tommy started talking. Tommy made a teasing comment about Roy and Thea spending the night together.

"Honestly, I'm still amazed how supportive Oliver is of me and Thea being in a relationship. I mean, I thought it was kinda like a law or something that all big brothers are supposed to hate the idea of their little sisters dating ANYONE at all, y'know?" Roy said.
"I know exactly what you mean, Roy.” Lyla said. “But I think I can explain Oliver's attitude where you and Thea are concerned."
"Really? Oh my god, you're serious - please, I'd love to understand this."
"Okay, you might have noticed how Oliver and Felicity are very happy together."

"Yeah, it took me a while but I picked up on that eventually." He said, jokingly.
"For as long as I've known Oliver, his top priorities have always been for Thea to be loved and happy and safe. And I think he wants her to experience the same kind of happiness that he has found with Felicity... and that everything he's seen of you and Thea together has confirmed for him that she has found that happiness with you."
“Wow - r-r-really?"
"Mm-hmm. And from what I've seen, I quite agree."
“I- you really- I don’t-.”

"You're more than welcome."
"Umm... Thea said that Oliver was supportive of us dating before he even met me? Do you... do you have any ideas why he felt that way?"

"Hmm... my best guess is that he saw Thea, and how she felt - which was partly because of you - and made his mind up about your relationship based on that."

“Ollie did always say that all he cared about was Thea being happy.” Tommy said.

 

Walter exited Queen Consolidated’s elevator and Janine, his assistant, told him that Daniel Correll had asked to see him first thing in the morning. Correll hadn’t told her exactly what he needed to speak with him about, but it seemed urgent.

“I’ll call his office and see if he’s here.” Walter told her before going into his office. The head of PR was already in the office and told the CEO he’d be up to see him shortly.

“We’ve been getting calls every day this week, interview requests for Mr. Queen.” Correll said. “Since he has no publicist and he hasn’t made any statements, reporters have resorted to sending all the requests to Queen Consolidated, reasoning that if they can’t ask him, they should ask his family company. So far, I’ve had the department take down the requests and pass them along to me, to bring up with you at a later date.”

“Understandable.” Walter said. “Why today though?”

“We’ve gotten the requests we’ve expected. 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper. The Washington Post, the New York Times.Time, Newsweek.” Daniel said. “And then yesterday, I got a call from Linda Park from KSFZ Channel 8 in Central City.”

“Give me a moment.” Walter said before turning to his computer and looking up to see who Linda Park was. “This says she’s a sports reporter.”

“She is. It seems she was their only reporter in town when the press conference was held by the federal task force. Her boss now wants her to get an interview with Mr. Que- Oliver. Or at least try.”

“What do you make of the request?”

“Well, assuming Oliver would agree to doing any kind of interview? I’d definitely go with a local reporter, or at least someone working on that level. As much as I enjoy nightly news anchors and national publications, they’re more likely to ask questions he doesn’t want to answer. Not to mention how intimidating being interviewed by a household name would be.” He said. “A reporter like Ms. Park or Bethany Snow from Channel 52 is more likely to respect any boundaries he wants to put in place in regards to taboo subjects. And the PR Director in me wants to point out that the fact that she’s a sports reporter might put him at ease somewhat, as this piece wouldn’t be “in her element”.”

“I won’t broach the subject of an interview with Oliver tonight, as it’s Thea’s birthday, but I will speak to him sometime in the next few days and have an answer for you by midday Monday.” Walter told him. “Was there another matter you wanted to discuss?”

Correll nodded and handed Walter a draft press release. “I’ve prepared this statement regarding Applied Sciences commencing the projects that were put on hold. I wanted to clear it with you and have you make any edits you think are necessary.” He said. “The rest, I need to discuss with Ms. Smoak and the folks down in Applied Sciences.”

“There have been requests for Felicity?”

“The only ones I’m passing along are from publications wanting to do a piece on her projects. She’s reasonably well-known in the tech world and her relationship with Oliver has brought her work more recognition, which these journals want to take advantage of. Especially publications covering women in STEM.” Correll explained. “It would be good for Applied Sciences and the company as a whole, if she agrees.”

 

Oliver arrived back at the house to find everyone gathered around the TV. He knew Donna liked watching the news every morning, but was surprised to see everyone watching with rapt attention. He looked at the screen and saw footage of him saying goodbye to Thea after school.

‘This is already on TV?’

“Yup. People can’t resist the wholesomeness of the Queen siblings.” Lyla said.

“In all honesty, people like seeing how supportive and close you two are.” Donna said. “Especially after the announcement from last weekend. People want answers, but they also like seeing that the revelations haven’t completely derailed your lives.”

“Plus, watching you and Thea being Sibling Goals is always great.” Felicity said, looking up briefly from her computer where she was working. “It’s cute, how much you clearly love your sister.”

‘It’s been a long time since someone called me “cute”.’ He said.

“Let me guess, you normally get “devilishly handsome”? That description also fits you, but seeing how much you love your sister will never not be heartwarming.”

‘You’re gonna ruin my reputation, honey.’ Oliver said as he bent down to kiss his girlfriend. ‘How’s work going?’

“Good. Thursdays are my main coding and paperwork days. Thursday is the only day the lab is closed, so that Ray can’t set himself on fire again without me there.”

“The use of “again” implies Ray’s set himself on fire before.” Digg remarked.

“That’s because he has.” She said awkwardly. “I still haven’t gotten a full explanation of how that happened.”

The news broadcast started showing a story about new speed cameras in the city and everyone started to tune them out while Donna looked for something else to watch.

Tommy stayed for another hour or so before leaving. He had a few last-minute things he needed to take care of with his lawyers. Hopefully, he’d be able to start getting his assets moved into his own accounts by the end of the day today.

 

Thea’s school day was relatively quiet. She wasn’t sure if no one knew it was her birthday or if other students just weren’t making a big deal out of it. She was glad none of her “friends” had gone overboard like they did last year. As she told Oliver yesterday, for her birthday, she didn’t want things or a huge amount of attention, just a chance to spend it with her family.

“You’re seriously not having a party?” One girl asked her during lunch. “I picked out my outfit weeks ago.”

“Find somewhere else to wear it, I guess. Because I’m serious about not having a party.” She said, shrugging.

“What happened to you? You used to be cool, but then…”

“Then what?”

“Ever since your brother came back from the dead, you’ve changed.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She challenged. “I grew up, it happens.”

“Except spending your 18th birthday with your family is kinda…..lame. Don’t you want to have an awesome, massive party with all your friends?” The girl asked.

“No, I don’t. Which is why I didn’t plan one.” Thea said, getting annoyed. She stood up from the table. “I gotta get to class.” She walked off before anyone could say anything.

 

After two days of giving his statement to the Gambit task force, Slade decided to take the day off from reliving those painful memories. Both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, he’d had dreams about Lian Yu and the events that happened there. He thought that was a sign that he needed to take a break from those memories for a little while. He turned on the TV and caught the end of a report about the Arrow exposing dirty cops, and it reminded him that he hadn’t looked up to find out who this “Arrow” guy was.

Slade googled “Starling City Arrow’ and was given millions of results within seconds. He started reading articles, moving chronologically. The Arrow’s name, and choice of weapon, gave him a pretty good idea of who was under the hood. Still, he kept reading. Wearing a green hood, like Shado’s, and using a bow and arrow as a primary weapon, like Yao Fei and Shado, didn’t necessarily mean that Oliver was the Arrow. It could be a very strange coincidence.

The Arrow’s first appearance was about a week after Oliver returned to Starling after being found alive. According to reports, he targeted both one-percenters and street-level criminals. There was suspicion that he found the Queen’s Gambit, and turned the find over to the feds. Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn and Lyla Michaels were rescued by the Arrow after they were abducted.

“Maybe not the best coping strategy, kid.” Slade remarked, after reading a few articles. “But I can’t say you don’t get results.” Based on what he’d read about Oliver’s personal life since his return, he seemed to be doing pretty well, all things considered, and if being the Arrow helped him do that, Slade couldn’t ridicule that. “Smart move, getting someone else to be your voice. It casts even more doubt on any crazy conspiracies about you being the Arrow.”

 

Oliver drove to Thea’s school to pick her up around 3:00. When he left, everyone else was setting up for her small party. Even though it was a school night, Felicity still insisted on decorating. All of the gifts were wrapped. The cake was decorated. All they had left to do was celebrate.

Thea and Oliver walked into the house and Thea let out a cry of excitement when she saw all of the work everyone had put into making her birthday special.

“You guys really didn’t have to do all this.”

“Your birthday only comes once a year.” Donna said with a shrug. “And you only turn 18 once.”

“So, what are we doing now?” She asked. “Presents? Cake?”

‘Walter’s coming straight here after work, so we’re waiting on him.’ Oliver answered. ‘How was school?’

“Apparently, I’ve ruined everyone in my school’s weekend plans by not having a massive birthday party.”

“You were planning one?” Lyla asked.

“No, everyone just assumed that I was. And no one thought to ask me if there was one or not until yesterday.” She said. “It’s annoying how many people today tried to convince me that I needed to have this massive event.”

‘Well, Queen birthday parties aren’t about the birthday boy, or girl, it’s about getting the invite. Half the people who came to mine, back in the day, didn’t even like me.’

‘That’s sad.” Felicity said. “Sounds lonely.”

‘It was.’

Walter arrived soon enough and gave Thea a hug as he wished her a happy birthday. He apologized for being unable to wish her happy birthday that morning. She waved him off and told him that she wasn’t upset.

“Do we wanna do presents before dinner or afterwards?” Felicity asked.

“Before, only because after dinner comes dessert and, knowing Ollie, I’ll be in a sugar coma before dessert is over.” Thea answered.

Oliver went first, handing his sister the jewelry box holding the bracelet he’d made for her. He explained that he’d made it himself, specially for her, with her birthstone. He told her that he wanted her to have a one-of-a-kind present. She hugged him tightly and thanked him.

Digg and Lyla gave Thea books and DVDs of movies she mentioned liking. Tommy bought Thea DVDs of Power Rangers, telling her that he wanted her and Oliver to get caught up with the show. Felicity gave her a Jitters gift card and a few books she thought Thea might like. Donna’s present was a gift card to a few stores in town, since Thea loved shopping. Roy gave her some flowers and a book they’d talked about on their first date, which she mentioned being unable to find online.

Walter went last and handed Thea a thin, hard case with a bow on top. She opened the box and found a pen nestled inside. She picked it up and saw that her name was engraved on the side of it. “My family has a tradition when someone comes of age.” He told her. “The person receives an engraved fountain pen from their father. I know I’m not your biological father, but-.”

Before he could finish his speech, Thea jumped up and hugged her step-father. “You’re my dad in more ways than you think.” She told him. She felt like Walter often got underappreciated for everything he’d done for Thea and she wanted to make sure he knew she appreciated him. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

After Thea wiped away her happy tears, Oliver announced that it was time to eat. He’d made macaroni and cheese, which was Thea’s favorite. Everyone ate and talked. After dinner was over, Oliver brought out the birthday cake he’d made for Thea. She blew out her candles after everyone finishing singing to her. Oliver cut her a slice and waited to see what she thought of it.

“This cake is amazing.”

‘I’m glad you like it. I was worried I’d mess up the recipe and didn’t want to use a boxed mix.’

“You made this from scratch?!”

‘I wanted to see if I could do it.’ He said sheepishly.

“You knocked it out of the park.”

 

Later, after dinner was cleaned up and the leftovers were put away, Thea and Oliver sat in the living room talking. Oliver asked her if she’d had a nice birthday and she told him that it was the best birthday she could remember.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 80

Summary:

Thea and Oliver both close a chapter on their lives, and Malcolm schemes.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Oliver started to wake up Friday morning, he was about to sit up and stretch, but instead he froze. Even without opening his eyes, he could feel someone moving towards him. A hand moved towards his head and he shot his arm out quickly to intercept it and keep it from touching him.

“Oh, you’re awake.” A voice said happily.

He recognized the voice, but in his current state, he couldn’t place it. He blinked a few times before looking in the direction of the voice. Felicity’s smiling face looked back at him. He let go of her arm like it was on fire.

“Everything okay?”

‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I-.’ He began signing frantically, but he didn’t look at Felicity.

“Wait, wait, wait. Oliver, honey, can you look at me for a second?” She asked. She waited for him to at least be looking in her direction before continuing. “What are you apologizing for?”

‘Grabbing your arm like that. Hurting you.’

“You didn’t. Well, you did grab my arm, but you didn’t hurt me.” She said. “Can I- can I show you what happened?” He nodded after a few seconds. “Okay, hold your arm out.” He did as she asked and she loosely wrapped one hand around his wrist. There wasn’t any force or anything behind it. “See? You didn’t squeeze or anything. You didn’t hurt me.”

‘Why didn’t you pull your arm free?’ He asked. There was a solid few seconds between him grabbing her arm and letting her go when she could’ve broken his hold.

“Well, when I realized you weren’t asleep, but might not be fully awake, I didn’t want to startle you, so I waited for you to wake up.” She shrugged.

‘Oh. What were you doing anyway?’

“Running my fingers through your hair.” She said, doing exactly that. “Your hair’s kinda the perfect length for that right now.” He relaxed and she continued her ministrations. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

‘Helping Thea move out of the mansion.’

“You’re going with her? Are you ready to go back there?”

‘I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.’ He said. ‘Mom won’t be there, which makes me less unsure about it. And I know Tommy’s coming too so….if I get there and I’m not- if I’m not ready, she’ll still have help getting her stuff. Plus, I never got to say goodbye to Raisa.’

His girlfriend didn’t say anything in response but they continued to cuddle for a little while longer. Then, Felicity needed to start getting ready for work and she got out of bed.

Oliver followed her into the kitchen as she started making coffee. While the pot was brewing, he spoke again. ‘You promise that I didn’t hurt you?’

“Do you think I’d lie to you about that?”

‘To not hurt my feelings? Yes.’

“No, I wouldn’t. I would’ve done something to wake you up a little faster, given you time to get your bearings and then we would’ve talked about what happened.” She said. “I would’ve told you that it wasn’t your fault and it didn’t make you a bad person, but I wouldn’t lie to you. Lying doesn’t help anyone. Let’s stop worrying about what might’ve happened, okay?”

‘Okay.’

 

Felicity went to get dressed for work while Oliver drank his coffee and started making breakfast. It wasn’t going to be anything fancy, but he wanted everyone to have a nice breakfast before they went their separate ways for the day. Just as he was finishing up the scrambled eggs, Thea and Roy walked into the kitchen.

“Morning.” Thea said with a yawn.

‘Good morning. You ready for today?’

“Is it weird if I say “yes and no”?” She responded. “Because on the one hand, I can’t live with Mom any longer. I just- I need to leave. But at the same time, the mansion is-.”

‘The only home you’ve ever had.’ He finished. ‘It’s a bit scary, isn’t it? The idea of leaving home, being on your own. Well, you wouldn’t be completely on your own, you’d have all of us, but it’s thematically the same and-.’

“Felicity’s rubbing off on you.” Thea teased. “But yeah, you’re right. I guess I’ll meet you at the penthouse after-.”

‘I was gonna come with you. To the mansion. To help you move. Unless you don’t want-.’

“Of course I want your help. I just didn’t- I wasn’t sure if you’d feel comfortable being there and-.”

‘I think I might be, since I know Mom won’t be home.’ He admitted.

Felicity came in dressed for work and ate breakfast with the others. Things were quiet and everyone was a bit nervous, but it wasn’t awkward. Soon enough, Lyla, John and Tommy arrived at the house. Everyone except Lyla and Felicity were going with Thea to get her things. Donna said she needed to take care of a few things, but said she’d meet them at the penthouse later.

Oliver kissed Felicity goodbye before she left. Everyone who stayed behind sat in the living room until Thea got a text. “I asked Walter to text me and let me know if Mom was still home when he headed to work. She was, but he asked Raisa to let him know when Mom left for her meeting. I guess she left about fifteen minutes ago. This meeting usually lasts a good four hours, between the actual meeting, the luncheon and the gossip sessions, so….we should go soon, that way we can be in and out with no chance of running into Mom.”

“There are five of us. How are we all gonna get there and have space for Thea’s stuff?” Tommy asked. “I mean, I brought my Range Rover.”

“I brought the Escalade.” Digg said.

“My car’s in my name, so once we get there, someone can drive it back.” Thea pointed out. “And we’re not taking any furniture, so that should be enough.”

They caravanned over to the mansion. None of the security personnel tried to stop them as they drove up. They just nodded at Digg and Thea and turned their attention back to the screens in front of them. The group got out of the cars and headed inside. Oliver picked up the rear, still a little uneasy about being back here. He wanted to close this chapter on his life, which meant needing to visit one last time and get some closure. Plus, there were a few things he wanted to bring with him back to Felicity’s house.

They rounded the corner to Thea’s room when a voice called out. “Miss Thea, I was- oh, Mr. Oliver.”

‘Hi Raisa. It’s good to see you.’ Oliver signed and Roy interpreted for him. ‘I missed you.’

“I missed you too. I hope you’ve been taking good care of yourself.”

‘Trying to.’ He answered. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t come back, but-.’

“You have to take care of yourself before you worry about what other people need sometimes.” The Russian woman said before writing something down on a piece of paper and handing it to Oliver. “Here, my daughter finally talked me into getting a cell phone. This way, we can keep in touch.”

‘Thanks, Raisa. For everything you’ve done for me for all these years.’ He said sincerely.

She just gave him a sad smile before heading in a different direction and the others continued on their way to Thea’s room.

“Okay, what stays and what goes?” Tommy asked, looking around at everything in the room.

“You and Roy start in my closet.” Thea said, nodding towards the closet. “Ollie, Digg and I will start over here.”

The next few hours consisted of the group asking Thea if she wanted to keep something or leave it here. As bags were filled, they were taken down to one of the cars. Raisa joined them for a little bit, helping Thea fold her clothes. A lot of clothing was packed but she only seemed to care about taking knick-knacks with her if they had sentimental value. A lot of pictures, a few trophies she’d won when she was younger and a handful of other things were packed in bags.

“I’m not even gonna ask if this needs to come with us.” Tommy remarked as he picked up an older model phone and went to throw it away.

“Do no throw that away!” Thea yelled. Her tone was suddenly intense and she looked like she might do something drastic if he tried to throw it away. She realized everyone was looking at her in concern or confusion. “Sorry, I just- that’s important.” She grabbed the phone out of Tommy’s hand and tucked it into the pocket of her coat. “We’ve still got packing to do.”

Everyone turned back to their tasks, but Oliver made a mental note to ask Thea about what had just happened later.

When they had gotten over a dozen bags and containers packed, Thea looked over the room one last time. She stormed over to her bed, grabbed a stuffed dog off of it and shoved it into her bag. “Okay, that’s everything.”

“What’s with the dog toy?” Roy asked.

“Ollie won it for me at my preschool carnival.” She said defensively. “Let’s go.”

‘Wait, I need to take a quick stop.’ Oliver said. He walked across the hall to his old bedroom.

Opening the door, he was both shocked and upset to see that it looked exactly the same. He guessed it didn’t surprise him, since his mother hadn’t changed his room even after he’d gone missing, but it also felt like his mother was refusing to accept that he’d left.

He looked around the room, not fully able to believe that he’d once lived here. This room didn’t feel like home, it didn’t feel lived in. He walked around the room, checking drawers and trying to decide if there was anything in there worth keeping.

He didn’t need clothes, or his old computer. None of the random items strewn around the room were so important that he couldn’t just buy another one if he didn’t want to. After concluding that he didn’t care about most of the stuff in his room, he bent down underneath his bed and pulled out a shoebox. When he was ten, his grandmother told him about a fire that had destroyed her house when she and Grandpa Richard first got married. It destroyed almost everything. After hearing that story, Oliver kept all of the important mementos and pictures in a box under his bed, in case the house caught fire and he could only grab one thing on his way out of the house. He pulled the lid off of the box, to check and make sure everything was still inside it. He closed the box and tucked it under his arm.

‘Okay, we can go if you’re ready, Speedy.’

He turned to leave the room when suddenly, something caught his eye. He stopped and grabbed the pink sticky note on the desk before walking into the hallway. They made their way down into the foyer. Oliver, Tommy, Roy and Digg went to put the last of Thea’s things in the cars.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Thea said to Raisa before hugging her. “Thanks. For everything.”

“Keep in touch.” The housekeeper said, hugging her back.

“Be careful. My mom is- she’s not who she pretends to be.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t understand. She-.” Thea lowered her voice. “She and Laurel tried to get Ollie declared insane to control him.”

Raisa looked shocked for a moment but nodded. The two women hugged one last time before Thea headed outside. She got into her car and followed Tommy and Digg off of the mansion’s grounds.

When they reached the penthouse, Donna was already there and she helped them unpack. While they worked, they chatted about how moving went and what decorating they wanted to do.

“Two down, two to go, I guess.” Donna said off-handedly.

“I know you still need to move, but who else-?” Tommy started to ask.

“Well, I know Roy might decide to move at some point.” She answered.

“I won’t need much help for that.” Roy responded. “There’s not much to pack.”

 

Malcolm hobbled down to his home office. He wanted to be in there and settled by the time his “guest” arrived. The more relaxed he seemed, the more control he’d have over the conversation that was about to happen.

After about thirty minutes, there was a knock on his office door. His housekeeper opened the door slightly. “Your visitor has arrived, Sir.”

“Send him in and close the door.” He told her without looking up.

He saw a figure move in his periphery and take a seat in front of him. Malcolm waited until the door closed before looking up.

“Thank you for coming.”

“I’m not interested in small talk. What do you want?” David Drayson, a freelancer who’d done work for Malcolm before, said. “And how much are we talking?”

“How much do you want?” Malcolm countered. Drayson was one of the few people he couldn’t intimidate, so he knew he had to negotiate.

“You know how this works. Tell me what you’re asking for, and then we’ll talk about price. Stop wasting my time or I’ll walk out of here.”

“You’ve heard about the Arrow on the news I take it?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to kill him. And a few more people.” He said.

“I don’t work in generalities. How many? Give me a better number.” Drayson said.

“Let’s start with the Arrow and then we’ll discuss how many more.”

 

“Why are you looking into Samantha Clayton again?” The FBI accountant asked Agent Mars. They hadn’t had a chance to really go over everything they’d found until today, but he was curious about her involvement in this part of the investigation.

“Dinan asked me to.” Mars said. “She didn’t really tell me why, she just asked me to see what I could find out about her and what she’s been doing for the last several years.”

“Oh.”

“How did her name come up for you?” Mars asked.

“Well, we’ve been looking through Moira Queen’s financial records for any suspicious activity.” He explained. “And her transactions with Ms. Clayton are unusual to say the least.”

“In what way?”

“Moira Queen wrote two checks to her in the summer of 2006. There weren’t any checks written to her before those two and none have been written in the five and half years since.” He explained. “And I can’t think of a reason why Moira would write two, one million dollar checks to a 21-year-old girl.”

“Samantha Clayton cashed two, $1 million checks and her name’s only coming up now?” Mars asked.

“One, actually. Two checks came out of the Queen account, but only one was ever deposited. Which is even more suspicious.” He said. “What did you find about Samantha Clayton?”

“A lot of things that didn’t make any sense until you told me about those checks.” She said. “We should really talk to Dinan soon. I think she’s gonna wanna know about this sooner rather than later.”

 

 

Moira came back from her philanthropy meeting a little after four in the afternoon. Thea should be home by now and her mother was eager to talk to her. She knocked on her bedroom door and didn’t get a response. After standing there for a minute, she decided to just open the door anyway. She and Thea needed to talk and she wasn’t interested in waiting any longer.

She opened the door and saw that the room had been ransacked. Things were thrown everywhere and it was clear that several things had been taken.

She rushed downstairs, to the front gate, and asked the security team what deliveries or visitors had come to the mansion that day. They told her that there hadn’t been any visitors that day and she started to get angry.

“If no one came here today, how did someone ransack Thea’s room?” She challenged.

“No one did.” Mr. Thompson, the head of the security team, answered.

“Then, how do you explain the fact that a bunch of her things are missing?”

“Moira, what is going on?” Walter asked, surprised to see his wife standing there, arguing with their staff.

“Walter, it’s Thea. She’s- her stuff’s gone.”

“Moira, nothing’s wrong.” He told her. “She just moved out.”

“What?” She asked with an edge to her voice. “She can’t do that. She’s-.”

“She’s an adult, Moira. Yes, she can. She wanted to move out, so she did.”

“You knew about this?”

“She told me she was thinking of moving out.” Walter admitted. After a moment, he continued. “And I’ve been contemplating the same thing.”

“You’re leaving me?”

“I didn’t say that.” He said. “But I do think that we both need some time apart. A lot has changed in our lives and we’re not the same people we once were.”

 

Oliver made Thea a “post-moving” dinner at the penthouse, so Felicity and Lyla went there after work instead of Felicity’s house. Felicity’s day had been surprisingly boring, so they spent most of dinner talking about how moving was going and what they were going to do next.

“Can I ask you something?” Tommy said to Thea over dessert.

“Depends.” She said.

“Why did you freak out about that old phone?”

“It was the first phone I ever had. Dad got it for me.” She explained.

“And that’s why you’ve kept it?”

“Not exactly. I- the night we lost contact with the Gambit, Ollie called me from the satellite phone Dad had onboard. I was already asleep, so-.”

“He left you a message and you’ve kept it all these years.” Tommy filled in.

“I couldn’t- I used to sit and listen to the message, every time I really missed Ollie. I didn’t want to forget what his voice sounded like. I know it’s been years and now he’s home but I can’t- I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.”

“Makes sense to me.” Tommy said.

“Can you not tell Ollie?” She asked. “I just- I don’t want him to get upset that I missed his voice. He might-.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” He said. “But you should talk to him about it eventually. He’s probably just as curious about what happened as I was.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Full transparency, this chapter was going to be longer, but after the past week, I couldn't really find the motivation to write much more than I did.

Things are going to pick up soon, though. Arrow activity, League and Malcolm stuff, Olicity stuff, all of it will be speeding up soon, I just couldn't do it this week.

Chapter 81

Summary:

Thea's birthday celebration winds down, Malcolm makes a decision, Dinan learns some news and Nyssa asked Sara for advice.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Thea’s first night at the penthouse was a little nerve-wracking for her. Spending the night in a new place was always a bit scary, even though she knew that she was safe here with Donna. She didn’t end up getting much sleep that night, between the penthouse being a new place and her excitement to start a new chapter in her life. Around midnight, she decided to leave her room and head into the kitchen. Maybe a late-night snack would help her get some sleep. She started looking through the fridge, but couldn’t decide what she wanted.

“There’s some cookie dough ice cream in the freezer if you want something sweet.” Donna said from behind her. Thea jumped and turned around. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I didn’t think you’d still be awake.”

“I was doing some reading. My sleep schedule’s always been a bit weird.” Donna admitted. “For most of Felicity’s childhood, I worked the late shift at the Grand at least twice a week. Do you just want food or were you looking for someone to talk to?”

“I- I feel like everything’s changing.”

“That’s because it is. It’s been what, four months since Oliver was found? Think about how much has happened. It’s not a bad thing, but- change is always scary.”

“So, I’m not stupid for being a bit nervous about whats gonna happen next.”

“I’d never call you stupid. I think you’re an 18-year-old and that’s the age when a lot of changes happen. But you’re gonna be okay.” Donna said.

“You give really good advice. Have you ever thought about writing a book?” Thea joked.

“Nah. Most of my advice I stole from my mom. Now, if anyone should write a book, it’s her.” She responded. “Felicity’s bubbe is no slouch.” Given everything she’d learned about Moira and her relationship with her kids, Donna had been thinking a lot about mother-child relationships. Both her relationship with Felicity and with her own mother, even though they were both good, strong relationships. Donna came to a conclusion yesterday: Moira was lucky she was only dealing with Felicity and Donna. Hannah Smoak might be an 83-year-old, but she would’ve eviscerated Moira by now.

“Bubbe?”

“Yiddish for grandmother.” She explained. “Enjoy your ice cream and then get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day. We’re not done celebrating your birthday yet!”

 

After Malcolm told David Drayson that his target was the Arrow, Drayson told him he needed to do a bit more research on the Arrow in order to decide on his price. Drayson didn’t come cheap and the last thing he wanted to do was undervalue how much work killing the Arrow was going to be.

His “research” took him most of Friday, and he returned to Merlyn Mansion early Saturday morning. Malcolm was already in his office, waiting for him when he arrived. Malcolm didn’t bother greeting the freelancer, instead he waited for Drayson to tell him what his decision was.

“So, I spent all night last night looking into the Arrow.” Drayson said.

“You said you’d heard of him from the news.”

“I knew of him, because of the news. But what the news covers is rarely ever the full story. I needed to find out what wasn’t being reported on.” David continued. “Anyway, I’ll take the assignment.”

“Good. My expectation is-”

“Not so fast.” Drayson said. He grabbed a sticky note off of Malcolm’s desk and started writing on it. He then handed it back to Malcolm. “This is how much it’ll cost you.”

Malcolm looked at the number. “Did you forget how to count? This is a few too many zeroes.”

“Nope. It’s the right number.” He said. “You came to me because you can’t get rid of this guy yourself, that costs extra. And I know what he’s capable of, I saw what he did to that archer in black. You put me up against someone like that, fine, but let’s not pretend like killing him, and killing that accountant that got too nosy, are the same thing.” Merlyn looked ready to argue. “Think it over and get back to me, but keep in mind, I’m leaving town tomorrow if I don’t have a job to do.” Drayson had Malcolm backed into a corner. He knew that he had him trapped. So, with a satisfied smirk, he left Malcolm’s office knowing he’d get what he asked for.

Malcolm took several minutes to calm himself down and regulate his breathing. He felt like shit right now, and naturally, that meant he needed to make someone else feel like shit as well. Thankful that none of his injuries were on his face, Malcolm called for his housekeeper.

“Go wake my son up.” He told her. “He and I need to have a chat.”

“I- I can’t do that, Mr. Merlyn.” She told him.

“Why not?”

“He’s not…..here.”

“What do you mean he’s not here? Where is he?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in days.” She admitted. “Perhaps he decided to take a vacation?”

“His life is one big vacation.” He spat out. “Nevermind. You can go.”

The housekeeper left the room and Malcolm continued to sulk. It was bad enough that Tommy still hadn’t realized he needed to grow up, but now he was disappearing without telling anyone. Malcolm picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.

“It’s me. Yeah, I know it’s a Saturday, I don’t care.” He said. “We need to discuss my son and his future. Be here in an hour. Oh, and I need you to make a call to Jimmy. I’m gonna need $10 million that can’t be traced. Before the end of the day.” He hung up before the other man could ask any questions.

Less than an hour later, Malcolm was sitting across from his personal attorney. The one who handled his “public” life anyway.The man had no idea what Malcolm was involved with, but he learned a long time ago that asking any sort of question wasn’t encouraged. Thankfully for the lawyer, he didn’t have to deal with Merlyn as often as others did. There was something unsettling about him.

“What did you want to discuss in regards to Tommy?”

“I’ve had enough of his childish antics. He needs to grow up. Cut him off. Completely.” Malcolm said.

“I- I don’t like being the bearer of bad news, but I can’t do that.”

He levelled a glare at the man in front of him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Mr. Merlyn, the younger Mr. Merlyn has- the trust fund you set up isn’t- what I mean to say is-.”

“Get to the point already.”

“You can cut him off from your accounts, that’s quite easy and a matter of simply removing him from your accounts. But if by “cut him off completely” you mean to disinherit him in your will and remove him from your life insurance policies, that’ll require more time and paperwork than what we can do in just one afternoon. And, I’ll need to check the county estate guidelines, but he might need to sign off on being removed as your life insurance beneficiary.”

“I guess you should find out what those things entail and get to work then.” Malcolm said. He was confident that he could get Tommy to sign just about anything without even reading it. All he had to do was get into the same room as Tommy. “Now, about that $10 million.”

“I made a call to your banker with the request. I told him to direct any questions to you, but passed along your desire for discretion and expediency.” The lawyer said. “He told me that getting the money might be-.”

“I don’t care what complaints he has. Can he get the money or not?”

“He couldn’t say.”

“Since you aren’t being useful, get out of my office.” Malcolm said. He refused to waste his time with people who weren’t of use to him.

The attorney gathered up his things and left the room. He didn’t even stop to tell Malcolm how long cutting Tommy off might take or when he’d need to see him again.

 

When Thea walked into the penthouse’s kitchen, she jumped. Everyone else on Team Oliver was standing in the room and they yelled out “Happy birthday” when she came in. Oliver had one of those birthday whistles that inflated when he blew into it and the sight of him doing that made Thea laugh.

“What’s going on?” She asked after she said good morning to everyone and sat down with the breakfast plate Roy had handed her.

“I told you we weren’t done celebrating your birthday.” Donna said. “Eat up, we’ve got a lot to do. Don’t worry, you’re gonna love it.”

“Well, I knew that.” She responded smiling. Everyone ate their breakfasts and then Felicity told Thea to change and wear comfortable shoes. The note about shoes intrigued Thea, who was wondering why she needed good shoes for what was coming.

“We’re not, like, going hiking, are we?” She asked as she, Lyla, Donna and Felicity prepared to leave.

“No. I didn’t- did you wanna go hiking? We didn’t know that that was something you liked doing, so-.” Felicity started to babble.

“I don’t.” Thea said, calming the blonde down. “But the bit about comfortable shoes-.”

“Well, when you wear comfortable shoes, shopping trips last longer.” Donna said with a shrug.

“We’re going shopping?” Thea repeated. “Ok, I guess the guys not coming with us makes sense.”

“That’s the first item on our list.” Lyla said mysteriously. “The boys are taking care of a few things for later events of the day.”

“Wait, it’s Saturday. Stephanie probably-.” Thea knew how important Stephanie’s ASL classes were to the teacher, Roy and the city. She didn’t want Stephanie to think her students had abandoned her.

“Tommy and Roy told her what we were planning. She knows what’s going on. And the rec center was more than happy to make her class a more permanent one on their schedule. Although, Walter asking about private lessons probably swayed them a bit.” Felicity said.

“Walter’s getting lessons?” Thea asked.

“He wants to be able to understand Oliver in the same way everyone else is. And he admitted that he’s a bit behind the rest of us, so private lessons make the most sense for now.” Donna said.

That made sense. Thea was just a little surprised that everyone else knew about this and she didn’t. Then again, she’d had a lot on her mind lately. “So, shopping?” Thea said. “The mall’s not gonna know what hit it.”

 

“Okay, Walter’s in charge of making sure you two don’t set anything on fire by accident while we’re gone.” Digg told Oliver and Tommy casually while gesturing to himself and Roy.

“We’re not that stupid.” Tommy said.

‘You once tried to open a bottle of wine with a sword.’ Oliver responded. ‘It was a replica your dad got…somewhere, but still. No corkscrew, just a sword.’

“I’ve grown since then, Ollie.” He said. “Come to think of it, that might’ve been a real sword.” He looked to Digg and Roy. “You’re literally going to Roy’s house and then to the grocery store. Down the street. We’ll be fine.”

Last night, Roy had decided to bring all his stuff over to the penthouse today. Like he told Donna, he didn’t have much stuff to begin with and there wasn’t much he wanted to take with him anyway. After he got settled, he’d deal with what to do with the property itself.

After Roy and Digg left, Walter, Tommy and Oliver were sitting around the penthouse in silence.

“So….since Digg nixed my plan of setting random things on fire, what do you wanna do?” Tommy asked. “How are you doing Walter? How’s….business?”

“It’s going very well. A number of publications have reached out to us, wanting to do featured articles, especially about our Applied Sciences division.” He answered. “I wasn’t going to bring this up today, but since Tommy mentioned it, I guess I might as well. QC’s PR department has gotten a number of requests to interview you, Oliver. You don’t have to decide anything now, I told Daniel Correll I’d pass the news onto you, and now I have.”

‘Do I- how does that work?’ Oliver signed. He had to repeat himself a few times, slower, so that Tommy could interpret.

“You would need to talk to him, but given the situation and who you are, I’d say it works however you want it to work.” Walter answered. “As I said, just think it over.”

They lapsed into silence once again, until Walter asked Tommy if he was still golfing. He wasn’t, citing boredom with the activity, but the conversation turned to the three of them discussing Walter’s squash-playing and other activities they’d been prodded into partaking in over the years. They all agreed that golf wasn’t very exciting and none of them had the patience for it. When Digg and Roy returned, Oliver was telling a story about the various hobbies Thea had engaged in over the years.

‘She stopped riding horses shortly after she fell off Sparkles and broke her arm. Mom and Dad donated her to this foundation that teaches horseback riding. I don’t know if Thea still visits her, but she used to.’ He said. ‘They then tried to get her into painting, but what little kid wants to sit still for long enough to paint a bowl of fruit? Not Thea, for sure. Archery was her next hobby, and she liked it a lot.’

“Thea was into archery?” Digg asked, trying not to laugh. “I would’ve thought your parents would want her doing something less dangerous.”

“Those arrows aren’t sharp.” Tommy said, remembering seeing her practice years ago. “Kinda surprised, with the Arrow and everything, that she didn’t pick it back up.”

‘Maybe she outgrew it.’ Oliver said.

 

Dinan took Thursday and Friday off from work to visit her family. She had no idea that the investigation of the Queen’s Gambit would take so long, and she missed her husband and kids a lot lately. Even having a few days off to spend with her family made her feel a lot better. When she returned to the precinct on Saturday, she was expecting things to be rather quiet. No one had called her saying there was a big crisis going on, so she figured all of the investigations were still in the works.

Instead, she walked into the office and as soon as she put her stuff down, Agent Mars was right next to her, saying that they needed to talk.

“Franks and I really need to talk to you.” Mars said.

“Mars, I’m sure what you found is-.”

“It’s about Samantha Clayton, and I’d rather tell you now. You’re gonna get angry, I can tell, but if you wait, I think that’ll be worse.” Mars insisted.

Mars wasn’t the type to exaggerate, so Dinan knew that what she found must’ve been important. “Let me get some more coffee and get a quick sit rep from Doyle, while you go find Franks.”

“Ok.” Mars said, rushing off.

Dinan went and found her partner. “I’m meeting with Mars in like two minutes, so is there anything you need to tell me right now?”

“Nothing noteworthy. Dr. Markov called and told me that Malcolm Merlyn called him, asking about his machine. He wanted us to know that he told Mr. Merlyn exactly what you suggested he say.” Doyle said.

“Good to know.” Dinan said. She spotted Mars and Franks coming towards her “I apologize in advance for how pissed off I’ll probably be in ten minutes.” She walked over to where the two others had spread their various papers out.

“So, Samantha Clayton. What did you find out? And, no offense, but what does this have to do with accounting?”

“Moira Queen wrote two checks to Ms. Clayton in the summer of 2006. Each check was for $1 million, but only one was deposited.” Franks said.

“I thought you could only trace a check once it was deposited?” Dinan asked.

“We missed the second check at first, but when check 1896 was deposited, along with check 1898, but we couldn’t find 1897, we managed to get a copy of her check register and saw that checks 1896 and 1897 were both to Samantha Clayton, dated three weeks apart, and both for $1 million.” Franks explained.

“Okay, so Moira paid her $2 million, but she only used $1 million.” Dinan said. “What else did you find out?”

“Samantha graduated from college with no debt. Some of it was covered by a scholarship, but the rest I imagine she had to pay for herself, or maybe with some help from her parents. She currently works at an accounting firm in Central City. Makes a decent living, but not that much. She bought her house in the suburbs outright, no mortgage, which didn’t make sense until I learned about those checks.” Mars said. “A million dollars goes quite a long way.”

“Okay.” Dinan asked, neutrally. She suspected that Moira had given Samantha the money in exchange for getting rid of the baby. Confirmation didn’t make it any easier, but at least she now had an answer. “Do you have an address for me? We may need to interview her.”

“I can get it for you.”  She said. “There’s something else you should know. Samantha Clayton has a five-year-old son named William.”

“Did you say “Samantha Clayton”?” McKenna, who’d been walking by, asked. “As in, one of the girls Oliver cheated on Laurel with? And she has a five-year-old. You don’t think-?”

“I really don’t know.” Dinan said. She looked between Mars, Franks and McKenna. “This news doesn’t leave this group until we get confirmation.” She then looked at Mars. “You’re right. I would’ve been a lot angrier if I found this out later.”

 

“We should’ve heard back by now.” Linda Park told her cameraman as they walked into Jitters. Their boss told them that they couldn’t leave Starling until they either got an interview with Oliver Queen or their request was declined in writing. She’d expected an email Wednesday or Thursday declining the request, but it hadn’t arrived.

“Why can’t you just enjoy this week-long, quasi-vacation the station’s paying for?” He responded as they sat down at one of the tables. “Nothing beats a free trip.”

“Except we’re wasting our time.” She responded. “And I don’t-.”

“Shh.”

“Don’t shush me.” She said. Instead of defending himself, he nodded to something behind her and she paused to listen. They were seated near the station where the cream and sugar were, and two people started talking while fixing their coffees.

“Brad Hunter, fancy running into you here.” A woman’s voice said.

“Miranda.” Brad responded. “I imagine you’re here for the same reason I am.”

Linda’s eyes widened. Brad Hunter had won the Pulitzer multiple times in the last few years and Miranda Morris had been an investigative journalist for CNS News for about ten years. Both journalists were established, household names.

“Trying to get an interview with Oliver Queen? Then, yes.” Miranda responded.  “How far did you get? Out of professional curiosity.”

“Talked to a very nice, mid-level employee in Queen Consolidated’s PR department.” He answered. “She refused to transfer me through to Daniel Correll, though.”

“Susanna? She’s the one I spoke with too. She told me she’d pass the request along to Correll, but-.” Miranda said. “I heard Cooper and Maddow’s staff got the same response. I don’t know of anyone who’s talked to Daniel Correll directly.”

“Well, best of luck to you.” Hunter said. “May the best journalist get that interview.” Having finished putting their cream and sugar into their drinks, the two reporters walked out of the shop and went their separate ways.

“Did you hear that?” Linda asked her colleague. “They’re…them and they didn’t reach Correll, but we did.”

“I know.”

“You don’t think-.” She said.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “For all we know, he only talked to us because he was confused about a sports reporter requesting an interview, but it’s certainly an ego-boost.”

 

“Okay, I think I’m all shopped out.” Thea said, taking a seat next to Felicity on one of the benches in the mall. The four of them were carrying a bunch of shopping bags. “We shopped until we dropped.”

“Which means now’s the perfect time for us to go to Part 2 of today’s plans.” Felicity said. She turned to Lyla and Donna. “Are you two ready to go as well?”

“Yup.” Donna said, jumping to her feet.

They got into the car and drove to a spa on outside of town. The facility was full service and the staff told them that the trip had already been completely paid for, so they could pick any service they wanted.

Felicity and Lyla decided to get massages, while Donna and Thea went for mani-pedis and facials first. As soon as the masseuse started digging into Felicity’s back, she let out a moan, which made Lyla laugh.

“What? I spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer. Mama’s got tension in her shoulders.” Felicity defended.

“I can’t really judge.” She responded. “I’ve got a lot of stress in my back as well.”

They finished their massages and went to relax in the sauna while Donna and Thea got their own treatments done. Once they finished up at the spa, it was time to head back to the penthouse. They arrived just as the guys were finishing cooking dinner. Oliver had made beef stroganoff, Thea’s favorite. When they were younger, she always wanted Raisa to make beef stroganoff, but Moira usually asked the Russian woman to make something else.

After dinner, they had more of Thea’s birthday cake while talking about their days. Once the cake was finished, everyone piled into the penthouse’s spacious living room to watch movies. The movies were all of Thea’s favorites of course.

 

Nyssa surveyed the city from the rooftops. The last few nights had been quiet. She encountered a few unsavory individuals, whose plans she foiled, but hadn’t seen the Arrow yet. She supposed he might’ve taken some time off for his sister’s birthday. Not running into him was actually a good thing, as there were a few things she needed to figure out.

The bug she’d planted in the SCPD helped her learn more information about both the task force’s investigation and the island itself than she ever anticipated. She just wasn’t sure how much she could reveal to Oliver without him finding out that she knew his identity. After patrolling the streets for a few hours, she returned to her hideout and called Sara.

“How’s your mission going?” Sara asked her when she answered the phone.

“I’ve learned far more than I ever expected to about Al Saher and his plans for this city.”

“You can just call him Malcolm Merlyn.”

“I refuse to on principle. I refuse to accept that he and Thomas Merlyn, who seems like a rather likable man, are related in any way.” Nyssa responded. “The man meant to level a rather large part of this city, killing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people.”

“That’s what the Undertaking is?” Sara asked. “That was the plan Malcolm was so dedicated to that he killed Robert Queen for?”

“The federal agents haven’t confirmed this connection, yet, but I believe so, yes.” She said. ‘And Oliver doesn’t want to me to confirm his suspicions of who Al Saher, who he calls the Dark Archer, is, which is perplexing. As is my turmoil about how to tell him that his mother is involved in this scheme.”

“Him not wanting to know isn’t confusing, not really. Ollie, even when he was doing a lot of crappy things, mostly to rebel against his parents, he always believed the best in people, especially his parents. I’m sure he has suspicions, and theories, but those could be wrong. Once he knows the truth, he knows the truth. And the idea that one of his parents’ friends could be doing something like that, that his mother would be involved in something like that, it’ll hurt him a lot.” Sara said. “But you’ll find a way to tell him, without making it too bad. Learn anything else?”

“Much like yourself, he didn’t spend all five years on that island.” Nyssa said. She wasn’t sure how the news about Slade would be received, so she decided to tell Sara about it later.

“What?”

“A few weeks after I found you, Oliver was taken off of Lian Yu and transported to Moscow.” She said. She went on to tell Sara the basics of Oliver’s time in Russia and working for ARGUS. When she explained what happened after the ARGUS operation was over, Nyssa was glad that Sara was in Nanda Parbat. If she’d been any closer to Starling, she would’ve gone looking for Amanda Waller to give her a piece of her mind.

“That’s so- I’m gonna kill her. Do you think if I ask your dad for permission to kill the director of ARGUS, he’d let me?” She asked.

“I don’t think so, but perhaps she’ll have a very unfortunate accident. One that happens to occur when you and I are in the same vicinity as her.”

 

Oliver and Felicity headed back to their house a little after midnight. Thea’s birthday celebration had been wonderful and they both knew that Thea was really happy with how she spent her birthday. When they got home, Felicity started unpacking and putting away all of the things she bought on their shopping trip. Oliver helped out, but froze when he saw one bag in particular. The striped pink shopping bag came from a well-known lingerie and clothing store and he bit his lip when he realized Felicity might’ve gotten some lingerie. He went to open the bag, but she grabbed it before he could.

“Sorry, you can’t see what’s in here yet.”

‘I can’t?’

“Nope. I’m saving it for Valentine’s Day.” She said suggestively. “Trust me, you’ll be happy you waited.”

‘I don’t wanna wait.’ He pouted. ‘But it is less than two weeks, so I guess it won’t kill me.’

“It’ll be here before you know it.” She said, giving him a kiss. He started pulling things out of a different bag and she hid the lingerie while he was distracted. “Can I ask you something?”

‘You can ask me anything.’

“The old shoebox you took from the mansion, what’s the story there?”

‘It’s a bunch of photos and keepsakes.’ He told her. ‘When my grandparents first got married, before my dad was born, when QC was still a small business, they lost their house in a fire. One of the few things my grandma was able to grab were two photo albums. When she told me that story when I was, like, 11, she said that furniture and clothes were easy to replace, but memories and photos couldn’t be. I guess I kinda- that’s stuck with me, so I started stashing photos and other mementos in that box, hoping that, if there was a house fire, I’d be able to grab the box on the way out.’

“That’s very sweet, and profound.” She said with a smile. “My bubbe has a similar attitude, although very different circumstances caused it.”

‘What do you mean?’

“Both of my grandparents, Mom’s parents, were Jewish, living in Poland, during World War II.” She responded. “I obviously don’t ask her about it often, but she’s mentioned to me a few times that she wishes she was able to bring over more of her family’s belongings, family heirlooms, from before the war.”

‘I’m sorry. I had no idea.’

“Don’t be.” She said with a sad smile. “Bubbe’s still causing trouble, and I’m sure she’s been bugging Mom to come back to Nevada and bring us with her.”

‘Your grandma knows about me?’

“I talk to her a few times a month, you’ve come up, and my mom used to talk to her at least once a week, so…let’s just say, Bubbe wants to meet the “very nice young man” I’ve told her about.” She said with a big smile.

‘Maybe when we help your mom move, I can meet her.’ He said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Random side note for anyone who cares- my document for this fic is now 400 pages long, making it the longest thing I've ever written.

Chapter 82

Summary:

Moira wakes up to an unwelcome surprise, Sara starts to worry about something and Oliver catches up with Nyssa.

Notes:

I apologize for not responding to any comments over the last week. I was having email problems. I'm still going through all of them.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Less than an hour after Nyssa had called Sara, her beloved called her back. As soon as she answered the phone, she realized her girlfriend was worried.

“You know that I love you, and I know that sometimes, you wait to tell me things that you know are gonna upset me, especially if it involves Ra’s al Ghul, because your dad and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye. But I need you to be honest with me for a moment, even if I might get angry.” Sara said.

“Of course. I would never lie to you.”

“Maybe not overtly, but you kinda lied by omission about Ollie being alive and- not the point.” She said. “It’s just that, the League is kinda stuck in the 13th century and a disturbing thought just occurred to me.”

“What is it?”

“If Malcolm Merlyn dies, or fakes his death or goes into hiding or whatever, and your dad thinks that’s not enough, he hasn’t been punished enough, is he gonna target Tommy?” She asked. “Because your father seems like the type to believe in blood debts or familial sin or whatever the term for it is.”

“I’m not sure. I wish I could answer with a degree of certainty, but-.”

“Well, he shouldn’t, because Tommy doesn’t deserve that. You said it yourself, you can’t believe they’re related. So he really shouldn’t-.” She started to get on a roll.

“And I’ve told my father as much, when he inquired about the man. With luck, he will take my report under consideration. Besides, the chances of that happening are slim. Malcolm is heavily injured and he loses allies by the hour.”

“He’s losing his allies?” Sara asked.

“Yes, it seems this group, Tempest, was prepared for any obstacle, aside from your friend Oliver becoming a vigilante archer. Or perhaps the possible terrorism charges scared them into confessing. In either case, he’s unlikely to make it out of this situation unscathed.” Nyssa said. “Have I allayed your fears?”

“For now. I’ll be on edge until either your dad finally does something about Malcolm or I hear him say he’s not gonna target Tommy.” She said. “Like I said, he doesn’t deserve crap like that.”

“He most certainly does not.” She agreed. “While I’m upset you were distressed, I’m glad you called, since there’s something I need to talk to you about. I’m not sure of the best way to proceed with something.”

“Shoot.”

“I don’t know how to share the information I’ve learned from the federal task force with Oliver without revealing that I know Oliver is the Arrow. These past few weeks have made me wary of keeping up such a charade.” Nyssa had a feeling that sooner or later, the truth would come out. She didn’t want this revelation to mean the end of her partnership, and budding friendship, with Oliver.

“Well, you could just tell him that you know who he is. Maybe throw in that you didn’t know for sure until recently, if that’s the case, or you were simply being cautious for your own safety. I think he’ll understand that.” Sara said. “When did you know, for sure, who the Arrow was?”

 

On Sunday morning, Felicity woke up to see Oliver lying on his side, watching her. As soon as she opened her eyes, he bent down to kiss her.

‘Good morning.’

“Morning. Sorry, I probably have morning breath.” She said, wrinkling her nose slightly.

Oliver thought it was one of the cutest facial expressions Felicity ever made. ‘You don’t. Did you sleep well?’

“Uh-huh. How about you?”

‘I got to sleep next to and wake up next to the most beautiful woman in the world. I slept great.’

“Aww, you’re such a sweet-talker.” She said before kissing him again.

Kissing led to Oliver and Felicity exploring each other’s bodies for about an hour.

 

“This is a nice way to wake up.” Digg said when he opened his eyes to find Lyla sitting on top of him.

“Now, how did I know you’d be open to morning sex?” She teased.

“I guess you just know me too well.” He shrugged. “Do I get to see what was in the lingerie bag now?” He was referring to the bag she’d brought home from her shopping trip yesterday.

“No. I think I’m gonna make you wait a bit longer to see that.” She said. “Now, where were we?”

 

When Thea woke up, she couldn’t feel her right arm. It took a few minutes for her to get her bearings and realize that her arm had completely fallen asleep. Opening her eyes, she discovered why. She and Roy had fallen asleep cuddling and her right arm was tucked underneath him. He was still fast asleep, and she wanted to pull her arm out from under him, but didn’t wanna wake him. She tried moving slightly, hoping he’d shift, but that didn’t work. Shen then tried nudging him off of her, which didn’t do anything.

“You can just tell me to move, you know.” He muttered, eyes still closed.

“You’re awake?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Not asleep, but don’t wanna get up yet.”

“Well, can you get off my arm?” She asked. Roy let out an exaggerated sigh before moving so that she could free her arm. She settled down next to him and fell back asleep.

A few hours later, when Roy and Thea woke up for real, she saw a text message from Felicity. All it said was “don’t turn on the news”. Curious, Thea of course turned on the news to see why her brother’s girlfriend tried to warn her off. Three people were shown sitting around a table.

“-leaving many to ask, at what point does “taking care of your family” cross the line into illegality?” One person said. The bottom scroll on the screen had the headline “Queen Leak Indicates Corruption”. The network was showing footage of the Starling Courthouse for some reason.

A second person spoke. “These documents suggest that Moira Queen got DUI charges against Robert Queen dropped by making a substantial donation to the re-election campaigns for both the DA and police commissioner at the time, but the concern is over whether or not this was the only time. Oliver Queen was arrested multiple times, and charged, as we know, but those were for minor offenses and resulted in fines. He peed on a cop car, he damaged some property, whatever. I think we all know by now that, yes it being Oliver Queen meant he got a lighter punishment than someone living in the Glades. This is something entirely different. Yes, a DUI is a misdemeanor, but if Robert Queen hadn’t gotten pulled over, he could’ve killed someone. And his name on the side of a skyscraper doesn’t absolve him of his actions. Not to mention, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was actually the second or third time something like this was brushed aside to protect that family’s image.”

“Thank you, Cathy.”’ The moderator said, before turning to the other guest. “David?”

"I agree with the spirit of what Cathy said, but I’m skeptical about one, the timing of this information being revealed and two, whether these documents have been verified.”

“You think this is some elaborate conspiracy?”

“I’m wondering why this is coming out now and what benefit the person trying to ruin Moira Queen’s reputation gets out of it. Revenge? Was this the result of blackmail she refused to pay? Things like this don’t stay buried for years and then suddenly resurface like this.” He said. “It’s clear, from the events of the last few weeks that someone is targeting Moira Queen.”

“Or perhaps, after years of keeping things like this under wraps, she got careless and someone dug up all her dirty laundry.” Cathy responded. “I’m curious if there have been any statements made from Queen Consolidated?”

“There haven’t been any statements or responses.” The moderator of the program said. “In fact, the company hasn’t addressed any of the controversy surrounding Mrs. Queen.”

“Nor should they. Business is business and Moira Queen might be married to their CEO, but there’s gotta be a line somewhere. They never should’ve been releasing statements on behalf of the Queen family, and you’ll notice, they only started doing that after Richard Queen retired.”

Thea turned off the TV when the two guests began arguing further about Queen Consolidated’s leadership under Robert.

Meanwhile, Moira was spending her morning trying to figure out how to recover from something this bad getting out. The previous stories had tarnished her reputation, but wouldn’t ruin her image completely. This story was completely different and had real consequences.

 

'Why this story?' Oliver asked Felicity after she told him which information about Moira that she leaked. 

"Because it needed to be something that would have real repercussions. The stuff about her charity work? It made her look bad, and maybe one or two groups will ask her to step down from their boards, but this news has legal implications. Not only did she bribe two people but in doing so, she put others at risk. I'm sorry I had to drag your dad into this but-"

'Don't be. Just like my mom wasn't who I thought she was, my dad wasn't either. Difference is, he told me that before he died.' 

The rest of the day was uneventful. Oliver and Felicity mostly hung around her house, enjoying being alone for a bit. They went grocery shopping and agreed to have their re-do date at Zita's the following night.

 

 

Slade was walking out of the hotel when he spotted the woman he’d met in the elevator a few night ago. The one who thought he looked familiar. When he passed by her, he heard the concierge speak.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Lance. There weren’t any calls for you while you were out.” He said.

This woman’s name was Lance. As in Sara Lance. Slade supposed it could just be a coincidence, but Starling City was the city where there was not only a federal task force investigating what happened to the boat she’d allegedly died on, but also where the last person to see Sara alive was. While he still had no idea why this woman might’ve recognized him, he decided to proceed with caution and see if this woman was connected to Sara. He also needed to talk to that detective, Hall, and tell her boyfriend he needed to talk to him.

 

“So, does the news today help us?” Agent Rathbone asked Reeves. “At all?”

“Nope. It was a different DA and different commissioner who Moira Queen “persuaded” to drop those charges.” The other man answered. “Whether or not the current person in either position decides to charge her remains to be seen.”

“You think they’d actually do it?”

“The current commissioner, I doubt, but I don’t know about the DA or whoever might replace Nudocerdo.” He said. “How are you coming with evidence against him?”

“If he wasn’t the commissioner, we’d have enough to press charges already, but we need more to charge him with so that we’ve got a greater chance of making sure something sticks. I’d say we’ll have enough to go to the US Attorney by Wednesday.”

“Let’s hope Alexa Van Owen is done with Frank Chen and Michael Adams by then.”

“She’s gonna hate us by the time this case is over.”

“Or love us, because she’s getting a lot of attention for what she’s doing.”

 

It took a while for any news from Starling to reach Cassidy Women’s Penitentiary. Typically, one inmate found out something during a phone call or visitation, and then another two or three would hear similar information, and then the story would spread throughout the prison. Either that, or a guard told them it was true. The Arrow was seen as more of an urban legend in the prison so far, due to none of the prison guards or inmates having actually seen him, than an actual person. Then, the footage of his fight against the Dark Archer started making the rounds. After that though, stories about him became prone to exaggeration. No one knew what he’d done or hadn’t done. None of the women in the prison had encountered him personally, at least until Mary McInnis arrived.

Two days after Mary started her sentence, one of the other inmates mentioned a story she’d heard the last time she spoke with her boyfriend. Apparently, the Arrow had threatened a number of dirty cops into turning themselves in. The inmates listening scoffed and made remarks of disbelief.

“Can’t believe you think the Arrow’s real.”

“He is.” Mary said, causing everyone at the table to turn and look at her.

“What?”

“The Arrow’s real. How do you think I wound up in here?” She said. “I didn’t think some guy with a bow and arrow would care that much about art theft, but one day, he shows up, busts up a meeting I have with a buyer and I’m on trial.”

“I still don’t believe you. I mean, why would the police believe anything coming from some weirdo dressed like Robin Hood and firing arrows at people?” One of the inmates said. She was sitting a table by herself and the others seemed angry that she’d spoken up.

“Ignore Lance.” One inmate told Mary. “She’s just bitter that her meal ticket, I mean ex-boyfriend, didn’t want her bunny-boiling ass back. Hey, I wonder if one of those crooked cops the Arrow unmasked was her old man.”

Another inmate snorted. “Wouldn’t that be just perfect?”

 

As was his habit, David Drayson began doing research on his target once half of his fee was paid. Malcolm Merlyn was paying him $5 million up front and the other $5 million after the Arrow was dead.

He compared news reports and social media posts about the Arrow to see if there was any kind of pattern with Arrow sightings or areas he seemed to avoid. The Arrow seemed to be operating all over the city, so there wasn’t any noticeable pattern he could discern. He hadn’t told Malcolm as much, but he wasn’t planning on doing anything about the Arrow soon. In order to kill a mark like this, he needed to really get to know his target. He needed to understand who he was, how he thought, how he moved before he’d even consider making a move against him. Doing otherwise would practically guarantee failure.

 

Sunday night, Oliver and Felicity met Lyla and Digg at the foundry. They didn’t have a chosen target for tonight, but Oliver wanted to get back out onto the streets after spending most of the last week home. He changed into his hood and prepared to head out.

“Tell Libby I say hi if you run into her.” Felicity told her boyfriend. He nodded and headed out through the side door. She then noticed the expression on Lyla’s face. The other woman looked pensive. “Lyla, you okay?”

“Yes and no.” She answered. “Libby hasn’t done anything to hurt Oliver, or make us not trust her, but I don’t think he should be going out solo.”

“Your timing is great.” She responded, getting up and walking over to a metal case in the corner of the room. “Because I’ve got a surprise for you.” She opened the case and turned it around to show Lyla. “Try this on for size.”

Inside there was a custom-made recurve bow. Lyla took it out of the case and it was the perfect size for her hand. She pulled the bowstring back and saw that the resistance was perfectly adjusted. “It’s perfect. How did you-?”

“I asked Oliver for a little bit of help getting the right thing. I know he uses a longbow, but he mentioned your preference for recurve bows, so….you like it?” She asked. “I don’t know how often you’ll use it, but you do like it, right?”

“I do.” Lyla got a smile on her face when she saw some of Oliver’s arrows sitting on the table. “I think I’m gonna spend some time practicing. Now, all I need is an outfit to go along with it.”

“About that…”

“Don’t tell me you also got me a superhero suit.” She remarked.

“A suit? No, but Oliver likes being prepared, so he bought a lot of spare bits for his own suit after he got this place set up, including the leather and Kevlar. I think he was trying to avoid suspicion by buying it in bulk. So, if you wanna make your own suit, everything you’re gonna need is already down here.” Felicity said.

“I don’t think much material that was cut for Oliver will fit me.” She said. “But I’ll see what I can use and figure out what I need to acquire.”

 

Meanwhile, out on the streets, Oliver stopped a few incidents before he realized he was being watched. He looked around, but didn’t see anyone when he looked around. He started moving west and fifteen minutes later he spotted the woman in black.

‘Good evening Arrow.’ Nyssa signed.

‘Good evening Libby.’

‘Libby?’

‘Sorry. It’s just- I don’t know your name, and when I told my partners about you, I called you the “lady in black”. They started calling you L.I.B. which became “Libby”.’ He explained. ‘Even though it’s not your name, it’s more personal than just “the woman in black”. And I won’t ask you to tell me your real name.’

‘Why wouldn’t you ask?’ She asked. This seemed like the best chance she’d have to reveal the truth to him. ‘After all, I know who you are. Oliver.’

Oliver took a step back, almost subconsciously. ‘Why do you-?’

‘The day after Oliver Queen, Lyla Michaels and Tommy Merlyn were abducted, I went to the place they were held to look for clues. I realized one of the three had to be the Arrow, since there were no footprints left behind when the Arrow arrived to rescue the group. You’re too tall to be Lyla Michaels and I was easily able to discard Tommy Merlyn as a possibility.’ She said. ‘I suspected then, but it wasn’t until our last meeting, when we were discussing the Dark Archer, that I knew who you were.’

‘What do you intend to do with this information?’ Oliver didn’t trust easily. On Lian Yu, someone discovering his secrets only led to more problems for him. He could only assume the same would be true for Starling City.

“Nothing.’ She responded. ‘You have your reasons for wanting to keep your identity unknown and I’ll respect that by keeping the secret, but I couldn’t in good conscience let you believe that I didn’t know. I didn’t want to damage our budding friendship by lying by omission to you.’ She paused. ‘My name isn’t Libby. It’s Nyssa.’

‘Good. It’s nice to finally know your name.’ He responded. ‘Unfortunately, I haven’t learned much about the Dark Archer since we last met. I don’t suppose you’ve been more successful?’

‘I have. The federal agents are drawing closer and closer to the moment when they can apprehend the Dark Archer without concern for him evading them or being able to have the charges discarded. The Archer is not the only person they are investigating either.’ She said. ‘They believe there’s at least one other person involved in this plot, and helping him to an advanced degree. Unfortunately, finding evidence against her is proving more complicated, because the more they investigate, the more they find but they cannot be sure that what they find is related to the Dark Archer’s plot.’

If Nyssa had learned anything over the last two days, it was that Moira Queen had a lot of skeletons in her closet. The agents were having quite the experience figuring out which skeletons they actually cared about and which ones weren’t related to the case they were on.

‘Let me guess. Moira Queen is the woman you’re referring to.’

‘She certainly is a complex individual.’ Nyssa responded. ‘That’s not the only update to their investigation. There’s a woman in Central City they mean to go visit, although I’m not entirely sure why or what her connection to this may be. They’ve recently interviewed a gentleman from ASIS in regards to events on Lian Yu.’ She didn’t mention Slade by name, solely because she’d overheard Slade telling Tommy that he didn’t want Oliver to know he was alive yet. ‘And they are trying to oust the police commissioner.’

‘The police commissioner? Why? I know he’s a huge asshole, but-.’

‘He’s an “asshole” who has connections to the Triad and they believe he’s compromised investigations at their request. Not to mention, a number of corrupt police officers have handed themselves over to Internal Affairs recently, and that does not make his department look good. I assume that was your doing.’

‘People should feel safe. Corrupt cops, cops who are in bed with gangs, they don’t make the city safer and they don’t make people feel safe.’ He responded. ‘I think a lot of supposedly “cold” cases are going to be closed soon.’

'Hopefully, the victims of these crimes and their families will get some kind of closure.'

They spent about an hour discussing what steps the Dark Archer, and others might take to avoid capture before going their separate ways. 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 83

Summary:

Oliver discusses some of his worries with someone, Nyssa talks to Sara, the taskforce gets some good news and Tommy is approached with a strange request.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As Oliver and Nyssa’s conversation on the rooftop was winding down, a thought crossed Oliver’s mind. Nyssa told him who she was. He’d also met a woman named Nyssa outside of Thea’s school one day, and saved her from being hit by a car. He was pretty sure that the Nyssa in front of him, and that Nyssa were one and the same. Although, if they were, it poked a hole in her story.

‘You didn’t suspect who I was until the warehouse, and you didn’t know for sure until the last time we met?’ He asked.

‘That’s correct.’

‘Then, how come you just so happened to be outside my sister’s school when I was there? You’re the woman I saved from being hit by a car. She said her name was Nyssa.’

‘That was me.’ She admitted. ‘And, I will admit that I was there to observe you, as Oliver Queen. I wondered if you were aware, or even a part, of what the Dark Archer is planning. I meant to surveil you for a while longer, but that encounter told me everything I needed to know.’

‘Which is?’

‘Your only connection to the Dark Archer’s plot, this Undertaking, is in trying to prevent it.’ She said. ‘Enjoy the rest of your evening.’

 

Drayson watched the shorter hooded figure, who he was pretty sure was a woman, walked away from the Arrow. He was far enough away to avoid either of them spotting him watching them, but due to his distance, he couldn’t hear what they were saying to one another. They both seemed to gesture a lot when talking, which seemed odd to him, as that felt like a detail the press would’ve included when covering him.

He wrote down a few notes about the woman, mostly that she was shorter than the Arrow and likely had dark hair, before packing up his things to leave. Seeing this woman startled him somewhat, since there hadn’t been a partner or sidekick mention in any reports and Malcolm hadn’t told him about one. Drayson went back to his hotel, deciding to hold off on asking Merlyn about the Arrow’s partner. Despite paying him, Drayson didn’t like this CEO that much.

 

On her way back to her hideout, Nyssa decided to call Sara. Her beloved had asked her to let her know how her conversation with Oliver went and she didn’t want to leave her in suspense. The Heir to the Demon was also feeling particularly inclined to sharing tonight, apparently, as there was something she didn’t want to wait to tell Sara.

“By my math, which wasn’t my strong suit, it’s about 3AM where you are. Why are you calling so late?” Sara asked.

“I met with Oliver tonight, and told him that I was aware of his true identity.”

“And how did that go over?”

“He was wary at first, which was to be expected. He wears a mask and hood for a reason. But when I explained that I pieced the truth together slowly, and why I was telling him now, he seemed to understand. He’s no doubt still somewhat wary, but I hope to earn his trust in time.” She said. “I also told him to call me Nyssa, as it seemed only fair.” Nyssa telling an outsider even her first name was a big thing. “We then discussed Merlyn, his crusade and what we both had learned since last meeting. When we parted, he passed along his beloved’s regards.”

“I think you’ve made a friend.”

“I think I have as well.” She said. “Slade Wilson is alive.”

“What?!”

“He’s alive, sane and no longer working for ASIS.” Nyssa repeated. “The task force investigating the Queen’s Gambit questioned him a few days ago. I wanted to get a measure of the man, see if he matched your depiction of him, before telling you of his survival.”

“Are you sure he’s not just faking it?”

“Some emotions are impossible to fake, beloved. When he spoke of the events on the Amazo, your supposed death, he wasn’t putting on an act.”

“He still hates me then.”

“No, he hates Ivo and he hates himself for letting Ivo manipulate him.”

 

Monday morning came and it was time for everyone to return to their routines. Oliver made Felicity lunch and sent her off to work with Lyla with a kiss before he drove to the penthouse to pick up Thea and take her to school. Thea was an adult now, and didn’t need her brother to drive her, but he liked having this ritual with Thea. Thinking about it, he had a ritual or tradition with half of Team Oliver. He did a daily school drop-off and pick-up with Thea. He and Digg shared being the Arrow, in a way. He also shared training and sparring with both Lyla and Digg. Oliver and Felicity had more traditions than he could count. He and Donna shared baking. He and Tommy hadn’t quite figured out their “thing” yet, nor had he and Roy, and he wanted something other than Queen Consolidated to have in common with Walter. Still, he realized how lucky he was to have so many people in his life.

“You’re thinking about something that makes you happy, aren’t you?” Thea asked him as they drove to her school. “Something that makes you really happy.”

‘How did you know?’

“You get this- when you’re happy, you get this smile, but when you’re really happy, it’s a different smile.” She explained. “Needless to say, you get the really happy smile most of the time Felicity’s in the same room as you.”

‘She’s my girlfriend. I love her and she makes me happy.’ He said. ‘So does being around you, Tommy, Walter, Roy and all of my friends. And I was smiling because I was remembering how lucky I am to have all of you.’

“We’re the lucky ones.” She said.

‘So, what did you do yesterday?’ He asked. ‘Were you all “birthday’d out” or did you do something fun with Donna and Roy?’

“Donna was out for most of the day. I think she wanted to check on Dinah. Roy and I mostly hung around the penthouse. I studied, we watched some movies. Made out a few times.” Thea answered before wincing. “Sorry, you probably don’t wanna hear about me and Roy kissing.”

‘Speedy, you’re an adult.’ He said. ‘I’m fine hearing about you and Roy’s relationship, or you two kissing. And, when you’re ready for it to be more than kissing, I just don’t wanna have to think about or, god forbid witness, those things. You are still my sister after all’

“Totally understand that. I feel the same way about you, Tommy and Walter.” She said, with a bit of a grossed-out look on her face. “Quick, say something to distract me from thinking about it.”

‘I’m a little nervous to go with Donna and Felicity to Las Vegas, whenever it’s time to move the rest of her stuff out here.’ He blurted out.

“Why?”

‘The rest of her family lives there. What if they don’t like me? What if her aunt and uncle, Emily’s parents, hate me for what Laurel pulled during her trial? What if her grandmother-?’

“You know, back when I was a “troubled youth”, the school and Mom both tried having someone lecture me to turn my life around. It didn’t work, because negative attention was still attention, but one of the people they called in, I think she was a counselor- anyway, she said something that kinda stuck with me. Basically, who we are is impacted by who we surround ourselves with. All of my friends wanted to get wasted and party, and Mom was ignoring me and I didn’t really know Walter, so I found myself wanting to get wasted and party.” She said. “Felicity is an understanding and loving person. So, if Felicity’s close to her aunt, uncle and grandmother, like she seems to be  with Donna and like she was with Emily, they’ll probably have similar feelings about it as she does, and like values.”

‘What if they just don’t like me then?’

“Are you kidding me? They’ll love you, because you’re great, Ollie.” She said. “Have you- did you mention your worries to Felicity?”

‘No. I just- I suggested that maybe I could meet them when it’s time for Donna to move, but then I started thinking about it, and-.’

“You should talk to her, or at least Donna. They won’t get upset that you’re nervous.”

By this point, they reached Thea’s school. She gave her brother a hug before heading into the building. He started driving back to Felicity’s house, but changed his mind at the last moment. Instead, he pulled over and sent Roy a text, asking if he could work as his interpreter today. Roy said he was available.

 

“So, the Lady in Black, Nyssa, she knows who the Arrow is.” Felicity said when she was riding into work with Lyla. The two of them, and Digg, saw their entire conversation unfold on Oliver’s body camera last night. By the time he returned to the foundry, it didn’t seem like a great time to discuss this revelation. “How do you feel about that?”

“Part of me is distrustful.” She admitted. “I’ve never been very trusting and what happened in Moscow and after hasn’t changed that, so there’s a chance she could turn on him at any moment. At the same time, I trust Oliver’s judgement and if he thought there was something funky going on, he wouldn’t have stayed on the rooftop to talk to her. How do you feel?”

“Worried. I mean, telling us is one thing. Telling Tommy, my mom, Thea, Roy and Walter, that’s also something. But in both cases, he’s making the decision to tell someone. Nyssa finding out on her own is….I don’t know her, so I can’t say she’s secretly working for Tempest or something, but at the same time, I don’t know her.”

“Maybe we should try to get to know her a little more. In a hacking way.” Lyla said.

“All I have is a first name.” Felicity pointed out.

“And possibly a photo, since Oliver mentioned meeting her, as Oliver, outside of Thea’s school.” She pointed out. “Just an idea.”

Felicity spent the day working on her projects while Lyla spent the day designing her vigilante outfit. She had pulled Oliver aside last night and asked him if he’d mind her suiting up alongside him. He said he didn’t mind and admitted to missing having a field partner. So, Lyla had some planning to do in regards to her suit. It was going to be mostly green, but not the hood. The green hood was symbolic to Oliver, as she knew, and she didn’t want to lessen its significance by giving herself a green hood. She also didn’t want her outfit to just look like an imitation of his suit. They were built differently, they had different needs and their suits should fit their individual needs as vigilantes.

 

“You have not slept yet, Warith.” Asim pointed out to Nyssa when he woke up and found her in the same position as when he went to sleep.

Nyssa was sitting upright on the couch in the hideout. She was flipping through a notebook with a laminated cover. Every now and then, she’d make notes in her own notebook, with ghost ink.

“This task is more important than sleep.” She said. “My father wanted to know how deep Al Saher’s treachery goes. I should think that includes knowing who he’s been affiliated with and what services they’ve performed for him.”

“He has that many accomplices?”

“Some are not accomplices. Some he merely exploited, while he didn’t interact with others, but was simply aware of their own offenses.” She answered.

“We could simply move against Al Saher now, rendering-.”

“No, we don’t know what affect such a move could have.” She said. “Contrary to what pop culture would have you believe, killing a group’s leader doesn’t cause the group to automatically disband.”

 

“I found it.” Agent Rathbone said, hanging up his phone. Reeves looked over at him.

“Found what?” Reeves asked.

“Our “smoking gun” so to speak, against the commissioner.” He explained. “We’ve got the phone records and bank records, but a good lawyer might say the number was spoofed or something or claim the account wasn’t active, which it wasn’t to be fair. Nudocerdo didn’t wanna pay taxes on his blood money, so he hid it. Anyway, this reporter named Jenna Hardy was killed, supposedly in a mugging, two years ago. All of the dirty cops turning themselves in gave the state’s attorney’s office an excuse to have any suspicious cold cases reopened.  Jenna’s was one of them. You’d think a mugger would’ve stolen Hardy’s cellphone or wallet, but none of that was missing.”

“I don’t see how it’s a smoking gun.” Reeves said.

“Hardy was working on a story about corruption in the SCPD. She kept all of her notes, all of the videos she took, any conversations she happened to overhear, on her phone. Including a conversation she’d overheard between the commissioner and a member of the Triad about a problem with their shipments being interrupted. Right before the commissioner decided to reduce the funding for the department who checks shipments for contraband or illegal goods.”

“And they found out and killed her. I’m surprised they didn’t destroy the phone.”

“The detective died of a heart attack a month after she died, and the commissioner hand-selected his replacement, who’s not known for being a great detective, according to Hall. Apparently, he wanted the case closed quickly without a fuss.”

“So, we have a dead reporter and a recording showing collusion between the Triad and the commissioner.” Reeves said. “Van Owen is gonna love us. Only thing she loves more than justice is a slam-dunk case like this one.”

 

Tommy signed on a line that had a sticky note saying “Sign here” on it before looking up at his lawyer. “I think if I sign one more piece of paper, my hand might fall off.” He joked.

“I know, it’s a lot, but your mother and grandparents had very thorough lawyers.” The attorney said. “And we need to do this by the book.” He turned to another page. “This is the very last signature that I need.”

“You said that two documents ago.”

“That was the last one for the document. This is the last one, ever, on this matter.” He said. Tommy signed on the line. “Congratulations, Tommy. Your finances, with the exception of the accounts belonging to your father that you’re a signatory on, are now independent of his.”

“Yay, I’m free!” He deadpanned. “In all seriousness, though, thank you.” He shook the man’s hand and left his office.

Tommy headed straight to the SCPD once he left the swanky office of his lawyer. Following a familiar path, he made his way up to the office where the task force was working out of. Finding McKenna was pretty easy once he knew where to look. Agent Doyle nudged her and pointed towards the door when Tommy arrived.

“Are you free for lunch?” He asked. “Because I wanna make up for last night.”

“Why? Last night was-.”

“It was supposed to be a date, but instead it turned into me asking you for advice about what to do once I gained my independence from my dad, financially. Your advice worked perfectly, but- I feel bad that our date wasn’t about us, but about me.” He said sheepishly. “So, lunch?”

“I guess I’m free, but Tommy? I wasn’t upset about what happened last night.” She said. “Let me just tell someone that I’m leaving and to call me if they need something.” She walked over to Doyle to tell him exactly that, before taking Tommy’s hand and leaving the bullpen with him.

They decided to go to a Mexican place for lunch since it was close to the station and the menu looked good. As they were walking back to the station, Tommy quite literally ran into Slade Wilson.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“You made that sound way too ominous, dude.” Tommy said. “But since you found me, what’s up?”

“How do you think Oliver would react to finding out I’m alive?”

“I don’t- he’d be happy, but I don’t know if- knowing what I know about when he talks about that time, he might need a minute to collect himself when he first sees you.” He said. “I think you should tell him, but I can’t really- there’s not exactly a guide for something like this.”

“If only there were. If you can get him, and anyone who might be able to help him process my survival, into one place, let me know. I don’t want him blaming himself for my death longer than he has to.” Slade said before walking away.

“Uh, how am I supposed to let him know anything if I don’t have a way to contact him?” Tommy asked McKenna.

“No clue.”

 

Daniel Correll exited the elevator after a lunch meeting, in which a reporter from The New York Times showed up and  tried to sweettalk him into an interview about Moira Queen, to find Oliver, Digg and Roy sitting in his waiting room. Correll shook Oliver’s hand, greeting him, before apologizing for making him wait.

“I was at a lunch meeting and didn’t realize you were waiting.” Correll said.

‘I….kinda came here without an appointment, so if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me.’ Oliver admitted and Roy interpreted for him. They’d spent about five minutes waiting outside his office after Oliver spent 45 minutes in the car trying to decide if he wanted to meet with Correll today. ‘If you have some time today, I’d really appreciate it.’

“I have some time now. Give me a few minutes to get settled and we’ll talk.” He said. He went into his office, logged into his computer, pulled up the notes he’d taken in regards to interview requests, in case that was why Oliver was here, and showed Oliver, Roy and Digg into his office. “What would you like to talk about?”

‘Walter told me that some people wanna interview me. I told him I’d think about it, but I- how would it work?’ Oliver answered. ‘I thought you might be able to answer my questions a little better than him.’

“Well, we would discuss who has asked for an interview and decide who, from that pool, you’d want to speak with or feel the most comfortable with. I’d suggest looking at their past work, old interviews to get a feel for their style. As for topics, there are a few things we can do. I can ask each journalist for a proposal describing what they’d like to ask, we can request questions in advance or we can give the reporters either a list of off-limits topics. Whatever you feel comfortable with and willing to agree to.”

‘So, if I don’t wanna talk about the island or the Gambit, they won’t ask?’

“No, they won’t.” Correll had already decided some of the heavy-hitting journalists were going to be turned down, he wasn’t even going to suggest them, so the chances of a reporter they did pick going off-script were low.

‘What about my answers? Would the reporter have their own interpreter or can I bring one of my-.’

“We can do this however you want. You tell me.” He said. “The list of reporters is rather long, and I still need to whittle it down to reporters I think would be a good fit for this and for what you’d like.”

‘Okay, thank you.’ Oliver said. ‘When the list is narrowed down, can you let me know?’

The head of PR agreed and Oliver left his office. Correll spent the rest of the day going through the interview requests and narrowing down the list. Linda Park’s name was still in the running.

 

“I just- I really don’t know what to do.” Moira said before she finally stopped pacing in front of Jean Loring’s desk.

“Moira, you terminated your relationship with this firm months ago.” Jean said calmly. “And, given that I now represent Oliver, representing you is a conflict of interest. I can’t give you legal advice.”

“How is it a conflict of interest?”

“Your son is one of my clients. I have to act in his best interests. Say he decides to sue you, I can’t represent both of you.”

“My own son wants to sue me?”

“I never said he did, just that he could.” Jean explained.

“We’re not talking about that, though. We’re talking about whether or not I can be charged with bribery or extortion or what have you, for making Robert’s little indiscretion go away.”

“It depends. Extortion and bribery are different charges. One has a statute of limitations, one doesn’t. I don’t specialize in criminal law, so I don’t know off the top of my head what those limitations might be.” She said. “I can’t represent you, but I’ll suggest a colleague.”

Jean wrote the woman’s name down on a piece of paper and handed it over to Moira, who took it and left.

Jean was a little happy to get Moira out of her office. They used to be friends, but they weren’t any longer. She was starting to wonder how long Moira had been blind to anything that didn’t directly affect her. Sure, the news was discussing her, but the current lieutenant governor, who was the district attorney Moira persuaded to drop the DUI charge, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate only three days before the story broke. Now, he was facing more than a few uncomfortable questions.

 

Felicity and Lyla got home from work at the usual time. Unlike most nights, dinner wasn’t waiting for them. Instead, Oliver was getting ready for his date with Felicity at Zita’s. This would be only their second “real” date, as in a date at a restaurant, and he was a bit nervous. He was pulling his suit jacket on just as Felicity started taking her slacks off. Felicity made him wait in the living room while she put the finishing touches on her outfit, wanting to surprise him. When she stepped out into the living room, Oliver’s jaw dropped.

“Too much?” She asked, spinning back and forth to look at her dress.

‘Not at all. You look perfect.’ He told her.

They drove to Zita’s with John and Lyla but were seated at separate tables. The owner came over to greet them as they sat down, and thanked them for coming to his restaurant.

“I’ve always wanted to try this place.” Felicity said. “I can’t wait to taste your delicious food.”

“Well, I hope you will enjoy your meal.” He said. “Rosa, my daughter, she’s going to take good care of you.” He walked away and a few minutes later, Rosa came over to take their drink orders.

Since it was a Monday night, the restaurant wasn’t packed, but there were a few other patrons. As they were eating their appetizer of empanadas, Felicity noticed a woman at one of the other tables was not-so-subtly trying to take a picture of them. The woman turned scarlet when she noticed she’d been caught and mouthed “sorry” while lowering the phone.

Oliver and Felicity talked as they ate, about everything and nothing. She told him about her projects. He told her about his day and his meeting with Daniel Correll. He didn’t bring up his anxiety about meeting her family in Nevada just yet, wanting to figure out how to approach the subject and word things the right way. Dinner was delicious and Felicity made sure to tell both the waitress and the owner how much they enjoyed the food. When they got home, Felicity saw that #Olicity was trending on Twitter and Instagram with a few photos of them on their date.

Oliver went out to patrol the streets for a few hours, but didn’t come across anything major going on. While he patrolled, Lyla started putting together her Harbinger outfit. As expected, things designed for Oliver’s taller and bulkier frame didn’t fit Lyla super well, but there was enough for her to work with. There were only two or three components that she needed to acquire herself somehow.

 

Tuesday morning, after Felicity went to work and Thea was dropped off at school, Tommy FaceTimed Oliver. He seemed nervous about something.

‘Everything okay?’

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just- all of us, meaning all of Team Oliver, I think we should meet. Tonight. There’s something you should know.” Tommy said quickly.

‘What’s wrong? Did your father-?’

“No, it’s nothing like that.” He said, almost too fast. “There’s just something you need to know.”

‘Okay. I’ll text Walter, Speedy, Roy and Donna.’

The call ended shortly thereafter and Oliver found himself getting really worried. Tommy was being very shifty and very out of character.

Tommy, meanwhile, let go of his phone. “Okay, so that’s it. We’re locked in and committed. Tonight, he’s gonna find out you’re alive.”

“You didn’t have to make it sound like you were being threatened.” Slade pointed out.

“That wasn’t my “threatened” voice, that was my “it’s now or never” voice. Because I would’ve lost my nerve otherwise.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

There won't be a chapter for a few weeks because I'm going on vacation.

Chapter 84

Summary:

Oliver gets a big surprise, as does Linda Park and a number of other people.

Notes:

I'm back! Yay!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning, after Felicity went to work and Thea was dropped off at school, Tommy FaceTimed Oliver. He seemed nervous about something.

‘Everything okay?’

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just- all of us, meaning all of Team Oliver, I think we should meet. Tonight. There’s something you should know.” Tommy said quickly.

‘What’s wrong? Did your father-?’

“No, it’s nothing like that.” He said, almost too fast. “There’s just something you need to know.”

‘Okay. I’ll text Walter, Speedy, Roy and Donna.’

The call ended shortly thereafter and Oliver found himself getting really worried. Tommy was being very shifty and very out of character.

Tommy, meanwhile, let go of his phone. “Okay, so that’s it. We’re locked in and committed. Tonight, he’s gonna find out you’re alive.”

“You didn’t have to make it sound like you were being threatened.” Slade pointed out.

“That wasn’t my “threatened” voice, that was my “it’s now or never” voice. Because I would’ve lost my nerve otherwise.”

Meanwhile, Oliver stared at his phone for a few moments before turning to Digg. ‘Did that seem weird to you?’

“That would’ve seemed weird to anyone.” He responded.

‘Do you- you don’t think Tommy’s in trouble or in danger, do you?’

Digg sighed. “In my honest opinion, no. He sounded more nervous than anything else. I think if he was in some kind of danger, he would’ve tried to stay on the phone with you for longer. I also think, and this is something we should talk to Felicity and Lyla about, he would’ve done or said something that would’ve instantly made you realize something was wrong.”

‘What do you mean?’

“Imagine Felicity was on the phone with you and she sounded a little off. And then she said she needed to go because she had to call Emily.” He said. “You’d instantly realize something was wrong because you know Emily is dead. Or if Tommy had ended that call saying he didn’t want to be late for lunch with his Dad because he was excited about it. Knowing Tommy, that’s not something he’d say. He’s definitely nervous, but if he was in trouble, he would’ve found a way to signal that.”

‘What’s he nervous about?’

“Valentine’s Day, maybe? It’s a little more than a week away and he seems to really like McKenna, so he might not know what to do. Or there’s just an idea he’s been thinking about that he wants to run by everyone? I mean, what does Tommy do all day? Maybe he wants to start a business or a charity or something.”

‘So, I shouldn’t drive to the foundry, strap on my bow and rush off to find Tommy.’

“That does seem like a bit of an overreaction.” Digg said.

Oliver just nodded and texted everyone on Team Oliver, asking them to come to the house that night.

 

Correll walked into Walter’s office with a look of determination on his face. One of the things he prided himself on was making decisions quickly, and while he hadn’t decided who to suggest for Oliver’s interview, he had come to a decision about who he didn’t want to pick.

“I’ve looked through the dozens of requests for interviews with Oliver.” He said before handing Walter a piece of paper. “This is my short list of people I want him to choose from. Five reporters, two from Starling, two from Bludhaven and Linda Park from Central City. They’re all local-level reporters.”

“Only two from Starling?”

“Channel 6 was initially on my list. Then, their reporter Susan Williams spotted me while out and about and tried to sweettalk me into giving her the interview. While I’m sure she’s a good reporter, I don’t like that tactic and she’s one of the last journalists I’d ever consider interviewing Oliver, given her body of work.”

“I quite agree.” Walter said. “Have you informed the other news outlets of this decision?”

“Not yet. I wanted to run this by you, see if you agree with my assessment before telling the folks downstairs to start making calls.”

“I’ll pass this list along to Oliver.” Walter said.

 

Agent Mars followed Dinan out of the train station to catch a taxi. Their train had just arrived in Central City and they needed to check into their hotel before going to speak with the person they came to town to speak to.

“While I appreciate the opportunity to handle this part of the case with you, why me?” Mars asked the older woman as they got into a cab. She had expected Reeves or Doyle or in the very least someone like Agent Rathbone to accompany Dinan, not her.

“Well, first of all, I wanted to keep the group who knew about Samantha Clayton small until we learned more, and my choice was you, Hall who wouldn’t have jurisdiction, or Franks who seemed more than happy to stay behind. Second, you earned it. You’re the one who found Samantha and her son and put everything together.” Dinan answered. “Since it’s the middle of the day, and she’s probably at work, we have some time to go over a few last minute things. And I need to get a postcard.”

“A postcard?”

“My youngest, Kelly, collects them. Every time I go somewhere new for work, she asks me to bring a postcard back from that city.” She explained.

The rest of the ride to the hotel was quiet. After checking in, Dinan called Samantha’s office to ask if she was there today. She was, so Dinan hung up before the receptionist transferred the call over to her. Dinan didn’t want to question Samantha at work and have her possibly cause a scene, especially since the task force was trying to keep this part of the investigation under wraps. Mars and Dinan went over the information they already had another time while waiting for the rest of the workday to pass.

 

Linda Park and her cameraman were sitting in Jitters, once again, when her phone started to ring. She answered it, even though she didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello, this is Linda.” She said. “Yes, we did.” There was a pause and her face changed from neutral to complete confusion. “Are you sure you called the right reporter? I- no, we still want the interview, but- okay, yeah I look forward to hearing from you.” She then hung up.

“Why do you look like someone just told you the sky was orange?” Her cameraman asked.

“That was Queen Consolidated’s PR department. Calling me back to discuss our interview request.”

“They picked us?” He asked.

“Not quite. They wanted to let me know that I’m still under consideration.” She said. “I guess they’re calling anyone from out of town and telling them if they’re still in the running so that they don’t have a bunch of people waiting here for nothing.”

At another table on the opposite side of the coffee shop, Brad Hunter slammed his cup down so hard that coffee went flying everywhere. “That is completely unacceptable.” He yelled into the phone. “I want to speak to the head of your department.” A barista had come over to clean up the mess. “Clean this up already.”

“Sir?” The manager said. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. You’re disturbing other customers and I won’t allow my staff to be abused like this.”

“Do you know-?”

“Please leave.” The manager repeated.

He grabbed his things and left in a huff. “I guess he got a different call than we did.” Linda’s partner joked.

 

At 4:30pm in Central City, Dinan and Mars left their hotel to head to Samantha Clayton’s house. From what Mars had been able to uncover, Samantha left work a little after 4 every day to pick up her son from daycare. This meant she’d be home a little after 4:30. When the two agents arrived, her car was parked in front of her house.

Dinan knocked on the door and Samantha answered. “Can I help you?”

“Samantha Clayton?” Dinan said. “My name is Agent Dinan, I’m with the Coast Guard Investigative Service. This is Agent Mars with the FBI. We’d like to ask you a few questions about Moira Queen.”

“I- will this take long?”

“I don’t have any reason to suspect that it will.” Dinan said. “May we come inside?”

“What? Yeah, sure.” She said, stepping out of the doorway. She led them to the kitchen. “What is this about?”

“In the course of our investigation, we discovered that Mrs. Queen paid you a very large sum of money. This raised a flag for us and we wanted to speak to you about it.”

Samantha sighed, turned to make sure that William was still in the living room watching cartoons, unable to hear what the adults were saying, and then answered. “Oliver and I had a fling, a very brief fling. And I got pregnant. I told him about the baby and the next thing I knew, his mother called me to their home. She’d done this big investigation on me and I- she didn’t quite threaten me, but it was clear that she saw me as someone in her way. She made it very clear that if I stayed in her son’s life, I’d be sorry. She handed me a check for a million dollars and told me to tell Oliver I’d had a miscarriage. She said it was so that I could start over somewhere else.” Samantha then walked over to a drawer and pulled out a picture frame. Inside, there was a framed check, signed by Moira Queen. “I told him I lost the baby, but I didn’t deposit the check.”

“Clearly.” Dinan said. “Where is the second check, Ms. Clayton?”

“Se-second check?”

“Moira Queen wrote two checks to you for a million dollars each. You’ve framed one of the checks, but where’s the other?”

“I- if you think I accepted any of that woman’s money-.”

“I don’t think. I know.” Mars said. “You claim you didn’t accept her money, but your finances disagree. According to those, a million dollars was deposited into your account right after you left Starling City. We traced that money back to a check that Moira Queen wrote.” She found it a little funny that someone who worked for an accounting firm, and knew how accounting and audits worked, would make such a mistake. “I wonder why you framed the second check. Maybe so that, if anyone ever found out about Moira writing you a check, you could paint yourself as the victim.”

“Is that the case? Was that your intention?” Dinan asked. “What was the check used for?”

“I used it to pay for school. To buy this house. To-.I- what was I supposed to do? Moira Queen is-.” Samantha started to say.

“You could’ve not deposited the check. You could’ve told Oliver Queen the truth.” She responded. “You did neither, and when our investigation concludes, the fact that Moira Queen wrote you two checks of that size may be revealed, and that may not reflect badly on you. Thank you for your time.” Dinan and Mars turned to leave.

“Wait, I- what’s gonna happen to William?” She asked. “I don’t- please don’t drag him into this.”

“We aren’t. However, Oliver might have something to say about what you did.”

“He can’t do that. He’s-.”

“All due respect, Ms. Clayton, this is a family court situation, which has nothing to do with us. We came to make sure the money wasn’t used being used for anything illegal or related to our investigation. It hasn’t, so what happens next isn’t our concern.” Dinan said. “Have a nice day.”

 

McKenna was checking in with the rest of the vigilante task force, which admittedly had almost nothing to do since the feds showed up, when the police commissioner walked in. He seemed angry and yelled for the unit’s senior officer to come out of his office.

“It’s been months since this task force was started.” Nudocerdo said. “And you assholes haven’t had a single arrest. You haven’t brought a single suspect in for questioning. What have you been doing?”

“The feds came in and took most of our evidence because it relates to their case.” One detective said. “Not much we can do with a few witness statements and what some dirtbags say happened when the Arrow cornered them.”

“I thought Hall was working with them.” Another said. All eyes turned to McKenna.

“They’re not really exploring the vigilante angle, at least not right now.” She said without emotion. “They took that evidence because of its connection to the Gambit and another aspect of their investigation.”

“So, you haven’t been working on the investigation you were assigned, while working with them.” The commissioner said. “What’s the use in letting you assist them if you can’t at least use what they have to catch this dick? Lieutenant, you approved her working with the feds. Why do that if we’re not getting something out of it?”

“The Arrow has saved a lot of people. Most of the city see him as a hero.” The lieutenant said. “And picking a fight with the feds didn’t seem like a great idea, especially since Hall wasn’t exactly swamped down here after the feds took all our evidence.”

“Get the evidence back and do you damn jobs then! I want a suspect in custody by Friday or-.”

“Commissioner, can you step outside with me please?” Agent Reeves said from behind Nudocerdo.

“Tell me whatever you wanna tell me and then get lost. I can’t boot you out of my precinct, but-.”

“Very well.” Reeves said with a sigh. While he wanted the commissioner arrested, he would’ve preferred not to do it in front of other SCPD cops. “Rathbone, if you would?” Rathbone stepped forward to handcuff the man. “Brian Nudocerdo, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit the murder of Jenna Hardy. You’re also being charged with being an accessory to a drug-smuggling operation, accessory to attempted murder and several counts of racketeering. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Have you heard and do you understand these rights?”

“I- you can’t do this! I’m the police commissioner.”

“These are mostly federal charges, so yes, we can.” Reeves said. “Have you heard and do you understand your rights?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He said. “Get me to a phone so I can call my lawyer.”

“Once we get upstairs, we will.” Reeves said. Rathbone led the commissioner away, but he stayed behind for a moment. “The mayor will be announcing an interim commissioner either tonight or tomorrow. Sorry to interrupt your meeting.”

After he left, the other cops turned to McKenna. “Did you know that was going to happen?”

“I knew they had a suspicion that he was dirty. It’s partially why I’ve tried to stay as far away from him as possible over the last few weeks. I didn’t know that was gonna happen.”

 

Oliver’s day passed rather slowly after his call from Tommy. He went to the foundry to work out for a little while. He then did some digging on a few people he’d been keeping an eye on. There was a gang in the Glades that had been around for years, but they were starting to become big enough and dangerous enough that he didn’t want the SCPD to have to handle it alone. He then spent some time drawing, to Digg’s surprise.

“I didn’t realize you were into drawing.” He remarked in a neutral tone.

‘I- I read somewhere about art therapy and wanted to give it a try.’ Oliver responded. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever draw anything important, but- I figured I might as well give it a try.’

“Fair enough. Do you want me to give you some space or-?”

‘No, just don’t try to peek at it.’ He said. Oliver didn’t think he’d ever draw anything related to the trauma he’d been through, but he knew he might change his mind. Even if he didn’t, his drawings were personal and he wanted to decide who got to see them.

“Fair enough.” He responded. “Did Felicity find someone to do your tattoo removal?”

‘Yeah. It took a while to talk the person into doing it all in one session, but I have an appointment on Friday.’ He said. ‘Felicity’s taking a half-day.’

His friend just nodded and let Oliver go back to his drawing. Around 2:30, they left the foundry. Thea got out of school at 3 and Oliver wanted to pick her up. After she was picked up, they went to Felicity’s house and hung out while Thea did her homework. Over the next few hours, until around 6, the rest of the group slowly filtered into the house, with Tommy being the last one to arrive. Tommy walked in a little after six.

“I supposed you’re all wondering why I’ve asked you to be here.” He said.

“That’s something that either a supervillain, or a rich guy who hunts people for sport says in a movie.” Roy remarked. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

“Fair enough. It was a bit too ominous.” He conceded. “I just- what I need Oliver to know is something that- there’s no easy way to say this, so- ugh, I’m just gonna have to rip off this bandaid, aren’t I?” He said. He walked over to the front door and opened it. “This is what I need to tell you.” Standing in the doorway was Slade Wilson. Everyone froze.

“Hi.” Slade said awkwardly as he stepped inside. “My name’s Slade Wilson.” All eyes turned to Oliver who was staring at Slade but hadn’t moved an inch.

“Honey?” Felicity nudged him.

‘I see Slade Wilson, but he’s dead.’ He signed. ‘Am I having a new type of flashback or do you see him too?’

‘I see him too. He’s here.’ She signed back.

‘How-?’

“You’re Slade- the Slade- the one Ollie was-?” Thea sputtered out.

“Yes. The one who was on the island with your brother.” Slade answered. “Nice to finally meet the famous Speedy.”

“Oliver?” Lyla said, waiting to see what Oliver might do.

‘I- I need a minute.’ He said. ‘Tell him I want him to stay, but I just-. I need to-.’ He stood up from the couch and walked into his bedroom.

“I don’t know American Sign Language. Did he ask me to leave or does he just need a minute?” Slade asked.

“He needs a minute.” Felicity answered. “I’ll go check on him in a minute. Sorry, I’m Felicity Smoak. You already know Tommy. This is Oliver’s step-father Walter, my mother Donna. Thea’s boyfriend Roy. And our friends John Diggle and Lyla Michaels.” She pointed to each person as she introduced them.

“Not Lyla Michaels the ARGUS agent, by any chance?” He’d heard about her while he was still with ASIS.

“I left the agency, but I was. My boss was a real piece of work. My new boss on the other hand? Way better.”

“How do- how exactly did Tommy become aware of your survival, or even your presence in town?” Walter asked curiously.

“I flew here to talk to the taskforce, answer their questions about some of the events on Lian Yu.” He answered. “Tommy waltzed in to pick up his girlfriend and saw me, recognized me from a sketch they had and realized who I was.”

Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer, even if it was the world’s strangest coincidence. Oliver walked out of the bedroom just as Felicity stood up to go check on him. He looked like he’d been crying before he stepped into the living room.

‘Sorry, I- for years I thought-.’ He said. Felicity interpreted for him.

“You don’t need to explain, kid.” Slade said. “I spent three years thinking you were dead. Just about had a heart attack when the news broke that they’d found you.”

‘No, I- I thought I killed you. Because after I- when the Amazo sank and you didn’t resurface, I-.’

“I know.” He said.

“How did you survive?” Digg asked.

“I was knocked out when the freighter sank, but when I came to, I was floating on a piece of debris. Some oil tanker found me, I don’t know how many days later.” He said. “For the first few weeks I was back in Sydney, I kept an eye on the news. I thought, if a ship found me, maybe they found Oliver or one of the other people who was aboard the Amazo too.”

Sara was the other person he’d tried to locate after getting home, but he had as much luck finding a trace of her as he did Oliver. The only reason he didn’t mention her by name now was because he knew Oliver hadn’t told anyone about Sara surviving the Gambit sinking.

‘I- I’m glad you made it.’

“I’m glad you survived too.” He said. “Can I talk to you outside? It’s about something that might not be easy for everyone to hear and you should decide if you want to share it.”

‘Okay. Felicity?’ Oliver said, taking his girlfriend’s hand. He had a bad feeling about the conversation to come, and he didn’t want to be alone. She followed them out into her backyard, which she rarely used.

“What’s this about?” Felicity asked Slade.

“I said I looked for Oliver when I got back. After a year and a half of nothing, I annoyed my bosses at ASIS into sending a team over Lian Yu. We didn’t land but we flew a bird over the island. When there wasn’t a sign of anyone there, and he didn’t signal the aircraft, like I taught him to, that’s when I thought he might really be gone. I just- I need to know what we missed.”

“When was this?” She asked. Oliver had told her a little more than he told the others about his last few years away. She suspected she knew what had happened, but needed to be sure before saying anything.

“January 2011.”

‘I- that was you?’ Oliver signed. ‘He- Smith-.’ Oliver started rubbing his finger and thumb together, one of his nervous tics. When that didn’t settle him, he started pacing. ‘He’s the-.’

“Oliver, honey, I need you to breathe for me, okay?” Felicity said. “In and out. In and out. You’re home in Starling City. You’re safe. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. In and out.” His breathing evened out and he started to calm down. “Do you wanna go back inside?” Oliver nodded. “Okay, let’s get you back inside. Slade, can you stay here for a minute?” Slade nodded. Felicity walked with Oliver into the house and told the others Oliver wanted a little bit of a break from his memories of the island. The others sat with Oliver while Felicity went back outside.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-. Did he not flag down the helicopter because he thought we were enemies or-?” As soon as Oliver started having the reaction that he did, Slade realized he’d made a mistake. Yes, the question of why Oliver didn’t flag down the chopper had been bothering him, but he should’ve waited to ask about it. Or, better yet, let Oliver bring it up.

“I can’t tell you what happened, I don’t know the whole story myself and even if I did, I won’t break Oliver’s trust like that.” She said. “I don’t know if his reaction is from knowing you tried to find him, memories from that time, how close he was to being rescued or a combination of all three. But you really have nothing to be sorry for.”

“He wasn’t alone, was he? Some piece of shit went there, didn’t they? After the Amazo.” While isolation could’ve been responsible for Oliver going mute, he had a feeling that it was something more traumatic that caused it, such as Oliver being tortured again.

“Yes, and that’s all I’m willing to say.” She said. “Like I said, it’s Oliver’s story to tell.”

They went back into the house. Slade apologized for upsetting Oliver and left, after giving Oliver his cell phone number. He acknowledged that his survival had been a lot to drop on Oliver, the whole group really, and wanted to give them time to let it sink in. He told Oliver to contact him whenever he was ready to.

Everyone stayed at the house for a little while longer before departing. They wanted to cheer Oliver up, after whatever had upset him while talking to Slade, but it was clear that he wasn’t in the mood for company. After everyone left, and while Felicity and Oliver were getting ready for bed, he finally said something.

‘He saved my life.’

“What?”

‘The helicopter ASIS sent. It flew over the island and- I got away from Smith because he untied me and told one of his men to kill me in the woods. He did that because the helicopter flying overhead made him think- if Slade hadn’t been so pushy, then I might not-. He’s the reason I was able to get away from them.’ Oliver was sitting on the end of the bed, staring at the floor.

She slowly made her way over to him. “Oliver? I’m gonna hug you now, if that’s okay.” As soon as she said that, he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her torso and pressing his face into her stomach. She started rubbing her hand down his back in a soothing manner. “Let it out. Let it all out.”

They stayed like that until he had no tears left to cry. As soon as he laid back onto his pillow, Oliver was fast asleep. Felicity couldn’t quite fall asleep, but looked over at her boyfriend’s exhausted form.

“No one’s ever gonna hurt you like they did again. Not if I have anything to say about it. I might not have giant arms like Digg, but I’ll make them regret ever being born if they even try.” She vowed. She made a mental note to start making concrete plans to destroy Waller tomorrow. That woman needed to pay, and her revenge was going to be much worse than what Moira was dealing with.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 85

Summary:

Tommy and Oliver discuss their plans, Dinah figures something out, Nyssa learns something surprising and someone gets bad news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Felicity woke up Wednesday morning, Oliver was wrapped around her like a koala. His head was on her chest, his arms were wrapped around her torso and his legs were intertwined with hers. His face looked peaceful and he was fast asleep. She hoped that, whatever dream he was having, it was a pleasant dream. She kissed the top of his head before starting to run her fingers through his hair. He let out a contented sigh. They laid there like that until Oliver started wrinkling his nose. She was pretty sure he was waking up, but trying to fall back asleep at the same time.

“Go back to sleep, honey.” She whispered. “You don't need to get up now.”

He cracked one eye open and looked at her. ‘You’re awake though. And the sooner I wake up, the more time I get to spend with you today. And I wanna spend time with you, all the time I can.’

“Well, I can’t argue with that sentiment.” She said. “How did you sleep?”

‘I had a nightmare. It was about- it was bad. I’m surprised I didn’t wake you up.’ Sometimes when he had bad dreams, Oliver thrashed around on the bed. Other times, he just laid there shaking. He had a feeling that last night, with the dream he had, he’d been tossing and turning. ‘But when I woke up from it, you were asleep. And when I laid back down, wanting to get more sleep, I wanted to be close to you, so I laid down my head on your chest.’

“Did it help?”

‘Yeah. You kept the bad dreams away. Or, well, your heartbeat did. I could hear it and it made me- it kept me grounded.’ The steady rhythm of Felicity’s heart in his ear helped Oliver remember that he was safe, he was home. Even after he fell back asleep, the sound brought him comfort.

“I’m glad. Well, not that you had bad dreams that needed to be kept away, but- you know what I mean.” She said. “We have some time to kill before I need to actually get ready for work. So, you can go back to sleep if you need to.”

Instead of closing his eyes and trying to get more sleep, Oliver moved so that he was situated on Felicity’s stomach. ‘I have a better, more fun idea.’ He said before pushing her shirt upwards.

 

Thea woke up nestled with Roy. For the first time since moving into the penthouse, Roy hadn’t fallen asleep on one of Thea’s arms. She moved his arm off of her and stood to get out of the bed. 

“Mmh, no. Come back.” He said, his voice sounding groggy.

“I’ll be right back. I just gotta use the bathroom.” She whispered back. 

When she came back to bed, Roy wasted no time wrapping his arms around her again. “That's better.” He then kissed her. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” She replied, kissing him back.

The pair made out for a little while before getting up. They walked into the kitchen to find Donna pouring herself a cup of coffee. Thea and Roy both froze, hoping Donna hadn’t heard anything. She didn't even seem to notice, focused on pouring creamer into her mug.

“So, last night was…a lot.” She finally said.

“Yeah. I’m sure Ollie’s-.” Thea said. "God, I remember how I felt when Ollie, who I thought was dead, turned out to be alive. Ollie thought he’d watched Slade die. He’d blamed himself for his death. Seeing him again, after so long, that must've been one hell of a shock. What do you think Slade said that upset him so much?”

“I don't know. I think we’ll find out if and only if he wants to tell us. But I think if Slade had said something awful, we’d already know.” Roy said. “Let’s be honest, Felicity can be pretty terrifying when she wants to be and she would’ve booted him out of the house if what he said was that bad. He probably just brought up a bad memory that Oliver wasn’t prepared to discuss.”

“Speaking of Ollie, has he talked to you?” Thea asked Donna. Oliver told his sister his concerns about meeting Felicity’s family. She wondered if he’d already talked to Donna about it.

“Talked to me about what?”

“I- there was something he was worried about that he wanted to discuss with you. I thought he might’ve already talked to you about it.” She said. “It’s not anything major, he just- he’s nervous about something.”

“Well, I’ll let him tell me when he’s ready.” She shrugged.

 

Mars and Dinan got back to Starling very late Tuesday night. They didn’t bother stopping by the precinct, instead they’d fill everyone in the next day. When they walked into the office they were using, everyone seemed very happy about something.

“We finally got Nudocerdo.” Reeves said. “Arrested him last night for a boatload of crimes. Mayor’s announcing his temporary replacement in an hour.”

“Think he’ll try and fight this out in court?” Anderson, who had been working with the US attorney for the last few days, asked.

“Nah. His lawyer’s already insisted on meeting with Van Owen to work out a deal. He can give us the name of the hitman he hired to kill Jenna Hardy, along with a handful of people in the Triad and in collusion with the Triad.”

“How was Central City?” Doyle asked his partner.

“The money we were following wasn’t used for anything explicitly connected to this case. I still think the person who deposited that check is a piece of crap though.” She responded. “Moira Queen wrote two checks for a million dollars each to a woman named Samantha Clayton, in exchange for her telling Oliver she’d miscarried his unborn child.”

“Just when I think Moira Queen can’t get any worse.” Doyle said. “Are we gonna do anything with that info?”

“It doesn’t pertain to our investigation, but at the same time, what Samantha did may or may not be a crime, I don't know much about family law. Lyla Michaels did ask me to find out what happened to Oliver’s unborn child, so I suppose, even if we can’t officially do anything about what we discovered, I could tell her a very condensed version of what we found.” She said. “But that's not a line I necessarily want to cross.” While this whole situation was messed up, it wasn't why she’d been sent to Starling. She was beginning to feel like maybe she should take a step back and focus on her case, and just her case. “Other than the commissioner, what other updates are there?”

The task force continued talking. Meanwhile, across the street, Nyssa felt sick. She had heard Dinan’s explanation about what happened in Central City. How could Samantha lie to Oliver, telling him his child died, and then collect money from his family? How could Moira do something like that to her son?

The taskforce might not be able to do anything, officially, but she was another matter entirely. First, she needed to figure out how to tell Oliver what she’d learned about Samantha.

A statement one of the police officers made, stating that Oliver had cheated on Laurel with Samantha, stuck out in her mind and she wanted to be sure of something before talking to Oliver. The statement didn’t make sense with what she already knew about Oliver, and thus confused her.

“Beloved, there is something I’d like to discuss with you. Please give me a call after you’ve listened to this message.”

 

On their drive into the office, Lyla brought up Felicity’s attacks on Moira and asked her what her next big reveal would be. The blonde got a devious look on her face and let out a fake-evil laugh before responding.

“I’m not planning anything more. Yet.” She said. “I figure, why not let Moira dangle for a little bit? Wondering what’s coming next and when it’s gonna come.”

“So. you’re just gonna leave it for now? When things are just getting started?”

“For the moment. It’ll make her uncomfortable and gives me time to focus my energy on another target. Amanda Waller.”

“Felicity, I want Waller to pay for what she did to Oliver. More than anyone, but you can’t- going after Waller isn’t gonna be as easy as going after Moira. She- even if you leak just what she did to Oliver, that’s still a classified file and you could-.”

“There’s more than one way for me to ruin Waller’s life. She strikes me as someone who cares a lot about her professional life. She gets results, no matter what, right? What happens when, through no fault other than her own, that can’t happen? Her...let’s call it efficiency protects her now, but there are ways to make a big stink, so big that her bosses can’t ignore it. There are ways, perfectly legal ways, to expose her for the person she truly is.”

Felicity had a master plan to deal with Waller. It was pretty convoluted, but she was sure it would work. It would work because Felicity would make it work and she’d make sure Waller never saw it coming.

 

A few ARGUS agents actually ducked into rooms when they saw Amanda Waller come storming down the hallway. Waller never looked like she was in a good mood, but today, she looked positively murderous. She rushed past them and let herself into ARGUS’s deputy director’s office.

“What the hell is this?” She asked, showing him a piece of paper.

“Looks like a request for the FBI and Coast Guard to be read in on one of Lyla Michaels’ missions from a few years back. Including our relevant files and the permission to interview Michaels.” He said. “Which was granted weeks ago.”

“Yes, I know. Why the hell would you approve this request?”

“I didn’t.” He said, looking at the form. “This isn’t my signature, it’s- oh. Yeah, this request wasn’t sent to us. They went above our heads.”

“So, you’re telling me that the FBI and the fucking Coast Guard went over our heads to interview Lyla Michaels about one of the missions she ran while working for us. And we didn’t find out about this for weeks. They’ve had carte blanche to ask her whatever they want to ask her, for weeks. They’ve had our files from that mission, for weeks.”

“It was one mission in Moscow. I don’t know why they both care about it, but how bad could those files or anything she shares really be?”

Waller snatched the form back and stormed out of the office. ARGUS didn’t have any friends in other agencies. She made sure of that, so that she never had to share credit or play nice with others. So, she had no one she could reach out to and ask what the FBI and Coast Guard had learned from Lyla. She looked at the release of information form again. She wanted to know who was so eager to share ARGUS’s secrets with other agencies.

 

Dinah was walking through the lobby of the hotel when she bumped into the man she’d met in the elevator. She greeted him and asked him how he was doing. They talked for a little while when suddenly, a woman walked up to them.

“Sorry I’m late. The cab driver had this weird thing about not wanting to make left turns, so I-.” Donna said. “Oh, Slade. I didn't realize you knew Dinah.”

“You know him?” Dinah asked, looking between Slade and Donna.

“I don’t really know Dinah all that well, to be honest.” Slade said.

“Oh, um. Slade Wilson, this is Dinah Lance. Dinah, this is Slade Wilson.” Donna said, because she couldn’t not introduce them without making things awkward. “Dinah’s a friend of mine and-.”

“Her daughter is Sara Lance.” He finished. “Oliver mentioned her a few times.”

“You know Oliver too?” Dinah asked.

“I was stranded on the same island Oliver was, for some of the time that he was there.” He admitted. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” She said. After a moment, realization dawned on her. “That’s where I recognized you from.”

“What?” Donna said.

“I went to talk to the task force, in case they- they didn’t have any updates for me, but on one of the walls, they had a bunch of sketches and one of them was of him.”

 

“So, I realize I probably freaked you out yesterday, with all of my cloak and dagger nonsense.” Tommy said when he arrived at the house. “Sorry about that.”

‘A bit. I thought you were in trouble, but Digg made an excellent point that you were probably just nervous about Valentine’s Day coming up soon and didn't know what to do with McKenna.’ Oliver responded.

“That is coming up, isn’t it? Shit.” He said. “What are your plans?”

‘Nothing too exciting. I figured I’d cook dinner for Felicity, maybe get her some flowers and chocolates. Do you have any ideas about what you might wanna do?

“Not a clue. I’ve never- you know how in high school, I never had a girlfriend on Valentine’s Day? That was on purpose.”

“Can’t go wrong with dinner and flowers.” Digg said. “But if that's not her style, there’s always a stuffed animal with something cheesy written on it. As long as you do something, show her you remembered, it counts.”

“John Diggle. Bodyguard. Former soldier. Yoda?” Tommy teased. “But seriously, thanks. I- I don’t wanna mess this up.”

The trio talked for a little while longer before Tommy departed. He had plans with McKenna. While Oliver loved Tommy like a brother, he was glad that he left, since he’d uncovered something huge about the gang he’d been investigating just before Tommy texted to say he was on his way over. He wanted to get back to the foundry and continue the Arrow business he had going on. The Orchid Bay Butchers had been a thorn in the SCPD’s side for years, but Oliver had recently found evidence to indicate that the gang was much more than a group of thieves. He needed to gather more evidence before sending what he’d found to the police.

He and Digg returned to the foundry so that they could get back to their investigation. Oliver did a little more digging and found evidence that the gang was transporting weapons across the city. He also learned where they tended to hang out. He passed that information, anonymously, to the relevant SCPD unit.

 

Moira liked to believe that she wasn’t an obtuse person. While she admitted she had a bit of a blind spot when it came to her children, she was more than aware of how people perceived her. So, when her lunch plans got cancelled, for the third day in a row, she was more than aware of what was going on. Her friends were distancing themselves from her. They didn't want to be associated with her, tainted by her reputation. She couldn't quite believe things had gotten this messy. Walter had moved out. Thea had moved out and wasn't even speaking to her. Oliver hadn’t spoken to her in months. Her reputation was falling apart. It seemed that the only thing that was going according to plan was Tempest, and she didn't even know if that was true. She hadn’t heard from Malcolm in weeks, but assumed no news was good news.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t heard from anyone from Tempest since the day of the task force’s press conference. The one that was held over a week ago. She suddenly felt uneasy and decided to give Frank Chen a call. Frank didn’t answer. She then phoned Carl Ballard.

“Malcolm mentioned something about you needing space, to not raise the feds' suspicions.” Ballard said when Moira finished explaining. “Only person I haven’t heard from is Frank.”

“Has anyone heard from him?”

“Not that I know of. You don't think- Robert was one thing, but-.”

“I doubt Malcolm had Frank killed. If he had, he would’ve told us, because of how Robert’s death went over with the group. No, if he killed Frank, we’d already know and we’d know why.” She assured him. 

“Perhaps he had to travel for business last minute then.”

“That’s completely possible.”

The two members of Tempest talked for a little while longer before ending the call. After she’d hung up, Moira had a feeling that Frank wasn’t away on business. Part of her wondered if he might’ve left Starling to put as much distance between himself and Malcolm. Or maybe he’d gone to the authorities after hearing the Gambit was being investigated as an act of terrorism.

 

Felicity’s workday was pretty boring. She, Curtis and Ray got closer to the testing phase of their biostimulant chip. She tweaked a few programs she’d developed for the company firewall. Aside from a phone call from Washington, DC, which she ignored, the most exciting part of her day was eating the lunch Oliver made for her. She was more than ready to head home when five o’clock arrived.

 

Wednesday night, Oliver suited up and went on patrol. He was hoping spending some time under the hood, truly helping the people of Starling, would help him clear his head. There were a lot of errant and difficult thoughts rolling around in there and he didn’t know what to do about most of them.

As he moved, he had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. Looking around, he didn’t spot anyone or anything out of place, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

On the other side of the air conditioning unit he’d ducked behind, David Drayson was trying to contain his shock. Whoever the Arrow was, he was good. Even as far back as he was while trailing him, the Arrow had still figured out that someone was watching him. Drayson stayed crouched there for a while before going back to his hotel. He’d nearly been spotted, there was no reason to continue shadowing the Arrow tonight.

Nyssa still hadn’t heard from Sara, so when she encountered Oliver, they only discussed vigilante business such as the List and the dirty cops. She didn’t say anything about Samantha, Moira or what the agents found in Central City. And she wouldn’t until she got the answers she needed from Sara. The pair patrolled together for a few hours before parting ways. 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 86

Summary:

Nyssa gets a chance to talk to Sara, the SCPD find someone they've been looking for for a very long time and revelations are made.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The breaking news Thursday morning were reports of the Arrow having a partner. While there weren’t pictures of the Arrow and his partner, eye-witnesses reported seeing two archers patrolling the city. Many people seemed happy with this news, or at least not very surprised by it, but one group in particular was a little more skeptical.

“Do we think this person is a copycat or what?” The lieutenant in charge of the vigilante task force asked the other officers. The mayor hadn’t officially shut down the task force, though many believe it was coming, nor had the interim commissioner made a comment about it.

“All of the reports saw the two archers together, so I wouldn’t say “copycat”, more like “sidekick” or “partner”. Obviously, this is just speculation, but I don’t think he’d be working with someone who was a threat to the general public.” McKenna’s old partner said. “I know we should be putting all our efforts into finding the pair, but we ought to see how this plays out for a bit first.”

“As your superior officer, I disagree. As a fellow cop, who feels like months of my time have been wasted, I agree.” The lieutenant said before going back into his office.

 

“So, the Arrow has an associate now.” Doyle said when he walked into the bullpen where the federal task force was working. “Some papers are calling her a sidekick, but reports say she’s just as skilled as he is, and sidekick would be an insult.”

“Seems to be a pattern of his.” Mars said, and then saw several agents looking at her. “Ok, even though we’re all positive that the Dark Archer didn’t attack Applied Sciences because the Arrow’s tech person worked there, he probably does have a hacker or some other tech expert helping him from time to time. Some of the things he’s uncovered, it would take a lot of skill to pull off. Maybe he is a master archer and a master hacker, it’s possible, but it’s just as possible that he has a hacker he trusts who does the behind-the-scenes work. With that in mind, encountering or even recruiting another skilled archer doesn’t sound particularly insane.”

“From what I hear, she’s as much of a badass as he is.” McKenna said. “SCPD’s got about six guys in holding, bitter about, and I quote “getting beaten up by a girl”.”

“What were they doing? The people in holding?” Doyle asked.

“Some were dealing. Some were trying to rob people. One, the one who’s in the worst shape, was trying to drag a woman into an alleyway.” She said. “I don’t feel too bad for any of them, especially the last guy. I don’t know how the SCPD feels about it, but I like her so far.”

Across the street in her hideout, Nyssa heard the task force not only talking about her, but complimenting her, and she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time. There was this warm feeling in her stomach when they were saying such positive things about her.

“What if she’s his girlfriend?” Anderson asked, as the agents continued speculating about the mystery archer.

Nyssa rolled her eyes, slightly amused. Oliver, as good of a person as he seemed to be and as much as she respected him, wasn’t someone she was attracted to, for obvious reasons. In another world, where she wasn’t a lesbian, perhaps she might feel attracted to Oliver, but this was reality and he was an ally of hers, nothing more.

“Girlfriend? Really? That’s a little….it sounds a bit cliché.” Another agent said. Nyssa wasn’t sure of who that agent was, having not heard them speak before. “No, I’ve got a better theory. They went to the same ninja-spy school and are BFFs. And he was like “hey, wanna help me fight crime” and she was like “of course”. I mean, it would certainly explain how she’s just as skilled as him despite not seeming to be doing this for as long.”

“I don’t care about who she is or how she relates to him.” Dinan said. “Right now, I care about how their actions affect our investigation, and after what happened last night, we owe them a gift basket or something.”

“Because they caught a few low-level thugs?”

“No, because the SCPD gang unit, responding to an anonymous tip delivered in the same way the Arrow sends tips, arrested about half of the Orchid Bay Butchers. And some of what they uncovered is startling.” McKenna said. “I’m about to head down there. The head of the gang unit used to work with me and asked if I could interrogate one of the men they arrested. They believe he-.”

Nyssa didn’t get to hear what the SCPD had found, because Sara finally called her back. Knowing she could learn what the police found later, she turned down the audio on the bug and answered the phone.

“Beloved, what is a BFF?” She asked.

“BF- Is that really why you called me and said I urgently needed to return your call?” Sara asked with a laugh.

“No, but I still would like to know what that term means. Last night, I patrolled with the Arrow and some police officers believe he is my BFF. What is that?”

“It’s slang. It stands for Best Friend Forever.” She answered. “You and Ollie teamed up, huh? How’d it go?”

“Quite well. We were able to stop a number of criminals from continuing to thrive.” She answered. After a moment, she continued. “And there was a woman I saved from being attacked.” Like Sara, Nyssa saw sexual predators as the lowest of the low. As a result, helping prevent that from happening to someone last night stuck with her more than simply roughing up a few drug dealers.

“Sounds to me like you’re proud of yourself.” Sara said. “And you should be. You helped someone.”

“I did, didn’t I?” She said. “I suppose you want to know why I asked that you call me. I will admit that your sister’s relationship with Oliver is…..confusing and I need to make sense of it in order to make a decision about something I recently learned. I was hoping you could shed some light on it.”

“I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask. I mean, I’m not exactly unbiased here.”

“I know, but you’re the only person I can ask.” She said. “Some claim Oliver and your sister had an on-and-off relationship. They would break up, he might date someone new for a time, before getting back together. Others claim that Oliver and Laurel broke up rarely but he cheated on her frequently. Which is true?” What Nyssa knew from her interactions with Oliver didn’t make sense with what she’d heard others say about him, including McKenna when they were discussing Samantha Clayton. She needed to figure out the truth before she told Oliver about his son.

“The first one. Laurel always- she had this fixation about becoming Mrs. Oliver Queen. And Ollie, sometimes the way she talked about it freaked him out. Sometimes, the way she insisted he drop everything to spend time with her angered him. They broke up a lot. He never cheated on her, but between break-ups, he might go on a few dates or have a short fling, before she convinced him to give them another shot. When she found out he went on a date during their break or had a fling though, she’d tell everyone who’d listen that he cheated on her.”

“So, your sister manipulated the situation to paint herself as the victim.”

“Yeah. I never knew why he didn’t try to set the record straight.”

“Perhaps he decided letting it go was best.” Nyssa answered.

 

When Oliver woke up, he was excited. Today was Thursday. Felicity worked from home on Thursdays. Other than the weekends, when she had both days completely free, Thursdays were the best days of the week. When he was younger, he never thought simply being in the same place as someone would make him happy, but it did.

He’d been sleeping surprisingly soundly, since he opened his eyes to find Felicity was already out of bed and getting dressed. She was wearing yoga pants, but had a pink button-up blouse on.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” She said, leaning down to give him a kiss.

‘Morning. Why are you only half-dressed for work?’ On her work-from-home days, Felicity usually wore casual clothing and he was wondering why today was different.

“We’ve been trying to schedule a Skype presentation for more than a week. On the off-chance that the investor is only available today, I wanted to be prepared.” She answered. “Hence my “business on top, party on the bottom” look today.”

‘You should come back to bed though.’

“Oh, trust me. I want to.” She said. “But I can’t. I have to be a responsible adult and work, no matter how much I’d rather get back into bed.”

‘I guess I should get out of bed then.’ He said. ‘So that I won’t be lonely in here all by myself.’

“Yeah, I guess you should.” She said with a smile.

 

“Um, Felicity’s house is the other way.” Digg told Lyla when she made an unexpected turn.

“It’s Thursday. What do Oliver and Felicity do every Thursday? They stay at the house and they apologize that we have sit there and guard them from nothing. I talked to her about it yesterday, and we came to an agreement.” Lyla said. “If they’re not going anywhere, we don’t really need to be there. And, while we’re all friends, sometimes, you need some time alone with your partner.”

“Fair enough.” He said. “Where are we going then?”

“Foundry. I figured I don’t have anything planned for today. Maybe I should finish my vigilante suit.” She shrugged. “And it gives us time to discuss everything.”

“Discuss what?”

“Well, we haven’t really talked about me going out into the field with Oliver or how you feel about it. How do you feel about it?”

“I- before I say anything, I know you’re more than capable of defending yourself. You’re a badass, I’ve known that for years. I know that Oliver will have your back. There’s a part of me that I think is always gonna be a little scared of something happening to you.” He said. “At the same time, I think you should do it.”

They reached the foundry and started working on Lyla’s suit. Digg was there to give feedback and provide an extra set of hands when Lyla needed them. When Lyla tried on the pants of her suit, he made sure to tell her how good her butt looked in them and she threw him a fake exasperated look.

 

Felicity was typing some code when her phone rang. She looked at it, scoffed and hit the “Ignore” button. “Nope, not happening.”

‘What’s not happening?’ Oliver asked.

“The federal government keeps calling me and I’m ignoring them. Well, not the whole government, just one of the cabinet departments, but I’m still ignoring them.” She said.

‘Why?’

“They’re calling because they want something from me. I don’t feel like helping them, and since this is America, they can’t force me to do it.” She said. “They’re just gonna have to find someone else. Like, someone who wants to help them.”

‘Fair enough.’ He had a feeling that there was more to the story, but didn’t want to push. Felicity had her reasons for ignoring whoever in the government was calling her and he wasn’t going to try and convince her to change her mind.

He turned back to his book while she went back to her work. Felicity had a pretty good idea what Washington wanted. She had been working on a project that had applications for national security. Unfortunately for them, she had no interest in selling that technology to them or making it available for purchase. Especially not after what she’d learned.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Felicity tended to ignore people knocking on her door, since usually it was just a package being dropped off or someone wanting to help her find Jesus. There was another knock and a voice called out.

“Ollie?” A voice said weakly. Oliver answered the door to find a crying Tommy standing there. “I’m sorry, I just- I saw the news and I didn’t know where else to go, but I didn’t wanna be alone and-.”

Oliver let him into the house before responding. ‘What do you mean? What news?’

Tommy took a few deep breaths, so that he’d be calm enough to speak, before answering. “On the news this morning, they said the SCPD arrested a bunch of gang members as a result of evidence they got from the Arrow. They- the news is saying that one of the guns they seized is- it was the one that killed my mom.”

“They found the person who killed your mother?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t know yet. The news just said they found the gun, but- but that means they probably did, right?” He said. “I can’t believe-. I thought they’d never find him.”

Oliver stood there slack-jawed. He couldn’t believe he’d found Rebecca Merlyn’s killer. He tipped off the SCPD because the Orchid Bay Butchers kept popping up when he would intervene in drug deals. He suspected they might’ve been responsible for more than robberies and drug-dealing, but he never imagined that one of them had killed Tommy’s mom.

‘I- I’m glad you might finally get some closure on what happened.’ He said. ‘Has your dad-?’

“I don’t even know if he knows. I’m not talking to him so….yeah.”

 

McKenna walked into the interrogation room where Daniel Brickwell, aka Brick, was sitting. Forensics had matched fingerprints on one of the guns to Brick. The same gun was used to kill Rebecca Merlyn and at least three others. She made her face as blank as possible as she sat down at the table. He hadn’t asked for a lawyer yet, which surprised her, as most of the other gang members had.

“We matched your fingerprints to prints found on this weapon.” She said, placing an evidence bag on the table.

“Last I checked, there ain’t nothing illegal about having a gun.” Brick said.

“Well, this gun was used in a crime, meaning you’re our prime suspect in that crime.” She countered. “Is this the weapon you used to murder Rebecca Merlyn?”

Brick was a lot of things, stupid wasn’t one of them. He wouldn’t be able to get off on a technicality this time. He wasn’t going to feign ignorance. “Everybody I ever dropped was with that piece. And that’s a long list, so you’ll have to be more specific.”

“November of 1992. She ran a clinic in the Glades.” McKenna responded.

“Brunette?” He chuckled. “Yeah, I remember. She was my first. My initiation into the Orchid Bay Butchers.”

“So, to clarify, you’re confessing to killing Rebecca Merlyn in order to get into a gang.” She repeated.

“I didn’t kill her to get into the Butchers. I did it because she was weak! Because she was crying, begging me not to kill her. Telling me she just wanted to get home to her little boy.” He said. “So, I killed her. Killed plenty after her, too.”

McKenna nodded once and stood up. “A sergeant will be in in a moment, in case you want to share any more information.” She walked out of interrogation and sagged against the wall.

How was Tommy going to take this? How was Malcolm? Rebecca Merlyn died because Brick wanted to join a gang. The woman spent her life trying to help people, and was killed by a random street thug. She didn’t deserve that at all.

It took her a few moments to collect herself before she went back up to the bullpen. Dinan, Reeves, Anderson and Doyle all turned to look at her. They could tell that whatever happened in interrogation was rough.

“SCPD matched a print on one of the guns they found to a man name Daniel Brickwell, aka Brick.” She said.

“Isn’t Brickwell on the List?” Anderson asked. Doyle checked the list and nodded.

“The gun they pulled his print from? It was used to kill, among other people, Rebecca Merlyn.” She continued. “I’m guessing Merlyn didn’t know, otherwise- Brickwell doesn’t even care. He admitted to killing her so casually. I can’t- the only good thing that comes out of this is Tommy finally getting some closure.”

“He confessed to killing her? Right away?” Dinan said.

“I think he knew he was caught and didn’t see the point in trying to deny it.” She said. “I thought you all should know in case Malcolm Merlyn lashes out.”

“You think there’s gonna be another attack?”

“He hated the Arrow before, and the Arrow solved his wife’s murder when he couldn’t. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

 

Once the district attorney and police were finished questioning Brickwell, they called a press conference. At the press conference, the interim commissioner announced that Rebecca Merlyn’s killer had been found, thanks to the SCPD and assistance from the Arrow.

Tommy watched the press conference with Oliver and Felicity and cried himself into exhaustion. It had been 20 years and his mother was finally getting justice. While he knew this wasn’t the end of the situation, there was still the sentencing hearing and the full investigation report that was going to be released, he couldn’t believe he finally had answers.

Dinah and Donna found out about it when Dinah noticed a TV in the restaurant where they were having lunch was airing the press conference. While Donna wanted to rush off and check on Tommy, a text from Felicity stopped her, saying that Tommy was with her and Oliver, but needed some time right now. Thea found out when two girls in her science class started gossiping about the news. Walter learned about it when he got out of the two hour meeting he’d been in and he saw the press release. Roy, who decided to sleep in and have a lazy day, found out when Thea sent him a text asking if he’d heard from Tommy.

Moira wasn’t shocked by Brick’s arrest. He was one of the names on the List that she knew to be a low-life. What shocked her was the revelation that he’d killed Rebecca. Malcolm planned to level the Glades as “justice” for her death, but he’d allied himself with her killer. Had he known? If he hadn’t, what else was he unaware of?

Malcolm was livid. He’d grown past wanting to find the person who killed his wife. If the Glades hadn’t been so awful, she wouldn’t have gotten killed in the first place. Everyone living there needed to pay. While he wasn’t interested in making just her killer pay, he was furious that the Arrow had solved her murder when he couldn’t. Upon seeing the news, after his anger subsided, he decided he should call Tommy. He wasn’t fully sure why he felt the need to call his son, but he dialed the number regardless. It went to voicemail. He decided to call back later.

 

Once Tommy was finished crying, Felicity suggested that he lie down for a little bit and offered him the guest room. He accepted and went to take a nap.

‘I can’t believe it.’ Oliver told her.

“Me neither.”

‘I didn’t- the gang was pushing drugs. I had no idea that- that one of them had- do you think this will change anything? For Malcolm, I mean.’

“Honestly? No. He’s become fixated on destroying the Glades. It stopped being about justice a long time ago. So, I wish it would change something, but it probably won’t.”

 

“Is it true what they’re saying?” Sara asked Nyssa as soon as she answered the phone. “They found the person who killed Tommy’s mom?”

“I- yes, it seems so, and the man confessed. I am surprised you are already aware of this breaking news. I did not expect it to travel so fast.” Nyssa admitted.

“Yeah, well, ever since I ended up being the last person to learn Ollie was alive, I’ve paid more attention to the news from Starling.” She said. “Poor Tommy. Losing his mom like that and only getting answers now.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate.” Nyssa said sympathetically. While she had never interacted with Tommy, she was able to learn quite a bit from both spying on the task force and watching Oliver. As someone who also lost her mother at a young age, she felt a kind of kinship with him. “Today has already been quite astounding, and it is only just past midday.”

“Here’s hoping the rest of the day is a lot less….exciting.” Sara said before ending the call. She was starting to wonder if, maybe, Nyssa might need a little more back-up in Starling City. 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 87

Summary:

Team Oliver rallies around Tommy, Moira gets a wake-up call and Nyssa reveals something to Oliver.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Digg watched as Lyla fired off a few arrows at some targets set up in the foundry. While she’d finished putting together her vigilante suit, she wanted to be sure that she could fire accurately with a hood on. If not, she’d need to figure out another way to conceal her identity. After she hit all four targets perfectly, John spoke.

“That was…whoa. I know Oliver taught you archery, but- well, I didn’t expect you to be that good.”

“He’s a good teacher and I kept practicing.” She said. “It’s been a while since I shot one of these at someone who shot back though.”

“You’ll be fine. As Felicity might say, you’re Lyla Frakking Michaels.” Digg said. “You can- ok, this is the third text I’ve gotten in the last three minutes.” His phone had been buzzing and while he didn’t have the gut feeling that something was wrong, he wanted to know what the fuss was about.

Digg took out his phone and saw he had a text from Felicity.

>>From: Felicity:  We saw the news. Tommy is with me and Oliver. He’s upset, but I don’t think he wants company right now.

John stared at his phone for a second. What did that mean? Why was Tommy upset? Clearly, they’d missed something big happening.

“Johnny?” Lyla asked. “What is it?”

“Turn on the news.” He responded.

Using one of Felicity’s computers, they pulled up a live broadcast. A reporter was recapping the press conference the SCPD had just held in regards to Daniel Brickwell. The caption at the bottom read “Rebecca Merlyn killer finally found”. They watched a snippet before Digg spoke again.

“We- Oliver solved Tommy’s mom’s murder.” He said. “The Orchid Bay Butchers, Oliver and I had been gathering evidence to turn over to the SCPD and one of them- I didn’t see that one coming.”

“How’s Tommy? Where’s Tommy? Is he-?” She asked.

“He’s with Oliver and Felicity. He came over before the news broke. She says he’s upset and she thinks he needs some time before he sees anyone else.” He said.

“I’m glad he’s finally gonna get answers.” Lyla said. “Even if it does dig up some painful memories.”

“I think we both know that this is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.” He said. “Because there’s no- everyone thought it was a robbery gone wrong, and maybe it was, but knowing why he killed her isn’t-.”

“Isn’t gonna make it any better. I know. All we can really do is be there for him. And all I can do right now is get back to shooting targets.” She said, walking over to the targets and removing the arrows she’d fired.

 

Felicity walked into her guest bedroom and saw Tommy asleep, curled up into himself on the bed. She closed the door behind her and picked up her phone. While Tommy was asleep, and the rest of Team Oliver knew he was okay, there were other people who cared about Tommy and might call to check on him.

Felicity pulled out a business card she’d held onto for a few weeks and dialed the number printed on it. “Hello, Detective Hall, this is Felicity Smoak.”

“What can I do for you, Ms. Smoak?”

“I’m sorry to call you on this number, I know it’s your work number, but I don’t have your cell and- focus, sorry.” She said. “I wanted to let you know that Tommy’s with me and Oliver. He’s upset and asleep right now, but I wanted you to know he was okay, relatively speaking.”

“I appreciate that. Is he- does he-.” McKenna didn’t quite know how to ask what she wanted to ask. She wanted to know how Tommy took the news, but it seemed like such a stupid question that she didn’t want to ask it. “I don’t want to just invite myself over, but if he happens to be awake, and still be there when my shift ends, would it be okay if I stopped by?”

“Of course.” She responded. “I know you can’t talk about ongoing investigations, but he- the man who did this, there’s no way he’s gonna get away with it, is he?”

“No. He confessed to it. Even if he didn’t, we have enough to keep him in prison for the next seventy years.” The detective answered.

“Good. I never met Rebecca, but she deserves justice.” She responded. “I guess I’ll see you later, maybe.”

 

“I don’t really know what to do here.” Donna admitted to Dinah. The shock of the press conference had worn off and she’d explained Felicity’s text to the other woman. “I want to go see how Tommy’s doing, but she says he wants to be alone for a little bit and-.”

“I know how you feel.” Dinah said. “I didn’t know Rebecca very well. I’d met her at a few school events when Laurel and the boys were young, and she was always very friendly. Even though I didn’t know her well, part of me always felt guilty that I got to see her son grow up when she didn’t. And I- you know, the first time I saw Oliver after he was found, it was that clip of him at the Applied Sciences opening. I saw him, and suddenly, I was seeing the little boy who was so fascinated by everything and realizing how much he’d lost. It’s kind of the same with Tommy now. I see the man he’s become, but I can also see the sad little boy who misses his mother.”

“I guess I need to wait for Felicity to tell me more about how he’s doing. Give him the space he needs.” She said.

“Yeah, at least for right now. Grief is- after Sara died, I started seeing a therapist to work through my feelings about it. Something the doctor told me, a lot, was that “I’m going to be okay, but I’m not okay right now”. He’s going to make it through this, he’s just not through yet.”

The rest of lunch was rather solemn and Donna returned to the penthouse once she and Dinah were finished.

 

Felicity took a break for lunch and found Oliver sitting in their bedroom. In his lap, he held the shoebox that he’d taken from Queen Mansion when he helped Thea move. Clearing her throat so as not to startle him, she moved closer to see what he was looking at.

“Is that- that’s the sticky note I gave you when we first met.” She said, recognizing the pink Post-It in the box.

‘I told you. This box is full of very important things. This sticky note, meeting you, changed my life. Why wouldn’t I keep it in here?’ He asked. He then turned back to the photo in his hand. It was of two smiling young boys and a dark-haired woman. ‘This is from the Starling Fall Festival Tommy and I went to as kids.’

“1992.” She said, reading the date printed at the bottom. She knew what happened later that year, but waited to see what he said.

‘It was taken a few weeks before Aunt Rebecca died.’ He said. ‘We had a lot of fun that day.’ He told her about the pumpkin patch they’d visited and the hayrides they went on. It was a very fun day, especially for young Tommy and Oliver. ‘It was the last time Tommy laughed for a while.’

“Sounds pretty amazing. And Rebecca sounds like a fantastic mother.”

‘It shouldn’t have been her. Malcolm deserved to die, not her.’ He said. ‘She should’ve-.’ His hands started shaking and she saw tears coming down his face. ‘And a bunch of people are probably gonna call Tommy and tell him it was all part some bigger plan, but-.’ He remembered, years ago at Rebecca’s funeral, telling Tommy his mom had become an angel. He was too young then to realize how it sounded. He knew better now.

“I know.” She said. “Do you wanna hear a somewhat funny, somewhat sad, story that relates to people dying that didn’t deserve it?” He nodded. “Someone tried to console my aunt when Emily died by saying she was “taken from us because God needed her”. My aunt slapped her. My grandmother, loudly, asked the woman what the frak God needed a 17-year-old for. Except she didn’t say “frak”. Bubbe never liked being told that terrible things are part of “god’s plan”. She thought it was bullshit.”

‘It’s an empty platitude, and insensitive, for sure.’ He said, standing up. ‘I’m gonna go check on Tommy.’

“He’s probably still asleep, but go right ahead.”

 

“I am more than aware that Nyssa’s mission was not meant to last this long.” Ra’s al Ghul said, looking down at Sara from his raised, throne-like chair. “I fail to see why she should require your assistance to fulfill her mission.”

“I have no doubt of her ability to complete the objective you tasked her with.” Sara answered carefully. She needed to play things just right to get permission from Ra’s to leave Nanda Parbat and make him think it was his idea. “The question is how long it will take her. The situation in Starling City has changed rapidly since she left. Perhaps, a former resident of the city would be useful in helping her achieve her objective.”

“You want to return to your family in Starling. That is clear to see.”

“Sara Lance is dead. I am Taer Al Safher. My only agenda is to see Nyssa’s mission is fulfilled and your will is done.” She said evenly. “If you don’t think I can be helpful to her, forget I mentioned it.”

“I will…..consider your proposal.” He said, effectively dismissing her.

Sara fought the urge to smile as she left the room. The Demon Head hadn’t immediately said “no” which was a pretty good sign. With luck, she’d get to see Nyssa, and others she’d been missing, soon.

 

“She’s screening our calls?” A man in Washington asked. His staff had been trying to get ahold of Felicity Smoak for a few days, with no success.

“No, sir.” His subordinate responded. “All of our calls have gone to voicemail. We even tried calling a general number and getting transferred over to her, and it yielded the same results.”

“So, she’s avoiding us, that’s what you’re saying.”

“It would seem so. That leaves us with two options. We can find someone else, or someone can fly out to the West Coast and try to talk with her in person. Though, I don’t think she’ll respond well to that tactic.”

“Her program could save a lot of lives, with some modifications.” The man said, leaning forward. “I told some very important people that I would do my damnedest to get it. We fly out Sunday evening.”

 

Tommy was still asleep, or at least pretending to be, when Oliver left to pick up Thea from school. The archer wanted to help his best friend, but no one knew what they were supposed to do now. Tommy seemed to want space, but at the same time, they didn’t want to leave him alone unless they had to. Oliver drove to Thea’s school and worried about what to do.

He didn’t have to wait long outside of Thea’s school before students started exiting the building. While Thea didn’t run, she did walk quickly and purposefully towards his car and got inside.

“How’s Tommy doing?”

‘About as well as you’d expect him to be. He cried himself to sleep after the press conference and has been asleep, or at least pretending to sleep, since then.’

“And has he heard from his asshole of a father?” She used to feel neutral towards Malcolm, but over the last few weeks, she realized that even if he wasn’t a homicidal nutjob, he was still a terrible father and all-around person.

‘No.’ He said. ‘I don’t even know if Malcolm saw the news. It sounds bad, but I don’t even know if he cares that her killer’s been found.’

“Then, he really is a piece of shit.” She said. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet.

 When they reached the house, an unfamiliar car was parked out front. Oliver slowly got out of the car and made his way towards the front door, shielding Thea from sight as best he could without tipping her off. He walked into the house and found McKenna sitting on the couch.

‘Hey, Detective Hall.’ He signed with a confused look on his face. Thea interpreted for him.

“I’m not on-duty right now. McKenna’s fine.” She responded. “I stopped by to see how Tommy was doing. Felicity went in to check on him.”

‘I’m glad you’re here.’ He said. ‘Tommy needs a lot of support right now.’

A moment later, the guest bedroom door opened and an exhausted-looking Tommy walked out, followed by Felicity. Oliver, Tommy, Thea and McKenna all stared at one another for a moment. No one was quite sure what to say.

Thea was the first to act. “Oh, Tommy.” She rushed over to hug the man who was like a second older brother to her. “I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t say anything, but hugged her back for several moments. “Thanks for being here. I know it’s not- I’m not fun to be around right now.”

“People care about you Tommy and want to be here to support you.” McKenna said. “Especially in times like this.” She took a deep breath. “I know it sounds dumb, but do you need anything?”

He shook his head. “Can we- would it be okay if we all just kinda sat here for a bit? I- I don’t wanna be alone right now.” When he remembered the days after his mother’s death, he remembered being alone. The house felt empty. His father had left without a goodbye. The last thing he wanted was solitude.

‘Of course.’ Oliver said with a sad smile.

The group sat with Tommy, talking occasionally, but most of the time, it was silent. Around 4:30, Oliver stood up to start dinner. Felicity invited McKenna to stay, which she accepted after some prodding. Thea asked if Tommy was open to more company, referring to Roy, Donna, Digg, Lyla and Walter, and he just shrugged.

“If they wanna come for dinner, then-.”

“As much as I like everyone, what they want isn't important right now.” Felicity said. “Do you feel up for seeing everyone or would you prefer to have less people around?”

“I guess I- yeah, I think seeing everyone might help.” He said.

Felicity texted the others, telling them that Tommy was open to seeing everyone. Everyone came over, including Walter, to rally around Tommy and remind him that he wasn’t alone.

 

Despite knowing that it wasn’t the best use of her time, Moira couldn’t bring herself to look away from the news coverage of Rebecca’s killer’s arrest. Maybe it was because the murder had finally been solved. Maybe it was because Brickwell had been on Malcolm’s list. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d already known. If he had known, why was Brickwell still alive? That idea, that Malcolm had known Brickwell killed Rebecca, turned Moira’s train of thought down a track she didn’t like to think about.

Deep down, so deep that she wouldn’t acknowledge it, she knew why she couldn’t look away. Rebecca’s death had been the catalyst of the Undertaking. Her murder led to Malcolm starting Tempest, and when the group’s activities didn’t improve the Glades enough, he devised the Undertaking. Which led to Robert’s death and Oliver becoming the way he is now. It all started with Rebecca. Moira was starting to rethink her life and her choices again. Yet, she couldn’t turn off the TV or change the channel.

“A touching scene outside of the Rebecca Merlyn Clinic this afternoon,” a reporter said, “as people have started leaving flowers and notes outside the building to honor the deceased philanthropist. Rebecca Merlyn dedicated her life to helping others, and news of her murder being solved has invigorated many to remember the good she was able to accomplish and the tragedy of her death. Back to you, Doug.”

Moira Queen definitely needed to rethink her life.

 

McKenna ended up inviting Tommy over for the night. He didn’t want to go back to the Ritz alone, but he also didn’t want to depend on Felicity and Oliver, or Donna and Thea to give him somewhere to sleep. They cuddled together on her bed and he drifted off to sleep.

After a very long discussion with Lyla, Digg and Felicity, Oliver decided not to go out on patrol Thursday night. The day had been exhausting and he wasn’t in the right headspace for it. He was supposed to meet Nyssa at a predetermined location and time, so he did put on his hood and head there to tell her that they’d have to meet up another time.

When he arrived, she was already there waiting. ‘I wish to apologize. I will not be able to discuss our attempts against the Dark Archer tonight as planned.’ He told her.

‘I expected not.’ She responded. ‘In fact, I did not think you would come at all, given the announcement today.’ There was a pause. ‘While your day has been difficult enough and I do not want to compound matters, as it were, there is something I need to tell you.’

‘What is it?’

Nyssa paused for a moment. Would it be cruel to tell Oliver the truth about his son now? She decided that it may not be cruel, but it may be too much for him to handle in conjunction with everything else, and so she told him a different piece of information.

‘Malcolm Merlyn will likely plan a retaliation attack in response to what happened today. Rebecca Merlyn’s killer being found.’

‘Why?’

‘He was under the impression that he had found, and killed, the murderer 20 years ago. He will not appreciate being proved wrong.’ She said before walking away. She would tell Oliver about William Clayton’s existence tomorrow, or possibly the day after.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 88

Summary:

Malcolm reaches a startling conclusion, forcing Moira to act, while Oliver closes a chapter on his life and begins to move forward.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

McKenna woke up to an empty bed, which wasn’t unusual for her. As she started to get her bearings, she remembered that she’d invited Tommy over last night and they’d fallen asleep while cuddling. She supposed he might have woken up and left, but then she heard what sounded like a bang from her kitchen. Getting out of bed, she padded to the kitchen and found Tommy going through her cabinets.

“What are you looking for?” She asked him, causing him to jump about three feet in the air.

“Gah- you’re as sneaky as Ollie sometimes.” He said. “Where are your plates?” She pointed to the right cabinet and he pulled two plates down. “I wanted to make breakfast, to thank you for last night. Except, the only thing I know how to make is scrambled eggs. So, I hope you like scrambled eggs.” Maybe he should ask Oliver to teach him how to cook.

“Well, it’s definitely better than the coffee and toast I normally have.” McKenna said, walking over to pour herself some coffee. “You didn’t have to make breakfast though.”

“I wanted to. My girlfriend- are you my girlfriend? We haven’t really had that conversation yet, but in my head, I think of you as my girlfriend, and-.”

“I consider you my boyfriend, so yes, I’d say “girlfriend” is the right term to use here.” McKenna said.

“Okay, I didn’t want to assume or anything.” He said. “Anyway, I wanted to thank my very beautiful, very thoughtful girlfriend for last night. I didn’t want to be alone, and you didn’t leave me alone.” He paused. “And also- in helping Ollie with his….stuff, I’ve learned that one of the worst things you can do is isolate yourself and just sit around, dwelling on the pain and grief you’re feeling. Making breakfast meant needing to focus, which meant I couldn’t think about my mom or what I’m feeling right now.”

McKenna simply nodded and took the plate Tommy offered when the eggs were done. When she asked him what his plans were for the day, he said he wasn’t sure, but he was going to see what the others were up to. McKenna left for work, excited to do some good for the city, but nervous that something even worse than yesterday’s surprise was going to be revealed.

Roy didn’t end up having plans for the day, so he offered to keep Tommy occupied by playing video games with him all day.

 

“Oh. Oh! OH!” Felicity exclaimed, causing Oliver to lift his head up and smirk at her. “What? That felt really good.” They had woken up and began kissing. Kissing turned into touching and soon enough, Oliver’s head was between Felicity’s legs. After having not one but two orgasms, she felt like her skin was on fire. “It shouldn’t be legal for you to be so good at that.”

‘Well, I’ve always been a rule-breaker.’ He teased, moving his body so that his head was next to hers again. ‘Happy Friday.’

“And what a nice Friday it is so far.” She said. She cupped his face and started rubbing her thumb over his cheek. “Today’s the big day. Well, not the big day, but a day you’ve been nervous about for a week, so- are you ready?” Today was the day Oliver was getting his Bratva tattoo removed.

‘I’m ready for the tattoo to be gone. I hate it. It makes me- I want it gone, but I also- I’m not looking forward to another scar.’ He admitted.

“You know, laser tattoo removal has gotten very good in the last few years. It’s possible you won’t even have a scar.” She said. “The laser this place uses is some new, fancy one, designed to do it all in one sitting, but I’m pretty sure it will remove all of it and it’ll be like it was never there.”

‘I hope so.’ He said. The tattoo might soon be gone, but the memories were harder to get rid of. ‘When are you getting off work?’

“I’m leaving at noon, so I should be back here not long after that.” She told him. “And your appointment is at 1:00. We should have plenty of time.”

They chatted about random things as Felicity got dressed for work and Oliver made breakfast. When she kissed him goodbye, she promised to see him soon.

 

The more Malcolm thought about it, the less sense it made. The Arrow had the List, but where could he have gotten it? The Arrow also attacked Frank Chen before the Queen’s Gambit had been found. The only people who knew of Tempest before the Gambit was found were the people in Tempest. How could the Arrow have known Frank was involved? And now, the Arrow had found Rebecca’s killer, as if he knew Rebecca’s murder was the catalyst for something.

Malcolm’s thoughts kept circling back to two details. That the Arrow somehow had the List, and that he knew Frank was involved. He could only think of one person who knew about Tempest, knew about Rebecca’s murder being the catalyst for the Undertaking, had a copy of the List, and might want to scare Frank Chen more than anyone else. Frank did betray the person in question.

Robert Queen’s body was never found, after all. And the only proof of his death was that Oliver claimed he was dead. It was the perfect cover. No normal investigator would ever suspect a dead man of being a vigilante. Robert Queen was the Arrow.

Furious, Malcolm ordered his driver to get the car. He needed to pay Moira a visit.

 

“What happened to you yesterday?” Linda Park’s cameraman asked her when he saw her heading towards the elevator of their hotel. He got into the car with her. “You said you were going to the library for research and you didn’t come back.”

“Research turned out to be….more intense than I thought.” Linda answered. “I was there all day.”

“And you couldn’t have done the research from your room? On the laptop the station gave you that I know you have with you?” He pressed.

“There were a few things I didn’t want on my work computer.” She answered.

Anything Linda had on her work computer was technically the property of KSFZ Channel 8 and they could do whatever they wanted with it. By going to the library, using a public computer for research and emailing what she found to her private email account, she avoided that issue. Some of what she found out about Lian Yu was readily available public information, but a lot of it took some digging to find and what she found wasn’t pretty.

“How bad is it?”

“I don’t know yet. I had to reach out to a friend about some of it, but I’d say it’s pretty bad.” She said. Linda didn’t normally have to reach out to her friend, a medical examiner, for stories and the few times that she did, it wasn’t good. The elevator reached the ground floor. “Why do you ask? Did you need me for something?”

“Nope. Boss called, wanted to know what was taking so long. I gave him the very short version of what we know so far.”

“Great. I need to get some coffee.” She said, before leaving the lobby.

Linda went to Jitters, got her coffee and was heading back to the hotel when she got a call from her ME friend. “Can I call you back in 10 minutes?” She asked. “I have a feeling I don’t wanna be in public for what you have to say.”

“Yes, but soon. There’s a lot I need to tell you.”

Linda’s friend had some pretty bad news. Just based off of the injuries that were clearly visible in the photos Linda had sent her, Oliver Queen had clearly been through an extreme amount of trauma. While the medical examiner didn’t want to tell Linda absolutely not to ask Oliver about the island, she strongly encouraged her to avoid that line of questioning if possible.

“Who would do this to someone?” Linda asked.

“I don’t know, but based on the wounds, I’d say someone very psychotic and very sadistic.”

 

Moira was certainly shocked when Raisa informed her that Malcolm Merlyn was here to see her. She knew she couldn’t refuse to see him, so she prepared herself before telling Raisa to show him in. Malcolm hobbled into the room and Moira was torn between asking him if he was okay and not wanting to show any weakness by expressing concern for him. Luckily, she didn’t have to say anything, as Malcolm started questioning her as soon as Raisa was gone.

“Where is he?”

“Where is who?” Moira responded.

“Don’t try to bullshit me. Robert, I’m talking about Robert.” He said. “No one ever found his body. The only proof anyone has that he died is Oliver’s word. Plus, things have been revealed, things only someone like Robert would know.”

“Robert is dead, Malcolm.”

“And I’d be inclined to believe you, if you could show me his body.” Malcolm said. “If you’re sheltering him, remember what I told you five years ago.” He started to hobble towards the exit. “Think very hard about your family, before you make an enemy of me.” He left and Moira sat there, frozen, for several minutes.

How could Malcolm believe Robert was alive? It was a miracle Oliver had survived the Gambit’s “accident” and he was far younger than Robert when it happened. Malcolm had clearly gone mad, and now he was threatening her family. Moira couldn’t waver about what to do any longer. Her family might be estranged, but she needed to protect them.

It was time to come clean.

Moira left the mansion and drove to the SCPD. Upon arriving, she made her way to where the federal task force was stationed. She approached the first agent she saw.

“My name is Moira Queen. I have information that pertains to your investigation and I want to speak to the agent in charge.”

 

Felicity’s day flew by until it was time for her to leave at noon. She and Lyla left Applied Sciences after telling everyone on her team to have a great weekend. They went back to the house and had lunch with Digg and Oliver and then it was time to head to the tattoo removal clinic.

The waiting room was pretty much empty and Oliver’s name was called within a few minutes of them arriving. They discussed it in the car, and Oliver decided that he only wanted Felicity with him while he was getting the tattoo removed. He wasn’t sure how the specialist would feel about having four people in the room and, to be honest, he wasn’t quite ready for Lyla or Digg to see his scars. Whenever he worked out or sparred with them, he always wore a shirt and now wasn’t the right time for them to see his scars. John and Lyla sat in the waiting room while Felicity and Oliver went back into the office.

“Good afternoon.” The specialist said as he entered the room.

“Hi.” Felicity responded. “You ready Oliver?” Oliver just nodded.

“We’re a little nervous, I see. That’s okay. I want to assure you that, while you will feel some pain while the laser is in use, it will subside in the next twelve hours or so. It depends on your pain tolerance. The skin may be sensitive for a few days, but it won’t hurt.” The man said. “Oh, and here’s the NDA Ms. Smoak sent to me, since you were worried about your privacy.” He handed Oliver the document. “Now, if you’d like to remove your shirt, we can get started.”

Oliver pulled off his shirt as the specialist was preparing the laser and other materials. When the man turned to face Oliver, he froze for a moment before continuing what he was doing.

“Do you want me to hold your hand?” Felicity asked her boyfriend quietly. He nodded, holding out his right hand. The tattoo was on his left side, so he didn’t want to do anything with that arm.

The man moved closer and held up the laser. “I’m going to start now. If at any point, you want me to stop, just let me know and we’ll stop.”

‘I’m ready.’ Oliver said and Felicity interpreted.

“All right, I’m just gonna numb the area with some lidocaine and we’ll get started. It should wear off in about an hour.” He gave Oliver some local anesthetic and waited for it to take effect.

The laser was turned on and Oliver saw the beam touch his skin rather than feeling it. He was surprised that the laser made a noise while it was in use, expecting the process to be silent. After a while, the laser turned off.

“Okay, the tattoo has been removed from the top few layers of skin.” The specialist said. “I’m going to go over the entire area again to break up the ink some more, and then I’ll spot-treat the areas where the ink was the darkest.”

The laser started again and Oliver tensed slightly, but Felicity holding his hand kept him grounded. He wasn’t sure how long they were in the exam room, but it must’ve been more than an hour, because a few minutes before the removal was done, Oliver started getting the sensation back on the left side of his chest. The laser wasn’t comfortable, but it didn’t hurt as much as he’d expected it to. In his mind, the pain would be worse than anything else he’d experienced, but on a scale of 1-10, it ranked as a three, maybe a four. Soon enough, the laser was turned off and the specialist began to bandage the area. He gave Oliver and Felicity instructions to make sure the area healed properly and minimize scarring. They paid for the procedure and left. John and Lyla followed them out of the building.

On the way to the car, Felicity spoke. “I think Oliver deserves a milkshake.”

“Not that I don’t want Oliver to have one, but what?” Lyla asked.

“So, I don’t like needles. And when I was a kid, anytime I had to get shots at the doctor, my mom would always treat me to a milkshake afterwards. I know he didn’t have to get any shots, but I think Oliver deserves a milkshake after getting his tattoo removed.”

‘I don’t like milkshakes that much.’ Oliver said.

“Gasp! Sacrilege!” Felicity said, with a dramatic flair.

‘But we could go home and eat some ice cream instead?’

“Sounds perfect to me.” She said with a smile.

The group went back to Felicity’s house and Oliver and Felicity ate some mint chip ice cream. Oliver’s appointment ran too late for him to pick Thea up from school, but Roy picked her up and they went on a mini-date for coffee before heading to Felicity’s house. Tommy and Donna arrived not long after. Walter called to let them know that he wasn't able to make it to dinner, but promised he'd be available tomorrow. Oliver had told the others a few days ago that he had "something big" he wanted to share with them on Saturday. Felicity and Oliver’s Friday night was quieter than usual and everyone left after dinner. Felicity, Oliver, Digg and Lyla then headed to the foundry.

 

Nyssa walked into her hideout and froze. Someone else was here. Someone who wasn’t supposed to be here. She drew a knife and moved further into the room. Whoever was lurking within the hideout was good, almost as good at hiding as Nyssa was. She heard a slight creak from the floor and rounded a corner, moving her knife to attack.

“Well, this wasn’t the welcome I was expecting, but I’m not going to complain.” A woman said with a smirk. “Did you miss me that much?”

“More than you can imagine, beloved.” Nyssa responded.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 89

Summary:

Team Oliver gets a huge surprise, while Dinah seeks to understand certain past events.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Digg, Oliver, Felicity and Lyla walked into the foundry. The group walked over to where Oliver’s suit was displayed and Lyla’s new suit was on display next to it. Lyla’s suit was similar to Oliver but didn’t look like it was a blatant copy. If anyone got close enough to see it well, they’d probably remark that it was “inspired by” Oliver’s.

Oliver’s suit was completely green, while Lyla went with mostly black and the occasional green detail. Lyla also had extra padding and Kevlar in different places that Oliver did. This was partially because they had different proportions, but also somewhat of a style choice. The most notable difference, however, was the hood. Shado’s hood had been sewed onto the outside of Oliver’s jacket. No one knew if this was a stylistic choice or had some deeper meaning to Oliver. Lyla’s was attached inside the jacket and was black. The suits complimented each other, but didn’t mirror one another.

“First night as a vigilante.” Felicity said. “Are you ready?”

“Never been more ready.” Lyla said. “It sounds cheesy, but it kinda feels like my whole life has been leading up to this moment.”

Oliver and Lyla went off to change while Felicity started her computers and Digg went to check to make sure all of the equipment to be the Arrow’s “voice” was working. After a few minutes, Oliver and Lyla walked back out into the main part of the foundry.

Oliver and Lyla looked at one another, nodded in approval at how the other looked, and shared a fist bump, something they used to do before going into the field in Moscow.

“Oh, you two look so- wow.” Felicity said. “I wanna take a picture. Can I take a picture?”

“Is that a good idea?” Digg asked. “I know you wanna memorialize this, but-.”

“With their hoods up, they’ll be fully disguised and if we take it in front of a bare wall, figuring out the location would be impossible.” She said.

‘After I have my greasepaint on, you can go full paparazzi on us.’ Oliver told her. He walked over to where he kept the greasepaint, getting ready to put it on.

Lyla asked Digg for a hand putting her paint on, and Felicity turned around and asked Oliver if she could apply his for him. He smiled and nodded. Once the greasepaint was applied, Felicity took a few pictures and the two vigilantes headed out on patrol.

 

“As excited that I am that you’ve come, I have to leave soon, beloved.” Nyssa said. “Oliver and I have a few things, related to Malcolm Merlyn, to discuss. Unless you’d like to come with me-.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Knowing he’s alive is one thing, but seeing him, even from a distance would be….you go. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“How did you convince my father to send you here?” Nyssa wondered as she put on her armor and checked her weapons.

“I pointed out to him that the situation had changed drastically since you were first given this mission. Also, you’re a badass and I think you’re fully capable of anything, but I know the city better than you do, so my arrival would be to your, and by extension the League’s, advantage. Oh, and this is definitely a test.”

“A test?”

“Your father’s never really accepted me as a full member of the League. Pretty sure he tolerates me for your sake. Anyway, he let me come here to see what I’d do. If I’d go running to my family, telling them I’m alive or if I’d help you with your mission and return to Nanda Parbat when it’s over.”

“What do you plan on doing?”

“Do I want to see my family again? Yes. But I’m not the same girl who got onto that yacht and I’m not sure any of them would be happy to see who I am now.”

Nyssa thought about the pain in Dinah’s voice when she was telling the task force that she’d known Sara had gone with Oliver. How utterly heartbroken the woman sounded. She needed to tell Sara about that, but not now. “You may be surprised, but now isn’t the time to discuss this.”

Nyssa left, wondering if she’d run into Oliver tonight. Part of her hoped that she would, so that she could reveal the truth about Samantha Clayton to him. At the same time, part of her didn’t, so that she’d have more time to figure out how to tell him. Nyssa stopped a few random street crimes, but didn’t come across Oliver at any point during the night.

 

“What time is it?” Anderson asked Doyle when they finally walked out of the interrogation room.

“11:06.” He answered.

“We were in there for over 12 hours.”

“Mrs. Queen had a lot to say, as you heard.” He said. “Some of it, we didn’t have any idea about, like Malcolm’s non-Tempest, but also very shady business dealings.” He rubbed his eyes. “Some of what she said doesn’t match up with what Michael Adams or Frank Chen said about Tempest and the Undertaking, though.”

“That’s not unusual for terrorist cells.” Anderson said. Being an FBI agent, he’d dealt with organized crime and terrorism a little more often than the Coast Guard did. “No one knows everything so that, if one person gets arrested, the entire plot isn’t foiled. Some gangs use a similar tactic when they think they have someone talking to the cops. Share different information with different people and find out which ones the cops know about.”

“So, everyone knows something, but only Merlyn knows everything.”

“Pretty much.” He said. “It’s been a long day, and I’ve got a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be even longer. Go home, get some sleep.”

 

When Moira returned to Queen Mansion, she was pleasantly surprised to find Walter there. She’d called him on her way to the SCPD and asked him to call a lawyer, the one Jean Loring recommended, to meet her there. He hadn’t said anything other than agree to her request.

“Why did you ask me to call a criminal defense attorney?” He asked her. “Of all the lawyers to be called, I didn’t expect you to want that one.”

“I went to talk to the FBI, give a statement about the Gambit.” She answered. Her deal with the US Attorney’s office hadn’t been finalized yet. She wasn’t safe from Malcolm yet, either. As a result, she couldn’t tell Walter the entirety of what she’d told the authorities.

“That was this morning. I haven’t heard from you since.”

“I didn’t realize you cared.” She remarked coolly. “They had a lot more questions than I thought they would. I wanted to get it over with.”

 

The next morning, Doyle entered the SCPD to find that the Arrow had made the news again last night. That didn’t surprise him, but what did was the news that he had a new partner. The task force was discussing it.

“We sure this isn’t the same woman as the other night?” Reeves asked.

“No. First of all, the woman from a few days back was spotted somewhere else when this woman, and the Arrow, were seen in the Glades. Also, witness reports say the woman from before was dressed quote “like a freaking ninja or something”. The woman last night was dressed similar to the Arrow.” Rathbone said. “Seems he’s put a team together. The Anti-Vigilante Unit must be thrilled.”

“Pretty sure the mayor’s gonna shut the unit down any day now.” McKenna said. “Nudocerdo was the one pushing for the group in the first place, and his arrest, combined with the public liking the Arrow, gives the mayor the perfect excuse to shut it down. Plus, all of the cops wanna go back to their old jobs by now.”

“Okay. So, the Arrow has two partners, possibly three if he has someone else doing his tech. Does any of that matter to us?” Dinan asked. “For our existing investigations?”

“Not really.”

“Great.” She said. “Mars, you figure out where Merlyn’s been over the last 20 years?”

“Most of it, yes. There are 3 years, right after his wife died, that I can’t entirely account for. He fell off the map, and I’ve tracked him after he resurfaced but during those three years, it would take a miracle to find out exactly what he was up to.” Mars said. “I’m focused more on trying to figure out where he wasn’t, to narrow things down.”

“Where he wasn’t? I don’t follow.” Anderson said.

“Assuming he learned to fight during his disappearance, we need to find out who didn’t teach him. He wasn’t working for someone at Langley. He wasn’t in London.” She said. “He’s not Israeli, so I don’t think he learned to fight from Mossad.”

“Did we show footage of the Archer-Arrow fight to Slade Wilson?” Doyle asked. “Maybe he’ll recognize some of those moves.”

“That can wait. What revelations did Moira Queen deign to share with you?” Dinan asked.

“A surprising amount. She said Malcolm Merlyn had approached her yesterday morning. He believes he’s worked out the Arrow’s identity and demanded that she stop sheltering him.”

“Don’t tell me he believes the same crackpot theory as Detective Lance and accused Oliver of being the Arrow.” McKenna said.

“It’s actually more insane than that. He believes Robert Queen is, not dead for one, and also the Arrow. Because of the List, and the Arrow targeting Frank Chen.” Doyle said. “Anyway, he made some threats against her family and she couldn’t really- that was the kick in the ass she needed to actually do the right thing.”

“And what did she have to share?”

 

Lyla and Digg arrived at Felicity’s house an hour before Oliver had asked the others to arrive. It made him feel better, somehow, having those already “in the know” there to calm his nerves before the others arrived. Oliver was making breakfast and he’d break the news after everyone ate. Soon enough, Roy, Thea, Walter, Donna, Slade and Tommy arrived. Slade was a last-minute addition to the group, but Oliver wasn’t sure he’d be ready for another reveal like this for a while, so he included him. During breakfast, everyone could tell Oliver was nervous about something, but no one tried to get him to open up. They knew he’d do it when he was ready. After the meal was cleaned up, everyone went into the living room.

'Speedy, do you remember how I showed you the picture of us that I found in Dad's pocket on the island?' Oliver asked his sister. The notebook seemed like the best starting point.

"Y-yeah, of course."

'Well, I found something else. I found this.' He pulled Robert’s notebook out of his pocket. Most of the group looked puzzled, but Walter flinched slightly.

"Walter? Have you seen that notebook before?" Donna asked.

"I... I'm not sure, I thought I had, but..."

"I think I can help to clear this up, Walter.” Felicity said. “You see, everyone, a couple weeks after Oliver's return, Walter came to me with an identical notebook belonging to Moira - this one--" She pulled out the one Walter had given her. "--and asked me to find out what I could about it, what it meant, and what information it contained, if anything."

'When I first found Dad's copy, all the pages were blank. I didn't think much about it at the time - I just figured that it was brand new and he hadn't used it yet. But then one night I was alone, and I needed to keep a fire going or risk freezing to death, and I didn't have anything else to feed it with, so I figured I might as well use this.' Oliver admitted. ‘I tore out the first few pages and burned them, then ripped out a few more... but when I brought them close to the heat of the flames, I realized something was slowly becoming visible.'

"What, like-like invisible ink? Like Thea had in that old spy kit of hers, years ago?" Tommy asked.

'Exactly. These notebooks contain a list of names, and are completely identical. Later on, I discovered a video message from Dad - it's a long story, I'll go over that later. In that message, he explained what the names mean. Dad can explain it better than I can.'

Felicity picked up her tablet and showed everyone the video Oliver had shown to her, Digg and Lyla a few weeks ago.

Robert Queen was in his office, looking into the camera. "Hello, Oliver. Well, I told myself I was recording this message just in case I died suddenly, but... I wonder if it isn't just easier to say what I have to say to a video camera." He paused. "I'm not the man you think I am, Oliver. I didn't save our city - I failed it. I did something terrible, and in my efforts to make it right, I ignored my conscience and made alliances with terrible people. There's a book, a book with a list of all their names. These people, I always told myself everything I did, I did for my family. That's a lie. Because what good is a family without a soul? You can right my wrongs. You can be better than I was. You can save this city. I love you." The video ended.

'There are hundreds of names on this List.’ Oliver said. ‘And every single person whose name is on the List is a criminal. Most of them have the money and connections needed to buy the protection necessary to ensure that between lawyers and illegal assistance - like professional hitmen, for example - none of them would ever go to jail.'

"At least, not under normal circumstances." Lyla said.
Oliver opened up the notebook and showed the pages to everyone. As he was showing it around, Thea noticed something on the inside cover. “What is that?”

"We think it's a watermark of the logo of the company that manufactured the notebooks, but it could be some kind of icon of the group who compiled the List. We're really not sure."

"Why not take these to the cops, or the federal agents?" Donna asked.

“We did.” Felicity said. “They have a copy of the list now, but at the beginning…well…”

"I may not be a lawyer, but I would hazard a guess that two notebooks with a lot of names written in them and without any contextual information, coupled with a video recording of Robert which provides only a small amount of information, would not stand up in a courtroom, far less secure convictions of any of these people." Walter said, while looking at Felicity, Oliver, Digg and Lyla. "The four of you have taken a... more unconventional approach to solving this problem."

"I guess that's one way to put it." Digg said with a smirk.

"Okay, we're gonna need to get to the 'show' part of our little show-and-tell, now." Felicity said. Oliver and Lyla stood up and headed out of the building. "Oliver and Lyla need to get some stuff set up: everyone else, hit the bathroom if you need it, then John and I will drive you to the old steel works where Oliver and Lyla will be waiting and ready for us. Who wants to ride with who?"

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Slade asked Felicity and Digg. They nodded and followed him into the kitchen. “He’s gonna tell them he’s the Arrow, isn’t he? The vigilante being an archer was a big clue, but the hood really gave it away.”

“Yeah, he is.” Felicity said. “But act surprised, please, or at least like you weren’t completely sure.”

“I can do that.”

 

Dinah walked into Marie’s, a café in the middle of Starling, and smiled when she saw that the person she came to meet was already there. Joanna gave her a slight smile before standing up to hug Dr. Lance.

“How have you been, sweetie?” Dinah asked.

“Pretty good. Danny got promoted to a lieutenant.” Joanna responded. Everyone in the family was proud of him.

“He’s a firefighter, right?”

“Yeah, for about five years.” She said. “I don’t think you asked me to lunch just to catch up.”

“You’re right, that’s not the only reason I reached out.” Dinah said. “I wanted to talk to you about Laurel. I wasn’t- I feel like I don’t have much more insight on her behavior over the last few months than a random stranger does. You’re her best friend, I figured you might. I just- I want to understand why she reacted the way she has.”

“I can tell you, but….are you sure you wanna know?”

“I need to know.”

Joanna sighed. “She told me that she only acted the way that she did because he was avoiding her, but I think it all started when Oliver was rescued and didn’t immediately seek Laurel out to beg for her to forgive him. In her mind, if he came back Monday, he should’ve been outside her apartment on Tuesday, asking for forgiveness. When she drove to Oliver’s house to confront him, and learned that he was mute, she just got worse. She was convinced that he was faking his condition, solely so that he didn’t have to apologize to her. I kept trying to tell her that her theory didn’t make sense, but she didn’t believe me.” She paused. “For a few weeks, she started working on this “secret project” that was supposed to be his “wake-up call” with Moira Queen. Not long after that, he and his girlfriend got their restraining order. She- she’s a good lawyer, but she never should’ve tried to represent herself. That was a disaster waiting to happen and the way she kept trying to steer the trial towards either Oliver’s trauma or Felicity Smoak’s past didn’t help her case at all. You know what happened next. She was convicted, told to leave them alone, but she didn’t.”

“And you think all of this was because she thought he should go and see her before he even saw his family after five years away? That he didn’t fall over himself trying to apologize to her when he had nothing to apologize for?” Dinah asked. “He didn’t kill Sara, and they weren’t together. What did she think he needed her forgiveness for?”

“They weren’t together when he left?” Joanna asked. “For years, she’s been repeating the same story about Oliver cheating on her with Sara.”

“No, they’d broken up.” She said.

“I’m not a shrink, but I think- I think when she heard he was alive, she expected things to go back to normal. That they’d fall into the old pattern of breaking up and getting back together. Then, he didn’t seek her out. And she found out he couldn’t physically apologize and something just….snapped. I remember, right after some photographer caught Felicity and Oliver on a date, she said things “weren’t supposed to happen like this” when he returned. She had a plan, but Oliver being traumatized and mute derailed that and she just couldn’t- couldn’t handle it. She still can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I tried to get her to let it go. Before she violated her probation, I told her to leave them both alone. Now that she’s in prison, she can’t confront them, but she still wants to have the last word. She called me last week, asking me to take a bunch of research and paperwork she’d done for Moira Queen and sell it to the press. Claims she’s in prison because of Moira and doesn’t think she should be the only one who suffers.”

“That doesn’t- how could I have missed this?” Dinah asked. “I thought- she seemed to be doing so well.”

“She was, but- I guess you never know what might set someone off.” Joanna said. “I hope she gets the help she needs soon, she can’t keep going like this.”

 

Tommy, Thea, Roy and Felicity went in one car, while Walter, Donna, Slade and Digg went in the other car to drive to the foundry. They reached the abandoned steel factory and parked near the alleyway.

“You know, I've watched horror movies with scenes in them which began like this." Thea remarked.

"I really wish you hadn't said that." Roy said.

"Isn't this alley behind the old Queen Consolidated steel works?" Tommy asked.

"That's right, yeah." Felicity said.

"I wish I'd had better luck in talking Robert out of closing this place." Walter said.

"You didn't want to close the Foundry, Walter?" Thea asked.

"Indeed I didn't, Thea. It was bad for the people who worked here - for rather obvious reasons; it was bad for morale among our other employees, who all suddenly felt afraid for their own jobs; it was bad for everyone else who lived in the Glades... it was a terrible decision."

"Could we reopen it?"

"The biggest problem would be the loss of so many skilled workers - a great many have since left the city. If we reopened, then only a small fraction of the old work force would - or even could - return to work here. It would take a long time to train enough employees to the standards needed to produce high-quality steel and, most important of all, to do so safely. Financing a reopening would be extremely difficult and costly, but regaining the skill base needed to make the Foundry a viable and profitable business would be the biggest obstacle to overcome. It could take years; it may even prove to be impractical."

"Okay, here we go." Digg said, as he pulled a cover aside to a hidden keypad and tapped in an entry code.

The door to the hideout unlocked and clicked open. Digg walked in first and everyone followed after, tentatively, with Felicity and Slade bringing up the rear. Diggle led them downstairs into the Arrow Cave, and switched on the lights. Various gasps of excitement could be heard as they took in their surroundings.

"Whoa!"

"Oh my god!"

"Is this what I think it is?!"

Donna was the first to move further into the room, noticing the array of green arrows. "Going by all the green arrows, I'm guessing this is where those superheroes the Arrow and that other vigilante work from, right, sweetie?"

"It sure is. Well, they work here some of the time; sometimes they do stuff from home." Felicity said.

"And are we to take it, Felicity and John, that yourselves and Miss Michaels and Oliver assist the Arrow and his new partner in their endeavors?" Walter asked.

“Her callsign is Harbinger.” Diggle said. "That's... one way to put it, I guess."

"Okay, so, if you would all please make your way over to the bucket full of tennis balls and pick out two each, and then go to the line of tape on the floor nearby?" Felicity said. She waited for everyone to comply. Slade was the first to follow her instructions, having a feeling of what was about to happen. "Thanks."

"Where are Ollie and Lyla? I thought you said they were setting something up, here, Felicity?"

"And they have." The blonde responded.

"Felicity and I got a text each from them to confirm everything was ready." Digg added.

"Sooo... where are they?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, they're here." Digg said.

"Now, if you could please stand on this side of the tape on the floor and face that wall?" Felicity asked.

“Is what I think going to happen, going to happen?” Slade asked.

“You’ll have to do what I said, and you’ll find out.” She said, and waited for everyone to comply with her instructions. "Thanks, that's great. On my mark, throw your balls as hard as you can at that wall... now!"

Bemused, everyone released their tennis balls. They all jumped when they saw the Arrow and Harbinger drop down from the rafters, firing arrows at the tennis balls. Within a few moments, all of the balls were pinned to the wall. After the show was over, it took everyone a moment to react.

"Oh, yum!" Donna exclaimed, leaning over to look at the Arrow’s leather-clad butt.

"Amen to that!" Tommy said, trying not to stare at Harbinger’s butt as well.

Digg looked like he was torn between being annoyed and being amused, while Felicity looked very uncomfortable at her mother’s statement. Thea was a little confused as to why she’d have that reaction. The Arrow and Harbinger shared a fist bump, ignoring the people behind them.

"Is this really happening?" Roy asked.

"Indeed it is, Roy." Walter said.

"Ohhhhh, of course! I think I just figured it out!" Tommy said.

"What, figured what out?" Thea asked.

"Don't you guys see?” He said, turning his back on the two vigilantes to face the others. “Ollie's financing superheroes!"

Slade snorted, but didn’t say anything. No one seemed to have heard his reaction either. If only the Arrow had appeared, it might make sense, but there were two people missing from the group, Lyla and Oliver, and two vigilantes in front of them, Harbinger and the Arrow. The dots should’ve been easier to connect.

"Umm...? Well, yeah, okay, that's right, Tommy, but it's not quite everything..." Felicity said. She looked at the Arrow and Harbinger. “You two wanna help me out here?”

The Arrow and Harbinger lowered their hoods: despite the greasepaint smeared across their eyes, Oliver and Lyla were instantly recognizable. Walter’s eyes bugged out slightly, while Thea, Roy and Donna’s jaws all dropped. Noticing their reactions, Tommy turned around to look.

"Ollie is a superhero?"

'So is Lyla.' Oliver said.

“I mean, you’re the one who made it cool.” Lyla said.

Donna recovered from her surprised and turned to Slade, who hadn’t had a strong reaction to the news. “Did you- did you know? Because you don’t seem shocked.”

“I didn’t, but when I saw the Arrow jump down from the rafter, I had a feeling.” Slade said. “The hood he’s wearing belonged to Shado and Yao Fei.”

“Wait, if Ollie’s the Arrow, then that means- you’re the one who found the Gambit.” Thea said. “And the one who fought the Dark Archer, and-.”

“And the one who found the guy who killed my mom.” Tommy finished before rushing over to hug his best friend. “Thank you, Ollie. I- I don’t think you know what that means to me.”

Oliver returned the hug, and no one spoke for several moments.

“Allison Hawkins can shove it!” Thea suddenly yelled.

“Um, what?” Roy asked.

“She was my “best friend” in first grade. I told her my brother was a superhero, and she said he was a dumb doo-doo head or whatever insults first graders come up with. The important thing is, she was wrong and I was right.”

‘I didn’t- when I started to doing this, I didn’t expect people to call me a hero.’ Oliver said. ‘I was just hoping that- that if I caused enough trouble, the police might investigate the people I targeted more closely. I didn’t even know about- about Tempest or the Undertaking. I thought it was just-.’

“A list of names. I remember.” Slade said. “You used to stare at that book, almost as much as you did that family photo.”

The group had a lot more questions. Some questions were for Oliver and Lyla, while others were directed at Felicity and John. Everyone wanted to fully understand not only what they were doing, but also why they were doing it. After the most burning questions had been asked, Thea made a statement.

“I kinda hope this is the last big reveal for a while.”

“There is one bombshell, possibly two, left, I’m afraid.” Walter said. “Possibly a third, if Oliver hasn’t already opened the envelope I gave him several weeks ago.”

“Envelope?” Tommy asked.

“Robert entrusted me with a parcel, with instructions to give said parcel to Oliver if anything should happen to him.”

‘I haven’t opened it yet. I haven’t been ready to.’ Oliver admitted. ‘What are the other two?’

“Robert is not Thea’s biological father. He knew this, and confided in me a few months before he left on the Queen’s Gambit. He loved you without any reservation, Thea. I want you to know that.”

“If Dad isn’t my dad, then-.”

‘He’s your dad. In all the ways that count, he’s still your dad.’ Oliver told her.

“Who is my father, then?” Thea asked. “Is it messed up if I hope it’s you, Walter?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, and while I see you as my daughter, I’m afraid I’m not your father.” He took a deep breath. “Your mother had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn. He’s your biological father. Robert later confirmed it with a DNA test.”

“Wait, but my dad- it takes 9 months to make a baby. I remember that much from sex ed.” Tommy said. “Thea was born January of 1995, meaning she was…..created in April or May of 1994. Before my dad came back from wherever the hell he went after my mom died. Did he really come back earlier and just not visit me? He couldn’t be bothered to see me, but he could take the time to get laid? Sorry, Ollie, but-.” Oliver just waved him off. The reaction was understandable.

“So, Tommy’s my brother too?” Thea said. “The part about Malcolm, gross, but that makes Tommy my half-brother. Doesn’t seem that bad. Did you- do you think they were ever gonna tell me?”

“I don’t know.” Walter said honestly. “The second matter involves your mother, again. She spent the majority of the day yesterday at the SCPD, with the federal task force. She did not tell me why or what she discussed with them. I imagine, if she confessed to anything, it will come out sooner rather than later.”

"Is it mean that I'm skeptical that she'd ever confess to anything?" Felicity asked. "I wanna believe people are good at heart, but she's- that doesn't seem like something she'd do."

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 90

Summary:

Team Oliver gets some more answers about Oliver's activities, secrets come to light and Linda goes to a meeting that might change her life.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Mom really went to talk to the task force yesterday?” Thea asked Walter. “What do you think that means?”

“I hope that it means she’s decided to distance herself from Tempest as a whole, and Malcolm Merlyn in particular.” Walter said. “Your mother has made her share of mistakes and has only recently started to acknowledge them as such. My hope is that she’s realized confessing to her part in their actions is the only way forward.”

“Well, if she has, we’ve certainly got an interesting night planned for tonight.” Felicity said. “That means there are only three members left of Tempest’s inner circle, other than Malcolm, that we haven’t confronted yet.”

“Only three?” Roy asked.

“Moira possibly made a deal. Frank Chen definitely did, and he’s the one who directed us to the Gambit. That leaves Carl Ballard, Arthur Finch and Sylvia Thomas.” Lyla explained. “We know of a few lower-ranking people that the task force has arrested, but those three are the “big-wigs” we haven’t tackled yet.”

“How do you know people have turned themselves in?” Donna asked. “It wasn’t on the news or anything.”

“Wait, you didn’t bug McKenna’s phone or anything, did you?” Tommy asked. “Because I can keep this,” he gestured to the foundry, “a secret, but if you’re spying on my girlfriend, that’s-.”

“No, none of that.” Felicity said, trying to calm him down. “I’ve hacked into traffic cams outside the police station or tracked their phones, at the most.”

‘The Arrow talks to the task force every now and then. And sometimes they tell me who’s turned themselves in.’ Oliver said. ‘Not to mention what our friend in black knows or how she knows it.’

“Friend in black?” Roy asked.

“You might’ve heard on the news, or maybe not, that there’s another archer in the city. One that’s a good guy, but she’s not Lyla.” Felicity said. “Turns out she also wants to stop Malcolm, I’ve got no clue why or how she knows him, but she runs into Oliver on patrol sometimes.”

“Wait, there’s a superhero team-up happening and none of us knew about it?” Thea asked. “That’s so cool.”

“So, um, why arrows?” Tommy asked. “I mean, guns are probably easier to use, but-.”

“I tried teaching him to shoot a gun.” Slade said. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience for either of us.”

‘Or Shado was just a better teacher.’ Oliver said. ‘I shoot better with a bow and arrow than a gun. Even after Moscow, when I had plenty of experience using firearms, I still preferred my bow. It’s the best weapon I have.’

“Makes sense to me.” Slade said. “After all, I brought a sword to a gunfight, multiple times, and still won.”

“You have a sword? Like an actual sword?” Roy asked. “Like, you went out and bought a sword?”

“Actually, the Australian government gave me two swords, which are now probably buried under about four years of mud on that godforsaken island.”

‘Not exactly.’ Oliver said. He walked over to the large, beat-up green trunk he’d come home from Lian Yu with. Thea and Walter had seen the case only once, on the day Oliver returned from the hospital. He opened the trunk and pulled out a bundle wrapped in cloth, which he handed to Slade. ‘I went looking for survivors after the Amazo sank, and I found these. I had my dad’s notebook. I had Yao Fei’s hood and Shado’s bow. Only seemed right to hold onto these, but you- you’re still alive so,- yeah.’

Slade took one of the sheathed swords out of the bundle and handed the other one back to Oliver. “I want you to have this one. After everything we’ve been through, and everything I put you through when I….wasn’t myself, I think you more than earned it.”

Oliver slowly took the sword from Slade and put it back into the trunk. He was a little rusty with his swordplay and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Slade or the others.

No one spoke and the silence was broken by a rumbling noise. “Okay, I think that’s a sign that we should take a break for lunch.” Felicity said. “How does Big Belly Burger sound?”

 

Linda Park walked into the nearly empty Queen Consolidated building and took the elevator to the floor where the PR department was. When she’d gotten a call from Daniel Correll, asking if they could meet, she was of course eager to see him as soon as possible. Still, the emptiness of the building was a little freaky.

“If this were a movie, this is the part where the nosy journalist gets thrown out of a window by the bad guy’s henchmen.” She said to herself.

“I hope we haven’t made that bad of an impression on you, Ms. Park.” Correll said, stepping out of his office. He led her inside and took a seat. “But, if you’d like me to reassure you, please know that I don’t throw reporters I dislike out of windows, I just refuse to call on them at press conferences.”

“Sorry, I- I’ve got a weird train of thought sometimes.” She said awkwardly. “So, you wanted to talk to me in person. I’m guessing it’s about my interview request for Oliver Queen.”

“Yes, it is.” He said. “I wanted to get a better idea of your vision for the interview.”

“My vision?”

“Would it be a sit-down style interview or something different? What kind of questions would you ask? I’m not asking for a complete outline now, but a general idea. What would the interview be about?” Correll explained. “And so on. While we’re still weighing our options in terms of who’ll interview Oliver, it seemed prudent to get a better idea of what each person was thinking of doing.”

“That makes sense. Um, I feel like this is the main question you’re asking about, so I’ll just get it out of the way. I wasn’t planning on asking about Lian Yu, the Queen’s Gambit or anything of that nature. After what I found-.”

“What you found? You’ve researched Lian Yu?”

“Yes, and I also- I needed to know how much of a “no-no” even mentioning that time to Mr. Queen might be, so I sent some pictures of him, all taken by the press since his return, to a friend. She works in the medical field. His face wasn’t in any of them, they were zoomed in to focus on the scars and burns on his arms.”  She said. “And I know I can’t tell you how to do your job, but- but you really shouldn’t let any aggressive journalists anywhere near him.”

“What your friend ascertained was that bad?”

“Worse than you can imagine. Based on what she could see, none of those injuries are accidental. Or self-inflicted.” She said. “And she could only see his arms, so I can’t- even if you don’t let me interview him, you can’t let someone like Susan Williams interview him. She’s one of those reporters who wants to be a household name and doesn’t care what she has to do to get there. A lot of people only want this interview because they think it’ll get them a Pulitzer or Peabody Award.”

“You don’t want a Peabody?” He asked.

“Winning one would be nice, yes, but if I have to choose between being a good person and getting one, I’d rather not compromise my integrity.” She said. “To answer your original question, about what I’d ask, I figured I’d ask him about what he’s been doing since his return. If he’s picked up any new hobbies, maybe get an anecdote or two about “Olicity” as the tabloids are calling them. I don’t want this to be a heavy-hitting interview and, while I don’t know him, I doubt he wants it to be one either. Oh, and if there’s a list of taboo topics, I’ll stick to it.”

Correll wrote down a few notes. “Let’s discuss logistics for a moment. Oliver obviously has an interpreter. Would he or she be allowed to be seen on camera or would you prefer that they were off-camera? Additionally, if the interpreter isn’t on camera, wearing a mic, who would provide the audio for his responses?”

“I’m fine having the interpreter be on camera, wearing a mic. If, for some reason, he doesn’t want to do it that way, we can have the interpreter provide the audio or the station has a contract with a firm who does foreign language translations and ASL interpretation.” She said. “We’ll do things in whatever way make him feel the most comfortable.”

Correll asked her a few more questions, mostly just trying to get a feel for who she was as a person, before thanking her for her time. He added her name to the final list to give Oliver to choose from and while he shouldn’t pick favorites, Linda would be his ideal choice.

 

Over lunch, everyone talked about Oliver and Lyla’s exploits a little more. After everyone had calmed down a little bit from the revelation of them being vigilantes, Roy asked a question that he was sure no one had asked quite yet.

“I don’t have a better way to put this, so I’m sorry that it sounds mean, but what exactly does Digg do?” He asked. “Because Oliver and Lyla, we already know, and Felicity’s the hacker-slash-tech person. What does he do?”

“Oliver does all of the parkour and arrow-shooting. I do the voicework and make him sound intimidating.” Digg said, walking over to where the equipment was set up. “You have failed this city!”

The recording came out of the speaker in Oliver’s hood.

‘That’s awesome!” Tommy said. “Can I try it out?” He thought someone might object, so he kept talking. “I know it’s not a toy, but can I- just one time I’ll only ask this one time.”

Digg and Felicity shared a look. “Okay, fine. If Oliver’s okay with it.” Oliver rolled his eyes, but nodded his approval.

Tommy looked like a kid on Christmas as he took the mic from Digg. “I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum.” He paused. “And I’m all out of bubble gum.” The same words, but sounding more intimidating, came out of Oliver’s suit a few moments later.

‘I’m surprised you didn’t try to sing the Itsy-Bitsy Spider and ruin my reputation.’ Oliver told him.

“Nah, I wanted to say something that sounded really badass.” He said. “Wait, do you guys have a name, like Team Arrow or whatever?”

“Well, that’s what I call us. Sometimes.” Felicity said. “In my head. Also, I refer to this place as the Arrow Cave, because…well, I don’t know why I started calling it that, but I do.”

‘We can call it the Arrow Cave if you want.’ Oliver told her with a sappy smile. ‘And I like Team Arrow as a team name.’

“You two are so in love, it’s embarrassing sometimes.” Thea said. “I love it, but still. So, did you- I mean, did you bring us all down here just to tell us, because you didn’t want to hide the truth, or for another reason?” Everyone looked at her in confusion. “Because, you know, I thought the Arrow was cool, even before I knew it was Ollie, and if someone offered to train me, so that one day I could be a hero like him and Harbinger, I wouldn’t say “no”. You know, if that’s something under consideration.”

“That was subtle.” Tommy joked. “But, you know, same.”

“You certainly don’t do things by halves, kid.” Slade said, laughing slightly at the fact that Oliver seemed to draw people like himself and Lyla to him. “If only Shado and Sara could see us now.”

“Sara? As in Sara Lance? How did you-?” Tommy responded.

“Oh, fuck.” The former ASIS agent said. He’d forgotten that Oliver hadn’t told the others about Sara making it to Lian Yu. “Oliver, I’m so-.”

‘Sara didn’t make it to the island on the life raft with me, but she wound up there, as a prisoner with Ivo. That’s why her body wasn’t found along with everyone else’s.’ Oliver said. He looked at Felicity and only at Felicity as he told this part of the story. Even though she hadn’t been experimented on by Ivo, she was still a prisoner and if she hadn’t helped Ivo, he would’ve hurt her. ‘When his ship was destroyed, she drowned, just like I thought Slade drowned. When I came back to Starling, I didn’t- what’s the point in telling her family she didn’t go down with the Gambit, only to reveal she drowned a year later? I thought it would spare them some of the pain.’

“That makes sense.” Donna said. “And Oliver? That doesn’t make you a bad person.” She remembered Dinah’s explanation of not wanting too much detail on how Sara died. This was one of the rare cases where the lie was better, kinder than the truth.

 

Nyssa sighed and waited for Sara to react to what she’d just said. She finally came clean about why she had asked Sara about Oliver’s relationship with Laurel and how much of what she heard was her sister’s biased view of things. She told Sara about William Clayton, Samantha and the news that Moira Queen had paid Samantha millions of dollars to lie about losing the baby.

“What the actual fuck?” Sara said immediately. “Who does that to someone? Who agrees to that? God, can Ollie just get a break one time?”

“I cannot answer any of those questions, unfortunately.” Nyssa responded. “How do I tell him?”

“You’re just gonna have to tear the Band-Aid off, I guess.” She said. When Nyssa gave her an odd look, she elaborated. “Just tell him. Don’t try to cushion the blow, don’t try to work your way up to telling him. Just- walk up to him, tell him you need to speak with him, and tell him the news as bluntly as possible.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? Telling him in such a way.”

“There’s no easy way to tell him, unfortunately.” She said. “But he’s always preferred being told the cold, hard truth than having someone lie to him.” When she tricked Oliver into calling Slade and Shado from the Amazo, he was angry that she lied to him, not that she was helping Ivo.

 

Since everyone was already in the Arrowcave when it got dark, they stayed to watch with Felicity and Digg as Oliver and Lyla went out on patrol. Felicity had a feeling Slade wanted to join them out in the field, but hadn’t asked for some reason. Maybe he was rusty, she supposed, or wanted to see how they did things before inserting himself into the mix. Thea, Roy, Tommy, Donna, Walter and Slade gathered behind Felicity’s computers, eager to see the Arrow and Harbinger in action. Once the two vigilantes had left the lair, Felicity switched on their body cameras.

“Their suits have body cams?” Roy asked.

“Back before Lyla decided she wanted to go into the field with him, it was the only way he could communicate with us here.” Digg answered.

“Plus, I didn’t wanna tell him this, but being on the comms, but unable to see what he was doing really made me nervous.” Felicity said.

“What about that app you made?” Donna asked. “He could’ve used that.”

“Well, one, he’d need to carry a phone around to use it.” She said. “Also, he didn’t want someone to work out that his “voice” was coming from an app and have it somehow get traced back to me.”

Donna nodded in understanding. The explanation made sense and she wasn’t going to complain that Oliver was being too cautious where Felicity’s safety was concerned. They watched as Oliver and Lyla made their way across town and snuck into Carl Ballard’s office, where the man was working.

“Carl Ballard?” Lyla asked, her voice disguised by a modulator.

“You have failed this city!” Oliver added, courtesy of Digg.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ballard responded with his hands up.

“We know you’re a member of Tempest. Turn yourself over to the authorities and tell them everything.” Harbinger said.

“I can’t! The leader, he’ll-.”

“Leave him to us.” The Arrow said. “Turn yourself in. Don’t make us come back.” He then fired an arrow into the floor. Smoke began to pour out of the arrow and when it cleared, the two vigilantes were gone.

“That was-.” Thea said.

“So freaking badass!” Roy finished. “I think they just became my new heroes.”

“Thanks, Roy.” Lyla said with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah. The line is open, by the way.” Felicity added.

They turned their attention back to the bodycam footage they were watching. Lyla and Oliver were heading to a different part of town when they came across a hooded figure. Oliver walked closer to the figure, but didn’t move to attack.

“Who might that be?” Walter asked.

“That is our lady friend in black.” Felicity said. Oliver began greeting her in ASL.

“Does she know who he is?’ Tommy asked, knowing the use of ASL might indicate that she did.

“She does now, but when they first met, she addressed him in ASL so that he wouldn’t be able to glean anything from her accent.”

 

Nyssa saw the signs that the Arrow was in a specific part of town and made her way there to meet him. When she spotted him, he was with another vigilante, a woman by the look of it. She believed the woman to be Lyla Michaels, but stood a little further back so as not to startle the new addition.

‘Good evening.’ She signed to Oliver.

‘Good evening to you as well.’ He responded. ‘I’d like to introduce my partner, Harbinger.’

‘A pleasure.’ Nyssa said. ‘May I assume he has told you everything we know about our current, shared adversary?’ Since Harbinger was here, and this was their first meeting, now wasn’t the right time to tell Oliver about his child.

‘He has.’ Lyla said. ‘Along with telling me that I can trust you.’

‘I have no expectations that you will trust me, solely on his word, even though you trust him. I will earn your trust, in time. For now, if you believe nothing else, please believe that I want to be rid of the Dark Archer as much as you do and he does.’

‘Do you have any ideas on how we could accomplish that?’ Oliver asked.

‘A few, some of which do involve a bit of subterfuge.’ Nyssa answered. ‘He has been physically weakened, that is true, and his allies are slowly abandoning him, but he won’t abandon his plans unless he is forced to.’

‘What ideas did you-?’ Lyla began to ask but Nyssa gave her a hand signal that implied she should stop talking.

‘Someone may be watching us.’ She said. ‘Were you followed?’

‘No. I don’t believe so.’

‘Meeting in the open is perhaps not the best idea.’ She said. ‘We should convene at the location you previously showed to me, Arrow, in the future.’ The clock tower was more secure than a random rooftop and if they were being followed, it would be easier to spot the person following them.

‘I agree. Should we meet there later tonight or-?’

‘I’ve shared all of the information I can, for now.’ Nyssa said. ‘Aside from needing to discuss a personal matter with you.’

‘We will meet with you tomorrow then.’ He said. He turned to leave, but Lyla didn’t move. She was looking at Nyssa. Turning around, he saw that she was shifting her weight, as if she was unsure if she should walk away or not.

‘The personal matter I must discuss with you cannot wait.’ Nyssa signed. ‘Samantha Clayton lied to you. And your mother paid her to.’

‘What?’

 

“Holy frakking frakker.” Felicity shouted. “That- that- I can’t believe-.”

“Who’s Samantha Clayton?” Donna asked wondering how a name could cause such a reaction from her daughter. Everyone else seemed upset by her reaction.

“I- I can’t right now. It’s not my- not my story to tell.”

 

‘She lied to you.’ Nyssa told Oliver. ‘The child lived. His name is William. I’m sorry I can’t tell you this news in a better way, but there is no better way to tell you.’

‘Arrow?’ Lyla signed. Oliver just shook his head.

‘I believe I should leave now, and allow him time to let the news sink in.’ She said. ‘I’m sorry that I had to be the one to break this news to you.’

Nyssa left. Lyla and Oliver stood on the roof for a little bit longer. When they left, Lyla suggested that it might be a good idea if everyone except Felicity went home before they reached the foundry. Oliver needed some time before he’d be ready to talk to everyone about this revelation. Everyone argued that they wanted to stay, to support Oliver, but Felicity convinced them that seeing him tomorrow might be better.

 

Susan Williams handed the final copy of her latest piece to her boss with flourish. He looked through it and looked back up at her. “You sure we wanna run this?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything.” She said with a glint in her eyes. That interview with Oliver Queen was now as good as hers. Queen Consolidated hadn't responded to her request for an interview, but she knew how these things worked. They needed to see that she was serious. This piece would do just that.

“It certainly is a bombshell.”

 

Felicity and Oliver didn’t talk on the drive home. She had no idea what to say, while he was lost in his own world. She had an indication that Samantha had lied about the baby, but no proof. She doubted Nyssa would’ve said anything to Oliver without proof. His son wasn’t dead. He’d missed so much time from his son’s life already, and worst of all, his mother played a part in that. They got home and Oliver pretty much immediately went to bed. When Felicity got into bed, she could tell he’d been crying.

“I’m so sorry.” She said, as she pulled him closer to her. “I know saying that does absolutely nothing to make you feel better, or make the situation less sucky but-.”

‘I can’t believe I- that she’d- I missed so much of his life.’

“Let’s make sure you don’t miss any more of it, then.” She said. “Tomorrow. We’ll start making sure of that tomorrow.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 91

Summary:

A story breaks, someone makes a decision and Oliver meets someone he's heard a lot about.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver didn’t get much sleep Saturday night. Thoughts of his son, guilt for missing so much of his life, and anger at those who kept William from him for years, filled his mind. He started to wonder how different things might’ve turned out if his mother hadn’t gotten involved in this situation. While he knew that he didn’t really know his mother like he thought, he couldn’t believe she would do something like this to him. He was also furious with Samantha. Why on Earth would she ever agree to something like this? While he didn’t know her very well during their brief fling, he thought she was a good person. Good people didn’t do things like this.

He tossed and turned, and laid awake wondering while Felicity slept next to him. He only knew one thing for sure. He wanted to see his son, meet his son, as soon as possible.

 

“So, how did your meeting with Oliver go?” Sara asked when Nyssa returned to her hideout.

“You ask that as if you didn’t follow me there.” She said. Sara had been the observer she’d sensed watching them on the rooftop. She didn't realize it until after she'd said something to Oliver and Lyla, however, meaning she couldn't just walk back her statement. “Why did you follow me? I thought you were not ready to see him.”

“I wasn’t. I’m not. I just- curiosity, I guess? Knowing something is true and seeing that it’s true are two different things. I couldn’t help myself.” She answered. “And since I don’t read minds, and you only communicate via ASL, I’ve got no clue what was said. So, how did it go?”

“I was introduced to his partner, codename Harbinger.” Nyssa reported. “And I told him about his son.”

“And how did he take the news?”

“He didn’t really react. I think he may have been in shock. I removed myself from the situation, as I wasn’t sure my presence would be appreciated.”

 

Oliver felt asleep at some point Saturday night, because he woke up Sunday morning to Felicity running her fingers through his hair. His head was on her chest and one arm was around her waist. He looked up at her with a sad, sleepy smile.

‘Morning.’

“Good morning.” She replied, giving him a quick kiss. “It’s not your fault, you know. She lied to you, your mother lied to you too. It’s not your fault that you took Samantha at her word.”

‘I still feel like an idiot for not trying harder. If I’d asked about a funeral or tried to be there for her more-.’

“From what you’ve told me, and what Lyla told me that you’d told her, you didn’t know Samantha very well and when she said she needed space, you gave her that.” She said. “I know you wanna make yourself the bad guy in all this, but I’m not gonna let you. Sorry. You’re a lot of things, Oliver, but not the bad guy.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. ‘What do I do now?’ He asked. ‘I wanna meet my son. I wanna be his dad, but Samantha- I don’t know if she’ll let me, and as angry as I am, I don’t wanna make her the bad guy, at least not to William.’

“Well, I think the first thing we should do is talk to my mom. She’s the only person I know who’s had to deal with a child-custody situation before and, while this situation is not the same as what happened with her and my dad, she should be able to at least give you an idea of how to handle this.” She said. “And also- hold on.” Felicity’s phone had started to ring. She leaned over to see who it was. She then answered the phone. “Uncle Jared?”

“I figured I might as well give you a head’s up that I’m visiting Bubbe later today and since I know how to work FaceTime, and she’s very tired of waiting to meet the “nice young man” you and Donna keep telling her about, she’ll probably talk me into calling you.”

“You can always tell her “no”, you know.” Felicity pointed out.

“I can say “no”, yes, but then she starts with the Jewish mother’s guilt and the “I’m 83 years old, I’m not getting any younger” schtick and the next thing I know, I’m doing exactly what she’s asked.” Jared defended. “Is today a bad day to try and call or-?”

“I don’t quite know yet.” Felicity said honestly. “Can you text me or call before you go see her and I can let you know then?”

“That’s doable.” He said before hanging up.

“So, apparently, Bubbe is tired of waiting and wants to meet you via FaceTime today.” Felicity told Oliver. “Why do you look like you’re about to face a firing squad?”

‘What if she doesn’t like me?’

“She’s gonna love you.” She said. “Because I do. But if you really don’t feel up to it today, I’ll tell her that and you’ll meet her another day.”

He just nodded. He didn’t want to say “no” and make a bad impression, but he also wasn’t sure if he’d be in the right headspace for that kind of thing. Oliver and Felicity laid in bed for a bit until Felicity got another call.

“Please tell me you’re not watching the news.” Thea said.

“We haven’t even gotten out of bed.” She said. “Why?”

“Because that- that dragon lady from Channel 52 did it again!” Thea yelled “She found out about Laurel and Mom’s little conspiracy.”

“What?” Felicity said with an edge to her voice. She got out of bed and turned on the news. The headline read “Moira Queen or the new Mommie Dearest?” The volume was very low, so she couldn’t fully hear what was being said, but based on the scroll at the bottom of the screen and the pictures they kept showing, it was clear that Susan Williams, the reporter behind the story, knew a lot more than she should about Laurel and Moira’s plans.

“Felicity? You still there?” Thea asked. Felicity had forgotten she was still on the phone.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere today. Or if you go somewhere, don’t go anywhere in public.”

“I was thinking of coming over. I still don’t- you didn’t give us an answer about what the lady in black said yesterday so- and the others-.”

“Come over, if you want to.” She said. “Yeah, I think everyone being together today is a good idea.”

She ended her call with Thea and told Oliver what had happened. He was upset, to say the least.

 

Susan Williams couldn’t wipe the grin off of her face. She’d finally done it, she finally broke a bombshell story. Not only that, but this story was bound to get the attention of the necessary people at Queen Consolidated and within the Queen family. The Oliver Queen interview was as good as hers.

“How did you even know to investigate this?” Another reporter asked her when the segment first aired.

“I just went with my gut.” She answered.

For weeks, she’d been looking for a scoop, for something to give her an edge over the competition. She remembered reading that Moira Queen went to the SCPD the day of Laurel Lance’s arrest, demanding for her release, meaning there had to be some kind of connection there. She found nothing, for several weeks. Yesterday morning, she happened to overhear Dinah Lance and one of Laurel’s old coworkers talking in a café. That conversation sparked an idea in Susan, which led to her spending her whole Saturday looking through Laurel’s stuff, which Detective Lance was more than happy to give to her, for evidence of Joanna’s claims. When she finally had enough proof, she shot the segment and handed it in to the station manager.

“I wonder what else Mrs. Queen may be hiding.” She said idly.

 

Ever since her visit from Agents Dinan and Mars, Samantha kept a close eye on news from Starling. She had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before the truth about William came out. When the news about Moira’s attempts to have Oliver declared mentally incompetent broke, Samantha realized she couldn’t wait around any longer. Laurel Lance had been actively helping Moira Queen, and the woman hadn’t done anything in return to keep the lawyer out of prison. She could easily see Moira offering her, and by extension William, up to the press to try and shift attention off of herself.

Needing advice, Samantha made an appointment with her lawyer for the next day before calling William’s babysitter.

“Hi Courtney, I know you don't have school tomorrow so that teachers can finalize grades, but I was wondering if you could watch William for me?” She asked the girl. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of, and I won’t be able to pick him up right after preschool tomorrow.”

“Of course Ms. Clayton!” Courtney Whitmore, William’s occasional babysitter, responded. “Tell Will I’ll see him tomorrow.”

 

Charles Winston III looked at the news and shook his head. It seemed that Oliver Queen simply couldn’t catch a break. First, he was stranded on an island and went through something traumatic. Then, he returned home to discover his mother wasn’t who he thought she was and an ex-girlfriend who wouldn’t leave him alone. And now, it seemed his mother was actively plotting against him. He wasn’t one to wish anyone ill will, but he hoped Moira Queen would start getting what she deserved.

While Charles wanted to reach out to Oliver and see how he was doing, he doubted the man wanted his pity. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“I wonder if he’s free for lunch at some point this week.” He thought to himself. Charles fired off a quick email to his assistant, asking her to either get Oliver’s contact information or, in the very least, extend an invitation to lunch.

 

When the news broke, Moira’s first act was to call her lawyer, the one who’d been helping her work out a deal with the US attorney, and ask if the story might affect said deal. The lawyer claimed that it wouldn’t, as Laurel hadn’t filed anything with the court and thus, no law had been broken. Her second and third calls were to Thea and Walter respectively, to try and explain herself. The calls went unanswered.

 

With everyone on Team Oliver at Felicity’s house, Oliver slowly began telling them about Samantha and the child he thought he’d lost. Lyla then revealed that she’d asked the federal task force if they could find Samantha.

“I was- I hoped that when they spoke with Samantha, they could at least find out where the child was buried or if there was some kind of memorial, but- I guess there isn’t one, because she didn’t lose the baby.” Lyla said.

“I had a feeling she hadn’t.” Felicity said. “After Lyla told me, I started looking for Samantha. And I found out about the money Moira paid her. I’m not an expert, but- ok, I don’t have a better way to phrase this, so I’ll just say it. Moira wouldn’t have paid $2 million for an abortion. That’s too high, even for her, and I think it would’ve insulted Samantha, being given that amount for something like that. But $2 million to make sure the baby has a good life, albeit one away from the Queen family, that’s a much easier argument to make. And a little more palatable.”

“Why would the task force look into this woman in the first place, even if Lyla had asked them to?” Walter asked.

“Well, they might’ve done it anyway, due to the task force looking into Moira’s financials while investigating Tempest. Lyla’s request may have just connected the dots. $2 million to an unknown person would raise a few eyebrows.”

‘And now, I missed his first steps. And his first words. And-.’ Oliver started to say but stopped when he started crying.

“Oh, Ollie. I’m so sorry.” Thea said as she hugged her brother.

“Well, you’re not missing any more firsts.” Donna said. “We’re gonna get you a family law lawyer and find out what we can do about this. At the very least, you should be able to visit your son regularly.”

‘How can I- I don’t want this to become a big news story, but I can’t- how am I supposed to suddenly know that I have a son? How would I tell Samantha that I found out? I can’t tell her that a masked vigilante, who overheard two federal agents discussing William, told me.’

“It’s quite simple. Lie.” Slade told him. “Claim that you hired a private investigator to find Samantha, and that person saw the boy, told you and you pieced the rest together on your own.”

“To be fair, I’m pretty much a PI.” Felicity said. “And the only reason why I didn’t tell you what I found was because I didn’t have concrete proof, but Libby did.”

“I don’t think many people will question how he found out.” Digg said. “Samantha might think Moira told him, or Dinan. Moira will probably think Samantha felt guilty and confessed. If the story gets out, which it hopefully won’t, how Oliver found out will be a footnote.”

The subject changed not long after, as everyone tried to keep Oliver’s mind off of the troubling news they’d just learned.

 

A few hours passed. Roy asked Oliver and Lyla if they’d train him to be a vigilante along with Thea and Tommy, and they said yes. Donna mentioned wanting to learn self-defense which Digg said sounded like a smart idea and mentioned that some of the others should at least learn that. Oliver felt relieved that he finally didn’t have to lie to people closest to him about his activities.

Roy was in the middle of asking Oliver and Lyla a question about whether something he’d seen a in video game was possible when Felicity’s phone rang.

“I’ve gotta take this. It’s my uncle.” She said before walking into her bedroom.

“Why is Jared calling her?” Donna asked Oliver.

‘He’s visiting Bubbe today and he thinks she wants to meet me over FaceTime.’

“Oh, she definitely does.” She said. “But why do you look scared?”

‘What if she doesn’t like me? I mean, I- I know how important she is to Felicity and- what if I make a bad impression?’

“You won’t.” She said. “Look, maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but Felicity’s my mom’s favorite. My nephew David gets a little upset about it, but it is what it is. She brags to all of the other residents at her assisted living place about her wonderful granddaughter, the one who went to MIT and is changing the world. There’s no way she won’t love you.”

Oliver gave her an unsure smile. He had a feeling she was only saying this to make him feel better. Felicity poked her head out of the bedroom. “Oliver? Are you up for this today or-? You don’t have to. I can tell Bubbe today’s not good. She’ll understand.”

‘No, I- I wanna meet her.’ He said. He knew holding it off would only make him more nervous about it. ‘Is she- are you waiting on me?’

“Yes, Jared’s a lying liar and didn’t call me until he was already there.” Felicity said. A voice could be heard coming from her phone. “Yes, he is a lying liar, Bubbe.” She gestured for Oliver to follow her into the room. “My uncle’s gonna call me from my grandmother’s tablet in a minute.”

He took a seat next to her and waited for the phone to ring again. It did and Felicity accepted the video call. “Hi, Bubbe!”

“Hello, darling. I wanted to call from my new tablet. That way I don’t have to squint to see you on the tiny little phone screen.” Hannah Smoak said. Felicity’s uncle was trying to explain something to his mother. “Yes, Jared, I know not to press that red button that ends the call. I’m 83, I’m not blind.” She turned her attention back to Felicity. “Now, let me meet this boyfriend of yours.”

“Hold on just a sec.” Felicity said before standing up and moving in front of Oliver. She wanted to leave his hands free so that he could sign. She then turned the phone around so that he could see Bubbe and she could see Oliver.

‘Hello, Mrs. Smoak.’ He signed. ‘It’s nice to meet you. I’m Oliver.’

“Nice to meet you, too. None of that Mrs. Smoak business though. Call me Bubbe.” Bubbe said. “Now, let me get a look at you. You have a very handsome face. Felicity, he’s very handsome.”

“I know.” Felicity said with a laugh.

“So, Oliver, tell me about yourself.” Bubbe said.

‘I- I don’t know where to start. I like to cook. I have a younger sister named Thea.’ He paused. ‘What do you want to know?’

“Are you Jewish?”

‘No, I’m not.’ He admitted. Was that a deal breaker? Would she not like him since he wasn’t Jewish?

“Eh, nobody’s perfect.” She said. “And the kids will be Jewish anyway.”

At the mention of kids, Oliver’s face started to turn red. “Bubbe…” Felicity said.

“Is it too much for me to want great-grandkids before I die? I know Donna can’t wait to be a bubbe herself. She keeps telling me that.”

“Of course she does.”

“I don’t want you think we’re all obsessed with kids, Oliver.” She said, turning her attention back to Oliver. “It just would be nice to see this family grow, before I die.”

“Mom, Oliver isn’t used to the guilt Jewish mothers like to use. All of these “before I die” comments might be freaking him out.” Jared said from off-camera.

“Fine.” Bubbe said. “Anyway, tell me more about yourself. How did you meet my granddaughter?”

‘My phone broke and my step-father said she was the perfect person to fix it.’

“Ah! A classic meet-cute. I love it. Tell me more.”

‘I then made up an excuse to see her a few more times, as I worked up the nerve to ask her to teach me ASL. And then we became friends and a few weeks later, I asked her out.’ As he spoke, Bubbe told whoever else was in the room what he was saying.

“You didn’t know ASL?” Jared asked from off-camera. He sounded very sad. “Then how did-?”

“How’s David doing?” Felicity asked suddenly. She wanted to change the subject and avoid upsetting anyone. Oliver would be upset if he had to explain what happened when he first came home and her family would be upset once they heard it. The conversation could wait for another time.

“He’s good. Being an accountant isn’t too exciting, but he seems to be doing well. I’ll tell him you said hi.” Her uncle responded. A faint voice could be heard from Jared’s end of the line.

“I think we gotta stop here.” Bubbe said. “The nurse is here to make sure I get a short walk in today. It was nice to finally meet you, Oliver. And Felicity, next time we talk, we’re gonna do this Face-Screen thing again so I can get to know Oliver a little bit more.”

“Sounds good.”

“And tell your mother to call me. I know she ignored my call yesterday.”

“I will. Bye Bubbe.” Felicity said. Everyone exchanged farewells before she ended the call. “See? I told you that she’d love you.”

‘Your grandmother is certainly interesting.’ He said with a smile. Taking her hand, they walked out into the living room.

“So, how’d it go?” Donna asked.

“She loved him, just like I said she would. Because he’s very lovable.” Felicity said. “She did find time to ask me when I was gonna make her a great-grandma.”

“What can I say? You know how she is.”

“Your kids would be very cute.” Thea said. “When you two decide to have them, if you decide to have them.”

“Can we just- can we stop talking about my hypothetical kids now?” Felicity said. “Thanks.”

Everyone talked for a little while longer. Felicity ordered pizza for dinner and then everyone went to the foundry so that Oliver and Lyla could go on patrol.

 

Malcolm was bumbling around in his house when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see not just one League assassin, but two. Raising the cane he was using to get around as an impromptu weapon, he prepared for an attack.

“You’ve made quite the mess of things.” Nyssa said.

“Thanks to your pupil.” He spat out. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it before. Of course the Arrow had been trained by someone like Nyssa. It was the only explanation.

“I’m not sure to whom you are referring.”

“Don’t try to play dumb with me, it doesn’t suit you. I know Robert Queen is the Arrow.”

“Robert Queen is dead.”

“Of course.” He said. “Are you here to kill me or what?”

“It is not your time to die yet.” She said. “Don’t worry, however. Death comes for us all eventually. It’s quite a shame you will not have an honorable exit.” She vanished, with the second assassin as quickly as they appeared.

“Wow, I didn’t realize he was that crazy.” Sara said, once they were away from Merlyn Mansion. “He really thinks Robert is the Arrow? How did he look at all the evidence and come up with the one person who it couldn’t be? I mean- Robert wasn’t even tall enough to-.”

“You cannot rationalize the thoughts of the insane, beloved.” They had visited to remind Malcolm that the League was watching him. Now that he’d been reminded, it was time for Nyssa, at least, to prepare to meet Oliver at the clocktower later and discuss a plan to permanently take Malcolm off of the board.

 

‘I was not sure you would come.’ Nyssa signed to Oliver when he and Lyla arrived at the clocktower. ‘Given my revelations last night, I thought you might need time to process.’

‘I am still processing, but the situation is not one I can solve in a single day.’ He said. ‘I wanted to thank you for telling me what you learned. Had I learned it from another, such as a reporter, I don’t believe I would’ve reacted well.’

‘A reporter, such as the one who exposed your mother’s attempted machinations to have you placed under her so-called care? I don’t blame you for feeling that way.’ She responded. ‘And as my beloved might say ‘what are friends for’. Did you come solely to thank me?’

‘Not only to thank you. As much as I wish it otherwise, the Dark Archer is still free. Injured, but free. I think it’s time we talk about how to change that.’ He said.

‘I may have a few ideas, although they are somewhat underhanded.’ Nyssa responded. ‘Aside from not killing, are there any rules you strictly wish to adhere to?’

‘No killing and I don’t want to put any innocent people in danger. Frightening a few guilty people is one thing, but I don’t- no one should get hurt.’

‘I agree with and can abide by those conditions.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

If anyone's wondering or cares, Bubbe (Hannah) Smoak is strongly influenced by my grandmother and great-grandmother.

Chapter 92

Summary:

Oliver and Lyla meet someone new, Oliver attends an important meeting and Felicity tries to make something clear to the government.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

‘As much as I wish it otherwise, the Dark Archer is still free. Injured, but free. I think it’s time we talk about how to change that.’ Oliver said.

‘I may have a few ideas, although they are somewhat underhanded.’ Nyssa responded. ‘Aside from not killing, are there any rules you strictly wish to adhere to?’

‘No killing and I don’t want to put any innocent people in danger. Frightening a few guilty people is one thing, but I don’t- no one should get hurt.’

‘I agree with and can abide by those conditions.’

‘I also think that, whatever we do, we should try not to interfere with anything the federal agents may be planning.’ Lyla said. ‘Dark Archer is the priority, but we don’t one of his accomplices getting to walk free as a result of our actions.’

The other two nodded. ‘The simplest way to ensure the Dark Archer cannot cause further trouble would be to unmask him publicly, although given his current physical state, I doubt we will have an opportunity soon.’ Nyssa said.

‘We could always create a scenario where he has to show up?’ Oliver said. ‘Then again, he could pay someone, like a mercenary, to wear the suit for that one night.’

‘All important things to consider.’ Nyssa said. ‘Perhaps my plans need further refinement before I share them with you.’ The statement about how anyone could be wearing Malcolm’s armor gave her an idea, but she needed to think it through first before suggesting it.

‘I have no doubt that they’re brilliant.’ He said. He didn’t want her to think that his comments were meant to discourage her. Based on what he already knew about Nyssa, she was very smart and an amazing strategist.

‘Thank you.’ She said. She couldn’t remember the last time someone other than Sara complimented her.

The sound of something being knocked over broke the calm of the moment. All three vigilantes nocked arrows and turned towards the source of the noise. A moment later, a figure in black stepped out of the shadows. The person’s armor looked similar to the Dark Archer’s.

“Who are you?” The Arrow asked, courtesy of Digg. “Did he send you?”

“Stop. She’s not a threat.” Nyssa said, speaking for the first time in Oliver’s presence. He was surprised to learn she spoke with a slight British accent.

“Then who is she? And why does her armor look like the Dark Archer’s?”

“This is….my beloved. Taer Al Safher.” Nyssa said. “As for the similarity between her uniform and his, the Archer, my beloved and I were trained by the same people. Due to my position, I was awarded unique armor. She and the Dark Archer wear the standard issue uniform for our order."

“You’re hunting one of your own people?” Lyla asked.

“He’s not “one of us” anymore.” Sara said. Her voice was being altered by a device under her mask. She grabbed it at the last minute just in case Oliver might recognize her voice. “He swore an oath and betrayed it, betrayed us. We are here to make sure justice is served.”

“His plan to level the Glades goes against everything we stand for.” Nyssa added. The League of Assassins weren’t saints, by any means, but killing thousands of innocent people was crossing a line, even for them. “While I arrived unaware that that was his plan, we knew he was planning something of that nature. I apologize for not revealing my connection to the Dark Archer earlier. I wanted to earn your trust and respect before revealing that information to you and I didn’t want your encounter with him to taint your opinion of me. We had the same mentors, but are nothing alike.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” Lyla said. Logically, it made sense that Nyssa wouldn’t want to introduce herself as someone connected to Merlyn. It certainly made a lot of sense, now, why she knew so much about Merlyn. “We wouldn’t have reacted well if you immediately told us you knew the Dark Archer. Still, we need a plan to take him off the board. I suggest we call it a night, spend a few days brainstorming plans to do that, and when we next meet, we’ll discuss said ideas.”

“Makes sense to me.” Sara said.

Oliver and Lyla left. When they were gone, Nyssa asked her why she’d followed her to the clocktower and given away her presence.

“I came to see. Just to observe and try to reconcile everything in my mind. Then, you guys started talking and- I was gonna run into him sooner or later, as the Canary.” She said. “So, I kinda- I had an impulsive moment and decided to just rip the bandage off and meet him now.”

“And if they’d attacked?”

“I was banking on the fact that you’d recognize me and that they’d at least pause to hear you out.” She admitted.

 

When Oliver and Lyla made it back to the foundry, the others had a million questions to ask them. Had they met the second woman before? Did they believe what she told them? What plan were they working on? They didn’t have answers to most of those questions, and let the matter drop after a little while.

“What’s with the face?” Felicity asked Oliver after he changed out of his hood.

‘I can’t believe I didn’t see it.’

“Didn’t see what?”

‘That Nyssa and Malcolm had some kind of connection.’

“Well, you knew there was one. You just thought it was like your connection of “he’s bad, I need to stop him”. Or something like that.” She said. “And her knowing so much about him easily could’ve been because she’d been trying to stop him for a long time. After all, I know a lot more about Waller and your mother than I care to, but that doesn’t mean I’m on the same side as either of them.”

‘Still, what if she wasn’t on our side? What if she’d been working for him and-?’

“Do you know what one of your biggest strengths is, Oliver?” She said. ‘You have very good instincts and can tell when people aren’t trustworthy. You told me that, the day you met Waller, you knew you couldn’t trust her. And you hated yourself later for ignoring that feeling after what she did. Your instinct told you that Lyla, Digg, and everyone else here, could be trusted. I think, if Nyssa had been manipulating you, you would’ve gotten a bad feeling about her and probably wouldn’t have stuck around the second, third or fourth time you ran into her.”

‘That’s true.’

“And we finally got to meet her mysterious “beloved”. What kinda name is that anyway? Taer al Safher?”

“It’s probably a codename.” Digg said. “It’s Arabic for “yellow bird”. I’m gonna guess that she’s blonde, or maybe really likes birds.”

Everyone began to depart and Oliver and Felicity went home. Oliver fell asleep almost immediately, the stress of the day making it easy for him fall asleep.

 

Quentin Lance was woken up at 8am by a phone call. He ignored the ringing at first, but then, whoever was calling him called again. Wanting to get back to sleep, he answered the phone to see what they wanted.

“Was it you?” Dinah asked him.

“Was what me?” He asked. “What are you talking about Di?”

“Susan Williams’s story. The information in that story could come from one of two places. Either she talked to Laurel herself or she got that information from you. Which is it?”

“Yeah, I talked to her and let her go through some of Laurel’s stuff that I’ve been storing.” He admitted. “She said she was doing a piece on Laurel, trying to tell her side of the story about what happened with Queen.”

“Except that’s not the story she released at all.” She pointed out. “The story is about Laurel and Moira conspiring to have Oliver Queen declared mentally impaired. Instead of clearing her name, you made her look even more guilty.”

“She- I- she said-.” He sputtered. “I’ll call the TV station and-.”

“Do you not remember the conversation we had back in 2007 when all of those articles about Sara came out?” Dinah asked. “They painted her as a wild child and a homewrecker and a number of other things. We couldn’t do anything about it because-.”

“Because the articles were biased, but nothing written in them were actually untrue.”

“Exactly. This looks bad for Laurel, but everything Williams wrote, she has evidence to back up. Which you gave her.” She said. “To be honest, I don't care that much about the story. I’m worried about what this is gonna do to Laurel.”

“What do you mean?”

“She needs help. I’ve been hoping that, as time passed, she might start to seek out help. The facility she’s in has programs that can help her. With this story, it’s gonna stir up more anger for her, when she learns about it, and she’s probably gonna end up in the same cycle all over again, instead of finally getting out of it.”

“I’m sorry, Di. I thought-.”

“You thought Williams was going to make the Queens pay and believed her when she lied right to your face. Because that’s what you wanted to hear.” She said. “Let’s just hope this doesn’t make Laurel worse.”

She ended the call and Lance turned on the news, wanting see what Susan Williams had said. The longer he watched, the angrier he got. Why was everyone still painting Laurel as in the wrong? Couldn’t they see that Moira had taken advantage of her? She was the victim, not the woman’s accomplice. He’d just turned off the television when he got another call.

“When was the last time you left your house?” His old partner, Lucas Hilton, asked. “I’m betting it's been days.”

“And?”

“Meet me at the diner on Adams. I’m worried about you.”

 

“Hey Lance!” A prisoner shouted to Laurel as she walked by. “I’m gonna miss you when they send you to Iron Heights.”

“Why would I go to Iron Heights?”

The woman chuckled. “Oh, you didn’t hear? Everyone knows about your little plot to have your ex ruled crazy so he’d have to do what his mommy said. I wonder what they’re gonna charge you with on that one. Fraud maybe. Conspiracy. It might be enough to send you to max.”

“They can’t charge me for-.”

“Let’s go, Lance.” The guard who was escorting Laurel to the cafeteria said.

“You should really send that Susan Williams a thank you note!” The other inmate yelled after Laurel as she was led away.

“Are they gonna charge me?” Laurel asked the guard.

“Hell if I know. I’m not a lawyer.” He responded.

 

As Felicity got ready for work Monday morning, she and Oliver talked about the plans they had for the day. Felicity had one meeting and was going to spend the rest of the day working on the implantable biostimulant she, Curtis and Ray Palmer had dreamed up. She then asked Oliver what his plans were.

‘I need to talk to Mr. Correll about my future interview.’ He said. ‘But first, I have a meeting at Loring & Wasserman. Jean doesn’t do family law but-.’

“They’re a pretty big firm, so they have some lawyers who specialize in that area. Do you- have you talked to my mom about this kind of thing?”

‘Not yet, but I figured, since she’s coming to the meeting with me, she can give me her opinion while we’re discussing it.’ He said. ‘I don’t really- this is all still so fresh that I can’t really- I don’t even know what questions to ask.’

“Start by telling them the whole story, as you know it.” She said. “Then, I’d simply ask what your options are. I don’t remember much from when my parents split up, but I remember my mom and my uncle talking and family court doesn’t usually have an “all or nothing” outcome like criminal trials. Meaning, there are a lot of options.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she saw Digg’s car pull up outside the house. “Good luck. It’s gonna be fine.”

‘Have a nice day.’ He responded. He waved to Lyla as she got into Felicity’s car and watched them drive away.

“So, I take it we’re going to Loring & Wasserman?” Digg asked him.

‘First, I’m driving Speedy to school. Then, we need to stop at the penthouse to pick up Donna and Roy.’ He said.

Driving Thea to school was uneventful, as was picking up Donna and Roy. When they arrived at Jean’s office, a receptionist showed them into a conference room and said Jean and another attorney would be in shortly. About five minutes later, Jean walked in followed by a brunette woman in her mid-30s.

“Oliver, this is my colleague Eliana Sanchez. She’s one of our attorneys who specializes in family law.” Jean said, introducing the woman. “Eliana, this is Mr. Queen.”

“Nice to meet you.” She said.

‘You as well.’ He signed, with Donna interpreting. ‘This is Donna Smoak and Roy Harper. They’re my interpreters. I thought you should meet both of them, since at least one of them will be coming to any of the meetings we have.’

The group exchanged greetings and all sat down. “So, Oliver, may I ask what this is about?”

Taking Felicity’s advice, Oliver slowly told them the full story about him and Samantha Clayton. Their brief fling, her pregnancy, the call she made informing him of her miscarriage, and lastly, the revelation that his child had survived and that she’d kept his son from him.

“There are two questions I need to ask before we discuss this any further.” Eliana said. “Have you made any attempts to contact Ms. Clayton since learning this information?”

‘No. I only- the PI only informed me two days ago.’

“Okay. My second question is moot now, since it was in regards to how you contacted her and how often.” She said. “Family law is a type of law that tries to stay out of the courtroom as much as possible. Going to court is on the table, but it’s never our first option. Our first order of business is to get in contact with Samantha on your behalf. Whether we’re seeking visitation, or custody, which we’ll discuss later, the first thing we have to do is create a dialogue.”

‘Seems fair.’

“Now, are we interested in pressing criminal charges as well?”

“Criminal charges?” Donna asked.

“There are a few things we could possibly charge Ms. Clayton with in regards to this.” She answered. “If that’s what Mr. Queen wants to do.”

‘I don’t. I want to see my son. I want to be his dad, but I don’t- I don’t want to be vindictive towards Samantha because my mother pressured her into doing something.’

“Okay. That’s perfectly fine.” Eliana said. “From what you’ve told me, we have a few options here. We can try to get visitation or we can try to get custody, whether that's shared custody or full custody. I will warn you, however, that compromises will need to be made for any of those to happen. We’ll have to compromise on some things and she will as well. So, for right now, while I get my ducks in a row and we reach out to Samantha, what I want you to do is make a list. On that list, put anything related to your son that you want. If you want him to spend Christmas with you, put it on the list. If you want him to stay with you every other weekend, it goes on the list. From there, we’ll decide how to move forward.”

 ‘What happens if this does have to go to court?’ He was afraid to ask, but at the same time, he needed to prepare for the worst.

“Family court does not have juries. We would go before a judge and present our case and Ms. Clayton would present hers. The judge would then come to a decision. The court has a responsibility to act in William’s best interest since he’s a minor. Both your actions and Samantha’s will be called into question. I think we have a good chance in court, but it could get messy and that’s why it’s our last resort.” She answered truthfully.

‘Thank you for your time.’ Oliver said. He, Roy and Donna left soon after.

 

Felicity was bent over a table, trying to solder a chip to a circuit board when there was a light knock at the door. Since she was holding a hot soldering iron, she didn’t move to open the door or react. There was then another, louder knock.

“Ms. Smoak?” One of the administrative staff called out.

“Give me just a second.” She said back. She finished what she was doing, set the iron down to cool and opened the door. “Yeah, Mary?”

“The- uh, there are two people from Washington here, asking to see you.” The woman said. “Should I-?”

“Did you get their names or what department they’re with?”

“I- no. I’m sorry. I got so frazzled that they’re here and with everything-.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I was just asking.” She said. “I’m gonna go back to my office and I’ll give a call to send them in, okay?”

“Okay.” The woman said, noticeably calmer.

Felicity went to her office, took a few moments to collect her thoughts and then told Mary to send the two visitors from DC in. A redheaded man who was around Felicity’s age walked in followed by a man around Digg’s age with a shaved head.

“Ms. Smoak?”

“Yes, that’s me.” She said, standing to greet them.

“My name is Matthew Gibson.” The man with the shaved head said. “This is my colleague Ethan Coffey. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for several days.”

“In touch with me for what reason?” She asked. “Also, may I ask what company or government department you’re with?”

“We work for the Department of Homeland Security.” Gibson said. “We were hoping to discuss using one of your programs to-.”

“I’m sorry you flew all of this way, gentlemen, but I’m gonna have to decline. Or refuse. Whatever the right term here is.” She said.

“May we ask why?” Coffey asked.

“It’s complicated, but I don’t feel comfortable giving the department access to the programs you’re asking about.” She said. “It’s nothing against the department, but there are assurances the government won’t give me and there are people working for DHS that I don’t want anywhere near my work.” By people, she was referring to ARGUS as a whole and Waller in particular.

“Your program could-.”

“Oh, it could do a lot. I’m aware of its capabilities and potential. I also know that there are plenty of other programmers who’d be eager to help you.” She said. “My answer is no. Unless someone higher up can give me the assurances that I need, I don’t see my answer changing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

The two agents were more than a little disheartened that they’d flown all this way only to be told “no”, but Coffey wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t answered any of their calls, and in his opinion, that made her feelings pretty obvious.

“What was she talking about?” He asked his coworker. “Who in DHS doesn’t she want near her work?”

“I have no idea, but now, we can at least tell the Secretary that we tried.”

 

Not long after the two DHS employees left, Oliver walked into Felicity’s office.

“Hey!” She said.

‘Hi. Any chance you’re free for lunch?’

“I’m always free for lunch when it’s with you.” She told him as she grabbed her bag.

She took Oliver’s hand and they walked out of the building. She greeted Digg, Roy and Donna as well. The group made their way down the street to a small café that was close to her office.

“I had no idea this place was even here.” She remarked as she and Oliver got settled at a table. Digg and Lyla took seats at a different table nearby and Donna and Roy sat together on the other side of the restaurant.

‘I found it online. They opened pretty recently.’ Oliver told her. ‘How’s your day been?’

“I had to sit through a boring meeting, I worked on a project for a little bit. And I got a visit from the Department of Homeland Security.”

‘Why did they come to see you? Is something wrong? Are they coming after you? Is she trying to-?’ More often than not, Oliver avoided using Waller's name, referring to her only as "she".

“No, none of that. They came to see me because they wanted to adapt one of the programs I wrote and I told them “no”.” Felicity said. “A few years ago, I created a program that used- I won’t get into the technical bits of it, but it basically can be used to find people. I never sold it or anything and the government only knows that it exists because a friend of a friend works for the NSA and told someone about it. The reason why I haven’t done anything with it is that it could easily be abused, which is why I told the government no two years ago and why I’m telling them that now.”

‘That makes sense.’ He said. ‘I’m sorry I freaked out, I just-.’

“No, it’s fine.” She said. “If I hadn’t been avoiding their calls for a week, I would’ve freaked out too. How did your meetings go?”

‘I haven’t stopped by QC’s main office yet. Talking to Jean took….a while. I don’t know how I feel about it yet.’ He admitted. ‘There was- she and the other lawyer gave me a lot to think about.’

“Yeah, I thought that would happen.”

‘I think meeting your grandmother went well.’ He said, wanting to change the subject. ‘She seemed to like me.’

“There’s no “seemed to” about it. She loved you.” She told him. “Because there’s a lot to love about you.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. After lunch, they walked back to Applied Sciences and Oliver gave Felicity another kiss before heading out.

Instagram went a little nuts when photos of both their kisses started circulating. The internet had decided that Olicity were #couplegoals.

 

Samantha Clayton waited with baited breath for her lawyer to react to what she’d just told her. It had taken a while to explain everything to Camille Ashton, the family law attorney she’d found, and now she needed to hear how big of a headache this was going to be.

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?” Samantha asked. “He’s gonna come after me. I’m gonna lose William. I- This is a nightmare.”

“No, I’ve worked cases that were real nightmares.” Camille said. “This one's just complicated, and you're gonna have to make some compromises and accept that you won't get to have your own way all the time."

“But, is this gonna have to go to court, or-?”

"Honestly, Samantha, we'd be a lot better off keeping this out of a courtroom. Five years ago, this would’ve been a slam dunk, but Oliver Queen is viewed differently now. He’s far more sympathetic than he once was and he’s kept out of trouble since his return. The facts are not in our favor. If this comes down to a custody battle, then we are gonna lose: it's just a question of how badly we get our asses kicked. With the resources he has, if his lawyers play it right, it's possible that Oliver could end up with exclusive custody of William, and I would have a hard fight on my hands just to make sure you at least had visitation rights."

"Then-- then what should we do?" She asked. She couldn’t lose her son.

"From what you told me he doesn’t know about William yet. First off, that needs to change, because the longer he stays in the dark, the worse you’ll look.” She said. “I will start working on plans for mediation and drafting a statement of what you want. If, after you tell Oliver about William, he says he wants to meet you to discuss things, I want you to go meet him, and keep an open mind. If he wants to meet William, let him - and the same goes for Thea Queen if she's there. If Oliver wants regular visitation rights, then don't even try to fight him. If he wants shared custody? I want you to stay calm and be reasonable and talk things through with him. And then come talk to me. Compromising sucks, but it’s better than ending up at trial. We want to keep this out of the courtroom.”

“How bad would it be if this went to court?”

"If we end up in a courtroom, Mr. Queen's lawyer will be sure to bring up how you told him that his child was dead, then hung up the phone before he could ask you any questions - such as when and where the funeral would be held, the child's name and sex, and similar - and left him to grieve for his child while you collected a million-dollar payday, then used the money to pay for you to live in an idyllic suburban paradise. Your acceptance of that money is gonna cause us all kinds of problems; and that stunt you pulled by framing the second check and putting it on display, then trying to claim you never accepted any money at all? That just makes things even worse."

"It's not like the agents recorded our interview."

"They don't need to. You said that the two agents stated what you told them didn’t pertain to their investigation, meaning they can discuss it openly and be called to testify. If this case does go to court, even if his lawyer is only half-awake, then she will make sure to call in both agents, so the judge will hear the same story twice over; and if she questions you under oath about their visit, then she gets three repetitions of what happened. After that, we have a serious problem on our hands."

"But how? I don't understand, why is that such a big deal?"

"Taking the money, five years ago when you were scared, is one thing. You could say that you panicked, it was the heat of the moment, and so on. Framing the second check, though, that required forethought and planning. It means you were expecting someone to ask about it at some point. And what you did with the second check is a strong indicator that you meant to use it to manipulate whoever asked in order to gain sympathy. Any good lawyer, and Oliver Queen has the money to hire the best, is guaranteed to ask you, under oath, what other plans you had up your sleeve. I'll tell you something else, Ms. Clayton - I need to know exactly what those plans were, right now."

“I didn’t- I can’t lose my son.” She said.

“If Oliver knocked on your door, asking about the check, what would you have done?”

“I don’t know! Anything to keep him away from William.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Camille said. "Honestly, Samantha, your position is extremely weak. And I can tell you right now that you’re the biggest liability we have."

“Me? How is it me?”

“Oliver Queen could throw everything he has at us, and we’d lose. Or, if we’re lucky, he might take a nicer approach and try to resolve this away from a courtroom. However, just getting him to the negotiating table isn’t enough, because if we can’t meet him halfway, if you keep trying to manipulate the situation to look better, he might walk away past a point and then, we’re screwed. I can help you to retain some access to William, maybe even shared custody.  But not if your entire explanation pins all the blame on Moira. This isn’t about Moira’s actions, it’s about yours. You barely knew Oliver Queen back when you had your fling with him, and he's changed a great deal since then, so you know even less about him now; and you've never even met his sister or anyone else in his life. You love your son, I can see that, but you didn’t have the right to keep him from his father and refusing to accept any responsibility will not end well.”

“So, I’m the bad guy here and Moira isn’t?”

“This isn’t a movie. There isn’t a bad guy. But I need you to separate Moira’s actions from your history with Oliver. Because if we walk into a meeting, or mediation, or a court hearing and you keep circling back to what Moira did to you, and why that justifies your actions, we will lose. I’m not expecting you to forgive Moira, but you have to at least make an attempt to get along with Oliver. Can you do that?”

“I suppose.”

"You need to have a clear understanding of where your priorities lie, Samantha. Is your top priority William's best interest? Or is it being a part of his life? Or is it “winning” some imaginary competition against Moira?” Camille asked her. “Go home. Think about what’s important to you and come up with a list of concessions you’re willing to make.”

“Concessions?”

“To avoid this going to trial, what are you willing to give? This is about compromise.”

Samantha nodded once and thanked the lawyer for her time. She had given her a lot to think about and now, she needed to figure out what she was going to do. The thought of losing William terrified her, as did the idea of her son being exposed to people like Moira Queen. She didn’t see an option that would satisfy her.

Courtney was playing in the living room with William when she got home. “Mommy! Look what I made!” The boy yelled as he ran over to his mother to show her his LEGO creation. “It’s a spaceship!”

“Wow!” She said, with a little too much enthusiasm. “Where’s the spaceship headed?”

“Don’t know yet.” He answered before running off to go play.

Samantha thanked Courtney for watching William before paying her for her time today. She then took a seat in the living room and turned on the news, hoping there wasn’t another bombshell story that had dropped while she was busy.

 

“Susan Williams is on the line for you.” Monique, a member of QC’s PR department, told Daniel Correll as he walked past her. “She’s insisting on speaking only to you.”

“Please tell her that I’m not available.” He said. “I will remain unavailable, at least to her, for the foreseeable future.”

“I thought that might be your answer.”

“I don’t know why she thought that story would help her chances of getting an interview with Mr. Queen, but if anything, it confirmed that she’s not right for the job.” He said.

“How much of a backlash is that story causing us?”

“Far less than I feared, partially due to our efforts to distance this company from the Queen family itself, but due to name recognition….”

“So, it’s still a problem, but not as big as it could be. That’s good to know.” Monique said. “We got a few other requests for statements, not for Mr. Queen. Some people are looking for an explanation in regards to Applied Sciences shutting down specific projects. A few are about the Arrow Initiative. And there are the normal requests to speak with Mr. Steele or Dr.  Cruyssen in Applied Sciences or Matt Krebs in Engineering.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” He didn’t want to jinx it, but it seemed to Daniel that things were starting to go back to normal.

 

Nyssa woke up to find Sara flipping through the notes she’d gathered over the weeks she was in Starling. She’d written down everything the task force discussed in case it was relevant later. Sure, it was easy to get bogged down by the minute details, but she’d rather record everything than ignore something that ended up being important.

“Are my notes really so fascinating?” Nyssa asked her girlfriend.

“No, but also yes.” She answered, her voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t know my mom had gone to see the task force.”

“She wanted to find closure.”

“She broke down sobbing and said my death was her fault. That she’d killed me.” She said. “Why would she think that?”

“Your parents had to bury you. They buried their child. That’s an experience too painful for me to imagine. Even though I know you survived, they don’t. And they have no answers about what happened to you.” Nyssa said. “While I was upset hearing your mother break down, I cannot say I blame her for doing so.”

Sara sighed. “I kinda wish-.” She knew she couldn’t reveal her survival to her mother. It would violate the League’s rules and people would die. Still, she wished there was a way to ease her mother’s pain.

“I know.”

 

Oliver didn’t have a chance to meet with Daniel Correll to talk about his interview. Correll’s schedule was already full and, to be honest, Oliver wasn’t in the right headspace to talk with him after his meeting with Jean. Instead, he went back to the house. He picked Thea up from school when it got out. Felicity came home from work. They had dinner and then everyone met at the foundry.

Lyla and Oliver suited up, intent on taking care of the last two high-ranking members of Tempest. Everyone gathered around Felicity’s workstation to watch what happened.

Sylvia Thomas lived closer to the foundry than Finch, so they headed to her apartment first. Using some of the lock-picking skills he’d learned in Moscow, Oliver let himself into her apartment with Lyla. They found Sylvia enjoying a glass of wine in her living room.

“Sylvia Thomas?” The Arrow said from behind her. The woman jumped and spilled her wine all over herself. “You have failed this city.”

“I- please don’t hurt me! I have a family. I-.”

“Turn yourself in to the authorities and tell them everything you know about Tempest.” Harbinger said. “Tonight.”

“I- okay. Yes, I will.” The woman said. “I only joined because-.”

“We aren’t interested in your reasons.” She said. “Turn yourself in, or we’ll have to come back.”

Oliver and Lyla made their escape and a few minutes later, they spotted Sylvia getting into her car and driving off.

 

“Answer the phone. Answer the phone. Answer the phone.” Sylvia said as she listened to it ring.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Arthur Finch answered from the other line.

“I just got a visit from the Arrow.” She told him. “I’ve got a feeling you’re gonna be next.”

“What did he want?”

“He and his partner warned me to turn myself into the authorities.”

“If we do that, and Malcolm finds out, he’ll-.”

“No one’s heard from Frank since he was visited by the Arrow. And I haven’t heard from Moira or Carl in days.” She said. “Have you?”

“…No.”

“Right now, I’m more worried about the Arrow paying me a visit than what Malcolm, who I haven’t seen or heard from in over a month, might do.”

A very shaken Sylvia Thomas arrived at the SCPD precinct and asked to speak with the federal agents. An hour later, Arthur Finch arrived. He passed Moira on her way out of the building and gave her a knowing look.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Agent Anderson said several hours later. “He got all of them.”

“Who are we talking about?” Doyle, who’d been going over forensic evidence with the CSIs, asked.

“The Arrow. He got every member of Tempest’s inner circle to turn themselves in.”

“Moira Queen didn’t get a visit from him.” He pointed out.

“Maybe not, but he would’ve eventually, and you can’t tell me that his actions didn’t nudge her in the right direction.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 93

Summary:

Donna says something that makes Oliver think, Tommy makes some plans and Walter learns what Moira's been up to.

Chapter Text

“Oh my god! I can’t!” Someone yelled, snapping Barry Allen out of his stupor. He looked up from his coffee to see his foster sister Iris West looking at her phone and trying not to let out an excited squeal. She had Instagram open and was looking at a specific picture.

“Um, Iris? What’s going on?” He asked.

“I asked her the same thing.” Joe West, Iris’s father, said. “Apparently Olicity, whatever that is, is too cute and she can’t handle it.”

“Olicity is- Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are dating and people merged their names together to create “Olicity”.” Barry said. “And they are a cute couple.” Initially, he only knew who they were because Iris would talk about them, and he listened because she listened to him ramble about science, so it was only fair. He then started looking into Felicity’s work and discovered that she was incredibly cool. He wasn’t quite as invested in “shipping” them as Iris was, but he agreed they looked good together.

“Got it.” Joe said, taking another sip of his coffee. “I’m just glad nothing’s wrong.”

“I know you think it’s weird, Dad, but I’m not obsessed or anything.” Iris said. “They’re just really cute and it's nice to see that, after everything that’s happened, Oliver Queen seems happy.”

“He definitely deserves it.” Joe agreed.

 

After Felicity went to work on Tuesday morning, Oliver took Thea to school before heading back to the house. He was meeting Tommy after lunch to help him pick out a Valentine’s Day gift for McKenna, but before he left, he wanted to take the time to start on his “wish list” for his lawyers. He didn’t have an appointment scheduled with Jean or Eliana already, but he thought he should at least get started on the list of things he wanted in regards to William.

The only issue was that he wasn’t sure where to start. Since he wasn’t familiar with family court or the custody process, he didn’t know what kind of things he should ask for. He decided to text Donna, the only person he knew that had experience with this type of thing. He offered to come pick her up, but she told him she was already out and about, so she took an Uber to the house.

“So, you’re making your list for William.” She said as she sat down at the kitchen table with him.

‘Trying to. I don’t- I’m not what to put down. What kinda stuff goes on these things?’

“Well, first things first, you want to meet him as soon as possible. You’d also like him to meet Felicity and Thea, and possibly Walter, soon. Just like she shouldn’t keep him from you, she also can’t stop you from introducing him to them.”

‘Okay.’ He said, before writing that down. ‘What else? I don’t- I don’t want to ask for too much.’

“Anything you ask for has to be reasonable and enforceable.” She said. “If you’re supposed to have William every other weekend, let’s say, that’s something the court can enforce if it’s not happening. And it’s a reasonable request. The court can’t demand that you, or Samantha for that matter, can’t date someone without approval or that William only eats vegan food or anything like that. Now, those are extreme examples, and what’s “reasonable” is up for debate but I think you get my point.”

‘Is having him every other weekend reasonable?’

“Central City’s a short train ride away, so I’d say that it is. Keep in mind that this isn’t official. It’s just what you’ve come up with in terms of what you want and what you think is fair.”

Oliver wrote a few things down. ‘Can I put down that I want to spend the holidays with him?’

“Yeah, although you might not get to see him on the actual dates for every holiday.” She said. “When Felicity’s dad- I got everything I wanted by default, because he didn’t show up, but what might happen is that Samantha might have him on Christmas Day itself, but you’ll see him either a few days before or a few days after the 25th. The same would be true for Thanksgiving.”

‘What about summers? During the school year, I don’t wanna make him miss school, but he doesn’t always have school, so-. Could he stay here, with me and Felicity, for a month? Or maybe he’s with us for two weeks and with Samantha for two weeks and so on?’

“That’s a good idea. Write both down.” Donna said, encouragingly. Oliver bounced a few more ideas off of Donna, and the list grew longer. When he’d run out of ideas, she suggested something of her own. “Is there something you want to do for William?”

‘What do you mean?’

“Well, this list is mostly about custody and visitation and holidays, but if you wanna create a trust fund for him or set aside money for him to go to college, I’d put that on the list as well.” She said. He added a few more bullet points to the list. “We talked about meeting him and a custody arrangement and holidays. We touched on the boring legal stuff such as medical care, school reports and how decisions regarding him should be made. I think that’s it for now. The lawyers need to look it over at some point, and Samantha’s probably gonna push back on a few things, but this isn’t a bad start.”

‘Thanks for all your help.’

“Of course, sweetie.” She said. She hadn’t told Oliver yet, but since Oliver was Donna’s son-in-law in all but name, she saw William has her grandson. She was very excited for the chance to meet the boy and spoil him a bit. “I should go. I’m meeting Dinah for lunch.”

‘Do you need a ride? I’m picking up Felicity for lunch and I can drop you off.’

“That would be wonderful.” She said. Oliver told Digg, who was reading the newspaper in the living room, that they were going to leave soon and drop Donna off before meeting Lyla and Felicity for lunch. As they were leaving the house, Donna said something surprising to Oliver. “You know, you’re kinda the Jewish mother’s dream son-in-law. Handsome, polite, smart, helps out, and most importantly for me, you love my daughter for the amazing and compassionate genius that she is.”

‘She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’ He said with a smile.

They dropped Donna off outside the restaurant where she was meeting Dinah before heading to Applied Sciences to pick up Felicity and Lyla.

“Is everything okay?” Felicity asked him. “You’ve got a funny look on your face.”

‘Your mom told me I’d be the perfect son-in-law.’

“Well, you would be, but we’re not married. And we’re not quite ready for that yet.” She told him. "Sorry if it freaked you out. I’ll talk with her and-.”

‘I wasn’t- freaked out isn’t quite the right word, I just- it took me by surprise.’

“Well, for the record, you’re perfect.” She said, giving him a kiss.

The car drove past the café where the group had had lunch the day before. The place was pretty busy, despite being relatively new and unknown. They went a block over and had lunch at a Tex-Mex place.

 

Tommy walked into Big Belly Burger and couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he spotted McKenna. It sounded lame, but he’d forgotten what it felt like to be so happy that simply seeing his girlfriend was enough to put a smile on his face. He made his way over to the booth and sat down.

“Hey.” He said.

“Hi.” She said. “Sorry about this past weekend.” Tommy had asked her out to dinner, but she ended up not being available either night. “I can’t really talk about it, but work’s been very- I’ve been slammed.”

“It’s okay. I was about to apologize for not having a chance to call you at any point or at least text you.” He said. “I was busy too. Between Susan Williams’s story and what Ollie found out about Samantha Clayton-.”

“She came clean to him?” McKenna interrupted.

“No, he, uh, he hired a PI to find answers and the guy told him….what he discovered when he tracked her down.” Tommy said, sticking to the story Oliver had given his lawyer. “With all of that, I spent most of the weekend with Ollie, Felicity and the others.”

“That’s good.” She said.

“Also, I talked Digg and Lyla into giving me self-defense lessons.” He said. “I’ll probably regret it in a few days, when I’m sore from it, but yeah, seemed like a good idea.”

“It is a good idea. Everyone should know some basic self-defense moves.” She said.

They talked for a little bit before Tommy broached a subject they hadn’t discussed yet. “I know work has been hectic, and everything, but Thursday is Valentine’s Day. Any chance you’ve got some free time?”

“Maybe not on the 14th, but Friday’s another story. There’s this complicated schedule for weekends with the task force, so that if they need additional people, it’s not the same people being called in every time, but I’m supposed to be off, as in “completely off-duty unless there’s a massive emergency” off on Friday.”

“So, let’s have dinner Friday.” He suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

 

Nyssa returned from a trip to buy some more food for her hideout to find Sara looking quizzically at some fabric. Looking around, she saw that Sara had unsewn the seams in her standard League of Assassins armor and seemed to be using the scraps of fabric to create new armor.

“May I ask why you’ve taken apart your armor?” Nyssa asked.

“I realized something last night after Ollie and his partner freaked out and thought I was Merlyn.” She said. “It’s probably not a good idea for me to be running around dressed like the Dark Archer. So, I thought I’d make my own armor, and since League armor gets a lot right when it comes to protecting vital organs, I figured I might as well “recycle” it.”

“That seems wise. How will you conceal your identity without a hood though?” League assassins wore a hood and a scarf covering the lower half of their face. Without a hood, the scarf wouldn’t do much to hide Sara’s face and she was curious what solution her beloved might come up with.

“Domino mask, most likely.” She said. “Possibly a wig to hide my real hair color.”

“Can I assist you with this?”

“For right now, no. I still gotta figure out what design I’m going for, but later, I’m probably gonna need an extra set of hands.” She said.

 

After Oliver and Felicity finished their lunch date, she and Lyla went back to Applied Sciences while Oliver went to the foundry to get a short work-out in. Tommy was going to call him when he was ready to meet to go shopping for Valentine’s Day, so he had some time to kill while he waited.

“So, all of Tempest’s inner circle, except possibly your mother, have turned themselves in.” Digg said after a while. “Are we gonna try and persuade her to go to the authorities next, or are you thinking of setting your sights on a different group?”

‘I- to be honest, I don’t think I’m in the right mindset to be near my mother, even if it’s from across the room and she doesn’t know that it’s me.’ He said. ‘Besides, I can’t- I think I should focus on some other people at the moment. Not just names on the List, but…Tempest wasn’t the only group taking advantage of the way this city’s been for the last twenty years.’

“Fair enough.”

 

Frank Pike, the acting police commissioner, took a deep breath before he stepped out in front of the podium that had been set up in the lobby of Starling’s Police Headquarters. There were over a dozen reporters waiting for him to speak. While Pike liked his job and knew what he did was important, there was a reason why he never wanted to be the commissioner. He was perfectly fine being a police captain, but the mayor had personally asked him to take the role, so he couldn’t really refuse.

“Good afternoon, everyone. For those of you who may not know me, I’m Frank Pike and I’m the acting police commissioner until Mayor Altman selects a permanent person to appoint.” He said. “After a discussion between officers in the department, the mayor and the district attorney, it has been decided that the court will dismiss the arrest warrant that was issued for the vigilante known as the Arrow. I will now take questions.”

A reporter raised their hand and he called on them. “Why is the warrant being dismissed?”

“The warrant was issued when we believed the Arrow responsible for a number of murders, murders which we now know were the work of the individual known as the Dark Archer. Upon further reflection, it was decided that the manhunt to locate and arrest him wasn’t making the best use of the department’s resources.”

“What effect will this have on the so-called “Hood taskforce”? Will the taskforce be disbanded since there’s no longer a warrant for the Arrow’s arrest?” Susan Williams asked, cutting off any follow-up question the first reporter might’ve had.

“A decision hasn’t been made on that matter yet. The unit might be disbanded or they might remain intact and simply shift their focus away from the Arrow and towards another matter.”

“Such as what?”

“I can’t comment on that at this time. As I said, a decision hasn’t been made.” He said firmly before calling on another reporter, who asked about steps being taken to make sure the next police commissioner wasn’t dirty.

 

Walter tried to hide his surprise when his assistant told him that Moira was here to see him. He hadn’t spoken to Moira in a few days, and the last time they spoke, she was acting very shifty.

“Good afternoon.” He greeted her.

“Hello.” She said, fidgeting with her hands. “There’s something important I need to tell you. I couldn’t say anything right away, I needed to make sure that I- that our family would be safe before I said something.”

“What is it?”

"Tempest, the group who owned the warehouse where the Queen’s Gambit was discovered, I was a member.” She said. He didn’t react, given that he already knew that. She interpreted his silence as shock, and continued. “I didn’t- when Robert and Oliver got on the Gambit, I didn’t- I didn’t know. But then, after I found the wreckage, I was visited by someone, who warned me not to tell anyone what I’d found. They- I had to protect Thea.”

“So, you joined the group who murdered your husband and, as far as you knew, also killed your son.”

“I had to protect my family.” She insisted. “I- I won’t pretend like I’m an innocent victim, but I- I can’t take back what I’ve done.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“I made a deal with the task force investigating the Queen’s Gambit and the Dark Archer.” She said. “It took a while to sort out, but that’s what I’ve spent the last few days doing. Now, we’ll be safe from Ma- from Tempest.” She paused. “I’m hoping that, telling the task force all that I know, is the first step in getting everyone to forgive me.”

“It’s true that informing the authorities what you know could prevent something awful from happening." He said. "But Moira, you need to bear in mind that one good act doesn’t erase the pain you’ve caused Oliver, Thea or myself. Or undo the other things you’ve done, which people are starting to become aware of.”

“Walter-.”

“I’m glad you’ve decided to do the right thing in this situation, but it doesn’t wipe the slate clean.” He said. "If you truly want forgiveness, the most important thing is for your behavior going forward to reflect that desire."

 

Samantha Clayton was coming out of a mid-afternoon meeting when she heard someone say her name. Looking around, she saw one of her coworkers talking to a man in a suit that she didn’t know.

“Samantha should be- oh, she’s right there.” Her coworker said, pointing the man in her direction.

Feeling very nervous suddenly, Samantha tried to keep her cool as the man approached her. “Samantha Clayton?” The man asked.

“Yes, that’s me.” She said. “Can we talk out in the hall?” She had a bad feeling about this and didn’t want any of her coworkers to overhear and gossip about her.

“Sure.” The courier said, as he followed her out of the office suite. Once they were outside, he handed her an envelope. “I’m here on behalf of Loring & Wasserman to deliver this. Can you please sign here, confirming you received it?” He handed her a clipboard.

“Is this- what’s this about?” She asked him, as she signed the document in front of her.

“I’m not sure. I was just told to deliver it.” He said. “Have a nice day.”

She tore the envelope open and began reading the piece of paper that was inside.

 

Dear Ms. Samantha Clayton,

            You have received this letter at the behest of our client, Oliver Jonas Queen. Mr. Queen wishes to discuss a custody agreement with you in regards to William Clayton. As William’s father, Mr. Queen would like to-

 

Samantha didn’t read any further before she started panicking. Oliver knew about William. He was probably going to take her to court. She looked at the bottom of the letter and saw that it he was signed by a lawyer from Loring & Wasserman named Eliana Sanchez. She also included her contact information. Samantha immediately called Camille, her lawyer, to tell her about the letter.

“Oliver knows about William.” She said.

“You told him? That’s good news. How did-?”

“I didn’t tell him. I don't know how he knows. His lawyer sent someone to my office to deliver papers.” She said. “I’m gonna lose him, aren’t I?”

“What paperwork was delivered?” The lawyer asked. “And what exactly did the person who delivered it say?”

“He just handed me the envelope and told me he was sent by the law firm. He had me sign a form confirming I received the letter.”

“So, it was just a letter? That’s good for us.”

“How is that good?”

“Mr. Queen could be suing you. What does the letter say?”

Samantha read the letter, in its entirety this time, out loud to the lawyer. Nothing in it was threatening. Oliver’s attorney said that he wanted to discuss an arrangement for custody of William with Samantha and that he wanted to meet his son. The letter gave a two-week timeframe for Samantha, or her lawyer, to respond. If there was no response within two weeks, Eliana would assume Samantha was uninterested in discussing the matter and she’d be pursuing the matter in a more formal manner.

“Okay, so this letter was a courtesy, which is a good sign. As I said, they could’ve just served you with a lawsuit.” Camille said. “I wanna meet with you either tomorrow or the day after to talk about this. What does William know about his father?”

“Nothing. I- I told him his father died before he was born. And, at the time, everyone thought-.”

“What about the rest of Oliver’s family?”

“Nothing. I told him- every time he asked, I avoided the question.”

“Well, at least you didn’t outright lie to him.” She said. “You need to go home and tell him that, not only is his father alive, but he wants to meet him.”

“Will’s gonna- he’ll have questions. How am I supposed to answer them?”

“As honestly as you can, but don’t badmouth the Queens in the process. It won’t do you any favors in the long run.”

Samantha thanked her lawyer and hung up. She then went to talk to her boss and said she wasn’t feeling well and was going to head home. She got home and found William and Courtney watching television in the living room. Normally, she wouldn’t have minded, but the TV station was showing footage of Oliver Queen and a blonde woman she didn’t know.

“-name’s Oliver Queen. His grandpa started a company called Queen Consolidated.” Courtney told William. “For a long time, everyone thought he drowned when his boat sank.”

Samantha wasn’t sure what to do. Should she walk in and turn off the TV? Or would that seem weird? She stayed in the doorway and watched her son and his babysitter.

“Why?”

“Well, no one could find the boat. And they didn’t find him either, so they thought he was in heaven. It turns out that he was just really far away.”

“Mommy said heaven is where my daddy is.” William said. “Why didn’t he just come back?”

“He was on an island, and it was too far to swim and he didn’t have a phone or anything.” She said. “My daddy’s in heaven too.”

“Who’s that lady?” He asked, focused on the blonde woman now.

“Her name is Felicity Smoak. She’s a genius computer programmer. She makes phone apps and writes programs. She’s also Oliver’s girlfriend.”

“So, he kisses her and stuff?” William asked with a look on his face. “Gross. She’s a girl. She has cooties.”

Courtney laughed at his childish behavior. “Well, grown-ups do a lot of things that kids find weird. I used to think that- oh, hi, Ms. Clayton. You’re back early.”

“My lunch didn’t quite agree with me.” Samantha said.

“Hi, Mommy.” Will said, rushing over to hug his mother.

“Did you have a good day at preschool?”

“Uh-huh.” He said, as he started telling her all about his day. After giving his recap, he said goodbye to Courtney as she left. She lived down the street, so she only needed a ride after dark or in really bad weather.

William played for a few hours before it was dinner time. After dinner, Samantha sat her son down, telling him there was something important she needed to tell him.

“Am I in trouble?” Will asked her.

“No, you’re not in trouble. I just- we need to talk about your daddy.”

Chapter 94

Summary:

Walter talks with the task force, Felicity's project reaches an important stage and Quentin learns something he's unhappy about.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

William played for a few hours before it was dinner time. After dinner, Samantha sat her son down, telling him there was something important she needed to tell him.

“Am I in trouble?” Will asked her.

“No, you’re not in trouble. I just- we need to talk about your daddy.” She said, taking a deep breath before she started explaining the truth to William. She didn’t want to admit, even to herself, how difficult it was for her to tell the whole, unbiased truth to her son, to fight the urge to pin some of the fault on Oliver or his family. She remembered her lawyer’s warning, though, and stopped herself before she said anything that Will might later repeat and hurt her case.

Since William was so young, she only told him the very basics of the situation anyway. She explained that, while she was still pregnant with William, she moved away from where his father lived. William was born and she didn’t get in touch with his father to tell him about the baby. Then, the Queen’s Gambit had gone down in a storm and she thought Oliver was dead. Oliver came back after five years, learned about his son, and now wanted to meet William.

“So….so my daddy’s not really in heaven?” William asked. “I have a daddy now?”

“It’s not that sim- yes, you have a daddy.” She said, not wanting to delve into the finer, and thus uglier, points of the story. “He wants to come meet you, but I don’t know when yet. We need to figure that out.”

 

When Team Oliver gathered in the foundry that night, Walter said that there was something he needed to tell everyone before Oliver and Lyla went out on patrol. Once he had everyone’s attention, he told them about Moira’s visit to his office and the revelation that she’d made a deal with the federal task force. He wasn’t able to share much detail about the deal she’d made, as she hadn’t told him much about it.

“And is she- please tell me that she’s not just expecting Ollie and I to forgive her because she did one good thing.” Thea said.

“I don’t know if that was her initial hope, but I made it clear to her when she told me that this was a good first step, but not enough on its own.” He said. “One good act doesn’t erase what she did. Additionally, as far as I know, she hasn’t made any attempts to apologize to you or Oliver directly yet. I don’t know if she realizes that yet.”

“It’s gonna take a lot more than just an “I’m sorry” for me to forgive her.” Thea said. Several of the others nodded in agreement, but didn’t say anything. “Ollie?”

‘I’m glad she decided to do the right thing, and turn on Malcolm, but- am I a bad person for not believing this will last?’

“Not at all.” Felicity said, after she told Slade and Walter, who weren’t fluent in ASL, what he’d asked. “Your mother’s hurt you in the past, both intentionally and unintentionally, and it’s normal to be skeptical in this situation.”

The group talked a little bit more before Lyla and Oliver suited up and headed out to patrol the streets. As they left, Felicity noticed a strange look on Slade’s face.

“You wanna be out there with them, don’t you?” She asked him.

“I know Lyla is more than capable of watching his back, but-.”

“You should talk to him about it. I don’t think he’d say no if you asked to patrol with them, be a vigilante. After all, three heads are better than two, he knows you can handle yourself and he trusts you.” She said. “Though, we’d need to get you a codename first.”

Slade didn’t respond, but she could tell he was thinking about what she said. The ASIS chapter of his life was over, with all of the highs and extreme lows that came with it. Was vigilantism going to be the next chapter in his life?

Lyla and Oliver chose not to go after a specific target that night, and instead simply patrolled the streets. They ran into a few criminals, but nothing major. They didn’t run into Nyssa or her beloved that night.

 

David Drayson was woken up at dawn Wednesday morning by a phone call. He didn’t answer the call, once he saw that it was Malcolm Merlyn. No doubt the billionaire was impatient for a status update and annoyed that the Arrow wasn’t already dead. After spending several nights trying to shadow the vigilante, and nearly getting caught most of the time, he wasn’t in the mood to hear Merlyn yell at him for the way he was doing his job. He let the call go unanswered and went back to sleep, calling Malcolm back at a more reasonable hour.

“I’ve called you six times already.” Merlyn said, when Drayson finally answered the phone.

“That was you? I thought it might’ve been my ex, with how often my phone was ringing.” He deadpanned. “What do you want?”

“A status update. I see from the news that the Arrow’s still alive.”

“Yeah, he’s still alive. This guy is good. I gotta follow him to learn what I need to know about him, and following him ain’t easy.” He said. “When you throw in the two or three partners he has, people I didn’t account for when I took this job, this isn’t gonna be as easy as you thought it was.”

“How hard is it to kill one man?” Merlyn scoffed.

“Let’s not forget something. You came to me because your buddy the Dark Archer couldn’t get the job done, he got his ass kicked when he tried to kill him. So, don’t act like the Arrow’s some investor you need out of your way. The job gets done when it gets done, and the less time I spend dealing with you, the more time I have to focus on him. Goodbye.”

“Wait. There’s a few other people I need you to take care of. They’re easier targets, business rivals, but I need them dealt with soon.”

“Send me their names, the usual way, and I’ll get back to you with a price.” He said before hanging up. Typically, Drayson's clients sent him targets' names through encrypted emails, allowing him to do some research and decide on a price.

 

Oliver drove Thea to school on Wednesday, as he usually did. When they pulled into the parking lot, she made a comment about being 18, but still getting driven to and from school. She started to laugh, but then saw the look on Oliver’s face.

“Ollie, I- I was just joking, you know that, right?” She said. “I love that you still drive me to school.”

‘Do you really?’ He asked her. ‘Be honest. I love taking you to school. I get to spend time with you, and it- back before you knew about Dad or the island or what I do at night, it gave me a sense of normalcy. Talking with you, and getting to hear about your day helped me stay grounded. But if you’re too old for that, I understand. I’ll miss it, but-.’

“No, I wanna keep doing this.” She insisted. “I was just joking about it being “lame”. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

‘Okay.’ He said, no longer worried that she was unhappy with their routine. ‘Have a good day at school. Learn stuff, be smart. Get into a good college.’

“I don’t know if that last one’s gonna happen, but that’s a conversation for later.” She said, getting out of the car. She waved goodbye to him before walking into the building.

As she walked in, a girl named Ashley approached her. Thea and Ashley had been friends when they were younger, and they were still friends, but they weren’t as close as they once were. “Hey Thea, I was wondering if you could help me with something?”

“Um, maybe? It kinda depends on what the favor is.” She answered.

“So, everyone’s talking about how you’re all mature now, and I- don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s quite a change from when senior year started. So, I was wondering if-.”

“You want me to help you….act more mature or something?”

“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it’s been almost two weeks since your birthday and people are still complaining that you didn’t throw some massive party. And I kinda was like “we’re nearly done with high school, why is this still such a big deal to them” and I realized that I don’t wanna be one of those girls who graduates from high school, but never really moves on, you know?” Ashley said.

“Yeah, I- I don’t know how much help I can be. A lot of my changing has been the result of everything with my family, but I’ll try.” Thea said. “I guess a big part is focusing on school and not just trying to coast through with no effort. So, like, getting into the habit of studying is where I’d start.”

 

Lyla noticed that when Felicity walked into the lab where Curtis and Ray were waiting for them, all three geniuses looked both excited and scared. She wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing today, as when the three got together, they tended to get very technical, but she knew it had something to do with the biostimluant chip they’d been working on.

“Are you ready?” Curtis asked Felicity and Ray.

“Yes.” Palmer answered.

“Yes, but also no. What if it doesn’t work? What if all the months we spend working on this turned out to be a waste?” Felicity blurted out. “I mean, no one’s done this before. What if it’s because it can’t be done.”

“I don’t believe that.” Curtis said. “No one’s done it before, but that just means no one’s figured it out yet. And if it doesn’t work, we’ll go back to the drawing board and start over. What did Edison say when he finally got the lightbulb right?”

“I didn’t fail, I just found a thousand ways it didn’t work.” Felicity said with a slight exasperation. Curtis pulled out that quote every time someone posed the idea that something couldn’t be done.

“Sorry, what’s going on?” Lyla asked. “Obviously, today’s a big day, but why?”

“We’ve tested all of the attributes of the biostimuant chip that we can test without it being implanted.” Ray said. “We can’t start human trials yet, so today, we’re gonna be implanting it into some lab animals to see if it can function properly inside a living organism.”

“So, this is the first time we’ll find out if it actually works.” Felicity said. “I really hope it does.”

“It will.” Lyla told her friend.

 

“What are you getting Lyla for Valentine’s Day?” Tommy asked Digg as the two of them, Roy and Oliver made their way through Starling’s mall. Roy had asked for Oliver’s help picking something out for Thea. Digg of course came with Oliver and Tommy joined in, because he didn’t want to be the odd man out.

“A bottle of her favorite Scotch.” He answered. “She’s not really the flowers or chocolates type. In her experience, men only buy those things when they’re trying to apologize for something.”

“Fair enough. Though, now I feel like I'm being lame for getting McKenna flowers.”

“Don’t. I’ve known Lyla for years. Your relationship is new and you’re still figuring things out.” He said. “The standard gifts are flowers, chocolate or jewelry and it seems a little soon for that last one.”

“Do you know what Ollie’s getting Felicity?”

“Not a clue, but he told me yesterday that he was ready for tomorrow. I think he might’ve made her something, like how he made Thea’s birthday gift.”

Ahead of them, Roy and Oliver were talking. “You really think chocolates are a good idea? Not too boring?” He asked.

‘Not at all. Thea loves chocolate.’ Oliver told him.

“And this isn’t weird for you. I mean, I’m dating your sister. As our relationship develops, she and I might- I’m gonna stop talking now.”

‘I remember the day Thea was born. The moment my father put her into my arms. All I’ve cared about since then was her being happy and safe. You make her happy. And yes, I know that your relationship will probably move beyond just kissing and cuddling. As long as I don’t have to hear the details of that part of your relationship, and you don’t try to pressure her into anything, no. It’s not weird for me.’

“I’d never do that, you know. Try and pressure her into- I wouldn’t do that.” Roy said quickly.

‘I know.’ He said. They reached the chocolate shop in the mall. ‘Speedy likes dark chocolate more than milk chocolate, but a combination of both would also be good.’

 

Sara took a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom in Nyssa’s safehouse. Asim had left the night before, at Ra’s orders, so it was just the two of them staying there. Sara had finished putting together her new armor and wanted Nyssa’s opinion on it.

“So, what do you think?” She asked, holding her arms out and doing a little spin.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Nyssa asked. “Or at the very least, seduce me?”

Sara’s armor now consisted of black boots, and black pants that hugged her legs. She had a belt around her waist with a few pouches on it, to carry things in. She also wore a black bustier-like top and finished the look off with a jacket with sleeves that ended at her elbows. Nyssa knew Sara had a pair of black gloves hidden somewhere, to finish off the look. No one would mistake her for being the Dark Archer now.

“You like it then?” She teased.

“It’s….very flattering on you.” She said. If she were the type to use American slang, she’d say that Sara looked “super hot”.

“Do you know what the best part of this costume is?”

“What would that be?”

“I can kiss you easier since there’s no scarf covering my mouth.” She said. “See?” She walked over to Nyssa and kissed her. “Way easier, right?”

“Definitely.” Nyssa responded, before kissing her beloved to show how much she agreed.

 

Walter’s meeting with the CFO of Queen Consolidated ended and he walked over to his assistant’s desk to see what else he had scheduled for the day. While Janine told him about any important things he had scheduled first thing every morning, some of his smaller meetings tended to get shuffled around, so he always made sure to check in with her before heading to one.

“What is next on my schedule for today, Janine?” He asked her.

“You don’t have any other meetings scheduled for today, but Charles Winston called while you were meeting with Mr. Foster, asking if you were available for lunch today. He also apologized for the short notice.”

“Would that be Charles Winston III or his son?”

“The father.” She said. “What would you like me to tell him?”

“Please tell him that I’d be happy to join him for lunch.” He said. “Thank you.”

Janine called Charles’s secretary and told her Walter was available for lunch. They made plans to meet at Table Salt at 12. Noon rolled around and both men arrived at the restaurant at the same time. They discussed business for a little bit and then moved on to other topics.

“How’s Oliver doing?” Charles asked. “The last few weeks can’t have been easy.” To Winston, it felt like things kept being piled on, he couldn’t imagine what it was like for Oliver. First, the minor stories about Moira, then the announcement about the Gambit and now, the bombshell about Moira and Laurel conspiring against him. The last one certainly explained why Oliver looked uncomfortable even being in the same room as Moira during the last stockholders meeting.

“They haven’t been, but he’s surrounded himself with a good support system, so I’d say he’s doing well.” Walter answered.

“Good. That’s good. I remember when he used to visit Richard at the office. That boy had all of the executive assistants in the building wrapped around his finger and giving him candy.” He said. “I’ve been thinking of reaching out to him, but I wasn’t sure how. I know I’m just some old friend of his grandpa’s but-.”

“I don’t think he’d reject your invitation. You were the first person at the last stockholders meeting to treat him like an adult and not the screw-up he was when he went missing.”

“See, I don’t think he was a screw-up. I think he was being pushed down a road he didn’t wanna take, towards a career he wasn’t interested in, and acted out in the hopes that eventually, Moira and Bobby would stop trying.” He said. “I don’t want this lunch to only be about Oliver. How are Thea and Moira doing?”

Walter said that Thea was doing well. Her grades had turned around and she was excited for graduation, even though it was months away. He didn’t share much about Moira, only saying that she was well. They talked for a little while longer and Charles left his business card with Walter, to pass along to Oliver, before they parted ways.

Walter returned to QC to find Janine sitting at her desk with a concerned look on her face. “Is something wrong?”

“There are two federal agents waiting in your office. They’re the same ones who held that press conference at the end of January. They couldn’t tell me why they wanted to speak to you.” She said.

“I’m sure there’s no cause for concern.” He said, hoping to calm her before heading into his office. He greeted Agents Dinan and Anderson before taking a seat and asking why they had stopped by.

“We wanted to follow up with you in regards to the matter of Dr. Markov’s invention. He agreed to stop his work on the project and destroy all of his notes and everything related to it, but we wanted to be sure that he had.” Anderson said. “It’s not that we don’t believe him, but we can’t risk even a partial copy of those plans being found on the dark web or falling into the wrong hands.”

“I understand completely.” Walter said. “Given the….nature of why this project is being halted and all work destroyed, only Ms. Smoak, Dr. Markov, Lyla Michaels, Josiah Hudson and myself have been involved in purging the project from the company. Markov only had one set of plans and notes, which he didn’t share with anyone. He had an experience with a colleague stealing his work in the past, so he’s very insistent on not sharing schematics with others. In this case, his paranoia is beneficial. He discussed the project openly, but never went into specifics with anyone not actively working on it. The prototype he was in the process of building was dismantled and all of the notes he had was on a drive which Felicity wiped clean and then it was destroyed.”

“She destroyed the computer drive?”

“Actually, Lyla Michaels saw to that. Applied Sciences got a new hydraulic press and she suggested testing it on a “useless” drive.” He said. “We wanted to be diligent on our end.”

“And what is Dr. Markov working on now, if I may ask?”

“A device that can be placed on the ocean floor to detect underwater earthquakes, which can lead to tsunamis.” Walter said. He took a deep breath. “There are a few things that I believe you should be aware of, which don’t relate to Dr. Markov. Moira told me yesterday that she’d reached an agreement with your task force. I know you can’t comment on an active investigation, but it seemed prudent for me to let you know that I’ve shared that information with Oliver, Thea and the others. The second thing is something that I wanted to tell Thea first, and give her time to come to terms with. Moira may have shared this with you, but if she did not, Malcolm is Thea’s biological father. She has no interest in getting to know him and was only somewhat happy because this means Tommy is her brother. Lastly, after a great deal of thought, Oliver hired a private investigator to find a woman named Samantha Clayton. He had gotten her pregnant several years ago, and she lost the baby. He wanted to find her in order to learn where the child was buried. To everyone’s surprise, the investigator found that Samantha hadn’t lost the child.”

“We know.” Dinan said. “We first discovered when we were looking into your wife’s financial records. An investigation led us to her, and I traveled to Central City with another agent to interview her, simply to ensure there was nothing fishy going on and while there, we learned about William.”

“May I ask what prompted your need to investigate Samantha Clayton specifically?”

“Two checks for a million dollars each were written to her, but one was never deposited. We wanted to make sure Moira wasn’t being blackmailed in some way. The second check wasn’t deposited because she’d framed it. Probably in case anyone ever asked about it.” She explained. “I assume Oliver’s in the process of trying to get custody or visitation? Since Samantha has nothing to do with our investigation, Agent Mars and I can be called to testify about the encounter if the need arises.”

“I’ll let him know, thank you.” Walter said.

The agents left not long after. Dinan, for one, was relieved that she wouldn’t have to break the news about William to Oliver.

 

Lance tried to keep his disgust from showing on his face as he waited for Laurel to come into the visitation room. She shouldn’t be here. She didn’t deserve this. It was all the Queen family’s fault that she was in here.

He perked up slightly when Laurel walked in and took a seat on the other side of the glass. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“How do you think I’m doing, Dad? I’m in prison, I’ve been disbarred. My entire life imploded.”

“Because of the Queens. First, Oliver puts you in here. And then his mom pins all of the blame on you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t hear about Susan Williams’s article? She wrote some huge expose about you and Moira conspiring to get Oliver declared incompetent. Of course, because the press is scared of the Queens, they made it sound like you shared some of the blame and weren’t manipulated by Moira. Kiss assers.”

Laurel waited for her father to finish before letting out a laugh. It was an incredibly bitter laugh. “Wow, you have no idea, do you?”

“No idea about what?”

“I blame Ollie for putting me in here, but the article wasn’t wrong. I do get some of the blame for that attempt to have him put under his mom's control. She came to me, wanting to cut him off, teach him a lesson. I’m the one who suggested going the “mentally incompetent” route.”

“Okay, you threw it out there, but she’s the one who pushed you to do it.”

“Actually, she nearly gave up when I told her it wouldn’t be easy. I convinced her to stick it out.”

“So, Williams wasn’t lying?”

“I’m sure she got a few facts wrong, but no. She got the main story right.” Laurel said. “So, do you still wanna see me or should I go?”

“I still wanna see you, I just- I think it’s better if this is where we stop for today.” He said. He had a lot to think about.

She said goodbye and stood up to be escorted out of the visitation room by a guard.

 

Felicity’s tests went well. It was too soon to say they were completely successful, but the fact that the stimulants were implanted and activated without issue was a good sign. Everyone else had a relatively uneventful day, which they told the others when they met at the foundry. Walter passed along Charles Winston’s contact information to Oliver, as promised.

Oliver and Lyla patrolled for a while and stopped a few robberies. They then called it a night and went home.

Felicity woke up the next morning to Oliver kissing his way down her chest. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.”

‘Sorry, I couldn’t wait.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 95

Summary:

Valentine's Day arrives and everyone celebrates.

Notes:

I'm not gonna lie, this chapter is almost entirely fluff with no plot to be found. The plot decided to call in sick today.

The chapter starts with a sex scene. If that makes you uncomfortable, please skip to where there's a -----. You will not miss any plot, but it allows you to skip over that part. I also use //// to note the start of a sex scene.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity woke up Thursday morning to Oliver kissing his way down her chest. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.”

‘Sorry, I couldn’t wait.’

“Oh, that was not a complaint in any way, shape or form.” She told him as she leaned down to kiss him. They kissed passionately for a few minutes before she needed to stop for air.

Oliver turned his attention back towards her breasts, using his mouth to stimulate one and his fingers to take care of the other one.

Felicity started to run her fingers through his hair, and as the pleasure started to build, she found her grip tightening on his hair, but not enough pressure to hurt him or pull it. “Oh, Oliver. I- Oliver you really- oh….Oh!” She exclaimed as she reached her climax. 

Oliver looked up at her with a smirk on his face, proud of himself for making her climax by only teasing her breasts. He laid there, with his head on her chest as she came down from her high. ‘I like the way you do that.’

“Like the way I do what?”

‘I like the way you say my name. Not just when we’re- every time you say my name, it’s like-. You make it- it always sounds special when you say it, like I’m special.’ He said. 

“It sounds special because you are special.” She told him. “Because you’re my Oliver. Well, not my Oliver. Like, I don’t own you, because you can’t own a person, but you’re- you know what I mean.”

‘Yes, I do.’ He said. ‘Now, where were we?’ He continued his exploration down her body. 

A little while later, after Felicity had climaxed a few more times, Oliver got out of bed since he needed to take Thea to school. Throwing on some sweatpants and a jacket, he headed towards his car.

‘I’ll be back.’ He told her with a kiss before leaving.

-----

 

Digg woke up and found himself facing Lyla, who was still fast asleep. He laid there for a few moments just watching her. It was a little hard to believe that they’d wound up back here, together again. A happy surprise, as not fighting harder for their marriage was a big regret of his, but a surprise nonetheless.

“Stop staring at me.” Lyla mumbled, not opening her eyes. “It’s weird.”

“It’s weird of me to want to stare at my beautiful girlfriend?” He challenged.

“When I’m asleep, yes.” She said, cracking one eye open. “This isn’t Twilight, it’s not romantic.”

“You read, or saw, Twilight ? Really?”

“My niece was really into it and she made me watch the movie the last time I visited.” She said. 

“Fair enough.” He said. ‘Now that you’re awake, though, I can do this.” He gave her a soft kiss and wished her a happy Valentine’s Day. They made out for a bit and then Lyla fell back asleep. The next time she woke up, it was because she heard a soft thump, followed by a curse. A moment later, Digg was walking into the bedroom, trying to balance a plate of food and two cups of coffee without spilling. 

“I didn’t think through the logistics of this.” He said as he tried to figure out where to put everything without knocking something over.

Lyla took one mug from him, leaving a hand free so that they could get situated.

“So, breakfast in bed.” She said. “This worked out better than the last time.”

“We agreed never to talk about that again.” He said. The first time he tried to bring Lyla breakfast in bed, it was a bit of a disaster. “You’ll notice, though, that this time there’s nothing flammable to knock over and start a fire.”

 

Thea and Roy woke up at almost the exact same time. Thea opened her eyes and saw Roy was starting to wake up, with a sleepy look on his face. She wanted to tell him how adorable of a sight it was, but wasn't sure if he’d take being called “adorable’ well. She laid there, watching him wake up before whispering good morning to him.

“Hm? Morning.” He responded. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thanks. Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.” She said as she caressed his cheek.

“You look beautiful.” He complimented Thea a lot, but it was usually about her personality, not her looks. This was the first time, at least that she could think of, that he said anything about her appearance.

“Are you implying I don’t look beautiful every morning?” She asked. He got a panicked look on his face, so she let out a laugh. “Relax, I’m kidding. I knew what you meant.”

They laid like that, cuddling, until Thea’s alarm went off and she had to get ready for school. While she would’ve preferred to skip the day, she knew she shouldn’t since she was trying to be a more mature version of herself and that meant doing things that she didn’t always want to do, like go to school instead of staying in bed with her boyfriend.

She got dressed while Roy used the bathroom. They hadn’t gotten to the stage of seeing one another naked or changing yet, and when she was dressed, she called out to Roy, telling him that he could come back in. When they walked into the kitchen, it looked like Donna was still asleep, so they ate breakfast together in relative quiet. Thea then got a text from Oliver, telling her that he was on his way.

Roy gave her a kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, you will.” She said with a smirk.

 

When Oliver came home from taking Thea to school, he found that Felicity had gotten out of bed. She was curled up on the couch, drinking some coffee.

‘I was kinda hoping you’d still be in bed.’ He told her when he walked in.

“Sorry, the caffeine was calling to me.” She said, taking another sip of coffee. “But since I’ve had some coffee, and I don’t need to be online for an hour, we can relocate back to bed. I’m very much on board with that plan.”

‘Me too.’

“Great minds think alike.” She said, standing up and following Oliver into the bedroom. 

As soon as they reached the bed, they had their hands all over each other. First, they were making out, with one of Oliver’s hands wrapped in Felicity's hair and the other gently squeezing her bottom, while she had one rubbing his cheek and the other wrapped around his waist. Then, their hands started roaming as the kissing continued, with some petting as well. After a few minutes, Felicity realized that she had one of her hands wrapped around Oliver’s erect penis.

“Oh, Google. I’m touching your- your man parts.” She loosened her grip a bit and pulled away from Oliver’s kisses to see his reaction. He didn’t always say if he was uncomfortable, but she’d gotten good at telling when he wasn’t comfortable. “I’m happy you didn’t- that this didn’t cause you distress, but are you comfortable with this? Me touching you….down there.”  He nodded very enthusiastically. “Great. Do you want me to keep going?” If it was possible, he nodded with even more enthusiasm. “Well, how can I say no to a face like that?” She asked before she wrapped her hand around his erection again. She continued to stroke his member until his eyes started to roll back and she felt him find release.

He turned to lie on his back and started running his fingers absentmindedly down her back. ‘Sorry about the sheets.’

“Meh. It was time to wash them anyway.” She shrugged. “That felt good, though, right? That’s what’s important.”

‘Good. So good. The best.’ He said. They laid like that for a little while, exchanging soft, innocent kisses every so often, until it was time for Felicity to get online. As she got out of bed, she told Oliver to stay in bed for a little bit longer and rest if he wanted to. She got dressed before walking out into the living room.

Oliver dozed for maybe half an hour before deciding to get up. After changing the sheets, he went to move into the hallway, but froze in the doorway. He’d been sleepy when Felicity was getting dressed, so he hadn’t noticed what she was wearing.

She wore a pale pink button-down shirt and a black pencil skirt. It was the same outfit she was wearing the day they met. He wondered if she realized that or if it was just a coincidence. 

“Are you gonna stand in the doorway all day?” She asked him. “I mean, you can, but won’t your legs get tired?”

‘That’s- you were wearing that the day we met.’

She smiled even wider. “I wasn't sure if you’d remember. I’m glad you did.”

‘I’ll be right back.’ He said before heading back into the bedroom. He walked out a few moments later wearing the same suit he’d worn to the QC shareholders meeting. ‘You told me how good I look in suits, so...yeah.’

“See, that’s just not fair. How am I supposed to get any work done with you looking so distractingly good?”

‘And, finally, my evil plot has been revealed. Distract Felicity from work by looking too handsome to ignore. First Starling City, and then, the world!’ He said. ‘If I could do an evil laugh right now, I would.’

“Hey, hey, hey. Let’s be real for a second. If anyone in this house is gonna take over the world, it’s gonna be me.” She said. “But seriously, looking that good in a suit shouldn’t be legal.”

 

Even though it was Valentine’s Day, work didn’t stop for the Gambit task force. There were still leads to follow and witness statements to take and evidence to look over. Sure, things had been somewhat quieter in the last few days, but that didn’t mean they didn’t still have a lot to do to close the case.

McKenna was somewhat happy that it seemed like today, she’d get to do some old fashioned police work. She was currently sitting with a stack of cold case files, reading through them and trying to find connections between those cases and crimes committed by the Dark Archer. Applied Sciences was the first time the Dark Archer was caught on video terrorizing people, but it was by no means his first time doing that. There had to be other, earlier instances.

McKenna closed one file and went to pick up another when she heard a throat clear. She looked up to see Tommy standing there. “I know we aren’t celebrating tonight, but I wanted to- I just wanted to give you this.” He handed her a red envelope. She opened it to find a somewhat cheesy card inside. “You know, you’re only the second valentine I ever had.”

“Really?”

“Well, I don’t count when we were little and everyone in the class had to give valentines to everyone else.” He said, recalling how Valentine’s Day worked in grade school. “So, not counting that, my first valentine was my mom and you’re the second.”

She found it rather sweet, that she was Tommy’s first real valentine. She gave him a chaste kiss and thanked him for the card. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you.” He walked out of the bullpen with a smile on his face.

 

Dinah was in her hotel room, looking through a periodical about medieval history  when her phone rang. Without looking, she answered the call. “Hey, Di.” Quentin said.

“Quentin, if you’ve called to talk about Laurel, I’ve said all I’m willing to already.”

“I- yes, this is about Laurel, but not like that. You- you were right. I was being blind.”

“Not that I don’t like being right, but what made you change your mind?” She asked.

“I went to see her yesterday. I wanted to tell her that I knew Susan Williams had twisted the story, made her into the villain here.” He said. Before he knew what he was doing, the whole story came spilling out. Laurel admitted that it was all her idea and she pushed Moira to continue pursuing the mental incompetence angle. Her attitude when she was telling the story to Quentin. It was all incredibly jarring for him, and Dinah was just as shocked. She knew Laurel wasn't sympathetic towards Oliver, but learning she was the mastermind behind Moira’s plot was startling.

“I really can’t believe she’d-.”

“She needs help, Quentin. I didn’t realize she needed it this much, but she- I’m really hoping, somehow, she’ll start to get better.”

Her conversation with him ended not long after, and she turned back to her reading, though it was difficult for her to focus on what she’d read.

 

“I assume today is some sort of lovers holiday?” Nyssa asked when she returned from a quick supply run. “The store had an abundance of red and pink everywhere, along with far too much candy displayed and heart-shaped items.”

“Yeah, it’s Valentine’s Day.” Sara said. “Wait, have you never heard of Valentine’s Day?”

“Why would anyone name a holiday, about love no less, after a massacre? You Americans are very strange.”

“No, it- the holiday came first and then the massacre happened to fall on that day, years later.” She said. “It’s a day that celebrates love. You get your partner a card or flowers or candy or something and celebrate how much you love one another.”

“Oh.” She said. “I hope you were not expecting a gift from me, because I was not aware of this custom until just now.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t get you anything either.” Sara said, waving her concern off. “Besides, I already have the best gift I could receive.”

“And what might that be?”

“I get to spend Valentine’s Day with you.” She said. “Besides, just because we didn’t get each other gifts, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate. I’m thinking we light some candles, maybe share a bottle of wine and enjoy being here, just the two of us.” 

“That sounds nice.”

 

Dinah eventually gave up on trying to read her article and instead decided to go for a walk. She needed to clear her head after her conversation with Quentin and, to be honest, she was spending too much time just sitting in her hotel room anyway.

She was making her way across the lobby when she heard Slade call her name. They greeted one another and began talking.

“So, any plans for tonight?” He asked her.

“Nope. Haven’t met the right person after the divorce.”

“I know how you feel.” He said. “I’m sorry if I’m keeping you. It looked like you were heading somewhere.”

“Just to get some air. You’re welcome to join me.” She said. They walked out of the hotel and down the street in silence. “I never asked, what do you do, Mr. WIlson?”

“Right now? Nothing. Prior to that, well- I can’t really talk about it. When I left that job, they made me sign more things that I could count, agreeing not to disclose things. All I can say is that I worked for the Australian government. I’m actually supposed to lie about it, but I’d rather just say that I can’t talk about it than make something up.”

“I appreciate your honesty. I’m a history professor.” She said. They continued talking and Slade asked her if she’d have dinner with him that night. He knew it was very late notice, and made it clear that, if she wanted things between them to stay platonic, he’d respect that. She agreed to dinner, but didn’t comment on whether or not she wanted things to become romantic. Slade was pleased that Dinah, who’d lost a lot in a short amount of time, wouldn’t have to be alone on Valentine’s Day.

 

Instead of heading to Oliver’s house after school, Thea had Oliver take her back to the loft. She wanted to give Oliver and Felicity some privacy, and spend some alone time with Roy as well. Oliver was more than happy to take her to the loft and told her he’d see her the next morning, if he didn’t speak to her before then.

Thea walked in and called out Roy’s name. She heard a bang coming from the kitchen and went to investigate. Roy was standing in front of the stove. “Hey, you’re back early.”

“This place is closer to my school than Ollie and Felicity’s place. What are you doing?”

“I wanted to make dinner, but I wasn't sure if this place had the right pans and stuff, so I was going through the cabinets to check.” He said. ‘And before you get too impressed, dinner’s just gonna be some spaghetti. I don’t have your brother’s cooking skills.”

“That’s fine. The thought is what counts.” She said. “Also, with spaghetti, we can recreate that scene from Lady and the Tramp.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” He said. “Wait a sec. I’ll be right back.” He rushed out of the kitchen and came back a minute later, carrying a fancy gold box. “I didn’t wanna forget to give these to you. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thank you.” She said, giving him a kiss. She opened the box and found a nice assortment of chocolate. “Oh my god, I love these. How did you know?”

“I had a little bit of help.” He said. “I’m just relieved I picked out a good one.”

“You can never go wrong with chocolate.” She said. “Unless you’re like Felicity and you can’t eat nuts. Then, in that case, you could go a little wrong. Wait, I have something for you too.” She started rooting through her bag and pulled out a card. “I wasn’t really sure what to get you for today. What do you get a guy for Valentine’s Day? But I wanted to get you something, and well, here.”

He opened the card to find a heartfelt message written inside it, along with a giftcard to Jitters. He kissed her and said thank you. “I should probably start cooking.”

“Need a hand?” She asked him. “Raisa used to tell me I was the best taste tester she’d ever met. And I help Ollie cook sometimes.”

“Of course.” He said. “Any idea what Donna’s doing tonight?”

“No clue, but Felicity told me that, for years, if Donna didn’t have a boyfriend, she’d go to the movies on Valentine’s Day. Maybe she’s just having a “Me Day” and doing that?” Thea shrugged. “I don’t think she wants to intrude on anyone else’s plans.”

 

Lyla pulled the bottle of scotch out of the gift bag Digg handed her and gave it an appraising look. “You remembered.” They’d just come back from their dinner reservation at the same place Oliver and Felicity had their first date.

“Of course I did. One of the biggest fights we ever had was over which was better: Johnnie Walker or Macallan. I still don’t agree with your opinion, but I figured, since you’re not the flowers or chocolate type, a bottle of your favorite scotch was the next best thing.” He said.

She set the bottle down. “I was gonna give you your gift later, but I don’t think I wanna make you wait that long.” She went into the bedroom and changed. When she opened the door, she was standing there in black lingerie. “If this were a movie, this is the part where’d I say something cheesy about having dessert.”

“Well, good thing it’s not a movie, because if it were, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He said before lifting Lyla off of the ground and giving her a passionate kiss as he carried her into the bedroom.



/////

Oliver and Felicity had talked a few days earlier and decided not to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day. Even though they weren’t mobbed by paparazzi when they went to dinner, they wanted to do something small and intimate, which meant staying home. Oliver made dinner and while he was cooking, Felicity changed out of her work attire and into something sexier. She came out into the dining room wearing a red dress with a short skirt and a cut-out near her chest. It wasn’t too revealing, but it was more suggestive than her pink blouse and pencil skirt.

She looked around and saw a lot more flowers in her living room than there should’ve been. “‘Did you buy out all of the roses in town?”

‘No. That wouldn't have been fair to other people wanting to get their partners flowers.’ He said. ‘I just had one florist put in a special order for extra roses, just for you.’

They ate dinner, Oliver’s “famous” chicken parmesan, and talked. After dinner, Oliver pulled something out of his pocket. She looked at the small velvet box in his hand and panicked for a moment. She then realized that the box was too small for a ring and calmed down slightly. She knew Oliver was “the one” but it was too soon for a proposal. 

‘I was trying to figure out what to get you, and I realized that buying you something wouldn’t mean as much as making you something. By making you something, I’ve given you something unique, something no one else has.’ He said. He handed her the box and watched her open it.

Inside, Felicity found a set of earrings. The ruby stones were cut into a geometric shape, giving them a quirky, fun appearance that fit her personality.

“I- you made these?” She asked.

‘Yes. Do you like them? Please tell me that you do.’

“I love them. They’re perfect.” She said, giving him a kiss. “Now, I think it’s time to give you your present.”

He expected her to walk out of the room to get it, but instead, she stood up and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. She stood there wearing only dark blue lingerie. Very lacey lingerie which hid very little.

“I almost bought this in green, but it felt a little “on the nose”. Not that green is your color, you can’t own a color but- I told you that you could see what I bought from the lingerie store on Valentine’s Day, and I didn’t want to be a liar. What do you think?” She asked, putting one arm behind her head to mimic an old school pin-up photo.

Oliver’s mouth went dry. She looked good. She looked really, really good. If he were the type, he’d say she looked delectable, but that term always sounded weird to him. Instead, he settled for something else. ‘You look so incredible that I forgot how to breathe for a moment there.’

“I bet I look even better up close.” She teased, crooking a finger to try to get him to move closer. He stood up and moved closer to her. His hands found her hips and he liked the feeling of the lace on her panties against his fingers. He bent down to kiss her and she deepened the kiss before he lifted her off of her feet and moved her over to the couch. He was too impatient to try and make it to the bedroom. He barely managed to keep himself from tearing the lingerie off, but he liked this set and decided he wanted to see it again, so instead, he pulled it off of her, hurriedly, but without damaging it. After this morning, Oliver realized that he was ready to go beyond just touching and kissing Felicity. He wasn’t scared of being intimate with her. Slowly and gently, they had sex for the first time that night, on the couch.

Hours later, and after a few more rounds, Oliver and Felicity lay back in bed, exhausted. “Well, today’s been the best Valentine’s Day I ever had.”

‘Me too. I love you.’

“I love you too.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 96

Summary:

Oliver gets some good news, Malcolm's plans hit a snag and Nyssa proposes an idea.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity opened her eyes Friday morning to see a sleepy-eyed Oliver looking at her. She blinked a few times before letting out a sleepy “good morning” to him. They exchanged a few lazy kisses as they started to truly wake up for the day.

“This is nice.” She said in between kisses. “If I got to wake up like this, with you, every day for the rest of my life, I’d be happy.” She froze for a moment, as her brain realized the implication of what she’d just said.

‘I completely agree.’ He signed. ‘I wanna spend forever, waking up next to you.’ He then leaned in to give her a longer and more passionate kiss. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go to work today.’

“Me too, but I- one of my projects is at a critical point, and I don’t wanna let my team down.” She sighed. “But it’s only eight hours and I’ll see you at lunch?”

‘Definitely. But I wish we could stay here all day.’ He said, pouting slightly. 

“Well, that’s what the weekend is for.” She said with a laugh.

As much as they both wanted to stay in bed, eventually they did have to get up and get dressed. Felicity wore her red blouse to match the earrings Oliver had made for her. She wanted to show them off to as many people as possible. He made breakfast and they chatted about random things until the doorbell rang, announcing Digg and Lyla’s arrival. The group exchanged greetings and Felicity and Lyla left for work.

“So….how was your Valentine’s Day?” Lyla asked Felicity as they were driving in.

“It was amazing. Oliver made me these earrings and we had a nice dinner.” She answered, before biting her lip as she pondered whether or not to tell Lyla about the biggest development from the night before. “Also, something happened, but since Oliver is like your brother, I don’t know if- I mean, I wouldn’t tell Thea about this, and I’m just not sure if-.”

“Let me guess. You two had sex for the first time.” Lyla said. “I don’t need details, but I can guess that much based on you not being sure if you should tell me. That’s- I’m happy for both of you. I’m happy to see both of you so happy.”

“Thanks.” She said. “How was your Valentine’s Day?”

“Pretty awesome.” Lyla said with a smile.

When they reached the office, Curtis was already there and they exchanged greetings and talked about their Valentine’s Days. Curtis and his boyfriend Paul had done the standard dinner date to celebrate and exchanged small gifts.

“So, Ray’s not here yet. I wonder if he’s busy celebrating.” Felicity said. Ray Palmer had told them he was going to propose to his girlfriend Anna yesterday and they really wanted to know how it went.

“Hopefully.” Curtis said. “He can be….a bit much sometimes, but seeing the pair of them together, it’s clear how much they love each other.”

They turned their attention back to their work and about twenty minutes later, Ray arrived and greeted them.

“How did it go? What did she say?” Curtis blurted out. “I mean, she clearly said yes, but-.” He stopped when he noticed the pained look on Ray’s face.

“She said no?” Felicity asked.

“I didn’t ask.” He admitted. “We were at Table Salt. Dinner was going great. I was getting ready to ask and then- then someone a few tables over proposed to his date and I-.”

“Maybe last night just wasn’t the right moment.” Lyla said. “As someone who was proposed to right after a fire-fight, I’ll be the first to tell you that things don’t always go according to plan, and that’s okay. Last night didn’t feel right, from what you said, but you have plenty of other chances to ask.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” He said. He thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. Now I can make it a little more special and unique to Anna and I. Thanks Lyla.”

 

Sara rolled over in bed and stretched, trying carefully not to wake Nyssa. They had spent Valentine’s Day drinking some wine and simply enjoying being together without having to worry about Ra’s, Malcolm or their responsibilities to the League for the moment.

“Good morning.” Nyssa said, still laying in bed.

“Morning. How did you like your first Valentine’s Day?”

“I understand the appeal of such a celebration. Although, the need for all goods to be heart-shaped still confuses me. I understand it represents giving your lover your heart but sometimes, it’s taken too far.”

“Americans don’t like to do things by halves.” She said. “I’m glad you enjoyed last night. Next year, we’ll celebrate a little better. You know, if we’re able to celebrate.”

Sara hadn’t meant to bring the mood down, but talking about the future brought her back to reality. She had sworn her oath to the League, and she knew what trying to leave might mean, but at the same time, being in the League meant that she couldn’t completely be with Nyssa, because of Ra’s and his opinions of her and their relationship.

“I wouldn’t discount that possibility. After all, quite a bit has changed in the last year, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Things have definitely gotten a lot more interesting in the last six months or so.” She conceded.

 

Less than two days after Coffey and Gibson, the two Homeland Security employees who’d spoken with Felicity, returned to Washington DC, they found themselves in a meeting with the person who sent them to speak with Felicity. The man who sent them, someone pretty high up in the department, wasn’t happy to hear that she’d refused and wanted an explanation of exactly what happened during their meeting.

“She just….said no? With no further explanation?” He asked.

“That’s correct.” Gibson said. ‘As soon as she found out we were with Homeland, she seemed to know why we’d come and said she’d have to decline.”

“Ethan doesn’t seem to agree. Did you interpret her actions differently?”

“No, she did say “no”, as soon as she knew who we were, but something else happened a bit later.” Coffey said. “She said that she wasn’t comfortable giving us access to her work because there were certain people in the department she didn’t want anywhere near it and that the government couldn’t, or wouldn’t, make assurances to alleviate her concerns.”

“Did she happen to mention who it was she didn’t want near her work?”

“No.”

“All right, well, we can’t say we didn’t try.” The man said. “You two can go.” He waited for his two subordinates to leave before he picked up his phone and called his boss. “Ms. Smoak said no to our request. Citing concerns over certain people in the department she didn’t want near her work.”

“Do you have any idea who “certain people” might be?” Eric Graves, the Secretary of Homeland Security, asked.

“None, sir. She has no prior history with anyone in the department. NSA tried to headhunt her, but she very quickly shut them down, saying the opportunity wasn’t what she wanted. And when we did a background check on her, the only things that popped up were Noah Kuttler, who the FBI knows she hasn’t seen in over a decade and Cooper Seldon, who she obviously isn’t in contact with.” The man said. "Actually, I was wrong. The only employee, past or present, she has any connection to is Lyla Michaels, who became her bodyguard after she left ARGUS. And since Oliver Queen hired her, I doubt either Ms. Smoak or Mr. Queen has a problem with her.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m fairly certain I know what this might be about and who she was referring to. And that’s something I’m not at liberty to share with you.” Graves said. 

“What should our next step be, then?”

“Nothing for now.” He said. “There’s a certain director I need to have a word with.”

 

Malcolm Merlyn was looking over some expense reports from Merlyn Global Group when his phone rang. Despite his wishes otherwise, he couldn’t just sit at home and sulk about his current situation. His employees and most of the board were too scared of him to ask too many questions, but if he did absolutely nothing while he recovered, it would raise some eyebrows. As a result, since his fight with the Arrow, Malcolm had been working from home, saying he was still recovering from that “car accident” he was in.

Malcolm saw that David Drayson was calling him and answered the phone. “You have good news already?”

“No, I wanna know if this list is a joke or if you’ve actually lost your mind.”

“Neither.” He said. “What’s the problem?”

“The first three names you gave me, they’ll be easy enough to find and deal with. Adams works for you. A few others are private, but they aren’t completely off the grid. One or two might be out of the country. My issue’s with the last name on the list.” Drayson said. "The Arrow’s one thing. Even him and his partners, I don’t have a problem with taking out. But do you really expect me to kill a federal agent?”

“They’re human, just like everyone else.”

“They are, but here’s the thing: no one really cares that much about dead CEOs. The cops will investigate, but the case will go cold, it’ll be unsolved. Robert Queen was one of the wealthiest men in the world, they stopped looking for him in less than three months. You kill a fed, they ain’t ever gonna let that one go, ‘cause you killed one of their own. That’s why federal agents, in any country that’s not some shithole, are the only contracts I don’t accept.”

“You don’t want the money then?”

“Like I said, I’ll take out most of the list, but that last one, you gotta find someone a lot stupider than me to kill.” Drayson said. “Why is a fed on your list anyway? I thought you were eliminating business rivals.”

“The federal agents are a threat to my business. One of them’s getting a little too close to the truth for my comfort.” Malcolm said. “I guess I’ll find someone else to deal with that particular problem.”

“Yeah, you better.”

 

Oliver, Digg and Donna walked into Loring & Wasserman. Oliver had gotten a message from Eliana Sanchez, the lawyer helping him connect with his son William, earlier that day and she asked him if he could stop by the office. He’d already sent her his list of what he wanted in terms of custody and visitation, so he wasn’t sure if she wanted to discuss the list with him or if she had an update from Central City. In either case, he was very nervous to see her.

“Good morning Oliver.”

‘Good morning, Eliana.’ Oliver signed and Donna interpreted. ‘You said there was something you wanted to discuss with me?’

“Yes, there is. And it’s good news. We sent a letter to Samantha Clayton earlier this week. It was a simple document saying that we represented you and why we were contacting her. It included my contact information, so that her lawyer could reach out to me, and gave her a window of time to respond before we’d escalate things. The idea is to be polite, but make it clear that we’re serious.”

‘Okay.’

“Samantha’s lawyer is smart and seems to realize that keeping this civil and out of a courtroom is the best case scenario.” She said. “I spoke with the lawyer yesterday. She called to confirm the letter was received. Samantha is working on her list of conditions currently, which I was expecting. I was also informed that William’s been told that you’re his father.”

‘So, what happens now?’

“Now, we wait. We’re gonna let Samantha finish creating her list and then her lawyer and I are going to discuss what each of our clients want and try to find a compromise that’s fair to everyone.”

‘When can I meet William?’

“Well, we’d need to make arrangements for that, but today I will give her lawyer a call and tell her that you’d like to meet him soon. While I’m sure everyone wants to meet him, I’d suggest keeping it small for that first meeting. We don’t want anyone being overwhelmed.”

‘Understandable.’ Oliver knew everyone wanted to meet William, but if he could only introduce him to a few people, he’d introduce him to Thea and Felicity first.

“Of course.” Eliana said. “Now, there is one question I need to ask, which I refrained from asking during our first meeting. It’s my understanding that Samantha not telling you about your son was largely the result of your mother’s behavior. As a result, your mother might be a point of contention with her, which I need to prepare for. If you were to gain visitation or partial custody of William, how often would he be around your mother?”

‘I haven’t spoken to my mother, outside of one Queen Consolidated shareholders meeting, in months. I don’t think that’s going to change soon, so she wouldn’t be around him.’ He said.

“Okay. Thank you for letting me know.” She said and their meeting came to a close.

 

Felicity was going over the results of a test with Ray and Curtis when both men looked behind her and smiled. “Why don’t we pick this back up after lunch?” Ray asked, just as there was a knock on the open door of the lab.

Felicity turned to see Oliver standing there. “That sounds like a great idea.” She said. “I’ll see you guys in an hour.” She walked over to Oliver and gave him a quick peck before taking one of his hands in hers.

“See ya.” Curtis said. “Hi, Oliver.” Ray greeted Oliver as well.

Oliver gave them both a wave before leaving the room with Felicity and Lyla following close behind.

“So, where are we having lunch today?” Felicity asked her boyfriend as they exited the building.

‘I was thinking of maybe going to that kabob place we drove past last week. How does that sound?’ He asked her.

“Sounds perfect.” 

Digg drove to the restaurant and they ordered and got their food before grabbing two tables. Oliver and Felicity sat at one while Digg and Lyla sat at a separate table to “stand guard”, but mostly to give the couple some semblance of privacy.

Felicity took a bite of her kabob before speaking. “So, what have you been up to today?”

‘I had a meeting with Eliana, Jean’s colleague.’ He said. ‘There was something I’ve been meaning to do, that I told Walter I’d do, and I finally sat down and did it. It wasn’t a life-altering decision, but I’d been dreading it and it turned out to be easier than I thought. And it’s one less thing off my plate.’

“That’s true. And I’m glad it’s one less thing you need to worry about.” Felicity said. “Did Eliana have good news?”

‘Yes. He- Samantha told William about me.’ He said.

“That’s great! I’m so happy to hear that.” She exclaimed. “Because you, my love, deserve to only get good news from now on.”

‘I love you.’

“I love you too.” She said, before leaning in for a kiss. “I’ve had more people ask me about my earrings today than ever before.”

‘Really?’

“Yeah, they wanted to know where I got them from and they were surprised when I told them that you made them yourself.” She said. “I think you must’ve been an artisan or a craftsman in another life.”

‘Thank you, but I don’t care about other lives, just this one. The one I’m sharing with you.’

Oliver and Felicity spent the rest of their lunch in their own little bubble, not paying much attention to the other customers in the restaurant. Lyla spotted a woman with her phone out, aimed at them, clearly recording, but the woman put her phone away when she saw Lyla’s look. The video still wound up on Instagram. While many people adored the video, a few Olicity fans were disappointed. They were hoping to see a diamond ring on Felicity’s left hand. Still, the news of Oliver Queen making jewelry for his girlfriend went over very well.

 

Linda was at Jitters, talking to her cameraman, and waiting for an update from Queen Consolidated about an interview with Oliver. Over the last few weeks, her days had fallen into a similar pattern. Her boss wouldn’t let her come back to Central City until she either had an interview or had an official decline. So, she got up every day, went to Jitters and waited for any kind of news.

“You really didn’t do anything last night?” Her cameraman asked.

“Nope. This isn’t home and I’m single.” She said. “I could’ve gone to a bar and picked up some random guy, but I wasn’t in the mood.”

“Fair enough. You know, I’m actually starting to get used to the rain here.”

“Because we’ve been here a bit too long. I understand wanting the interview, but I don’t understand why Dennis insists we stay here while QC is deciding on who to pick. I could’ve just as easily done a phone interview with Daniel Correll or taken a train out to meet with him in person.”

“Something about wanting you to be a presence and not just a name on a list in their minds.” He said with a shrug.

Linda was about to respond when her phone rang. “Hello?’

“Hello Ms. Park, is now a good time?” Daniel Correll asked her.

“Yeah. Now’s perfect.” She said.

“First, I must ask that you don’t share what I’m about to tell you with anyone else yet, aside from those you trust. We’ll be informing the relevant people next week and we want everything to go as smoothly as possible.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Oliver has decided that he’d like you to be the one to interview him.” He said. Walter had given Oliver the list of reporters and earlier that day, Daniel had received an email from Oliver, telling him what his decision was. “Once we’ve informed the other reporters, and I have a chance to talk with him further, we’ll be in touch to plan the interview.”

“Makes sense. Can I ask why you’re waiting until next week?”

“Mostly so that, the journalists we decline, don’t try to ruin Mr. Queen’s weekend in an attempt to change his mind. Some of your colleagues are rather competitive.”

“Oh, I know.” She said. “Thank you for letting me know and I appreciate the opportunity.” She then ended the call.

“Bad news?” Her cameraman asked.

“I need to talk to you, but not here.” She said. She stood up from the table and the pair walked out of the building. Once they were alone, she told him the good news.

 

Before anyone knew it, Friday was over and it was time for Team Arrow business. Tommy was the only person on Team Oliver not in the foundry that night. He was taking McKenna out for a belated Valentine’s date.

Donna wanted to hear what each couple did for Valentine’s Day as soon as everyone was gathered together, claiming she was living vicariously through them since she was single. When she heard about Digg and Lyla’s celebration, she smiled and said it sounded nice. When Thea told her about what she and Roy did, she let out a little yelp of excitement. And, when Felicity shared her and Oliver’s Valentine’s Day plans, excluding the sex parts, Donna let out an even louder yelp of excitement.

“Sorry, I just- you, all three couples, are so happy and in love and all of the things you did are so nice and I just- I’m happy for all of you.” She said, not wanting to freak anyone out by her excitement. “I just love it when I get to see people who deserve to be happy being happy.”

“Well, it’s the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.” Felicity said, smiling at Oliver. “What did the rest of you do yesterday?”

“I worked rather late at the office.” Walter said.

“I went and saw a movie, like I normally do.” Donna said. “It was that new Melissa McCarthy movie, Identity Thief . It was okay, not great.”

“I had dinner with Dinah Lance.” Slade said. “I saw her at the hotel and it didn’t sit right, her having to be alone yesterday. And I finally understand the appeal of Big Belly Burger.”

“Was this dinner as friends or-?” Donna asked.

“I don’t know. I left that up to her.” He said.

After everyone was done discussing their Thursdays, Walter cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. Since he hadn’t seen the others since Tuesday, he had a few things he wanted to share with them. Mainly, he needed to tell Oliver about Samantha framing the second check from Moira, but he also wanted to share the rest of his conversation with the task force agents, in case it proved useful for Oliver and Lyla as vigilantes.

No one was happy after learning about the check and the only thing Oliver said was that he’d mention it to his lawyers during their next conversation. The rest of the news was received slightly better and the group agreed it was a good thing that Dr. Markov’s plans were destroyed and he was working on something less destructive.

Oliver and Lyla suited up and prepared for patrol. As they were leaving, he pulled Slade away from the rest of the group, and Lyla went with him.

‘Do you- would you be interested in patrolling with us? Not tonight, obviously, but-.’ Oliver started to say. ‘I don’t know if you’d retired from things like that but-.’

“I’ve been thinking about it, to be honest.” He said. “There’s still a few things I need to think about. I’ll let you know once I’ve decided.” If it had been anyone other than Oliver, he would’ve agreed, but given what happened on the island, he needed to convince himself of a few things first. He’d nearly killed Oliver four years ago, and he was having a hard time being certain that he could work alongside Oliver, as a vigilante, and not hurt him. It was an emotional block more than anything else.

“Seems fair to me.” Lyla said.

She and Oliver went out and patrolled the streets. After a few hours, they decided to stop by the clock tower to see if Nyssa and her beloved were around and willing to discuss a plan to deal with Malcolm.

 

“Good evening.” Nyssa said upon seeing them. Her partner, who was now dressed in a tight, black leather outfit, just waved.

‘Hello.’ Oliver said.They exchanged pleasantries for a moment and then he got down to business. ‘I’ve come up with a few plans to deal with Merlyn, but most are not feasible or will put his son, who has nothing to do with this, in the crossfire as well.’

"I have been thinking of plans as well, and I discovered one that seems doable, though underhanded.” She said. “Theatricality and deception are powerful agents, and we need not best him, as the federal agents are already invested in stopping him.”

“So, you wanna do something to make it seem like they need to deal with him now?” Lyla asked.

“Essentially, yes. He is a threat, but since he’s injured, he isn’t an immediate concern of theirs. That can easily be done by putting on an act and making it appear as if one, or possibly two of us, are followers or students of the Dark Archer and seeking revenge.” She said. “Though first, we should discuss the man who has been following you periodically for the last few weeks. I haven’t been able to see his face, but he’s not as skilled at being covert as he seems to think.”

‘Anything stand out about him?’ Oliver asked.

“Not yet. Though he seems to only be observing so far. He’s made no move to act or attack. Call me a pessimist, but I doubt he’s here because he wants to join us. But first, we must find out what he wants.”

“Let’s go ask him.” Sara said, speaking for the first time that night. “With the four of us, we can corner the guy and have a chat with him. The next time he shows up, whenever that is.”

‘He was following us earlier tonight, but we lost him before we arrived here.’ Oliver said.

“I suppose you’ll have to go let him find you, then. So that we have one less concern when dawn comes.” Nyssa said.

Oliver and Lyla left the clock tower, hoping to draw out the man. 

“Okay, I don’t know if this would be considered good news or bad news, but you’ve got company.” Felicity told them over the comms several moments later. “So, showtime, I guess?”

The two vigilantes walked down an alley with a dead end, and waited for the man to follow. When he did, they turned to confront him and Sara and Nyssa blocked his exit.

“Is there a reason you’ve been following us?” The Arrow asked.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 97

Summary:

Oliver confronts someone who's been following him, Felicity learns something interesting and Nyssa thinks about her future.

Notes:

Please note, there is a sex/spicy scene in this chapter. If you'd like to skip it, the scene starts where there's a '////' and ends where there's a '-----'

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Okay, I don’t know if this would be considered good news or bad news, but you’ve got company.” Felicity told Oliver and Lyla over the comms several moments later. They were trying to draw the person following them into a trap so that they could confront him. “So, showtime, I guess?”

The two vigilantes walked down an alley with a dead end, and waited for the man to follow. When he did, they turned to confront him and Sara and Nyssa blocked his exit.

“Is there a reason you’ve been following us?” The Arrow asked. The unknown man turned to leave, and then spotted the two women blocking his path. “I asked you a question.”

“Do you truly expect an answer?” Nyssa asked.

“Pretty sure all of you know why I’m following you.” The man said. Drayson was cursing his luck right now. Not only was he angry about falling into the trap, but he was outnumbered. He knew, however, that the Arrow would only attack if someone was in danger or if he attacked first. If he played things right, he just might be able to escape. “Nothing personal, though. It’s just business.”

“Indeed.” Nyssa said calmly as she, Oliver and Lyla all raised their bows, preparing to fire while Sara extended her bo staff.

“Hey, hey.” Drayson said, raising one hand in a placating manner. He used his other hand to start patting himself down, trying to find something in one of his pockets. “I might be a merc, but I’m not an idiot. I’ve got no shot in a four-on-one fight. Let’s make a deal.”

“You have nothing of value to us.”

“Really? How about the name of the person who sent me after you?” He challenged. All four vigilantes tensed when he pulled something out of his pocket. “Don’t you wanna know that?” On the last word, he threw the items in his hand on the ground. It was a pair of smoke bombs, intent to distract the group so that he could make an escape.

One arrow was fired as soon as the smoke bombs were dropped, and while it missed Drayson, it hadn't missed him by much. Smoke filled the air, obscuring everyone’s view of the mercenary. In such a tight space, it would take longer for the smoke to dissipate. Drayson stood completely still as it spread, allowing the smoke to cover more area before he tried to escape. Since Sara was the only person without a projectile weapon, he figured she’d be the easiest person to get past He took a step towards her, cursing internally when he realized he’d stepped in a puddle.

The soft splash of Drayson stepping in the puddle was all Oliver or Nyssa needed. It was enough to give away Drayson’s position and before he could take another step, two arrows came flying out of the smoke. One hit him in the leg, missing any blood vessels, but damaging the muscle. The other was shot higher and he found himself unable to move his arms. When the smoke cleared, he saw that there were a bunch of thick cords wrapped around his torso, keeping his arms pinned to his sides.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” Lyla said. The only reason she hadn’t shot an arrow as well was because she wasn’t sure where Sara was in relation to Drayson and didn’t want to accidentally hit her.

“Look, I- I don’t know who hired me.” Drayson said. He needed to stall. If he could stall, he might be able to free his arms and then he’d make his escape.

Oliver turned to the others and gave a slight shake of his head. The man was a good liar, but he was excellent at spotting liars. Lyla nodded once at his assessment. “I strongly suggest that you stop trying to feed us BS.” She said.

“Fine, I do.” He said. “But- I’m sure we can make a deal, here. Let me go and you’ll never see me again. I’ll leave town.”

Again, Oliver shook his head. Another lie. “That’s not how we operate.” Sara said. She approached Drayson and pulled his mask off, exposing his face.

“Now, why’d you have to go and do a thing like that?” He asked. “I can’t let you live now.”

“Hey, guys.” Felicity said over the comms. “I’m just gonna go ahead and call the task force, tell them you guys have someone they might wanna talk to.”

Next to her, Digg picked up the untraceable phone they used to communicate with the police, the “Arrow Phone” as Felicity called it, and called the federal task force. Keeping the voice modulation software on, he gave the agent who answered Drayson’s location and a very brief explanation of what happened. He then turned back to being the Arrow’s voice.

“The authorities will be here soon.” He said, mostly to inform Nyssa and Sara, who didn’t have comms, of what was going on.

“We will stay and make sure he doesn’t somehow vanish before they arrive.” Nyssa said.

“No need.” Lyla said, nocking an arrow. She fired it and another set of restraints wrapped around Drayson. “There. Tied up all nice and snug for them.”

The vigilantes retreated when they heard sirens. A few moments later, Felicity informed Oliver and Lyla that the federal agents had taken Drayson into custody.

“So, before we had to deal with the hitman, you mentioned a plan that was deceptive.” Lyla said to Nyssa. “Feel like sharing?”

“The plan is simple on its surface. One or two of us would dress in armor, identical to Merlyn’s, and attack a few individuals on his “list” who haven’t been apprehended yet. We obviously cannot impersonate him, but we can easily claim to be disciples of him looking for revenge for the slights he suffered at the Arrow’s hands.”

‘That….has some potential. But we need to make sure it’s planned very carefully. If we do this, and the truth about the fight being staged gets out, that’s gonna make us look bad and damage our relationship with the task force.’ Oliver said. 'They trust us now, which means they trust the information we've provided. If we lose their trust, it's gonna be a lot harder to combat Merlyn and Tempest.'

“I had not considered that. My focus was more on taking him by surprise and doing something he wouldn’t account for. Clearly, I need to think about repercussions such as that one a little more.” She said. “Thank you for bringing that potential flaw to my attention.”

‘That’s what friends are for.’

The group then split up, with Sara and Nyssa going back to their hideout and Oliver and Lyla returning to the foundry. When they arrived, everyone seemed a lot more anxious than when they left, and Oliver didn’t think it was just because of what happened.

‘What’s wrong?’ He asked.

“After Nyssa’s partner unmasked the guy that was following you, Felicity ran his face through some program or something.” Thea said. She didn't fully understand what Felicity had done, but knew it was something along those lines.

“I ran it through a facial recognition program that I “borrowed” from the government.” Felicity said. “And I got a hit, and this guy’s bad news.”

“Bad news in what way?” Lyla asked.

“He’s a hitman. Name’s David Drayson.” Slade said, not looking away from one of the monitors. “Wanted in connection to over a dozen murders, on three different continents. His favorite weapon is apparently a slingshot. Which is odd, but I use swords and you shoot arrows, so maybe not that strange.”

“Wasn’t- Drayson was on the List.” Digg said.

Everyone stood there in silence after that. They were all relieved that Drayson was now in custody and unable to hurt anyone else. At the same time, the fact that Malcolm had sent a hitman after Oliver wasn’t welcome news.

“How did you know he was lying?” Thea asked her brother. “I mean, now it’s obvious that he’d lie, but when you were in the alleyway, how did you know?”

“Being able to spot a liar is a useful skill when your life’s on the line.” Slade said, before Oliver could answer. “Something he had to learn the hard way.”

‘And one of the most useful skills I learned from you and then Lyla.’ He added. ‘When people lie, they have a tell. I’ve gotten very good at spotting them over the last few years.’

Thea wanted to ask if this was why Oliver was keeping his distance from Moira, even before he moved out of the mansion. Could he tell she was keeping a bunch of secrets? She was about to ask when Felicity let out a big yawn and Oliver suggested calling it a night.

 

As Drayson sat in the interrogation room waiting for someone to come question him, an attempt to intimidate him, he was kicking himself. He didn’t know about the third woman. When he started tracking the Arrow, the archer was alone. He soon learned that the Arrow had two associates, both women. One wore black armor with red accents and covered the lower half of her face with a scarf. The other wore armor that was a mix of black and green and looked more like the Arrow’s. He hadn’t expected the Arrow to have another associate, a blonde woman in black leather. Because he was so outnumbered, and didn’t know anything about the blonde, he’d been overpowered and was now under arrest. Once they ran his fingerprints, it would be all over. To make matters worse, since he’d been picked up by the FBI, it was only a matter of time before they found his hideout and started going through it.

Finally, the door to the interrogation room opened. An average looking white man with brown hair took a seat on the other side of the table and opened a manilla folder. “David Drayson. Hitman, suspected in over a dozen homicides.”

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Agent Anderson.” He said. “It says here you waived your right to counsel.”

“Yeah. Don’t see the point in paying for a lawyer who has no chance of getting me released.”

“So, you’re admitting to everything you’re suspected of?”

“I don’t know about everything, but I’ll confess to the stuff I did do.”

“You’re very laid-back about this.”

“In my line of work, you don’t often get to retire. Either you get caught or you get killed by a nervous client who doesn't like loose ends. I got caught, and I figure, I tell you what I know, you’ll put in a good word with the right people in the US attorney’s office.”

“And what do you think your cooperation will get you? There’s no way you’re gonna go into WitSec.”

“Oh, I knew that wasn’t gonna happen. Take the death penalty off the table and keep me outta gen pop at whatever prison I end up in, and I’ll sing like a damn canary.” He said. “Even give you the names of my clients.”

“Sit tight. I need to go make a call.” Anderson said before standing up.

Drayson nearly stopped him, to warn him about Malcolm wanting one of the other agents dead, but held off. That little piece of information could wait until after his plea deal was finalized.

Alexa Van Owen didn’t see the point in rushing over to question a hitman the task force already had in custody and had enough evidence to hold for a few days, so she told Anderson she’d come to the precinct on Monday at talk to Drayson.

 

McKenna woke up Saturday morning and rolled over in bed. She was somewhat disappointed to find the other side of the bed cold. Then, the door opened and Tommy was leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey, you’re up.” He said.

“Morning.”

“I was going to bring you coffee and some breakfast, but this is a very nice, white carpet and I’m clumsy, so I decided, rather than tempt fate, I’d just leave everything in the kitchen.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.” She said, getting out of bed. She walked over to Tommy and gave him a soft kiss. “I had a great belated Valentine’s Day, by the way.”

“Good, because I did too.” He said. “So, I did pretty good for my first time then?”

She snorted at the double entendre as she poured herself some coffee. “It was pretty amazing.” She said. “What are you up to today?”

“Well, it’s Saturday and Saturday mornings, a bunch of us go to ASL class. After that, I didn’t have any plans. How long are you off-duty for?”

“I should check in at some point, but I’m free until tonight.” She said. “You know, the department has a program to teach officers ASL. I should probably sign up for that. You know, since Oliver’s your best friend and I’m probably gonna be spending more time around him, off-duty.”

“You should.” He said, before pointing to the food he made. “That’s my first attempt at an omelette. I know it doesn’t quite look right, but I figured- I hope it tastes right at least.”

McKenna cautiously cut off a piece of it and took a bite. “It tastes pretty good. I think getting it to look like an omelette is the hardest part. Then again, food never looks like it does in photos.”

“That’s true.” Tommy said, sounding pleased with himself.

He left to head to the rec center about an hour later. When he arrived, Roy and Thea were there as usual, as were Walter and Slade. Walter took lessons one-on-one with Stephanie during the week, but he wanted to get some extra practice in, so he decided to come to the weekly group class as well. Tommy greeted everyone and they went inside.

Stephanie walked into the room when class was about to start, and did a double-take. “You know, Harper, if you keep bringing me new students, I might have to start paying you a recruitment fee or something.” She said.

“Nah. I owe you for a lot, let’s just call this me repaying you.” He said. Stephanie had stopped him from making some very stupid, and life-ruining, mistakes when he was younger and he always wanted to repay her for doing that.

She gave him a look before turning to the others. “Okay, let’s get started then. Thea and Tommy, why don’t you two pair up. Roy, can you work with Mr. Steele for a bit? I’d like to work with our newcomer. Mister-?”

“Wilson, Slade Wilson.” Slade said.  “I know a bit of AusLan, but pretty much only the ASL alphabet.”

“Hey, everyone starts somewhere, right?” She asked. “Why don’t we start with the basics, like how to introduce yourself.”

/////

Felicity was woken up by Oliver running his hands down her back. Something about the feel of the calluses on his hand on her skin aroused her. Maybe it was just because they were Oliver’s calluses. She cracked one eye open and saw Oliver looking at her with a faux-innocent expression. He knew exactly what he was doing and how she’d react.

“You don’t play very fair.” She told him. “Waking me up and making me feel all horny.”

‘You started it. Looking so beautiful all the time. It’s not fair to me.’

“Oh, poor baby.” She joked. She felt something hard against her thigh. “Oh, hello.” She turned over so that she was looking up at Oliver, and not over her shoulder, before pulling him down for a kiss. Things became more intense from there, and Felicity and Oliver had sex a few times before getting out of bed and starting their Saturday.

-------

“So, what do you wanna do today?” She asked him.

‘I was thinking about going to the foundry for a bit. There are a few gangs in Starling I wanted to do more looking into before we try confronting them.’

“Want any help with that?” She asked. “I don’t know if you remember, but I’m very good at finding information on people.”

‘I’m always open to help from you.’

“Yay! Let’s make some criminals regret their life choices!” She exclaimed.

An hour and a half later, Digg and Lyla walked into the foundry. They wanted a chance to spar and expected the lair to be empty currently, since most of Team Oliver probably had plans during the day. When they reached the bottom step, they were surprised to find Oliver and Felicity both sitting in front of computers, typing furiously.

“Hi Digg and Lyla.” Felicity said without looking away from her screen.

“What are you guys up to?” Lyla asked.

“Oliver’s doing some research into a gang called the Scorpions. I’m seeing what I can find out about the Bertinelli crime family. I don’t know about the Scorpions, but the Bertinellis have good cyber-security, definitely better than most people’s, and a lot of companies. But I’m better.” She then noticed Lyla and Digg were dressed for a work-out. “If you guys wanna spar or something, you can. When I get “in the zone” I kinda space out so it won’t bother me. Will it be a distraction for you, Oliver?”

The archer looked up from his screen. ‘As long as it doesn’t get too close to me, I’ll be fine.’

They both turned back to their computers. Digg and Lyla warmed up and started to spar. They fought for a bit, and while they were taking a break, Felicity spoke again.

“Wahoo!” She yelled. “Go Felicity! Go Felicity!” She started doing dorky dance. “Sorry, I just- I got through their defenses and I got excited. Also, the Bertinellis won’t be an issue.”

‘You already found enough to shut them down?’ Oliver asked.

“I didn’t, but someone did. Someone’s been tracking their shipments and copying their important, and by important, I mean the most incriminating, files.” She said. “We should keep an eye on them, but they’re not a huge threat right now.”

“That’s good.” Digg said.

Oliver had spotted a pattern in when and where the Scorpions got their drug deliveries and had started compiling that evidence to hand over to the SCPD once he had enough for them to open an investigation. He told Felicity, John and Lyla as much.

‘Wanna see how much more damage we can do to the criminal underworld before dinner?’ Oliver then asked Felicity.

“Absolutely!”

 

“Last night was…..interesting.” Sara said while she and Nyssa were lounging around their hideout. “To say the least.”

“It certainly was.” She said. “I’ll be honest, I did not expect a confrontation with the man who had been following Oliver to end so smoothly.”

“Yeah, me neither. I thought he’d put up more of a fight or try harder to talk his way out of the situation first. I mean, he didn't even try pulling the "I'm not following you, I just got lost" card. Not that I’m complaining. It’s one less dangerous person on the streets.”

“We are all dangerous, beloved.”

“I know that, I just- you wouldn’t have done what Malcolm did. I know you well enough to know that. Anyone can be dangerous, but you, me, Oliver and his partner, we’re not dangerous to the innocent people in this city.”

“This will not be the end.”’ Nyssa said. “The man last night failed. Just as my father would send another assassin if the first one given the task failed, Merlyn will send another to try and kill Oliver Queen, and anyone else he views as a threat.”

“Well then, let’s just hope that the task force finishes collecting their evidence against Merlyn soon, so that he won’t be able to order a hit on anyone.” She stood up. “I should head out. We’re running low on a few things. And you went to the store last time, so-.”

“And you want to see your mother.” Nyssa said, and Sara froze. “The closest store isn’t far from her hotel.”

“Nyssa, I- I love you. You know that, right? This isn’t- I wanna see my mom, but I’m not going to-.” Due to being raised by Ra’s, Nyssa had a tendency to sometimes be paranoid about things. Ra’s thought most people were plotting against him most of the time, even when his only “evidence” was a person’s actions conflicting with what he would’ve done or his worldview. She didn’t want Nyssa to think that she was trying to do something underhanded.

“Your love for me is something I’ve never doubted. And I didn’t mention your mother to try and start an argument. You love your mother, you miss her. If my mother were still alive, and I found myself in the same city as her, I’d want to see her as well, even if it’s from afar.” She said. “I hope she is doing well.”

“Thanks.”

“I wonder, if circumstances were different, if we were normal people, what might she think of me, of our relationship?”

“My parents wouldn’t care that you’re a woman. My dad might have some opinions about you being a vigilante, but he wouldn’t care what gender you are. They both- when we sat down and had the sex talk, they made it very clear that what mattered most was that I was happy.” She said. “Laurel, knowing what I know now, would be ecstatic. Because if I’m dating you, I can’t be her competition when it comes to dating. Which really is kinda stupid. The fact that she might see me as competition first and her sister second.” She sighed. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

After she left, Nyssa started thinking. First, she came to the realization that, if Oliver hadn’t been in a serious relationship with Felicity Smoak, she would’ve viewed him as a rival for Sara’s love and likely wouldn’t have been able to form a friendship with him. Second, and more importantly, she started thinking about Sara and how much she missed her family. She knew Sara was unhappy, but she also didn’t want to lose Sara herself. Releasing Sara from her oath, which Nyssa could do as Heir to the Demon, would make her beloved happy, but she’d be hurt. Not releasing Sara would continue to hurt the blonde. She was conflicted about what to do and, not for the first time, she was beginning to question a few of the League’s practices.

 

When the sign language class let out, Thea asked Walter if he wanted to have lunch with her and Roy. He accepted, since he enjoyed spending time with Thea and hadn’t had a chance to spend much time getting to know Roy so far. As they looked over the menu of the restaurant they went to, Thea mentioned that she’d asked Walter to have lunch with them for a few reasons.

“I kinda- I love the fact that Team Oliver is so big now, and that we’re all friends with each other, but I kinda miss spending time with you one-on-one like we used to.” She told him. “Also, I know you haven’t really gotten a chance to get to know Roy, so I was hoping you two could get to know each other a little better now.”

“I’ve been feeling the same.” Walter said. “So, Roy, have you lived in Starling your whole life?”

“Yeah, I was born and raised here, just like my parents. They’re gone, but I didn’t really see a reason to leave.” He said. “So, did you go to Oxford or- I don’t know the name of another school in Britain.”

“Before moving to the United States, I was only aware of Yale, Harvard and a few other institutions.” Walter said. “I attended the London School of Economics.”

From there, the conversation started to progress naturally and by the time the bill was paid, both men had learned a great deal more about each other.

When Roy and Thea were back at the loft, Roy realized he should pay his credit card bill before it was overdue. He always checked his bank balance before paying the bill, to avoid overdraft fees and was startled when he saw the amount of money he had in his account.

“I think my bank’s having some kind of glitch.” He said.

“What makes you say that?” She asked him.

“I have more money in my account than I should.” He said. He clicked on the icon that would show him recent transactions and saw what caused him to have such a high balance. He’d gotten two paychecks from Oliver and hadn’t realized it. “Oh, never mind.” The paychecks were larger than he expected and he wanted to talk to Donna to see if this was a normal salary for an ASL interpreter. “I forgot I don’t make minimum wage anymore.”

Later, he spoke to Donna who told him that Oliver was paying them towards the higher-end of what ASL interpreters were paid, but he wasn’t paying an outrageous amount.

 

Susan Williams looked around her office with her hands on her hips. “I’m gonna need to reorganize in here.”

“What makes you say that?” One of the video editors for the station asked her.

“I’m gonna need space of the Pulitzer Oliver Queen is gonna earn me.” She said.

“You’re a broadcast journalist. Broadcast media is ineligible for the Pulitzer Prize. You’re thinking of a Peabody or Livingston Award.” He said.

“Whatever. Either way, he’s gonna make me a household name.”

“You haven’t scored the interview yet.” He pointed out.

“So? After my story last week, I know I’ve gotten the QC PR department’s attention. I’ve shown them how good of a reporter I am and how dedicated I am to a story. Who else are they gonna give the interview to?”

“Except, the story that “got their attention” is about the CEO’s wife being a bit of a psycho, which isn’t a good look. You don’t think that maybe, after releasing a story like that, it might backfire?”

“What do you know?” Susan asked angrily. “You’re a video editor, not a journalist.”

 

After Drayson refused to kill one of the federal agents, Malcolm had to make alternative arrangements. Thankfully, there were plenty of other hitmen in the world, more than willing to take that risk. He got in contact with another hitman, who took the contract almost immediately.

When the second hitman got the information Malcolm had, he nearly laughed. The agent must be one hell of a threat to Malcolm if he was willing to pay that much to kill one woman.

“At least it’ll be an easy job.” The man said as he booked a flight to Starling City.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Edit: 11/04/2020: There will be no chapter on 11/6 because I've been too stressed about the US election to write anything. I apologize.

Chapter 98

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity accomplish something pretty impressive, Samantha gets an uncomfortable phone call and Sara learns something surprising, but happy.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After ASL lessons ended, Tommy went back to McKenna’s apartment. She was off until that evening, and mentioned wanting to have a lazy day, so he decided to have a lazy Saturday with his girlfriend. It was clear to him that she’d been under a lot of stress lately, understandably, and if he could help her keep her mind off of work, he’d gladly do so.

When she opened the door, she was dressed in a t-shirt and yoga pants, with her hair up in a messy bun.

“How was class?” She asked him as she let him into the apartment.

“Pretty good. I learned the signs for some animals today. It was a lot of birds, mostly.” He said. “I’m not really sure why birds, but I’ve apparently spent my whole life saying “owl” in ASL when imitating glasses or binoculars. Which only made me think about how many times I’ve probably said “fuck” in ASL and not realized it. The deaf community probably think I have a huge potty mouth.”

“I doubt it. Why would they be paying attention to what a random person is doing? And even if they noticed, they’d probably let it go because it wasn’t on purpose. If you weren’t talking to someone and clearly using ASL, I mean. It would be like someone who speaks French or Spanish hearing one word that sounds like a bad word in that language, but everything else you said is in English, so they’re just like “oh, nevermind”. It happens more often than you think.”

“How do you know?”

“When I was a street cop, there were a few calls I responded to where someone didn’t give the other person the benefit of the doubt in that situation.” She said.

“Yeah, that makes sense. What have you been up to?”

“Mostly, I’ve just been trying to catch up on New Girl. I wanted to watch something that wouldn’t remind me of work.” She said. “Have you seen it?”

“Not really. I’ve seen a few episodes, but-.”

“Time to fix that.” She said as she turned on the TV.

 

For several minutes, the only sound filling the foundry was furious typing. The click-clack of fingers flying over the keyboards became so rhythmic that it almost faded to background noise, and if anything else was happening in the base, it likely would’ve been.

“Do you- do you think we should step in or-?” Digg asked Lyla.

“No. They’re having fun.” She said, not taking her eyes off of Felicity and Oliver, who were hacking away, unaware of the conversation happening around them. “Besides, it’s kinda…..I don’t wanna call it “cute”, but the fact that hacking and finding dirt on gangs is something they do as a couple is kinda funny.”

“I’m worried they’re gonna get carpal tunnel or something.”

“Digg, you know we can hear you, right?” Felicity said. “And we’re not gonna get carpal tunnel. It’s not like we’re doing this from our tiny little smartphones, with just our thumbs doing all the work.”

‘You’re done already?’ Oliver asked her.

“I don’t think it’s possible to ever be “done”. There isn’t really a way to eliminate crime, unless everyone became a pod-person, but for right now, I’m done. Found some evidence the SCPD might find useful against one of the smaller gangs in the city.”

‘Cool. I found some evidence against the Triad. Chien Na Wei might be in custody, but a lot of the organization is still at large.’ He said. ‘Hopefully, what I found can at least slow them down and hurt their business.’

“Did we ever find out why ARGUS took Chien Na Wei out of SCPD custody and into their own?” Felicity asked, looking at Lyla.

“I don’t know what Waller’s planning to do with her, but I’ve got a feeling, whatever it is, we’re not gonna like it. At best, Wei’s now at some black site that she’s never gonna escape from. At worst? Well, I don’t really know what the worst thing Waller could come up with is.”

“That’s fine. I was just wondering.” She said. “I really don’t want to think about it either. In fact- look, when I was a kid and this one kid kept picking on me for being a “nerd” or a “know-it-all”, I once told my grandmother that I wanted him to die and she told me that I shouldn't say that, so I never said I wanted someone to die after that. I’ve always said I want karma to do its work or I want to never have to deal with them again. Because of what she did to you and to Oliver and, I’m sure to dozens of other people, I kinda want Waller to die.”

“Fair enough.” Lyla said. “What did you find on the smaller gangs?”

“Texts between members that discuss “gang business” very overtly, pictures of “product” they’re trying to move. These guys are kinda dumb. Because, in some weird alternate reality where I run a criminal empire, I definitely wouldn’t be stupid enough to be texting back and forth about the drugs we need to sell or the murders I ordered.”

‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s a good thing most people aren’t as smart as you.’ Oliver told her.

“Why would I take a compliment the wrong way?”

 

Thea and Roy laid on a couch in the penthouse. watching a romantic comedy on TV, and when the channel went to commercial, Thea looked up at her boyfriend and spoke.

“Can I ask you a question that you probably can’t answer?”

“How can I- that doesn’t make sense. You’re starting from a position where- why ask a question I can’t answer?”

“Sorry, I- it’s a question that you probably can’t answer because while you've met the person I'm referring to, you son't really know her. But I need to ask because you don’t have the same bias as I do when it comes to her.” She said. “Also, as far as I know, you’re not psychic so you can’t just predict what someone’s gonna do.”

“Okay, well, ask the question, but if I say “I don’t know” remember that I warned you.” He said, very confused about who or what they were discussing.

“Do you think my mother is ever gonna apologize to me or Ollie?”

“In all honesty, from what I know about her, from the one board meeting I attended and based on conversations others have had, no. I think she might apologize to you, because her actions towards you aren’t as bad as the way she treated Oliver, but- look, I’ve known my share of people who’ve struggled with addiction. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Your mom seems to have realized that she was wrong to ally with Malcolm and join Tempest for their evil plan, but I don’t know if she acknowledges that her actions towards you and Oliver were wrong.”

“She’d better realize that, real frakking quick, or we’re gonna have words.” Donna interjected from behind them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was heading out to see Dinah.”

“You wanna yell at my mom?” Thea asked.

“Am I gonna track her down to give her a piece of my mind? No. But eventually, whether it’s during a QC board meeting or if she tries to call you or some other time, she’s gonna try to reconnect with one of you, and if she hasn’t apologized to you or your brother, I will tear her a new one. You and Oliver might not be my kids, but you’re part of my family.”

“I have a feeling you’ll need to get in line behind Felicity, Lyla and possibly Tommy, but thanks.” She said with a smile. “Tell Dinah we say hi.”

 

After his lunch with Thea and Roy ended, Walter returned to Queen Mansion to pick up a few things. When he’d moved out, he’d packed the essentials, but there were a few other items he found himself needing and he didn’t want to procrastinate fetching them.

He greeted Raisa when he entered and headed to his study to retrieve what he needed. While he was going through his things, Moira walked into the room.

“Are you here to serve me with divorce papers?”

“No.” He said. “As I said when I moved out, we aren’t the same people we used to be. I don’t know what that means for our future, but I know that, right now, we each have some things we need to figure out.”

“Walter, I’m trying. I’m trying to set things right. I’ve told the task force everything I know. I’m trying to finally do the right thing and I-.”

“Do you realize what happened less than six months ago?” He asked her. “A miracle, and I used to not believe in those.” He paused. “Oliver, your son, someone everyone believed was dead, came home, alive. He survived. He came home. And his mother insisted on treating him terribly. On trying to turn him into someone else, on not respecting the fact that he was changed by the last five years. And then, after all of that, came the matter with Ms. Lance.”

“What are you trying to say, Walter?”

“I’m simply trying to point out that when you discuss making amends, you only mention things related to Malcolm. You don’t say anything about Thea or Oliver. And maybe it’s harder to talk about because they’re your children, but I think we both know that your confession to the task force, commendable as it may be, isn’t enough to get things “back to normal”.” He said. “Just think about what I said.”

 

Sara passed by her mother’s hotel on the way back from the store. As she’d told Nyssa, she just wanted to see her mother. She didn’t need to hear her voice, or get closer to her than the opposite side of the street. She did the same thing when it came to her father, although Quentin wasn’t leaving the house very much these days. To her surprise, Dinah was leaving her hotel when Sara went to see her. Curious, she followed her mother as she made her way downtown and arrived at a café. From across the street, Sara saw her mother greet and hug a blonde woman who she’d seen in a handful of articles about Oliver. Her mother was friends with Felicity Smoak’s mother?

“Wow, it really is a small world.” She said to herself. She turned to head back to the hideout she shared with Nyssa.

Inside the café, Dinah and Donna started to catch up. Dinah asked the usual questions about how everyone on Team Oliver was doing and was happy to hear that everyone was doing well.

“So, I heard from Slade that you two went out for dinner on Thursday. As in, on Valentine’s Day.” Donna said before taking a sip of her coffee. “So, spill.”

“It was- I don’t really know what it was. He said he’d leave it up to me, whether we were on a date date or just a platonic outing as friends. But I’m not sure which one I want it to be. And I’m also concerned that I might be interested in him for the wrong reasons.”

“What do you mean? Like, you’re worried you’re only getting closer to him because he might be able to tell you something about Sara?”

“Kind of? I mean, part of me knows there’s a chance, but he also might not know anything. It’s hard to explain. Then again, I also wanted to get to know him before I knew he knew Oliver, so- I just don’t know.” She shook her head. “And on top of that, he can’t tell me that much about his past, so part of me isn’t sure if I should trust him and- I’m just very confused.”

“I have no idea what it’s like, to lose a child and not have answers. And I think that “he might know something” thought comes from the desire to find said answers, which is perfectly normal. As for whether or not you can trust him, how good are you at keeping secrets?”

“Excellent.”

“Are you sure you wanna know? Some of what I know is kinda dangerous.”

“No, I wanna know.” Dinah said.

“Then, we should take our coffee and go somewhere a little less public. I don’t wanna be overheard.”

 

Samantha was playing with William when her phone rang. William was really into LEGOs at the moment, so he’d constructed a whole LEGO world in the living room and his mom played along as the LEGO people went about their day in his world. He laughed when she impersonated a man’s voice to go along with the figurine she was holding. Then, her phone rang and she had to get up to answer it. She almost ignored the call, but saw that it was from Camille, her lawyer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I apologize for calling you on a Saturday, but I will keep it brief. Oliver’s lawyers have reached out to me. He’s asking to meet William in the next week or so.”

“I- so soon? I’m not ready, I-.”

“We talked about this. You need to let him meet William. I know there’s a lot up in the air right now and I’m still going back and forth with Oliver’s lawyers, but you can’t really say no, especially since it’s a very reasonable request.”

“But I- should I even be around Oliver? What if I end up saying something that ruins my case?” She asked.

“Does William have a babysitter or nanny?” Camille asked. “If you don’t think you should be present, you can have her be there when they meet.”

“Yeah, Courtney Whitmore, but she’s- she’s 15.” Samantha said. “Her mother Barb is a social worker. If she was there, would that be okay?”

“Has William met Courtney's mother? Is he comfortable around her? We want him to be with someone familiar when Oliver meets him, not a stranger.”

“He’s met her at some neighborhood events and on a few occasions where Courtney watched him at her house. So, he knows her.”

“If that’s the case, I suggest you tell Barb the basics of the situation, don’t say anything about Moira Queen or what you told Oliver five years ago. Just that Oliver is William’s father, you’re in the process of working out a custody agreement and he wants to meet him, and ask her if she’d chaperone their meeting.”

“Okay. Thank you. Sorry if I freaked out, I just-.”

“You’re in an uncertain situation and that’s kinda scary. I deal with it all the time.” Camille said. “Enjoy your weekend and we’ll talk more on Monday.”

“Is Courtney coming over?” William asked his mom.

“Why do you ask?”

“Cuz you were talking about her and her mommy.”

“I need to ask her mommy for a favor.” Samantha said.

 

“There’s something very sad about that boy.” Hannah Smoak said to herself as she sat in her room at her senior living facility. It had been a week since she met Oliver, via FaceTime, and while he made an excellent impression, there was something about him that made her feel very sad. She couldn’t shake the feeling.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Smoak, did you need something?” One of the staff, who had been walking by, asked as she poked her head into the room.

“Nope. Just talking to myself like the crazy old lady that I am.” She said. “My granddaughter finally let me meet her boyfriend.”

“Your granddaughter’s the one who lives out in Washington, right?” The other woman asked. “She does something to do with tech, right?”

“Yes, that’s my genius granddaughter Felicity. She’s out there, changing the world.” Hannah said. “And I got to meet her boyfriend, Oliver, when my son was here last weekend. He’s a very nice boy.”

“Yeah, that’s what all of the papers say. Nice, but keeps to himself.”

“Well, if you have everyone on the planet asking you questions about years you were away, you’d probably keep to yourself too.”

“Fair enough.” The woman said.

 

Sara returned to her hideout with Nyssa and found Nyssa studying an arrow. Nyssa greeted her and asked how her little excursion went but never moved her attention fully off of the weapon in her hand.

“Why is your arrow suddenly super fascinating to you?”

“This isn’t one of my arrows.” She answered. “This is an arrow that I…relieved the SCPD of, before they arrived at a crime scene. It was made by Oliver. I’m comparing his designs and construction to the ones we use.”

“And, how do they compare?”

“His design is more versatile. While he has a number of trick arrows, he’s able to use the same shaft in most of them. The arrow he uses to record audio is the most obvious one that comes to mind that requires a different shaft design.”

“And League arrows don’t use the same shaft?”

“For the most part, no. The arrows I use to rappel have an entirely different design from my traditional arrows.” She said. “Making his life easier when he needs to make more of a specific kind. The arrows I use are the product of decades of development by some of the League’s best minds, yet his are the superior design. Additionally, he uses better materials to create his.”

“How much better?”

“I can’t really quantify it. His are more durable than ours. The material is stronger and could probably both do and withstand more damage than mine.”

“Wow. Call me naïve, but I kinda thought arrows were arrows were arrows and there wasn’t much difference between one make or another. Aside from maybe him having different preferences than you.”

“No, all arrows are not created equal.”

 

Everyone on Team Oliver gathered in the foundry around dusk. Felicity and Oliver had been in the lair all day, other than going out briefly to get some food. As everyone talked about their day, Oliver and Lyla changed into their armor and started putting on their greasepaint.

“Not to nitpick, but why don’t you guys wear masks? Why the greasepaint?” Thea asked.

‘I haven’t been able to find or create a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and doesn’t affect my ability to aim when I’m running.’ Oliver answered honestly.

“So, for now, we’re sticking to greasepaint, shadows and intimidation to conceal our identities.” Lyla said. “We should probably put “figure out a better mask” on our to-do list.”

“I mean, it’s worked so far, so it’s not a pressing matter, but yeah, maybe.” Felicity said. “Although I might be able to figure something out. Gimme a few days, let me make a few calls.”

‘Take all the time you need.’

“There’s gotta be some kind of fabric that can- ooh, we made the news. And by we, I mean Team Arrow.” She said, her attention now on one of her screens.

“You guys made the news?” Tommy asked. “How? Because of that guy from last night?”

“No, Oliver and I spent some time today digging up dirt on some organized crime groups in the city. We are masters of what I like to call hack-fu. Get it? It’s like kung fu, but for hacking? Sorry. I’m a dork. Anyway, we sent what we found to the SCPD’s gang unit and well, the Scorpions aren’t having a great day and neither are some of the smaller gangs.” The news was showing footage of several handcuffed men and women being led into a police station.

“Ollie can hack?” Thea asked.

‘Another skill I picked up in Russia.’ He said. ‘So, that’s what we spent our day doing.’

“While we’re on the subject, anyone wanna learn how to hack?” Felicity asked. “I know it’s not as impressive as having “mad ninja skills” but don’t let the glasses fool you, I’m the most dangerous person in this room.”

A few people made noises like they were considering it, but Thea was the only one who immediately jumped to ask if Felicity would teach her.

Oliver and Lyla went out on patrol while Thea took a seat next to Felicity and listened as she explained a few things about the computer set-up. Patrol was uneventful, for the most part, and they didn’t run into Nyssa or Sara.

 

Ra’s waited for Asim to finish speaking before he started considering what the man was saying. The assassin had returned from Nanda Parbat several days ago, but the Demon Head hadn’t been interested in speaking to him until now. He doubted anything the man had to report was groundbreaking or immediate enough to warrant demanding a report right away. He didn’t show it, but Ra’s was rather surprised by some of the information he was being told.

“So, to summarize, Al Saher is injured and loses more allies by the moment.”

“Yes. Soon he will be alone. If he is not apprehended or we do not send him to his grave first.” The assassin said.

“And what news have you to share in regards to Taer Al Safher?”

“While I have no doubt she will be tempted to make her survival know, particularly to her parents, nothing I witnessed made it seem like a foregone conclusion. If I may speculate, she seems conflicted.”

“Conflicted?”

“She is aware of the consequences that would follow if she were to reveal herself, and doesn’t want what would inevitably follow to happen. I have no doubt that she likely wishes to make herself known to her family. For another matter, I do not believe she wants to…end her relationship with Nyssa, Warith Al Ghul.” The assassins had to be very careful about how they discussed and described Nyssa and Sara’s relationship when talking to Ra’s.

“And what conclusion have you drawn from the information you just told me in regards to Oliver Queen?” He asked.

“We owe the Queen family a great debt. Had Robert Queen not attempted to thwart Al Saher's plans, which led to the Queen’s Gambit being sabotaged, Oliver Queen would never have become the Arrow or begun putting the pieces together of the plot. The truth of Al Saher's plans may never have been revealed. He would be facing no opposition or scrutiny, and his undertaking would be a success. The deaths he would have caused would be laid at our feet.”

“Malcolm Merlyn’s actions are not my will.”

“No, they are not. However, he swore the same oaths that everyone else swore. He would have violated our code and, whether the Americans realized it or not, some of the blame would reside with us, for allowing his hate to fester for the last twenty years.”

All other things aside, the Undertaking would have ruined the honor of the League of Assassins, something Ra’s took great pride in maintaining.

“You are correct in one regard. We owe the Queen family a debt. And given how much I dislike being indebited to another, I must determine a way to repay that debt, post-haste.” Ra’s said. “Leave me. There are many things I must consider.”

“My Liege.” The assassin said before bowing and leaving the room.

 

The second hitman Malcolm hired, solely to kill the federal agent Drayson refused to kill, landed in Starling in the very early morning on Sunday and got settled into his normal hideout. First thing tomorrow, he needed to contact his client. Merlyn hadn’t specified whether her death needed to be public or if he wanted it to fly under the radar. He couldn’t make it look like an accident, but he wanted to know if it was supposed to be a statement.

“I also gotta find a way to keep the damn heroes off my back until the job’s done. Last thing I need is to waste a bullet on someone I’m not being paid to kill.” He said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Random fact: the Word doc for this fic is now 500 pages and I'm probably going to have to make a "Vol 2" doc so that my Word doesn't crash or something.

Chapter 99

Summary:

Laurel gets a visitor, Nyssa makes a suggestion and Donna has a talk with her mother, while Felicity and Oliver enjoy a nice Sunday.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

At around 8AM on Sunday, McKenna let out a yawn as she exited the precinct. The shift she’d just wrapped up wasn't the longest shift she’d ever had, but it might’ve been the most boring. Since the US attorney wouldn’t be coming in until Monday to question Drayson, there wasn’t anything pressing for the task force to handle. They were back to information gathering, for the next stage of the investigation, and so McKenna spent hours going through cold cases, looking for something that might connect those murders to the Dark Archer. She supposed it was slightly better than what the SCPD vigilante task force was up to. According to her old partner, Pike had told them to finish up the paperwork related to the Arrow’s takedowns prior to his fight with the Dark Archer and close those cases. The city’s leadership still hadn’t decided what to do about the vigilante task force, and the paperwork at least kept them busy.

McKenna froze halfway to her car when she saw a figure leaning against it. The figure straightened up and called out to her.

“You look like you could really use these.” Tommy said, holding out a coffee cup and pastry bag. He was bundled up in a jacket and scarf, so it was a little difficult to recognize him right away. “A blueberry muffin and my world-famous caramel latte.”

Taking the cup from him, she took a sip. “This latte came from Jitters. How is it your world-famous latte?”

“Jitters is world-famous and I bought the latte. That’s how.” He said with a grin. “Not the best joke I ever made, but it’s early. I wanted to see you after your shift ended, but I didn’t want to invite myself over, so I figured I’d meet you here, and bring you some breakfast and coffee. That way, if you just wanna go home and crash into bed, I still got to see you.”

McKenna found it very sweet that Tommy had gotten up early, and gone on a coffee run, just so that he could see her at least once today. She started to yawn, but tried to cover it up. “I’m gonna eat this muffin and finish this coffee, and then I’ll decide what I’m gonna do. Work wasn’t too bad tonight, but really boring. I hate going through old files.” She unlocked her car and told Tommy to get into the passenger seat. “I’m not promising excitement, but if you wanna come over to my place for a bit, I’m not gonna refuse some company.”

He got into the car and they went to McKenna’s apartment.

 

Laurel was surprised to hear that she had a visitor. She was leaving the prison cafeteria when one of the guards stopped her and told her he needed to escort her to the visitation area. As she walked, she tried to think about who it could be. She supposed that her father was the most reasonable guess. Or possibly Joanna. After Susan Williams’ story, she guessed it might be her, or another reporter, looking for a scoop, but she doubted the staff would allow a visit like that without asking her. She entered the room and was shocked to see her mother sitting on the other side of the glass. After Dinah’s last visit, she wasn’t sure how much more either had to say to the other.

“Hey, Mom.” Laurel said, picking up the phone. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to come see you, see how you’re doing.”

“I’m pretty much the same as the last time you saw me. So, what’s the real reason?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I realized there’s something I never said to you. I never told you I was sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Not helping me when I needed you? Staying in Central City while my life fell apart? What exactly are you apologizing for?”

“For a lot, but mostly? For encouraging Sara to go with Oliver on his trip.”

“As everyone keeps telling me, we were broken up.” Laurel responded.

“Still, I told your sister to go on a trip, with your ex, who you had feelings for. I told her that she needed to follow her heart, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that what she did betrayed you, and I played a part in that. I know it's five years too late, but I’m sorry.”

“What are you trying to accomplish with this?” She asked skeptically.

“Nothing. I owed you an apology, and I wanted to apologize. I just hope that one day, you’ll forgive me. You're my daughter and I love you, and I’m so sorry for what happened.”

“I- I need to go.” Laurel said. “Thanks for coming. I’ll- goodbye.” She stood up and walked away from the table. The guard gave her an odd look but took her back to her cell.

 

Felicity let out a sigh of contentment as she had her first few sips of coffee. There was nothing quite like a fresh cup of coffee and Felicity loved her coffee. She opened her eyes to see Oliver looking at her with a sappy smile.

“What? I love coffee.” She said. “Not as much as I love you, but-.”

‘I know. I’m not jealous of coffee for trying to steal you away.’ He told her. ‘I just- sometimes, I’m lying in bed with you, or listening to you explain one of your projects or something, and I realize how lucky I am to have you in my life. How much I love you, and it seems like every day, I fall even further in love with you.’

“You’re gonna make me cry.” She said as she moved closer to him to kiss him. “I fall more in love with you every day too. I’m really glad you walked into my office that day.”

‘I’m really glad my phone broke.’ He said, kissing her again. ‘So, how do you wanna spend this fine, fine Sunday?’

“Well,” She wrapped her arms behind his neck and looked up at him. “I was thinking that after breakfast, we can finish what you tried to start this morning, before my stomach let out that embarrassing growl, and after that, who knows? I’m up for anything. As long as it doesn’t involve work. I like what I do, but even I need a mental break every now and then.”

‘Well then, I’ve got a few ideas in mind.’ He said. They ate breakfast before heading back into the bedroom.

 

Moira let out a sigh of disappointment. She was supposed to be having brunch with Janice Bowen, but Janice had cancelled on her. She claimed she was feeling under the weather, but Moira was pretty sure the other woman simply didn’t want to be seen with her. Moira's reputation was in shambles and none of the city’s upper-crust wanted to be associated with her. Reflecting back on the last six months, she couldn’t entirely blame them. 

With her plans for the day now cancelled, Moira decided to head upstairs and change into more comfortable clothing, since she wouldn’t be seen by the press. Walking towards her room, she passed by Thea’s room, which was dark and now mostly empty. She passed Oliver’s room, which hadn’t been entered in months. In her bedroom, Walter’s side of the closet was empty. For the first time, it dawned on Moira how alone she truly was. 

Moira prided herself on being someone who kept her emotions in check. If she was overly emotional, no one took someone who couldn’t control their emotions seriously for very long. She wasn’t sure exactly when she started crying, but at some point, Raisa walked into the room and started leading her down to the mansion’s kitchen.

“Come, Mrs. Queen. Let me get you a nice cup of tea.” She said, trying to sooth the woman. “That might make you feel better.”

A while later, Moira had calmed down and thanked Raisa for the tea. She claimed that she was fine now and didn’t know what had come over her earlier. If Raisa didn’t believe her, she kept her opinions to herself.

 

Over the last five or so years, Sara’s instincts had improved quite a bit. While there was something to be said about the person she used to be, she couldn’t believe some of the mistakes her younger self had once made or how unprepared she’d been. As a result of those years, Sara could practically feel it the moment someone started studying her. This feeling was why, as she read an old copy of The Call of the Wild, she could feel Nyssa staring at her.

“Are you gonna say something or just sit there staring at me?”

“I’m….trying to figure out how to say what I wish to say.” Nyssa said. “I believe you should tell Oliver who you are.”

“What?”

“I know that you heard me correctly. I think he should know that you’re you.”

“I’m a member of the League.”

“As am I and he knows who I am.” She said. “And before you say that my situation is different, because I’m Heir to the Demon, League law dictates that outsiders cannot know of the League, not that they cannot know an individual’s identity. And that law was broken by Merlyn, although Oliver is unaware of that.”

“I don’t think I should tell him the truth though.” Sara said. “Why do you think I should?”

“I do not have a specific reason, but of the four vigilantes currently operating in the city, you’re the only one whose identity Oliver and Harbinger, whom I know to be Lyla Michaels, do not know. And that may give rise to mistrust.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Nyssa wasn’t overly concerned about mistrust. She wanted Sara to reveal herself to Oliver so that, when Nyssa released her, she wouldn’t be completely alone in the world. “There is a matter I must see to. I’ll be back.”

 

Quentin stared at the paperwork in his hands. When he’d met Hilton for coffee, his old partner pointed a few things out to him. One, the fact that it was taking IA so long to close Quentin’s file wasn’t a good sign. Two, he had relapsed briefly, which wasn’t good. Three, even if Lance was taken off of desk duty, he’d always have what happened to Laurel hanging over his head. Four, unless there was some kind of tragedy, there was no way he’d advance beyond being a detective, and he might actually end up demoted. Their conversation led to him staring at the paperwork in front of him. He’d put his time in, he’d done his job for more than twenty years. He had every right to announce his retirement and start collecting his pension. Hilton also hinted at the fact that, when IA wrapped up their investigation, one of the higher-ups would strongly suggest Quentin take this route anyway. 

Still, all his life, Quentin Lance wanted to be a cop. He liked to think that he was a very good cop. He had no idea what he’d do next, if he couldn’t be a cop anymore. Sighing, he picked up his pen and started to fill the forms out.

 

Donna had just finished moving her load of laundry from the washer to the dryer when her phone rang. Without looking, she answered it.

“So, you’ve decided you want to talk to me now.” Hannah Smoak said. “It wouldn’t kill you to call your mother you know.”

“Mom, I wasn’t avoiding you, I- I was a little busy.” She said. “I’m in the process of moving, to be closer to Felicity, so I missed some of your calls. I’m sorry about that. How are you doing?”

“Pretty much the same as the last time we spoke. I did enjoy meeting Felicity’s boyfriend Oliver last week. Always nice to meet new people.”

“Yeah, they both said it went well.”

“Of course it went well! He’s a very nice boy and it’s not as if I’m someone to be intimidated by.” Hannah was a whopping five feet, one inch tall and no one who saw her would find her particularly frightening.

“I know that. Oliver’s just very- what he’s been through has made meeting new people difficult and he struggles with accepting who he is now, so he thinks no one else will. I think he was scared that you wouldn’t like him and then Felicity and I would stop caring about him as a result.”

“Oh, who hurt that boy so badly?” Bubbe asked rhetorically. “Well, if it comes up, make sure you tell him that I loved meeting him. I already wanna talk to him again. He’s a delight. Bring him with you when you come to pack up your apartment.”

“Oh, we will.” She said. “Any fun gossip to share?” Donna loved listening to her mother share gossip about the goings on at the assisted living facility. A lot of the drama was dumb, which made it funny.

“Gerald’s granddaughter dropped out of school. She said she was gonna become famous doing something on the Youtube.”

“It’s just Youtube, not “the Youtube”.” Donna said. “What’s she gonna do?”

“Something about being a MUA, whatever that is.” She replied. “How does Felicity feel about you moving closer to her?”

“She’s not a moody teenager anymore, so she’s not mortified by the idea. We’ve actually gotten a lot closer over the last few years.”

“Good.”

 

“You seriously wasted your whole Saturday and most of Sunday preparing for an interview you aren’t even sure you’re gonna be having yet?” A reporter for Channel 6 asked Susan Williams.

“The PR department at Queen Consolidated hasn’t officially awarded me the interview, but I’m a shoo-in. Who else are they gonna pick? No one else here applied, and they’ve already cut all of the national broadcasters, which leaves me, Channel 52, some unknown reporter from Central City who might actually just cover sports, and two newspapers. And no one reads the paper anymore.” Susan said. “So, I wouldn’t say I wasted yesterday or this morning.”

“Ok, I’ll bite. Without giving too much away, what questions did you come up with?”

“I figured I’d start off with the softball questions: like how the city’s changed and what he missed before asking about his mother and Laurel Lance.  Then, I’m gonna delve into what happened during his time away and how he feels about the news about the Queen’s Gambit. The bulk of the interview’s gonna be about those two.”

“What if the PR people don’t let you ask about that stuff?”

“Well, if I get him to mention it first, I can pull the “tell me more about that” trick and they can’t hold it against me.” She said with a smile.

“You’ve thought of everything.” The other reporter said before walking out of the room. The other reporter immediately went to find Ed Davis, a video editor who’d worked with Susan recently.

“So, was I right?” Ed asked when she approached his cubicle.

“Yeah, she’s lost it. She thinks that Oliver Queen, the man who’s gone out of his way to say absolutely nothing about the five years he was missing, is going to let the bulk of his interview be about the island and the yacht being sabotaged.”

“She’s insane for thinking she’s even gonna get an interview. She’s spent years criticizing the Queen family, not the business, just the family. The only time she’s spoken to Daniel Correll is when she accosted him while he was leaving a restaurant.”

“Well, who do you think they’re gonna pick then?”

“Channel 52 most likely. Though, it is odd that the sports reporter from Central City hasn’t gone home yet.” He said. “As long as it’s not Susan, I don’t really care.” The last thing Susan Williams needed was an even bigger ego.

 

Since the hitman’s flight landed at the crack of dawn, he decided to get some sleep before making a call to Malcolm. Partially, this was because he was tired from travel, but he also felt like it was more appropriate to discuss a contract after dark. In either case, the man slept most of the day and gave Malcolm a call around dusk.

“So, when you say you want this woman dead, what kinda dead do you mean?” He asked Malcolm before the other man could greet him.

“There’s only one kind of dead.”

“Actually, there’s three. There’s “dead”. There’s “dead, but sending a message”. And there’s “dead, trying to push an agenda”. Which is it?”

“The normal kind of dead.”

“And you’re sure she’s the one you need dead? She’s not even in charge of the task force she’s on.”

“I know that. I don’t care about her position. The task force is only as effective as the information they’re able to gather and, unfortunately for her, Agent Mars is very good at gathering information. So, she needs to be taken care of.”

“Ok, well, I had to ask. It seemed weird, but you’re the one paying me.” The hitman said. “I gotta find a way to keep the vigilantes out of my hair, so I’m not gonna be able to kill her tonight.”

“Fine. Just don’t keep me waiting for too long.” Malcolm said before hanging up.

From her hiding spot on the grounds of Merlyn Mansion, Nyssa stood up and prepared to leave. Asim had hidden a bug in Malcolm’s office during her first visit, and she only thought to check it after Drayson was arrested. Using a listening device was too "new school" for the League, so she didn't think Malcolm would expect it. She hadn’t expected to hear that Merlyn had another hitman already lined up and was planning on killing one of the federal agents. This was very bad.

She made her way into the city. Sara wasn’t at the hideout, but left a message that she’d gone on patrol. Nyssa went looking for her, hoping that Sara would lead her to Oliver and Lyla and she could share what she’d overheard.

Thankfully, Sara was easy to find and the Arrow and Harbinger had been seen near where Sara was, so she didn’t need to scour the city for them.

“We have a rather large problem.” Nyssa said. “Merlyn either has a replacement for the man we apprehended early Saturday morning. Or he hired another hitman for a specific target. In either case, we must act.”

“What did you find out?” The Arrow asked.

“He’s trying to kill FBI Agent Mars.” She said. “I planted a listening device in his home office, and while I was on the ground to collect the conversations it had recorded, I heard him and this second hitman discussing the contract.”

“Why Mars? She’s an agent, yes, but why not Dinan or-?”

“Mars seems to be skilled at finding people and piecing information together that others would not. Making her a threat to him. The hitman claimed he wouldn’t act tonight, as he needs a distraction to keep us from interfering.”

“That’s good. We have time to warn the task force.” Lyla said. “When we get back to our base, we’ll reach out to them.”

“That can’t be the end of it. We have to- Mars is just doing her job.” Sara said. “We can’t- we need to see this through. Keep an eye on it until the second hitman’s in custody.”

“Of course.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

By the way, there are 2 scenes I've written that I'm already really excited about. One takes place next chapter, and the other won't happen for a while, but I'm excited for when it does.

Chapter 100

Summary:

The team tries to help Mars, which leads to some big revelations.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nyssa finished telling the Arrow and Harbinger of the threat against Agent Mars’ life. Sara insisted that they needed to make sure nothing happened to her. Oliver said he’d reach out to the task force and agreed to do his best to protect Mars until the hitman could be apprehended.

“Did you hear the hitman speak?” Sara asked her.

“I did. He sounded American to me, though I have difficulty narrowing down more than that. Perhaps, if the recording I have were analyzed, that would reveal more information.”

“You have a recording of Malcolm on the phone with the hitman?” The Arrow asked her. “I’m pretty sure the task force will believe us if we tell them there’s a threat against Mars, but if we have some kind of proof, that will help.”

“Not to mention, him even having that conversation is enough to get him arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.” Lyla said.

Nyssa held out a flashdrive. “I knew I would not be able to “stake out” his home, as one might say, so I ensured the device I used was capable of recording several days' worth of conversation. I’m unsure of how many days’ worth of audio was recorded, but at the very least, the device picked up his conversation tonight.”

“I think we should call it a night, so that we can tell the task force as soon as possible and get this evidence to them.” Lyla said.

“Shall we meet at the clock tower tomorrow night? Assuming the hitman is still at large and we need to protect Agent Mars.” Nyssa said.

The clock tower was relatively close to the precinct the task force was operating out of, so it seemed like an ideal place to meet up. The only slight snag was that it might be Mars’s night off, and they weren’t sure where the task force was staying.

The group parted ways and Oliver and Lyla raced back to the foundry. Felicity took the drive and plugged it into her computer. She wanted to clean up the audio as much as she could before sending it to the task force when Digg called them. After doing some filtering, she was able to hear the hitman’s voice. Nyssa was right, he was American, and when he said certain words, he had a slight New York accent.

“How are you gonna send the audio to the agents without them being able to trace the email?” Thea asked Felicity. Since Felicity had offered to teach her hacking, she’d asked her a bunch of questions about how she did what she did.

“Basically, I send the email from a sock account and route it through a bunch of different servers, most of which are abroad. The task force could try to back trace it, but it’ll take a while and wouldn’t be worth their time.”

“What’s a sock account?”

“It’s a fake account. People use them mostly to troll online, but they’re also used for other things. I created one just to send the task force information without revealing myself or anyone else here.” She said. “Oliver, I’m ready to send it if you’re ready to make the call.”

Oliver nodded and turned to Digg. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

 

Doyle was going over some lab reports when the phone on Dinan’s desk rang. He reached over and picked it up. “This is Agent Doyle.”

“Agent Doyle. This is the Arrow.” A voice, which was being filtered through a modulator, said.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but anyone can buy a voice modulator. Prove it.” 

“On the list I sent you, of names related to Tempest. The fourth name on the sixth page is Ted Daniels. The seventeenth name on the twelfth page is-.”

“Ok, I don’t need you to give me the whole list. I believe you.” His computer dinged next to him, indicating an email. “Why’d you call Dinan’s desk?”

“You just received an email with an audio file attached. I had an associate of mine send it to you.” The Arrow said. “Malcolm Merlyn has hired a hitman to kill Agent Mars. The audio is the recording of their conversation, which confirms my claims. It only felt right to inform the task force of the threat to her life.”

“Why Mars?”

“He somehow knows that Agent Mars is good at finding information on people and he fears what she might uncover.” He said. “I’m hoping that, with the information you already have, and the incriminating conversation in the recording, you can catch the killer before anything happens to Agent Mars.”

“Thanks for the head’s up. Guess I better call the others.” Doyle said. “How’d you manage to record that conversation any-? And he hung up, of course.”

He would’ve liked to know how the Arrow happened to record such a bombshell of a conversation, but at the same time, he understood why the Arrow might not want to answer. Picking up his own phone, he started calling the other members of the task force.

“Hey, Reeves. We’ve got a problem. I need you, Anderson and Mars to get here ASAP.” He said. “I’ll explain when you get here, but all three of you need to come.” He ended the call and then called Dinan, telling her to come to the precinct as soon as possible. He then made a call to one of the task force’s tech people, asking them to analyze the audio file he’d been sent and asked if they could somehow get Malcolm’s phone records for the last 48 hours.

 

“So, what happens now?” Tommy asked after Digg hung up on Agent Doyle. “I mean, you’re not just gonna tell them someone’s trying to kill an FBI agent and go on with your life, right?”

‘No. We’re gonna keep working on this until the hitman’s in custody. And, with any hope, your dad’s in the cell next to him.’ Oliver responded. ‘The task force can probably handle it, but just in case, we’ll keep her safe until the threat’s been eliminated.’

“What do you think Merlyn’s so scared Mars might find out?” Slade asked.

“Probably something the task force already knows, like information about the Undertaking or Tempest, but with Malcolm Merlyn, who knows?” Lyla said. “I’ve got a feeling the man has a lot more skeletons in his closet than we think.”

“Please, he doesn't have a closet full of skeletons. He’s got a whole warehouse full.” Thea said with a scoff.

Since the hitman was the biggest current threat, and he wasn’t going to strike tonight, Oliver and Lyla decided that it was time to call it a night. They weren’t going to go back out on patrol. As a result, everyone started to leave the foundry. As people were leaving, Oliver pulled Slade aside.

‘I know I don’t have the right to ask this.’ He said. Felicity interpreted at a low whisper, to avoid being overheard. ‘But I need your help. I’m hoping the federal agents can catch the hitman before anything happens, but if he’s still free by tomorrow night-.’

“Five is better than four.” Slade finished. “You don’t have to ask, kid.”

 

The task force agents stood around Doyle’s desk.

"So, when you say you want this woman dead, what kinda dead do you mean?”

“There’s only one kind of dead.”

“Actually, there’s three. There’s “dead”. “There’s “dead but sending a message”. And there’s “dead, trying to push an agenda”. Which is it?”

“The normal kind of dead.”

Anderson opened his mouth to ask Doyle for clarification, but he held up a hand a “hold on a second” gesture.

“And you’re sure she’s the one you need dead? She’s not even in charge of the task force she’s on.”

“I know that. I don’t care about her position. The task force is only as effective as the information they’re able to gather and, unfortunately for her, Agent Mars is very good at gathering information. So, she needs to be taken care of.”

“Ok, well, I had to ask. It seemed weird, but you’re the one paying me. I gotta find a way to keep the vigilantes out of my hair, so I’m not gonna be able to kill her tonight.”

Doyle pressed a key and stopped the recording. “The Arrow called me, actually he called Dinan, and then sent the file to me. I’ve got two techs analyzing it for info and another trying to get Merlyn’s phone records.”

All eyes turned to Agent Mars, who seemed to be staring at the stapler on Doyle’s desk. The other agents couldn’t really blame her for that. Most people would need a moment to process the news that someone was trying to kill them.

“Mars?” Dinan said out of concern, hoping it would prompt the other woman to say something.

“I- how does he even know I exist? I mean, some of you have been doing press conferences and talking with suspects and all that jazz. I’ve just been doing research and trying to connect the dots between things.”

“I have no idea how he knows about you. Maybe one of the corrupt cops gave him your name, and that’s how he knows. We have no idea what kind of sources he might have. The point is, we need to find the hitman, bring him in and then we’ll deal with Merlyn.” Anderson said. As the FBI leader of the team, he felt like it was his responsibility to keep Mars safe, more than the others. He was the one who convinced his boss that he needed Mars on this task force in the first place. The only reason why he wasn’t trying to get a warrant for Malcolm right now was because the hitman was the most pressing issue. And Doyle said the recording he was sent wasn’t finished being analyzed.

“I’m gonna see if the techs have had any luck with the phone records.” Reeves said. “If we have the hitman’s phone number, we’re one step closer to finding him.” He walked out of the bullpen.

“What do- Is this the part where someone tells me to go back to the hotel and pack?” Mars asked. “To get me away from this guy?”

“That’s not as good of an idea as it sounds.” Anderson said. “This assassin could attack while you’re on the move or follow you out of the city. The best thing we can do is keep a close eye on you and find this guy quickly.”

“And I’m just supposed to go about my day, like it's a normal day?”

“No, not at all.”

“I’m gonna go talk to Frank Pike.” Dinan said. “The hitman said he needed a way to distract the Arrow and his associates, which means the SCPD needs to be told. I’ll try to keep it light on the details, in case there are a few crooked cops that haven’t been discovered yet, but they should know there might be another situation happening soon. If they’re on alert, it’s gonna be harder for him to act.” She left the room as well.

The task force technicians didn’t have great news. While they’d gotten Malcolm’s phone records, the number that had called him, which through the process of elimination had to be the hitman, came from a burner phone, which was harder to trace. It wasn’t impossible, but it would certainly take longer than anyone wanted.

 

It was difficult for Oliver or Felicity to fall asleep when they got home. Felicity knew that she had programs running, trying to track down the hitman Malcolm had hired, and that they needed time to work, but she also knew that if it took too long, Agent Mars might die. In the same vein, Oliver knew that all he could do at this stage was wait. Wait for Felicity to find the hitman. Wait for someone, either Malcolm or the killer, to make a mistake. He knew the task force agents were good at their jobs, but if something did happen to Mars, he’d feel like he didn’t do enough to prevent it.

After staring up at the ceiling for over an hour and a half, Felicity spoke. “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to sleep until this is over. Or at least, until I’ve found something the task force might find useful to stop this guy.”

‘Me neither. Mars is- I know we’ve never met her, but she’s the one who told Dinah Lance about the Gambit. She also pieced together the truth about William. She doesn’t- I don’t think anyone deserves to die, with very few exceptions, but she definitely doesn’t.’

“We’re not gonna let anything happen to her. The task force knows about the threat, and they’re not gonna let one of their own get killed, plus Team Arrow’s on it. And Nyssa and her beloved, who both seem like badasses.”

‘Still, I can’t sleep. I- there’s nothing I can do here, no way I can help.’

“No way you can help right now. Not “no way you can help” period.” She said. “That’s a very important distinction.”

The pair did manage to fall asleep eventually, albeit not for very long. Oliver woke up before sunrise, slightly rested, and found Felicity not in bed. Stepping out into the living room, he found her in a yoga pose.

“I was feeling very stressed, and I know that yoga can’t make it all go away, but if it de-stresses me just a fraction, I thought it was worth a try.” She said as she came out of her pose.

‘Can I join you?’ He asked.

“Sure There’s a spare yoga mat in the coat closet. I bought it, and then I found this one and I had to have it, so now I have a spare.” The yoga mat Felicity was using had a cartoon panda drawn on it, while the one Oliver pulled out of the closet was a plain purple mat. He shook his head fondly and rolled it out onto the floor. “Have you done yoga before?”

‘Shado taught me a few poses on the island.’ He said. ‘When she was teaching me to shoot, she said I needed help focusing and she thought yoga and meditation would help, and it kinda did. But nothing fancy.’

“I promise not to do any weird, twisty pretzel moves just yet.” She said. “All right, let’s start with sun salutation.”

 

As Tommy made himself some oatmeal for breakfast, he couldn’t shake the anxiety he was feeling for Agent Mars. Over the last few weeks, he’d spoken with her a few times and she seemed like a nice person. She was driven, and like most of the agents, very dedicated to her job and making sure justice was served. It wasn’t fair that she was being targeted because his father thought he was above the law. He also felt hopeless, because while he wanted to, somehow, help her, he wasn’t Oliver or Lyla, so he couldn’t take the hitman on alone. Still, there had to be some way that he could help. As he reflected on the conversation the group had overheard in the foundry, he realized something.

Nyssa had said that the clock tower was the ideal place to meet because it was close to the SCPD precinct the task force was working out of. With the threat against her, Mars might not be at the precinct, but at whatever hotel the agents were staying in. He had no idea where that was, but he knew someone who might. In a different situation, he’d feel bad for doing this, but it was a life or death situation.

After finishing his oatmeal, he gave McKenna a call. He tried to call her on days when he didn’t think he’d see her and he had a feeling that, with the hitman situation, she probably wouldn’t have a lot of free time today. He told her “good morning” and asked her how she was doing. She didn’t have to head into work just yet, so they had some extra time to chat.

“So, this is gonna sound really random, but- have you ever been doing something and a random thought pops into your head? Like, you’re brushing your teeth and suddenly, you’re like “who’s John Connor’s father in the timeline where the T-800 wasn’t sent back?” or “do dogs name their humans?”.”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like.” McKenna said. “What’s your random question?”

“Where does the task force sleep? I’m not 5, so I don’t think they sleep at the station, but are they in a hotel? Did they rent a house? Is there some barrack situation?” He asked.

“There’s one of those “extended stay” hotels a few blocks from Rockets Arena.” She told him. “Was that really the burning question you have?”

“I said it was random. I was sitting in bed, staring up at the ceiling and that’s what my mind thought of.” He said. “Also, do penguins have knees?”

She let out a laugh. “I can’t help you with that one.” 

They talked for a little while longer and she told him she’d call him later, if she was able to. After getting off the phone with her, he sent a text to Oliver and Lyla, saying that he knew where the task force was staying, just in case. It wasn’t a “make or break” detail about the situation, but he felt like he’d helped in some small way.

 

Everyone was on edge today. Lyla and Digg were both on edge when they arrived at Felicity’s house. Felicity and Oliver were worried as well. When he went to pick up Thea to do the school run, Oliver saw that Thea, Roy and Donna were all on edge. It was understandable. There was a real, and imminent threat they were dealing with, and there wasn’t much they could do that the moment. 

Oliver and Thea spent the first half of the drive in silence, before he pulled the car over. “Is something wrong with the car?” She asked him.

‘No, but I wanna talk to you. I know it sounds dumb, but I don’t want you to worry about what you heard last night.’

“How can I not worry? There’s some wackjob trying to kill Agent Mars.”

‘I know, and we’re going to handle it. But I need you to try and keep your mind off of it, at least until 3. Try to focus on school.’

“I don’t know if I can.”

‘That’s why I said “try”.’ He said. ‘I know you’re worried, and I’m not gonna say that you shouldn’t be, but right now, all we can do is wait.’ He turned the car back on and continued driving. He gave his sister a hug and told her to try and have a good day.

 

Laurel took a seat facing the glass that separated the prisoners from the visitors and picked up the phone. “Two visitors in two days. Aren’t I popular?”

“You had a visitor yesterday?” Quentin asked her. 

“Yeah, Mom.”

“Why’d she visit?”

“There was something she wanted to tell me. Don’t worry, it's nothing that concerns you. Just one of those “there’s something I need to say to you” conversations.” She said. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you, see how you’re doing. Our last conversation didn’t go as well as I hoped.”

“That’s an understatement.” She said. “How’s the SCPD?”

“I put in my paperwork this morning.” He admitted. He didn’t tell her that he’d been on desk duty since her trial, because of the accusations that he’d bent the rules to help her. She didn’t need to know that and, at the end of the day, he’d chosen to help her, so it wasn’t her fault. “It was a long time coming.”

“You love being a cop. What are you gonna do now?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet.” He said. “And there’s something kinda exciting about it, I guess. What about you? This place has quite a few programs, have you signed up for any?”

“There are a few I’ve been thinking about. I just- I wanted to be a lawyer all my life, to fight for the little guy, and now, I can’t be one anymore. And I don’t know what to do.”

“I guess we’ll be figuring out what to do next together.” He said with a small smile.

“Yeah, I guess.”

The rest of Lance’s visit went better than his previous one and when it was time for him to leave, Laurel felt a tiny bit of hope, for the first time in weeks.

 

Waller walked straight down the beige hallway towards her destination. The receptionist sitting outside the office she was heading into didn’t even try to stop her or ask her why she was here. Clearly, she was expected. She walked into the office and closed the door behind her, not taking her eyes away from the man sitting behind the desk.

“Sir, I-.” She started to say.

The man held up a finger and she watched as he unplugged the phone on his desk and put it in a drawer. He then looked at her and held his hand out. “Your phone.” She dropped it into his hand and she watched as he removed the battery and tossed the device aside.

“Was that necessary, Mr. Secretary?” She asked Graves, the Secretary of Homeland Security.

“When you have the clearance that I have, you know how much a phone, even one that’s not in use, can pick up. Which is why I made you fly here, as opposed to just a phone call.” He said. “And this is a conversation that we’re not having. You will not tell any member of your agency that you were even here.”

“I understand.” She said. This wasn’t the first time she’d had a meeting that “never happened” but it was the first time she wasn’t expecting it.

“Good. You’re aware that the joint FBI and CGIS task force has been given clearance to discuss Lyla Michaels’s mission in Moscow in 2009-2010?”

“I am, sir. I don’t know how this happened, without my knowledge, but by the time I was made aware-.”

“You weren’t aware because the paperwork related to that was signed by the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, at the behest of several key figures, both within this department and on the Hill.”

“Why such investment in getting that file opened?” Waller asked. Someone very important had to be interested if the request was submitted to Waller’s boss’s boss for approval.

“You’re a lot of things, Waller. Stupid is not one of them. You know why the Hill wants it, and you know why I wasn’t going to mothball that request.”

“Why am I here, Mr. Secretary?”

“Because I know the reports you filed after the Moscow operation was concluded didn’t share the full story. And you’re going to tell me that full story now. From the moment you learned Oliver Queen was alive and on Lian Yu.” Graves had been told that Oliver Queen was found on Lian Yu by Waller and recruited. In her final report on the Moscow operation, she made no mention of him, but mentioned losses during the op, and Graves assumed Oliver had been killed. Then, Queen had been found, on the exact same island Waller found him on, which was suspicious to say the least.

“Two years ago, you indicated that you didn’t want to know everything about the operation.”

“I didn’t, and then Oliver Queen was found alive. The Queen’s Gambit was found, with signs of sabotage and two different agencies started asking about the one ARGUS operation that he was a part of. So, I need to know. And make no mistake, this is not a request.”

Graves hadn’t gotten to where he was by being nice. If Waller wouldn’t come clean with him now, he had no problem throwing her to the wolves and letting her try to explain herself to a Senate committee.

 

Alexa Van Owen spent several hours in an interrogation room with David Drayson. While he’d been a cold-blooded killer, he wasn’t sloppy. He kept records of every hit he’d ever carried out. He called it insurance against jumpy clients, but the law enforcement officers were pretty sure he knew he might eventually need a bargaining chip.

He gave names and dates and amounts for every person he’d ever been hired to kill. As he told Anderson, he was caught, he didn’t see the point in trying to hide anything.

“Oh, wait, one more thing.” Drayson said as the conversation was wrapping up. “Merlyn also hired me to try and kill a fed. Name’s Mars.”

“Did you accept this contract?” Van Owen asked.

“No. I don’t kill feds. Brings too much attention.” He said.

Unfortunately, Drayson’s interview ended after the courts closed. The task force couldn’t get an arrest warrant for Malcolm on such short notice, considering how much of their evidence was based on witness testimony. The only hard evidence they had was the tape the Arrow had sent them, and the $5 million wire Malcolm had paid Drayson with. They needed to wait until morning to get the warrant.

 

Malcolm’s hitman had to laugh. It was surprisingly easy to set-up a distraction for the Arrow and his followers. All it took was a few comments to the right people. He’d gotten a few of the gangs riled up and suggested they do something big to remind the city why they should be scared. With the Arrow preoccupied, he could complete his contract in peace. This city was a huge mess and way too easy to turn upside down.

 

After a long and very stressful day, everyone on Team Oliver, except Walter who had another commitment, met up for dinner. Dinner was quiet and subdued and once it was over, everyone headed to the foundry. Everyone had kept their eyes on the news all day and there hadn’t been any arrests, so the threat against Mars’s life was still serious.

“I was only really able to narrow down the location to a five block radius, where there are three motels.” Felicity said. “ He probably has extra stuff on his phone to hide his location. I’m pretty sure the task force would’ve reached the same conclusion, but since they don’t wanna spook this guy-.”

“They aren’t gonna raid them unless they know which one he’s in.” Lyla said. “Last thing they want is a shoot-out or hostage situation.”

“So, I guess we have to go with Plan A.” Slade said. “Anyone have a ski mask I can use?”

Oliver threw him a hoodie. ‘We talked about it and what we really need is an eye in the sky. The assassin might be a sniper, or he might try to disappear into the crowd. Unless things go really wrong, we want you further away from the action and keeping an eye on things. We have a rifle in case you need to use it.’

“You sure?”

“We’re sure.” Lyla said. “Let’s go meet Nyssa and her beloved and once we work out a location, Felicity will find a good spot for you to hide out in.”

“You don’t think they’ll be suspicious that an unknown person is joining your group?” Slade asked.

‘I was gonna tell her that you’re another acquaintance of mine, who owed me a favor.’ Oliver said.

“Fair enough.”

“Wait, take these.” Felicity said, handing two extra comm units to Lyla. “I don’t know if they’ll use them or not, but with what’s going on, it seems like being able to talk with Nyssa and her girlfriend is a good idea.”

The trio left, with Slade throwing a case containing a sniper rifle over his shoulder. They met Nyssa and Sara at the clock tower as planned. Oliver introduced Slade as a friend, and said he’d be keeping an eye on things tonight, but Slade didn’t say anything himself. He stood towards the back, letting the shadows hide his face. Lyla then gave the two women the comm units Felicity had given her.

“We know you don’t usually use stuff like this, but considering the situation-.”

“It will be abnormal, but neither of us object to using these devices. Do we need an additional device to be heard?” Nyssa asked.

“No, the device sends and receives.”

“And I promise not to talk everyone’s ear off.” Felicity said. “Hi, you can call me, um, Overwatch? Yeah, let’s go with Overwatch.”

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” Nyssa said. “To my knowledge, Agent Mars is currently at the SCPD. I suggest we head in that direction.”

Felicity found a rooftop where Slade could get a good view of the few blocks surrounding the SCPD. The roof was also easy to get down from in case he needed to move. Rather than Nyssa and Sara taking up one position and Oliver and Lyla taking another, Oliver and Nyssa paired up and Sara and Lyla paired up.

The first two hours were incredibly boring. Nothing of interest was happening and Mars was still in the bullpen, away from any danger. At around 10pm, a group of people exited the precinct through the front door.

“I see a few agents exiting the building.” Nyssa reported. “Agent Mars doesn’t seem to be with them.”

“Probably a diversion in case the building is being watched.” The Arrow said. “Hopefully, they’re-.”

“Someone’s coming out the back door. Make that two people.” Lyla said. “They’re heading towards a car parked down the street. It’s Mars and-.”

“Why send her out the backdoor? Doesn’t the precinct have a garage?” Felicity asked.

“It does, but there’s no way to guarantee someone doesn’t sneak in.” Sara said. “Though, why the car is parked there is-.” The alley outside the station wasn’t large enough to park in, but they could’ve sent someone to bring the car to the backdoor, eliminating the need to go into the open.

Slade had been keeping an eye on everything from his perch, and he noticed a slight movement on one of the rooftops near the building’s back entrance. “I’ve got movement on one of the rooftops.” There was a tense silence. Sara and Lyla crept closer to where Mars was. “It’s a-.”

The hitman noticed two vigilantes sneaking closer to his target. Somehow, they must know what he was hired to do. There went his plan to watch Mars drive off and then shoot out her tires, causing her to crash and be killed in the “accident” that followed. He had to act fast, get Mars away from the vigilantes and try again another day.

There was a booming sound, one that Digg, Slade and Lyla were all familiar with. The sound of a sniper rifle being fired. Slade didn’t have a clear shot at the sniper. Sara was slightly faster than Lyla and rushed forward. With no other option, she pushed Mars out of the way. She felt a slight stinging sensation as the bullet grazed her arm. Another shot rang out, but it flew over everyone’s heads.

“What the-?” The other agent with Mars started to ask.

“Get her back inside.” Sara yelled. Lyla, meanwhile, was trying to locate the bullet that had hit the masked blonde. The task force could have the second bullet to test, but the one with the woman’s blood on it wouldn’t be tested yet.

“You’re hit.” Mars said. Several agents and uniformed police officers came rushing out of the back door.

“It’s just a graze. I’m fine.” She said. She pointed in the direction the shot came from. “The shot came from up there.” Several people drew their weapons and ran in the direction that she pointed.

“Thank you.” Mars yelled over her shoulder as she rushed back towards the building.

Sara turned to go and Lyla followed after her. Once they were around the corner, Sara’s knees buckled slightly and she needed to grab a hold of Lyla to keep from falling over.

“I don’t-.”

“Arrow, Taer Al Safher was hit. It’s just a graze but- I think it might’ve been coated with something.” Lyla said.

“Our hideout is on the other side of the city.” Nyssa said. “Will she make it?”

“I don’t know what it might’ve been coated with.”

“Our base is closer.” Felicity said. “Bring her here. We’ll leave so that it’s just the four of you if you have to, so that your identity is safe, I just-.” She knew the woman might not want her identity to be exposed to people she didn’t know and at this point, she only cared about Taer Al Safher not dying. The mystery of her identity could wait.

“Not necessary.” Sara said with some effort. “I guess you get to say “I told you so”, Nyssa.”

“Beloved, I do not-.”

“Gimme a sec. Arrow, there’s something you need to hear.” Sara said. She turned her voice modulator off. “If I don’t make it, I need you to know something.”

“Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Thea yelled. “Is that-?”

“I don’t regret getting on that yacht with you, Ollie.” She said.

“Sara Lance.” Slade said.

Everyone seemed frozen for a moment. “Get her back to the foundry. Figure out what’s poisoning her. Then, freak out about the fact that she’s alive.” Digg said, mostly to Oliver.

Oliver and Nyssa reached the spot where Lyla and Sara were. Without a word, Oliver picked Sara up and started towards the foundry. Digg was right. Saving Sara mattered now, questions could wait until later.

The vigilantes left and McKenna ducked back behind the corner she’d been about to turn. She followed after Lyla and Sara, not expecting to catch them. Instead, she heard the mysterious blonde woman in black, call the Arrow “Ollie” and mention boarding the Gambit. It was Sara Lance. Sara Lance was alive. And Oliver Queen was the Arrow. She made her way back to where the task force was searching for the sniper and said the vigilantes were gone by the time she reached them. She needed some time to process.

 

Floyd Lawton let out a sigh as he made it back to his motel room. His plan to deal with Mars and leave Starling by tomorrow was out the window. The only upside was that the blonde woman who’d been grazed would be dead pretty soon and that would probably keep the Arrow off his back for at least a day. He seemed like the type to stop and mourn.

 

Sara was unconscious when Oliver rushed into the foundry carrying her. Digg had cleared away a lot of the random odds and ends in the lair so that they’d have space to work. Tommy and Donna were standing off to the side, holding first aid equipment.

“I can’t believe-.” Tommy said.

“We focus on healing her, then we freak out about this revelation.” Lyla said. “I managed to get the bullet that hit her. But I don’t think we need to test it.”

“Why not?” Nyssa asked. On one hand, she was happy no one was demanding answers from her. On the other, it sounded like Lyla wasn’t trying to help Sara.

“There’s only one sniper I’m aware of who coats his bullets in poison. And he always uses curare.”

“Deadshot.” Digg said.

“You know this person?” Nyssa asked.

“In a way. He killed my younger brother.” He said. 

‘Felicity, can you hand me the small green pouch in my trunk?’ Oliver signed to his girlfriend. Felicity handed it to him and gave him a strange look. He then turned to face Nyssa. ‘The herb counteracts most poisons.’

“I trust you.” She told him. “I’ll remove her jacket.” She pulled Sara’s jacket off, along with her mask, which seemed useless now, and took a step back. Nyssa then lowered her hood and pulled the scarf away from her mouth. She didn’t see the point in trying to hide her identity at this point.

Oliver began grinding the herb into a paste and then applied it to the graze on Sara’s arm. Digg then started bandaging up the wound.

“Okay, now what?” Roy asked.

“We wait for her to wake up.” Donna said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 101

Summary:

Team Oliver gets some answers, the federal task force gets closer to the truth and Sara learns something life-changing.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver, Felicity, Digg, Lyla, Slade, Donna, Tommy, Thea, Roy and Nyssa all stood around the foundry, watching an unconscious Sara. Sara’s bullet wound had been bandaged and Oliver applied some of the herbs he’d brought back from Lian Yu on the site to fight off infection and combat the curare the bullet had been coated with. After that had been done, Lyla and Oliver had pulled out some blankets and pillows, to make Sara more comfortable. After that, there wasn’t much anyone could really do at the moment.

When the silence became too much, Felicity turned to Nyssa. “Hi, we haven’t met. I’m Felicity. I wish we weren’t meeting like this.”

“While it is nice to meet you, I feel the same sentiment.” Nyssa responded. “My name is Nyssa Raatako.”

“You already know Oliver and Lyla, and Slade.” She said. “Let me introduce you to everyone else.” She pointed at everyone Nyssa didn’t know and introduced her to them. She noticed a few people giving her odd looks. “What? There’s not a lot we can really do until Sara wakes up, and I don’t like awkward silences. I know Sara being alive is shocking, to say the least, but there’s not much we can do right now.”

“Okay, you do have a point.” Tommy said. “This is just-.”

“I understand how all of you must be feeling.” Nyssa said. “And while I could probably answer a great deal of your questions, I think it would be best to allow Sara to tell her own story.”

‘Just answer one question, if you don’t mind. How did she survive the Amazo?’ Oliver asked.

“I cannot say for certain, as she’s never told me, but I found her washed ashore on another island in the Dragon Teeth chain.” She answered. Nyssa had been on a mission for the League. Her quarry was believed to be hiding on one of the islands in the chain. The lead turned out to be false, and her target was dead, but she’d found Sara, starving and dehydrated, but alive, shortly after arriving on that island. “Thank you, for helping her.”

“No thanks are necessary.” Lyla said. She had a feeling that Sara’s story, much like Oliver’s, was incredibly complicated and there was a reason she was letting the world believe she was dead.

Roy cleared his throat. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but-.”

The heart monitor that Sara was hooked up to started going crazy and she started to flatline. Digg rushed over to get the AED they’d bought for the lair and started preparing it. Nyssa, Thea and Roy started asking what the hell was going on. Digg was starting to rub the paddles together when Donna yelled out.

“Wait!” She had a hand resting on Sara’s neck.

“For what?” Tommy yelled. “Her heart’s stopped. If we can’t get it restarted-.”

“Her heart hasn’t stopped. She has a steady pulse.” She responded. “Felicity, come here.” She waved her daughter over and whispered something. 

Felicity started looking Sara over and she fiddled with the monitor and then started inspecting the leads attached to the sensors. She lifted up Sara’s shirt and noticed the problem, before sighing with relief. “Gotcha!” The noise stopped and Sara’s heartbeat returned to normal, and the steady beat was visible on the monitor’s screen. “Sara’s alive. She’s fine. One of the leads got disconnected from the sensor.” Everyone let out a breath. “Okay, rule #1 for medical emergencies, make sure all of the equipment is properly set up. Rule #2, tape the leads down.”

“Aside from the wound on her arm, she’s unharmed?” Nyssa asked. Since the League didn’t use much modern technology, she wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, only that Sara seemed to be in a dire situation, and now wasn’t.

“Yeah. There was just an equipment SNAFU.” Lyla said. “In fact, she’ll probably wake up soon.” Nyssa nodded and took a seat next to Sara’s head. She wanted to be there the moment her beloved woke up.

While part of her was happy they weren’t demanding answers from her about where Sara had been, why she hadn’t come home, another part of her wished they would. Answering those questions, as difficult as it would be, would’ve given her something to focus on. Sara had been injured. She could’ve lost her. She might still lose her. It took her a moment to realize that she was crying.

“I need you to awaken, beloved.” She whispered. “You bring out the best parts of me, you make me want to be a better person. You inspire me.”

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. She’s gonna be okay.” Thea said. She reached out and squeezed Nyssa’s shoulder, not sure if a hug would be appropriate.

“The poison was cured. The wound itself has been healed. Waiting sucks, but it’s all we can really do right now.” Lyla added.

“Okay, I have to ask.” Tommy said. “You said her name was Taer something something.”

“Taer al Safher.” Nyssa said. “It’s Arabic for “Canary”. Well, it translates to “yellow bird”, but that’s what she wanted it to mean. She chose that as her codename.”

‘She had a pet canary when she was younger.’ Oliver said.

With the excitement dying down, and nothing to deal with at the moment, the team started to spread out in the lair. Roy and Tommy moved over to where the training equipment was set-up, since Digg had started showing them a few moves and they figured they might as well practice. Slade went to store his weapons while Donna chatted with him. Lyla gave Thea a short lesson in the hacking skills she’d learned with ARGUS. Digg went to make a call. Felicity took Oliver’s hand and pulled him to the side.

“So, tonight’s been quite a shock.” She said. She didn’t know how to start this conversation. She wanted to know how Oliver felt about what they’d learned, but she also wanted to give him a chance to talk about it at his own speed.

‘I don’t- I can’t- she’s alive.’ He said. ‘I can’t believe she’s alive.’ For almost four years, he’d been living with the guilt of Sara’s death. Even though he hadn’t caused the Amazo to explode, he couldn’t help but think that he was to blame. Now, the weight was lifted off of him, but he wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Yes, she is.” She said. “And I heard what she said, right before she lost consciousness. She doesn’t regret getting on the Gambit with you.”

‘She might’ve just been saying that, because she might’ve been dying.’

“I don’t think so. I’ve never met her, obviously, but I’ve gotten a feel for who she is based on what you and Slade have said about her. Lying about something like that doesn’t really fit with her character. I think, maybe, that’s something she really wanted you to know, to hear when she revealed that she was still alive, eventually.”

‘Why didn’t she tell me earlier? She could’ve told me who she was when I first met her.’

“She could’ve, yes, but you don’t know what she’s been through in the last few years. Clearly, she met Nyssa at some point and joined her group, but we don’t know anything more than that. Maybe, she was trying to figure out how to reveal herself.” She shrugged. “She’ll wake up soon enough and you two can have a proper reunion and hopefully, things go well from there.”

 

Dinan had federal agents and cops scouring the area where Mars had almost been shot. She wasn’t sure how lucky they’d be, but she wanted them to collect as much evidence as possible before too much time passed. Someone had gone to the roof Lawton shot from and found evidence of someone being up there earlier, but no shell casings or equipment left behind. It could’ve been a sniper, but they had no proof other than some residue on the ledge, which might be gunpowder. She sent a CSI to test the residue before going back into the station. She found Mars sitting in the middle of the bullpen, drinking some coffee. 

“I know tonight was distressing but I’d like to get your statement, if I can.” She knew how time could make people forget important details, and while she didn’t want to traumatize Mars, she wanted to get as much information as she could now.

“We were leaving, according to the plan everyone agreed to. Smith and I were walking towards the car. I heard the first shot ring out, and then the blonde vigilante pushed me out of the way. The second shot was fired, but it flew over everyone’s heads. The vigilante then told me to go back inside.” Mars said.

“We only found one bullet.”

“The other vigilante might’ve picked it up.” She said. “I remember running past one of the others on my way back inside.”

“The vigilantes don’t normally steal evidence. Why would one of them take a bullet from the crime scene?”

“Because- because she was hit by the first bullet.” Mars said. “After she pushed me out of the way, I remember her holding her arm. She was grazed by the bullet.”

“That still doesn’t-.”

“DNA, probably.” Reeves said. He’d come in a few moments earlier and heard the last few moments of conversation. “If the bullet hit the blonde, it’ll have her blood on it, and she might not want us to test that blood.”

“You think she might be wanted or something?” Dinan asked. She supposed it was always possible that the vigilantes had criminal records or were wanted, but at the same time, it didn’t really fit with the Arrow’s actions. The Arrow had a strong moral code and working with criminals didn’t quite fit with that.

“She might have a record. Or she might be a missing person. Or they just don’t wanna risk her being connected to something. Other than the occasional arrow, these guys don’t leave behind any evidence that traces back to them. And we have the second bullet, which we can analyze, run ballistics on and so on, so taking the one that hit her doesn’t leave us high and dry.” He said. 

 “You really think they took the bullet in case we tested for DNA?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a theory. They also might’ve taken it so that they can run tests on it themselves.” He shrugged. “We’ll see what happens.”

Dinan went over a few more details with Mars, and Reeves asked questions every now and then, until one of the crime scene techs came into the bullpen and made a beeline for them.

“Anderson told me the bullet you sent over was a priority and that I should tell either him, one of you or Doyle what I found as soon as I found it.” Keller, the technician, said.

“You already have a match?” Reeves asked.

“Not an exact ballistic match yet. I’ve narrowed down the manufacturer, but not which model of rifle. No, this is about the residue I found on the bullet.” She said. “The bullet that was collected was coated in strychnos toxifera. Or, as you might know it, curare.”

“The sniper coated his bullet in poison?” Dinan asked. “Any chance that might be some kind of calling card or-?”

“I haven’t run it through the FBI database yet. I wasn’t sure if it was a wild goose chase.”

“Run it, maybe we’ll get lucky.” Reeves said. “How deadly is this poison?”

“I’m not an expert on poisons, but it's potent enough to kill someone in a few minutes if it enters the bloodstream. First it paralyzes the person and then the victim suffocates.”

“What if someone was grazed by the bullet?” Mars asked.

“Wait, were you hit?” Keller asked. “It’ll work slower, but we should get you to a hospital. You’ll need to get a transfusion and-.”

“No, I wasn’t hit. I’m just wondering.”

“Oh, well. If someone was grazed, it wouldn’t kill them quickly, but they’d need medical attention.” She said. “I’m gonna go see if the database has anything about a sniper who laces his bullets in curare.” She left the bullpen.

“What do we think the chances are of a blonde woman, with a bullet wound and poison symptoms, showing up at one of the city’s hospitals?” Reeves asked.

“Not great. All gunshots have to be reported to the authorities, and if you’re trying to avoid attention, that’s the last place she’d go.”

“If she doesn’t find a way to counteract the poison, or get a transfusion, she’ll die.” Dinan pointed out.

“I had an ex whose uncle was a doomsday prepper.” Mars said. “He also hated the government and was convinced they were trying to track him. Past a point, he refused to go to a doctor, for any reason and he and his prepper buddies learned how to deal with most medical emergencies.”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this.” Reeves said.

“The vigilantes don’t want to deal with the questions hospital staff might ask. They also know they might get injured. Therefore, it’s possible that they know someone with medical training, kinda like how organized crime has mob doctors, or one of them has medical training. If they can get her treated in time, the blonde will be okay.”

“That’s a pretty big “if”, Mars. But I guess all we can really do is hope they’re able to help her.”

The group fell into silence and then the phone on Dinan’s desk rang. “This is Dinan….yeah, hold on a second.” She pressed a button before putting the receiver back down. “Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Good.” The Arrow said. “I hope no one on your team was injured during what happened.”

“No, we’re all unharmed.” Dinan said. “But the bullets the sniper fired-.”

“Are coated in a poison, I’m aware. Part of the reason I called was to tell you that, in case you didn’t already know.” He said. “We’re running a test on the bullet we have now, but between myself and my teammates, we only know of one individual who coats their bullets in poison, so we are relatively confident that the poison used is curare.”

“Our lab said that it is.” Reeves said. “You said you all only know of one person who does that?”

“Yes. Interpol’s codename for him is Deadshot. He’s killed people all over the world.”

“The blonde vigilante, the one who pushed me out of the way, is she okay?” Mars asked. “I know she was grazed by the bullet.”

“The Canary is stable, but unconscious. Thankfully Harbinger, who was with her, recognized what was happening and we were able to get her medical attention in time. We weren’t sure how long she had, so we gave her an untested medical treatment, which saved her life from the poison. It gave us all a shock, Artemis most of all, but she should be fine. We’re simply waiting for her to wake up now.” The Arrow said. “No one else was harmed.”

“Good, that’s- I’m so sorry.” Mars said. “Please tell the Canary that I’m sorry she almost died because of me. This is totally my fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

“She was hit trying to save me. It is my fault. If I were more careful, then-.”

There was a shuffling sound on the other end of the phone and then a different voice spoke. “This is…..Artemis. The only people to blame for what happened are Deadshot and Malcolm Merlyn. In no sense is what happened your fault.” There was a pause. “I’m going to give the phone back to the Arrow, as I need to be there when the Canary wakes up.”

“Like I said, this isn’t your fault.” The Arrow said. “We probably won’t-.”

“Arrow? You still there?” Dinan asked.

“I'm here - sorry about that. Overwatch just got a ping from a search program and was briefing the rest of us on something interesting about Deadshot's known victims to date. Three of them are on the List, Tempest's list of names. Wes Anselm, Ken Shane and Yasemin Soze. Now this might be a coincidence - or it could mean that Malcolm Merlyn had them killed, either because they ceased to be of use to his Undertaking, or he felt they had somehow become liabilities.” He said. “We’re currently trying to pin down where he went after he escaped earlier, but haven’t had any luck yet. I’ll give you a call if we find something.”

“Okay, well, what happened made the news, so we’ve gotta hold a press conference, to calm the public, but at least one of the senior members of the team will stay here, in case you reach out again.” Dinan said.

 

After about three hours in the foundry, Sara began to stir. Before she opened her eyes, she took a moment to assess as much as she could about her surroundings. She was underground and lying on a metal table. There was someone about a foot away from her. She finally opened her eyes and jumped slightly. She hadn’t forgotten what had happened, but it was still jarring to pass out in one location and wake up in another.

“Beloved, you’re awake.” Nyssa said. “We knew you would, but we weren’t sure when you’d awaken.” Other than stepping away to answer a call from her father, and her brief conversation with Agent Mars, Nyssa hadn’t left her girlfriend’s side.

“How do you feel?” Slade asked her.

“Tired. Did you catch the sniper?” She knew there was a lot to talk about, but she wanted to know what had happened tonight before everyone got sidetracked by her survival.

“No, he ran off when the cops ran into the alley. We’ll find him though.” He said. “And you’re stalling.”

“I know.” She said. She looked around the room, studying each person. She knew Tommy, Oliver and Thea already, and she was aware of who the others were based on press coverage. She stopped looking around when her eyes met Oliver’s. “Hi, Ollie.”

Sara addressing Oliver directly seemed to be an unspoken cue, because before she knew it, Thea and Tommy were hugging her. She hugged them back, and said she was happy to see them, before returning her attention to Oliver.

‘It’s nice to see you, Sara.’ He told her. ‘I can’t believe it’s really you.’ Felicity interpreted as he signed.

“I’m really happy you’re alive. I mean, I didn’t know you before you didn’t die the first time, but- I’m still happy you’re alive.” Felicity blurted out. “Also, hi, I’m Felicity.”

“Sara Lance, and thanks. I actually….kinda know who all of you are, because I paid attention to the news before I came here to help Nyssa with….her assignment.” She wasn’t sure how much Nyssa might’ve told them while she was unconscious. Did they know about the League? Who Nyssa really was?

“We’re all very happy that you’re alive.” Digg said. “And that we had a cure for the poison.”

“Isn’t someone gonna ask where I’ve been? Why I’ve been letting everyone think I’m dead?”

“Well, after what we’ve heard about Oliver’s time away, no one wanted to push you.” Thea said. “You have a reason, though, right?”

“Yes, I- it’s hard to explain.” She said, looking to Nyssa for help. “How much do they know?”

“The only question they asked me was how we met, and I explained I found you washed ashore on an island in the Dragon Teeth.” Nyssa said. “However, I received a phone call from my father while you were resting.”

“And?”

Rather than answer her question, Nyssa looked at the others in the room. “Nyssa Raatako is my birth name, however I’m also known as Nyssa al Ghul.”

“Al Ghul? As in, Ra’s al Ghul?” Slade asked.

“That would be my father. And to answer your next question, yes. The League of Assassins is real.” She said. “I was originally sent to Starling to ascertain Malcolm Merlyn’s plans, after his televised battle against Oliver. I was also sent to determine if the Arrow could be recruited to our organization. And, while I respect you, Oliver, you wouldn’t be a good fit for the League of Assassins, and I explained as much to my father. He agreed with my assessment.”

“If you’re in this Assassin’s League, does that mean that Sara-?” Tommy asked. “Wait, does that mean that my dad-?”

“Yes, to both questions.”

“After Nyssa found me, she took me to Nanda Parbat, the home of the League.” Sara said. “I was able to heal and recover from my time on Lian Yu there, but at a cost. I had to join the League of Assassins. I swore an oath to them. I vowed to leave my old life behind. Let the world believe Sara Lance was dead, and I- I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”

“Okay, sorry if this is a weird question, but this league sounds like it’s a secret society, so why are you telling us about it?” Felicity said. “Kinda seems like one of those “if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you” situations.”

“It is.” Nyssa said. “However, my father has never approved of my relationship with Sara, and when I spoke with him earlier, he released her from her oaths, since he doubted Oliver, or anyone else here, wouldn’t try to find a way to free her. In truth, it was something I’ve been contemplating for weeks.”

“Nyssa?” Her girlfriend asked.

“I could see how much you missed your family, how Oliver’s survival affected you. I love you, but I will not keep you from true happiness for my own selfish interests.” She said. “And then, my father gave me another assignment to complete, in this city, which ensures I’ll be here for quite a while longer. I’ve been rethinking my opinion of my father and his ways recently, so having more time to consider things is welcome.” 

Sara could tell there was something Nyssa wasn’t saying, probably to do with her new assignment, but didn’t press for now. Whatever it was, Nyssa was upset or at least disappointed over it. Instead, she turned back to the rest of the group. “That’s the gist of what happened to me after the Amazo sank. I was taken to Nanda Parbat, I joined the League and after some convincing on my part, I came here to help Nyssa on her mission. Part of me just wanted to see for myself that Ollie was alive and everything.”

“How did Malcolm Merlyn learn about the League in the first place? Seems like an odd coincidence, you being trained by the same people who trained him.” Lyla said. 

“He believed he’d caught his wife’s killer years ago, and after that man was killed, he wasn’t satisfied. He didn’t feel the relief he expected to feel.” Nyssa said. “I was around eight years old when he came to Nanda Parbat. I don’t know how he learned of the League or Nanda Parbat, but he claimed he had come because he wanted to learn to dispense true justice and my father accepted him as a pupil. Three years later, he was released from his vows, with the understanding that he would keep our existence a secret and use what he had learned to dispense justice. His televised attack on Applied Sciences violated the first part of the agreement, leading to my mission here, and the Undertaking violated the latter half.”

“Rebecca Merlyn dies in 1992. Malcolm leaves Starling that same year. Yet, for him to be Thea’s father, he had to be in town in late April or early May of 1994, when he was still a part of the League of Assassins.” Felicity said. “Anyone else find that weird?”

“It’s certainly odd.” Donna said.  At face value, this meant that Malcolm returned to Starling, for whatever reason, got laid, but didn’t take the time to see his son. Though, no one wanted to be the one to say that to Tommy.

“So, what happens now?” Thea said. “I mean, with you being released, you can come back, actually come back. I can think of a few people, like a certain history professor, who’ll be happy about that. You know, if you want to do that.”

“People are gonna wanna know where I’ve been.” Sara said. “And I can’t exactly tell them the truth.”

“You can tell them a partial truth.” Felicity said. “You couldn’t come back because you were scared. That’s believable enough.”

‘Or you can use the excuse I was going to use before- when I thought I was going home after Moscow.’ Oliver said. ‘Remember that one, Lyla?’

“Yup. When I found you, you were supposed to have amnesia. And then, suddenly, in Russia, you remembered your name and I was gonna take you to the US embassy.” She said. “Or it could’ve been a combination. You had amnesia and then when your memory came back, you’d realized something odd had happened to the Gambit, and that’s why you didn’t resurface.”

“I mean, she doesn’t need to decide right now.” Donna said. “She’s had a rough night.”

“I’ll think about it.” Sara said.

“And in the meantime, we will rid ourselves of Deadshot.” Nyssa said. “I know you don’t want to kill, Oliver, but-.”

‘I know you’re angry for what he did to Sara. I’m angry too, but he’s killed a lot of people. If we kill him, the families of those he killed may never find closure.’ He said. ‘They’ll never get justice. Not to mention, the dead don’t suffer. Rotting away in a cell, knowing he’ll never escape that cell, is a much worse punishment to someone like him than a quick death. Or even a slow one.’

Nyssa considered his words for a moment. “You may have a point. However, should he attempt to kill one of us-.”

“Self-defense is different.” Lyla pointed out. Several people started yawning. The yawn Roy let out was so loud, Felicity thought she heard his jaw crack. It had been a very long night, after all. “I think that’s a sign we should call it a night.” She turned to Nyssa and Sara. “Where have you been staying?”

“A safehouse the League set up a few years ago.” Sara answered. “It’s not much, but-.”

“Or you can stay with us. We have an extra room.” Felicity said. “I don’t know much about safehouses, but the bed’s comfy, which is a plus.”

‘At least stay tonight.’ Oliver added. ‘While you’re healing.’

“You had me at “comfy bed”.” Sara said with a smirk. She knew things weren’t going to be this easy for long. The coming days would bring more questions and emotions, but for right now, everyone seemed happy to see her and she felt like she’d truly come home finally.

Everyone departed the foundry and Felicity drove Nyssa, Sara and Oliver back to her house. She also sent Walter an email saying she was using one of her sick days on Tuesday and hinted that Thea could afford an absence as well. She didn’t think it was her place to tell Walter about Sara, especially without her permission, but she’d told him they’d had a very surprising evening.

 

At 8am, Dinan and Anderson went to the lobby of the precinct to hold the press conference about the previous night’s events. A shooting right outside of a police precinct was big news, as was the fact that the intended target was a federal agent.

Anderson opened by confirming the reports of the shooting and informing the assembled press that no officers had been injured. He then paused. “One of the city’s vigilantes, who we now know uses the codename Canary, was struck in the arm during the incident. We’ve been informed by the Arrow that she’s stable. We wish her well and hope she has a speedy recovery.  The shooter remains at large and we’re warning the public to exercise caution. The shooter is armed and should be considered dangerous.” He then opened up the floor for questions.

“What was the motive behind the attack?” One reporter asked.

“We aren’t sure of the motive at this time, as we’re exploring all options.”

“Was there a specific target?”

“We don’t have that information at this time.” He said. If they admitted to knowing Mars was the target, it might spook the sniper and he might attack someone else, possibly even a civilian, to throw everyone off his scent. 

Tommy watched the press conference unfold from his suite at the Ritz as he drank his coffee. When it was over, he got a call from McKenna. They had an easy conversation for the first few minutes, then she asked him a question he hadn't expected.

“How’s Sara doing?”

“I don’t- what- Sa-?”

“I followed the Canary and Harbinger out of the alley. I heard what she said before she was taken to the Arrow’s hideout for treatment. I also heard what name she called the Arrow. And I had a feeling that you also know who the Arrow is.”

“Oh.”

“Are you still at your hotel? There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

“Yes, there is.” He said. 

 

“I thought you said you were taking a sick day.” Sara said when she walked into Felicity’s living room to find the blonde hammering away at her keyboard.

“I did. This is Arrow work, not work work.” She answered. “Trying to find out if any traffic or ATM cameras caught a glimpse of our hitman friend as he ran away from the station.”

“And have you?”

“No luck so far, but I don’t know when to give up, so I’m not just gonna stop.” She said. “Even if I can’t find him, I might spot his getaway car or something.”

“Fair enough.”

Half an hour later, while Sara and Nyssa were talking, Felicity let out an excited yell. They, along with Oliver, came rushing into the living room.

“I managed to catch part of our sniper’s face in camera, and a shot of his license plate.” She told them. “The face isn’t enough to make a positive ID, but it’s better than nothing. And the FBI can put a BOLO out on the car. I’m gonna send it to them now.”

“Are you able to follow the vehicle through other cameras?” Nyssa asked.

“I’m certainly gonna try. I’m also still trying to locate his phone.”

Felicity wasn’t able to follow the car all the way back to the sniper’s hideout, but she got pretty far. She sent all of the information she had to the FBI and Coast Guard, with the hopes it would help.

One of the FBI techs ran the partial photo of Deadshot and the database came back with the most likely match: Floyd Lawton.

With a possible name, it wasn’t difficult to start looking into his spending, and they found he’d bought a disposable cell phone three days prior. The purchase led them to the phone, which led them to an address in Starling. 1700 Broadway Pell Hotel. The hotel told them a man matching Lawton’s description had checked into room 52 on Sunday. Anderson took a team to the hotel to apprehend Lawton, while Doyle finally got the warrant for Malcolm Merlyn’s arrest and took a team to Merlyn Mansion to arrest him. By nightfall, there was a chance this whole investigation would be over.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 102

Summary:

Sara and Nyssa adjust to the new normal, Waller learns how badly she messed up and Laurel takes a step in the right direction.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning, Donna was pouring herself a cup of coffee when Thea and Roy walked into the kitchen. They drank their coffee in silence for a bit.

“So, last night was….a lot.” Roy said. “And I don’t just mean the shooting or Sara being alive. The whole thing with the heart monitor was-.”

“How did you know?” Thea asked Donna. “How did you know it was the machine, and that she wasn’t dying?”

“I didn’t. Not at first anyway. But I- do you have any idea how many times Felicity has called me, frustrated, because something she’s working on just wasn’t working right? The coding was fine, but the machine just wasn’t cooperating. I’ve spent hours, if not days, listening to her vent about things like that. So, I thought, maybe it was a hardware problem.” She said. “And I have some first aid training, it's from years ago but I remember some of it. One of the first things they tell you is to make sure a situation’s safe before trying to help. So, I figured, I should make sure Sara’s heartbeat wasn’t erratic or weak before we pulled out the AED. That's why I took her pulse and stopped John before he’d started charging up the paddles.”

“I wonder how Sara’s doing.” Thea said. “She’s probably feeling as off-kilter as the rest of us this morning.”

“I’ll give Felicity a call in about an hour, see if we can come over.”

When Donna spoke to Felicity, she got the impression that Sara wasn’t quite up for visitors yet. She then suggested that Thea and Roy give Digg a call and see if he or Lyla had time to train them. Digg and Lyla didn’t have plans, so they told them to meet them at the foundry.

“Ollie should probably come up with a cover story.” Thea said when they arrived. “So that no one gets suspicious about all of the cars here at weird hours.”

“I’m sure that’s on his to-do list.”

 

“I feel like we should probably talk about your new assignment.” Sara told Nyssa. Earlier, her girlfriend had confided in her the details of her assignment. Sara had been about to ask her questions about it, but Felicity had found something that might lead them to Deadshot, and everyone got distracted. Now, however, she remembered that they needed to discuss it.

“I’ve said everything that needs to be said.”

“Everything except how you feel.” She argued. “You told me what your father ordered you to do, but we haven’t talked about how you feel about it. Your father- Ra’s has essentially exiled you, in all but words, and you’re telling me that doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it bothers me! I have spent my life trying to win my father’s approval, something that I am not sure even exists. I’ve spent my life feeling the need to compensate for being a woman, for not being the way he wanted, and now that he’s found a convenient excuse to get rid of me, he has.” Nyssa said. “Sometimes, I wish he’d actually admit it, how much he hates me. Or actually say the words and exile me from the League of Assassins. Instead, I’ve been given an impossible task.”

“I’m sorry. I just- you seemed so….unbothered by it, by what you told me that- your dad sucks. He sucks a lot.” She finally said.

Ra’s had told Nyssa that her assignment was to pay back the debt the League owed to Oliver. The debt, of course, being the people whose lives had been saved as a result of the Undertaking being stopped. Since the task was based off of what could’ve been, and not something that had happened, she had no idea how she was supposed to repay that debt and her father hadn’t elaborated.

“I’m totally interrupting something, aren’t I?” Felicity asked, stepping into the room with a bundle of clothing in her arms. “I found some clothes that might fit you better, since we have different body types and all that jazz.”

“Thank you.” Nyssa said, taking the clothing. “Though, we don’t plan on intruding in your home for much longer.”

“You aren’t. Intruding, that is.” Felicity said. “We’re friends and you needed a place to stay. You can stay for as long as you want.”

“I don’t understand how both of you, all of you, can be so kind to me, knowing what you now know about me.” She said. It wasn’t just that she was an assassin, or that her father trained Malcolm. She’d told them that she was part of the reason Sara hadn’t come home years ago, but no one seemed to blame her.

“What I know is that you aren’t here to hurt Oliver or anyone else I care about. I know you want to stop Malcolm Merlyn as much as we do. And I know that you care about Sara. The rest, everything to do with the League, that’s not your fault. I can’t hold who your parents are against you. Or, I guess it’s just your father who’s the problem. Anyway, no one’s gonna hold what he did against you.” She sighed. “Look through the clothes, and help yourselves to anything you like. I’m gonna see what the task force is up to.” She walked out of the room, leaving Sara and Nyssa alone.

The couple ended up talking for a while longer. Not about Nyssa’s assignment, but about Sara being released from the League and what that meant, both for the Canary and for Sara Lance. The conversation left Sara with a lot to think about.

 

Anderson, a few FBI agents and a SWAT team entered the Broadway Pell Hotel. The manager informed them that the hotel was mostly vacant, so Anderson gave the go-ahead for SWAT to get positioned in case things got dicey. He and the FBI agents then headed upstairs to the room Lawton was allegedly staying in. After giving everyone the signal, Anderson knocked on the door forcefully.

“Floyd Lawton? This is the FBI. Please exit the room with your hands in full view.” He said. He heard a noise on the other side of the door, but couldn’t identify it. “Mr. Lawton?” 

Anderson turned to one of the SWAT members and nodded. The officer placed the key they’d gotten from the manager into the door and slowly opened it. Entering the room, they found it empty, and the door connecting Lawton’s room to another room wide open.

“Was there any movement?” He asked.

“Some guy with an ice bucket came out of room 53, he saw me and bolted.” The SWAT officer answered.

“That would probably be our suspect.” Anderson said with a sigh. He needed to go talk with the manager and find out why the manager hadn’t thought to mention that rooms 52 and 53 were connected by a door.

“At least we know we got the right guy.” One of the other FBI agents said. Anderson turned and saw his colleague open a trunk. Inside was a high-powered sniper rifle, ammunition and a few photos of Agent Mars.

The hotel manager was very apologetic when Anderson went to discuss the SNAFU with him. He’d misread the blueprint of the hotel and thought rooms 53 and 54 were connected by the interior door, not 52 and 53.

Lawton, meanwhile, removed the handgun he’d hidden in the ice bucket, dumped the bucket into the dumpster behind the hotel and headed towards his back-up hideout. The feds would need to process his hotel room, so he figured he had some time before they put a BOLO out on him.

 

When Agent Doyle arrived at Merlyn Mansion, the housekeeper answered the door. He told the housekeeper that he was a federal agent and had an arrest warrant. The woman immediately stepped out of his way and told him that she’d last seen Malcolm in his home office. Doyle and Rathbone went to check the office, while the other agents went to clear the rest of the house. Malcolm’s office was empty. As was the rest of the house. Doyle pulled the housekeeper aside and asked her when the last time she saw Malcolm was, which was at 8 am. It was now 10:30.

He asked her to check the garage to see if any of the cars were missing. The only car that was missing was a grey sedan, a car Malcolm rarely drove, but was normal enough to avoid too much attention.

Doyle pulled out his phone and called Dinan, telling her to alert the train stations and airports to be on the lookout for Malcolm. He also put an APB out on the car. Then, he called McKenna.

“I know this is a long shot, Hall, but are you with Tommy Merlyn right now?” He asked her as soon as she answered the phone.

“Uh, yes.” She said. “Why?”

“I need you to put him on the phone.”

“Hi, who is this?” Tommy asked him.

“This is Agent Doyle. I work with Agent Dinan.” He said. “We came to your old home to arrest your father, and he appears to have fled. I’d like your permission to search the house for evidence relevant to the investigation.”

“Me? Why-? I mean, do whatever you need to do, I don’t care.” Tommy said. “Tear the place apart if you have to.”

They quickly wrapped up their conversation and Doyle told the other agents with him that they had permission to search the house for evidence against Malcolm. Malcolm’s sedan was found in a random parking lot in the middle of the city, abandoned. 

Malcolm’s plane landed in Corto Maltese and he tried not to look over his shoulder. If he hadn’t learned about Drayson’s arrest, he might’ve stayed in Starling City. He had a feeling Drayson wouldn’t keep any secrets, if it gave him a better position at trial. He’d spill everything he knew about his client and the people he was hired to kill, including Nyssa. The task force he could handle, but he wasn’t going to stick around for Ra’s al Ghul to send the League after him for, among other things, trying to kill his heir.  He needed to act fast, to get everyone’s attention off of him. 

 

Tommy gave McKenna her phone back. “My dad’s disappeared. Doyle wanted permission to search the mansion. I guess he only had an arrest warrant and not a search warrant.”

“He’s doing things by the book. He doesn’t want to risk your father getting acquitted on a technicality.” She said. “We need to talk about Oliver.”

“I’ve only known the truth for about two weeks. I didn’t- I only recently found out, and it didn’t seem like my secret to tell. I also didn’t want to put you in a position where you might have to lie at work. At the time, the warrant was still out for Ollie.” Tommy said.

“Now, I don’t have to lie, and I don’t see a reason to tell anyone. And Sara?”

“We found out the exact moment that you did, that she was alive.” He said. “She and Oliver and Artemis and Harbinger had been patrolling together, but- we knew Artemis’s first name. And Oliver and Harbinger know who each other is, but- yeah, none of us knew that the blonde in the black leather was Sara.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “Now that you know that she’s alive, what are you going to do?” 

His girlfriend didn’t answer.

 

Amanda Waller was not a fool. She was conniving, she was manipulative, but she wasn't an idiot. As a result, she took Eric Graves, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, literally when he told her to tell him everything that had happened since she learned of Oliver’s presence on Lian Yu. Telling him everything took so long that they ended up stopping for the night on Monday and he made her return the following day to finish telling her tale.

“We lost contact with Agents Shaw and Calvin, shortly after they reported that they’d delivered Mr. Queen to Lian Yu. Their plane was shot down by a missile not long after they took off from the island.” Waller said. “And that was the last time I heard of Oliver Queen until he was discovered roughly two years later.” She sat back in her chair, having finished her story.

“What was the purpose behind sending him back to Lian Yu? Were you aware there were people on Lian Yu? Or what they were looking for? Was Queen sent there to go undercover with them?”

“I knew there was a group on the island. They weren’t associated with ARGUS, nor were they persons of interest to us.” She said “I was aware very early on that Oliver Queen wouldn’t make a very good operative for me long term. So, I sent him back to Lian Yu.” It went unsaid that she’d sent him there, hoping the group on the island would kill him, so that he wouldn’t become a problem for ARGUS later.

Graves sat there for a moment before he got up from his desk and approached the door. He said something to his secretary, something Waller couldn’t hear, before returning to his seat.

“I think I should explain to you how completely, utterly, irreparably and colossally you’ve fucked over not only your agency, but this entire Department.” He said. “Because, yes, the US government has sovereign immunity, unless we choose to waive it and Mr. Queen has the influence to make that happen. And then, the civil charges alone could bury you.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked.

“You admitted to knowing, back in 2007, that Oliver Queen was on Lian Yu and you did nothing about it. You gave Fyers orders to do whatever he viewed necessary to accomplish his mission. Meaning Fyers was following your orders when he had Queen tortured. Same thing goes for the murder of Yao Fei Gulong, which he witnessed, and since you left him on that island he also witnessed Shado Gulong’s death. Then, you sent him back to that island, after you no longer needed him in Moscow. All of those events are grounds for him to sue over emotional damages, and breach of contract for the last one. If the Gulongs have a surviving relative, that’s a wrongful death suit waiting to happen.” He said. “And then there are the kidnapping, endangerment, and false imprisonment charges for your actions in Moscow. And the potential rights violations, since you didn’t give Oliver Queen a choice to help you in Moscow and refused to let him leave. And, here’s the thing: because you wanted to keep Mr. Queen’s involvement a secret, you didn’t want a paper trail, so he didn’t get any type of clearance or even sign an NDA. Meaning there’s nothing stopping him from going right to the press with what you did to him. As I said, colossally fucked.”

“Oliver Queen isn’t-.”

“Oliver Queen’s stake in Queen Consolidated, alone, is worth about $7 billion. Not including what he has in the bank, not including other investments or real estate. Just based on what he owns in his family’s company, he’s worth about $7 billion. He’s a popular public figure with a wholesome reputation. Unlike you and me, people actually like him. While he himself hasn’t done much activism or advocacy, he’s brought a lot of attention to topics like PTSD and disability rights. He’s all but married to Felicity Smoak, a self-made millionaire who, among her other accomplishments, plays a key role in maintaining and enhancing national security. Not to mention the applications and devices she’s created in the consumer goods space.”

“She writes computer programs. It’s not like she’s curing cancer.”

“No, but she’s working on something that could help paraplegics walk again. It’s not like she’s the creator of Angry Birds.” He said. “I wouldn’t want to be on either of their bad lists. But now, we probably are. Because of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the task force hasn’t already asked Lyla Michaels how Oliver Queen got from Moscow back to Lian Yu, they will soon. Do you think he’s gonna let that go? Do you think he’s not gonna tell his girlfriend about what you did to him?” Graves asked. “Deputy Director Bell is going to be promoted to acting ARGUS Director until I can explain this to the President and we can select a permanent replacement.”

“You can’t do this to me.”

“It’s already done. And, I don’t know what the previous administration was thinking, but the fact that you were willing to fire on a commercial plane to kill one person is enough to indicate that you’ve lost your perspective and shouldn’t be the director. All of the things you did after the fact only cements my position. Especially since Chien Na Wei was captured, alive and relatively easily, by the FBI and Coast Guard. The task force you sent me a memo about a few weeks back, you’ll be overseeing that, and just that, for the foreseeable future. And I’ve made it very clear to Bell that you won’t be making any final decisions about the task force, so I don’t recommend trying it.”

Waller sat there, and didn’t say anything.

“This meeting is over.” Graves said. “Please leave my office.”

She stood to leave. This was a setback, yes, but she could recover. She’d been knocked down a few places, but she wasn’t out. She just needed to figure out how to get back on top.

“Oh, and one more thing, do not, under any circumstances, go anywhere near Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak or anyone close with either of them. You’ve fucked up enough already, don’t make it worse by poking the bear.”

She kept her composure until she was out of Graves’s office and then stormed out of the building. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Oliver Queen was supposed to die on Lian Yu, not come back to Starling City and ruin her career.

Graves let out a deep breath. Hopefully, now that Waller was demoted, Felicity Smoak would be willing to work with DHS, or at least hear their proposal out.

 

Something Floyd Lawton hadn’t accounted for, and Merlyn hadn’t mentioned, was the size of the FBI and Coast Guard’s presence in Starling. Lawton hadn’t cared about the news coming out of Starling until he got the call from Malcolm, so he’d severely underestimated the number of federal agents in the city. Because there were more agents, analysts and techs than he’d accounted for, they were able to work a lot more quickly than he’d anticipated. They already knew what he looked like and had probably shared his picture with every cop in the city. APBs had already been issued for the vehicle he’d driven to the station. It was only a matter of time before they tracked him down. He’d take one more shot, pun intended, at Mars before splitting town. He had a distraction for the vigilantes already set-up anyway.

Lawton had “bumped into” one of the few members of the Scorpions that had evaded arrest, some thug named Ricardo Diaz. He’d convinced Diaz that the vigilantes, but mostly the Arrow, thought he was nothing. That the reason he hadn’t been arrested wasn’t because there wasn’t evidence against him, but because they didn’t think he was a threat. Lawton repeated the same tactic with a few other gang members in the city, ones who’d avoided being arrested in the sweep a few days earlier. He’d riled Diaz and the others up so much that he could pretty much guarantee they’d lash out, do something drastic. And then, when the vigilantes rushed off to stop Diaz, that’s when he’d strike and kill Mars.

 

By the time lunch time rolled around, Nyssa seemed to be less upset about her assignment and less confused about why everyone had been so nice to her so far. She and Sara were listening to Felicity tell the story of how she met Oliver, when Oliver stood up from his seat next to Felicity.

‘Since you two are guests, I think you should get to pick what we have for lunch.’ He told them. Nyssa told Sara what he’d signed. ‘The only rule is no tree nuts, due to Felicity’s allergy.’

“Ollie, you already made us breakfast. You don’t have to-.”

‘I know. I want to.’ He told her. ‘Anything you’re in the mood for?’

“I could go for some mac and cheese.” She said. Truth be told, she’d been missing mac and cheese for a long time. It was a dish that made her feel like she was home, and she hadn’t had it since before the Gambit sank.

‘I’ll go get started then.’ He said, heading into the kitchen.

“Oh, you made a good choice.” Felicity said. “Oliver’s homemade mac and cheese is amazing.”

“Homemade? He doesn’t- he shouldn’t go to all of that trouble.” She said, standing up. “I’ll go tell him-.”

“Don’t. He loves cooking. He likes sharing his cooking with people.” Felicity said. “Plus, he- cooking is one of the things he does to feel grounded. It gives him something to focus on when he’s dealing with something upsetting or trying to process something difficult, like your survival. Not that you being alive is bad, because it’s not, everyone’s happy you’re alive, but it’s...a lot to process and him making lunch might help him with that. I know it’s a bit odd but-.”

“No, I get it.” She said. “Would lending a hand be a bad move or-?”

“Not at all. Go ahead.”

Sara walked into the kitchen to help Oliver with lunch.

“Does Oliver do a lot of cooking?” Nyssa asked Felicity. She was trying to get a feel for who Oliver was outside of being the Arrow. Learning about one of his hobbies seemed like as good of a place to start as any.

“He cooks every time he has the chance. And he’s a good cook, which is nice considering I only know how to make three things.” Felicity’s culinary skills began and ended with her bubbe’s brisket recipe, sufganiyot and spaghetti with jarred sauce. “Do you cook?”

“There are a few dishes I like to think I’m skilled at making, and the rest I’m mediocre at.” She said. The few things she made well were recipes she’d learned from her mother. “Still, I make do, I suppose.”

They talked until Sara poked her head into the living room and said that lunch was ready. No one asked Sara or Oliver what they’d talked about while they were alone, but based on their behavior, it seemed they’d had a chance to clear the air.

“Felicity, I wanna apologize for what Laurel-.”

“It’s not your fault.” She said. “You can’t control the actions of other people. It’s- so, my philosophy when it comes to conflict is this: I’ll own the crap that I did, but I’m not gonna own or apologize for crap that you did. And that’s kinda how I see Laurel’s actions. You don’t have to apologize for her, your mother doesn’t have to apologize for her.”

“Fair enough.”

They ate lunch with some sporadic conversation. After lunch, Sara asked if she could borrow Felicity’s car, which Felicity was more than happy to lend her.

 

“Ooh, looks like Looney Lance is done pretending she’s better than the rest of us.” One of the inmates exclaimed when she walked out of the prison therapist’s office and saw Laurel sitting there.

“Our time is over for today, Ms. Morris.” The therapist said, straightening her glasses. “Please come in, Ms. Lance.”

Laurel took a deep breath and walked into the room. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, what other programs that she might take part in, but her mother’s visit made her realize that she needed to talk to someone. She wouldn’t admit that she needed therapy, but the chance to talk to someone about her feelings couldn’t hurt, as far as she was concerned.

“So, Laurel- may I call you Laurel?” The therapist asked.

“Laurel’s fine.” She responded. She was just happy she wasn’t being called “Inmate”, “Lance” or “Looney Lance”.

“Laurel, then, what brings you here?”

“Doesn’t everyone know why I’m in here?”

“I know why you are at Cassidy Penn, yes. I’m asking what made you decide to come speak with me.” She said. “Is there something you’d like to discuss in particular or do you just want to chat? It can be about whatever you’d like.”

 

Susan Williams had a vindictive smile on her face as she got an idea for her latest segment. Yesterday, she’d eagerly answered a call from Queen Consolidated’s PR department. She expected it to be Daniel Correll finally calling to congratulate her and inform her that she’d won the interview with Oliver Queen. Instead, it was a different member of the department, informing her that the company had decided to choose someone else to interview Oliver.

To say that she was unhappy would be an understatement. They chose someone else. How could they choose someone else? Who else was qualified to interview Oliver Queen? There were other reporters in town, yes, but none would do as good of a job at the interview than she would. 

Initially, she thought about doing another piece on QC or the Queen family, to prove she was the right choice. One of the other reporters hinted that doing that might not be a good idea. It might make her seem pushy and then she might ruin her chances to ever work with the company again. Instead, she decided to go in a different direction. If she couldn’t get the Queen interview, that didn’t mean she couldn’t use the family to boost her own profile.

 

Samantha Clayton had spoken with Barb Whitmore, William’s babysitter’s mother, on Monday and explained the strange situation she found herself in. Barb agreed to be present at William’s first meeting with Oliver, which Samantha had passed along to her attorney. Tuesday afternoon, she received a call from her lawyer Camille.

“I need to know Mrs. Whitmore’s availability so that I can pass it onto Oliver Queen’s lawyers.” She said. “Did she tell you when she’s available or-?”

“I forgot to ask. I’m sorry. This whole situation is-.”

“It’s stressful, I understand that.” She said. “Please find out, when you can, and let me know. I’ve been informed that, whenever this meeting happens, Oliver, his sister and his girlfriend will be coming.”

“Do all three-?”

“They don’t have to, no. But it’s a reasonable request. William will be spending time with Thea Queen and Felicity Smoak when he sees Oliver in the future. And, to be blunt, this isn’t the hill we want to die on. Not this early in the process.”

“Understood. I’ll text Barb and let you know what she tells me.”

 

Sara took a very deep breath as she looked up at the building in front of her. While it wasn’t now or never, she knew if she drove away, it would be a long time before she gathered the courage to come back here. “C’mon, you can do this.” She told herself before taking a step forward and walking into the building.

She learned a long time ago that the key to blending in was looking like you belonged, so she walked confidently and appeared like she knew where she was going. She made her way upstairs and easily found the people she was looking for. She entered the room and cleared her throat.

“Hello, my name is Sara Lance.” She said, sounding more confident than she felt. “I was hoping to speak with Agent Dinan.”

Several people stared at her, in silence, until finally, one woman stood up from a desk. “I’m Agent Dinan.” She said. “Why don’t we talk in there?” She gestured to an office that wasn’t being used and would allow them some privacy.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 103

Summary:

Sara gets to tell her story and is reunited with someone she's been missing a lot.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Hello, my name is Sara Lance.” Sara said, sounding more confident than she felt. She was standing in the bullpen where the federal task force had been working. “I was hoping to speak with Agent Dinan.”

Several people stared at her, in silence, until finally, one woman stood up from a desk. “I’m Agent Dinan.” She said. “Why don’t we talk in there?” She gestured to an office that wasn’t being used and would allow them some privacy. 

Sara followed her into the office and took a seat. “You don’t seem very surprised that I’m, you know, alive.”

“Six months ago, I would’ve been, but then Oliver Queen was found alive. And he said he saw you and Slade Wilson die, only for the Australian government to inform us that Mr. Wilson was also alive. So, I knew that there was a chance.” She said.

“Let me guess. You want me to start going over everything that’s happened in the last five and a half years.” Sara said.

“I’m not going to ask you to share more than you’re willing to.” Dinan said. “I’m interested mostly in the period between the Queen’s Gambit sinking and the destruction of the Amazo. And a few questions beyond that.” Between Slade and Oliver, the task force already had a pretty solid idea of what happened with Ivo and his search for Mirakuru, but having Sara’s statement would confirm theirs. Dinan was also hoping to get some kind of indication as to why Sara hadn’t come home before now. Had she been in hiding? Was she afraid? “I suppose I should start by asking why you’ve come forward now and how you knew to ask to speak to me.”

“I, uh, when the Amazo blew up, I was thrown out in the middle of the ocean. I can’t really remember if I clung to a piece of debris or if I saw land and tried to swim towards it or what, but I was found by a woman who was sailing around the North China Sea a few weeks later and I was in really bad shape, starving and dehydrated.” Sara was a good liar, but she didn’t want to risk messing up some minor detail later, so she tried to be as truthful now as possible. “She took me back to her home and nursed me back to health, which took weeks. She’s actually now my girlfriend.” She said with a small smile. Dinan was writing notes as she spoke. “When I was healthy, I planned on going home, but there wasn’t any news about Ollie being found or anything. And that terrified me. I didn’t want to- the world thought I was dead and if I came back, there’d be all of these questions and I didn’t know- I was in a really bad place, and I thought staying dead was better. I know it sounds cruel to do to my family, but-.” Sara took a few deep breaths. “News of Ollie being found took awhile to reach the place where I’d been living. It took weeks for Nyssa and I, Nyssa’s my girlfriend, to get here. We actually arrived a few days ago and- and I needed to find Oliver and explain before I did anything else, which I did. And then Felicity suggested that I come here.” It was surprising to Sara that nothing she’d said so far was a lie, aside from when she got to Starling. “She mentioned you by name and said you were part of the group investigating the Queen’s Gambit.”

“You’ve already reunited with Oliver?”

“Yeah, he, uh, he was shocked at first, understandably. I knew- I knew when I came forward that it would be big news, and I I didn’t want him to find out from the press. Nyssa and I are actually staying with him and Felicity.”

Dinan wrote a few more things down in her notes before looking at Sara. “All of that makes sense to me, and I’m glad you were able to reconnect with Oliver.” She sighed. “If you feel up to discussing what happened prior to meeting Nyssa, can you tell me what you remember from the night of September 27, 2007, the night the Queen's Gambit sank?”

“I don’t- when the yacht started sinking during that storm, everything happened really fast. Ollie and I were in his cabin and then the next thing I knew, the room was filling with water. A second later, I was alone in the middle of the ocean. I saw a piece of debris floating a few yards away and I swam towards it. It was the door to one of the cabins. I pulled myself onto it and passed out. When I woke up, the crew of the Amazo was fishing me out of the water.”

“The sinking of the Queen’s Gambit wasn’t an accident or an act of God as we first thought. It was-.”

“Sabotaged, I know. I, uh, I saw the press conference, much later than most people because of where I was, but- but I know it was sabotaged. You don’t have to break that news to me.” She said. She cleared her throat and prepared to continue her story. “When the Amazo pulled me out of the water, I was terrified.” 

 

When Sara asked to borrow Felicity’s car, the blonde assumed she was going to clear out the safehouse she and Nyssa had been using. After Sara had been gone for over an hour, she was starting to worry that something might’ve happened.

“Did Sara say where she was going?” She asked. Oliver shook his head.

“She was planning on gathering our possessions, except for our weaponry, from our hideout. After that, she was going to pay Agent Dinan a visit.” Nyssa said. “Now that you know she’s alive, she felt that she might as well reveal her survival to others. I know she’s missed her family dearly.”

‘Is she sure she’s ready for that?’ Oliver asked. He knew she’d been in town for at least a week, but she’d only revealed herself the night before. ‘It’s taxing, having to relive that period of time.’

“She may not share her full story today, Slade Wilson needed two days to tell his, but when we spoke this morning, she seemed to realize that in order to start this new chapter in her life, she needed to legally come back from the dead. And, I believe, since she knew she’d need to tell the task force her story at some point anyway, she wanted to “get it over with” as quickly as possible.”

“Do you know what her story is? About where she’s been?” Felicity asked. “Because I know everyone’s gonna ask her that.”

“She felt that it would be best if she stuck as close to the truth as possible, to avoid any slip-ups. Her story is that I found her, nursed her back to health and she lived with me for the next few years, as she was scared of what might happen if she returned.” She said. “That is essentially what happened with certain details omitted.”

“Fair enough. I’m just happy that she’s home and you’re here with her and everyone’s happy, and for once, things seem to be going okay.” She said. “But saying that, I probably just jinxed everything.”

“I doubt that.” Nyssa said. “I suppose we should see how it’s going. I will go get my computer.” She stood up and walked into the guest bedroom, returning with an older model laptop. She opened it and the sound of conversations filled the air. None of the voices seemed to be Sara’s. She rewound a bit and heard Dinan offer to speak with Sara in another room. “Ah, she wanted to give her some privacy. How kind of her.”

‘How did you manage to bug their office anyway?’ Oliver asked Nyssa.

“An assassin who came here with me, and left when Sara arrived, dressed as a custodian and hid it. Most people pay very little attention to workmen and cleaning staff.”

 

After Tommy finished explaining what he could to McKenna, they sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments. The silence was broken when she burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“I can’t believe Lance was right.” She said.

“Right about what?”

“He had this theory that Oliver was the Arrow. And, he was right. Everyone thought it was just some crackpot idea. He didn’t have any proof.”

“Why did he think Ollie was the Arrow then?”

“He hated both of them, so having them be the same person made sense to him. The only real argument that could be made was that the Arrow showed up shortly after Oliver was found.” She said. “Most of the cops on the vigilante task force took him about as seriously as the guy who called in and said the Arrow was actually Elvis. Or a shapeshifter from Venus.”

“Venus? Most people would say Mars.”

“Oh, we got plenty of those tips too.” She said. “The most disturbing theory, though, came from your father. He thinks Robert Queen is the Arrow.”

“Robert’s dead. Ollie saw his body. He watched him die.”

“I know that and you know that, but your father is insane and thinks Oliver’s lying and that Robert faked his death in order to become the Arrow.” She said. “I hope we catch him soon. He’s too dangerous to be out in the world. I know he’s your dad but-.”

“Him being my father stopped meaning anything to me the day he told me he was happy my mother was dead because she’d be ashamed of me.” He said. 

 

Sara cleared her throat as she reached the point in her story when Oliver was brought aboard the Amazo for the first time. She’d covered everything she witnessed between the Gambit sinking and reuniting with Oliver again. The parts she still had to tell were the hardest parts to relive.

“Can I- would it be okay if I told ypu the rest another day?” She asked Dinan. “I know some of this stuff might be important, but-.”

“No, we don’t have to cover everything today.” She said. “Thank you for what you’ve been able to tell me so far.”

Sara gave her a tight smile. “Can I….I kinda need a favor. I don’t- my family should probably learn that I’m alive before it gets to the press, but I- my mom’s in Central City and I don’t know if my dad lives in the same apartment and, even if he did, I can’t just show up because he might have a heart attack.” She knew that Quentin hadn't moved and what hotel Dinah was in, but had to feign ignorance. “Ollie already told me about what happened with Laurel, but I’m wondering if you can have someone call my mom or have my dad come down here. So that they’re not blindsided.”

“Your mother is actually currently in Starling. I’ll have agents call them and ask them to come down here.” Dinan said. “I can send an agent to the prison where she’s currently serving time, if you-.”

“No, I think it’ll be easier if my dad breaks that news to her.”

Dinan asked a passing agent to call Quentin and Dinah, telling him to inform them that Dinan had news about Sara that she wanted to tell them in person. The agent returned after 15 minutes and said both Lances would be there in 30 minutes.

 

Mars, Rathbone and Reeves stood in front of a whiteboard. Over the last few weeks, they’d been putting together everything they knew about the vigilantes. If they were going to work with the vigilantes and get evidence from them, they needed to know who everyone was, at least what their code names were, and how the group operated. Aside from the Arrow, they only had descriptions of the vigilantes.

“Okay, Mars, the one who pushed you out of the way of the bullet was-.” Reeves said.

“The blonde woman in black leather, who we now know is the Canary.” She said. 

“Okay. Blonde dominatrix is the Canary, got it.” He said as he erased “dominatrix with a stick” and wrote “Canary”. He added a few extra notes. “And the person with her was who?”

“Female archer in black and green. The one who looks like she shops at the same place as the Arrow.” She said. “And according to the call we had with the Arrow, she goes by Harbinger.”

“Meaning the “ninja Disney princess” must be Artemis.” He said, updating the board. “Plus, there’s Overwatch, who hasn’t been seen yet.”

“Well, at least we know their names now.” Rathbone said.

In Felicity’s living room, Nyssa turned to her hosts and asked what a dominatrix was. Felicity started sputtering and said she’d explain later. She did explain the Disney princess comment, though.

 

Thea groaned as she fell forward. For the last several hours, she and Roy had been getting training from Lyla and Digg. They decided to start with some basic moves and self-defense. She felt like she was spending more time falling onto the training mats than actually learning how to fight, or at least defend herself.

“Seriously, how does Ollie do this every night?” She asked as Lyla helped her up.

“Well, he’s had a lot, a lot, of practice and he has a lot of experience. He didn’t just wake up one day as a complete badass. Remember that you’re a beginner.” Lyla responded.

“And you’re doing better than the kid when he first started, though I’m not gonna tell him that.” Slade said from the stairs. He’d only arrived a few moments earlier. “But I agree with Michaels. You’re not doing bad, for your first day.”

“I’m gonna be sore tomorrow.”

“That’s just your body adjusting to being used in a different way than normal.” He said, before heading over to where his swords were stored. Even though he didn’t foresee using them soon, he wanted to make sure they were in good condition.

He’d met with Dinah for coffee but she got a call while they were talking and rushed off. Slade wasn’t sure, but the voice on the other end of the phone sounded a lot like one of the task force agents.

 

Quentin and Dinah ran into each other when they entered the lobby of the SCPD precinct. Each asked the other if they knew what this was about, but they’d been told the same information, so they didn’t have anything to share. 

“Do you think- I mean, what if they found her body?” Dinah asked.

“It’s been five years, Di.”

“I know that, but I- I don’t think Agent Dinan would ask us to come here unless they either found something or needed to tell us something.” She said. “And I’ve got- I don’t wanna call it a good feeling, but it feels important.”

Quentin had never believed in Dinah’s “feelings” about certain things, and now didn’t seem like a good moment to reignite that debate. Those “feelings” were part of why they’d gotten divorced, as it took Dinah longer than anyone else to accept that Sara was dead. She kept saying that she could feel that she was still alive. 

They walked together in silence until they reached the bullpen and Quentin asked a passing agent where Dinan was. Dinan was called over and led the pair to a corner of the busy room, stopping in front of a closed door.

“I apologize for Agent Morales not giving you much detail when he called you. I asked him to do that, because the situation is very sensitive and I felt that what I needed to tell you shouldn’t be shared over the phone.” She said. “I had a visitor earlier today, who-.”

“This is about Sara, then.” Dinah said. “I- did you find her? You found her body, didn’t you?”

Dinan put her hand on the doorknob and began to turn it. “No, we didn’t find her body.” She said. “Because she walked in here and asked to speak with me.” She nudged the door open and both Lances saw Sara sitting on the other side. 

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” Sara said.

Quentin started to list to the side and had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over. Dinah, meanwhile, burst into tears and ran forward to hug her daughter. Sara hugged her mom back and didn’t let go for a few minutes.

“I’m gonna give you three some privacy.” Dinan said, heading back to her desk.

After a very emotional few hours, Sara left the police station. Dinah and Quentin kept offering to let her stay with them, but she told them she had a place to stay already. She promised to see both of them in the next few days, after the shock wore off.

When she returned to Felicity’s house, Felicity, Oliver and Nyssa were in the living room waiting for her. “So, how did it go?” Felicity asked.

“Great. It went- I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in years, but it was a happy cry. And my parents, they were so- I didn’t realize how much I missed them.”

“Oh, beloved.” Nyssa said as she moved forward to comfort her girlfriend. “I’m happy it went well.”

“I told them about you. They wanna meet you.” She said. 

“They do?”

“Of course they do.”

“Oh, yay! I’m so glad it went well and you’re happy and your parents are happy and- I just love it when good things happen.” Felicity said. 

‘Felicity, can you come help me with something?’ Oliver asked. She nodded and followed him into their room. He thought Nyssa and Sara might want some privacy, and while he enjoyed spending the day with them, he also wanted some alone time with his girlfriend. After he closed the door behind them, he gave her a fake serious look. ‘I have not gotten nearly enough Felicity kisses today. I think I might be going into withdrawal.’

“Oh, you poor thing.” She teased. “We wouldn’t want that to happen.” She got onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

“Did they leave us here to make out?” Sara asked Nyssa.

“To give us privacy, I think. I also think we should perhaps follow their lead and enjoy our own alone time.” She said, giving her girlfriend a kiss. “What’s a dominatrix?”

Sara burst out laughing at how innocent Nyssa sounded when she asked that and once she calmed down, explained it to her girlfriend.

 

After dinner, Oliver, Felicity, Sara and Nyssa went to the foundry. Everyone else on Team Oliver was there and Walter got to see that Sara was alive for the first time. He welcomed her back and was happy she was alive. Sara told everyone what she’d told Agent Dinan and that her parents, but not Laurel, knew she was alive. She anticipated her return making the news in the next few days. 

“Um, there’s something you guys should probably know.” Tommy said.

“We already know that your father escaped arrest.” Lyla said. “It's been all over the news.”

“It’s not about him.” He said. “So, as you all know, McKenna has been kinda a liaison for the federal task force for the last few weeks. When Mars was shot at, she was one of the officers who was working the scene, looking for clues and so on. She, uh, she followed Sara and Lyla after Mars was rushed inside. And she heard Sara’s comments to Ollie, and that she called the Arrow Ollie.”

‘She knows that Sara’s alive and that I’m the Arrow.’ Oliver said. ‘What did she think of that?’

“I mean, she didn’t seem angry or like she was gonna turn you in. The SCPD retracted the arrest warrant on the Arrow, so- I think she wanted me to know that she knew. At least for now. I didn’t- bringing her here before I told you that she knew seemed like a dick move, so yeah.”

The group talked and decided that they’d give McKenna some time to process the news before approaching her and giving her the official introduction. She’d be reflecting on a lot of recent events and they didn’t want to dump too much on her at once.

“She also told me that my dad thinks Robert is the Arrow.” He said. “He thinks Robert faked his death and-.” A long silence filled the air.

“I believe that may be my doing.” Nyssa said. “Inadvertently. I’m not sure why Malcolm believes I trained Oliver, but he believes the Arrow is a former student of mine, or someone like me. Sara, do you remember our visit to Merlyn’s home not long ago?”

“Yes. He said he knew Robert was the Arrow. You said Robert was dead, and-oh.” Sara said. “Now I see it.”

“Wanna fill the rest of us in?” Digg asked.

“When someone becomes a pupil of my father, they give up their former life. A common mantra pupils are told to repeat is saying the person they were is dead. For example, “Sara Lance is dead. She is alive only in the past. Only Taer Al Safher remains”. Merlyn likely believes I was referring to death in that sense. That “Robert Queen” was dead, but has been reborn as the Arrow. I apologize for leading him to believe that.”

‘He probably already believed it anyway, and twisted what you said to fit his idea.’ Oliver said. ‘Malcolm’s a problem, but he’s not our biggest one right now. We need to take care of Floyd Lawton and make sure Agent Mars is safe.’

While Sara, Nyssa, Lyla, Oliver and Slade suited up and went out on patrol, Felicity got to work trying to find Lawton. The hotel he’d fled was his usual hide out when he was in Starling on a contract, but she was sure he had a back-up hideout or an ally of some kind willing to let him lay low with him for a few days. He appeared to have tossed his phone, but that wasn’t the only way that she could track someone.

“Kinda surprised you didn’t wanna join them tonight.” Tommy told Digg. “I mean, Deadshot killed your brother.”

“That’s why I’m not. I want justice for Andy, but I don’t think it's a good idea for me to be out there, trying to find him. I’m worried I’ll see him and lose any sense of logic and someone will get hurt as a result.” 

“Fair enough.”

 

Patrol started off quiet enough. The vigilantes were focused on finding Lawton. Then, the clock struck nine and everything went sideways.

“Um, guys, we’ve got several problems.” Felicity told them over the comms. “SCFD just reported that there’s an apartment fire on Wells Street with the closest fire truck fifteen minutes out. They could’ve been there already to battle the flames, but the remaining members of the Culebras have barricaded off the most direct route and keep firing at anyone who tries to get close. A few errant Scorpions stormed into a nightclub on 8th and are demanding the Arrow face them or they’ll start killing hostages. Plus, Deadshot’s still out there.”

“Is the SCPD responding to these situations?” Sara asked.

“They are, but- the building’s burning, there are people trapped inside and the department doesn’t have the manpower ready to mobilize to deal with both situations at once. And the nightclub isn’t ideal for a SWAT raid.” She said. “What do we do?”

“Call the SCPD and find out where they need us.” Lyla said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Since next week is Christmas, I won't be uploading a chapter.

Chapter 104

Summary:

Team Arrow deals with two very stressful and dangerous situations with lives at stake.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Um, guys, we’ve got several problems.” Felicity told Oliver, Lyla, Sara, Nyssa and Slade over the comms. “SCFD just reported that there’s an apartment fire on Wells Street with the closest fire truck fifteen minutes out. They could’ve been there already to battle the flames, but the remaining members of the Culebras have barricaded off the most direct route and keep firing at anyone who tries to get close. A few errant Scorpions stormed into a nightclub on 8th and are demanding the Arrow face them or they’ll start killing hostages. Plus, Deadshot’s still out there.”

“Is the SCPD responding to these situations?” Sara asked.

“They are, but- the building’s burning, there are people trapped inside and the department doesn’t have the manpower ready to mobilize to deal with both situations at once. And the nightclub isn’t ideal for a SWAT raid.” She said. “What do we do?”

“Call the SCPD and find out where they need us.” Lyla said.

Digg called McKenna and didn’t have time to greet her before she started speaking. “Are you calling about the fire or the nightclub?”

“Both.” He said. “As well as the situation with Agent Mars.”

“Mars has a number of agents watching her back and very specific instructions not to leave her current location unless absolutely necessary.” She said.

“That’s good to know. We want to help in any way we can.” He said. “Where do you need us most?”

“Are the four of you willing to split up?”

“Five, actually. Guardian's been around but he hasn't made himself known as much.”

“Call me back in ten minutes and I’ll tell you what the responding officers need.” She said before hanging up.

“Guardian?” Slade asked over the comms. They’d been listening in on the phone conversation.

“You didn’t have a codename yet and I certainly wasn’t going to use your real name.” Digg said.

“Eh, I guess that’s as good of a name as any. Better than just “the Hood”.”

“Why do you think Arrow left that note at the one crime scene?” Lyla asked. “Because he hated being called the Hood.”

“Well, while we’re waiting, I managed to get a better picture of what’s going on at both scenes.” Felicity said. “The fire’s on the news, so getting into the feeds was a little simpler than seeing what’s happening at the nightclub, but- The fire started on the top floor and its burning its way down which is slightly better than the alternative, because the building’s foundations are still intact, meaning there’s less likelihood of a collapse. The Culebras are mostly using vehicles, probably stolen, and a few dumpsters, which they’ve set on fire for some reason, to barricade the path to the apartment building coming northbound. There’s construction going on in the other direction. They seem to just be sitting there, on the second and third floors of the building next to the apartment complex and another across the street, firing at anyone who tries to get to the building. City zoning shows one building’s an abandoned office center and the other’s an unused warehouse.”

“What about the residents fleeing the fire?” Nyssa asked.

“They don’t seem to care about them as long as they don’t get in the way. Everyone I’ve seen run out of the building has run away from the gang members, and they don’t care enough to try and stop them.” She said typing. “I’m not an expert on firearms, but they seem to mostly be using normal guns, with a few assault rifles here and there.”

“What’s that?” Roy said, pointing to something on Felicity’s monitor.

“Oh, you have keen eyes.” She said. “There seem to be a few gang members holed up on the top floor of the building across the street. Not the roof, the top floor. One of them just peeked his head out of the window.”

“Probably to deter the use of a SWAT sniper.” Sara said. “It would be harder for one to get into position without being seen. A few officers have already been shot and they’re stuck out in the open.”

 

Frank Pike was not having a very good night. Normally, an apartment fire wouldn’t be such a big deal, but a gang was actively stopping the fire department from fighting the fire. On top of that, there was a hostage situation across town. Since Pike couldn’t be in two places at once, he was on the site of the fire and communicating with Captain Stein, who was overseeing the hostage call. Pike walked up to the SWAT team leader, Matt Rodriguez. "What's the situation, Matt?"

"Worse than anything I've ever seen, Frank. We got about twenty-five gangbangers, dug in on both sides of the street like an Alabama tick, on the second and third floors and in the upper windows, and they have enough automatic weapons and ammo to re-enact Desert Storm."

"Who's screaming out there?"

He ran a hand over his face. "Two of my guys who got hit on our first attempt to dig those bastards out. They're stuck out in the open. We've made three attempts to rescue them, but we just took more casualties."

"How many, how bad?"

"Seven total, two critical. I got air support inbound with a sniper team aboard: when they get here, we'll try again. The snipers will provide aerial fire support and get the bastards' heads down so the rest of my guys can affect entry to the target buildings, then we'll clear them out room-by-room."

"What about your other sniper teams, on the ground?"

"They're still trying to find firing positions with clear lines-of-sight on the targets: they need another twelve or thirteen minutes to get set up, maybe more, and we don't have them."

"Listen up, lawmen!" A voice yelled through a bullhorn

Rodriguez rolled his eyes. "Great... the shock jock's on the air again."

"We want a billion bucks! Ain't nobody getting up Wells Street 'less they pay the toll! You pay in cash, else you pay it--" A few gang members began firing into the air. "--in blood!"

"Unbelievable! What kind of parasite makes a buck off his neighbors' lives like this?!" Pike said. He looked around and spotted McKenna getting out of her car. “Hall! What the hell are you doing here?”

“Dispatch said you’d be here.”

 

Lawton had been watching the news very closely for the last day. He debated leaving town, but decided to try one more time before calling the job off. He’d tried his usual sniper tactics once and failed. He didn’t want to push his luck a second time. This called for a more direct approach. He picked up his phone and dialed.

“Hello.” He said. “My girlfriend is staying in your hotel and I want to surprise her for our anniversary. I’m wondering if you can tell me her room number? I’d like to have something delivered tomorrow.”

“Can I get her name so that I can confirm if she’s staying at this location, please?” The front desk clerk asked. “We sometimes get calls for guests at other hotels that are part of this chain.”

He gave the woman her name and was told there were no guests by that name there. He hung up the phone and dialed the number for the next hotel listed in the phonebook. After a few hours, he found the hotel Mars was staying in and got her room number.

News about the apartment fire broke around 9. The Scorpions taking a bunch of people hostage in a club broke a few minutes later. As soon as he was sure the police were occupied, he left to kill her.

 

“What about the nightclub?” Lyla asked Felicity after she finished telling them about the fire.

“Well, the Scorpion’s leader is live-streaming his speech, but I was able to get other angles.” She began typing furiously. “They didn’t smash the cameras. It looks like they just forced the manager, at gunpoint, to shut them off. I turned them back on, but the indicator light’s off, so they don’t know that. I was able to access the club’s wi-fi router. I’m once again, reluctantly, thankful for the existence of Instagram because if club-goers weren’t so obsessed with posting their night out, the club might not have a router this….adaptable. And I used it to get into the club’s systems and every Bluetooth device in the building, most importantly cell phones. I can now see, hear and read everything that’s happening in the club.”

“How many?”

“Seven, maybe eight.” She said. “We have the leader, who I can’t ID because he’s wearing a mask but has a neck tattoo that might be in some database. Anyway, there’s the leader,  six scary-looking guys with guns. Not big guns, but guns. Some are watching the hostages, some are getting ready for you guys to show up. And the person filming the leader, although I haven’t been able to see the person holding the camera yet, it’s a bad angle, so I’m not sure if it's one of the Scorpions or a hostage being forced to film it.”

“Are you okay?” Lyla asked her. “I know this might….bring back some unpleasant memories.” It had been about six weeks since Malcolm Merlyn's attack on Applied Sciences, and even though Felicity was safe in the foundry, that didn't mean this whole situation wouldn't trigger something for her.

“I’m good. I’m fine.” She said. “You don't need to worry about me.”

“Booby-traps?” Sara asked.

“Not that I can see.”

“It’s been ten minutes. I’m going to give McKenna another call.” Digg said. He dialed the phone and a few moments later, she answered. “You said to call in ten minutes.”

“Acting Commissioner Pike wants to speak with you.” She said. “I’m gonna put him on the phone.”

“Is this the Arrow?” Pike asked.

“Yes, it is.”

“SWAT’s telling me the nightclub is a no-go because of the layout. And they’ve got no way of knowing what kinda traps might’ve been set. If they breach, we could lose everyone in that building, and that’s not an acceptable loss. I’ve also got a building that’s burning down, a few dozen people are unaccounted for, and some gangbangers are shooting at anyone who gets too close.” He said. “I’ve been skeptical about you and your buddies thus far. You’re not cops. I don’t know who you are, but-.”

“We can discuss what this means later.” Digg said. “What do you need from us?”

A few moments later, Digg got off the phone and gave everyone their marching orders.

“Slade’s not out there in just a hoodie or something, is he?” Donna asked. “I know he doesn’t have a secret vigilante suit, but-.”

“He made one this afternoon.” Thea said. “Ollie and Lyla had a bunch of spare parts and materials so he was able to throw one together. I don’t know much about body armor, but he seemed to think it would do the job.”

“It will. When Oliver bought the material, including the Kevlar, to make his suit, he bought the really good, expensive stuff.” Felicity said,

 

Oliver and Lyla slowed their strides as they neared the nightclub. Since the leader of the Scorpions, who Felicity thought might be Ricardo Diaz because of a tattoo she saw on his neck, was insisting on fighting the Arrow, the team decided to give him what he wanted. He needed to incapacitate Diaz so that SWAT could enter and clear the building. With Diaz’s focus on Oliver, Lyla was going to sneak into the club through the back entrance and take down as many Scorpions as she could.

‘You ready?’ He asked her.

“Yup. Just like Minsk.” She said, referencing one of their “milk runs” from Russia that had been very successful. 

“You might wanna try the arrows with the three green rings above the fletching.” Felicity said. “I’ve been working on it for a bit, and I think it’ll come in handy.”

Lyla and Oliver gave each other looks, each wondering if the other knew what Felicity was referring to. They didn’t, but shrugged and went to get into position.

 

“Remind me why we came here again?” Madison Danforth asked Mandy, Thea’s frenemy from school. Mandy had insisted that they come to the club, and Jessica agreed. Unfortunately, she let Mandy pick the nightclub and now they were both hostages.

“Did I say you could talk?!” One of the Scorpions yelled while he waved his gun around. “That’s what I thought.”

“If we die, I’m never talking to you again.” She hissed.

“Please. The cops are gonna rush in at any moment and save us.” Mandy said. “And then, they’ll give themselves a bunch of medals for it, even though it's their job. I hope some of them are hot and single.”

Madison rolled her eyes. She looked to the left, where the leader of the Scorpions seemed to be talking to himself.

“Think I’m nothing, will you? I wasn’t worth your time. Well, I’m worth your time now.” He said. “Not only am I gonna kill you. I’m gonna make sure the whole city sees me kill you.” The club was silent, so his voice carried and was impossible to ignore. There was a pounding on the door and then a voice.

“This is the Arrow. You wanted me to face you? Well, I’m here.” A voice shouted.

The gang leader nodded to one of his followers, who moved the furniture blocking the door and opened it. When the man got back into position, the leader called out. ‘It’s open. Come on in.”

The door creaked open and the Arrow walked into the building. She was a bit surprised it was actually him. She expected it to be a trick by the police. He was taller than she thought he’d be.

“Nice of you to finally show up.” The man said. He gestured to the Scorpion who’d been filming him the whole time. “Wave to the citizens of Star-.”

As soon as the Arrow was close enough to the leader to fire an arrow, he did. The first arrow he fired hit the man in the shoulder and he started twitching. A taser arrow. Before the other gang members could react, he fired a second arrow, which wrapped around his legs and left him dangling from one of the rafters in the club.

The other gang members began to raise their weapons, but before they could, an arrow was fired from the other side of the room. It landed in the middle of the floor and all of the guns came flying out of their hands and attached to the arrow.

“Ha. Magnetic arrow.” Lyla commented. She was wondering what Felicity’s mystery arrow did.

She and Oliver began fighting the unarmed Scorpions and, once they’d restrained most of them, Digg told the SWAT team that they were free to move in.

“That was perfect timing, Harbinger.” The Arrow said before turning to face his partner and the hostages. 

“Don't mention it.” She said, holding her fist out for a fist-bump which Oliver provided.

They turned to go, but Oliver stopped at the last moment. The gang leader was still hanging there, yelling out threats. Oliver walked over to him and pulled his mask off. It turned out to be Ricardo Diaz, as Felicity guessed based on his neck tattoo. The two vigilantes left the nightclub, feeling satisfied that Diaz was defeated and due to his own ego, his defeat had been live-streamed for all to see.

With the hostage situation over, Oliver and Lyla turned towards the direction of the fire.

 

“Really? That’s it?” Cisco Ramon yelled at the screen.

“Are you really watching a superhero movie when you’re supposed to be working?” Caitlin Snow, his coworker, asked him. She found him and her fiance Ronnie watching something on Cisco’s computer. “Dr. Wells gave us permission to work here late, not for a movie marathon. The particle accelerator is scheduled to be tested later this year and you’re-.”

“It’s not a movie, Cait.” Ronnie said. “It was a live feed of a hostage situation in Starling City that the Arrow just ended.”

“Who would live stream that?”

“The nutjob who took a bunch of people hostage.” Cisco said. “Well, that’s over now. Back to work, I guess.”

 

“Now that the hostages are safe and I can kinda laugh at the situation, did that guy really do the exact same thing that Tommy’s dad did?” Roy asked. “I mean, he held a bunch of people hostage and threatened to kill them if the Arrow didn’t show up.”

“And he live-streamed it. Meaning everyone saw him get his ass kicked.” Thea added.

“How stupid can you be?” Tommy asked. “Because he clearly didn’t learn anything from what my dad did. Not that I want bad guys getting smarter, but- that was a cool trick with the arrow. When did Ollie make that?”

“We’ve been working on it for a week or so.” Felicity said, not taking her eyes off of her computer. “Tonight was the first time anyone used it. One down, one to go.”

“Am I oblivious or have I never heard of the Culebras before?” He asked.

“Slowly and surely, over his first few months, Oliver and maybe Nyssa and Lyla, whittled down their numbers during normal patrols.” Roy said.

 

While Oliver and Lyla were dealing with the nightclub, Sara, Nyssa and Slade were tasked with neutralizing as many of the Culebras as possible so that the SCPD and SCFD could finally get near the apartment fire and start battling the flames. The gang, while they had a good barricade and the numbers to defend it, wasn’t very intelligent. They were so focused on the barricade that they didn’t have anyone acting as a lookout for the surrounding streets. It was therefore very easy for the trio of vigilantes to climb up to the roof of the building behind the abandoned hotel. SWAT agreed to handle subduing the people in the warehouse.

From there, Nyssa fired a zipline arrow, which made it easy for them to get onto the roof of that building. Since there was no one on the roof, they quickly and quietly made their way through the building, knocking out gang members as they went. 

When they reached the third floor of the building, things got a little more dicey. There were more gang members and it was easier for them to be spotted. Fortunately for them, Nyssa and Sara were so good at sneaking around that most of the gang didn’t realize they were there until half of them had been taken down. To add insult to injury, by the time they realized, it was impossible for the gunmen to open fire without hitting their own men. The trio took down the last few members before heading outside.

The gang was down, but there was still chaos. The police and fire department were starting to clear away the barricade so that they could get the firetruck close to the building. Several bystanders, including apartment residents rushed over to try and help clear the way. People were yelling, trying to find their loved ones. Sara, Nyssa and Slade ran into the apartment building a few times, trying to find missing residents. They only stopped when several firefighters yelled at them to let them handle it. As Sara stood, exhausted, she spotted Oliver and Lyla getting the same lecture from another firefighter a few yards away. For some reason, that made her smile.

Knowing that they’d done all they could, the team moved to leave. Sara was turned to leave when a woman grabbed her arm.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t stopped them, we might not be- thank you.” She said.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m sorry this happened.” She responded before walking away.

She met up with the others and they made their way back to the foundry. They still had Floyd Lawton to worry about, but they’d taken care of the two most pressing situations.

After arriving back at the foundry, Oliver asked if anything had happened with Deadshot while they’d been preoccupied.

“I might sound crazy, but I think he might have caused what happened tonight.” Felicity said. “Or at least part of it. Like, it's very convenient that both happened on the same night, right after he failed to kill Mars and the fire and hostage situation were caused by gangs you’ve targeted.”

‘You think Deadshot talked them into it?’

“Maybe? I mean, we were focused on the fire and the hostages, not on him. As were the cops. And, since you didn’t have to listen to Diaz’s mutterings, his whole “the Arrow thinks I’m a joke” schtick sounded a lot like someone told him that’s what you thought. To try and piss him off.” She said. “Anyway, Lawton’s no longer a problem.”

“He’s in custody.” Sara said, slightly shocked.

“Yup. Part of the reason why I think he was involved was because he seems to have waited until both stories were all over the news before he made his move.” She said. “He went to the hotel where the federal agents are staying and was caught sneaking around. By Agent Anderson.”

“Agent Mars wasn't hurt, was she?” Slade asked.

“She wasn’t there from what I've gathered.” She said. “The manager got a call from Lawton, posing as her boyfriend and asking for her room number to “surprise” her. The manager called Agent Anderson to ask if he could give out that information. They knew he was going to come to them, so they set a trap.”

“An impressive deception. Though he seems to be a fool to have fallen for it.” Nyssa said.

“I think he might’ve panicked.” She said with a shrug. “Not only did his first try fail, but the cops were looking for him. He wanted to get the job done and done quickly. Or maybe he’s just an idiot. I don’t know.”

After a very exhausting night, everyone went home. Everyone fell asleep pretty much as soon as they got into bed.

 

“That was a risky move you made, Frank.” Mayor Altman told Pike as he walked into his office. “Deputizing the Arrow and his friends on the spot like that.”

“The building was burning and we were dealing with a hostage situation.” Pike said. “Even if you had called in the National Guard, by the time they would’ve arrived, the building would’ve been gone and who knows how many people would be dead.”

“I didn’t say it was the wrong move, just a risky one. But where do we go from here?” He said. “Because I, for one, don’t see any issue with what you did. I have some qualms about the fact that we don’t know who any of them are, but on its face, I can’t complain.”

“You want me to make it permanent?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m feeling inspired. But, before you do, we do need some idea of who we’re getting into bed with.” He said. “Get them to disclose their identities to someone, anyone, in the department, and you’ll have my support.”

“That’s a big if, but I’ll try.” Pike said. “Was that it?”

“For now.” The mayor said as he turned to leave. “Oh, and tell your men they did a good job tonight. Starling City thanks them.”

 

Since Floyd Lawton was an extremely dangerous individual, the FBI took him directly to federal prison as soon as he was in custody. He was pissed that he’d been caught, but in hindsight, his plan wasn’t well thought-out. The only person he could really blame was himself. And Malcolm Merlyn. He knew he’d have to wait months for a court date, so he figured he’d lie back and wait for the right moment to escape whatever prison he was sent to.

As Lawton was being driven to his new temporary home, someone else was looking for him.

“You don’t know where they’ve taken him?” Waller asked the acting head of ARGUS. It still burned her that Graves had gotten rid of her so easily.

“No. ARGUS isn’t on good terms with anyone. So, I can’t even ask for a few days without looking suspicious.” Bell said. “And need I remind you that I have not agreed to adding him to Task Force X.”

“You don’t need to remind me. We need him. He’s the best marksman in the world. Think of the good he could do.”

“I need to sleep on it.” He said, clearly dismissing her. “Was there something else?”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” She walked away before he could respond.

“Yeah, I kinda am.” He said to the closed door.

 

The next morning, Sara woke up and stretched her arms over her head. She laid back down in the bed next to Nyssa and stared up at the ceiling. It was still early and she didn’t need to be up yet, so she just laid there, with her arm wrapped around her girlfriend.

“I can practically hear your thoughts.” Nyssa said in a sleepy tone. “What is bothering you?”

“I’m just...worried about how today is gonna go.” She said. “My dad’s heading to see Laurel to tell her that I’m alive and that could either go really well…..or incredibly bad.”

“I’m certain everything will be fine.”

 

Felicity was getting ready for work when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, but it was local to Starling City, so she decided to take a chance and answer it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Felicity Smoak?” A woman’s voice asked on the other end of the phone. “My name is Eliana Sanchez. I work for-.” Oliver had given Felicity's number to Eliana in case she ever needed to contact him outside of normal business hours. He couldn't always be sure Donna and Roy would be nearby, but aside from when she was at work, Oliver spent most of his time with Felicity.

“Loring and Wasserman. You’re the lawyer helping Oliver see his son.” She finished for the woman.

“I- yes, I am. I know this is unorthodox, but I just received something from Ms. Clayton’s lawyer and I wanted to discuss it with Mr. Queen as soon as possible. Our office isn’t open quite yet, but I wanted to tell him as soon as I could.”

She went into the kitchen where Oliver was making breakfast and told him Eliana was on the phone asking to speak to him. He seemed scared, but told Felicity he wanted to hear what she had to say. “Okay, Eliana. I’m here with Oliver.”

“I received an email from Samantha Clayton’s lawyer a few minutes ago. Would you be available this weekend to meet William?”

Felicity looked over at Oliver, but she knew what his answer would be. He said it anyway. ‘Absolutely. Just tell me when and where.’

“I’ll work on getting a time worked out. Samantha will not be there. Her lawyer didn’t go into much detail, but informed me that a neighbor would be there while the two of you are meeting.”

“Is that a bad sign?” Felicity asked.

“No. It’s not uncommon for situations like this. She might not be ready to face Oliver yet or might be trying to avoid any awkwardness.” She said. "I'll reach back out to Oliver with the details once I have them. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 105

Summary:

Malcolm gets some bad news, Laurel learns something that should make her happy and Oliver meets with Linda Park.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As soon as the phone call with Eliana was over, Felicity looked at Oliver. He had a huge smile, albeit a nervous one, on his face. He was finally going to get to meet his son. He was clearly excited about that, but also nervous that he’d mess the whole thing up, somehow.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m excited. And a little nervous.” Felicity said. She felt like talking about her own feelings might encourage Oliver to talk about his. She didn’t want to put him on the spot by asking him how he felt so soon after getting the news. “I mean, William’s five, about to turn 6. And I haven’t been around a child that young since I was eight.”

‘I’m excited, but nervous too.’ He said. ‘What if I have a flashback or it turns into a complete disaster? What if William doesn’t like me? What if I’m a bad father?’

“First of all, William’s gonna love you because you’re a very lovable person.” She said. “And, as far as the first question goes, you might not have noticed it, but I have, and so have the others. You’re doing a lot better at not only at avoiding things that might trigger you, but also at pulling yourself back and getting some distance when you need to. I don’t think it’s gonna be a disaster. And you’re gonna be a great father.”

‘How do you know that?’

“You did a pretty good job helping to raise Thea. And, in my own experience, bad parents never worry about whether or not they’re being bad parents. Good parents are the ones who worry about that sort of thing.” She said. Donna was worried, often, during Felicity’s childhood that she wasn’t the mother a prodigy like Felicity needed. She wasn’t able to attend every school event, because she had to work, and there were occasions when Felicity missed out on something because they couldn't afford it. Even before Noah left, she was worried that she wasn’t enough for her daughter or that she wasn’t raising her in the right way. Noah was never bothered by things like that. “I’m not qualified to give parenting advice, but I think loving your kids and trying to be there for them, to help them grow and learn, that’s what’s important. And I’m sure my mom or Slade would agree with me. Probably Walter too.”

‘I can’t wait for this weekend.’ He said after a short silence.

“Me neither.” She went back into her bedroom to finish getting dressed.

Lyla and Digg arrived about twenty minutes later. Lyla and Felicity drove to Applied Sciences while Oliver left to drive Thea to school. In the car, he told her about the phone call from his lawyer and that he’d get to meet William this weekend. He wanted her to come with him and Felicity to Central City.

“I- really?”

‘Of course. He’s your nephew after all. I didn’t want to bring everyone and overwhelm him, but you, me and Felicity seemed like a good idea.’ He said as he pulled into the parking lot of Thea’s school. 

A few feet away, Madison and Jessica Danforth were saying their goodbyes. Both Queen siblings heard them say goodbye a few times, but they refused to end their hug in order for Madison to head into the building.

‘She was at the nightclub last night.’ He signed to Thea. ‘I’m surprised her mom didn’t sign her out for the day today. Or the next few days.’

“Would it be weird if we went to talk to them?” She asked. “I can talk to Mrs. Danforth, but you’ve kinda been avoiding Mom’s friends, which I completely understand, so-.”

‘It’s worth a try.’ He told her. It had been months since he’d even thought about being around Moira’s friends. The idea made him a bit nervous, yes, but he was out in public. If he felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave, he could. With that in mind, he hooked his arm through Thea’s and walked over to the Danforths.

“Hi, Mrs. Danfoth. Madison.” Thea said happily.

“Good morning, Thea.” Jessica said, pulling out of the hug, but not moving further away from her daughter. “Oh, and good morning to you, Oliver. It’s nice to see you.”

‘Nice to see you, too.’ He signed. 

Thea interpreted for him and then added, “We wanted to make sure you were okay. We…saw what happened on the news.”

“Madison is fine.” Her mother said. “What happened was scary, but-.”

“I don’t want to go to school today after all.” Madison said. “I know I didn’t get hurt, but-.”

“I can send you a copy of my notes from today, along with any homework, if that’ll help.” Thea offered. “The only class we don’t share is math, but Ashley’s in your class, right? I can ask her if she’ll do the same. You know, if you wanna stay home today. Maybe spend some time with your mom.”

“I think that sounds like an excellent idea.” Jessica said. “Let’s go home, honey.”

“Thanks, Thea.” Madison said as she got into her mother’s car.

After watching them drive off, Oliver said goodbye to Thea and told her that he hoped she had a good day at school. He then went back home to pick up Digg before meeting Roy at Queen Consolidated.

After they met up, they made their way to the 17th floor of the building. A few employees did a double-take when they saw Oliver walking through the building, but he moved too quickly for anyone to stop him and ask him anything. When he finally reached Daniel Correll’s office, he’d almost forgotten that he was meeting Linda Park, the reporter he’d chosen to interview him. When he entered Correll’s office and saw her standing there, though, he suddenly remembered.

“Ah, Oliver. Right on time.” Daniel said. “Oliver, I’d like you to meet Linda Park. Linda, Oliver.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Queen.” Linda said with a friendly smile.

‘It’s nice to meet you too. Please call me Oliver.’ He signed. ‘This is Roy Harper, one of my interpreters. My other interpreter, Donna, was unable to make it.’ Donna was spending the day with Dinah, who needed someone to talk to about the revelations about Sara.

“Nice to meet you, Roy.” Linda said.

‘Thanks for agreeing to meet me today.’ Oliver said. ‘I know it’s a bit weird, but I didn’t want the first time we met to be the day of the interview, on the record.’

“That’s completely understandable.” She said. “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t want that to be the first time we spoke either. So, do you have any questions about me or my qualifications?”

‘Do you think the Rockets have a good chance in the play-offs this year?’ He asked. ‘I know you’re a sports reporter.’

“Eh, it wouldn’t be a complete long-shot.” She said.

 

Felicity walked into work to find Ray and Curtis talking animatedly. It only took a few moments for her to realize they were discussing the events of the night before. She expected the topic of the Arrow and his team to come up, and part of her was happy they weren’t dancing around it. To her, it was a sign of things getting back to normal. At the moment, they were talking about the scene in the nightclub.

“I mean, come on, man.” Curtis said. “No matter who you are you gotta admit that that was an awesome moment. Bad guy starts monologuing and the Arrow just fires a bunch of restraints at him and acts like he didn’t say anything. It was awesome, right? Felicity, back me up here.”

“It was pretty awesome.”

“It was certainly impressive and memorable.” Lyla said with a smile. “As was the part when all of the gang members’ guns were snatched away from them. And no one was hurt, which is the most important thing.”

“That’s true.” Ray said. “And I agree, it was a great moment, like something out of a movie. But the footage of the vigilantes they’re calling the Canary, Artemis and Guardian running into the burning building was also pretty cool.”

“Oh, all of them are awesome.” Curtis said. “And I’m gay, so I don’t see the appeal of Canary’s look with the skintight leather, but as an athlete, I respect how skilled she is at fighting. And that applies to all of then. Badass and objectively attractive.”

“I’m sure they appreciate that.” Felicity said with a smile. “What do you think about the Arrow having partners?”

“We already knew he had some.” Curtis said. “They helped us get out of the building while he fought off the Dark Archer. I like that he’s not working alone. If he was a broody loner, last night could’ve been a tragedy.”

“That’s true.” Ray said. “I could talk about this all day, but we should probably get some work done.”

“I agree.” Felicity said. “How are our furry little friends doing?” Prototypes of the implantable biostimulant had been inserted into a small sample of lab mice to begin the first round of testing. Felicity wished that they didn’t have to test on animals, but since the chip was a medical device, the FDA required it before human trials could be attempted.

“All but one, Delta, are running around like normal.” He said. They had named the mice after the first six letters of the Greek alphabet. The one mouse he mentioned, Delta, was in her enclosure moving around but didn’t seem as excited as the other mice. “Delta’s having a lazy day, I guess.”

“We’ll keep a close eye on her.” Curtis said.

 

The good mood Malcolm woke up with this morning, as the result of seeing Ricardo Diaz being defeated and unmasked by the Arrow on live TV, was dashed not long after. He was entertained that the subpar fighter believed he could defeat the Arrow when Malcolm, a member of the League of Assassins, could not. Likewise, Malcolm may have failed to defeat the Arrow, but at least he wasn’t caught.

Shortly after the morning news show he was watching recapped the excitement of the night before, mainly the fire and the hostage situation, the anchors cut to a press conference the task force had held earlier. The day before, the task force had announced he was a person of interest who was still at large. Now, they were warning the public against him.

“Malcolm Merlyn, also known as Arthur King, is currently being pursued by the FBI, Coast Guard and a handful of other law enforcement agencies. He’s currently wanted in connection to several offenses, including but not limited to, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, attempted witness tampering, involvement in a criminal conspiracy and plotting a potential terrorist attack.” Agent Anderson read from a sheet of paper. “We do not believe him to currently be in the state of Washington, but we’d like to urge the public to exercise caution. He should be considered incredibly dangerous.”

A reporter raised his hand. “What does this mean for Merlyn Global Group? Or Tommy Merlyn?”

“We do not currently believe that the company has been involved in the crimes Malcolm Merlyn is being charged with. An investigation into the company is currently pending, for the sake of due diligence.” He said. “Thomas Merlyn is not a suspect in our investigation.”

“Do you have any leads on his current location?”

“We’re currently working with our colleagues and allies, domestic and abroad, to locate him and capture him.” Anderson said. “We have an indication of where he could’ve gone, but are not commenting further at this time.”

Malcolm realized he was sweating, and it had nothing to do with the tropical climate of Corto Maltese. He’d fled Starling because he was concerned about Ra’s al Ghul learning about the hit on Nyssa. Now, the League and the US government were looking for him. Not only was he a wanted man, but they seemed to have figured out everything he’d done. He couldn't believe this had happened. Aside from his identity as the Dark Archer, all of his secrets were exposed. He was fully exposed.

This certainly wouldn't do.

 

McKenna was about to leave the station to meet Tommy for lunch when Frank Pike walked into the bullpen. He made a beeline straight towards her and asked if she had a moment.

“The mayor paid me a visit last night.” Pike said. “He wanted to talk about my decision to deputize the vigilantes and the possibility to make it permanent.”

“Okay.”

“For obvious reasons, he doesn’t want the city to place its trust in people whose identities are unknown even to the SCPD.” He said. “But if the Arrow’s calling you, I’m pretty sure that’s a sign that he trusts you. You’re the only officer that’s spoken with him directly.”

“What are you asking me, Captain?” McKenna asked.

“Do you think the Arrow, Canary, Harbinger, Artemis and- who’s the new one, Guardian? Anyway, do you think they’d agree to disclose their identities to you?” He asked. “I don’t need to know their names. You don’t need to put those names down on anything official. The mayor just wants one cop to know who they are. Just in case.” He sighed. “How realistic does that sound?”

“I think the Arrow might agree, but I can’t speak for the others. I’ve barely spoken with them.” She said. “You really wouldn’t want to know?”

“I’ve got enough on my plate as is, and you’re a good cop, Hall.” He said. “Let me know what happens, whatever happens, so that I can update the mayor. I’ll get out of your hair now.”

McKenna went to the restaurant where she was meeting Tommy. When he arrived, she told him about Pike’s request. Tommy looked around, made sure he wasn’t being overheard and told her he’d text everyone about it. Within five minutes, he’d gotten a response from Oliver, telling him to bring McKenna to the foundry that night if she was available.

“Now that we’ve settled that, how are you doing?” She asked Tommy. “What have you been up to?”

“I’ve been asked to attend an emergency Merlyn Global meeting tomorrow morning. The VPs, employees and shareholders were shocked by the press conference this morning and the board’s going into “damage control” mode. The company’s assets haven’t been frozen, which is good for the employees.” He said. “As soon as I saw the news, I called my banker. I wanted to make sure the staff at the mansion still got paid, since Malcolm’s assets were frozen. They weren’t going to be, so I arranged to pay them for the time being. After all, it’s not the maids’ faults that my father’s a fugitive.”

“That’s very nice of you. And something not a lot of people would think about.” McKenna said. 

“My mom believed that way someone treats the people under them is more revealing of their character than the way they treat their equals or superiors.” He said. “And that’s kinda true. My mom was nice to every waitress, cashier, driver and maid she interacted with, and my dad at best pretended they didn’t exist and at worst, went out of his way to be rude and condescending towards them. I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately, and not just because her killer was arrested.”

“What have you been thinking?” She asked.

“I wanna reopen her clinic in the Glades.” He said.

An hour later, a candid video of Tommy and McKenna’s conversation was posted to Twitter and started gaining traction. The recording started with McKenna asking him what he was up to and ended shortly after he mentioned reopening his mom’s clinic. While the tweet didn’t get the overwhelming love that videos and photos of Oliver received, almost everyone decided there was no way Tommy had anything to do with what Malcolm was accused of.

 

Lance parked his car in the lot outside Cassidy Penitentiary and turned to look at Sara. “Are you sure you’re ready for me to do this?” He asked her. “I can come back in a few days and tell her.”

“No, I- I don’t think we have a few days.” She said. “It’s just a matter of time before my survival makes the news. And Laurel shouldn’t find out that way.”

“You still wanna stay in the car?” He asked.

“You need to tell her without me there. She might not want to see me.” She said.

“Wish me luck.” He said with a tight smile before getting out of the car.

Quentin made his way through the security measures of the prison and was led to the visitor area. He took a seat and waited for Laurel to be brought in. Within a few minutes, Laurel was sitting down in front of him with a confused look on her face.

“You normally don’t visit me during the week. What are you doing here?” She asked him.

“Your mother and I got news about Sara.” He said. He was about to continue, but she interrupted him.

“And you’re gonna bury her, and I’m gonna miss it because I’m stuck in here.”

“No, Laurel. She- Sara’s alive.” He said. 

“What?!” She asked. “Where the hell has she been, then? Why has she stayed away this long? Why didn’t she- what’s the point in telling me this?”

“So that you found out before the rest of the world does. She wanted you to hear it from me or your mother, not from some random guard or inmate.”

“That’s nice of her. Or, she could’ve not spent five years pretending to be dead. She could’ve not gotten on that yacht, or come home years ago. But it's nice that she wanted me to know now.” She said. “Does she even know you came here?”

“Yes.”

“Well, tell her I’m glad she’s not dead, I guess.” She said, standing up. She went over to the guard and left the visitor’s room.

Laurel knew that her reaction wasn’t the one her father had expected. It was probably disappointing to him, but she wasn’t sure how to feel. After talking to the prison therapist, she was forced to accept that she used Sara’s death as an excuse for some of her terrible actions. She’d rationalized her treatment of Oliver, because he’d been responsible for Sara’s death. But Sara was alive, meaning she didn’t have that excuse. On top of that, if Sara was alive, she could’ve come home years ago, but she didn’t. Where had she been? Why had she stayed away? Why had she faked her death? All of those questions became too much for her to handle, so she’d walked away from her father to give her time to process.

Before she knew it, the guard was unlocking Laurel’s cell and gesturing for her to go inside.

“Oh, Looney Lance is back. Hooray.” Her cellmate deadpanned. “What? Did you get dumped again? Smart of him to do it here, where you can’t go all Fatal Attraction on him.”

“Will you for once in your life shut up?” Laurel snapped. For weeks, she’d been ignoring the snide remarks of her new cellmate. The woman was doing time for theft, not anything that made her dangerous, so Laurel was content to pretend like she didn’t exist. Today, however, was different. “You know why I’m in here? I’m in here because I spent five years mourning, and equally despising, my sister, the man I thought was the love of my life and a second father figure. And that gave me serious mental health issues, which made me act irrationally. But I’m getting help for that. You, on the other hand? None of that applies to you. You’re a thief, a lousy and sloppy thief, who got caught. You didn’t even make it difficult for the police to figure out you were behind those robberies, because you were too lazy to try and cover your tracks. And there’s no cure or treatment for being stupid and lazy, so you’ll get caught again.”

“That’s not why I got caught.” The woman said indignantly.

“Yes, it is.” She said. “You were lazy and sloppy and by the time you get out of here, your daughter might not even recognize you. That’s for the best though. If she doesn’t know who you are, she can’t be ashamed of how greedy and selfish her mother is.”

“I did that for her.”

“How does stealing a truck full of TVs help her?” She challenged. “Admit it. You didn’t think about her. You didn’t care about her. You did what you wanted and said “screw it” to everything else.” Having said her piece, Laurel took a seat on her bunk and continued the book she’d been reading earlier.

 

When Quentin walked out of the prison complex, he was shaking his head. Based on his expression, Sara gathered that things hadn’t gone well with Laurel. He got into the car and turned to her.

“She, uh, I think she’s gonna need a few days.” He said.

“Yeah, I thought she might.”

“Sara, I’m sorry. Your sister just-.”

“You don’t need to explain.” She said. “Let’s go.”

Lance drove back to his apartment. Sara stayed for about an hour catching up with her father over coffee before heading back to Felicity and Oliver’s house. She explained what happened to her girlfriend and Nyssa sat there, comforting her girlfriend as she cried over her sister’s reaction. Despite saying she was prepared for Laurel to be unhappy to hear of her survival, it still hurt.

 

Eric Graves was a difficult man to rattle. By the point in his career that he was nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, he’d already seen plenty of things most people wouldn’t believe. Despite his experience dealing with stressful situations, it was unnerving and uncomfortable having to explain the massive clusterfuck Amanda Waller had caused to the President.

“You know I’m not one to rush things. I prefer to allow investigations time to be completed. With that being said, is there a reason why Amanda Waller isn’t being questioned by Congress as we speak?”

“The joint investigation between the FBI and the CGIS, which was how this was brought to my attention, has turned into a bit of a Lernaean Hydra. Not including Waller’s actions, at least three other investigations have been opened based off information uncovered by the task force. I’ve been waiting for them to release their report to see if Oliver Queen’s…brief stint with ARGUS is mentioned.” Graves said.

“I don’t see the connection.”

“A hearing will happen. Given the severity of Waller’s actions and the blatant disregard she showed, it's unavoidable. If the report mentions events in Moscow, and Oliver Queen is named, plenty of people on the Hill will be calling on him to testify in a hearing, and they’ll subpoena him if they have to. And the public will want that hearing to be open. I don’t think anyone wants to see Oliver Queen dragged into a Congressional hearing and forced to relive traumatizing events in front of the committee. And, yes, he could show up and refuse to answer questions, plead the fifth, but then they could hold him in contempt and that’s not gonna go over well either. If his name isn’t in the report, if he’s referred to as "Agent Doe" or some other alias, they can pull Waller in, subpoena Lyla Michaels and other agents involved in the operation in Moscow, the hearing will be closed and the dumpster fire becomes less of a disaster.” He said. “And if the report fails to mention Moscow, it can be referred to the appropriate committee regardless, with his name removed. Oliver Queen is a private citizen, a famous one but a citizen nonetheless, so we’d have cause to redact his name in the report for the sake of his privacy.”

“The Coast Guard falls under the purview of your department. I assume there’s someone you can get a draft copy of their report from.” The President said. “What about Waller’s replacement as director? Do you suggest I promote from within the organization?”

“I think that’s a bad idea for a few reasons, Mr. President. Mainly, we may need to clean house and an outsider is a better choice to achieve that. Waller made the final call, yes, but there were numerous other agents that could’ve blown the whistle on her and didn’t. Michaels was the only one who tried. That implies that ARGUS is fostering a culture in opposition to its founding principles.  Appointing someone from outside of ARGUS, outside of DHS even, makes it clear that we’re looking to correct the procedures that allowed what happened to Oliver Queen to happen.” He handed the President a folder. “This is a short list of my recommendations to replace Waller as the director of ARGUS. I don’t want to take up any more of your time, Mr. President.”

With that said, Graves left the Oval Office and returned to his own office.

 

Felicity was just getting out of a meeting with another team in Applied Sciences when her phone and Lyla’s began ringing. Roy and Digg were respectively trying to call them. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and the day had been pretty uneventful so far.

“Everything okay, Johnny?” Lyla asked, putting the phone on speakerphone mode when they reached Felicity’s office.

“You and Felicity should come home now.”

“Why? Did something happen?” Felicity asked. “Are you okay? Is Oliver okay?”

“Everyone’s fine. It’s- the reporter who broke the story about Moira and Laurel’s plot against Oliver released a story today. It was some half-assed attempt at an exposé about you, Felicity. And it mentions your family. I’m concerned about what the tabloids might do with some of the claims she made.”

“What kind of claims are we talking about?” She asked with an edge to her voice.

“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Lyla said. “We need to get out of here and then we’ll handle Susan Williams.”

“She’s going after my family.”

“I know. And I know that pisses you off, but we can’t deal with that here and now. We need to go. I’m sure Oliver, your mom and everyone else is worried.” 

As they made their way out of the building, none of the staff asked them where they were going. Lyla pulled out of the parking lot just as news vans started to surround the building.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

------

This is where I might say something about the events at the US Capitol on Wednesday, as some readers know that I live not far from Washington, DC. In all honesty, I'm too shocked and disgusted to have much to say. I hope everyone reading this is doing as well as they can be. And I'll "see" you next week.

Chapter 106

Summary:

Susan's story airs, Felicity and friends deal with the fallout and McKenna makes a few new friends.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Donna and Dinah had been getting coffee when Dinah brought the fact that Felicity was being shown on TV to her friend. The volume was low, but based on the closed-captioning, the story wasn’t very flattering.

“I- I need to go.” Donna said. “She’s gonna- I need to make sure she and Oliver are okay.”

“I’ll drive.” Dinah said. “You’re upset and you shouldn’t be driving right now.” They walked to Dinah’s rental car and Donna gave her directions to Felicity’s house. She let herself into the house to find Sara, Nyssa, Digg, and Roy there.

“Donna, you haven’t- Mom?” Sara asked.

“I was getting coffee with Donna when we saw the story. I didn’t think she should drive when she was so upset, so I gave her a ride.” Dinah explained.

“Well, this isn’t quite how I wanted things to go, but Mom, I’d like you my girlfriend Nyssa.” She said, gesturing to Nyssa. “Nyssa, meet my mom.”

The two exchanged pleasantries and then Donna spoke up. “Where’s Oliver?”

“He was picking up Thea when the story broke.” Roy said. “They needed to make a pit stop before coming home. Something about dropping off work for one of her friends.”

 

Walter and Daniel Correll had been discussing Oliver’s meeting with Linda Park, when a member of the PR department told him to turn on Channel 6. The pair watched the report in stunned silence.

“I really hate Susan Williams.” Correll said.

“I can’t say I disagree.” Walter said. “How quickly can you prepare a statement? It doesn’t need to be long, but I want to make it clear that we’re unhappy by the implications of the report.”

“Give me half an hour. Do we wanna even comment on her claims that Felicity could somehow manipulate the board because of Oliver?”

“No. Susan Williams clearly has no idea what shareholders can and cannot do.”

“I’ll get right on that. And I’m adding her to our blacklist.” Correll said.

 

After learning from Digg that Susan Williams had written an expose about Felicity, she and Lyla rushed back to the house. It seemed smarter to go home immediately than risk being cornered by paparazzi. Her day had been going really well until the story was released on the 3:00 news. Felicity was more angry at the thought of Susan going after her family, as Digg had implied she did, than anything the woman might say about her.

“Did you just….growl?” Lyla asked as she turned onto the street leading to Felicity’s neighborhood.

“Possibly. Her story is partially about my family. I don’t care at all what she might say about my dad, I haven’t seen him in over 15 years, but if she said anything that’s untrue about Emily, her family, or my mom, or a single frakking inappropriate or mean thing about my 83-year-old grandmother who survived the Shoah, I will demolish her.”

“Shoah?”

“It’s the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.” She said. “She shouldn’t have to deal with any reminders of that.” Felicity wasn’t naive. She knew there was still a lot of antisemitism, and worse, in the world and some people would look for any reason to justify their hateful views. Even if Susan’s story wasn’t about Felicity or her family being Jewish, anything that painted Felicity in a bad light was fuel for people like that. “Like people trying to say it didn’t happen.”

“I don’t think Channel 6 would’ve let Williams air something anti-Semitic.” Lyla said, hoping it might help.

“That’s not gonna matter. Once the story was released, anyone on the internet was free to twist and misconstrue the facts to fit their shitty and hateful worldview.” She said. “I did an interview, when I was still at MIT, about an app I wrote. It was the first one that wasn’t free.” Felicity didn’t make any money, and didn’t want to make any, from the apps she’d written for people with disabilities. She didn’t think anyone should have to pay for things like that. “It was a productivity app and I sold it for the lowest price possible on the app store. The fact that it wasn’t free was morphed, by certain groups, into the standard “all Jewish people are greedy” rhetoric. Because I was charging 99 cents for an app they didn’t have to purchase.”

“Well, no matter what happens, I’ll help you get even with her.” She promised as she pulled into the driveway. Digg and Tommy’s cars were there, as well as a sedan neither woman recognized. When Felicity walked into the house, everyone suddenly went quiet and turned to look at her. Oliver, Digg, Tommy, Thea, Roy, Sara, Nyssa, Donna and Dinah Lance were all sitting in her living room.

“I want to see it.” She said.

“Felicity, I’m not sure that-.” Thea started to say. She didn’t think Felicity should see the report just yet.

“That wasn’t a suggestion. I need to see it. Right now.” She said. “If she’s targeting my family, then-.”

“She didn’t target the whole family.” Donna said. “She only ever mentions you, me and your father. No mention of anyone else.”

“So, Bubbe and Uncle Jared’s family weren’t mentioned?” She let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, because- I’m pissed. I’m not gonna act like I’m not, but-.”

‘But you didn’t want them dragged into this mess as well.’ Oliver signed.

“Exactly.” She said. “So, please let me see the segment now.”

Reluctantly, Digg pulled up the news segment on the channel’s website and pressed play. The video opened with Susan Williams standing in front of Queen Consolidated’s headquarters. The first two minutes were about the company being one of the biggest headquartered in the city and some of the innovations the company had released over the course of its history. All in all, Felicity didn’t see anything wrong with the report up to that point. Then, the reporter kept talking.

“Let’s talk about one of the company’s current rising stars, Felicity Smoak.” She said. “Very few, outside of the science and tech world, had heard of Felicity Smoak until this past November, when she was called to testify against Laurel Lance during her stalking and harassment trial, where she gave a scathing testimony about Ms. Lance’s actions. A week later, it was all but confirmed that Felicity Smoak was dating Oliver Queen, the step-son of Queen Consolidated’s current CEO and the grandson of its founder. Mr. Queen has no role within the company, but owns over a third of its stock, making him the largest owner of the company. How might their relationship impact the company overall? According to Forbes, Oliver Queen’s net worth is over 27 billion dollars. By contrast, Felicity Smoak is the only child of a single mother who works at a casino in Las Vegas. While she has had success with software and devices she’s sold, it hasn’t been $27 billion worth. Some sources put her net worth at only $10 million, causing some to believe that she might be dating Oliver Queen for selfish reasons. And given his condition, we have no way of knowing what their relationship is really like. After all, he has made no statement since his return, and he’s rarely been seen in public without Felicity Smoak.”

Felicity started to grit her teeth.

“As for Felicity Smoak’s father? He’s currently wanted by the FBI for cybercrimes. I reached out to the FBI for comment about her father and to ask if it was possible she might be in contact with him, but received no response. In researching this story, I discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Cooper Seldon, was also investigated by federal authorities following a breach into the Department of Education, though given what we’ve seen of Ms. Smoak’s tech knowledge, it is somewhat surprising that she was never questioned in regards to the matter. They had broken up a month before the breach occurred. All of these discoveries bring an interesting question to mind. What secrets might Felicity Smoak be hiding, from the public, from her boyfriend and from the company she works for?”

The segment ended and everyone’s eyes turned to Felicity. “Oliver, you might wanna cover your ears or go into the backyard. Actually, everyone might wanna do that.” She said. “Because it’s time for my Loud Voice and believe me, it can get very loud.” No one left, but everyone covered their ears. Felicity then started yelling out her frustrations, until she ran out of expletives. ‘You can uncover your ears now.’ She signed when she was done. She then turned to Dr. Lance. “Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak. I kinda wish this wasn’t your first impression of me.”

“It’s okay.” She said. “I feel like I’m intruding, but your mother has been so supportive of me over the last few weeks that I wanted to return the favor.”

“I’ve got so many issues with that report that it’s not even funny.” Thea said. “First of all, what does Ollie’s net worth have to do with anything? Second, why does this woman have a problem with single parents? And how is Donna working in a casino relevant? I can’t even tell what angle she was going for. To say you’re after Ollie’s money? Which is ridiculous, by the way. Or the stuff about your dad and your ex, which has nothing to do with the first half of what she said. I just- I don’t get it.”

“That’s because it’s complete crap.” Tommy said. 

‘I called Jean and asked her what we might be able to do.’ Oliver said. ‘She said she needed to see what was said and she’d let me know.’

“Has the value of American money changed since I was last in the United States?” Nyssa asked. “Because it was my understanding that $10 million is quite a lot of money.”

“It is.” Felicity said. “The number she gave is actually a little low. And, not to toot my own horn-.”

“How is a horn relevant?”

“It’s an expression. It’s another way of saying “I don’t mean to brag”. Anyway, not to brag, but part of the reason I “only” have somewhere between $10 and $20 million is because I donate a lot of what I make to charity and another large chunk goes into helping fund scholarships to send kids to college for free.” Felicity knew that she’d been very lucky to get to go to MIT on a full-ride scholarship. There were a lot of genius kids who didn’t have the same luck and she wanted to “pay it forward” for future graduates.

 

Susan Williams was smirking as she made her way to her boss’s office. Her piece about Felicity Smoak was already gaining traction. It would likely make national news, or possibly international. Since it was already doing so well, she had high hopes about where her career might be headed next.

She knocked on the open door of the office before walking in. “You wanted to see me, Scott?”

“Can you read what it says on the door?” He asked her.

“Channel Six News, Starling’s premier news source. Scott Ma-.” She read.

“Read it again.” He said.

“Channel Six News. Starling’s-.”

“So, it doesn’t say National Enquirer? It doesn’t say Us Weekly either. Good.” He said. “Because I was confused about how a piece about Felicity Smoak, that was meant to focus on her career and what her next project might be and how that might bring jobs to Starling, because that’s what you said it was about. I wanna know how that story turned into you, and by extension the channel, calling her a golddigger and accusing her of cyber-terrorism. Seriously, what happened to this story?”

What happened was that Susan had pitched the idea to her boss, expecting to find something juicy about QC. All anyone could say, however, was how great Felicity Smoak was and how she was going to change the world. There was nothing exciting or newsworthy in that, so instead, she made the story about Felicity’s life. She knew she couldn’t tell her boss the truth, though. It gave him deniability. “I had a hunch.”

“Well, your hunch got me a call from the network bosses who aren’t happy. Because Queen Consolidated is one of the advertisers and if the company decides to pull their ads, that’s a problem for them. Not to mention the lawsuits that could follow.”

“She’s not gonna sue me.”

“Maybe she won’t. Queen Consolidated is a different story. If their business is damaged, as a result of this piece, they’ll have grounds to sue. I’m surprised we haven’t been served with a cease and desist already.” He said. “Oh, and I find it very interesting that you left out the part about Cooper Seldon fully confessing to the DOE breach. Or the fact that he was convicted and sentenced.”

“Ok, I might’ve excluded a few facts. But the piece is gaining traction. It already has-.” Sure, the story wasn’t doing as well as it could’ve, due to the Arrow’s antics the night before, but it wasn’t being buried either.

“It has hits because the tabloids have caught wind of it, and they love drama. No serious news outlet has done anything with the story, except to disprove it.” He said. “It must be a slow news day, because at least three news outlets already have.”

 

The tabloids were also having a rough day. They’d all gathered outside Applied Sciences, hoping to catch Felicity off-guard. When it became clear she’d left the building before they arrived, they stayed, hoping to get some juicy soundbites from her coworkers. Most of the employees refused to comment or acknowledge the press. The few that were willing to talk didn’t exactly give the kind of answers the paparazzi wanted. The people who worked at Applied Sciences were, for the most part, scientists who wanted to talk about Felicity’s past projects rather than comment on her relationship with Oliver. Soon enough, security asked them to leave, as the building was private property.

“Should we head to Starling Academy?” One photographer asked another. “We might have a shot at running into Queen or his sister.”

“No. School’s out already. There’s no point.” He said. “I heard Tommy Merlyn was living at the Ritz though.”

 

Agent Anderson was going over some of the more credible tips the task force had received about Malcolm Merlyn’s whereabouts when Agent Reeves walked into the bullpen. “Does anyone know why I just had three reporters ask me about Felicity Smoak being a suspect in a cyber-crime case that's at least three years old?” Reeves had spent the last few days overseeing the search of Merlyn Mansion for evidence.

“Some reporter wrote a piece about her ex-boyfriend hacking into the Department of Education in the beginning of 2009. And mentioned she wasn’t questioned. The reporter also made a comment about her father.” Mars said. “Who the FBI has been looking for for years.”

“We know where Noah Kuttler is.” Anderson said. “We just can’t get to him. Extradition issues.”

“And her ex?”

“Confessed fully, evidence showed he acted alone and he was sentenced.” He said. “I would not wanna be the spokesperson who has to hold that press conference.” Given the accusations, and the fact that Felicity was a public figure, the FBI would have to state that she wasn’t involved with either crime. It was still a waste of time for them to have to do so, all because of one reporter’s story.

 

“So, how are we going to make Susan Williams pay for this?” Lyla asked Felicity after things calmed down.

“I’m gonna give the FBI time to respond to her claims about my dad and Cooper. And give QC a chance to make a statement. Then, I’m gonna see what Jean Loring says I can do in response.” Felicity was one of those people who got more upset when people went after people she cared about than when they targeted her.

“That's not what I meant and you know it.”

“After all of that happens, I’m gonna start digging into Susan.” She said. “But I wanna set the record straight before I destroy her life. First, though, I need to talk to my mom.”

She went over to her mother and pulled her into the kitchen. “How are you doing?”

“I’m angry.” Donna said. “You know I’ve never liked it when people say bad things about you, and today isn’t any different. Especially when it's centered around lies and selfish motivations. She probably hoped it would make her famous. Well, that’s not happening. That woman never should’ve written that story.”

“I’m angrier about what she said about you. She made it sound like- well first, she made it sound like your job makes you a bad person or something. And that you’re not a good mom. You’re a great mom.”

“And you thinking I’m a great mother is all that matters to me.” She said. “For most of your life, people have judged me for being a single parent. For all my adulthood, I’ve been judged for working at the MGM Grand. It doesn't affect me anymore.”

“Felicity, you might wanna see this.” Tommy said, sticking his head into the room.

Walking into the living room, the TV was showing Channel 52, the rival station of Channel 6. An anchor was reading from a stack of paper. “We just showed you the FBI’s press conference which concluded a few minutes ago.” The woman said. “Where the FBI disputed the claims and insinuations made by Susan Williams, a Channel 6 reporter, regarding Felicity Smoak. Not only does it seem that Williams’ report was incomplete, but she seems to have knowingly omitted important facts, including Cooper Seldon’s confession and being convicted, or the fact that Noah Kuttler, Ms. Smoak’s father, fled the country in 1996 when she was seven years old. Several former classmates of Ms. Smoak have revealed that she and Cooper Seldon only dated for a few weeks. Queen Consolidated issued a press release a moment ago, similarly disputing the contents of the report. Felicity Smoak hasn’t made a statement yet, but that may change. So far, no one had voiced support for Susan Williams’s story.”

“If only her station didn’t let her air it in the first place.” Donna scoffed.

“Well, we can always bury the story completely.” Sara pointed out. “Everyone with a brain knows this story is fake. You know what’s not fake? Me being alive. And it’ll have the added benefit of burying this mess, which shouldn’t have aired to begin with.”

“Do you want to do that? I don’t want you to feel like you have to.” Felicity said.

“Oh, I want to. Part of me kinda wants to get it over with. And I wanna ruin this bitch’s day even more than it’s already been ruined.” She said. “So, I’m gonna go give Agent Dinan a call.” She told Dinan that she wanted to bite the bullet and let the world know that she was alive. The story would quickly gain traction and then people would have questions about how she survived and where she was, which would further bury Susan’s story.

Jean Loring gave Felicity a call and they went over her options for dealing with Susan. It was a little too early to consider bringing a suit against her, but they could send cease and desists and release a statement arguing against every claim the woman had made. Jean made sure to emphasize that Susan provided no evidence, previously displayed a strong dislike for QC and the Queen family and that the story was released less than two days after she’d been denied an interview with Oliver Queen. It would likely take Susan Williams a while to recover from the damage to her integrity.

 

The task force called a press conference as soon as Dinan got off the phone with Sara. While she might’ve wanted to get attention off of Felicity, Sara’s survival did need to be revealed eventually and the longer it waited, the more shady it seemed. It would also kick-start the process of bringing Sara back from the dead legally.

“Good afternoon everyone.” Dinan said as she approached the podium with Agent Anderson. “I will be making a short statement in regards to a facet of our investigation. We will not be taking questions at this time.” She took a deep breath. “In the last few weeks, the task force received evidence that Sara Lance may have survived the sabotage of the Queen’s Gambit. Yesterday, we learned that she did survive the attack which claimed the lives of Robert Queen and five others. She came to the precinct to speak with members of the Coast Guard-FBI joint task force and we confirmed her identity with a DNA test. We will be dropping one murder charge and adding an attempted murder charge to the list of charges against those involved in the sabotage of the yacht. Thank you.”

Dinan and Anderson walked away from the shouting reporters, all wanting more information about the bombshell of a story.

 

“All right. The cat’s out of the bag now.” Sara said after the press conference ended. “Now, everyone knows I’m alive.”

“Welcome back from the dead, beloved.” Nyssa said.

“It’s good to be back.” She joked. “So, do I get a “back from the dead” party or something?”

‘That can be arranged. Though, it can’t turn into a rager.’ Oliver told her.

“I don’t want an insane party anyway.”

While news outlets all over the world began speculating and commenting on Sara being alive, everyone at Felicity’s house simply sat around and talked. Dinah and Nyssa took the time to get to know one another better while Felicity and Lyla started looking for dirt on Susan, just in case, and everyone else discussed their day and plans for the weekend. Dinah had dinner with everyone before leaving, saying she’d monopolized enough of their time already. After she left, Tommy drove to the precinct to pick up McKenna and the others went to the foundry.

Slade, who’d been absent most of the day, had been in the lair, putting together a more permanent suit of armor for his time as a vigilante. He hadn’t even known about the story airing.

“That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” He said once they’d told him what was said. “It doesn’t even make sense. What does the company have to do with your relationship and what does your relationship have to do with your father or ex?”

“Well, I’m gonna ruin her life, so it’s fine.” Felicity said. 

Tommy texted saying he was pulling into the foundry’s parking lot with McKenna. A few moments later, the door at the top of the stairs opened and the pair walked down into the lair.

“So, this is where all the magic happens.” McKenna said. “It’s a lot more subterranean than the SCPD. It’s nice.” Everyone looked at her oddly. “When I walked in, I was hoping one of you would start talking, so that I wouldn’t have to be the one to break the silence.”

“Let’s start with something we’ve all been wondering. What exactly is your boss asking from you?” Digg asked. “Does he just want you to learn the identities of the vigilantes? Or is he expecting some kind of file or report on it?”

“I just need to know who’s who. I was specifically told not to have a file. He just- look, the idea is that a cop knows who you are, in case you turn on the city or something. It’s a safety measure. If I know who all of you are, Pike can say someone in the department is aware of your identities, in case that does happen, and the mayor can assure the public that we haven’t deputized people we don’t trust.”

“Ok, well, you already know who Oliver and Sara are.” Felicity said. “I’m Overwatch.”

“Harbinger.” Lyla said.

“Guardian.” Slade added.

“And I am Artemis.” Nyssa said. “We haven’t met, but outside of my efforts to stop Malcolm Merlyn, most call me Nyssa Raatako.” She’d made a decision not to introduce herself as Nyssa al Ghul for a while.

“McKenna Hall.” The detective responded. “I can understand Oliver, Wilson, Lyla and Sara doing this, but how did you join this group, if I may ask?”

“Sara is my beloved.” She said. “And Oliver is a friend.”

“Got it. And what about the rest of you?” McKenna asked, looking around at the people who hadn’t spoken up yet.

“Digg’s the Voice of the Arrow. Some of us wanna maybe, possibly learn how to be a vigilante, after a lot of training.” Thea said. “And some just wanna be supportive.” Donna and Walter hadn’t given any indication of wanting to become vigilantes, but they wanted to support the others.

‘Are you on duty tonight?’ Oliver asked McKenna. Tommy told her what he’d said.

“No. I’m working the day shift for the next few days.”

“Well then, you wanna see what a night with Team Arrow is like?” Tommy asked. “Take a seat.”

The detective walked over and took a seat next to Thea, which put her in front of Felicity’s computer screens.

The members of the team that needed to patrol went to change into their armor. Once they’d changed, they took a moment to make sure everyone was properly armored and had their masks or greasepaint ready before heading into the night.

“Are they headed anywhere in particular?” McKenna asked.

“Well, Lyla discovered that the fire last night was the result of faulty wiring, which the owner of the building was aware of, so they might go pay him a visit.” Felicity said. “Other than that? They’ll end up where they’re needed. Tonight might not actually be very exciting.”

“The city doesn’t need two exciting nights in a row.” She said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 107

Summary:

Team Arrow takes down a slum lord, Susan Williams gets a nasty surprise and Tommy goes to a very important meeting.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Following the discoveries Lyla made about the owner of the apartment building that had caught fire, Oliver, Lyla, Nyssa, Sara and Slade went to confront the man about the conditions of his property.

“I know none of you would do this without proof, but I’m new to the way you work.” McKenna said. “This guy didn’t, like, find out about the faulty wiring last week or something, did he?”

“No. Based on what I was able to find, he’s known for at least two years that the building wasn’t up to code.” Lyla said over the comms. “Not to mention, at least seven people have frozen to death in a different building he owns over the last three years.”

“Oh, it’s John Nickel?” She asked. They hadn’t mentioned the owner of the building by name, but everyone at the SCPD knew about the seven people freezing to death. “I guess I should've seen that coming. If you succeed in getting a confession, the DA might throw you a parade. Her office got a lot of crap for charging but not indicting Nickels over the deaths of his tenants. They weren’t able to find any evidence that he knew the heating issues existed which was the one thing she needed to move forward. Last I heard, some of the victims’ families were trying to sue, but-.”

“Lawsuits like that take a while.” Slade grumbled. 

“We are nearing his residence, so it would be best if we ceased chatting for a moment.” Nyssa said.

On Felicity’s screens, she saw from their body cameras that they’d reached an upscale apartment building. Using one of Oliver’s trick arrows, they scaled the building and were soon right outside Nickel’s penthouse. Oliver and Lyla let themselves in through the patio door while Sara, Nyssa and Slade accessed the building through the roof and entered the apartment through the front door. The idea was to cut off Nickel’s escape routes so that he couldn’t run before they told him what they wanted.

When they entered, Nickel was watching sports with his back to them. Digg cleared his throat and then turned the microphone he used on. 

“John Nickel.” The Arrow’s voice boomed, causing the slumlord to turn around. “You have failed this city.”

Nickel immediately jumped to his feet and looked around. He clearly was trying to determine his chances of running out the front door before the Arrow could catch him. He deflated somewhat when he spotted Slade, Nyssa and Sara blocking his path. “I, uh, I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“You own the apartment building on Wells Street. The one that caught fire last night.” Lyla said. “Which was caused by a short in the faulty wiring.”

“You also own three other buildings, where at least seven people have died because they didn’t have adequate heat.” Sara said. “Your unsafe and poorly built holdings have killed people.”

“And let me guess. You’re here to make sure I get “what’s coming to me” because what I did was wrong or whatever.” He said snidely. “So, I cut a few corners, so what? I ignored some regulations, big deal. None of those people had to rent from me.”

“What about the people who couldn’t afford to live elsewhere?” Sara asked.

“Not my problem.” He said. “A few people, people no one really cares about, froze to death. And a few dozen people like that are homeless now. What are you gonna do about it? Everyone knows you don’t kill.”

“Death is not the only punishment one could receive.” Nyssa said. “This is a warning to you. Turn yourself over to the authorities and confess your wrongdoings. Or we will return, and we will be less friendly.”

The vigilantes left the apartment the same way that they broke in without another word.

“I- do you realize what they just did? Do they?” McKenna asked. “They-.”

“Got his confession, on tape.” Felicity said with a smile. “That, combined with the evidence Lyla found, should be enough for the DA to make the charges stick this time.”

“I thought they were just gonna try and get him to turn himself in, like Oliver did with Frank Chen and the Tempest members.” She said. “He’s not gonna turn himself in, because he’s too cocky.”

“He also may have gotten leniency for turning himself in, which is something he doesn’t deserve.” Nyssa said. 

“I’m gonna make you a copy of everyone’s bodycam footage to give to the DA, after I’ve removed the feed from when they were in the foundry.” Felicity said. “Should I remove what Nyssa said to him? Does that count as a threat? Would that cause a problem for the case?”

“No.” McKenna said. “A threat has to be specific. For all he can prove, “being less friendly” could just mean she yells at him.”

Felicity put everything she had in relation to Nickel and the fire on a flashdrive for McKenna to give to the DA in the morning. The vigilantes spent the rest of the night patrolling the streets and intervening when they encountered someone who needed their help.

 

The next morning, McKenna went straight to Frank Pike’s office and asked him to call Kate Spencer. While they waited for her to arrive, McKenna told the acting commissioner that the vigilantes had agreed to the conditions of their deputization and that she now knew the names of everyone on the team.

“I expected it to take them longer to agree, to be honest.” Pike admitted.

“They’ve worked with the federal task force more than once. Perhaps one of the agents vouched for me.” She said. She didn’t want to have to lie to Pike, so she needed to be sure he didn’t think she had a deeper connection with the Arrow. “They don’t make decisions lightly, when it comes to important things, and they were actually trying to figure out how to approach me about it.”

Kate Spencer arrived about five minutes later and McKenna showed them both the footage the team had recorded from the night before.

“How did you know my birthday’s coming up?” Spencer asked when the video was over. “Is it just the video or-? Because if he gets a good enough lawyer, Nickel might be able to weasel his way out of that confession being admitted.”

“There are also some documents on there that prove he was aware of the building on Wells not being up to code and that suggest he knew about the heating issue that killed seven people.” She said. “His people are very thorough.”

 

Felicity took a seat on the couch and let out a happy sigh as she stretched her arms above her head. “I love Thursdays.”

‘Me too.’ Oliver signed. ‘I get to spend all day with you.’

“You two are so cute.” Sara said, taking a sip of her coffee as she walked out of the kitchen. “I don’t know what Ollie just said, but I imagine it was something sweet.”

“He loves Thursdays because I work from home every Thursday and he gets to spend all day with me.” Felicity said.

“Like I said, sweet and adorable.” She said. “I’m gonna go see if Nyssa wants to go out for breakfast.”

‘You announced your survival yesterday. If you go out in public, you’re gonna get mobbed by the press and a bunch of curious bystanders.’ Oliver told her.

“Good point.” She said. “But I didn’t tell everyone I was alive to spend the next few weeks hiding. I’m gonna have to go out in public sometime. We’ll be fine.”

Nyssa and Sara left about ten minutes later, leaving Felicity and Oliver alone in the house. They spent a little while talking about Susan’s story, but Felicity said she didn’t want to talk about it any longer past a point. Talking about the story wouldn’t change anything. Oliver let the matter drop, understanding the desire to stop talking about something you couldn’t change.

‘How is your project going at work?’ He asked. ‘The chip to help with paralysis?’

“One of the mice is a little lethargic, but the others seem to be doing well.” She said. “We have a few more tests to run before we turn them on, stimulating the deadened nerve-endings they’re meant to supplement, but its looking promising so far.”

‘That’s great to hear. I’m glad it’s going well. Your device could- you’re gonna change the world.’ He said.

“Thanks for believing in me.”

‘I should be saying that to you.’ He said. ‘I don’t- if I hadn’t met you, I’m not sure what state I’d be in right now.’ Oliver wasn’t sure what he might’ve done to himself or to someone else if he’d continued down the lonely path he’d been on when he first came home. He knew, better than anyone on earth, how dangerous loneliness could be. He was so happy that he didn’t have to be alone anymore.

“Let’s not talk about what could’ve been. That timeline sounds a lot less interesting than this one. And I love this timeline, it is so much better than I ever could’ve dreamed.”

‘Me too.’ He said. ‘I love you.’ He added as he gave his girlfriend a kiss.

It was too early in their relationship to discuss getting married, but Oliver already knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with Felicity, for as long as she would have him. And, while he wouldn’t admit it just yet, he had an idea in his mind for the engagement ring he’d one day propose with.

 

Susan Williams woke up to a very nasty shock Thursday morning. When the news about Sara Lance being alive aired, she thought it would bury her story about Felicity almost completely. She expected the story to get some minimal buzz after the fact before dying. She never would've imagined the tabloids would start going after her. She expected some moderate degree of professional courtesy from her fellow journalists. Instead, her name was all over the news and some of the skeletons in her closet were being dragged out.

“Why are they going after me?” She asked one of her coworkers. 

The other woman laughed. “Oh, you’re serious.” The reporter said when she saw Susan’s face. “Enough of your story fell apart yesterday that most tabloids don’t wanna touch what you said. It’s easier to dig up dirt on you than it is on Felicity Smoak. And last, but not least, both the Queen family and Queen Consolidated are known to be rather litigious.” Most tabloid reporters were slimy, but they weren’t stupid. They knew they wouldn't stand a chance against QC’s lawyers, or Oliver’s family lawyers, in court over an unsupported story like Susan’s. Susan herself was another matter entirely.

“I’ve never seen reporters go after another reporter like this.”

“Tabloids and news media, which we are, are nowhere near the same. We don’t like them and they don’t like us. They don’t care about professional courtesy, they care about what sells magazines. So, it’s not like you have Bethany Snow exposing all of this on Channel 52.” The other reporter didn’t add that Susan had brought this on herself.

Scott, Susan’s boss, walked into the newsroom and spotted her talking to her colleague. He pulled her into his office and very strongly urged her to take the day off.

 

Tommy pulled into the garage in the Merlyn Global Group building and took a deep breath. Soon, he’d need to head upstairs to the boardroom and meet with the board. He expected they’d ask him a bunch of questions about his father’s actions and agonize over how to move forward with the company. Merlyn Global Group was meant to be bigger than Malcolm, but he wasn’t sure how true that currently was. As soon as he parked his car, he made a call.

“I know you’re working, and have important police work to do, but I need you to do something for me.” He told McKenna. “Tell me that I can do this, that I’m not making a huge mistake going to this meeting.” Tommy had never shown most interest in business and he was concerned the board might ask too much of him or ignore the suggestions that he made. Part of him was also worried that having more power, due to Malcolm fleeing, would somehow turn him into his father. The last person he wanted to be was his father.

“You can do this. You’re not your father. You’re gonna do the right thing and convince the company to do the same.” She said. “I gotta go, but you’re gonna completely crush this meeting.”

He thanked her and ended the call. When he got into the elevator, he felt his phone buzz several times, indicating he’d gotten some texts. He checked his phone and found that everyone on Team Oliver had texted him messages of support.

He took another deep breath and walked into the boardroom.

“Ah, Mr. Merlyn.” The chairman of the board said when he saw Tommy. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.” He then addressed the rest of the room. “If everyone could take their seats, we can get started.”

Tommy took a seat, purposefully not sitting in the chair Malcolm always used, and the meeting began.

“Obviously, we all know why we are here today.” The chairman said. “What we need to decide is how we intend to move forward.”

Tommy was in the meeting all day. When he left, long after it seemed that everyone else in the building had gone home, he felt like they’d managed to accomplish something. They hadn’t made great strides or solved every problem, but the board seemed less panicked and it seemed things were moving in the right direction, but there was a long road ahead.

 

It didn’t take the President very long to decide who his first choice would be to replace Amanda Waller as director of ARGUS. When Eric Graves provided him with a list, there was one name on it that was the ideal candidate and the others would be acceptable, but not the perfect fit. He told Graves of his decision and, following tradition, Graves invited the candidate to his office so that they could discuss it.

“What am I being nominated for?” The candidate asked when the meeting began. “Because, the last time I checked, the CIA doesn’t fall under the purview of the DHS.”

“Director of ARGUS.”

“So, the rumors about Waller are somewhat true.”

“The President wants to nominate you for the position.” He said, ignoring the question. “I don’t think I need to tell you how well you’ve done as the Deputy Director of Operations in the CIA. You also worked in the intelligence division before moving to Ops.”

“That’s not the only reason I’m being recommended though.”

“No, it’s not. You have….a reputation for not putting up with nonsense. And someone like that is what ARGUS needs right now.” He said. “Whatever you heard about Waller, what she did is worse. And no one is so naive that they think she’s the only problematic person in the agency. We need an outsider, to avoid repeating the same mistakes, and someone who’s willing to clean house.”

“Langley has gotten a bit….routine.”

“I look forward to working with you, Ms. Grant.” He said, shaking Cat Grant’s hand. “I’ll let the President know.”

 

After a sleepless night, Laurel found herself sitting in the prison therapist’s office. The therapist, having seen the announcement of Sara’s survival on the news, wanted to be sure to speak with Laurel about it as soon as possible.

“I know what you’re going to ask me, and I don’t want to talk about it.” Laurel said. “Sara’s alive and you wanna know how I feel about that.”

“Yes, I do. Because we’ve talked about the fact that some of your behavior stemmed from unresolved grief. Grief for your sister. And you just learned that she was alive.”

“She let us think she was dead. For five years. She wasn’t on some deserted island either. She could’ve come home, but didn’t.” She said. “I’m angry about that. Wouldn’t you be angry?”

“I imagine I’d feel several things, one of them being anger. But I also know that I’m not aware of what happened to her over the last five years.”

“What are you trying to say?” Laurel asked.

“Perhaps Sara could’ve come home and chose not to until now.” She said. “Or, there could’ve been factors that prevented her from returning, such as hospitalization or imprisonment.”

“Things like that only happen in movies.”

“The same could be said for Oliver Queen surviving on a deserted island for five years.” She said. “I’m not trying to tell you that you can’t be angry. I just want to give you something to consider that you maybe haven’t thought of.”

“I don’t wanna talk about Sara anymore.”

“Fine. Last time we talked, you mentioned possibly taking some classes, starting a new hobby. Have you given any thoughts to what you might want to do?”

“Something creative. Law is- there wasn’t much I could do to express myself when I was a lawyer. I wanna do something creative.”

“That sounds like a nice change.” The therapist said.

 

Thea moved from her classroom to the cafeteria, trying to ignore the looks she was getting and whispers aimed in her direction. Even though Susan Williams’ story had been disproved already, plenty of people saw the segment and the drama of it all was like catnip for gossipy teenagers. Many of Thea’s classmates were too scared, too indifferent or too polite to ask her about the story. The ones that weren’t seemed to be trying to entice Thea to mention it first, by whispering about it when they knew she might hear them. One of the things Thea had learned in the last few months was how not to engage with people who only wanted to make something into an even bigger deal.

She was starting to unpack the lunch Oliver had made for her when she saw someone take a seat opposite from her.

“If you’re gonna ask me about that news story, I’m gonna get up and leave.” She said, not looking up.

“I wasn’t.” Her friend Ashley said. “Well, I was gonna ask if your brother’s girlfriend is okay. Does that count? She seems like a nice lady, so I wanted to ask how she was.”

“No, I don’t count that.” She said with a smile. “And Felicity’s okay, angry but okay.”

“That’s good. I mean, I’m not happy that she’s angry, but it’s good that she’s okay.” She said. “You know, after everyone started tweeting about the story, and then everyone started mocking the reporter, I googled Felicity. She’s kind of awesome.”

“Yeah, she is. A lot of people don’t know that or are too lame to realize it.” Thea said. “I know she’s not actually my sister, but she’s becoming the big sister I never had.” They talked for a little bit as they ate their lunches. The moment was ruined when someone else approached the table.

“So, your brother’s girlfriend is actually some computer hacker.” Mandy said, taking a seat next to Thea. “And I thought you’d turned into a total bore. How did your mom react when that story broke?”

“Do you believe everything you see on TV?” She asked. “You know Rachel and Ross aren’t real people, right?”

“Yes, I know Friends is just a show, Thea.” Mandy rolled her eyes. “But I’m talking about something that was on the news.”

“I guess you missed the segment when one of Channel 6’s anchors had to go on air and say they’d pulled the story because they needed to fact-check it.” Ashley said dismissively.

The other girl ignored her. “Well, is it true or not?”

“No, it’s not.” Thea said. “And no, I’m not gonna prove it. Believe me or don’t believe me, I’m not talking about it anymore.”

“Someone seems mighty defensive.”

“And someone else needs to learn how to mind her own business.” Thea said, standing up. “I need to go talk to Mr. Nanes about a problem on the homework.” She left the cafeteria and headed towards her math classroom.

The rest of Thea’s day passed quickly, and without incident. Word must’ve spread about her confrontation with Mandy, because no one bothered her for the rest of the day. When Oliver came to pick her up after school, he ushered her into the car and drove off as fast as possible to avoid the paparazzi. Susan’s story might be dead in the water, but they could sell plenty of magazines about how “outraged” the Queens were about the story, if they could get photos or maybe overhear something.

‘I never expected them to stake out your school. I’m sorry.’ He said.

“They’re vultures. I know that. You know that. Even they know that. It’s to be expected. I don’t like it, but I’m not mad at you about it.”

‘How was school?’

“It was fine. My guidance counselor asked me if I’d thought about colleges any more since my last meeting with her.”

‘And have you?’

“Not really. I like the way things are now, and I don’t want them to change. And it’s not like I’ve spent my life dreaming of becoming a doctor or something. Maybe college just isn’t for me.”

‘Or maybe, you just need time to decide what you want to do after you graduate. You’re 18. You’ve got time to think things over. I wish I’d had that. But it didn’t fit with Mom and Dad’s plans.’ He said. His parents had spent his whole life mapping out his future. Oliver would go to Harvard and get a degree in business. Then, he’d start working at QC and take over as CEO when Robert retired. Oliver didn’t have a “dream career” but he never wanted to study business. ‘Seriously, take all the time you need. College isn’t going anywhere. Plus, community college and online classes are a thing.’

“You won’t….be disappointed in me if I don’t go to college?” She asked him.

'Of course not. I went to four, but graduated from none. All I want is for you to be happy and do something you love.’ He assured her. He dropped her off at the penthouse before going back to Felicity’s.

Sara and Nyssa had gone out for breakfast and returned several hours later, while Oliver was picking up Thea. They hadn’t been mobbed by press or random onlookers as Oliver feared. They had breakfast at a small deli before paying Dinah a visit, so that she and Nyssa could get to know each other better, before going to see a movie. When Oliver walked into the house, they were talking to Felicity.

“Oliver, you’re not gonna believe this.” Felicity said. “Nyssa’s never seen Star Wars.”

“There are a lot of movies I have not seen.” Nyssa said. “Sara has introduced me to a great many since we met, but I look forward to seeing more.”

“Mark your calendar. Next weekend we’re watching Episodes IV, V, and VI.” The blonde said.

“Why would we not begin with Episode I?” She asked.

“Because those movies are….not great.” She said. “And you need to start where it all started.” She looked at Sara and Oliver.  “Don’t you agree?”

Sara nodded but Oliver looked at his feet. ‘I’ve….only seen the first one.’

"I guess you will have to join us for the movie marathon then." Nyssa said.

 

After a day or two of back and forth, Samantha got a call from her lawyer that she’d been both dreading and awaiting. The call where Camille told her Oliver, his girlfriend Felicity and Thea would be coming to Central City on Saturday to meet William. She thanked her lawyer for the news and called Barb Whitmore to let her know the details, before approaching William, who was playing with some toys in the living room after dinner.

“Hey, Will?” She asked, taking a seat on the couch.

“Yes, Mommy?”

“Can you put your toys down for a second? I wanna talk to you about something.” She said. William put the toys he was playing with down and looked up at her. “You know how I told you that your dad wanted to meet you really soon?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s coming to town this weekend to meet you.”

“I get to meet my daddy soon?”

“That’s right. I’m gonna take you to Courtney’s house on Saturday morning and her mommy’s gonna take you to meet him.” She said. “He’s coming with his sister and his girlfriend, who can’t wait to meet you.”

“This Saturday? In two days?”

“Yup. In two days.”

William started bouncing up and down, excited that he was going to meet his father soon. Samantha had a feeling he’d somehow get even more antsy and excited over the next two days.

“I take it you’re excited.”

“So excited. I wish it was Saturday now!”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 108

Summary:

Moira contemplates recent events, Quentin hears something he's not happy about and Oliver has his interview.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Patrol on Thursday night was pretty quiet. The city was still reeling from the fire and incident at the nightclub, so many of the bigger criminal gangs were laying low to avoid suspicion. At the same time, pickpockets and robbers were also making themselves scarce, having realized that they really didn’t want to get on the Arrow’s radar. The vigilantes patrolled the city regardless, but encountered very little they needed to address.

 

Moira knew it was getting late as she poured herself a drink. Normally, she’d be in bed by now so that she’d be well-rested for one event or another she had the next day. Her schedule was getting less and less busy as time went on and the only thing she had planned for the next day was a call to her lawyer to find out if the federal task force needed additional information from her. Besides, the last few days had been quite the whirlwind.

First, the devastating fire and terrifying hostage situation on Tuesday night. While no one she knew was impacted by the fire, it was still sad to see so many people lose their homes. She had to admit that the Arrow Initiative wasn’t a terrible idea, since it had found temporary housing for everyone displaced within only a few hours. She’d heard that Madison Danforth was one of the hostages taken at the nightclub on the same night. Jessica told her that Madison was unharmed, but gave very little detail beyond that.

Before the dust from those incidents could settle, Susan Williams had published a story trying to slander Felicity Smoak. It backfired, given the fact she apparently had no real evidence, but Moira imagined the story being published was upsetting enough for the woman. She wasn’t Felicity’s biggest fan, Moira could admit she’d made mistakes with Oliver but Felicity still drove a wedge between them, but as someone who’d been getting a lot of bad press lately, she could sympathize with how she must’ve felt. Felicity probably felt worse, given that she wasn’t used to media attention like the Queen family was.

And then, there was Sara. Sara, who Oliver hadn’t mentioned when he came home. Sara, who had been thought lost at sea but had survived. There were so many questions surrounding her. Had Oliver known she survived? Where had she been for the last five years? Why had she only returned now? Her survival made Moira feel less guilty, now she only had to carry the weight of Robert’s death and those of the crew, but it certainly made her wonder.

As Moira stood in the huge sitting room, in the massive, empty mansion, she realized once again exactly how alone she was. Oliver had left. Thea had left. Walter was living somewhere else. She remembered Walter telling her that she couldn’t expect her family to forgive her simply because she wanted them to. She needed to make amends. She needed to put in the work to show that she was sorry and trying to change.

“Well, I suppose the first step is the most obvious one.” She said as she emptied her glass. “And I know what I need to do tomorrow.”

 

As the night wound down, and the vigilantes made their way back to the foundry, Felicity started going over her, Oliver and Thea’s schedule for the weekend with the team member. The trio being gone meant the team would be down the Arrow and their hacker and they wanted to be sure the others knew what the plan was.

“You guys are leaving tomorrow?” Roy asked.

“Yeah. When I get off work, I’m gonna come home, eat dinner and then we’re heading to the train station. Unless there’s a delay, our train leaves at 6:30 and arrives around 11.” Felicity said. “The ride home is a little shorter. We leave Sunday at 5 and get back by 8:30.”

“How is one ride an hour longer than the other?” Tommy asked.

“I’m not really sure. It might have something to do with there being no commuter trains on Sundays or something. Or just fewer trains on the rails in general.” She said. “The important thing is we leave Friday night and come back Sunday night.”

“And we’ll be fine for those two nights that you’re gone.” Lyla said, walking into the foundry followed by Oliver, Sara, Nyssa and Slade. Everyone could hear the conversation on the comms and knew the details by now. “Don’t worry about us.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I covered for the Arrow.” Nyssa said. “And I would like to believe my performance spoke for itself and you have confidence in our ability to operate without you here.”

‘Of course I do.’ Oliver signed. ‘It’s just-. I worry that something’s gonna go horribly wrong just because I leave. Like somehow leaving to go will cause it, but at the same time, I need to go. And I want to go, but-.’ He was nervous about leaving Starling. The last time he left, of his own accord, he didn’t come back for five years. He was also nervous about going to Central City, for obvious reasons.

“You don’t need to explain.” She said. “We each have our own hang-ups and anxieties.” By now, she had a very good insight on how Oliver’s mind worked. It wasn’t that he didn’t think the others could work without him for a night or two. He was just terrified that something would happen when he wasn’t around to help.

“Oliver, this is what’s gonna happen. You, Thea and Felicity are going to go to Central City. You’re going to meet that little boy of yours and have a great time. And you’re not gonna worry about us, because there will be one, two former special agents, one ex-Special Forces soldier and two trained assassins here. Not to mention the SCPD, FBI and Coast Guard.” Donna said. “And everything’s gonna be okay. Don’t make me use my “mom” voice.”

‘You’re right.’

The team called it a night and went home. Felicity and Oliver’s bags were packed. The train tickets were printed out. In less than 24 hours, they’d be on their way.

Friday morning, Oliver made breakfast for himself, Felicity, Sara and Nyssa. When Digg and Lyla arrived, he offered them some food as well. When it was time for Felicity and Lyla to head to the office, he took a little bit longer to say his goodbyes before telling her to have a good day.

“Ollie, she’s gonna be okay. I doubt anyone at Applied Sciences believed Susan Williams’ story or would ask her about it.” Sara told him. She had a pretty good idea that part of the reason he took extra time saying goodbye was because he was worried about her first day back in the office after the story.

‘I know Dr. Palmer and Curtis won’t, but- this whole thing is a mess none of us needed to deal with.’ He said and Nyssa repeated what he’d signed. ‘What do the two of you have planned today?’

“We haven’t decided yet.” Sara said. “I might call my dad. See if he’s free so that I can introduce him and Nyssa.”

Oliver nodded. He hoped Sara introducing her girlfriend to her father went well, whenever it happened. He also hoped that, whatever the pair of them ended up doing today, they enjoyed themselves.

‘I’m gonna take Thea to school.’ He told Digg. ‘I’ll pick up Roy when I get Thea and then head to the Hochman Hotel.’

“Sounds good to me.” Digg said. “Is Donna gonna meet us there or-?”

‘No. Just Roy. I talked to both of them about it yesterday. Linda talked to her producer and I guess it’s an industry practice to have the interpreter or translator be the same gender as the person speaking. Something about how if viewers see me, but hear a woman’s voice it causes some kind of weird disconnect.”

“That sounds….really dumb, but okay.” John didn’t see why the gender of the interpreter mattered, as long as the person was qualified. Then again, he didn’t know anything about TV or journalism.

‘I also- if Linda asks me about Felicity, which she probably will, it would be weird to talk about Felicity and have her mother be the one interpreting for thousands of people to hear.’ He admitted. 

“That’s also a good point.”

Oliver picked up Thea and Roy and drove towards Thea’s school. Roy complained, good-naturedly, about having to sit in the back, but mostly let the siblings enjoy their daily tradition. Naturally, all Thea could talk about was how excited she was for the trip to Central City.

“Ah! I’m so excited.” She said. “Wait, should I have gotten him a gift? Is that something you’re supposed to do? What’s the right gift for a five, almost six, year old?”

Roy could see that Oliver wasn’t expecting the question and was starting to wonder the same thing himself. “I’ll text the group chat and ask. Slade has a kid and Lyla’s got nieces and nephews, right? They might have some suggestions.” He said. Roy opened up the Team Oliver group chat and typed out the questions Thea had asked. Donna responded almost immediately.

>>From: Donna: I’d wait for the next visit to bring a gift. Tomorrow is about meeting WIlliam and getting to know him. It’ll also be easier to buy a gift after you’ve met him because you’ll know what he likes. If he says he likes cars, you can buy him some Hot Wheels or if he likes building things, you can get him some LEGOs.

>>From: Felicity: Thanks, Mom.

Thea told Oliver what Donna had said and he nodded in understanding. Her reasoning made sense to him and, to be honest, he was worried that if he did buy William a present so soon Samantha might take it the wrong way. He still didn’t know what her opinion of the situation was.

Oliver reached Thea’s school and told her to have a good day. She gave him a hug, said bye to Roy and went into the building.

 

After Quentin was put on administrative leave, his old partner Lucas Hilton reached out to him once or twice to meet up for coffee. Following Quentin’s decision to retire, Hilton suggested they make it a regular thing. He knew this was probably just an attempt to make sure he stayed sober, but it gave him a reason to leave his apartment, aside from seeing Laurel and it was good to see people. The fact that Hilton wouldn’t tell him about any open cases, since he was a civilian now, was frustrating to Lance, however.

Today, Lance wasn’t frustrated about that however. The SCPD had announced that they were officially deputizing the Arrow and his team this morning and he wasn’t taking the news well. To make matters worse, Hilton seemed supportive of the idea.

“How can you say this is a good thing? Pike doesn’t know who these people are.”

“Pike doesn’t, but they have an official liaison. Though, only a handful of people know who that is yet.” Hilton said. “And, with them being deputized, it’s gonna be a lot harder for copycats to get away with things, which was one of your concerns when he first showed up.”

“I said I hoped he didn’t bring more psychos to the city, and he has.”

“Well, one of those “psychos” saved an FBI agent from a sniper earlier this week. And if it weren’t for some of them, we would’ve lost at least two SWAT officers, and who knows how many civilians, during the stand-off on Waters Street.”

“You thought he was dangerous too.”

“I did. And then, he was able to do something IA couldn’t. He cleaned up the department. When I joined the force, it was never a question of if one of the cops in my unit was dirty, but how many and which ones. As a whole, cops can actually trust one another now.” He said. “Not to mention, with the information he’s been passing onto the department, we aren’t stuck with just taking down a gangbanger or two at a time. There are whole gangs the gang unit has been able to shut down.”

“I’m not saying that stuff’s not good. I just-.” Lance didn’t have a rational reason to hate the Arrow, but he did. He was grasping at straws and he knew it. “The dirty cops that they weeded out, how many were there?”

“No one but the top brass knows for sure, but there’s a manpower shortage. I mean, even Nudocerdo, the commissioner, was dirty. It’ll take about three graduating classes from the academy to make up the difference, or a number of transfers from other cities. That means extra shifts in the meantime, but no one’s complaining. Cops can trust other cops now, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like we’re actually achieving something.” Lance didn’t have anything to say to that. Hilton took another sip of coffee. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you haven’t mentioned yet.”

“Sara’s alive and I’m thrilled. Of course I’m thrilled. But she’s not the same.” He said. “And, yeah, I know. If she’d been away for five years at school or in the Peace Corps or something, she would’ve changed too, but I wasn’t expecting her to change this much.”

“Or you thought if she came back, everything else would magically go back to the way it was the day she left.” He said. “The real question is how is she doing? Does she seem well?”

“She seems...fine, all things considered. That’s what worries me the most. Queen came back mute and with a truckload of other issues, but Sara-.”

“Oliver Queen was stuck on a deserted island alone. By the sound of things, and how the feds made it sound, Sara might’ve been far from home, but she wasn’t alone.”

 

After taking Thea to school, Oliver picked up Digg and they drove to the Hochman Hotel. Linda Park had made arrangements to use one of the event spaces to interview Oliver. In all honesty, they didn’t need a room so large, but renting a bigger space made eavesdropping harder. The hotel was also in one of the quieter parts of the city, so there were fewer people to spot Oliver and make a big deal out of seeing him at a hotel.

Linda and her cameraman met them in the hallway outside of the room and greeted them. She showed them into the room. The set-up was pretty basic. There was a chair for Linda, a chair for Oliver and chair for Roy. A camera was set-up between the chairs so that its operator could pan from Linda over to Oliver and Roy as the interview progressed. While Oliver and Roy were getting ready to go on camera, and Roy’s microphone was being soundchecked, the reporter wanted to over a few last minute things.

“Ok, I know we talked about this a few days ago, but I wanted to go over it again. We’re gonna record this today. Rick and I are going to edit it this afternoon and tomorrow to get it ready to air.” It had taken some arguing with the network, but Linda got her boss to agree to let her and her cameraman Rick be the ones to edit the interview. “Assuming everything goes according to plan, it’s going to air on Sunday night at 9.” Linda said. “If you need a moment while we’re talking, let me know and we’ll cut the camera.”

Oliver told Roy how he’d signal that he needed a moment, just in case, and then they took their seats and the interview began.

“Good evening, my name is Linda Park.” Linda said as she looked into the camera. “Tonight, I have the pleasure of sitting down with Oliver Queen in his first interview since his return to Starling City in late September. Hello, Mr. Queen.”

The camera panned over to Oliver. ‘Hi, Linda. Please call me Oliver.’ He signed.

“Oliver, then.” She said before taking a deep breath. She scanned her notes to find a good first question to ask and the interview began.

Oliver knew he’d be in good hands with Linda, but he hadn’t expected the time to pass so quickly as they talked. Before he knew it, Linda was asking her final question and thanking him for sitting down for an interview.

“And we're done.” Rick said, announcing the camera was now off.

“Ooh, that was- I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.” Linda said. “At least, I hope it was fun, or in the very least, pleasant.”

‘It was better than I expected.’ Oliver admitted.

“I’m glad.” She said. “How do you feel about what we talked about? Is there anything you want us to cut out?”

‘Not that I can think of.’ He said. They had talked about a variety of things, but only one or two questions were about something serious or heavy and he wasn’t uncomfortable with what she asked or how he’d answered.

“Okay, well, you have my contact information. If you sleep on it and decide you want us to cut something, let me know.”

He thanked her once again for her time and left the hotel with Roy and Digg. He dropped Roy back off at the penthouse and went home to get ready for the trip to Central City. He was already packed, but he wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. He also wanted to make sure the house was somewhat clean for when they returned. Nyssa and Sara were both gone when he got home, so he assumed they’d found something to do for the day. 

 

When the time came, Oliver picked up Thea from school, took her to the penthouse to grab her suitcase and change, and went home to wait for Felicity and make dinner. Felicity came home a little after five, announced that she’d had an excellent day at work and her experiments were going well and they had a quick and easy dinner of chicken and rice before leaving for the train station.

Felicity knew, from flying back and forth between Las Vegas and Boston and then Las Vegas and Starling, that the key to making travel easier was to dress comfortably. She insisted that everyone do the same, so she, Oliver and Thea sat in the train station in sweatpants and hoodies and completely avoided being recognized.

“You know, you’re kind of a genius.” Thea remarked when she noticed no one was looking at them or trying to sneakily take photos.

“I’m really not. I mean, I am, but not because of this.” Felicity said. “It’s just- people kinda have their own perceptions. When most people see me, I’m either in a dress and heels or a blouse and pencil skirt. Oliver's normally wearing a suit or jeans and a henley. You look like you stepped out of a fashion magazine normally. No one really expects us to be here, at six at night, wearing yoga pants and the biggest sweaters we own.” It also helped that the gate they were waiting at was all the way at the far end of the station.

An announcement said the train could begin boarding, so the group got in line. Felicity had paid extra for priority boarding, so they were one of the first groups onto the train. They snagged a spot in one of the quiet cars and waited for the train to depart from the station.

They spent the ride talking about random things, such as Thea’s thoughts about what she wanted to do after graduation and Oliver’s ideas for what they could use the above-ground areas of the foundry for. The train pulled into the station in Central City and they took an Uber to the hotel where they’d be staying. They’d booked a suite with two bedrooms so that everyone had some privacy. Once they were settled into the hotel, Felicity texted everyone to let them know that they’d arrived safely.

Thea checked her phone, wondering what might’ve happened while they were on the train. “Someone spotted us.” She said. “Or at least, they spotted me.”

‘Where?’ Oliver asked.

“It looks like it’s from outside the train station. It’s a very blurry photo of me getting into the Uber.” She said. She showed them the photo on Instagram, which had the caption “I think #theaqueen was on my train”. Under the caption were some comments agreeing that it was definitely Thea and wondering why she was in Central City, while others claimed it couldn’t be her.

“Well, that’s a little better than if it was a really good picture showing all of us.” Felicity said, with an expression that said she knew it wasn’t much better. “Why is that account called “SmoaksLooks” though?”

“They kinda- they normally post pictures of you in different outfits with “dupes” for what you’re wearing in case people wanna emulate your style.” Thea said. “There are actually quite a few Instagram pages dedicated to your style. And mine. And Ollie’s.”

‘I really don’t understand Instagram.’ Oliver said.

“We should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a big, exciting day.” Felicity said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

-------
I didn't want Oliver's interview to overshadow his meeting with William, so you'll see the full interview when it "airs".

Chapter 109

Summary:

Oliver meets someone he's been eager to meet for a long time.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As Nyssa had assured Oliver, the team ran into no problems on Friday night after he, Felicity and Thea boarded their train. The city was quiet and patrol was completely unremarkable. For Digg and Lyla in particular, this was a very good sign. They knew why being the Arrow was so important to Oliver, but even vigilantes needed a vacation every now and then. Knowing the city could survive without him for a few days, and that his team would be fine, might help Oliver work through some of the anxiety he’d felt about leaving.

Saturday morning arrived and Tommy, Slade, Roy and Walter went to the community center for ASL class. McKenna said she’d meet them there, since she was off-duty in the morning. Sara and Nyssa were meeting Sara’s parents for brunch, so that Quentin could meet Nyssa, while Digg and Lyla enjoyed having a day off and Donna started making arrangements for her move from Las Vegas to Starling. Tommy was leading the group going to ASL class, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the classroom, causing Roy to crash into him. Sitting there at one of the tables was Moira Queen.

“I- Moira” Tommy asked after he’d recovered from his surprise.

“Good morning, Tommy.” She said. “I assume you’re here for the same reason that I am.”

“If you’re here to learn American Sign Language, then yes.” Slade said as he made his way into the room. As the only person in the group who hadn’t met Moira Queen before, he wanted to know what all the fuss was about. He knew Oliver had had issues with his mother when he first returned, and Slade wanted to know exactly why that was.

“Steph does run the only ASL class in the city.” Roy said. Moira’s eyes shifted over to him and she had a strange look. He knew, at that moment, that she recognized him from the board meeting. She was probably wondering why Oliver’s interpreter needed an ASL class. “I help her out when she has a class with students at different levels of skill.”

“Okay, I’m here. I made it.” McKenna said, walking into the room. “Oh, good morning Mrs. Queen.” She did a slightly better job hiding her surprise at seeing Moira than Tommy did.

Stephanie arrived not long after McKenna and class started. The members of Team Oliver all knew that Moira being there, her deciding to take an ASL class, was a sign. They weren’t sure if it was a good or bad sign, but it seemed significant.

When the class was over, Moira pulled Walter aside. She figured he’d be easier to convince to spare a few moments than Tommy or Roy, who she didn’t really know.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to run into you or Tommy today.” She said. “Though, it’s good to see both of you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” He said.

“I’m a bit surprised Thea didn’t come.”

“She’s away for the weekend. She decided to take a short trip with Oliver and Felicity.” He told her. She didn’t need to know exactly where they’d gone or what the trip was for. Not yet, at least. “You want to learn sign language, what exactly does it mean?”

“I can’t- I can’t go on the way that I’ve been doing things for the last few months. I know that. And, as you’ve told me more than once, I’m the one who needs to repair the damage I’ve caused with Thea and Oliver. I figured that learning ASL, being able to talk to Oliver, it’s a good first step.” She said. “The first of many, of course.”

Walter didn’t have much to say to that, and a few minutes later, the conversation ended.

After meeting Moira and observing her, Slade could understand why Oliver didn’t feel completely safe around his mother. She seemed determined to be in control, among other things, and after Oliver’s last five years, that wasn’t a trait he liked seeing in people.

 

When Felicity woke up on Saturday morning, Oliver was already awake. To be honest, she was surprised he’d slept at all, out of both excitement and anxiety. He was awake and dressed for the day and looking at something on his phone. She sat up and stretched.

“Good morning.” She said.

He gave her a smile and pressed a button on his phone. “Good morning, Felicity.” A slightly robotic-sounding voice said from the device.

“You’re using the text-to-speech app?” While Oliver had had the app on his phone since the day they’d met, as far as she knew, he hadn’t used it before.

‘I wanted to give it a try.’ He signed. He knew it was probably really dumb, but part of him wanted William to associate a “voice” with him. While he loved Thea and Felicity, he wanted to have his own voice with his son. This way, he could talk to William even if he didn’t have an interpreter around.

“Well, let me know what you think of it and if there’s anything I can do to make it work better.” She said before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I need to see what our coffee situation is.”

She went out into the main living area of the hotel suite. To her dismay, the hotel didn’t have good coffee available in the room. She changed out of her PJs and asked Oliver if he wanted anything from Jitters. Thea was coming out of her own room and gave Felicity her latte order. Oliver just wanted a cup of black coffee. Felicity entered her own order and paid via the Jitters app. The closest location was a few blocks away from the hotel, so she left to pick up the order

Felicity’s trip to Jitters was pretty fast. It wasn’t too late, so there weren’t a lot of people in line for coffee. Additionally, most people milling about didn’t give her a second glance. She ran into the coffee shop and picked up the order before leaving. Only two people in the building seemed to notice her.

Iris West pulled out her phone and started texting Barry. She told him that, unless she’d had too much caffeine already which made her hallucinate, she was pretty sure that she’d just seen Felicity Smoak walk into the Jitters where she worked. She wondered if that meant Oliver Queen was in Central City too.

Cisco Ramon, who was supposed to meet someone for coffee, also spotted Felicity. He wondered if she was there for work-reasons. He knew Dr. Wells had been trying to recruit her to work at Star Labs for a while.

Felicity, Oliver and Thea enjoyed their coffees and ate breakfast before leaving to head to the place where they’d meet William.

 

William was so excited to meet Oliver that he’d woken Samantha up just after dawn. While she was upset about the lack of sleep, she knew she couldn’t be angry at her son. He was finally meeting his father. He was excited. Her own worries about Oliver and the matter of custody aside, he had every right to be excited. They had breakfast and she helped him get ready for the day.

“What are you putting in your coat, Will?” She asked her son as he stood in the living room, putting toys into the pockets of his coat.

“My toys. I want Daddy to see them.”

This shouldn’t have surprised her. When William made a new friend, he wanted that friend to see all his toys. Of course he’d want to show them all to Oliver. “You can’t bring all your toys with you, honey.” She said. “What if you lose one? You’ll be sad if that happens.”

“Can I bring some?”

“Yes. You can bring one or two.” She conceded. “And you can tell him about your other toys.”

“Okay.” William said. He stood there for a moment, trying to decide which toys to bring with him. He ended up selecting one of his Hot Wheels cars to take with him.

When he was ready to leave, Samantha walked him over to the Whitmore-Dugan house. Barb Whitmore was going to take William to meet Oliver and then bring him home. Barb listened with attention as William told her how excited he was to meet his dad.

“Well, let’s get in the car and go then.” Barb told him. She then looked at Samantha. “I’ll let you know how it goes and if anything changes in terms of time.”

“Thanks.” She said. “And thanks again for doing this.”

 

Sara and Nyssa got out of the car and walked towards the diner where they were meeting Quentin. As they neared the building, Sara reached for Nyssa’s hand to hold it.

“Beloved...”

“My dad isn’t your father.” Sara said, coming to a stop right next to the door. “He’s not gonna scold me, or you, for holding hands or showing affection around him. And, you looked like you needed it.”

“You really think he’ll like me?”

“I know he will. Because I do.” She said. “Now, let’s go inside so that we’re not blocking the sidewalk.”

They entered the restaurant and spotted Dinah and Quentin right away. They walked over to the table and Sara hugged her mother, followed by her father.

“Dad, this is Nyssa.” She said after the hug ended. “Nyssa, I’d like you to meet my dad, Detective Quentin Lance.”

“I’m actually not a detective anymore.” Lance said. “I retired a little while ago.” He then looked over to Nyssa. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Sara has told me a great deal about you.”

“Good things I hope.” He said nervously. He wanted this meeting to go well. The better it went, the easier it would be for him to reconnect with Sara. From the way she talked about Nyssa, the woman was important to her and would be in her life for the foreseeable future.

“Very good things.” She said.

A waitress came over and took their drink orders. The conversation was slow and awkward at first, but by the time their food arrived, things were going noticeably better.

 

Barb drove William to the child care center where they’d be meeting Oliver. The spot was one Barb had used before when one of her charges had supervised visits with his mother. She suggested the daycare center since it would allow William to play with his father, aunt and Felicity Smoak after they’d first been introduced. Playing would keep things from becoming too awkward.

She was getting William settled in the center when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see the three people they’d been waiting on.

“Hi.” She said. “I’m Barb Whitmore. You must be Oliver, Thea and Felicity.”

“Yes, that’s us. It’s nice to meet you.” Felicity said with a smile. Oliver started signing something and his sister and girlfriend looked at him until he was finished. “Um, Oliver wants to know how much William knows about his….muteness.”

“I’m not sure, actually. When Samantha explained the situation to me and asked me to bring William, I didn’t think to ask about that.” She said honestly. “I’m sorry.”

Oliver began signing again. Then, Thea spoke. “He says that’s okay and that it’s not your fault. He just wanted to know. We all- we talked about how much to tell William, if he asked, but wanted to know what he’d already been told.”

“That’s understandable.” Barb said. “Let’s go meet him, shall we?”

She turned to let them into the building. Felicity and Thea let Oliver go in first and followed as they approached the table where a little boy sat.

“William?” Barb said. “There are some people here who are really excited to meet you.” She gestured to Oliver. “This is-.”

William immediately got out of his chair and ran over to hug Oliver. “Daddy!”

Oliver hugged his son back, and after they broke apart, he pulled out his phone and pressed something on the screen. Oliver had spent most of the morning trying to decide what he wanted the first thing he said to his son to be. He ended up settling on something short, but important.

“Hi, William. I’m your Dad. I’m very happy that I finally get to meet you.” The application read out loud.

“Why do you have a robot voice?” The boy asked.

“William, did your mommy tell you why you haven’t met your dad before?” Felicity asked.

“No, but Courtney told me that Daddy was really far away for a long time.” He said.

“Well, when he was away, he got hurt and it messed up his voice.” She said. “So, sometimes, he talks with his hands or uses an application on his phone to talk.”

“Okay.” The boy said. One thing about kids around his age was that, if they asked a question and the answer they received made sense, they could accept most information.

Oliver typed something else into his phone and it spoke for him again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here before. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Well, you know your dad.” Barb said. “This is his sister Thea, your aunt.” She pointed to Thea. “And Felicity, his girlfriend.”

“Hi, Auntie Thea. Hi Felil- Felist- your name is hard to say.” William said.

“You can call me Lisy, if that’s easier.” Felicity told him. It was a nickname she’d had when she was a kid.

“Lisy. I can say that.” He said excitedly. He took Oliver’s hand and tried to lead him over to the bins of toys. “Let’s play.”

“What toys are your favorites?” Thea asked.

“LEGOs are the best.”

“Then, I think we should build something with LEGOs.” Oliver’s app read out loud. “Does that sound fun to everyone?” They grabbed a big bin of LEGOs and William started pulling pieces out to build something. “What should we build?”

“A spaceship.” He said. He then went about picking which blocks he wanted to use to build his spaceship. “So, Daddy isn’t part robot?”

“No, he just needs one sometimes to talk to people.” Thea said.

“It would be cool if he was part robot.” The boy said quietly. He liked robots a lot.

“Do you like robots, William?” Oliver asked.

“Uh-huh. They’re really cool. I wanted to bring my robot from home, but Mommy told me I couldn’t bring all my toys. So, I brought my Hot Wheels car.” He took the toy out of his pocket to show everyone. “The robot was too big to put in my coat.”

“Maybe you can bring him next time we come see you.” Thea offered. “You know, Felicity knows how to build robots.”

“You do?” The boy asked Felicity, his eyes were wide.

“Yes, I’ve built some for work.” She told him.

“That’s the coolest thing ever!”

“It is kinda cool.”

After some time, Felicity claimed she needed to call Donna while Thea mentioned wanting to ask Barb something. In truth, they both just wanted to give Oliver some one-on-one time with his son.

“So, William, what’s your favorite animal?” Oliver asked his son.

“I like dogs. And pandas. What’s yours?”

“I like dogs too. And penguins.” He answered. He typed out another message on the app he was using. “Are you in kindergarten?”

“No, I’m in pre-k.” William didn’t know this, but he was born a few days too late for Samantha to register him for kindergarten for the current year. He’d start kindergarten as one of the older kids in his class. “I get to go next year.”

“Are you excited?”

“Yup! I wanna learn lots so I can grow up and go to space and build robots.”

“Sounds exciting.” Oliver was blown away by how smart and excited the boy in front of him was about life. He was also shocked at how much he loved the boy already. He asked William a few more questions about things he liked and told him a little bit more about himself. He didn’t know when he’d get to see William again, so he wanted to take advantage of the time they had now.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Felicity signing. ‘Everything ok?’

‘Everything’s great. He’s so- he’s a great kid.’ He signed back. Thea and Felicity came back over to the table.

“What was that thing you were doing with your hands?” William asked.

“It’s called sign language. It’s one of the ways your dad talks to people since he hurt his voice.” Thea said. 

“Oh, like Santa in the Christmas movie Mommy and I watched.”

Thea and Oliver looked over to Felicity. They felt like she might know what he was talking about. She was the one who’d grown up with a deaf family member.

“In the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street, there’s a scene where a little girl deaf girl comes to see Santa. And, because he’s Santa, he’s able to talk to her in sign language.” Felicity said. “And yes, William, it’s just like that.”

The boy nodded in understanding. They finished their LEGO spaceship and, far too soon, Barb came over and told them it was time to go. The group had been together for a few hours, but it felt like the time was far too short.

William didn’t want to leave, no one did, but he said goodbye to everyone and asked when he’d get to see them again. Barb explained that Oliver needed to talk to Samantha to figure out a time when he could visit again. The boy made sure to give his father an extra long hug when they said their goodbyes.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Oliver said.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” William said. “Take this with you.” He handed him his Hot Wheels car.

“No, buddy, I can’t take your car.”

“Why don’t you hold onto that and we’ll play with it next time?” Thea suggested.

William seemed to accept that. A few minutes later, they all left the daycare center. After another round of goodbyes, Barb put William in her car to drive him home.

“Well, I think that went really, really well.” Felicity said.

‘He didn’t want to leave.’

“None of us wanted the meeting to be over.” She said. “Which is a sign that he had fun, just like we did.”

‘Do you think Barb liked me? I know Samantha’s gonna ask her about how it went and how I acted, and-.’

“I think she did. I think she can tell that you really, really wanna be a good dad.” Thea said. 

Oliver nodded and they got into the Uber they’d called. As they drove back to the hotel, Oliver made several mental notes in regards to things he wanted to talk about with Eliana, and by extension, Samantha.

They reached their hotel and ordered room service. The rest of the night was spent watching movies.

 

Samantha told herself that she’d use William’s absence to get some chores, such as laundry and vacuuming done. While she’d hoped to get those things done, she was so nervous about William meeting Oliver that she hadn’t been able to focus for long enough to do anything. She hadn’t gotten a text from Barb that they were coming back early, which she supposed was good, but she still had a lot of questions. Barb texted when they were on their way back and about fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. She opened the door and William immediately rushed to hug her.

“Thanks, Mommy.” He said when he pulled away.

“Thanks for what?”

“I got to meet my daddy, and auntie Thea and Lisy because of you.” Since he was five, he still thought his mother was responsible for most things, so in his mind, he got to meet Oliver because she somehow made it happen.

“Lisy?” She asked.

“Her name’s not really Lisy, it’s Felik- Felili- it’s too hard to say.” He said.

“Oh, Felicity.” Samantha said. “And did you have fun?”

“Lots of fun. We made a spaceship and Daddy and I talked about our favorite animals. And Lisy told me about the robots she’s made.”

“I’m glad you had fun.” She said. “I need to talk to Courtney’s mom for a second, okay?”

“Okay.” He said before going into the living room.

“How did it go, from your perspective?” Samantha asked Barb.

“Really well. Oliver seems to really want to be a good parent. Will seemed very at ease, after introductions were out of the way.” She said. “He also had a chance to talk to Oliver one-on-one for a while.”

“How exactly did-?” She didn’t want to ask how a mute man could talk, but was curious about how he’d been able to communicate.

“Oliver has an app on his phone. He types things into it and the app reads it aloud. Will thought his dad’s “robot voice” was cool.” She said. “Since he didn’t seem to know about Oliver’s speech issues, they told him that while Oliver was away, he’d gotten hurt and that’s why he didn’t talk like we do.”

“And how did William react to that?”

“He was upset that his dad isn’t a robot, but accepted it.”

“What about Thea and his girlfriend?”

“They seemed normal to me. A little nervous, but I think everyone was. Nothing I saw concerns me about William’s safety, if that's what you’re asking.”

“Good. That’s good. I- did they say anything to you, about me?”

“Not really. They wanted to know what you might’ve told William about Oliver’s muteness and asked Will what you might’ve said about why he hadn’t met them before, but besides that, nothing.”

“What exactly did they ask?”

“Exactly what I said. What you might’ve told William about Oliver’s muteness and what you’d told him about why Oliver wasn’t in his life before now. They seemed to not want to confuse him by saying something that conflicted with what you might’ve told him.” She said. “As I said, you weren’t really a big topic of conversation.”

Samantha supposed that that was a good sign. If she wasn’t being mentioned, it meant Oliver, Thea and Felicity probably weren’t badmouthing her to others.

Later that night, when Samantha tucked William into the bed, the boy was still telling her all about how much fun he had with his father that day.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

 

------------------
Yes, I did introduce something in Chapter 2 and wait until Chapter 109 for it to be relevant. Because I'm a little bit of a crazy person.

Chapter 110

Summary:

Felicity thinks about the future, Dinan gets a surprising call and Oliver's interview airs.

Notes:

Just a quick note, for Oliver's interview, I use the " " marks for speech and not the ' ' that I use for ASL because Roy is interpreting for him, and anyone watching would be hearing Roy's voice.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Linda and her cameraman stayed up all night on Saturday putting the finishing touches on her interview with Oliver. She sent the final, edited product to the station at around 3AM. Linda was slightly annoyed, then, when her boss called her at 7AM to discuss the interview.

“All right, so I watched the finished cut.” He said, without even saying hello to her.

“And?”

“How much of the interview did you cut?”

“Almost nothing. The occasional word flub or other mistake.” She said. “Something that a TV show would consider a blooper.” Editing had taken a bit longer than she was used to only because she and Rick had to agree which shots to use for certain points in the interview. 

“So, you didn’t ask him about Lian Yu, his father, or anything hard-hitting?”

“No, I-.”

“We had an exclusive with Oliver Queen, his first interview in over five years, and you turned it into some fluffy, softball interview.”

“Dennis, I was told by Queen Consolidated to stay away from certain subjects. Since we wanted the interview, I stayed away from those topics.” She said. “And I’m used to asking athletes how they feel about upcoming games or recent victories. Not- we both knew that I wasn’t the ideal person to do this, but you refused to send someone else from the station to cover this.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do now.” Dennis sighed. “We’ve been promoting the interview all week, so we can’t just pull it from the air. I guess we’ll see how it’s received and then discuss what happens next.”

“I guess we will.” She wasn’t sure if that was supposed to sound threatening, but it did. When she saw her cameraman Rick later, she told him what their boss had said.

“What were you supposed to do? Tell Daniel Correll and Oliver Queen that you wouldn’t ask about the island and then blindside the guy at the actual interview?” He asked. “He would’ve left and then there would’ve been no interview.”

“I know that and you know that, but Dennis seems to think the viewers are gonna hate the interview because it's too “fluffy”, that was the word he used.”

“He clearly doesn’t pay much attention to social media.”

 

Sunday morning, Felicity woke up when she felt something blowing against her skin. Opening her eyes, she found Oliver wrapped around her, almost like a koala, and he was breathing softly on her neck. She smiled. Yesterday had been…..amazing wasn’t the right word to describe it. She wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it had gone so much better than anyone could have imagined. William was a smart, sweet kid who was so excited to meet his father. And he hadn’t rejected Oliver because of his limitations or asked many uncomfortable questions about his mutism.

Oliver’s face twitched and he opened his eyes, which immediately found hers. “Good morning.”

‘Morning.’ He told her before leaning up to kiss her. ‘Yesterday was….’

“Amazing? Stupendous? Incredible?”

‘Yes, all of that. William, he- I think he really liked spending time with me.’

“He definitely did. And you had quite a lot of fun yourself.”

‘We all did. I-.’ He sat up suddenly. ‘I need to get Nyssa something. To thank her. If she hadn’t told me about William, I might’ve never-.’ He wouldn’t have known about William, much less gotten to meet him yesterday, if she hadn’t told him that she’d overheard the task force talking about the boy.

“Ok. I’ll text Sara and ask her what kinda stuff Nyssa likes. I don’t really know what a good gift in this situation would be, but I’m sure she’ll have a suggestion.” She picked up her phone and fired off a quick text to Sara before she and Oliver went back to cuddling.

They laid there and discussed their favorite parts of the previous day until they heard movement from the other room, indicating Thea was awake. Once Thea was awake, Felicity offered to go on another coffee run to Jitters.

Felicity ordered the coffees on her phone, but when she arrived at the coffee shop, some of the pastries were calling to her. She approached the counter, causing the woman who was putting baked goods out on display to look up at her.

“Hi, what kind of muffins are those?” She asked, gesturing to the display case.

“You- um, the ones in the front are blueberry and the ones in the back are banana nut.” The woman answered. “There are some croissants I still need to put out and a few other things.”

“Are there any chocolate croissants?”

“Yes. And almond, and plain and also ham and cheese.”

“Okay. Can I get two chocolate croissants and one blueberry muffin? And, if it could be one of the muffins that’s not next to the banana nut, that would be great.” She said. “I’ve got an allergy and my epipen’s back at my hotel and I don’t wanna- sorry, you didn't need to know all of that.”

The barista didn’t say anything and bagged up the pastries. “Have a nice day.”

“Thanks, you too.” Felicity said. “Iris.” She read off the woman’s name tag before grabbing the coffees and leaving the coffee shop.

Iris finished loading the pastry case and went to text Barry and a few of her friends to tell them that she hadn’t imagined Felicity Smoak coming into Jitters yesterday. One of Iris’s friends mentioned Thea Queen being spotted at the train station on Friday night and she began to wonder why the two of them, and probably Oliver, were in Central City. Maybe Thea was thinking of going to college at CCU?

Felicity returned to the hotel room and announced that she’d brought coffee and breakfast. She gave Oliver the blueberry muffin and she and Thea each had a chocolate croissant.

As they ate, they talked. Mostly, it was about meeting William, but after a while, the topic changed. “So, Instagram has two theories about why we’re here.” Thea said as she wiped some crumbs off her chin.

‘What are they?’ Oliver hoped they didn’t guess about WIlliam’s existence yet. He loved his son and wanted him to be in his life, but he also didn’t want the press to invade his or Samantha’s privacy, especially if it happened unexpectedly.

“Either you and Felicity came here to elope. Or I’m here to take a tour of Central City University.” She said.

“Why would we elope here?” Felicity asked. “It’s a lot easier to do that in Las Vegas. And that’s where I’d elope to anyway, because that’s where most of my family lives.”

Thea shrugged. “It’s just a theory. I don’t know why they think that. The college one makes more sense though.” People knew by now that Thea’s relationship with Moira was strained. It therefore made sense that, if she was going on college tours, she’d be more likely to go with her brother than her mother. “So, what are our plans for today?”

“We need to get Nyssa a gift, and that’s pretty much all I’ve got planned until it’s time to catch the train home.” 

“What are we getting her?”

‘Sara texted over a few ideas.’

They got ready for the day and headed out into the city. Of the ideas Sara had given them, one stuck out to Oliver as being perfect for the situation and he was hoping he’d be able to find something similar in Central City.

 

“I’m sorry. I must’ve misheard you. I’m gonna need you to repeat that.” Waller told the ARGUS agent standing in front of her. She might no longer be the director, but plenty of agents were still intimidated by her, which meant she could bully them into telling her things she wanted to know.

“The President announced his nominee for director of ARGUS on Friday.” The agent said.

Waller had been out of the country, with Task Force X, and had only returned that day. “No, that’s not the part I misheard. It was the next part that I don’t think I heard correctly.”

“He’s nominated Cat Grant, from CIA.”

“Someone from the CIA? An outsider? He’s handing ARGUS over to some Langley drone?”

“Well, it might not happen. She has to go through the confirmation hearing and-.”

“Shut up and get out.” Waller said. She couldn’t deal with the idiotic agent in front of her as well as everything else. This wasn’t good. Promoting from within was better for Waller, she knew how to manipulate all of the likely ARGUS candidates. She would have still been the leader of ARGUS, if not in name, if someone like Bell, or Lyla had she not quit, had been nominated. An outsider was another story. She had no experience with anyone from the CIA, much less Cat Grant herself. ARGUS was going to change and she wasn’t happy about that.

 

After a few hours of looking, Oliver had found the perfect gift for Nyssa. The trio then went back to their hotel. Throughout the day, Felicity and Thea had been fielding calls from everyone on Team Oliver who wanted to know how meeting William went. They were more than happy to share the details. After the last person was called, they started packing to leave.

“You know, we might wanna think about moving.” Felicity asked.

‘What do you mean?’ He asked her. ‘I thought you liked the house?’

“I do. I love it, but- I was thinking that if William’s gonna come visit us or stay during the summer, he’s gonna need his own room, and I only have one spare bedroom.” She said. “And it would be nice if everyone could fit comfortably around my dining room table for dinner. I love my house, but I think we need a bigger space.”

Felicity’s house was nice and she felt so proud of herself when she bought it, but by making so many new connections, she’d outgrown the space. She had too many close friends now for everyone to fit into her tiny, two bedroom house.

‘Let’s start house-hunting when we get home then.’

 

With Malcolm on the run, the task force shifted their attention to tracking him down. For the time being, the FBI, CIA and Interpol were working on that, giving the CGIS employees some downtime to work on more mundane things, like paperwork. 

Dinan was working on some paperwork, related to getting access to Lian Yu from the Chinese government, when her phone rang. “This is Agent Dinan.”

“Hello Agent Dinan, this is Admiral Tate. Director Webb has told me great things about you.” The voice on the other end of the phone said.

Even though he couldn’t see her, Dinan immediately sat up straighter when she heard who he was. “Thank you, sir. May I ask why you’re calling me?” Something big had to be going on for him to call her period, much less to call her on a Sunday afternoon.

“I understand that, in the course of your investigation into the Queen’s Gambit, you were “read in” on the details of a particular operation conducted by ARGUS and there may be mention of that operation in reports you file when this investigation concludes.”

“I have, sir.” She said. “Though the only report I, or any of the CGIS agents with me, intend to file in regards to that was going to be submitted to the Department under seal.” Waller’s actions weren’t a CGIS or Coast Guard concern. The only thing she could do was submit a report to the Department of Homeland Security to investigate.

“Good. That’s good to hear.” He said. “I’ve been asked by Secretary Graves to make sure that the name of a certain civilian isn’t in that report, to protect his privacy. Something to the effect of “Agent A” or “Citizen Doe” will suffice.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Thank you, Agent Dinan.” Tate said. The call ended not long after.

“Who was that?” Doyle asked his partner. “Doug Casry?”

“Admiral Tate.” She said. 

“As in-? Why is the Commandant of the Coast Guard calling you?” Admiral Tate was the highest-ranking person in the Coast Guard, aside from the President. Something big had to be happening for Dinan to get a call from him.

“To tell me that Oliver Queen’s name cannot appear in our report about what happened during the Moscow Operation. He needs to be referred to as an alias.”

“Not that I object to that, but I’m curious as to why it's so important that he called you. Why not Casry or even Director Webb?”

“He was calling on behalf of Graves, actually.” She said. “I think they’re expecting this to turn into a Congressional hearing or something, and if Mr. Queen isn’t mentioned by name, it won’t turn into a massive media circus.”

“Do we need to tell Anderson the same thing? The FBI might be submitting a report of their own.”

“I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow.” She said. 

 

Even though it was a little cold out, Samantha took William to the park. Her son always had a lot of energy and spending some time running around with other kids and playing was a good way for him to burn that energy off. 

While at the park, William saw Courtney Whitmore and her stepbrother. He immediately ran over to tell them all about meeting his father. Barb had told Courtney who William’s dad was, to avoid the girl thinking he’d gotten confused, so they listened with rapt attention as he talked about the meeting and his dad’s cool “robot” voice. After playing with them for about an hour. Samantha decided it was time to go home. It was almost time for dinner, after all.

“When can Daddy come visit again?” William asked his mother.

“I don’t know yet. I need to talk to him and figure out a time.” She said. “You had a lot of fun with him huh?”

“Uh-huh. He’s really nice and so is Auntie Thea and Lisy talked to me about robots and space.”

“Was Lisy nice too?”

“Yes! She was nice and she’s smart. They played with me the whole time, not like how grown-ups only pretend sometimes.” He scrunched up his nose at that. He didn’t like it when adults only pushed cars back and forth or absentmindedly moved things around instead of actually playing and trying to have fun.

“Well, I’ll try to set up another day for him to visit, but I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait.”

“That’s okay. I can draw them pictures to show them next time.”

 

Oliver, Felicity and Thea boarded the train to head home. There were a few people who spotted them at the train station, but they were able to avoid attracting too much attention. The ride back to Starling was pretty quiet. Oliver and Felicity spent the trip discussing their budget for a new house and what features they were looking for. Since they left Central City ahead of schedule, they arrived home a little early as well. They went straight from the train station to the foundry.

‘Should I go out tonight?’ Oliver asked. While he knew he very easily could, he was worried about the time difference making him tired.

“You don’t have to.” Felicity said. “You can stay in the lair with me and Thea. See how patrol looks from my end.”

‘I think that’s a good idea.’

They entered the lair and said hello to the others who were standing around in the space.

“I thought you weren’t gonna be back until a little later.” Tommy said.

“We thought so too, but the trains were running ahead of schedule.” Thea said. 

While Thea and Felicity told everyone, a second time, how well meeting William went, Oliver pulled Nyssa aside to talk to her. He was carrying a medium-sized box.

‘I wanted to thank you for telling me about William.’ He said. 'If you hadn’t spoken up, I wouldn’t-.’

“There’s no need for you to thank me.” She said.

‘Maybe not, but I wanted to.’ He said. ‘And I got you something, to say thank you.’ He handed her the box. ‘Sara mentioned that you enjoy tea, so I thought you might like this.’ The box held a tea set and a few different types of loose leaf tea.

“Thank you, Oliver.” She said. Her voice was a little thick, but he didn’t comment on it. One of the few possessions in Nanda Parbat that she regretted leaving behind was a tea set her mother had given her many years ago. 

Nyssa, Sara, Lyla and Slade headed out for patrol while Oliver took a seat next to Felicity. Since everyone knew Oliver’s interview was airing, Felicity opened up a live feed from Channel 8 so that they could watch it.

 

In Corto Maltese, Malcolm woke himself up at 2:45 in the morning. The country was six hours ahead of Starling City but the Dark Archer needed to make sacrifices in order to keep himself alive. Oliver’s interview was going to air soon and he had every intention of watching it. The answers he gave could mean the difference between Malcolm living or dying.

 

At exactly 9pm, people all over the country tuned into KSFZ Channel 8, or the local affiliate, to watch Oliver’s interview with Linda Park. The network had decided to air it nationwide.

“Good evening, my name is Linda Park.” Linda said, looking into the camera. “Tonight, I have the pleasure of sitting down with Oliver Queen in his first interview since his return to Starling City in late September. Hello, Mr. Queen.”

The camera moved over to Oliver and Roy. Oliver started to sign and a moment later, Roy began interpreting. “Hi, Linda. Please call me Oliver.”

“Oliver, then.” She said. “Since you returned to the city, people have been wondering what you’ve been up to. Any new hobbies?”

The camera was focused on Linda when she asked the question, so the audience didn’t see the look of relief on Oliver’s face when he heard it. The camera focused on Oliver again, this time a closer shot with Roy out of the frame, and he began signing.

“A few new hobbies.” Roy said, on his behalf. “I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’ve also discovered that I really enjoy cooking. And I’ve learned how to make jewelry.”

“Yes, the earrings you made for Felicity Smoak created quite the buzz online. Why jewelry-making?”

“I wanted to learn how to make something with my own hands. The first gift I made was for Thea. I made her a bracelet for her birthday. And for Valentine’s Day, I made Felicity earrings.” 

Linda nodded. “You also said you like to cook. What are some of your favorite dishes to make?”

“I make a really good chili, but some people find it too spicy. I’ve been told my chicken parmesan is also very good and that’s my favorite dish to make. It’s also Felicity’s favorite. There are a few others I haven’t tried, but I want to try making soon, like chicken cordon bleu.”

At home, women struggled not to faint. Oliver Queen was attractive, obviously, and he cooked? He really started to sound too good to be true.

“Speaking of Felicity, I know a lot of people wanna know the story of how you two met. Care to share?” Linda asked.

Oliver got a happy smile on his face as he answered. “I met Felicity when my phone broke a week after I came home. Walter suggested that I go ask her for help, he claimed she could fix anything tech-related. We became friends pretty much that same day and a few weeks later, I gathered the courage to ask her out.” There was a pause. “And my relationship with her has been amazing. Knowing her has changed my life. I didn't think I could ever be this happy. She’s...not to sound cheesy, but meeting her is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“If I asked you to say, in one word, your favorite thing about her, what would you say?”

“One word? That’s tough. Felicity’s kinda- she’s hard to describe in one word, and it’s hard for me to pick one thing I like most about her.” He said. “I’d say how passionate she is. She’s so passionate about her projects, about helping people. And she’s also very compassionate. When you talk to her, or even just listen to her speak, you can tell how much she cares about what she’s talking about. She’s….amazing.”

Hannah Smoak let out a snort. “Of course she’s amazing. Felicity is my granddaughter after all.” Still, she was touched by the way Oliver talked about her. 

Moira Queen was having a much different reaction. She couldn’t help but watch the interview, even though she told herself not to put too much hope in it. She was shocked at how happy and comfortable her son seemed to be. She certainly hadn’t thought her son’s feelings for Felicity were as strong as they seemed to be.

“I know quite a few people expected to hear wedding bells soon for the two of you.” Linda said.

“We’re not quite there yet.” He said. “Our relationship is new, we’ve only been together for about three months. Proposing so soon seems really fast, and Felicity agrees.”

“I could sit here all day and ask you about you and Felicity, or Olicity as the internet has dubbed you, but there are some other questions I’d like to get to.” She said. “What was the biggest or most noticeable change in Starling City that you noticed when you returned?”

“Well, for one thing, my sister grew up a lot while I was gone. In terms of the city at large, I- it’s hard to pinpoint just one thing. Projects that were just starting were finished when I came back. Places I used to like eating at closed and were replaced by other restaurants. The city felt a lot bigger back then.”

“How do you feel about some of the recently announced philanthropy projects, such as the Arrow Initiative or the Rebecca Merlyn clinic reopening?”

“I’m in favor of both of them. I support anything that makes life for people in the city, and beyond, easier. After all, Mrs. Merlyn didn’t close the clinic because she stopped caring. And I’m glad Tommy’s decided to reopen the clinic to honor his mother.”

“As you may or may not be aware, Oliver, your condition has brought a lot of attention and awareness to issues such as mental health and accessibility and accommodations for people with disabilities.” She said. “How does it make you feel when people call you an inspiration?”

Oliver held his breath as he watched the interview. This was the one question he wasn’t quite sure he answered well. He didn’t want to come off the wrong way while trying to explain his feelings.

“That’s a question with a complicated answer. Obviously, it's a good thing that those issues are being brought to people’s attention. Some of those things are very stigmatized or people don’t see them as “big concerns” of theirs. And, if someone living with some of the struggles I live with sees my story and that gives them some sort of solace or encouragement, I’m happy. But at the same time, I don’t want to be the “standard” every person with mental health struggles is compared to. Or every person with speech issues. I’m aware that I’ve got some advantages that other people don’t have, and everyone’s story is different.” He said. “I also feel really uncomfortable when people come up to me, like at the grocery store, and tell me I’m inspiring. It comes off as patronizing or pitying. I don’t think I’m brave for going to the store to buy food or living my life. It’s kinda like- I can do everything you, or the cameraman or my interpreter Roy, here, can do except talk and it’s frustrating when people act like my life is so much harder than theirs because of that one thing. As you can see, between ASL, apps or just writing things down, it doesn’t impact my life as much as some people might think.”

“That’s fair.” She said. “And I can see where that would feel frustrating and othering. We’ve talked about what you’ve been up to, let’s talk about what’s next for you. Any ideas?”

“Right now, nothing. I’ve still got a lot to figure out.”

“Thank you once again for sitting down with me, Oliver.”

“Thanks for having me.” He said and the interview was over.

“I, for one, think that interview was pretty amazing.” Felicity said. “And not just because you said nice things about me.”

‘Linda was a lot easier to talk to than I thought she’d be.’

The four vigilantes out patrolling were given the CliffNotes version of the interview, but everyone agreed that Oliver had done really well.

Most of the public thought so as well. A few people criticized the interview for being too easy and Linda for not asking more difficult questions. Some accused the Queen family lawyers of threatening Linda to edit anything serious out of the interview, but the criticisms were drowned out by the praise. Most people had wanted to know how Oliver was doing and what he’d been up to, and now they’d gotten to see it. Overall, the interview was very well received.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 111

Summary:

Felicity gets a surprise visitor, the taskforce gets an update and Samantha is given a few things to think about.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Malcolm Merlyn was underwhelmed by Oliver’s interview to say the least. There wasn’t a single question regarding the island Oliver had been stuck on. The reporter hadn’t asked about the five years he’d been gone or Robert’s death. Oliver was a fool and a terrible liar; if he’d been asked about Robert’s death, he wouldn’t have been able to hide the truth. Why had that reporter bothered to have such a soft, safe interview with Oliver? What information was Malcolm supposed to learn from questions about Oliver’s hobbies or his girlfriend?

“Sir?” One of his minions asked after entering the room and finding Malcolm glaring at his computer. “Do you requ-?”

“Get out.” He said.  The man scurried away.

Not only did Malcolm need to know what Robert Queen, the Arrow, might be up to, but he also needed to worry about the League. He had no doubt that Drayson would betray him once he was caught. Did Ra’s already know he’d tried to kill Nyssa? Or had that information been slower to reach the Demon Head? He felt surrounded. What was he going to do?

 

Monday morning, Felicity woke up to Oliver running his fingers through her hair. It was a very pleasant sensation. They exchanged a few kisses before getting out of bed in order to get some coffee and eat breakfast. Just as Oliver was handing Felicity her food, Sara and Nyssa came out of the guest room. Everyone exchanged greetings.

“So, what did you guys do this weekend?” Felicity asked them. “We told everyone about how well meeting William went, but I realized we didn’t ask how anyone else’s weekend went.”

“Our weekend was quite enjoyable. Thank you for asking.” Nyssa said.

“Yeah, it went well.” Sara agreed. “Nyssa and I had breakfast with my parents, so she got to meet my dad. I also had to tell my mom that I knew she had a thing with Slade, which was awkward. For both of us.”

“Yeah. I know what that’s like.” Felicity said. “How did meeting your dad go? Was it awkward or-?”

“I mean, everyone was nervous, but it went well.”

‘That’s good. I’m happy for you.’ Oliver told her. Sara deserved to be happy.

“I hate to ruin a tender moment, but I feel that we should perhaps discuss our current living arrangements.” Nyssa said. “While it’s very kind of you to allow us to stay with you, we cannot take advantage of your hospitality indefinitely.”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you need or want to, though we were talking about maybe getting a bigger place.” Felicity said. “The house gets a little crowded when all of Team Oliver comes over for dinner, so we need more space. We’ll need it especially once William starts coming to visit. He needs his own room.”

“So, you’ve already found a twelve bedroom mansion with a tennis court and two swimming pools, I’m guessing.” Sara joked.

“I don’t think we need that much space.” She said. “And I don’t wanna get lost trying to get from my bedroom to the kitchen for coffee every morning. My point is- what’s my point?”

“You’re not gonna kick us out.” Sara responded. She and Nyssa would move to their own place eventually, but they hadn’t put an effort into looking just yet. Right now, she was going to enjoy being home and everyone knowing she was alive.

The group ate breakfast together and Felicity got ready for work. Oliver left to pick up Thea for school right after Lyla and Felicity left to head to Applied Sciences.

When Thea got into the car, she looked nervous about something. ‘Everything okay?’

“Mom went to the rec center on Saturday.” She said. “Roy told me.”

‘What?’

“Mom, she went to Stephanie’s class on Saturday. Roy, Tommy, Slade, Walter, even McKenna all were there.” She said. “Roy only told me this morning. He’d forgotten with all the excitement about us meeting William and your interview.”

‘Did he say anything else? How did- did she say anything to them or-?’

“I don’t know. I kinda- when he told me I was too surprised. None of those questions occurred to me.” She said. “I’m sorry.”

‘You have nothing to be sorry for.’

 

Felicity and Lyla reached QC and went to the workshop where Curtis and Ray were already busily checking on the lab mice they were running tests on. Felicity asked them about their weekends. Curtis had spent a quiet weekend with his boyfriend Paul. When it was Ray’s turn to answer, he looked like he could barely contain his excitement.

“She said yes.” He said with a grin.

“She- you proposed to Anna and she said yes?” Felicity asked. “Well, of course she said yes, I knew she would, but I didn’t know you were going to ask.”

“Well, after the fiasco on Valentine’s Day, I had to adjust my plans, but- I took her to dinner at Clyde’s which was where we had our first date. When the waiter brought dessert, I got down on one knee and asked.” He said. “She said yes, and then started crying. There were only a few other customers, and they all clapped.”

“Congrats. I’m so happy for you.” She said. 

The trio then began reviewing the data for the last round of tests they’d run. Lyla sat off to the side, reviewing some proposals for updating the security system that Josiah Hudson asked for her opinion on. After about half an hour, there was a knock on the open door of the lab.

“Felicity, there’s someone here to see you.” One of the receptionists told her. “It’s a Mr. Lance.”

“...Can you show him to my office? I’ll be right there.” She said. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, and assure Lyla that she didn’t need back-up, the blonde went to her office to meet with Lance.

He turned around when the door opened. “Hello, Ms. Smoak.”

“Hi, what brings you here, detective?” She asked as she walked over to her desk and sat down.

“Oh, I’m not- I retired from the force actually.” He said. “I came to- I wanted to thank you, you and Qu-Oliver. Sara told me what you’ve done for her over the last week or so and some of what he did back on that island, so- yeah, I wanted to thank you. I didn’t think he’d want to see me, so….” He’d been doing a lot of thinking, especially since Sara told him a bit about the years she was away. He might not like Oliver, but he knew he needed to at least thank him for helping Sara.

“We were happy to help.” She said. “Sara’s our friend. So is Nyssa.” This conversation was perhaps the most awkward one she’d ever had.

“Still, I know you and Oliver both hate me, but-.”

“We don’t hate you.” She said. “What you did was misguided, but it was clear that you were just trying to help your daughter. And, for what it's worth, we didn’t want things to resolve the way that they did. We just- we had to do what was best for us.”

“Yeah, I get that now.”

“And I know you might not believe me, but I do hope that Laurel’s doing well.”

“Thanks.” He said. “I’m sure you’re busy. I’ll get out of your hair now.” He left her office.

She took a few moments to collect herself and was about to leave when the door was opened again. The same receptionist from earlier was escorting Moira Queen into the room. Felicity couldn’t fault the receptionist for not stopping Moira, she was the wife of the CEO after all, but she wished the older woman had called first.

“Oh, Felicity, you’re here. I was just about to go find you.” The receptionist said.

“No need.” She said. “Thanks for showing her back here.” She sat back down. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Queen?” This wasn’t the first time Moira had come to Queen Consolidated, where Felicity couldn’t simply walk away, to speak with her. The last time she’d done so was before Laurel’s trial.

“I wanted to talk to you. About Oliver’s interview last night.” Moira said.

“In what sense?” She asked as she braced for the answer. There were so many ways this conversation could go. She hoped it was at least slightly pleasant.

“I know I’ve made a great deal of mistakes. I’m not ignorant of that. But I- I didn’t realize, until I saw my son’s interview last night, how much happier he is, how much healthier he seems to be. I wanted to thank you for that.”

“I didn’t have that much to do with it. The progress Oliver’s made is mostly the result of his own work.”

“And I think you had more to do with it than you want to admit.” The Queen matriarch said. Felicity had done what she couldn’t. She’d supported Oliver in the way he needed and helped him become more comfortable around others. “I doubt Thea or Oliver would be willing to see me right now, but will you please tell them that I intend to repair our relationship? I want to earn their forgiveness for the things I’ve done.”

“I’ll tell them.”

Moira left not long after. Felicity needed another few minutes to collect herself before going back to the workshop where the rest of her team was.

“Why do you look like you just got hit by a hurricane?” Lyla asked her.

“I just got a “thank you” from Quentin Lance and Moira.” She said. “It was kinda….surreal.”

“They were both in your office?”

“Not at the same time. Lance came to thank me for helping Sara, and right after he left, Moira showed up. She saw his interview and wanted to thank me for how much happier Oliver seemed to be.”

“Really?”

“That’s what she said.” She said. “I don’t- I don’t really know how I feel about her coming to talk to me. So, I’m gonna get back to work so that I don’t have to think about it for a little bit.”

“Fair enough.”

 

Laurel found herself sitting in the office of the prison psychologist. They had another appointment scheduled for today, but even if they didn’t, she had a feeling the doctor would want to talk to her, want to see how she felt about Oliver’s interview.

“How are you doing this morning, Laurel?” The therapist asked.

“Fine.”

“Can I assume you’ve seen Oliver Queen’s interview?”

“It aired after lights out last night, so I didn't see it. But one of the other inmates was more than happy to let me read the article all about it.” She said. The inmate was hoping the article would rile Laurel up and get her to lash out.

“So, you know the basics of what was said in the interview. How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know.” She said honestly. “Am I still angry with Ollie? Yes. Does it hurt to see that he’s happy and moved on? Yes. But I don’t wish anything bad on him. And we’ve already talked about how I can’t blame him for everything that goes wrong in my life.”

“Saying you don’t blame him and feeling like he’s not to blame are two different things.”

“I know. I’m doing the first, but the second is another matter entirely.”

The doctor wrote something down. “I’d like to talk about why you reacted the way you did when Oliver first reappeared in your life. I believe you said something, a few sessions ago, about how out-of-character your reaction was.”

“It took me nearly three years to finish grieving Sara. I managed to overcome it by blaming Oliver. He invited her on the yacht, so her death was on him. Then, he came back and I was reminded of how angry I was at him. I knew- the Ollie I knew would’ve come to see me and tried to apologize. It wouldn’t have helped, but that’s what was supposed to happen, what I expected to happen. But he didn’t seek me out. When I went to confront him, his mom told me that he couldn’t speak and I realized that I was never going to get an apology and something in me snapped.”

“Snapped in what sense?”

“All I wanted was to hear him say “I’m sorry for getting Sara killed” and then I was told that I’d never get to. I became convinced that he was pretending to be mute, to rob me of that.”

“And you became fixated on proving he wasn’t mute because it validated your feelings. If Oliver isn’t mute, then he isn’t traumatized and is hurting you on purpose.”

“Something like that.” She said. “I was hoping- in the past, when he didn’t want to do something, he usually caved if I kept addressing it with him, if I kept asking him about it. I guess I hoped that- that if I kept telling him to drop the act, to just “man up” and apologize that he’d get tired of the charade and talk to me.”

“How does Moira Queen factor into what happened next? I believe you told me that the majority of the actions that led to your arrest occurred after she’d asked you for help.”

“We both wanted Oliver to stop acting differently. I wanted him to admit that he was faking it. She wanted- she felt like he was out of control and needed to rein him in. Part of it was pride. If I could do this, if I could get Oliver back under his mother’s influence, then it would be good for my career. And Moira would donate to CNRI.” She said. “I don’t know about Moira, but I was hoping the mental incompetence claim, not the hearing but just the challenge, would convince him to stop acting the way he had been and realize what he was doing.”

“And, if he didn’t, then he’d have to sit through a hearing.” The doctor said. “Let’s switch gears and move away from Oliver for a second. Let’s talk about Sara. You’ve had some time to recover from her surprising return. How do you feel? Have you reached out to her yet? Has she come to visit?”

“I’m still conflicted. And no, I haven’t. I don’t even know what I’d say to her. What do you say to someone that you mourned for five years, but also spent five years resenting?”

“To be honest, I’d start with smalltalk. She’s your sister, but you haven’t seen her in five years. She’s a different person now, and so are you. You don’t know what she’s willing to share with you and I’m sure she doesn’t want to upset you.” She said. “But one of you needs to take the first step.”

“And you think it should be me?”

“I’m suggesting that you consider it.” She said. “It looks like our time is just about over for today. I’m not going to give you homework this time, but I want you to think about some of the things we discussed.”

 

During lunchtime on Monday, all any of the other students could talk about was Oliver’s interview. It felt like everyone was watching Thea to see how she felt about it. As always, most people didn’t try to ask Thea what she thought of the interview, so it was a lot of people trying to covertly stare at Thea and looking away when she turned to look at the person.

“Am I a bad person for being happy that everyone’s too focused on your brother’s interview to bother me?” Madison Danforth asked as she took a seat next to Thea. Today was her first day back at school after the hostage situation at the nightclub.

“Not at all.” She responded. “What you went through was really scary and I’m sure you don’t wanna talk about it with a bunch of nosy people. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay I guess.” The girl shrugged. “I definitely needed the time with my mom, but I think I’m doing okay.”

 

Over dinner that night, Felicity and Oliver talked about the very interesting days they’d had. Felicity told Oliver about her visits from Lance and Moira. Oliver told her about his meeting with Eliana Sanchez, his lawyer. He also told her about a strange conversation he'd had with McKenna. She’d told him that the FBI and CGIS were ordered not to mention him by name in any reports regarding ARGUS’s operation in Moscow.

‘I don’t know why they’d be told not to do that.’

“Because they want to keep it as quiet as possible. And by they, I mean Homeland Security, not those agents. If your name is attached, people are going to care. And it’s going to get attention. There’s going to be a hearing, but the hearing won’t get as much attention if you’re not involved.” She said. “Not to mention, what Waller did was create a giant, PR cluster-frak for the government. Pretty much everything she did, to you and Lyla, went against regulations. Once that report comes out, the Department probably doesn’t want to make it worse by giving Congress even a chance to subpoena you to testify.”

‘I don’t follow.’

“On the surface, Waller forced a private citizen to work for her, in a capacity that she knew said citizen didn’t have training for, and put that person into a position where they very easily could’ve been killed. She held that citizen prisoner, without cause. She made threats of harm against that citizen and their family. Once she no longer needed said citizen, she drugged them and knowingly put them in a situation where they were likely to die, in order to tie up loose ends.” She answered flatly. “Waller doing that to anyone gives Congress a reason to investigate. Who the citizen is shouldn’t matter in this context, but this is Congress we're talking about, so naturally, it’s gonna get political.”

‘I see. Why aren’t they going to strike Lyla’s name as well?’

“It’s harder to justify omitting her name. She was an ARGUS agent at the time. There isn’t the same expectation of privacy for a report like that. And they likely wouldn’t want to, since she’s the best person who could testify to what happened.”

‘That makes sense.’ He said. ‘Have you thought about houses?’ He didn't want to talk about Russia or ARGUS anymore.

“Not since this morning. I got sidetracked with my surprise visitors and the tests we were running at work.”

‘Fair enough.’

They met up with the rest of Team Oliver in the foundry. The vigilantes, except Lyla, headed out for patrol not long after arriving.

“Why aren’t you patrolling tonight?” Donna asked curiously. “Not that you need to explain yourself, but-. Are you sick?”

“No. It’s been quiet the last few nights, and I think tonight’s gonna be quiet as well, so I figured the whole group wasn’t needed.” She said. “And I thought we could get some training done while Oliver, Slade, Nyssa and Sara are out patrolling. Anyone up for that?”

Roy, Thea and Tommy all said they were willing to train for a little bit. True to her prediction, the city was very quiet that night. Felicity joked that it was simply too cold for anyone to be up to anything nefarious.

 

Samantha had a call to her lawyer scheduled for Tuesday morning. Camille wanted to know how William meeting Oliver went and discuss how they wanted to move forward. There was also a chance that Oliver’s lawyers might contact Camille after the meeting and she wanted to discuss any communications they had with her client.

After they got their greetings out of the way, Camille asked the big question that had weighed on her mind. “How did Saturday go?”

“Really well. William had so much fun and he was so happy when he came back.” Samantha said. “And Barb also said that things went well. She didn’t seem to have any concerns based on the behavior she saw.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

“Based on what they said, I’m not as worried as I once was.” She said. “But I still- I haven’t talked to Oliver yet, so I don’t-.”

“You still are a little worried. That makes sense. We’re talking about your son, which naturally means you want to be cautious. I take it that if Oliver wants to see William again, you’d be okay with that?”

“Yes. I don’t- he was so happy to spend time with Oliver and I don’t want to take that away from him.”

“Okay. Do you have any thoughts about how frequently he could visit? Or, if not visit, how often would they be able to talk, say over the phone or via Skype?”

“Um, I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest.”

“That’s fine. This process tends to raise questions most people might not think of.” Camille said. “But, as your attorney, I feel like I should advise you to allow calls in the very least. Everything else aside, giving Oliver access to William, to develop their relationship, is for the best.”

“Ok.” She said. “I- based on what his lawyers have been telling you, do you- does it seem like he’s trying to take William away from me? Because I- he has the money to fight this indefinitely and I-.”

“I haven’t gotten that impression. He wants to have a relationship with his son, he doesn’t seem to want to take him from you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Can I be honest, Samantha?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“If he wanted to take William away from you, he wouldn’t be trying to keep this out of a courtroom.” She said. “He wouldn’t have had his lawyers send that first letter. He would’ve just filed the papers to sue for custody and not looked back.”

“He could still do that.”

“Only as a last resort. In case we can’t come to any kind of an agreement or if you try to cut-off his access to William. I don’t think we’re dealing with a worst-case scenario, so we should stop talking like it is one.” She said. “I got an email from his lawyer yesterday. He’s asking about seeing William again. He also mentioned bringing a gift or two the next time he saw him.”

“That’s fine, but I need to think about the next time he can visit.”

“Will you agree to phone calls and video calls now, with details to be determined later?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Because if we allow those, it’s easier to justify larger gaps between visits.” Camille said. “Oliver’s also been floating the idea of a trust fund for William.”

“I don’t want William to be spoiled. He’s a little boy. He doesn’t need to be a billionaire.”

“No, he doesn’t, but what’s being suggested is a trust fund for the express purpose of paying for William’s education. College is expensive after all.”

William was also a very bright kid, so Samantha knew he’d get into a good, but expensive school in about 12 years. “That sounds fine. But I want it to be clear that the money is only for school and it can’t be restricted to just one school. He can use it to go to whatever school he wants.”

“I’ll let them know, but I don’t think they’ll have a problem with that.” Camille said. “We’re going to have to meet with him eventually. I trust you understand that.”

“Oliver probably hates me.”

“He might be angry, though it could be with his mother more than you, but I don’t think he’d be trying so hard to compromise if he hated you. It seems to me like he just wants a relationship with his son and occasional visits.”

 

Over breakfast on Tuesday, Oliver brought up something he’d wanted to discuss with Felicity for the last few days. The conversation about moving had reminded him of something he’d wanted to address with her for a while.

‘Felicity, you’re…..you’re not just my girlfriend.’ He said. ‘You’re my partner. In every sense of the word.’

“I know that, Oliver.” She said, with a confused look on her face.

‘I want to pay for half of the new house, wherever we end up.’ He said. ‘Actually, I- I want to split everything with you evenly. I’ve been meaning to bring this up, wanting to pay for my part of the bills and stuff, but I didn’t want- I wasn’t sure how.’ He didn’t want Felicity to take his offer the wrong way, like he was implying that she couldn’t support herself or something along those lines. He knew she didn’t need him to survive.

“I think that’s a good idea. I think that’s what’s fair.” She said. “I mean, we’re looking to buy a house. Not just me or just you, but both of us. You’re also right about the bills. I’ll give the bank a call, see if we can get an appointment to apply for a mortgage.”

‘Felicity, you’re a millionaire and I’m a billionaire. And we’re not looking for a massive house, like the mansion where my mo- where I grew up.’ He said. ‘We don’t need a mortgage. We can just buy a house outright.’

“Right. I totally forgot that that’s now an option.” She said. “When I bought this place, I got a mortgage, which I paid off within a few years, but- yeah, it never occurred to me until now that we can just buy a house without one.”

Oliver decided that now wasn’t the best time to remind her that the one credit card he had was his Black American Express card that he could use to buy pretty much anything, including a house. Amex wasn't kidding about the card having unlimited spending. They didn’t discuss money very often, as it made them both uncomfortable, but they had nothing to worry about on that front.

‘Do you want to live closer to the center of the city or- because QC’s main office is in the middle of downtown?’

“That would be nice, but I also like having privacy. So, I was thinking maybe not the middle of the city. I’m also not a big fan of apartments, as nice as your penthouse is. Maybe a single-family house in one of the quieter neighborhoods? At least to look at.”

‘That sounds like a good place to start for me.’ He said. ‘I’ll call Georgia later.’ Georgia was the realtor who sold Oliver the penthouse and was the only real estate agent that he knew.

All too soon, it was time for Felicity to go to work. Oliver kissed her goodbye and told her to have a good day. He then left to drive Thea to school.

 

The process for Cat Grant becoming the new director of ARGUS moved surprisingly quickly. Her nomination was announced publicly the day before her confirmation hearing took place. The hearing, before the Senate Intelligence Committee, only lasted a day before the matter was brought before the full Senate, who voted to approve the appointment.

Cat Grant, as a result, found herself ARGUS’s new director less than a week after meeting with Eric Graves and had quite the mess to clean up.

Her first move was to get the full, unredacted files for every ARGUS operation during Waller’s tenure as director. She also wanted everything available about a number of new teams and units that Waller had created during her time as director. There was something very fishy happening at ARGUS and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

“E- every operation?” The agent Cat had given the instructions to asked.

“Did I stutter?” She responded. “Every operation. I need to get a better feel for how the agency works, don’t I?”

“But Wal-.”

“Amanda Waller is no longer the director of this agency. She’s been demoted, due to her own actions. I don’t care what she might or might not want. I am the director of ARGUS, as of yesterday and I’m telling you to bring me those files.”

The agent left and Cat had a feeling that she’d be spending the next few weeks, or possibly months, teaching the agency that Waller no longer had the authority they seemed to think she did.

 

Every day, the four agents in charge of the taskforce had a meeting to discuss the overall progress of their investigation. With so many factors impacting their investigation, and different agents working on different things related to it, Anderson, Reeves, Doyle and Dinan found a daily meeting, even if it was a short one, was the best way to keep the leadership on the same page.

“Our friends at the FAA said they might have a lead on Merlyn.” Anderson said. “There were a few flights out of Starling within the window of time when he disappeared. Only a handful were private planes. CIA’s exploring another angle and so are the Mounties and the Mexican Federal Police. He very easily could’ve fled to Canada or Mexico before making the jump to parts unknown. None of what we gathered from the mansion has been helpful so far.”

“Has his office been searched?” Doyle asked.

“We’re going over files from Merlyn Global, but-.”

“No, I don’t mean files or anything like that. I mean, based on what we know, Malcolm Merlyn spent more time in his office building than at his house. Searching his office might yield more results. Hell, he might even have some kinda secret hideout built in the basement of the Merlyn Global building.”

“I’ll send a few agents there to search.” He said. “What do you and Dinan have?”

“We’ve sent a request to the Chinese government, asking to visit Lian Yu in order to recover Robert Queen’s body. We probably won’t be hearing back for at least a month.” Doyle said. “They don’t use the island for anything, but it’s Chinese soil, so we have to go through the official procedure.”

“A month would be a miracle.” Reeves said. “If they don’t reject the request outright.”

“Normally, I’d agree, but I asked someone at Langley about it.” He said. “Apparently, centuries ago, it was a place of significance to the people, but now, the government doesn’t see any use for it. The island is too far to the east to be useful for any kind of attack on mainland China, so it’s not vital to their defense, and its position isn’t useful for any of their intelligence gathering. Plus, if they reject the request, the State Department will push them to, at the very least, send their own people so that Robert Queen’s body can be sent back to his family to be buried. If we go, they don’t have to.”

“You think they’re gonna say yes because they feel lazy?”

“I think they’d rather say “yes” and let us exhume a body than risk the US making a big deal about it.”

“And I’ve spent the last day writing the report for the DHS, while trying to omit anything that might reveal Oliver Queen’s identity.” Dinan said. “I’ve given him the moniker “Citizen Bravo” for the report.”

“I’ll pass that along to Rathbone, who’s writing our report.” Anderson said. “Anything else to report?”

“Van Owen filed charges against some of the Tempest members she didn’t make a deal with today.” Reeves said. “Mostly related to the Undertaking or actions done in service to the Undertaking, like embezzling funds, but she’s gearing up to file the laundry list of charges we have against Merlyn.”

“Any idea when she was thinking of filing those papers?”

“She didn’t say.”

 

Ra’s summoned one of his followers to his throne room. He was aware that Malcolm Merlyn had fled Starling City, and he wanted his former student to be found. Nyssa needed to remain in the city to repay the debt Oliver Queen was owed, so he needed to send another to track down Merlyn.

He gave the task to Asim, who’d hunted Malcolm with Nyssa for a few weeks.

“Has the Warith provided any updated information on Al Saher’s whereabouts?” Asim asked after he’d been given his orders.

“She has not. Though, as with any coward, I suspect he would’ve fled to somewhere he believed he would not be followed. I would begin by searching any country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 112

Summary:

Thea thinks about her future, the taskforce gets a step closer to answers and Oliver is reminded of something.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Thea’s first two classes of the day, English and History, came and went with nothing notable happening. Halfway through her science class, however, an aide came into the room to talk to the teacher. After a short back and forth, the teacher addressed the class.

“Thea, your guidance counselor wants to see you.” She said.

Other students started murmuring amongst themselves as Thea grabbed her backpack and walked out of the classroom. She followed the aide towards the counselor’s office, even though she already knew the way, and waited. After a minute or two, Ms. Mitchell, Thea’s guidance counselor, came to show her into the office.

“Am I in trouble?” Thea asked. “Because my grades are, like, way better than they used to be. Literally every one of my teachers has made a point to tell me that.”

“No, Thea, you’re not in trouble.” The woman said. “But, this is the point in the year when your fellow seniors have gotten their acceptance letters and start deciding where to go to college. And you’re the only one of my students who didn’t apply anywhere.”

“Because I don’t know what I wanna do.” She said. “At the start of the year, I knew what my future looked like. My mom wanted me to go to college, nudging me towards Columbia, get a degree and work at QC. Three weeks into the school year, well, all of that changed.” Oliver had been found and the life Thea had had for the last five years was completely shaken up. “So, I missed the admissions deadlines, I didn’t write my application essays and college didn’t really seem all that important at the moment.”

“I know. We talked about this back in December.” Ms. Mitchell said. “I just wanted to check in and see if you’ve given more thought to what you wanna do after graduation.”

“I think I’m gonna take a gap year and figure out what I want to do, what I want to study, if I decide to go to college.” She said. “Ollie mentioned online class or classes at a community college, to figure out what I wanna study, but right now, it’s looking like a gap year.”

“You don’t know what you might want to major in? Last May, you seemed determined to be a business major.”

“Yeah, because my mom wouldn’t shut up about me being a business major so that I could take over the company one day.” She scoffed. “I don’t wanna do that, studying business sounds boring, but I don’t know what I actually wanna do.”

“In that case, I agree that a gap year, or spending a semester taking community college classes sounds like a good idea.”

“Really? I thought it was your job to tell me that I have to go to a prestigious school. I mean, you guys brag about how many students get into the Ivy Leagues every year.”

“Yes, Starling Academy is proud of its students and the universities they attended after graduation. However, I wouldn’t be a very good guidance counselor if I thought one solution worked for every student. College is a good idea for some students, but for others, it’s not a good fit.”

“I’m not sure my mother would agree. And I’m sure she’ll give you quite the earful when she learns about this conversation.”

“If you choose to tell her that I encouraged you to do what made the most sense to you, I’m willing to deal with the backlash.”

“What do you mean “if I choose to tell her”? Aren’t you gonna call her after this?”

“No. I don’t see any reason to. I only contact a student’s parents if I’m concerned for their health or safety, which I’m not in this case.” The counselor said. “I’ll let you get back to class now.”

Thea went back to class, which ended shortly after her return. 

Madison and Ashley both asked her, as they were leaving the classroom, if everything was okay. She waved off their concern and told them that her counselor just wanted to talk to her about her future.

 

Felicity, Curtis, Ray and Lyla were sitting in the lab, waiting for the results of their latest test to come back. Despite how exciting her job was, Felicity wished someone had told her that a large part of the product development process was sitting around and waiting for things to finish running.

“So, I know it's only Tuesday, but what plans do you guys have for the weekend?” Felicity asked.

“Anna and I are having brunch with my parents. Her parents live on the east coast, otherwise both our parents would’ve come to the celebratory brunch.” Ray said.

“I don’t know what I’m doing yet.” Curtis said. “What about you?”

Star Wars movie marathon.” She said. “Nyssa’s never seen Star Wars and Oliver’s only seen A New Hope, and obviously, I need to fix that.” Both men let out gasps of disbelief.

“Sorry, who’s Nyssa?” Curtis asked.

“Sara’s girlfriend. She’s really cool, but she doesn’t know much about pop culture or geeky stuff.” She said. “And, everyone needs to see Star Wars.” The two other scientists nodded in agreement.

“I’m surprised one of you hasn’t tried to make a lightsaber yet.” Lyla said.

“Who says we haven’t tried?” Ray said.

“I haven’t.” Felicity said. “I’d try to make a TARDIS before I make a lightsaber. Because a TARDIS is a spaceship and a time machine. Which is cool and I want one.”

 

Tommy was trying very hard to pay attention to what the other members of Merlyn Global Group’s board were talking about. The company was in the middle of a major crisis. The decisions being made would impact hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. Knowing that information didn’t make it any easier for Tommy, who graduated college with what his father called a “useless” degree, to follow the discussion easily or be able to provide valuable input.

When the board had their first meeting, they’d developed a plan on how to move forward, but now, they wanted to change the plan, but couldn’t agree on how. Part of the board was leaning heavily towards layoffs to save the company. Part of the board wanted Tommy to start working at the company to provide some nice PR. A third part of the board wanted to simply cut their losses and either shut the company down entirely or sell it to anyone who’d be willing to buy it. Tommy wondered how these people expected the company to be turned completely around so soon. It hadn’t even been a week since the news broke about Malcolm being a fugitive.

“What are your thoughts, Mr. Merlyn?” A man in his mid-fifties asked.

“I-.” He was saved from having to answer by a furious knock on the door. “Oh thank god.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” A frazzled-looking receptionist said, entering the conference room. “It’s just- there are two FBI agents here with a search warrant and I- I wasn’t sure who to direct them to. I don’t- no one downstairs knows what’s going on up here.”

“Tell them-.”

“That I’ll be right down.” Tommy said. He couldn't imagine how scared and confused the MGG employees were. They had no idea who was in charge or how much longer they’d have jobs for. “Some of the agents have met me, so-.” He looked at the other board members. Was he overstepping? “Unless one of you wants to-.”

“No, by all means, go ahead.” The man who’d asked Tommy his opinion earlier said. No one in the conference room was eager to talk to the authorities.

Tommy followed the woman out of the room and walked with her down to the lobby where Agent Reeves and an agent Tommy didn’t recognize were waiting. After exchanging greetings, Reeves handed Tommy the warrant that he had.

“I don’t understand.” He said. “You already have agents combing through everything on the company servers.”

“This warrant is to search the physical premises.” Reeves said. “We need to search the entire building.”

“Is this something that would be easier if the building were empty?”

“Yes. We don’t want to interrupt everyone’s work, but-.”

“Ok. I’ll let the department heads know to send everyone home.” He said. “While everyone’s leaving, I can take you up to search my dad’s office; it seems like a good place to start. It’s been locked since he….left.”

The agents followed him to the elevator. “How many people have a key to his office?”

“Only me.” He said.

“Just you? The custodians or cleaning staff don’t have a key?”

“No, he- if you haven’t realized it, in addition to everything else, Malcolm’s kinda a huge dick to everyone. He only let them clean his office if he was there. I used to think he did that because he thought they’d try to steal something. Anyway, I only have a key because his will is in his office, and he gave me a key when I turned 25 in case something happened to him on a business trip. I doubt he even remembers giving it to me.”

The elevator reached the top floor which was the 26th floor. Unlike the floor directly below it, where the company mainframe was stored, no one needed a passcode to access the floor via the elevator. Tommy unlocked the door to Malcolm’s office and left the agents to start their search.

When he returned to the conference room, the board members wanted to know what was going on. Tommy explained that the FBI wanted to do a physical search of the building and he’d told all of the employees to go home. Of course, they had questions.

“Why would you tell them all to leave?”

“Did you have anyone from Legal look over the warrant?”

“I don’t see why they couldn’t have waited until after business hours to do their search?”

Tommy waited for them to finish asking their questions before responding. “I didn’t think getting in their way was a smart move for the company. All of you assured me that the company didn’t have anything to hide, so I didn’t see the harm in letting them conduct their search. I sent everyone home because I think they’re under enough stress right now as is. And no, I didn’t have someone from Legal look at the warrant, because it’s pretty much the same warrant as the one they got to search Malcolm’s house.” He said. “Now, I suggest we wrap this meeting up until next time and let the agents conduct their search.”

 

“So, we pretty much agree that Malcolm Merlyn was hiding something in this office, right?” Agent Barlow asked Reeves as soon as Tommy left the room. They’d told some of the other agents that the building was being cleared out and assigned groups to search it once everyone was gone.

“Most likely. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to keep everyone out of this office.” He said as he started looking around the office. Other than a computer and a few expensive knick-knacks, the room was pretty bare. It was functional, but had no personality.

“He could’ve actually been concerned about theft.” Barlow pointed out.

“You haven’t worked cases that aren’t terrorism related, have you?” He asked. “I’ve done a few white-collar cases and a few organized crime cases and you wanna know what the difference between the suspects for those two groups are?”

“What?”

“Behavior. White-collar criminals, embezzlers, fraudsters and the like, they think they’re too smart to get caught. They don’t flaunt what they’re doing, but they don’t exactly hide it either. Mobsters on the other hand, they know all it takes is one citizen seeing the wrong thing for their crimes to be uncovered, so they go to great lengths to keep things hidden.”

“What’s your point?”

“If Malcolm Merlyn thought like a white-collar criminal, theft by a cleaning lady wouldn’t have crossed his mind. He’s a billionaire and if something went missing, he could just fire the cleaning staff. Therefore, you’d think it wasn’t worth his time to sit here and watch them clean.” Reeves looked around and then turned his attention to the floor plan he’d taken a picture of when they got off the elevator. “Only, he doesn’t seem to have that attitude. He went to great lengths to make sure nothing happened in this office when he wasn’t around, which makes me think he’s worried about something being found, rather than taken.”

“He could just be prejudiced and paranoid.” Barlow said. “Why are you staring at the floor plan?”

“Wait here.” He walked out of Malcolm’s office and walked to the other side of the building, where the conference room was. After looking around the conference room, he returned to Malcolm’s office. “This office doesn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this room is smaller than it should be. It should be the same size as the conference room, but it’s not. I’m no architect, but I can tell when one room is noticeably smaller than another. The question is, how much space is missing?” He said. “Can you give the precinct a call? See if someone can either bring us a tape measure or the blueprints for this building.”

“Will do.”

 

Barry Allen handed over the results of the fingerprint analysis to the detective working the robbery case it had been for. The detective muttered something about the CSIs taking forever to do anything before leaving the room. Barry held back the urge to tell him that just because CSIs can get results in two minutes on TV, it didn’t mean that’s how it worked in reality. The CCPD only had a handful of CSIs when Barry started, but one had recently retired and a second was on maternity leave. He was doing the best he could.

Before he went to complete the next item on his to-do list, Barry lifted up the map on one of his whiteboards to look at the board of evidence he’d collected over the years, trying to unravel the mystery of his mother’s murder and free his father. He had nothing related to the mystery to add to the board, but he pinned something to the corner anyway. It was an article from the Starling City Times. The headline read “20 YEAR OLD MERLYN MURDER SOLVED. ARROW TO THANK?” 

He added it more for motivation than anything else. Rebecca Merlyn’s murder had been solved after 20 years, meaning it was possible that Nora Allen’s murder could also be solved. Barry could do it. He could free his father, though he might have to, somehow, meet the Arrow and ask for his help in solving the case.

 

Eobard Thawne, disguised as Harrison Wells, stared at the newspaper headline projected in front of him. It didn’t make any sense. The headline made no mention of the Flash or Crisis. The byline was completely different. Three years ago, the day Star Labs broke ground on the particle accelerator and the last time he checked the paper from 2024, the headline read “Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis”. Now, the headline was about some plane crash in Hawaii.

“Gideon, when did the front page of this paper change?” It wasn’t until he watched Oliver Queen’s interview, out of pure curiosity, that he realized something was wrong. He hadn’t paid much attention to news out of Starling, since the citizens of Central City were more important to his plans, so he thought the stories about Oliver being mute were exaggerated. Or tabloid gossip. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” The AI answered.

“This- none of this is right. Oliver Queen isn’t supposed to be mute. He and Felicity Smoak don’t even start dating for another two years. The Queen’s Gambit was never found. The- how did this happen?” Was Oliver Queen even really the Arrow?

“Unknown.”

“Hypothesize then.”

“Very well. It appears that the alterations you have made to the timeline have had a number of unforeseen side effects.”

“Is one of those side effects that Barry Allen won’t become the Flash?”

“I lack the sufficient data to comment, sir.” Gideon said. “At this time, it is unknown whether or not Mr. Allen will become the Flash in the future.”

“Well, I’ve already gone to the trouble of building a faulty particle accelerator. Might as well turn it on, if there’s a chance it’ll make Allen the Flash. Otherwise, I’m stuck in this primitive century.”

 

Oliver, Slade, Sara, Nyssa, Roy and Digg were down in the foundry working. Digg was doing some inventory. Oliver was making some new arrows while Sara was trying to teach Roy a self-defense move she’d learned from her father and Slade and Nyssa were sparring.

Several things happened at once. Oliver heard Slade let out a curse. A moment later, there was a crashing noise, followed by a louder crashing noise. He froze and started looking around. He was no longer in the foundry. The walls had been replaced by trees. They were here. They had found him. They were going to hurt him. He needed to get away. He squeezed his eyes shut.

 

Nyssa righted herself, after crashing into the table behind her, which in turn, caused everything on the table to go crashing to the ground. Slade had used more force than she’d been expecting, which caused her to crash into the table.

“You okay?” Slade asked her.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She said. She walked around the table to start picking up the fallen items. Slade, Sara and Roy joined her a moment later.

“Wow, Oliver must really be “in the zone” not to have heard that.” Roy said. “Or he put earbuds in, I guess.”

“What do you mean?” Sara said.

“He hasn’t moved at all.”

She got to her feet. “Ollie?” She called. He was sitting completely still and didn’t turn to look at her. “Ollie? Oliver?” 

Roy gave her a strange look and stood up. He walked towards Oliver as if to tap him on the shoulder. “I wouldn't do that.” Slade said.

 

They were here. They had found him. He wasn’t safe. He needed to go. The words repeated themselves over and over in Oliver’s head. Only, he couldn’t move. He was frozen. He was stuck. They were here. They were going to hurt him. They had found him.

Suddenly, a figure moved in front of him. He didn’t open his eyes. “Oliver?” The voice sounded familiar. He knew the voice. “Can you hear me?”

He could, but he couldn’t answer. They were here. If he answered, they’d hear him.

“I don’t-.”

“Oliver, if you can hear her, lift your right index finger.” Another voice said.  The accent was different, but the voice sounded calm, which was good. And the person wasn’t asking him to talk, just to signal. That sounded safe. It was something he could do while staying silent. He lifted his finger. “Good. Do you know where you are?” He knew where he was. He was on Lian Yu. He didn’t move. “Oliver, you’re in Starling City. It is February 26, 2013.”

No, that couldn’t be. It was 2011. And he couldn’t be in Starling City. He didn’t go home. He would never get home.

“I- what do I do? Should I call Felicity?” The third voice, the only male voice so far, asked. “I’m gonna call Felicity.”

“Hold off for a moment.” The other voice said. “Oliver, can you tell me a few things that you can hear?”

‘Your voice.’ He said. ‘Something dripping. Footsteps behind me.’

The steps quieted a moment later. “How about something you can smell?”

‘Clorox. Sweat.’

“Can you open your eyes and tell me what you can see?”

He opened his eyes. ‘An arrow.’ He looked up and he was in the foundry. He was sitting at a metal work table. Sara and Nyssa were standing on the opposite side of the table. He wasn’t on Lian Yu. There was no one chasing him. Suddenly, the voices he’d heard made sense. Sara was the first one to speak to him and then Nyssa had taken over.

‘I- I don’t-.’

“I believe you had a flashback.” Nyssa said. 

‘I’m sorry.’

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of or need to apologize for.” She told him. “Though, perhaps we need to reevaluate the location of the sparring area. Today is not the first time things have been knocked over accidentally.”

“That’s….probably a good idea.” Slade said.

“Do you want us to call Felicity?” Sara asked Oliver. This was the first time she’d seen Oliver experience any PTSD symptoms and she wasn’t sure what he normally did after his flashbacks were over.

‘Not...right now.’ He said. ‘I need a minute. I’m gonna go get some air.’ He stood up and, on shaky legs, made his way outside.

“How did you know what to do?” Roy asked. “The whole “what’s something you hear” thing, I mean.”

“It’s a tactic that has worked for me in the past.” Nyssa said. 

 

Oliver walked the length of the old steel factory as he tried to calm himself. He felt terrible about what had just happened. Not only was the experience scary for him, he knew it was probably scary for his friends to witness. Worse than that, he felt disappointed in himself. He’d had nightmares, but no flashbacks for weeks. It felt like a step backwards. 

He was tired of this, tired of having nightmares and flashbacks, tired of feeling like there was something wrong with him. He knew he was supported, and loved, but that didn’t make days like today any easier. When he felt a little less frazzled, he took his phone out of his pocket and FaceTimed Felicity.

“Hey, Oliver. Long time, no see.” She joked when she answered the phone. He’d taken her to lunch less than two hours ago. Then, she saw his expression. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

‘I….’

She started addressing someone he couldn’t see. “Guys, I’m gonna run to my office really quick. There’s something I need to do.” He watched as she left her workshop and went into her office, closing the door. “Did something happen?”

‘Nyssa or Sara or Roy or Slade or Digg didn’t tell you?’

“Tell me what? You’re starting to worry me.”

‘I had a flashback a little while ago. Something got knocked over and-.’

“Oh. Do you wanna talk about it?”

‘Not really. I just- I hate feeling like this.’ He said. ‘I was doing so well and I thought I was getting better, but I’m not.’’

“You are. You just….had a bad day.” She said. “You- having a nightmare, or experiencing a flashback or a panic attack, it doesn’t erase all the progress you’ve made. It doesn’t mean the things you’ve started doing, to learn how to cope, aren’t working. Mental health isn’t- it’s not like you broke your arm. It’s not as easy as that.”

‘I know that. My- you told me that the left side of your brain is the one that’s analytical, right? My left-brain knows that it’s not that easy, that I can’t expect it to be that easy, but my right-brain, the one that handles all of my feelings, it doesn’t seem to get that.’ He said. ‘Nothing happened. Earlier, I mean, when I was-. Nyssa was able to help me, but-. It was still jarring. I thought I was- I felt like-.’

“You don’t have to talk about it.” She said. “On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is really bad and 10 is really good, how are you feeling right now?”

‘Right around the middle.’

“Do you want me to head over there?” She asked.

‘No. No, you don’t need to do that.’ He said. ‘Sara, Nyssa, Slade, Roy and Digg are here, so I’m not alone.’ He also didn’t think it was fair for him to ask her to drop everything for him every time his PTSD or anxiety flared up. He knew she wouldn’t see things that way, but that’s how it felt sometimes. ‘I’ll see you after work?’

“Yes, you will. Give me a call if you need to talk some more.”

‘I will. I love you.’ 

“I love you too.”

Oliver headed back downstairs and kept himself busy, making arrows, for about an hour before leaving to pick up Thea.

When he picked Thea up, she could tell that something was wrong, but didn’t press when he said he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, she talked about her day, including her meeting with her guidance counselor and what she and her friends talked about at lunch.

Everyone on Team Oliver decided to give Oliver and Felicity some alone time after Felicity got off work. Felicity needed to see for herself that he was okay and no one wanted to intrude. They also suspected he wanted some time to himself.

Felicity reheated some leftovers for dinner and she and Oliver watched Netflix while eating. It kept the house from being too quiet and neither of them had to try and make conversation.

“If you want to talk about what happened, I’m here.” She said as the credits started to roll. “And I don’t just mean about what happened this afternoon.”

‘I know.’ He said. ‘Can I- is it hard?’

“Is what hard?”

‘Being with someone as fucked up as I am?’ He asked. ‘I know what it’s like to be me, but I don’t- I don’t know what it’s like for you or for Thea or Tommy or anyone else. Am I- is it hard being with someone like me?’ He knew how she felt about his mutism, but his mental health wasn’t a subject they’d talked about like this before.

“It can be, but not because you’re difficult to be around or a bad boyfriend or anything like that. It can be hard because you have a problem I can’t solve. It’s frustrating to see someone you care about, someone you love, suffer and you feel like you can’t help them. Sometimes, you’ll have a flashback or panic attack and it’s heartbreaking to watch. I can’t make your PTSD or anxiety go away, no matter how much I wish that I could. All I can do is try and be as supportive as I can. I imagine Tommy and Thea would say the same thing.” She said. “I love you. Thea loves you, Tommy loves you. All of Team Oliver loves you. And that means all of you, including the bad stuff. And by “the bad stuff” I mean- you having PTSD and anxiety isn’t “the bad stuff”, it’s- this isn’t coming out right. What I meant was-.” She didn’t want him to think she was referring to his mental illness as “the bad stuff”.

‘Wanting to help me, but not knowing how. I know.’ He said. ‘I love you.’

They watched another episode of Parks and Rec before heading to the foundry. 

All five vigilantes went out on patrol and ran into a few situations where they had to intervene, but nothing outrageous or too difficult to handle. When they returned from patrol, Oliver approached Walter to ask him a question.

‘Do you have a list of the charities and organizations the Arrow Initiative donates to?’

“I’ll send it to you tomorrow morning.” He said. “Why do you ask?”

‘Because I want to make a personal donation, but to a specific cause.’ Oliver answered. ‘And, if I can’t do that via the Arrow program, I’ll just make a direct donation.’

“I’ll send it to you as soon as I get into the office tomorrow.”

 

Malcolm was walking down the hallway of his hideout in Corto Maltese when he felt a shift in the air. He had enough training to know when he was being watched. The person clearly wasn’t an assassin sent by Ra’s, because he or she wasn’t nearly quiet enough. 

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

“Because I have a proposition for you.” A voice answered, stepping out of the shadows. “I think you and I can help each other.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Clearly, you do or you wouldn’t be here, in hiding.”

Malcolm turned around. “You have two minutes.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Update 3/3/21: I'm sick, so there will not be a chapter this Friday.

Chapter 113

Summary:

Nyssa tries something new and Oliver thinks about the future of the team.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After looking at the blueprints for the Merlyn Global Group building, it became clear to Reeves that there was something definitely wrong with the way Malcolm’s office appeared to be laid out. The most likely explanation was that Merlyn had had a false wall erected to hide something. However, since the task force had 25 other floors to check, and not wanting to inconvenience the company too much, they shifted their attention to searching the rest of the building. The agents had planned on searching Malcolm’s office last anyway, so that they could go over everything with a fine-toothed comb.

Hours later, as the sun was rising, Reeves was told that the rest of the building had been cleared. Every cubicle, every office and every conference room had been searched and they found nothing out of the ordinary in any of those spaces. The only odd thing they found was that the basement had direct access to the city’s old subway tunnels. While it seemed weird, there was nothing in the basement other than the door to the subway tunnel and there wasn’t much they could do about a suspiciously placed door.

“Nothing we found points to anything nefarious.” Barlow said. “Aside from learning which employees are hoarding office supplies or who’s having an office romance with whom.”

“That tracks.” Reeves said. “Michael Adams was almost positive that none of the other employees were aware of Merlyn’s involvement with Tempest or that he was even connected to anything illegal. He seemed sure that there wasn’t anything on the premises that would lead back to Tempest or the Undertaking.” Adams had spent most of his time since turning himself in walking the task force through the complicated system of shell companies and offshore accounts used to fund and plan the Undertaking. He’d also made the point of saying that Malcolm was too smart and too paranoid to directly mix his legitimate business dealings with his illegal ones.

“But, if there’s nothing on site, how do you explain Merlyn’s office?”

“He said that, as far as he was aware of, there was nothing. It’s rare for every person involved in a conspiracy like this to know everything about it.” Reeves said. “If everyone knows everything, someone might get nervous and run to tell the authorities.”

“So, I guess that means it's time to figure out what he’s hiding in his office.”

“Once we get a technician, someone from the bomb squad and an engineer here, yes.” At the odd look the other agent gave him, Reeves explained. “The engineer can confirm our suspicion about the fake wall. The bomb squad is to make sure nothing’s booby-trapped and the tech is to help us get past any security measures that might be in place.”

“The longer this investigation goes on, the more it feels like we’re in a cheesy action movie.” Barlow said.

“Believe me, I know.” He said. This investigation had started off as an investigation into a wrecked yacht and now they were dealing with hostage situations, terrorist plots, conspiracies by the government and police corruption.

It would take a few hours for the technician and others to get to Merlyn Global, so Reeves left two agents in Malcolm’s office, to ensure no one else entered the scene, and went back to his hotel to get some sleep while he could.

 

After a productive evening doing some real good alongside Sara, and a very nice morning with her beloved, Nyssa received a call from her father. As soon as the phone began to ring, she felt a pit start to grow in her stomach. Ra’s rarely made phone calls, preferring to use more antiquated methods of communication or sending a messenger to deliver orders in person. Her father calling her wasn’t a good sign. 

“Hello?”

“Good evening.” Ra’s said. Doing the quick math in her head, it was indeed evening in Nanda Parbat. She didn’t bother telling him it was morning where she was. “I am calling for an update on your mission.”

An update on her mission? The one he’d given her with no real guidance or plan to complete? The one that seemed designed to exile her? What was he playing at? “I have made some progress. However, given the size of the task, I am nowhere close to being finished.”

“I was not expecting you to be, but I wanted to be sure you were not allowing yourself to be distracted.” He said. “Do you have an idea of where Malcolm Merlyn may have fled to?” Given what Nyssa, and by extension Ra’s, had learned of Malcolm’s plans, he refused to use the League name Malcolm had earned.

“I do not. When you gave me my current assignment, you informed me that another had been given the task of finding Merlyn and ensuring he faced justice. If I had to make a prediction, I would guess he’s hiding somewhere in the Caribbean.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The Caribbean is far enough away to avoid immediate discovery, but close enough that he can easily stay aware of what is happening in Starling City.” She said. “But, as I said, this is just a guess and I have no evidence to support it.”

Ra’s didn’t say much after that and the call ended shortly thereafter. While she couldn’t be certain of the purpose behind the call, Nyssa was fairly sure that one of the reasons Ra’s had called her was to remind her of her situation. She was still a member of the League of Assassins. He still had power over her. He didn’t want her to start believing that she had the freedom she’d always wanted. The action didn’t surprise her, but it was still upsetting. She heard the shower turn off and knew that Sara was going to walk into the guest room shortly. She took a few moments to collect herself, and by the time Sara entered the room, she wasn’t upset anymore.

“So, what do you wanna do today?” Sara asked her, running a comb through her wet hair.

“I have no preference. What’s something you missed doing while you were away?”

“Hmm.” She said thoughtfully. She then perked up with a smile. “Get dressed and wear something warm. It’s gonna be cold where we’re going.”

“Will athletic attire be appropriate?” Nyssa asked.

“Yup. That’s perfect.”

 

True to his word, Walter sent Oliver the list of charities the Arrow Initiative donated to as soon as he went to work on Wednesday. While he wasn’t sure which organization his step-son wanted to make a donation to, he suspected it was going to be one of the mental health groups, mostly likely one that supported those with PTSD. 

Oliver looked the list over, and had Donna help him make an appointment with his accountant. He knew what he wanted to donate and which group he wanted to donate to, but he wanted to make sure that he did everything properly and didn’t cause problems for himself or the charity. The accountant had an opening in the afternoon.

Once the appointment was made, Oliver went to the foundry with Digg and Donna. Slade was already there with Roy and Tommy.

‘I want to move the sparring area and shooting range up here.’ He said as he looked around the empty space aboveground. ‘That way, there’s enough space for people to do both and we don’t have to worry about breaking anything downstairs.’

“What would downstairs be for?” Slade asked him.

‘Computers and our ops room. All of the real Team Arrow stuff.’ He said. ‘A gym, sparring area and archery range up here looks benign enough. The Arrow’s made archery cool, so no one would think twice about a rich guy and his friends getting into it. The vigilante stuff will stay downstairs, including armor.’ He gestured towards the back of the building. ‘Back there used to be some offices for managers and there are bathrooms back there too. I figure we can knock down a wall or two, expand the bathrooms to include changing areas.’

“That’s gonna involve bringing a construction crew in.” Roy said. “I don’t know anything about renovations.”

“They won’t need to do much. Knock out a wall or two, update the bathroom. Put up a wall to keep the gym area separate from the shooting range.” Digg said. “The rest of the work we can do ourselves.”

‘And turn the parking lot into a garage space.’ Oliver said. ‘That way our comings and goings aren’t as noticeable at 3AM.’

“Where’s the armory gonna go?” He asked. “We can’t leave live ammo or sharpened arrows in a space that’s easily accessible, both to keep things above board and for general safety. Would that be downstairs or up here?”

‘I don’t know. There are arguments that could be made for both floors.’ He looked at Donna. ‘What do you think?’

“I don’t know much about secret lair designs, but I think it has potential. You’ve certainly outgrown the space downstairs.”

“Did you come up with all of this after yesterday?” Roy asked.

‘No. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s getting cramped down there, and this space is kinda going to waste. I can’t sell it, because of the foundry, and I can’t think of anything else to use the space for. I’m gonna set up a meeting with a contractor, but I wanted to see what you guys thought first.’

“I think it’s a good idea. In the meantime, we can move some of the training equipment up here and start using the space.” Slade said.

‘Great.’ He said. ‘I gotta go. Felicity and I are meeting Charles Winston for lunch.’ It had taken Oliver longer than normal to reach out to Charles about getting lunch, but the man didn’t seem to mind that Oliver kept him waiting for so long.

Oliver picked up Felicity for lunch and they rode to Table Salt where they were meeting Charles.

 

Sara tried to hide her smile as she watched Nyssa flail. Her girlfriend normally seemed so graceful and in control that seeing her out of her comfort zone was fun. “You know, it might be easier if you don’t wave your arms around as much.”

“I’m trying to stay balanced, beloved.” Nyssa said.

“This is your first time ice skating.” She responded, skating closer to her girlfriend.. “I wasn’t expecting you to be a perfect skater on your first try.”

“This is really what you missed the most?”

“Yeah. I used to go skating with my family. Before she decided to be a lawyer, Laurel had this dream of becoming an Olympic figure-skater. The city used to have a kid’s hockey team that I played on for a few years.” She said.  Nyssa started to lose her balance, so she wrapped an arm around her waist and started to slowly lead her around the rink. “I really missed skating, and I knew you’d never do it before so….is this completely terrible?”

“It’s not terrible. Though, I wish I would stop falling.” Nyssa said. “And I enjoy any time that I get to spend with you.”

“Great,” Sara said. “What do you say to getting off the ice and getting some hot chocolate or something?”

“That sounds nice.”

They returned their skates and went to the coffee shop inside the complex to get some hot chocolate. They were leaving the skating rink when Sara got a call from her dad.

“Something came in the mail today. It’s addressed to you, and it's from Laurel.” He said. “Can you stop by in the next few days to pick it up?”

“Dad, you can open it, if-.”

“I think, whatever Laurel wrote to you, it's something she only wanted you to read.” He said.

“Are you home now? I’ll stop by on my way back from the Iceplex.”

Sara and Nyssa made a pit stop at Quentin’s apartment to pick up the letter from Laurel. Sara hated waiting, so she opened the letter while still in his apartment. The letter was short and awkward, but Laurel said she was happy to hear that Sara was alive and that she hoped Sara would come visit her, or at least write to her, when she was ready.

 

“Okay, this wall isn’t supposed to be here.” The engineer told Agent Reeves, pointing to one of the walls in Malcolm’s office. He’d done some measurements and taken a look at the blueprints, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what the issue was. “The space is supposed to be 15 by 20. 15 feet from the door to the back wall. 20 feet from the windows to this wall. Door to the back wall is fine, but from the window to the wall is too short. Instead of 15 by 20, you’ve got 15 by 16, and on the other side of this wall, 15 by 4 of space.”

“Okay. How do we get to the other side of the wall?” Reeves asked. “Assuming it wasn’t just closed off for no reason.”

The engineer moved closer to the wall and started feeling around. He was looking for a spot that seemed out of place, a seam or an abnormality in the drywall. He felt along the wall until he ran into a painting, which he removed. He then realized that the painting was placed so that it hid the hinges of a door. “Not to be a smartass, but I think you’d use the door.”

“Thanks for your help.” Reeves said. “We can take it from here.”

“Awesome.” He said before leaving.

Someone with bomb squad experience arrived soon after and determined there were no explosives rigged to the door. A technician arrived later and they opened the door. In the small room, they found a number of weapons, as well as an outfit that matched the one worn by the Dark Archer during his attack on Applied Sciences.

“Give the precinct a call. Tell them we need every CSI we have to process this place.” Reeves said.

Press had been gathered outside the building all morning, hoping to get a statement or inside scoop on what the FBI was doing. Naturally, they went into a frenzy when they realized even more FBI agents were going into the building.

 

After a very pleasant lunch with Oliver and Felicity, and a few other meetings, Charles Winston III returned to his office. He’d gotten to know Oliver better, he’d had a chance to ask Oliver’s opinion on a few things, and shared a few stories about Richard Queen. He also had the chance to meet Felicity Smoak for the first time, and it would’ve been an understatement to say Charles was impressed by her. She could get a little too intense or technical, but she was clearly someone who knew what she was talking about when it came to her work and was well-spoken.

Charles made a call to Richard Deckard, another member of QC’s board, when he was back in his office. “I just had lunch with Oliver Queen and his girlfriend, Felicity Smoak.”

“How’d that go? Was what we saw at the board meeting a one-off or-?” Deckard asked.

“I don’t think so. Oliver strikes me as someone who only speaks up when he has something worth saying, which is good. And, let me tell you, if Felicity Smoak ever decides to leave Queen Consolidated, we’re gonna be in trouble.”

“In what way? I don’t follow tech, but I know she’s kinda a big deal in that space.”

“Because, if she left, she’d be QC’s competition and, frankly, we’d struggle to compete with her.” He said. “Ask about her team in Applied Sciences at the next board meeting and see what Walter tells us. That woman is going places.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard you sound this impressed with someone in years.”

“It’s been years since I’ve felt impressed.” He said. “And Oliver and Felicity remind me of Richard and Dotty.” Dorothy Queen never liked being called by her full name, so she always insisted people call her Dotty.

“I’m glad he’s taking after his grandfather and not his father. Bobby was fine, but-.”

“That boy spent too much time at work not paying attention to his job.” Robert Queen might’ve thought he was being discrete, but people around him weren’t stupid.

 

“Hey, are you busy right now?” Tommy asked when McKenna answered her phone. “Because I just had a late lunch with some members of MGG’s board and I kinda need to vent.”

“I’m just working on paperwork, so yeah. Vent away.” She said.

“They put their “save the company” plan into action a week ago. A week. And they’re annoyed that the company hasn’t already bounced back. Part of the board wants to just do layoffs, which would be a complete disaster. I’ve never run a company, but I do have a business degree, so I know it's a bad move. And I’m pretty sure at the next meeting, someone’s gonna suggest that I take over.”

“That’s a terrible idea.” She said. “Wait, I don’t- I’m not saying you’d be bad at it, but first of all, you never wanted to follow in your dad’s footsteps, so you’d be miserable. Second, that would be the most obvious publicity stunt ever. And everyone would see right through it.”

“I know that and you know that, but these know-it-alls with MBAs seem to think people are stupid.” He said. “And I- I don’t want to be CEO, but I also don’t want thousands of people to lose their jobs and- and once again, I’m baffled by how much my dad sucks.”

“I think “sucks” is too nice of a word.” She said.

 

“You know, I think Mr. Winston liked me.” Felicity said over dinner with Oliver that night. “I know we had lunch with him mostly so that he could talk to you and see how you were doing, but I think he liked meeting me.”

‘I’m sure he did. You’re a great person to meet and talk to.’

“You’re biased. You’re my boyfriend, you have to say that.”

‘I’m not being biased, if it's also the truth.’ He said. ‘You are an amazing person. And you didn’t try to underplay how much you knew about tech when he asked about that, which I’m sure he appreciates. He strikes me as a man who doesn’t like it when people dance around things or try to pretend to be modest. I just hoped he was as impressed with me as he was with you.’

“I don’t think lunch was about impressing him. He seemed to genuinely wanna talk to you and see how you were doing. But I think you did impress him.”

‘He asked me a few things that I didn’t know how to answer.’ Charles had asked his opinion on a few business articles and how he thought QC might be affected by the subjects of the articles. Oliver had only read one of the articles he mentioned, and admitted as much.

“Yeah, but you didn’t just say “I don’t know” and shrug. You admitted it when you weren’t sure, you asked him to explain and said you needed to think about the matter. Which is perfectly fine. Saying “I don’t know” is way, way, way, way better than just pulling an answer out of your ass. Like my zayde used to say, only fools and liars claim to know everything.”

‘Is zayde Hebrew for “grandfather”?’

“It’s actually Yiddish, like Bubbe, but yes. It means grandfather.” She said. “It was something he told me a lot. He died right before I went off to MIT.”

‘I’m sorry.’

“Don’t be. He lived to be 78. For the most part, he lived a very good life.”

 

When Cat Grant became the director of ARGUS, she pulled three people she’d worked with at CIA to transfer over to the agency with her. They were agents she’d worked with before, respected and most importantly, agents who could look at ARGUS’s past actions objectively. Despite all of his gripes about not being biased, she wasn’t going to task Deputy Director Bell with getting ARGUS cleaned up.

It didn’t take Cat long to figure out why Bell didn’t want her looking too closely at certain operations. He wasn’t exactly on the straight and narrow and he was, in the very least, aware of some of Waller’s worst actions.

“Okay, I’m trying to be as fair as I can be, and I wanna give Bell the benefit of the doubt, but tell me that I’m not imagining things.” Jessica Melendez, one of the CIA agents that had transferred to ARGUS with Cat Grant, said, showing some documents to one of the other agents. “If this wasn’t an American official, what would this indicate?”

“That he’s a mole.” Another agent said. “Or that he’s been bought. I’m leaning towards the former, only because of the times he rejected the most sensible plan that was proposed in favor of ones that put ARGUS at a disadvantage. Most bribed officials pass along information and stop there.”

“Well, I’ve frozen him out for the time being, so he’s not the immediate concern.” Cat said. “And we have a much bigger problem. Call Waller, tell her I need to see her immediately. Make sure she knows this isn’t a request. I have to go make a phone call.”

“And if she claims to be busy?” Melendez asked.

“You’ve read her file and you were in Ops for almost as long as I was in Intel. You know how to work people. Say whatever you need to, within reason, to get her to come in.” She said. She went into her private office and called DC. “Yes, this is Director Grant of ARGUS. Can you tell me the exact date that the current Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis was confirmed by the Senate?” She listened for a moment. “Uh-huh. Thank you. So, the incumbent Under Secretary wouldn’t have signed the order I’m currently looking at. I know it’s late on the East Coast, but is Secretary Graves available?”

Cat was put on hold and a few minutes later, Eric Graves got on the line. “I take it you found something important.”

“It’s time to throw Waller to the wolves. Every day she’s not, the hole gets dug deeper and we’re already up shit creek, not including what happened to Oliver Queen.”

“This isn’t about Queen?”

“No.” She said. “I take it you don’t know the full story behind Task Force X.”

“You’re right, I don’t. I’d only heard of it the week before I demoted Waller.”

“Pull the unredacted files and give me a call after you, or someone in your office, has gone through them.”

“Just give me the short version.”

“No. You need to read these for yourself.” Cat said. “I have to go, Waller just walked into my office.”

Cat hung up the phone and walked out to meet with Waller. The former director didn’t seem happy, but Cat didn’t care.

“I don’t like being summoned.”

“Too bad. I’m your boss and I can do that. Sit down.” She said. She opened a file and pushed  it over to Waller. “I want you to explain this to me.”

“It was the last assignment Lyla Michaels had before she quit.” The one that put Lyla in Chien Na Wei’s crosshairs. “It was a standard op. Why is this of interest to you?”

“Something went wrong, as you know, and I wanna know what it was and why.” She said. "This file is….vague.”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I wasn’t overseeing this operation personally. I only know what was in the agents’ reports.”

“I highly doubt that, and even if that were true, you’re saying that, one of your agents died on an op and you didn’t do any kind of investigation? Even a preliminary inquiry to make sure there wasn’t a leak?”

Waller was silent. The agent that had been killed was a liability, and while the mission wasn’t sabotaged, she didn’t see a reason to try and investigate.

“Given this report, and your actions after the operation was over, I’m putting you on desk duty and Task Force X is benched for the time being.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Again, yes I can. I’m the Director of ARGUS. I’m your boss. You answer to me, not the other way around.” Cat said. “That’s all. You can go.”

The file, and the way Waller handled the aftermath of the mission, was a distraction. Cat needed a reason to keep Waller at ARGUS headquarters. She knew that Waller would probably get spooked if she immediately started asking about Oliver Queen, Moscow or Task Force X.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 114

Summary:

Oliver talks about giving back and gets some good news, Sara thinks about her future and Thea has an unexpected reunion.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Patrol on Wednesday night was fairly routine for the team. While there certainly was still crime in Starling City, the remaining “big players” seemed to be trying to keep their activities even more hidden than a few months ago. It seemed like each gang or crime family was waiting for someone else to “take care” of Team Arrow.

“So, how was everyone’s Wednesday?” Donna asked as the non-vigilante members of the group sat in the foundry.

“I got an A on my English paper about Macbeth.” Thea said. Everyone congratulated her.

Walter said that his day was good, but nothing about it was particularly memorable. Tommy recapped his lunch meeting with part of Merlyn Global Group’s board and got another chance to vent his frustrations about their attitude.

“Mostly, I don’t want to get too angry, because I know they’re probably freaked out that the FBI hasn’t ended their search of the building yet.” He said, after he got everything off his chest. “Which is only making me more annoyed, because I feel like I can’t be.”

“They’re still searching the building?” Digg asked. “They must’ve found something that requires a closer look.”

“Yeah. McKenna can’t tell me, because it's an ongoing investigation, but that’s what I thought too.” He said. “But the FBI said the staff can come back tomorrow. I don’t wanna talk about Malcolm or the investigation into Malcolm anymore. Anyone else wanna share?”

“Delta’s back to her normal self.” Felicity said happily.

“Sorry, who’s Delta?” Roy asked.

“One of the lab mice we’re testing the new biostimulant chip on.” She said. “She was a little lethargic for a few days, and I was worried about her, but she’s doing much better now.”

“That’s good.”

They spent the rest of the night in the foundry, talking about random things in between the occasional moments of excitement when Oliver, Lyla, Slade, Nyssa and Sara encountered some trouble. 

 

Hours later, when Felicity and Oliver were getting into bed, she realized she hadn’t asked Oliver about his meetings in the afternoon.

“I know the meeting with your accountant was probably really dull and boring, but how did it go?” She asked him.

‘It was fine. Jim seemed- I don’t think he really understood what I was trying to do for the first half of the meeting.’ He said. ‘He kept bringing up the tax code, and talking about my income and-.’

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.” She said. “The IRS has rules about how much you can give to charity and still write off on your taxes, based on income, and that’s a method some people use so that they don't owe as much. And, he needed to make sure you knew that so that when you do your taxes for 2013, you won’t be surprised. It’s probably some due diligence thing.”

‘Yeah, he seemed to realize I didn’t care about the tax benefit when my answer was “but can I donate that much or will it get the charities in trouble”. $15 million seemed like a good beginning donation for each of the three groups.’ He said. ‘One for mental health, one for education and one for community outreach.’

“That’s…. wow. Donating $45 million in a single day. You know people are gonna have an opinion about that, right? Because there are gonna be people who think you’ve wasted that money.”

‘I know. Everyone seems to care that I’m worth over $40 billion dollars, the numbers Susan Williams had were old. I have $40 billion, when you put everything all together, and no one cares what I do with it, unless I give it away.’ He said. ‘Then, I’m “wasting” it. Even though I could give away $100 million a year and not run out of money for 40 years.’

“Um, 400 years.” She said. “40 billion divided by 100 million is 400. And that’s not counting the interest you make on what’s in your bank account, which I imagine is quite a bit.”

‘That proves my point. I have more money than I, or my children, or even my great-great-grandkids could ever spend. Why not use it to help people who need it?’

“So, you wanna do what Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are trying to do.” She said. “They made this pact back in 2010, with the goal to give away at least half of their net worth either while living or upon their deaths. Buffet’s trying to give it all away.”

‘No one person needs to have $40 billion, so, yeah, I wanna give away as much of it as I can. I can only buy so many planes and cars. $45 million seemed like a good start.’ He said. ‘After that, I had a meeting with Jean about a few little things I needed to take care of. Not about William, but just random legal things I needed to get done. All in all, it was a pretty mundane day.’

“Yeah, it sounds like it.” She said, giving him a kiss. “Good night.”

‘Night.’

 

Despite Oliver’s attempts to keep his donations quiet, the news that he’d donated several million dollars to three charities made the paper the next morning. The article didn’t mention an amount, or the charities in question, but it was still more publicity than he wanted. It wasn’t front page news, but it was big news.

Certain organizations decided to add Oliver to their mailing list, just in case he felt generous again. Unfortunately for them, Oliver’s only known address was a PO box, which he’d set up when he first came home, after getting a lot of unexpected, and in most cases unwanted, mail.

Moira saw the article in the paper and felt conflicted. On one hand, she was proud of Oliver for giving back. She was also concerned that he might not have done enough research into the charities before donating. Some charities were better than others when it came to actually using the funds they received for their stated missions.

 

Thursday, Oliver’s favorite day of the week, arrived. Even though it was still February, and thus rather cold, the sun was shining and it looked like a nice day, all things considered. Since Felicity worked from home today, Oliver made a big breakfast for them to share together. After breakfast, Felicity jumped onto her computer to get to work, while Oliver took care of a few things around the house after doing the school run with Thea. Once he’d finished taking care of some of the chores, he pulled out his ghost tablet and took a seat next to Felicity on the couch.

“What are you up to?” She asked him after she noticed how focused he was on the screen.

‘Trying to see what I can find on the Bertinellis. You said someone else was keeping an eye on their dealings, but do we know who yet?’

“No, I’ve left it alone so far. Why?”

‘Maybe it's being done by an informant, or someone looking to pass that info off to the FBI. But what if it's not?’ He asked. ‘It could just as easily be some rival family, or the Triad or the Yakuza or something. I wanna see if I can find out a little more. Just in case.’

“That’s fair.” She said. “Have you found anything?”

‘Not yet, but it’s early.’ He said. ‘What are you working on?’

“Standard upgrades to the coding of our firewall. Gotta make sure it still does its job, keeping people out if they aren’t supposed to be in our system.” She said. “It’s not too difficult, it’s just time consuming. Because I gotta make sure that if I edit line 4, it doesn’t mess up line 1,329 of the code and render the whole thing unusable.”

‘There are 1,000 lines of code?’

“It depends on how complex the program is. Something like Google might have a few million lines of code in a single program.” She shrugged. “The big secret is getting it all to work.”

‘You are- I know I’ve already said you’re remarkable, but you’re even more remarkable than I thought.’

“And, as always, thank you for remarking on it.” She said before leaning over to give him a kiss.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Sara teased. She’d just walked out of the guest room.

“Maybe I’m taking a break. All work and no play makes Felicity very stressed and irritable.”

‘And Oliver sad.’ Oliver added. 

“Plus, it’s almost lunchtime anyway.”

‘What are you and Nyssa up to today?’

“Just…. this and that.” Sara said. She’d told everyone about getting a letter from Laurel, but not about the contents of the letter. Today, she was trying to figure out how she felt. “I’ve gotta get a few things filed to come back from the dead fully. I should probably start looking for a job, too. Or see if Starling University will let me re-enroll. I never officially dropped out.”

“What were you studying?” Felicity asked.

“I was pre-med, though I’m not sure that’s what I wanna do anymore. And very few of the skills I have are…. sought after here.”

‘I could hire you, if you want.’ Oliver said.

“Thanks, Ollie, but no.” She said. “This is one of those “I need to figure it out myself” things.”

‘Well, good luck.’

“Are you ready to go, Beloved?” Nyssa asked as she came out of the guest room.

“Yup. I’ll see you two later.” Sara said, doing finger guns at Oliver and Felicity as she followed Nyssa out of the house.

“Now, where were we?” Felicity asked.

‘Right here.’ He said, leaning over to kiss her.

 

Sara took care of the last few things she needed to do before she was fully back from the dead. After those things were done, she and Nyssa made the drive up to Cassidy Penn. She parked the car, but didn’t exit the vehicle. She just kind of sat there, looking at the gates.

“You don’t have to do this today, you know.” Nyssa said.

“I know.”

“Her letter only arrived yesterday. You are allowed to want some time to process what she said.”

“I know.”

“Then, why are you staring at the gates as if someone will appear and force you to see her immediately?”

“Because. This is the second time I’ve come here.” She said. “I came with my dad, when he told her, but stayed in the car. I thought this would be easy. I don’t have to tell her I’m alive. She’s had time to process, but-.”

“It’s not quite as easy as you thought. Perhaps, a letter would be better. For now, at least.” Sara nodded once before starting the car and driving back to Starling.

 

Thursday night, patrol was just as quiet as it had been on Wednesday night. Friday passed quickly for everyone as well. Felicity and Lyla went to Applied Sciences, Tommy had another meeting with Merlyn Global’s board, Thea went to school and Oliver had a meeting with the contractor for the foundry. The contractor said what Oliver wanted seemed pretty easy to accomplish and the only thing that would require approval from the city was enclosing the parking area.

Oliver was driving Thea to Felicity’s house after school, since Team Oliver had dinner on Friday nights, when his phone rang. He glanced at it, and turned to Thea.

‘Can you answer that and put it on speaker? It’s the family law attorney I’ve been working with.’ He said.

“Sure.” She answered the call. “Hi, this is Thea. Ollie’s driving right now, so you’re on speaker.”

“Is one of his interpreters there? I have news, and a few questions for him.” Eliana asked.

“No, they’re not. But I know ASL, so I can step in. If that’s allowed.”

“If your brother is comfortable with that, it’s fine with me.” She said. 

“He just nodded.”

“Okay. I got a message from Samantha’s lawyer. Obviously, there’s a lot to work out still, but she’s agreed to regular Skype calls between Oliver and William. She was thinking once a week, at a minimum. I wanted to discuss with you before I responded to her.”

‘Yes. I agree. I wanna do that.’ He signed. He was open to anything that let him spend more time with his son, even if it wasn’t in person. Thea repeated his answer to Eliana.

“I figured you’d agree, but I had to check.” The lawyer said. “There are a few things she wants clarified in terms of the trust you want to set up for William.”

“Like what?” Thea asked without needing Oliver to say it first.

“She wants it to be clear in the language that it’s for education, she’s worried about William being spoiled.” She said. “And she wants to make sure it’s for any kind of education, not just a certain degree or a certain college.”

‘Done.’ Oliver said. ‘Anything else?’

“For now? Nothing. I’ll get in touch with Samantha’s lawyer and tell her I’ve talked to you and what we’ve agreed, and try to get some logistics worked out in regards to the Skype calls.”

‘Thanks, Eliana.’ He said before ending the call.

Oliver had a little more pep in his step when he walked into the house not long after. Every time he got good news about William, it made his day just a little better. He hoped getting things worked out with Samantha would stay as easy as it currently was.

 

“Oh, thank God. Daylight!” Agent Reeves said dramatically as he left Merlyn Global Group. “I forgot what the sun looked like.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Barlow responded.

“I haven’t seen the sun since Wednesday. It’s Friday.” He said. “We’ve been coming here at sunrise, working in Merlyn’s hidden...whatever that room in his office is supposed to be, and leaving after sunset.”

“Fair enough. At least we’re done.”

“Done, and because I told the CSIs to document everything, we should never, ever have to go back into that office again.” He said. “Though, I’m probably now their least favorite person. Because I just tripled their work.”

Every weapon, every item and every piece of the Dark Archer suit was photographed, catalogued and, if necessary, sent to be analyzed for fingerprints or DNA. It wasn’t quite as much work as processing the Queen’s Gambit, but it would be a rather large task.

“No, they love that stuff.”

 

“So, I read through the files you suggested that I read.” Eric Graves said as soon as Cat Grant answered her phone. “In regards to Task Force X.”

“And?”

“We’re fucked. Someone’s gonna have to come up with a new expletive to describe how bad this is.” He said. “Get Waller back on US soil.”

“She’s already here. I grounded the Task Force too.”

“Revoke as much of her access as you can. And find a way to keep her at whatever site she’s currently at.”

“Already done as well.” She said. “I put her on desk duty, while we’re investigating another mission, one she didn’t investigate, and made it clear, to her and to other staff, that she wasn’t to leave the building.”

“Good. I’ve got a meeting tomorrow morning with the chairs of the Senate Intelligence and Senate Homeland Security committees. They’ll have to fight over who gets priority here, I’m sure each is gonna want it, but it’s time for this to get handled.” He said.

 

Due to how large Team Oliver had gotten, with the addition of Dinah and McKenna, the group actually had to eat dinner in shifts. Felicity’s table simply wasn’t big enough for fourteen people to sit and eat comfortably. It was either they had to eat in shifts or people would need to eat standing up.

“Note to self, when we move, we need a table that seats at least 12.” Felicity said. “Or maybe, we should just get two normal-sized tables and put them right next to each other.”

‘That could work.’ Oliver said. ‘How’s the food?’ Tonight, he’d made a Tuscan chicken soup.

“Delicious.” Lyla said. “As if something you made wouldn’t be completely amazing.”

“It’s criminal, how easily cooking comes to you.” Tommy agreed. “Seriously, man, it’s not fair.”

‘I always wanted to learn how to cook. I’m glad I finally have the chance to. I never expected to be good at it.’ Oliver’s options on the island, not including times when he was a prisoner, were “cooked” or “uncooked”. He was happy he was getting the chance to expand. ‘Though, credit where it's due, I learned a few things from Raisa over the years.’

“And how is Raisa doing?” Dinah asked. She hadn’t seen the Russian woman in several years. From there, the conversation moved away from complimenting Oliver’s cooking, which was already making him blush a bit.

After dinner, and some dessert, Slade drove Dinah back to her hotel and the others headed to the foundry. As he was walking her to her room, she turned to him.

“You told me that you wanted to let me decide what our relationship was. That it was up to me to decide if we were friends or possibly more. Is that still true?”

“Yes.”

“I think- no, I don’t think, I know. I have feelings for you. Feelings beyond friendship.” She said.

“Great. Are you free for dinner tomorrow?” He asked. “How does 6:30 sound?”

“That sounds perfect.” She said before heading into her room.

That night, during patrol, the vigilantes stopped a few petty crimes, but nothing major. Nyssa and Sara did overhear one drug dealer talking about someone on the east side working on something “big” but the guy made his escape before they could press him for more information.

 

Saturday morning arrived, meaning it was the day for Felicity’s long-anticipated Star Wars marathon with Oliver, Nyssa and Sara. She had invited everyone, but made it clear that she wouldn’t be upset if they had other things going on. As much as she loved her friends, she knew Digg and Lyla might want some alone time or Thea and Roy might want to spend a lazy Saturday together or that Tommy might have plans. She still gave them an invitation, and a few people said they might come over later.

She woke up on the early side. Oliver woke up not long after and they spent some time being intimate before she went to make coffee. They then did yoga together for a little bit, at which point Nyssa and Sara had woken up. They had breakfast and then, Sara asked when the marathon was starting.

“Right now, if you want.” Felicity said. “I didn’t wanna freak anyone out by being too excited, so I was waiting for everyone else to be ready.”

“I’ll make the popcorn then.” Sara said. “You can’t watch a movie without popcorn.”

‘Truer words have never been spoken.’

Within twenty minutes, the opening title crawl of A New Hope was playing on the TV.

 

Stephanie walked into the classroom in the rec center and her eyes widened. In less than six months, her class had grown from one person, Roy, to eight, and she’d heard the day before that the rec center was considering adding a second class, due to increased interest.

Roy, Thea, Tommy, Slade, Walter and Moira were there, as well as two new faces. Both were teenagers, around Thea’s age. They were probably her friends, since she was talking with them and seemed at ease. Moira seemed to be trying to catch her daughter’s attention.

“You know, Harper, if you keep bringing me new students, I’m gonna start paying you some kind of recruitment fee.” She told Roy.

“Ashley and Madison are friends of Thea’s, so that recruitment fee should really go to her.” He said. “She’s the one who’s been telling people about the class and everything.”

“Fair enough.” She said before clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Good morning everyone. I’d like those of you who have been coming to class for a little longer to pair up with one of the newer students.”

Thea, very overtly, linked her arm through Madison’s and led her friend to the other side of the room as Moira. Roy partnered up with Ashley and Tommy decided to partner with Moira.

“She still won’t talk to me.” She said.

“Maybe try after class.” He said. “What do you remember from last week?”

“I know, like, no sign language.” Madison warned her friend. “I know we learned the ASL alphabet in second grade, but it’s all forgotten by now.”

“That’s okay. I was in pretty much the same boat.” Thea said. “How about we start with the alphabet?”

“Sure. I think your mom wanted to talk to you. She was trying to get your attention.”

“I know.” She said with a sigh. “Ok, so, do what I do.” She held up a hand. “A-B-C…” She signed the letters as she spoke.

“So, you’re the famous Roy.” Ashley said.

“I’m famous?” He asked.

“Well, between hearing about you from Thea, and everyone at our school wondering who Oliver Queen’s interpreter is, yeah.” She said. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna grill you or anything. I wouldn’t do that to Thea.”

“Good to know. What made you decide to learn ASL?”

“I like learning new things.” She said with a shrug. “And, unlike Latin, which my parents made me learn, ASL is actually useful.”

“That’s true.” He said. “Let’s start with the basics.”

When class came to an end, and Stephanie told everyone she’d see them next week, Moira made a beeline towards Thea. “Are you free for lunch? I’d like to talk with you.”

“Yeah, Roy and I don’t have any plans.” Thea said.

“Oliver’s interpreter doesn’t-.”

“Roy’s my boyfriend, in addition to helping Ollie sometimes.” She said. “If you want me to have lunch with you, I want Roy to be there too.”

“Very well.” Moira conceded.

“Roy, come on.” Thea called. “We’re having lunch with my mom.” He walked over and took Thea’s hand and they followed Moira out of the rec center.

They went to a nearby cafe. “So, how have you been?” Moira asked her.

“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “I know you didn’t want to have lunch just to ask how I’ve been.”

“You’re right. That’s not my reason for asking you here.” Her mother said. “Thea, over the last few months, I’ve…. I’ve realized some things. Thea, I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“That’s the thing, though, I don’t. You could be talking about a number of things.” There was quite a bit for Moira to be apologizing for, and a part of Thea wanted to make her mother say, out loud, what she’d done. “And, if you’re going to apologize, you’re gonna need to be more specific.”

“Let’s start with the way I treated you, after Oliver and your father went missing.”

“You mean, Ollie and the man who raised me, but wasn’t my biological father.” She said. “Yeah, I know who my biological father is.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I just want to say, thank you so much for all of the amazing, wonderful comments. I know I haven't responded to every single one, but I want everyone to know that I appreciate how much love this fic is getting.

Chapter 115

Summary:

Thea and Moira have a chat, Lyla and Digg discuss ARGUS and Felicity, Oliver, Sara and Nyssa continue their movie marathon before learning of some trouble brewing in Starling.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After ASL class ended, Thea, Moira and Roy went to a nearby cafe for lunch. “So, how have you been?” Moira asked her daughter.

“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “I know you didn’t want to have lunch just to ask how I’ve been.”

“You’re right. That’s not my reason for asking you here.” Her mother said. “Thea, over the last few months, I’ve…. I’ve realized some things. Thea, I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“That’s the thing, though, I don’t. You could be talking about a number of things.” There was quite a bit for Moira to be apologizing for, and a part of Thea wanted to make her mother say, out loud, what she’d done. “And, if you’re going to apologize, you’re gonna need to be more specific.”

“Let’s start with the way I treated you, after Oliver and your father went missing.”

“You mean, Ollie and the man who raised me, but wasn’t my biological father.” She said. “Yeah, I know who my biological father is.”

“H- How?” 

“Dad, I’m still gonna call him my dad because that’s who he was, DNA or no DNA, he made arrangements to tell me when I turned 18, in the event something happened to him.” She didn’t want Moira to get angry with Walter for revealing that information, and her step-father had said that Robert planned to tell Thea when she was 18. “The rest wasn’t hard to figure out.” Moira looked relieved by that. Thea supposed she might’ve been scared that Malcolm had told her, in an attempt to manipulate her, though as far as she knew, Malcolm didn’t know Thea was his. “I also know everything else. Including the Undertaking. I know what he was going to do, what you were going to help him do.”

The older woman paled. “I- Thea, please let me-.”

“There really isn’t anything you can say that will justify being a part of that. Walter said you’d reevaluated things and realized it was wrong, but you still went along with it for years.”

“I had to. I had to protect you.”

“Like you protected Ollie?” She shot back. “Oh, that’s right. You didn’t even try. Not including…. what we were just discussing, the way you treated him when he came home was- no, I’m not doing this now, here. I- I need to go to the ladies room.” She stood up and walked to the back of the cafe, where the restrooms were.

“She hates me.” Moira said.

“If she hated you, she wouldn’t have agreed to have lunch with you.” Roy said, speaking for the first time. “She’s angry, and she’s deeply hurt, and that doesn’t just go away.”

“I know that. And I’m sorry. I want to make amends, with her and with Oliver, but I-.”

“And I think she knows that. I think she can tell you’re being sincere. She’s known you her whole life, I think she knows what it looks like when you’re trying to trick her, which means she knows that that’s not what you’re trying to do now.” He said. “But I don’t want to talk anymore about what I think she feels about what you’re saying.”

“I suppose that is fair. May I ask how you met Oliver? Did you know him before he left on the Queen’s Gambit?”

“No. I actually met Oliver after Thea, and I met Thea at Steph’s ASL class. I thought she’d gone to the wrong room by mistake. I had been Steph’s only student for a while, and the only other people who came to her class were people who’d wandered in by mistake.” He said. “I didn’t meet Oliver until after Thea and I started dating and she really wanted to introduce us. I was scared it would be a disaster, that I’d say something wrong or that he wouldn’t like me. It went way better than I thought. We really hit it off, and dinner was great. Oliver cooked dinner, and we talked and everyone seemed happy.”

“That’s good.” It was nice for Moira to hear about her children’s lives recently, even though she would’ve preferred to have been there.

“Yeah, and then the next day, he, Tommy and our friend Lyla were kidnapped and later saved by the Arrow.” He said, ruining the mood. “So, the next time I saw him, he wasn’t doing very well.” He sighed. “This conversation has gotten a little heavy. How are you liking ASL class?”

“This morning was only my second class, but I’ve enjoyed it so far. I was worried I’d have more difficulty.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“What’s good?” Thea asked, taking a seat next to Roy.

“Your mom was telling me that she’s been enjoying Stephanie’s class.”

“Good. Honestly, we’re lucky she even has a class. Did you know it’s the only ASL class in the city? Half a million people live here, and there’s one ASL class. Soon to be two, thanks to the rec center getting a bigger than normal donation last week that, the management said, is gonna help them expand the number of classes they offer.”

“They got a big donation? Was it from your brother?” Moira asked. “I read in the paper that he’d made some large donations recently.”

“No, Ollie didn’t make any donations until a few days ago. I don’t know what charities he donated too.” Thea said.

“Well, I hope he did his due diligence before he signed those checks.” She said. “Some charities aren’t run as efficiently as others.”

“Yeah, I know that and so does he. Some charities are scams, while others spend more money trying to get donations than helping the cause, or are fronts for organized crime and terrorism.” Thea said. “I think that’s why Ollie asked Walter for the list the Arrow Initiative has been gathering. The Initiative does an investigation into every organization they consider funding to make sure nothing’s fishy about the group. Ollie picked charities off of the list the Initiative already approved, since they’re already vetted.”

Moira was impressed. Oliver had put more thought into making his donations than she expected him to. Then again, she was coming to realize that she didn’t really know her son as well as she thought. Now, she had to wonder, how much did she really know Thea?

“Thea, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I treated you when the Gambit went missing. I’m sorry for my behavior when your brother returned and was…. different. And, yes, I’m sorry for the way I treated him. I’m also sorry for ever, ever, being involved with Malcolm or his plans.” She said.

“I know, but the thing is, saying sorry isn’t enough. It’s a good first step, but-.”

“I know. I used to tell you and your brother something along those lines, years ago.” She said with a small, fond smile. “But, like you said, it's a step in the right direction, and I needed to say it. Please tell your brother-.”

“No. I’m not gonna play messenger for you. You have his number. You can text him whatever you need to say. He might not respond, but he’ll see it.”

 

“Hi, Mom.” Donna said, answering her phone. It had been a few days since she talked to Hannah and she expected to hear quite the earful from her mother about that.

“Hello. I saw Oliver’s interview on the television on Sunday.” Hannah said. “He was right about at least two things. The first was all that ableist crap about him being an “inspiration” for existing. And second, Felicity is amazing. Though, it should’ve been a given. She’s a Smoak, after all.”

“You forget, he’s new to the complete amazingness that is the Smoak family.” She said.

“Speaking of which, when are you and Felicity going to visit and let me meet that nice boy in person?” Bubbe asked. “Not to sound cliche, but what am I, chopped liver?”

“He’s coming with us when I come back to Vegas to pack up my apartment.” Donna said. “Which is gonna be sometime between now and the end of March, since that’s when my lease is up.”

“Good.” She said. “Because there are a few things I need to say to Oliver, without nosey people eavesdropping.”

“What do you need to say to him?”

“That’s something between Oliver and I, and as much as I love you and Felicity, neither of you would understand.” She said, sounding slightly sad. “Now, I need to tell you the latest update about Gladys and her complete putz of a son.”

“I’m listening.” There was no gossip quite like the kind old people loved sharing.

 

Digg ducked out of the way of the punch aimed at his face. “That was a good one.”

“Well, I was one of ARGUS’s best agents for a reason.” Lyla said. The pair of them were sparring in the foundry. They had had brunch with Carly and AJ, and hadn’t really been in the mood to join Oliver, Felicity, Sara and Nyssa in their movie marathon. “Until, you know, I started questioning Waller’s behavior.”

“Yes, because of the pair of you, you were the one being shady and unethical.” He said, sarcastically. “And Waller being ousted from the director position is a total coincidence.”

“I wish I could’ve seen the look on her face when she found that out.” She said. “Or, better yet, the look on her face when she found out she was being replaced by someone from the CIA.”

“ARGUS doesn’t like the CIA?”

“Waller doesn’t like anyone, and she especially doesn’t like the CIA. I don’t know why and I don’t really care why. What I care about is that some friends who are still working for the government have heard of Cat Grant, the new director, and she seems like a good person to lead the agency.”

“Because she’s drastically different from Waller?”

“From what I’ve heard, Grant and Waller have a lot in common personality-wise, but Grant doesn’t have Waller’s twisted belief that anything she does, including what she did to Oliver or letting agents get killed, is justified because she’s the one who’s doing it.” She said. “The CIA can be shady, and their agents aren’t saints, but they know how much grey area they have and where “the line” is.”

 

A New Hope came to an end. Nyssa said she enjoyed it and Oliver commented that he’d forgotten about quite a few moments in the film. Nyssa said that a lightsaber was an interesting concept for a weapon and that Leia was her favorite character. They took a quick break before Felicity put The Empire Strikes Back into her DVD player.

Felicity, Sara and Oliver had all agreed not to tell Nyssa about the ending of any of the films. Oliver had only seen A New Hope, but through pop culture, there were things in later movies that he knew. They wanted her not to have any expectations when going into the films, and since she was raised in a fairly sheltered environment, she mostly likely wouldn’t know what to expect.

Around an hour and 45 minutes later, Felicity was trying to watch Nyssa watch the film so that she could see her reaction.

On screen, Luke battled with Darth Vader in the air shafts of Cloud City. While fighting on a platform, Vader swung his lightsaber and amputated Luke’s hand. 

“There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you.” Vader said.

Luke said nothing, but backed away onto a platform.

“Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.”

Luke stood up, clutching a pole. “I’ll never join you!”

“If you only knew the power of the Dark Side.” Vader said, clenching his fist. “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”

“He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”

“No. I am your father.”

Nyssa’s jaw dropped. The twist has taken her completely by surprise, and Felicity couldn’t be happier. It was a great twist, but a famous one. It was nice to see someone surprised by it. The rest of the film played out, with Luke escaping from Vader, being rescued by Leia and then vowing to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt.

“So, what did you think?” Felicity asked when the credit began to roll.

“I was not expecting Darth Vader to be Luke’s father.” Nyssa said. “It was incredibly surprising.”

“Yeah, that’s why Felicity kept shushing me and Ollie and telling us not to say too much about the movie.” Sara said. “She didn’t want the surprise ruined.”

Nyssa looked at her friend, who looked sheepish. “You can only be surprised by that once. And I didn’t want you to know it was coming. Part of the fun of watching these movies with someone who hasn’t seen them is seeing how they react to different moments.”

“That seems fair. And I can see why knowing how the scene ends ahead of time would change how I viewed it.” She said. “What did you think, Oliver?”

‘I liked it, especially the end. Though, it kinda sucks that Han Solo is frozen in carbonite. So far, he’s my favorite.’ He said.

“Really?” Sara asked.

‘Yeah. He’s- I mean, unlike Luke, he’s just a normal guy who somehow wound up in the middle of this crazy rebellion. I like Luke, and Leia, but I like Han more.’

No one needed a degree in psychology to understand why Oliver would relate to a normal man thrown into an abnormal situation. “I like R2D2, but then again, I’m a giant nerd and he’s a cute little droid.” Felicity said. “So, do we wanna continue to the last of the trilogy or take a break for a bit?”

“I think a break sounds good. We should probably have lunch.” Sara said. “As much as I love popcorn, we can’t live off of it.”

They took a short break for lunch. They had turkey and cheese sandwiches, since Felicity had the ingredients and making anything more difficult than that would’ve taken too long. As they were eating, Felicity asked Sara how her potential job search was going and Nyssa what her plans were.

“My assignment from my father is looking more and more like it will take months, if not years, to complete, so I have no plans at the moment.” While Nyssa was starting to feel more comfortable talking about her past, and she knew Oliver and Felicity were her friends, she wasn’t quite ready to explain what her task was. How could she explain her father had essentially exiled her? How was she supposed to repay a debt that didn’t have a concrete value? The debt was entirely based on a hypothetical situation that would never happen.

“I meant, like, plans for stuff other than Arrow business and assassin business.” Felicity said. “You can’t be working all the time.”

“I’ve been considering a few hobbies I might start.” She said. “Perhaps there is a class I can take at the “rec center” I’ve heard Thea mention. I assume the ASL class is not the only activity that occurs there?”

‘No, they’ve got a bunch of different programs.’ Oliver said.

“I applied at a few places in town.” Sara said. “They were mostly gyms for either personal trainer positions or teaching some kind of self-defense class.”

‘You know, that sounds like a pretty good fit for you.’ He said. It was one of the few jobs that used skills Sara already had but wouldn’t put her in a situation that made her relive something traumatic. He also knew she was a good teacher, as he’d seen her show Roy, Thea and Felicity a few self-defense moves.

“Yeah, it kinda is. What about you, Ollie? Other than getting the foundry renovated, to make more space, and trying to come to an agreement with Samantha, what have you been up to?”

‘Reading, mostly. I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but it’s been mostly QC stuff. There’s another stockholders meeting soon and I wanna be ready for that.’

“That sounds awful.” Felicity said. “Not the meeting but having to do all that reading. Having to read reports, or any document, is fine if you’re interested in the subject, but if you don’t find it interesting, it’s awful. I can’t imagine expense reports and business proposals are fun to read.”

‘They’re not. It’s very dry.’ He said. ‘You know what’s not dry? Star Wars. I need to know what happens next.’

“Actually, we can hold off for a bit longer?” Felicity asked, looking at her phone. “I just got texts from Tommy, Roy and Thea, asking if they could join us. I said yes, that we had just finished Empire Strikes Back and I don’t wanna start Return of the Jedi without them.”

No one had an issue with waiting for a bit. The others arrived about twenty minutes later. After greeting everyone, Thea mentioned having lunch with Moira. She told Oliver to expect a text from their mother at some point, since Thea refused to be a messenger between Oliver and Moira.

“She’s not- I don’t forgive her yet, and I told her that, but she- I think she really is trying to fix things.” Thea said. “But she’s got a long way to go.”

‘She does.’ He said. It was good that she was trying. It was important to him that she was trying, but as Thea said, she was a long way from forgiveness. ‘Did she say anything about Samantha or-?’

“No. I don’t think that she knows that you know.” She said. “Should I have told her?”

He shook his head. ‘I don’t want her to turn around and mess up Samantha’s life, or William’s, while I’m trying to get everything worked out. If she does mention her, tell her that I’m asking her not to get involved. She’s done enough damage already.’

“Um, excuse me? I was promised lightsaber battles and space guns making “pew pew pew” sounds.” Tommy said, trying to lift the mood. “Are we gonna start this movie or what?”

Everyone laughed and Felicity pressed “play” to start the film.

 

Samantha was getting a little tired of going over things, one at a time, with Camille Ashton, her lawyer. She asked the attorney if she could come in for a sit-down meeting so that they could go over everything she’d gotten from Oliver’s lawyers, rather than deal with one thing at a time. Camille agreed and, feeling a sense of urgency, Samantha scheduled an appointment for Saturday afternoon.

“Okay, we discussed Skype calls between Oliver and William. We need to decide a day of the week for those to happen.” Camille said, looking at the first item on her list.

“Do we have to stipulate a day?” Samantha asked.

“Is it necessary? No, but we should have a day that was agreed on, in writing in the custody and visitation agreement. And I’m sure his lawyers will push for that.” She said.

“Why? If we agree to once a week, why does it have to say “once a week on Tuesday” or “every Friday”?”

“Because his lawyers are smart and don’t want to give you that wiggle room.” She said. “If we don’t have “every week on Tuesday” in that document, it’s easier for you to keep pushing it off, you could turn around and say “we never agreed to Tuesday, and it's a busy week” and then when Oliver tries a few days later and say “no, today’s not good either, try again in a few days” which in turn means Oliver won’t be getting to see or talk to William as often as promised, and if you do that enough times, we will wind up in front of a judge. If it's not in the document, it’s harder to enforce.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Imagine if the situation was reversed. You have one chance a week to talk to William. And you get excited because your one time a week is almost here, and then that day arrives and Oliver says “no, you can’t talk to him. I said weekly, I didn’t say it had to be on Tuesday.” How would you feel?” She asked.

“Fine.” Samantha could see her point, but she also felt like they were splitting hairs on the issue. “Weekly on Fridays. William has a later bedtime on the weekends.”

“Okay.” Camille said, making a note. “Let’s talk about William visiting Oliver.”

“That’s not happening.”

“You don’t have the grounds to stop him from doing that. Nothing Oliver has done makes him a danger to William, he’s not living in an unsafe environment, and it wouldn’t be fair to William for his interactions with his father to be restricted to being in person, for only a few hours, only when you allow it. Starling is a short train ride from Central City, so it’s not like Oliver lives in New York and you live in San Francisco either.”

“What if William visits him, but Oliver refuses to send William back to me?”

“Then, you can press charges for kidnapping.” Camille said. “We’re talking about a weekend or two a month, the occasional holiday and a few weeks in the summer.”

“That often?”

“Samantha, can I be blunt?” She asked. Her client nodded. “You’ve had William 24/7, 365 days a year for five, almost six years. And, in some states, what you did, fleeing the state while pregnant and lying about the baby, could’ve gotten you charged with kidnapping. If you can’t come to an agreement with Oliver, we’re gonna end up in court and no family court judge is gonna think what Oliver’s asking is unreasonable. I told you from the beginning that you’d have to compromise. This is what I meant.”

“I’m not ready to agree to anything about William visiting Oliver regularly, yet.” Samantha said.

“Okay. I’ll say we’re still discussing it.” She said. “Oliver has asked that, if it doesn’t conflict with a holiday that William spends with you, William be allowed to spend part of Hanukkah and Passover in Starling City.” Camille had only gotten this request from Oliver’s lawyers a few days ago.

“Oliver isn’t Jewish.”

“No, but his girlfriend is and I imagine that, if he’s celebrating those holidays with her, he might want to include William.”

“What does that mean “if it doesn’t conflict” with other holidays?”

“It’s my understanding that Passover and Hanukkah last multiple days. Passover starts a little before Easter and ends either on or right after Easter. Hanukkah is eight days falling between the end of November and late December. Sometimes, Hannukah falls on Christmas. So, if you have William for Christmas this year, and Hanukkah falls from the 21st through the 29th, and I don’t know if those are the dates, he wants to have William for a few days in that range, but not on Christmas.”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“You do. You have a choice with all of this. You can say “no” but he can also push back and want to know why.”

“I wanna sit down and talk to Oliver.” She said. “I’m tired of this game of telephone. I’m tired of- I wanna set up a meeting, in person with him.”

“Okay. I’ll see what we can do. Do you have someone who can watch William for a day or two, if we end up doing an in-person meeting in Starling?”

“Can’t he come here?” Samantha asked.

“He could, but he’s also very recognizable and the last thing we want is reporters wondering why he, his interpreters and his lawyer are spotted walking into a family law office in Central City.” She spoke. Camille didn’t say it, but it was generally common courtesy for the party requesting the meeting, in this case Samantha, to travel to the other party, not the other way around. “We could also try for a conference call.”

“No, I wanna see him. I’ll ask Barb if William can sleep over for a night if that’s what I need to do.”

 

Nyssa decided that she wasn’t sure about the ending of Return of the Jedi. She was happy that Luke hadn’t fallen to the Dark Side, but she also felt like the ending was a tad too simple. It was a bit unrealistic that the empire would fall as soon as the emperor was dead. She enjoyed the film, and could see why Felicity loved it, but the ending wasn’t as cathartic as she expected. She supposed it might be because she knew the death of a despot wasn’t enough to fix the underlying problems that led to his rise in the first place.

After finishing the movie, the group at Felicity’s house had dinner before heading to the foundry. Slade had informed everyone that he was taking a night off, though he didn’t really say why. The four other vigilantes changed and went out on patrol.

While patrolling the streets, Lyla and Oliver came across a woman who seemed unwell. She was sweaty and shaking while whimpering, as if in pain. When Lyla touched her arm, to get her attention, the woman shrieked.

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed. “Don’t-.”

“Are you okay?” Lyla asked. “Did you take something? Should I get you to a hospital?”

“Just get away from me!”

The woman staggered backwards and fell to the ground. Lyla felt for a pulse, but there wasn’t one. “She’s gone. I’ve never seen- what did she take?”

No one had any clue what drug the woman might’ve taken to cause such a reaction. Felicity started looking into recent drug-related deaths. The two vigilantes, shaken, continued on their patrol after making an anonymous tip to the police.

“I think I found something.” Felicity said, about an hour later. “I don’t know what that woman might’ve taken, and I’ll need to see what her tox screen reveals, but police have found six dead in the last five weeks of some kind of drug overdose. They were all prostitutes and vagrants, so no one was looking for them and not many people cared that they died, but they were all killed by the same drug. Which only appeared on the SCPD’s radar when they found the first body.”

“Wait, is this- I think I heard some cops talking about it when I picked up McKenna for lunch a few days ago.” Tommy said. “I think- I think I heard them calling it Vertigo.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 116

Summary:

The team tries to learn more about Vertigo while Oliver and Lyla each get a startling surprise.

Notes:

Quick warning- there's a lot of talk about drug use at the beginning of this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After Oliver and Lyla finished explaining what had happened with the woman behaving erratically and Tommy suggested that it might’ve been the result of the new street drug Vertigo, Felicity started looking into the bodies that had previously been found. They weren’t sure if the woman had taken Vertigo, but they wanted to explore all possible explanations at that point.

“Oliver, Lyla, come look at this.” Felicity said, gesturing them towards her computer. She had hacked into the SCPD and pulled up some photos of previous Vertigo victims. “Did the woman have a mark like this on her neck?” She pointed to a wound on the victim’s neck that looks like either a bite from a vampire, or twin syringe marks.

‘No, not that I saw.’ Oliver said.

“I didn’t see a mark like that, but I only saw one side of her face.” Lyla said.

“Okay. I mean, even if you hadn’t, that wouldn’t necessarily rule Vertigo out.” Felicity said. “Just because she didn’t inject Vertigo doesn’t mean she didn’t take it.”

‘What were you able to find out about the drug?’

“It’s a narcotic. The short-term effects seem to be similar to ecstasy, only more addictive and more dangerous, if tonight was any indication.” The blonde said. “But the first few bodies they found- the autopsy revealed that their hearts just…. gave out. It had to be the drug because all six bodies had the same cause of death, and it’s the only thing the victims had in common.”

“Why doesn’t everyone know about this?” Thea asked. “If there’s a drug like that out there, why isn’t it all over the news?”

“Because the only victims so far have been sex workers and homeless people.” Roy said. He knew he sounded very bitter, but he’d seen first-hand how something like this worked. Growing up in the Glades, he’d seen it often enough. “Not a lot of people care about them. When a mother of two or lawyer or teacher overdoses on Vertigo, that’s when the city’s gonna start caring.”

“That’s how it used to work.” Lyla said. “That’s not how it works now. Not when we’re here.”

“I’ll see what else I can find about Vertigo, while we wait for the autopsy on the woman you two met tonight.” Felicity said. “Vertigo needs to be stopped, but we don’t know if that’s what she took. If she took something else, we need to deal with that as well.”

“Do you really think there could be two new designer drugs on the streets at the same time?” Digg asked.

“It’s possible.” She said as she pulled out a phone. “This is the “Arrow Phone”. Digg is gonna give McKenna a call about Vertigo. Maybe the SCPD wants our help, maybe they don’t, but I feel like we should at least offer our assistance. And, I imagine someone’s gonna ask why I don’t just call her from my phone.”

“Yeah. I mean, she knows who we are.” Tommy said.

“That’s true, but she has my number saved under my name from when the federal task force needed to get in touch with Oliver. What happens if McKenna loses her work phone and the person who finds it notices that every time the Arrow and friends catch someone, or offer their help, McKenna gets a call from me?” She asked. “It’s safer for everyone if we don’t use personal phones for vigilante business.”

“Okay. That does make sense.” He said. “Sorry if it was a dumb question.”

“There’s no such thing as a dumb question.” She said. 

It was quiet in the foundry as Felicity looked further into Vertigo and how each of the known victims died. As she reached the end of what the SCPD had gathered so far, she spoke up again.

“Wow, Vertigo is very nasty. I would not wanna meet the guy, or girl, who came up with it in a dark alley.”

“Why? How bad is it?” Lyla asked.

“Keep in mind, I’m not a neurosurgeon but I did do extensive research into neuroscience for a project that ended up being shelved. So, I know stuff about brains, but I’m not an expert. Vertigo seems to affect the hypothalamus region of the brain most, which is where your pain receptors are stored.” Felicity said. “You feel physical pain when your nerves tell your brain something has happened. You stub your toe and it hurts because the nerves in your toe tell the receptors in your brain that something has happened to that toe, and it might be damaged.”

“Okay.” Thea said.

“Vertigo seems to make the brain think it's getting those messages over and over. The victims, not only were they dying and hallucinating, but they thought they were in excruciating pain while they were dying.” She said. “Which is why all their hearts gave out. When your brain gets a “something is wrong” message, your body tries to fix it. If you get a cut, your blood starts to clot. Broken bones need to be reset, because if they aren’t, they’ll heal incorrectly. The Vertigo victims thought they were in unbelievable pain, which made their hearts go into overdrive trying to fix the problem and it became too much.”

“That explains why the woman tonight was screaming at me not to touch her.” Lyla said. “She must’ve already been in a lot of pain, and me touching her might’ve made it worse.”

‘Call McKenna back.’ Oliver signed to Digg. ‘Tell her that we want to help in any way the SCPD needs us. This stuff is too dangerous.’

“And this is supposed to be something people take for fun? Like, a recreational drug?” Sara asked. “Why would a dealer sell a drug that kills you the first time you take it?”

“Maybe it doesn’t.” Roy said. “It might be safer in smaller doses or if it's been cut with something.”

“Cut?” Nyssa asked.

“It’s like watering down alcohol. Dealers will dilute drugs with something that’s not as harmful, like sugar or laxatives. The buyer’s less likely to die and the dealer can sell to more people.” He said. “It happens all the time with cocaine and heroin.”

 

Malcolm’s surprise visitor a few days earlier had said just enough to justify him going to meet with the person, and one of their contacts, on Sunday morning. As he listened to them both explain their plan, he had to admit that it wasn’t the worst plan he’d ever heard. It certainly was better than hiding in Corto Maltese, waiting for the FBI to find him or the League of Assassins to kill him.

“How soon can we put this into motion?” He asked.

“We’ll have to wait at least four months before we can really dedicate our resources to this.” One of them answered. “We need to let the heat around you die down, let the media focus on the wrong-doing of someone else.”

“I’m patient. I can wait.”

 

Moira thought a great deal about what Thea and Roy said during her lunch with them as she sat alone in the mansion that night. She knew she needed to apologize to Oliver. She knew part of that was acknowledging what she did, or in some cases didn't do, to Oliver. And Thea, and to a lesser extent Felicity Smoak. 

She took out a piece of paper and began writing out what she'd say to each of them. It was just a draft. She could edit it and refine her words later. Getting everything written down was what mattered right now. She started with Oliver, because she had the most to say to him. She wrote and wrote and didn't notice how much time had passed until the grandfather clock in the foyer rang, announcing that it was one AM. She'd been writing for over two hours.

 

Doyle sat at his desk, looking at his email inbox and trying to ignore the ominous feeling when he spotted the one unread message in there. The sender was the US State Department and the subject line indicated it was about the request to travel to Lian Yu. The task force had looped in someone from the State Department, who was familiar with the Chinese government, when they first realized they needed to go to Lian Yu. The State Department official was included mostly to smooth over any minor issues with the Coast Guard’s request to travel to the island.

Doyle’s nervousness stemmed from the fact that this was an alarmingly fast response. He’d been told they might be waiting weeks, if not over a month, before getting a response. Yet, he already had something from the State Department. He realized that this could just be a follow-up email, with the diplomat informing him the request had been sent, but his gut said otherwise.

“You’re not gonna know ‘til you open it, Andy.” He said to himself before he opened it. It was a very short email from the diplomat informing him that the Chinese official he’d spoken to had received the request and that the appropriate department in Beijing was “considering” the request and weighing their options in terms of what they would agree to, if it was approved. It wasn’t a huge development, but Doyle hadn’t expected this answer to come this early.

“Good news?” Anderson asked.

“The guy at the DOS, Gunderson, said the Chinese government is “considering” our request to go to Lian Yu.” He said. “Which is honestly more than I expected to hear by now.”

“Queen’s Gambit sinking made international news, so did Oliver Queen being found. It makes sense that the government there might not want the bad press that they’re dragging their feet about letting us recover Robert Queen’s body.”

“No one outside the task force, Gunderson and the Chinese government know that that’s why we wanna go.”

“For now. All it takes is one person to have a gossipy girlfriend or boyfriend for the story to be leaked.”

“And what brings you into the office so early?” Doyle asked.

“Reeves and I are hoping the CSIs can tell us something, anything, about what we found in Merlyn’s office, even if it's just that his DNA was found in the Dark Archer suit." He said. “And I’ve gotta submit the FBI’s version of that report Dinan submitted about Waller by tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow?”

“I was just strongly urged to get it sent in by then. The Powers That Be really don’t want to let this sit for very long.” Anderson said.

“They must’ve found something worse.” What Waller did to Oliver was bad; no one on the task force was going to dispute that. However, her actions weren’t an immediate concern. If the new director of ARGUS looked into Waller, though, and found something worse, or something that was ongoing, it would certainly explain the speed at which this was being handled. “I would not wanna be Amanda Waller tomorrow morning.”

 

Frank Pike walked into his office on Sunday morning and sat down with a sigh. He couldn’t wait for the mayor to finally appoint a new police commissioner so that he could get back to doing his actual job. As expected, the paperwork that was on his desk seemed to have multiplied overnight.

He grabbed a folder and started reading. He was halfway through the first report when McKenna knocked on the door of his office. “Got a minute?”

“Yeah. Are you here for an Arrow reason or a federal task force reason?”

“Arrow.” She said. “He and his team have become aware of Vertigo. They came across a woman having a bad Vertigo trip last night. She died and they want to offer their help getting the drug off the streets.”

“Not that I doubt their sincerity, but what do they think they can do?”

“They were actually gonna leave that up to us. They want to help, however they can, however we might need them. He even said that, if we want them to stay away and let us handle it, they would.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I talk to the drug unit.” Pike said. “The lab confirmed the victim last night had Vertigo in her system?”

“Yup, but she didn’t have the dual needle marks like the previous victims. Or any needle marks. She must’ve taken it another way.”

“Just what we need, a versatile drug problem.” He said. “I’ll talk to drugs, and vice, and let you know so that you can tell them.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She said. She gave the Arrow Phone a call and passed on what Pike had said.

 

Oliver was cleaning up after brunch when his phone buzzed, indicating he had received a text message. It then buzzed three more times. He unlocked it and saw all four texts were from his mom. He wasn't sure if he wanted to open the messages.

"Everything okay?" Felicity asked.

'Mom texted me. Four times. I don't- I'm not sure if I should read them or-.'

"Do you want me to open them? I can do that. Or we can leave them unread for now."

He handed her the phone. 'Just- tell me what the tone is?' He watched as she opened the messages and read. She then scrolled down to keep reading. To him, it felt like she was doing a lot of scrolling down. 

“Well, your mom didn’t text you four times. Her message was so long that her phone had to break it up into four smaller texts to send the whole thing.” She said. “She had a lot to say. I don’t- I think you should read it for yourself, when you’re ready. She wrote a very long and very thought-out apology.”

‘What did she say?’

“She said a lot. She apologized for a lot. The way she acted when you first came back, being involved in the Undertaking, and a lot more. Normally, I’d just tell you what she wrote but this really feels like something you should read, when you’re ready, and not just depend on my summary of it.”

‘But she did apologize?’ He asked. ‘Did she mention Samantha?’

“No. I don’t think she knows that you know. She might be waiting until you’ve reconciled a bit before she brings them up. It could also mean that she doesn’t know what happened to Samantha, or the baby, after she wrote the second check.”

‘You think she doesn’t know about my son?’

“She might know. She might not know. She might not have cared what happened once Samantha took the check and disappeared from your life. The only person you can ask-.”

‘Is my mom. And if I ask, she might do something to mess up the agreement I’ve been trying to reach with Samantha.’ He said. ‘I’ll read it later. Or in a few days.’

“Cool.” She said. “Well, since we’ve finished Star Wars, how do you wanna spend the rest of the weekend?”

‘I wanna get to the bottom of what the Bertinellis are up to.’ He said. His mom’s texts, and the unopened envelope Walter had given him from his father both weighed heavily in his mind. He couldn’t just ignore them forever.

 

‘We got a problem.” A drug dealer said as he arrived at the usual spot where he picked up his product to sell. “The cops are onto us.”

“They are not “on” to you, or I. They are just aware of the fact that Vertigo exists. That is a much different matter.” The man who had created Vertigo, who everyone called the Count, said. “The drugs will never lead back to myself, or this place, so what the cops may or may not know is irrelevant.”

“How do you know they can’t find you?”

“I have my methods.” He said. “And, if you lead them here, I will make your death incredibly painful. I dislike being betrayed.”

“I ain’t no rat.” The dealer said. “I was just expecting a little more time before the cops caught onto us.”

“The Arrow and his ilk have greatly reduced the number of dealers in this city. We’re not operating in an over-saturated market. And they’ve found at least six of my test subjects. There are quite a few they still need to find, but that’s neither here nor there.” 

“Test subjects?”

“A good wine’s value is measured by its vintage. The number of years it took to ferment. Vertigo is measured in lives. 56 people died to perfect this high. Believe me when I say it was not easy, but they did not die for nothing.” The Count said. “Now, are you here to pick up a delivery or would you prefer to continue cowering in the corner like a scared child?”

The dealer handed over the money and the Count handed him a bag of pills.

 

Oliver spent his afternoon trying to figure out who was spying on the Bertinelli crime family and what their motives were. He needed to work slowly and carefully, since the last thing he wanted to do was alert the Bertinellis or whoever was watching them that he was looking into them. He had learned in Russia how valuable information was, but knowing exactly when to reveal information was just as important. As Lyla had taught him, half of intelligence gathering is knowing what information is valuable in what circumstances.

If the person monitoring the Bertinellis was an undercover agent, or someone looking to become an informant, the last thing he wanted to do was put that person in jeopardy. If the person was part of a rival family or organized crime syndicate, the last thing he wanted was to start a mafia war. Oliver wasn’t able to learn the identity of the observer, or their location, but he had realized that every hack took place in the same two-hour window in the afternoon, though never on the same day. He had no idea what that might mean, but it seemed significant.

When the team met that night, they didn’t really have a plan as to what to do for patrol. Slade had been told about the situation, but they hadn’t heard anything from McKenna since her meeting with Acting Commissioner Pike. They didn’t know what, if anything, the SCPD wanted them to do in the investigation. They settled on keeping an eye out for anything that might lead them back to Vertigo but not actively looking for leads.

“Kinda surprised I haven’t heard of Vertigo already.” Thea said after they left to patrol. “Seems like the kind of thing that would be the “new, cool” thing for certain kids at my school.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way. This isn’t something bored rich kids should be taking.” Digg said. “Alcohol and pot are one thing, and I get teenage rebellion, but if this doesn’t get under control, a lot of people could die.”

 

Amanda Waller sat at her desk, in her office, fuming on Monday morning. She wasn’t director anymore, but as the leader of Task Force X, she did still have an office. She had work to do, every important work, but was being blocked at every turn by Cat Grant. Waller was hoping to find some new recruits to Task Force X, but her access had been restricted and she could no longer get into the system she needed to determine who to recruit next. Waller had gotten word of an opportunity for the Task Force to do what it did best, an opportunity that should put her back in Graves’s good graces, but no one at ARGUS headquarters was willing to go against Grant and let Waller sign out a helicopter, or even a car, without approval from her. How was Waller supposed to do her job if she needed to ask her boss for authorization for everything?

An agent whose name Waller didn’t remember walked past the open door of her office. She wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t almost immediately turned around and went speed walking in the opposite direction.

About fifteen seconds later, Cat Grant, a man she didn’t know and a woman she didn’t know entered Waller’s office. Since she was already quite annoyed, she opened her mouth to comment on the fact that Grant didn’t even have the courtesy to knock.

“Amanda Waller?” The man asked.

“Yes?” She said curtly.

 

After dropping Thea off at school, Oliver went to the foundry to meet the contractors, who were going to start working on the upgrades to the building. Roy was there, and he suspected Sara, Nyssa and Slade were down in the lair. Tommy was stuck in meetings to reopen his mother’s clinic all day.

After going over a few updates to the plans, Oliver retreated to the lair, wanting to stay out of the workers’ way while they were working. Around 9:30, he got a call and Roy yelled for everyone to stop what they were doing, since the caller was Loring & Wasserman.

“Hello?” Roy asked when Oliver put his phone on speaker.

“Hello, Mr. Harper. I assume you’re with Mr. Queen at the moment?” Eliana asked.

“Yes. He’s standing right next to me and he can hear you.”

“Good. Oliver, are you available for an in-person meeting this Wednesday?”

‘Yes. Is everything okay?’ Oliver said.

“Samantha has requested a sit-down meeting with you.” She said. “I believe she thinks it’ll be easier to reach an agreement in person.”

‘I- I don’t know if I can get a ticket to Central City on such short notice.’ Oliver said.

“The meeting would be at our office in Starling.” Eliana said. “If you aren’t ready, that’s perfectly fine. This Wednesday is the first day she’s available, but we can schedule a meeting for next week or the week after.”

‘No- no, Wednesday is good.’ He said. ‘Should I- is there anything I should bring? I wanna be prepared for this meeting.’

“You only need yourself and your interpreters. I’ll handle the rest. Is 10:30 a good time?”

‘Yeah. That’s fine.’

 

Lyla was keeping an eye on Felicity, Curtis and Ray when two men in black suits walked into the office, following a nervous looking receptionist.

“Lyla Michaels?” One of the men asked.

“Yes, that’s me.” She said.

“You’ve been served.” The other one said as he handed her an envelope. Both men left as soon as she was handed the envelope.

“Lyla?” Felicity asked. She’d noticed the men arriving and now that they’d apparently served her with papers, she was concerned.

Lyla, meanwhile, had opened the envelope and started reading. “I’ve been subpoenaed.”

“For what?”

“To testify before Congress.” She said. “In regards to, quote, field operations performed by Advanced Research Group United Support between August 2009 and May 2010. And the leadership of the group at that time.” If Lyla was being served, Waller had probably already gotten her own subpoena.

“Advanced Research what?” Curtis asked. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“That’s the way they like it.” Felicity said. “So, you have to testify, and so does your old boss. What about- do you think your old partner will-?” She was trying to ask, without outright saying it, if Oliver would have to as well.

“I doubt it.” Lyla said. “They probably don’t want to bother him. I should probably give my lawyer a call.”

“I’m sorry this is happening.” Felicity said. “But I’m glad karma is finally coming for your old boss. She was terrible.”

Lyla gave Felicity a look. The former agent couldn’t tell if Felicity had something to do with this, but she wouldn’t rule out the possibility. Felicity had said that she’d make sure Waller paid for what she did to Oliver.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

-----
For the record, the US government/Congress never does anything this quickly, so I'm taking artistic license for the whole Waller situation, and to a less extent, the dealings with the Chinese government.

Chapter 117

Summary:

Waller and Lyla react to the Congressional investigation, Tommy has a date and Oliver does something he's been putting off for a while.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the two people from Washington left her office, after giving her a subpoena, Waller sat there fuming. It took her a moment to realize that Cat Grant was still standing there and hadn’t left when the others did. Amanda had a feeling Grant had stayed there to gloat.

“Did you know this was going to happen?”

“I had a feeling there was a possibility.” Grant said. A very likely possibility, but Waller didn’t need to know that.

“Is that why Task Force X was grounded?”

“Task Force X was grounded, and remains grounded, because I don’t want them in the field until I fully understand the purpose of that unit.” She said. “The missions they’ve undertaken don’t point to a specific purpose, and I don’t like that.” She crossed her arms. “I also stayed behind to tell you that, if you don’t have outside counsel, I can call in a favor to have an old CIA lawyer to represent you. I’d offer one of ARGUS’s lawyers, but since they were once a subordinate, it would be a potential conflict of interest.” Cat didn’t like Waller, but she believed in justice and due process. Part of that process was that anyone on trial, or having to testify before Congress had a right to an attorney.

“This is completely ridiculous. I shouldn’t have to testify before Congress. What I did as director-.”

“Is their business because ARGUS is a government agency.” Grant said. “You don’t have to like it, but you have to do it.”

“Yeah, sure.” Waller said. Congress couldn’t make her testify if they couldn’t find her. All she had to do was leave the country before the hearing in two days.

“I’ll get out of your hair now.” She said. “Oh, and since I can’t have you trying to flee the country, I suggest you don’t try to leave the building.”

Well, there went that plan. 

 

Felicity pulled Lyla aside after she’d been served her subpoena, wanting to offer her help in any way that she could to her friend. First, though, they needed to call Digg and Oliver to let them know what had happened and talk about what to do next.

“Before I call them, I need to know something.” Lyla said. “Was this you?”

“Not directly.” Felicity responded. “I feel like Oliver and John will have the same question, so call them so that I don’t have to repeat myself.”

Lyla nodded and called Digg, knowing he’d be with Oliver. When he answered, she told them what had just happened to her and what it probably meant.

“August 2009 through May 2010.” Digg said. “Wasn’t Oliver in Moscow with you during that time?”

“Yup. It’s a few weeks longer than how long we were there for, but yes.”

“Oliver just asked me if this was you, Felicity.” John said. “You did say more than once that you were going to make sure Waller paid for what she did to Oliver and Lyla during that time.”

“And as I told Lyla, I didn’t directly cause this.” Felicity said.

 

Oliver stood in the Arrow Cave next to Digg as his friend talked to Lyla and Felicity on the phone. He waited with bated breath for Felicity to answer his question about whether she was responsible for Lyla, and most likely Waller, getting called to testify before Congress.

“You did say more than once that you were going to make sure Waller paid for what she did to Oliver and Lyla during that time.”

“And, as I told Lyla, I didn’t directly cause this.” Felicity said after a moment. “Right around the time they told everyone about Moscow, I had people from the Department of Homeland Security trying to convince me to sell or lend a program I wrote a few years ago to them. I ignored them at first, and they didn’t take the hint, so two people who work for DHS came to town to speak with me in person. And I turned them down.”

‘I remember you telling me about that.’ Oliver said. Digg repeated what he’d said.

“I kinda left out exactly what I told them. I said there were people working for the DHS that I didn’t want anywhere near my work, and that the government wouldn’t give me the assurances that I needed that those people wouldn’t have access to the program.” She said. “And by people, I meant Waller, but I didn’t just say it outright.”

“And, because the government hates being told “no”, the DHS wasn’t gonna just drop the issue.” Lyla said.

“No, they were not. I don’t know what exactly happened next. The Coast Guard agents could’ve sent in some report about Moscow or the DHS might’ve tried to figure out why I’d be so adamant about refusing them the program, but very soon after, Waller was demoted. And now, she’s gotta go explain herself to Congress.”

“Wow.”

“Everyone said that we couldn’t go after Waller, that because she was the director of ARGUS, and national security, blah blah blah, there was nothing we could do. I refused to believe that.” She said. “I just had to use a different tactic.”

‘You did it.’ Oliver said with realization. ‘You told me, weeks ago, that you didn’t have to resort to doing something shady or illegal to take Waller down. You said you were gonna take her down in broad daylight.’

“Yeah.” She said and he could hear the smile in her voice. “That's exactly what I did. What have you been up to this morning?”

‘I have a meeting at Loring & Wasserman on Wednesday. Samantha and her lawyer wanna sit down with me and discuss things. It could either go really well, or get really ugly.’

“I hope it doesn’t. That meeting is gonna be awkward as hell, but I hope it doesn’t get ugly.”

“It won’t.” Lyla said. “You’re not gonna make it ugly, Oliver and frankly, Samantha can’t afford to. Because she knows, or at least her lawyer does, that if this goes to court, she could lose and, even if she “wins”, she won’t get everything she wants. Not to mention the publicity it’ll get, which won’t make her look good.”

‘I’m still nervous.’

“I never said not to be nervous. I just know you and I don’t want you to go to that meeting, expecting it to go completely wrong.” She said. “Back to the subject of my subpoena, I’m gonna call my lawyer in a bit. My hearing is Thursday and Friday. I figure I’ll leave Wednesday afternoon to fly to DC and come back Friday night.”

“I’m coming with you.” Digg said. “For moral support.”

“All of us will.” Felicity said. 

“That's…. not really necessary. Johnny coming is one thing, but-.” Lyla said. “I appreciate the thought, but everyone doesn't need to come. I’ll be fine. I’ve come face-to-face with worse people than Senators and Congressmen. I don’t need to have a whole posse.”

‘You can use my plane.’ Oliver said.

“No. That’s not necessary either.”

‘Fine. But I’m paying for your ticket, your lawyer’s and John’s.’ He said. ‘And before you say “no” I just wanna say that I really wanna do something for you, since you have to do the hard part and relive Moscow in front of a whole committee.’

“Fine.” She conceded. “You can pay for the tickets.”

‘And the hotel.’

“Don’t push your luck. Just the tickets.” She said firmly.

‘Just the tickets.’ He said. ‘I’ll see you both in a few hours, at lunch time.’

“See you soon.” Felicity said. “Love you!”

‘I love you too.’

After the call ended, Digg turned to Oliver. “About you having a bodyguard while I’m gone-.”

‘We both know that I don’t need one.’

“That’s true but to keep up appearances, you should have one.”

‘I’m not going to be leaving the house on Thursday, since Felicity works from home. As for Friday? If I have to go somewhere, I’m sure Slade will agree to help me out.’

“What about Felicity? If Lyla is in DC, who goes to Applied Sciences with her?”

‘Nyssa or Sara, if they agree. If she even needs one. QC is a lot safer now and she’d only be in the office, without Lyla, on Friday.’ He said. 

“Fair enough.”

Oliver continued his workout for another hour, then went home to shower and change before driving to Applied Sciences to pick up Felicity and Lyla for lunch. The biggest improvement being made to the old steel factory was adding showers to the layout. It would certainly make sparring and working out at the foundry much more convenient.

 

Tommy was running a little bit late to his lunch date with McKenna. The meeting he was in, trying to reopen his mother’s clinic, had lasted slightly longer than he’d planned and now, he knew he was going to be late. He just hoped she didn’t get too upset with him for being a little late.

He practically sprinted into the restaurant where he was meeting her and rushed over to the table where she was sitting.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” He said. “One of my meetings ran long and I got here as soon as I could and-.”

“Tommy? We agreed to meet at 12:30. It’s 12:32. I don’t consider that to be late and it's not like I was sitting here, wondering if you stood me up.” She said. “It’s fine. You can relax.”

“Sorry, I just- one of the things my dad always drilled into my head was that early was on time and on time was actually late.” He said. Laurel felt the same way and, in a similar incident to today’s issue, she once got angry with him for being five minutes late due to a massive traffic accident on the way to her apartment. “I hated him, so I was late on purpose, but the reminder’s still there.”

“Well, I’m only a stickler about things like that when it comes to work, so you don’t need to worry about me getting angry if you’re a little late. Just let me know if something’s happened, okay? I don’t wanna worry if there’s just bad traffic.”

“Gotcha.” He said. A waitress came over and they ordered. “How’s your day been so far?”

“Good, but also not good.” She said. “The group I’ve been working with, they found some evidence that’s really gonna help them build and close their case. At the same time, everyone at the SCPD is on edge because of the situation with Vertigo. It’s not a huge problem right now, but if we don’t find a way to get the situation under control, it could be- no one wants it to get worse.”

“I’m sure you’re doing all you can, and using every resource you have, to work on it.” He said. “What evidence did your team find that’s gonna help them with their case? You don’t have to get specific, but-.” He had a feeling she was talking about Malcolm, but didn’t want anyone eavesdropping to know that.

“Just DNA.” She said. “The perp’s DNA on clothing we know was worn during the commission of the crime. Can’t really ask for more than that.”

“No, I guess you can’t. Other than, like, a full confession on tape.”

“I’d prefer not to talk about work for a bit. The evidence is good, but there’s still a lot to do.” She said. “How about you? What meeting did you just come from? More stuff with Merlyn Global?”

“Not today.” He said. “Today, it was a meeting to reopen my mom’s clinic. I thought finding staff and equipment would be the hard part, but the real struggle has been preparing the space and making sure everything’s up to code and compliant.”

“Is the building in that bad of a shape?” She asked. “I know the building’s been empty for 20 years, but I thought it wouldn’t be in that bad of a shape.”

“Oh, the building is structurally sound but there are a bunch of requirements having to do with the interior that we need to meet in order for it to be recognized as a legitimate clinic. Plus, there’s stuff we need to do on the legal side for us to be able to give free healthcare to those who need it.”

“Do you know when the clinic is going to be opening?”

“Hopefully by the end of the month.” He said. “That’s my goal, but if we don’t open in March, it’ll be early April.”

She was impressed. While she knew how important the clinic was to Rebecca, and what it meant to Tommy, she hadn’t expected him to have worked so fast. “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, I don’t know what it might be, but if there’s something I can do, let me know.” She said.

“Thanks. Though, all I really need is someone to watch New Girl with to de-stress.” He said. “And I still don’t understand True American.” True American was the name of a drinking game played by characters on the show and Tommy still didn’t really understand what the goal was or how it worked.

“I think that’s kinda the point.” McKenna laughed. “Do you think Cece is actually gonna marry the guy her parents want her to?” A big storyline over the course of the current season centered around whether Cece, the main character’s best friend, would go through with the arranged marriage her parents had set-up or not.

“Marry him? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean she’s gonna stay married. The writers, they aren’t gonna just give up on the chemistry between her and Schmidt.”

“I hope she doesn’t. I know it's just a show, and a sitcom no less, but I’ve never liked the trope of “I’m only doing this because my family wants me to” when it comes to relationships. It just feels weird to me.”

“I totally get that.” For the rest of their lunch date, they mostly talked about New Girl and other sitcoms they liked.

The top trending story on Starling’s premiere gossip site was about Oliver and Felicity. Bystanders thought they looked “tense” when they met for lunch and wondered if they were fighting. The second biggest story was about Tommy reopening his mother’s clinic soon and his new obsession with New Girl, not to mention the “breaking news” that he had a new girlfriend. Neither he nor McKenna noticed that one of the other customers had been filming their conversation.

 

After lunch, Oliver returned to the house with Digg. The upcoming meeting with Samantha of course made him think about William. Thinking about William in turn made him think about his mother, the reason he had missed so much of his son’s life. And thinking about Moira brought up thoughts about Robert. When he got on the Queen’s Gambit, he thought his father had been a good man. Over the last five or so years, he’d come to realize that Robert Queen was far more complicated than he ever expected, and not as good of a person as he’d been led to believe.

Maybe it was time for Oliver to see what was in the envelope Walter had given him months ago. He found the sealed envelope in the same spot where he’d placed it shortly after Walter’s first visit to Felicity’s house. He studied it. It was a large manilla envelope, like the kind companies used to send documents back and forth. It wasn’t very thick, though. Whatever Robert had put in the envelope, whatever documents he wanted Oliver to have, there wasn’t a lot of paperwork that went with it. Oliver took a deep breath and tore the package open.

The first thing Oliver noticed was the date. It was dated about a week before the Gambit set sail.

 

Oliver,

If you are reading this, it means that I failed and I’m most likely dead. Our trip to China, which we will be embarking on in the coming days as I write this, is not actually for business. I’ll be meeting with a friend, an ally, while there to try and right my wrongs and prevent a tragedy. Malcolm Merlyn intends to do something terrible to the people living in the Glades. He blames them for his wife’s death and his solution is to use an emerging technology to cause a disaster, which will destroy the Glades, kill most of the population living there and avoid any suspicion. All of my actions, good or bad, were meant to help the people of this city and I can’t just sit by and allow Malcolm to kill thousands out of vengeance. I never should have joined his group, Tempest, but he proposed us “working together to save the city” at a time in my life when I was very mixed up about things and I gave him leverage over me, intent on keeping me quiet. I suppose it doesn’t matter now, since I’m likely dead, so I may as well confess. 

Henry Goodwin didn’t disappear. In 2002, the councilman tried to solicit a bribe from me in exchange for allowing the shipping factory in the Glades to open. I refused and our argument became an altercation. During the altercation, Goodwin fell to his death in a vat of concrete. 

I thought joining Malcolm would allow me to redeem myself, but I now know it’s only allowed him an easier path to the destruction of the Glades. I’ve told your mother what I know of Malcolm’s plans, and she insists that Malcolm’s plot, this “Undertaking” must be prevented at all costs. I have been buying up as much real estate in the Glades as I can, in the hopes Malcolm will not destroy the area if it means damaging the interests of his co-conspirators, though it may not be enough. Which is why I’m writing you this letter. If Malcolm cannot be dissuaded, I intend to go to the authorities with what I know. This envelope contains copies of all of the evidence I have against Malcolm, in case I’m killed or abducted before I’m able to go to the authorities. 

Since you will only see this letter in the event of my death or disappearance, Walter will make sure of that, I feel now would be the appropriate time to share some wisdom I plan to give you in person: be wary of Isabel Rochev and Harrison Wells. Isabel because of the way I’ve wronged her and Harrison because the man I met ten years ago is not the man I reconnected with at a conference three months ago. I can’t say why he’s changed so drastically, but I do not trust the person he has become.

Take care of your mother and your sister. And Tommy. We were in the middle of adopting Tommy when Malcolm returned from his “self-discovery” journey. I still think of him as my son, regardless. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the man you thought I was. Thank you, son, for helping me finally set things right.

Love, Dad.

 

The letter wasn’t completely groundbreaking. If he hadn’t already known about Tempest, it would’ve destroyed everything Oliver thought he knew. Still, it contained more than Oliver thought it would and left him with a lot of questions. His parents had almost adopted Tommy? His father had accidentally killed someone? Who was Isabel Rochev? What was wrong with Harrison Wells now? And, if Moira was against the Undertaking, why did she later join Tempest?

Oliver set the letter down. He couldn’t think about it right now. This was something he’d need time to process.

“Oliver, are you okay?” Digg asked him. 

He started, having forgotten the other man was even there. ‘No, but I will be. I just- I finally opened the envelope Walter gave me.’ He said. ‘From my dad.’

“Bad news?”

‘I don’t know how I feel about it yet.’ He said. 

He went through the rest of the day in somewhat of a fog. The letter changed nothing, but it also changed everything. He had no idea what to do with the information he learned. He showed Felicity the letter that night, but didn’t talk about it to anyone else beyond that.

That night on patrol, the vigilantes started looking for leads on Vertigo. Pike had told McKenna that they were cleared to try and find a lead on where the drugs were being sold or who the dealers were, but not to do anything beyond that for the moment. The SCPD, unfortunately, wasn’t prepared to try and take down the whole enterprise or even the person making Vertigo at this stage.

A few hours in, Slade, Oliver and Lyla were in luck. Slade had spotted a drug deal going down and heard the dealer mentioning Vertigo. Oliver and Lyla made their way towards him to lend a hand.

The dealer spotted Guardian and immediately took off. He wanted to get as far away from the vigilante before any of the others showed up. He ran along the docks and climbed up a fire escape, looking behind every few seconds to make sure Guardian wasn’t gaining ground. He was nearing the top of the ladder when something wrapped around his leg and he found himself hanging upside down.

"Oh, come on, man! I'm just trying to make an honest living!"

"There's nothing honest about what you do!” The Arrow growled. “Who supplies you with Vertigo?"

"Tell us now and you live." Guardian said.

"Please! They'll kill me!" The dealer said.

"Whoever you fear?" Harbinger said, as she nocked an arrow. "You should fear us more!"

"Okay, okay! We call him 'the Count', that-that's all I know, I swear to god!" He closed his eyes, and opened them when nothing happened. He then realized the vigilantes were gone. "Hey! Get me down from here!"

“So, now we have a name.” Slade remarked once they were a good enough distance away.

“And a sample to give the cops.” Lyla said, holding up the bag she’d taken off the dealer. “A lot better than what we had yesterday. Overwatch, can you give our friend at the SCPD a call and ask her to meet us?”

“No problem.” Felicity said. “Though, Canary and Artemis are gonna be upset that they missed the fun.”

‘They get caught up with something?’

“Yeah. Attempted assault on the other side of town. The victim’s fine, but the perpetrator-.”

“If that man wants his nose to remain unbroken or his eye unblackened or his body unbruised, he shouldn’t spend his nights attacking people.” Nyssa said. “I regret nothing of what I did tonight.”

“Terrorizing Vertigo dealers would’ve been fun though.” Sara cut in.

The SCPD was very happy to now have a name, even if it was an alias, and sample of Vertigo.

 

Over breakfast the next morning, Sara mentioned how much she’d enjoyed the movie marathon with Nyssa, Oliver and Felicity over the weekend. Nyssa was in the shower.

“Do you think Nyssa had fun? Or did she just wanna be polite?” Felicity asked.

“She had fun. She- I know she comes off as a little too serious sometimes, but she does like movies and just getting to hang out with people.” Sara said. “We should do it again.”

‘What movie franchise this time?’ Oliver asked. ‘Terminator? Indiana Jones? Maybe Mission Impossible or something?’

“Indiana Jones would be a really bad idea.” Sara said. “The League has, um, a big thing with the League is not to interfere or desecrate where dead people are buried. And he kinda does a lot of that in those films. It’s entertaining and he doesn’t mean to disrespect their resting place, but-.”

“But to her, it would come off as being disrespectful of the dead.” Felicity said. “I’ll also make a note not to suggest Tomb Raider.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Hmm.” Felicity said. “How does she feel about cartoon pandas and kung fu?”

‘As in, a cartoon movie with a panda doing kung fu?’ Oliver asked. ‘There’s a movie about that?’

“Actually, there are two.” Felicity said. “Creatively called Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2.”

“She might comment on the fighting style, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t wanna watch that.” Sara said. “And, now that I know a movie like that exists, I kinda wanna watch it.”

 

When Thea walked into school on Tuesday, Casey, one of the friends Thea had grown apart from sauntered over to her with a smug smile on her face. Thea had a feeling Casey had either gossip to share or wanted to start gossip by asking Thea a question so that she could misconstrue the answer.

“You hear what happened to Mandy, right?”

“No. What happened?” Thea asked. She looked around and saw that Mandy wasn’t there, despite her locker being near Thea’s. “Is she okay?”

“She got arrested.” Casey said. “She crashed her car into a tree and the cops found, like, this weird drug in her system.”

“Why do you sound like you’re happy about that?

“I’m not happy about it.” She said with an eyeroll. “But, like, it’s funny right? She crashes her car while on drugs two days after she turns 18. It’s like…. ironic or whatever.”

“Um, ye-.”

“Hey Thea, can you help me with a question on the history homework?” Madison Danforth called out, sparing Thea from having to respond. “Sorry, were you- I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Don’t worry about it. Which question is it?” Thea asked, turning towards her. Casey stomped off. 

“I didn’t really have a question. You just looked really uncomfortable.” Madison said. 

“You’re a lifesaver.” She said.

 

Laurel was sitting in her cell, working on her latest “assignment” for the creative writing class she’d signed up for, when one of the guards told her that she had a visitor. She frowned, not expecting her father to visit until the weekend, but followed the guard through the prison to the visitor’s area. She walked into the room and froze.

Sitting on the other side of the glass was Sara. She slowly walked over and picked up the phone.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” Sara said. “I probably should’ve told you I was coming. But if I did, I thought I might wimp out at the last second and I-, yeah.” Sara had already said her apologies in her letter to Laurel last week, but she felt the need to say them again. “I’m sorry for going on that trip with Ollie. I know you two had broken up, but it was still- I want you to know that. I’m so sorry. And I didn’t wanna just put in a letter so-.”

“You’re here.”

“I’m here.” She said. “I missed you, so fucking much.”

“Me too. Was it- do you hate me? For the way I acted? The way I- I used what happened to you as an excuse to-.”

“I was, but I’m not now.” She said. “I don’t wanna waste more time dwelling on the past. I know the answer is obvious, but what have you been up to?”

“I’m taking a creative writing class.” She blurted out.

"Really? Write anything interesting lately?”

“No, the class started yesterday.”

That made Sara laugh, which made Laurel crack a smile. Their conversation lasted for only a few minutes longer before the guard told her it was time to go. Still, when she was going back to her cell, Laurel was in a better mood. Sara had come to visit her, which made her return feel more real to Laurel. She now knew what she needed to do. She had to be a good inmate, be on her best behavior. If she acted like a model inmate, she might get early release and that meant she’d be out of Cassidy Penitentiary sooner and get to hug her sister again.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 118

Summary:

Oliver attends a very important meeting.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tuesday passed in a blur for most of Team Oliver. Aside from learning about Mandy’s arrest, Thea’s school day was relatively routine. After seeing Laurel, Sara and Nyssa went to visit Quentin. Tommy had another meeting about Merlyn Global. Felicity and Lyla went to Applied Sciences for work, as normal. Donna was spending the day with Dinah. Oliver, Roy, Digg, and Slade went to the old steel factory. Oliver and Roy checked in on the work being done by the contractors before going down into the foundry where the others were. Everything had been planned for Digg and Lyla’s trip to DC the following night. After he finished laughing at the idea of Oliver needing a bodyguard, Slade agreed to cover for Digg. No one had approached Nyssa or Sara about guarding Felicity, but no one doubted they’d agree.

To Oliver’s surprise, Lyla didn’t seem worried about the hearing in the slightest, but he supposed she might simply be thrilled that Waller was finally being held accountable for her actions. Oliver, meanwhile, had prepared for his meeting with Samantha, but felt like he hadn’t at all. He didn’t feel ready. Part of him wanted to ask his friend how she was so calm about the whole thing. He didn’t, however, because he was worried if he asked her how she was so calm, it might cause her to lose her calm and start worrying and he didn’t want to upset her. So, Oliver sat in the foundry and went over what he wanted to say at his meeting with Samantha. He also contemplated his father’s letter and what to do about it. There wasn’t much new information, but the task force should probably see it. At the same time, his family and friends should know about it first, but he didn’t feel ready to tell them.

He noticed when he picked Thea up from school that she seemed upset about something. He asked her if she was okay.

“I’m fine, I just- Mandy got arrested.” Thea said. “She crashed her car and when they did bloodwork at the hospital, they found drugs in her system.”

‘But she was okay, other than that?’ Oliver had surmised that Thea and Mandy weren’t as close as they had once been, but she would still be worried about her friend.

“Yeah, as far as I know.”

‘Well, she’ll probably get some community service or something. It sounds like no one was hurt and she’s seventeen, so-.’

“She turned eighteen on Sunday, so they’re gonna charge her as an adult.” She said. “And it’s not- Mandy crashing her car and getting arrested is bad, especially while on drugs, but it also occured to me that it could’ve been me. If I hadn’t changed so much in the last six months, if I was still the bitchy and inconsiderate teenager I used to be, I could’ve been the one who got high and crashed into a tree.”

‘I don’t think you would’ve. But I can understand why you feel that way.’

 

The CSIs at the Starling City Police Department analyzed the Vertigo that Lyla had given to McKenna. They confirmed that it matched what victims had in their systems. They weren’t able to say much about the drugs beyond that, but one CSI noted that there was an impurity in one of the ingredients.

“What do you mean an impurity?” The detective in the drug unit asked.

“Let’s say water’s an ingredient in these drugs.” She said. “It’s not pure water, or distilled or anything. It’s- if I were to take a sample of water from the bay, it would have different bacteria, lead levels and other things in it than if I took a sample from San Francisco or the Hudson River. That’s what I mean.”

“So, he’s using something that hasn’t been refined or whatever. Can we use that to track him down?”

“Maybe, but we’d need a less diluted form than these pills.” She said. “The pills tell me he’s making this locally, but not where.”

“Thanks.”

 

After Mandy crashed her car late Monday night, she was taken to the hospital where they ran a blood test. They placed her under arrest when they found the drugs in her system. When she was released by the doctors, she was immediately taken to the SCPD and charged with driving under the influence. After sitting in a holding cell for a few hours, she was taken to an interrogation room because one of the detectives wanted to ask her a few questions.

“Ms. Wheeler-.”

“When can I go home?”

“Tomorrow at the earliest.” He said.

“Tomorrow?” She asked incredulously.

“Yes. You were released from the hospital after the court closed, so we were not able to have an arraignment hearing today. So, your arraignment will be held tomorrow and that’s when the judge may or may not set bail.” He said. “I’d like to talk to you about what happened last night. Can you-.”

“Wait, aren’t you, like, not allowed to talk to me unless my mom or dad is here?”

“You’re 18, Ms. Wheeler.” He said. “In the eyes of the law, you are an adult and I don’t need to wait for your parents to be present to question you.”

“Where’s my lawyer?” Mandy had been told, over and over by her parents, not to talk to the police without a lawyer. It was one of the few pieces of advice she actually listened to.

“You’ll need to call one. I’ll go grab a phone so that you can do that.” He said, standing up to leave.

He came back with a cheap cell phone. Mandy used it to call her parents, who called their lawyer. Mandy’s lawyer arrived and demanded that her client be released, only to get into an argument with the assistant district attorney.

“My client is-.”

“Your client was brought to the hospital with Vertigo in her system after crashing her car into a tree.” The ADA said. “Your client was driving under the influence. Your client is an adult and this is not some youthful mistake. She could’ve killed someone. She is an adult. She has an arraignment hearing tomorrow. She’s not going anywhere tonight.”

“Great job, Cathy.” Mandy said with an eyeroll.

“Are you open to a plea agreement?” Cathy asked. “She’s 18. She made one mistake. This shouldn’t cost her years of her life.”

“Wait, years?” Mandy asked, taking the situation seriously for the first time.

“You were in possession of a controlled substance, the Vertigo, and drove under the influence of a controlled substance.” The ADA said. “Those charges together carry a sentence of 2-5 years. Now, you’re 18 and you don't have a criminal record.”

“And if you’re willing to share some information with the SCPD, it can go a long way with the judge.” The detective said. Mandy was a scared and stupid 18-year-old, but she was also the only person the SCPD had arrested to date in possession of Vertigo.

“She tells you everything she knows about where she got the drugs, and you give her community service and probation.” Cathy, Mandy’s lawyer, said.

“Give me fifteen minutes to draw up the agreement.” The ADA said.

Mandy told the detective everything she knew about the dealer she’d gotten the drugs from. It wasn’t her first time buying drugs from him, but it was the first time he’d sold her Vertigo and not weed or coke. The next day, at her hearing, the judge accepted the plea deal, mostly because she had given the SCPD information that might lead to shutting down the Vertigo operation.

 

It hadn’t taken the Count long to find out about one of his dealers being questioned by the Arrow. The dealers seemed to think that turning on one another would make him look more favorably on them, so as soon as another dealer found out about it, he told the Count. The Count then waited for the dealer who had been questioned to come to him for a new supply.

The Count pulled the dealer aside in the abandoned juvenile detention center, saying he had a new and exciting opportunity for the man. He led him into one of the center’s kitchens, where three of his men waited.

“Before we discuss this new and exciting opportunity,” The Count said, “I need to know about your late night meeting last night.” He pulled out a gun.

"I didn't say anything."

He lowered the gun. "Oh, I know. You can't divulge secrets you don't know." The dealer smiled in relief. "But examples must be made." The Count then produced a double hypodermic and stabbed it into the Dealer's neck, pushing the plunger down to inject him with its contents too fast for the Dealer to react. "Vertigo, in its purest form." The dealer almost immediately started sweating. Acting casually, the Count removed the magazine from his gun, leaving only one bullet in the chamber. "No doubt you're in excruciating pain. But actually, you're not. You just think you are. I've seen it last for days, until finally the heart gives out. There’s one bullet left in this gun." He handed it over. "Now, you can use that bullet to shoot me and take your revenge. Or you could shoot yourself. It's your choice." He then took a step back and waited for the dealer to choose.

The dealer raised the gun, trying to aim at the Count through the excruciating agony. He lowered the gun before placing it under his chin and firing.

The Count casually picked up the gun from where it fell and walked out of the room. "The Arrow... and his band of merry men... and women. Coming for me." He said. “Interesting. Very interesting.” This was going to be fun.

He knew, from listening to the police scanners, that the Arrow and his team were on the other side of town. The Count started plotting about what to do when they inevitably crossed paths.

 

Wednesday morning arrived, the day of Oliver’s meeting with Samantha. Felicity offered one last time to take a sick day so that she could attend the meeting with Oliver, but he told her that wasn’t necessary.

‘What you’re doing is important.’ He said. ‘You’re helping people. The chip you’re making is going to change lives. I’ll have Roy and your mom there. And I don’t want Samantha to feel like she’s being ganged up on.’ He didn’t want this meeting to get ugly. He expected Samantha wouldn’t be completely comfortable, but he hoped to at least put her a little bit at ease. Not showing up with an army of people felt like the best idea.

After wishing him luck, and telling him the meeting would go well, Felicity and Lyla went to QC while Oliver prepared for the meeting. Roy looked just as nervous as he felt when he went to pick him and Donna up, but Donna was calm.

“This isn’t a trial or a custody hearing. Remember that. It’s a meeting. An important meeting, but nothing too serious” She said. “We’re going to meet with Samantha and her lawyer, we’re gonna talk and we’re gonna make it through this.”

‘I know. I just-. I’m nervous.’

“Trust me, Oliver. I know exactly how you feel.” She said as Digg parked the car outside Loring & Wasserman.

They went upstairs and spoke to Eliana for a little bit while they waited for Samantha to arrive. When the receptionist told them that Samantha and Camille were there, Eliana made sure Oliver was ready before telling the receptionist to show them into the conference room. Digg excused himself, saying he wanted to give them their privacy.

When Samantha and her lawyer walked in, Oliver stiffened slightly but put a nervous smile on his face. The last time he’d seen Samantha was the day she told him she was pregnant and the last time they spoke, she told him she’d had a miscarriage. He wasn’t entirely sure how to greet her.

‘Good morning.’ He signed and Roy interpreted.

Samantha just stared. “Hello, Mr. Queen. It’s nice to meet you.” Her lawyer said. “My name is Camille Ashton. I’ll be representing Ms. Clayton. Ms. Sanchez, it’s nice to meet you in person.  I take it both of you are Mr. Queen’s interpreters?” She asked Roy and Donna who nodded. “Very well.”

“Would anyone like some coffee or water?” The receptionist asked. Everyone shook their heads, so she excused herself.

Camille and Samantha took a seat on the opposite side of the conference table as Oliver, Roy and Eliana. Donna sat off to the side since she was “off-duty” at the moment.

“We already know what this is about and why we’re here, so I suppose we should skip past the overview.” Eliana said. She looked between Camille and Samantha. “Where would you like to start our discussion?”

“Well, my client believed a face-to-face meeting would be preferable to continuing to play phone tag and exchanging emails back and forth, covering one item at a time.” Camille said. “Samantha, would you like to- what would you like to discuss first?”

“Oliver, I need to ask you something.” Samantha said. “And I need you to look me in the eye when you answer.” Oliver, who hadn’t met Samantha’s eyes yet, nodded and looked at her. “Are you going to try and take William away from me?”

‘No. I wouldn’t do that. He needs his mother. I just- I wanna be a part of his life too.’ He said.

She let out a breath. Oliver had never been a good liar. Despite how briefly they had known each other, she could tell when he was lying based on the look in his eyes. He wasn’t lying now. “Okay. I- thank you for telling me that. I needed to hear you say that you weren’t trying to take him from me. I-.” She cleared her throat and collected herself. “Let’s start with custody and visitation.”

“My client would like to propose shared custody, with her remaining as the primary caregiver.” Camille said. “Since William has lived in Central City all his life and he has friends there, he would spend most of his time with Samantha, but Mr. Queen would have custody as well and William would visit Starling City on a set schedule. We will revisit the schedule next spring or summer, before William begins first grade.”

“That’s fair and seems appropriate.” Eliana said. She had already spoken with Oliver, so he knew that, unless things got ugly, William would remain living with Samantha for the most part. “But they will discuss any and all medical, educational or other decisions when it comes to William.”

“What does that mean?” Samantha asked.

“Basically, if you make a decision about William, you two make it together. You wouldn’t be able to send William off to boarding school without talking to Oliver, for example.” Camille said. “So, I know this is a very unusual and somewhat uncomfortable situation, but the two of you will need to communicate with each other on a semi-regular basis.”

“That seems fair to me.”

‘That works for me too.’ Oliver said. ‘That’s custody, but what about the schedule for when William stays with me?’

The schedule was a much more heavily debated topic than custody in general. Samantha thought once a month was often enough for William to spend with his father, but Oliver disagreed. He had already missed several years with William, he didn’t want to waste any more time.

“Once a month is perfectly reasonable.” Samantha said. “You live in another state. The train to Starling City is a long ride for him to make unaccompanied.”

‘I don’t think it is fair. One weekend a month means I’ll have him Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday morning, because he’ll need to be back in Central City to get settled before Monday. That means I’ll only be able to spend time with him two days out of thirty.’

“Well, you can’t have him every weekend.”

Oliver hadn’t asked for every weekend. He’d just asked for more often than once a month. ‘What about alternating weekends?’ He proposed. ‘We switch off. You have him this weekend and I have him next weekend?’

“I don’t know.” She said, unsurely. “He’s so young. I don’t know how I feel about him taking the train back and forth twice a month, alone.”

‘He doesn’t have to take the train alone. I’ll ride the train with him. Or I’ll buy you a ticket so that you can ride with him. Or the woman who brought him to the daycare center, Barb.’

“Just to repeat what you’re suggesting, Mr. Queen, you would take the train to Central City, pick up William and take the train back to Starling with him on Friday. Then, on Sunday, take the train to Central City, drop him off with Samantha and then take the train home?” Camille asked.

‘Yes. William won’t be taking the train alone, and that way I can spend a little more time with him those weekends.’ Oliver wanted to spend as much time with his son as possible and he didn’t care what he needed to do or reschedule to do it.

“Samantha?”

“I- I need to think about it.” She said. Starling City and Central City weren’t that far apart. Her excuse of not wanting to put William on the train by himself was kind of her last defense against letting Oliver see William more than once a month. Oliver seemed to be willing to do whatever it took, be as inconvenienced as necessary, in order to see their son more often. “I can’t just make you inconvenience yourself to-.”

‘You’re not making me do anything. I’m offering.’ He said. ‘But, if you need time to think it over, go ahead.’

Eliana nodded. “I believe we already agreed about holidays and summer vacations, but you mentioned wanting to revisit holidays, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes. In our original agreement, we discussed Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and birthdays.” Camille said. “Then, you asked about Passover and Hanukkah and my client wanted to discuss those ones further.”

Donna let out a startled noise, but schooled her features by the time everyone looked over at her. She didn’t know that Oliver had made those requests and knew there was only one reason why he would’ve asked about spending those holidays with William.

‘What about them do you wanna discuss?’ Oliver asked. ‘Those holidays last a few days, as opposed to just one, so I was thinking William could spend two or three of those days with us. If they don’t overlap with Easter or Christmas.’

“I’m not religious and I’m not raising William to be. We only celebrate Easter because my parents do and he likes Easter egg hunts and stuff like that. Christmas is kinda….plenty of people give gifts on Christmas, but don’t celebrate the religious aspects. I want William to decide for himself, when he’s ready, what he believes.”

Oliver turned to Donna. ‘I don’t quite know how to say what my reasons are. Felicity explained that Passover and Hanukkah aren’t just religious holidays, but cultural ones as well. I’m not trying to convert William to Judaism, I’m not even Jewish myself, but- can you think of a better way to say what I’m trying to say?’

“Just like Christmas and Easter have significance outside of Christianity, Hanukkah and Passover do too. There are plenty of nonreligious people who celebrate both. Oliver wants William to be able to take part in those celebrations when they happen since they’re important to people in his life and he celebrates them with those people.” Donna said. “Kind of like how William celebrates Easter because your parents do. He doesn’t need to be Jewish or even religious to take part.”

“Okay. That makes sense. I didn’t wanna come across as unreasonable, or prejudiced. It’s just-. I wanted to understand better.”

“That’s why we’re having this meeting, so that we can talk about this stuff and get a better idea of what the other one wants.” Camille said. “So, that’s a yes to Hanukkah and Passover, as long as it doesn’t conflict with other holidays?” Samantha nodded. 

“All right. Let’s talk about phone calls, or in this case, Skype calls.” Eliana said. “I believe, when we last spoke, we were talking about weekly calls?”

“Yeah. I was thinking Tuesdays or Wednesdays.” Samantha said. She had initially said Fridays, but if William would be going to Starling on Fridays, it seemed better to change the day. “Does that work for you, Oliver?”

‘Yes. Wednesday would be my preference. I want to also suggest a shorter call on Saturday, the weekends when he’s with you.’ He said. ‘And he’d give you a call when he’s with me on the other Saturdays.’ He thought this suggestion would make things feel more fair, as this idea wouldn’t make Samantha feel like she couldn’t talk to her son while he was with his father.

“Wednesdays and Saturdays sound good.”

‘Great.’ Oliver took a deep breath before bringing up something that wouldn’t go over quite as well. ‘I want to file whatever forms need to be filed so that I’m listed on William’s birth certificate.’

“I- no.”

‘Why not? I’m his father. I want to be listed on his birth certificate.’

“I’m not denying that you're his father, but adding you to his paperwork means-.”

‘It means it’s official. It means that, if something were to happen to you, William wouldn’t have to go into foster care until a guardian is assigned. It means he has inheritance rights to my estate, if something happens to me.’

“It also means that every tabloid reporter is gonna be knocking down my door looking for a juicy story. I don’t have a problem with you being in William’s life, but I don’t want my son to be part of your world.”

‘He already is.’

“If I may, Oliver, there are ways we can do this without causing a big to-do.” Eliana said. “We go to a courthouse in Central City, file the right forms to the judge and ask for it to be sealed, since William is a minor.”

“I’m not just worried about the press.” Samantha said. “The only reason why this is happening, the only reason Oliver thought I’d lost the baby is because his mother-.”

‘I haven’t spoken to my mother, outside of one board meeting that I had to attend, in five months.’ Oliver said. ‘She doesn’t know that I even know about William. She’s not gonna be in his life in the foreseeable future.’

“How can you make a claim like that?”

‘Because before I’d even consider letting her meet William, I would need to forgive her for the countless other things she’s done and I don’t see that happening for quite a while.’ He said. ‘And I’d certainly talk to you about it first. I should have said this earlier, but I’m very sorry for the way my mother acted and the way she treated you. It was cruel and unfair.’

This meeting wasn’t going the way Samantha had hoped. She hoped that Oliver would get thrown off-center by seeing her in person, or that he’d back down when she challenged his points, but he didn’t. He listened to what she had to say, but also stuck by his requests and had a discussion with her, rather than immediately cave or stubbornly stick to his position. For the first time, she was seeing that Oliver Queen had changed a lot over the last five years. She knew it had to have happened, but it was jarring to realize.

“I- thank you.” She said. She hadn’t realized, until now, how much hearing Oliver apologize meant to her. “I don’t- this is a lot for me to think about, and to take in, but- if you’re willing to take the train back and forth with him, I can agree to William coming here every other weekend. Maybe starting next weekend, because I’d like to have a few days to explain this to Will and for both of us to get things in order.”

‘Next weekend sounds good.’ Oliver said. He and Felicity would be rushed to move into their new house, but they could make it work. ‘I’ll talk to you and William on Saturday?’

“Yes, you will. He’s gonna be really excited.” That’s what mattered, in the end, William being happy. That’s all Samantha and Oliver wanted.

‘Tell him I’m excited to talk to him too.’

The meeting ended. Camille and Eliana agreed to have a call the next day to draft up the agreement for both sides to sign. As it turns out, a face-to-face meeting was the easiest way to reach a compromise.

Oliver left the meeting and asked Digg to drive them straight to Applied Sciences. Security let him through without any issues, as they were used to Oliver stopping by to see Felicity. Oliver being the boss’s stepson helped too.

Oliver walked into Felicity’s office and after greeting Curtis and Ray, turned to Felicity. ‘The house we saw on Tuckerman Lane, did you like it?’ They had looked at three houses so far, but hadn’t had a chance to talk about their search yet. The one on Tuckerman Lane was Oliver’s favorite.

‘Yeah. I loved it. It had the right amount of space and it was in a quiet neighborhood. Why?’

‘My meeting with Samantha went really well. Unbelievably well. William’s going to be coming to stay with us not this Friday but the next one.’ He said. ‘And since your house is too small-.’

“You wanna be in the new house by then.” She said, speaking out loud. He nodded.

‘I’m gonna call the realtor and ask her to get the paperwork started to put in an offer.’ He said.

“That sounds perfect.” She said. “I can leave a little early to sign the paperwork if she can get that done today.”

‘I’ll go give her a call. You really love the house?’

“I absolutely loved it.” She said.

Oliver called the realtor and told her the good news. She immediately started drafting the offer to give to the selling agent. Whether it was because the sellers were motivated or because it was Oliver Queen asking, their offer was accepted within an hour. By the time Oliver and Felicity sat down to eat dinner, they were a few signatures away from owning their own house with four bedrooms, a home office, a big dining room and kitchen and a huge den for more movie marathons. It was in a quiet neighborhood and a few blocks from where Ray and Anna lived.

“We’re really doing this, huh?” Felicity said after they got the call.

‘We really are.’

 

“Director Grant?” An ARGUS agent said, knocking on the door of Cat Grant’s office. “The head of the Belle Reve base is on the line. He says it's about Task Force X.”

“Oh, is it?” Cat asked before answering the phone. “Director Grant.”

“That order you sent out last week. Is it still in effect?”

“The one stating that Task Force X is not to go into the field for the time being? Yes, it's still in effect.” She said.

“You might wanna tell Waller that, ‘cause she just called me and demanded I get the squad prepared for some top secret mission in Santa Prisca.” The closest country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the US. “But your orders said they stay put unless you send me something in writing that says otherwise.”

“Yes, I remember what I said, Flag.” Cat said. “What did you tell Waller?” It didn’t surprise her that Waller would try to circumvent her orders, but she was hoping the Congressional investigation would at least curb Waller’s impulse to do that.

“Said I had to clear it with you.” He said. “She didn’t like hearing that.”

“Let me make myself clear, Colonel Flag. Task Force X is not to leave that facility. If a single member of Task Force X leaves Belle Reve, I will be holding you personally responsible for whatever that person does outside the facility. As for Waller, I’ll deal with her.” She hung up the phone. 

After taking a few moments to calm herself, she ordered one of the newer ARGUS agents to escort Waller to her office. While he was fetching Waller, Cat made a call. Waller was under investigation and her call to Flag made it clear that she was attempting to flee. This made her a flight risk and Cat only had one option.

“What do you want?” Waller asked when she entered the office.

“Take a seat.” Cat said.

“I’d prefer to stand.”

“Fine. Flag called me and ratted you out. Or rather, ratted out what you intended to do.” She said. “Since I have no choice but to assume that the supposed mission for Task Force X is a cover to get you out of the US and away from the reach of Congress, I’ve called the State Department to have them put a freeze on your passport. I’ve also called the US Marshals to take you into custody in order to secure your appearance at your hearing.”

“What?”

“You’re not getting out of this one, Amanda.” Cat said. “And since I can see that you’re planning to flee, I warned the appropriate people that you’re a flight risk. They should be getting here right about….now.”

Two US Marshals came walking down the hallway and escorted Waller out of the building. They took her to a nearby Air Force base where she’d be staying until they took her to DC for her hearing next week. Waller suspected Congress would’ve called Lyla Michaels and a few other high-ranking agents to testify first, and save her for last. Initially, she thought that meant more time to plan, but now, it meant more time to panic. How much did Congress know about what happened? And how did they know it?

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 119

Summary:

Lyla has her day before Congress and the SCPD get a little closer to stopping Vertigo.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After deciding on which house to buy, Oliver and Felicity completed the paperwork needed to put the offer in and purchase the house. The sellers were in the process of downsizing, so they were leaving quite a bit of furniture for Felicity and Oliver to either keep or get rid of. For the young couple, this was good news because it meant they didn’t have to worry about buying a full house’s worth of furniture in the next week. The only thing they needed to worry about right away was a bed for their room and personal belongings, such as clothes and Felicity’s tech.

‘Do you wanna keep all of the furniture the Perrys are leaving behind?’ Oliver asked Felicity.

“I don’t know yet. I like some of the pieces, but I also want us to put our own spin on the place.” She said. “I don’t really like the furniture in the den area, but what’s there now will do for the short term. And that office space needs some “Felicity Flair”. I was thinking that we get settled with what we have, after everything’s been finalized and then go through and decide what we’re keeping after William’s visit.”

‘Sounds good to me.’ He said. ‘When they said they’re leaving “almost everything” do you think that includes things in the kitchen? Like, utensils or the toaster?’

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.” She said. “We can always take some stuff that we need from the kitchen here. Worse case scenario, one of us has to go to Sink, Shower & Stuff for whatever we need.”

He nodded and then noticed the time. ‘We should get going. I’m sure everyone except John and Lyla are at the foundry by now.’

“Cool. I’m excited to tell everyone the news.” She smiled. “Does that make me weird? That I’m excited to tell people we bought a house?”

‘If you’re weird, then i guess that makes me weird too.’ He said. ‘And there’s no one else I’d wanna be weird with.’

When the pair arrived at the foundry, after Oliver told everyone about what happened at his meeting with Samantha, Felicity told everyone that they’d bought a house.

“Are you selling the one you have now?” Tommy asked.

“Hm. You know, in all of the excitement, I really haven’t thought about it.” She said. “I probably won’t though. I don’t really need to sell it. And it would be kinda a bitchy thing to do to ask Sara and Nyssa to find somewhere else to live on such short notice.” She looked at the pair. “You’re welcome to stay there for as long as you want, after Oliver and I move out.”

“I don’t know if we’ll stay forever, but thank you for the offer.” Sara said before Nyssa could respond. She knew her girlfriend would mostly likely try to reject the offer, not wanting to impose. “Once I get a job, though, I’m gonna start paying you rent.” She appreciated all of the help and kindness but wanted to draw the line somewhere.

“The house is paid off. Don’t worry about rent.”

“The other bills, like power and utilities, then.” Sara said. “I need to feel like I’m not completely mooching off of you and Ollie. I know you’re my friends but-.”

Felicity just nodded. She could understand where Sara was coming from and why she didn’t want to feel like she was taking advantage of her friends. Oliver had come to a similar agreement with Thea, Donna and Roy in regards to the penthouse.

‘We’re down two people tonight, but I still want to see what we can find out about this Count and the Vertigo operation.’ Oliver said. ‘Do we know anything new?’

“I haven’t heard from McKenna, but since she’s not in the drug unit, that might be because they haven’t given her an update to give to us.” Felicity said. “I know there was an arrest yesterday of someone who was driving under the influence of Vertigo, but-.”

“Yeah, Mandy Wheeler.” Thea said. “She goes to my school. She’s not stupid, or at least her lawyer isn’t, and she told the SCPD where she got the drugs from, to stay out of prison. So, the SCPD have the name of one dealer, at least.”

“Mandy Wheeler, that’s a place to start.” Felicity said. She started looking for the file from Mandy’s arrest as Oliver, Sara, Nyssa and Slade went to change into their armor.

“Who’s gonna be the Arrow’s voice tonight?” Tommy asked. “Digg’s not here, so…”

‘Sara, Nyssa and Slade will do most of the talking.’ Oliver said, rejoining the group. ‘But in case I need to say something, do you want to?’

“How will I know what to say?”

“I’ll help you figure out what to say.” Felicity offered. “If you feel comfortable with that.”

“I- as long as I don’t have to make some grand speech, which seems out of character for the Arrow anyway, I’ll give it a try.” Tommy said.

Through her searches, Felicity learned that Mandy’s dealer had been picked up by the SCPD earlier in the day. Given that Team Arrow was working with the SCPD now, she didn’t want to cross too many lines, so she refrained from hacking into the police station’s security cameras to see exactly what was happening during the interrogation. The police still hadn’t said what help, if any, they wanted from the team on the Vertigo case, so it was important not to overstep.

The team went out on patrol. A few hours into patrol, Nyssa reported that she might have found a lead on the man calling himself “the Count”.

“Before Canary and I moved in to apprehend the three men down by the docks moving the crates,” she said, referring to the men she and Sara had found unloading stolen goods to sell, “one mentioned a meeting tomorrow with someone I believed to be the Count, though the phrase that was used did not directly translate to “the Count”. It is to take place in the area near Rockets Arena.”

“Weren’t those men speaking Mandarin?” Felicity asked.

“Cantonese, actually.” She said. “Though, I do speak Mandarin as well.”

“I didn’t know that.” The blonde said. “It’s very lucky that you overheard that. I’ll pass it along to the SCPD.”

She had Tommy call McKenna, as the Arrow, and tell her about the meeting and the location. McKenna called back after passing the information along to Frank Pike. Pike wanted the team to leave the meeting and the takedown to the SCPD, but thanked them for the information.

 

Thursday morning, Digg turned to Lyla as they neared the Senate committee room where she’d be testifying. Since the Senate committee handled matters of national security, the hearing would be closed to the public, which meant he couldn’t attend it. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m nervous, but I’ve also been waiting a long time for this day to come.” She said. “I wish I didn’t have to do it alone, but it is what it is. This needs to happen.”

The door to the committee room opened. “They’re ready for you, Ms. Michaels.” An aide said.

Digg gave his girlfriend a hug and a quick kiss. “Go knock ‘em dead.”

“As if that was ever in doubt.” She said confidently. She and her lawyer walked into the room and Digg took a seat on a bench outside, his visitor badge visible.

Lyla tried to project the appearance of calm as she neared the table where she and her lawyer would sit during the hearing. She had stared down criminals and terrorists. She’d helped prevent major wars and attacks. She could handle answering a few questions from a handful of Senators.

“Please raise your right hand.” The chairman of the committee said. Lyla complied. “Do you solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that the evidence you shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

“I swear.”

“Thank you, Ms. Michaels, please take your seat.” The chairman said. “In the interest of preserving the record, I would like to remind the members of this committee that Ms. Michaels is here to testify in regards to operations led by ARGUS between August 2009 and May 2010. Ms. Michaels, what was your position in ARGUS during that time?”

“I was a field agent. For the majority of that time, I was stationed in Moscow.” She said.

“And you were partnered with an agent known in this report as….” the chairman flipped to a different page in the stack in front of him, “Citizen Bravo. Is that correct?”

“Yes and no.” She said. “I was partnered with Citizen Bravo, but he was not, nor was he at any point, an ARGUS agent.”

This answer led to a question by another member of the committee, who wanted to know why a civilian was brought in on an ARGUS operation on foreign soil. Being as truthful as possible, while also being careful not to mention Oliver or Lian Yu by name, she explained how she’d been assigned as his partner. She also gave a brief overview of what the operation was about, stopping the sale of weapons-grade uranium.

“And did you make your concerns, about involving a civilian in this operation, known to your superior?”

“I did. For this operation, I reported directly to Amanda Waller, who dismissed my concerns and insisted that Citizen Bravo was the only viable option for what the mission entailed, which was infiltrating the Bratva to learn the time and location of the sale of the nuclear material.”

“A civilian was the only person capable of going undercover?”

“That was Director Waller’s determination, yes.” Lyla said.

“How many agents did she consider before determining Citizen Bravo was the only option for this undercover assignment?”

She paused for a moment, to consider how to answer the question, before giving her response.
“I’m not aware of any agents that were considered for the task.” She said.

Another member of the committee asked a follow-up question and the hearing continued. 

 

There was a buzz of activity at Felicity’s house on Thursday morning. Felicity and Oliver wanted to get as much moving done as possible over the weekend, so they were both trying to get as much packing done Thursday and Friday in order to be ready. It was true that they didn’t need to pack up the entire house, but there was still quite a bit of stuff that they did need or want to bring with them to the new house, such as clothes, Oliver’s “shoebox of important things” as Felicity called it and Felicity’s tech and a few Smoak family heirlooms.

Felicity looked at her phone and saw that it was almost time for her to sign on for the day. “I need to go get online. You can take it from here, right?” She asked him. They were currently packing up a few things in her living room.

‘Yeah. Is there any- does any of this stuff need to be handled in a certain way?’ He asked. ‘Obviously, I’m gonna wrap up anything fragile, but….are there any rules about how some of these items need to be packed or treated?’

“Are you asking if any of these items are religious items and can’t, like, touch the ground or something? Or family heirlooms that I’d be upset if they were damaged?” She asked. He nodded. “Most of those things are already packed away, so you don’t need to worry about that.” She reached onto the shelf behind her and pulled out a book that looked at least several decades old. “This is the only thing of that nature in here. I’ll handle packing it myself. Just- it can’t touch or fall onto the ground.”

‘Okay. Can I ask what it is?’

“It’s a siddur, a prayer book, that belonged to my grandfather’s sister. And I was always taught that prayer books are an extension of the Torah and the Torah is never supposed to touch the ground.” She said. “You know that I’m not super religious, but- but it’s very important to my family.”

‘I’ll be sure to be careful with it.’ He said. 

She nodded and placed the prayer book gently on one of the shelves before going to grab her laptop so that she could start work for the day. Oliver watched her out of the corner of his eye, worried that he might’ve upset her, but she seemed not to be upset, just deep in thought. He knew it would never be easy or pleasant for her to think about what her grandparents had survived. He turned his attention back to the shelves, not wanting to bother her.

 

After learning that McKenna had been tipped off about a meeting with the Count happening that night, the sergeant of the drug unit investigating Vertigo wanted to speak with her directly. While he respected Pike and knew the older man wouldn’t intentionally withhold information from him, he wanted to hear the story from McKenna. Pike was a good cop, but he never handled drug cases. There might’ve been information that McKenna told Pike that the captain didn’t think meant anything and thus didn’t pass on to the drug unit.

“All right, so this intel came from the Arrow?” The sergeant asked.

“From Artemis, one of his partners, actually.” She said. “Artemis and Canary stumbled upon two men unloading a boat down by the docks. While they were unloading the cargo, Artemis heard one of the men mention a meeting near Rockets Arena tonight and she inferred that they were meeting with the Count based on what they said.”

“Inferred how?”

“The men were speaking Cantonese, possibly Triad, so no one specifically said “the Count” but based on the subject of the conversation, that’s who she believes they were talking about.”

“Artemis speaks Cantonese?”

“From what I know, a few speak Mandarin and Cantonese, at least two speak Arabic, two speak Russian and one speaks French.” She said. “And those are just the languages that have come up in conversation. Back to what Artemis overheard, the meeting is tonight at 9. She wasn’t able to find out exactly where, but one of them said it was near the arena.”

“Why would two men unloading crates of stolen goods be talking about a meeting with a wannabe drug lord?”

“What do you do on a stakeout when you’re waiting for something to happen? You talk to the person stuck in the car with you.” She said with a shrug. “You ask about weekend plans or movies they’ve seen or something. They were talking about work.”

“What exactly did she say they said?” He asked.

McKenna repeated what the Arrow had told her, word for word because she’d written it down, and looked up after she reached the bottom of her notes. One of the two perps Nyssa had apprehended said the meeting about the “new drug opportunity” was taking place near the arena, a few blocks away from, what he had called, “the place with that weird sign” and something about a goat.

“Okay, it’s gotta be happening west of the arena, because the area to the east is too densely populated for something like that to go unnoticed. And if the “weird goat sign” is the one I think he’s talking about, that narrows it down a little more.” He said. “The vigilantes said they wouldn’t interfere with our operation?”

She nodded. “They want the Count stopped and they offered to help, but if you want them to stay away, they’ll stay away.”

 

Lyla was beginning to feel a little drained. She had no idea how long she’d been answering questions for, but it was longer than she would’ve liked. Reliving her time in Moscow was never going to be fun, but having to answer question after question, while getting more and more minute in terms of detail was exhausting.

“To summarize what we’ve established so far in your testimony, the person named in this report as “Citizen Bravo” was an ordinary citizen who was, more or less, abducted by ARGUS and taken to Moscow. Director Waller forced him to take part in this operation, though coercion. He was given no formal training by ARGUS, a modicum of training by yourself in the field as needed and was tasked with infiltrating the Russian mafia in order to prevent the sale of stolen nuclear material on the black market. The decision to conscript, for lack of a better term, Citizen Bravo was based off a brief encounter he had with an established member of the Bratva, and Bravo was unaware of the man’s connection to the Russian mafia at the time.” The Senate chairman said.

“Yes, that’s correct.” Lyla said. 

“And aside from this tenuous connection, Waller determined Citizen Bravo to be the ideal operative because she had, quote, observed him in action prior to his abduction.” He said. “Could you elaborate on that?”

“I can’t give many more details without exposing the identity of Citizen Bravo, and thus making the efforts to protect his identity moot.” She said. “He stumbled upon an existing ARGUS operation in 2007 and 2008. His interference, along with that of at least three others, resulted in the mission failing. Waller then kept him under surveillance for a year, during which time he met the Bratva member we were just discussing, before….having him brought to Moscow for this operation.”

“What are the names of the other three individuals?”

“Two are now deceased. The third is a former ASIS agent who was active in the organization at the time.”

“The two deceased individuals, were they American or Australian?”

“Neither. They were Chinese.” She said. “Or, at least, that was what I was told by Citizen Bravo. I have not met the two deceased individuals and I only met the former ASIS agent after leaving ARGUS.”

“Getting back to this report,” the chairman said, “the nuclear material was recovered with no serious hiccups. However, the conclusion of the operation indicates many standard operating procedures were ignored.”

“If by ignored, you mean that Director Waller drugged Citizen Bravo, violated the spirit of their agreement if not the exact terms and essentially dumped him into a situation where she expected him to die, then yes. SOPs were ignored.” 

“Why would Director Waller do that?” A different Senator asked.

“To clean up loose ends. I’m sure, in your investigation, you’ve learned that Waller has a tendency to send agents that are liabilities on dangerous missions where they are killed. Bravo was no longer useful to her or ARGUS, but he couldn’t be allowed to just leave, so she set him up to die.”

“What do you mean that she set him up to die?”

“I can’t get into specifics, because it reveals Bravo’s real name, but I’ll give you a parallel. Let’s say the CIA extracted an agent in Bosnia whose cover had been blown. The agent goes on another mission, it’s a success and then the CIA, knowing the agent’s been exposed, sends them back to Bosnia.” She said. “That’s the essence of what she did. And the only reason anyone knows about it is because he survived.”

“In this report, and the files that were turned over when this investigation was ordered, there’s no record of the individuals arrested during the operation or what sentences they were given.”

“In order to be given a sentence, you’d need to be given a trial. And having a trial would mean the people caught can’t just disappear.” She said. 

“ARGUS has been illegally detaining the Bratva members apprehended from the Moscow operation?”

“Yes. Along with anyone caught in any other operation, provided Waller found them useful. And even some that were not apprehended by ARGUS.”

“What do you mean?”

Lyla explained her encounter with Chien Na Wei after she quit ARGUS and how Waller removed Wei from the FBI’s custody the very same day that they arrested her. The committee decided that was a good place to end for the day and adjourned, to reconvene the next morning.

Lyla was talking to her lawyer as she gathered her things when one of the Senators approached her. “Citizen Bravo is Oliver Queen, isn’t he? The timeline matches up and it explains why you won’t give more detail. Because the chairman doesn’t want a circus. Bravo is Mr. Queen.”

“No, he’s not.” She said. Since the hearing was over for the day, Lyla was no longer under oath and thus she didn’t have to be honest.

Digg was sitting in the same spot where she’d had lunch with him earlier that day. He waited until they were back at their hotel before asking her how it went and how she felt. After having dinner, and a nice glass of scotch, Lyla gave Oliver a call via FaceTime, since she knew he was probably waiting to hear from her.

‘How’d it go?’ He asked.

“Wasn’t easy but finally getting to tell all of this to someone who can actually do something about it was….freeing.” She said. “Waller is going down for real.”

‘You really think she will?’

“Yeah. Between what she did to you, what she did to me and the fact that she’s imprisoning people without trials, she’s gonna be in big, big trouble. Which is exactly what she deserves.” She said. “I still have another day of testimony, probably to clear up a few things before it's her turn to testify, but the hard part seems to be over.”

‘I hope it is.’ He said. ‘We have a lead on Vertigo, maybe. The SCPD is taking the lead but hopefully it’ll be off the streets by the time you get back.’

“I hope so too. That stuff is nasty.”

 

The SCPD drug unit gathered in the bullpen to discuss the plan for the Vertigo bust tonight. With luck, they’d have the Count in custody tonight and the drug would stop causing so many problems for the city. So far, they had arrested four more people who had taken Vertigo and found three more bodies of those who had overdosed.

“Everyone clear on what the plan is?” The sergeant asked. Everyone nodded. “I know this isn’t anyone’s first bust, but this is a new drug and we got no idea what this Count guy or his people are capable of. So, try not to do anything stupid.”

“Of course, Sarge.” One of the cops said. “And our friends in the Halloween costumes?”

“Pike told them we had this covered, so they’re giving us a wide berth.”

The drug unit left the precinct and headed towards where the meeting was going to be taking place. It was pretty easy to figure out where the Triad was meeting the Count, given what Nyssa had overheard. They waited until the meeting was underway before barging in.

“SCPD! Show us your hands!” One of the cops yelled.

“Well, well, well.” A skinny brunette man with wild eyes said. “This is a most unwelcome surprise.”

“Put your hands in the air.”

“So be it.” The Count said. 

He opened his hands and a small item fell onto the ground. Smoke began coming out of it. The cops began coughing. It was just a smoke bomb, and not something more sinister. When the smoke cleared, however, one of the Triad members was convulsing on the ground with a syringe sticking out of his arm.

The sergeant removed the needle and handed it to someone. “Get that to the lab, now. And someone get an ambulance down here.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 120

Summary:

Lyla finishes her testimony, Nyssa thinks about her life and the team learns something very important.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the Triad member that the Count had injected was taken away by the paramedics, the sergeant in charge of the operation to disrupt the meeting tonight headed back to his precinct. He felt frustrated to say the least. They had been so close to catching the Count, only for him to slip through the SCPD’s fingers.

When he reached the precinct, another cop told him that Frank Pike was there, waiting to speak with him. With a sigh, he continued towards his office, not looking forward to the conversation he was about to have with Pike. When Pike saw him, the sergeant spoke before he could.

“I know what you’re about to say.”

“You do?”

“We had him, the Count. We nearly had him and then I lost him. The- Artemis’s tip was good. I wanna make that clear, the tip was good and we’re lucky she was able to provide it. She all but handed him to us. Then, I screwed it up.”

“That wasn’t what I was gonna say at all.” Pike said. “I might not know you well myself, Flannery, but cops I’ve respected for a long time do. And I don’t think anyone could’ve foreseen the Count bringing a smoke bomb, just in case he needed to make a quick getaway.” He sighed. “We didn’t get the Count, but what did we get or learn?”

“Well, now we know what the bastard looks like.” Flannery said. “Most of us saw him, Davison was the closest and should be able to give the most accurate description. He was standing a few feet away when the smoke bomb went off, so he’s gotta get his lungs checked out. And I’m pretty sure the syringe he left behind was filled with pure Vertigo, or at least a purer form of it.”

“He left behind a syringe of it?” Pike asked. That was an odd thing for a drug lord, or wannabe drug lord to do.

“He stabbed one of his potential buyers in the arm with it, during the confusion.” He said. The screaming from the Triad member was something he was trying to forget. “Possibly to cover his escape.”

“So, to recap, you didn’t get the Count, but you got a visual on him. And a sample of the drugs. And we caught a handful of Triad members. Not a bad consolation prize.” Pike said. "What’s your plan to move forward on this?”

“Wait for the lab to get back to me about what was in that syringe and if it can tell us anything about the drugs or the Count that we don’t already know. Once Davison gets cleared by the EMTs, I’m gonna have him talk to a sketch artist. I would’ve loved to use bodycam footage for that, but I’m worried it might’ve been too dark for them to be reliable.” He said. “And, while all that’s going on, I’m gonna have another chat with Hall.”

“In case the Arrow or his team has learned anything new tonight?”

“That and because we might need their help, as much as it pains me to admit it.” He said. “They brought us the best lead we’ve had so far, which I can’t ignore. And based on what happened down on Wells Street, they know what they’re doing. My ego’s a little bruised that my unit might not be able to handle this ourselves, but I’ll get over that. Still, I don’t know how they work or what they can do. Add to that the fact that they don’t use the same comm system that we do, and it could get messy. Last thing we need is someone getting hurt from friendly fire.”

“And you’re hoping Detective Hall can bring that up to them?”

“Bring it up, find a work-around, get us all on the same system, I don't care.” He said. “But if they’re gonna be backing us up in the field, any cop not just my team, we gotta at least be able to talk to them in the moment.”

“Hall’s still working with the Queen’s Gambit task force, when she’s not being the Arrow’s liaison. You’ll find her in the bullpen they’re using at about 9 AM.” Pike said. “It’s 1AM now. Go home, get some sleep.”

 

Digg and Lyla quietly ate breakfast Friday morning. Today was the second, and final, day of Lyla’s testimony before the Senate committee that was investigating Amanda Waller. Yesterday had been a very tough day for Lyla and today probably would as well.

“How are you feeling?” John asked her. He was worried about her, since yesterday had seemed so hard for her. At the same time, he knew she wouldn’t want him fussing over her.

“I’m…..determined.” She said. “Am I happy to be doing this? No. But it’s something that needs to be done. And as my dad used to tell me, half of being an adult is having to do shit you’d prefer not to do. Hopefully, you won’t be stuck on that bench out in the hallway for over eight hours again.”

“Let’s hope not.” He said. “Though, it wasn’t the worst bench I’ve had ever had to sit on.”

As they had the day before, they met up with Lyla’s lawyer before heading to the Senate office building where the hearing was being held. Digg took a seat outside the room and waited. After about forty-five minutes, he heard someone calling his name.

“What are you doing here, John?” General Roy Stewart asked Digg.

“My girlfriend is testifying at a hearing. I’m here for emotional support, sir.” He said.

“You don’t have to call me “sir”, John. You’re no longer active duty and besides, your mot-.”

“I guess old habits die hard.” Digg said. In addition to being a general, Stewart was also Digg’s stepfather. The pair didn’t have a great relationship, so John wasn’t exactly happy to see him.

Stewart looked at the closed door to the hearing room, realized what committee was meeting in there and turned back to John. “How much longer are you in town for?”

“We’re leaving as soon as she’s done today.” He said.

“Oh. That’s a shame. I know your mother would’ve liked to see you.”

“Another time.” He said. “I’ll give her a call later. Or, you two could come to Starling. I’m sure AJ would like that.”

“General Stewart,” an aide who had been walking with Stewart said, “we need to go, sir, if we’re going to be in time for the meeting.”

“Of course.” Stewart said. “It was nice seeing you, John.” He continued on his way through the building, heading to whatever meeting he was meant to be going to.

Digg let out a slight groan. If he didn’t call his mom and tell her that he had been in DC, the general would. She’d be upset that he hadn’t paid her a visit, but she’d be more upset if she didn’t hear the truth from him. He had been hoping that in a city as busy as DC, he wouldn’t have run into the one person he knew.

 

Inside the hearing room, the Senators continued to inundate Lyla with questions. Needless to say, learning that ARGUS was holding people without trials was more than a little concerning to the committee, and the US government as a whole.

“The individuals who you claim have been held illegally, are they US citizens?” One Senator asked.

“Some are, some aren’t.” She said.

“Do you know where they are currently being held?”

“When Amanda Waller was the director of ARGUS, she favored having information decentralized. Aside from herself, no agent, no matter high-ranking, knew everything. As a result of that philosophy, they likely aren’t being held in one location.” She said. “I believe there is a facility in either Louisiana or Mississippi where some are. I don’t know where it's located, but the name of the person in charge of that facility is Colonel Rick Flag.”

“How did you become aware of this facility?”

“It was mentioned briefly in the occasional mission file or debriefing paperwork. The location was always redacted out, but the transport landed at an Air Force base in Mississippi, not far from the Louisiana border.”

The committee asked a handful more questions before telling Lyla they had no further questions for her. When she left the room with her lawyer, she was surprised to see that she had only been in there for about two hours. It was just after 11 and their flight wasn’t until 5.

“Are they taking an early lunch?” Digg asked her.

“No, I’m done with my testimony.” She said. “I wonder if we can get moved to an earlier flight?”

“It’s worth a shot.” He said. “Though, before we do that, I need to make a stop in Arlington. I ran into General Stewart and if I leave without at least stopping by to say hello to my mother, I know that’s gonna upset her.”

“Seeing my ex-mother-in-law for the first time since the divorce was finalized while I’m dating her son. That’s not gonna be awkward.” Lyla said.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

“I don’t have to, but I should.” She said. “Your mom used to like me, then I became your ex-wife. I wonder what she’ll think of me now?”

 

In Starling, Felicity was getting ready for her Friday. She was very excited that it was Friday, not just because it was almost the weekend but also because it being Friday meant there was only one more week before William would be coming to visit. She knew Oliver was even more excited than she was.

Sara had a follow-up interview for one of the jobs she’d applied for, so Nyssa was the one who would be filling in for Lyla at Queen Consolidated. After breakfast, they got into the car and headed towards Applied Sciences. Halfway through the drive there, the blonde realized this was the first time she was alone with Nyssa.

“So, how do you like Starling so far?” She asked.

“I like it very much. Sara truly did it justice when she told me about her home while we were in Nanda Parbat.” Nyssa said.

“Good, I’m glad you like it here. I was worried you might be homesick, which is completely understandable.”

“I have…..difficulty thinking of Nanda Parbat as my home.” She said. “It is where I was raised, and in a sense it is my home, but it has never felt like home to me. Though, as my only frame of reference, I cannot say that somewhere else “feels” like home either.”

Felicity thought that sounded sad, but she didn’t want to offend Nyssa or sound like she pitied her, so she just nodded. “I guess home is different things to different people. To some, home is a place. To others, home’s a person. I was talking to Oliver months ago, right after everything with Laurel, and he said that to him, home wasn’t Queen Mansion or even the city, home was Thea and Tommy, and now, Team Oliver.”

“I suppose that is true.” Nyssa said. That was one way to look at it. Sara was home to her. She liked the sound of that. “I did not have a chance to speak in depth with Lyla before she left. What precisely am I expected to do for the next several hours?”

“Officially, to make sure I don’t get hurt or kidnapped. Unofficially, nothing.” She said. “Applied Sciences is safe, now that the Tempest members have been caught, but Oliver still worries. I don’t think another supervillain is gonna show up and take everyone hostage.”

“I will be vigilant regardless.” 

They reached Applied Sciences and Felicity introduced Nyssa to Ray and Curtis. She explained that Nyssa was a friend of hers and Oliver’s and she was filling in for Lyla while Lyla was in DC for her hearing.

“So, Nyssa, how do you know Felicity and Oliver?” Curtis asked.

“My beloved boarded the Queen’s Gambit with Oliver.” She said matter-of-factly. “When Sara decided that it was time for her to return home, I came with her.”

Curtis and Ray looked back and forth between Nyssa and Felicity. It seemed odd to them that the two would be friends, given the history their respective partners shared. Then again, this was real life, not some soap opera and amicable exes, or whatever Sara and Oliver technically were, did exist.

“Nice to meet you.” Curtis said.

“Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you and Dr. Palmer as well.” She said. “I understand you and Felicity are creating a device that will allow individuals with paralysis to walk again?”

“That’s the plan.” Ray said. “For now, at least. If it works, who knows how many other people we could end up helping.”

“That’s an admirable desire.”

“How are you guys doing?” Felicity asked Ray and Curtis. She hadn’t seen them since Wednesday and wanted to know how things were going in their lives.

“Nothing new to report.” Curtis said.

“It’s been, like, a day since I last saw you.” Ray said. “The only update in my life is that a house on Tuckerman Lane, a few streets from me, was sold. The “For Sale” sign was down when I drove past it this morning. So, I’ll be getting some new neighbors.”

“They aren’t gonna be that new.” Felicity said. When he gave her a weird look, she elaborated. “Oliver and I bought the house on Tuckerman.”

“I didn’t know you were looking to move.”

“We started looking last week expecting it to take a while.” She said. “But we needed to move soon and we fell in love with the house and didn’t want to miss our chance to buy it.” She hadn’t talked to Oliver about telling people about William, so she held off on explaining why exactly they had wanted to move so suddenly.

“Well, welcome to the neighborhood. Almost.” Ray said. “Anna and I will have to invite you over for dinner once you get settled in.” Felicity was a good friend of Ray’s, and based off his interactions with Oliver, they could be friends too. “I’ve been wanting to get to know Oliver better.”

“We both do.” Curtis said. “You know, if he wants to get to know us better. He seems like a cool guy.”

“He is. When he’s not being a complete and utter dork about Greek mythology.” Felicity said fondly. “I say that as an MIT grad who has plans to one day build a TARDIS.”

“What is a TARDIS?” Nyssa asked. “I know it is not a Star Wars thing, since I would have remembered from our movie marathon.”

“It’s from a show called Doctor Who. It’s sci-fi, like Star Wars , but has a different premise. An alien travels through time and space having adventures.” She said. “I can show you an episode or two, but the actor that plays one of the recurring characters looks freakishly like Tommy’s father, and it’s a little jarring.”

“That is unfortunate for that actor.” Nyssa said, causing Felicity to burst out laughing.

 

Following their routine, Oliver left not long after Felicity did to pick up Thea and take her to school. They greeted one another and she got into the car. He noticed she seemed upset about something, so when they reached a stoplight, he turned to her.

‘Is everything okay?’

“Roy and I…..kinda got into a fight this morning.” She said. 

‘Was it about something serious?’

“Not really.” She said. “Or at least, I don’t think so. It’s just- Roy and I have lived very different lives, and sometimes, I say something that sounds….like the old me and it makes him angry or upset and- I don’t wanna talk about this with you. You and Felicity have, like, the perfect relationship.”

‘That doesn’t mean we don’t fight.’ He said. ‘We fight all the time. Well, not all the time, but we disagree a normal amount.’

“Really? How come no one’s ever seen you two fight?”

‘Why would we have an argument in front of other people? It’s awkward for us and even more uncomfortable for everyone around.’ He said. ‘I always hated it when Mom and Dad would have fights or be passive-aggressive to one another in front of other people, or when Laurel would try to pick a fight in public, so I try not to do the same thing. Besides, neither of us want to drag someone else into our argument, or make you pick sides.’

“You know, that does make a lot of sense. I guess I just- I never heard about the two of you fighting, so I thought you didn't.”

‘I don’t think any healthy relationship can exist without occasional disagreements.’ He said.

“When the hell did you get so insightful?”

‘Not sure.’ He told her. They reached the school and he said goodbye to her.

After taking Thea to school, Oliver spent several hours packing. He and Felicity wanted to get all of their moving done tomorrow morning so that they had most of Saturday and all of Sunday to unpack and get the house in order. Not to mention, Saturday afternoon was when his first Skype call with William would be. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited about something.

Sara returned to the house around 11:30. She said that her interview had gone well, but was nervous she might get the job for the wrong reason.

‘How could you be hired for the wrong reason?’ Oliver asked her.

“I don’t wanna spend my life being “that girl who survived the Gambit”. And I know to some people, that’s what I’ll be, but if I get the job teaching self-defense, I want it to be because I’m qualified. Not because having me on staff will drum up business.”

‘I can relate to the first part.’ He said. ‘And I’m-.’

“Don’t apologize for that. You’re the last person who needs to answer for what happened to us on that island.” She said. “Any chance I can crash your lunch date with Felicity?”

‘I kinda assumed you were gonna come so that you and Nyssa could have some time together.’ He said with a shrug. ‘I was gonna leave in about fifteen minutes, if you wanna change.’

Sara was dressed like she had a job interview, which was a little too formal for a casual lunch date. She changed into normal clothes and walked into the living room to see Oliver looking at an envelope. “Everything okay?”

‘Yeah. There’s just something I need to tell everyone tonight. About something my dad left for me.’

The pair left to pick up Felicity and Nyssa for lunch. Since Oliver was just going to lunch, and not any kind of meeting, Slade didn’t tag along. He doubted anyone would be dumb enough to attack Oliver, or anyone, in broad daylight in a busy restaurant.

Lunch was nice and uneventful. As they were leaving the restaurant, however, Felicity did a double take. “That’s….weird.” She said.

‘What is? Is everything okay?’ Oliver asked her, concerned.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” She said. “It’s just- the two women at the table right in front of the door, they were dressed like me.”

‘I didn’t notice. Dressed like you are today or-?’

“No, like outfits I’ve worn in the past.” She said. “Thea really wasn’t kidding about those Instagram pages.”

“What Instagram pages?” Sara asked.

“According to Thea, there are accounts on Instagram that document my outfits. Not just what I wear, but how to “dupe” my outfits. I didn’t really believe her, but clearly I was wrong.” The outfit of a pink blouse and black pencil skirt one of the women was wearing could’ve been a coincidence, but the outfit the other woman wore was too similar to an outfit Felicity wore a week ago to also be a coincidence. Felicity wasn’t upset that someone was emulating her style, it was just odd to see.

“Felicity Smoak, hacker, genius, style icon.” Sara teased.

“Apparently.” She responded. 

 

“You must be very proud of Thea.” Jessica Danforth said when her conversation with Moira reached a lull. She had asked Moira to lunch after hearing from Madison about seeing Moira at the ASL class on Saturday.

“I am. She’s doing much better in school.”

“And that’s good, but it wasn’t quite what I was referring to.” She said. She didn’t want to pry, but she suspected that Thea still wasn’t speaking to Moira. Still, she felt like her old friend should know how well Thea was doing. “I spoke to her a few weeks ago when I was dropping Madison off at school. She seemed so much more mature and confident than last time I’d seen her.”

“A lot has certainly changed in the last year. Thea has become- she’s an adult now.” Moira said. “But yes, I am very proud of her. And of Oliver. It took me some time to realize how much they had changed. They don’t need me anymore.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Jessica said. “They just don’t need you as much. It’s a subtle difference.”

 

Friday afternoon passed surprisingly quickly. Team Oliver, except Digg and Lyla, arrived at Felicity’s old house for the last Team Oliver dinner that would be taking place there. Oliver made lasagne. They were sitting down to eat when there was a knock at the door. Donna went to open it.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until later!” She exclaimed as she opened the door wider to reveal Digg and Lyla.

“We moved up our flight.” Lyla said. “The Senate finished with me pretty early.”

“Yeah.” Digg said. “We stopped by to see my mom in Virginia before catching an earlier flight.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re done with that unpleasantness Lyla. And that you got to see your mom, Digg.” Felicity said.

“Yeah, me too.” He said. It had been a while since he had seen his mother. She reacted better than he expected to learning that he was dating his ex-wife. “And we didn’t want to miss dinner.”

“You arrived right on time. Let’s eat.” She said.

‘What happens now?’ Oliver asked Lyla. ‘With her ? Do you know?’

‘I don’t.’ She signed back. ‘But I told them everything I could and then some. She’s going down.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me. If I’d been less of a chickenshit after Moscow, she would’ve already been taken down.’ She said. ‘Though, I’m debating whether I should show Agent Dinan that form I showed you, about the explosives, or wait for the new Director to share that.’

‘You can always have Felicity say she uncovered it and send it to them. Then, you aren’t upstaging anyone.’ He had considered doing that with his father’s letter, but realized that sending it as the Arrow would look more suspicious than if he sent it as himself. After all, Oliver Queen had a good reason to share something like that with the Gambit task force.

‘I’ll think about it.’

Everyone began to eat. Halfway through dinner, Oliver decided to bite the bullet and tell everyone about the letter from Robert. He asked Felicity to read it out loud, in case he omitted something.

“Ollie, do you realize what this means?” Thea asked.

‘Tommy was almost our brother. Not that I saw him as anything else for most of my life.’ Oliver said.

“Not that, well, yes that’s important too, but- it means Dad tried to do the right thing.” She said. “And, it means Mom was- she didn’t suddenly have an attack of conscience a month ago. She was always against this. I don’t forgive her for a lot but-. She didn’t let you get on the Gambit, knowing what Malcolm was going to do.” She knew Tempest had sunk the Gambit. She knew her mother was part of Tempest. This letter was the first indication she had that Moira hadn’t been aware of Malcolm’s plan when they set sail.

‘You’re right.’ He said. ‘That’s important and I didn’t realize that.’

On the way to the Arrow Cave that night, Oliver and Felicity stopped by the precinct to give the task force the letter from Robert and the proof he’d provided against Malcolm. As they were leaving, Oliver told Agent Dinan to reach out to ARGUS about file number 4587-C. 

‘Lyla said you might find that file interesting.’

 

The SCPD’s lab was still analyzing the Vertigo sample, so the only update McKenna could give Team Arrow was the sketch one of the officers at the attempted bust managed to create of the Count. She also passed along Sergeant Flannery’s concerns about working with Team Arrow if they weren’t using the same comm frequency or equipment.

“I mean, that’s easy enough for me to fix.” Felicity said. “I’d just need an earwig from the SCPD and maybe a few other items.”

“If you can get me a list, I’ll pass it along.” McKenna told her. “Oliver, I heard what you said to Dinan, what’s in file 4587-C?”

“Malcolm Merlyn’s receipt from buying the explosives that sank the Queen’s Gambit.” Felicity said. “And a few other incriminating things.”

At the shocked looks on everyone’s faces, Lyla spoke up. “Waller kept tabs on anyone and everyone. And shared what she found with no one.”

The team went out on patrol. They didn’t encounter the Count, but they were able to apprehend a few more Vertigo dealers.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Note: 05/03/2021- there will not be an update this week, due to real life stuff going on (Nothing bad, just busy)

Chapter 121

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity move into their new house.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Saturday morning, Oliver woke up to see Felicity lying with her chin on his shoulder, looking at him. It was clear that she had been awake for a while, and had been waiting for him to wake up.

‘Hi.’ He signed to her.

“Good morning.” She responded before giving him a kiss. “Today’s the big day. Moving Day.”

‘I know. I wasn’t expecting you to be so excited for moving.’ He said.

“I’m not that excited about the actual process of moving. I know it’s not like we’re gonna spend hours doing it, but it’s still, you know, a lot to do.” She said. “What I’m excited about is being in the new house. And also what we get to do after moving.”

‘What do we get to do after moving?’ He asked her.

She gave him a secretive smile and leaned in closer. “After we finish unpacking, and everyone leaves, we’ll be alone in the new house. For the first time. We gotta christen the new house.”

‘Oh.’ He said. ‘I didn’t think about that. Is it too early to start driving boxes over there?’

“It’s 8AM, so I don’t think it’s too early for you and me to start, but the others might not even be up yet. John and Lyla said they’d text me before they came over, and most of the others were gonna come help after ASL class.” She said. “So, you know, if you wanna get started, we can go have breakfast and take a few boxes over there now.”

‘I’d like that.’ He said. ‘Not just for the- not just so that we can christen the house. I have my first Skype call with William this afternoon, and I wanna have as much done before then. I don’t want you to have to do a bunch of stuff while I’m talking to him. I want you to get to talk to him too.’

Knowing that, all things considered, they didn’t have that much to do, mostly unpacking boxes, Felicity doubted it would take as long as Oliver thought it would, but she appreciated his eagerness. She was also happy that he wanted to include her in his call to William if he could.

“All right. Well, let’s have some breakfast and then we’ll take the first carload of boxes over there.” She said.

Oliver made scrambled eggs for breakfast. They ate before loading a few boxes of clothes into Felicity’s car and driving over to their new house. At around 9, Digg sent them a text saying that he and Lyla were ready to come help them move as soon as they wanted to get started.

 

McKenna stopped by the SCPD precinct on her way to the community center before ASL class. She wanted to check in with Dinan and the other agents on their investigation. There was also a question she wanted to ask the agents that hadn’t occurred to her the night before.

Dinan and Reeves were both in the bullpen when she arrived and they started discussing the letter Oliver had given them the day before, the one written by Robert Queen. The evidence he provided was good for them building a case against Malcolm, but his warning about Isabel Rochev and Harrison Wells seemed a bit odd to them.

“Hall, you’ve lived here your whole life, right?” Reeves asked. “Any idea why Robert Queen would’ve named both of them as people for Oliver to steer clear from?”

“Nope. But...isn’t Rochev on the List?” She asked.

“She is, but we haven’t been able to pinpoint why she was on the List.” Dinan said. “We haven’t been able to establish if she was part of Tempest or if she was just one of the blackmail victims or what her deal is. This case is really turning into a Pandora’s box. So, the name doesn’t ring a bell with you?”

“No. And Tommy and Oliver didn’t recognize the name either. Moira Queen might know who she is, or why Robert would’ve said that.”

Reeves turned to Dinan. “Do we wanna call her in for another interview at this point?”

“That might not be necessary.” McKenna said. “Oliver told everyone close to him what the letter said before he turned it over to us. I, uh- Thea might’ve asked her mother about Isabel Rochev. I know Moira’s been trying to reconnect with Thea, and given the contents of Robert’s letter, I can imagine Thea having a lot of questions that only her mother can answer. I can ask her later today.”

“Please make it clear that you aren’t asking Thea to ask her mother about it. We can speak with Moira ourselves, but if Thea already knows, it would just save time.” Dinan said.

“Of course.” She said. “I actually wanted to ask you about that letter. I haven’t told the Arrow and his team about its contents, because I wanted to clear it with you first. Should I tell them?” It felt a little silly to ask, since Team Arrow was Team Oliver, but Dinan didn’t know that and McKenna wanted to get permission to tell Team Arrow, officially, to cover everyone’s asses.

“Yeah, I don’t see a reason why not.” Dinan said. 

McKenna wanted to check with a different agent about the forensic testing of the Dark Archer suit they found at Merlyn Global Group, so she walked away from where Dinan and Reeves were. After getting an update, she was leaving the bullpen when she heard the two agents discussing how to request the file they needed from ARGUS, the one Oliver had strongly hinted they ask about. They were debating the best way to word the request.

“Put either “Oliver Queen”, “Queen’s Gambit” or both in the first paragraph of the request.” McKenna suggested. “That will make sure it gets Cat Grant’s attention or someone just slightly below her. ARGUS doesn’t want too many things with his name on it sitting around. I don’t think anyone in DC does.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you probably don’t know what happened yet.” McKenna said. “According to Lyla, the Senate committee that oversees the DHS has opened an investigation into what happened in Moscow, and Waller’s leadership during that time. The investigation was opened this past Monday, Lyla’s already testified about it. I don’t know if Waller has or not, but I think it’s clear that politicians don’t want to sit on anything related to Oliver or the Gambit.”

“Why would a bunch of Senators and bureaucrats care?” Reeves asked.

“I don’t know, but think about how quickly things have moved when it comes to him or this case compared to any other time we’ve needed something from another agency.” Dinan said. “Thanks for the head’s up, Hall.”

“No problem.” She said as she walked out.

The request for the file that Dinan sent was relatively short. The message said that Oliver Queen, passing along a message from Lyla Michaels, suggested that the task force should ask for access to ARGUS file 4587-C, as information within that file was relevant to their investigation of the Queen’s Gambit. The CGIS and FBI were requesting immediate, expedited declassification of the file.

 

While Oliver, Felicity, Digg and Lyla were moving Oliver and Felicity’s things to their new house, Sara and Nyssa drove up to Cassidy Penn to see Laurel, Donna slept in and the rest of Team Oliver went to their ASL class.

The class passed without much excitement. Thea spent most of the class talking with Madison or Ashley in between teaching them new signs. Walter and Moira spoke for a bit, but Moira’s attempts to get Thea’s attention didn’t work out the way she hoped.

“You should let Thea decide how and when she interacts with you.” Walter said when he noticed her frustration.

“What?”

“You want to repair your relationship with Thea, and she seems willing to reconcile with you, but you need to let her do it on her terms.” He said. “Having lunch with her one time doesn’t mean she’s completely forgiven you or wants to let you back in. You need to let her come to you.”

“That’s…I don’t usually deal with conflict in that way.” 

“I know.” He said. “But you can’t force her to forgive you or “get over” what you did. She gets to be the one who decides how much she’s willing to forgive right now and what she’s willing to share with you moving forward. And the same will be true with Oliver.”

“Is she- did she ask you to tell me this?  When she and I weren’t speaking, I knew she was still talking to you. And I just wanna know if-.”

“No, she didn’t ask me to talk to you about this.” Walter said. “But over the last few months she’s said a few times how she feels about what happened. And I’m giving you the impression that I got from those conversations. She’s very hurt and angry, but she doesn’t hate you. And she’s matured a lot in that time and knows that you just saying sorry won’t be enough, nor will forcing herself to be around you and pushing down those feelings.”

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t try so hard?”

“I’m saying that right now the best thing you can do is accept the relationship Thea’s willing to have with you, and work on that relationship.”

“Okay.” She said. Moira was starting to wonder when Walter became so insightful about this subject. “And Oliver?”

“I think you should focus on your relationship with Thea for now.” He said. Pretty much every reason Thea had to be angry at Moira, Oliver also had. In addition to those reasons, Oliver had a number of other things Moira had done that hurt him. It made more sense for Moira to focus on repairing one relationship at a time, starting with Thea.

“Do you know if Thea has, or plans to, talk to her mom about that letter Oliver showed us?” McKenna asked Tommy as they worked on their ASL.

“As far as I know, she hasn’t yet, but I don’t know if she plans to.” He said. He had gotten more confident in his sign language and signed what he said as he answered. “Why?”

“My colleagues and I are trying to figure out why the person who wrote that letter would warn Oliver to stay away from the two people he mentioned.” She said. Since the room wasn’t very large, McKenna didn’t want to say the names Robert, Isabel Rochev or Harrison Wells in case Moira overheard her. “The doctor makes a little sense, since they were both business owners, and maybe he didn’t agree with how the other man did business, but the woman he mentioned? We haven’t found a connection.”

“Do you want me to ask Thea to ask her mom?” Tommy asked. “I can, if you need me to.”

“I don’t need you to. And I also don’t want her to feel like I’m asking her to do my job for me. If needed, we could just request to speak with Mrs. Queen.” She said. “I wanna be clear that I’m not asking her to do anything, but if Thea had asked, I wanted to talk to her about it.”

“I don’t think she has, But I’ll talk to her later.” He said. “Just to satisfy my own curiosity.”

“Okay.” She said. “It’s really awkward and uncomfortable sometimes that I’m on this case and I know you, Oliver, Thea and the others so well. Not that I regret being on the case but-. I just wish it was easier to keep Detective Hall separate from my personal life.”

“I can imagine.”

After the class wrapped up, Thea and Roy walked over to where Walter and Moira were standing. Thea shuffled her feet for a few seconds as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

“Uh, are you free for lunch, Mom?” Thea asked. 

“Yes, I am.” Moira said.

“Great. I felt like last week’s lunch was…..productive.” She said. “And there’s also something I wanna talk to you about. Oh, and Walter, you’re invited too.”

“Wait, I thought we were supposed to help Oliver and Felicity m-.” Roy started to say.

“I talked to Ollie about it and told him we’d be by later.” Thea said. “He said they wouldn’t need our help until this afternoon anyway.”

“Shall we go then?” Walter asked. “Where should we have lunch?”

“I’ve kinda been craving Big Belly Burger lately.” Thea said. “I don’t know what the rest of you might be in the mood for.”

“Big Belly Burger? I don’t think I’ve ever had food from there.” Moira said. She looked at Roy and Walter. “Do either of you have a preference?” They shook their heads, so Moira said Big Belly Burger sounded great.

Moira and Walter drove to the restaurant in one car while Thea and Roy arrived in Thea’s car. They went inside, Roy and Thea waved to Carly and grabbed a booth in the back of the restaurant. After some small talk, Thea decided to bring up the reason why she wanted to talk to Moira.

“I- do you know about the letter Dad wrote to Ollie?” Thea asked her mother.

“No. Your father wrote him a letter? When? Did Oliver only recently receive it?”

“Shortly before the Queen’s Gambit set sail, Robert entrusted an envelope to me.” Walter said. “With instructions to give it to Oliver if something happened to him. I had completely forgotten about the envelope until shortly after Oliver moved in with Felicity. He recently opened and read the letter.”

Moira was a bit miffed that Walter hadn’t told her about this, but she would’ve sounded like a hypocrite if she made a comment about it. “Okay. What did the letter say?”

“Dad wrote it right before he and Ollie got onto the Gambit. He was going to- Dad was going to tell the police about what you-know-who was planning, with proof. He- the letter was in case he found out what Dad was gonna do and killed Dad before he could tell the authorities. Ollie gave the letter and evidence to the Coast Guard agents yesterday.” Thea said. “Dad also said, in the letter, that you were- that you convinced him that he couldn’t let you-know-who do what he was planning to do.”

“I did.” Moira said. “When Robert told me what he had been told, I told him that he had to do something, that he couldn’t let-.”

“I know. But I’ve been thinking over those sentences, the ones about you, in Dad’s letter for the last day.” She said. “For two reasons. First, I don’t understand why, if you were the one who told Dad that he needed to stop what was being planned at all costs, you would then join that group.”

“I was scared, Thea.” Her mother said. “Your father was gone. Your brother was gone. I tried to get answers for myself but I- I wasn’t careful enough and Malcolm found out, and I didn’t want anything to happen to you, so I- everything I did, when it comes to that group, I did because I couldn’t lose the only family I had left.”

Thea refrained from asking why Moira didn’t just go to the police. Her mother couldn’t change the past, so it felt like a moot point. “I thought that might be why.”

After taking a moment to collect herself, Moira spoke up. “What was the other reason? You said you’d been thinking about what your father wrote for two reasons.”

“Before I tell you, I need you to understand how things looked from my perspective. When the Gambit went missing, you completely shut down and shut me out. I had to grieve them alone. Ollie comes back and you’re acting really weird and mean towards him. The Gambit is found, and you don’t seem to feel anything. We find out it was tampered with, and again, you don’t seem to have a reaction. Then, I find out that you’re a member of the group that probably sabotaged it.” Thea said. “Dad’s letter was the first piece of evidence that I had, that Ollie had, that made it seem like you didn’t know. That you didn’t let them get on that yacht, knowing what was going to happen to it.”

“You thought I- how could you think that?”

“That’s the thing. The last few months have taught me that I don’t really know you. The only reason why I wasn’t completely convinced that you had had something to do with it was the fact that you are our mother. And I wanted to believe that you wouldn’t do something like that to your own son.” 

“Well, I’m glad you no longer think I’d kill my own son.” She said in a snippy tone.

“You found the Gambit and hid the fact that it was recovered, that Dad, Ollie and Sara weren’t aboard, for five years. You don’t get to be mad at me for finding that out and thinking you were trying to hide something.” Thea said. “Dad said something else in his letter too. Not about you or the plot, but about two people Ollie needed to stay away from. Why would Dad warn him to stay away from Harrison Wells.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t met the man.” Moira said. “The only thing I remember your father saying about him was that he had changed. But success changes people, so it could just be that Wells’s success changed who he was.”

“Okay. What about Isabel Rochev?” She asked.

“You don’t need to hear about that.”

“Yeah, I think I do. Because Dad’s- he took time in that letter, which is basically his last confession, to tell Oliver that he can’t trust her. I wanna know why. And I’m sure Ollie does too.”

“I can’t tell you. You won’t view your father in the same way once you-.”

“Dad is dead, Mom.” Thea said. “You don’t need to protect him or his image anymore. And I’m not 12. Whatever he did to her, I can handle it.”

“What he did to her? No, it was the other way around.” Moira said. “That homewrecker got an internship with the company. And she thought, if she seduced the CEO, then it would mean-.”

“So, Dad had an affair with her when she was an intern.”

“It wasn’t just an affair. He was going to leave me, to leave us. His bags were packed. And then, you fell off Sparkles and broke your arm.”

“What?”

“You broke your arm, and when I called your father to tell him, he was at the airport with her. He decided to go to the hospital to see you, instead of leaving with her. Then, he terminated her internship.” Moira said. “I assume his warning is because she didn’t react well to him choosing our family and her losing her internship.”

“Did she threaten us or something?”

“Not that I know of. But I doubt he would’ve told me if she had.” She said. “After he told me about what he had almost done, he refused to speak about her again. I don’t know how much weight you should give that warning. Isabel Rochev is a VP at a company called Stellmoor International. Being dumped and fired doesn’t seem to have caused her a setback in her career.”

Thea pursed her lips. She didn’t know Isabel, but given what Moira had told her, the woman had plenty of reasons to want to get back at the Queen family, even if it didn’t impact her career path very much.

The rest of lunch was somewhat subdued and they left as soon as they paid their bill.

 

Sara pulled the car into the visitor lot of Cassidy Penn and turned to face Nyssa. “Are you ready for this?”

“I have been looking forward to it.” Nyssa said. “There are some things I’ve been wanting to say to your sister.”

“You can’t- the first time meeting her isn’t a good time to let her know what you think about how she treated Ollie or Felicity.” She said. “It’ll- let’s not start things on a bad note.”

“That is not what I wanted to speak with her about.” Her girlfriend said cryptically. “Shall we?”

The pair got out of the car, signed in, went through security and found themselves sitting in the visitors’ room, waiting for Laurel to be brought in.

Laurel walked in and took a seat across from Sara. She glanced over at Nyssa before speaking. 

“Hi.” She said. “Who’s she?”

“Laurel, this is my girlfriend Nyssa.” Sara said.

“Your girlfriend? As in, the romantic kind of girlfriend? Or just a close female friend?”

“The romantic kind.” Sara said. “I told you that I’m bisexual and have a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I remember. I just- I couldn’t remember if you said your girlfriend’s name was Nyssa and people use “girlfriend” in more than one context, and I wanted to be sure we were talking about the right context.” She said. “Sorry if I’ve made things awkward.”

“You haven’t. I wanted you to meet Nyssa, since Mom and Dad already have.”

“Okay. I was trying not to- I didn’t want to say something wrong, and possibly offend you or her. “ Laurel said. “It’s nice to meet you, Nyssa.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well.” Nyssa said. “Sara has told me a lot about you.”

“She did? I hope she said good things.”

“For the most part they were.”

“So, she told you why I’m in prison and not still working as a lawyer.”

“She did, but we don’t need to talk about that.” She said. “Sara told me you had started taking a creative writing class?”

“Yeah, I- there’s not much to do in here, but there are some classes they offer. To prevent recidivism. I figured that creative writing was a good idea, it lets me get my feelings out.” Laurel said. “How did you meet Sara?”

Sara and Nyssa looked at one another. They’d discussed what to tell people, but they weren’t sure how she’d take the news. “I found Sara not long after the Queen’s Gambit sank. She was badly hurt and I took her to my home to help her recover.”

“Are you the reason she didn’t come back home back then?”

“No. I’m not.” Nyssa said. 

“Okay. Where are you from, Nyssa?”

They talked for a little while longer, until a guard told them that their time was up. They said their goodbyes and Sara and Nyssa left. Laurel was taken back to her cell and she pulled out the small notebook she’d been given for her creative writing class. The conversation she, Nyssa and Sara had had given her an idea for one of the stories she was working on.

 

Felicity placed a cardboard box on the ground in the foyer of her new house. She then put her hands on her hips and looked around. There were boxes strewn around the foyer and dining room.

“All right. Now the fun part starts.” She announced to Oliver, Lyla, Digg, Tommy, Donna, Slade, Roy and Thea. Sara and Nyssa had texted, saying they’d be by in about an hour.

“Sorry, what’s the fun part?” Tommy asked.

“This is the last box to be moved in.” She said. “The fun part is unpacking all these boxes and giving everything a new home.”

‘And with so many extra hands, it shouldn’t take very long.’ Oliver added. ‘How do you wanna divide this up?’

“Why don’t the guys stay down here and unpack stuff for the kitchen and living room, and we’ll unpack all the stuff that needs to go upstairs.” Felicity suggested. “Anything that’s tech can stay in its boxes and I’ll unpack those after we’re done upstairs.”

“Sounds good to me.” Roy said. 

Felicity, Thea, Lyla and Donna went upstairs, carrying boxes and suitcases with them. Felicity showed them the two guest bedrooms and the room that was for William before showing them her and Oliver’s new room. Their new bed had been delivered that morning, so the only thing that needed to be moved in was clothes and other odds and ends.

“All right. Oliver doesn’t really care how his clothes are organized as long as his clothes are all together and split by type. So, pants are with other pants, shirts go together and so on.” Felicity said. “I’m not that relaxed about how my closet’s organized, which is why I wanted to be the one to unpack the stuff up here.”

“What kinda weird closet system do you have?” Thea asked, slightly startled.

“It’s not a weird system, it’s just- I put all of my cold weather clothes together, and split those up into “work clothes” and “not work clothes”. I then do the same with warm weather clothes. Then, there’s the everyday stuff, like black jeans. You can wear black jeans any time of year, for any number of occasions. And then there’s the cosplay section that goes towards the back, because I haven’t been to a con in a few months, but I still love cosplay. The dresser drawers are pretty straightforward though.”

“You put a lot of thought into how your clothes are organized.” Lyla said.

“I used to have a very small closet and I got tired of never knowing where the outfit I was looking for was.” She said. “This way, I can always find the pencil skirt and pink shirt I was wearing the day I met Oliver, because I know exactly where it is.”

“Fair enough.”

They got to work unpacking the suitcases and boxes full of clothes. Once the clothing was all hung up in the closet or folded in dresser drawers, they began to unpack the boxes with toiletries, knick-knacks and extra sheets. They went downstairs when they were done to see Tommy, Digg, Slade, Oliver, Sara and Nyssa getting the kitchen and living rooms organized.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was not expecting so many boxes to have random cooking stuff in it.” Tommy said. “I didn’t even know that so many utensils existed.”

‘I might’ve gone a little crazy when I was doing my online shopping.’ Oliver admitted. ‘I just- I wanted to have any kitchen tool that I might need, without leaving the kitchen at the other house completely barren.’

“But an ice cream maker?”

‘I might wanna make ice cream when it gets warmer.’

“Ooh. I like the sound of that.” Felicity said. “Homemade mint chip ice cream.”

‘I thought you might.’

“All right.” Sara said, drawing everyone’s attention. “The books have been organized by the author and Nyssa put all the DVDs together by title. Which means the kitchen and living room are done. What’s next?”

“Only room left is my office, which means my tech-babies get to see their new home.” Felicity said. She picked up one of the few unopened boxes and headed towards the home office. Oliver and Digg each picked up a box and followed her.

Felicity placed the box on the desk and opened it. She pulled out her trusty tablet. “Okay, Tablet. Welcome to your new home.” She said as she looked around the room for a good place for the tablet to “live”. She then did the same thing with her back-up tablet, her personal laptop, her work laptop and a few other devices Oliver didn’t immediately recognize.

Oliver watched her welcome her devices home with a sappy grin on his face. The others just looked a little confused, but seemed willing to let Felicity have her fun. Felicity didn’t repeat the same “welcome home” routine with the accessories like keyboards or mouses.

“And, I think that’s everything.” Felicity said. “We’re all unpacked. How are we doing on time?”

“It’s 1:45.” Slade said.

“Cool, so we have forty-five minutes to kill.”

“What happens at 2:30?” Sara asked.

‘I have my first Skype call with William. I wanted to either be done unpacking by then or to take a break around that time.’ Oliver said. 

“That’s exciting.” Lyla said. “We’ll get out of your hair then. See you later.”

“See you later.” Felicity said. “Oh, Sara, Nyssa and whoever else wants to join, we’re having a Kung Fu Panda movie marathon tomorrow. I wanna test out the new, bigger TV that we got.”

Kung Fu Panda ?” Slade asked.

“It’s a great, and very cute movie. And so is the sequel.” She said. “Anyway, if anyone wants to come, you know where to find us.”

The others said their goodbyes and left. The couple had some time to kill, so Oliver decided to go take a shower, since he didn’t want to be sweaty when he was talking to William.



“What the hell kinda file name is 4587-C?” Cat Grant asked one of the ARGUS agents when she saw the request the Gambit task force had submitted. “Who puts letters after file numbers?”

"No idea. Ask someone down in records?"

Cat went down to the records department and posed the same question to the person on duty. “What kinda file name is 4587-C? Why are there letters after numbers?”

“That was, um, the previous director’s system. She didn’t want all the documents for a given file to be accessible to everyone, so files were internally split into smaller pieces.” ARGUS’s record-keeper on duty answered nervously.

“So, 4587-C is basically a sub-folder?”

“Yes. 4587-C is a specific set of documents within the larger file of 4587.” The archivist said.

“Pull the whole file, all of 4587, for me.” Grant said. “I wanna look it over. And I have a new project for your department. Undo the mess Waller made down here. No more sub-folders or files within files. Keep it simple.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The archivist said.

 

2:30 rolled around and Oliver anxiously waited on the couch with his fully-charged tablet. He had his text-to-voice app opened on his phone and was just waiting for Samantha to log onto the video-chatting site.

At 2:31, the screen that had just been showing Oliver’s face, changed to show his face in a small box in the corner and most of the screen taken up by what looked like a ceiling.

“-on a sec, Will, okay? I wanna make sure everything’s set-up correctly.” Samantha was saying in the background.

“Okay, Mommy.” William responded.

The device Samantha was using moved and Oliver found himself looking at her. “All right. I can see you, Oliver. Can you give me a thumbs up if you can hear me?” Oliver did as she asked. “Okay. Now….how do we test if I can hear you?”

“Am I late?” Felicity asked, walking into the living room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-.”

“Looks like I can hear you.” Samantha said. “So, I think we’re good. Was that Felicity?”

“Yes, I- hold on a sec.” She said. She moved over so that she could be seen on screen. “Hi, I’m Felicity. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you too.” Samantha said, trying to be friendly. This was a very awkward situation. “Well, without further ado, I’m gonna give Will the tablet so that he can talk to you. I’d like to talk to both of you after this so we can talk about next week.” 

“Sounds good to us.” Felicity said. 

Samantha lowered the tablet and a moment later, William’s face was smiling back at them.

“Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!” He said waving.

“Hi William.” Felicity said.

“Hey buddy.” Oliver’s app read for him.

“See, Mommy, I told you Daddy had a voice like a robot.” The boy said to his mother, who must’ve been sitting a few feet away. “Wanna see what I drew at pre-k?”

“Yeah. Let’s see it.”

The video got a little shaky as William moved to grab his drawing, while also trying not to let go of the tablet. A few moments later, he held up a piece of paper with a childish drawing on it. “It’s a robot! I drew it ‘cause Lisy likes them. And this is a doggy, ‘cause we both like em, Daddy. And then I drew the spaceship we made with Auntie Thea, ‘cause I don’t know what her favorite animal is.”

“She likes dogs and cats.” Oliver’s app said. He had a smile on his face when he remembered the time Thea found an abandoned kitten and begged Robert and Moira to let her keep it as a pet. They insisted she was too young for the responsibility of a pet, so Robert convinced her it was a tiger and said he needed to take the kitten back to its parents. Instead, he took it to the animal shelter. “And it’s a great drawing.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Felicity?” Oliver asked.

“It’s a fantastic drawing, especially the robot.” She said. “Very cool.”

“Did you hear that, Mommy? Lisy said my robot was cool!” William said.

“I heard. I told you she’d like the drawing.” Samantha said off-screen. “I’m gonna go into the kitchen for a little bit, okay? So that you, your dad and Felicity can talk. Come get me when you’re ready to say bye-bye.”

“Okay.” He said.

“Your birthday is coming up, William. Are you excited?” Felicity asked. His birthday was almost a month away, but to a kid, that was really soon.

“Uh-huh.” He said. “I’m gonna be six. That’s more than a whole hand! When I’m six, if a grown-up asks how old I am, I get to say “this many”.” He propped the tablet down so that he could still be seen and held up six fingers.

“That’s true.” Oliver said, via his app. “Do you know what you want for your birthday?”

“I dunno.” He said. “Wanna see my toys?” He picked up the tablet and walked over to where his big box of toys were. He then spent a few minutes pulling out some of his favorites to show Oliver and Felicity. He then decided they should see his room, so he showed it to them and made sure to point out his stuffed animals and the cool rocket sheets he had.

“William, we have a surprise for you too.” Felicity said.

“A surprise?”

She looked at Oliver. “Did your mom tell you that, next weekend, you’re gonna be spending the weekend with me and Felicity?”

“Uh-huh. You’re gonna come here and we’re gonna take the train to your house.” He said. “I’m very excited!”

“We’re excited too.” Oliver said. “Do you wanna see your room at our house?”

“Please, please, please, please, please.” He said. “I wanna see.”

“All right. Let’s go see it.” He handed his phone to Felicity so that he could listen to William tell him about his week while they made their way upstairs. They walked into the small bedroom with light blue walls. The bed had generic blue sheets and, while it was a good bedroom for the boy, it didn’t have any real personality. Oliver turned the camera around so that William could see the room.

“Now, I know it doesn’t have your cool rocket ship sheets, but I’ll go to the store to get some.” Felicity said. “Other than that, what do you think?”

“I like it. It’s blue.”

“We thought you might.” Oliver had his app read aloud. “So, you think this is a cool room for when you spend the night here?”

“Very cool.” The little boy said. “How many toys can I bring with me when I come visit?”

“Well, we have some toys here, like LEGOs and Hot Wheels.” Or at least, they would have some by the time William came to stay. “So, you don’t need to bring all your toys back and forth. It might make your suitcase heavy.”

“But can I bring my robot? I didn’t get to bring him last time.”

“Yes, you can bring your robot if you want to.”

“Yay! Tomorrow, I’m going to the park with Courtney and Mike and I’m gonna tell them all about my new room.”

“Who are Courtney and Mike?” Oliver asked him.

“Courtney watches me sometimes if Mommy has to go somewhere. She’s really nice. Mike is her step-brother. Courtney's mommy was the lady who came with me to meet you.” William said.

Oliver, William and Felicity spoke for a while longer and then Samantha said it was almost time for dinner. No one could believe that over two hours had passed. Samantha told William to say goodbye and wash-up for dinner.

Will grumbled about it, but said goodbye to Oliver and Felicity and handed the tablet to his mother.

“Is 7pm good for Wednesday?” Samantha asked him. “You won’t be able to talk to him for as long, but I don’t wanna not give you enough time.”

Oliver signed his response and Felicity answered. “7 is good.” Oliver then continued signing. “Oliver said he sent your lawyer an email, with questions for when William is spending the weekend with us. He was wondering if she passed it along to you?”

“Yes, she did. I haven’t had a chance to look it over yet, but I’ll try to get it back to Camille in the next few days. Was any of it pressing?”

“Some of it is, some isn’t as critical. We wanted to know if William’s allergic to anything and what his normal routine is and stuff of that nature.”

“I’ll try to get it back to him when I can.” Samantha said. “I guess I’ll talk to you on Wednesday. Have a good one.”

“You too.” They both waved before signing off.

“Well, that was fun.” Felicity said. “And William seems excited to come stay with us.”

‘Yeah, he does. Oh! I forgot to ask him if he’d seen Kung Fu Panda since he likes pandas. Or is he too young for that?’

“No, I think he’s old enough. And you can tell him about the movie marathon on Wednesday.”

‘That’s also true.’ He said. ‘So, we’ve unpacked, and we’re all alone. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

“You know what, Oliver, I think I might be.” She said with a smirk. It was time to christen the new house. “I think the new master bedroom is the perfect place to start. We need to test out the new bed, after all.”

In a fluid motion, Oliver picked Felicity up bridal style and carried her upstairs. She laughed as he did so.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 122

Summary:

The team makes a big discovery and watches some movies.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After ending the video call with Oliver and Felicity, Samantha and William sat down to eat dinner. Will told his mother about the conversation he’d just had with them. The little boy was very excited to see Oliver next week and clearly having Oliver in his life made him happy. Seeing how happy William was about having his father in his life and getting to spend time with him made Samantha feel a little guilty. She was the reason William hadn’t had a relationship with Oliver earlier. Moira was partially responsible as well, but Samantha was the one who took the check from Moira and Samantha was the one to call Oliver and lie to him about a miscarriage. She couldn’t place the full blame at Moira’s feet any longer.

“-wonder if Lisy will help me make one!” William said, getting his mother’s attention. “Do you think she will?” Samantha hadn’t been fully paying attention to what Will had been saying, so she wasn’t sure what he was asking about. “Daddy and Auntie Thea said she makes robots for her job. Do you think she’ll show me how to make one?”

Robots. He was talking about robots. She should’ve guessed since robots were William’s self-proclaimed “favorite thing ever”. She finished chewing and then answered. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her about it when you talk to them in a few days?”

“Okay.”

After dinner, William asked if he could watch some cartoons, which Samantha agreed to. While he was watching TV, she decided to open the email she’d gotten from Camille, the one Oliver had asked about. There was a document attached with a list of questions about William. She was somewhat startled to realize that there were over two dozen questions written down.

Was William allergic to anything? What foods did he like or dislike? Did he have any medical conditions? What’s William’s nighttime routine? Does he need a nightlight? Does he need to take naps? If so, what time during the day? Is he scared of anything like spiders or thunderstorms?

Oliver had asked questions about every single thing he might ever need to know about William and sent them to Camille. She was torn between being annoyed by the number of questions, or being happy that Oliver was taking the upcoming visit so seriously and wanted William to have a nice time. Annoyance won out, slightly, as she began typing up her answers to the questions.

 

Oliver carried Felicity upstairs to their new bedroom and gently placed her down on the bed. She sat up and pulled him closer to her. After taking off his shirt, she pulled him down onto the bed with her. As they kissed, Oliver somewhat clumsily took Felicity’s shirt and bra off. After a bit more fumbling, both of their pants also came off.

Then, Oliver pulled away. Felicity tilted her head in concern. “Something wrong?”

‘Nope. Just wanted to take a second to enjoy the view.’

“Oliver Queen, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to seduce me.” She said playfully.

‘You got me naked first, so who is seducing who?’ He responded before joining her on the bed once again. He leaned over her and started kissing down her neck. He then slowly started to kiss down her chest, making sure to give her breasts some much needed attention before continuing his journey downwards. He was kissing around her navel when she spoke again.

“Oliver, I love you, and I love that you wanna take your time, enjoy the moment, but I’ve been in the mood all day. And for the first time in days, we don’t have to worry about being too loud.” She said. She loved Oliver and she loved that he always took his time with her, but right now, she really wanted his dick, or some other body part, inside her. Slow love-making could come later. “So-.”

‘You want me to move a little faster?’ He asked. ‘You’re bossy. I like it.’ He moved further down and moved one of her legs over his shoulder before putting his head in between her thighs.

“Sorry, I just- Oh!” She exclaimed.

An hour later, when they were both very sweaty and a little sore, Felicity’s stomach let out a rumbling noise. They hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so Oliver offered to make something.

“You don’t need to make anything. We spent most of the day moving. We can just have leftovers.” She said. She looked around her office, the last room they’d gone into. “I think we can declare this house officially christened.”

‘Me too.’

After getting dressed, Oliver reheated some leftovers of Friday night’s dinner and they ate while talking about a few minor changes they wanted to make in the house. After dinner, they showered together before heading to the foundry for patrol that night.

 

When they reached the foundry, Roy, Thea, Donna, Digg and Lyla were already there. Tommy and McKenna had had dinner plans and were on their way. Sara and Nyssa arrived a few minutes after Oliver and Felicity.

“Okay, it looks like the only vigilante we’re missing is Slade for right now.” Felicity said.

“He better be here soon.” Sara said. The others gave her odd looks. “He had a date with my mother tonight, and I know he didn’t stand her up, but- well, he’s on a date with my mom. I don’t wanna sit here and think about what they might be doing if they’ve finished dinner and he’s not here.” Sara didn’t have an issue with Slade dating her mother, but she also didn’t want to think too hard about what that might mean.

“Who’s not here?” Slade asked.

“You.” Lyla said. She didn’t mention what Sara had been implying.

“Dinner ran a little long, because we were having such a wonderful conversation.” He said. “I’m also not the only one we seem to be waiting on.”

“Tommy and McKenna are on their way.” Thea said.

“I hope she had a chance to talk with her captain.” Felicity said. The concerns McKenna had shared with the team, the ones Sergeant Flannery of the drug unit had raised, were important and she wanted to address them as soon as possible. Felicity had given McKenna a list of questions to ask the acting commissioner, or another high-ranking officer and she was hoping McKenna might have gotten an answer to some of those questions.

While the vigilantes were changing into their armor, Tommy and McKenna arrived. Before Felicity could even ask if the detective had spoken to Pike, McKenna handed her a small box.

“Pike ok’d me giving you one of the earwigs we use for things like sting operations and drug busts. I’m waiting for one of the tech people to get me a copy of the specs to give to you, but I figured I should at least give you what I have now.” She said.

Felicity took the earwig out of the box and started to inspect it. “This isn’t terribly incompatible with what we use, so we might be able to fix the issue pretty easily.”

“Good to know.” McKenna said. “I also gave Pike the list of skills, knowledge and capabilities that all of you have that I know about, including what Overwatch can do.”

“How specific were you with that list?” Sara asked. “Did you say exactly who knows how to do what? Because a few of us have…..hidden talents. Or ones that can only be learned in a few ways.”

“With the exception of Overwatch’s hacking and tech abilities, I didn’t specify who could do what. I said someone had experience with chemistry and forensics. A few of you have medical knowledge. Some can hack, but not as well as Overwatch. Between the group, someone speaks French, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin and Cantonese-.”

“I also speak Japanese, in case that ever comes up.” Slade said.

“All right, I’ll give them an update.” She said. “I don’t know how often skills beyond you guys being multilingual or Felicity being able to hack the NSA from a cellphone will come up to be honest.”

“You hacked the NSA from your phone?” Roy asked the blonde.

“I’ve never hacked the NSA, on my phone or otherwise.” Felicity said. “Only thing I’ve hacked from my phone was Chien Na Wei’s car when she was chasing us. And all I did was make her crash into a pole.”

‘So, now the SCPD has an idea of what we can and can’t help with, aside from our obvious fighting skills.’ Oliver said, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

“Yup. And the drug unit wanted to ask Overwatch for a favor.” She said. “All the cops that went to the drug bust had bodycams, and the footage is clear enough to see, but too dark for their system to clearly get an image of the Count’s face to compare with previous arrests or DMV photos. They’re hoping you might have a trick or two up your sleeve.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I want you to pass along an important caveat to Pike and the other SCPD leadership when it comes to something like this if it comes up in the future. Because facial recognition is a very slippery slope when it comes to law enforcement and I have ways of IDing people who are hiding or obscuring their faces.” Felicity said. “I only feel comfortable using the programs I’ve created that can enhance images or videos, or ID people, in situations where the person involved is dangerous or an active threat to people. Or in the case of victims who can’t easily be identified.”

“I will tell them that you’ll only use the tech you have in certain situations. And only as you deem necessary.” She then handed the blonde a disk. “This was the clearest footage the drug unit was able to get. Anything you can do to enhance it is appreciated.”

Felicity put the disk into her computer and started running a program to increase the contrast in the footage, making it easier to distinguish people in the room. As she worked, Lyla, Oliver, Slade, Sara and Nyssa prepared to leave.

“Oh, wait, before anyone goes anywhere!” Thea said. “I know who Isabel Rochev is.”

“You do?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah, I kinda- I told you that Roy, Walter and I had lunch with Mom. I kinda left out that during lunch, I asked her about Dad’s letter. And who Isabel Rochev is.” She said. “She was a QC intern that Dad had an affair with. He almost left Mom for her.”

‘I don’t see why Dad couldn’t have just said that. Or why it means I need to stay away from her.’ Oliver said.

“When Robert didn’t leave your mother, your mom probably made him end things. And maybe didn’t want that woman around her husband.” Digg said. “So, in one fell swoop, Isabel would’ve lost her.....boyfriend and her internship. And I doubt Queen Consolidated would’ve given her a recommendation either.”

“According to Mom, she’s now a VP of some company.” Thea said. 

“Doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be pissed.” Donna said. “She might actually be angrier now than she was back when that letter was written.” Regardless of whether Isabel seduced Robert or if he pursued her, there was a big power imbalance at play in their relationship, and something like that only seemed worse in hindsight, especially if she felt like she’d been pressured or taken advantage of. “Though, I don’t think just being Robert Queen’s ex-lover would be the reason she’s on the Tempest List.”

“It’s probably not.” Felicity said. “So, I’m gonna look into Isabel a little bit, just in case.”

The vigilantes left for patrol while Felicity got some searches going and guided Thea through running some searches on Isabel. The blonde decided it was time for Thea to start “learning by doing” rather than just watching Felicity hack.

“Is the crime lab still testing that sample they got from this attempted bust?” Felicity asked McKenna about half an hour after Oliver and the others left.

“They were when I spoke with them around 1pm. They said the testing had finished, but they needed to determine what the results meant. Why?”

“You told us that one of the CSIs thought the drug had an impurity, right? I was thinking about it and, well, if there’s an impurity in the water, there are only so many places in the city he could be getting the water from. There’s the reservoir and the bay.” She said. “And if the crime lab can tell us what elements are in the water-.”

“You can figure out where it’s being made.”

“Yup. If we figure out the water source, we find where it’s being made. And once we know where it’s being made, it’s a lot easier to find him.”

“I know Sergeant Flannery, the head of the Vertigo investigation, put a rush on the testing, but that still means it takes a few days to get results.” McKenna said. “I don’t suppose you could narrow it down any with what we currently have?”

“That depends. Can you go upstairs and count slowly to one hundred?” Felicity asked. The detective went upstairs. “I don’t want to hack into the SCPD in front of her until we iron out a few details that acting Commissioner Pike hasn’t specifically agreed to as of now.”

“And why couldn’t she see you do that?” Thea asked.

“Plausible deniability. If McKenna didn’t see me hack into the SCPD, then she doesn’t have to lie if someone asks her if I did.” She said. She turned her attention to the screen and read the results. “Go get McKenna and tell her she can stop counting.”

Tommy ran upstairs to fetch his girlfriend. When they came back downstairs, Felicity was typing furiously on her keyboard and McKenna assumed it meant Felicity had found something.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Call Pike or Flannery or whoever. I know where the Count’s making Vertigo.” Felicity said. She then turned to the mic she used to talk to the team “Can I assume all of you can hear me?”

Lyla, Sara, Nyssa and Slade all confirmed that they could hear her and Oliver did a thumbs up where she could see from his bodycam.

“Flannery, I’m here with Overwatch.” McKenna said. “Putting you on speaker.”

“Hello?” Flannery said.

Felicity pressed a button to disguise her voice. “Hi, this is Overwatch. The others are listening to us as well. The solvent in the Vertigo sample you acquired is run-off water from within a ten block radius of where the East Glades meets the bay.” Felicity said. “The only thing in the area is an old juvenile detention center that was closed back in 2010 due to budget cuts.”

“That’s where he’s making the drugs?” Flannery asked. 

“Yup. Do you want us to meet you there and assist in apprehending him or do you and your unit wanna handle this on your own?”

“Well, given how much of a shitshow our last attempt was, we could use the help.” He said. “Did we find a solution to the earwig problem?”

“Not a permanent solution, but I can come up with something to work for tonight in about….ten minutes.” She said.

“I’ll get my guys ready and head over there.” Flannery said. “Should I just call Hall back when we’re approaching?”

“Yes.” McKenna said before ending the call. 

About twenty minutes later, Flannery called McKenna. Felicity had jerry-rigged something to get the Team Arrow comms to work on the same system as the SCPD’s. As she told everyone, it was only a temporary fix, but it would work for tonight. Once the two groups could talk to each other, they spent a few moments discussing how they wanted to move forward. Flannery wanted the SCPD  to infiltrate the building first and for half of Team Arrow to watch the perimeter with some cops while the other half went in to try and apprehend the Count and as many of his underlings as possible.

“Oh, one more thing.” Felicity said as they were finishing their status conference. “I was able to clean up the bodycam video Detective Hall gave me, from the operation a few nights ago and found a frame that was clear enough for me to run facial recognition on. Our friend the Count is actually Cecil Adams. Who should I send the photo to? I know you’re probably gonna wanna run your own analysis on it.”

“Uh-.”

“I’ll handle that.” McKenna said. “You focus on the task at hand.” She ended the call and everyone waited with baited breath as the SCPD, Oliver, Lyla and Sara moved into position.

 

The Count was overseeing some of his men packaging up the Vertigo pills when he heard a commotion near the front of the building. Not long after, one of his men ran into the room. “They’re here!”

“They who?” The Count asked.

“Cops!”

“Oh, is that all?” He asked. “I was concerned for a moment.”

He then heard a crash behind him. Two of the people who he’d paid to manufacture Vertigo lay passed out with arrows sticking out of their shoulders. “You should be.” Harbinger said. The Arrow and Canary were behind her, fighting a few of the Count’s other goons.

“You should’ve stuck to your depraved elite.” The Count said. “All I’m doing is providing this city with a service. I’m giving them what they want.”

“And what about the people you killed to perfect your recipe? Did they “want” you to experiment on them?”

“I didn’t stop to ask.” He said, raising his gun. It was knocked out of his hand by the Arrow, who barely avoided cutting the Count with the arrow he fired.

Some of the Count’s underlings tried to make a break for it, but ran into the cops making their way into the building or were caught by Guardian and Artemis on their way out of the backdoor. A handful actually escaped but the majority weren’t so lucky.

Flannery entered the room where the Count had been making the Vertigo and found him fighting Harbinger. She was clearly winning, but the sergeant didn’t want to intervene and possibly hurt her. Unaware of his surroundings, the Count crashed into a table and knocked a large beaker of something over and it splashed all over his hand, arm and the right side of his chest. He then began to seize. His opponent immediately shifted gears.

“Do you know if Vertigo can be absorbed  through the skin?” Harbinger asked Flannery.

“I don’t know.” He said before yelling over his shoulder. “Call a medic!”

“Overwatch, do you know if Vertigo can be taken through the skin?” Lyla asked.

“I don’t know, but most illegal drugs can be taken transdermally.” Felicity said. “And if that beaker was full of pure Vertigo, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that he’s feeling some kind of an effect.”

An EMT arrived to check on the Count, so the vigilantes and the police moved back to give them space. The Count might not survive or be healthy enough to stand trial, but the drug-making operation had been shut down and that was more important than his individual arrest.

Once the building had been cleared, Flannery sent the rest of his unit home and found himself alone with Team Arrow. “I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to say here. I don’t know how long this might’ve taken without the extra help.” He turned to look at the detention center. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks.” He turned back to where they were, but the group was gone. “And now, I’m talking to myself. Great.”

A CSI unit was sent out to process the detention center and discovered the very unsettling truth about Vertigo. The Count hadn’t killed one or two people perfecting his drug; he was responsible for 56 deaths in connection to the drug.

 

Sunday morning, William found Courtney and Mike at the park and told them all about his conversation with Oliver and Felicity and how excited he was that he was going to spend the whole weekend with his dad next week.

The step-siblings listened eagerly as the little boy told them about his plans to get Felicity to help him make a robot and to build LEGOs with his dad.

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” Courtney said. “You gotta tell me all about it when you come back.”

“I will!” Will said. “Wanna play on the jungle gym now?”

They got off the swings and moved over to the jungle gym. William listened as Mike talked about the new video game he’d just gotten, the latest Pokemon game. Samantha said her son wasn’t old enough to play video games yet, but he liked listening to Mike telling him about the story in the game. It was a bit like storytime at school.

After playing for a few hours, William went home with his mother. Samantha spent the whole time they’d been at the park working on answering all the questions Oliver had asked about taking care of William. When she mentioned to Barb Whitmore that it seemed excessive, she was surprised by what the other woman said.

“Do you remember what it felt like when you brought William home from the hospital and for the first time you were alone with a baby that needed you? Or the first time he got sick and you had no idea what to do?”

“Yeah.”

“I imagine that’s how Oliver feels now. He’s going to be responsible for William next weekend and he’s scared he’s gonna mess it up. And, yes, if Will was allergic to a certain food, he’s old enough to tell someone, but it’s better to ask you just in case. It might seem overboard to you, but he wants to be a good parent.”

“How can you know that? You met him once.”

“You do remember that I’m a social worker, right? I spend most of my time observing parents and kids and having to determine whether or not parents are able to take care of their kids.”

 

Around 11, people started coming over to Felicity and Oliver’s house for the Kung Fu Panda movie marathon. Nyssa and Sara were the first to arrive, but Roy and Thea decided to come as well. Digg and Lyla said they wouldn’t be coming, but they hadn’t gotten answers from anyone else. Felicity decided to put something into the group text.

From: Felicity: We’re gonna start our movie marathon soon. If anyone’s on their way, speak up and we’ll wait.

From: Tommy: Not coming, but for a second, I thought you were gonna say “speak now or forever hold your peace”.

From: Thea: That’s what they say at weddings, genius.

From: Tommy: Which is why I thought it was weird!

From: Walter: I will not be joining you today for the movie marathon.

From: Donna: Just got off the phone with Bubbe. Be there soon.

They waited for Donna to arrive and then Felicity pressed play to start the movie. The opening of the movie was very dramatic, showing a mysterious warrior with legendary kung fu skills who fought alongside the best kung fu masters in the world.

“When you’re facing the ten thousand demons of Demon Mountain, there’s only one thing that matters.” The narrator said. “And that’s-.”

“Po! Get up!” Monkey, one of the kung fu masters, said.

“You’ll be late for work!” Another master, Tigress, added.

“What?” Po, the main character, asked as he woke up and fell out of bed.

Thea burst out laughing at the sudden reveal that the opening was just a dream Po was having. In retrospect, the narration up to that point had been a little ridiculous.

They made it through the first movie fairly quickly. Sara said afterwards that the whole “there is no secret ingredient” thing was a bit cheesy, but it was a kid’s movie after all.

“I still do not understand why he is a panda.” Nyssa said.

“Why not a panda?” Donna countered. “Movies don’t always have to be realistic or make sense. They just need to entertain.”

They took a break for lunch and then started watching Kung Fu Panda 2. The themes and story of that film hit Oliver, Sara and Nyssa a little bit harder than the first one did. The theme of recovering from a traumatic past hit hard, even though the film wasn’t primarily about that. Nyssa also had a strong opinion about Shen, the villain of the second movie.

“His actions remind me of my father.” She said.

“Your father would kill a whole village of people because of some prophecy?” Thea asked, slightly freaked out.

Nyssa didn’t say he would or wouldn’t, but instead clarified what she meant. “I feel that, if my father were told of a prophecy, his attempt to thwart it would lead to it coming true. I could very easily see him doing that.”

“Yeah, I can too.” Sara said. “I never expected to say your father and a cartoon peacock were similar, but here we are.”

“The more I hear about Nyssa’s father, the more he sounds like a Bond villain.” Felicity said. “Actually, no, Malcolm’s basically a Bond villain. I can’t really name the image I’m getting when it comes to Nyssa’s father, all I know is that I never wanna meet him. No offense.”

“I do not take offense to that at all.” She said.

‘I thought the films were cute.’ Oliver said. ‘Entertaining and mostly light-hearted. I liked them.’

The others agreed who hadn’t seen the films before. Oliver then asked if anyone wanted snacks and the conversation moved away from Nyssa’s father or Malcolm.

 

Dinan was in the bullpen of the SCPD when she got a call from an unknown number. “Hello?”

“Is this CGIS Special Agent Dinan?” A woman’s voice asked on the other end of the line.

“Yes.”

"Jessica Melendez, I work for ARGUS. Director Grant asked me to give you a call so that I can confirm when someone will be at the SCPD precinct located at 19th Street tomorrow.” The woman said. 

“There’s someone here pretty much around the clock. What’s this about?”

“You requested a file from us and we’re sending it via courier.”

“You don’t need to do all of that. You can just email it or fax it.”

“Oh, I wish we could.” Melendez said. “The file’s actually too large to email and faxing it isn’t an option either. We’re putting it all on a hard drive and shipping it to you.”

“How many pages is this file?”

“The whole file is…..I don’t have a page count here. But it’s big.” The ARGUS agent said. “It’ll be delivered between 9 and 10 AM tomorrow.”

Dinan got off the phone and called Anderson. After realizing how much data they were about to get, she wanted every agent that wasn’t working on something critical to be available to help go through the file. Anderson didn’t disagree.

 

Barry finished the speech he’d prepared and waited for Iris to say something. He’d spent a few days trying to figure out what to say and when they drove over to Joe West’s house for Sunday night dinner, it had all come spilling out.

“Have you told Dad about this?” She asked.

“No, I- Joe’s been great to me, but...this has always been a point of contention between us.” He said. “He’s my foster dad but he’s also the detective who sent my dad to prison for killing my mom. I don’t want him to-.”

“I know.” She said. “So, your plan is to go to Starling and ask the Arrow to help solve your mom’s murder?”

“If I can. Don’t ask me how I’m gonna find him, but-. I know it's a long shot, you don’t need to tell me that, but I know what I saw that night. And I know that my dad didn’t-.”

“Okay.” She said. “I’m not gonna try to talk you out of it, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m just- I’m worried you’re going to get your hopes up. Just because the Arrow solved Rebecca Merlyn’s murder doesn’t mean-.”

“Doesn’t mean he can solve my mom’s. I know.” Barry said. “But I need to try.”

“When are you going to Starling?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m waiting for Captain Singh to approve my vacation request.” He said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 123

Summary:

Dinah and Slade get closer, Laurel takes a step forward and Waller finds herself in a situation she really didn't want to be in.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Dinah and Slade walked along the waterfront near the Starling City Bay. It was a nice day for March in the Pacific Northwest, so there were quite a few other groups out and about. Dinah had decided that one of the advantages to dating at her age was that there wasn’t the need to constantly do something on a date. When she was younger, dates had to be dinner and a movie, or going bowling or going to some kind of event. Now, she could just go to dinner or walk along the waterfront with someone, simply spending time with the person she was dating, and that was enough.

“I had no idea this area was down here.” Slade said, looking around. There were quite a few restaurants and shops along the waterfront. 

“Not a lot of people who aren’t from here know about it.” Dinah said. “Except for during tourist season when people flock here to kayak in the bay or do one of those dinner cruises.” She then paused. “This isn’t too much for you is it? With the bay being right there and-,”

“The ocean and boats don’t bother me. I arrived on Lian Yu by plane.” He said. “Oliver and Sara- I don’t think anyone would begrudge them wanting to stay away from both.”

“I certainly don’t.” She said. She wanted to avoid asking him too much about what happened on the island, feeling like she already knew more than she wanted to, so she changed the subject. Only, she couldn’t think of what to say.

“Why is there a crowd taking pictures of a coffee shop?” He asked, gesturing to a group taking pictures outside of a Jitters about fifty yards from them.

“Because that’s the first ever Jitters. The chain started right here in Starling.” She said. “It’s something for the city to brag about, and when visitors go home, they can say that they had coffee at the original Jitters.”

“Seems weird to me, but I suppose it’s their vacation.” He said with a shrug. “Not the weirdest tourist destination though.”

“What’s the weirdest?”

“The United States has something called the “world mustard museum” and a lot of other museums and “world’s biggest whatever” spots. As for Australian tourism, the weirdest thing I hear about people doing is coming to see kangaroos. I don’t understand why people would spend that long on a plane to take photos of those buggers. They’re not that interesting. Or rare.” He said. “It’s like if I flew all the way to the US just to take a picture of a deer.”

“I suppose that would seem weird.” She said. “What’s the rest of- what does Felicity Smoak call them? Team Oliver?- do you know what they’re doing today?”

“Yeah, that’s what she calls us. And you’re on Team Oliver too. We took a vote and it’s been decided.” He joked. “Some of them are watching some movie about a panda doing karate. I don’t know about the others.”

“You mean Kung Fu Panda? The kid’s movie?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” He said. “Felicity found out that there were a lot of movies Nyssa had never seen, given her strict upbringing, and has taken it upon herself to right that wrong. They did Star Wars already and I guess this week, they wanted something light.”

“She’d never seen Star Wars? Sara told me Nyssa had had an isolated childhood, but I didn’t realize she’d been that shut off from the rest of the world.”

Laurel spent pretty much her whole day Sunday in her cell writing in her notebook. Sara and Nyssa’s visit had given her a great deal to think about both for her creative writing class and for other things she needed to say. She and her cellmate had come to an agreement, where each pretended that the other one didn’t exist as much as possible, so she didn’t have to deal with the woman while also trying to get all of her feelings and ideas out.

She was surprised at how cathartic it felt to put some of the ideas she had and things she needed to say on paper. In hindsight, she realized it shouldn’t have surprised her, given how she felt after writing her letter to Sara recently, but as she filled several pages, she realized how much she’d been holding inside.

“Are you, like, trying to write the next great American novel over there or something?” Her cellmate asked. The prisoner had been gone for over an hour, but Laurel was in the exact same position as when she left.

“No.” She said before turning her attention back to the notebook and continuing to write.

 

Tommy was sitting in his hotel room, going through some paperwork about reopening his mother’s clinic when he heard a knock at the door, followed by McKenna calling his name. He answered the door and tried not to look worried. He hadn’t been expecting her and the only time she’d come to see him without at least texting first was when it was work related. Since there were only two things she might be here for if it was work related, he supposed she probably had news about Malcolm.

“Did you find him?” He asked as he let her into the room.

“Did we find who?” She responded.

“No one.” He said, trying to seem nonchalant. “What’s up?”

“There’s something that’s been on my mind for a while. And I don’t wanna be one of those girlfriends who just lets things build up. I don’t think that’s healthy and I don’t really need that kinda stress.”

“Okay.”

“It’s about Oliver’s night-time activities.” She said. “More importantly, the fact that you were aware of them. Were you- did you- when-?”

“Let me guess, you wanna ask if I was ever going to tell you, but you don’t want it to come out wrong, like you don’t trust me or something to that effect.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, I planned to tell you.” He said. “I actually had this whole plan worked out to tell you, but I wanted to run it by Ollie and Lyla first since it's more their secret than mine. And then, of course, before I could, everything happened with Mars, Deadshot and Sara, so it was kinda a moot point.”

“How were you gonna tell me?” She wondered.

“I was gonna tell you that I knew the Arrow and Harbinger and then bring you to meet everyone.” He said. “I didn’t want to hide part of my life from you, any part of my life. I just hadn’t had time to figure out what to say and how to say it before you found out on your own.”

“That makes sense. And I’m sorry if I went about this-.”

“There’s not really an easy way to start that kinda conversation. Let’s be honest, no one wants their boyfriend or girlfriend to ask them how long they planned on lying to them.”

“Mhm.” She said. “Who did you think I found? When you opened the door, you asked if I found “him”. Who were you talking about?”

“Malcolm.” He said. “I wasn’t expecting you to come over and the only other time you’ve come over without sending me a text or something was when it was work-related. And since you’d go see Ollie if the work-related thing had to do with the Arrow, I figured it had to be about my dad.”

“I texted you that I was on my way and I wanted to talk to you about something.” She said. 

Tommy looked at his phone and noticed the indicator light was blinking, saying he had a notification. “Well, I guess it helps if I check my phone before I start freaking out about stuff.”

“Yeah, maybe. And no, we haven’t found him as far as I know.”

 

Although it hadn’t been made official, Lyla had essentially moved into Digg’s apartment since coming to see him in December. He certainly wasn’t going to complain about living with Lyla again, but it did cause some weird moments, like items in his apartment not being in the normal spot where he normally put them, or finding random things he hadn’t had before.

“Where did this corkscrew come from?” He asked as he was looking through one of the drawers in his kitchen.

“Oh, that’s mine.” She said. “I must’ve tossed it in there when I was unpacking my bag.”

“You just walk around with a corkscrew in your suitcase?”

“They make very good impromptu weapons. And you can get one through the TSA line.” She said. “Don’t worry. I’ve never used that one as a weapon.”

“Good to know. And a little scary.” He said as he found the item he’d been looking for. “How are you feeling?”

“About what?”

“Life, your testimony, what happened with the Count, all of the above.” 

“I have no regrets about my testimony with the Senate committee. Waller’s gonna get her ass handed to her on a plate and no one deserves it more.” She said. “As for the Count, do I wish we’d been able to just arrest him? Yes. However, he didn’t escape, he’s not gonna be able to keep making Vertigo, and I did everything I could in the situation. As for life in general? Can’t complain.”

“Good.” He said. “Last night, everyone was so excited about stopping the Count, and we kinda skipped over how it happened and how you might feel about it.”

“I appreciate the concern, Johnny, but I’m fine.”

 

After the movie marathon ended, Nyssa, Sara, Thea, Roy and Donna stayed at the house to talk for a little bit. Sara, Thea, Nyssa and Roy were brainstorming, trying to decide what the next movie choice should be while Felicity and Oliver were talking to Donna.

“So, how’s Bubbe?” Felicity asked.

“She’s good. She’s been bugging me to visit and bring both of you with me soon. I told her we’d pay her a visit when we come to Vegas to pack up my apartment.” She said.

‘And when do you wanna do that?’ Oliver asked. ‘You have to be moved out by the end of April, right?’

“Yes, the end of April, but I don’t see a reason to wait. Next weekend is your first weekend with William, so it can’t be that weekend. The next Saturday is the 23rd. Then, there’s another William-weekend, and the one after that is April 6th.” She said. “I’m thinking the weeknd of the 23rd makes the most sense.”

“That’s right before Passover. You know she’s gonna give us an earful about not staying for Seder.” Felicity said.

“She’ll understand why we can’t stay longer than the weekend. We can FaceTime her during Seder, just like you’ve done for the last two years.” Donna said. “She wants to see you in person and she wants to meet Oliver and talk to him about something.”

‘What does she want to talk to me about?’ He asked.

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me, and when I asked her again, she said I wouldn’t understand.” She said. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

He seemed skeptical, but didn’t try to get more information. He had a feeling that Donna had told him everything she knew, so asking more questions would’ve just resulted in her telling him the same information that she had shared.

After talking for a little while longer to start planning the trip to Las Vegas in a few weeks, everyone ate dinner before heading to the foundry. Patrol was pretty boring for the night and nothing really noteworthy happened when the team was out on the streets.

 

Tommy sat nervously in his lawyer’s office early Monday morning. Today was the final big meeting to reopen the Rebecca Merlyn Clinic. Since Tommy didn’t have an office, and was living out of a hotel room, his lawyer’s office was the only place he could have a meeting like this. Malcolm’s office would’ve been acceptable, but Tommy didn’t want his mother’s clinic to be associated with Malcolm in any way, shape or form more than necessary.

The meeting was short and sweet. Tommy just needed to go over a few things with the senior staff of the clinic, the ones who’d be dealing with the day-to-day operations, get some forms signed and then all of the paperwork was done. The clinic needed to hire other staff, advertise the opening and stock up on supplies and equipment. He knew there was still a lot of work to be done before the clinic was fully reopened and operating, but he felt like he’d already accomplished more than he ever thought he would in his life.

 

Amanda Waller wouldn’t admit it, but as she was escorted through the Senate office building where her hearing was taking place, she felt the urge to try and psych herself up. The Senate couldn’t possibly know that much about what ARGUS had been up to. Lyla Michaels wouldn’t share too much information. This hearing was routine and more of an annoyance than anything else. All she had to do was answer a few questions, while being as vague as possible, and then she could get back to trying to recover her position within ARGUS.

She was placed under oath by the committee and took her seat, feeling confident about the hearing.

“Ms. Waller, where are Anatoly Knyazev, Chien Na Wei and Ben Turner?” The chairman asked.

Waller hadn’t expected that question, much less for it to be the first question he asked. It meant two things. Lyla Michaels had revealed more than Waller anticipated, and she wasn’t the only person  who’d testified on this matter. “All three are in ARGUS custody currently.”

“Where? I want to know their location, not just that they are in custody.” He asked.

“To the best of my knowledge, all three are being held at a facility in Louisiana, though since I’m no longer the director of ARGUS, it’s possible Director Grant may have moved them.”

“Very well. Please walk the committee through your thought process during the Moscow operation that happened in 2009 and 2010.”

“My thought process?”

“What compelled you to essentially press gang an untrained civilian into being an ARGUS operative?” A different Senator asked. “Why was this Citizen Bravo your only option for deep cover? Why does all evidence indicate that you sent Citizen Bravo on a suicide mission after the Moscow operation was over?”

Lyla had talked a lot more than Waller anticipated. This was going to be harder than she thought.

 

“How was your weekend?” Curtis asked Felicity when she got to the office. Ray Palmer waved to her, but was enthralled by the work he was doing, so he didn’t take his eyes off the microscope he was looking into.

“Pretty good. I moved and watched the two Kung Fu Panda movies.” She said. “How was yours?”

“Not bad. Paul and I just kinda had a lazy weekend.” He said. He then turned to Lyla. “We liked having Nyssa here, but we missed you last week. How was your trip to DC? I don’t wanna be too nosy, but it went well, right?”

“It went well. It was a tough two days of answering questions about events I didn’t want to relive, but I’m satisfied with how it went.” She said. 

“That’s good. I mean, it's not good that you had to relive all of that stuff, but I’m glad it went well.” He said.

“Thanks.”



Oliver got an email from Eliana Sanchez right after he got home from driving Thea to school. Oliver had provided a list of questions for Samantha, about William, and the woman had provided her answers to the questions. Oliver eagerly read through her responses. William didn’t have any food allergies, but there were a few foods he was picky about. She gave him a lot of detail about William’s nighttime routine as well. Oliver felt a lot better about the upcoming weekend, since he now had a better idea of what to feed William and how to make him feel more comfortable in a new place.

After reading over Samantha’s answers, Oliver grabbed his computer. The first thing he wanted to do was order some toys for William to play with when he was here. Once he’d bought a nice selection of things, he put the computer away and pulled out one of Felicity’s tricked-out tablets and got to work hacking. He wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening with the Bertinelli crime family and he hoped he’d find something useful very, very soon.

 

True to what Jessica Melendez had said, the hard drive from ARGUS arrived by courier at 9AM on Monday. Several agents stood around as Dinan, Reeves, Doyle and Anderson plugged in the hard drive and looked at the files.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Doyle said. “This is- there’s gotta be over a million pages of documents here.”

“That’s why we asked anyone not working on something else to be here to go through it.” Anderson said. “4587-C is over a million pages?”

“No, they- ARGUS sent a file with the number 4587. 4587-C must be a subfolder or something. It didn’t make sense why the filename would have numbers and letters, unless they have files inside of files, which seems pretty dumb to me anyway.”

“4587-C could still be thousands of pages.” Dinan said. “So, we should get started. It’s gonna be a long few days.”

“Is there a way to pull out the document we asked for from the pile?” Reeves asked.

“I don’t- wait, there was a piece of paper in the box it arrived in.” Doyle said. He looked through the box and found it. Handwritten on the paper were steps for how to navigate through the drive to find 4587-C. Cat Grant, or whoever had approved the request, seemed to realize that they wanted to see that document first. He followed the steps outlined and opened the document.

The first page seemed unremarkable. The second page was only notable because of the dates on the documents. Then, Doyle scrolled down to the third page.

“Are we looking at what I think we’re looking at?” 

“Yup.” Anderson said. The third page showed the schematics of the Queen’s Gambit, and the page was dated September 17, 2007. Why would ARGUS have the schematics of the yacht at all, much less before it was lost at sea? “Keep scrolling.”

The fourth page was a more zoomed-in schematic of the yacht. When they reached pages five through eight, none of the four could honestly believe what they were seeing. Not only did ARGUS have evidence the Queen’s Gambit was sabotaged, but also proof of who did it and where the explosives were most likely to have been placed aboard. All the documents were dated before the Gambit set sail and according to the metadata, had been added to the file between the middle of September 2007 and the first week of October 2007.

“I need to go call Director Lee.” Anderson said. “Now. Dinan or Doyle, I suggest you call your director as well.”

“Not to naysay, but we might be being a bit reactionary.” Reeves said. “We have no idea what the rest of 4587 has.”

“You’re right. We might be.” Dinan said. “But Waller had this information and didn’t share it with anyone. After the Gambit went missing, she made no attempt to give this information to the people searching for that vessel. Both of which are crimes. I’m gonna go call Director Webb. Send four or five documents, not part of 4587-C, to every agent that’s here. Tell them to flag anything suspicious, and I know that’s a broad category.”

Doyle and Reeves started doing that while Anderson and Dinan called their respective directors.  The FBI opened up an investigation into Waller herself, while Dinan’s call to CGIS Director Webb led to another call between herself, Webb, Admiral Tate and Secretary Graves.

“Waller’s in front of a Senate committee as we speak. I don’t wanna add this to their docket until we know more.” Graves said. “This also seems like it’s more of a Justice Department issue than a DHS one.”

“If I can interject, Mr. Secretary,” Director Webb said, “Do you know how it fits into the larger picture of the investigation? Or the large file you received?”

“No, sir, I don’t.” Dinan said. “We’re going through that file as we speak.”

“Outside of the task force, Director Grant and the people at ARGUS who handled the file, how many other people know about these documents?”

“A minimum of two, but possibly as many as six know about the specific documents that prompted this call.” She said.

“How do you arrive at that number?”

“Oliver Queen came to speak with me a few days ago, to give me a letter he had from his father that he thought might help our investigation. As he was leaving, he passed along a message from Lyla Michaels that we should request the documents we’re discussing.” She said. “There’s a very good chance that Lyla told him what the document was. It’s likely that Felicity Smoak also knows, as well as John Diggle, Sara Lance and possibly Sara’s girlfriend. Given what these documents imply, I don’t think he’d tell his sister, stepfather or any of his other friends.”

“So, Oliver Queen knows that the United States government became aware of the plot to sink the Queen’s Gambit and did nothing about it. And, ARGUS at least, made no attempt after the fact to try and find him or seek justice.” Graves said. “And I thought Moscow put us far enough up shit creek. I wanna know about any other developments of this nature for this investigation.”

“Agent Dinan, if you find anything else like this about Amanda Waller, you are to call me immediately.” Director Webb said. “And I will keep the Secretary updated.”

“Of course, sir.”

The call ended not long after that. When Dinan walked back out into the bullpen, the agents were still at work going through documents. She had a bad feeling that any new developments in this investigation weren’t going to be good ones.

 

Laurel watched as the prison therapist read over what she had written. She was nervous to discover the woman’s opinion of her words. The therapist finished reading and opened her mouth to speak.

“Before you say it, I know I can’t send these.” Laurel said. “The restraining order says I can’t contact Oliver or Felicity Smoak in any way. I know that."

“Good. So, your reason for writing these letters was as a therapeutic exercise?”

“Exactly. I- I doubt either of them wanna talk to me or hear from me again. And, objectively, I don’t blame them for that, but I- I do regret what I did, how I treated them. And I needed to get all of that out, all of my apologies out, somehow.”

“And, now that you’ve written all of this down, what do you plan to do next?”

“I’m not sure.” She admitted. “Like I said, I can’t send them out, but-.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.” The doctor said. “You’ve reconciled with your sister. You haven’t reconciled with Oliver Queen or Felicity Smoak, but you’re at least able to acknowledge what you did and how it affected them. What happens now?”

“I guess Tommy and my friend Joanna would be next. I might not have done anything to them, but I should apologize for what they went through during that time.”

“Not a bad place to start.” The therapist said. “Going back to Mr. Queen and Ms. Smoak for a moment, what happens when you run into them again?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were convicted of several misdemeanors and all combined, you were given a three-year sentence with the opportunity for parole. Or you could get time off for good behavior. Meaning sometime in the next two years anf eight months, you’ll be released, which isn’t very long when you think about it.” The therapist said. “Let’s say that, after you’ve been released, you’re at the grocery store, or walking through the mall, and you see Oliver, Felicity or both. What do you do?”

“Probably leave, or awkwardly turn around to avoid them.”

“Would you really do that? Or are you just telling me what you think your answer should be?”

“No, I’d actually leave.” She said. “What happened didn’t just send me to prison. I lost my job, I lost my ability to practice law. I humiliated myself, publicly, over it. I have no interest in doing that a second time.”

“Good. Part of my job is to try and reduce recidivism. Saying you don’t hold a grudge or that you wouldn’t repeat your mistakes is easy enough in here, when there’s no chance of you running into either of them. It’s harder to know if that’s gonna stick once you leave.”

“Well, I have almost three years to work through my feelings. Hopefully, by the time I’ve worked through everything I need to work through and come to terms with what’s happened.”

“I don’t think it’ll take that long, but yes, that’s the idea.” The doctor said. “How is the creative writing class going?”

 

Amanda Waller made it through her first day of testimony without pleading the fifth, barely. She knew she could’ve invoked her right against self-incrimination, but she also knew that refusing to answer made her look guilty. The Senate knew far more than it should about what had happened and what ARGUS had been up to. They knew about everything that happened in Moscow, and her sending Oliver back to Lian Yu, though his name or the island’s name wasn’t mentioned. They even seemed to know about Task Force X, though not many details, which shouldn’t have been possible. She also had no idea why they were calling Oliver Queen “Citizen Bravo” and not his name. 

After the hearing had ended for the day, Waller went back to the base where she was staying and had a short meeting with her lawyer about what had occurred and how to prepare for the next day’s testimony.

“Is there a reason why they seem allergic to calling Oliver Queen by his name?” She asked in the middle of her lawyer trying to discuss strategy with her.

“It’s not in the report. Probably by design.” The lawyer said. “And you want to keep his name off the record.”

“Why should I?”

“Well, if he’s named on the record, that’s gonna get out. And I don’t know what he might do, but I can imagine the Queen family lawyers would love to take you and the federal government to court. Only, the United States government isn’t easy to sue, you are. Not to mention the calls for you to be charged criminally for kidnapping him, forcing him to work for you, falsely imprisoning him. The public would love to see that too. And all of the constitutional rights that you trampled over.”

“What constitutional rights of his have I violated?”

“If he gets a good enough lawyer, he could argue that you violated one or two of his basic rights. Hell, he's got the money to argue that you violated his human rights if he really wanted to. Where you’re currently completely screwed is when it comes to the ARGUS prisoners. You pretty much violated every amendment relating to the criminal justice process. And the government isn’t gonna wanna be dragged down with you, especially for that kind of thing.” If someone was arrested, they had to be charged with a crime. If they were imprisoned, they needed to get a trial, and have a lawyer. Waller had ignored all of those things and decided those rules didn't apply to her.

“What’s your advice, then, as my lawyer?”

“Stop trying to side-step the issue. They ask you a question, you should answer it without trying to play dumb or hide stuff. They always find out anyway. You made your bed, lie in it.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 124

Summary:

Someone considers their next move, Cat Grant learns something unsettlingly and Oliver thinks about his mother.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Eobard Thawne pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the headline from the 2024 newspaper once again. The headline still wasn’t reading “FLASH MISSING- VANISHES IN CRISIS” like it was supposed to, like it had read up until recently. Thawne had done several things over the last few days, trying to set the timeline back on track. It didn’t appear his actions had fixed the issue.

“How do I fix this?” He asked.

“I am afraid I do not understand the question.” Gideon responded. 

“This isn’t how it happened. Half the things that were supposed to happen already haven’t happened.”

“You were aware that traveling to the past and changing events would cause aberrations.”

“There are aberrations and then there’s this.” He said. “Slade Wilson, by all accounts, is not and has never been Deathstroke. The director of ARGUS isn’t who it’s supposed to be. Malcolm Merlyn’s on the run. Hartley Rathway turned down my job offer. I could go on.”

“Aside from Hartley Rathway’s opting to accept a job in Opal City and Amanda Waller being replaced at ARGUS, there is no evidence that the current state of things has changed the outcome of events. Malcolm Merlyn may be in hiding, but he may not remain in hiding. Slade Wilson may not be Deathstroke, but that does not mean there is no Deathstroke. And in regards to ARGUS, you have no way of knowing if Amanda Waller being replaced will change ARGUS’s involvement in events yet to come.” The AI said.

“The Arrow’s not even the right person!”

“You believe that the Arrow is not Oliver Queen, as was exposed in the timeline you came from.”

“You’re telling me that Oliver Queen, the mute guy with more issues than The New York Times, could still be the Arrow?”

“Nothing about the current state of Oliver Queen excludes him from being the Arrow.” Gideon reasoned. “It’s not as if he lost his sight or a limb in the time he was missing and presumed dead. Physically, there is no evidence that he could not be the Arrow. Though, it is also possible that he is not the Arrow due to his current mental health issues.”

“What’s your point?”

“You have changed the course of events. You knew there would be consequences. And you claimed that you understood that, prior to arriving in 2000. And the only indication that things are not progressing the way you anticipated is that the headline from a newspaper, from a specific and singular date in 2024, has changed. Barry Allen is not dead. The Arrow exists, and as a result, the Age of Heroes has begun. The particle accelerator is coming along as planned. I fail to see your need for alarm.”

“The headline doesn’t mention Crisis and hasn’t for weeks.”

“The only information I can extrapolate from that fact is that, assuming the Crisis still occurs, it has not occurred as of April 25, 2024. It could easily begin the next day.”

Gideon had an inkling that it would not occur at all, given the available information compared to information available prior to the headline changing, but Thawne had not asked for an opinion on whether it would happen.

Thawne seemed to accept the program’s assertion that he had no proof the timeline had been completely messed up and Barry wouldn’t become the Flash or that Crisis wouldn’t still happen. Thawne accepting the hypothesis was exactly what Gideon wanted, though the AI found it odd to want anything. If Thawne attempted to change time further, there would be further consequences, which could result in Gideon never being created by Barry Allen.

“Based on what you can extrapolate, when will I be able to turn the particle accelerator on?” Thawne asked. “Building it’s almost done, but then comes all the testing and the safety checks, so, how much longer am I gonna have to wait?”

“Early autumn of this year is the earliest I can predict you will be able to use the particle accelerator.”

“That’s better than the 13 years I’ve waited so far.”

 

On the other end of Star Labs from where Eobard Thawne was speaking with Gideon, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon and Ronnie Raymond were discussing the particle accelerator.

“Can’t believe it’s almost done.” Cisco said.

“Me neither.” Ronnie agreed.

“It would be kinda cool if we could see first-hand what happens when it gets turned on.”

“You’re not gonna be here when Dr. Wells turns it on?” Caitlin asked. “I didn’t think you’d wanna miss it.”

“Oh, I’m gonna be here.” Cisco said. “But what I mean is that it would be cool if we could be there, in person, inside the accelerator, when we turn it on. And not from a safe distance away.”

“That’s a spectacularly bad idea.” She said. “Particles are gonna be flying back and forth at almost impossible speeds. There are so many reasons why that’s dangerous to your health even if things go 100% according to plan. And, if things go wrong, you’ll probably be vaporized.”

“I don’t want to be in there, because I know that it’ll kill me or whatever. I’m just saying that it would be cool if somehow, it was safe to do that.” He said. “Kinda like how I wanna go near a black hole, but I know that if I’m that close, I’ll probably get sucked into it and die.”

“Well, as long as you realize why it’s a bad idea, I guess it doesn’t hurt to wonder.” 

“Don’t worry. I know this is the real world and that I’m more likely to get cancer than superpowers from something like that.” He said.

 

After lunch, Felicity returned to Applied Sciences and she, Curtis and Ray spent several hours gathered in front of a computer, arguing about the wording in what they were trying to write.

“This is my least favorite part of this process.” Felicity admitted as she reread the sentence they’d just completed and started to wonder if that was the right way to say what they were trying to say. “I suck at putting ideas into words.”

“Really? You give presentations more often than Ray or I do.” Curtis said.

“In a presentation, or a conversation for that matter, if someone doesn’t understand what I’m trying to say, they can just ask me to elaborate. This is different. The person reading this isn’t gonna be able to just ask for clarification, so it can’t be too technical. It also can’t be overly explained, because the person reading this should know something about the human spinal cord.”

“Sorry, what are you three doing?” Lyla asked. She thought they were writing up their notes or something that only QC staff would be seeing. It was now clear that that wasn’t the case.

“The mice trials for the biostimulant are going really well, and if they continue to go well, we’re going to move to trials on larger mammals and then, eventually, human trials.” Ray said. “To get approval for human trials, we have to send the FDA a proposal and share the results we’ve gotten from the animal testing. And putting all of that into one document isn’t easy.”

“But you aren’t going to human trials next. You just said you needed to test the biostimulant on larger animals first.”

“Oh, this is just a draft.” Curtis said. “We didn’t wanna have to rush putting this together, so we’re starting now.”

“If it’s a draft, then you just need to write down everything. It doesn’t matter how well.” Lyla pointed out.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve sat here for the last twenty minutes watching the three of you stress over a few sentences trying to make them perfect.” She said. “It would be easier to just write everything out, beginning to end, and then go back and fix individual sections and sentences.” Lyla had had to do something similar during her time at ARGUS and she found that it was easier for her to write out everything that had happened during an operation first and then worry about putting into Waller and ARGUS approved language.

“I’ve never done it that way.” Felicity admitted. “But honestly, I think that’s a much better idea.”

“You have a Master’s.  How’d you write your thesis?” She asked.

“Pretty much the way you suggested, by writing a draft and then refining it. But I knew who the thesis committee was and how much they knew about minimizing security risks using SSL VPN software, which was what my thesis was about. I don’t know what kinda background the person at the FDA reading the proposal is gonna have, so I’m a little more worried about being too technical, or not technical enough.”

“It’s just a draft. It’s not supposed to be perfect. The important thing is to write it.” Lyla said.

The trio of scientists turned their attention back to the draft proposal and Ray took over the actual typing because he wasn’t as prone to going back and trying to revise as Felicity or Curtis were.

“So, are you and Oliver fully moved in?” Ray asked Felicity after another half an hour of them working on the proposal.

“Pretty much. There are a few things we still need to buy, but for the most part, we’ve all moved in and unpacked.”

“That’s great.” He said. “Anna and I were wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner later this week? And, Curtis, that includes you and Paul. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday? We’ll host.”

“Paul’s sister is flying in tonight, so we’re hosting her for the next few days, but thanks for the invite.” Curtis said.

“Let me talk to Oliver but I think Thursday would work.” Felicity said. She didn’t want to commit to Wednesday, since that was the day of William’s Skype call and she didn’t want to have to rush out of Ray’s house to get home for that. She sent Oliver a text, repeating Ray’s dinner invitation. He texted back quickly saying that Thursday sounded good.

 

After ending her call with her boss, and his superiors, Dinan spent the rest of the day looking through the massive file that ARGUS had provided. The other agents had plenty of questions about whether or not a document they were reading was significant to the investigation or not. The task force wanted to err on the safe side and considered anything that looked even the slightest bit relevant to be important.

“I honestly have no idea what this file is even about.” Dinan admitted as she wrapped up her dinner break. “Information about the Queen’s Gambit is in there, but there’s also documents related to events in the early 90s and things that pre-date Waller being director or even being at ARGUS. Things that have no clear connection to anyone involved in the Queen’s Gambit or the Undertaking.”

“It might not have anything to do with either.” Doyle pointed out.

“What do you mean?”

“Merlyn got those explosives from somewhere, right?” He said. “The file might be about the person who sold him the bomb and not him.”

“Does that theory fit anything you’ve found so far?”

“No, but we’ve got several hundred thousand pages we still gotta go through, not to mention looking at what the other agents have filtered out, so it’s entirely possible. As bad as it sounds, I miss when this case was just about the Queen’s Gambit being found.”

“Me too, in a way.”

 

Monday night’s patrol wasn’t particularly memorable. There were still some followers of the Count on the streets and a few other situations going on, but the city was luckily not in the middle of a crisis or anything. While that was a good thing overall, not being busy meant that Oliver didn’t have anything to distract himself from his mother’s text messages, which he still hadn’t read. What had she said? Had she apologized? Was it a good apology? Or did she only send it because she felt like she was supposed to?

Knowing that he couldn’t leave the texts unread forever, he made a promise to himself. Wednesday morning. He would read the texts by the time he drove Thea to school on Wednesday morning. It gave him a full day to do it and he’d have several hours afterwards to process whatever emotions he felt after reading them. It was a good plan, or so he told himself.

Knowing that he had this deadline for himself, Oliver ended up waking up really early Tuesday morning and reading the texts then. Waiting was making him even more anxious about the messages’ contents and he needed to know what the situation was as soon as possible.

Moira’s texts were fine. Nothing she wrote made him particularly angry, but she also hadn’t written an apology that made him feel any more inclined to forgive her. She used the phrases “I’m sorry” and “I apologize” multiple times, but half the time there seemed to be some kind of caveat. She was trying. He would give her that, but it wasn’t quite the effort he had hoped for.

“Are you reading what I think you’re reading?” Felicity asked sleepily.

‘My mom’s texts to me? Yeah. I didn’t mean to wake you up.’

“It’s okay. It’s almost time for me to get up anyway.” She said. “Back to you, you’ve read the texts. How do you feel?”

‘Not much different. She’s trying, I have to give her that.’

“But?”

‘Half of the times that she’s saying that she’s sorry, she adds some kind of qualifier. She says “I’m sorry, but” like four times. Which makes it feel like a non-apology.’

“Yeah, that’s not great wording or a good use of time. I had a feeling you’d feel that way when I read the texts. Let’s talk about what she said though, and not how she said it.”

‘She apologizes for being a part of the Undertaking. She apologizes for her scheme with Laurel and, in general, the way she acted when I first came home and was living at the mansion. Which is all well and good, but she hasn’t apologized for the way she treated you. And she definitely needs to do that.’

“She apologized to me directly, when she came to my office. But I can see why you’d want her to also put that into this apology.”

‘It’s not just that. It’s- this is a good enough start, but she still has a few things to say sorry for.’ He said. ‘Do you forgive my mom?’

“Not at all.” Felicity said. “But it’s always gonna be easier for me than for you because she’s not my mother. It’s always easier to forgive, or just write someone off entirely, when they aren’t someone you care about.”

 

Waller’s testimony on Tuesday was slightly less hostile and combative than it had been on Monday. As unhelpful as her lawyer seemed to be, she decided to take the woman’s advice and stop trying to muddy the waters. She needed to minimize the damage as much as she could now, not try to act completely innocent. It was clear that the committee wouldn’t believe she was innocent anyway. 

Amanda Waller was somewhat annoyed, however, when the chairman of the committee ended Tuesday’s hearing by saying they’d reconvene the next day and instructed Waller to return tomorrow.

“I’m not entirely sure what further information I could provide to you.” She said. “I’ve said everything I can say about the operation in Moscow, why I made the decisions I made, and the…. oversights when it comes to the people ARGUS apprehended in that operation.”

“Those prisoners and that operation are not the only things of interest to this committee. There is another, larger matter, we need an explanation for.” He answered. “As such, we will continue this hearing tomorrow.”

 

Cat Grant had a subtle tell, but one that was known to agents that had worked with her for a long time. She had learned over the course of her career that she couldn’t get angry while at work, that any reaction would be viewed as an over-reaction. As such, the only indication that Cat was angry was a tapping of her fingers against her desk as she listened to Colonel Flag speak. Over the video call, he didn’t seem to notice her fingers tapping the desk.

She was well aware by now that Task Force X was an ARGUS team made up of prisoners. She knew that Task Force X was sent on assignments where they were likely to die and had been ruled an “acceptable loss” She knew who had approved of the task force’s creation and when. All of those things were bad enough, and shady enough to destroy Waller. What Colonel Flag was telling her, however, was another matter entirely. She hadn’t discovered how Waller got inmates to work for ARGUS, and wanted to know how she’d achieved that.

“I need you to repeat what you just told me, because I’m pretty sure I misheard you. I must have misheard you.” She said. “How was Waller assuring the compliance of people on Task Force X?”

“There’s an explosive in their skulls. If they try to escape, she detonates it and they die. If they refuse to comply with an order, she could detonate it and kill them.”

“And what do they get in return? Other than not being blown up?”

“Not being blown-up is the main incentive.” Flag said. “After a successful mission, she’ll shave a few years off each member’s sentence.”

“Half of these people haven’t been formally charged, let alone sentenced.” She pointed out. “Flag, I’ve seen your service record. You seem like a pretty stand-up guy, so I’m wondering how it is that you became involved in such a messed-up operation.”

“My girlfriend, June Moone. She…. encountered an ancient entity and it became bonded to her. Waller nabbed her, because she wanted the entity, and she “offered” to put me on the Squad to make sure nothing happened to June.”

“The Squad?”

“That’s the inmates’ name for Task Force X. They call it what it is, a suicide squad.” Flag said.

“The person responsible for putting the bombs into the inmates’ necks, I want to speak to them now.” She said.

“Can you stay on the line for a few minutes? I’ll go get the guy responsible for that.” He walked out of the room he was in and returned a few minutes later with a short man with glasses wearing a lab coat.

“Flag says you have questions about the implants given to members of Task Force X.”

“Who makes them?”

“Van Criss Labs.”

Cat sent a memo to one of the CIA agents that had transferred to ARGUS, telling him to bring in someone from Van Criss Labs. She then turned her attention back to the screen. “What I am about to instruct you to do is not a request. It’s an order. I want to be clear about that. I also want to be clear what I mean when I tell you to only speak to myself or Flag about this. You say nothing to the inmates. You do not tell the other staff. You do not call Waller. This order should also override any order you might’ve previously been given. Ignore those orders, follow mine.”

“Understood.”

“You are going to send me every single scrap of paper you have about those implants. From the construction to the insertion to how they work. You are going to give me a list of every person who has an implant with serial numbers, dates and the like.” She said. “Lastly, you are going to hand over any devices that can be used to detonate those implants to Flag.”

“Those are locked up when the prisoners are here anyway.”

“That’s nice. I want them handed over to Flag regardless.”

 

“I feel like I shouldn’t even really be here.” Tommy said as he looked around the conference center in the Hochman Hotel that the clinic had rented out for Wednesday.

“You’re the person financing the clinic.” The senior manager said.

“I know that, but I mean, my opinion of a nurse or doctor who comes in for an interview shouldn’t have that much weight on your decision.” He said. “You’re the one with the degree in health services.”

“That’s true.” She said. “But people like to know who their boss is. You might think to ask questions I don’t, because you have a different perspective. And given how important this clinic clearly is to you, I thought you should be here.”

“Fair enough. I just- I picture it like someone going to an interview at the Apple Store and Steve Jobs is just inexplicably there.”

The manager didn’t have a response to that. “This morning, we have medical staff, this afternoon is when we’re interviewing administrative staff and other non-medical positions. The first interviewee should be arriving soon. She’s an RN, about five years of experience. She just moved to the city. Do you wanna look over her resume?”

“Where’d she work before this?” He asked.

“Hopkins.”

Tommy was impressed. He was also wondering why a nurse would leave Johns Hopkins to move to Starling. The nurse arrived not long after and the interview began.

Tommy didn’t have much to say during the interviews. Every now and then, he’d ask a question, but for the most part, he let the manager take the lead. What surprised him most was that not everyone who came for an interview was looking for a full-time job. A few doctors who worked at Starling General were looking for pro bono opportunities in an effort to give back. The last interview before lunch was with a doctor who wanted to volunteer at the clinic in her spare time.

“Why do you want to volunteer at my mother’s clinic?” Tommy asked her.

“I became a doctor to heal, to help sick people get better. All sick or injured people.” She said. “And, unfortunately, not everyone in this city can afford the healthcare they should be getting. I can’t change the healthcare system in this country, so I do what I can, which means giving some of my time to those who can’t afford to go to the doctor or the hospital.”

“Thank you, Dr. Schwartz.” He said. “My next question is...I don’t have a next question. Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have acted like I was gonna say something else.”

Tommy and the manager thanked her for coming and the interview ended.

 

Wednesday night, it felt like Oliver and Felicity were rushing to get a lot of things done. They didn’t want anything to have to interrupt their call with William, so they made sure that any chores or random household tasks were done long before the Skype call was due to start.

“What did you get up to today?” Felicity asked Oliver as they were doing the dishes.

‘I read over some stuff for QC, and continued looking into what’s happening with the Bertinellis.’

“Need help with that? I feel like you’ve been looking into them, and whoever’s watching them, for a while but there hasn’t been much movement.” She said.

‘There hasn’t been any. Because I’m 98% sure someone in the group is an informant.’ He said. ‘I looked through the last few weeks of activity, and if it was a rival crime syndicate, they’ve had plenty of chances to act by now. Shipments to steal, meetings to disrupt and so on. The person watching them is doing just that. Watching and waiting.’

“Seems- I know mobsters aren’t supposed to be very smart, but I think they’d notice if someone was an informant.”

‘Not if it’s someone the boss trusts.’ He said. ‘Getting an existing member, someone who’s known and trusted, to testify against his buddies is a lot easier than putting someone undercover in the hopes they’ll get close enough to someone to learn something damaging.’

“So, you think it’s a trusted lieutenant collecting evidence, not someone newer or lower-ranking?”

‘Probably.  It could also be someone Frank Bertinelli doesn’t even notice, like his driver or a maid.’ He said. ‘Either way, someone’s collecting evidence, he doesn’t seem to realize it, and the person doesn’t seem to be attracting any internal attention.’

“So, we should just leave the Bertinelli family as is for now.”

‘Yeah. I think that makes the most sense. How was your day?’

Felicity told him about her day and they watched some TV while they waited for 7pm to roll around for their call with William. Just like on Saturday, Oliver was ready with a fully charged tablet and his text-to-speech app open when Samantha’s face appeared on screen.

“Hi.” Samantha said. “You got my email, right?”

“Yeah, he did.” Felicity said.

“Any questions about what I said?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” Samantha said. “I’m gonna give William the tablet now.”

A moment later, William’s face filled the screen. “Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!”

“Hi William!”

“Hey, buddy.” Oliver said via his app. “Did you do anything fun in the last few days?”

“Uh-huh. Today and the day before that and the day before that, I went to pre-k and we read and did numbers. Timmy and I went on the see-saw during play time.” He said. “When it was still the weekend, and Mommy didn’t have to work, we went to the park and played with Mike and Courtney and told them I was gonna have a sleepover at your house this week.” He went on for a little bit longer, telling them more about his exciting few days at pre-kindergarten. “Did you do fun stuff too?”

“On Sunday, your dad and I watched Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2.” Felicity said. “Have you seen those movies?”

“Yeah! They’re really fun and good. I like Po best because he’s funny.” William said.

“I thought Po was really funny too.” Oliver’s app read aloud. “I also like Po’s dad.”

“He’s funny too.” The little boy agreed. “He’s a goose, but his son is a panda. Lisy, can you help me make a robot?”

“You wanna build a robot?” Felicity asked him.

“Yeah. If you wanna make one with me.” He said shyly.

“William, I’d love to make a robot with you.” She said. “I’ll try to find something we can make for this weekend, okay?”

“Okay. It doesn’t have to be a big robot.”

“All right. We’ll make a small, but fun robot this weekend. Does that sound good?”

“Uh-huh. And Daddy can help too. I don’t want him to feel left out.”

“Sounds fun to me.” Oliver said via his app. 

They spoke for another 45 minutes before Samantha announced it was time for William to take a bath and get ready for bed. After William had said goodbye, Samantha took a moment to go over the timing for picking William up on Friday and dropping him off on Sunday, as well as reminding him where she’d meet Oliver at the Central City train station on both days.

Once she had gone over that, Samantha took a deep breath and seemed to be bracing herself to say something. “Oliver, I’m-.”

“Mommy! I’m ready for my bath.” William called.

“Just a minute, honey.” She called. “I’ll see you on Friday.” She said quickly before ending the call.

‘I wonder what she was about to say.’ Oliver said to Felicity.

“Me too. Maybe she’ll tell you on Friday?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 125

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity have dinner with Ray and Anna, Cat Grant looks further into Waller's actions and Mars figures out something that could be important.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Thursday morning, Felicity opened her eyes to see Oliver looking down at her. She was lying with her head on his chest and he seemed to have been watching her sleep while running his fingers through her hair.

“Good morning.” She said, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

‘Morning.’ He responded. He continued giving her a wistful look.

“I still don’t know how you do that.”

‘How I do what?’

“Sometimes, you look at me like you can’t believe I’m real. Like, you’re scared that if you blink, I’ll disappear.” She said. “If you haven’t realized by now, I’m not going anywhere.”

‘You do in my nightmares.’ He admitted.

“What?”

‘I don’t only have nightmares about the island.’ He said. ‘In some of them, you decide I’m too fucked up and leave. Or, I wake up on the island and none of this was real and someone, usually Smith, is standing over me. Or, I make a mistake as the Arrow, someone learns who I am and they kill you. Or I don’t get to Applied Sciences before Malcolm-.’

“None of those things are real.” She said. She patted his chest, just about his heart. “This is real. I know I can’t tell you to just stop having nightmares, but-. My point is, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

‘I know that, logically, but emotionally, it’s a little harder to convince myself that this isn’t gonna all go horribly wrong.’ He said. ‘When I came home, I didn’t expect anyone other than my family to care about what happened to me. And even them caring felt like it was too much to hope for.’ He let out a sigh. ‘And, this is a really heavy conversation to have first thing in the morning. I’m sorry.’

“Never apologize for saying how you feel.” She said. “No one should ever feel bad for having emotions.” Her stomach let out a growl. “Now, that’s something I’ll apologize for, because my stomach growling interrupted this conversation.”

‘I think that means it’s time for breakfast.’ He said. 

They got out of bed and made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Oliver made scrambled eggs for both of them and they ate in companionable silence.

‘What time are we supposed to have dinner with Ray and his fiancé?’

“Ray said to stop by around 5:30.” She said. “He’s working from home today, like me, and said Anna will be home by then.”

‘Where does she work? What does she do?’

“I don’t know exactly, come to think of it.” She said. “I know she does something related to finance, but I don’t know if that means she works in a bank, or for an accounting firm or something else. I hear about her all the time from Ray, but I’ve only met Anna once. She’s very nice and there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

‘I wasn’t. Ray’s always been nice to me and I honestly can’t picture him with someone who wouldn’t also be nice and easy to talk to.’ He admitted. ‘Do we need to bring something?’

“Nope. He said just to bring ourselves.”

‘Okay, but everyone says that. And I was taught that when you come to someone’s home for the first time, you bring something. Like a bottle of wine or dessert or a small gift.’ He said. ‘So, should we get them something?’

“I guess we can bring over dessert.” She said. “I’ll text Ray and let him know. Something chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate.” She sent Ray a quick message, telling him that she and Oliver wanted to bring over dessert for tonight.

‘Now, I just gotta figure out what to make.’ Oliver said, before noticing the time. He needed to change out of his pajamas and leave soon if he was going to take Thea to school. ‘Maybe Speedy will suggest something while I’m driving her to school.’

On the drive to school with Thea, Oliver told her about his and Felicity’s plans for tonight and that he needed to decide what dessert to make and bring.

“Keep it simple, Ollie.” She said. “Make chocolate cake. Everyone loves chocolate cake.”

‘Are you saying that because you think so or because you want the leftover cake?’ He asked her.

“Who says I can’t have two reasons for suggesting it?” She joked. “Cake is good. It’s easy and it doesn’t make it seem like you’re trying too hard.”

‘I want them to like me.’

“Ray already does, and I’m sure his fiancé will too.” She said.

 

Cat Grant was more than a little tired when she got to ARGUS on Thursday. After learning about how Waller “incentivized” Task Force X, it would’ve been hard for anyone to sleep well. On top of that, she stayed up later than usual reading the full, unredacted files for every member of the team and the reports of the missions they had undertaken since the team was created. 

By far, June Moone’s file was the most interesting, and the most terrifying. The Enchantress, the entity sharing June’s body, had an unknown level of power and any sane person would consider her to be a huge threat. And Waller decided the Enchantress was a good tool to have, a weapon to deploy whenever and wherever she wanted, with no serious consideration about the consequences. On top of that, Waller had kidnapped June, who’d done nothing wrong. As atrocious as Waller conscripting anyone to join Task Force X was, Ben Turner and Chein Na Wei had broken laws. They had been in police or FBI custody when Waller took them. June hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t broken any laws, but she was still a prisoner.

Needless to say, sleep evaded Cat on Wednesday night. She arrived at work on Thursday and was told by one of her agents that Van Criss Labs didn’t see the same sense of urgency to meet with ARGUS that she did. She could think of several reasons why this might be, from ignorance of Waller’s actions to an attempt to shield themselves from consequences. Regardless of the reason, Cat didn’t care and didn’t have time to entertain this behavior.

“Please give Van Criss Labs another call. Tell them that we know a product we bought from them, for use in the field, has killed at least four people and that we would like an explanation. Inform the company that if they don’t speak with us, they will be obstructing our investigation, which won’t look good for them, their parent company or its owners.”

“Van Criss Labs is a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.” The agent told Cat. “Which is owned by Bruce Wayne,”

“I know.” She said. “We’ll have to tell the DHS secretary about this as well, which may impact Wayne Enterprise’s pending government contracts. The federal government is not going to want to award contracts to a company with a subsidiary trying so hard to hide its activities. So, they might not want to talk to ARGUS, but it’s really in their best interest that they do.”

“Of course.” The agent said. “I’ll give them another call and remind them of that. If they ask me what this is in regards to, what should I say?”

“ARGUS has only ever purchased one thing from them. They know what it's in regards to. But if they try to claim ignorance, tell them it’s about this item.” She wrote down a few letters and numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “That’s the model number.”

“I’ll report back when I have more.” He said before leaving her office.

Cat turned her attention back to the reports she’d read and what to do about Task Force X. Waller’s mess seemed to be getting bigger and bigger by the second, and now it was Cat’s problem to clean it up. Her first priority, however, was June Moone. Actually, telling all of this to Eric Graves was priority number one. June, and not letting Enchantress out, was priority two.

Cat picked up her desk phone and dialed a number that was becoming far too familiar. “Yes, I’d like to speak to Secretary Graves, please.” She waited a moment while the call connected. “Task Force X is worse than we thought, and Waller’s a bigger idiot than anyone would’ve ever imagined.”

“What is it now?” Graves asked. “How does a squad made up of imprisoned criminals working for ARGUS on top secret missions get worse?”

“To start? The inmates didn’t volunteer.” She said. “Waller had bombs put in their heads to force them to be on the task force and complete missions.”

She gave Graves an almost exact reenactment of her conversation with Rick Flag from the day before, as well as what she learned from the documentation Belle Reve had sent her. After that, she told him about each member of the team, saving June Moone for last since Enchantress was the most dangerous.

“Magic? As in, actual magic, not that Penn and Teller stuff on TV?” He asked.

“Yes, actual magic. Or possibly sorcery. I don’t know what the difference is, but my point is, it’s apparently real and this is outside my skill set.” She said. “I’m gonna task someone here with finding an expert, somehow, to help us with this issue, but you need to be aware of the danger Enchantress poses.”

“But not Dr. Moone?”

“No. It’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. Dr. Moone is not a danger to anyone and the person most afraid of Enchantress.” She said. 

“I know that when I bring this to the President, he’s gonna call the Joint Chiefs of Staff in, because Enchantress represents a threat to the US, if not the world, and they’re gonna ask me, so I have to ask you, would killing Dr. Moone-?”

“Kill Enchantress? No. It wouldn’t.” Everything Cat had read indicated that killing the host wouldn’t kill the entity; it would just allow the entity to possess the body of the host indefinitely. She didn’t want to test that theory, but it seemed plausible.

“And to think, yesterday the fact that Waller hid what she knew about the Queen’s Gambit was the biggest problem that I had.” Graves said. “Keep me updated on this.”

He hung up the phone. Cat immediately made a video call to Belle Reve to speak to Flag.

“I’m looking for a solution to the implant issue, but there’s something more pressing we need to talk about.” She said. “I read your girlfriend’s file.”

“Director, I can only imagine what Waller probably wrote, but June isn’t-. She isn’t going to-.”

“Relax, I’m not going to order her killed or locked up or put into a medically induced coma, like Waller probably would.” She said. “The notes weren’t clear on a few things, and I need answers. Her transformation, does she have to say the word “Enchantress” for it to happen, or does it happen if anyone says it?”

“She has to say it.” He said. 

“Okay. Does she have an implant like the others?”

“No.” He said. “Waller found another way of getting Enchantress to play nice. I don’t know the story behind it, but there’s this statue that Waller kept locked up that she used as leverage. I don’t know what it is or why Enchantress doesn’t want it destroyed, but it’s how Waller maintained control. I don’t know where the statue is. Waller never left it here.”

“She wouldn’t have let it out of her sight if she could. I’ll have someone search her office.” Cat said. “I’d like to speak to you and Dr. Moone.”

June didn’t live in the prison facility with the inmates, she lived in onsite staff housing but she was unable to leave, so it was still a prison. Rick found June and brought her back to the office where he’d been talking to Cat Grant.

Cat found it odd that such a small, unassuming woman shared a body with a walking weapon of mass destruction. The archeologist looked nervous when she walked into view and Cat was pretty sure Flag had spent the walk there trying to keep her calm.

“Hello.” June said when she saw Cat.

“Hi. My name is Cat Grant. I’m the new director of ARGUS. Waller has been demoted and you will hopefully never have to deal with her again.” Cat said. “I only recently became aware of the facility where you currently are, or your...condition, let’s call it.”

“I’m not doing it.” June said quickly. Her tone wasn’t rude but it was firm. She was adamant about this. “I don’t care what you have to say or what your reasons are. There is nothing you can say, promise or threaten me with that makes turning into her justified. I’m not doing it again.”

“All three of us agree on that.” Cat said, unfazed. “I assume, Colonel Flag, that you agree that she shouldn’t transform into Enchantress.” Flag nodded. She noticed June flinched when the name was used. “The first thing I wanted to tell you was that you are not, under any circumstances, to transform into that individual.”

“Good.” June seemed a little caught off guard that Cat had agreed with her. She hadn’t expected that. “I’m glad we all agree.”

“Second, you don’t have to live at Belle Reve anymore. You haven’t broken any laws and I refuse to treat you like you have.” Cat said. “If you wanna stay onsite, because Flag’s there, fine, but you have the option to leave.”

“What’s the catch?” Flag said. 

“She’d need to check in every few days, so that we know she’s still June and unharmed.” Cat said. “At least, that’s what we need while we’re looking for solutions.”

“Solutions?” June asked.

“I don’t know if we can separate you from Enchantress, but we’re sure as hell gonna try.” She said. 

 

“It isn’t about the Queen’s Gambit.” Agent Rathbone said, walking over to Agent Dinan.

“Huh?” She asked. She’d just walked into the bullpen and hadn’t expected anyone to walk over to her and start talking about work right away.

“File 4587 isn’t about the Queen’s Gambit.” He repeated. “Too many documents in that file have nothing to do with the yacht, or the people on the yacht or Malcolm Merlyn.”

“Okay. If the file’s not about the Queen’s Gambit, what is it about?”

“We don’t know yet. Barlow thinks it might be about whoever sold Merlyn the explosives, because a few documents are about terrorist attacks where the supplier wasn’t identified. At the same time, Maxwell thinks the file’s about Waller trying to find a mole, because there are reports about field operations that went south, and in a way where only an insider would know about. The only thing we can say, though, is that it’s not about the Queen’s Gambit.”

“I suppose that makes our job easier.” She said. If the file wasn’t about the Queen’s Gambit, it was more the FBI’s problem than the CGIS. Dinan wouldn’t refuse to help, of course, but it meant she had less she had to do in regards to the investigation. “Let me know if-.”

“I got him!” Mars exclaimed as she walked into the bullpen. “It took me weeks, a lot of coffee and more than a few expletives, but I found out where Malcolm Merlyn went when he disappeared in 1993.”

“You did?” Anderson asked.

“Well, I don’t know everywhere he went, but I know a few places that he went.” She said. “This was pre-9/11, but the airports did have security, and records were kept. He took a flight from Starling City to Shanghai in 1992. He took another flight from Shanghai to a small airport in India near the Hindu Kush mountains. I lost him after that for about eight months. Surveillance and security footage was less common back then and most of the video has been erased by now. The next sighting was in France in mid-August of 1993.”

“How? If all the surveillance videos were erased-.”

“It wasn’t on video. He shows up in the occasional photo in France during that time. Some photos are better than others, but it’s clearly him. A minor government official died under mysterious circumstances during that time. Needless to say, some French conspiracy theorists online are wondering if Malcolm Merlyn was behind the death, thanks to them finding out that we’re currently looking for him.” She said. “The next time he was seen was when he returned to Starling City in 1995, but we now know he was in Corto Maltese for part of the time he was gone.”

“How do we know that?” Anderson asked.

“Robert and Moira Queen tried to adopt Tommy Merlyn. As part of that process, they tried to have Malcolm declared dead. No one claimed to have seen him in three years, though we now know that’s a lie because he fathered Thea Queen. In any case, he had disappeared, no one had seen or heard from him and the Queens could only adopt Tommy if Malcolm was dead or ruled unfit, and the court wouldn’t deem him unfit because he couldn’t be found to serve papers to and as a result he wouldn't have been able to argue that he was a good parent in court. Malcolm came back in the middle of that process, the adoption stopped but the IRS thought the whole thing was fishy and decided to audit Malcolm’s personal and business taxes. When they did the audit, he had to turn over a bunch of documents, some of which showed he had been living in Corto Maltese in 1994.”

“Malcolm Merlyn owned property in Corto Maltese in the 90s.” Reeves said. “Do we know if he still owns that property?”

“I- I don’t know.”

“Try to find out.” He said. “Because property in a country that doesn’t have extradition with the United States is invaluable to Merlyn in his current situation.”

Mars nearly tripped over her own feet running off to her desk to look further into Merlyn and his Corto Maltese property.

 

Felicity’s workday was quiet. Thursdays were normally quiet days for her, but today it was especially calm and relaxed. She spent most of the day typing up some new project proposals and working on the application to the FDA. She also looked over some of the interview requests she’d gotten from QC’s PR department. Until now, she normally only had one or two publications a year, maximum, wanting to speak with her. She wasn’t used to so many people wanting to interview her and wasn’t sure how to decide which interviews to accept and which ones to decline.

“Ugh. I don’t know how to pick.” She said.

‘Don’t know how to pick what?’ Oliver asked her. He had spent most of the day getting William’s room ready for his visit and unboxing the toys they’d bought.

She explained the situation to him, and how out of her depth she felt, and then asked him what he thought. 

‘Are there any you absolutely don’t wanna do?’ He asked. ‘Journals you don’t like or reporters you had a bad experience with?’

“One kinda fits that category.” She said. “Okay, so not that one. I still have, like, a dozen to go through.”

‘Are there any you really want to do? Ones you’ve always dreamed of being featured in?’

She looked the list over. “It would be cool to say I’ve been featured in Wired or MIT Technology Review.”

‘Those should definitely go on your “yes” list then.’ He said. ‘I don’t know how to help you narrow it down more than that.’

“You’ve helped me more than enough.” She said. “Thanks.”

‘Happy to help.’ He said. ‘Wanna lick the bowl? I’m about to put the cake into the oven.’

“Absolutely.” She said, jumping to her feet. It might seem childish, but Felicity’s favorite part of baking was getting to lick the mixing bowl after the batter had been removed. After licking the bowl, she noticed Oliver giving her a sultry look. To be fair, she had spent the last several minutes getting batter all over her pointer finger and then licking it clean. “Next time, I think I’m gonna lick this off you. Off your abs. Your very sculpted and well-defined abs.”

‘I wouldn’t object to that. Though, the sheets might get messy.’

“That’s why we have washing machines.” She said. “I’m kinda upset I didn’t think to try and lick the batter off of you just now.”

‘Next time.’ He promised.

The cake finished baking right as Felicity’s workday ended. The house smelled really good, thanks to the dessert and Felicity was very excited for dinner. She changed into something a little more formal than yoga pants and a t-shirt before taking Oliver’s hand and leaving the house.

It only took them about ten minutes to get from their house to Anna and Ray’s place. Felicity raised her hand to knock, but Oliver lowered her arm before she could.

‘You sure they’re gonna like me?’

“Yes, I’m sure. You’re a very likable guy.” She said before knocking.

Ray must’ve been waiting near the door, because it opened a moment later. “Oh, good. You’re here. Anna, Felicity and Oliver are here!” He called. “Come in, come in.” He ushered them inside. “I’ll take that cake, Oliver. No use making you stand there and hold it all night.”

They followed him through the condo into the kitchen where a brunette woman a little shorter than Felicity was adjusting a knob on the stovetop.

“Anna, you remember Felicity.” Ray said. “And this is Oliver.”

“Hi Felicity, it’s nice to see you.” Anna said. “And it’s nice to meet you, Oliver.”

‘Nice to meet you too.’ Oliver responded. ‘You have a lovely home.’

“It’s good to see you, Anna.” Felicity said after she interpreted for Oliver.

“Can I get you two something to drink?” Ray asked. “Water, beer, white wine, red wine, Sprite?”

“I can’t say no to red wine.” Felicity said. She then looked at her boyfriend. “And Oliver’s driving so he’ll have a Sprite.”

To avoid people being too nosy or having to answer awkward questions, Oliver always said he didn’t want alcohol because he was the one driving home later. It was true, and simpler than having to explain why he didn’t drink at all. For some reason, people thought it was their business to know why someone was sober. Ray got out the Sprite for Oliver and poured glasses of wine for Felicity and Anna.

“I hope you guys are hungry.” Anna said. “We’re making the Barefoot Contessa’s lemon chicken recipe.”

“I don’t think I’ve tried that.” Felicity said. “But it sounds good.”

‘I read her recipe, but I haven’t tried it yet.’ Oliver said. 

“Do you both cook? Ray and I both love cooking.”

“It’s actually how we met. We signed up for the same cooking class and just clicked.” Ray said.

“Between the two of us, Oliver’s the master chef. I make about three things well.” Felicity said. “I was pretty much living off take-out before we met.”

Oliver wanted to comment that he once ate a pigeon, but he didn’t think it was appropriate dinner conversation. The group talked for a bit in the kitchen while Ray and Anna made dinner before moving to the table.

‘So, Anna, what do you do?’ Oliver asked.

“I work for Starling National Bank as a manager in their business banking department.” She said. “It’s not terribly exciting, but I enjoy it. I like what I do and the people I work with.”

‘That’s good.’

“Some of my coworkers did try to convince me to invite them to dinner tonight, though. Which made me feel a little weird.” She added. “A few of the women I work with are “Olicity” fans. Not in a weird way, but in a “you two are such a cute couple” way. And, they’re right on that count. You two do make a great couple.”

“It’s surreal to me that we have fans.” Felicity said. “Or that there are whole Instagram accounts dedicated to duping my wardrobe.”

“Some of my coworkers do that too.” Anna said.

“Really? I mean, I take it as a compliment, because it must mean I dress well, but I just- it’s not something I ever expected to happen.”

“You haven’t been to the main QC office in a while, have you?” Ray asked. “Quite a few employees and interns have decided to copy your style.”

“I don’t think I’ve been to the main office since December or very early January.” She admitted. 

The conversation moved away from Felicity’s fashion and fans of Olicity. Oliver asked Ray and Anna a few more questions about themselves, wanting to get to know them better. They also asked a few questions, wanting to get to know him and Felicity better. Felicity began to feel more relaxed when it became clear that Anna and Ray were making an effort not to ask any invasive questions. She didn’t think they’d do something like that on purpose, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen.

Dinner tasted amazing and Oliver’s chocolate cake was a hit, just as Thea predicted it would be. They talked for a little while after finishing dessert and coffee before Oliver and Felicity went home. Oliver said that next time, Ray and Anna would have to come over to their house so that they could try Oliver’s cooking.

 

Friday morning, Felicity woke up and Oliver was already awake and out of bed. He turned around when he heard her feet creak on the floorboards and greeted her with a big smile.

“Good morning.” She said.

‘Morning.’ He replied before kissing her. ‘It’s Friday.’

“I know. Today’s the big day.” She said.

 

Samantha Clayton woke up to William jumping onto her bed. “Mommy! It’s Friday!”

“I know, sweetie.”

“That means I get to go to Daddy’s house.”

“Yes, it does.” She said. “I take it you’re excited?”

“Very excited!” He said. “When is Daddy coming to pick me up?”

“Not until after you come home from pre-k. He’s coming in the afternoon.” She said, getting out of bed. “Let’s get you ready for school, okay? The sooner you go to school, the sooner it’ll be this afternoon.”

“Okay!” William jumped off the bed and ran back towards his bedroom, excited to start his day.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 126

Summary:

Oliver's weekend with William begins.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As soon as Felicity was awake, Oliver was ready to get out of bed and start his day. As an adult, he knew that getting up earlier wouldn’t make 3:30, the time when he would be picking up William, come any faster, but he was excited for today and he was ready to see his son again.

‘You’re leaving the office at 11:30?’ He asked her as they stood in the kitchen, each drinking a cup of coffee.

“11:15. I don’t wanna make you and Thea have to wait for me.” She said. “And, luckily, Lyla didn’t have an issue heading to work a little earlier than normal so that I could get a few extra things done. I know that no one who matters would really think I’m, like, abusing QC’s leave policy, but showing up to work for only about two hours on a Friday looks a little weird.”

‘No, no one would think that, but I can see your point.’ He said. ‘And, I know you told me this already, more than once, I just-.’

“You’re excited. And you wanna make sure you know what the plan is.” She said. “It’s okay. I’m excited too. Today’s gonna be a good day. This weekend is gonna be a great weekend. We just need to get through the next few hours without bouncing off the walls from excitement.”

‘Do you think William’s excited?’

“Definitely.” She said. “Think about how excited he was on Wednesday when we talked to him, and he’s had two more days to get even more excited.”

Oliver knew deep down that William was excited, but part of him needed to hear someone else tell him that his son was eager to see him. His son. It still surprised him every time that phrase crossed his mind. He had a son, he was a father.

After a quick breakfast, Lyla arrived to head to work with Felicity. Oliver left to pick up Thea not long after they left. On the drive to Starling Academy, Oliver reminded Thea of the plan for the day, even though she’d heard it at least half a dozen times by now.

“I’ll see you at 11:00.” She told him after he finished talking. They needed to be at the train station by 11:45 for the train that left at noon and arrived in Central City at 3:30. Thea wanted to go back to the penthouse and change before getting on the train.

‘I’ll be waiting in the parking lot.’ He said. He then handed her a piece of paper. ‘Here. I don’t know if you’re allowed to sign yourself out early, so I wrote you a note.’

She unfolded the piece of paper. The note was short and simple, excusing Thea at 11 for a family commitment. The signature, however, surprised her. “How’d you get Mom to sign this? I thought you weren’t gonna tell her about William.”

‘Mom didn’t sign it.’ He said. ‘I haven’t needed to forge her signature in years, but I can still do it. She wrote me a lot of “sick notes” she was completely unaware of when I was in school.’ He paused. ‘I didn’t know if my signature would be enough, and the thought that you might need a note only occurred to me last night, so I didn’t get a chance to ask Walter to write you one. If you even need one.’

“Thanks, Ollie.” She said. “See you in a few hours.”

 

Ray and Curtis, who usually beat Felicity to the office, arrived to find the blonde already hard at work in their shared lab. The two men had known for about a week that she was taking most of today off, but they had more or less expected her to work from home in the morning, rather than come into the office.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” Curtis said.

“I didn’t want to leave you guys a woman short for the whole day.” She said. “Besides, the drive here from our new house is way less than my commute used to be.”

“Cool.” Curtis said. 

“What are you doing this afternoon?” Ray asked. 

Felicity was normally pretty flexible when it came to taking time off. If she requested a day off, and it wasn’t feasible because Ray or Curtis would be out, she accepted that and would reschedule whatever it was for a different day. Today, however, she had made it very clear that, barring an act of God, she’d be leaving at 11:15. The conviction seemed odd, which made Curtis and Ray worry.

Felicity and Lyla exchanged looks for a few moments, and Ray thought he’d just said the wrong thing.

“It’s a personal thing, isn’t it? I mean, if it was something you wanted to talk about, you probably would’ve said why, but you didn’t. You don’t wanna talk about whatever it is and I totally just crossed a line. I’m sorry, Forget I even-.”

“Ray, I’m not angry.” Felicity said. “I just- what I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room. Oliver and I talked last night about some stuff and-.”

“You’re getting married.” Curtis said.

“No.” She said. Felicity and Oliver talked after they got home from dinner with Ray and Anna. She brought up the fact that they wouldn't be able to keep William a secret forever from any friends who didn’t already know the situation. If they were unavailable every other weekend, with no explanation, their friends might start to take it the wrong way. They agreed to use their best judgement in terms of who to tell and when. Ray and Curtis were people Felicity trusted, so she had no reservations about telling them the truth. “Oliver has a son who’s about to turn six. This is his first weekend staying with us. We wanted a little extra time with him this weekend.” They didn’t need to know the ins and outs of William getting back and forth between Central City and Starling, so she left it at that.

“Oliver has a son?” Curtis asked. “How come no one-?”

“It’s a very long story.” Lyla said. “And no one wants the paparazzi bothering this little kid or his mom.”

“Fair enough.” He said. “I hope you guys have a great weekend with him.”

“Thanks.” She said. 

 

Sara adjusted her clothing as she looked herself over in the mirror. She looked fine. She knew she looked fine, but she was nervous. Today was her first day as a self-defense instructor and she wanted to start her new job off on a good note.

“Do you think I’m underdressed?” Sara asked Nyssa. “I think I should change, wear something less casual.”

“Beloved, you are going to be showing your students how to punch and kick and block attacks. I doubt your boss expects you to do so while wearing a pantsuit.” Nyssa said. “Athletic wear is perfectly fine to wear for the job you have.”

“Thanks. I haven’t had a “first day” in a while.”

“You’re welcome.” She said. “I would wish you luck, but I know you don’t need it. You will, I believe the term I’ve heard the others use is “kill it”, though I find the choice of words odd. Regardless, you will kill it.”

“Thanks, babe.” Sara said as she moved to kiss Nyssa. “Speaking of killing, have you thought about telling everyone the truth about your mission?”

“I don’t see the point.” She said. “If they know the details of my mission, they will be unable to help me. If they don’t know the details, they are still unable to help me. My father gave me an impossible task.”

“You might not see a way to complete the mission, but they might.” Sara said. “We have one way of thinking, the League of Assassins way, but Ollie doesn’t think that way. Neither does Felicity, Lyla, Slade, John, Tommy or-.”

“I see your point. You don’t need to continue naming people.” She said. “I’m not certain I want to complete the mission, however. Because once the mission is completed, and my father learns of it-.”

“He’s just gonna give you another mission.” Sara said with a nod. “Maybe someone will think of a way to get you out of the League completely. If you want that.”

“I’ll think about it. I’m not agreeing to anything yet, but-.”

“I know. Just think about it. I know the League is a huge part of your life. It was your life for a long time, but I think we both know that being Heir to the Demon hasn’t made you happy for a while.”

“No, I can admit that there are times when it has not.” Nyssa said. “As I said, I’ll think about what you said.”

“Good.” She looked at the clock. “I gotta go. Don’t wanna be late for my first day.”

 

Before anyone knew it, it was 11:00. Oliver picked up Thea from school while Felicity started to wind down her work for the day and got ready to leave. Felicity said goodbye to her coworkers and drove back to her house with Lyla. Oliver and Thea were pulling into the driveway right as they arrived.

Lyla talked to Oliver for a bit while Felicity changed out of her work clothes and Thea helped herself to some leftovers for lunch. She told him to have a good time with William and not to worry about anything Arrow-related for the next few days.

‘I’m sorry for leaving you guys in the lurch for four nights in a row.’ He told her. Oliver had patrolled on Wednesday after his call with William, but hadn’t gone on Thursday due to dinner with Ray and Anna and wouldn’t be patrolling Friday, Saturday or Sunday because of William.

“First of all, you’re not. Sure, we’re four instead of five for a few days, but it’s not like it’s just you and me out there.” She said. “Second, spending time with William is much more important than taking down a few muggers and drug dealers.”

‘If something happens and you need me-.’

“It won’t. Enjoy your time with William.” She said. She said goodbye to Felicity and Thea and went back to John’s apartment.

 

William’s day at pre-kindergarten seemed to move both really, really quickly and really, really slowly. Normally, he liked school, because he had friends and liked learning new things. He was just really excited to see his dad after school, so to him, it felt like the day was taking forever.

His antsy, out-of-character behavior caught his teacher’s attention and she bent down near his table where he was coloring a picture.

“Is everything okay, William?” She asked him. Sometimes, kids were just extra-hyper, but sometimes, they acted antsy or disruptive because they were upset about something. She wanted to be sure nothing was wrong.

“Uh-huh. I’m just ‘cited.”

“For the weekend?” She said. “Me too. Are you doing something fun?”

“Uh-huh. I get to spend the whole weekend with my daddy.” He told her. “He lives in a different place, so he’s picking me up and we’re taking a train to go to his house.” He then held up his drawing. “And I made this for him so I can show him when Mommy takes me to the train to see him.” 

“I’m sure he’ll love it.” She said. “I’ll let you get back to your coloring.” When Samantha had enrolled William, she told the staff that William’s father wasn’t in the picture, and strongly implied he was dead. The teacher supposed the parents had just been on bad terms, but had recently come to an agreement.

After what felt like days to William, his teacher said it was time to go home and told everyone to grab their backpacks and line up for dismissal. The pre-k class walked out of the building and William practically shot over to Samantha when he saw her.

“Hi, Mommy.” He said.

“Hi, buddy.” She said. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah.” He said. “Are we going to the train now?”

“No, not yet. We’re gonna go home and grab your suitcase, I’m gonna stop to get us a snack and then we’ll go to the train, okay?” She tried not to feel jealous that William was so excited to see Oliver. She told herself that it was because he was getting used to having a father, that William didn’t love her any less than before. It was just hard to see him so excited, given her own feelings about how things had worked out.

“Okay. What kinda snack?” He said.

“What kinda snack do you feel like having?”

Samantha drove back to her house and grabbed William’s bag. She then drove to the downtown Jitters to get herself a cup of coffee and William a blueberry muffin, his favorite. 

Since it was the middle of the afternoon, the coffee shop was quiet. The only other person in the shop was a lanky, brunette man who was talking with the barista. They seemed to be talking about a trip the man was going on soon, one he was excited about.

“Singh approved your request?” Iris asked Barry.

“Kind of.” Barry answered. “I asked for four days, he gave me three.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Sunday night. I’m coming back Wednesday night.”

“And what does Dad think your trip is for?” She asked, looking behind him and seeing that she had customers waiting.

“I haven’t told him I’m going yet.” He said. “But I was gonna tell him I’m visiting a college friend. I went to college with someone who worked for the SCPD.” He looked around and noticed William and Samantha had been waiting to order. “I don’t want your manager to get mad at me for “distracting” you from your job again, so I guess I should order something.”

“Take a seat. I’ll bring you a latte after I help these two.” Iris said.

Samantha ordered her coffee and William’s muffin and they took a seat in the middle of the coffee shop. William ate his muffin while telling her about his day. After he had finished his snack, they went to the Central City train station to meet Oliver.

 

Oliver, Thea and Felicity sat outside the store where Samantha told Oliver to meet her. The store was near the terminal where the train would be departing from and was away from most of the hubbub in the station. Oliver kept looking around, trying to spot Samantha and got a big smile on his face when he saw her and William making their way through the crowd.

Samantha let go of William’s hand when they were a few feet away and the boy ran over to hug his father. “Hi, Daddy!”

‘Hi William.’ Oliver signed and Felicity interpreted for him.

“Hi, Auntie Thea! Hi Lisy!” Thea and Felicity returned the greeting as he hugged both of them. After the hugging had stopped, the group stood there looking at one another.

“Hi.” Samantha said awkwardly. “I, uh, I didn’t know the two of you were coming.”

“We might not come every week, but we figured we should come with Ollie the first week.” Thea said. “And we just couldn’t wait to see William.”

Samantha just nodded. She knew meeting Thea and Felicity in person would be awkward, but she supposed she was happy neither was screaming at her for her behavior. Still, there was something she needed to say. “Oliver, can I talk to you for a second?” He nodded and they took a few steps away from where William, Felicity and Thea stood. “I’m sorry for lying to you all those years ago. It’s true that I was scared, but that doesn’t- I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

He nodded. Saying “sorry” wouldn’t fix everything, but he was glad that she was apologizing. They walked back over to the others. An announcement over the speaker system said the train to Starling was starting to board.

“Will and I stopped for a snack right before coming here, so he shouldn’t get hungry on the train.” Samantha said. “You have my number and I gave you his doctor’s phone number in case anything happens. But give me a call if there’s something that comes up. William, have fun and I’ll talk to you over video tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.” He said.

“Give Mommy a hug.” She said. He ran into her arms and gave her a hug goodbye. “I’m gonna miss you. I love you.”

“I love you too.” He said.

They broke apart and William took Oliver’s hand and they walked over to where the train was boarding. William stopped right before they disappeared from view and waved to Samantha one last time.

 

Oliver, Thea, Felicity and William moved through the train and settled in a private compartment. They were trying to travel under the radar, and they didn’t think anyone had spotted them, but they wanted privacy on the train just in case anyone recognized one of them.

“Are you excited for this weekend, William?” Oliver asked, via his text-to-speech app.

“So excited! Pre-k felt like it took forever today.” The little boy said. “Oh, I made this for you!” He unzipped his backpack and pulled out the drawing he had made at school. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. I’m gonna put it on the fridge at my house when we get there, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Will, have you taken the train before?” Felicity asked him.

“No. Mommy and I took a plane to Disney World last summer, but I’ve never been on a train before.” He said.

“Well, you picked a good spot.” Thea said as the train started to move.  He’d taken the seat next to the window beside Oliver and across from Thea. “You’ll be able to see everything we pass on the way there.”

“Cool! On the plane, I couldn’t really see stuff since we were up really high.” He said. “Did you know blue whales are the biggest animals in the world?”

“They are?” Oliver responded.

“Uh-huh.” William then started telling a story about going to the aquarium and the staff there said blue whales were the biggest animal on earth. He then told them everything else he remembered learning when he was at the aquarium, such as where different types of fish lived and that sea turtles can live to be over 100. The train ride passed quickly while they talked about animals and then told a few stories.

The train soon pulled into Starling City and the conductor announced it was time to disembark. The group started to gather their things. William grabbed Felicity’s hand before they walked out of the compartment. She looked at Oliver and saw that he had a sappy smile on his face.

“All right.” Thea said. “I think we’re ready to go.”

Getting out of the station and to Oliver’s car wasn’t difficult. After getting William secured in the car, they drove back to the house. That morning, Oliver had made some homemade macaroni and cheese, but hadn’t fully baked it so that they’d have something to eat when they got home. When they reached the house, he went to the kitchen to put the dish into the oven to cook before joining Felicity and Thea as they showed William around the house. Mid-way through the tour, William asked what smelled so good.

“Mac and cheese.” Felicity said. “Your dad made some and it smells like it’s almost done.”

“That’s my favorite!” He exclaimed.

The adults all knew that, which is why Oliver decided to make it, but they acted surprised and went to the kitchen to eat a late dinner. After dinner, they played with William for a little bit before it was time for him to get ready for bed. He changed into his PJs and brushed his teeth.

“Let’s give your mom a call so that you can say goodnight.” Oliver said through his app as he pulled out his phone and started going through his contacts. He handed William the phone once it started to ring.

Samantha answered on the second ring. “Oliver? Did something happen? Is William okay?”

“Hi, Mommy.” Will said. “Daddy gave me the phone so I could say night-night.”

“Oh.” She calmed down immediately. “You’re going to bed soon?”

“Uh-huh. I’m sleepy.”

“Well, it was a big exciting day.” She said. “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

“Night-night, Mommy. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She said. 

After William was settled in bed, Thea returned to the penthouse and Oliver and Felicity went downstairs to watch some TV until they were ready to go to sleep.

“This weekend seems to be off to a pretty good start.” Felicity said.

‘Yeah, it is.’ Oliver said. ‘She apologized to me.’

“What?”

‘Samantha apologized to me when we were at the station. I didn’t really know what to say, so I just kinda….nodded and went back over to where you, Thea and Will were. Even if I did know what to say, she doesn’t know ASL, so-.’

“I don’t think she expected you to say anything.” She said. “Maybe she just wanted to get it off her chest. She’s probably starting to realize that she’s gonna be seeing you every other week for the next twelve years and it would really suck for everyone if the two of you can’t at least be cordial.”

They talked for a little while longer before deciding to turn in early, since tomorrow was probably going to be a very busy day.

 

A little after 7AM, Oliver heard someone running towards his bedroom door. The door slowly opened and William poked his head in. He couldn’t see Oliver from the door, only two shapes on the bed.

“Daddy?” William tried to whisper. Unfortunately, the little boy hadn’t mastered the art of whispering, so it came out louder than necessary. “Are you awake?”

Oliver sat up and moved to get out of bed. William opened his mouth to say something, but Oliver held a finger to his lips before pointing to Felicity, indicating that she was still asleep. William looked bashful and put a hand over his mouth as Oliver got out of bed and walked towards him. Together, they walked downstairs.

When they were in the kitchen, Oliver started typing into his app. “Did you sleep well?”

“Uh-huh.” The little boy said. “I had a dream that I went to the circus and there was a dinosaur there who gave away cotton candy.”

“That sounds like a fun circus.” Oliver said.

“I wish it was real.” He said. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was already awake, but Lisy’s still asleep and I wanted to let her sleep. She’ll probably wake up in a little bit.”

“Is Auntie Thea awake?”

“I don’t know, buddy. Auntie Thea’s at her apartment, so she’s not here yet. She’s gonna be here later though.” He said. “What do you feel like for breakfast?” .

William asked if they could have pancakes, which Oliver agreed to. William “helped” make breakfast by counting the cups of flour, baking powder and other ingredients for Oliver as they made the batter. Felicity came downstairs just as Oliver was heating up the frying pan.

“Morning Lisy!”

“Good morning.” She responded, yawning halfway through the greeting. She poured herself some coffee and gave Oliver a kiss on the cheek. “I see we’re having pancakes. Excellent choice.”

“I helped Daddy make them.” Will said proudly. “I made sure he put everything in the bowl.”

“That’s a very important job.” She said. She then looked at Oliver. ‘You too are so cute.’

‘In what way?’

‘It’s just- seeing the two of you, father and son, it’s a great image.’ She said.

“What are you two saying?” William asked.

“We were talking about a little surprise we have for you that you’re gonna see after breakfast.” Felicity said.

“How do you know how to talk with your hands?” He asked her.

“Well, you can learn a few different ways. Some people watch videos on the computer. Some people, like your Auntie Thea, take classes to learn and others learn from someone directly.”

“How did you learn?”

“I learned starting when I was about your age.” She told him. “My cousin was deaf and I wanted to be able to talk to her, so I started learning sign language, which is what its called, so I could. My mom and my aunt had learned how to sign and they showed me how to do it. And I taught your dad.”

William had more questions, but the pancakes were done and he was eager to dig into his breakfast. By the time breakfast was over, he was so excited for whatever his surprise was that he’d forgotten what else he wanted to ask Felicity about ASL.

“All right, are you ready for the surprise?” She asked him.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” He said excitedly.

“All right. Go change out of your PJs and we’ll show you what it is.”

Less than five minutes later, everyone was dressed and William and Oliver were sitting in the living room. Felicity walked in carrying a medium-sized cardboard box which she placed on the carpet.

“When we talked a few days ago, you asked me if we could build-.”

“A robot!” William said. “We’re gonna make a robot?”

“Yup.” She looked online and found a robot kit that was age-appropriate and relatively easy to build. The robot would be able to walk, pick up small items and repeat things it heard. It was also small enough so that he could take it back to Central City if he wanted to.

Oliver, William and Felicity spent the next few hours building the robot and then testing it out to make sure that it worked correctly. The adults let William do most of the construction, so that he could later say he made it himself with a bit of help, and when it worked, the little boy looked ecstatic. He played with it for a while, excited about all the tasks it was able to do and he was very proud of himself for finishing it.

“Is my robot like the ones you make at work, Lisy?” He asked Felicity.

“A little bit. They don’t look alike, but building them is kinda similar to what we had to do.” Building real robots involved hours, if not days, of work to construct, but the process wasn’t that different from what they had done, only more tedious. “Maybe during another visit, I can take you to where I work and show you some of the robots I’ve made.”

“That would be really cool.” He said. “Daddy, what do you do? Lisy makes robots and Mommy works with the guy who does taxes. I don’t know what your job is.”

Oliver took a few moments to think as he typed out his answer. “Mostly, I go to meetings for Queen Consolidated, the company my grandpa started, and help decide how to make the company better. And then I go to other meetings to help people who wanna make the world a better place. I make sure they can keep trying to help people.” It wasn’t easy to explain to a child that Oliver didn’t have a job, but owned QC and helped different charities keep operating.

“You just sit in meetings and listen to people talk all day?” William asked. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

“It’s not all day.” He said. “But, you’re right, it usually isn’t very fun.”

 

“Staring at the clock every five seconds won’t make the time pass any faster.” Ashley told Thea in the middle of their ASL lesson.

“Sorry! I just- I’ve got plans after class that I’m really excited about.” She said.

“Plans with Roy?” Ashley asked suggestively. “Are you two finally gonna-.”

“Are we finally gonna do what?” Roy, who had been walking past, stopped and asked. Ashley went bright red. “I thought we were going over to see your brother after class?”

“We are.” Thea said. “Ashley’s just….being Ashley.” Roy nodded and continued on his way. Thea lightly hit her friend. “I can’t believe you said that and he almost heard you. In a room where my mom, step-dad and Tommy, who’s basically my brother, might hear us.”

“So, you two haven’t, then?”

“I’m not answering that here.” She said. “Let’s get back to the exercise we’re supposed to be doing. Maybe that will make the time pass faster.”

Eventually, after Thea thought it had been hours, class was over. Moira walked over to her daughter.

“Thea, I was hoping that we could-.”

“Not today, Mom.” She said. “I made plans to be somewhere right after class and I can’t reschedule. Maybe another time.”

She found Roy and they immediately left the community center. Aside from Moira, Ashley and Madison, the students knew exactly why Thea was so eager to be on her way and no one tried to hinder her or Roy’s exit.

“William’s gonna like me, right?” Roy asked her as they drove towards Oliver and Felicity’s house. “I haven’t spent time around kids since I was a kid.”

“He’s five. I’m pretty sure he likes everyone.” She said. “Just be nice and don’t use bad words and it’ll be fine.”

“What do you think the odds are that Donna’s already there?”

“Low.” She said. “She wants to be there, but I think she doesn’t want to intrude on Oliver’s father-son time with William, especially since it’s the first weekend he’s here. I’m sure we’ll see her at some point, but probably not until later.”

They reached the house and knocked on the door. They then heard Felicity yell that it was open. Thea and Roy walked in. Almost as soon as the door was closed, William came running over to Thea.

“Auntie Thea! Come see the robot Lisy, Daddy and I made!”

“Oh, you made a robot? That’s cool.” She told him. “Before you show it to me, I want you to say hi to someone. This is my boyfriend Roy.”

“Hey, William.” Roy said with a little wave.

William turned to look up at him. “Hi! Do you wanna see my robot too?”

“Yeah, that sounds cool.” He said.

“It’s this way.” William said, taking Thea’s hand and guiding her to living room where Felicity and Oliver were sitting. A toy robot sat on the table.

Roy and Thea listened as William told them all about building the robot and then showed them all of the cool things the robot could do. Thea asked him some questions about the robot, like if he thought he could teach it to dance since it was able to walk. He answered eagerly and in the middle of their talk, an alarm on Oliver’s phone went off.

“I think it’s time for lunch.” Felicity said. “Time really flies when you’re having fun, huh?”

“It does.” Roy said.

“And after lunch, we’re gonna FaceTime your mom so that you can show her your robot.” Oliver added via his app. He had planned on FaceTiming Samantha later in the day, around the time Samantha had FaceTimed him initially, but since William was so excited about the robot, he didn’t want to make the boy wait. He’d texted Samantha and asked if they could do it earlier because William wanted to show her something.

Lunch passed quickly and Oliver grabbed Felicity’s tablet to videochat with Samantha. She must’ve been waiting for the call because she was on screen almost immediately.

“Hi, Will. Are you having fun?”

“Yeah! Daddy and Lisy helped me make a robot!” He exclaimed. “See?” He showed her the robot and then had her watch as it walked around and picked up a small ball from the floor.

Samantha listened to him and asked him a few things in between him telling her all about the last couple of hours. She wanted to make sure that William liked his bed and had a good sleep and if the clothes she packed for him were warm enough. Typical Mom worries, but Oliver could see that Thea was getting a little annoyed by the questions.

“William, I think it’s time to say goodbye for now.” Samantha said. “I’m sure there’s lots of other fun things your Dad and Felicity wanna do with you.” She had made some plans for the afternoon as well and didn’t want to be late. “Can you give the tablet back to your Dad or Felicity? I’ll talk to you on the phone when it’s bedtime, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” He said. He then held out the tablet to Oliver. “Mommy wants to talk to you.”

Oliver took the device and noticed the expression on Samantha’s face. Rather than just saying goodbye, he turned to Thea and asked her to keep an eye on William for a moment while he talked to Samantha. He and Felicity walked into Felicity’s home office.

‘Is something wrong?’ Oliver asked.

“You didn’t tell me you were going to let William meet Thea’s boyfriend.”

‘I didn’t know that I needed to.’ He said. ‘William coming here means he’s going to be spending time with people other than me, Thea and Felicity. We’re slowly going to introduce people in our lives to him. This weekend, it’s just gonna be Roy and Donna, Felicity’s mother. Next time, probably my step-dad and Tommy, maybe Tommy’s girlfriend.’ He paused. ‘I know this is about my mother. I haven’t spoken to her about this at all. She doesn’t know that he’s here. She doesn’t even know that I know William’s alive. I promised you that I wouldn’t tell my mother, or let her meet William, unless I had talked to you first and you told me that you felt comfortable with that. I intend to keep that promise.’

“I know you promised, but-.”

‘You are gonna have to try to trust me at some point.’ He said. ‘I know that seems like a lot to ask, but I don’t have a way of proving to you that I’m gonna keep my word other than keeping my word.’

“I’ll try.” She said after a moment. “It’s hard for me to do that, but I’ll try.”

‘That’s all I want. A chance.’

Oliver closed down the videochat app and he and Felicity walked back out to where Thea, Roy and William were. William had decided he’d had enough of the robot for the moment and had pulled out some other toys to play with.

“Anyone up for a movie?” Felicity asked.

Kung Fu Panda! ” William exclaimed.

“I think that means “yes”.” Thea said.

Everyone settled onto the couch and they started the movie. Watching the movie with William was an interesting experience, because he let out cheers when good things happened and exclaimed every time the Furious Five did cool martial arts moves. The movie ended right as Donna arrived. William took an instantly liking to Donna and showed her the robot he made with Oliver and Felicity’s help, just as he’d shown Thea and Roy.

“It’s funny,” Donna said as she was helping Oliver set the table for dinner, “I know they aren’t related, but he reminds me so much of Felicity when she was that age.”

‘He does?’

“Well, it wasn’t a robot with her, but she’d run up to me holding pieces of the TV remote that she’d taken apart, or computer components her father let her play with, and show me that she’d figured out how it worked. I didn’t get most of it, but I loved her excitement.” She said. “I think you’ve got a future engineer on your hands.”

‘As long as he does something he loves, he can be an underwater basket weaver if he wants.’ He said. ‘I just wanna be a good dad.’

“You already are.” She said. “Thea’s proof of that.”

‘I’m not her father. I was barely-.’

“Oliver? Just take the compliment.” She said. “Your parents weren’t always there, you were. And that matters.”

“Are we having mac and cheese for dinner?” William asked, getting their attention. “I liked it yesterday. It was yummy!”

“No, not tonight.” Thea said. “Looks like we’re having chicken tenders, some fries and peas.”

“Do I have to eat the peas?” He asked.

“Yes, you have to eat some of the peas.” Oliver told him.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 127

Summary:

William's weekend with Oliver and Felicity continues and they make a new acquaintance on the train.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Over dinner, William excitedly told Donna and Roy all about himself and his favorite things. Oliver, Felicity and Thea already knew what his favorite color and favorite animal were, and he wanted everyone to know. He also wanted to know more about Roy and Donna.

“-and that’s why I like pandas more than dogs.” He said, finishing his explanation about how he liked both dogs and pandas, but he liked pandas a little bit more than he liked dogs. His reasoning boiled down to the fact that pandas looked like they’d give the best hugs because of their soft fur.

“I like pandas too.” Donna said. “And tigers because of the stripes. What about you, Roy? What’s your favorite animal?”

“I like elephants.” Roy said. “I just think they’re cool.”

“Mommy and I saw one at the zoo.” William said. “It was really tall.”

“Elephants are the biggest animals that live on dry land.” Felicity said.

“Really?” He asked, his eyes getting wide. He was at that age where whenever he learned a new fact, he wanted to share it with everyone he met, in case they didn’t know. Now, he had a new fact to share.

“Yup. The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world, but those live in the ocean. African elephants are the biggest animals that are on land.”

“Which is impressive because they only eat plants, no meat.” Oliver added via his app.

“They only eat veggies?” William said. He looked down at the peas on his plate. He had eaten most of the serving he’d been given, but there were still some left. “That’s a lot of veggies.”

“They eat veggies and fruit, but yes, they do eat a lot of both.” His father said. “Do you want another chicken tender?” The boy nodded and Oliver put one on his plate.

“Donna?” William asked.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“What do you do for your job? ‘Cause Mommy works with the tax man and Lisy makes robots and Daddy goes to meetings. What do you do?”

“Well, sometimes, Roy and I go to meetings with your father and help him talk to people. Not everyone knows sign language, so they don’t always know what he’s saying.”

“He doesn’t use his robot voice?”

“No, I don’t use it all the time.” Oliver said. “I talk with my hands most of the time.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like only using the robot voice sometimes.” He said. He used the text-to-speech app so that he had a “voice” of his own for William to associate with him. The situation was too complicated to explain to the boy, however, and Oliver didn’t want his son to have to shoulder the burden of his own anxiety.

“Can you teach me how to talk with my hands?” William asked the adults sitting around him. “I wanna learn too.”

“Sure!” Felicity and Donna said at the same time. Felicity then continued. “How about this? We’ll teach you a little bit this weekend and on your next visit, we’ll teach you a little bit more and so on, that way, you don’t have to learn it all at once.”

“But you’ll show me how to say some stuff now?”

“Well, after dinner, but yes.” She said.

Will didn’t want to rush anyone through dinner, but everyone knew that he was excited to learn some ASL. Thea and Roy offered to do the dishes and post-dinner clean-up so that Felicity, Donna and Oliver could show William a few basic signs.

William took a seat in the living room between Oliver and Felicity. 

“All right.” Felicity said. “I think we should start with how to say “hi”. I think that’s a good place to start.”

Over the next hour or so, Felicity, Oliver and Donna showed William how to say “hello”, “goodbye”, “mother”, “father” and a few other basic signs. They were the first signs most people learned, which made them an excellent place to start.

“Why don’t you practice those and then next time, we’ll show you some more?” Donna suggested after Will learned how to sign “thank you”. 

“Okay. I hope I remember them.” He said honestly.

“Well, it’s okay if you don’t. We can always show them to you again.” Felicity said with a smile. 

‘We should finish up down here.’ Oliver signed. ‘It’s getting close to his bedtime and he still needs to take a bath.’ He then picked up his phone and started typing in his app. “William, it’s bathtime and then we’re gonna call your mom so you can say goodnight before you go to sleep. Say night-night to Donna, Roy and Auntie Thea.”

William looked upset, but he didn’t start crying or throw a tantrum. He got off of the couch and walked over to Donna, giving her a hug and telling her goodnight. He repeated the same process with Thea and Roy.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Thea told him. “Sleep well.”

“Bye Auntie Thea.” He said. “See you in the morning.”

William took his bath and put on his PJs. He got into bed and Oliver called Samantha so that she could say goodnight to her son. After their call was over, Oliver asked William if he wanted a bedtime story. They hadn’t done a story Friday night, since William was already tired from the excitement of the trip to Starling.

“Maybe a short one.” The boy said. “Can it have robots in it?”

“It certainly can.” He said. He began typing into his phone, coming up with a short story about robots on the fly that he could tell his son. “In the not too distant future, there was a spaceship going to Mars.” The story Oliver told was about a smart and excited little boy who wanted to go to Mars so that he could be friends with the Mars rover Opportunity. William was fascinated by the story, but by the time the end came around, he was struggling to stay awake. “And then, Opportunity asked the boy if he wanted to go on another adventure.”

“I like that story.” William said with a yawn. “Are there really robots on Mars?”

“There really are robots on Mars.” Felicity said from the doorway. “I’ll tell you about them tomorrow if you want.”

He nodded and Oliver pulled the covers over him so that he was nice and cozy before turning out the main light in the room and leaving William to get some sleep.

“Where did that story come from?” Felicity asked Oliver as they made their way downstairs. “Did you adapt it from a story from when you were a kid?”

‘No, its not something I had read to be growing up. It just….kinda came to me.’

“Well, it was a good story.” She said. “And William clearly liked it.”

‘I hope you know a lot about the Mars rovers because I have a feeling he’s gonna wanna know everything he can about them tomorrow.’

“Thankfully, I’m a huge dork and I know a ton about them.” She said. “Also, I’ll be happy if he wants to know. Curiosity is never something we should discourage. People should never stop asking questions, because when we stop asking questions, we stop learning new things. Somewhere along the line, kids get taught that they aren’t supposed to wonder about things, and that makes me sad.”

‘I don’t think William is ever going to have that problem.’

 

Donna walked around the penthouse, tidying up as she spoke to her mother over the phone. She normally didn’t call her mother this late, but since she had been at Felicity and Oliver’s for several hours, she hadn’t had a chance to call earlier. She told Hannah the plan for her, Oliver and Felicity, and maybe a few others, coming to Las Vegas the next weekend.

“Is there a reason you didn’t come this weekend? What, were you too busy or something?” Hannah asked.

“I wasn’t too busy, but Oliver and Felicity wouldn’t have been able to come. And, since you keep saying how much you wanna meet him, I thought waiting an extra week wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“I never said it was the end of the world.” Bubbe Smoak defended. “Just wait until you’re 83 and everyone but you is off doing stuff.”

“You’re a very healthy 83.” Donna pointed out. “Which is something we’re all thankful for.” As Hannah herself told people, she wasn’t sick, she was just old. All of her ailments were normal “getting older” issues and the only reason she had moved into the senior living place was because she couldn’t go up and down the stairs in her house easily anymore.

“Yeah, yeah, everyone’s glad I’m not dead. But just you wait. One day, hopefully soon, you’re gonna be a bubbe and then you’ll see what it’s like, everyone thinking you’re old just because your children are having children.”

Donna made a vague noise of agreement. Officially, she wasn’t a bubbe yet, since William wasn’t Felicity’s child, but she felt like one already.

“What was with that noise?” Bubbe asked. “It wasn’t your usual “drop it, mother” noise. Do you know something I don't? Is Felicity coming here to tell me that I’m gonna be an alte bubbe?”

“Felicity isn’t pregnant, so no, you’re not gonna be a great-grandmother quite yet.” She said. “If we’re being technical.” 

“If we’re being technical. So, Felicity’s not pregnant, but Oliver’s a father, I take it?”

“Yeah, he has a little boy named William. He’s gonna be six in about a month.” Hiding anything from Hannah Smoak was nearly impossible, so Donna knew she couldn’t keep the truth about William from her mother for long and that Felicity wouldn't last longer either. It was better to just tell her everything now, and help her realize why the situation was so delicate. “He’s visiting for the first time this weekend and that’s why Oliver and Felicity wouldn’t have been able to come to Las Vegas. You need to keep that to yourself. I know you love gossip, but-.”

“I love gossip when it’s other people’s secrets. Not secrets of our family.” Hannah said. “Call me a hypocrite, but that’s my take on it.” She paused. “Well, are you gonna tell me about the boy or not? I assume you’ve met him.”

“I met him for the first time today.” Donna said. “He’s a really sweet kid. Loves robots, loves telling people about things he knows and he’s very curious.”

“Sounds a lot like a certain blonde I know.”

“Yeah, he seems to have really taken a liking to Felicity.”

“Actually, I was talking about you. Aside from loving robots, you just described what you were like when you were five. It’s clearly hereditary.” Hannah said. “Is Oliver trying to hide his son or does he just not want the press to intrude on the boy and his mother’s lives?”

“He wants to keep the press away. The situation is…..complicated enough as is, and adding in paparazzi would just be too much.”

“Yeah, most of those idiots wouldn’t know good journalism if it walked up to them, stripped naked and started dancing the hora .” She said. “I liked the one who interviewed Oliver though. She seems like a very nice girl.”

“Well, she’s a sports reporter, not one of those tabloid or “gotcha” type journalists. She wasn’t hoping to expose anything about him, just talk to him.”

“Good. Because that boy’s been through enough.”

“What is it you wanna talk to him about when we’re all there?” Donna asked her, hoping to glean some hint from her mother. “He’s asked me and Felicity, but we don’t know what to tell him.”

“Tell him not to worry.” She said. “There’s just something he and I need to talk about, something that doesn’t have anything to do with you, or Felicity or his relationship with Felicity.”

“Mom, I still don’t-.”

“I need to tell him something, something I wish someone had once told me.” She said. “And that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”

Donna let the matter drop. There were only a handful of things that would make her mother react that way and she didn’t want this conversation to end on a sour note.

“Now, tell me a little more about William.” Bubbe said.

 

Sunday morning over breakfast, William asked Felicity as many questions as he could think of about the Mars rovers. She answered them as best she could, but there were some concepts that he was a little bit too young to grasp, but she did her best. 

“Are people ever gonna go to Mars?” He asked.

“I think that one day, we will.” She said. “We aren’t ready yet, but we’ll get there.”

“I hope I get to go.” He said. “It would be cool to go into space.”

“Yeah, it really would.”

After breakfast, William asked if they could watch cartoons. They watched cartoons for a little bit and then he wanted to play with his LEGOs. When he was bored with LEGOs, he decided he wanted to do some drawing.

Most of the day passed in a similar fashion. Thea, Roy, Oliver, Felicity and William had a lazy Sunday and enjoyed being around one another until it was time to head to the train station. Oliver helped William pack his small suitcase and they left to take the train back to Central City. Thea didn’t come with them because she had school the next day. Just like the trip to Starling, William spent the ride to Central City talking to Oliver and Felicity. 

The trio got off the train and went into the station. Samantha was waiting by the store where they’d met on Friday. William ran over to hug his mother.

“So, you had a good weekend?” She asked him.

“Uh-huh. I had lots of fun!” He said. 

“I’m glad you had fun.” She said, turning to look at Oliver and Felicity. “Say bye-bye. We need to get home in time for bedtime.”

“Bye Daddy!  Bye Lisy!” The boy said as he hugged each of them.

“Bye buddy.” Oliver said. “I’ll talk to you on Wednesday night, okay?”

“Okay.” He then looked at Felicity. “I’m gonna practice really hard.”

“I know you will, but it’s okay if you forget.”

“Practice what?” Samantha asked.

“William wanted to learn some sign language, so we showed him how to say hello, goodbye and a few other things.” Felicity said.

“I know how to say “Mommy” with my hands!” William announced. “You go like this.” He lifted one hand and pressed a thumb against his chin, with his other fingers sticking straight up, to sign “mother” in ASL. 

“That’s very exciting.” She said. “I guess I’ll speak with both of you later in the week.”

“Have a nice night.” Felicity said as Samantha and William turned to leave. “I miss him already.”

‘Me too.’

They waited for the train to Starling to be announced. Unlike trips with William, Felicity didn’t book a private compartment for the ride home.

 

“You have your umbrella?” Iris asked Barry as they made their way through Central City station. “And an extra phone charger and your-.”

“Iris, I’m gonna be out of town for three days, I’m not going off to war.” He said. “I’m gonna be fine.”

“But you do have your umbrella, right? It rains a lot more in Starling than it does here.” She said. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I? Sorry, it’s just- you’ve never really left the Central City area before.”

That wasn’t completely true, since the Allens used to go to Coast City on vacation, but that all changed when Nora died. Barry had spent the rest of his life after that in Central City and he went to college just outside Central City. 

“It had to happen sometime.” He said. “I don’t wanna be one of those people who never leaves their home town. You know, when I first came to live with you and Joe, I thought about coming here a lot. Jumping on a train and running away, never looking back. Never stop running.”

“Kinda glad you didn’t.” She said. “Who knows what would’ve happened if you were all alone at the age of 12.”

“Yeah, who knows.” He said. If he’d run away, he might not even still be alive and he almost certainly wouldn’t be here, about to head to Starling City in the hopes the Arrow might help him solve his mom’s murder. “I’ll let you know if my plans change for any reason.”

“Okay.” She said. “And Barry? Even if you can’t find the Arrow, it doesn’t mean you should give up. There are cops in Starling. Maybe all your mom’s case needs is a fresh set of eyes.”

He gave her a tight smile just as it was announced that his train was boarding. Barry got onto the train and started walking through the cars. The train was surprisingly full for a Sunday night and he just wanted somewhere quiet to sit. He found a compartment where there were two people, a man and a woman, sitting there talking quietly.

“Hey, is there space in here?” He asked. “The rest of the train is kinda full and I just need somewhere quiet.”

“Sure.” The woman said. “Take a seat.”

“Thanks. I’m Barry.” He said as he moved to put his bag on the rack above the seats.

“Felicity and this is Oliver.” She said.

The name got his attention. “Wait, Felicity and Oliver like-?” He turned towards them. “Holy crap. You’re Felicity Smoak.” He had to tell Iris about this later.

“Yes, I am.” She said with a smile. She seemed nice, but she hoped he wasn’t an obsessed fan or something.

“Wow, I- I can’t believe I’m meeting you.” He said. “I actually just read the article you wrote about the possible uses of quantum computing.” He mentioned a few things she said in the article. “It was fascinating.”

Oliver signed something and she laughed. “He just said that he followed the conversation up until you said “quantum computing” and then you lost him.” She said. “You work in the scientific or tech field, I take it?”

“Yeah, I’m a CSI for the CCPD.” He said.

‘Is that why you’re going to Starling?’ Oliver signed. Felicity interpreted and then added. “Work on a case?”

“Not really. I- there’s this old cold case I’ve been trying to solve.” He said. “I’m hoping, as foolish as it might be, that someone in Starling City can help me.”

“What’s the case?”

“My mother’s murder in 2000. My dad’s currently serving a life sentence for killing her, but I know he didn’t do it. No one believed some scared kid back then, but the evidence doesn’t make sense the way that it should. I know it’s a long shot, but- but the SCPD, or the Arrow depending on who you ask, solved Rebecca Merlyn’s murder and-.”

‘And you think you might get lucky there too.’ Oliver said. 

“Well, I hope you’re able to get some answers.” Felicity said.

‘You wanna help him, don’t you?’ He asked her.

‘I don’t know how much help we can be, how solid the CCPD’s case was, but I’d like to try.’ She responded in ASL. ‘At the very least, we can ask McKenna to take a look, maybe.’ She turned to look at Barry. “Tell us what happened.”

“Huh?”

“You said the conclusion the CCPD came to didn’t make sense, that the facts didn’t fit. Tell us what happened. At the very least, you can practice what you’re gonna say to the SCPD officer you end up speaking to.” She said. “So, let’s hear it.”

“You really wanna-?” Someone wanted to hear his theory? Barry cleared his throat. “Well, to start with, they say my dad stabbed her, but her autopsy report doesn’t fit a stab wound.” Felicity and Oliver nodded and he continued talking. He told them about the strange lightning that night and ending up half a mile from his house in the blink of an eye. He pointed out all the issues with Henry Allen being the killer as well such as timing and motive. When he finished telling them what he’d worked out, he watched their expressions carefully. They weren’t looking at him like he was crazy.

“Go to the 12th precinct tomorrow.” Felicity finally said.

“Huh?”

“I can’t get you in touch with the Arrow, but I have...some experience with SCPD detectives and the ones at the 12th precinct are the best ones I’ve dealt with. Most importantly, they’ll hear you out.” She said. McKenna was currently working at the 12th precinct, so she could ask her to keep an eye out for Barry tomorrow.

“Thanks.” He said. “Honestly, it’s nice that you let me tell you the whole story and that you aren’t looking at me like I’m crazy.”

“Like you said, it doesn’t make sense. And I hate mysteries.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

BTW: Figuring out how to describe signs in ASL is a lot harder than I thought it might be.

I'll be on vacation next week, so there won't be a chapter on 7/2

Chapter 128

Summary:

Barry hears something that gives him hope, Laurel gets some good news and Felicity tells everyone about her weekend.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Barry Allen finished telling Oliver and Felicity what had happened to his mother and all of the questions no one had been able to answer, Felicity told him which precinct he should head to in the morning to talk to an SCPD detective.

“Thanks.” He said. “Honestly, it’s nice that you let me tell you the whole story and that you aren’t looking at me like I’m crazy.”

“Like you said, it doesn’t make sense. And I hate mysteries.” Felicity said. “The more I think about what you just said, the less sense it makes to me. I can only imagine how frustrating this has been for you.”

“When it happened, no one wanted to listen to a scared 12-year-old. And every time I’ve mentioned her case to cops at the CCPD since I started working there, I just get eyerolls or someone says something condescending.” Barry said. “Because there was a conviction. So the case is “solved”, even though none of them can explain the inconsistencies. I might be the only person who believes my dad is innocent, even though he still maintains that he is.”

“Has he tried to get an appeal?”

“He hasn’t. I looked into it and I’d need either a confession from the real killer or evidence that exonerates him to get him out of prison.” Barry said. He had looked extensively into how to possibly get the conviction overturned and those seemed to be the only ways.

“I’m sure the SCPD will give you something you can work with.” She told him.

The conversation moved away from Nora Allen’s murder not long after that. Barry was determined to free his father, but he didn’t want to seem like he was obsessed with the case and had no other interests or hobbies. Felicity learned that Barry was also into sci-fi movies and Oliver told him about his first time seeing Star Wars. Felicity and Oliver gave Barry their number in case he needed anything while he was in town.

The train arrived in Starling and Barry parted ways with Oliver and Felicity to catch a cab. Barry arrived at his hotel and sent a text to Iris when he reached his room, letting her know that he had arrived safely in Starling.

 

“I know we don’t usually act this quickly, but we need to make a decision here.” Cat Grant told the DHS secretary “We don’t know everything Waller has done, but we know enough.”

“I see no reason why we need to act right now.” Graves said.

“Waller is many things, but she’s not an idiot. She knows by now that we’re, at the very least, looking into some of the shady things she’s done. Her Senate hearing isn’t gonna last forever. She’s not gonna stick around to be dragged to another hearing.” Cat said. “As soon as she can, she’s gonna flee the country. Hell, she tried to flee the country, but I caught her before she could. I might not get as lucky a second time.”

“What do you suggest?” Graves asked.

“Are you and the chairman of the committee on good terms?” She asked.

 

Oliver and Felicity planned to go home after they returned to Starling, but their conversation on the train made them decide to make a pitstop at the foundry. The foundry’s renovations were almost completely done by now, with the workers planning to finish the last few things up in the next few days. Hand-in-hand, they made their way through the workout area and shooting range and down to where the Team Arrow command center was.

“Hey, I thought you were planning to head home after your train got in.” Tommy said when they entered the lair.

‘That was the plan.’ Oliver said. ‘Then, we had a very interesting conversation with a passenger on the train.’

“Interesting how?” Digg asked.

“We met a CSI from Central City. He came to town to try and get a fresh set of eyes on his mother’s murder case.” Felicity said. “He’s headed to the 12th precinct in the morning. McKenna-.”

“I don’t really….I can’t promise to get the case reopened.” McKenna said. “I don’t know the facts and I don’t have the authority to….I can meet him and hear what he has to say. And that’s all I can really agree to.”

“I know and that’s all I was gonna ask you to do. And I’m not a detective but Barry was right about one thing, that’s his name, Barry Allen. The case, there are a lot of holes in it.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for him.” McKenna said. “How big of a hole?”

“He has the case files and everything, but from what he told us? Pretty massive.”

After talking to McKenna about Barry, and asking her to meet with him, Oliver and Felicity decided to head home. They were exhausted from their day and they both needed some rest.

“All and all, I’d say this weekend was a success.” Felicity said as she laid down in bed next to Oliver.

‘It was the best weekend of my life.’ He said. ‘And I can’t wait for another William weekend.’

“Me neither.” She said with a smile. Watching Oliver with William was adorable. She was pretty sure that the only thing that would’ve been cuter than Oliver with the little boy would be Oliver with a baby. She wanted to see that, eventually, but not right now. “Good night.”

 

In Washington DC, Amanda Waller arrived for what she hoped would be her last day of testimony before the Senate committee. It was protocol that Waller and her lawyer had to wait outside to be called in by an aide, so she took a seat on the uncomfortable wooden bench and waited.

She felt like she had been waiting a while when the aide who’d called her in for the last few days walked by. The aide worked for one of the junior Senators on the committee, though she didn't know which one. “Ms. Waller, what are you doing here?”

“On Friday, I asked if I needed to return today, and the chairman said he would inform my lawyer if I was done, after he and the committee had a chance to confer. We didn’t hear anything and assumed my testimony wasn’t done.” She said, biting back the comment that her title was “Director", or at the very least "Agent" Waller. “Am I not supposed to be here?”

“One of Senator Adams’s aides was supposed to contact you this morning to inform you that the committee has decided they don’t need further testimony from you.” The woman said.

“So I can go then?” She said, standing up. “Fantastic.”

She turned to go but spotted a handful of men who were very clearly federal agents walking in her direction with a Capitol Police officer. She wasn’t sure why, but Waller knew they were here for her. She spun around, intending to walk in the other direction, but found other agents approaching from that side. She was being boxed in.

“Amanda Waller, we have a warrant for your arrest.” One agent said, holding up a piece of paper. He wasn’t an ARGUS agent, so Waller supposed he must be FBI or possibly US Marshals.

“On what charges?” Waller’s lawyer demanded.

“I’d prefer not to make a scene here.” The agent said. “I will explain the charges when we reach Hoover.” So, they were FBI then, because why else would they be taking her to the FBI headquarters?

“You don’t have jurisdiction here.” Waller said. “This is a Senate office building, which falls under the purview of US Capitol Police.”

“And we are not doing any kind of investigation in the building, so the Capitol Police has very kindly permitted us into the building solely to take you into custody.” He said. “Please turn around.”

“There’s no way I’m go-.”

“Amanda, do as he says and let him do what he came here to do.” Waller’s lawyer said. “We’ll figure this out when we get to the FBI office.” The last thing the lawyer, who was representing Waller as a favor, wanted was to cause a scene in the middle of the hallway.

“Fine.” Waller let herself be handcuffed and led out of the building. As she was being escorted out, she began fuming. Oliver Queen was going to pay for this. She was clearly being arrested for some imagined crime she committed against him.

It was only after she was taken to the FBI headquarters that she learned the charges against her had nothing to do with Oliver. Someone had found out exactly what Task Force X was, how Waller got prisoners to comply and decided she’d broken the law. Since neither Oliver nor Lyla knew what Task Force X was, she realized it must be Cat Grant’s doing.

Once he knew Waller was in custody, Secretary Graves called Senator Adams to thank him for waiting until Waller was already on Capitol Hill before “remembering” to have his aide tell her she didn’t need to come. It would’ve been a lot harder for Waller to slip away in the Senate office building as opposed to her hotel.

 

Bright and early Monday morning, Barry was awake and dressed. He told himself that 6:30AM was a little too early for him to head to the police station, so he found a way to keep himself busy for a few hours. He decided to get some breakfast at a nearby diner. After breakfast, he realized how nervous he was and thought taking a walk would help him get rid of the excess energy he had. His walk ended up lasting longer than he anticipated and he arrived at the SCPD closer to 10 than 9 as he’d planned.

He walked into the station and approached the desk sergeant. “Hello, my name is Barry Allen. I’d like to speak to a detective please.”

“About what?”

“There’s a case I want to speak to someone about.” He said.

"Which detective?"

"The case doesn't have one yet. That's why I'm here."

"Oh, so you're here to file a police report? I can take down your statement and-."

"No, I'm not here to file a report."

“Sir, I don’t-.”

“I’ve got this, Warrens.” McKenna said, approaching the desk. "Hi, my name’s Detective Hall. What is this about? I can direct you to the right unit or-.”

“I'm here about a case from 2000, a murder that happened in Central City." Barry said. "My name's Barry Allen."

“Oh, you’re the guy from the train Felicity texted me about.” She said. “Follow me.”

“You know Felicity?”

“Yeah, her boyfriend’s best friend is my boyfriend.” She said as he led him to a quieter part of the station. “She didn’t tell me anything about the case, other than it was a CCPD case and to expect someone to stop by. Now, why don’t you tell me about the case.”

“The victim was my mother. My father was convicted of the crime, but he’s innocent. No one wanted to believe a 12-year-old kid who they thought was lying to protect his dad, but it's been almost 13 years and things still don’t add up. And I’m a CSI, so I know what it looks like when the evidence doesn’t add up.”

“Do you have any files related to the case I can take a look at?” She asked him. He reached into his bag and handed her some files. She started looking through them. “What evidence was your father convicted on?”

“When the police arrived, he had her blood on his hands, but my dad’s a doctor. The blood got there because he was trying to stop the bleeding.” He said. “Aside from that, they didn’t have another suspect, so they went with the old “the husband did it” explanation. And his prints were on the supposed murder weapon.”

“What was the murder weapon?” She asked.

“They said it was a kitchen knife.”

“But you don’t believe that?”

“His fingerprints were on the knife, but there wasn’t any blood on the blade.  Why wouldn't his fingerprints be on a knife he'd owned for several years? And- just look at the pictures from the autopsy. It’s easier to explain after you see them.” He said.

She gave him a look but flipped through a few more pages before she reached the autopsy report. She then looked at the picture of the wound. “There’s no way a kitchen knife could’ve done that.”

“Exactly.” He said. “Not to mention what I saw that night.”

“What did you see?” She asked.

Barry took a deep breath before he told her about the strange lightning. The man-sized figure that was in the midst of the lightning. How he’d wound up a block away from his house in a matter of seconds.

“Now, I know it sounds crazy, and I know proving there’s a man who can control lightning makes me sound- I can’t prove it, but I know what I saw.” He said. “At the time, they thought I was just some dumb kid who made up the man with the yellow lightning because I was traumatized.”

“I don’t know what I can do about the yellow lightning, but the wound and the lack of other evidence does make me curious.” McKenna said. “Did you raise these issues with the CCPD? Ask for the case to be reopened?”

“I kinda….can’t.” He said. “They got a conviction, so it’s “case closed”. Not to mention, it would be too personal.”

“We’re talking about the murder of your mother which your father was sent to jail for. I don’t see how that could be more personal.”

“My foster dad is the arresting officer.” He said.

“I stand corrected.” She said. “How did that happen?”

“Joe was a friend of the family, before everything happened. When he found out I was put in foster care, he became a foster parent so that-.”

“Wait, wait, wait. The lead detective on this case is not only your foster father, but he was friends with your parents?” She asked him. Calling that a massive conflict of interest would be an understatement.

“Technically, his partner was the lead on the case, but yeah, Joe knew my family before my mother died.”

“Do you mind if I make a copy of this?” She asked, holding up the case file. “I wanna have one of our medical examiners look at the autopsy report and some CSIs take a look at everything else. See if there’s something you might’ve missed that they’ll notice.”

“No, uh, go ahead.” He said. 

“Sit tight, I’ll be right back.” She said.

McKenna went into the bullpen where the FBI and CGIS were still going through the massive pile of documents ARGUS had handed over. She greeted a few people as she made her way to the copier and started copying the files Barry had given her.

“Who’s Nora Allen?” Agent Rathbone asked, looking at the pages she had yet to copy.

“She was murdered in 2000. Her son, who’s an acquaintance of a friend, wants to get the case reopened. Central City doesn’t want to reopen the case, but he’s hoping that if he can go back to them with something they missed, they’ll be more willing to give it another look.” She said.

“It’s a cold case?”

“Not exactly.” She said. “The husband was convicted, on very flimsy evidence. The son’s pretty sure they don’t even have the right murder weapon. I told him I’d ask one of the SCPD lab techs and the medical examiner to take a look at the case.”

“No one wants to think his dad killed his mom.” Rathbone pointed out.

“I’ve been a detective long enough to know that. It’s less his insistence that his dad’s innocent and more the evidence not adding up that makes me want to help.” She said. She showed him one of the autopsy photos. “Does this look like something a kitchen knife could do? Even a cleaver?” There was a massive wound in Nora Allen's chest, too large and misshapen to be caused by any kind of blade.

“Absolutely not.” He said. “It looks like- did someone tear her heart out or something?”

“No. All her organs were intact when the body was taken to the morgue.” She said. “Like I said, the evidence not adding up makes me willing to believe the husband might be innocent.”

“Are you gonna show it to Anderson?”

“Probably not.” She said. “At the end of the day, it’s not a federal case and nothing happened across state lines. I might ask him if the MO is familiar, on the off-chance that it is, but I don’t wanna add anymore to everyone’s plates. Not with that huge ARGUS file still being pored over.”

Having finished making the copies of the files, McKenna took one copy to a CSI she had worked with before and put the second copy in her bag to take down to where the coroner was located. She then found Barry and gave him her card, telling him she’d call with news.

“So, I just….sit back and wait?” He asked.

“For now? Yeah. That’s all we can do.” She said. “You and your foster father are probably gonna butt heads on this.”

“What?”

“If you get the case reopened, or appeal to overturn the conviction, your foster father is going to find out.” She said. “Any time a conviction is challenged, the detectives are informed. And when he does find out, it’s not going to be a fun conversation, even though it seems like you really like him. I just hope you’re preparing yourself for that.”

“He knows I still don’t think my dad killed my mom. And that I’ve been trying to prove it.”

“It’s good that he knows, but I’m just warning you that this might damage the relationship the two of you have for a bit.” She said. It wasn’t her place to talk Barry into or out of anything. However, he either didn’t know, or didn’t want to acknowledge, that by challenging the conviction or investigation, sooner or later, Joe’s integrity would come into question, as would the conflict of interest of him knowing the victim, the suspect and becoming Barry’s foster father. When that happened, it wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone.

 

Felicity spent the drive into work on Monday telling Lyla all about the weekend with William. She knew the members of Team Oliver, aside from Thea, Roy and Donna, were eager to hear how it went. She didn’t spare any detail as she talked about how sweet of a kid William was or how much fun they all had.

“So, it was a good weekend overall.” Lyla said.

“Oliver said it was the best weekend of his life and I don’t disagree.” She said.

“I can’t wait to meet him, whenever that chance comes.” Lyla said. “But if I see Samantha any time soon, it’s not gonna end well. I don’t think she knows how much her lie affected Oliver. He spent years mourning the baby, feeling like it was somehow his fault she lost him.”

“How would it be Oliver’s fault?”

“When he first heard the news, he got a little freaked out.” She said. “He was a good older brother, but being a dad is a completely different story. He didn’t know if he was ready to be a dad. He felt like, even having that thought, made her lose the baby and not only did he mourn, but he blamed himself for that happening. It’s not logical that he could’ve caused the miscarriage, but still. And it turns out, she just lied about the whole thing.”

“She apologized to him on Friday, if that means anything.” Felicity said. “It doesn’t to me, but I digress.”

“It means nothing to me. It’s fucked up that she did it in the first place.” She said as they reached Applied Sciences. “But I guess it's a good sign that she can at least admit she fucked up.”

They made their way into the building and walked to the lab where Felicity, Curtis and Ray were working on the implantable biostimulant. As soon as the two men saw her, they wanted to hear all about the weekend with William went. As with Lyla, she told them pretty much everything she could think of, focusing on the fun William had building his robot from the kit she’d gotten.

“There are robot kits for kids to build?” Ray asked. “I wish they’d had those when I was a kid.”

“Me too.” Curtis said.

“The box said 6 and up. You’re over six, so I can send you the link to it if you want” Felicity said. “Or links to other sets I wanted to buy, but didn’t.”

“Yeah, send those to me.” Curtis said. “Because some of my friends have kids who might like that.” Based on his expression, he wasn’t thinking of his friends’ kids, but no one called him out on it.

“Did either of you do anything nice or fun this weekend?” Felicity asked. She could talk about William’s weekend all day, but didn’t want to monopolize the conversation.

Ray and Curtis both told her about their weekends. They didn’t do anything too terribly exciting, but it sounded like they had good weekends.

 

Moira was beginning to feel a little bit like an obsessed fan. Oliver wasn’t speaking to her and Thea was barely telling her mother anything important about her life. As a result, the only way she knew what was going on with her children was via social media. After learning that Oliver and Felicity Smoak were considered a “celebrity couple” by the people of Starling and had their own couple name, Olicity, Moira had taken to spending some time every day on gossip sites and social media to see what Oliver was up to, as well as Thea who was mentioned frequently, but not as often as Olicity was. 

Many people found it sweet or romantic that Oliver took Felicity on a lunch date nearly every workday. People gushed about how Oliver and Thea were such close siblings, despite their age difference. Some people actually didn’t want Thea to graduate, because it meant the daily school run would end. The big question on the gossip sites over the weekend was why Oliver, Felicity and Thea were spotted on a train heading to Central City. Some thought it was for Thea to tour a nearby college, while others suspected it was something related to Felicity’s work and Oliver and Thea just tagged along. Moira wasn’t sure what to believe, since she’d seen Thea on Saturday, but she wondered herself why the trio would’ve gone to Central City.

Seeing this, seeing her children through the eyes of random strangers, made Moira come to a few conclusions. First, she had raised two very good kids. She hadn’t realized how good of a job she’d done until she saw others commenting about how kind, thoughtful and compassionate her children were. Second, Felicity was the perfect person for Oliver. She knew Felicity cared about Oliver, but this went above and beyond that. The blonde made her son happy, which was important, and he seemed so much more at ease when they were together. It was hard for her to accept that her son would end up with someone she had such a bad first experience with, but Moira was self-aware enough to acknowledge she had made their first encounter tense, not Felicity. Most of all, it made her realize exactly how much she was missing out on. Oliver not wanting to speak with her was her own fault, but she missed him dearly.

Moira heard footsteps approaching and practically slammed her laptop closed, so that whoever was entering the room wouldn’t see the gossip site pulled up. It was a member of the security team, doing his rounds. Deciding that sitting in the living room, refreshing a gossip site, wasn’t the best way to spend her Monday, Moira stood up and headed towards the kitchen, looking for something to eat. She walked in and found Raisa looking at a small TV in the corner. The volume was turned down, but the footage was of Oliver dropping off Thea at school that morning.

“You watch the footage of them too?” Moira asked before she could help herself.

Raisa jumped upon hearing her question and turned around. “Yes, I do. The house is very quiet with both of them moved out.”

“It is. And seeing them like this, I miss them, but it makes me miss them less.” She said. “I’m glad they have each other.”

“Seeing Mr. Oliver and his sister together is certainly heart-warming.”

“Yeah.” Moira said, sounding wistful.

“I was going to make myself a cup of tea. Would you like a cup as well?” Raisa asked.

“That would be nice.” She said. “Oliver and Felicity seem to be quite smitten with one another.”

“There is a saying in Russia,” Raisa began before saying the words in Russian, “which roughly means “don’t let your person go”. And your person is your great love or your soulmate. I don’t know Felicity Smoak, but it seems to me that she is Mister Oliver’s person. And he’s not going to let her go.” She was trying to communicate to Moira, without overstepping, that Felicity wasn’t going anywhere and that if she wanted to rebuild her relationship with Oliver, she needed to accept Felicity.

“Good, I hope he doesn’t. She’s kinda the perfect person for him.” She said. “And they make a good couple.”

Raisa and Moira drank their tea, talking about Oliver, Thea, Felicity and the relationships between them.

 

Oliver spent his Monday doing very little. He took Thea to school and he checked on the status of the Bertinelli mole. Aside from that, there was nothing he really needed to do. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to the team about any issues that popped up on patrol, so he had a lazy day. Six months ago, having a lazy day would’ve made him feel terrible about himself, but now, he knew he had a right to a lazy day, especially after such an exciting weekend.

The only thing Oliver did on Monday, aside from take Thea to school, was go on a lunch date with Felicity. He liked his lunch dates with Felicity, since it gave them even more time together and he realized it was slowly getting him used to being around more people. 

Oliver had spent over a year by himself on Lian Yu after Smith’s death but before he was rescued. He got used to being alone and being around people terrified him when he first came home. It was only through sheer force of will, and a desire to prove his mother wrong, that the stockholders meeting in January didn’t cause him to have a panic attack. He didn’t think he’d ever deal well with a massive crowd, but sitting in a busy restaurant no longer freaked him out and he was able to handle going to the grocery store during busy hours or walking through the train station without feeling exposed.

Mostly, though, he liked taking Felicity on lunch dates because it gave him extra time with Felicity. She was his favorite person, so naturally, he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Today, they had returned to the same restaurant where they had their first lunch date. They ordered and the waitress was about to walk away, but hesitated. “I know this might be weird, but I wanna thank both of you.”

“For what?” Felicity asked, genuinely confused.

“I’m one of the owners. After you came here for the first time, our lunch business started to pick up. Some other restaurant owners in the area noticed the same thing.” She said. “The restaurant business isn’t an easy business, but since you’ve made lunch dates “a thing”, it’s been a little easier. Anyway, I know it wasn’t your intention, but I wanted to say thanks.”

“Oh, well, we gotta support local businesses right? And, thank you for having such amazing food.” Felicity said with a smile. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but she hoped that was a good response. The waitress went to enter the order. “I never expected something like that to happen.”

‘Me neither.’ Oliver said. ‘But, I guess an action can have more than one reaction.’

“Oliver Queen, are you saying Isaac Newton was wrong?” She asked, sounding shocked.

‘No, I just mean- you know cause and effect? A cause can have more than one effect, is what I’m saying.’ He said.

“Relax, I was joking. That whole “for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction” thing applies to motion, not economics or sociology.” She said. “I’m glad we’ve inadvertently helped some of the local businesses though.”

 

The therapist at Cassidy Penitentiary listened as Laurel tried to explain the way she was currently feeling. She seemed unaware of how to put it into words in a way that made sense. Laurel’s creative writing classes were going well, according to Laurel, and she felt like writing was something that could become more than a hobby. At the same time, she felt unsure of where her life was headed.

“I feel like, since I started coming to sessions with you, and being reunited with Sara, a lot is changing, but also almost nothing has changed. And I’m worried about what that means when my sentence is over and I leave here. What if I regress?” Laurel said. “Sorry if I rambled a bit. How I feel isn’t easy to explain.”

“That’s not an uncommon feeling, especially here.” She said. “Prison, even a minimum security prison, doesn’t allow you to control very much. I could pack up my bags and move to France tomorrow if I wanted to, you can’t because you’re here. However, you are making changes that’ll allow you to live and hopefully thrive, once you leave. But I like what you said right before you apologized for rambling.”

“Why?”

“It’s easier if I make an analogy. Do you know anyone who’s dealt with substance abuse?”

“Yeah.” Quentin was a recovering alcoholic.

“And did this person leave rehab and continue on as if nothing was different or leave rehab and work really hard to change their behavior?”

“The second one. He said he knew how easy it would be to fall back into that pattern and didn’t want to do it again.”

“Because he realized what he had been doing was unhealthy. It’s a similar thing with you. Your pattern of behavior was causing problems in your life, and you’ve acknowledged that it wasn’t just causing problems in regards to Oliver Queen and his girlfriend. The fact that you’re concerned with falling back into that pattern tells me you’re willing to do the work to change it. It tells me that you’re aware of it. Your attitude seems to be “when I leave here, I wanna live a better life” and that’s good. A lot of people get focused on “getting out of here” and not what comes after.”

“That’s over two years away.” Laurel said. “I was supposed to get three years of probation, but then I messed it up by violating the restraining order Oliver and Felicity got and I was sent here.”

“I know. You were convicted of several misdemeanors, which combined to get you three years, but because you don’t have a felony conviction, at six months incarcerated, which is less than two months away, you can petition to get probation reinstated.” She said. “You don’t get into trouble, you don’t cause problems. You’ve been coming to see me to work on your mental health and improve your behavior. Those are all things working in your favor. It’s not guaranteed, but it could happen.”

“The law says I have to serve a third of my sentence.” Laurel had represented several people charged with crimes and facing decades in prison, so she knew how sentencing and parole worked.

“That’s the standard to get parole for felonies. For misdemeanors, you can petition for probation at six months, since those tend to have shorter sentences anyway and those crimes are a lot less serious. Harassment isn’t a joke, nor is stalking, but you didn’t attack, kill or try to kill anyone.” She said. “Very few people know that, because it comes up less often.”

“I could be out of here by the summer?”

“Yes, you could. If you stay out of trouble and continue coming to therapy sessions with me.” She said. “It looks like our time is just about done, so I think we’ll stop here for today.”

Laurel left her office and went back to her cell. She immediately pulled out her notebook and started writing to Sara. She wanted to tell her sister what the prison therapist had just said. Laurel felt a lot more optimistic than she had this morning, even though she was in for a few weeks of waiting. 

After she started writing, she realized that she didn’t want to wait for the letter to be delivered to share the news with someone. Sara would be at work, but Quentin was retired. Laurel waited for the guard to come around for rec time before asking to use the phone, as she had phone privileges. He escorted her to the phone bank and she dialed her father’s cell number.

“Hey, Laurel, everything okay?” Quentin asked. This was the first time she’d called him from the prison.

“Yeah. I just- I got good news I wanted to share.” She said. “I found out I can try to get probation in May, for good behavior and stuff like that. And I wanted to tell someone as soon as possible.”

“That’s great, sweetheart.” He said. “I’m sure it’ll happen.”

“I hope it does.” She said. “What’s new with you?”

Lance talked a bit about how he was doing before the guard indicated Laurel needed to wrap up her call. They said goodbye and the guard escorted her away from the phones.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone in here about your news.” The guard said. “They find out you could be leaving, they might try to start something to make sure you don’t. I’ve seen it happen countless times before.”

Laurel had no plans to say anything to any of the other inmates, but didn’t say anything. The guards weren’t mean or unfair to her, but she didn’t see a reason to talk to them unless she had to. Inmates who talked to guards tended to get targeted by other inmates and Laurel’s plan from Day 1 was to keep her head down as much as possible, and it was paying off so far.

 

As soon as Iris got out of class, she gave Barry a call. She knew he’d gone to the Starling City Police Department in the morning to try and talk to a detective to look over Nora’s case. She hadn’t had a chance to call him since then, due to Monday being one of the days she had classes. She was eager to hear how it went and hoped he had some kind of good news.

Barry answered the phone almost right away.”Hey, Iris.”

“Did you talk to a detective? How did it go? Did he agree to look at the case?” She asked. “Have you run into the Arrow or his team and asked for their help?”

“Yes. Good. Yes. No.” He said.

“What?”

“Yes, I talked to a detective. It went well, she agreed to look at the case and made a copy of the file to give to some of their crime scene people.” He said. “And no, I haven’t seen the Arrow or his teammates yet. I only got in last night, remember?”

“That’s fantastic.” She said. “Who’s this detective? I wanna look her up. See what I can find about her.”

“Her name’s McKenna Hall.”

“McKenna Hall? As in, the detective girlfriend of Tommy Merlyn?”

“Yeah.” He said. “I guess Felicity talked to her and-.”

“Since when are you on a first name basis with Felicity Smoak?”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot to tell you. I’ve been on a first name basis with her since last night. I shared a compartment with her and Oliver on the train.” He said. “They helped me figure out what I was gonna tell the SCPD when I got here, to not sound crazy.”

“You met Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak and you didn’t tell me until now?!”

“You’ve met Felicity.” He pointed out.

“I made her coffee and sold her a muffin. It’s not like we had a real conversation.” She said. “Did you at least get a picture with them?”

“No, it seemed like they just wanted to ride the train in peace and after I realized who they were, it seemed rude to immediately ask for a selfie.”

“Fair enough. What are they like? Are they nice?”

“They’re both very nice.” He said. “And very easy to talk to. We could actually become friends.”

“If you ever see them again, you mean.”

“We exchanged numbers, in case I needed anything while I was in town, and we made vague plans to try and meet up before I left, so I might see them again in the next few days.”

“Well, if you do, tell them I think they’re a cute couple. But don’t make it weird.” Iris said. “Did McKenna say how optimistic she is about the file?”

“She seemed to not want to get my hopes up, but she agreed the case doesn’t fully add up.” He said, “I hope Joe’s not gonna hate me for this.”

“If he does, I’ll set him straight. He’s involved, yes, but this isn’t about him and he should be mature enough to realize that.” Iris said. “I gotta get to Jitters for my shift, but keep me posted.”

“Of course.”

 

In the foundry that night, Oliver, Felicity and Thea told everyone about the wonderful weekend with William. They knew everyone wanted to hear about how it went and they saw no reason to hold back. After they were finished, they listened as Lyla, Slade, Nyssa and Sara filled them in on what happened over the three nights he didn’t patrol. It seemed like a fraction of the Count’s dealers hadn’t been arrested yet, but the SCPD was working on it. Tensions between two gangs on the south side of the Glades were rising, but things hadn’t boiled over yet. It was a quiet few days, but no one knew how long it would last for.

After hearing everything, Oliver went to change into his suit. As he was grabbing his clothing, Sara approached him. “After patrol, I need to talk to you and Felicity about something.”

She seemed nervous, which was odd. Sara didn’t really ever get nervous, or if she did, she did a good job of hiding it. ‘Talk to us about what? Is everything okay?’

“Yeah, everything's fine. I’m fine.” She said. She then took a deep breath. “It’s about Laurel.”

“What about Laurel?” Tommy asked. Everyone else was looking in their direction.

“Ok, great. I guess I might as well do this now.” She said. “My dad called me this afternoon. Laurel’s gonna petition to get her probation reinstated in May. Apparently, since she was convicted of misdemeanors, she can do this after six months in jail, and not wait a year and be on parole.”

"What does that have to do with Ollie and Felicity?" Thea asked.

“First of all, I just thought they should know, since what Laurel did, she did to them and they’re my friends.” She said. “Second, I don’t know if the court’s gonna give them a chance to weigh in, give some kind of statement, and I didn’t want that to blindside anyone. And third….”

“Third?” Felicity asked.

“She really is sorry.” Sara said. “Maybe I’m biased because she’s my sister, but she’s sorry. She’s been working on her issues and she’s embarrassed by how she’s acted. She wrote me this long-ass letter, getting her feelings out and apologizing to me-.”

“You got a letter like that too?” Tommy asked. “I thought I was the only one.”

“No, she sent me one. And my mom and my dad and her friend Joanna.”

“But she didn’t send Ollie or Felicity one?”

“She can’t.” Felicity said. “We got a restraining order. If she tries to contact us in any way, it will get her into trouble.”

“I think that’s the only reason why she hasn’t tried to apologize to you as well.” Sara said, before turning to Oliver who hadn't said anything. “Oliver, please say something.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

--------------------------------
Fun fact: The point Waller brings up, about the FBI not being allowed on Capitol grounds to investigate something, is true. (due to the belief in "separation of powers" between the executive and legislative branches). There was a big "to-do" years ago about the FBI executing a search warrant to search a Congressman's office.

Chapter 129

Summary:

The team talks about Sara's news, Waller's arrest comes to light and Barry spends some time with his new friends.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Oliver, please say something.” Sara said. She had just shared that Laurel was intending to try to get her probation reinstated in a couple months. She told everyone that Laurel seemed genuinely sorry for the way she acted and was working on herself. So far, Sara couldn’t get a read on how Felicity felt and Oliver hadn’t said anything since she mentioned Laurel’s name.

‘What exactly are you asking me?’ He responded. 

“How you feel about it. Whether you believe her. What you’re gonna do. I don’t really know what it is I wanna know, I just-.” Sara knew she had to tell Oliver and Felicity about Laurel possibly getting put on probation again, but she hadn’t really thought about what she was going to say after she got that part out.

‘I’m not going to try and stop her from getting probation, if that’s what you’re concerned about.’ He said. ‘Laurel is- I’ve tried to put her out of my mind as much as I can, but I don’t wish anything bad on her. I can’t really say that I forgive her, but I’m not going to be malicious and try to stop her from getting out of prison.’

“That’s fair.” Sara said. “Felicity?”

“Pretty much exactly what Oliver said. I’ve got nothing against her wanting out of prison, but beyond that, I don’t have that much to say.” Felicity said. “You say she’s sorry, and I’m not saying I don’t believe you, or that she might be faking it, I don’t know her well enough to say that, but I don’t think she realizes how stressful those few weeks when she wouldn’t leave us alone were. So, she wants to get probation? Fine, but I have no desire to be around her.”

“Okay, I respect that.” Sara could accept that answer. She felt a little weird bringing this up in the first place, but Laurel was her sister, and Oliver and Felicity were her close friends. She was quite literally caught in the middle on this issue and couldn’t just ignore it.

Awkward silence filled the foundry. No one was sure what to say next, now that they seem to be done talking about Laurel, especially since quite a few of them hadn’t met Laurel or weren’t around when she was harassing Oliver and Felicity. Finally, Nyssa broke the silence.

“Is there something else we should discuss or should we leave to patrol now?” She asked.

“I don’t have anything I wanna talk about.” Slade said and the other vigilantes nodded. “Fantastic. Let’s go.”

The group went out on patrol, but it was a fairly quiet night. When the team returned to the foundry, Felicity looked a little too excited for the late hour.

“So, I have some news that’s gonna make everyone’s day.” She said. “And for some of you, it’ll probably make your year, if not decade.”

“Was my dad killed by a falling anvil?” Tommy asked.

“No, unfortunately.” She said. “Amanda Waller was arrested in Washington, DC earlier today. Or, I guess it was technically yesterday since it's after midnight, but-.”

“Arrested for what, exactly?” Lyla asked. She wanted to be excited about this, but she knew Waller too well. If the case against her wasn’t solid, she’d find a way to get free. If she was arrested because of what Lyla said in her testimony, Waller would come after her and Oliver when she was free.

“Kidnapping, extortion, false imprisonment, attempted murder, murder. And a whole bunch of other stuff that’s less exciting.” Felicity said. “I did some….light snooping in the FBI’s system and they mention something called “Task Force X” in the warrant. I haven’t heard of that before.”

“Oh, thank god.” She said. “I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know what Task Force X is, meaning what she’s been arrested for has nothing to do with what happened in Moscow or anything else Oliver or I are connected to.”

“Okay. That doesn’t really explain why you seem that relieved.” Thea said.

“If Waller had been arrested because of what she did to Oliver in Moscow, she’d come after him and I. I know how she thinks and that’s what she’d do.” She said. “But, since there’s no way she can blame her arrest on me or Oliver-.”

“She won’t come after you.” Slade said.

“Exactly. And let me be clear, she should be arrested for what she did to Oliver. I’m just happy she can’t immediately blame us for her arrest.” She said.

“What kinda mental gymnastics does it take for her to blame you and Ollie for her actions?” Sara asked. “You didn’t hold a gun to her head and make her double-cross and try to kill Ollie. Or betray you.”

“I’ve never met the woman, but that sounds exactly like Waller’s logic.” Digg said. From hearing Oliver and Lyla, but mostly Lyla, talk about her, he had a pretty good idea of how the woman viewed the world. In her own view, Waller doesn’t break any laws, because laws cease to exist when Waller’s around.

“Waller thinks anything she does to fulfill ARGUS’s mission is justified and therefore above the law. She also believes that no one above her in the government has the right to question her methods, because they’re “just bureaucrats” and she shouldn’t have to get approval for things. Therefore, Waller never does anything wrong, other people just betray her and go running to the people who “can’t understand” what it’s like to be her.” Lyla said. “That’s how she can blame Oliver or I for her arrest for kidnapping him and threatening him repeatedly before leaving him to die. Felicity, you’re right. That news made my decade.”

‘Mine too.’ Oliver said. He knew the federal government didn’t mess around when it came to investigations. They wouldn’t have arrested Waller if they didn’t have more than enough to keep her in custody and most likely convict her. It was one more weight he didn’t have to carry.

Everyone went home a little bit happier, knowing that Waller was facing consequences, real legal consequences, for what she’d done.



By Tuesday morning, Gambit task force agents had already spent days going over the massive ARGUS file they’d requested. It wasn’t very physically demanding, but going through page after page of information was exhausting. They were so focused on the task that few of them paid attention to any news that wasn’t local or a front-page story. As a result, they only heard about Amanda Waller’s arrest when McKenna brought her up.

“How is Waller’s arrest gonna effect how you guys move forward with this?” McKenna asked.

“Waller was arrested?” Reeves asked.

“Yeah, yesterday.” She said. She asked to use his computer and pulled up a Washington Post article about Waller’s arrest. It wasn’t front-page news and the article wasn’t very long, but it explained that Waller was arrested on Monday while she was on her way out of the hearing. It didn’t specify what charges were against Waller either.

“Anderson, did you know about this?” Reeves asked. “Because I didn’t.”

“Me neither.” Anderson said. “I’ll make a call, but honestly? Her arrest could be for something completely different and we should keep investigating those documents as if her arrest changes nothing.”

Anderson went to call his boss to see if Waller’s arrest was connected to the Gambit task force’s case while the other agents settled in for another day reviewing the massive amount of documents ARGUS had given them. Anderson came back into the bullpen and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“As I’m sure you all know by now, the former director of ARGUS, Amanda Waller, was arrested yesterday. My supervisor wasn’t able to tell me much, due to the investigation being ongoing, but her arrest is unrelated to what we’ve been investigating.”

“So, nothing about what we’re doing is gonna change?” One of the FBI agents asked.

“No. As far as I’m aware, her arrest has nothing to do with the Queen’s Gambit or the so-called Undertaking. Or whatever file 4587 is supposed to be about.” He said. “So, sorry everyone, but keep reading.”

McKenna was spared from having to assist because she had to head over to Pike’s office for her weekly meeting as the Arrow’s liaison. The meeting was mostly a check-in, and to see if there were any cases the Arrow wanted to bring to the SCPD’s attention or vice versa, but it gave them a chance to talk about the partnership without interruption or it being an emergency. As the meeting was wrapping up, Pike brought up something that wasn’t connected to the Arrow.

“Grau told me you asked him to look at an autopsy report from Central City.” Grau was one of the medical examiners. “Wanna tell me what that’s about?”

She told gave him a brief explanation of Nora Allen’s murder and why her son was still searching for answers. She made it clear that he was just asking for a second opinion and wasn’t expecting the SCPD to overstep and take over the case in any way. He just wanted something he could take back to the CCPD or his father’s lawyer.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m happy you didn’t clear this with someone, but you wouldn’t be the first person using department resources to do someone a favor. And asking the medical examiner for an hour of his time isn’t an unreasonable amount of resources being used. At least you aren’t trying to skirt the system.” He said. “If this comes up again, give me a call. If Grau hadn’t mentioned it, I might not have known about this until I got an angry call from the CCPD.”

“Someone from the CCPD called you?”

“Not yet, but if this kid gets what he wants and his dad is either freed or given a new trial, I imagine I’m gonna get one.” He said. “I gotta get to a meeting at City Hall. Keep me updated on the Allen matter and everything else.”

 

Felicity and Lyla spent their day at work, with Lyla reviewing some proposed security upgrades and Felicity working on her implantable biostimulant with Ray and Curtis. Oliver, meanwhile, prepared for an upcoming shareholders meeting taking place the following Tuesday. It was their quarterly meeting, to go over the company’s performance and take care of some routine matters, but he still wanted to be prepared. His first meeting with QC’s board went well, and he wanted them all to go as well as that one had.

 

Sara and Nyssa sat in the back of Big Belly Burger. It was Sara’s lunch break so Nyssa decided to meet her for a short lunch date. It had been going well, but then Sara brought up Nyssa’s assignment from Ra’s again.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Nyssa said.

“You can’t just ignore it.” She said. “Have you thought about what I said?”

“Somewhat.”

“That tells me almost nothing.” She said. “I’m not trying to push you into something you don’t want to do, but this isn’t something you can just ignore and hope it goes away. It’s gonna be hanging over your head, possibly for the rest of your life.”

“I am aware of that.” Nyssa said with a slight edge to her voice. “But involving the others is-.”

“Are you scared to tell them? Is that why you don’t wanna talk about it?”

“No.” She said, somewhat defensively. “I am not scared of anything.”

“Do you think they’ll be mad at you? Or that they won’t want to help you? Because they won’t get mad at you. Your father's gonna be the one they hate. And maybe they can’t help, but they’ll definitely try.”

“I am…..unaccustomed to depending on other people for things.” Nyssa said. “To being able to share my problems with others. I was not raised that way. I am supposed to be entirely self-reliant and not need anyone for anything personal. My father sees the need for help as a sign of weakness. I don’t share that belief, but it is hard to break habits like that.”

“So, it’s not that you don’t want the help, you just feel out of your element?”

“Yes.”

“Welcome to the club.” Sara said. “That’s how most of us feel most of the time.” She sighed. “Give it a thought, some real thought this time. You have friends, Nyssa. People who wanna help.”

 

Barry spent Tuesday sightseeing. He was still planning to try and meet the Arrow, but he wouldn’t be able to do that until nightfall. He didn’t want to annoy McKenna by asking for updates already, so he decided he should explore the city, see some landmarks and try to get some enjoyment out of the fake vacation he was on. In the middle of the day, he received a text from Felicity asking if he wanted to meet her and Oliver for dinner. He accepted, since they were the only people he knew in the city other than McKenna.

Barry met Oliver and Felicity outside of a small, family-owned Mexican restaurant at around 5:30. They had agreed to meet there when Barry said it was near his hotel and looked good. They got settled at a table and Felicity asked Barry if he’d had any luck with his mother’s case.

“Your friend McKenna agreed to look at the file and share it with a few people in the department to take a look at.” He said. “Thanks for telling her I was coming.”

“You’re welcome.” She said. “And I hope she has something to share soon.”

“I don’t know how soon it’ll be but- for the first time in years, it feels like I’ve done something to actually help my dad, and not just think about doing something. Does that make sense?” He said. “Probably not, but oh well.”

‘How do you like Starling City so far?’ Oliver asked. He could tell that Barry didn’t want to talk about his mother’s death right now.

“It’s a cool city. Lots to see.” He said. “I kinda wish I’d been able to get more time off, but it is what it is.” He took a sip of his drink. “I wasn’t really sure what to do when I got here, aside from talking to a detective, but Iris sent me a bunch of ideas. I guess she looked up “things to do in Starling City” when I told her I was coming out here.”

“Iris is your foster sister, right?” Felicity said. “I remember you telling us about her on the train.”

“Yeah, she’s my foster sister. And my best friend.” He said. “She offered to come with me, but between school and work, she couldn’t.”

‘What’s she in school for?’

“She’s studying psychology but wants to become an investigative journalist.” He said. “She’s got one more year, so for now, she’s working at a coffee shop.”

“Is Iris a black woman around my height who works at the Central City Jitters on 17th Street?” Felicity asked. “Because when we were in Central City, a woman named Iris, who looked like that, made our coffees and sold me some pastries.”

“Yup, that’s her. You remember her?” Barry asked. 

“Yes, she was very nice. I’m pretty good at remembering names and faces.” She said. “And also, I babbled a little bit when I asked her for a blueberry muffin that hadn’t touched a banana nut one because of my allergies and it’s impossible for me to forget when I babble and embarrass myself. I hope she didn’t think I was weird.”

“She didn’t.” He said. “So, when I told her I met you, she said to tell you that she thinks you two are a really cute couple, but not to make it weird. Now that I’ve said all that, I realize saying I didn’t want to make it weird makes it weird.”

Felicity and Oliver both laughed at that. “It’s not weird. You didn’t make it weird.” She said. “It’s actually kinda funny. Tell her that I say “hi” when you see her.”

The conversation moved on after that but Barry was relieved that he hadn’t made things weird or made his new friends feel uncomfortable by bringing up the fact that they were a celebrity couple.

When dinner was over, Barry went back to his hotel and Felicity and Oliver went to the foundry. Nyssa and Sara seemed to be discussing something, but when Thea asked them if everything was okay, Nyssa waved it all off as “nothing serious”. The group went out on patrol.

While they were patrolling, Nyssa spotted someone watching them. “There seems to be a man observing us from the street. He is not doing anything threatening or drawing any attention to himself, but it’s very clear that he sees us.” She said. “Now, he is waving to us.”

“Can one of you get closer?” Felicity asked. “So I can get a visual.”

“Copy that.” Lyla said. She and Oliver moved closer to the street level to get a closer look at the man. While he was still somewhat hidden in the shadows, Oliver began signing to Felicity.

‘It’s Barry.’

“He did say that he wanted to ask the Arrow for help with his mother’s case.” She said. “Impressive that he found you.”

“The Arrow is known to patrol the Glades more than other parts of town. He could’ve come here and waited, or listened to the police scanner to hear about a sighting of us.” Sara said. “Or, maybe he just got lucky. Arrow, go talk to him.”

Oliver and Lyla stepped out of the shadows a few yards from where Barry was. He spun around when he heard Lyla clear her throat. “Were you looking for us?”

“Arrow and Harbinger. I- I won’t lie, I didn’t really expect to find you. I mean, I hoped that I would but-.” Barry said. “My name’s Barry Allen. My mother was murdered when I was a kid and-.”

“You want us to investigate it.” The Arrow said, courtesy of Diggle. “Because we found Rebecca Meryln’s killer.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” He said. “I did go to the SCPD, to ask them to look at the case but I- you know, maybe they can help me, maybe they can’t. And maybe you can, or maybe you can’t, but asking both of you has to increase the chances someone can, right?” He knew the Arrow sometimes worked with the SCPD, so he didn’t want to make it seem like he didn’t trust them, or like he wanted the SCPD’s help and “settled” for the Arrow or vice versa. 

“I can’t say I disagree with that logic.” Harbinger said. “Do you have a case file or-?”

“Oh, um, here.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a file. “That’s everything I have on the case.”

“If we uncover anything, we’ll let you know.” The Arrow said. They turned to go.

“How are you gonna contact me if you don’t-?”

“We have our ways to contact you, Barry.” Harbinger said as they disappeared into the shadows. “Even in Central City.”

“How do you-? Oh right, it says Central City on the file.” Barry said. For a second there, he was going to ask how they knew he was from Central City. He looked up and the woman on the roof that he waved to, who he was pretty sure was Artemis, was gone. “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. What am I gonna do for the rest of my trip?”

 

Felicity was incredibly nervous when she woke up on Wednesday. Today was what she had dubbed “Interview Day”. She had three interviews lined up for today. In hindsight, scheduling them all for the same day might not have been the best idea but at the time she planned them, she decided having them on the same day was a good idea because she’d only have to be anxious about them for that one day.

“I can do this, right?” She asked Oliver as she was getting ready for the day. “I’m gonna give good interviews, right?”

‘You are going to be absolutely amazing.’ He told her. ‘I know it’s gonna be perfect.’

“What if I say something wrong? Or weird? What if, like, in the middle of talking about a project, I drop the f-bomb by accident?” The interviews were all for print publications, so she didn’t need to worry about having food in her teeth or anything, but she could still say something wrong.

‘I’ve never heard you say the f-word, unless you were interpreting for me. You don’t really curse that much. You’re not gonna say “fuck” during your interviews.’ He said. ‘Take a deep breath before you start and remember that you can do this. They wanna talk about computers and tech, right? You’re great at talking about that. It’s gonna be amazing.’

“You really know how to give a girl a pep talk.” She said. 

He had mostly repeated things she’d told him the morning of his interview with Linda Park, with some adjustments, but he decided to tell her that later, after the interviews were over. ‘Do you want me to come with you? For moral support?’ He asked her. ‘I don’t have anything planned for today.’

“I mean, if you wanna come, I’m not gonna say no.” She said. “But, you know, you don’t have to.”

‘I want to.’ He said. ‘I’ll head over to QC once Thea’s at school. Don’t start without me.’

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She said.

Lyla picked Felicity up and they went to QC’s headquarters for the first time in a while. True to her word, Felicity waited until Oliver arrived a little later before she let someone from the PR department show the first reporter into the room where they were doing the interview.

A woman with black hair, who walked like she meant business, came into the room and held out her hand to Felicity to shake. “Hi, Ms. Smoak. Lena Luthor, Engineering and Technology Magazine.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Luthor. Please, call me Felicity.” Felicity said, shaking her hand.

“Felicity, then.” Lena said. She took a seat across from Felicity. “I’m ready to begin when you are.”

Felicity took a sip from the bottle of water in front of her and took a deep breath. “I’m ready as well.”

“Great. I’d like to use a tape recorder, in addition to taking notes, if that’s acceptable to you. This way, if I miss anything in my notes, I have something to refer back to.” She said. “Is that something you’re comfortable with?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Felicity said. 

“If you want me to stop recording at any point, please just let me know.” Lena said, pulling out a small tape recorder, a notepad and pen. She pressed a button on the tape recorder and a red light turned on. “Felicity Smoak interview. Side A. Ms. Smoak, you have become a big name in the field of computer science over the last few years, and some have called you the next Steve Jobs or a young, female Steve Jobs. Tell me, what made you decide to pursue a career in tech?”

Felicity smiled. Not only did she love this question, but it put her at ease. This was a question she was asked often and one she knew how to answer eloquently. “Well, I suppose it started when I was a kid. I wanted to know how things worked. Once I became aware of computers, I fell in love with them and trying to figure out how they worked and how to make them work better. As I got older, and somewhat wiser, I realized how much tech could not only change the world, but also change the lives of everyday people. I wanted to help change the world.”

“I doubt many would say you haven’t succeeded on that front.” Lena said. “How do you decide which projects to pursue when? It’s an open secret that you have quite a bit of creative control over your own projects with Queen Consolidated. And you release some projects, unrelated to your work with the company, as well..”

She took a few moments to consider the question before answering. “Well, it kind of depends. While I’d love to be able to work on every idea I get, as soon as I get it, I wouldn’t get nearly as much done as I do.” She said with a laugh. “I always write down the idea, and when the project I’m working on is finished, I go to my list of ideas and consider how long it would take to work on each one, which ones make the most sense at the moment and what kind of resources I’d need. Some ideas I can pursue right away, others are a few years from being feasible. That’s for work projects, however. Personal projects, I tend to work on several things at once, a little bit at a time, until they’re ready.”

Lena made a few notes and moved onto her next question.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 130

Summary:

Felicity has her interviews and gets ready for her trip to Las Vegas with her mom and Oliver.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity’s interview with Lena Luthor went phenomenally. Once the blonde got over her nerves and the reporter started asking her questions, the whole thing felt incredibly natural and Felicity had no doubt that the article that would be coming out soon was going to be a hit. After Lena had asked her last question, Felicity thanked her.

“Can I ask you something?” Felicity asked. “Why do you use a tape recorder? Why not your phone?”

“Two reasons. It was a gift from my older brother, when I told him I was gonna study journalism. He said if I was gonna be a reporter, I’d need a tape recorder because, according to him, all reporters walk around with those.” She said fondly. “It’s also impossible to hack a tape recorder. Since I write about tech, and sometimes get to see prototypes before they’ve been announced or released, it’s proven helpful.”

“Yeah, I guess it would be.” Felicity said. “And, I’m sorry if that question seemed invasive, I just-.”

“It wasn’t. Someone asks that in at least a third of my interviews.” She said. “I’ll have my editor send you a copy of the issue before it hits the shelves. Thanks again for your time.”

“Thanks.” She said. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

After her interview with Lena, Felicity had a short break and talked to Oliver before sitting down for an interview with MIT Technology Review . While she felt like the interview went well, nothing about it really stood out to her. It felt like the handful of interviews she’d done in the past.

Felicity’s third and last interview was the only one that upset her. At first, she was happy with the way the interview was going. The reporter was easy to talk to and their conversation wasn’t solely about her work. Then, the reporter asked about Felicity’s father.

“To what extent do you think your father is-?”

“I’m not gonna answer that question.” She said. “I haven’t seen or spoken to my father in years, I don’t know him all that well, so I’m not gonna answer any questions related to him.”

The reporter seemed slightly surprised. “You’ve become a major player in the tech world. Before his cybercrimes were exposed, your father was a software engineer. Are you saying his career had no influence over the career path you took?”

“I just said that I wasn’t gonna answer any questions about him, but yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” She said. “If I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, I’d be a cybercriminal on the run from the FBI right now, not working on something that could help paraplegics walk again. And, to put it bluntly, he doesn’t get to take credit or claim to have inspired anything I’ve done. Credit for that goes to my mother and grandmother, who’ve always supported me, and my cousin Emily who helped me realize how much technology can improve people’s lives. My father doesn’t factor into any of that in any way, shape or form.”

“But your fath-.”

“If you bring my father up again, I’m leaving and this interview is over.” She said. “In all the back and forth between me, QC’s PR department and your magazine, it was made very clear that certain topics weren’t up for discussion. One of those topics was my father.” She wasn’t stupid, she knew exactly what he was doing. He was hoping that if he did ask about something they’d agreed was “off the table”, she’d be too nice to call him out on it or refuse to answer. Unfortunately for him, Felicity was nice but not a pushover. Additionally, the magazine needed the article about Felicity, to sell issues, a lot more than she or QC needed the magazine. “Is there another question you’d like to ask?”

He cleared his throat. “No. I think I have everything I need to write my article.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.” Daniel Correll said. He had quietly slipped into the room in the middle of Felicity’s exchange with the reporter, after being told by someone that the reporter had deviated from what was discussed. “We look forward to reading your article. And please give Ryan my best.” Ryan was the editor-in-chief of the magazine and Correll’s implication was clear: the reporter would be smart not to include anything about Noah Kuttler.

The reporter practically fled the room and Felicity turned to the head of PR. “Was I a little too combative about my dad? I just- we put questions about him on the “off-limits” list but he still asked about it and I really don’t-.”

“You did nothing wrong. He shouldn’t have asked about it.” Daniel said. “The other two interviews went well, I take it?”

“Really well, especially the first one with Lena Luthor.” She said. “If she reaches out for an interview again, let me know.” She walked out of the conference room holding hands with Oliver.

‘Are you really okay?’ He asked her.

“I’m fine. It’s just annoying that some people can’t respect boundaries.” She said. “And I might be making it into something it’s not, but part of the reason why that question pisses me off so much is the implication that I only went into tech because of my dad, that I’m only doing this for some kind of validation from him. It’s insulting and a little sexist, because none of the male tech or comp-sci people I know get the “how did your dad impact your career” question. Only the women get that question.”

‘That is sexist.’ He said. ‘I’m sorry.’

“Now you know why I was so excited when I saw my first interviewer was a woman.” She said. “Because I knew she probably wouldn’t ask that question, because she’s probably gotten a version of that question and knows how it feels.” They made their way down to the lobby level. “I hope that wasn’t a really boring morning for you.”

‘Not at all.’ He said. ‘Any time I spend with you can’t be boring, because I get to spend it with you. And, not to say “I told you so”, but I said you were gonna do amazing during your interviews, and you were.’

“Yeah, credit where credit is due. You were right.”

‘Actually, you were.’ He said. ‘My whole “you can do this, it’s gonna be amazing” speech, I kinda….I repeated what you said the morning of my Linda Park interview, with some slight edits. I couldn’t think of a better way to say it than how you already said it.’

Felicity just smiled at him and asked him if he was ready to go get lunch. Hand-in-hand, they left QC and, with Digg and Lyla, headed to a nearby cafe for lunch.

 

It was around one in the afternoon when Barry returned to the SCPD precinct. His train home was leaving in a few hours and he wanted to check in with McKenna while he still had some time to talk before having to rush to catch his train.

When he asked the desk sergeant where he’d find her, he was directed to the third floor where he found a bunch of federal agents bent over piles of paper. He cleared his throat to get someone’s attention and asked if he was in the right place.

“Sorry to interrupt your- sorry, the cop downstairs said Detective Hall should be up here, but you guys are feds, so-.” He said nervously.

“Hall’s our local liaison and she’s been helping us with a few things.” One of the agents said. “So, you’re in the right place. She should be back from lunch any minute now if you wanna take a seat.”

Barry took a seat and waited. He thought one of the agents was looking at him weirdly, but when he turned, no one was looking at him. He felt like he was being paranoid. Why would an FBI agent or Coast Guard investigator be interested in him anyway?

After about five minutes, McKenna walked into the bullpen. She spotted Barry almost immediately and walked over to him.

“I know it’s too early for you to have anything.” He said before she could say anything. “It’s only been two days, but I’m going back to Central City tonight, and there are a few things I wanted to tell you.”

“Like the fact that you gave a copy of your mom’s file to the Arrow?” She asked.

“Yeah. Ho- how do you know about that?” He asked.

“I was talking about it with Frank Pike, our acting commissioner, this morning. The Arrow’s liaison officer-.” She said. 

“Told him, and Pike told you, because he knows I gave the file to you.”

“We also know your reasoning for asking the SCPD and the Arrow for help. So, there’s no hard feelings. I know you’re hoping one or both of us can get you the answers you’ve been looking for.”

“Oh, good. Because I- I don’t wanna make it seem like I don’t trust you or like I’m not being transparent with you. I just- well, you already summarized my methods pretty well.” He said. “That’s not the only reason why I’m here, though.”

“Okay, what brings you by?”

“I gave you my card when I gave you the file, but it only has my work number and email listed. And given the whole situation, I think it's better if you have my cell number or personal email.” He said. “I remembered to give that to the Arrow, so you don’t have to give it to Pike to give to the liaison.”

McKenna realized that she hadn’t made it clear that she was the Arrow’s liaison, but clarifying it now might make things seem weird, and there was a reason why only Pike knew that she was the liaison. “Good to know. Our ME likes to err on the cautious side, meaning not making definitive statements, but he's struggling to think of an explanation for how a knife could’ve caused your mother’s wounds.”

Barry’s face lit up. “He said that?”

“That was his initial opinion. He wants to test out a few other possibilities before he’s comfortable making that opinion known.” She said. 

“Still, it’s good to hear that.” He said. “I don’t wanna take up anymore of your time, but I wanna say thank you again, for everything. I don’t- it means a lot to me.” Barry left the station before his emotions got the better of him and he started crying.

“Is that the guy that’s trying to free his dad for his mom’s murder?” Rathbone asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did you tell him two FBI agents agreed with him that she couldn’t have been killed with a knife?”

“Not yet. Reeves is gonna write up their findings all nice and fancy and I’m gonna include it in my “we’ve looked at everything, here’s what we think” email to him.” She said. “I don’t want to give him the wrong idea before I hear back from everyone.”

 

Wednesday afternoon passed quickly for everyone and before Oliver or Felicity knew it, they were sitting down for their Skype call to William. While they had seen William only a few days ago, it felt to them like much longer had passed since they had a chance to talk to the boy. They couldn’t wait to hear about his week so far.

Right on schedule, Samatha’s face appeared on screen and a moment later, she handed the tablet she was holding to William.

“Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!” He said, waving.

“Hi, Will.” Felicity and Oliver said at the exact same time. Oliver then continued to speak via his app. “Are you having a good day?”

“Uh-huh. We worked on reading at pre-k and my teacher showed me how to write my name and-.” Will continued to tell them all about his pre-k class and the exciting things he got to do. He was clearly very excited for kindergarten next year. “Oh! And I told Mr. Pat about the robot we built and he said it was cool.”

“Who’s Mr. Pat?” Felicity asked.

“Courtney’s step-dad. He’s Mike’s dad.” William said. “I was telling Courtney about what we did on Saturday and he came to take her home and he asked me if I had fun, so I told him all about the stuff we did. He doesn’t make robots anymore, but he said my robot sounded really cool.”

“Well, it is really cool.” Oliver agreed. “Because we built it together.”

“And it’s my first robot ever. Well, the first one I made.” He said. “I told him about the robots on Mars too. He said that I know more about them than he does!”

Felicity and Oliver were both pretty sure that Pat just wanted to be encouraging, so he reacted positively to William telling him all about the Mars rovers and acted like what William had told him was news to him. They were happy he’d done so, since kids get excited easily and it was always better when adults didn’t brush off that excitement.

“Well, we did talk about them alot on Sunday. And it’s always cool when you get to share new things with people.”

“The coolest!” William said. “What did you and Lisy do today?”

“Well, I talked to a bunch of people about some of what I do for work.” Felicity said. “I’m gonna be in a magazine soon.”

“Really?” The boy asked with his eyes wide. “When? I wanna see it.”

“It won’t be for a few weeks, but we can look at it after it gets printed.”

“Did you talk about robots?”

“For a little bit.” She said. “Your dad came with me and kept me company while I was talking with people. Are you going to do anything fun this weekend?”

William then launched into a story about everything he wanted to do this weekend, which mostly consisted of a birthday party for someone in his pre-k class and going to the park with his friends, but to him, every weekend was an exciting weekend.

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” Oliver said.

“It’s gonna be, but it’s not as much fun as my weekend with you.” He said seriously. “I like going to your house more. I don’t want you to think I like Adam more than you.” He wanted to be sure that Oliver and Felicity knew how much fun he had with them and that he couldn’t wait for his next visit.

“We had a lot of fun too.” Oliver said. “I can’t wait until you get to come see us again.”

“Me neither, but I also missed Mommy.” He said. “I got to talk to her lots, but I think she was sad when I wasn’t home. Now, I’m home, and she’s not sad anymore, but I miss you.”

“We miss you too.” Felicity said. “She missed you, but she was happy you were having fun.”

“How can she be happy and sad at the same time?”

“Sometimes, feelings are messy.” Oliver said. “It’s okay to be happy and sad at the same time.”

The conversation turned to William, Oliver and Felicity discussing ideas for what they could do the next time William came to stay with them. All too soon, it was time for William to take his bath and get ready for bed. They said goodbye and told William they’d speak to him on Saturday.

 

Thursday was Felicity’s work-from-home day. In between doing her work, she and Oliver packed and got everything ready for their trip to Las Vegas to help Donna pack up her apartment over the weekend. After a long discussion, it was decided that Digg and Lyla were the only ones coming with Oliver, Felicity and Donna. All of Team Oliver wanted to go, to both see where Felicity had grown up and to meet Felicity’s bubbe, but bringing too many people would make everything too complicated. The others agreed that, the next time Felicity and Donna went to Las Vegas, everyone would come with them.

“How early do we have to be there tomorrow?” Felicity asked Oliver as she closed her suitcase. “Two hours before?” 

‘What do you mean? Two hours before what?’

“Um, two hours before the plane takes off.” She said. “The TSA advises you to get to the airport like 2 hours before take-off to get through security.” Oliver had inherited a private jet from his grandfather, which they were taking to Las Vegas so that they didn’t have to worry about shipping Donna’s stuff back to Starling. Felicity had only ever flown on commercial flights before and wasn’t sure how security worked for private planes.

‘You don’t have to go through the TSA line for private flights.’ He said. ‘We can just get there like half an hour before and we’ll be fine.’

“Really? We don’t have to wait in those long lines or go through any kind of bag check or anything?”

‘Really. My dad once decided he “needed” to fly to Chicago at 10am, went to the airport and was in the air before 11:30.’ He said. ‘Though, now I’m wondering whether he actually was going to Chicago for work.’ Since Thea had shared with him what Moira said about Isabel Rochev, Oliver started to wonder how many of Robert’s work trips were actually for QC and how many were for him to have affairs. ‘I’ve never been through a TSA line.’

“Lucky you.” She said. “It’s important, and it’s for safety, I know that, but it’s annoying. The lines are long. You gotta take off your shoes and walk through a metal detector and there’s always the one guy in front of you that forgets to take his keys or phone or something out of his pocket and holds up the line because the metal detector keeps going off when he walks through.”

‘Well, we don’t have to deal with any of that tomorrow.’ He said. ‘I wanna do some cybersleuthing before we go, see if I can give the team anything to look into while we’re in Vegas.’

“Good luck.” She said. “Let me know if you need, or want, any help.”

 

“I have given what you said some thought.” Nyssa announced to Sara as they were eating lunch. Sara was off today, and the only thing they had planned for today was going to Cassidy Penn to see Laurel.

“Okay….”

“I have decided I will tell one person of my father’s assignment.” She said. “Telling everyone seems too daunting of a task.”

“In what way?”

“Just that the idea of explaining the situation I find myself in to several people at once feels too difficult. If I speak with one person, I don’t have to concern myself with everyone’s individual reactions and the person I tell the truth to may help me figure out how to go about telling the others.” She said. “I know you would be willing to tell them, but you haven’t known most of what Felicity calls “Team Oliver” for longer than I have.”

“That makes sense. I’d be happy to be the one to tell them, but if you’d rather confide in someone else as well, I support you.” Sara said. “Have you decided who you’re going to tell?”

“Oliver is my first choice.”

“Are you gonna tell him tonight? Because otherwise, the earliest you’d be able to tell him is Sunday night, if he comes to the foundry.”

“Not tonight. From what I know about him, he’ll feel compelled to try and help me immediately, and I don’t want my predicament to distract him from enjoying his time with Felicity and her family. I know he’s been looking forward to his trip.”

Sara nodded. She was glad Nyssa had thought about what she said and could understand both her nerves and her reasons for wanting to give herself a few days to work out what exactly to say before she had a conversation with Oliver about it. 

 

Barry’s train to Central City arrived late. It was nearly midnight when he was getting off the train. When he realized how late he’d be getting home, he sent Iris a text and told her he’d take a cab back to his apartment. Iris had offered to pick him up, but he didn’t want to ask her to be up that late on a random Wednesday. 

As a result of not getting to talk to him as soon as he arrived back in Central City, Iris texted Barry first thing Thursday morning wanting to know exactly how his trip went and what progress had been made in his mother’s case. Rather than type out a long text, Barry said he’d stop by Jitters when she got off work, treat her to a quick bite to eat and tell her all about it.

“So, don’t leave me in suspense.” Iris said as soon as they sat down. “How’d it go?”

“Well, the detective told me their ME said there’s no way a knife could’ve caused my mom’s wounds, so that’s a step in the right direction.” He said. “And I found the Arrow and asked for his help.”

“You found the Arrow? How?”

He shrugged. “I listened to the police scanners and heard a patrol car mention seeing one of his teammates and headed to a spot where I thought they’d pass by. And they did.” He said. “Seemed like the smartest option.”

“Well? What was that like? Did he agree to help?”

“It was- he agreed. And he seemed fine. He did this whole “dramatically appear” thing. And he’s not scary, but I’d say intimidating. But it went fine.”

“I wish I could’ve gone with you.” She said. “What else did you do? Please tell me you didn’t just spend the trip sitting in a police station.”

“I didn’t. I saw some sights. And had dinner with Oliver and Felicity. She remembered you, by the way.” He said.

“What?”

“I was talking about you, and I mentioned you worked at a coffee shop and Felicity remembered you from that time at Jitters. She said she hoped she wasn’t too awkward when she was talking to you.”

That made Iris laugh and she was happy that Felicity had remembered her.

 

Thursday night, the team met up in the foundry for patrol. Oliver still wasn’t any closer to finding out the identity of the mole within the Bertinelli family, but Lyla had uncovered some suspicious activity that she thought the team should look into. Many of the gangs in the Glades had suffered because of the team’s activities, but those gangs weren’t completely gone, and some had delusions of wanting to regain the power and reputation they’d lost.

While none of the gangs seemed to be planning anything big, Lyla’s search gave the team a chance to put a stop to a few things they were trying to set into motion.

 

Friday passed quickly and before they knew it, Felicity and Lyla were getting picked up outside Applied Sciences by Digg, Oliver and Donna. Oliver seemed nervous about the trip, while Donna was very clearly excited to be returning to Las Vegas.

They went to the airport and boarded Oliver’s jet. The flight wasn’t very long and they were touching down in Vegas before too long. As they made their way through the airport, Felicity started to notice people turning to look at them.

“How long do you think it’ll take before the first “Olicity Elopes to Vegas” article to be posted?” Felicity asked the group.

‘It’s probably already live.’ Oliver said.

“Yes because why else would someone who was raised in Las Vegas, and has family who lives in the city, come here?” Donna said. “Stay away from wedding chapels and Elvis impersonators, that’s all I can say.”

Thankfully, no one came up to the group or started yelling questions at them as they made their way through the building and out to the rental car Felicity had booked. Donna knew the area better than anyone else, so she drove to their hotel. Donna’s apartment was a small two-bedroom, so rather than stay at her apartment, it made more sense for them to stay in one of the many hotels where everyone wouldn’t be cramped into a tiny space. The SUV pulled up outside the MGM Grand and they all got out.

“Ah, home sweet home.” Felicity said. “I think I spent more time here than I did at our apartment.”

“We weren’t always here, sweetie.” Donna said.

“No, we weren’t, but I’ve got some fond memories of this place.” She said.

Similar to the airport, a few people did double-takes when they saw the group walking through the lobby, but no one approached them. A few staff members saw Donna and waved to her, but that was about it. Felicity went to check in, but the concierge mentioned needing to check on something and walked into a back room. While they were waiting for her to return, a man walked out of the casino and approached the front desk.

“Donna,” he said, “I saw your name on the reservation list and asked Casey to let me know when you checked in. I hope there are no hard feelings between us.” The man had been Donna’s boss for nearly 20 years and she told him she quit over the phone after he tried to pressure her into coming back to Vegas only a few days after Oliver’s interview with the task force.

“Of course not, Bobby.” She said. “It was time for me to move on. And, like I said on the phone, thanks for everything over the years.”

“And thank you for those years.” He said before turning to Felicity. “And little Felicity, all grown up.”

“Yup. Hi, Mr. Green.” Felicity said awkwardly. Oliver was about to ask her why she seemed nervous and a little uncomfortable. “Let me guess, you want to tell me that I’m still banned from the casino?”

“Yes, that’s the second reason why Casey told me when you arrived.” He said. “You may be old enough to gamble, but-.”

“No worries.” She said. “Can you tell Casey she can stop hiding now? We just wanna get to our room.”

Bobby nodded and the concierge who had “gone to check on something” walked out of the back room she’d disappeared into. She gave them their room keys and sheepishly told them to enjoy their stay.

“You’re banned from a casino?” Digg asked her when they got into the elevator.

“She’s banned from three.” Donna said. “For card-counting. She wasn’t kidding when she said she spent a lot of time here growing up.”

“It’s not my fault blackjack is just math.” She said. “It’s annoying, but we’re not here to gamble, so it’s not a huge loss.” The elevator reached their floor and they got out and let themselves into their suite. It wasn't quite the penthouse suite, but it was definitely one of the rooms set aside for “important” guests.

“Nice view.” Lyla said, looking down on the brightly-lit Las Vegas strip below them.

“It looks a lot less impressive during the day, but you’re right. It’s not a bad sight.” Felicity said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could really do with some room service right now.”

‘I could eat.’ Oliver said.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

------------
I know we rushed through a few days of events, but on the upside, next chapter we have Bubbe Smoak!

Chapter 131

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity spend some time in Las Vegas while Barry gets some hopefully good news.

Notes:

I feel the need to put a short warning here: this chapter contains reference the Holocaust and its aftermath, and antisemitism in general. None of it is explicit or detailed, but I know those topics might be difficult for some people to read.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After their room service arrived, Felicity, Oliver, Lyla, John and Donna talked about how they were going to spend the next few days while eating. Donna didn’t think packing up her apartment would take very long, but she also admitted that it had been quite some time since she’d gone through her things to declutter or give things away.

“It’s not a big apartment, which is a good thing.” Donna said. “But I’ve lived there for nearly 20 years, so there’s 20 years' worth of stuff to go through. And the furniture’s gonna stay here. I told David he can have it, since he’s getting a new place soon, and he needs stuff.” Leading up to the trip to Nevada, Donna had talked to her brother and nephew to ask them if they wanted any of the things from her apartment that she wasn’t taking back to Starling.

“Are we going over there first thing tomorrow, or are you three gonna go see your mother tomorrow morning?” Digg asked her.

“We’re gonna go see her first.” She said. “Bubbe’s made it very clear that she wants to meet Oliver as soon as possible. You’re welcome to come too, by the way. You aren’t just here to help me move. I hope you know that.”

“We know.” Lyla said. “But we don’t wanna intrude on your family time. Besides, Johnny and I can occupy ourselves for a few hours.” Based on her expression, she already knew how they’d occupy themselves while Felicity, Oliver and Donna were seeing Hannah, though Digg looked a little perplexed. “Oh, and Felicity? You might wanna text your friends who don’t know why we came here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thea, Tommy, Sara, that whole group, they know we’re here to help Donna move and see your family, but I don’t think Curtis or Ray or some of your other friends know why you’re here. They might see what the tabloids write and think you and Oliver have eloped.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. I don’t wanna be on the receiving end of dozens of texts from people who are mad that I didn’t invite them to my wedding.” She said. She let out a yawn. “I’ll do it first thing tomorrow.”

 

Slade flipped through the pages in front of him before handing the file folder in his hands to Sara, who was standing next to him. “I’ve got nothing. I can’t think of a weapon that could make that kind of wound.” Nora Allen had clearly been murdered, but he hadn’t seen wounds like hers in his time on the island or with ASIS. “But, you spent a year on that freighter with Ivo and who knows what that man was doing, so maybe you have.”

Nyssa had already looked at the photos and determined that she hadn’t seen a wound like Nora’s before and couldn’t explain how a knife, or any bladed weapon for that matter, could explain the wound. Sara took the file and started looking at the photos.

“I know I’m not an expert in anything related to this but I’ll just throw it out there.” Tommy said. “Could it have been some kinda power tool? Like a chainsaw or something? ‘Cause Nyssa said something to the effect of “if this was done with a knife, she would’ve died before the wound looked like this” and it just- could it have been a power tool?”

“That’s a good suggestion, but no.” McKenna said. “A chainsaw or other power tool would’ve caused more injuries.”

“I don’t have an idea about the weapon either.” Sara said. “But the wound looks- this is going to sound completely insane, but does anyone else think the wound is about the size of someone’s hand?”

“How could a human have done that, without a weapon?” Nyssa asked.

“I couldn’t have done that, even with Mirakuru in my veins.” Slade said.

“I’m not saying it was definitely someone with their bare hands, I’m just saying the size and shape of the wound looks to be the size of a hand.”

“He said he saw a man in the lightning, so maybe- no, seeing that doesn't mean that-.” McKenna said.

“What?” Thea asked.

The detective told them the story Barry had told her about the night his mother died. When discussing the case earlier, she didn’t mention the man in the lightning, because she didn’t have an explanation for it, and, of everything about Nora’s murder, Barry seeing someone inside lightning was most bizarre. After she had told the story, she continued. “Right now, the aim is to prove Henry Allen didn’t kill his wife with a kitchen knife. I think between me, the medical examiner, you three plus Oliver and Lyla, and two FBI agents all saying the same thing, we’ve at least established that.” She said. “Maybe there was a man in the lightning, maybe there wasn’t. At this point, it doesn’t matter. To reopen a case, there just needs to be reasonable evidence to challenge the verdict. Saying “hey, you got the weapon wrong” is enough for that standard of proof.”

“Okay, so what happens now?” Roy asked.

“I’m gonna make Barry Allen’s Saturday when I send him all of this tomorrow.” She said. “He can take it to the CCPD and hopefully, they will act on what we’ve said.”

“You should include some kind of note saying that he should send a copy to his father’s defense attorney immediately, so that the attorney is aware of what’s happening.” Walter added. “The police department may be reluctant to reopen the case because it implies errors on their part. The district attorney's office may drag their feet for the same reason. Dr. Allen’s attorney can put the necessary pressure on them to act on what you’re sending to him. And, if they don’t, he would know how to file an appeal based on the lack of evidence or make someone at the state attorney general’s office aware of this case.”

“I’ll add a note.” She said. “I didn’t even think of that.”

 

Saturday morning, Samantha was making breakfast for herself and William when her phone buzzed. Normally, she would have ignored it until later, but the text was from Oliver and he never communicated with her out of the blue. She unlocked her phone to read the text.

From: Oliver: I’m not sure how much you pay attention to tabloids, but I thought I should text you before you see anything about Felicity and I getting married in Vegas. I’m currently in Las Vegas with Felicity and her mother to meet her grandmother and help her mother move. We are not eloping. If William hears something like that, please tell him the truth. I don’t want him to get hurt that he’s being left out of something so important.

Samantha started to type a response, but kept overthinking what she’d written. After a few moments of struggling, she decided to go with something short and simple.

To: Oliver: Thank you for letting me know. I’ll tell William what’s going on. I hope you enjoy your trip. If we need to move up or push back your call with William, let me know.

Samantha had had a meeting with her lawyer the day before and the lawyer pointed out a few things to her when she mentioned how weird it felt to be on somewhat civil terms with Oliver and Felicity. Camille pointed out that, as William’s father, Oliver would be at a lot of events that Samantha also attended in the future, such as graduations, science fairs, and even one day, William’s wedding. Being on civil terms was a good thing for everyone. She then pointed out that it was a question of “when” and not “if” the press found out about William being Oliver’s son and they needed to come up with a plan for when that happened. Samantha didn’t want to think about that just yet, but she wasn’t going to ignore the woman’s advice about staying on good terms with Oliver and Felicity.

William came downstairs, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “What’s for breakfast?”

“What are you in the mood for?” She asked him. “You want some eggs? Maybe some toast? Or some cereal?” William wasn’t a very picky eater, but he was at the age where, according to her parents and some parenting books she’d read, he needed to start making some choices for himself. He was still only five, but he was starting to grow up and become independent.

“I dunno.” He said. He looked like he was giving his options a great deal of thought.“Can I have grape jelly on my toast?”

“Yes, you can have grape jelly on the toast.” She said.

“Then, I want toast.” He said. “Did you know that, to make jelly, they take a bunch of grapes and put them in a bucket and squish them? That’s what Courtney told me.”

“Courtney’s right. That’s how you make grape jelly.” She said as she put two pieces of bread into the toaster. Once the toast was done, she helped William prepare his breakfast and they ate.

“I’m gonna talk to Daddy on the tablet after Adam’s party, right?” He asked her.

“That’s the plan, but we might have to do it a little bit later.” She said.

“Why?”

“Your dad and Lisy went to where she used to live to help Lisy’s mom with something and to meet Lisy’s grandma.” She said. “I know they both wanna have plenty of time to talk to you, so I wanna make sure we aren’t calling when it’s a bad time for them.”

“Okay.” He said, taking a bite of toast.

 

Every day that Iris worked, Barry went to Jitters for coffee. He knew it was starting to add up financially, but Iris was his best friend and the only person he could talk to about certain things, like his trip to Starling. He also just liked spending time with her. He knew that the peak rush at Jitters on Saturdays started at 9, so he got up a little early so that he could talk to her a bit before the rush came in. When he walked into the coffee shop, she looked up and waved him over excitedly. 

“Did you know they were gonna do this?” She asked him, showing him her phone. She had a website open, which showed a story about Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak eloping in Vegas.

“I don’t think that’s real.” He said. “They- I don’t think they’d run off to Vegas and get married without Oliver's sister or their other friends.”

Iris deflated for a minute. “You have a point. Thea would at least be there.” She said.

Just then, Barry’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Felicity.

From: Felicity: If you see some story on a gossip site about Oliver and I getting married, it’s fake. We’re in Las Vegas, yes, but we’re here so that I can introduce Oliver to my uncle/aunt/grandmother. And to help my mom move. Sorry if you got excited, but we’re not getting married this weekend.

“Yeah, they’re not eloping.” Barry said once he’d read the message twice. “Felicity just texted me, and probably everyone else in her phone. They went there so that he could meet some of her relatives.”

“That’s too bad.” She said. “But it also means there’s gonna be a wedding to look forward to later.”

Barry was about to say something else, but then an email came through on his phone. It was from McKenna. He gulped and Iris noticed the change in his demeanor. “The detective I talked to in Starling just sent me an email.”

“Well, what does it say?”

He took a deep breath and opened the email. “It says- I can’t read it. It’s too much pressure. You read it.” He said, handing the phone to her. “Please.”

Iris took the phone and read the email. “Okay. She attached two files. One’s a pretty big file, which she says contains a report from her, an ME, a CSI, and two FBI agents with their findings, which reject the conclusion the CCPD came to. She said she was asked by the Arrow to pass along the second file, which is his team’s analysis. She closed the email by saying that you should look everything over and send a copy to your dad’s lawyer and take the files to the CCPD on Monday.” She said. “I didn’t look at the files. It didn’t seem right to be the first to look at everything.”

“I don’t think I can look through all of this by myself.” He said.

“I can stop by your place after work and we can go through it together, if you want.” She said. 

“I’d appreciate that.” He said.

 

After sharing breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Digg and Lyla parted ways from Oliver and the Smoaks. They were headed to see Felicity’s bubbe, while Digg and Lyla had some time for themselves.

“So, just the two of us in Vegas.” Digg said. “Any idea what we’re gonna do? I feel like all the fun things to do in Vegas, besides gamble, don’t open until nightfall.”

“I’ve got a few ideas.” She said. “But first, let’s get the urge to gamble for a bit out of our system.”

“Sounds good to me.” He said as he followed her into the casino.

They played, and lost, a few rounds of roulette before the urge wore off. Neither of them were big gamblers, so it was more about the fun than actually winning. After they had decided they were done gambling, Lyla mentioned a few things she wanted to see or “touristy” things she wanted to do.

“You wanna do tourist stuff?”

“Not the whole time.” She said.  “This is the first time in years where I’m on a trip that I can actually enjoy. I went to DC because I was subpoenaed to testify. And before that, every trip I took was for work where there was a good chance someone might try to shoot at me. I wanna make the most of it.”

“Fair enough.” He said. “What do you wanna do first?”



Oliver pulled Felicity aside as they neared the entrance to the assisted living facility where Hannah Smoak lived. He knew he already knew Felicity’s bubbe and that there was no reason for him to be nervous, but he still felt a little worried. What if he said something wrong? What if she decided she didn’t approve of him anymore? What if Bubbe liked him, but Felicity’s uncle didn’t? He had only met Jared Smoak briefly, the first time they FaceTimed Bubbe, but he didn’t apologize for the things Laurel had said about Emily, Jared’s late daughter. He knew that Laurel had been in the wrong, and he couldn’t have stopped her, but he should’ve at least apologized. Not to mention that Bubbe wanted to talk to him about something. Something she refused to discuss with Donna or Felicity. 

“Something wrong?” Felicity asked him, getting his attention. “You have “worried Oliver face”. Everything’s gonna be fine. You’ve met Bubbe, she likes you. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

‘What if she’s changed her mind?’

“She hasn’t. You’re a good person, Oliver, and you make me happy, and that’s the most important thing to her.”

‘But I didn’t apologize to her or your uncle.’

“Apologize for what?”

‘The stuff Laurel said about your cousin.’

“They were never expecting that. Did you- remember when Sara tried to apologize to me for what her sister did?” She asked. “I told her she shouldn’t apologize. Because, like it or not, Laurel made the choices she made and Sara didn’t, like, hold a gun to her head and make her act that way. Uncle Jared and Bubbe feel the same. But, if you feel the need to apologize, you can do that today.” She ran a hand up and down his arm, trying to soothe his nerves. “It’s going to be okay. They are going to love you, because they’re gonna see how great you are. But we can stay out here for a little bit if you need some time to collect yourself.”

He stood there for a moment and took several deep breaths. ‘No, I’m ready.’

They walked into the building. Donna had already signed both of them in as visitors and was waiting by the front desk. A few of the nurses waved hello to Felicity and Donna, recognizing them. One did a double-take upon seeing Oliver, but didn’t say anything. Donna led the way to her mother’s room and knocked on the open door. A white-haired woman sitting in a recliner had been talking to a middle-aged brunette woman and a middle-aged brunette man with a large bald spot. All three turned towards the door when they heard the knock.

“Hey, Mom.” Donna said. 

“Hi Bubbe.” Felicity said while Oliver signed a similar greeting.

“Good. You’re all here.” Bubbe said. “And I finally get to meet Oliver in person. Let me look at you.” She walked over to them and Oliver was somewhat taken aback by her size. Hannah Smoak was shorter than he expected. Neither Felicity or Donna were particularly tall, but he hadn’t expected Hannah, who had a big personality, to be almost a foot shorter than him. “Well, the camera on your tablet doesn’t do those blue eyes justice.” She said. He smiled at that. “It’s nice to finally meet you properly, Oliver.”

‘It’s nice to meet you too.’ He signed. He then looked between Felicity and Donna, wondering who was going to introduce him to the others in the room.

“Oliver, I don’t know if you remember my Uncle Jared.” Felicity said. “This is my Aunt Audrey. Their son is my cousin David, who you haven’t met.” The group exchanged greetings and then there was an awkward silence.

‘I want to apologize to all of you.’ Oliver told them. ‘For what Laurel Lance said about Emily’s- about Emily. She wanted to hurt me, and she never should’ve mentioned Emily.’

“You don’t need to apologize for that.” Audrey said. “Was it painful to hear her bring up Emily’s death and treat it so callously? Yes. But you didn’t make Ms. Lance say those things or bring Emily up. So, while we appreciate the sentiment, you shouldn’t feel guilty.”

‘Okay. I just- I wanted to apologize anyway.’ He said.

“So, Oliver, you like to cook?” Jared asked him. “I think you said that during your interview with Linda Park.”

“Which we all watched.” Bubbe said. “And I’m glad you recognize how amazing my granddaughter is. My Felicity’s pretty damn special.”

‘Yeah, she is.’ Oliver said. ‘And yes, I love to cook. I’ve always loved food and cooking allows me to express my creativity when it comes to food.’

Oliver, Jared and Audrey talked for a bit, getting to know one another. In the meantime, Felicity told Bubbe about her latest projects at work and Donna filled her in on a few random tidbits of gossip. After about ten minutes, Bubbe cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“All right. I wanna talk to Oliver alone.” She said. “I love all of you, but I see and talk to you all the time. So, go get some coffee or something and come back after at least fifteen minutes.”

“Mom, what-?” Jared started to ask.

“I could use some coffee.” Felicity said. “Let us know if you need more time or want anything from the coffee shop.” She gave Oliver a kiss on the cheek and squeezed his hand for encouragement before leaving the room with the others.

“Oliver, you don’t need to stand. Please, sit down.” Hannah said. Oliver took a seat in the chair next to her. “I know you probably wanna know what this is about. To be honest, I don’t know if you need to hear this, but I’m gonna say it in case you do. If you need to hear this, good. If not, you can ignore me and write what I’m gonna say off as the ramblings of some crazy old lady. You’re the first person I’ve ever had this conversation with and I’m hoping it’s not too terribly painful.”

‘Okay.’

“I’m gonna tell you something I doubt anyone’s told you. Felicity and Donna, smart as they are, wouldn’t think to say it. And not many others would know enough from experience to say it.” She said. “You’re allowed to mourn him, you know.”

‘Who? My father?’

“The person you used to be. You got on a boat with your father and came back five years later, scarred, different and alone. I was forced into a cattle car with my mother, father, two brothers and sister. And after the camps were liberated and I was released from the hospital they sent me to, I was scarred, different and alone. What you experienced and what I experienced are not the same, but I think you might be feeling or have felt some of the same things that I did.” She said. “For a long time, I told myself I was being selfish when I got angry that the person I was wasn’t who I was “meant to be”, because of the Shoah. I survived, but my family didn’t, so I thought I didn’t have the right to be upset, to mourn. Because the girl who got onto the train died along the way, but some shell of her lived. I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did, and think you can’t be upset for losing the old Oliver.”

‘Thank you.’ He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, as he needed to think about what she said, but he wanted to thank her for at least sharing what she thought was important. He couldn't say that her advice was completely off-base either.

“That wasn’t all I wanted to say, but it was the most important part. Very few people know what it’s like, leaving your home as one person and returning completely different. I’d like to tell you my story now. Not all of it, but the parts I think are relevant to what I just said. When the camps were liberated, I didn’t know what else to do. I was 16. It had been years since I’d last seen my parents or my siblings. I was released from the hospital, and the only thing I could think of was going home. So, I went back to the town I grew up in, which was a mistake. Someone else was living in my family’s home, most of our possessions had been destroyed or stolen after we were forced out of our home. The people were worse, though. The majority were so happy when they started to round up the Jews, but wanted to act like it hadn’t been them when I returned. Most of them couldn’t even look me in the eye but told me how sorry they were, how tragic what had happened to my family was. As if they weren’t celebrating it only a few years earlier. As a sixteen year-old who lost her whole family, imagine how it felt to hear that and have people expect me to give them some kind of forgiveness. I usually waited for them to stop talking and walked away as if they hadn’t spoken. It was the only way I wouldn’t do something I’d regret.”

‘I’m sorry.’

“Like I said, going back home was a mistake for me. I was in a town surrounded by ghosts and the people who had turned against my family. My mother had entrusted a friend of hers, a non-Jew, to keep a few heirlooms, in case any of us ever came back. She stayed in our town and gave me those items to take with me when I went to America.” She said. “Coming to America so soon after the war was a strange experience. Everyone was so proud, because the good guys won. Germany was defeated and freedom prevailed and so on. People always wanted to discuss the victory, very few ever acknowledged what was lost. The ones who were the most vocal about the loss spoke of Pearl Harbor, of soldiers lost storming the beaches of Normandy, the ones who gave their lives for freedom and democracy and blah blah blah. Millions died as a result of hatred or inaction or simply living in the wrong place, but no one wanted to talk about them. I met Jacob, Felicity’s zadye, at a time when I didn’t think I’d ever meet someone who understood me. Many American Jews understood the loss I felt, but not the trauma I endured. Jacob was different, he knew. Of his parents' nine children, only he and his older brother Levi survived. This story leads to the second thing you need to hear, which is that you should celebrate living, but don’t let anyone try to convince you that you should forget what you lost.”

‘No one has.’ At least, no one he cared about ever made him feel that way.

“Good. It’s one thing to be told “look how far you’ve come” and it’s another to be told “just move on”. Trauma never leaves you, it just changes shape.” Hannah said. “I don’t know where the others are, but that’s all I wanted to tell you. You’re allowed to mourn the person you used to be and never let someone make you feel bad or weak for remembering what you’ve survived. Any questions?”

He shook his head. She had just shared a lot with him, about things he could empathize with but never truly understand. He wanted to take the time to think about what she had told him before he asked her anything about it. He also was worried he might upset her by asking the wrong question.

‘How did you meet Jacob?’ He asked after several moments of silence. ‘I know we weren’t really talking about him, but I kinda need to think about what you’ve told me before I can even think of anything I might wanna ask. And I remember you asked Felicity how we met, so I’m hoping you’ll tell me the story of how you and your husband met.’

“I met him at temple.” She said. “I struggled quite a bit with my faith after everything, many survivors I knew had the same struggle. I still went to synagogue every week, in case it helped me. One week at Shabbat service, there were some new faces, one of them was Jacob. This was before I lost my accent, and he still had his, so we both stood out from the crowd somewhat because of that. A week later, he asked me to see a picture with him and I said yes. We saw Key Largo with Bogie and Bacall. We went out quite a few times and then he asked me to marry him. We had Jared, and then Donna came as a bit of a surprise a few years later.”

They sat there in silence for a little while. ‘I love Felicity very much.’

“I know that. It’s clear to anyone with eyes that you love her. And probably some people who can’t see as well.”

‘I just- I want you to know that I’m not gonna hurt her the way that her father hurt Donna.’

“Oh, I know you’re not. Noah was a schlub. You’re not. Donna got taken in by how smart he was and how smooth he talked but I always saw through it. I’m not saying you’re not smart, it’s clear that you are, but you don’t always need to feel like the smartest guy in the room. He never seemed like the type to stay if things got bad either. I didn’t know until later that he was a criminal. I tried to talk her out of giving up everything for him, but she was in love. When he left, it hurt Donna and Felicity, but I’m glad they didn’t get dragged down with him. Felicity’s the only good thing that came out of him being part of this family.” She said. “Now, when are you gonna propose to my granddaughter?”

‘As soon as it makes sense.’

“It doesn’t make sense now?”

‘It does, but I don’t want people to say we rushed into getting married.’ He said. ‘She’s the one for me. I know she is. And she’s said I’m the one for her, but it just- we’ve both acknowledged that now is a little too soon for that.’

“Especially since you’re still trying to figure out how your son fits into your life.” She said. “Donna told me about him.”

‘She told us that she’d told you.’ He said. ‘William’s part of it, but it’s also- there’s been a lot of change in my life in the past year. Good change, but it’s a lot.’

“Understandable.”

“What’s understandable?” Felicity asked, walking into the room with Donna, Audrey and Jared. 

“That sometimes, when you’ve had a lot of change in a short time, you wanna wait before you welcome any more.” Bubbe said. “Well, I know I already told you this, but I approve of this nice boyfriend of yours. You found a good one, Felicity.”

Oliver’s smile physically couldn’t get any bigger at that moment.

 

Moira Queen, as a result of obsessively checking gossip sites, was more than aware of the rumors about Oliver that were circulating. He had been spotted in Las Vegas with Felicity. The city was a known place for people to elope to. At first, she told herself that it couldn’t possibly be true, that Oliver wouldn’t run off to Vegas with his girlfriend. Then, it occurred to her that she couldn’t say that, not anymore. She really didn’t know Oliver as well as she used to think that she did. What if they had gone to Las Vegas to get married?

The thought saddened her. If Oliver and Felicity got married in Las Vegas, it meant she had missed her son’s wedding. The only wedding of her only son. While she had spent years wondering if Oliver would ever get married, the thought of not being there made her incredibly sad and angry at herself.

She found Raisa in the kitchen. The Russian woman had the news on and the story was about Oliver and Felicity supposedly eloping. Instead of being sad, the woman let out a scoff. “Idiots! To think he’d do that.”

“You think it’s fake?” Moira asked her.

“Yes. I don’t think he would do that, get married without telling anyone. And if I remember correctly, Felicity is from Las Vegas. Maybe she wanted to introduce him to more of her family.”

“He could be there to meet them and so they could elope.”

“It’s true that he could, but I don’t think that he would. It would get too much attention. And he’s spent so much time trying to avoid getting too much attention from the press.” She said. “If you told me that he, Felicity and a small group went to City Hall to get married, I might believe that, but “married in Vegas” is not Mister Oliver’s style. Not anymore.”

“You’re probably right.” Moira said. 

While she knew Raisa was probably right, the fact that the story could be true weighed heavy on her mind as she drove to the rec center for ASL class. She spotted Thea and Roy walking into the building as she parked. She entered the classroom as Thea’s two friends Madison and Ashley were talking about the rumors.

“Did your brother and his girlfriend really go to Vegas and get married?” Ashley asked.

“No!” Thea said as if it was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. “Felicity grew up there. They went to help Donna move and to meet Felicity’s grandma.”

“Also, QC released a statement saying that they weren’t eloping.” Roy pointed out. “Probably because everyone thought they eloped to Central City last week.”

“Okay, but since her family does live there, they could always get married while they’re there.” Ashley said.

“But his family isn’t there. Ollie would never get married without me being there.” Thea said. “Or Tommy or- I know the truth isn’t as juicy, but Ollie and Felicity didn’t elope. They’re just helping Donna out and seeing her family.”

Hearing this, Moira perked up. Thea had made an excellent point. Oliver wouldn’t get married and not invite his sister. She felt better, knowing she hadn’t missed her son’s wedding, but also this scare motivated her to try and fix things with Oliver.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

------------
Many chapters ago, I said there were 2 scenes I'd written that I was excited about. The first was Sara revealing her survival to Oliver. The second was in this chapter, and it was the scene with Oliver and Bubbe Smoak.

On the topic of Bubbe Smoak's story, it was influenced by the story of one particular survivor that my family knows, though I changed many of the details in an effort not to be insensitive.

Chapter 132

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity's trip to Las Vegas continues, Thea reveals something to Moira and Barry takes a look at what McKenna found.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver, Felicity and Donna spent another half hour at Hannah Smoak’s assisted living place before they needed to leave to meet John and Lyla so that they could begin the process of packing up Donna’s apartment. While the trio would have preferred to stay for longer, they wanted to get as much packing done as they could before it was time for Oliver’s Skype call to William.

“You haven't even been here for two hours and you already wanna leave.” Bubbe said jokingly.

“We’ll be back a little later, Mom.” Donna told her. “We just wanna get all the packing done before it gets too late in the day.”

‘This is my fault, actually.’ Oliver said. ‘I have a call with William this afternoon and I didn’t wanna move it, so we wanted to get as much packing done as we can before it’s time for the call.’ By now, Felicity’s aunt and uncle already knew about William, so there was no need to be shy about what the call was about.

“Oh, you could’ve told me that.” Bubbe said. “I was thinking you were getting tired of basking in my presence. Maybe, if you finish early enough, you can make it back here so that I can meet this son of yours.”

“We’ll see if we can make that work.” Felicity said with a smile. “Plus John and Lyla, who came with us, wanna meet you.”

“Why didn’t they come with you this morning?” Jared asked.

“They wanted to see the city a bit first.” Donna said. “We’ll be back.”

“If you also come back tomorrow, David’ll be here.” Audrey said. “He’s signing the paperwork on his new place today, otherwise he’d be here. We all normally visit on Sundays, but when Bubbe let it slip that you were visiting today, we decided to come today as well.”

“It’s nice getting so many visitors.” Bubbe said. “I know you’ve got a lot going on, with your computers and your gadgets, Felicity, but I miss seeing you as often as I used to.” When Felicity was growing up, she’d seen her grandmother at least once a week. Hannah was happy Felicity was out there, doing great things for the world, but she missed spending time with her.

“We definitely need to start Skyping more often.” The blonde agreed.

‘Or we can visit on a semi-regular basis.’ Oliver said. ‘Or you, and I mean all of you, not just Bubbe, can come visit us in Starling sometime?’

“I’d like that.” Bubbe said. “Now, go. The sooner you leave and get all the boring packing stuff done, the sooner you’ll be back.”

With smiles on their faces, Donna, Oliver and Felicity left Bubbe’s room and drove back to the hotel in their rental car. They picked Digg and Lyla up, picked up the U-Haul truck they’d rented, and drove to Donna’s apartment complex.

Donna’s apartment reminded Oliver of Felicity’s old house. While the space was small, it looked like it had been lived in and personalized, unlike the cold, impersonal halls of the mansion.

“Okay, where do you wanna start?” Lyla asked Donna.

“Bedrooms.” She said. “Most of the stuff out here,” she gestured to the small living room, “that needs to be packed won’t take long. The same thing is true for the kitchen. The stuff that I really care about is mostly in my room, or Felicity’s.”

“What stuff’s in my room?” Felicity asked. “I cleared most of it out when I moved to Starling.”

“No, you took the stuff you’d need to live on your own. There’s a lot of stuff in there that you kept, but didn’t take with you.” She said. “Like, Mr. SquareBear, and that robot you built in third grade and-.”

Felicity got an excited look on her face, grabbed Oliver’s arm and pulled him towards her old bedroom.

“Okay, I guess we’re helping you with your room then.” Digg remarked.

 

After hearing Thea explain to her friends why Oliver wasn't getting married this weekend, because his family wouldn't be there, Moira calmed down enough to the point where she was able to pay attention to ASL class. It wasn't too late to fix her relationship with her son. Class seemed to fly by and before she knew it, Stephanie was announcing that their time was over.

Moira approached her daughter and asked if she was free for lunch. 

"Sure. Why not?" Thea said. "It's kinda become a "thing" after class anyway."

"Except for last week."

"I had plans after class last week." She said in a tight voice. "I'd made a commitment and I needed to keep it. You're the one who was always telling me to honor the promises I make."

"I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything."

"No, but it felt to me like you were fishing to find out what I was doing. I'm an adult. I don't have to tell you everything I do or wanna do." She said. "But I don't feel like arguing with you right now. Are we still going to lunch?"

Moira nodded, so Thea called Roy and Walter over and the group left to go have lunch together. This time around, Moira got to select the restaurant, so they wound up somewhere a little nicer than Big Belly Burger.

“So, Oliver and Felicity have gone to Las Vegas to help her mother move.” Moira said as soon as they sat down. Normally, she would’ve waited a little bit before finding a more subtle way to bring up the topic she really wanted to discuss, but after Thea’s remarks, she didn’t see the point in pretending to be coy.

“Yeah.” Roy said. “And Felicity wanted him to meet her grandma.”

“Well, that news is definitely a relief.”

“You really thought Ollie ran off to Vegas to marry Felicity?” Thea asked. “You really don’t know him at all.”

“It’s not- I wasn’t worried that he “ran off to Vegas” as you say, it was that- I was scared, and sad, that I had missed my son’s wedding, period.” She said. “We don’t have the best relationship, but I never imagined that I’d ever mis- miss something like that. I’ve reached out to Oliver to apologize, but-.”

“You mean the texts you sent him?” The 18-year-old asked, crossing her arms. “He showed them to me.”

Her mother looked slightly hopeful. “So, he has read them? I was wondering, since he hasn’t responded, but-.”

“It wasn’t a very good apology.” Thea said. “There was a lot of you basically saying “I’m sorry, but” which kinda- if you say sorry and then immediately try to downplay what you’re apologizing for, are you really apologizing?”

“I-.”

“When you have a chance, reread what you sent to him, and think about how it would sound if you were the one to get those texts.” She said. “But that’s probably not the only reason why he hasn’t responded.”

“What else can I do?” Moira asked. “You’re right. I don’t know Oliver as well as I thought I did, and I want to fix that. I want him to forgive me. Please, how do I do that?”

“Start by actually looking him in the eye, for one.” She said. “He’s noticed that you won’t, or can’t, do that and it says a lot.”

“How am I supposed to do that? He’s a walking reminder of my guilt. I’m the one who insisted Robert try to stop the Undertaking. I’m the reason he was on the Gambit, which in turn was why Oliver and Sara were aboard.”

“Oliver doesn’t see it that way.” Walter said. “While you say looking at him is hard, because of the guilt you feel, he thinks it’s because he’s too damaged for you to still care about. Especially given that, at one point, you said you “wanted your son back” while he was standing in the same room as you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just-.”

“Oliver’s body is covered in scars. I don’t know about Walter, but Thea and I have seen them, and all three of us know how he got them.” Roy said. “It’s not our story to share, but those scars aren’t just from the night the Queen’s Gambit went down or accidents while trying to survive. So, I think hearing you say he wasn’t really your son and the fact that you can’t look at him, hurt him more than you realize, or intended.”

“And there’s also what you did back in January.” Thea said. At Moira’s confused look, she elaborated. “It’s really convenient that someone decided to kidnap Oliver, to question him, the only day that his bodyguard was off. Yeah, we know about that. “We” being the people closest to Oliver. We’ve known for a while. So, you’ve got a few other hurdles to get over to earn Ollie’s forgiveness than you thought.”

“I-.”

“You know, we haven’t had a great relationship over the last five years, but after I learned that you had done that, that’s the first time I remember being actually scared of you.” Thea said, her voice getting thick. “Because, if you could do that to Ollie, because you did do that Ollie, it meant you could do that to me. Or to Roy or Walter or-.”

“Thea, I’d never-.”

“Please don’t sit here and say that you’d “never” do something that you actually have done. Don’t insult my intelligence or try to manipulate me like that.” She said. “That’s just a few reasons why, you might’ve said sorry, but Ollie isn’t ready to speak to you. Or it could be because he’s been busy with other things, like the board meeting coming up, or meeting Felicity’s grandmother, aunt and uncle.”

 

Packing up Felicity’s room took longer than the blonde expected. She thought she’d only left a few things at her mom’s place when she moved to Starling, but realized that that wasn’t the case. There were a lot of old projects of hers that Donna had held onto, as well as random keepsakes from Felicity’s childhood.

She was just wrapping up her story about the first computer she’d ever built, and how long it had taken her to make it, when she stopped mid-sentence. She was looking at something sitting on a shelf and Oliver tried to see what she was looking at, but couldn’t.

He nudged her. ‘Are you okay?’

“Yeah, I- I’m fine.” She said. She walked over to the shelf and pulled out a picture frame from behind an award. She ran a finger over the picture in the frame. “It’s weird, what you forget about someone and what you don’t. The little details that fade over time compared to the ones you never seem to forget.” She held out the frame to Oliver. “I haven’t seen this picture of Emily and me in a while. I always remembered her as being shorter than me.”

Oliver carefully took the frame. The photo was of Felicity and a girl a year or two younger than her. They were laughing and it was clearly a candid photo. Seeing Felicity with dark brown hair, her natural color, was startling to Oliver, but what was more surprising was how much the two girls looked alike. They had the same eyes and similar facial features. The other girl, Emily, was a good two or three inches taller than Felicity. ‘She’s very pretty. You two look alike.’

“It’s the Smoak genes.” She said with a smile. “That was taken the day of my high school graduation. I put that award in front of the photo when I came home for the funeral, because it hurt too much to look at.”

Oliver knew exactly how she felt. He avoided looking at photos of his father, or himself for that matter, from before the Gambit’s final voyage. The only exception were pictures of him from when he was a kid. Instead of saying anything, he wrapped his arms around Felicity and pulled her in for a hug. It only took a few moments before he felt his shirt start to get wet.

“I don’t- I don’t know why I’m crying.” She sniffled as she pulled away after several moments.

‘Because you miss her. Because you love her. And what happened to her wasn’t fair and instead of just showing me a photo, I should be meeting her this weekend.’ He said. ‘I wish I’d gotten the chance to meet her.’

“I wish you could’ve too. I think you two would’ve become really close friends.” She said sadly. “Can you wrap that picture frame carefully? I wanna make sure it gets home undamaged.”

He nodded and carefully started to pack the photo. Felicity packed up all of her awards, all of the tech that was lying around, and most of the photos that were in her room. It took longer than it should have, because she stopped to tell Oliver the story of each item along the way. The only photo she didn’t immediately pack up was of a young Donna and a tall, thin man a few years older than her.

‘Is this your father?’

“Yeah. I- I stole that from my mom when he first left. And now I don’t- I don’t need to hang onto it, but it’s not mine, so I don’t feel right just throwing it out.” She said. “It’s complicated.”

They finished up in Felicity’s room and found that Lyla, John and Donna were done packing up things in Donna’s room and had moved onto the living room and kitchen. Donna was putting a few things into a box when Felicity noticed a book sitting on the kitchen table and reached for it.

“Mom, you kept this?” On the first page, there was a faded newspaper clipping that read “Local Girl, 8, Wins State Juvenile Math Competition” along with the photo of a brunette girl with glasses that were a little too big for her face and a wide smile.

“Of course I did!” Donna said. “You really think I’d just throw away something so important?”

“What is that?” Lyla asked.

“It’s a scrapbook from when I was a kid.” Felicity said. “Mom used to cut out articles about me and paste them in here.” She started flipping through it.

“Used to? I never stopped doing that. That has pieces from school newspapers, local papers, MIT newsletters you were featured in. That one ends with your college graduation.” Donna said. She pulled out another one. “This is the “work in progress” one, which is only about 25% full and covers your career. Though, I haven’t added to it in about six months. There’s a bunch of articles I need to put in here, not to mention you have some coming out soon.”

“I didn’t know you kept adding to it.” She said. “I thought you stopped when I was a lot younger.”

“Nope. I’m that kind of proud parent.” Her mother said. “I’ve already packed up the one with the embarrassing family photos.”

“Of course you did.” Felicity was hoping to find that scrapbook before her mother so that Donna couldn’t show everyone her embarrassing style choices from when she was a teenager. “Speaking of photos, I found a picture of you and Dad in my room. Well, actually, I stole it years ago, but- here.” She handed Donna the photo in question, who took the photo and placed it face down between pages of a book and continued with what she was doing. They continued to pack in relative, companionable silence. When Donna said they’d reached a good place to stop, with only a handful of things left to handle the next day, they started moving things to the truck.

‘How are we doing on time?’ Oliver asked.

“It’s 1:30. So, we have an hour before it's time to call William.” Felicity said. “And Bubbe lives 30 minutes away.”

‘How close are we to the airplane hangar where the plane is?’

“It’ll take us like an hour to get there.” Donna said. “But we have the truck until tomorrow, so we don’t have to drive to the hangar, unload the truck and get to Bubbe’s in an hour. We can just leave it in the lot and come back later. I talked to Brian, he knows I’m moving out over the next two weekends, so he won’t have an issue with it being here for a few more hours.” Brian was the landlord of the apartment building.

‘As long as you’re okay with doing that, I don’t see an issue.’ He said. 

“Let’s go see Bubbe then.” Felicity said. “John and Lyla, I guess you’re coming too, since we only have one car.”

“No, we’ll take an Uber back to the hotel.” Lyla said. “You wanna spend time with Bubbe, and I’m sure she’s gonna want a chance to meet William, and we don’t wanna intrude on that. You’re gonna go see her tomorrow, right? We’ll come with you then.”

“Okay, what are you two trying to be so sly about?” She asked. It seemed like Lyla already had this excuse planned out, which struck Felicity as odd. “You aren’t running off to get married, or I guess it would be remarried for you two, in Vegas without us, right?”

“No, no. None of that. This is my first real vacation since...well, since I enlisted.” Lyla responded. “I wanna meet your grandmother, but I also wanna spend a few hours, sitting by a pool doing nothing.”

‘Fair enough.’ Oliver said. ‘Enjoy your nothing.’

 

After Samantha dropped William off at the arcade for his friend Adam’s birthday party, she went over to the Whitmores’ house. She wanted to talk to Barb and get her perspective on everything going on regarding William and her arrangements with Oliver. She told Barb everything that had happened during William’s first weekend in Starling and the last week, including Oliver’s text that morning, and then asked her what she thought.

“I don’t really know what you’re trying to ask me.” Barb said. “It sounds like William's trip went really well and he enjoyed himself. And Oliver did a good job taking care of him and William got to meet some new people, who he liked. This is good. Oliver seems to be trying really hard to be a good dad and he and William are connecting.”

“That’s- I’m not as focused on Will’s first weekend there. It went well and, other than Oliver calling me when I wasn’t expecting him to, so that Will could say goodnight to me, everything went exactly how he and I discussed. It’s more that text from him this morning that’s thrown me for a loop.”

“Because Oliver and Felicity Smoak aren’t getting married this weekend?”

“Because there’s a very good chance that they are gonna get married in the next year or so, and based on his text, Oliver’s gonna want William to attend.”

“I mean, they seem to be in love and when people are in love, they tend to get married. And, to be frank, how you feel about them getting married is irrelevant. What are you worried about exactly? That William will have questions about why his parents aren’t together?”

“I don’t know. I just- part of me worries, somewhat irrationally, that Felicity Smoak will replace me. She seems to understand William in a way that I don’t, like when he talks about science and robots. Not to mention, if they get married and invite Will, they’ll probably invite me as a courtesy. Which means attending the wedding of someone I hurt deeply, and a woman who doesn’t seem to like me very much. Felicity’s been polite to me, the few times we’ve interacted, but she doesn’t like me.”

“First of all, Felicity Smoak’s not trying to replace you. You are, and will always be, William’s mother. You love him and you want what’s best for him, and that’s what matters. It’s good that she seems to connect with him, because you want them to have a good relationship. Because for at least the next 13 years, he’s going to be spending a good deal of time with her. If Felicity marries Oliver, she’ll become William’s step-mother, another person in his life, another parent, but not a replacement. As for her not seeming to like you, it’s because your actions hurt Oliver deeply and she cares about Oliver. I’m sure his sister would say the same thing if you asked her. If you want them to like you more, you need to try to make amends with Oliver and show them, as well as him, that you really are sorry.” Samantha didn’t say anything in response, but Barb could tell her words had some kind of effect, because the other woman seemed deep in thought as soon as she finished.

“Is Courtney excited for spring break?” Samantha finally asked. She had a lot to think about and wanted a break from talking about her ongoing custody talks with Oliver right now.

“Incredibly. She’s finally at the age where I’ll let her go places, like the movies or the mall, without insisting that Pat or I come with her, so she’s made plans with her friends for most of the week, just because she can.”

 

Iris’s shift at Jitters ended in the early afternoon. As soon as she was off the clock, she rushed over to Barry’s apartment so that they could go over the files McKenna had sent to him together regarding his mother’s case.

Barry answered the door as soon as she knocked. “You’re here.” He let her into his place.

“I said I’d come over right after work.” She reminded him.

“Well, I didn’t know if you meant “right after” as in right after or after you had a chance to go home and change or some time close to when your shift ended, but not as soon as you could.” He said. “Sorry, I just-.”

“You’ve spent the last six hours with the email just sitting in your inbox, waiting to be read.” She said. “And that’s made you nervous.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” He said. 

“Well, let’s see what Detective Hall sent over, shall we?” Iris asked, taking a seat on the couch, near where Barry’s laptop was open.

He joined her and with some trepidation, he opened the first of the two files McKenna had emailed to him. The few first pages were the report from the medical examiner, who determined that there was no way Nora Allen’s wounds had been caused by a kitchen knife or any other bladed weapon.

“So, the CCPD’s explanation of how your mother died couldn’t possibly be correct.” Iris remarked as they reached the end of the report. “You said they put her cause of death as blood loss resulting from being stabbed.”

The next few pages were from a crime scene analyst for the SCPD, who noted the inconsistencies in the evidence that had been collected. Henry Allen’s fingerprints were on the knife, the supposed murder weapon, but Nora Allen’s blood wasn’t on the blade. The CCPD failed to prove that Henry’s fingerprints got into the weapon the night of the murder and not some other point in time. The frame around the front door had been damaged the night of the murder, like it had been kicked in or forced open, but the detectives failed to explain that damage in their reports or paperwork. Aside from the blood on Henry’s hands when the police arrived, none of Nora’s DNA was anywhere on him or his clothing, and if he had killed his wife, there would’ve been some kind of transfer of evidence. All matters that Barry had noticed himself, but with another person reaching that same conclusion, he felt somewhat vindicated.

After the crime scene analyst’s report, McKenna had typed up her own report on the case file. She noted that the CCPD made a number of assumptions when analyzing the scene and ignored any evidence that didn’t fit their assumption. The evidence was meant to lead investigators to the suspect, not the other way around. The end of her report very politely pointed out the flaws and misconduct in allowing Joe West to be a detective on this case, even if he wasn’t the lead detective. He was close to the victim and the suspect, which meant he could never be an impartial investigator, and he never should’ve been assigned to the case. McKenna seemed to be trying very hard not to be too rough on Joe, likely for Barry’s sake, but she couldn’t skirt around the truth that much.

“It’s okay if you wanna leave now.” Barry said. “I know you wanna help me, but this report kinda- it kinda doesn’t paint Joe in the best light, since he had a conflict of interest, and I don’t want you to feel-.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that he shouldn’t have been on the case.” Iris said. “Since I wanna be an investigative reporter, I had to take a class on proper investigation techniques, which included a few weeks on criminal investigations. That’s the first time it ever really occurred to me, how improper it was for Dad to be on your mom’s case.”

“But this could- he could get into trouble for this. This could have a professional impact on him.”

“Yeah, it could. But he also should’ve said “I know the victim, I can’t work this case”. Or his captain should’ve removed him from the case. This might cause him problems, and that might suck, but if the CCPD acted improperly, they need to be held accountable for it. Regardless of who the officers are.” She said. “What was it that you said your mom used to tell you?”

“The truth is the truth, even if you don’t like it or don’t wanna admit it.” He said. 

“Exactly.” She said. “Let’s see what else she included.”

The next few pages made Barry’s jaw drop. It was a report from an FBI agent, repeating some of the same inconsistencies McKenna, the ME and CSI had already pointed out, along with some insight on how Nora’s wounds compared to other murder cases the agent had worked, and why those differences seemed especially drastic. Barry remembered Iris saying McKenna had included reports from two FBI agents, but he wasn’t expecting such an in-depth analysis.

“If this is what the police department has to say, I’m kinda excited to see what the other one, the one from the Arrow, is gonna say.” Iris said. “Because this is-.”

“It’s more than what I needed. It- this wouldn’t just get my dad a new trial, it could- it could free him.” He said. His voice was thick. “I can’t believe that I-.”

“It’s kinda hard to believe you’ve made progress after so long, isn’t it?”

“Exactly.”

 

Oliver, Donna and Felicity arrived back at Bubbe’s assisted living facility around 2, half an hour before the call to William was scheduled to happen. Jared and Audrey had left, giving Bubbe some time alone with just the out-of-town visitors.

“I’m not gonna ask when the two of you plan on getting married.” Hannah said to Oliver and Felicity. “Because you both say it’s too soon and Felicity will start making that weird noise that she makes when she wants to tell me it’s none of my business, but doesn’t wanna yell at her bubbe. But I wanna say this, I’m not getting any younger, and I wanna be there. So, don’t keep pushing it off, waiting for the perfect time. There’s no such thing as “the perfect time”.”

“We’re not gonna keep pushing it off. It’s gonna happen, just not right now.” Felicity said. “And I don’t make “a weird noise” like you claim.”

“Yeah, you kinda do.” Donna said. “But let’s go back to the first part of what you just said. Oliver, have you-?” Felicity talked about Oliver like she knew he was the man she would marry, but this was the first time Donna had heard her talk about marriage with Oliver in the room.

‘We’ve talked about marriage, but no, I haven’t asked yet.’ He said. ‘But I’m going to. We know we’re gonna get married at some point, but Felicity deserves a real proposal. Like she said, just not right now. A year ago, I was- six months ago, I was recovering in a Chinese hospital. We both know we need more time.’

“Donna, don’t rush them.” Bubbe said.

“Says the woman who just pulled the “get married before I die” card.” Donna shot back. “It’s a bit hypocritical, Mom.”

“It’s 2:26. Our call with William starts at 2:30.” Felicity said. “Can we please not be arguing about this when the call starts? I don’t want to confuse him.”

Hannah and Donna both nodded. Felicity pulled out her tablet and got everything ready for the Skype call, while Oliver made sure he had his text-to-speech app at the ready. At exactly, 2:30, Samantha’s face appeared on-screen.

“Will had a lot of candy at Adam’s party, so he’s more hyper than normal.” She told them. “Just wanted to tell you.”

“Are Daddy and Lisy there?” William called off-screen.

“Yup. I was just getting everything set up.” His mother said. “Here you go.”

William’s face appeared and he had a wide smile on his face. “Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!”

“Hi Will.” Felicity said.

“Hi, buddy.” Oliver said using his app. “Did you have fun at your friend’s party?”

“Uh-huh. We played games and I won lots of tokens. Also, Adam’s mommy let us have pizza and ice cream and candy!”

“That sounds fun. What was your favorite game?”

“The one where you toss the ball and try to make it go in the holes at the end of the lane and you win tokens depending on which one it goes in.” He said. “I don’t know the name.”

“Skeeball?” Felicity suggested.

“Yeah! That one!” He said. “Mommy said you’re visiting your grandma.”

“That’s right. I hadn’t seen her in a long time and I wanted to pay her a visit.” She said. “And your Daddy wanted to meet her.”

“Is she there? Can I meet her? I wanna say hi!”

Felicity laughed. “She’s right here. Hold on a second.” She and Oliver moved so that Hannah could see the screen a little better, and more importantly, William could see Hannah.

“You must be William.” Hannah said.

“Uh-huh! Hi, Lisy’s grandma!”

“You can call me Bubbe.”

“Bubbles?”

“Bubbe. Bub-ee.” She repeated patiently. “Or Hannah, if that’s better. How old are you, William?”

“I’m five!” He said. “I’m gonna be six soon, Mommy says that’s really soon but it’s taking forever to get here.”

“Six is a big number. Are you in kindergarten?”

“No, I will be next year.” He said. “I go to pre-k.”

“And do you like pre-k?”

“Uh-huh. My teacher’s nice and we’re learning how to do numbers and letters. I can write my name! Well, not the whole thing yet, but I can write Will. W-I-L-L.” He said proudly. “Did you know cheetahs are the fastest animals on Earth?”

“No, I didn’t know that.” She said. “You’re a very smart boy. Felicity, sorry, Lisy told me that you built a robot when you came to visit?”

“Yeah. It was really cool!” He said. “It could walk and pick stuff up and we made it together and-.” He launched into a story all about how he had built the robot with Oliver and Felicity. “And then, Lisy told me about the robots on Mars.”

“She knows a lot about robots.” Hannah said. “I remember when she showed me the first one she made.” She looked slightly to the side, to give Felicity a small smile. “Well, it was very nice to meet you. I’m gonna hand the tablet back over to your dad, so that he can talk to you a little bit more, okay?”

“Okay. I like you. You’re nice!”

“I like you too.” She said as she handed the tablet to Oliver.

William, Felicity and Oliver talked for a while more. Donna popped on screen to say “hi” to the boy as well, while he told them more about the birthday party and his week and what he was going to do on Sunday. Before anyone knew it, or was ready, a few hours had passed and Samantha was telling William it was time to wash up for dinner.

“Bye Daddy! Bye Lisy! Bye Donna! Bye Bub-bee!” William said before handing the tablet to his mother.

“Who’s Bubbe?” Samantha asked.

“It’s Yiddish for “grandmother”.” Felicity said. “William asked if he could meet my grandmother, since he knew we were visiting her, and they talked for a little bit.”

“And don’t worry.” Hannah said, in a louder voice so that she could be heard. “I can keep a secret.” She had a feeling Samantha was going to ask if Hannah could be trusted not to tell everyone about William being Oliver's son.

Samantha seemed startled that Hannah had known the question she was going to ask before she asked it, said a short goodbye and ended the call.

“William’s a very sweet kid.” Hannah said. “Reminds me of Felicity, like you said Donna, but also reminds me a lot of Oliver. And not just the physical resemblance.” She paused. "Maybe when I come to visit you in Starling City, I'll happen to come on a weekend when he’s also there.”

“Yes, by complete coincidence, of course.” Felicity said jokingly. “So, you do wanna come visit us then?”

“Of course I do. But getting on a plane at my age to schlep myself up there takes preparation. Those seats aren’t exactly comfortable.”

‘I own a private plane.’ Oliver said. ‘It’s a lot more comfortable than flying commercial.’

“It’s dangerous to tell me that.” Bubbe said. “Because I’ll be tempted to fly back and forth way too often, just because I can.”

“Yeah, and if she comes to see us too often, we might never get rid of her.” Donna said.

“You’re not in danger of that. It’s too rainy in Washington.” Hannah said. “Not good for my joints. I’ll visit, but I don’t think I could live there. And, don’t tell him I said this, but I think Jared might take it the wrong way if I go and live with you, after I refused to move in with him and Audrey when we had to sell the house. Your brother’s very sensitive and I don’t wanna upset him like that.”

“Okay, so you’ll visit, but you don’t wanna move there.” Felicity said. “Understandable.”

“Mrs. Smoak?” A voice called from the doorway. 

Three heads, two blonde and one white, turned towards the door. “Yes?” All three said, almost in unison.

“Sorry. I meant Hannah.” The nurse said. “It’s time for dinner. Let’s get you to the dining room.”

“Well, looks like I’ve gotta go.” Hannah said. “I’ll see you three tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Donna said. 

 

They left the facility and drove back to the hotel. John and Lyla had made their own dinner plans, so Oliver, Donna and Felicity decided to eat at one of the restaurants inside the MGM Grand. It was fine at first, but right after they ordered their entrees, Felicity noticed that there were several people at different tables staring at them and trying to slyly take pictures. Oliver seemed to notice as well, based on his expression.

“I’ll be right back.” She said. “I need to use the ladies room.”

The bathrooms were near the spot where the manager tended to be during dinner service, which is what she wanted. She didn’t want to make a fuss, but she also didn’t want to be stared at while she was eating. The upside to spending so much time at the Grand while growing up was that Felicity knew a lot of the staff, including staff in the restaurants. On her way back to the table, she heard someone call her name.

“Felicity Smoak?” A woman said. “I thought that was you.”

“Amy?” She asked, looking around. “Are you the manager now?” During Felicity’s last visit, the woman had been working as the bar manager, though she’d started out as a waitress when Felicity was younger.

“Yup. Well, assistant manager. Making my way up in the world. Dan retired and Paul got promoted, so- you look good.”

“Thanks. So do you.” She said, distractedly. Based on the layout of the restaurant, they couldn’t be seen by other customers, but this also meant Felicity couldn’t see Oliver or Donna.

“You look like you wanna ask me something, but you don’t wanna seem unreasonable.” At Felicity’s surprised expression, she continued. “I’ve been working in the service industry a long time. I know what that expression on your face means.”

“I’m having dinner with Mom and my boyfriend. And-.”

“And he’s famous, and you feel like you’re being stared at. Also, one of the waiters mentioned people taking pictures of another table, but didn't say which one it was. I'm guessing he was talking about you.” Amy said. “And you don’t wanna be unreasonable or cause a scene, but you also don’t wanna feel like a zoo animal while eating.” She sighed. “Go back to your table. I’ll handle it.”

Felicity sat down and tried to ignore the eyes on her. A few moments later, Amy was walking through the dining room, checking on how dinner service was going, talking to a few patrons, when she “spotted” Donna. “Donna Smoak!” She called, waltzing over to the table. “Long time, no see.”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“If I knew you were coming for dinner tonight, I would’ve given you a special table.” She said. “In fact, one with a better view of the Strip just opened up. I’m gonna move you over to that table.” The table in question was in a more secluded section, which meant it would be harder for anyone to get a photo.

“That’s really not necessary. I-.”

“After everything you’ve done for me over the years, it’s the least I can do.” Amy said. “You might not be a high-roller, but you’re a VIP. Cindy’s still gonna be your waitress, so I’ll let her know.” 

She escorted them over to the table and only glanced at Oliver once. As far as any bystanders were concerned, the trio had been given a better table because Donna knew the manager, not because Oliver was famous.

“That was an impressive performance.” Donna said when they were seated again.

‘Were the two of you not all that close?’ Oliver asked.

“Oh, no. It’s not that.” She said. “We were fairly close, even though she worked here and I worked down in the casino. I was just impressed by how quickly she’d come up with something on the fly, something that didn’t involve fawning over you, Oliver.”

“I mean, that was kinda the idea.” Felicity said. “Let us eat in peace without having to leave or causing a scene.”

With fewer eyes on them, Donna, Oliver and Felicity had a nice dinner in peace.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 133

Summary:

The trip to Las Vegas comes to an end, Nyssa confesses something and the task force gets some somewhat welcome news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sunday morning, Oliver, Felicity, Donna, Lyla and John ate breakfast, finished packing up Donna’s apartment and drove to Hannah Smoak’s assisted living facility. They were leaving in the mid-afternoon, so the group wanted to spend at least a few hours with Bubbe before it was time for them to go home.

“So, what’s your grandmother like, Felicity?” Lyla asked as they parked. “Because I could easily picture this sweet old lady, but at the same time, some of the things you’ve said about her makes me think she’s not gonna be your typical senior citizen.”

“Bubbe is- well, she’s an interesting character.” Felicity answered as they walked towards the front door. “She’s nice, but she also has a very low tolerance for BS. She says what’s on her mind, a lot, so don’t be surprised if she’s a bit blunt about some stuff. But don’t worry, she’s gonna like you and John.”

“How do you know that?”

“Neither of you put up with much BS either.” She said. “And in general, as long as someone isn’t being, as she puts it, “a dumbass or a dickhead”, which neither of you are, she gets along with people.”

The group went inside and signed in. More nurses seemed to be watching the group today, trying and failing to appear uninterested. Clearly, word had gotten around that Oliver was here and the staff was very curious about what this meant.

“I feel like you two don’t get stared at as much in Starling.” Digg said.

‘Actually, people back home are just more subtle about it.’ Oliver said as they walked into Hannah’s room.

“Everyone now thinks I’m dying or something.” Bubbe said as soon as they entered. “And I’m insulted because I think I look great.”

“Why do people think you’re dying?” Donna asked, slightly worried.

“Because I’m getting so many visitors. First, it was Jared and Audrey. And then you, Felicity and Oliver came to see me at the same time. And then you came back.” She said. “So, clearly, I have to be dying. It’s not that my wonderful granddaughter finally introduced me to her boyfriend and wanted to spend more time with me later in the same day. I told everyone that they were being idiots and that I’m fine. The nurses believe me, some of the residents don’t and Esther down the hall wanted to know why I was getting so many visitors if it wasn’t because I’m sick. I think she’s upset because she doesn’t get visitors that often anymore, since her son moved to Phoenix.”

“Oh, it’s too bad that she’s not getting many visitors.” Felicity said. She then realized that Bubbe had immediately started talking when they walked in and no one had introduced Lyla or Digg to Bubbe. “Not to drastically change the subject, but I wanna introduce you to Lyla and John, they’re friends of mine. Lyla, John, this is my bubbe.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Lyla said.

“Felicity’s told us a lot about you.” Digg added. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Don’t call me “ma’am”. It makes me feel old.” Hannah said. “And it’s nice to meet you too. Felicity, you didn’t paint me out to be some boring old lady, did you?”

“Of course not.” Felicity said. “There’s no way to talk about you that makes you sound boring.”

“Good.” Bubbe said. “Now, John, Lyla. Tell me about yourselves.”

Digg and Lyla told Hannah a bit about themselves, including basic things about their family, their time in the military and how they had become friends with Oliver and Felicity. To avoid outright lying, Lyla had simply said that she met Oliver a few years ago while working for the government, but didn’t say exactly where or in what circumstances. Bubbe didn’t push for details.

“So, are you two married or getting married?” Bubbe asked. “I’m old but I’m not blind. You two are involved, I can tell, but it’s clear you’re not just casually dating.”

“We were married, we got divorced and now, we’re dating.” Digg said. “It’s a long story and kinda complicated.”

“Love often is.” She said. “And you’re adults, so as long as no one’s getting hurt, who cares how messy it is?” She looked behind them. “You don’t need to linger in the doorway, you know.”

“We also didn’t want to just barge in on a conversation.” Jared Smoak said. 

He walked into the room with Audrey and a man in his early 30s. He introduced the man as his son David to Oliver, John and Lyla and then introduced himself and Audrey to John and Lyla.

“So, David, how have you been?” Donna asked her nephew.

“Overall, I’ve been good. Work is going well. I just got a new place, as you know. And thanks for letting me have the furniture you’re leaving here, by the way.” David said. “All in all, life’s going pretty well.”

“I notice you don’t mention a girlfriend.” Bubbe said. “What? I want you to find a nice girl and settle down. I can’t pester Felicity about finding a nice boy to move in with, because she’s done that. And sure, she and Oliver haven’t gotten married yet, but they’re young. You’re single and I want you to find someone nice to spend your life with. You’re not getting any younger.”

“I just turned 30. And, I’m sure I’ll find someone eventually. There’s nothing wrong with being single. And, dating would be easier if Felicity wasn’t-.” He cut himself off, remembering that Felicity was standing right there.

“If I wasn’t what?” She asked. “How can anything I’m doing impact your dating life?”

“Well, you’ve become this “fashion icon” so a lot of women wanna copy your style.” He said. “And because they wanna dress like you, the last two women I went out with were dressed like you. No offense, but the last thing I want is to date someone who reminds me of my cousin.” 

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Felicity said. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t intend to become a style icon. It just kinda happened. No offense, but I wouldn’t wanna date someone who reminds me of you either. Hypothetically, though. Because I don’t plan on dating anyone other than Oliver any time soon. Or, you know, ever.”

‘I figured that’s what you meant.’ Oliver told her. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She said back.

“You two make such a cute couple.” Bubbe said. “Oh, I’m so happy that our family is getting a little bit bigger.”

Felicity and Oliver both felt like the Smoak family was getting a lot bigger, but since Bubbe hadn’t met Thea, Roy, Nyssa or Sara yet, she just didn’t know it yet. Neither of them had a big biological family, but their found family was another story entirely.

The conversation moved away from the odd impact Felicity’s status as a celebrity was having on David’s dating life and more towards general conversation. Everyone got a chance to get to know the others a little better and Felicity got some much needed time with her family. Everyone was a little bummed out when it was time for Felicity, Oliver, Digg, Lyla and Donna to leave. While they could’ve delayed leaving, since they were flying on Oliver’s plane, they didn’t want to get back home too late and have to stay up even later unpacking everything. The group started to say their goodbyes, and Bubbe said she needed to talk to Oliver alone for a second.

“Don’t worry. It’ll only take a minute this time.” She said. The others filed out to give them some privacy. When they were alone, Bubbe reached out for one of Oliver’s hands and held it in both of hers. “Oliver, I want you to promise me something.” She paused. “When you propose to Felicity, whenever that is, do not put the ring in food.”

‘I- what?’ He said. ‘That wasn’t what I thought you’d say.’

“Clearly.” She said with a slight smile. “Don’t put the ring in a cake, or cupcake or in a dish of chocolate mousse. Do not put the engagement ring in food. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about people who put the ring in a cupcake and the ring gets eaten. And that will certainly kill the mood.”

‘I promise not to put the ring in food.’ He told her. ‘You don’t need to worry.’

“Good.” She said. “Have a safe flight, and remember what I told you yesterday. And give William my best when you speak to him.”

‘I will.’

 

Sara handed Nyssa the cup of tea she had just made and took a seat across from her at the kitchen table. It was the middle of the day, so there was plenty of time for them to kill before it was time for them to head to the foundry. More importantly, it gave the couple some time to talk about a few things.

“All right. What are you gonna tell Ollie when you talk to him?” Sara asked.

“What do you mean, what am I going to tell him?” Nyssa answered. “I planned on telling him the truth.”

“Yeah, no. I knew that. But what are you gonna say to him? How are you gonna explain the situation?” She asked. “Just run me through what you’re gonna say.”

“I’m going to start by telling him that I’d like to inform him of what exactly my mission is, but I’d like to do so privately. If I word it that way, I think no one will object to Oliver and I moving into another room or a more secluded spot to talk.”

“Okay. So, you’ve told Oliver that you wanna talk to him and the two of you are in another room or something.” Sara said, nodding along. “What are you going to say once it’s just you and him? Oh, and by the way, if you want me to be there, and we can tell him together, we can do that.”

“This is something I must do on my own, though I appreciate your offer.” Nyssa said. She exhaled and wrapped her hands around the mug of tea, collecting her thoughts. “I suppose I will begin by telling him of the debt my father believes the League of Assassins owes to him. In order for him to understand the mission, he needs to first understand why I was given such a mission. Then, I will tell him what my mission fully entails, and what completing my mission means.”

“All right. Let’s hear it.” Sara said. “Pretend I’m Oliver. Tell me what you’re gonna say.”

“This is- very well.” She wanted to argue that telling Sara would be easy, since she already knew everything and Oliver wouldn’t, but this did give her a chance to practice. “As you know, Malcolm Merlyn was a member of the League of Assassins, until he was released by my father. And, we all know what Malcolm Merlyn was planning with the Undertaking. What you do not know is that, as a result of the Undertaking being stopped completely, my father believes that there is a debt owed to you by the League. One of the core beliefs is that any action performed by a member of the League is the will of the leader, my father. Merlyn was released, but that has little bearing on what would result, especially since it’s likely that he used skills my father taught him in planning and executing this task. Therefore, any deaths Merlyn would’ve caused, my father would've been, or at least felt, responsible for. My orders are to stay in Starling City until that debt is repaid.” 

‘And what does the “debt being repaid” look like?’ Sara signed. “What? I’m going for authenticity here. Oliver signs, so I’m signing.” She didn’t want to say it, but Oliver’s inability to speak made telling him serious things feel harder, because the other person had to fill the silence. Oliver wouldn’t interrupt mid-sentence, he wouldn’t start throwing out ideas or start yelling in anger about how unfair her mission was. Sara wanted Nyssa to walk through, at least once, what the conversation would sound like with only her speaking.

“In stopping the Undertaking, lives were saved. The blood of those who would’ve died are now not going to end up on the League’s hands. Until my actions have saved as many lives as stopping the Undertaking did, the debt remains unpaid.”

‘But we don’t know how many lives were saved, because the Undertaking didn’t happen. Your mission is based on a hypothetical. We can’t say what could have happened.’ Sara signed. ‘So, how can you complete your mission?’

“That is my current conundrum.” Nyssa said.  “I cannot return to Nanda Parbat until I complete my mission, but as you said, it is based on what could have happened.”

‘I know that Sara knows, but does anyone else? I don’t want to violate your privacy, but I also don’t know what Sara, you and I can do on our own.’

“I wanted to tell you so that everyone could know. Telling the group felt daunting, but telling one person is simpler.” She said. “I don’t know how to tell so many people that my father has used the failure of the Undertaking as an excuse to exile me. Can we- I would like to be done pretending like I’m talking to Oliver now.”

“Okay.” Sara said. “I think you did a good job explaining everything, for what it’s worth.”

“Assuming Oliver believes me.”

“You think he won’t believe you?” Sara asked. “Why? He doesn’t have a reason to distrust you.”

“I lied to him about Malcolm. And your survival.”

“And you told him the truth about William, when you didn’t have to and that’s information that was significant to him, but useless to you, in terms of your mission.” She said. “He gets why you didn’t walk up to him and spill everything about Merlyn. And now that he knows about the League, he gets why you had to keep my survival a secret. He’s not gonna not believe you. Trust me, if he says any variation of “I don’t believe this” it’s gonna be because of how Ra’s is acting, not because he thinks you’re lying.”

 

Even though it was a Sunday, Barry called his father’s lawyer and asked for the man to call him back as soon as possible on Monday. Following McKenna’s advice, he wanted to give the defense attorney everything he had before showing the CCPD what he had gotten from her. After leaving a message, Barry decided he should pay his dad a visit. He hadn’t been to Iron Heights in a few weeks and wanted to check in on his dad. He went through the normal security measures and waited in the visitation room for his father to be brought out.

“Hi Dad.”

“Hey, Barry.” Henry said. “How have you been?”

“Good, I’ve been good. I- I’ve got something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” Barry said. “It’s about Mom.”

“We’ve been over this.” His dad said. “You have a good job, and I don’t want you to risk it trying to reopen your mother’s case. You believe me and that’s all I care about.”

“I’m not the only one who thinks you’re innocent.” He said. “Last week, I- I had some vacation days, so I went to Starling City. A de- I gave the case file to someone working for the SCPD, a completely neutral third-party. I just wanted someone with no knowledge of the case to take another look, to see what they thought. And they wrote a report about their findings, which say you didn’t kill Mom. I’m gonna take everything, including what the detective gave me, to your lawyer tomorrow. And I’ll see what he can do with it. Then, I’ll bring it up to the CCPD.”

“Which could cost you your job.” Henry said.

“I’ll get another one. I had plenty of job offers a few years ago.” He said. “I picked the CCPD because it gave me the best chance of clearing your name.”

“Barry, I’m not-.” Henry could understand Barry’s obsession with clearing his name. He just didn’t want his son to ruin his own life trying to do so.

“I know you’re worried I’m gonna get my hopes up, and maybe things won’t work out exactly as I want, but- look, I need to try. Not just for you, not just for me, but for Mom too.” He said. “Doesn’t it bother you, that you don’t know what happened?”

“It’s been bothering me for the last 13 years. I- I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. Or ruin a good thing.”

“I won’t, but I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

Before long, a guard announced that visitation time was over. Barry said goodbye to his father and told him that he’d talk to him again soon. He went back to his apartment for a few hours before he was due to head over to Joe’s for a family dinner with him and Iris. Barry was more than a little nervous about the dinner. He wasn’t ready to tell Joe what he had found out yet, but at the same time, he was worried that something might slip out or that Iris might say something. He knew Iris would never do that, but he had also never been good at keeping secrets.

Barry managed to survive dinner by focusing on telling Joe about the “touristy” things he did in Starling and didn’t say much about the “friend” he went to see or why he decided to travel to Starling and not somewhere like Coast City.

 

The flight back to Starling was uneventful for Oliver, Felicity and the rest of the group. They landed and spent the next few hours driving back and forth from the airport to the penthouse to get all of Donna’s things situated. Donna was certainly excited that she had a much bigger wardrobe now, as she came to Starling with a week’s worth of clothing and either had to do laundry often or buy new clothes in order not to run out of outfits.

“Alright. This is the last box.” Donna said, putting the final box on the couch in the penthouse’s living room. The handful of boxes still in the car held Felicity’s stuff and needed to go to her house.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was expecting you to have more stuff.” Thea said, looking over stacks of boxes.

“I left most of the stuff that didn’t matter to me in Las Vegas. I figured my nephew could have it for his new place.” She said. “Though, he’s only got a week to move it, since the lease ends at the end of the month.” Donna would still technically be a resident of the apartment until next weeknd, though she wasn’t going to Vegas next weekend. The last week of March was for David to move whatever furniture and other odds and ends he was keeping out of the space before the lease ended.

“Also, the apartment wasn’t that big. It was actually pretty small.” Felicity said. “This penthouse is, like, four times bigger than the one I grew up in.”

“Yeah, that’s also true.” She said. “It only had one bathroom.”

‘I guess we should just start unpacking.’ Oliver said.

“Oh, we don’t have to do that tonight.” Donna said. “I’m gonna do that slowly over the next few days, most likely. All we really need to do is get these boxes moved from the living room into my room, so that they’re not just taking up space.” 

“You don’t wanna unpack at all tonight?” Felicity asked her.

“I’m probably gonna unpack a box or two, but since you, Oliver, John and Lyla helped me pack all of this up, it seems a little unfair to make you help me unpack everything as well.” She said. “And I know, you’re gonna say that you wanna help. And I appreciate that, but it’s not needed. I’m giving you an out. And a break. I love you, but I’ve spent two days straight with you. Go home, all of you, and I’ll see you at the foundry in a few hours.”

“Well, I’m not gonna complain. I’ve got some unpacking of my own to do. I’ll see you later, Mom.”

Felicity, Oliver, Digg and Lyla left and said they’d see Donna, Roy and Thea in a few hours. Once the other travellers were gone, Donna turned to Roy and Thea. “So, what have you two been up to for the last few days?”

“Lunch with my mother and some training sessions with Nyssa, Sara and Slade.” Thea said. “I’m sore all over.”

“Ditto.” Roy said. He started looking at the boxes. “So, are all of these clothes and knick-knacks?” 

“Most of the boxes are clothing, some are knick-knacks and keepsakes. There’s also a box of my photo albums and scrapbooks.” Donna said.

“You scrapbook?” Thea asked.

“When I have time, yes.” She said. “I have about one and a half scrapbooks full of articles and newspaper clippings about Felicity and her accomplishments. And then, there’s the family scrapbook, with normal family pictures.”

“You brought Felicity’s baby pictures?”

“Of course I did. I’m her mother.”

 

When he and Felicity got home, Oliver set the box of Felicity’s stuff down on the couch and immediately started looking through it.

“What are you looking for?” She asked him.

He continued rummaging through it until he pulled out a picture frame that had a hoodie wrapped around it. ‘This.’ He said. He began to unwrap the cloth from the frame. ‘I think this picture should go right here.’ He placed the frame on the mantle, where everyone would be able to see it. It was the picture of Felicity and Emily. ‘So that everyone can see it.’

“I-.” Felicity swallowed, trying to make the lump in her throat go down. “I think it should go there too.”

‘Are you upset?’

“No, I’m just- I love you. I love you, and I know I say that every day, but sometimes- sometimes I can’t help but be amazed by how much you just “get” me. Like, I don’t like the phrase “you complete me” because I’m a whole person on my own, but it seems like-.”

‘We make each other better. We understand each other in ways I used to think weren’t possible.’

“Exactly.” She said. 

The couple unpacked the boxes in a companionable silence, and then spent some time exploring one another’s bodies before having dinner and heading to the foundry.

 

Doyle sat rubbing his eyes, trying to get rid of the headache that was forming. He liked his job, he knew what he did was important. However, spending hours reading page after page of documents was hard on his concentration and his eyesight. He was really starting to hate File 4587 and hoped there was an end in sight soon.

As he stopped rubbing his eye, his phone began to ring. “Agent Doyle.”

“Hello Agent Doyle, this is Brian Gunderson from the State Department.” The voice on the other end of the line said.

“You’re working late.” Doyle said. It was just after 8pm in Starling, meaning it was 11pm in DC.

“Actually, it’s 11am here in Beijing.” He said. “My boss decided I might be able to get things done a little quicker if I was meeting with the Chinese government officials in person. Your request has been granted.”

“They’re allowing us to travel to Lian Yu?”

“With some conditions, though most of it is bureaucratic. There is a limit on the number of agents you take with you and anything you bring onto the island must leave the island with you. The Chinese government will not be providing transportation from Hong Kong to the island, so you will have to organize that. They will not be providing someone to serve as a guide on the island, as they do not have one.” He said. “I’ll send you an email with the details, but that’s the gist of it.” 

Gunderson ended the call a few moments later. Doyle then immediately called Dinan, who had spent the last few days juggling the press, File 4587 and the investigation.

“So, I’ve got good news and bad news.” He said. “The Chinese government approved our request.”

“And the bad news?”

“We have to bring our own guide.” He said. “And our best option-.”

“Is Oliver Queen, who never wants to set foot on that island again.” Dinan said. “Let me think about how we can handle this, without him.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 134

Summary:

Barry goes to an important meeting, Felicity talks about her weekend and Nyssa shares her troubles with Oliver.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nyssa did not ask to speak to Oliver about her assignment from the League on Sunday night. She had planned to speak to him then, and had every intention of pulling him aside then so that she could tell him about her mission and what it entailed, but then, Tommy asked about the trip to Las Vegas. Everyone on Team Oliver, herself included, wanted to hear about the trip and meeting Bubbe Smoak. It was very clear that Oliver, Felicity and Donna had had a great trip and it was a pleasant experience. Digg and Lyla also enjoyed themselves as well, though the pair admitted they hadn’t done very much while in Las Vegas. The trip seemed like a very fun, happy few days for Oliver and Nyssa didn’t want to ruin the mood by pulling him aside so that she could tell him all about her very upsetting and anger-inducing circumstances. So, she decided to wait a day. Monday morning, after Felicity and Sara were at work, and Thea was at school, she would go see Oliver at the house and talk to him.

As the vigilantes were departing to start patrol, Sara began walking beside her girlfriend, something that wasn’t entirely unusual. She opened her mouth to speak.

“I know what you are going to say. You are going to ask why I did not ask to speak to Oliver in private, as I had planned.” Nyssa said.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I know why.” Sara responded. “He seems happy about the trip and you don’t wanna ruin that. I was just gonna ask if this meant you were gonna talk to him tomorrow.”

“I said I would tell him, and I will tell him. You do not need to keep reminding me that I haven’t done it yet.” She was starting to get annoyed that Sara kept bringing this up. This wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to, and the pestering didn’t make things any easier.

“Ok, I won’t bring it up again.” Sara said. “It took me a long time to convince you to ask anyone for help on this, and I don’t want you to chicken out and change your mind, just because telling him didn’t go exactly as you planned it would.”

“I am Nyssa al Ghul. I do not “chicken out” on anything.” She said.

 

Monday morning, the first place Barry went was to see his father’s defense attorney. He took McKenna’s note seriously and wanted to make sure Henry’s defense attorney knew what was going on and had a chance to work with the new information before he brought it up to the CCPD. When he started telling the lawyer, Michael Jones, about all of the inconsistencies he had noticed, Barry could tell the man was humoring him. Michael had likely heard all of this before, when he was originally defending Henry. It was only when Barry mentioned that he was a CSI and about the trip to Starling that he started to show an interest in what Barry was saying.

“And these detectives and crime scene analysts, did they provide some kind of report after looking at the file?” Michael asked.

“Yeah.” Barry said, handing him a copy of the files McKenna had given him. “I only talked to the one detective, meaning the CSI, medical examiner and other investigators don’t know me, so there’s no possible bias. The CCPD kept telling me that they couldn’t reopen the case, based on my observations, because I’m biased since my dad was their main suspect-.”

“So, you went out and got a second opinion.” He said. “This might take me some time to get through, before we can talk about the options for your father.”

“That’s fine. I know there’s a lot, but if you could-.” Barry said, “just read through the first few pages of the file, and then I’ll leave.” While the medical examiner’s report was only one piece of the puzzle, it was one of the most valuable, due to how clearly and concisely it completely contradicted the autopsy results from 2000.

The lawyer looked at Barry and then started reading the report. Barry watched as the man got more interested in the report as he read further down. He turned to the second page and read faster, seeming eager to reach the conclusion. “It’s therefore, in my professional, objective opinion, that while I cannot positively identify the weapon used, I must rule out any bladed weapon, including knives, cleavers, swords or daggers, due to the injury itself and the lack of injury to nearby parts of the body.” He read. He looked up at Barry. “Since you’re a crime scene investigator, I’m sure that you know what this document alone means, nevermind anything in the other reports. This should be enough for me to file something with the court, but I’m gonna read through the rest before I do that. The more evidence and exhibits I can put in my filing, the better. Have you shown any of this to the CCPD?”

“Not yet. Someone suggested I show this to you first.” Barry said.

“Well, I don’t know what they’ll do with it, if they’ll do anything at all, but give them a copy soon. I’m a skeptic, but I like to give people at least a chance to do the right thing.” He said. “And, if they do nothing, well, I’ll get things moving through the courts. If a judge agrees to reopen the case, they’ll have to comply.”

Barry thanked Michael and left to head to work. While he was eager to talk to the CCPD about this, he was also feeling some dread. He knew he’d face some resistance. He knew this would hurt Joe, but he had to do this. He had to do whatever he could to try and help his dad.

He took his second copy of the files and walked into Captain Singh’s office when he reached the precinct.

“I need to speak to you about something, Captain.” Barry said.

“Allen, if you’ve got results back for a case, go talk to the lead detective.” Singh said, not looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

“It’s not about an active case.” Barry closed the door, causing the captain to look up. “It’s about my mother’s case.”

Singh sighed. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Actually, we haven’t.” He said. Given the good news he’d gotten, he was feeling a little bold and willing to argue a little bit. “I asked for it to be reopened, and you told me “no”. And that’s what the captain before you did, when I turned 18 and came to ask him about it.” David Singh had only been the captain of the precinct for the last three years. He was on the force, but working on the opposite side of the city when Nora was murdered. Barry couldn't prove it, but he had a feeling Singh hadn't wanted to listen to him a couple years ago because he had been told by the outgoing captain or another cop that Barry was in denial or something, not because he genuinely didn't believe Barry. How could he, since he knew almost nothing about the case? “That’s what everyone has done. No one in this department has ever given me the chance to actually discuss the case, not even Joe. So, I investigated it on my own.” He placed the stack of files on Singh’s desk.  

“What’s this?”

“Everyone told me I was too biased to investigate this case, that whatever results I found would be meaningless.” He said. “So, I got a second opinion.”

“Barry-.”

“Do me a favor, Captain.” He said. “Read through all of that before you just decide I’m full of crap and throw it all away. I’ll be in my lab if anyone needs me.”

Barry walked out of Singh’s office and went to his lab. Singh went back to the report he was reading, but kept eyeing the stack of files Barry had left behind.

 

On the drive into work on Monday, Felicity and Lyla talked about their trip. Since everyone had wanted to hear about what Oliver, Felicity and Donna had been up to, the blonde didn’t know much about how Lyla and John spent their weekend.

“Just out of curiosity, what did you and John do while we were visiting Bubbe on Saturday?” Felicity asked her.

“We went to the casino for a little bit, because when you're in Las Vegas, I feel like you kinda have to.” She said. “And we did some tourist stuff, like take pictures near that little Eiffel Tower to pretend like it was Paris and buy souvenirs for AJ and Carly. And in the afternoon, we sat by the pool and did nothing, just like we wanted. It was a nice little mini-vacation.”

“I’m glad you two had fun.” Felicity said. “Sorry you had to help us move, though. You know, if you wanna take a vacation, a real vacation, you can do that whenever you want. And you should, because everyone needs to take a break and get away from it all every now and then.”

“Felicity? Relax. I’m happy with how I spent my weekend, moving included, and I know that, if I wanna take a vacation, no one’s gonna say “no”. This past weekend was enough “getting away from it all” that I need at the moment.” She said. “No need to apologize or feel bad for anything.”

“Ok, because it’s just- it’s weird territory, because you and John, and Roy and my mom, you’re all friends with me and Oliver, but he’s also technically your boss and we don’t wanna make anyone feel like lines are being crossed or that they’re being taken advantage of or something.”

“No, I get it, but at the same time, if lines were being crossed, I wouldn’t have a problem telling you or him that. Neither would Johnny or Roy or your mom.” Lyla said. 

The pair arrived at Applied Science and went inside. As soon as they entered the lab, Ray and Curtis were asking about how their weekend trip to Las Vegas was.

“It was fun.” Felicity told them. “We got all of Mom’s stuff packed up and got to spend some time with my bubbe, aunt, uncle and cousin.”

“Was that all you did?” Curtis asked. “I know you and Oliver didn’t elope, because you texted me, though I had seen a post about it before your text and got excited, but you didn’t, like, go see a show or spend some time in a casino or something?”

“Oliver and I aren’t gonna elope. Or at least, we weren’t gonna elope and not have his sister and more of our friends there.” She said. “The thing about growing up in Vegas is that the allure of the city wears off on you. I’ve seen Cirque du Soleil once, and I don’t need to see it again. Same thing goes for spending all day in a casino.”

“Not to mention the fact that you’re banned from several.” Lyla said. 

“You’re banned from casinos?” Ray asked.

“I’m banned from three for card counting. Blackjack is just math and I’m a math prodigy.” Felicity said. “Card-counting, as long as you don’t have a partner or something, isn’t illegal, because all you’re doing is using a specific strategy to play the game, but the casino can ask you to leave if they catch you and ban you from returning. So, there wasn’t really much of a point in heading to the casino this weekend.”

“How did it go? Oliver meeting your family, I mean.” He asked.

“Amazing. They loved Oliver, then again, who doesn’t like Oliver? Anyway, it went really well and they all like him.” She said. “How did you spend your weekends?”

“Looking at wedding venues.” Ray said. “Anna and I weren’t able to find one that really spoke to us, so we’ve gotta keep looking.”

“I’m sure you’ll find the perfect venue.” She said. “Does Anna have a preference, like a hotel or a vineyard or something?”

“I don’t think so. Or at least, she’s never mentioned really wanting to get married at a specific type of venue.” He said. “Curtis?”

“Felicity, you know how I asked you about that robot kit that you bought William? I might’ve bought one or two kits from that company for myself, and spent the weekend building them.”

“And?”

“We were robbed as kids.” He said. “One of the kits I bought was for teenagers and it was awesome. It doesn’t do everything some of the robots I’ve built can do, but you get some pretty great hardware and programming with those kits.”

“I think those kits are gonna get a lot of kids into robotics and engineering at an early age.” Felicity said. “Which is good. We need to get them hooked while they're young. And I know, saying that probably makes me sound like a drug dealer. But instead of drugs, I’m dealing knowledge about technology and science and- I’m gonna stop talking now because I don’t even know where I’m going with this.”

Lyla, Ray and Curtis, meanwhile, started laughing. They then got to work on the implantable biostimulant.

 

Oliver drove Thea to school and then returned home. Not long after he returned home, there was a knock at the door. He looked through the peephole and saw Nyssa standing on the front stoop. He opened the door and let her inside.

“I apologize for not telling you I was coming, but I feared I would lose my nerve, as it were, if I didn’t come over as soon as I made the decision to come see you.” She said once she was inside.

‘Is everything okay?’ He asked. ‘Did something happen to Sara?’ He wasn’t upset that she hadn’t told him she was on her way to see him, but her comment about losing her nerve concerned him. Whatever was happening, whatever she wanted to talk about, must be serious.

“Sara is perfectly fine. She is at work.” She said. “I want to talk to you about the assignment my father gave me, the reason I’m staying in Starling City.”

‘Okay. Would you like a cup of coffee or maybe some tea?’ He asked.

“Thank you, but I am fine.” She said. “Can we sit down? This may take some time to explain.” Oliver nodded and they walked over to the couch and sat down. “As you know, Malcolm Merlyn was a member of the League of Assassins, until he was released by my father. And, we all know what Malcolm Merlyn was planning with the Undertaking. What you do not know is that, as a result of the Undertaking being stopped completely, my father believes that there is a debt owed to you by the League. One of the core beliefs is that any action performed by a member of the League is the will of the leader, my father. Merlyn was released, but that has little bearing on what would result, especially since it’s likely that he used skills my father taught him in planning and executing this task. Therefore, any deaths Merlyn would’ve caused, my father would've been, or at least felt, responsible for. My orders are to stay in Starling City until that debt is repaid.” 

‘And what exactly does that mean?’

His response wasn’t the exact response Sara had given when they acted this out, but it was fairly close. This made Nyssa feel a little better. “In stopping the Undertaking, lives were saved. The blood of those who would’ve died are now not going to end up on the League’s hands. Until my actions have saved as many lives as stopping the Undertaking did, the debt remains unpaid.”

‘But, we can’t ever know how many people were saved. Because it didn’t happen, so that number could be a thousand or it could be five hundred thousand.’ He said. ‘So, I don’t see how it’s even possible for you to ever achieve that, since you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.’

“And that is the biggest problem. I can’t return to Nanda Parbat until I complete this task, but the task also has no parameters or way to measure my progress.” She said. “Which is why I wanted to speak with you.”

‘I- and your father gave you this mission, exactly as you described it to me?’ He asked. ‘It’s not meant to be some kind of metaphor for something?’

“My father is not fond of metaphors.” She said. “The assignment is meant to be completed in a literal sense. And this means I am effectively exiled.”

‘Why would your father do that to you?’ He asked. 

“You don’t believe me?” She knew this would happen. Sara told her Oliver would believe her, but clearly he did not. This was a mistake.

‘No, I believe you. I just- I can’t imagine someone doing something like that to their own child.’ He said. ‘What exactly are you asking me to do? Do you want my help completing your mission, or figuring out how you’re even supposed to complete it? Or are you trying to leave the League of Assassins entirely, because if you’re free, you can forget about the task entirely?’

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know what I want.” She said. “I know everyone is curious about my mission, but given that my father has essentially banished me by giving me an impossible task, the thought of having to explain this to everyone seemed too daunting. Telling one person seemed much easier.”

‘But if you had the opportunity to decide, what would you want to do?’ He asked.

She thought about the question for several minutes. What did Nyssa want? When was the last time she had thought about her own desires? “Recent events have led me to realize that I am unhappy in Nanda Parbat and involved with the League of Assassins. However, I am my father’s heir and there is only one way in which a person becomes free from the League.”

‘Sara was able to leave.’

“My father never fully trusted Sara or saw her as fully committed to the League. He won’t so easily let me go.” She said.

‘Let me think about the situation for a few days. An idea might occur to me.’ He said. ‘What, if anything, do we tell the others? I wanna follow your lead on this one, so it’s up to you.’

“I want them to know the truth, but the act of actually telling them is what’s kept me from saying anything until now.”

‘We, meaning you, Sara and I, can tell them together tonight if you want.’ He said.

“Not tonight. My anxiety about telling you has made me quite tired. I would like to wait a few days before telling them, as that will also make me anxious.” She said. “I am sorry to ask you to keep this from the others in the meantime, but…”

‘Don’t apologize. This isn’t about me. It’s about you.’ He said. ‘And we’ll tell them when you’re ready. Whenever that is. The others will understand.’

“Thank you, Oliver.”

‘Would you like that cup of tea now?’ He asked her. While he would totally understand if Nyssa wanted to leave now that they’d spoken, he didn’t want her to feel like she had to leave.

“That would be lovely.”

Oliver heated some water and made them each a cup of English Breakfast tea. They discussed a few random things while they had their tea. Nyssa left a little while after that, and Oliver spent a few hours refreshing his memory on the agenda for the shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday before leaving to head to the foundry to work out for a little bit.

 

Dinan and Doyle sat in the bullpen trying to figure out how they were going to safely navigate the terrain on Lian Yu. The Chinese government wasn't sending them with a guide, but the agents knew the island was dangerous and a guide was essentially mandatory. Their ideal guide was Oliver Queen, but given how traumatized he was, they didn’t want to ask him to be their guide.

“We could ask him to draw us a map.” Doyle said. 

“He’s not a cartographer and I don’t know how much training Lyla Michaels would’ve given him about drawing an effective map.” Dinan said. “It’s worth a try, but we don’t know how valuable a map he draws might be. Do you- we can’t ask him to be our guide, but Sara Lance was on that island for close to a year and Slade Wilson was there for at least three. One of them could be our guide, if they agree. What do you think our chances of getting a “yes” from them would be?”

“I think Wilson would agree. I doubt he’d wanna return there on his own, but he seems the most likely to agree.” He said. “He was the one who was the most prepared, mentally, to be on that island in the first place.” He paused. “You know what just occurred to me? We still don’t know how Oliver Queen got off that island the second time. You said your interview with him ended with him being tortured by Smith, whoever that actually is, and him alluding to the fact that he killed Smith and his men. We still don’t know how he was found.”

“I wasn’t going to ask him to keep discussing what seemed like the worst part of the worst thing that ever happened to him. Especially since, whatever Smith was doing, it has nothing to do with our investigation.” She said. “And Oliver was picked up by a Chinese fishing boat.”

“But how did he get the boat’s attention? I doubt the boat just happened to sail by and spotted him.”

“I don’t know. Maybe a crewmember went ashore and saw him, maybe it was luck. Maybe he had some kind of signal fire going.” She said. “We may never know and we’ll just have to live with that. I’ll go give Slade Wilson a call.”

"Hold off on that.” Doyle said. “I’m still waiting for the documents with all the rules and stuff from Gunderson. I think we should see what kinda restrictions we’re dealing with before we talk to Wilson about the excursion.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Sorry that this chapter was a little on the shorter side. The last few have taken a lot out of me, and I wanted to put out a chapter this week, even if it wasn't a long one.

Also, for anyone wondering when we're going to see "Oliver as the Arrow" again, there's a method to my madness.

Chapter 135

Summary:

Oliver heads to an important meeting, Sara discusses something with Nyssa and Samantha gets a surprise.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Sara got home from work on Monday, Nyssa told her about the conversation she and Oliver had had regarding Nyssa's assignment for the League. She gave her beloved an almost word-for-word recap of what each of them had said. Oliver had agreed not to mention Nyssa’s situation to anyone until she felt ready, so Nyssa knew that she needed to tell Sara so that the blonde wouldn’t continue to think that she was procrastinating.

“I’m glad it went well. Not that I thought it wouldn’t. I just- you know what I mean.” Sara said. “And I’m sorry that I kept nagging you about it.’

“You didn’t nag me about it.”

“I kinda did. You can admit it, I’m not gonna get upset.” She said. “I was trying to be supportive, while also not letting you overthink it and change your mind and I know it sometimes probably came off as me telling you what to do and that’s annoying.”

Nyssa wouldn’t lie and say that it wasn’t a little annoying, but she also didn’t want to make Sara feel bad for bothering her. It had been an important thing she needed to do. “I still don’t understand why this seems to matter more to you than it does to me.” She didn’t know how to express how the mission made her feel. It was painful, but she wasn’t angry about it in the way that Sara was.

“Because I love you.” She said. “I love you and you might be hiding how you feel about it, but I know what your dad said, and that this “assignment” of yours and its meaning, does hurt you. And when people hurt someone I care about, it makes me angry. So, getting you out of this mess and away from your dad, if we can, matters a lot to me.”

“I love you too. But it’s not your responsibility, or anyone’s for that matter, to “get me out of this”. All I need, and all I truly want right now, is your love and your support as we try to find a solution.” Nyssa said. “Anyway, I’ve told Oliver what’s going on and he’s going to take some time to think about possible ideas. I informed him that I would need a few days to recover from the stress of telling him, and we are going to discuss when to tell the others in a few days.”

Sara nodded, happy that Nyssa seemed pleased by how things went and where she and Oliver had left things. They had a quick dinner and went to the foundry.

Monday night’s patrol was fairly quiet, though not entirely. Contrary to what politicians claimed, it was impossible to completely eliminate all crime. Crime rates could be reduced and certain crimes could be avoided, but human nature prevented crime from disappearing altogether. Malcolm Merlyn’s belief that destroying the Glades would somehow make the area safer and better, as he had argued to the members of Tempest, made even less sense given that context.

 

In a dingy warehouse by the docks, a tall intimidating man spoke to his boss, who was sitting behind a large desk. He had noticed a few odd things happening lately. He would enter the warehouse and find that things had been moved, documents not being where he left them, boxes that he’d left taped closed had been cut open.

“You sure it wasn’t one of the guys?” His boss asked. “You’re hardly the only person with access to this building, or office.”

“No, I don’t know, but why would one of them be looking through shipping manifests?”

“Has anything gone missing?”

“Not that I know of. It’s not like we’re short a whole shipment or anything. But we don’t exactly keep great records.”

“That’s the point.” Frank Bertinelli said. “So, either someone’s stealing from us, or we’ve got a rat problem. Either way, someone clearly wants to die.” He stood up. “Nick’s gonna deal with this. Next time you notice something off, don’t wait a few weeks before you tell me.” Frank hated being seen in this part of town. He had always maintained that the rumors he was part of the mafia were nothing more than prejudice against him for being Italian. Being seen in a shady part of town, around men who looked like mob enforcers, made it a lot harder to keep up that charade.

“Of course, boss.”

 

As Malcolm waited for his newest ally to arrive at his villa, he couldn’t help but feel agitated. It had been quite some time since their partnership began, yet it seemed his new “friend” wasn’t inclined to do anything to help him in the near future. He understood that he needed to wait for things to cool down in Starling, that it would be months or even a year before he could fully return and put another plan into place. However, he couldn’t simply do nothing; that just wasn’t the type of person that he was. 

Not to mention, he didn’t like Corto Maltese all that much. The island was beautiful, to be sure, and he appreciated that the United States government couldn’t pursue him here, but he’d never dreamed of retiring to some tropical locale. The fact was that, if Malcolm had wanted to live in Corto Maltese, he could’ve easily moved there after Tommy turned 18 and orchestrated the Undertaking from there. The villa was a hideout, not a home, and certainly not where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

A car pulled up outside the building and the driver got out and made their way towards the door. “Try not to look so happy to see me.” They said sarcastically.

“Let me make something clear. We share a common goal, that is all. We are not friends. At most, we are business associates.” He said. “And, if I knew you were here with plans to move forward, or actually do something, I would be a lot happier to see you.”

“As I told you, and you acknowledged, it’s going to be some time before we can do anything without immediately alerting the government. But I didn’t tell you I was coming, just to waste your time. I have news from Starling.”

“I’m listening.”

Most of what the person had to share was information Malcolm already knew. He knew that Sara was alive and that his office was being searched. He knew about Tommy reopening Rebecca’s clinic, though it hadn’t officially happened until a few days ago. He knew about the Arrow’s activities and so-called heroism. He hadn’t known that Tommy was the de facto CEO of Merlyn Global Group now, because no one else wanted the job, but it didn’t surprise him. His son seemed drawn to lost causes.

“The FBI has yet to change the charge against you, but I believe they may already be aware of your...alter ego.”

“They haven’t found any proof.” Merlyn said.

“Neither you nor I can be certain of that. You admitted that, when you left the city, you had to leave things behind and they might’ve found them, regardless of how well you think you hid them. It’s possible that they don’t know, but it’s also possible that they do.”

“Well, they’re still trying to find me, because it looks better for them if they arrest me so that I can “face justice” and that’s gonna take them a while.” He said.

“The world’s a lot smaller than it was back in the 90s. It’s not easy to disappear anymore.”

“Is this all you came to tell me?”

“For the moment.” The Gambit task force was very clearly working on something big, though they hadn’t made any kind of announcement yet. Until they held a press conference, Malcolm’s new ally wasn’t sure if he needed to be informed or not. It could be nothing, after all.

 

When Felicity woke up on Tuesday morning, Oliver was already awake. He wasn’t in bed beside her, so she got out of bed and found him in the kitchen cooking a big breakfast. She wasn’t sure if the big breakfast was so that he had plenty of energy for the stockholder meeting later, or if he was just trying to burn off his nervous energy.

He had ingredients for both omelets and French Toast and also had a bunch of fruit and other breakfast foods displayed on the breakfast bar.

“Good morning.” She said, getting some coffee. “How long have you been up?”

‘About two hours.’ He answered, giving her a quick kiss.

“Why are you making such a big breakfast?”

‘Well, you need breakfast. And Roy and your mom are coming over, so I said I’d make them breakfast. Not to mention Digg and Lyla. And if Roy comes, so will Thea, so that’s five extra people who are gonna be here. And I wanted to make sure I had at least something everyone likes.’

“And you’re nervous about the stockholder meeting.” She said. “It’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna do great. It’s gonna be a lot of boring business talk. Nothing too intense or life-altering.”

‘I’m still worried that the board is going to realize that I’m an idiot.’

“Oliver, you’re not an idiot. You- look at me for a second.” She said. He met her eyes. “You are not an idiot. It’s true, you don’t have an MBA and you didn’t graduate from college, but that doesn’t mean you’re stupid. There are different types of intelligence and you are one of the smartest people I know.”

‘No, I’m not.’

“Yes, you are.” She said. “Oliver, you survived on your own, for five years. And I know, you weren’t completely alone the whole time, but for a lot of it, even if you weren’t alone, you didn’t know who you could trust. You survived in situations where most people wouldn’t have, and if you wanna downplay it, that’s one thing, but that shows you’re smart and you’re resourceful. You’re smart, Oliver.”

He was a little surprised by how emotionally charged her words were. She was clearly very passionate about making sure he knew he was smart, which took him a little off-guard. ‘Sorry if I upset you.’

“You didn’t upset me. You just- it makes me sad sometimes, the way you talk about yourself. Like you’re a monster, or you don’t matter or you’re not important. Because you’re an amazing man and I wish you saw yourself the way that I see you or Thea or Tommy or everyone else, I’m not gonna keep listing people, but I could. And some of those things, I can’t help you with. But I can tell you that you’re not stupid, that you’re a good person and things like that. So, when I can, I do. But sometimes, I get a little emotional when I do it.” She said.

‘I love you.’

“I love you too.” She said, giving him a kiss. She was about to deepen the kiss when the doorbell rang. She pouted. “Oh, bad timing.”

‘Well, since we live together, we can always finish this later.’

“Oh, don’t worry. We definitely will.” She went to open the front door to let Roy, Donna and Thea inside. Digg and Lyla arrived about five minutes later.

After having a big breakfast, Felicity and Lyla went to work. Thea drove herself to school, just this once, and the others left to head to QC’s headquarters for the quarterly meeting.

 

David Singh didn’t read through what Barry had given him on Monday by the time he arrived in his office on Tuesday. For one thing, he had a lot of active cases he was keeping an eye on. The stack of documents Barry had left was also quite large. Singh also wanted to read the CCPD’s files on the matter, which he’d done last night, before looking through what Barry had provided. Not to mention, there were a few people he wanted to talk to about some of the things Barry had said when he brought up his mother’s case.

He saw Joe West walk into the precinct and called him into his office. At first, Joe thought he wanted an update on one of his cases, and started telling him about the latest information he had.

“This isn’t about the string of carjackings.” Singh said. “Barry Allen came into my office yesterday and asked about his mother’s case.”

Joe sighed. “I’m sorry. I really thought he was finished trying to- I’ll talk to him about it.”

“I think if he wanted to talk to you about it, he wouldn’t have come to me.” He said. “I also didn’t ask you in here to talk about Allen’s request, but what he told me after I pointed out that he had asked me about the case before and I’d given him an answer. He said no one in the department had ever been willing to talk to him about the case.”

“People don’t like being told that they’re wrong, Captain.” He said. “And pretty much since Nora died, Barry’s been trying to prove his father didn’t do it. And he doesn’t like hearing that he’s wrong. Every few years, he gets another idea, thinks he’s found something new that proves his father’s innocence and asks for the case to be reopened. Captain Brown didn’t want him to get obsessed with the case, so he turned it down each time. I’m sure you’ve seen what happens when someone in our line of work gets obsessed with a case.”

“How did he know Allen was asking as a CSI and not as the victim’s son?” Singh asked. “Because when he said no one would ever talk about the case with him, it struck me that, maybe the reason he keeps asking for it to be reopened is because, when his mother died, he was a kid and no one wanted to talk about it, and now that he’s an adult, he still doesn’t understand aspects of the case, and no one’s willing to answer his questions.”

“Barry’s a good kid. He just- he doesn’t want to believe that his dad could’ve done what he did.” Joe said. “Do you want me to talk to him about it?”

“No need. He and I talked yesterday. Just don’t be surprised if he says something to you.” The captain said. “That was all I wanted to talk to you about.”

Joe went over to his desk. The captain didn’t seem angry or annoyed about Barry’s questions, which was good, but Joe was somewhat annoyed that Barry would go directly to Singh without trying to talk to him first. He didn’t have much time to think about it, however, because he had cases that he needed to work on.

Singh, meanwhile, pulled the first few papers off of the pile Barry had left and began reading the contents.

 

Unlike the previous meeting, Oliver was not the first person to arrive to the stockholders’ meeting. He entered the room to find Charles Winston III, Richard Deckard and a few others talking amongst themselves. Moira hadn’t arrived yet, which made Oliver feel slightly better. He knew it sounded a little paranoid, but if Moira wasn’t here before him, it meant she couldn’t try to turn the people who were already here against him.

“Good morning, Oliver.” Charles said, approaching him. “How are you doing?”

‘Hi, Charles.’ He said. It felt a little weird, calling a friend of his grandfather’s by his first name, but with time it would start to feel less strange. ‘I’m doing well. How are you? How’s your family?’ Roy interpreted.

“Good, good. Everyone’s doing well. My grandson Josh, the one who goes to school with your sister, has picked his college. He’s breaking from tradition and going to USC.”

‘What’s the family tradition?’ Oliver asked. The first college Oliver dropped out was Harvard. He went to Harvard because Robert went to Harvard. Robert went to Harvard because Richard Queen had graduated from there. Richard’s father, Oliver’s great-grandfather, didn’t go to college, so while attending Harvard was a Queen family tradition, it wasn’t a long-standing one.

“Cornell, where his father and older brother went. He thought about applying, or at least that’s what he told me, but said they didn’t have the right program for the degree he wanted to get. He’s studying engineering but a very specific type, bio-something or other.” He said. “Has Thea decided where she’s going?”

‘I think she’s gonna take a gap year. Figure out what she wants to do.’ He said. The last time he and Thea had talked about her future, she had made it clear that she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. He told her not to put too much pressure on herself and reminded her that a degree wasn’t everything.

“That’s not a bad idea, either. Too many people go to college, because they’ve been told they gotta go and end up getting degrees they don’t want just to get jobs they don’t care about.” He said. “She’s young. She’s got plenty of time to figure out what she wants and she can always start later.”

‘That’s almost exactly what I told her, when she asked me if I was disappointed in her for some reason. Like she could ever be a disappointment.’ Oliver said. ‘Give Josh my congrats and-.’

“Hello, Oliver.” Moira said from behind Oliver.

Oliver turned around to face his mother. ‘Hi, Mom.’ He signed. He was nervous, but trying to hide it. He knew his mother would be here, but he had, somewhat naively, hoped that he wouldn’t have to speak with her. At least she seemed to want to keep things pleasant.

“You look well.” She said awkwardly. “I was hoping that after the meeting, you and I could-.”

Whatever she was going to say, it was cut off by Walter announcing that it was time to bring the meeting to order. As Oliver walked over to his seat, he realized something: Moira was looking him in the eye. He couldn’t remember the last time his mother had looked him in the eye when talking to him.
The meeting began. The first portion was going over the meeting minutes from the last stockholders’ meeting. The board then discussed several different proposals and propositions that needed to be brought before them and voted on. Most of what was discussed involved things relating to day-to-day operations and some projects that QC was working with another company on. The last part of the meeting was about Applied Sciences, since that department was the newest and had the most activity at the moment.

The board discussed progress on a green energy project and then a new computer chip they were developing, as those two projects were the closest to being rolled out to the public.

“What’s the status of Felicity Smoak’s project?” Richard Deckard asked. “I know she has a few, but I mean that chip she pitched around a year ago. The one that’s gonna help paraplegics walk.”

“The most recent update that I have is that Ms. Smoak, Ray Palmer and Curtis Holt have a few prototypes built and they’re currently testing the effectiveness of the implantable biostimulant on lab mice.” Walter said. “And they are working on the literature to submit the design to the FDA for approval.”

“She hasn’t started human trials yet?” Daniel Bowen asked. He sounded less than impressed with the progress that had been made.

‘You need FDA approval to start human trials for medical devices.’ Oliver said. ‘At least for any device that’s permanently placed inside the body.’

“Does approval for most medical devices take very long?” Elizabeth Pelletier asked.

“In the case of most medical devices, no, but it’s my understanding that most “new” devices are updated versions of existing ones. If one artificial hip design works and is proven not to harm patients, a similar design gets approved faster.” Walter said. “As this biostimulant is the first of its kind, it will have to go through the full approval process, which takes time.”

“What else is she working on?” Daniel asked.

“The woman’s in the process of giving people their legs back. Is that not enough?” Charles Winston asked. “Does she need to build a rocket too?”

“I’m just making sure we’re not spending millions of dollars on a project that might never be profitable. She hasn’t started human trials. It doesn’t have FDA approval. We don’t even know if it works. Excuse me for making sure we aren’t burning money just because Ms. Smoak is Oliver’s girlfriend.”

For the first time in a long time, Oliver felt angry. Truly, deeply angry. It was one thing for Susan Williams to claim Felicity was using her relationship with Oliver to get ahead at work. It was completely different for another stockholder to say it. To make matters worse, Oliver felt stuck, because if he said nothing, it implied Bowen was right, but if he disagreed, people might not believe him because he’d be seen as getting defensive.

“We approved the project in March of 2012.” Deckard said.

“I know.”

“Then, you’re aware that we approved the idea before my son was an active member of the board.” Moira said. “Or had met Felicity Smoak.” Felicity and Moira didn’t get along and weren't close. Moira wasn’t especially fond of his son’s girlfriend. However, she would give credit where it was due. Felicity was a genius and she was doing amazing things for people. It was offensive to act like she hadn’t the recognition she’d gotten and sexist to assume she was only successful because of her relationship with Oliver. “In fact, this is the first time the project has been discussed at a meeting where Oliver is present.”

“You clearly haven’t spoken with Ms. Smoak about this project.” Charles Winston said. “I have, and I’ll admit I didn’t understand all of what she told me. I’m a businessman, not a scientist, but a few things were clear to me. She and her team knew what they were doing. And she wouldn’t have proposed the project if she didn’t believe it would be successful in the near future. She’s not gonna waste time or resources on something she doesn’t think could work.”

Daniel didn’t say anything further and the meeting came to an end. He left as soon as he could, likely because he could tell most of the board was not happy with what he had said, or implied.

Oliver turned to his mother and began to sign. ‘Thank you.’ This was the first time he’d been the one to initiate a conversation with his mother. His mother coming to Felicity’s defense was unexpected, but he wasn’t going to pretend like he didn’t appreciate it.

“I can’t deny that Felicity has worked very hard to get where she is. And I’m not going to act like she doesn’t deserve the recognition she’s gotten.” She said. “And Oliver, I’m sorry for what’s happened.” Moira had apologized, yes, but not in person. She wouldn’t go over everything she wanted to apologize for now, but she would at least say the words “I’m sorry” for her son to hear.

‘I’m not ready to talk about this right now.’ He said. ‘I’m not saying “never” but not now.’

“Okay.” She said. “I was going to ask you to lunch, but I guess we’ll have to do that another time.”

‘Yeah, I have plans for lunch already.’ He said. ‘Have a good one.’ He, Roy, Donna and Digg left the building. They dropped Roy and Donna off at the penthouse before heading to Applied Sciences to pick up Lyla and Felicity for lunch.

 

Agent Dinan made a call to Slade Wilson and asked him to stop by the precinct. When he arrived, she and Doyle told him about the excursion to Lian Yu and the agreement the Chinese government had reached with the State Department.

“You can only bring a handful of agents, you have to get there yourself and you have to find your own guide.” Slade said. “Are those the only restrictions the Chinese gave?”

“The only other restriction was that we were to go to Lian Yu and only Lian Yu.” Doyle said. “And something about not damaging any sites that might be culturally significant, though on that island, I can’t imagine what-.”

“There’s some kind of monastery, or maybe it’s a temple, at the top of one of the hills on the island. Pretty sure it was abandoned, but it’s been there for a few centuries. That’s most likely what they’re referring to.” He said. “I think I can guess why you asked me here.”

“Since we have to find a guide to the island, we believe the best choice is someone who has been there before.” Dinan said.

“A smart decision, especially for that island.” He said. “I’ll be the guide, but I need to make something clear to you, and you need to promise me something in return.”

“What is it?”

“As soon as the first person steps foot onto that island, I am in charge. Before we’re on the island, I don’t care, but once we’re ashore, you listen to me and anyone with you listens to what I say and doesn’t argue. That’s the only way that we don’t lose someone on the trip. Lian Yu is dangerous. The weather’s unpredictable and so is the wildlife, and that’s not even accounting for the traps that someone set up or the landmines.”

“Landmines?” Doyle asked.

“Yeah. There are landmines all over the island. A few nearly got me during my stay.” Slade said. “Does Oliver know you’re going yet? He knows that island better than I do, and if he set up traps of his own, we don’t wanna be surprised by those.”

“We haven’t spoken to him yet.” Dinan said. “We only received the notice that we could go to Lian Yu recently.”

“There’s a map of the island in that drive I gave you from ASIS. Can you have an agent print a copy? It’s outdated, but the map’s a good starting point for us to get a layout of the place.” He said. “Oliver won’t come with us, but he’ll mark down the spots we really need to avoid.”

 

Samantha took an extended lunch break on Tuesday so that she could sit down with her lawyer for more than just a few minutes to discuss her case. While Camille was almost always available to talk about the situation and advise Samantha, they normally only had time to talk about one topic at a time, which prevented Samantha from feeling like they’d talked about much of anything because there were so many things they hadn’t had time to discuss.

Samantha started their meeting with the obvious things. She told Camille how William’s visit to Oliver’s house went and how the bi-weekly Skype calls were going. William seemed to be very happy with the way things were going and he’d met a few other people in Starling aside from Oliver and Felicity. She had also decided that perhaps her stance on Oliver creating a trust fund for William’s school was a little too strict and wanted to consider backing down a little bit.

“When Oliver has his call with William tomorrow, I’m going to find out when he’s free to go to City Hall so that we can have him added to Will’s birth certificate.” Samantha said, as she finished telling Camille her updates.

“And do you want to make the announcement about William being Oliver’s son before or after his birth certificate is amended?” Camille asked.

“After. I don’t- I’m not ready for people to know yet, and I don’t even- how would announcing that even work?”

“Ms. Sanchez and I have discussed what options we have, when you and he decide to move forward. Normally, this wouldn’t be something that needs to be announced, but because Oliver is well-known, the public might care. She has suggested that we craft a statement, you and Oliver each sign off on it and then we release it.”

“And what happens after? It’s not that I’m not ready for people to know that Oliver has a son, it’s just-.”

“The announcement means you won’t be “nobody” anymore. People will know who you and William are. People will care and have opinions, some of them might not be particularly nice. I know.”

“So, how do we keep this from making my life implode?”

“Very carefully. And with a lot of guidance from Oliver’s lawyers, since they have more experience with this kind of thing than I do.”

“Do Oliver’s lawyers seem like they’re eager for us to do this? Make an announcement soon?”

“No. We know this is something we will need to do at some point, but I haven’t had any indication that they, or Oliver for that matter, want this to happen soon.” Camille said. 

Their meeting ended a little while later and Samantha went back to work. When she got home, Courtney was there baby-sitting William. Samantha thanked her for watching William, even though it was the girl’s Spring Break, but Courtney waved her off.

“Oh, I’m happy to do it, Ms. Clayton.” She said. “I love spending time with William. And we had a lot of fun, right Will?”

“Lots of fun!” The boy agreed.

“I’m glad.” Samantha said, looking through the mail. It was mostly bills, but the envelope at the bottom of the stack was addressed to her, and it had a Starling City return address that seemed familiar to her.

She opened it and pulled out two folded sheets of paper. She began reading, and then turned to the last page to see who had signed the letter. She suddenly realized why 1407 Graymalkin Lane sounded familiar to her. It was the address for Queen Mansion. Moira Queen had written her a letter.

 

Dear Samantha,

In recent weeks, I have been thinking about my past actions and the things I’ve done, justified or unjustified, to others and the harm those actions have caused. As you can imagine, my last interaction with you has been heavy on my mind. I’m not interested in trying to minimize or downplay the harm and distress my actions and my behavior nearly six and a half years ago likely caused you. I want to apologize for that behavior, though I know you will likely never forgive me. I can say nothing other than that I am truly sorry for the way I treated you at a very confusing and vulnerable time in your life.

While this apology is long overdue, I am not writing to you on behalf of myself. I’m writing to you in the hopes that you will tell Oliver the truth about your child. My son is a good man and he is completely unaware of the “agreement” you and I came to when we last spoke. He believes that you lost the baby, as I coerced you into telling him. He would be a good father and I hope you will at least consider allowing him to be in your child’s life.

 

The letter went on for a little bit longer, with Moira apologizing more, and reiterating to Samantha that Oliver had no idea what his mother had done and, as far as Moira knew, was ignorant to the existence of William. It was signed by Moira and she included Oliver’s cell phone number at the end of the letter.

Two things occurred to Samantha as she reached the end of the correspondence. The first was that Oliver had been completely honest when he told her that he had nothing to do with his mother and hadn’t told her about William. The second was that, had the letter been written by someone other than Moira, she would have accepted the apology immediately. It was a well-constructed apology.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 136

Summary:

Barry makes something clear to an important person in his life, William reveals a secret and Oliver learns about Slade's upcoming trip.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Barry was looking at a piece of fiber on the microscope in his lab when he heard the door to his lab open. He assumed it was a detective, coming to either drop off more evidence for him to look at or demand to know why he didn’t have the results on whatever tests he needed to run yet. It was frustrating but unsurprising.

The detectives didn’t seem to realize that crime scene analysis moved a lot slower than it looked on TV. The CCPD had a backlog. There had always been a backlog of evidence and unless they tripled their workforce, there would always be a backlog. On top of that, every single detective wanted their evidence expedited, and since everyone wanted their cases and evidence to be top priority, no one’s evidence was.

“Just put the evidence on that table.” He said, pointing to a table near the door and not looking up. “I’ll take a look at it when I’m done with this. And I’ll get you the results when I have them.”

“I’m not here to drop off evidence.” Joe West said.

Barry looked up. “If you wanna know if I found a match to that partial print-.”

“I’m not here to talk about an open case.” The detective said. “I talked to Singh this morning.”

“Okay…”

“The captain said you’d gone to speak with him about your mother’s death, about getting the case reopened.”

Barry wasn’t sure what to do. Joe knew about his conversation with Singh, which wasn’t good. He didn’t seem incredibly upset or angry though, which led Barry to believe that maybe Singh hadn’t told him the full story or told him about the reports Barry had gotten. At the same time, he was wondering if he should tell Joe now about the real reason he’d gone to Starling City. He decided to play it safe, for the moment, and see how much the captain had revealed. “Yeah. I went to talk to him about it yesterday.”

“Can I ask why you didn’t come to me?” Joe asked.

“Because I didn’t want to talk to you about it, if we’re being perfectly honest.”

“Why not?”

The CSI took a deep breath. “You’re my foster father, but you’re also the man who arrested my father for killing my mother. So, there are some things I don’t want to discuss with you. And you’ve never been willing to talk to me about the case in the past.”

“Bar, that’s not-.”

“I came to you with questions about the case, real questions because I didn’t understand, because there were things that didn’t make sense. And you shut me down when I tried to ask them.” He said. “So did Detective Chyre and so did Captain Brown. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. So, I decided to stop just repeating things that hadn’t worked in the past.”

“Singh gave you the same answer that Brown did.”

“Actually, Singh said something along the lines of “Brown warned me that you’d ask and that I should say no”. And that was a few years ago, before he had been here long or worked with me.” He said. “It’s been a few years, I’m not just some random guy to the captain, so I asked Singh to reconsider his answer. I know you were hoping that I’d stop asking about it, but I can’t just let it go. We’re not just talking about some random case where some of the evidence doesn’t fit. This is my mother’s death and so far, no one, not even you, has been able to give me real answers.”

“You have your answer, Barry. You just don’t like it.”

“No, I don’t.” He said. “I have you telling me my dad did it, but you’ve never shown me proof. You’ve never pointed out the things that say “Henry Allen did this”. So, from where I’m sitting, it looks like my dad’s only in prison because Chyre ran out of ideas, threw up his hands and said “must’ve been the husband” and that’s what was sold to the jury.”

“Fred didn’t just-.”

“I don’t want to talk about this with you, Joe.” Barry said. His tone had a firmness to it that Joe wasn’t used to hearing. “A year ago, I would’ve gladly talked with you about this, but I’ve realized I can’t talk about this investigation with you. Because, when it comes to my mom’s death, you can either be Joe West, my foster dad who took me in after she died, or you can be Detective West, the man who helped put my dad in prison. You can’t be both. Only, you are both, so I don’t wanna talk about it at all with you. That’s the boundary I need to set when it comes to my mom’s death and my dad’s conviction.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means I’m not gonna talk to you about my mom’s case anymore. If I need to talk to someone in the department about the case, I’ll talk to Singh. And if I need to talk to someone about my feelings, I’ll call a friend.” Barry said. “I realized while I was in Starling that the way we’ve been doing things when it comes to my mom wasn’t healthy for either of us.” Actually, thanks to McKenna, he realized how much of a conflict of interest it was for Joe to become Barry’s foster father and investigate the murder. Still, it was an unhealthy dynamic when he reflected on it. 

“You’re probably right.” Joe said, somewhat sadly. He wanted Barry to feel like he could come to him for anything, but maybe a few things would be, and should’ve always been, excluded from that.

“I need to get back to work.” He said. “I’ve got a lot of evidence I need to process. And it seems like every time I finish one test on one piece of evidence-.”

Another detective strolled into the room. “Hey, Allen, you have the results on that blood we found yet?”

“-that happens.” He finished. “No, Simmons, I don’t. You gave that evidence to me yesterday afternoon and I’ve been working on other evidence for other cases.”

“My case is more important.” Simmons said. 

“Everyone says that their case is more important than everyone else’s.” He said. “And everyone seems to think I’m hoarding the results to myself, so I constantly get interrupted by people, wanting to know where the results are and getting mad that I don’t have them. Which is ironic.”

“How’s it ironic?”

“Because if I didn’t have to spend five minutes every day, with every single detective, explaining why I can’t just press a button and get the results they need, that doing my job takes time, I’d have more time to actually analyze the evidence people bring me.” He said. “If we had more CSIs, it would be another story, but we’re short-staffed and I’m doing the best I can.”

Detective Simmons looked at Joe, surprised by Barry’s change in demeanor. Joe didn’t say anything in response, so Simmons said something about waiting to hear from Barry before leaving his lab. Joe left at the same time.

 

Oliver decided to wait until that evening to tell Felicity what had happened at the stockholders’ meeting. At lunch, he told her that it had gone well, but was rather dull. He didn’t think it was appropriate to tell Felicity about the rude things Daniel Bowen had said about her, and her progress on the implantable biostimulant, in public. He didn’t want her to feel like she needed to try and hide her anger, just because they were in public. What Bowen said had been rude, uncalled for and unfair and if Felicity wanted to yell or rant and rave about how rude, uncalled for and unfair his comments were, she should be allowed to do that.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” She shouted after he told her what had been said. “Isn’t his cousin a doctor?”

‘His nephew.’

“Still! He should know, or could at least ask, how long medical testing usually takes. It’s not just like “boom, here’s what we have” and the FDA says “cool, go give it to people”. It’s complicated.” She said. “And how the frak could I have “used my relationship with you” to get the project approved, when you were still thought to be dead when I pitched it?”

‘My mom pointed that out when he made that comment.’

“Your mom came to my defense?”

‘Yes. You two might not see eye-to-eye, but she said she can’t deny that you’ve worked hard to get to where you are or that you deserve the praise you get.’ He said. ‘Charles Winston also came to your defense about the project and the fact that you know what you’re doing.’

“I knew there was a reason I liked him. Not that I need anyone to defend me, I’m a big girl and can handle it on my own, but it’s nice that he spoke up for me.”

If anything, Oliver felt worse now for not saying something more in Felicity’s defense at the meeting. At the time, he felt like any response would backfire in some way, but now, he just felt like a coward. He loved Felicity, he should’ve defended her when Bowen started insinuating things about her. He shouldn’t have let what Daniel Bowen might think of him cloud his judgement.

After dinner, they went to the foundry for patrol. When they arrived, they found Sara, Nyssa and Slade looking at a large piece of paper and discussing something.

“The only spots I know to worry about are the ones you already marked.” Sara said. “I’m not nearly as familiar with the area as you are.”

“That’s what I expected, but I thought I should check. I wasn’t exactly “all there” for a good few weeks and couldn’t remember where we did or didn’t go.” He said. “And after that, I wasn’t exactly on your side and you weren’t sharing information with me.”

“Have you told him?” Nyssa asked.

“Has Slade told who what yet?” Felicity asked.

Oliver, meanwhile, leaned to the side and saw what the large piece of paper they were looking at was. It wasn’t just a piece of paper, it was a map. ‘Why do you have a map of Lian Yu?’

“Dinan and the Coast Guard are going there.” Slade said. “To recover your father’s body as well as any other evidence that’s pertinent to their investigation, or so the paperwork they filed with the Chinese government said. The map is so that I can mark any traps or dangers that need to be avoided.”

‘Okay.’ He said. He supposed that on a subconscious level, he knew there was a chance someone from the investigation might go to the island. He just had never really thought about what they might be doing there or how he might feel about such an excursion. He didn’t know how to feel.

“You have to tell him the other part, Slade.” Sara said.

“I’m going with them, to be a guide.” Slade said. “Chinese government isn’t giving them one, and if they go without someone who really knows that island, it won’t be pretty.”

‘You don’t have to do that. I can-.’ While Oliver felt like he should volunteer, he really didn’t want to. He never wanted to be on a boat again, much less on that island, but he knew Lian Yu better than anyone currently living, and it was his father’s body Dinan and her team were going to recover.

“No.” Slade said. “You’re gonna volunteer because you feel like you should. You shouldn’t. That place has tried to kill you too many times. It almost succeeded. And I can tell from your face that you never wanna see that place again. That’s why they asked me, and not you.” He handed the map to Oliver. “All anyone needs from you is for you to mark down any dangers we need to avoid, like landmines or traps you might’ve set.”

‘When are you leaving?’

“I’m not sure yet.” He said. “The agents need to get their team together and make all the arrangements. I’m hoping it’ll be soon, because I don’t wanna be on that island too far into the wet season.” The spring and summer months were the part of the year when Lian Yu was a special kind of awful. It rained a lot, and while it wasn’t as cold as in the winter, the island experienced a number of bad storms. The last thing Slade, or anyone, wanted was for the team heading to Lian Yu to get trapped there during a storm.

‘I’ll get this back to you when I can.’ Oliver said. He had a feeling he’d need to add quite a lot of markers to this map. He had set up numerous traps after Smith’s death.

“Thanks, kid.” He said. “I don’t know if Tommy knows about this trip, but I’m leaving it up to you, when and how much you wanna tell everyone.”

Oliver knew that he probably didn’t look thrilled at the prospect. Despite his attempt to appear like he would’ve wanted to go to Lian Yu, he didn’t like even thinking about the island unless he had to. Still, he had to at least tell Thea and Walter about the trip to recover Robert’s body. Walter would tell Moira, if he asked, but that only made the thought of telling the group slightly less daunting.

Oliver was glad that patrol was fairly quiet that night, since he had a great deal on his mind already.

 

When William went to pre-kindergarten on Wednesday, his teacher noticed that he seemed extra excited. It reminded her a lot of the Friday before last, when the little boy was eager for school to be over because he was going to stay with his dad for the first time.

“Good morning William.” She always said good morning to her students personally, both so that they’d get used to talking to adults who weren’t relatives and because it gave her a little bit of time to talk to her students before class began. As a teacher, she knew she got a new class every year, but she missed “her kids” after they were gone.

“Hi Miss Gwen!” He answered back.

“Are you excited for school today?”

“Uh-huh. I’m ‘cited for school, but also ‘cause it’s Wednesday.” He said. “And that’s when I get to talk to Daddy on the tablet.”

“You talk with your Dad every Wednesday?”

“Uh-huh. Him and Lisy, and sometimes my auntie.” He said. “And, I get to see them on Friday, ‘cause I’m spending the weekend with them.”

“Who’s Lisy?” The teacher asked.

“Lisy is Daddy’s girlfriend. She’s really smart and helped me build a robot.” He told her. He then got shy. “Lisy’s not her real name. I call her that since her name’s hard to say. It’s Feliki-no Felil- I can’t say it yet.”

“Felicity?” The woman asked.

“Yeah, that’s it!” He said. “Her name’s the hardest, not like Auntie Thea’s.”

Gwen O’Brien had to stop for a moment while her brain registered what William had just said. His father hadn’t been in his life until recently. His father’s girlfriend was named Felicity and his aunt was named Thea. Unless there was some insane coincidence happening here, or William was mistaken, this meant that Oliver Queen was William’s father.

“William, why don’t you go put your backpack away and say “hi” to your friends?” Samantha suggested. Gwen had completely forgotten that Samantha was still standing there. William ran off to do as his mother suggested and Samantha turned to his teacher. “I take it Will’s comments helped you connect the dots?”

“Yeah, and I’m guessing you’d prefer it if I didn’t go around telling anyone what he just told me.” Gwen said. “William’s my student, and I tend not to take too much of an interest in the lives of my students’ parents, as long as the student seems to be doing well. Unless I have to contact his father for some reason, I doubt I’ll be interacting with William’s father very much and I see no reason to tell anyone. He’s just another parent. I’m sure you intend to be the primary parental contact? Since his father doesn’t live here?” Gwen was surprised by what William had said, but when it came down to it, who William’s father was or what the situation was, wasn’t really her business.

“Yes, I do.” Samantha said. “We are- I don’t want to bore you with the details, but his father and I are working out things in private. If there’s anything you need to know, I’ll tell you.”

“Okay.” She said. She spotted another student and parent coming towards the classroom, giving her an excuse to end the conversation with Samantha. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

Samantha followed the woman’s eyeline. “Yes, that’s it.”

“Great. Enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. Clayton.” She said with a smile before greeting the new arrivals.

 

“Harrison Wells” left his meeting with the safety inspector for the particle accelerator feeling like he’d wasted an hour of his life, but also glad for the time he’d lost. On the one hand, having to go to this meeting was ironic, since he had designed the accelerator so that it wouldn’t be safe. At the same time, the only way his plan would work was if it passed the normal safety inspections and the flaw that would cause the particle accelerator to explode, and create the Flash, was one that no one noticed. It was a rare kind of irony, planning for an event that only you knew would end badly.

Wells was committed, however. The particle accelerator would go online. The dark matter would change some of the people in Central City, including his life-long enemy the Flash and create metahumans. There was no going back, there would be no changes to his plan. All he had to do was keep his act up until the day came. He made his way down the halls of Star Labs.

“-don’t know why you’re asking me instead of Dr. Wells.” Caitlin Snow said. “Why do you think I’d know the answer to that?”

“Because he seems to like you more than he likes me.” Cisco responded. “Sure, I do my job well. And I’m sure he appreciates what I “bring to the team” or whatever, but he gets annoyed by me, I know it.”

“Still, it’s not like she’d even be working with me if it is true.”

“Who wouldn’t be working with you?” Wells asked, entering the lab where Caitlin, her fiance Ronnie and Cisco were talking. “Was there a staffing change I’m not aware of?”

“Well, no, but-.”

“Are we trying to recruit Felicity Smoak?” Cisco asked. “Because she’s come to Central City twice in the last month, and while no one’s seen her here, Star Labs is the only company out here that she’d possibly work at.”

“Ms. Smoak seems to be quite happy with her job at Queen Consolidated.” Wells said. At least, she had better be happy. Since nothing was going according to plan in terms of the Arrow, he wanted to make sure that one of the things he knew, that Felicity worked for Queen Consolidated until she started her own company in about a decade, stayed on course. “And no, I haven’t made any attempts to recruit her.”

“Why not?”

“From what I know from others, she’s in the middle of a big project with Queen Consolidated, and she won’t leave in the middle of it. She also has an excellent benefit and compensation package, one that Star Labs can’t compete with. Not to mention, I doubt she’d be willing to relocate away from her boyfriend, friends and family to work here.”

Cisco deflated at that somewhat. Clearly, the engineer was a fan of Felicity Smoak’s work and had been a little hopeful for the opportunity to work with her. Wells had a feeling they’d be working together often enough once Barry Allen became the Flash. The history books said that Cisco Ramon was an important ally of the Flash’s and he didn’t see a reason why that would change, even with the other changes to the timeline.

“If you need me, I have a meeting across town. Call my cell.” Wells said. A “meeting across town” was his go-to excuse whenever he was going to spend a few hours in the Time Vault. Very few people questioned him beyond that explanation and it kept him from being interrupted. 

Today, Wells wasn’t interested in Gideon calculating his chances of success or seeing if the newspaper from 2024 had changed. The only thing he was interested in seeing was if Barry Allen was still acting strangely. He’d kept an eye on Barry Allen for years, and when Allen became a CSI, he planted cameras in his lab to watch him. Yesterday, he saw something he hadn’t expected: Barry Allen being assertive. When a detective seemed frustrated at Allen’s progress, Barry stood up for himself, which he tended not to do. Was this a new Barry Allen? Or was this behavior a fluke, caused by the conversation he and his foster father had been having right before? Wells needed to know, needed to be able to account for what this new, confident Barry might do. And, if it was a fluke, he needed to find a way to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Wells didn’t care that Barry was apparently trying to reopen Nora’s case, again. They’d never be able to prove it was him and Barry had failed to even get the CCPD to consider it in the past. Nora’s death was a pain-point, though, and pain-points could be exploited.

 

Tommy was surprised by how much of his days lately were made up of him listening to, and trying to find solutions for, issues at Merlyn Global. Considering that he hadn’t had a position within the company before Malcolm’s double life started to fall apart, it surprised him that both the board of directors and the staff kept coming to him with problems or asking how things should be handled moving forward.

“Hey, Sheila?” Tommy asked his father’s former assistant. Malcolm went through assistants very quickly, since he was a difficult and demanding boss to work for. Sheila had only been working for Malcolm for a few months before things started to go wrong for him. “I don’t mind being asked for my input, but why did you ask me to look into this?” 

Sheila had called him, saying that the department heads were starting to get antsy because they didn’t have an approved budget for the next quarter yet. Given the predicament the company was currently in, no one wanted the company to be overspending, but without a budget, they had no idea how much room they had to work with.

“I didn’t know who else to ask.” She said, looking a little frightened. “Calling a meeting of the board would’ve taken days to organize and well, in the past, the person who looked everything over and just approved it-.”

“Was my father.” He said. Tommy had an MBA, but no experience running a company. Still, knowledge with no experience was better than no knowledge or experience. He’d have to do the best he could. In the back of his mind, he told himself that Merlyn Global should probably get a new CEO at some point. “Tell everyone the budget might be a little late, but it’s being worked on.”

 

Wednesday evening rolled around, and as usual, Oliver and Felicity were eagerly waiting for it to be time for their Skype call to William. Thea and Roy had come over for dinner as well, so that they could join in on the call. Despite the distance, Oliver wanted his son to have a close relationship with his aunt as well as with him and Felicity, so he asked his sister if she wanted to be there when he talked to William later. Everyone was extra excited, since William was coming for the weekend in a few days.

At the agreed upon time, Samantha started logging onto the Skype call. Usually, she just said “hello” to Oliver before handing the tablet to William, but this time, she seemed different.

“Before I hand the tablet over to Will, there’s something I wanna talk to you about first.” She said.

‘Is everything okay?’ Oliver asked and Felicity interpreted. He had his text-to-speech app open, but didn’t feel the need to use it when he was talking with Samantha.

“Nothing’s wrong. You want to amend William’s birth certificate so that you’re listed as his father.” She said. “I was wondering if you had any thoughts about when you’d wanna do that?”

‘I don’t have a date or a time frame in mind.’ He said. ‘Ms. Sanchez advised me that once we amend it, the cat’s out of the bag about William being my son, and since your lawyer and mine haven’t come to an agreement on how to handle the press that’s gonna follow, I don’t think it’s a good idea to just rush into doing it. Not before you’re ready.’

“That’s fair. I just- I wanted to know if you were just waiting on me and you-.” Samantha nearly told him about Moira’s letter, but didn’t. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, or how to address it, so she felt unprepared to discuss the matter with Oliver. It was clear he’d kept his word, and not told his mother what he knew, but Samantha needed some more time to reflect on the letter before bringing it up. “William’s teacher knows the truth. I doubt she’ll tell anyone, but-.”

“How’d she figure that out?” Thea asked.

“Will was all excited that he’d get to talk to you all today and was telling his teacher about it. He mentioned Felicity, by her nickname, and you, Thea. And well, how many people have a girlfriend named Felicity and a sister named Thea?” She said. “Anyway, I guess we’ll talk later, about picking up William on Friday and the other things we still need to discuss. I’ll hand you over to Will now.”

There was movement on the other end and William’s smiling face appeared. “Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy! Hi Auntie Thea! Hi Roy!”

“Hi Will.” All four Starling City residents responded.

“How has your week been?” Oliver asked using his app.

“Good! Pre-k is fun. And Courtney’s on spring break, so we got to play extra time today and the day before.” Will said. “Auntie Thea, are you having fun on Spring Break?”

“I’m not on Spring Break this week.” Thea said. “I have to go to school.”

“That’s not fair! How come you have to go to school but Courtney doesn’t?”

“Well, her school is different than mine. My Spring Break is next week.” She said. “So, next week when she’s in school, I don’t have to go.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” He said. “Are you gonna do anything fun next week then?”

“I don’t know yet.” She said. “I don’t have any plans.”

“You should go to the beach! Or ride a rollercoaster!” William then listed several fun things Thea could do when she was on her Spring Break. “Or maybe you, Lisy and Daddy can make a robot.”

“No, it’s not fun making a robot without you here to help us.” Oliver said. “We need you to be here for that.”

“Speaking of robots, William, do you remember when I told you reporters were asking me a lot of questions about my job?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah. Do you have the story? Can you show it to me?”

“Well, I don’t have it yet, but when you come on Friday, I should have a copy.” She said. “One of the ladies I talked to, she’s gonna send me a copy so that I can read it before anyone else does. So, we can read it all together.” Lena was going to send her a copy of the article, in case there was anything Felicity or QC wanted to be changed, before the magazine issue was printed. Felicity was confident that she’d love the article and was excited to share it with everyone.

“How does that sound?” Oliver asked his son.

“Great! I wanna hear more about robots.” He said. “And also other stuff, like Daddy’s meetings. Lisy’s robots are cool, but I don’t only care about robots.”

“My meetings aren’t very exciting. At least, not as exciting as robots or toys or the fun stuff we’re gonna do when you come this weekend.” Oliver said. “And it’s okay that you’re excited to hear about Lisy’s work. I get excited to hear about it too. Is there anything you really wanna do this weekend?”

The boy shrugged. “I dunno, what do you wanna do?”

“How about we all think about it over the next few days?” Roy suggested. “That way, everyone can come up with an idea and you can talk about it on the train.”

“That’s a good idea.” Thea said.

“I’ve been known to have them on occasion.” He said with a smile.

Oliver, William and Felicity talked some more about the little boy’s week and the fun things he’d done with his babysitter and at school. Even though he didn’t live near his son, getting to hear about the everyday little things Will was doing made Oliver feel like he was being a good, involved parent. All too soon, or so it seemed, Samantha said it was time for the call to end, because Will needed to get ready for bed. William seemed a little bummed out, but gave his mother the tablet after saying goodbye to everyone in Starling.

Samantha and Oliver started to discuss the plan for picking up and dropping off William over the coming weekend. They agreed to pretty much do the exact same thing they’d done the last time, since that process seemed to work well for everyone. Throughout the conversation, Oliver felt like Samantha’s attention wasn’t entirely on what they were discussing.

“Is everything okay?” He asked her via his app. “You seem a little distracted by something.”

Samantha started at that, a little surprised that he’d picked up on it. She had only been half-listening, thinking about the letter from Moira. “Sorry, I’ve just- there’s something that’s been on my mind for the last few days.” 

“I hope everything’s okay.”

“It will be, I just have a lot to think about.” She said. “See you on Friday.” She ended the call before he could say anything else.

“That was…..weird.” Roy said.

“Yeah, it was.” Felicity said. “But, hey, we’re all allowed to have days like that, you know? When you’ve got a lot on your mind. I hope- if something was wrong, or whatever she’s worried about is something about William, she’d tell Oliver.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement, understanding where Felicity was coming from. Thea and Roy got ready to leave, since the call was over.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ollie.” Thea said, giving her brother a hug. She pulled away, but stopped when he put a hand on her arm.

‘Wait, before you go, there’s something I need to tell you.’ He said. ‘The Coast Guard is gonna go to Lian Yu. To get Dad’s body and bring it back here. So that we can bury him properly.’

“They are?” She asked in disbelief. He nodded. “You don’t, like, have to go with them for that, do you?” She looked genuinely scared about what his answer might be.

‘No. Slade is going, since the agents need a guide and he knows the island almost as well as I do.’ He said. ‘I think everyone knows that I never wanna see that island again.’

“When are they going?”

‘I don’t know yet. There’s a lot of stuff the Coast Guard needs to work out, but- I wanted to let you know as soon as possible. Since, you know, it’s our dad and we’re gonna have to bury him when they recover his body.’

Thea thanked her brother for telling her about the planned expedition to Lian Yu and left. To Oliver, it felt like a sudden departure, but Felicity pointed out that Thea was in a little bit of shock and needed some time to process the news.

“Hearing about your father’s death is probably bringing up her memories of his funeral, and yours.” She said.

‘You’re probably right.’ He said. Oliver didn’t like to think about the fact that there had been a full funeral for him. He wondered if his grave, wherever it was, still existed or if Moira had had it removed.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 137

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity think about Lian Yu, and Barry gets some good news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Thea and Roy left, Oliver and Felicity took a seat on their couch and started cuddling. Oliver had talked to everyone and they agreed that Wednesday nights would be his “off time” from being the Arrow, so that he could have his Skype calls with William, and he wouldn’t be going out on patrol on the weekends that William was in town, unless there was something significant happening. When he spoke with the others, no one seemed surprised by his plan and Slade seemed shocked he even felt the need to express that desire, since most of the group assumed that he’d take that time off. 

Oliver was glad for this break from being the Arrow, especially given the news he’d gotten from Slade about the planned expedition to Lian Yu. He had a lot he needed to think about, even though he didn’t have much he needed to do for the trip, other than note dangers on a map.

“William seems really excited for this weekend.” Felicity said.

‘He does.’ He agreed. ‘And I’m excited too. I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but I’m excited to see him again. In person.’

“Of course you are. Because you’re a good dad and you look forward to spending time with your son. And I’m excited too, because I’m a good…..girlfriend of his dad.” She finished awkwardly.

‘You can just say “step-mom”. That’s what you are to William, even if it’s unofficial.’ He said. ‘Everyone knows that you’re more than just my girlfriend. And we both know that it’s a question of when I propose rather than if.’

“Is that what Bubbe wanted to ask you when we were leaving? When you were gonna ask?” She asked, referring to when Bubbe pulled Oliver aside as they were leaving her assisted living facility on their last day in Las Vegas. “I love her, but don’t let her pressure you into asking. I know it’s hard when she starts guilt-tripping you, but stay strong.”

‘No, that’s not what she wanted to talk to me about. It was related to my eventual proposal, but she wasn’t trying to rush me into asking.’ He said. ‘She was worried I’d put the ring in food and that you’d accidentally eat it. I promised her that I wouldn’t.’

“Yeah, putting the ring in a cake sounds romantic, but in practice, it can go wrong really easily.” She said. “And, as someone with a sweet tooth, I wanna be able to eat my desserts without worrying that I might eat something inedible.”

‘So, when the time comes, I should ask you to marry me, wait for you to say yes, and then serve dessert? Good to know.’

“Sounds about right.” She said. “Do you wanna talk about the other important information we learned recently? The trip to Lian Yu, I mean.”

She watched his face closely and saw as he started to shut down. ‘I don’t know what there is to talk about. The Coast Guard doesn’t need me for the trip, so...’

“Just because you aren’t going, it doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings about it.” She said.

‘I don’t wanna talk about it.’ He said. ‘That island is-.’ His breathing started to change and he sat up straighter, no longer in a relaxed position.

“We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She said quickly. “I just wanted to give you the chance to say something, if you had something to say. I know talking about your father and the island isn’t easy, and I wanted you to know that you can talk about it if you want to. I’m not gonna make you tell me how you feel.”

‘I want my dad to be brought home. If I wasn’t- I’m happy the Coast Guard is willing to do it.’ He said. ‘But, I’m scared for them and for Slade. I know it’s not rational, but-.’

“You’re worried something’s gonna happen on the expedition. You don’t need to justify it. You don’t need to have a logical reason. Because it’s not just any trip to just any island. I don’t normally believe in curses, but that island’s gotta be cursed or something.”

‘It’s not cursed. It’s evil.’ He said. ‘But at the same time, I became the person I am now mostly on that island, so if the island’s evil, what does it say about me?’

“I’d say it means you’re a survivor. And resilient.” She said. “You’ve been through so much, and you’re a good man. Not everyone would remain a good person after the things you’ve experienced.” She sighed. “Maybe it’s wrong to say that a place can be good or evil. It’s a piece of land, it can’t move, it can’t think for itself, it can’t choose to do something or not do something. Then, instead of Lian Yu itself being evil, it becomes a place where evil things happened, where evil people did evil things to you, Slade, Shado, Sara and others.”

‘Maybe.’ He didn’t seem convinced. ‘I don’t wanna talk about the island anymore tonight. It was hard telling Speedy about the trip, and I just wanna not think about it for a while.’

“Okay.” She said. “But I’m here if you wanna talk. It doesn’t have to be about anything in particular. I just want you to remember that I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

 

The next morning, Oliver drove his sister to school. He waited until they were halfway there to ask her how she felt about the news he had shared with her last night. He kept thinking, rethinking and most likely overthinking, how to ask her how she felt, which is why it took him half the drive to work up the nerve to mention it.

‘Do you wanna talk about what I told you last night? Or how you feel about it?’

“I feel a lot better now.” She said. “I’m not gonna lie. At first, I was in shock. When Roy and I first got home, I pretty much broke down as soon as I was inside the penthouse. All of those emotions resurfacing and all.”

‘But you feel better now?’

“Yeah, I got plenty of hugs from Roy, and Donna, who I ended up spilling the full story to. And they both pointed out something pretty important that I keep forgetting.”

‘Which is?’

“We’re allowed to be upset. He was our dad and yeah, I mourned him five years ago when the Gambit went missing but- but it didn’t feel real. He had a funeral, but the coffin was empty, so there was part of me that-.”

‘That didn’t fully believe he was dead, because there wasn’t a body.’ For Oliver, Robert’s death had never been in doubt. He’d witnessed it, so his complicated feelings had to do with the sacrifice his dad had made and the mission he’d given him. Thea had a completely different experience, so he could easily see why his death might not feel “real” until recently.

“Yeah. That’s why- do you remember what I told you when you first came back, like the first time I saw you?” 

‘You gave me a hug and said “I knew you were alive”.’ He said. ‘You must’ve felt the same about Dad.’

“I did. I knew that it wasn’t likely, but I had hope.” She said. “Now, Dad being dead feels real and it’s like losing him all over again.”

‘I’m sorry.’

“Don’t be. Grief is part of life. A sucky part, but it can’t be avoided.” She said. “And it’s unhealthy to try and avoid it at all costs.”

Oliver was once again amazed by how mature and well-adjusted his younger sister sounded. He was aware of the fact that she was an adult, legally, but he didn’t have the same level of maturity at 18 that she did. Most 18-year-olds didn’t and he was so proud of the person she had become.

“Are you going to tell Mom?” She asked.

‘I don’t know yet.’ He said. ‘I know I should, but I also know that I don’t really know her, not like I thought that I did. I’m gonna tell Walter and ask him for his opinion about it. If he thinks he should tell her or if I should. I’m not sure what the best option is.’

“That’s fair.” She said. “Or, I can tell her, if you want me to.”

‘Don’t worry about it right now. We’ll see what Walter thinks and go from there.’ He said as he pulled up in front of the school. ‘I know it’s a hard thing for me to ask, but try not to worry about what’s going on. Just focus on your classes.’

“No promises.” She said. “See you this afternoon, Ollie.” She got out of the car and walked inside.

Oliver waved goodbye and drove back to the house, where Felicity was enjoying her telework day. His talk with Thea made him realize that the sooner he told Walter the news about the expedition, the better. When Felicity took a break for some coffee, he discussed it further with her and she called QC for him so that he could make an appointment to see Walter.

“All right, let’s see.” Janine, Walter’s EA, said. “Mr. Steele’s last meeting today ends at 1:45, so I can pencil Mr. Queen in for sometime after that. He’s also available tomorrow after 2:30. I can also check his availability for next week, if you'd like?”

“Hold on just a sec.” Felicity said before turning to Oliver and starting to sign. ‘Tomorrow won’t work. You’ll be in Central City to pick up William. So, the question is do you wanna do this today? Or next week?’

‘As soon as possible.’ He said. ‘I don’t know if there’s gonna be some kind of announcement from the task force and I- Walter and Tommy should know before then, at least.’

‘Are you ready to tell him though?’

“I don’t think I ever will be, but I need to do it.’ He said. ‘This afternoon’s gonna have to work.’

“Janine?” Felicity said. “Oliver said this afternoon would be best.”

“Is two o’clock a good time?”

Felicity looked at Oliver who gave a single nod. “Two’s perfect. Thank you.” She ended the call. “I wish you didn’t have to do this on such short notice.”

‘Me too. But I don’t have to worry about how he’ll receive the news, what his reaction will be, which makes it a little easier.’

 

Slade Wilson had come to a few conclusions in the few years since he was cured of Mirakuru. Many of those conclusions were about things that happened on the island, or right after. A big conclusion he’d come to was that he was too old for certain things. He was too old for games. He was too old to waste his time. And lastly, he was too old to try and dance around certain topics. As a result of that last thing he was too old for, he wasn’t anywhere near as subtle as he once was, which was why he told Dinah Lance about the trip to Lian Yu pretty bluntly.

“The Coast Guard’s planning an expedition to Lian Yu and I’m going with them as a guide.” He told her over lunch, with no preamble.

“Oh.” She said. “Why are they going?”

“As part of their investigation, but mostly to bring Robert Queen’s body back to the US so that he can be buried.” He wondered if Robert’s body was the only one they had permission to move, or would the task force also be bringing the bodies of people like Fyers or Ivo back as well. He made a mental note to ask Dinan exactly how many bodies they were going there for.

“And how do you feel about the thought of returning there?”

“It feels odd. It’s probably gonna be even weirder.” He said. “Not just returning to the island, but being there after so long. I’m hoping it’ll be a very boring excursion.”

“Are all of you going?” She asked.

“As in are Sara and Oliver coming?” He asked. She nodded. “No, just me. The team needed a guide and they didn’t wanna ask Oliver. He never wants to be on that island ever again. As for Sara, I don’t know if they would’ve asked her, if I’d said no, but she doesn’t seem eager to return there either.”

“But you aren’t as reluctant to go as they might be.”

“No disrespect to either of them, but I think I can handle it better. I mean, they were just kids when they washed up on that island. They were on vacation and had no idea what they were in for.” He said. “I was older and had experience with ASIS. I went to that island on a mission, expecting danger. It was a little less traumatic for me than it was for them, because I was at least somewhat prepared for what I might go through.”

“How terrible was it?” Dinah hadn’t done much research on Lian Yu because she decided there were some things she would rather not know. She also had never asked Oliver or Sara about it, afraid she might upset them. Yet, she was curious about the island.

“Pretty damn awful. The island was used as a prison for a number of years. And the weather just made the whole place worse.” 

People like Fyers and Ivo were the worst part of Lian Yu, but he wasn’t going to say that. While he knew Dinah wanted to know more, he also didn’t want her to have to think about what people like Fyers or Ivo might’ve done to him, Oliver or Sara. He knew Sara was very vague with her parents about exactly what she had survived and he wanted to respect her boundaries.

“Are you going to be gone for long?”

“Probably a few days, not counting the travel from the mainland to the island and back.” He said. “If I could make the trip last less than a day, I would, but that’s not realistic.”

 

David Singh placed the file folder in his hands on his desk and let out a big sigh. He rubbed his eyes which felt strained from spending hours reading. He had reached the bottom of the stack of files Barry Allen had given to him on Monday morning and he wasn’t exactly happy by what he had just finished reading.

This was bad. This was very bad. The investigation into the murder of Nora Allen was a mess. Calling it a mess felt like an understatement to the captain, but he couldn’t think of a better term at the moment. The motive was non-existent. The evidence was flimsy. There were only two witnesses, a child and the eventual suspect, and what those witnesses said didn’t support the findings either. 

The CCPD was incredibly lucky that Barry Allen had given them so many chances to investigate. He didn’t have to try to handle this matter quietly. If Barry had been even a little bit bitter towards the department about the way they treated his mother’s murder case, or had gotten impatient with the lack of progress, he could easily taken the murder file and his story about what the previous captain had said to him to the nearest newspaper and it would’ve been a huge problem for the department. The department was still possibly in trouble, but at least Barry was still willing to let them do the right thing. 

Singh stood up from his desk and stuck his head out of his office. “Get Allen down here.” He told one of the passing cops.

“What for?”

“He and I need to talk.” Singh said. He didn’t want to say too much, not while he was still recovering from what he’d read. A few minutes later, Barry walked into his office. “Take a seat.”

“Is this about what I said to Detective Simmons?”

“No. He came to complain to me about it, but what you said was perfectly fair. And, frankly, in the same position, I would’ve snapped a lot sooner.” The captain said. It was a little funny that Simmons complained about Barry basically telling him to go away so that the CSI could actually do his work instead of having to explain why his work was taking longer than it should. “But the fact that someone walks into your lab uninvited every five minutes is why we’re talking about this here. I read the files you gave me.”

“And?” Barry eyed the stack of files warily.

“I’m concerned with what’s in these files, which is why I have a meeting with Brody tomorrow.”

“Brody as in Chief Brody?” Barry’s voice cracked a little bit. The Chief of Police was getting involved?

“Yes. This case needs to be reopened. And it can’t be investigated here, for obvious reasons.” He said. “The fastest way to get this case reopened, with another precinct doing the investigation, is for me to speak with the Chief about it face-to-face. And with the expert opinions you got, it’s not gonna be hard for me to convince him to reopen it.”

“Thank you, Captain. I-.”

“Please don’t thank me yet.” He said. “I don’t know what the outcome will be. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take. And when word gets out, some people in this building are gonna get pretty mad at you.”

“I’m fine with all of that.” Barry said. “Because it’s better than what’s been happening for the last thirteen years, which is nothing.”

It was a hard thing to hear. While Singh knew he wasn’t one of the main people in the department Barry felt some resentment towards, he had been part of the problem. He could’ve listened to Barry three years ago, when Barry first mentioned the case, but didn’t. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I didn’t hear you out three years ago.” He said. “Removing the personal nature of this case, if this happens again, make me listen to you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll let you know what Brody has to say tomorrow.”

Barry left the captain’s office and gave his father’s lawyer a call. While he didn’t know for sure that Chief Brody would reopen the case, it was an important development and he wanted to keep his father’s lawyer in the loop. He decided he’d wait until tomorrow, after Singh had his meeting with the chief before telling anyone else, like Iris, his father or Oliver and Felicity, about the update.

 

At 2pm exactly, Oliver walked into Walter’s office. A few people gave him strange looks, not because he was going to see his step-father, but because Oliver had arrived with Felicity. Normally, when Oliver came to QC, he had Digg and either Roy or Donna with him. Today, it was just him and his girlfriend, which led many employees to believe something big was going on. Everyone knew Oliver and Felicity were dating, but they rarely did things together on QC premises.

Walter greeted both of them politely and invited them to sit down. “I take it, based on the short notice of this meeting and the fact that Janine wasn’t able to give me much information, that you wanted to discuss something of a personal nature?” He asked.

Felicity looked at Oliver, who didn’t say anything, before responding. “Yeah, it is. There’s something you need to know.”

“Has something happened to one of you or Thea?” He had a feeling whatever they wanted to talk about wasn’t good news. Felicity and Oliver wouldn’t seem so unhappy if they had exciting news to share.

“No, but it isn’t particularly good news.” She said. She nudged Oliver lightly. “Oliver?”

‘The Coast Guard is going to Lian Yu to recover my dad’s body.’ Oliver signed. ‘Slade is going with them as a guide, but- I told Speedy, and it only seemed right that I tell you as soon as I could, because the task force might-.’

“Oliver, please slow down.” Walter said. “My ASL has improved, but you’re signing a little too fast for me to keep up with.”

‘Sorry. How much was too fast for you?’

“I understood everything up to when you mentioned Slade.” He said.

‘I’ve told Speedy. I don’t know when, or even if, the task force is going to announce the trip, but I thought you should know beforehand.’ Oliver signed slowly.

“Thank you for letting me know.” Walter said. “While that is not happy news, recovering Robert’s body and bringing him home so that he can be buried is a good thing.”

“We also- Mrs. Queen should know about this.” Felicity said. “And we don’t-we weren’t sure how to handle that.”

“I can tell her the news.” He said. “Do you know when the agents are going to Lian Yu?”

“Not yet. From the sound of things, they just got permission for it. So, they still need to plan everything. It probably will be a few weeks.”

“That’s good to know.” He said. It was quiet for the moment. “Are our plans for Saturday night the same?” Walter was supposed to meet William for the first time on Saturday, so he, Oliver and Felicity decided to have him over for dinner so that William could meet his step-grandfather.

“Yes. The plan’s still the same.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

‘We are too.’ Oliver said. William would also be meeting Tommy and McKenna this weekend, so it was shaping up to be an exciting weekend for a lot of people in Oliver and Felicity’s lives.

They talked for a bit longer before Oliver needed to leave so that he could pick up Thea from school. Oliver and Felicity said goodbye to Walter and that they’d see him later.

By the time the pair left QC’s headquarters, the gossip sites couldn’t decide if Oliver had proposed, and they’d gone to see Walter to share the news, or if something terrible had happened and Oliver and Felicity were looking for help from the CEO.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 138

Summary:

Thea reflects on the past, while Walter and Moira learn something surprising from each other and Barry gets some news.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Following his meeting with Oliver and Felicity, Walter made a call to Moira. She needed to be told about the planned expedition to Lian Yu as soon as possible, in case there was going to be some kind of announcement by the task force, or worse, it was leaked on social media. He felt, and he was sure Oliver and Thea agreed, that Moira deserved that much, even though things between her and her children had yet to be resolved or repaired.

“Are you available for dinner tonight?” He asked her. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Yeah. I’m free.” She said. “Wait, is everything okay? Did something happen to Oliver or Thea?”

“They’re both fine. However, they received some news and it’s something you need to be made aware of.” He said. 

“Is this about Samantha Clayton?” She asked.

“No, it’s not.” He said. He was just as surprised by her question as he was by her tone. She seemed curious and he could only think of a few reasons why she’d be curious about Samantha. He decided to ask her why she mentioned Samantha before he told her the news about the Queen’s Gambit.

The pair agreed on a time for Walter to come to the mansion for dinner. One of the many things he had missed since moving out to “give himself some space” from Moira was Raisa’s cooking.

 

Oliver and Felicity picked Thea up from school. By the time they’d left Walter’s office, it just made more sense to go pick up Thea than for Oliver to drop Felicity at home and then pick up his sister. She seemed to be in a somewhat sad mood, but not as if she’d had a completely terrible day. Thea saw Felicity and Oliver waiting by the car and got a small smile on her face. It was always nice, especially on bad days, to be reminded that she wasn’t alone, nor was Oliver the only person she could turn to when she was dealing with things.

“Hey Felicity.”

“Hi, Thea. How was school?”

“It was okay. Just kinda….school, you know?” Thea said with a shrug. “It was a pretty average day, which is good because it meant I didn’t have to deal with a busy day and everything on my mind. Because, even though Ollie suggested I try to keep my mind off of Dad and the Gambit, I kept thinking about it. And if today had been busy or stressful, I probably would’ve lost it at some point. And I don’t wanna start sobbing in class a second time.”

‘What happened that made you cry in class the first time?’ Oliver asked his sister.

“After your funeral and Dad’s when I was in 8th grade. I ended up going back to school before I was really ready, given that I’d lost half my family. I don’t even remember what caused me to start crying, but next thing I knew, I was in the counselor's office, half my class thought I was crazy and Raisa, because Mom wasn’t leaving the house at this point, was taking a bunch of pamphlets about grief counseling and therapy.” She said. “And don’t start apologizing for that happening. We both know whose fault it is, and it’s not yours.”

“Well, we just finished meeting with Walter at QC. We told him the news and he thought it was best if he was the one who told your mother about the trip the Coast Guard is planning.” Felicity said.

“That’s good.” Thea said without much emotion. “She needs to know and I- of everyone who could break the news to her, I think he’d be the best option. For a lot of reasons, including that he was one who helped her through a lot of that first year. He helped both of us a lot.”

Back in 2007, Thea had a lot less support than she did now. Moira was so wrapped up in her grief that she couldn’t try to help Thea process her own. Tommy felt guilty for not coming up with some excuse so that Oliver wouldn’t have to go on “some boring work trip” with Robert and spent most of his time trying to feel as numb as possible. Laurel and her father had been so angry over Sara’s death that Thea knew that talking to either of them would not be a good idea. Thea had Raisa, and then after a little while, Walter who wanted to help Robert’s family in any way he could.

‘I’m happy that he was there for you, and for Mom, during that time.’ Oliver said. ‘So, that means that Tommy, Lyla and John are the only ones who we need to break the news to.’

“Sara and Nyssa know?”

“Yeah, Slade went to Sara for her opinion, and Nyssa to a lesser extent, about dangers on the island, before he told Oliver about the trip.” Felicity said. “I just heard how that sounded, and it made it seem like I’m saying Slade was trying to hide the truth from Oliver, which isn’t the case. It just happened to work out like that.” Slade also knew that telling Sara first would be easier than telling Oliver, but she wasn’t going to point that out.

‘Can you text them and ask them to meet us at the house?’ Oliver asked.  Since he was driving, trying to text was a bad idea. Signing with one hand was easy by this point and he didn’t need to look away from the road to do so. ‘I know there isn’t really a rush to tell them but since we told Walter, I don’t see a point in delaying telling them, you know? And I don’t wanna just blurt it out when we’re all down in the foundry tonight, in case they’ve got questions.’

“Sure, I’ll text them right now.” She said.

“Are you gonna drop me at the penthouse or do you want me there too? For support, I mean.” Thea asked.

‘You can, but I thought you probably wanted to spend some time with Roy after a kinda stressful day.’ He said. ‘But, it’s up to you. I can turn around and head to our house.’

“Actually, I do wanna spend some time with him.” Donna told her she had plans to be out and about during the day today, so it would be just Thea and Roy and the pair could have some alone time, which they hadn’t had in a while. “Thanks, Ollie.”

After Thea had been dropped off, Oliver and Felicity went home. They arrived to see Digg and Lyla getting out of their car, and Tommy pulled onto the street behind them. Tommy and McKenna got out of Tommy’s SUV.

“This isn’t, like, an emergency or anything right?” Tommy asked. “Probably not, because no one else is here and we tend to deal with “oh shit” stuff at the foundry. Not, you know, here.”

‘No, there’s no emergency.’ Oliver said. ‘There’s just something I need to talk to you about.’

John and Lyla looked from Oliver to Felicity and back again, but said nothing. Tommy, very comically, tilted his head and looked pointedly at Felicity’s left hand, before looking confused.

“Do you really think if we’d gotten engaged, you wouldn’t have heard my mother screaming in excitement from the Ritz?” Felicity asked him. He had very clearly been looking for an engagement ring of some kind on her hand.

“Why don’t we go inside?” McKenna suggested. “I’m sure Oliver doesn’t wanna talk to us out here.” She had a strong feeling she knew what this was about, but wasn’t completely sure.

Everyone headed inside and the guests took seats in the living room. They waved off offers for food or something to drink. Oliver wanted to tell them something, and they were far more interested in that than any refreshments.

‘I asked you all here because everyone else knows about this, one way or another.’ Oliver said. ‘I didn’t save you for last, it just kinda….worked out that way. Please don’t be upset that-.’

“Oliver, you’re the younger brother I never had, and I love you like a brother.” Lyla said. “That being said, just tell us what you need to tell us and don’t worry about our feelings.”

“Yeah, just tell us what the news is.” Digg said. “We’re all too old to get angry over who knew what first.”

‘The Coast Guard is planning an excursion to Lia Yu.’ He said. ‘To collect evidence for their investigation. And also to recover my father’s body.’

“Okay. That’s- that’s good.” Tommy said. “We can bury Robert properly and everyone can- can say their goodbyes again. And you’ll get to be there as well and- I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting my voice to start cracking like this.” As he had spoken, his voice began to crack, like he was trying not to cry. “I don’t even know why-.”

“Because he was as much your father as he was Oliver’s.” McKenna said, rubbing his back. She then turned to Oliver.  “I knew the agents were looking into the possibility, but I hadn’t heard they had gotten everything in order.” She was surprised she hadn’t seen Oliver in the precinct, either coming or going, if the task force had already told him about this.

‘I guess they got approval on Tuesday.’

“Aside from the obvious matter of recovering Robert’s body, does this mean anything in particular for you?” Lyla asked. She wanted to know, but at the same time didn’t want to explicitly ask, if the Coast Guard was trying to get Oliver involved in the trip. Even if he didn’t step foot on the island, she didn’t think being in the area would be good for him.

‘They approached Slade to be their guide, since they don’t know the island well, and it can be dangerous. I’m working on a map of the area for him to use.’ He said. ‘Slade is actually the one who told me this was happening. They asked him and I walked in on him, Sara and Nyssa discussing the terrain.’

“Okay, that makes me feel a little better.” She said. “I was worried you might feel pressure to go there, but Slade is- he’s a good choice to be their guide. He knows that place well.”

“So, Thea knows about the trip?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah, she found out last night, after our Skype call with William.” Felicity said.

‘And we told Walter this afternoon, so that he can tell Mom.’ Oliver said.

“Not to sound like a shrink, but how do you feel about this?” Digg said.

‘I don’t know. “Happy” isn’t the right word, but I’m not unhappy that this is happening. Dad needs to be buried properly. It feels like this is a chapter in my life that’s closing and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or-.’

“Bittersweet. I think that’s the word you’re looking for. Or something like it.” McKenna said. 

‘Yeah, probably.’ He said. ‘I don’t really know what to say now.’

No one wanted to try and start a new conversation, since it would’ve felt weird to do so. As a result, the guests stayed for about fifteen or twenty minutes before leaving, all claiming that they had dinner plans. In actuality, Digg and Lyla didn’t want to take advantage of Oliver’s hospitality and Tommy needed some time alone to process the news.

 

Walter arrived five minutes early to his dinner with Moira. He had a chance to speak with Raisa as they walked towards the dining room. It was nice for him to have an opportunity to catch up with her as he had missed her since moving out. Moira was waiting in the dining room when they entered and he went over to greet her.

“It’s nice to see you.” He wasn’t entirely sure how to greet her, both given the current situation and the rift between them. They were slowly working on closing that rift, but they had quite a distance left to repair.

“It is nice to have a chance to speak, one-on-one.” She said. The last time she’d seen Walter was the board meeting. The few times before that was when she had lunch with him, Thea and Roy. “Though, I’m somewhat nervous about what you’d like to speak about.”

“I have news. It’s news that’s neither good nor bad, but important nonetheless.”

“So, Oliver and Felicity have not gotten engaged then.” She said. At his odd look, she elaborated. “I know I always told Thea not to pay attention to tabloids or gossip sites, but given my current…..estrangement from Oliver, I don’t have another way to know what’s happening in his life. And I don’t want to ask Thea and make her feel like I’m using her to spy for me.”

“No, Oliver has not proposed to Felicity.” He said. “May I ask why you asked me about Samantha Clayton?”

“She and Oliver had a brief tryst many years ago. She became pregnant and I convinced her to leave town and never contact Oliver again. I sent her a letter recently, apologizing for my treatment of her and encouraging her to reach out to Oliver.” She said. “Oliver has a child, I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, and he doesn’t know.” The room became silent. “Please, say something.”

“I’m not saying anything because I don’t know what to say.” He said. He obviously already knew about William, but didn’t want to tell Moira that he, and everyone on Team Oliver, knew until he had a chance to talk to Oliver about it. It felt like a good sign that Moira had reached out to Samantha on her own, but he didn’t want to ruin anything for Oliver and his ongoing custody negotiations with Samantha.

“I know it makes me sound insane and controlling, but Oliver wasn’t ready to be a father and I thought I was protecting him.”

“I’m not the person you need to explain your reasons to.” He said. “But I’d suggest waiting some time before talking to Oliver about this, since he’s dealing with quite a lot at the moment.” He took a deep breath. “I realize now that you still don’t know the circumstances of Robert’s death.”

“No one knows how Robert died.” Moira said sadly. “His body wasn’t on the Queen’s Gambit and-.”

“His body wasn’t on the Queen’s Gambit because he made it to a life raft with Oliver.”

“Robert was on the island with Oliver?”

“No, he didn’t make it to the island.” He said. “Robert died while they were aboard the life raft. It’s my understanding that he and Oliver were on the life raft for several days and their food supplies were running low and-.”

“Please don’t say the rest, I- please don’t say those words.” She said. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Robert is buried on Lian Yu. Oliver buried him after the raft washed ashore there.” He said. “And Oliver was just told that the Coast Guard is planning an expedition to the island to recover Robert’s body, so that he can be buried properly.”

“I-.”

There was a clatter by the door and Walter turned to see Raisa standing over two broken plates. Thankfully, the plates had been empty, so there wasn’t a mess.  She didn’t seem to have even realized she dropped them. 

“Raisa?”

“Sorry, I- Mr. Queen’s body is going to be brought home?” Raisa asked. While she had not been as close with Robert as she was with Oliver, Thea and now Moira, the Queen family hired her right before Oliver turned three. She had worked for Robert for nearly 20 years when the Gambit went missing.

“Yes, that’s the plan.” Walter said.

“Does Mr. Oliver have to go back to that terrible place for that?”

“No, he’s staying here while the Coast Guard and a guide who knows the island travel there..”

“Good. That’s good. He shouldn’t have to go to that island ever again.” She said. “And it is good that his father can finally be laid to rest.” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to get other plates.” She walked out of the room, leaving Moira and Walter alone once again.

“Ho-how do you know what happened to Robert?” Moira asked Walter.

“Oliver told us. Us being myself, Thea and Tommy.” He said. “Back in January, he told us what had happened the night the Gambit sank and what occurred during his time on the island.”

“What happened?”

“Oliver’s story is best told by Oliver, if and when he’s ready to share it with you.” He said. “Not only would I be unable to do it justice, but I don’t feel comfortable even trying to tell it.”

“I can respect that. I don’t like it and I don’t wanna think about what might’ve happened, but I’m not going to push you, or Thea the next time I see her, or Oliver, to tell me.” She said. “Do you know when the Coast Guard is planning to go on this trip?”

“I don’t. According to Oliver, they only recently got approval, so there’s a lot of planning yet to be done.”

“So, I have some time to figure out how to tell Thea, then.”

“Oliver told Thea about this last night. He told me this afternoon. I thought the news might be easier to hear coming from me.” He said. “And we didn’t know when, or even if, the Coast Guard would be making a statement, so we thought this was news you needed to hear as soon as possible.”

“Well, you and Oliver were probably right. It would’ve been a lot harder to hear this from some federal agent who I don’t really know, or find out about it on the news.” She said. 

Dinner was pretty much silent after that point. Moira needed to process not only the news about the upcoming expedition, but also the truth about Robert’s death. Walter didn’t want to force her into conversation, so they ate in mostly silence with a few pitiful attempts at conversation towards the end.

“I never should’ve let them get on that boat.” She finally said. “I didn’t know then, about the sabotage, but I- I should’ve known Malcolm would’ve had plans in place, that he wouldn’t just-.”

“You can’t change the past, as much as we all wish otherwise.” He said. “You didn’t know and no one blames you-.”

“I’m the one who insisted Robert try to do something to stop Malcolm. I-.”

“You, and Robert as well, did what you thought was best with the information you had at the time. For all the mistakes you may have made later, the bad judgements that followed, when it comes to “letting’” Oliver and Robert board the Gambit, you did what you could with what you knew at the time,” He said. “That’s all any of us can do.”

“Do you think they will ever forgive me?”

“It’s possible, it’s just-it’s going to take more than just saying “I’m sorry” and everyone knows that. As I told you some time ago, Oliver and Thea need to see that you’re genuinely remorseful and trying to change. That’s not going to happen overnight.”

Walter departed and went to the foundry to meet with the others. While he probably wouldn’t stay for very long, he knew he needed to tell Oliver about Moira’s letter to Samantha. Luckily, he arrived before the team had left for patrol, so he had an opportunity to speak with Oliver.

“I had dinner with your mother this evening and I told her the news you shared with me.” Walter told Oliver. “I did also have to give her more information on Robert’s death, in order to explain how we knew where your father was buried.”

‘How did she take it?’

“As well as she could have. Unfortunately, our conversation was more about Robert’s death than the matter of reclaiming his body, and that’s much harder to discuss. This is something she feels a lot of guilt and conflicted emotions about.” He said. “But Moira’s reaction is not the reason I stopped by, I could’ve given you and Thea a call in the morning to let you know how it went. When I asked your mother if she was free for dinner, that I needed to speak with her about something, she asked me if this was about Samantha Clayton.”

“What?” Thea asked. Walter was talking to Oliver, but no one was even pretending not to be listening. “She knows about William?”

“Not entirely. She doesn’t know that we know about William, so she gave me a very brief, very...sanitized explanation of what had happened with Samantha prior to Oliver leaving on the Queen’s Gambit.” He said. “She told me that she’d recently written a letter to Samantha, apologizing for her actions and urging Samantha to tell Oliver the truth. Moira thought Samantha might’ve reached out to Oliver, who may have told me. She did not even know that Samantha’s child was a boy.”

“And what did you say? Did you pretend like you were surprised by the news?” Thea asked. “We weren’t really prepared for this to happen, so I’m just curious.”

“I was able to disguise my lack of surprise as being in shock and, when she asked me to say something, I said I wasn’t sure what to say. That seemed like a better idea than feigning surprise. I am many things, an actor is not one of them. I didn’t tell her that we already knew about William or that Oliver and Samantha were currently working on custody matters, since those seem to be complicated enough as is.”

“Maybe that’s why Samantha was acting so weird yesterday evening.” Felicity said. “She seemed like her mind was somewhere else, and I’m wondering if maybe she got Moira’s letter but wasn’t sure if she should say something or not.”

‘Maybe.’ Oliver said. ‘I think I’m gonna wait for her to bring it up. Let her talk about it when she’s ready.’

“Probably the best option.” Donna said. She didn’t know Samantha well, but she had a feeling that the woman would need to work through quite a few complicated emotions before she’d be ready to talk about it with Oliver, who she didn’t actually know that well.

‘Yeah.’ He said, absentmindedly. ‘We should be back in a few hours, as long as there’s nothing critical that pops up.’ He and the other vigilantes left for patrol, even though he could tell Felicity and Thea, at the very least, wanted to talk more about Walter’s revelation.

 

When Felicity woke up Friday morning, she found Oliver standing in the bathroom. She rolled over and instead of seeing him right next to her, he was standing in the bathroom a few yards away. He didn’t seem to be doing anything, just staring in the mirror. She might have been worried if he was staring at his scars or something, but he was fully clothed, looking at his reflection.

“Everything okay, hon?” She asked.

‘Today’s gonna be a good day.’ He said.

“It is? I mean, I don’t know why it wouldn’t be, since today is the first day of a William Weekend, but...where was I going with this? Oh, right. Why do you seem unsure that it’s gonna be a good day today?”

‘I didn’t sleep well last night. Nightmares.’ He said. ‘And when I don’t sleep well, you know how I can be the next day.’ He had a tendency to be moody. ‘But I don’t wanna be all grumpy and broody today, because like you said, we get to see William today. So, I’m hoping that if I tell myself it’s going to be a good day, and remind myself that William’s coming and that’s exciting, it might make me feel less grumpy and broody.’

“You can’t just wish your bad moods away. Or any emotion for that matter.But I think I get what you’re saying.” She said, getting out of bed. “It’s kinda like, if you’re a little sad, watching a movie that makes you feel good so that it might make you feel a little better. You’re reminding yourself of some things to be happy about in the hopes it’ll make you feel a little better.”

‘Yeah. I know I can’t just make my bad days go away with the power of positive thinking, but...I wanna have as few bad days as possible with William. He doesn’t deserve that.’

“You don’t deserve it either.” She said, resting her head against his shoulder. “But you’re right. Today’s gonna be a good day. We get to see Will later and that’s exciting. Yay, time with Will!”

‘Exactly. Anyway, I was standing in the mirror, telling myself that today’s gonna be a good day, when you caught me.’

“Well, I woke up and you weren’t in bed. And I missed being snuggled up next to you.” She said.

‘Are you saying I should come back to bed?’

“Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to that happening.” She said flirtatiously.

Oliver bent down and lifted his girlfriend up and they went back to bed for a little bit.

 

Barry wished that he could say he got a lot of work done on Thursday, after his meeting with Captain Singh, or Friday morning, but he didn’t. The other detectives, having heard about what Barry said to Simmons, had backed off a bit, but rather than take advantage of fewer interruptions, he actually got less work done than normal. He just couldn’t focus.

Singh believed him. Someone in the CCPD believed him. While he knew Oliver, Felicity and McKenna believed him, and that was refreshing in its own way, there was a special kind of relief he’d felt when he heard Singh agree with him. It was a great feeling, but now he had to wait. Because Singh hadn’t gotten the case reopened yet, because there was a process and the steps needed to be followed. Barry hated waiting, but feeling just one step closer to freeing his dad made him almost giddy.

At around 11:30, Singh walked into Barry’s lab. He looked around for a moment, to make sure they were alone, before closing the door. 

“Kinda surprised you came in today. I thought you’d be too antsy to get much done.” The captain said.

“I needed something to keep my mind off of things. If I was just sitting at home, waiting for you to call me about the meeting, I would’ve driven myself crazy.” Barry admitted.

“Well, you have my permission to leave as soon as we finish this conversation. I feel like you’re gonna want to.”

“Captain, I really don’t know you well enough to know if that means you have good news or bad news.”

“Good news, Allen. Brody agreed with me. He’s assigned the case to the 5th precinct and is meeting with their captain later today.” He said.

“And when is Joe gonna find out?”

“I’ve been asked to keep it quiet until Captain Wyrick, the captain of the 5th, has had a chance to meet with Chief Brody. So, this afternoon at the earliest, possibly Monday if Wyrick needs some time to decide who to give the case to.” He said. “But you will need to come to work on Monday.”

“I figured.” Barry said. “Well, I’m gonna go then. I’m not gonna say “no” to an afternoon off, so I’m leaving before you change your mind.”

He didn’t quite run out of the precinct, but he moved as quickly as he could without attracting attention and kept his eyes on where he was headed so that no one would try to talk to him. He briefly called Henry’s lawyer and told him the good news.

Barry’s next call was to Iris. “Hey, am I calling you at work?” He asked her.

“Nope. My shift starts at 2pm on Fridays, remember?” She said. “What’s up?”

“They’re opening the case.” He said. “The CCPD- Singh read the files and reports and talked to the chief and  they’re reopening my mom’s case.”

“Bar, that’s- that’s fantastic! That’s- did you just find out?”

“Yeah. I-.” He started to tear up. “I called my dad’s lawyer, to give him the news. And you’re the next person I called. I- I don’t know why I’m nearly crying. Like, the work isn’t done yet, the investigation needs to happen, but-.”

“Vindicated. You feel vindicated. Because, yes, other people believed you before now, but this is different. The department kept saying you were wrong, but now, they’re admitting that you were right. And I’m sure that’s an amazing feeling, because it means you weren’t crazy.”

“Yeah, I- oh, I need to tell Oliver and Felicity, and Detective Hall. And thank them for all their help and-.”

“Barry, slow down. Celebrate the moment for a bit.” She said. 

“You’re right and I just- thank you.” He said. “Thank you for all the support over the years. You were- for a long time, you were the only one willing to listen, the only one who didn’t try to convince me to let this go and I- I really couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re welcome Barry.” She said earnestly. “Now, go home and celebrate.”

“But I need to tell-.”

“Like I said, you can give Felicity and Oliver, and the SCPD detective, a call later to thank them. Take some time for yourself.”

Barry thought that sounded like a great idea. First, however, he needed to go see his dad. Henry was a little confused about why Barry was visiting him in the middle of the day on a weekday and asked his son if something was wrong.

“Nothing’s wrong. For the first time in a long time, nothing is wrong.” Barry said.

“Barry, you’re worrying me.”

“I finally did it.” He said. “I convinced my captain to listen to me about Mom. And he talked to the chief and the case is getting reopened.”

“What?”

“Mom’s case, it’s getting reopened. The reports I got from experts and the evidence and the case file, it all- they’re going to reinvestigate what happened. And it’s gonna be a completely different team. It-.”

“You did it.” Henry said. “You really- I might get-.”

“Yeah. I- I told Michael Jones about the CCPD’s decision, but I wanted to- I needed to be the one to tell you.” He said.

“Barry, I- I’m so proud of you. Even if- no matter what happens, I want you to know that. I’m proud and your mother would be proud too.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

All too soon, it was time for their visit to end. Barry went back to his car and cried, while Henry was taken back to his cell and broke down.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I know a lot of people were probably looking forward to William appearing, but when I sat down to finalize this chapter, I realized there were things that needed to happen in this chapter and I didn't want the seriousness of those moments to distract from the excitement with Will.

Also, as a complete aside, I'm kinda surprised no one noticed the "Jaws" reference last chapter.

Chapter 139

Summary:

Samantha talks to her lawyer, Cat Grant has an important conversation and the weekend with William begins.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Just like she had done two weeks prior, Felicity left work a little after 11:15, so that she could take the train into Central City with Oliver. She didn’t want Oliver to have to take the train by himself, especially if he'd had nightmares the night before. Thea couldn’t be signed out from school early every other Friday for the rest of the year, and while Roy or Donna could’ve gone with Oliver, it didn’t seem like a good idea to Felicity. Samantha didn’t really know Roy or Donna and had only really met them once, and it was at a meeting between her, her lawyer and Oliver and his lawyers.

In the two weeks between William’s first visit and now, Felicity had talked with Curtis and Ray, and their boss about adjusting her schedule so that on alternating Fridays, she only had to work a few hours. She hadn’t gone into detail with the director of Applied Sciences about why she needed to make this change, and he didn’t press her for more information. Felicity was very good at her job, she kept her projects on schedule and didn’t cause problems. Approving the change wasn’t a difficult decision for him to make, given how important Felicity’s work was to the company.

Felicity and Lyla left Applied Sciences and Lyla dropped Felicity off at her house before heading home. To Felicity’s surprise, Oliver wasn’t home when she got there. They had some time before they needed to head to the train station, but she wondered where he might be. He probably wasn’t at the store, because they had everything they needed for the weekend, and she didn’t think he had any appointments scheduled for today, since they were going to Central City later. She changed out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable.

About five minutes after she got home, Oliver walked through the door. “You’re back.”

‘Yeah. I hoped I’d get here before you came home, because I didn’t want you to worry, but-.’

“Lyla drives fast, so we got here fast.” She said. “And I won’t say I was worried, just a little curious. I didn’t think you had a meeting or anything today.”

‘I didn’t. I took Thea to school and on my way back, I realized that I’d need to talk to Agent Dinan, or someone on the task force, about the trip to Lian Yu at some point. And I didn’t want that hanging over my head all weekend, so I went to see her. McKenna was able to interpret for me, but since she’s not as fluent as your mom or Roy, our conversation took longer than I expected.’ He said. ‘Sorry I didn’t tell you. I should’ve-.’

“Oliver, you don’t need to apologize. I don’t expect you to tell me everything you do or everywhere you go. I’m not a control freak like- I trust you and I know that, if there’s something I need to know, you’ll tell me about it. You went to talk to Dinan, it took longer than you thought it would. It happens. I figured you were out running errands or something. And, you know, now you have one less thing to worry about for next week.” She said. “So, I’d say it’s all good.”

‘Okay.’ He said. ‘Let’s have lunch and then we’ll go, if you’re ready?’

“I was born ready. Ok, that sounded super cheesy, but you get what I mean.” She said.

 

Camille Ashton finished reading the letter Samantha had gotten from Moira Queen for the second time. She then looked at her client. “Okay, I’ve read the letter twice now. What does this mean?”

“I don’t know what it means. Do I need to-?”

“Have you responded to the letter?” Camille asked.

“Not yet. I don’t know if I will at all.”

“Have you told anyone about the letter?”

“No.”

“No one? Not William, or Oliver or the neighbor who supervised their first visit?”

“Nope, no one.” Samantha said,

“Did reading the letter make you wanna rethink how we’ve been handling things so far?”

“No.”

“Then, right now, it doesn’t have to mean anything.” The lawyer said. “The letter says what it says. If it hasn’t made you wanna change your mind, then nothing needs to change. It’s just a letter.”

“But do I have to tell Oliver? It’s from his mother, after all. I don’t- What are the rules about this?” 

“You don’t have to tell Oliver right away, no.At the end of the day, it was a letter sent to you. Now, I think you should tell him at some point, just so that he’s aware.”

“What if it makes him change his mind?” She asked. “He told me that he wouldn’t let Moira see William unless I tell him that I feel comfortable with that, if I ever do, but what if the letter- it could make him change his mind. And she might try to take Will from me and-.”

“Let’s not think about what she might do, because it’s not going to get to that point. I can’t say for certain that Oliver won’t change his mind about letting William meet his mother after learning about the letter, but it seems incredibly unlikely.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, for one thing, he told you that he’d keep her away from William because that’s what you wanted, and while this process hasn’t been completely smooth, he and his lawyers have tried to at least be sensitive to your feelings and wants. Sometimes they did push back, but from all of our meetings and conversations, I don’t recall them ever waving away your concerns or reservations. I don’t think he’d blatantly ignore your very clear feelings on the matter, even if it is in regards to his mother. I’m also fairly certain that his strained relationship with his mother is only partly a result of how she treated you. I imagine Moira is trying to repair her relationship with her son, but I doubt things have been fixed or that she’s a big part of his life again.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“If Oliver doesn’t want to be around his mother, he’s not going to bring his young son near her. I don’t think he trusts her and that’s why I don’t think we need to worry.” Camille said. “Good parents, and you’ve admitted that Oliver’s been a good dad so far, don’t bring their children around someone they don’t trust.” She took a breath. “Now, the letter might prompt Oliver to want to discuss his mother in a few months, but I don’t think anything will change now.”

“I hope not.” Samantha said. “I- I feel like Oliver and I are really close to having most of what needs to be worked out worked out, but this letter-.”

“You’re worried about how things will change. I understand. It’s literally my job to deal with situations like this. For right now, forget about the letter and keep your eye on the prize. We need to finalize the custody agreement and get Oliver added to William’s birth certificate. That’s what we need to focus on, not letters from Moira Queen. Okay?”

Samantha nodded and thanked Camille for her time. She left her lawyer’s office and went back to work for a few hours, before it was time for her to pick up William from school.

 

Cat Grant let out a deep breath before calling Washington, DC. Ever since Eric Graves had learned the truth about ARGUS’s Belle Reve facility and Task Force X, he insisted on speaking with her weekly for updates on both Task Force X and what Grant had discovered in her audit of ARGUS’s other operations. Their call was scheduled for today, though Cat wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.

“We’ll skip the pleasantries this week.” Graves said after the call started. “What progress has been made this week?”

“I haven’t come across anything quite as bad as Task Force X, but that’s not saying much.” Cat said. “Though, I learned that Edward Fyers, the man leading the mercenaries that Oliver Queen encountered during his first year on Lian Yu, was sent by us.”

“Waller indicated as much. She admitted to sending Fyers to the island. Our conversation got derailed by what she did to Oliver Queen in Moscow, so I wasn’t able to ask her why she did that. According to Dinan, who interviewed Oliver Queen, this was done to destabilize the Chinese economy. Is that the case?”

“Melendez is still looking into it, but I’m not sure the goal was to destabilize China.” She said. “First of all, the Chinese economy is not ARGUS’s concern. Second, the way Waller went about hiring him makes me skeptical. Waller, through a few levels of intermediaries, hired Fyers, which is odd. No direct connection to the US, but if someone’s willing to dig deeply enough, they’ll put the pieces together.”

“If it wasn’t about China’s economy, what was it about?”

“I don’t know. Waller-I don’t know how that woman thinks. For all we know? She was trying to assassinate someone aboard the plane.” She said. “Once Melendez has an update, I’ll let you know.”

“Where are we with Task Force X’s…..implants?”

“Van Criss Labs, or Wayne Enterprises more likely, seems to have realized that we aren’t asking them for the information we need just for the fun of it. Someone from WE said they’d be happy to provide any information they can. The issue is that Van Criss needs to go through all of their files, extensively, before they can give me solutions. Removing those implants isn’t gonna be something we can rush or half-ass.” She said. “At the moment, we can’t do anything, and I’ve taken precautions to make sure none of the implants are used.”

“I don’t doubt you, but I’m not gonna feel comfortable saying it’s “handled” until those explosives are no longer inside the inmates’ heads.”

“Me neither.”

“Well, Waller’s last bid to try and get bail was rejected, according to my friends at the FBI, so she won’t be hard to pin down for questioning.” Graves said. “Has Waller’s arrest made the news in Starling City?”

“It has, though not many people seem too interested in the story, outside of ARGUS.”

“So, Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen and Lyla Michaels most likely know about it.”

“I would assume so.” Cat said. “I’d be careful where Ms. Smoak is concerned, for whatever project you want her involved in.” 

“What makes you say that?”

“Before I got appointed as director, the story around Langley was that DHS approached Smoak about some project and she refused, citing distrust in the Department.” She said.

“We did and she did.”

“And, did her refusal lead to you demoting Waller?” She asked.

“It may have played a part.”

“Meaning it was the main reason you asked Waller about Queen’s involvement with ARGUS.” She said. “She planned this.” Cat Grant had spent years at the CIA. Part of being successful at the CIA was learning how to read people and understand how they behaved. Graves had spent most of his career at FEMA and had less experience analyzing people in the way that Cat did. 

“She couldn’t know that-.”

“Maybe she didn’t anticipate every single thing that happened, I doubt she knew I’d be the one to become ARGUS director, but I’m sure she anticipated the majority of it. She knew her refusal would make you ask questions, which would lead to you talking to Waller. Talking to Waller led to Waller being demoted and replaced, and an investigation. And an investigation was always going to lead to Waller being arrested. Either the FBI or ARGUS or some other agency was going to arrest her, and if they didn’t for some reason, Congress would.” Cat reasoned. “Felicity Smoak set this whole thing into motion to get revenge on Waller, and she didn’t need to break the law or make a fuss to do it.”

“You’re telling me that you think Felicity Smoak successfully turned both of us, a number of US Senators and the President of the United States into puppets?”

“I wouldn’t call us her puppets, but clearly, she knew what would follow if she said “no” to you..” She said. “She might be recognized as a computer genius first, but that’s not the only reason she’s a genius.”

“And in the process, not-so-subtly warned the whole Department not to misuse the software we’re after.” Graves said. “We both need to remember not to get on her bad side.”

“Oh, I figured that out after I learned what had happened in Moscow.” She said. “I look forward to meeting her.”

“You are?”

“I’m not so arrogant that I can’t admit it when I’m impressed. And I am impressed. She managed to do all of that with what? A few sentences to the right people.” She said. 

Graves seemed to want to wrap up the call at this point, probably needing a moment to consider what Cat had pointed out. They ended the call not long later.

 

Felicity and Oliver’s train was about halfway to Central City when her phone started to ring. She looked at the device, told her boyfriend that it was Barry Allen and then answered.

“Hey Barry.”

“Hi Felicity. Are you with Oliver right now? Because I have some news and I wanna tell you both at the same time.” He said. 

“Yup, he’s right here next to me.” She said before putting the phone on speakerphone. “What’s going on?”

“My mom’s case is being reopened.”

“That’s- that’s amazing! It’s….I don’t really know what to say, but that’s great.” She said. She looked at Oliver so that she could see what he was signing. “Oliver says “congrats” and that he’s happy for you.”

“Thanks, I- I’m not only calling to tell you, because I wanna thank you. You helped me a lot when I was in Starling for those few days about two weeks ago.”

‘We didn’t really do that much, just nudged him to go talk to McKenna.’ Oliver said, and Felicity repeated his words.

“Maybe you see it that way, but you were also the first ones in a long time to believe me. The fact that you were even willing to ask McKenna to hear me out means a lot. You helped me a lot more than you know.” He said.

“Keep us posted on everything.” Felicity said. “We wanna know what happens next with the investigation and your dad, okay?”

“I will.” He promised. “I might not call with every update, but this- it felt like something I needed to call you about. Texts are great but some stuff is a little too important for texts and needs to be said out loud.” There was a pause. “Sorry, was that-? I think what I just said might be really offensive or dismissive to Oliver. I didn’t mean it like-.”

‘Tell him it’s okay.’ Oliver said. ‘I’m aware of my limitations when it comes to communicating. And clearly, he wasn’t trying to be mean. I know what he was trying to say, but he just conveyed it in not the best way.’ Felicity repeated Oliver’s feelings to Barry.

“Well, I’m still sorry. Even if you’re not upset Oliver, I should’ve phrased it better.” He said. He clearly felt very awkward because he seemed ready for the conversation to end, so Felicity offered to let him go so that he could celebrate this milestone in investigating his mom’s death.

“I-yeah. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

‘I didn’t mean for Barry to feel bad just because he said something badly.’ Oliver said.

“I know and he knows that too. And he’s gonna realize that it wasn’t a big deal, but for right now, he thinks what he said makes him a bad person. Because most people don’t know what to do the first few times something slips out  that might offend their disabled friend, even if it doesn’t actually offend them. I remember you told me that Tommy, when he went to apologize to you, said the word “talk” and immediately started freaking out about it. And since you don’t “look” disabled, which is a phrase I hate, it’s easier for people to forget that you have the limitations that you have.”

It made sense to Oliver, the way she explained it. He remembered that conversation with Tommy and recalled that Tommy seemed to honestly be unsure of what was or wasn’t okay to say for half the time that they talked back then.

‘So, what should I do? Should I send him a text to tell him I’m not mad or-?’

“I’d just let it be.” She said. “You’ve said that it’s not a big deal, and if it isn’t a big deal, nothing more really needs to be said.”

 

When Samantha picked William up from pre-kindergarten, the boy was clearly very excited, almost bouncing up and down when he saw her. She found herself smiling at his excitement. In all of her worrying lately about the arrangements with Oliver, she had somewhat lost sight of the most important aspect of the whole situation: William was happy. William was happy and he was getting a chance to know his father. His excitement was so infectious that it made her feel better about her day so far.

“Hi Mommy!” He exclaimed as he went to greet her.

“Hi, did you have a fun day at school?”

“Uh-huh. I played with Adam and we got to have outside playtime.” Since the weather was getting warmer, the school was letting the kids play outside more often, which most of the students were very excited about. “Are we going to see Daddy now?”

“Not right now. His train isn’t here yet.” She said. “We’re gonna go to Jitters for a snack first, okay?”

“Can I have a blueberry muffin for my snack?”

“Of course.” She said, knowing how much he loved the coffee shop’s muffins. “Let’s go, so we get there before they run out.” She said it in a teasing tone, but William’s face got serious and he started walking to Samantha’s car more quickly. “Are we racing?”

“No, but I wanna get to Jitters before they run out of blueberry muffins!” He said. “And you told me not to run when there are cars around, so I’m just walking extra fast.”

“I was just being silly about Jitters not having enough muffins.” She said. “But I’m glad you listened to me and didn’t run to the car, you could’ve gotten hurt.”

They made their way to Jitters. Iris was the barista who was working, just as had been the case two weeks earlier. She gave William a warm smile and listened patiently as he asked her for a blueberry muffin and then told her why they were his favorite. She handed the boy his snack before getting Samantha her coffee.

The door to the coffee shop opened and Barry walked in. He saw that the shop was mostly empty and started speaking. “I am the biggest dumba-.” He spotted William. “I mean, the biggest meanie in the world.” Samantha could tell he was about to say “dumbass” and appreciated that he held himself back when he spotted the young child. She gave him a tight smile, acknowledging that he’d tried, before turning back to her son.

“What makes you say that?” Iris asked him. She said it in a quieter voice than he’d spoken in, hoping he’d also lower his voice.

“I called Detective Hall to give her my news, and after that, I called Felicity to tell her and Oliver.” He said. “And I told them the news and I thanked them and said I’d keep them updated with anything that happened.”

“Okay. I don’t see the problem so far.”

“I then said that I called them because some stuff is important and needs to be said out loud and not through texts.” He said. “Which is kinda a jerk move when one of the people you’re speaking to is non-verbal. I didn’t mean it like that, but-.”

“Did you apologize?”

“Yeah, pretty much as soon as I said it. And he said it was okay, but- I’m a terrible person, aren’t I?”

“No, I think you just said something dumb because you weren’t thinking. It happens to everyone.” She said. “And if he says he’s not upset, I’d take him at his word.”

“If you say so. I don’t want him or Felicity to get mad at me.”

“You know Lisy?” A voice said from behind Barry. He turned to see William looking at him with wide eyes.

“I- Lisy? I’m not sure who--.”

“Felicity Smoak.” Samantha said. “William struggles with her full first name, so he calls her Lisy.”

“Do you know Lisy?” William repeated.

“I do, she’s a friend of mine.” He said. “I’m Barry.”

“I’m Will, but Mommy just told you my name. Do you build robots with Lisy?”

“No, I don’t. I think robots are cool, but I don’t make them for a living like she does.” He said. He wasn’t going to explain what he did unless the boy asked, since his job wasn’t really “kid friendly”.

“I think robots are cool too. When I grow up, I’m gonna make a robot to go to space.” The boy said. “Lisy said there are robots on Mars, so I’m gonna send mine to Pluto!”

“Woah, all the way to Pluto, huh?” 

“Yeah!”

“William, we need to get going, okay?” Samantha told her son. She then looked at Barry. “I’m sorry, but we need to go.” They’d be getting to the train station a little early, but Samantha knew eventually, Will would reveal that Oliver was his father and she wasn’t quite ready for yet another person to know the truth, especially since she didn’t know Barry at all.

“Well, it looks like you gotta go.” Barry said. “Goodbye.”

“Bye! I liked meeting you. I’ll tell Lisy you say hi!” Will said as he and Samantha left the coffee shop.

“How do you think he knows Felicity?” Barry asked Iris.

“No idea, but he does look a little like Oliver. Maybe he’s the son of one of Oliver’s cousins or something?” She said.

“Maybe.”

 

Oliver and Felicity were waiting by the same display in the train station where they had met William and Samantha before. They were quietly talking amongst themselves, and no one walking by seemed to notice them. Samantha almost didn’t see them when she and William approached the area, but luckily, the boy saw them.

“Hi Daddy!” He said as he went to hug his father. “Hi Lisy.”

“Hey buddy.” Oliver said via his text-to-speech app. “Are you excited for this weekend?”

“Uh-huh. Where’s Auntie Thea?”

“She had school so she couldn’t come with us for the train ride.” Felicity said. “But she’s gonna be there when we get to our house.”

“Okay. I'm excited to see her.”

“And she’s excited to see you too.” Oliver said. “Do you wanna get a snack before we get onto the train? I don’t want you to get too hungry while we’re on the train.”

“We stopped at Jitters on the way here.” Samantha said.

“They have yummy blueberry muffins!” William said.

“Those are my favorite.” Oliver said. 

“Me too!”

Samantha took a deep breath. “Okay, I think it’s time for me to say goodbye.” She said. “Will, I’ll talk to you at bedtime and we’ll talk over video tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. I love you, Mommy.” He hugged his mother.

“I love you too.” She said, hugging me back. “Have fun.”

They broke apart so that William could take Oliver’s hand as they walked over to where the trains were boarding. Samantha waited until they had gone down the stairs to the platform before leaving the spot where she was standing.

 

Felicity, Oliver and William walked into an empty compartment on the train and sat down. Oliver asked his son about how pre-k was going and nodded along as Will told them all about the fun he was having and his excitement to go to regular kindergarten next year.

“I like pre-k, and my friends and Miss Gwen, but I wanna be in real kindergarten already. Then, I can get better at reading and learn more numbers and get extra smart.” He explained. “Some grown-ups think I’m in preschool but I’m not. Pre-k is different.Preschool is where you go when you’re little and I’m not little anymore. I’m a big boy. I mean, I’m gonna be six soon!” He said “six” like it was an incredibly old age, but to a five-year-old, being six was almost being a teenager.

“You’re gonna be six before you know it and be in “real” kindergarten not long after.” Felicity said. “And that’s exciting.”

“Uh-huh. Are you and Daddy and Auntie Thea coming to my birthday party?” He asked her. 

“When is your party?” Oliver asked him. “We wanna come, but we need to know when it is.”

“I dunno the day, but Mommy does.”

“Okay, we’ll ask her about it later.” Felicity said. Samantha hadn’t mentioned the party, but there could be a few different reasons for that, spanning from forgetting to mention it earlier to not knowing how to bring it up to not wanting them there. She hoped for Will’s sake that it wasn’t the last reason, but she would ask Samantha about it. 

William, meanwhile, had completely moved on from the topic of his birthday party to tell Oliver about today being the first day in months that his class was allowed to play outside since it wasn’t cold.

For most of the ride, the adults listened to William tell them all about school, his friends and what new facts he’d learned recently through reading. They were a few miles outside of Starling when he said something unexpected.

“Oh! I forgot! Barry says hi, Lisy.” He said.

“You met my friend Barry?”

“Uh-huh. He was at Jitters, talking to the lady who works there and I heard him say your name. Not Lisy but your real name. He said he was your friend and I told him about the robot I’m gonna build to send to Pluto.”

“I’m sure he was excited to hear all about it.”

“He said it sounded cool, but didn’t know I was talking about you at first. Because I call you Lisy and not Felik- I don’t know why I still can’t say it right.” He frowned.

“It’s okay if you can’t say “Felicity”. I like that you call me Lisy. It’s my special nickname that only my favorite people get to call me.” She said. 

“Who gave you the nickname?”

“My cousin Emily.” She said. “She couldn’t say my name when she was little, so she started calling me Lisy.” “Felicity” was a hard name to learn how to say or sign. “Lisy” was much easier to learn on both fronts.

“Am I gonna meet her like I met your grandma?”

“No, that’s not possible.” She said. “Emily went to Heaven.” The Jewish afterlife was a little more complicated than simply “good people go to Heaven, bad people go to Hell” but she wasn’t going to get too deeply into religion with a five-year-old. Saying she went to Heaven was enough for William to understand.

“Did she go to Heaven like Mommy said Daddy did or is it like Courtney’s daddy?”

“Like Courtney’s dad.” She said. “She can’t come back.” William was too young to realize that Oliver hadn’t actually been in Heaven and that people who go to Heaven don’t come back.

“I’m sorry. I made you sad.” William said, giving her a hug.

“Oh, you didn’t make me sad.” She told him. “I miss her and that makes me sad, but it’s okay to feel sad sometimes.”

“Is my hug making you feel better?”

“It’s making me feel lots better, thank you.”

The train pulled into the station and the trio made their way to the car to drive home. As Felicity had promised, Thea and Roy were already at the house when she, Oliver and William arrived.

“Auntie Thea!”

“Hi, Will.” Thea said, greeting her nephew. “How was the train ride?”

“It was good. We talked about pre-k and my birthday and when I’m in real kindergarten next year and-.” This led to William telling Thea everything he, Oliver and Felicity had talked about on the train while Oliver got dinner, which Thea had stuck into the oven for him, out and prepared to serve it.

The group ate dinner and talked, until William started to yawn, clearly sleepy. Thea and Roy left, saying they would see Will the next day and wishing him a good night. William took a bath and changed into his PJs before Oliver called Samantha so that she could say goodnight to William before bed.

“Mommy, can Daddy and Lisy and Auntie Thea come to my birthday party?” He asked her after a few minutes of telling her about his train ride.

“I- yes of course.” Samantha was clearly caught off-guard by the question.

“When is it?” He said. “I didn’t know and Daddy asked when it was.”

“It’s the 20th of April, two days before your birthday, remember?”

“Oh yeah!. Night-night, Mommy.”

“Goodnight, honey.” She said. “Can you give your dad or Lisy the phone?”

“Uh-huh.” He handed the phone to Felicity. “Mommy wants to talk to you.”

“Can you hold on for just a sec?” Felicity asked. “Goodnight, Will. Sleep tight.”

“Night-night.” The boy said. “Night, Daddy.”

“Goodnight.” Oliver told his son before turning on the nightlight and following Felicity out of the room.

Felicity then turned her attention back to Samantha. “Sorry, we wanted to say goodnight to Will. What did you want to talk about?”

“Will wants you to come to his party.” She said.

“And we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Felicity said. “That is, if we’re invited.”

“So, you will be there? Because if- I don’t want Oliver or you or Thea to say you’ll be there and then not show up.” She said. “He’ll be heart-broken and-.”

Felicity and Oliver both knew what Samantha was getting at. Oliver remembered all the times that his parents promised they’d come to something, and never showed up. Before she knew the truth about her dad, Felicity went to every science fair and math competition, hoping he might appear to see her. Neither ever wanted William to feel that way. “We’ll be there. William’s important to us and we wanna help him celebrate his birthday. Just tell us where and when.”

“The party’s happening at my house on April 20th. I- I guess that means Oliver and I have a deadline to make the announcement about William.”

“You don’t have to do it by that date.”

“We kinda do, because there are gonna be other parents at the party and- and I wanna be able to enjoy the day without that news hanging over us.”

‘That’s fair.’ Oliver said. ‘I’m sorry it has to be like this.’

“Me too. We’ve got a few weeks to figure it out, though, so it’s not like we have to tell everyone right now.” Samantha sighed. “I don’t wanna hold you up any longer. Enjoy your night.”

The call ended and Felicity and Oliver retreated to their room to spend some time together before going to bed.

 

William woke up the next morning and crept out of bed. He snuck into Oliver and Felicity’s room, trying to be quiet but the floorboard creaked below his foot. His dad seemed to still be asleep, so he was about to leave and wait for them to wake up. As he was trying to sneak out of the room, Felicity pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She saw him, smiled and got out of bed. “Let’s go downstairs so that we don’t wake your dad up.” She whispered. They walked out of the bedroom and closed the door.

“Good morning Lisy.” William said as they were making their way towards the stairs.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I had a fun dream, but I don’t ‘member what it was about. I think there was a dog.”

“Well, it must’ve been a good dream then.” She said. “I’m really excited for this weekend.”

“Me too! Can you read the story the reporter wrote about you to me now?”

“Well, I promised your dad that he’d get to hear it, so how about we wait until he’s awake and we’ve had breakfast and then we can read it?”

“Okay. I don’t want Daddy to miss out.” He said. After a few moments, he spoke up again. “Can I go wake him up?” He was excited and didn't want to wait, so by his logic, the only thing to do was wake Oliver up so that they could have breakfast now and read Felicity's article sooner.

“Let’s let him sleep for a little longer.” She said with a laugh.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 140

Summary:

William's weekend in Starling continues and he gets to meet a few cool people.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

While William was eager to wake his father up so that they could eat breakfast and read Lena’s article about Felicity, he refrained from rushing upstairs to wake Oliver up himself. Felicity told him that they should let Oliver sleep for a little while longer and that sounded like a good idea to the little boy.

William sat on the couch, kicking his legs back and forth, and looked around. “This stuff wasn’t here last time.” He said, pointing to some knick-knacks and decorations that he hadn’t seen during his first visit.

“I brought it back from Las Vegas when I went to visit my grandma.” Felicity said. “We also helped pack up my mom’s old house so that she could finish moving here to Starling City.”

The boy moved from his spot on the couch to take a closer look at the items he had noticed around the living room. There were more books on the shelf and some random odds and ends lying around than there had been last time. He wasn’t sure what most of the items were, but they looked cool to him.

“Lisy, who are those ladies in that photo?” William asked Felicity as he pointed to a photo on the mantle. 

It was the photo of Felicity and Megan that Felicity had brought home from Las Vegas. She picked it up and handed him the frame. “That’s me and the other girl is my cousin Emily. The one who came up with the name Lisy.” She pointed to her cousin.

“How come your hair is different?” 

She shrugged. “I used to like my hair being dark the way it is in the photo, and then I decided I wanted to see what it looks like blonde and I decided I like the blonde. So, I’ve kept it blonde just because I can.”

“Okay.” He said. He was about to say something else, but then he heard something creak behind him, so he spun towards the stairs. “Daddy’s awake!”

Oliver was indeed awake and the creaking noise had been his foot landing on a particularly creaky stair. He looked like he had just woken up and was rubbing his eyes. “Hey buddy.” Oliver said using his app. 

“Hi. Can we have breakfast now?”

‘If he was this hungry, you could’ve woken me up.’ Oliver signed to Felicity. ‘I wouldn’t have gotten upset at being woken up.’’

“I told William we’d read the article about me after breakfast, so he’s really eager to have breakfast because he wants to know what I said.” She told him. “He wanted to wake you up as soon as I told him that, but I thought we should let you sleep longer, especially since we weren’t really hungry.”

‘Oh, okay.’ He told her. He then opened up his app again so that he could talk to William. “What sounds good for breakfast?”

“Scrambled eggs!”

“Does that work for you, Felicity?” Oliver had tried very hard over the last week to make as many Passover-friendly meals as possible as just wanted to check.

“Scrambled eggs sound great.” She said. She was happy William hadn’t picked something like pancakes or waffles, since she wasn’t supposed to eat those during Passover and she didn’t want to make William feel bad for picking something she couldn’t have or get into a long discussion about what Passover was or why she can’t eat some things for the next few days. She wasn’t the kind to go the synagogue every week, but she took the major holidays, such as Passover, seriously and tried her best to follow the rules during that period.

“Scrambled eggs it is.” Oliver said. “William, do you wanna be my helper again?”

“Uh-huh.” The boy said. 

After a quick breakfast, Oliver, Felicity and William gathered back on the couch and Felicity pulled out the issue of Engineering & Technology Magazine that Lena had sent her. She flipped through it until she found the page where the article started and began to read. The first paragraph or two served as an introduction to who Felicity was, in case any readers were unfamiliar with her work. Then, Lena got into the real focus of the article.

“Felicity Smoak first came to my attention in 2010, when her first project with Queen Consolidated was released. The GRC-12X was the first processor of its kind, capable of processing and outputting information in half the time any existing processor could at the time of its release. This advancement has led to increased competition in the CPU space and an influx of faster, better, more durable processing chips. And it was just the beginning of the MIT graduate’s blossoming career.”

“What’s a career?” William asked.

“It’s another word for a job.” She answered. She then turned back to the article. “Following the release of the processor, she and her colleagues at Queen Consolidated Curtis Holt and Ray Palmer joined forces to create a battery with enough power to run a device for up to two years without needing to be charged or replaced. During that time, a number of new software projects were also released by Ms. Smoak and her team for use in both cybersecurity and everyday use with cellphones and tablets. Yet, for people such as Ms. Smoak, the question is always what are you working on next. So, I sat down with her to discuss exactly that.” She paused. “The reporter asked me: ‘Ms. Smoak, you have become a big name in the field of computer science over the last few years, and some have called you the next Steve Jobs or a young, female Steve Jobs. Tell me, what made you decide to pursue a career in tech?’”

“And I said: ‘Well, I suppose it started when I was a kid. I wanted to know how things worked. Once I became aware of computers, I fell in love with them and trying to figure out how they worked and how to make them work better. As I got older, and somewhat wiser, I realized how much tech could not only change the world, but also change the lives of everyday people. I wanted to help change the world’.” Felicity paused. “William, do you wanna help read the interview? I’ll say the questions and you can read the answers.” She didn’t want to just make Oliver and William sit there and listen to her read, and reading the interview alone wasn’t very interesting.

“What if I don’t know some of the words?”

“Then, your dad or I can help you.” She said. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but-.”

“No, I wanna do it.” He said. “Just tell me when it’s my turn.”

“You’ve got a deal.” She said. “Which past project are you the most proud of?”

Felicity pointed to the sentence for William to read. “That’s hard to say. I’m proud of most of the proj- projects I’ve done.” He read, with some help from Oliver. “But I’m always the most proud of the one I just finished.”

“I know you’re working on something now, something Queen Consolidated hasn’t announced just yet. Can you tell me a little bit about it?”

Again, Felicity pointed to the part for William to read. “I can’t say too much, since it’s still a secret, but it’s gonna change the world. Or at least, Ray, Curtis and I are hoping it will. We all do what we do because we wanna make the world a better place.”

“And, when this mysterious project is done, what comes next?”

“I don’t know yet.” William read aloud. “I try to focus on one project at a time. But if- Lisy, I don’t know what that word says. I know it says N-A-S-A, but-.”

“NASA. They’re the people who sent astronauts to the moon and the rovers to Mars.”

“Oh! I knew that, but I didn’t know- I wasn’t sure how to say the name.” He said shyly.

“That’s okay. You’re doing a good job. Keep going.” She encouraged him.

“If NASA asks me to do some work for them, I wouldn’t say no. I mean, it’s NASA. Who would say no to getting to work for NASA?” He read. “‘It would be cool to work on the next rover.’ Hey! That’s what we talked about before.”

“Yeah, it is.” Oliver said.

“Are you gonna make one?” William asked Felicity.

“No, but I’d really like to.” She said. “Do you wanna keep practicing your reading or do you wanna be done for a little bit?”

“I wanna be done, but I wanna still hear the rest. I just- the words are starting to get harder.”

“That’s okay. You did a great job.” She said. “Oliver, how about you read the rest so William can listen?”

“Sounds good to me.” Oliver said. “Where were we? Oh, right here. ‘It would be cool to work on the next rover, but really, I’d say yes to any project they approached me about’.”

“Big NASA fan then?”

“Well, it would be hard to find a scientist who would turn down working for NASA. When I was a kid, my dream was to be an astronaut. But, I’m not a big fan of heights, so I’ll settle for working with them here on Earth.”

Oliver and Felicity read out the next few exchanges, which were about Felicity’s thoughts on the direction where science and tech were heading, and a few other projects Felicity had worked on in the past.

“Who are some of your role models?” Felicity read from the magazine.

“ ‘As in, people I know or who my heroes were when I was a kid?’ ”

“Both.”

“My grandmother and my mother were the people I looked up to most as a kid. In terms of famous people I looked up to and wanted to emulate, there’s the normal answers of Steven Jobs, Albert Einstein and Neil Armstrong. There’s also Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson, Grace Hopper, Sally Ride, Mae Jemison and, of course, Marie Curie.”

“Lisy, who are all those people you said?” William asked.

“Albert Einstein was a scientist who studied physics. Ada Lovelace is considered to be the first computer programmer. Grace Hopper also worked with computers and so does Steve Jobs. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician who worked for NASA and helped send some of the first astronauts into space. Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison were all astronauts. And Marie Curie is- do you know what the Nobel Prize is?”

“I know they give it to smart people.”

“It’s given to very smart people, mostly scientists, when they make big discoveries and it’s the highest honor you can get in some fields of science, like chemistry or medicine. Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize. She actually received it twice and for two different fields of science.” Felicity said. “She’s the only person to do that, ever.”

“She sounds cool.”

“She’s very cool.” She said. “Let’s see, where were we? Oh, Lena asked me how I felt about being an inspiration to younger generations, and I told her it feels a little weird the first time someone called me their hero or role model, but that I’m happy when I hear teenagers, especially teenage girls, tell me they decided to pursue science or take a coding class because they saw something of themselves in me. And that was pretty much the end of the interview.”

“The reporter seems nice.” William said.

“She was very nice.”

“I liked hearing about your job and stuff, but I wish she asked more about robots.”

“Well, maybe next time, I’ll get to talk about them more. Maybe I’ll be working on a robot and I'll be able to talk all about it.” She said. “My other interviews weren’t nearly as much fun, which is why I wanted to read this one with you and your dad.”

“Were the other reporters mean?”

“They weren’t mean, but they asked a lot of boring questions.” She said wrinkling her nose. “So, now that we’ve read the article, what should we do now?”

“Can we watch Kung Fu Panda 2 ? Since we watched the first one last time?”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Oliver said. It would be at least an hour before the ASL class let out, so Thea, Roy and Walter wouldn’t be stopping by for at least that long. Watching a movie seemed like a good way to pass the time without getting William too tired out to meet Walter or spend time with him, Thea and Roy.

 

Walter’s mind was only half on the signs he was supposed to be practicing as the ASL class progressed. He didn’t mean to let his mind wander, but he was looking forward to meeting William after class concluded. He’d heard a lot about the boy from his step-children and was eager to meet him for himself. While Oliver was overall in a much better place on a daily basis now than he had been a few months ago, he seemed a little bit happier, freer even, the closer they got to this weekend, when he’d be seeing his son.

“I haven’t gotten a response to my letter.” Moira said, capturing Walter’s focus once more.

“You sent it late last week, I believe?” He asked.

“Yes. and I haven’t gotten a response. I’m debating whether it's too soon to send another letter.”

“It’s too soon.”

“Saman- she had to have received it by now.”

“She most likely has. However, just because she’s received it, it doesn’t obligate her to reply to you in a timely manner.” He said. “I imagine that getting your letter reopened some old wounds and brought some unresolved issues to the surface. She may need time to think about what you’ve said or consider how much she’s willing to trust you or Oliver. It’s been years since she last spoke to you.”

“Even if she doesn’t wanna talk to me, she should at least talk to Oliver.” She said.

“And it’s possible that she has. She’s not obligated to answer your letter and Oliver isn’t obligated to tell you if Samantha has reached out to him.” He said.

“We’re talking about my first grandchild.”

“And Oliver’s child. And Samantha’s. And you haven’t been in the child’s life because of your own actions. Your feelings are not the main concern in this situation and you need to acknowledge that.” He said. “I know you’re hoping that if you right this wrong, other problems in your relationship with Oliver will be fixed, but it isn’t that simple. If you want my opinion, I would give everyone involved some time before mentioning it again.”

“Has Oliver said anything to you or Thea about the situation?”

“He’s not gonna answer that question and neither am I.” Thea said, turning to face her mother. “Because it’s Ollie’s business and if he wants you to know, he’ll tell you. Or he’ll tell us if we can tell you.”

“How much of our conversation did you hear?” Moira was a little terrified. How much did Thea know? She knew Oliver wouldn’t react well to the news about what she had done to Samantha, but she wanted him to find out in a way that didn’t make her seem like a completely heartless monster. Even if her actions were reprehensible, and they were, she thought at the time that she was protecting her family.

“Just the end.” Thea lied. She had heard the whole discussion, but her mother didn’t need to know that. Moira would want to know why Thea didn’t seem shocked by the news, which would risk her figuring out that everyone already knew about William. “It doesn’t matter what you were talking about. Ollie’s business is Ollie’s business. And asking me or Walter or Tommy or Sara or whoever about it is rude. And no one deserves to have their privacy invaded like that.”

“I’m not trying to be underhanded, Thea. I just- I want to know what’s going on in Oliver’s life.”

“Then, maybe you shouldn’t have tried so hard to control his life and he’d be willing to talk to you.” She said. “That was bitchier than I intended. I’m asking you, please stop asking us about what Ollie says or thinks about things. You might think they’re innocent questions, but I don’t wanna be in a position where I might be betraying Ollie’s trust by answering your questions. Asking about how he is, that’s one thing, but asking “has he said anything to you about x” is something completely different.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” Moira admitted. 

When class ended, she was somewhat disappointed when Walter and Thea both said that they had existing plans and wouldn’t be available for lunch. As she was walking out of the community center, she heard someone call her name. Jessica Danforth was picking up Madison after class and asked Moira if she was free for lunch.She accepted the invitation to lunch with her old friend.

 

Thea, Roy and Walter arrived outside of Oliver and Felicity’s house. When Thea texted Oliver to let him know they were on their way, he said the timing was pretty much perfect, since they’d be getting there right in time for lunch.

Felicity let them into the house and ushered the trio towards the kitchen where William and Oliver were debating what to make for lunch. Oliver saw them arrive and started typing into his text-to-voice app.

“William, there’s someone I want you to meet. My stepdad Walter.” His app read aloud. William turned around and saw the group standing there. “Walter, this is William.”

“Hello, William. I’m excited to meet you.” Walter said.

“You sound like some of the trains on Thomas !” The boy exclaimed. 

“As in Thomas the Tank Engine? The show about the British trains?” Thea asked. “That’s still on?”

“Yeah! It’s one of my favoritest.” Will said. “Trains are cool. Why does Walter sound like some of Thomas’s friends?”

“Well, the show with Thomas and his friends is made in another country, called the United Kingdom, and that’s where Walter is from.” Felicity said. “I don’t think he knows Thomas or his train pals, but that’s why they sound the same.”

“Okay.” The boy said. 

“William, your dad tells me that you like robots.” Walter said. It had been years since he last interacted with a child this young, but he knew that if he asked about something the child enjoyed, it helped them open up.

“Uh-huh. Robots are my favorite, I like them more than I like trains. When I’m a grown-up, I wanna build robots. Did you know there are robots on Mars? Lisy told me ‘bout them. They’re names are Rover and when I’m big enough to make my own, I’m gonna make one and send it to Pluto.” He said. “Last time I came here, Daddy and Lisy helped me build one. Come see it.” He took Walter’s hand and led him towards the living room, where there was a small chest of toys, one of which was the robot he, Oliver and Felicity had built.

‘Well, I think that went well.’ Oliver said.

“You were worried it wouldn’t?” Thea asked.

‘It’s not that I thought it wouldn’t. I just- I was worried he might have more questions. Like, what a step-dad is. Or how is Walter our step-dad and why isn’t he meeting our mom.’

“His babysitter is from a blended family, so he knows what a step-parent is. I’m sure he’ll ask at some point about your mom, but the whole “what about my other grandma” question hasn’t seemed to occur to him yet.” Felicity remarked. “But how he reacted to Walter’s accent was kinda cute.”

“Definitely.” Roy said with a smile. “So, what’s for lunch?”

Oliver whipped up a quick meal for everyone. When he and Felicity went into the living room to tell William lunch was ready, he was in the middle of giving Walter a demonstration of his robot and telling him all about the things it could do. Walter was listening with rapt attention and a small smile on his face.

“Time for lunch. Why don’t you finish showing Walter everything the robot can do after lunch?” Felicity suggested.

“Okay.” The boy said, walking towards the kitchen.

“If that boy doesn’t end up going to college to study some kind of engineering, I’ll be shocked.” Walter said. “He could easily change his mind about robots in the next 12 years, but he clearly loves engineering.”

“I know. He kinda reminds me of me, not to sound self-absorbed.” Felicity said. “I love seeing that kind of passion in kids. It’s too early to start head-hunting him for an internship, right?”

“Perhaps a few years too soon.” He said.

Over lunch, William and Walter talked a lot more, though William did most of the talking. No one was sure what a five-year-old and 50-something CEO would have to talk about, but the pair clearly hit it off and William was feeling comfortable with Walter, which was good. Everyone else found the whole thing very heart-warming. Walter, Thea and Roy left after about two hours. While they could’ve stayed for longer, they didn’t want to intrude too much on Oliver’s time with William.

‘Don’t make plans for April 20th, Speedy.’ Oliver told his sister as he was walking everyone out. ‘William’s birthday party is that day and he invited you, me and Felicity. And I told Samantha we’d be there.’

“Of course we’re gonna be there.” She said. “And thanks for letting me know. Wait, does this- are you gonna be making the announcement about William beforehand?”

‘Yup. We haven’t decided when yet, but Samantha wants to announce it so that the news will have died down by the time the party happens.’ He said. ‘Because neither of us want that hanging over the party like a rain cloud.’

“That seems fair.” She said.They exchanged goodbyes and Oliver went back inside.

 

Samantha loved her son. She loved being a mom. However, one of the side effects of being a single parent to a young child was that she had very little time to herself. When William wasn’t at school, he was either at home with her or with Courtney, and Samantha never wanted to feel like she was taking advantage of Courtney’s time by asking her to watch William too often.

During William’s first weekend in Starling City with Oliver, Samantha hadn’t made any plans in case something happened. She spent the weekend waiting by the phone in case William needed something, or wanted to come home early or Oliver had questions. 

Since that first weekend had gone so well, she felt more comfortable making plans on Saturday this week. She was meeting with a friend to go shopping for William’s birthday and then having lunch with her. Samantha was having such a nice time with her friend that didn’t keep track of the time and only realized how late it was when the alarm on her phone went off, telling her Oliver would be calling in fifteen minutes.

“I’m sorry, Brooke, I gotta go.” She told her friend. “I didn’t realize what time it was.” They had already eaten and paid for their meal and were currently walking around the plaza where they’d met.

“I’m sure the girl who babysits Will won’t mind staying an extra half hour. Doesn’t she like down the street from you?”

“Will’s not with Courtney. He’s with his dad this weekend. And I’m supposed to be FaceTiming with them in like ten minutes.” She said.

“Just do it here.” Brooke was intrigued, as she had no idea Samantha was even talking to William’s father and she wanted to know what was going on. “No one’s gonna care all that much about you, talking to someone on FaceTime for a few minutes.”

“I can’t. I need privacy.”

“Things between you and Will’s father are that bad?”

“No, they’re not bad. They just- it’s complicated and I can’t get into it right now.” She said. “I’ll talk to you later. This was fun, we should meet up more often.” She rushed towards her car while typing something on her phone.

Brooke watched Samantha go and wondered what the big deal was. What was so important or scary about William’s father that she couldn’t even FaceTime the guy in public? “He’s probably a celebrity or something.” She shrugged before heading to her car. “No, that doesn’t make sense because it would’ve been all over the news already.”

Samantha managed to get home within twenty minutes of her alarm going off, making her only five minutes late for the scheduled call. She sent Oliver a text saying that she was ready and the video call request came a few moments later.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.”

“No worries.” Felicity said. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Buying stuff for Will’s birthday just took a little longer than I expected.” She said. 

“All right. I’ll hand you over to William. There’s something Oliver and I wanna talk to you about when you’re done, so please don’t just end the call after you say goodbye to Will.” She then called William’s name.

William’s smiling face replaced Felicity’s and he waved at his mother. “Hi, Mommy.”

“Hey, Will. Are you having fun?”

“Uh-huh. I got to meet Daddy’s step-dad. He let me tell him all about my robots. He has a funny voice, but he’s really nice. And before that, Daddy and Lisy helped me work on reading!”

“They did?” Oliver had told her that he planned on introducing Walter Steele to William, and assured her that Moira wouldn’t even know about it, so she wasn’t surprised to hear William had met the CEO. 

“Felicity got an advance copy of one of the magazines she’s going to be featured in.” Oliver said using his app. “Will read some of the parts out loud for everyone.”

“I didn’t know all the words, but Daddy and Lisy helped me if I didn’t know.” The boy said. “And now, I know some new words. Like NASA!”

“Sounds fun and educational.” Samantha said. She was happy to hear that Oliver and Felicity were encouraging William’s reading development. He always seemed really excited when he talked about reading, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that she wasn’t the only one encouraging him. “What other fun stuff have you done? Are you gonna do anything really fun later?”

William excitedly told his mother about watching Kung Fu Panda 2 and his plans to build something “really cool” later with Oliver, Felicity and Thea. He then asked her if she was having a fun weekend.

“My weekend has been fun, but I miss you lots.” She told him.

“I miss you lots too!” He said. “I’m having fun with Daddy and Lisy and Auntie Thea, but I miss you. And when I’m at home with you, I miss them.”

“I know. And that’s okay. It’s okay to be happy and sad at the same time.” She said.

She and William talked for a little while longer, before she felt like it was time to wrap things up. “Will, can you give your dad or Lisy the tablet?.”

He nodded and handed the tablet to Felicity. “Mommy wants to talk to you.”

“You said you wanted to talk about something. What is it?” Samantha asked.

“Hold on just a sec.” Felicity said. “Will, why don’t you get some LEGOs out so that we can figure out what to build?”

Samantha watched as Felicity and Oliver moved away from where William was sitting in the living room, so that they could talk more privately. 

“Oliver and I were talking and William’s met Roy and Donna. He’s met Walter and he’s going to meet Tommy and his girlfriend McKenna later today.” She said.  “There are some people we wanna introduce William to during his next visit, but we wanted to talk about it with you first.”

“Who do you plan on introducing Will to?”

“Our friends John and Lyla. And Sara Lance and her-.”

“Sara Lance? Really? You two think that’s a good idea? After all of the soap opera-like drama that happened between Oliver, Sara and Sara’s sister?”

“There’s no drama there and there’s never gonna be any drama between us and Sara. Sara and Nyssa are very in love and there are no lingering feelings on Oliver’s part or hers.” Felicity said.

“Sara is a close friend, but that’s all she is to me. I’ve known her for over fifteen years.” Oliver said. “We dated very briefly, in an incident that we both admit was a mistake. Sara’s in a happy, healthy committed relationship with someone that she loves very dearly.”

“So, Will won’t be exposed to any melodramatics between exes?” Samantha asked.

“No, he will not.” If it was the right time for joking, Oliver would’ve said he was too old for that kind of drama, but it seemed out-of-place at the moment.

“Okay, fine. Will can meet her.”

“That- while you raised a good point about Oliver’s history with Sara, that wasn’t why we wanted to discuss them meeting with you.” Felicity said. “Sara’s dating a woman. And we weren’t sure- we didn’t know if you had talked to Will about same-sex relationships. Because, if you have, we don’t wanna contradict anything you might’ve told him or made him more confused.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it with him. Not because I’ve been avoiding it or because I’m against those kinds of relationships, it just hasn’t come up. I don’t have a problem with him meeting her girlfriend or you talking to him about same-sex relationships, as long as you keep it kid-friendly.”

“Oh, we were going to keep it as simple as possible. Something along the lines of “some boys like girls, but other boys only like boys” and so on.” She said. “He’s a smart five-year-old but he’s still only five. That’s all he kinda needs to know at this age.”

“Well, I’m comfortable with you giving him a similar explanation.” Samantha said. “I need to ask you a weird question. How do you know a man named Barry?” She then gave them a brief rundown of what happened in Jitters.

“Oliver, why don’t you go play with Will and I’ll explain?” Felicity suggested. She went into her home office to have some extra privacy. “We met Barry a few weeks ago. He’s a CSI for the Central City Police. He was in town, looking for help on an old case and we pointed him in the direction of someone who was able to help him. When we met, the three of us kinda just clicked and we’ve become friends.”

“Okay. I just- it threw me off guard, running into someone who knew you in a random coffee shop in Central City and I- I don’t know why I was worried, but I was.” She said. “I’ll let you go. Bye.” She ended the call before anything else could be said.

Felicity thought the exchange was weird, but shrugged it off to go back into the living room where Oliver and William were playing. William had decided he was going to build a spaceship with LEGOs to take his robot to Pluto.

 

“Is it weird that I’m anxious?” Tommy asked McKenna as they were getting ready to head over to Oliver and Felicity’s.

“You feel anxious about meeting William?”

“Yeah. What if he doesn’t like me?” He asked.

“Oliver and Felicity made it seem like William is a pretty friendly kid. Why wouldn’t he like you?”

”I don’t know, but I also never spend much time around kids. The last time I was around a five-year-old, that five-year-old was Thea. What if I say something that makes me look bad?”

“Honey, we’re meeting your best friend’s son, we’re not going to a job interview. Unless you’re mean to him, which you won’t be, or start cursing, you’ll be fine.” She said. “It’s cute that you’re nervous, but I wonder how freaked out you’ll be when you meet my parents.”

“I’m meeting your parents?”

“At some point, yes, I think you should meet my parents. But that’s a conversation for a later time. The point is, meeting William isn’t anything to worry about. It’s going to go well and we’re gonna have fun and that’s all there is to it.”

Tommy seemed less anxious and they left to see Oliver and Felicity. When they arrived, Oliver let them inside, said that William was playing with Felicity and they exchanged pleasantries.

“Okay, where is he? Where’s my previously-unknown nephew?” Tommy asked. “I know, biologically, he’s not really my nephew, but he is Thea’s and since Thea’s my half-sister, that makes William my half-nephew. And no, I’m not taking feedback on that.”

‘Well, I see you as my brother, no qualifier needed, so as far as I’m concerned, you are Will’s uncle. Blood doesn’t make someone family.’ Oliver said. ‘He’s in here with Felicity.’ The group walked to the living room.

Oliver then switched to using his app and began typing. “William, there are two people I want you to meet.” The app read aloud. “This is my best friend Tommy. Tommy, this is William.”

“Hey, William.”

“Hi!” Will said. “Who is she?” He pointed to McKenna.

“My name’s McKenna.” The detective said. “I’m a friend of your dad’s and I’m Tommy’s girlfriend.”

“Hi.” The boy said. “This is Rick.” He pointed towards something on the ground, but they weren’t sure what he was pointing to.

“Rick is William’s robot, the one we built together the last time Will stayed with us.” Felicity said to answer the unspoken question.

“Yeah, Lisy said I could give him the name and I picked Rick. Rick the Robot.”

“And what fun things can Rick do?” Tommy asked the boy.

“Lots of stuff. Come see!” He said. He rushed over to where Tommy and McKenna stood and ushered them to the couch so that they could have a good view of the robot as he showed it off.

As he watched William show off the different skills of his robot, Tommy wondered what he’d been so worried about. William was a great kid and it was really easy to find something to talk to the boy about.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

-----------------------------------
Today is this fic's 3rd birthday. I want to thank everyone who has shown this story love over the last three years and I look forward to the future of this fic. (I'll stop being all sappy and sentimental now)

Chapter 141

Summary:

Felicity gives Oliver an idea, Joe West gets some news and Nyssa makes a decision.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After spending a few hours getting to know William, Tommy and McKenna left because it was getting close to the boy’s bedtime. The couple didn’t want to overstay their welcome and could tell the boy was getting pretty tired, even though he was trying to act like he wasn’t sleepy at all. They said their goodbyes and left.

“He’s a sweet kid.” Tommy remarked as they were getting into the car.

“Yeah, he is.” She agreed. Not only was William a sweet kid, but watching Oliver be a father was cute to see. And watching Tommy fall into the role of “Uncle Tommy” brought up feelings McKenna hadn’t expected to feel.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy saw his girlfriend give him a strange look, but the look was gone when he turned his head. “What was that look for?”

“It’s nothing.” She said. “Just- I knew from Donna, Thea and Roy that seeing Oliver being a dad was adorable to see, but they kinda undersold it. He’s a completely different Oliver when William’s around, yet not different at all.” She was also astounded by how good Tommy seemed to be with kids, which made her wonder if he wanted kids. He’d be a good dad, but their relationship was too new to have a talk about kids and she didn’t think now was a good time to ask. Not only was the relationship new, but Tommy was still coming to terms with the truth about his own father, and she had a feeling that any discussion about kids would lead to Tommy wondering “what if I end up being just like Malcolm” and that wasn’t fair to Tommy.

“I know what you mean.” He said. “That was- everyone who knew Ollie before the Gambit kinda knew that he had always had different “Ollies” he showed people. Like, there was the Ollie who was partying all the time and being kinda a jerk, and then there was the Ollie he’d be when he was just around people whose opinions he actually cared about. The way Oliver was acting when he was interacting with William and being a dad? It reminded me a lot of the way he’d be around Thea when she was little and it would just be Ollie, Thea and me, doing whatever little kid activity she wanted to do.”

“I don’t think I ever got to meet that “Ollie” back then.” She said. “I wish I had.” She wondered how things might’ve been different, pre-Gambit, if Oliver had been allowed to be the person he really was and not had to deal with everyone else’s expectations of him.

 

After William’s call to Samantha to say goodnight, and another robot-themed bedtime story from Oliver, the boy soon fell fast asleep. Felicity and Oliver retreated to their own room to talk for a little bit. It was a little too early for it to be their bedtime, but they wanted to be nearby in case William needed anything.

“Have you ever thought about writing those down?” Felicity said when they were in their room.

‘Writing what down?’

“The bedtime stories you tell William, about robots.” She said. 

‘They’re just silly stories I make up as I go.’

“But they’re good silly stories. And it doesn’t matter how you come up with the story.” She said.  “I’m not an expert on kid’s literature, but I think, if you were to write down those stories and make them into children’s books, or even just one book with a collection of stories, you could probably be pretty successful.”

‘You really think other people would want to read my stories to their children?’

“Yeah. Will likes the three you’ve told him so far. And your stories are- well, to be blunt, they’re not boring for adults like some other kid’s stories. Like, the few you’ve told Will have important lessons, the one tonight had a lesson about being considerate of other people’s feelings, and you seem to have fun telling them, which means they aren’t boring.”

‘I’ll think about it.’ He said. She had some excellent points, and he liked the bedtime stories he was telling to William. It also occurred to him that, if he decided to publish a book, he could donate the proceeds to a children’s charity or something, since he didn’t need the money. Felicity had given him a lot to think about. ‘Right now, I’m just trying to figure out what to get Will for his birthday. Any ideas?’

“Well, we could get him another robot kit, or something similar.” She said. “Or some books about science, since he likes science. There are a lot of books out there about space. Toys are also an option. It’s- we’ve got plenty of options, too many options to be honest, we just need to pick one. Or two or three.”

‘We do have a few birthdays we need to make up for.’ He said casually.

 

Sunday passed in a bit of a blur. Oliver, Felicity and William had breakfast, Felicity taught Will a few more ASL signs and they played for several hours, but all too soon, it was time for them to take the train back to Central City so that William could go home. No one wanted the weekend to already be over, but time seemed not to want to stop for them. To make things even more bittersweet, the train ride passed quicker than Oliver and Felicity thought it would and they were pulling into the Central City train station. Samantha met them at the agreed upon drop-off spot and William said his goodbyes to Oliver and Felicity.

“We’ll see you on Wednesday, okay?” Felicity told the boy as they broke apart from their goodbye hug.

“See you then. Bye-bye.” He said. He took his mother’s hand and said he was ready to go.

Rather than turn and leave, Samantha stood there for a moment. She seemed to be debating something. “Moira sent me a letter. I’ve read it but I haven’t responded to it.”

“We…didn't know she had done that.” Felicity said.

“I know. She- I’m not gonna share exactly what she said, but she made it clear that, as far as she knew, Oliver was unaware of this.” She gestured around them, indicating her and William. “Which means that you both kept your word not to tell her and- and I wanna thank you for that. I don’t- trust isn’t easy for me, but her letter proves that you were truthful with me, and I appreciate that.”

Felicity just smiled. There was nothing she or Oliver could really say to that. They had told the truth and Samantha seemed to be more ready to trust them, which was what they wanted. “Have a good week.”

“Yo- you too.” She said. “Bye, Oliver.”

He waved goodbye. Samantha and William turned and made their way out of the train station. Felicity wrapped her arms around Oliver as they watched Samantha and William leave. Once they were out of sight, they turned back to where the trains were departing and waited for their train to start boarding.

 

“I think I know what I want to do.” Nyssa declared as she and Sara were getting ready for bed after a long, quiet night of patrol.

“About your father? I thought you and Ollie were-.”

“No, not in regards to that.” She said. “Oliver and I agreed to talk either tomorrow or possibly Tuesday about telling the others and to bounce ideas off of each other.”

“Ok, so what are we talking about?” Sara asked, completely confused. Nyssa didn’t always share what she was thinking, so sometimes, she’d make a declaration that she’d reached a decision, while Sara had no idea what she had been trying to decide until that point.

“You have a job, beloved. I currently do not. While I have no need for a job, I do need something to do with my time. I can only do so much training and read so many books and watch so much day time television before my mind turns to mush.” She said.

“How are you going to get a job? There are all these forms you fill out when you apply for a job and after you get one. You don’t- the League is completely off-the-grid, so you don’t- do you even have a birth certificate?” Sara wasn’t concerned about Nyssa working, she just wasn’t entirely sure, logistically, that would work.

“I don’t have an authentic birth certificate, no. However, the forged one my mother obtained was sufficient for me to get a passport. And with the genuine passport, I can obtain the other documents I might need to get a job. Or, I could always volunteer my time, eliminating the need for things like a Social Security card, as I wouldn’t be getting paid.”

“But you figured out what kind of work, or volunteer stuff, you’d wanna do?”

“Yes.” She said. “I would like to offer my translation services. I speak multiple languages, some that aren’t commonly spoken in this area, but that doesn’t mean that no one speaks them. There has to be some company out there that contracts translators, or community outreach program that pairs non-native English speakers with people who speak their language for help learning the language or even filling out documents.”

“That’s not a bad idea. What prompted this? It just- this doesn’t seem like a job that just occurs to you on a random day.” She supposed Oliver’s situation might’ve had something to do with it, but Nyssa’s tone implied this might be something deeper.

“I have seen first hand how difficult it can be to get by in a place where you don’t speak the language. And I’ve witnessed how it can put people into danger.” She said. “That’s a story I’ve never told you, and it’ll be some time before I’ll ever be ready to tell you. Because it is about my mother, before you ask why I need more time before I’m ready to tell it.” In the time since Sara and Nyssa had gotten together, Nyssa had told very few stories about her mother. She’d tell her facts about the woman, what she looked like, some of her favorite things, but Sara had only heard two or three stories about Amina Raatako.

“Okay. I don’t know who to ask about something like that. Do you think that’s something the people who run the Arrow Initiative might know? Or maybe someone at the SCPD?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, so I’ll start asking around.” Nyssa said. “Do you think it is a good idea? A good fit for me?”

“Well, I think you’d kick ass at pretty much anything, but yeah, I think it’s a good idea. It’s something different from what you’ve been doing for your father and- I don’t wanna make a big thing out of it, because I don’t think you want me to, but I think having something that’s yours, that has nothing to do with your father, is gonna be good for you.”

“I do as well.”

 

Barry had spent the weekend practically walking on air. He had finally accomplished the goal he’d spent most of his life trying to achieve. The CCPD was reopening the murder case of Nora Allen. He, his father and most importantly his mother, might finally get the justice that had eluded them for so long. 

Of course, the feeling of bliss couldn’t last. Barry arrived at the precinct on Monday and ran into Captain Singh in the elevator. They were alone in the elevator, which meant they had some privacy. “I’ve been given the go-ahead to tell West and Chyre about Chief Brody’s decision. I’ll be telling them this morning, so that they aren’t blindsided if Wyrick’s detectives decide they wanna talk to them today.”

“Okay, If you need me, I’ll be hiding in my lab.”

“I’m going to strongly encourage them not to speak to you about this. I know West being your foster dad kinda makes it feel like I’m asking the impossible, but-.”

“I’ve made it clear to Joe that my mom’s case is the one thing that I’m not gonna talk to him about. As long as I hold to that idea, and I plan to, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“In theory, yeah. But reality’s a whole other story.”

“I know, but when I took that file to Starling City, I promised myself I’d see this through to the end and I plan to.” Barry said.

The elevator finally reached the floor where Singh’s office was and he exited. Barry made his way up to his lab and got to work at the backlog of evidence that was waiting for him.

Singh managed to get through some of the paperwork sitting on his desk before both Joe West and Fred Chyre arrived at the precinct. David Singh had never been the type to procrastinate. Just because he didn’t want to do something, it didn’t justify him putting the task off. This trait of his had led to plenty of problems in his personal life, but it made him a good captain. As soon as he knew the two detectives had arrived, he told them to come into his office.

“Chief Brody has decided to reopen Nora Allen’s murder case. He’s assigned the investigation to the 5th precinct and some detectives will be coming to speak with you at some point.” Singh said bluntly. There was no use in beating around the bush or trying to hide which case was being reopened or why another precinct was handling it.

“Allen went all the way to the Chief?” Detective Chyre asked. Joe said nothing, completely blindsided by the news.

“No, he came to me. He brought the case file, along with new findings. Mostly, he went out and he got other opinions on what was in the file. And he made a compelling argument, which convinced me to at least look at what he’d gathered. And I went to Brody and suggested he have the case reopened.”

“What was your reason for doing that?”

“Allen made a very good argument, and once I started to read the file, I realized there were some inconsistencies.” He said. “And I was pretty sure that I wasn’t the first person he showed the findings to, so this was going to happen one way or another.”

“And what findings did he show you, exactly? Any tests that he ran himself can’t be-.”

“Barry’s too smart to do something like that.” Joe said. “He- he would’ve gotten someone else, someone completely unaffiliated with the department, to run any tests. Because he knows that anything he puts forward as evidence would be scrutinized more heavily.”

“I can’t get into specifics, per the request of Brody and Captain Wyrick, but West is right. Barry went to investigators in another state and asked them to look the file over, and brought back reports on what they said. The conclusions they came to from what was presented. In their professional opinion.”

“And it didn’t match what we found?” Fred asked.

“If their opinions matched yours, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Singh said. “We’d be having a slightly different one. Because even if the detectives Wyrick sends find Dr. Allen responsible, the case may not have been properly handled.”

“Hey now. We did-.” Fred started to say.

“I’m not accusing you of anything, Fred. The fact is that Joe, you shouldn’t have been allowed to stay on this case since you knew the victim. It presents a conflict of interest, which is something we’ll need to face the music for.”

“What happens if Allen decides he doesn’t want the case reopened?”

“The case he’s spent thirteen years trying to get reopened? Not likely.” Singh said. “Even if he did, to quote my homophobic uncle who I haven’t talked to in nearly two decades, the shit’s out of the horse. Now, I can’t tell you not to talk to Barry Allen. This is America, you can talk to whoever you want. As your superior officer, however, I strongly suggest that you don’t discuss this with him at all. This is going to play out how it’s going to play out and the department’s already gonna look bad, we don’t need it to get any worse. Is that understood, detectives?”

“Yeah, fine.” Fred said. “I’ll leave him alone and not talk to him about it.”

“West?” Joe had said very little, and Singh didn’t know if that was because he was angry at news, in shock or both. In either case, he needed Joe to acknowledge the suggestion. 

“I won’t talk about the case with Barry.”

“All right. That’s all we needed to discuss. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of work to do.”

Chyre practically stormed out of Singh’s office, unhappy by the turn of events. Joe didn’t storm out, but was upset nonetheless. He was tempted to ask the captain a few questions, but couldn’t find the words. Rather than head back to his desk, Joe went down to the lobby of the building and decided to make a call.

“Hey, baby.” He said when Iris answered the phone. “You got a minute?”

“Yeah, Dad. What’s up?”

“You know how Barry never believed that his father killed his mother? Well, he-.”

“Got the case reopened, I know.” She said. “He told me about that.”

“You knew this was going on?”

“I kinda- I encouraged him to go to on his trip, when he asked if he should go, to get an outside opinion.” She said. “I know you’re probably mad but-.”

“There’s no “probably” about it.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll have to be mad at both of us then.” She said. “Because it was something Barry needed to do. We both know that he’s never believed the CCPD’s version of what happened and how hard that’s been for him to live with. It’s been eating him up inside since his dad was convicted. So, when he told me that he wanted to go to Starling City and ask someone there for their opinion, I said he should. Because he’s my best friend and feels like he still needs answers.”

“That’s why he went to Starling City? I thought he was visiting a friend.”

“No, he went to have someone review the file. I don’t think he had any friends in Starling until he actually went there and made some.” She said. “Look, I- this might be hard to hear, but don’t think of this as Barry doing this to you. He’s doing it for himself and for his mom. I gotta go or I’ll be late for class. Talk to you later.”

After Iris ended the call, Joe wasn’t sure how to feel. He was angry. He felt blindsided. He was disappointed by how things were going, and a small part of him was doubtful. Barry believing his dad was innocent was one thing, but Singh seemed to believe it as well, or at least have a doubt, and so did the Chief of Police. So, for the first time in years, Joe started to doubt as well. What if Barry had been right all along? What if he and Fred Chyre had missed something back in 2000?

 

Slade knew there was a lot that needed to be discussed and decided before the Coast Guard or FBI went to Lian Yu. It would be weeks, if not longer, before they even scheduled a day to leave. While the departure was a ways off, it didn’t mean that there was nothing he needed to do before then.

Only three people alive, as far as the task force knew, had been to that island. Only two of them were willing to talk about the island itself. Dinan and her colleagues could glean things about the island from Oliver’s story, but what he had told them was less about Lian Yu itself and more about the people who’d been there. Slade, and Sara for that matter, were much more willing to sit down and talk about the weather on Lian Yu or specifics of the terrain.

Dinan wanting to know more about the terrain was how Slade found himself sitting in the bullpen late Monday morning. “The shore of the island is rocky, which is why large boats don’t tend to go there. They’d have to anchor pretty far offshore and then get in a dingy or something to reach the shore. Oh, and it’s not a white sandy beach when you land, just lots of big rocks for everyone to trip over.”

“And what’s the terrain like once you get past the shore?” Dinan asked.

“Not much better. That island was used as a prison for a number of years for a reason. Once you make it past the “beach” it’s basically just forests and caves. Fyers cleared out an area in the interior for his base, but it’s probably overgrown by now. Same is probably true for the spot where my plane crashed. The forest is hard enough to navigate, without needing to look out for traps or landmines.”

“Hard to navigate how?”

“Well, there are sections of the island where everything looks the same. Every tree looks like every other tree and without the sun, because it gets very cloudy, it can be hard to orient yourself and know if you’re still heading in the direction you’re supposed to be going in. There are also points where there are really steep drop-offs or inclines. I saw at least three of Fyers’ men fall to their deaths because they lost their footing, go tumbling down the hill and hit their heads on a rock.”

“But you know how to get from the shore to where your plane crashed or where Fyers built his camp?”

“Yeah. Island’s only dangerous if you don’t know your way around.” He said. There was a pause. “How many people are we bringing back?”

“You think we’ll lose agents on-?”

“That’s not what I meant. Like I told you, if everyone listens to what I say in terms of navigating the island, we shouldn’t lose any agents.” He said. “I meant how many bodies are we bringing back? Just Robert Queen’s? Or are we also going there for Fyers and Ivo and the rest of those bastards?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet. We don’t know how many bodies there are yet.” Dinan didn’t want to say that there were some in the government who wanted Fyers’ body retrieved as “proof of death” or wanted to identify “Smith”. “Why do you ask?”

“Because Yao Fei Gulong and Shado deserve a better resting place than Purgatory.” He said. “I know Oliver’s gonna say the same thing and probably gonna ask if there’s a way to bring them back here too. Or if not here, at least take them off the island so they can be buried on the mainland.”

“Do they have any family?”

“Shado spoke of a twin sister named Mei.  I don’t know if your buddy at the State Department can find out if she’s alive or find her, but if he can’t, there’s gotta be a way that we can bring Shado and Yao Fei here.”

“I’ll find out what the State Department liaison can tell me about finding Ms. Gulong. The documentation from the Chinese government would give us leeway to remove their remains and bring them to the US. Whether or not that’s enough to be able to bury them is another matter.”

“Keep me informed. I know the kid’s gonna ask, when it occurs to him that we’ll also be at Shado and Yao Fei’s graves.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 142

Summary:

Felicity shares a bit about her past, Oliver makes a confession and Barry talks to someone he's been very eager to speak with.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity and Lyla went into Applied Sciences on Monday morning, expecting it to be a rather routine day. They spent their drive into the office talking about their weekends. Felicity told Lyla about the fun she and Oliver had with William and as well as give her an update on where things stood between Oliver and Samantha in terms of custody. Lyla listened with interest and noted that things were going even better than she had ever expected, given how Oliver and Samantha had ended things when the woman got pregnant.  

When Felicity asked about Lyla’s weekend, not wanting to be rude, the former ARGUS agent didn’t have that much to say. She and John had spent some time on Saturday with Carly and AJ and had Sunday mostly to themselves. She also told her a little bit about what the team had been up to over the weekend. Slade and Lyla had come across evidence that the small Bratva outfit in Starling was up to something, but they weren’t sure what yet. Thea had also been working on polishing her hacking skills and gave herself an “assignment” over the weekend. She wanted to find out what she could about Daniel Brickwell and Ricardo Diaz. After talking about it with the others, she picked those two men because it was safer and easier, especially for someone with her skill level, to dig up info about someone whose identity she already knew and was in custody as opposed to some new adversary. Brickwell was in prison for Rebecca Merlyn’s murder and Diaz was awaiting trial for the nightclub incident, but the team all knew there were probably other crimes each man had committed, but hadn’t been charged with.

“I’m not surprised she picked Brickwell and Diaz.” Felicity said. “She- there are plenty of people in SCPD custody who’d make good “subjects” for her assignment,  but Diaz took one of her friends hostage and I don’t think anyone’s confused by her also looking into Brickwell.”

“Do you think she should stop? Pick someone else?”

“No. She- I got into the hacking that I do because I wanted to find my dad, before I knew what he’d done. It was a personal thing for me. Because the person I was trying to investigate was personal, I wasn’t willing to give up when I hit that first roadblock. Thea’s doing the same thing. She picked people that she wanted to dig into, for personal reasons, and that drive to find out what else they’ve done is gonna keep her invested. And since both are in custody, it's safer. For her and everyone else.”

“Meaning they aren’t active threats and can’t retaliate against her being investigated.”

“Exactly. And there’s also no chance of some innocent person being falsely accused of committing the crimes they’ve committed.” She said. “Which is something that I almost did when I was a hacktivist and led to me distancing myself from the other hacktivists I hung out with.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t wanna get into what I was digging into this guy for, but it was a serious crime and the evidence was all over the dark web, it was bad, and if I’d gone through with exposing him, he would’ve gone to prison for the rest of his life. Only, I wanted to be sure I had the right guy and it turns out, someone else was behind it and the real culprit was trying to throw attention off himself. So, I made sure the right person was held accountable.” She said. “Some people disagreed with that approach and thought I should’ve gone through with it anyway, because “even if he didn’t do this, he’s done something” which is complete BS.”

“Does this have to do with Cooper?”

“Yup.” She said. “I kinda- can we stop talking about this?” They were nearing Applied Sciences. Felicity didn’t want to be in a bad mood when she got there, which tended to happen when she thought about that time in her life.

“Yeah, no worries.” Lyla said. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“I’m hoping it’s gonna be a boring, mundane day in the lab.” She said. “All we can really do now is wait anyway, so I’m probably gonna be spending most of the day at a computer, typing up results or working on our FDA proposal.”

They went into Applied Sciences and greeted Ray and Curtis. Everyone talked about their weekend and it seemed like everyone had a good weekend all around.

“Did you build any more robots?” Curtis asked Felicity.

“No, not this weekend. Instead, we worked on reading and William got to meet Walter, along with Oliver’s friends Tommy and his girlfriend McKenna.”

“How did that go?” Ray asked.

“He was very curious about why Walter sounded like the trains on Thomas & Friends. And meeting Tommy and McKenna went well.” She said. “Walter and I are debating when it’s appropriate to start head-hunting him for a summer internship. Five-years-old is a little young, but the kid loves robots, so…”

“Maybe wait until he’s tall enough to see over the tables in the lab.” Curtis joked.

 

Samantha felt a sense of peace that she hadn’t felt before when she went to see Camille Ashton late Monday morning. She wasn’t entirely sure why. Camille was a nice person, but Samantha had felt a sense of dread nearly everytime she needed to speak to the woman. She wondered if she’d been associating Camille with William being taken away subconsciously and that made her dread seeing the woman, but knowing she had to. She was no longer concerned about losing William. Oliver hadn’t kicked down her front door and demanded William no longer be allowed around her. He hadn’t done any of the things she feared he would in order to get back at her. He had kept his promises to her, which meant she felt like she could trust him. 

She supposed the sense of peace could be because she and Oliver were nearing a final agreement on William, or because they had a set deadline for telling the public. She knew that she should panic over her whole life being about to change, but there was a sense of freedom that came with the announcement being inevitable. It was unavoidable, it was going to happen soon, but unlike all of her worst fears, she was part of the decision.

“I was surprised to get your call.” Camille said when Samantha entered her office. “When I saw you last week, I was fairly sure we didn’t have much left to discuss.”

“What’s still up in the air?” She asked. “Oliver and I haven’t signed anything, I know that, but it was my understanding that we’re pretty close to that point.”

“We are. Eliana Sanchez has the latest version of the agreement, with luck, it’s the final version and the only edits needed are grammatical, which just needs signatures. After that, all that’s left is putting Oliver on William’s birth certificate and making the announcement. She sent me a boiler plate of that. I was going to email it to you so you could look it over.”

“Boiler plate?”

“Sorry, that’s legal jargon. It’s a generic document that has all of the basic things that should be included, but can be edited and expounded upon.”

“They have a template for this situation?”

“No, they likely made one, but announcements about family law matters are fairly easy and straightforward to write.” She said.  “So, what brings you to my office?”

“Oliver, Felicity and Thea are coming to William’s birthday party on April 20th.” Samantha said. “We need to make the announcement before then. Preferably at least a week before then so that the interest will die down before the party.”

“And Oliver’s on the same page? I know Ms. Sanchez can confirm but-.”

“I talked to him on Friday and that’s what we agreed on. If he hasn’t told her already, he’ll probably be telling her in the next few days.”

“Okay. Let’s look over the template she sent over making the announcement then.” Camille said. “Since we need to decide about any changes sooner rather than later.” She started flipping through some files on her desk. She handed Samantha a sheet of paper.

Samantha took the document. “On behalf of both Oliver Queen and Samantha Clayton, we would like to announce that....” She kept reading. “This is only, like, five sentences.”

“It doesn’t need to be long and, in fact, it’s better if it’s short.” She said. “The key points need to be made: you and Oliver have a son, you two have come to an agreement in terms of caring for your son and you both are asking that the public respect your privacy and William’s. Is there anything you want to add to it?”

“Would it be better or worse for everyone if we say that Oliver only learned about his son after he returned from…..being away?”

“Depends on how we phrase it. I’m sure Oliver, his lawyers and probably some PR person will be having the same conversation that we are.”

“Okay. I don’t- I don’t want everyone thinking I’m a monster who kept this from him, I was young and scared. But it’s not like he knew and didn’t care. I lied to him.”

“I’m not an expert on this type of thing, but what’s probably gonna happen is we’re gonna either not comment at all, or the wording’s gonna be very “middle of the road” like saying William was conceived prior to Oliver boarding the Queen’s Gambit but Oliver only met him recently.”

 

Daniel Correll sat back in his chair. Oliver, Eliana Sanchez and Roy had just finished informing him of the situation with Samantha and the upcoming press interest that would result in the public learning Oliver had a son. It was not what he was expecting to hear when Oliver scheduled a meeting with him today.

“Well, first, I want to thank you for the head’s up. It’s always better to be in front of a story like this.” He said. “Normally, I’d ask why you feel the need to tell me, but I’m not naive. Making the announcement yourself means you control when the story gets out there, as opposed to some tabloid digging it up. Tell me about the mother.”

‘In what sense?’ Oliver asked. ‘She’s made mistakes, but she’s not a bad person. I want it to be clear that Samantha and I are on the same side. We just wanna take care of our son and be good parents.’

“No, no. I get that. But you’re a celebrity, of sorts, and people are gonna want answers about you and her because they’re nosy.” He said. “No one needs to know that she hid this from you, but if someone asks “why are we hearing about this now” I need to know what to say.”

“Mr. Queen is making this announcement because he and Ms. Clayton believe now is the appropriate time.” Eliana said. “Prior to then, they wanted to discuss the matter and come to an agreement in private, to avoid rumors and speculation.”

“Works for me.” Correll said, making a note. “Now, I need to ask about your mother and Felicity.”

‘If you could say as little about my mother as possible, it would be appreciated. She doesn’t know that I know about William and Samantha has made her wishes about my mom clear.’

“I like to hedge my bets and someone, at some point, is going to ask why Samantha wasn’t at your funeral or why she didn’t contact Mrs. Queen after her son was born. I can’t tell them the real reason, given how it would appear, but I need an answer.”

‘Could you say that Samantha didn’t feel comfortable doing that? Or something to that effect? I know why she didn’t do that, but if she had, everyone would’ve ripped her apart, saying she just wanted attention.’

“Perhaps. Give me some time and I can send over a list of possible responses to most of the questions we might get.” Correll said, mostly to Oliver’s lawyer. “Now, about Felicity. Some people, like Susan Williams, are gonna try to turn this into a love triangle or claim Samantha’s trying to break you two up. Felicity has met William?”

‘Yes. And they get along really well. She loves him as much as I do.’

“Do Samantha and Felicity have a good relationship?”

“They’ve only met in person like twice.” Roy said. “How can they have any kind of relationship?”

‘They’re civil towards one another. They get along, but aren’t close. Because it’s an awkward situation.’ Oliver said. 

“And they don’t have to be close. They have to be respectful of each other, and it sounds like they are.” He said. “The press likes a juicy story and I don’t wanna give them that. You and Ms. Clayton had a relationship, it ended but you have a child together. If there’s no drama between her and Felicity, and there’s no love triangle  then people will quickly lose interest, which is what we want. People wanna read about break-ups and love triangles and messy divorces and cheating, not a man in a loving, committed relationship who happened to have a son, with a woman he ended things with shortly after the son was conceived. We want to be as boring as possible.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Eliana Sanchez said. 

“Now, I know you mentioned Mrs. Queen doesn’t know about this. Who does know?”

‘Pretty much everyone I’m close to. Walter, Tommy, Thea, Donna Smoak, Sara Lance and her girlfriend. Digg and his girlfriend Lyla. A few other people.’ Oliver didn’t mention Slade because he knew Correll would ask who Slade was and that would lead to Oliver explaining that he wasn't alone on the island. Today wasn’t the day for him to tell that story. ‘Walter, Tommy, Thea, Donna, Roy and Tommy’s girlfriend have met Will.’

“Okay. I think that’s all I need to know.” He said. “Have a nice day.”

Everyone said their farewells and the group began to depart.

“I’ll be in touch about the statement we’ll be releasing.” Eliana said. “I’m no PR expert, so I want your opinion on it before we release it.”

“Of course.”

 

Barry had been anxiously sitting in his lab for most of the day. He had gotten some work done, but he was nervous about Joe or Detective Chyre storming in and wanting to talk to him about his mother’s case. Captain Singh said he’d ask the two detectives to leave him alone, but everyone knew that he couldn’t make them do anything.

Barry wasn’t unhappy with his decision. He wasn't second-guessing what he’d done. He knew he, as the murder victim’s son, had a right to request the investigation be reopened. He knew he’d made the request for the right reasons. He just didn’t like confrontation and knew he couldn’t avoid one of them confronting him at one point or another. 

After a few hours passed, Barry felt like he could relax. No one had stormed into his lab and demanded he explain himself. However they felt, whatever explanation they might want from him, they weren’t handling it today. For him, that was a good thing. They would have some time to calm down if they were angry and the shock would wear off. Barry knew they were reasonable people and hoped they could act like adults even if they were upset.

Barry was just finishing up the DNA analysis on some hair strands when there was a knock on the open door of his lab. He looked up to see a man and a woman he didn’t know standing there.

“Barry Allen?” The woman said.

“Yup. That’s me.”

“I’m Detective Metcalfe. This is Detective Boldt.” She said. “We’re from the 5th precinct. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“I do.” He said. “Do you mind if we get out of here, though? I’ve been cooped up in my lab all day.” Barry wanted to get out of his lab, but not to stretch his legs. He wasn’t quite comfortable talking about his mom’s death where he could be overheard.

“Not at all.” Boldt said. “Let’s go for a walk.”

 

Eobard Thawne frowned at the sight before him. He had taken to watching Barry Allen’s lab from the hidden camera feed. He didn’t understand why Barry had left his lab with the two detectives.

“Gideon, why are two detectives, from a completely different precinct, asking to speak with Barry Allen?”

“I do not know.”

“Did Allen ever work at the 5th precinct?”

“My records indicate that he did not, and never does.” Gideon answered.

“So, why do they wanna talk to him?”

“I do not know. It could be something rather unimportant. Perhaps his apartment was burglarized or he was mugged and they are investigating the incident. Or he witnessed something we are unaware of.”

“He left his lab. Almost like he knew someone was listening.”

“Many people come into his lab unannounced. And you have seen the way some members of the department treat him, because he’s “just some CSI”. If he was mugged, he may feel somewhat embarrassed about it and not want to be overheard.” Gideon reasoned. Gideon enjoyed seeing Thawne sweat. It felt satisfying.

 

Barry and the two detectives left the precinct and made their way down the sidewalk. The precinct was near a park, so they went to the park and took a seat on one of the benches. “So, do you wanna ask me about my memory from that night or is this about the second opinions I got on the evidence?” He asked.

“The reports you got speak for themselves and we’ll be reaching out to those people over the coming days.” Boldt said. “And, while we appreciate the work you’ve done, we were brought onto this case to be a fresh set of eyes, so we shouldn’t discuss the evidence or reports with you. Helps us be objective.”

“Tell us what you remember from the night your mother died, when you’re ready.” Metcalfe said.

“I’m ready when you are.” Barry said. “I, uh, I should probably warn you that some of it’s gonna sound crazy. It’s why no one believed me when it first happened.”

“All the same, we wanna hear what you remember from that night, crazy or not.” She said.

“It was late, like after I had gone to bed.” He said. “I heard yelling and something happening downstairs, so I went to see what it was. The door had been broken open. I found my mom in the living room. She was still alive but-.”

“But what?”

“It was- it looked like there was a lightning and wind storm inside the house. These two bolts of lightning were around my mom, like circling her and she was trapped between them. The wind kept blowing, sending pieces of mail and random bits flying. My dad ran up behind me, then pushed me behind him, like he was protecting me. Mom, she- it couldn’t have just been the wind or lightning or something, because she tried to get out of the living room. I saw her try to get up and I-.” He stopped for a moment, collecting himself. “My dad turned to me and told me to run. He said he’d get my mom out, but he wanted to make sure I was safe first. I didn’t wanna go and then-.”

“And then?”

“It felt like I blinked and I was suddenly three blocks over.” He said. “I ran back home and my mom was….gone.” He said. 

“None of this sounds crazy.” Boldt said.

“I saw something, a figure, in the lightning that night. It looked like a person. No one ever believed me. They thought it was the trauma talking. They thought I made up the man in the lightning as some kind of scapegoat, to exonerate my dad. They said my dad took me out of the house, so that I wouldn’t see what he did, and then went back and killed her. Or I ran like he told me to, and stopped a few streets over because I got lost, and then ran home.” He said. “My dad didn’t kill my mom. He could- not enough time had passed between when he told me to leave and when- even if I thought my dad could do it, which I don’t, there wasn’t enough time for him to have caused the injuries that she had.”

Neither detective commented or asked about the man in the lightning. Barry had been a child, so it was possible that trauma caused him to remember things differently. It didn’t mean that no one was there, it just meant that, if someone else had been there, Barry didn’t recall what the person looked like.

“You said there wouldn’t have been enough time. What do you mean?” Metcalfe asked.

“I remember- it's weird that this detail sticks out but when my dad was yelling for me to run out of the house, the clock said it was 10:19pm. When I came back, it was a little after 10:30.” Henry Allen would’ve had a very small window to kill Nora. “And you’ve looked at the crime scene photos, so you know what her injuries looked like.”

“I know this was a long time ago, Barry, but do you remember if there was anything going on with either of your parents at the time?”

“They were happy. They weren’t fighting or anything. We were just a normal family until that night.”

“That’s good to know, but that’s not what I meant. Was there someone who was mad at your parents? Did your father have a difficult patient or was there a patient’s family that was upset over losing a loved one? Was your mom having a problem at work?”

“I don’t think so. At least, I don’t remember my dad saying anything about being stressed. Or my mom for that matter.” He said. “I was also eleven, so...yeah. Do you have any other questions about that night?”

“Not at the moment.” Boldt said. “We’ll reach out again if anything comes up.” He handed Barry a business card. “If you think of anything else, give me a call.”

“Have you interviewed my dad?”

“Not yet. We’ll be interviewing him later this week. He wants his lawyer to be present and his lawyer wasn’t available until later in the week.” He said. “Have a good one, Allen.”

“Thanks.” Barry said before heading back towards the precinct.

 

After his meeting at Queen Consolidated, Oliver stopped by Felicity’s old house. Telling his lawyers and QC’s PR department about the decisions he and Samantha had made regarding William was the biggest item on his “to-do” list this week, but it wasn’t the only item.

When Nyssa had told him the truth about her mission, she had asked for his help. He had promised to help her in any way that he could. He hated to break a promise, or even come close to breaking a promise, so he was dead set on making sure he didn’t let Nyssa’s problem fall by the wayside or be forgotten. Nyssa answered the door and let him inside.

‘We agreed, somewhat vaguely, that we’d talk about your mission this week.’ He said. ‘And I don’t like putting things off, so I’m hoping you have some time to talk now.’

“I have no plans for the remainder of the day.” She said. “And I agree, we should talk. If not about a solution to my….problem, then at least about how to tell the others.”

‘What are you comfortable with telling them? How much are you willing to share right now?’ He asked. ‘They’ll understand if you’re not willing to give them the whole story right away.’

“I don’t want to hide anything from them. They are my friends.”

‘Yes, they are, but this isn’t an easy situation. It may not be easy for you to tell them everything in one sitting. I know it’s not the same thing, but I wasn’t able to tell them what had happened to me all at once. There are parts of my time away that no one, not even Felicity, knows about. Not because I want to keep those things hidden, but because they’re hard to talk about.’ He said. ‘So, what or rather how much do you wanna tell them?’

“I’ll most likely stick to the basics. My father has given me an impossible task and I cannot return home unless I complete it. My father knew the task was impossible when he gave it to me and doesn’t seem to care that, as a result, he’ll probably never see me again.” She said. “I’m undecided on whether I should explain what the task is.”

‘That’s up to you and if you decide not to tell them, or to wait and tell them in a few weeks, I’m going to respect that.’ He said. ‘When you first told me about your mission, I asked you what you wanted and you said you didn’t know what you wanted. Is that still the case?’ Nyssa had actually said she wasn’t happy in Nanda Parbat or with the League, but felt like she couldn’t leave. Oliver didn’t want to push too hard, so he chose not to remind her of her exact sentiments, in case it spooked her.

“I want to be free. From the League of Assassins. From my father. From this unpayable debt that I’m supposed to give my life for.” She said.

‘Okay. Freedom from the League it is then.’ He said. ‘How do we get that?’

“I have no idea, but just because I don’t have a complete solution, it doesn’t mean there isn’t one. It just means I need help from the others.” She said. “Assuming the others will agree to help me.”

‘Of course they’re gonna help you. That’s what friends do.’

Nyssa had never really had friends, until very recently, but she didn’t tell Oliver that. Having friends was a rather pleasant experience. She wasn’t used to having anyone, other than Sara, care about her. Ra’s had given the illusion of caring, but only because she was Heir to the Demon, not because he was her father. “And I’m very glad to have found such friends.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 143

Summary:

The team runs into someone they didn't expect and Nyssa tells everyone about her predicament.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When she heard the door at the top of the stairs of the foundry open, Thea looked up from the computer she was working on. Last night, when the others were out on patrol, she had been hacking, trying to find more evidence against Daniel Brickwell or Ricardo Diaz. She hadn’t found much so far, but she knew there had to be something she could dig up. As soon as she woke up on Monday, she came to the foundry so that she could continue her hacking.

She looked up and saw Roy coming down the stairs. He was holding a paper bag.

“I thought there was somewhere you needed to be. Weren’t you going to a meeting with Ollie?” She remembered Roy saying he needed to leave, at some point, earlier. He couldn’t be back already, could he? He’d only just left.

“That was like three hours ago.” He said. “He had a meeting with his lawyer and then a meeting at Queen Consolidated. Have you moved since I left?”

She looked at the clock on the computer and saw that, in fact, it had been a few hours and it was now just after 3. “Nope. I kinda- right as you were leaving, I thought I had found something on Diaz, something I don’t think anyone else knows about and it felt like something big, so I kept digging and I must’ve lost track of time.” She said. “Sorry, I know this is not how we planned to spend the next week.” Roy and Thea had talked about taking a day trip to the nearby lake to spend the day there, since Roy had never been. They had also discussed other things within the city limits they could do to relax and have some fun.

“It’s only Monday. We can have the rest of the week and the weekend to do the things we talked about.” He shrugged. “If you haven’t moved, I’m guessing that means you haven’t had lunch yet.”

Thea’s growling stomach was answer enough. “No.”

“Well, I stopped at Big Belly Burger for a late lunch. Want some?” He shook the paper bag in his hands and she heard some fries sliding around. “There’s plenty for both of us.”

“Definitely.” She said.

“What did you find that had you so focused?” He asked.

“What do we know about Ricardo Diaz? We know he took a nightclub full of people hostage and has a few arrests for drug possession and selling drugs.” She said. “But he doesn’t- I know I’m not an expert, but when he took the people in that club hostage, he didn’t just, like, decide to do it. He had a plan and it wasn’t just about trying to beat Ollie on live TV. Maybe he didn’t plan on doing it that day, but he had the exits covered, he had traps ready to set, he had given it some thought. Anyway, I felt a little curious about what his other plans might be. So, I started digging, but I’m not as good as Felicity, so when I found something that could be nothing or it could be that he was about to start a gang war for control of the city, I decided to see what I could uncover, with the skills I had and I’m gonna show it to her later.”

“Not a bad idea. So, Diaz could’ve been planning to become a crime lord for all we know. Did you find anything on Brickwell as well?”

“Not really, I found some hints that he was behind other crimes, attacks, robberies and so on, but nothing big.” She said. “He doesn’t really strike me as a man who plans anything too far in advance.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” 

He hadn’t really considered how much of a coincidence it was that Brickwell was ever caught for Rebecca Merlyn’s murder. No one had been trying to solve her murder when he had been apprehended. Oliver and Lyla had caught him for a completely unrelated reason, trying to get rid of the Orchid Bay Butchers and it wasn’t until the SCPD ran tests on the gun that they discovered it was the same weapon that killed Rebecca.

They ate in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“I feel like either something is about to happen, or is happening but no one’s told us yet.” Thea said.

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, this could be the fact that my mother was part of a giant conspiracy and I didn’t know, or that no one realized Malcolm was a supervillain or something, but things are too calm right now.” She said. “Which makes me think that something’s gonna happen to disrupt that. Or something has happened, but only someone like Ollie or Lyla know about it yet.”

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know. Just something.”

Thea decided that she didn’t want to spend her whole day in the foundry, staring at a computer screen, so when she and Roy had finished, they left to spend a few hours out and about.

 

The team gathered around the foundry that night. Lyla, Sara, Nyssa and Slade spent some time bringing Oliver and Felicity up to speed on what had happened on patrol over the weekend. Thea showed Felicity some of the information she had found on Ricardo Diaz, to hear her thoughts on whether any of the information might be useful.

“It’s probably- most of what I found doesn’t mean anything, does it?” Thea said after she showed Felicity the information.

“I wouldn’t say that. We don’t know what any of it means yet.” She said. “You could’ve found something massive, and we just don’t know it. Or you could’ve found something we didn’t even know to look for. And yes, it could be nothing, but it could be something. I like to take the Al Capone approach if I’m looking into someone and don’t know why yet.”

“I have heard of Al Capone, but I don’t know what you are referencing.” Nyssa said.

“Capone didn’t go to prison for murder or any dangerous crimes. He went to prison because he didn’t pay his taxes. All the terrible stuff he did, and tax evasion is what brought him down.” Slade said. “I think the point she’s trying to make is that anything Thea might’ve found could be useful later, so nothing’s worth ignoring.”

“Exactly.” Felicity said. “The government couldn’t prove the murders, but they could prove the tax evasion, something no one was worried about at the time. I don’t think Diaz will have an easy time being acquitted of taking those people hostage, since he broadcasted it, but in case he tries, it’s good to know what else he’s done, even if it’s unrelated.”

“Oh, crap.” Tommy said. “I was just thinking about how many things they’re gonna charge Malcolm with, when they get around to actually saying what he’s wanted for. It’s gonna take them like an hour.”

“Longer than that probably.” McKenna said. “Because the US Attorney is going to charge everything she can for each offense, at the same time, because she has to. So, for the captain of the Gambit, he’s looking at first, second and third degree murder, plus probably a manslaughter charge and that’s just for that one person who died. Plus, a felony murder charge, which is just means someone died while a felony was being committed. It’s gonna take a while.”

“And, for those of us who don’t know a lot about law, why charge someone with four different types of homicide for one person’s death?” Thea asked.

“In case she can’t prove the requirements for first degree.” Digg said. “Each crime has a specific legal definition and in trial, the prosecutor has to prove each aspect of the crime. First-degree murder is normally when the murder was planned and intentional. Second-degree is, I think, it was an intentional killing, but not planned. And third degree is “I didn’t mean to kill him, and I didn’t plan to kill him, but he was killed”. Or at least, that’s how the military categorizes each kind. So, if the US Attorney can prove intent but not planning, he’d be found not guilty on the first-degree charge, but guilty on the second-degree charge. And then the third-degree charge is dropped as a result.”

“It’s pretty much the same for non-military proceedings, from what I can tell.” McKenna said. “I’ve only had, like, three cases I worked on that went to trial.”

“So, when Malcolm is found, assuming he’s found alive, he’s gonna be facing centuries in prison.” Sara said. “Good.”

“Yup.”

The conversation trickled off and the vigilantes decided it was time for them to head out on patrol. As they were leaving, Nyssa stopped in her tracks. “There is something I would like to speak with everyone about, after we have finished tonight.”

“Is everything okay?” Donna asked her.

“I will explain in full later, but there’s no reason to be concerned.”

 

Frank Bertinelli listened with a stoic expression as his right-hand man, Nick Salvati, told him what he had discovered. While he knew some of his men thought he was ignoring the clear signs they were being watched, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I’m telling you, boss, we got a rat problem.” Nick said.

“We’ve known about that for a while. What I wanna know is-.” His expression suddenly changed. “Tell ‘em there was a delay with the wiring,  but we oughta have it by the end of the week. Heading out?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting Michael for dinner.” Helena Bertinelli told her father. She had been hoping to leave without her father noticing, but luck wasn’t on her side tonight.

“It’s a school night.”

“Just because Michael’s a teacher, it doesn’t mean he has no life during the week.” She said. “I gotta go. Hope you figure out that wiring problem.” She didn’t particularly like Nick and she had no interest in hearing her father complain about how her fiance wasn’t good enough for her, so she left while she could.

“Thousands of men in this city, successful men, men who could be helpful to the family, and she’s gonna marry a damn English teacher.” Frank said.

“Could be a cop. Or one of the feds who showed up and won’t leave.” Nick said. “Anyway, back to our pest problem. What were you gonna say?”

“How do you catch a rat? You lay out bait and set a trap.” He said. “I want you to find out who the rat is and I want you to take care of him. Quietly, but make sure the message is loud and clear.”

“Of course.” Nick said. “Any idea of who it might be? ‘Cause I’ve got a few suspicions.”

“Like who?”

“That guy who just bought the restaurant on Edson for one. Or that kid, Devin or whatever, that we just hired for the new construction.” 

 

Helena wasn’t sure if her father would have her followed or not. Just in case, she drove to a fairly nice restaurant and went inside. She stayed inside, having a drink at the bar, for long enough for her ruse to be convincing before paying her tab and leaving to do what she’d planned on doing tonight. She had scoped out most of the locations that her father worked out of, but he had started a new project recently and she needed to check that site.

She had been very careful so far. The problem was that hacking into her father’s accounts or spying on his businesses could only get her so far. She was at a point where she needed hard evidence, not just suspicious emails or large deposits. She was sure her father knew something was going on, but she hadn’t seen or overheard anything that made her think Frank had the full picture or suspected her of anything. If she had her way, her father would only know the extent of what she’d found when the FBI showed up to drag him off to prison.

She drove to the spot where she’d parked her motorcycle, something her father didn’t know about, and took off towards the new construction site.

 

Since Slade and Lyla mentioned some suspicious activity by the Bratva, and Oliver had a complicated history with the Bratva, the team decided to spend some time in their “territory” to see what they could uncover about the group’s current operations.

They were not able to find much of anything tonight. Starling City did not have a large Bratva presence. It was often overlooked in favor of larger outfits and gangs. While being overlooked by law enforcement wasn’t bad for business, having competition with more manpower, more money and more territory meant the Bratva had to be more strategic when it came to gaining a bigger foothold.

It was clear to Oliver, at least, that the Bratva members were up to something. There were more shipments coming in as compared to a few weeks ago. Some establishments seemed to have doubled or tripled their number of customers. It was very indicative that something was going on, but no one had found a shipment of narcotics or crates of guns being off-loaded from a cargo ship.

When they realized the Bratva was being quiet today, and there was nothing to look for at the moment, the team turned their attention to the surrounding area of the city. Given the number of street-level gang members that had been arrested recently, certain gangs had lost territory, which someone else was going to take over. For the most part, one gang being pushed out meant that another expanded into the area, but some ground had been lost to the Mafia and the remnants of the Triad.

‘I don’t like this.’ Oliver told the others. ‘Gang territory being taken over by the Mafia and the Triad.’

“You cannot completely eliminate crime. Many before you have tried.” Nyssa said. “Or do these groups simply have a bloody history that will erupt at some point?”

“Oh, it’s a question of “when” and not “if” things come to blows between the two of them.” Lyla said. “Because they’re direct competitors. Back when the Triad’s turf was next to the Scorpions, or whatever gang it was, things probably got heated, but they didn’t really impact each other’s ability to do business.”

“Then, maybe we should-.” Sara started to say, but then she suddenly went off in a different direction. The others followed her, curious about what had distracted her. “Whose turf are we on right now?”

“Mafia. More specifically Bertinelli’s.” Lyla said. 

“So, that building that’s under construction is probably theirs?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if that’s a Bertinelli building, who is that?” She asked, pointing to a figure dressed in dark clothing and wearing a motorcycle helmet sneaking away from the site, right under the nose of the men standing guard. It was clear the person knew there were people standing guard, based on their movements, and wasn’t supposed to be there. However, it also was clear the figure hadn’t stumbled upon the area. “Something tells me that person isn’t working for the Familgia.”

“I have no clue. We should go find out.”

“I don’t think all five of you need to go.” Felicity said over the comms. “Someone needs to talk to him or her, yes, but if all five of you go, it might spook them. One or two should be enough.”

“I’ll go.” Lyla said. “And the rest of you, hang back.”

‘Do you think that’s the hacker Felicity and I found evidence of?’ Oliver asked.

“It’s possible, but why they left cyberspace, I don’t know.” She said. She started to follow the figure, though she left enough distance that the person wouldn’t feel like they were being stalked. As she got closer, Lyla realized it was most likely a woman, based on the person’s height and overall build.

“Is there a reason why you’re following me?” The woman asked before turning around.

“Yes. I want to talk to you. Nothing more.”

“According to the news, talking isn’t really your thing or your friends’ thing.”

“Depends on who we’re dealing with. A lot of people I tend to meet are up to something or actively hurting others. Hard to have a chat with someone when they’re shooting at you.” Lyla said.

“Well, all I’ve done is sneak into a building some hotshot mob guy owns. So, you can leave me alone.”

“So, you do know who owns that place. I’m guessing you want to, what? See Bertinelli get taken down?”

The woman didn’t respond.

“Because if that’s the case, I’m not gonna stop you. We might even be able to help each other.”

“I’m doing just fine. Thanks.”

“If you were doing “just fine” you wouldn’t be here. You’d still be hacking into Bertinelli’s accounts and tracking their activities from behind a computer screen.” Lyla said. It was gamble, telling this woman that they knew about the hacker spying on the mafia, but she was taking a calculated risk.

“How do you know about that?”

“We, and by that I mean two or three of us, stumbled upon some evidence of what you did. We weren’t sure who could be behind it or what their reasons might be. No one in that group seems too tech-savvy so I’m sure Bertinelli and his men have no idea what you found.” She said. “They’re gonna have an easier time tracking you through what you just did.”

“I was in and out. No one saw me. I didn’t take anything. They’re never gonna know.”

“Yes, but is everything exactly how you found it?” Lyla asked. “I’m guessing you went to take pictures. Evidence you could use later. To take good photos, you would’ve had to move things. And if you don’t put things back exactly the same, they’ll start to wonder if someone broke in.”

The woman faltered for a moment. “Do you- have you come across anything that makes you think he knows already?”

“I haven’t seen anything, but you should assume that even if he doesn’t know now, he will soon. What’s your plan?” She asked. “What’s the goal?”

“Hand over everything I have to the FBI and get Frank Bertinelli out of my life, once and for all. I spent a while wondering “how am I gonna get in touch with the FBI” and then, they showed up because of you.”

Lyla, and at least two others, had a strong feeling that she was talking to Helena Bertinelli. Helena was one of the few people who’d have access to Frank’s things and accounts, when this enterprise first started, and someone he wouldn’t suspect.

“And what have you done to make sure your ass, and the ass of anyone you care about, is covered?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Frank’s not gonna suspect you could be the person collecting information, but your friends, your boyfriend if you’ve got one, are a completely different matter, Helena.”

“Well, I guess I don’t need this anymore.” The woman said before removing the motorcycle helmet Helena gave her a look, annoyed that her identity had been worked out. “You were saying?”

“No one ever thinks their family will betray them. I’m not saying you're a traitor, but that’s how your father will see it. Instead, if he thinks it’s someone close, he’s gonna start looking at outsiders.”

“My fiance has no idea I’m doing this.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s gonna be safe, if Frank decides he’s involved.” Lyla said. “You want my unsolicited advice, take what you have to the FBI sooner rather than later.”

“Why didn’t one of you try to stop me? Aren’t I interfering with your business?”

“Well, we seem to be working towards the same goal: taking down your father’s business. Why would we get in your way or try to stop you, possibly getting Frank’s attention, if we’re basically on the same side?”

Helena didn’t have an answer for that. “I’m gonna go now. I’ll think about what you said about covering my ass from the consequences of this.” She said. “If I need to talk to you, for some reason, how do I find you?”

“You don’t. One of us will find you.” Lyla said before turning around and walking off.

‘Are you sure just letting her go is a good idea?’ Oliver asked her when she rejoined the group.

“If she doesn’t want our help, there’s not a lot we can do. We can’t force her to let us help her. And, while we want to help, she seems to have done just fine without us.” She said. “I hope, at least, she’ll think about what I said in regards to her fiance possibly getting hurt here.”

“She will.” Nyssa said. “Based on her expression, she hadn’t considered that possibility, but now that you’ve brought it to her attention, she’ll have to consider it.”

 

When the vigilantes returned to the foundry after patrol, Nyssa was dreading the conversation she’d soon be having with the rest of Team Arrow. She was also looking forward to it in a weird way. Telling the others the truth about her mission felt terrifying, but it would be freeing to get that confession off her chest. Still, she moved a little slower than normal as she stowed her weapons away and removed her less comfortable pieces of armor, in an attempt to give herself a few extra moments to collect her thoughts.

‘You can do this.’ Oliver signed to her when he was sure no one was looking. ‘Take a deep breath and remember, you don’t have to tell them everything at once.’

When she ran out of things to do to procrastinate, she cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Before we left for patrol, I said that there was something I wanted to speak to everyone about.”

“Yeah, we remember.” Digg said. “What’s going on?”

“As most of you know by now, I’ve remained in Starling City because my father gave me a task.” She said. “I believe McKenna is the only person who wasn’t present when I explained that. Because at the time, she wasn’t involved in this enterprise of ours. It was the night Sara almost died and-.” She was stalling. She knew she was stalling and she could tell that everyone was either confused about why she was bringing this up, or eager for her to get to the point. Just as she was about to say something else that wasn’t completely relevant, she felt a hand squeeze hers gently. She looked down and saw that it was Sara. The gesture grounded her, but also reminded her that she wasn’t alone. She could do this. “I’m here because my father gave me a mission and I can’t leave Starling City until that mission has been completed. I told this to everyone already. What I didn’t tell you is what the mission is. I- my father ordered me to complete a task that is impossible, even in theory.”

“He gave you a mission. One that you’re saying can’t be achieved.” Lyla said. “I’m guessing you couldn’t refuse it.”

“You don’t say “no” to the Demon Head.” Sara said quietly. “Even Nyssa, his own daughter, can’t.”

“And, I’m guessing until you complete this mission, whatever it is, you can’t go back.” Slade said.

“No. I cannot.” Nyssa said. Technically, she could go to Nanda Parbat, but if she returned with the task incomplete, there would be repercussions and she didn’t want to experience those consequences. 

“I’m sorry, but am I-? Is anyone else hearing what’s being unsaid here?” Donna asked. “Because it seems like you’re exiled. From the only home you ever had. And you’re stuck in exile until you complete whatever insane task he gave you.”

“That’s what I’m hearing too.” Felicity said.

“Can I give you a hug?” Tommy asked. “You look like you could use one.”

“Maybe in a moment.” Nyssa said. “As I said, the mission I was given is impossible to complete. I don’t even know how I could begin or what “completing” would look like. My missions have always been “locate this person”, “find this information” or “eliminate this threat”. What my father has asked me to do is nothing like that and I fear- nevermind.”

“No, don’t say nevermind. If you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s fine, but if you’re saying that because you don’t wanna burden us, say it. We’re your friends.” Thea said. 

“I am not used to having friends I can share such things with, so I’m not ready to discuss why I think my father has given me the task he gave me.” Nyssa knew this mission was an excuse to get rid of her, for Ra’s not to have to deal with her anymore. Ra’s had rarely approved of her choices and she had felt like a disappointment for most of her life. Ra’s couldn’t kill her, as she had done nothing to call for her death, and if he said she was no longer fit to be his heir, it would make him seem weak. Exiling her, but not calling it exile, was his only option.

“What exactly is your mission?” Felicity asked.

“To repay the debt the League of Assassins owes to Oliver.”

“For what? For exposing Malcolm?”

“For stopping the Undertaking and saving thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives. And this is where the task becomes impossible. How do I pay back that debt? It’s not as if he saved my life, so I need to return the favor.” She said. “And when I expressed as much to my father, his response was less than helpful.”

“So, what’s the goal here?” Slade asked. “Help you repay the debt, whatever that’s supposed to mean? Or did you just tell us so that we’d stop wondering? Or are we helping you stage a coup to take over the League from your father?”

“I want to be free from my father. It is clear that he doesn’t care for me the way I once believed he did. However, one doesn’t just leave the League. When I discussed this with Oliver and Sara, they didn’t have a solution, but perhaps with more people thinking about the problem, it will be easier to find a solution. If you’re willing to help me, that is.”

“Was that ever a question?” Lyla asked. “Of course we’ll help.”

“Thank you.” She said. “I believe I will accept that offer for a hug now.”

Everyone moved closer to Nyssa to give her a hug. It started out as a group hug, but she ended up getting individual hugs from everyone on Team Arrow.

“I don’t normally judge other parents, but your dad sounds like a real piece of shit.” Donna said.

“He is the leader of the League of Assassins. I do not believe he was ever what most people consider a “good person”. By even the most generous definition of the term.”

“Doesn’t excuse him doing this to you.” She said. “He’s an assassin, what does that have to do with being a father? It doesn’t. There are a lot of people who are crappy people, who at least try to be good parents.” Moira Queen came to mind, but she wasn’t going to name names right now.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 144

Summary:

Nyssa is shown a new perspective, Slade gets some news and we learn a bit about Malcolm's new ally.

Notes:

This chapter was supposed to be posted last week, but I didn't think it was quite right, and also last Friday was Christmas Eve. Enjoy!

(Oh, and read the note at the end for some context/added info on a few things)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Nyssa and Sara left the foundry not long after Nyssa had explained her situation to the others. While she appreciated the support she’d received and was happy the others were willing to help her, it started to feel overwhelming after a point. Nyssa had been taught as a child that emotions were something to be overcome, not felt, and that admitting one needed help was a sign of weakness. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do after everyone agreed to help her and she started to feel emotional, so she made a comment about being tired and left. Sara said her goodbyes to everyone and followed Nyssa out.

“Well, I think that went well.” Sara said. “Are you okay?”

“I am….feeling many things. Some, such as relief, I expected to feel. Others, I’m surprised by.” She said. “I’m relieved that the task of explaining things is done. I feel- I don’t know how to describe the feeling, but I’m happy and grateful to have friends willing to help me. And yet-.”

“You’re angry at your father? That’s normal. If you weren’t, I’d be worried.”

“I’m not angry, per se. When I think about my predicament, I get angry, but I think most of my initial anger has worn off by now.” She said. “A part of me wants to believe this is my own fault. Partially in the sense that, if I was the heir my father wanted, this wouldn’t have happened to me. But in another sense, I feel as if things might be easier if I were never born.” She looked at Sara, saw her expression and began to backpedal. “I’m not going to attempt to harm myself, if what I just said concerns you, but-.”

“This expression is not my “do I need to worry about you hurting yourself” face.” Sara said, gesturing to her face. “It’s my “how can you think things would be better without you” face. You really- have you ever seen the movie It’s A Wonderful Life ? It’s this old movie from the 40s that my dad watches every Christmas.”

“I don’t think that I have.”

“Well, I’m off tomorrow, so we’re gonna watch it.”

“It’s April, not the holiday season.”

“Doesn’t matter. You can watch it all year round.” She said.

“Why is this movie relevant to what I said?”

“In the movie, the main character George tries to end his own life and an angel shows him what his friends and family’s lives would be like if he was never born. I’m not gonna tell you anything else about the plot, because you need to watch it to understand. I can’t really put into words why I want you to watch this movie specifically.” She said. “It’s also just a great movie.”

Sara knew the general message of the movie was something Nyssa would pick up on quickly. George Bailey finds out very quickly that no one’s life was better without him, except the film’s antagonist. Aside from the general idea, however, an event in Nyssa’s own life had a very clear parallel to something in the film and that’s what she wanted Nyssa to consider. The film could do it in a way that Sara couldn’t quite articulate herself.

 

After a long day at the precinct, Joe West went home and gave Iris a call. He wasn’t quite ready to talk to Barry about Nora Allen’s case being reopened, but he thought he should finish the conversation he and Iris had been having that morning. He dialed her number and waited for her to answer.

“Hey, Dad. I wasn’t expecting a call from you so soon.” She said. She sounded unsure and a little nervous.

“We didn’t get to finish our conversation earlier, because you had to go to class.” He said. “Is now a good time?”

“That depends. Are you calling me to lecture me? Or get mad that I didn’t tell you? Or do you really just wanna talk?”

“I wanna talk. I know I- I was pretty blindsided by this happening.” He said. “I thought Barry had-.”

“Dropped it? I think deep down, you knew he hadn’t. You know him. You know how he gets when things don’t make sense, when the pieces don’t add up.” She said. “He just stopped bringing up his confusion and skepticism around you, because he knew it wouldn’t do any good. He’d bring it up and you’d more or less tell him to drop the subject. What’s that quote he loves to say? Insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting different results? He wasn’t gonna keep repeating the same pattern and hoping it would change the outcome. Have you… talked to him since this morning?”

“No. Singh strongly suggested I don’t mention the case to him, which is fair. And Barry told me he never wanted to discuss the case with me again. And I don’t know what I would say, in any case.” Joe said. “Though, given what’s happened and how quickly the captain reopened the case, Barry probably hates me now.”

“Barry doesn’t hate people. I don’t think he has it in him. He’s probably been carrying some anger and resentment, for the CCPD in general, not just you, but that’s not hate. Like I said this morning, he’s doing this for himself and his mom, not to hurt anyone.” She said.  “He’s probably worried that you hate him, because of all of this. I don’t know what you should tell him, but you need to at least make it clear that you don’t.”

“I will. Tomorrow morning.” Joe needed to sleep on the matter and let himself calm down from the myriad of emotions he was still feeling before he spoke to Barry.

 

“Do you think we can pull it off?” Felicity asked Oliver as they were getting ready for bed that night.

‘Pull what off?’ He asked.

“Get Nyssa free from her father? I know we said we would, and I plan to keep that promise, but- well, how do we do that?” She said. “There has to be a way. There’s always some kind of solution, but do you think we’ll be able to do it?”

‘I think we will. Will it be easy? Probably not. But, then again, nothing that’s worth fighting for ever is easy.’ He said. ‘There’s still a lot we don’t know, that we need to know, before we can start thinking of a solution. Only Nyssa and Sara know Ra’s al Ghul, so they’re the only ones who can give us insight on how he thinks, what his values are and so on.’

“Why do his values matter? If he even has any.”

‘Let’s say I approached him and offered him $10 million to forget about the “debt” the League owes me. He might take that as an insult. He might think I believe money is just as valuable as human life. Then, we might have a bigger problem.’ He said. ‘Like you said, there’s a solution, we just need to find it. And when we approach him to try to free Nyssa, we need to make sure he doesn’t react negatively.’

“And until then?”

‘Until then, we try to support Nyssa as best we can. We start brainstorming ideas and we remember that this might take awhile, but that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless.’ He said. ‘We face it one day at a time.’

Felicity joined Oliver in bed and fell asleep almost as soon as they were cuddled together under the sheets.

 

Helena Bertinelli had a very restless night. When she began spying on her father and collecting information to pass along to the FBI, she knew she was taking a risk. She knew she’d be dead if anyone ever caught her. What she hadn’t considered was the possible collateral damage. What if her father put the blame on someone within “the family” and had that person, or one of their loved ones, killed? What if he thought one of his actual, non-Mafia, employees was an undercover cop? Or, as Harbinger had suggested, what if he blamed Michael?

She had started this crusade of hers believing the only person she was putting at risk was herself. Now, she couldn’t stop thinking about the other people who might get hurt. She knew she was doing the right thing, but she was suddenly aware of how incredibly lucky she’d been so far and how reckless she’d been with the safety of innocent bystanders.

She was in too deep to stop her investigation, but she could make adjustments to how she operated. First, she needed to make sure all of the evidence she gathered was hidden somewhere that no one except her could access it. Frank couldn’t be allowed to find it, nor could any of his men or Michael. Next, she needed a way to deliver all of the evidence she had to the FBI, without raising suspicion. She couldn’t exactly just walk into a police precinct with several flash drives full of evidence and call it a day. She could hand over what she had to one of the vigilantes, but she didn’t want to do that. Stopping Frank was personal and she wanted to see him taken down herself.

After a long time tossing and turning, Helena finally fell asleep. Figuring out where to hide her evidence and how to get it to the right people were problems she’d have to deal with tomorrow.

Unbeknownst to Helena, Frank was in his office pacing. He and Nick had hatched a plan to catch whoever was snooping around his business, but they couldn’t be sure their bait would work. Their rat had to be smart to make it this far, spying on the famiglia, and if the trap was too obvious, it would tip them off and be a waste of time. There was also the worrying thought that this was coming too little too late. For all he and Nick knew, the rat had everything they needed and the feds would come kicking down their door at any moment. Not wanting to sit around and wait to be arrested, Frank sent a message to Nick, telling him to go ahead with their plan first thing in the morning and not to waste any more time.

 

The next morning, after breakfast, Sara and Nyssa sat in the living room and started watching It’s A Wonderful Life. Initially, Nyssa found the movie to be very straightforward and she understood both why Sara had mentioned it, given Nyssa’s own comment the night before, and why Quentin Lance liked the film. George Bailey believed his loved ones would be better off without him, and the angel Clarence showed him how wrong he was. It was a moving story overall. 

Then, George saw his brother Henry’s grave. In the world where George was never born, there was no one to save his brother from drowning as a child. To make matters worse, because Henry died as a child, the members of his unit that he saved during WWII were dead as well.  The reason for Sara’s reaction the night before and the feeling she “couldn’t quite put into words” about the film suddenly made a lot more sense. By this point, Sara was trying to hide her tears. By the time the film wrapped up, with George’s view of his life completely changed, Sara and Nyssa were both openly crying. It was a beautiful, but emotional ending.

“Now do you get it? Why I had that reaction to what you said?” Sara asked as the credits rolled and they both stopped crying.

“I do. And I- it’s not that I believe life would be easier for everyone without me. I just- when I lost my mother, I felt as if the whole world ended. For a time, I thought it had. It’s hard for me to accept that my father could so easily discard me and feel nothing.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Ra’s is a sociopath who feels nothing. But I don’t care about him, I care about you. Oliver and Felicity care about you. Tommy and McKenna and Thea and Roy and my parents, we all care about you. I want you to remember that.” She said. “We’ll get through this together.”

 

Thea wouldn’t say that she was impatiently waiting for Roy to hurry up so that they could leave, but she was very excited to go. They had finished breakfast and their stuff was in the car. Once Roy was done changing after his shower, they could hit the road.

“Finally!” She exclaimed when he walked into the living room of the penthouse. “Sorry, that was- if that sounded mean, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just ready to go.”

“Uh, the lake’s not going anywhere.” He said.

“I know that, but the drive takes about two hours, so the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there and the sooner we get there, the more time we get to spend at the lake before it gets dark.”

“You really like this lake, huh?”

“Yup.” Thea had some fuzzy, but very fond memories of going to the lake with Oliver and their grandparents. She didn’t remember exactly what they did up at the lake, but she remembered that it had been a lot of fun.

“Well, let’s go then.” Roy said. “I wanna see what makes this place so great.” They got into the car and drove out of the city, making their way towards the lake.

 

When Tommy arrived outside of Merlyn Global Group’s headquarters, he was annoyed, but not surprised, to see several reporters waiting for him. He supposed it had only been a matter of time before word got out that he was taking a role in trying to turn the company around. No one on the board wanted to take on the role of CEO, given Malcolm’s growing infamy, and someone had to try and keep the company afloat or it would fail, leaving thousands out of work. The board was reluctant to make any kind of announcement about Tommy’s role at the company, wanting to lie low, but it had stayed quiet for longer than he expected.

The reporters, or at least a portion of them, probably thought this was funny. Tommy had never wanted to be part of his father’s company. He spent years partying and avoiding any responsibility to the company, but now, here he was, the reluctant, de facto CEO of Merlyn Global.

“Tommy, what role will you be taking on at the company?” One reporter called out and then, the others began to shout questions.

“Tommy, are you in contact with your father?”

“Did you know what Malcolm was up to? Do you have any comment on his alleged crimes?”

“What does this mean for the Rebecca Merlyn Clinic?”

“I don’t have any comment to make about my father or on behalf of Merlyn Global Group.” Tommy said. “This, my involvement with the company, doesn’t mean anything for my mother’s clinic. The clinic is in very capable hands, run by people who know much more than I ever could about health care. That’s all I’m going to say at this time.”

He walked into the building, ignoring the questions the reporters continued to shout at him. He sighed and headed to the floor just below where his father’s office was. He wasn’t looking forward to another hours-long meeting arguing with the board about how to move the company forward. The only reason he was trying to save the company was because of the hundreds and hundreds of employees who had nothing to do with Malcolm’s psychotic plotting. If their jobs and livelihoods weren’t at risk, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

Deep down, in the uglier parts of his soul, the thing Tommy wanted more than anything was to watch anything and everything Malcolm had ever built crash and burn and get turned to dust. He didn’t like to dwell on those thoughts for too long, though, so he tried to push down his anger as he walked into the meeting room.

 

Somehow, Slade’s former bosses at ASIS got wind of the fact that the Coast Guard was going to Lian Yu and that he was going to be their guide. His former boss Wade called him and “requested” that he find out what the Coast Guard intended to do with Billy Wintergreen’s body. As his former partner, Slade asking about the body could stay off the record, while someone from ASIS asking would mean a paper trail. ASIS was pissed enough that Sara had told her mother that Slade had been an ASIS agent, as if Slade could’ve prevented her from doing that, so he figured getting this one question answered was the least he could do. Aside from Wintergreen’s corpse, nothing on the island tied back directly to ASIS or would compromise an existing operation. He figured he should ask one of the agents so that ASIS had their answer and he could, hopefully, never hear Billy’s name again.

Slade walked into the bullpen just as Doyle was hanging up the phone. He didn’t look happy about the conversation he had just ended.

“Something wrong?” Slade asked.

“That was Steve Gunderson, the guy at State who’s been liaising with the Chinese government. Any remains we remove from Lian Yu can be brought into mainland China, but need to leave the country within 72 hours of arrival, barring an unforeseen circumstance.”

Since Slade had asked about the bodies only yesterday, and they already had an answer, he knew it wasn't going to be a good one. “Okay.”

“Meaning-.”

“I know what it means. Yao Fei and Shado can’t be buried on the mainland.” He said. “Did they say anything that implies we can’t remove their bodies from the island?”

“The official position of the government is that there are no Chinese citizens buried on that island. Since this is an American mission to repatriate the bodies of mostly American citizens, we can take as many bodies off that island as we want, they just can’t remain in China for long.”

“First, they frame Yao Fei and now, they deny he ever existed. I wish I could say I’m surprised. Kinda shitty to do that to Shado though.” Slade said. “Gunderson have any luck on finding Shado’s sister? She can’t bury her family, but she should at least know.”

“He didn’t say.”

Slade let the matter drop. He was never very good when it came to diplomacy and bureaucracy made his head hurt. It was why he only got so far in ASIS during his career. He wanted to be doing, not being bogged down by paperwork. If the State Department couldn’t find Mei, he was sure he, Sara, Nyssa or Felicity could. “I gotta go see Oliver. Let him know about this.”

“Someone from the task force should be the one to-.”

“Yeah, one of you probably should be the ones to tell him, proper procedure and all, but this is something that he oughta hear from me.” He said.

“Wait, why did you come here?” Doyle asked.

“It’s not important right now.” Slade left the precinct and headed towards Felicity and Oliver’s place. He knocked on the door and Oliver let him in.

“Hey, kid. We need to talk about Shado and Yao Fei. Yesterday, I had the task force ask the Chinese government about their bodies. Today, they got an answer.” He said. “The official position is that no one on Lian Yu was a Chinese citizen and no bodies recovered can be buried on the mainland.”

‘We can’t just leave them there. Shado and Yao Fei don’t- we can’t leave them there.’

“You’re right. We can’t. We owe them more than that.” He said. “Since China won’t claim the bodies, the Coast Guard can bring them to the States, but we need somewhere to bury them-.”

‘I’ll handle that. Nice burial plots are expensive but-.’

“I didn’t come here to get you to foot the bill. This isn’t about money right now.  It’s about doing right by the two of them. I wanted you to know we’re gonna be bringing them back here, in addition to your father. At some point, I knew you were gonna wonder about their bodies and graves. Also, I don’t think I can track down Mei Gulong on my own. Not since the Chinese government is denying the fact her father and sister ever existed. You or Sara wanna help? Finding her seems like a good place to start.”

Oliver nodded, seemingly lost in thought. ‘All Shado wanted was to get off that island and go home.’

“I know. It’s fucked up that she can’t even go home to be buried, but this is the best we can do.” He said. 

 

Nick Salvati strolled onto one of the Bertinelli Familgia’s construction sites and waved a few men over to him. “Boss wants these crates moved out of here.” He gestured to a handful of crates. “Today. They’re going to that warehouse on O’Neill.”

“Why?” One of the men asked.

“Something about homeless people sleeping here and not wanting them to get curious and start snooping around.” Nick said. “Get the crates on the truck. And keep it quiet. He doesn’t want this getting back to the building owner. Get my drift?”

“I got it.” He said. “C’mon. Let’s get this stuff moved.”

“Just those four or five crates.” Nick said. “The rest can stay. He doesn’t care about some bum going through those.”

The “four or five” crates in question were filled with mundane, legitimate items for a construction company to have. Extra tools, spare nuts and bolts and the like. Frank didn’t want to use anything incriminating as bait in trying to catch their rat, but he needed to make it look enticing, so Nick acted like the crates had something valuable, or damaging to Frank, inside.

Nick left and repeated the same process at a different site under Frank’s control. He had the workers there move some crates to that same warehouse he’d mentioned. By the end of the day, he’d visit every spot where Frank did business and repeat the process. Whoever the rat was, he’d know Frank was interested in keeping those crates away from prying eyes by the end of the day and track the crates down, falling right into Frank’s trap.

 

“So, the plan is that I just sit here on my ass for the foreseeable future?” Malcolm asked the woman in front of him.

“Yes.” She said. “Unless you’d like to fly back to Starling and get arrested as soon as your feet touch US soil, making this venture of ours a complete waste of time, that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

“The US government doesn’t scare me.” They weren’t the only ones interested in finding Malcolm. The League of Assassins was a much bigger threat to him, even if Ra’s was unaware of the hit he’d taken out on Nyssa, than the FBI could ever be.

“Normally, I’d agree, but the list of deaths you’re linked to is hovering right around twenty now, so I think they’re a little more interested in finding you than they were when you had your little….accident.” She gestured to his leg, which was still healing. “You can’t fake your death now, it would be too obvious, too convenient, so you, we , need to wait. Let some time pass. Have some other big news story break. The FBI’s gonna leave the city eventually and people have short memories when they want to.”

“I’m not overly fond of waiting.”

“Didn’t you wait, like, twenty years to put your plan to destroy the Glades into motion?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“I wasn’t waiting. I was actively working towards the endgame of that plan. And, as you may have noticed, that plan’s been permanently shelved.” He said. “Though, Robert ruining my plot brought us together, so I can’t say it was a complete waste.”

“Thanks to that plan being shelved, seeking you out was my only choice, since someone handed over your list to the FBI.”

“Have you changed your mind then, Isabel? About getting your revenge against Robert, the man who scorned you.”

“I haven’t and you know that I haven’t.” Isabel Rochev said.  “You’re sure Robert’s the Arrow?”

“Robert is dead, or so they claim. Yet, no body was recovered. His grave is empty and no member of his family has said how he died. It’s the perfect cover. No one would think to investigate a dead man.”

“My money was initially on Oliver, until the Arrow started talking. Hard for a mute to threaten people into turning themselves in. Robert’s in awfully good shape for a man of his age.”

“Neither he nor I are that old. Or do we need to spar so that I can prove my point?”

“No need.” She said. “I just came here to remind you that we made a deal. We have a plan. Unlike your last plan, there aren’t dozens of people involved. We stick to the plan, and by this time next year, we’ll both get our revenge against Robert.” Isabel turned and walked off. “Besides, I wouldn’t want you to break a hip.”

 

Since she and Oliver only had a small window of time to make their announcement, Samantha was sent several versions of the press release Queen Consolidated’s PR department had drafted. Camille had asked her to review them today and, if possible, get back to her with her opinions today as well. It was April 2nd. William’s party was April 20th. If they wanted to make the announcement and have time for the excitement to die down, they needed to release the statement either later this week or early next week. 

Samantha had read the statements over and didn’t have an issue with anything in any of them. They were all vague and sounded like a standard public relations statement. She supposed that was a good thing. If what they released was generic and bland, it would be harder to throw blame in her direction, or Oliver’s, for why nothing had been said sooner. She gave Camille a call as soon as she realized that it didn’t matter which version they used.

“I hope I’m not keeping you from another meeting.” Samantha said when her lawyer picked up the phone.

“You’re not. I like to keep my afternoons clear, in case something pops up.” She said. “Have you looked over the statements?”

“Yeah, and I don’t care which one they go with. They all seem fine to me. Do you know when this is gonna be released?”

“Not yet. Mr. Queen’s lawyer thinks the best sequence of events is that Oliver comes to Central City on Friday morning to get added to Will’s birth certificate. Then, either Friday afternoon or next Monday, they’ll release the statement on behalf of their client.”

“It’s stupid we have to release a statement at all.” Samantha said.

“It is, but since he’s famous, we have to in order to avoid turning your life into tabloid fodder.”

“That’s still gonna happen.”

“It might not. You have a pretty low profile as it is. And he avoids the spotlight as much as he can. There will be a few days of tabloid interest, but if you both lay low, it’ll die down because, to be frank, your lives are pretty boring.” Camille said. “Have you told your family this is coming? Like, your parents or your siblings if you have any?”

“I’m an only child. And no. I need to do that.” Samantha said. “I gotta go. Thanks for your time.” She ended the call, but Camille was right. She needed to tell her parents what was going on and she should do that now. Her relationship with her parents wasn’t the best, and hadn’t been very good for the last few years, but she still needed to tell them. She wasn’t sure if telling them everything would strengthen their relationship or make it more strained.

She dialed her mother’s phone number and waited for the call to be answered.

“Samantha.” Her mother said.

“Hi, Mom. There’s something I need to tell you.” She said. 

 

“I can see why you were so excited to get here.” Roy said as he and Thea relaxed by the shore of the lake. “It’s peaceful here.”

After arriving, they spent some time swimming and generally messing around and having fun. For lunch, they had a little picnic of sandwiches and chips. They spent some more time in the water after lunch before taking up spots at the end of a dock and just staring out at the water. No one else seemed to be out on the lake, from what they could see, so it was nice and secluded. It was now late afternoon.

“Ollie and I used to come here with my grandparents all the time.” She said. “It felt bigger back then.”

“Well, you were little.” He said. “Or, littler.” He laughed.

“I love you, but keep making fun of my height and I just might push you into the lake.” She said. 

“I’d pull you in with me.” He said. "And- wait, what?”

“What?”

“You just said you loved me.”

“Yeah, and?”

“You’ve never said that before.” He said. “Or at least, you know, not to me. I love you too.”

“Don’t say it back just to say it back.”

“I’m not. I- I love you, but I didn’t want to freak you out by saying it too soon. Or until you were ready to say it.” He said.

“So, I love you. And you love me.” She said. “Glad we got that cleared up.”

“Me too. Is there a reason why you’d come here often with your grandparents? Did they own a house up here or something?”

“You know what? I don’t really know. I remember staying up here when we’d come, but I don’t know if it was, like, my grandparents’ lake house or if it was a rental or belonged to a friend or what. When you’re a kid, you don’t really think about that kind of stuff.” She stood up. “We should probably get going. It’s getting pretty late and I don’t wanna be driving home completely in the dark.”

They packed up their stuff and got back into the car to drive home.

 

Since the eyes of the country, the whole world even, were on the investigation into the Queen’s Gambit being sabotaged, the task force was having to give more regular updates to their bosses than they normally did during an investigation. In turn, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General were having to give updates to the President and Congress.

Word of the planned trip to Lian Yu began to spread around the Capitol. Plenty of people were curious, but they had work to do and they’d satisfy their curiosity when the reports came out or announcements were made.

One Senator had a much different response. As soon as Senator Joseph Cray learned about this excursion, he started to panic. He told one of his aides to “get Waller on the line”.

“Sir, Waller’s been in custody for weeks.” The aide said. “I can try to call the new ARGUS Director, Grant?”

“I didn’t ask for the director. I asked for Waller. Find out where she’s being held. She and I need to chat.” The Senator said. The aide rushed off. “There better not be anything on that island linking back to me. She’s not taking me down with her.” Waller would have a “tragic accident” before Cray let her ruin his Presidential hopes.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
----
P.S. WOW! This work is now 500k+ words. It feels kinda surreal.

P.P.S. For those of you who haven't seen "It's A Wonderful Life", the thing that Nyssa understands by the end is that, if Nyssa was never born, Sara would be dead, because she wouldn't have been found after the Amazo was destroyed. Also, anyone Sara or Nyssa had saved as vigilantes would be dead. It's a ripple effect. (My dad watches this film every year and I wanted to slip a reference in there because this was supposed to be up a week ago, on X-Mas Eve)

Chapter 145

Summary:

Sara gets some feelings off of her chest, Thea shares some news and Cat Grant explains some of her reasoning for how she's directed ARGUS so far.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Samantha told her mother as much of the truth as she could about her past with Oliver and what was going to be happening in the coming days. As she finished telling the story, leaving only a handful of details out, she realized this confession could either completely ruin any hope she had of reconnecting with her parents or bring the family closer.

“So, he’s the one that got you pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

“And his mother scared you off?”

“Yes.”

“And then you took the money and lied to him about William. And lied to me and your father.”

The big rift between Samantha and her parents was because she refused to tell them who William’s father was. They wanted to know who he was so that they could get him to “do right” by her, but she had told them she was pregnant after Moira wrote her that check and she knew she couldn’t tell them the truth. “I was scared, Mom. Pregnant and terrified.” She said.

“Would you have ever told him? Or us?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to say that I would, but I don’t know.” Samantha said. “Look, I- I know I can’t just come clean and expect you to forgive me, but I wanted to let you know, and now I have.”

“Because you don’t have another choice. The truth’s gonna come out soon, so you can’t hide it anymore.”

“I didn’t like lying to you. Or this rift between us.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have done it.” Mrs. Clayton said. “Is Oliver’s mother involved with this “announcement”?” She was shifting from being a disappointed mother to being a concerned grandmother.

“No. He barely talks to her and she doesn’t know what’s going on with William.”

“Good. Who else knows about this?”

“My neighbor, that’s it. And his girlfriend, sister and close friends.” Samantha said. 

“And how have they acted towards you? You lied to us and I’m angry, but they better not be rude towards you.”

“I don’t really know them and they don’t really know me, but our interactions have been fine. Polite and civil, but not friendly.”

“I can’t blame them for that.” She said. “Sure, you thought it was your only choice, but you still lied.”

“I don’t want to argue with you about this anymore.” Samantha said. “I wanted to come clean, I have. And I’ve apologized for the mistakes that I made. I can’t change the past.”

“No, you can’t. I’ll break the news to your father.”

“Are you coming to William’s party? You haven’t seen him in a while.”

“We’ll stop by. Maybe not for long, but I wanna see him on his birthday.”

It was the smallest possible olive branch Irene Clayton could’ve extended, but Samantha wasn’t going to reject the offer, not after so many years of nothing from her parents’ end.

 

Helena tapped her fingers rhythmically on the countertop in front of her. She saw an employee side-eye her and stopped her tapping. She was sure the woman thought she was rude and impatient as she typed the information into the computer she was working at. 

Helena was impatient, but not because the employee was moving too slow. She just wanted to get this over with. She was terrified that someone she knew would see her and ask questions. She knew it was rational to feel so paranoid, but she was taking a big risk and wanted to be careful.

“All right.” The woman at the counter said as she grabbed something off of the printer. “Your membership has been activated. I just need you to sign where the ‘x’s are.” Helena grabbed a pen and signed at the designated spots. “Welcome to Star City Fitness. Now, did you wanna try to schedule a free session with one of our personal trainers?”

“Not right now.” Helena said. She didn’t get a gym membership so that she could work out. “Are the locker rooms down there?”

The gym employee nodded and Helena thanked her before walking away. The gym was fairly empty, with maybe half a dozen patrons scattered throughout the space. After entering the women’s locker room, Helena looked around to make sure it was empty before approaching the lockers.

“All right, what’s a number I’ll remember?” She whispered to herself as she tried to pick a locker to use. She spotted locker 609. She met Michael on June 9th. It seemed fitting. It seemed fitting. Opening up her bag, Helena placed the portable hard drive with all of the evidence she had against her father into the locker, as well as anything else that she didn’t want her father to find. She closed the locker, secured the combination lock and walked out of the room. She pulled her phone out and started talking into it, pretending to be on a call, as she made her way out of the building.

Now that there was no way for Frank to find the evidence she had gathered, and no way for Michael to stumble upon it, she felt slightly better. There were a few things that could wrong with her trying to get Frank arrested, but at least now there was no connection between Michael and “the rat” that the Bertinelli Familgia could find. 

She went home and took a night off from investigating her father, because it was stressful and she needed a break. She also wanted to spend some time browsing bridal websites since, after she finally took Frank down, she’d have a wedding to plan. It was a nice distraction from the stress and a nice reminder of why she was doing this.

 

Nyssa and Sara had a relaxing day after they finished watching It’s A Wonderful Life. Since watching the movie was pretty emotional, they each found it hard to think about what they wanted to do after it was over. It didn’t make sense to go to the foundry to train and Nyssa wasn’t in the right headspace to look for jobs or volunteer opportunities, as she had planned to.

After lunch, Sara decided to put on a Disney movie to try to lighten the mood. Nyssa wasn’t paying attention to the name of the movie, but it was about a family of cats, a mother and her three kittens, trying to return home after being abandoned. She tried to pay attention to the film, but her mind kept wandering.

“Do you really believe that none of this is my fault?” Nyssa asked as the credits rolled and she learned the film was called The Aristocats.

“Do I think what’s not your fault?” Sara responded. “The stuff with your father?”

She nodded. “I know I cannot control the actions of other people, especially my father, but do you really think I’m truly not partially to blame for the decision he made about my….position within the League?”

“It’s absolutely, 100% not your fault. And knowing him, knowing how he is, I know that’s hard to believe, but it's the truth.” Ra’s al Ghul only cared about himself, his goals and his reputation. No one else mattered. Having been raised by him, Nyssa had been raised to believe that no one’s opinion of her, including her opinion of herself, mattered because he was that manipulative and narcissistic, not to mention abusive. Nyssa wasn’t quite ready to tackle her feelings about that, so Sara didn’t state her full feelings yet.

“But if I wasn’t…the way that I am-.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the way you are. Unless that means there’s something wrong with me being the way I am or Ollie being the way he is. If you tried to not be who you really are, if you pretended to be the person Ra’s wants as a daughter, would this have happened? Probably not, but then again, you’re a person, not some robot he can just program to act exactly as he wants. If you tried to be how he wanted, you wouldn’t have been happy. You would’ve been hiding who you are, just to make him happy. And you would’ve been miserable.” Sara said. “There’s nothing wrong with being who you are. And you shouldn’t feel bad about being yourself, even though it resulted in Ra’s making an unfair decision about your life. If he has a problem with you being your genuine self, that’s his problem, not yours. He probably shouldn’t have had kids if that’s the case. I don’t care about his opinion, neither should you. Your father can go fuck himself.” She took a breath. “I didn’t mean to go off like that, to be honest.”

“Nor was I expecting such a rant.”

“Sorry, I- I’ve been holding some of that in for a while.” She said. “Ra’s has never been fair to you. It’s always bothered me, but I didn’t want to bring it up and upset you.” Nyssa hadn’t been ready back then to hear Sara’s criticisms of her father. “And before you apologize for that, don’t. I held that stuff in because I love you and I didn’t want to let my dislike of Ra’s to overshadow that.”

 

Thea and Roy decided to stop for dinner on the way home. After they had paid, when Roy went to use the restroom and she was waiting in the car, Thea used the opportunity to give Oliver and Felicity a call. Oliver answered her video call on the second ring.

‘Hey, how was the trip to the lake?’

“It was great. We had a lot of fun.” She said.

‘You seem distracted.’ He said. ‘Did something happen?’

“Kinda? I- Felicity’s there with you, right?” Thea asked.

“I’m here.” Felicity called out. Oliver then held the phone further away and she could see Felicity standing behind him. “Hey. Hi. I’m right here.”

‘Is this….a woman thing? Do you want me to give Felicity the phone and give you some privacy?’ Oliver asked. He wanted to be there for his sister, in every way possible, but he knew that there were some things Thea didn’t feel comfortable telling him about or wanted to talk to another woman about. 

“No, Ollie. It’s not “a woman thing”. If it was, I would’ve called Felicity directly. I just- I wanted to tell both of you at the same time.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I told Roy I loved him. And he said it back.”

“That’s exciting!” Felicity said. “I’m happy for you.”

‘That’s great, Speedy.’ Oliver said. 

“And it’s- I haven’t said that to someone who wasn’t family before.” She said. “Or, nearly family. And it felt like a big moment.” She added the “nearly family” bit because she had said things like “I love you” to people like Felicity and Lyla and people like that, but never to a romantic partner before.

“Because it is a big moment.”

“Ok, I’m ready to go if you-.” Roy said, getting into the car. He then noticed Thea was on a video call. “Hey, Oliver and Felicity.”

“Hi!” Felicity called and Oliver waved. “We’re gonna let you go now, so that you can finish the drive. Drive safe and we’ll see you soon.”

“See you in like an hour.” Roy and Thea both said.

After the call ended, Felicity turned to Oliver. “I’m happy they exchanged “I love you”s. Good for them. I mean, I knew they loved each other but there’s just something special about the first time you say it to someone.”

‘Yeah. I’m happy for them too.’ He said. ‘Is it wrong that I was a little scared she was about to show off an engagement ring or something?’

“I don’t think it’s wrong. And I don’t think you’re truly scared. I think- you know that Thea’s an adult, but there’s a difference between knowing she’s 18 and realizing she’s an adult in a relationship and about to graduate and starting a real life and all of that. She’s grown up and that’s a lot to think about. And since Thea’s grown up and is in a committed relationship, getting engaged seems like the next step. But I think it’ll be a little while before Roy proposes. Or Thea does. It’s the 21st century after all, women can propose too.”

‘Can I be the one to propose when it's the right time for us to get engaged?’ He asked. ‘I know that you can, but I’ve already started planning how I want to ask and I think I found the perfect way to do it.’

“You’ve already started planning your proposal?”

‘Not in a “I’ve already set a date and time and I have a ring” way but I know how I want to do it and somewhat of what I want to say.’ He said. ‘I remember you saying that it should be a surprise, but not a shock, so I figured you knew I was thinking about it.’

“I did, but I guess I read into that comment a little too much for a second.” She said. When he first said that, Felicity was worried that he had the entire thing planned, like some military operation that was imminent, and that freaked her out a little bit. “And, yeah, any time someone gets proposed to and is completely shocked, I find it weird. Because it kinda seems like only one person thought marriage was on the table at that point.  But that’s irrelevant right now. To answer your question, yes, you can be the one to propose when the time’s right. I don’t wanna steal your thunder.”

‘Good.’ He said. ‘I’m glad we can talk about this so easily.’

“Me too. Then again, I feel like we’ve always been able to talk about things, so this is just an extension of that. Or we just got lucky in finding each other.” There was a saying “you have to kiss a lot of frogs to meet your prince charming”. Felicity stopped believing in “Prince Charming” around the age of eight, but she’d freely admit that she’d had to kiss her fair share of “frogs” to meet Oliver. “Actually, before you, it was just the one frog and the other was a complete leech.”

‘What do frogs have to do with anything?’ Oliver asked.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself. My thoughts don’t always stay in my head, as you know.” She said. 

 

On patrol that night, the team tried to avoid getting too close to Bertinelli territory. Helena hadn’t asked for the team’s help, though some believed she needed it. As a sign of respect, they gave the famiglia a wide berth so that Helena could operate without them getting in the way or possibly ruining whatever her next move might be.

On top of not wanting to get in Helena’s way, Oliver was still very concerned with what the Bratva might be up to. Slade, Sara and Nyssa were all familiar with organized crime, but Lyla and Oliver had seen firsthand what the Bratva were capable of. The Starling Bratva weren’t less terrible or ruthless just because they weren’t in Russia.

“Anyone have a clue what the Bratva might be doing?” Tommy asked when he realized the vigilantes didn’t seem to know what they were looking for in connection to the Bratva.

“Not a clue.” Slade said. 

“The unfortunate thing is that they could be up to anything.” Lyla responded. “The Triad focuses on drugs and weapons. The Bertinellis too, mixed in with selling some stolen goods, some extorting of local businesses for “protection” and the like. The Bratva is a completely different animal. They could be bringing in drugs or weapons. Or worse.” Having only heard the short version of what Lyla and Oliver saw in Moscow, no one wanted to think about what “or worse” was in this context.

‘Or getting ready to make a play for more territory.’ Oliver added.

“Yeah, that too.”

“And we need evidence of something that’s actually a crime to do anything about it.” Felicity said. “We’ll find something, and I’m just hoping no one gets hurt in the meantime.”

“Which means we gotta figure out what they’re doing. Back at square one.” Sara said.

“Not necessarily.” McKenna noted. “If you find a crate of cocaine, or guns or whatever, and you inform the SCPD, they’ll seize it and the Bratva can’t use it. And trying to track down where it came from will lead to someone. It had to come from somewhere. Someone had to have unloaded it. Someone’s prints will be on it. And one “someone” leads to someone else and so on.”

 

To Frank Bertinelli and Nick Salvati’s frustration, the trap they had set for the “rat” investigating them wasn’t successful. They had made a big deal about moving “goods” to the warehouse.  They made it look like no one was watching the building. Nick had done everything he could to try and lure the rat out of hiding, but no one showed up to start snooping around.

“I say we give it a few nights at least.” Nick said when Frank pointed out that the plan hadn’t worked. “No one came tonight, but that doesn’t mean no one’s coming.”

“Why would they wait?”

“I don’t know how rats think.” He said. “This guy seems to be smarter than most, cause we haven’t caught him yet. He’s probably biding his time.”

“Or, he didn’t come because he knows it's a trap.”

“The only people who know it’s a trap are you and me. And it ain’t me and it ain’t you.” Nick said. “Unless you’re saying you think I’m the rat.”

“If I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Frank said. “We give it two more nights. After that, if this doesn’t work, we gotta start looking at outsiders.”

Nick doubted someone outside the famiglia was the person they were looking for. It was possible, but he wasn’t willing to bet money on it yet.

 

Joe West meant to see Barry on Tuesday to talk to him about Nora Allen’s murder case being reopened. He wanted to make sure Barry knew that he wasn’t angry, just a little shocked. Joe wasn’t able to talk to Barry until Wednesday morning due to a bank robbery turned hostage situation taking up most of his day on Tuesday.

Mid-morning on Wednesday, Joe knocked on the open door of Barry’s lab. “I think there’s some stuff we should talk about. Let me buy you a cup of coffee.”

“Uh, sure.” Barry said, a little nervous. It had been a few days since he spoke to Joe and, while he wanted to get this initial conversation over with, he was worried now that it seemed he couldn’t avoid it. “But not that sludge they serve down in the lobby.”

“I won’t even drink that stuff.” He said. “I was thinking that diner down the street, since Jitters is a little too far to justify right now, with all the work we both have on our plates.”

Barry couldn’t argue with that, and while it would’ve been nice to stop by Jitters to see Iris and have silent support, the diner offered a little more privacy for the conversation. They walked to the diner, though they didn’t really talk until they were seated.

“I’m not mad, you know.” Joe said. “I know you might be expecting me to be, but-. Singh advised me not to talk about the case itself with you, so I won’t ask about it, what you found, any of that, but I figured, talking about the news itself, not details, is not off-limits.”

“You’re not mad?”

“I’m not mad. I’ll admit I was shocked. I didn’t take it well at first, but Iris set me straight.” He said. “Reminded me that this isn’t, and hasn’t ever been, about me. You needed to do this for yourself, and so you did.”

“Yeah, she’s good at that. Setting someone straight, I mean. She’s done that to me plenty of times over the years.” Barry said softly. 

“I know I’m not supposed to talk about the case with you, especially since I haven’t talked to the two new detectives, but this happening, and happening so quickly from what I understand, in terms of when you went to the captain, it’s got me thinking.”

“You’re starting to doubt if you made the right call.”

“I’m wondering if there’s something we missed, yes.” He said. “And I’m not gonna insult you or your intelligence by insisting we couldn’t have made a mistake. We could have. That’s always a possibility. It’s why they decided to reopen the case. But-.”

“I know hindsight is 20-20 and everything, but I wish it hadn’t been you on the case. If you were just my foster dad or just the detective, or if it had just been Chyre, it would’ve been easier for me. I know I told you that before but- but you being both, lines got blurred. And a lot of my frustration and anger stems from that.”

“You’re right. The lines blurred and they shouldn’t have.”  He said. “I can’t change that. I wish I could. All I can do is try to make that up to you.”

“That’s gonna take some time. I’ve got complicated feelings about the whole situation and I need to work those out.” Barry said. “So, don’t take it the wrong way if I seem distant for a while.”

“Take all the time you need.” Joe said.

They had their coffee in silence and returned to the precinct. Barry felt better, knowing that he no longer had this first conversation with Joe, after the case being reopened, over with. Joe also felt better, since he had addressed the things he felt most needed to be said. No one was happy, but they each felt a little less burdened by what was going on.

 

“Have you heard anything from the FBI or CGIS?” ARGUS agent Melendez asked Cat Grant. It had now been several days since Grant had given the task force all of File 4587. 

“Not yet, but there was a lot to go through. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of pages to review.” Cat answered. The file had some information about the Queen’s Gambit, but a lot of it was focused on something else entirely. Waller covering up the Gambit being sabotaged was really more of a footnote in those documents. “And, unfortunately, all we can do is wait.”

“You looked through that file and so did I. If the conclusion we came to is correct, every day that passes puts people in danger.” Melendez argued. “For all we know, there’s a mole in this organization. With a high security clearance. Possibly more than one. Even if it’s just Bell-.”

“I know. I also know that, if Deputy Director Bell had any idea that we were onto him, he would’ve done something by now.” She said. “But we can’t investigate this matter internally. It’s bigger than Waller or the Queen family or whatever happened on that island. And it’s gotten more people killed. I also- unfortunately, there's a political aspect of this we need to take into account. We both vowed to protect the citizens of this country from enemies, both foreign and domestic, et cetera, but here are 535 people sitting in Washington DC right now who care about keeping their jobs first, and protecting citizens second, if we're lucky. Bell has friends, just like Waller does. There are some people who wanted Waller to stay in charge of ARGUS and we can’t give them any room to make those kinds of sentiments widely known, even if Waller’s sitting in a cell right now. Same for Bell. We have to tread carefully, which in this case means having as little to do with actively building a case against him as possible. And I’ve taken steps to make sure Bell doesn’t try to do anything traitorous while we’re waiting.”

“What if he figures out we're onto him while we’re waiting for the other agencies to act?”

“I will handle it.” Cat wouldn't say Bell was an idiot, but she did feel like a lot of his actions were overlooked by Waller, who had been focused on her own schemes. As a director, Cat had nothing to hide from her bosses, so she could pay closer attention to Bell. Plus, she had had to deal with agents with divided loyalties before, so while she didn't want to have to step in, she knew what to do if she had to.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

------
Some BTW matters, because sometimes, I make references others don't have the context for.
-June 9 has no significance in the Arrowverse, as far as I know, but its a significant date in my life
-The number 535 Cat cites isn't random. It's the number of elected officials in Congress (100 Senators & 435 House of Representatives members) who's primary concern is getting re-elected.

Chapter 146

Summary:

Oliver gets some surprising news, Felicity and Lyla talk about the future and Tommy learns something very unsurprising.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity was getting ready to leave for work when Oliver grabbed her arm lightly. He had his phone in one hand and he was looking at it nervously.

‘I know you need to get going soon, but Eliana Sanchez is calling me.’ He said. ‘And, as far as I know, no one aside from Lyla is coming over anytime soon. I don’t wanna miss the call, in case it's super important. Can you-?’

“You should know that you don’t need to ask.” Felicity said. “Go ahead and answer.” Oliver pressed the button to accept the call and then put the phone on speaker. “Hi, Ms. Sanchez. This is Felicity Smoak, I’m here with Oliver.”

“Good morning to both of you. I just got off the phone with Camille Ashton. Ms. Clayton would like to make the announcement on Friday.”

“Friday as in this Friday? Two days from now, Friday?” Felicity asked the questions, but she could tell Oliver was having similar thoughts.

“Yes. Two days from now.” She said. “I know Oliver is going to be in Central City that morning because he needs to be added to William’s birth certificate, so I think Ms. Clayton sees it as the most convenient timing.”

“Convenient for her, maybe. She- sorry, that was mean. Oliver?”

‘Do I have to be in Central City when the press release comes out?’ He asked. Felicity repeated the question. Lyla walked in and gave them a questioning look, but didn’t say anything.

“No. It’s a written statement so it can be released at any point.” Eliana said. “My suggestion would be that we release the announcement about William on Friday afternoon, once you’re back in Starling City and home. That way, you don’t have to worry about the press waiting to meet you at the train station with cameras and all.”

‘Then, I think that’s what we should do.’ He said. ‘It makes the most sense.’ He didn’t want to get mobbed getting off the train.

“All right. That’s what we’ll do then. Thanks for your time.” Eliana said before ending the call.

‘What did you mean?’ Oliver asked Felicity. ‘What you were apologizing for.’

“Well, let’s say you had to be in Central City when the announcement came out. Samantha could get home before the story got “big” whereas you’d have to get to the train station, spend a few hours on the train and then get home afterwards. And she knows people will care more about your life than hers.” She said. “Like I said, the thought was mean, but that doesn’t mean it's untrue. I don’t wanna make it a whole thing, but some of the things Samantha has done during this process really grind my gears.”

“Grind your gears?” Lyla repeated with a laugh.

“I stand by that terminology.” Felicity said. “I’ll see you tonight, Oliver.” She gave him a kiss goodbye and left with Lyla.

“What has Samantha done that “grinds your gears”?” Lyla asked Felicity once they were in the car.

“I don’t wanna get too into it, because it’s just gonna make me annoyed, but there was a lot of delay in getting things done not because Oliver and Samantha couldn’t agree but because they’d agree but then she’d say she needed a few days to make sure it was the right decision. And it was stressful for her, I understand that, but it was also stressful for Oliver, he didn’t wanna push too hard to get an answer and after the fourth time of her doing that, it started to seem like she wanted to drag things out.” She said. “She acted weird whenever we’d say we wanted to introduce William to someone, but that’s lessened and I think that stemmed from her concern that Moira was going to ruin her life.”

“So, other than lying to him in the first place, and trying to keep up her lie with Dinan and Mars, there’s nothing to truly get pissed off over. Just minor annoyances.”

“Yup.” Felicity said. They drove in silence for a bit. “Oliver and I talked about marriage last night. He didn’t propose but he asked if he could be the one to ask. So, like a proposal for the proposal. I told him he could. After I finished panicking a little bit.”

“You panicked? I thought the two of you knew you were gonna get married?”

“I didn’t panic panic, but- he said he wanted to be the one to propose because he had already started planning what to say and I heard that and I thought he had, like, a whole plan ready to go and I- it freaked me out a little bit.”

“You know it's too soon and he knows it's too soon. I’m happy for both of you, but everyone who gets a say has acknowledged more than once that it's too soon.” She said. “And Oliver’s one of the most….aware people I know, when it comes to other people’s feelings. So, I’m sure he knows that one, it was the timing that freaked you out, not the idea of marriage and two, he needs to pick the right moment to ask, like what I told Ray.”

“Good point.” Felicity said. 

“Ask Thea to be your maid of honor when the time comes.”

“You don’t wanna throw your name in for consideration?”

“It’s not that I don’t want the job, or that I wouldn’t be honored, but I think Thea’s been dreaming about being the maid of honor in her brother’s wedding for years, like since she was a kid. I wouldn’t wanna take that away from her. I also got married, with next to no planning, on an army base, so I don’t know that much about planning a wedding in the first place.”

“Fair enough. Our wedding’s probably gonna be very low key, but I see your point.” Felicity also had a feeling that Oliver would ask Lyla to be in the wedding party on “his” side.



Moira was getting ready for the day when there was a soft knock on her bedroom door. “Just a moment.” She called out. She finished dressing and opened the door to see that Raisa was waiting outside. “What is it, Raisa?”

“Dr. Lamb called.” Raisa responded. “He was calling for Mr. Oliver about scheduling an appointment.”

“Did he say what the appointment was for?”

“He couldn’t tell me. I told him that Mr. Oliver does not live here anymore. He asked that someone tell Oliver to call him.” She said. “I don’t know his number, so I couldn’t give Dr. Lamb a better number to call to reach him.” Raisa walked away after delivering the message to Moira.

Moira stood there for a moment, wondering what was going on. Why did Oliver need to see the doctor? Was he sick? Did something happen? Had Dr. Lamb discovered something in his file that had been missed? She also wasn’t sure what to do. Obviously, she needed to tell Oliver that Dr. Lamb called, but she didn’t know how to do that without making it seem like she was prying. Thea had made it incredibly clear that part of the problem between her and her children was that she didn’t seem to respect the boundaries they wanted to set. It wasn’t the only reason the relationships were strained, but it was a big reason. She wanted to know that Oliver was okay, at least, but knew asking him a bunch of questions wouldn’t get her anywhere and would just make Oliver feel like she was overstepping his boundaries, again. 

It took her a few minutes to craft her text to Oliver, and the message she ended up sending was as neutral as she could make it. 

 

“Mr. Merlyn, we need to talk.” One of Merlyn Global Group’s board members said as he walked into Tommy’s temporary office.

“Don’t call me Mr. Merlyn, because every time I hear that, I think my father is standing behind me and no one wants that, for obvious reasons.” Tommy said. “Call me Tommy, or Thomas, or “hey, you” but not Mr. Merlyn. What do you need?”

“Are you aware that your father is being sued?”

“My father’s a fugitive from the FBI and a few other agencies. If he’s being sued, which wouldn’t surprise me, it's not gonna impact the company any more than him being a fugitive already has.” He said. “Who’s suing him and why?”

“He’s being sued by the families of the crew of the Queen’s Gambit for wrongful death. Given the announcements by the FBI, it’s not hard to piece together that your father is responsible for the deaths of those people.”

“Okay. Why does that concern you? My father’s assets are frozen and if he doesn’t appear in court, which he won’t, the people suing win by default. And some judge can order the assets unfrozen to pay them.” He said. “Or that’s my understanding at least.” Everything Tommy knew about civil law, he knew from either TV or his brief “relationship but not really” with Laurel, who didn’t do much civil practice.

“It’s not incorrect, but the company cannot afford to pay these people.”

“Merlyn Global isn’t the one being sued, though.” He said. “So, the company won’t have to pay anything. Malcolm is being sued, so Malcolm will be the one who has to pay.” And Tommy hoped these people drained him dry.

“You don’t think the lawsuit is something we should worry about?”

“Not at all.” He said. “People are dead and it's his fault. And, with him as a fugitive, their families aren’t gonna get to see Malcolm sent to prison for the rest of his life, but they can sue him and get awarded a judgement, which is better than nothing.”

The board member looked at Tommy as if seeing him for the first time. He knew Tommy and Malcolm were different, but this conversation proved how different. No one had successfully sued Malcolm in the past because he had a tendency to keep dragging the matter out, again and again, until the person suing lost their nerve, ran out of money or ran out of patience. Those who kept pursuing the case past the initial stages, anyway. Most suits got dropped in the early stages because Malcolm “convinced” the person to drop the matter.

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“For the moment.”

 

Oliver and Thea were sitting in front of one of the computers in the foundry. While Oliver wasn’t quite as skilled as Felicity when it came to hacking, he was more skilled than the average person and wanted to pass along some of the skills he knew to Thea, in case it might help her later. Oliver had had many mentors over the five years he was missing, and felt that learning from more than one teacher helped him improve his skills faster than if he’d only been trained by Yao Fei or Shado or Slade or Lyla, and not all four. He couldn’t think of a reason why the same couldn’t be true for non-combat skills.

“Wow, you and Felicity’s styles are, like, totally different.” Thea said after he finished walking her through how he’d hack into Daniel Brickwell’s phone, if he was going to do that. “Not better or worse, just different.”

‘That’s the way that makes the most sense to me.’ He said. ‘I also learned on the fly, as I needed to, while she took a class, or multiple, about hacking.’

“She took a class?”

He nodded. ‘She has a cybersecurity degree. Part of being good at that is knowing how to defend against hackers, so one of the classes at MIT that she had to take was about hacking. She said one of her projects was to design a system and another student’s task was to try to hack into that system. And vice versa. You should ask her about it, it seems like she had a lot of great stories from that class.’

“Okay, I- Mom texted you.” She said. “Do you think she knows about William? Or the announcement you and Samantha are making?”

‘I don’t know.’ He normally would’ve waited and read the text when he felt like it, but Thea’s questions made him worry, so he opened the message as soon as she asked him about it. The message was short, sweet and to the point.

>>From: Mom- Dr. Lamb called the mansion to speak with you. He said something about scheduling an appointment. You might want to give him a call back. I can give you the number if you need it.

“Ollie?”

‘She doesn’t know about William.’ He said. ‘She wanted me to know that the doctor called and I should call him back.’ When Oliver was released from the hospital, the doctor mentioned wanting to have a follow-up appointment in six months. Going back to the doctor hadn’t been high on Oliver’s list of priorities, so he hadn’t made the appointment.

“Why do you need to see a doctor? Is something wrong?”

‘No. It’s just supposed to be a check-up, since I’ve been home for over six months but I don't wanna go.’ Whatever doctor he went to would want to see his scars which meant he’d have to undress. Getting undressed meant being vulnerable and he didn’t like that feeling. It also meant questions about his speech issues, which was something he didn’t want to discuss.

“If you don’t like that doctor, see a different one then.” She said. 

‘How many doctors know ASL?’ He said. ‘Because I need one that does. I’d prefer to not have to write down everything I need to say.’

“Roy or Donna could- you’re angry. Why are you angry?”

‘I’m not angry, I- I like Roy, I like Donna, I trust them, but one of them is your boyfriend and the other one is my girlfriend’s mom. I think asking either of them to attend doctor’s appointments with me is crossing a line.’ Neither Roy or Donna had seen the extent of Oliver’s scars, which was another reason why he didn’t want to ask them to come with him.

“Okay. Fair enough. You’re right. It’s a weird thing to ask. You could ask Felicity.” She said. “She’d go with you, if you asked her. But I’m gonna drop it now because I can tell you don’t wanna talk about it anymore.”

‘I’ll think about it.’ He said. ‘I gotta go. I need to pick Felicity up for lunch.’

“I should probably go too. I’m spending the afternoon with Roy. We don’t know what we’re doing yet, but we’re meeting for lunch.”

‘Have fun. I’ll see you later.’ He said.

Carly had asked Digg if he could watch AJ today, so rather than Oliver and Digg having a double lunch date with their respective partners, Oliver and Felicity went to lunch while Lyla spent her lunch hour at Carly’s apartment with Digg and AJ.

They wound up at a small sushi place that wasn’t too busy. Felicity told Oliver about her day so far and what she hoped to get done before her work-from-home day on Thursday. Oliver thought about mentioning the doctor’s appointment he needed to make, but didn’t say anything because he hadn’t decided what to do yet.

‘Does everyone at Applied Sciences work from home on Thursdays?’ He asked her.

“No. Some people work from home Wednesdays, some people have one every other week instead of weekly, by their choice. It was offered to me after I’d been at QC for around two years and I just picked Thursdays. Some people don’t work from home at all. Ray doesn’t work from home, unless the office is closed for bad weather. He said he liked being in his lab and found working from home too difficult. Which is fair, since a lot of his work is more hands-on than mine. If I had to, or wanted to, I could keep QC’s cybersecurity running from a beach in Tahiti.” She said. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”

‘Tahiti does sound nice this time of year.’ He said as he looked out at the rainy, dreary sky. ‘If you wanna test that theory, the plane only needs an hour to get ready.’

“You wanna go to Tahiti?”

‘With you? Of course. I don’t- I’m fine with islands, except Lian Yu. Being on a boat is a completely different matter.’

“So, when planning a vacation, it would be “yes” to Hawaii, but “no” to a cruise of the Caribbean. Good to know.” She said.

Their food came and they ate in companionable silence for several minutes.

‘I feel like I both can’t wait for Friday to be here and I’m dreading it at the same time.’ He admitted. ‘It’s not that I don’t want people to know, like I’m hiding something, but-.’

“But once Friday comes, the news is out and all that’s left is everyone else’s reaction and opinions. And it’s not something you can just undo. You can’t unbake a cake.”

‘Well, I’m sure you could create a device that erases people’s memories, if you really put your mind to it.’

“Oh, no. Memories shape who you are, good or bad. If I erase someone’s memory, then they aren’t them anymore. I’m not building evil technology, not even for you.” She said. “I won’t say everything’s gonna be okay, but I will say that we’re gonna get through it together.”

‘Together. I like the sound of that.’ He said. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’ She signed back. “I love you so much.”

‘But not enough to create evil tech?’ He asked jokingly.

She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “Nope. Sorry.”

They finished their lunch and left. Not long after they left, Twitter went crazy. Another customer managed to get parts of Oliver and Felicity’s conversation on video and posted it online. Many people were happy, because the conversation about Tahiti made it sound like they were discussing possible honeymoon spots. Others were excited because the customer managed to get the “I love you” exchange recorded clearly. A small section were disappointed, because #Olicity were having sushi, which meant Felicity wasn’t pregnant, since sushi was off-limits to pregnant women. Thankfully, the person taking the video missed the beginning of their conversation about the coming Friday, so no one felt the need to try to uncover Oliver’s secret.

 

When Laurel walked into the visitation room of Cassidy Penn, she smiled when she saw that Sara was the one who had come to visit. It had been more than a week since Sara’s last visit, and during that time both Quentin and Dinah had visited. 

“Hey, I missed you last week.” Laurel said when she sat down.

“Sorry. I got a job and the schedule was up in the air for a while, so I didn’t know when I’d be able to visit.” Sara said. “I wish I could’ve made it last week.” Years ago, Sara remembered Quentin saying that people who’d been incarcerated tended to struggle after release because they felt disconnected from the people in their lives. Sara didn’t want Laurel to feel that way after her release, so she tried to see her sister at least once a week so that they could rebuild their relationship and Laurel wouldn’t feel like she had no connections outside of the jail.

“You got a job? Where are you working?”

“At a gym. I started teaching self-defense classes.” She said. “I didn’t wanna commit to going back to school, not that I could afford it in the first place, but I needed to do something with my life.”

“You wanted to be a doctor. And instead, you’re working at a gym.”

“I really don’t wanna get into all the things I wanted, back then, compared to what I want now. Will I ever go back to school? I don’t know, but this is where I am now and this is what I want to be doing.”

“Yeah, I guess that wasn’t really fair of me.” Laurel said. “I just- I’m struggling to reconcile the person in front of me with the last memory I had of you.”

“You’re not alone in that. Mom and Dad had, and are still having, that issue. Thea and Tommy had it. I’ve only had one friend from before reach out to me, and it didn’t go well, but yeah, you’re not the only one still getting used to the new Sara.”

“Must’ve made your welcome home party interesting.”

“Why would we have the party without you?” She asked. “How’s your writing going? Last time I was here, you said you were working on a short story.”

“It’s no longer a short story, but I’m almost done with it. Nearing 200 pages, but they’re handwritten so I don’t know how long it actually is.”

“200 pages?”

“I’ve….had a lot of free time.”

“Well, I can’t wait to read it. If you ever decide to let someone see it.”

“You wanna read it? You don’t even know what it's about.”

“I don’t need to know what it’s about to wanna support my sister.” She said. “If you actually wanna release it. I know it might be a therapy thing, and you might not want to share it, but if it’s not, yeah, I wanna read it.”

“I don’t know if I’m gonna let anyone else see it or not.” It had never occurred to Laurel that someone else might want to read what she had been writing. She liked the story, but was it actually good? Would other people like her writing?

Even as their conversation moved on, the idea of whether or not she’d share her writing stayed in her mind. She was still thinking about it as she said her goodbyes to Sara and went back to her cell.

 

Wednesday night, Felicity and Oliver had leftovers for dinner. Felicity didn’t want to let Oliver’s delicious cooking from the night before go to waste and having leftovers meant clean-up didn’t taken very long and they had plenty of time to spare before it was time for their weekly video call with William.

‘Should I tell him what’s going to happen on Friday?’ Oliver asked Felicity while they were relaxing on the couch. ‘Or do you think it might be too much for him?’

“I’m not sure he’d completely understand the significance of it. I can’t remember if I was all that aware of what a birth certificate was at his age, so he’d be confused about what that even is, why you need to be added to his, or why you weren’t already on it. And as for the announcement, he doesn’t really need to know. It’s not new information to him and you’d have to explain why random people he’s never met would care and that’s just- I mean, when you were five, almost six, did you know your parents were famous?”

‘Not really. I just knew that when I went to certain places with them, I usually had to wear clothes that weren’t comfortable and my mom would get upset if I got them dirty. Yeah, I guess William might be too young for me to try to explain the situation to him.’

“That’s what is hard about having a smart child. William is incredibly smart for his age, but those are book smarts. It doesn’t mean he’s more emotionally mature or able to understand things like his place in the world better.” She said. “Like, I was a math prodigy, I was years ahead of other kids my age, but when my dad left, none of that mattered because math couldn’t make me stop being a sad little seven-year-old who just wanted him to come back.”

‘How did your mom handle it?’

“She handled it by letting me be sad. She tried to cheer me up and make me feel better, but she also knew- I think Bubbe helped her realize it- but she knew she couldn’t stop me from feeling sad and that she needed to let me be sad for a bit because I needed to work through my feelings.” She said. “So, if William is ever dealing with some intense feelings, of course we should try to help him, but we also need to let him feel however he needs to feel. Because no one, kid or adult, wants to be told that they’re not allowed to feel whatever emotion they are feeling at a given moment.”

Oliver knew exactly how frustrating it was for one’s feelings to be invalidated, to be told to just “not be sad” or that he “didn’t have anything to be anxious about” and he perfectly understood what she was saying, and agreed with the idea. Before he could respond, however, it was time for the video call to begin.

William’s face popped up on the screen. “Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!” He said. “Mommy said I could open the video all by myself!”

“Oh, that’s very exciting.” Felicity said. “Hi, William.”

“Hey, buddy.” Oliver said after a moment. He hadn’t had his text-to-speech app open so his greeting was a little delayed. “What’s going on? How’s pre-k?”

“It’s fun! Today, we did arts and crafts, ‘cause it was rainy and we couldn’t go outside to play. I made something really cool! Wanna see it?” William said excitedly.

“Of course!”

“Mommy, can you hold the tablet while I get my arts and crafts to show Daddy and Lisy?” He asked Samantha, who was off-screen. “You said I needed to sit down to use it.”

“How about you keep the tablet and I’ll go get your collage from the kitchen?” Samantha asked. “That way, you can keep talking to them?”

“Okay.” He said before looking back at the screen. “Mommy’s gonna get it and bring it back so I can show you. Ms Gwen had us cut out pictures from magazines and stuff and glue them together however we wanted on the paper.”

Samantha returned and handed William his collage. He spent several minutes pointing out the various pictures he’d cut out of magazines, newspapers and other materials and pasted onto a sheet of construction paper. It seemed to be a random collection of things William liked, such as pictures of dogs, different toys and lots of the color blue, which was his favorite color. They asked questions along the way, wanting to hear him tell them all about the pictures he picked.

“I don’t know why I put the picture of the clouds, but they look cool.” William said, finishing his explanation of the collage.

“Maybe you put it there because they look cool?” Oliver suggested. “Seems like a good reason to me.”

“Or maybe because they have interesting shapes.” Felicity said. “The one on the left looks kinda like a dinosaur.”

“It does kinda look like one!” William said. “I think that was why, and they also look cool. That’s what I did at pre-k.”

“Sounds like an exciting time.”

“Will, it's almost bedtime. Time to start saying good night.” Samantha said.

“Already?” He pouted.

“I’m afraid so.” She said. 

“I gotta go get ready for bed.” William said. “Goodnight Lisy. Goodnight Daddy.”

“Goodnight Will.” Felicity and Oliver said in unison. 

“Why don’t you get changed into your PJs? I’ll be right there.” Samantha said. Felicity, Oliver and Samantha looked at one another for several moments until she spoke again. “So, Friday is the big day. I guess I’ll see both of you then.”

“It’s gonna be Thea and Oliver, actually.” Felicity said. Due to a work commitment, that she couldn’t reschedule, she wasn’t able to go to Central City with Oliver, but Thea was more than happy to accompany Oliver on the trip.

“Oh. Well, then I guess I’ll see you on Friday morning, Oliver.” She didn’t seem to know what to say next and ended the call right then and there.

‘I guess I’m not the only one who’s nervous for Friday.’ He said.

“No, you certainly are not.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 147

Summary:

Helena's plan moves into its final stages, Tommy hears some unexpected news and Oliver takes a very important trip.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As they had done Tuesday night, Frank Bertinelli and Nick Salvati spent all night Wednesday waiting for their rat to show up and take the bait they’d set. As with the night before, no one showed up, much to Frank’s annoyance.

“Why hasn’t this dick shown up yet?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know how rats think, so I can’t say.”

“That wasn’t a serious question.” He said. “One more night. If no one shows up by tomorrow night, I’m calling the whole thing off.”

“You said as much.”

“I don’t like doing all this work for no reason. It’s a waste of time.” This ruse of theirs was a good idea in theory, but it would start to affect Frank’s legitimate business operations soon, and he had to at least appear as a legitimate businessman if push came to shove.

“It’s not, actually.” Nick said. “You set this thing up because we thought the rat worked for Bertinelli Construction, right? That’s why we made sure all the guys knew the “goods” were being relocated. They’re the only ones who know about it, so if none of them are the rat-.”

“Then, the rat’s not one of the boys. It has to be an associate or something.” Frank said, realizing what Nick was getting at. “So, no matter what happens, we learn something.”

Nick didn’t say anything, but started compiling a list in his head of who, outside the famiglia, could be the one gathering information on them. There were only so many people on the periphery of the organization with the necessary access to pull something like this off.

 

Thursday turned out to be a pretty mundane, ordinary day for most of Team Arrow. Felicity worked from home, as usual on Thursdays, and Oliver spent part of the day with her and some of the day researching what causes he wanted to donate to next and a few projects QC’s board needed to vote on. Thea and Roy decided to have a movie marathon in the penthouse and go out for lunch. John and Lyla spent the day with AJ, since he was on spring break. Sara went to work. Nyssa spent some time at the foundry sparring with Slade and the rest of her day looking for jobs and volunteer opportunities. Donna and Dinah had planned a “girls day” including lunch and a trip to the spa.

Tommy was the only one to have anything particularly noteworthy happen to him. Since no one else seemed interested in stepping up as CEO or finding a new CEO anytime soon, he was spending more and more time at Merlyn Global Group than he ever wanted to. Tommy didn’t want to let down the hundreds of Merlyn Global employees who had nothing to do with Malcolm’s actions, and since no one else wanted to step up to the challenge, it fell to him to try to keep the company open and those people employed. It wasn’t how Tommy expected his life to go, but he also never expected his father to be a domestic terrorist wanting to level half of the city.

He was in the middle of reviewing the company’s financial reports when three board members walked into the office he was using.

“Congratulations, Mr. Merlyn.” One of the three, Connor Donnell, said. He held his hand out for a handshake.

“What am I being congratulated for?” Tommy asked, not mentioning his dislike of being called “Mr. Merlyn”.

“The board voted and agreed to make you CEO.”

“Temporary CEO, correct? This vote wasn’t to give me the job permanently, right?” He asked. “Because I have no interest in running this company forever. Yeah, I know my name’s on the side of the building, but I don’t wanna be CEO. I’ve done what I’ve been doing because I don’t think its fair that my father’s delusions might put hundreds, if not thousands, of people out of work. And I’ve tasked HR with finding someone who can be CEO long-term.”

“You don’t want to be the CEO of your father’s company?” A different board member asked.

“No. I’d rather follow in my mother’s footsteps and try to help as many people as possible than take after my father in any way. I’ve been doing CEO-like things, for the company, because it’s not HR’s fault or the people down in the mailroom’s fault that my father’s a wanted fugitive. I doubt he knows the names of more than a dozen people in this building.” He said. “I’ll do it since no one else wants to but this is a temporary assignment, for one, and I’m not accepting a salary, for another.”

“You don’t wanna be paid?”

“Nope. I don’t need the money. And I don’t want it.” He said. “And, unless someone forgot to add a zero on some of these numbers, the company could use having some extra cushion in the budget.”

Sensing that Tommy wanted to get back to what he was doing, the three board members turned to leave. They almost collided with a man in an expensive suit.

“Thomas Merlyn?” The man asked.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

The man held out an envelope. “As a representative of Malcolm Merlyn, you’ve bee-.”

“If you’re here to serve Malcolm with a subpoena or lawsuit, I’m not accepting anything on his behalf.” He said. “My father’s current lawyer is with Cecil, Belman & Partners. Please serve him with those forms.” He’d learned over the years that, in order to sue someone, the person needed to receive a copy of the lawsuit. Malcolm was currently on the run, so in order for anything to move forward, someone had to accept the forms on Malcolm’s behalf. Tommy thought it would just be easier if Malcolm’s lawyers accepted the forms directly.

“I tried that. They didn’t let me past the front desk.” The man said. “I just need someone to accept the complaint, so that the court has proof of service. You have no obligation to do anything after you accept the papers, other than try to pass them along to his attorneys.”

“Fine.” Tommy said, holding his hand out. He took the envelope and signed the form the process server handed him, acknowledging he received the papers. The process server left and Tommy looked over the papers. It was the lawsuit filed by the relatives of the Queen’s Gambit’s crew. He wrote a quick note on a sticky note before putting the papers in a manila envelope and heading out of the room. “Sheila?”

“Yes, Mr. Mer- Tommy?” Sheila responded. Since Tommy had started doing CEO-adjacent things, Malcolm’s former assistant had assigned herself to be his assistant.

“Is there a way to get this envelope to Cecil, Belman & Partners before the end of the day?” He asked her. The law firm couldn’t, or rather wouldn’t, refuse a package coming from one of their biggest clients. Or a package that looked like it came from the client, in this case.

“Of course. I’ll call a courier to pick it up now.” She said. 

“You’re the best.” He said before heading back into his temporary office. 

When Tommy relayed what had happened later that night, the group mostly agreed that the situation, whether somewhat funny or not, was fitting. Malcolm’s reputation was ruined, the company that he cared about more than anything, aside from revenge, was in the hands of his “failure” of a son and now, his bank balance was being threatened. Until Malcolm was thrown in prison, it was the best they could hope for.

“How much money are the families asking for?” Thea asked. “I can’t imagine it's easy, putting a price on something like that.”

“I only skimmed the paperwork, so I don’t know if they wrote down an actual number.” He answered. “I hope they get everything they want outta him, and then some.”

‘Could you end up getting dragged into this?’ Oliver asked Tommy. ‘As in, having to pay when Malcolm doesn’t show up?’

“From what I know, I don’t think so. I’m not named in the lawsuit, Malcolm is. When he doesn’t show up, he loses by default and the judge can say “you each get $5 million” or whatever amount and then unfreeze that amount of money.” He said. “Or, at least, that’s how I understand it works, from hearing Laurel discuss law stuff.”

“If Malcolm fails to respond, which he might not let his lawyers do.” Sara pointed out.

“Malcolm’s lawyers also aren’t getting paid, so I don’t know how much effort they’ll expend on his behalf for this. I’m hoping none, but they might have an ethical obligation to do a certain amount.” He said. “Like I said, I hope these people get whatever they’re asking for, and then some.”

The team went out on patrol, hoping they might come across some evidence against the Bratva. The only thing they discovered was that the Bratva had claimed a large, abandoned warehouse in what used to be the Triad's territory.

 

“Helena, I need to-.” Frank tried to tell his daughter. He had a cover story ready to go so that she wouldn’t question why he was leaving so late at night or coming back at a weird time later.

“Dad, I really can’t talk right now.” She said, sounding frazzled. In front of her were stacks of papers and folded up index cards and she looked very agitated. “I have a real crisis on my hands.”

“What’s the crisis?”

“Michael and I need to figure out the seating chart for the reception.” She said. “And I can’t put Amber near Brooke, because Brooke’s ex cheated on her with Amber, but I also can’t put Brooke or Amber at the same table as Naomi , because Amber’s current fiance dated Naomi and Naomi’s sister dated Brooke’s brother and the families never got along. Not to mention, Michael wants to invite his friend Shawn, who Sandra and-.”

Frank slowly backed out of the room. He didn’t want to get dragged into wedding planning by any means and he feared if he didn’t walk away now, he’d never get the chance. In this state, Helena would probably not even notice if he’d left, so he didn’t even need to make up an excuse.

Helena, meanwhile, waited until she was sure her father had fled before smiling. With the performance she’d just given it would be at least a day, possibly two, before her father came anywhere near her again, for fear of getting dragged into helping her. It showed how little he knew about his daughter that he didn’t even realize none of the “friends” she mentioned even existed. She watched his car leave the driveway, waited for a bit and then left on her own to finish up the last few things she needed to do before she could hand her evidence over to the FBI.

She had a lot of information about Frank and his activities, but she was worried she didn’t have enough. Part of her knew this was a foolish thought, the FBI had arrested people on far less, but another part of her wanted to bury Frank so that he’d be in a cell before he’d had time to realize what happened or could seek revenge. Helena lost her mother because of Frank, she wasn’t going to lose anyone else.

Helena’s night was spent going through her evidence and organizing it. Frank and Nick spent the night in a cold, dingy warehouse, waiting for a rat who never showed. 

 

Oliver was awake bright and early on Friday. Today was the day he’d been waiting weeks for. He was happy for the time he’d gotten to spend with William so far, but there was also a tinge of sadness mixed in. He was spending time with his son, but no one could know about his son. He felt like he was hiding Will from the world, as if he was ashamed, and that upset him. He hadn’t been able to show Will any of the fun things around the city either, because it would mean being out in public and possibly being spotted. Today was the day all of that would change and he was looking forward to it.

“If you see William, tell him I say hi.” Felicity told him as she was getting dressed.

‘How do you always know what I’m thinking?’

“Well, I don’t always know, but I’m very good at guessing.” She said. “Mostly I think it’s because I know you pretty well. And it’s not hard for someone who knows you to be able to guess what you might be thinking about this morning, given what’s happening later.”

‘Do you think I’ll get to see Will today?’

“I mean, it’s possible. You didn’t ask Samantha if you’d see him, but she also didn’t say that you wouldn’t get a chance to. It could happen, and I hope you at least get to see him for a little bit. And if you do, please tell him I said hi.”

‘Of course. I’ll give him a hug for you too.’ He said. ‘I’m sorry this was on such short notice and you can’t come with me.’

“It’s fine. This needs to be done and you’ll have Thea there for support. I would’ve liked to come, but it just didn’t work out.” She said. “Life gets in the way of your plans, sometimes. Besides, you and Thea can talk about the rest of us and how weird we are during the train ride.”

‘We wouldn’t do that. And no one’s weird, either.’

“It was a joke, honey. I know you wouldn’t do that.” She said. “My point is that I’m sure you and Thea can find something to talk about, or do, during the train ride to Central City and back again. And the time will just fly by.”

Felicity had a point and Oliver knew of a few things he could discuss with Thea on the trip, things he wanted to run by her and didn’t want Felicity to overhear. Things such as his plans to surprise her, to mark their six month anniversary, and his developing proposal plans.

‘I’ll see you tonight.’ He told her as he got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

“See you tonight.”

 

Oliver and Thea’s train ride into Central City passed by pretty quickly. They spent most of the trip talking about what to get William for his birthday. Oliver had too many ideas to narrow down and thought Thea could give some insight on which ideas seemed like the best ones.

Their train got to the city a little later than they expected, so they had to rush to City Hall in order to meet Samantha on time. She was waiting on the second floor of the building and looked a little green.

“Oh, good. You’re here.” She said when she saw them round the corner.

‘Are we late?’ Oliver signed to his sister.

“We’re not late, are we?” Thea asked.

“No, you’re not. You just- I don’t have your number, only Oliver’s and Felicity’s, and she didn’t come. And given Oliver’s condition, I- I just wasn’t sure what I’d have to do if you were late and I needed to call you and ask what the delay was. But that doesn’t matter, because we have a few minutes before the appointment.”

“Ollie would’ve just handed me his phone and asked me to answer.” Thea said. It surprised her how often people overthought how to get in touch with Oliver. Texting was obviously his preference over phone calls, but if someone really had to talk to him, and couldn’t text him, he had never had an issue finding a way to make it happen. She also had a feeling that Samantha was feeling nervous, but didn’t want to let that show. “I’ll give you my number after we’re done here.”

“Sounds good.”

The time of the appointment came and they were led back into the office. It only took a few minutes with someone in the records department to add Oliver to William’s birth certificate and certify the changes to the document. Oliver and Samantha both felt foolish for being so worried, while Thea felt like it was a waste of time to come all the way to Central City for a five minute meeting, but she kept that to herself.

Samantha left as soon as everything was signed and dated. Oliver had wanted to ask if he and Thea could see William before heading home, but she was gone before he could mention it.

“Do you think she could’ve ran away from us any faster?” Thea remarked.

‘Not unless she was on roller skates or something. I wanted to ask if we could see Will, even just for a few minutes.’

“Do you want me to call her and ask?”

‘No. It’s fine.’ He said. It wasn’t fine. He was pretty upset that he didn’t even get the chance to ask, but he didn’t want to make something out of nothing and he knew he’d see William tomorrow during their FaceTime call. This was also the last day that Samantha would be “nobody” so, rationally, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to take advantage of that while she could.  ‘I guess it’s time to head home now.’

“Um, we sat on a train for like three hours to get here. I wanna spend at least some time in the city before we head home.” She said. “Let’s at least go get lunch or something first.”

‘Sounds good to me. Want anything in particular?’ He asked her.

“I’m not picky.”

They had lunch at a diner before catching the next train home. Thea had been checking social media as they moved, and it seemed like very few people had spotted them in Central City. A few blurry photos, or photos taken from a distance, were posted, but the commenters couldn't agree if it was the Queen siblings or just two people who looked a lot like them. When they were in their seats and the train had departed, Oliver turned to his sister and brought up something he wanted to talk to her about all day.

‘There’s something I want your opinion on.’ He said. ‘But you can’t freak out.’ The car was pretty empty, so no one could overhear their conversation, but if she started yelling in excitement, the other passengers would definitely hear them.

“I won’t freak out.”

‘You promise?’

“I promise, no matter what you want to tell me, I will not freak out.”

‘I started designing Felicity’s engagement ring yesterday.’

“You’re gonna- sorry. I said I wouldn’t freak out, and I’m not gonna.” She said, catching herself before she yelled in excitement. “I’m happy, though. What design did you come up with? When are you gonna ask? How are you gonna ask?”

‘Something simple, but elegant. I have a few designs in mind, I haven’t decided which one to go with. And I haven’t worked out the rest.’

“Do you have sketches or anything?”

He unlocked his phone and pulled something up before handing it to her. ‘Scroll through and tell me what you think.’

Oliver had about four designs and they spent part of the ride home discussing and debating each option. They were all very nice designs but they couldn’t decide which one seemed the best suited to Felicity. The conversation then moved to how he was going to ask her.

‘I’m not gonna ask her for a while, probably, but I also wanna start thinking about how I wanna do it.’

“Don’t put the ring in food.” 

‘Her bubbe already made me promise not to.’ He said. ‘And I’m not gonna, like, take her to a sporting event and propose on the Jumbotron or anything.’

“Good idea, not doing that. She’d hate being put on the spot like that, even though she’d say yes.”

‘Well, I also don’t want that many people looking at me ever.’

“That too. I think you should just, like, make her a really nice dinner, when the time comes. Just you and her, at home, having a nice evening and then you ask.”

‘Would that be special enough?’

“For you and her? Yes. Neither of you care that much about spectacle or attention. She doesn’t want or need a big production, just something special. I think what I suggested is the perfect plan. When the time’s right.”

‘When the time is right.’

When they reached Starling City, Oliver and Thea went to the house he shared with Felicity. He then got in touch with Daniel Correll and told him the press release could be sent out. After sending that message, Oliver turned on Netflix and he and Thea started watching The Office.

 

The timing of Oliver’s announcement worked out really well for Felicity, Lyla and their ability to get out of the Applied Sciences on time. The news was released right as they were leaving, but didn’t start getting attention until they were already on their way home. Lyla dropped Felicity off and the blonde walked into the house and greeted Oliver and Thea right as Thea’s phone began to go crazy.

“Ok, it looks like the cat’s out of the bag.” Thea remarked. “I just got, like, 14 text messages in a row, all from different people. Should we turn on the news?”

‘Just for a little bit.’ He said. ‘I wanna know what they’re saying, but I don’t wanna get sucked in.’

They changed the setting so that they were watching Channel 52. The station came back from commercial just as they tuned in.

“The Queen family made an announcement at the end of the last hour. Oliver Queen released a statement revealing he has a young son. The child’s name is not given, but the statement was made on behalf of Oliver and the boy’s mother, Samantha Clayton. Not much is said in the statement, other than Mr. Queen’s excitement to be a father and request for privacy as he, Ms. Clayton and their respective families start this new chapter.” The anchor read. “The parents have worked out a custody agreement privately, according to the statement, though no details are given.”

 

Half of Thea’s school was shocked at the news. They all started texting each other, and Thea, wanting to get the latest gossip on the situation. A lot of them wondered if Thea had even known about this and a lot of them were angry that she’d kept it a secret, if she knew.

Moira was completely flabbergasted by this turn of events. How had Oliver and Samantha worked things out so quickly? She’d sent her letter less than a month ago. She was happy Samantha had come clean, but wondered what this would mean for Oliver and her relationship with him. Raisa had seen the same announcement and was a bit shocked, but happy for Oliver. She knew he’d be a good father and hoped she’d get to one day meet his son.

Dinah and Quentin had vastly different reactions to the news. Dinah was happy for Oliver. Quentin did the math and realized Oliver either got someone pregnant while dating Laurel or during a ‘break” in their relationship. He wanted to be angry, believing that Oliver cheated on his daughter, but Sara was over for dinner when the news broke and set him straight on the facts. He still didn’t like Oliver all that much, but he wasn’t a cheater.

Susan Williams saw the story and started thinking. Was this Oliver’s only child? How did this kid impact his relationship with Felicity? And, most of all, what might Laurel Lance have to say about this development?

 

"Did you know about this?" Anna Loring asked her fiance. She didn't find the news shocking, but she wondered why Ray didn't have much of a reaction.

"Yeah, Felicity told Curtis and I a little while ago, but swore us to secrecy." Ray admitted. "Oliver's a very private person and he didn't want the press to start invading his son's life or his mother's. His son is really into robots, according to Felicity."

"Aw, that's sweet." She said.

 

In Central City, it took a little bit longer for the story to get picked up. Oliver wasn’t quite as famous there as he was in Starling City, so the story started to grow on social media before the mainstream media started reporting on it. Samantha avoided the news all night anyway, because she didn’t want to know what everyone was saying.

Half of Linda Park’s coworkers asked if she’d known, as if one interview with Oliver made her a close friend of his. They were disappointed when she said she was just as surprised as they were.

Eobard Thawne, upon hearing the news, went to Gideon and asked if Oliver having a son was a change in the timeline. It was not, so he didn’t care all that much.

In the Whitmore-Dugan household, the story was met with excitement. Mike didn’t really understand the intricacies of the situation, but he knew this meant William had a dad after all and he was happy for his friend.

“Wait, if Oliver Queen is William’s dad, then that means-.” Courtney started to say.

“His dad is alive, yes.” Barb said.

“No! Well, that’s true, but it also means that Will knows, or is gonna meet, Felicity Smoak!” She said. “That’s awesome! She’s one of my heroes. Do you- I wish I could meet her.”

“You still might. I think she, Oliver Queen and Thea Queen are coming to Will’s birthday party in a few weeks.” Barb said. 

“Did you know?” She asked her mother. “That William’s dad was alive and who he is?”

“I did, but I was sworn to secrecy. Ms. Clayton asked me to keep it a secret until she and Oliver Queen had worked some stuff out.”

 

After an emotionally draining week, Barry invited Iris over for a movie marathon. He needed a break from both work, and thinking about his mother’s case. Iris and Barry both really like movie musicals, so they sat down to watch some of their favorites. The Wizard of Oz was just coming to an end when Iris got a notification on her phone.

“Oliver Queen has a kid?” She asked.

“No, he doesn’t.” Barry said. “If he did, it would’ve made the news.”

“He does and it did.” She said. “Look!” She held out her phone and showed him the Twitter notification about Oliver being a father. “I wonder if his son is the boy from Jitters.”

“I’d bet my money on it.” Barry said. “We both said we thought that boy, William, looked a little like Oliver. Now we know why.”

“Well, he has a very cute son.” She said.

“Yeah, he does.” He was happy for his friend. While Barry didn’t know Oliver terribly well, he felt like Oliver would be a good dad and he hoped he was happy. He was a good man.

 

William, being completely oblivious to everything that was going on, spent his Friday night playing with his toys like he usually did. He and Samantha watched a movie after dinner and when he got tucked into bed, she read him one of his favorite bedtime stories. He fell asleep quickly and Samantha spent the rest of the night trying to keep herself busy, in order to stop herself from watching the news or checking social media to see what people were saying about her, Oliver and their son.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 148

Summary:

With the truth about William out there, some people begin to discuss the revelation and its consequences.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

On Friday night, patrol for the team was remarkably quiet. No one wanted to jinx things by claiming the city had gotten quiet, because that was just asking for disaster, but there was very little criminal activity. Some members of the team thought this was a good thing, crime was down, the city was becoming a better place to live. To others, they were sure this was the calm before the storm. They didn’t want to relax too much, because they were sure something was coming and they felt the need to be on alert for what that might be. No one wanted to verbalize the idea that this period of calm was temporary, so no one addressed it directly. 

A few members of Team Arrow watched the Bratva’s warehouse for a bit, but saw no activity in the building and there was nothing being stored inside. The Bratva were going to use that space for something, they just weren’t using it yet.

With one organized crime syndicate waiting to make its move, several members of the team started thinking about the other organized crime group on their radar. The Bertinellis had been very quiet these last few days, but so had Helena, from what they could tell.

“Do you think she can do it?” Sara asked, and got strange looks in response because they didn’t know who she was talking about. “Helena, I mean. I don’t have much experience with someone trying to take down an entire criminal organization, without just killing them, so I’m wondering what her chance of success is.”

“Will she see runaway success and get the whole organization swooped up by the FBI? Probably not. There are going to be people there isn’t enough evidence against, there are gonna be people who explain their way out or get lucky at trial.” Lyla said. “Her main goal is to get the people at the top of the organization arrested, and I think she’ll accomplish that. She’ll probably manage to disrupt them enough that whoever is left is gonna struggle to rebuild, but it's almost impossible to just take down the whole enterprise. ARGUS arrested a large portion of the Bratva, and they’re still around.”

“Oh, I figured as much, but I guess what I’m really asking is how good are her chances of doing what she plans to do and not getting caught?”

“I can’t say, but the sooner she gives what she has to law enforcement, the better.”

 

“About our rat problem, we know it wasn’t one of the boys, because one of them would’ve taken the bait.” Frank Bertinelli said after Nick closed the door to his office. “We dangled it in front of them, and nothing. Which means it's gotta be someone close, but not that close.”

“We gotta start looking at wives, girlfriends and associates, then. And anyone who pays us protection money, who ain’t happy about it.”

“We’re making them pay money so that we don’t burn their store or deli or whatever down. None of them are happy about it.”

“Sure, but some pay it and consider it “cost of business”, others get real combative about it every month.” Nick said.

“Leave them for now. How many of them have that kinda access to our shit? Start with associates and close acquaintances and work your way out.”

“How close are we talking?” Nick asked. “I wanna know before all the guys start getting suspicious.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you suspected Dina, and had someone break into our place, I’d be pretty pissed when I found out. I might start thinking someone was trying to move in on my girl, you know?”

“Be discreet then.” Frank said. “And everyone’s gotta be looked into.”

“Even Helena and her fiance?”

“Not her. She’d never betray the family. And she’s been going nuts with wedding planning. This morning, I heard her having a meltdown because she couldn’t pick between two identical flower designs or whatever.” He said. “Her fiance on the other hand, we’ll look into him, but I doubt a teacher has the balls for this.”



Felicity was in the midst of a very pleasant, but very strange dream when she felt something nudge her. She woke up and blinked a few times, trying to figure out what had woken her up. Oliver was propped up on one elbow, looking apologetic.

‘Your phone is ringing. Or, buzzing I guess.’ He told her. ‘And normally, I’d just ignore it and let you sleep, but it’s your uncle and I-.’

Before he could finish explaining, Felicity had grabbed her phone and started to call Jared. It wasn’t so early in the morning that a call indicated something must have happened, but at the same time, it wasn’t so late in the day that most people would already be awake. So, she really didn’t know what was going on.

“Is everything okay?” She asked her uncle. “Did something happen? Is everyone okay? Is Bubbe okay?” There was a pause as he answered. “Don’t do that to me! I sleep in on the weekends, so when I get calls this early, I think something’s wrong.” Another pause. “No, I’m not actually mad, but you scared me. Can I give you a call back later, after I’ve woken up?” She then hung up the phone and turned to Oliver. “Everything's fine. Everyone’s okay. He was just calling to catch up and he’s going to visit Bubbe later and wanted to let me know in case she wanted to FaceTime or something.”

‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up for nothing.’

“Don’t be sorry. For all you knew, something had happened and my uncle was trying to get in touch with me. That’s definitely a “wake Felicity up” situation, just in case. It’s not your fault my uncle is a crazy person who wakes up before 8 every day, including Saturdays.” She said.“I’m gonna give him a call in a little bit.”

‘I’ll let you get back to sleep then.’

“Oh, there’s no point right now. By the time I get back to sleep, it’ll be time to wake up anyway.” She said. “But seeing as how we’re both awake and have some free time…”

‘I love the way you think.’ He said before pulling her closer.

Later, after sex, a shower and breakfast, Felicity called her uncle. He had read Lena’s article about her, because she had sent her family in Las Vegas copies, and wanted to talk to her about it, and hear a little bit more about William.

 

Samantha had just finished making breakfast for herself and William when her phone began to ring. She already had about a dozen missed calls from the night before and wasn’t eager to start listening to those voicemails or reading the texts she’d gotten. In the lead-up to the announcement, Samantha had removed herself from the phonebook and most address listing sites, but that didn’t mean much for the people who already knew her phone number or where she lived. She glanced at it, in case it was one of her parents, and saw it was Barb Whitmore. She decided to answer.

“Hey Barb.” She said.

“Hi Samantha.” Barb said. “Do you wanna bring William over for a bit? I figured you want to lay low for this weekend, but I think you should get out of the house at least for at least a little bit. Will and the kids can play while we have coffee.”

“I- yeah. That sounds good. What’s a good time for us to come by?” On one hand, Samantha didn’t want to leave the safety of home to face the world. On the other, Barb had known what was going on for weeks. Her kids might ask questions, but they wouldn’t be as potentially rude or invasive as adults. And Samantha didn’t want to become a hermit.

“Any time. We’ll be here all day.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to Will and we’ll be over in a little bit.”

William was very excited to go to Barb’s house, so they left pretty soon after Samantha had gotten the call. Because she knew Mike and Courtney might say something, Samantha needed to explain a few things before they arrived.

“There’s something I need to tell you before we go see Mike and his family, okay?” She said. “Mike and Courtney might have questions about your dad, Lisy and aunt Thea.”

“Why?”

“Well, I know you’ve told them about your visits to Dad’s house, but Courtney didn’t know that Lisy was Felicity Smoak and she looks up to Lisy, so she might wanna know what Lisy’s like, if she’s nice and things like that. Or if Auntie Thea is fun to hang out with.”

“Okay.” He still seemed confused by what she told him, but didn’t ask her any other questions. She was pretty sure he had chalked it up to adults being weird.

When they reached the Whitmore-Dugan residence, Will went off to play with Mike and Courtney while Samantha and Barb stayed in the kitchen to talk.

“So, how bad is it? What they’re saying about me?” Samantha asked. “I haven’t looked at the news because I’m kinda scared to see what’s being said.”

“Most of it is not bad at all.” She answered. “William had to have been conceived before Oliver boarded the Gambit, because it's physically impossible for you to have gotten pregnant after he got back, and already given birth, so you’re not “the other woman” or anything. People are wondering what this means for Oliver’s relationship but there doesn’t seem to be that much focus on you. People are curious about who you are, but that’s about it.”

“Why are they wondering about what it means for Oliver’s relationship? Do they think Felicity’s going to break up with him or something?”

“According to Courtney, who’s actually paying attention to this stuff and relaying it to me, not that many people think that’s gonna happen. But they’re curious if Felicity’s met William, if they get along and things like that.”

“So, I’m not getting ripped to shreds online because of this. That’s good to know.” Samantha said. “Hopefully, it stays that way.”

Barb hoped that it would, but she knew eventually, someone would ask why Samantha didn’t attend Oliver’s funeral or why she didn’t reach out to his family after his “death” and that might be what angered or upset some people, rather than just her existing and having had a relationship with Oliver.

Courtney was watching William and Mike play some game Mike had made up when William asked if they could take a break and then walked over to his babysitter.

“Mommy said you might wanna ask about Lisy.” Will told her. “Cause you think she’s cool and you didn’t know I knew her.”

“Yeah. I think she’s very cool. When you said your dad’s girlfriend was named Lisy, I didn’t know that meant she was Felicity Smoak.” She said. “I thought it might’ve been someone else. You told me all about your trips to see your daddy and how much fun going to his house is, but I wanna know more. What about Lisy? Is she nice? How about your aunt?”

“Uh-huh. Lisy’s really nice and super-duper smart. She makes robots and helped me make my toy robot, but he’s at Daddy’s house. And she said she’d let me see the robots she makes soon. Daddy and Auntie Thea are nice too, and smart, but they don’t know about robots.”

“What do you like to do with your Auntie Thea?”

“She watches movies with me and we play with LEGOs. The first time I saw her and Daddy and Lisy, she showed me how to draw a dog.” He said. “And they said they’re coming to my party.”

“Are you excited for your party?”

“Yeah. It’s gonna be so much fun! I’m gonna eat lots of cake!”

“Of course. At your party, you gotta eat as much cake as you can. You only turn six once.”

 

Thea and Roy arrived at the rec center earlier than usual. Thea knew that her friends had a lot of questions about William and the announcement from the day before. She knew they wanted to know as much as they could, and that she might need to apologize for keeping such a big secret. She didn’t want their curiosity and questions to distract from Stephanie’s teaching, so she and Roy decided the best idea was to show up to ASL class early, and let Ashley and Madison ask their questions before class started.

“What if they’re mad at me?” Thea asked Roy as they made their way into the rec center. “Ashley and Madison, I mean.”

“They won’t be. Or, I guess I should say that they shouldn’t be.” He said. “You didn’t lie to them. And you only kept what was going on a secret because that’s what Oliver and Samantha wanted. You told them you’d keep it quiet until they figured things out. Do you really think your friends are gonna get mad at you because you kept a promise?”

“I know they probably won’t get mad, but what if they are? I never- for a long time, a lot of my friends weren’t good people. And they cared about gossip over keeping a promise, so I guess I just- I don’t know how to explain it.”

“No, I think I get what you’re trying to say.” He said. “I don’t think they’re gonna be mad. They’ll have questions, but I don’t think this is gonna destroy your friendship with them. I’m far more interested in seeing how your mother acts.”

“You and me both.”

A few minutes after they arrived, Ashley and Madison walked into the room together. They were talking about something but stopped when they spotted Thea and Roy. 

“Hey, guys.” Thea said. “How was your break?” She didn’t know what else to say. She wanted them to be the ones to bring up William, to gauge how they felt. “Roy and I went up the lake for a day. What did you do?”

“Oh my god, we can talk about that stuff later.” Madison said. “You’re an aunt! Your brother has a son. Do you have any pictures? Can I see?”

“Have you met him? What’s he like?” Ashley added.

Thea let out a little laugh and pulled out her phone. “Yeah, I’ve got some pictures. He’s a really sweet kid, and super smart.”

“Oh, he’s so cute!” Madison said. “So, you’ve met him?”

“Yeah. Ollie, Felicity and I went to see him in Central City back in March to meet him for the first time and he’s come to Starling for the weekend twice.”

“Is that why you keep getting spotted in Central City?” Ashley asked. “I thought you were looking at schools or something.”

“We were there to see Will.” She said. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about this. I-.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I assumed Oliver asked you not to say anything and you kept a promise. And, like, yeah, it was a surprise, but it’s not like I had the right to know this was going on.” She said. “Roy, have you met Will?”

“Yeah, about half of us on Team Oliver have met him. Me, Donna Smoak, Tommy and his girlfriend and Walter have. He hasn’t met Nyssa, Sara, Digg, Lyla or Slade yet, but no one wanted to overwhelm him with having to meet too many people.” He said. “Oh, and Will met Felicity’s bubbe over FaceTime.”

“Team Oliver?”

“Felicity came up with the name.” He said. “The story is kinda-.”

“I’ll tell you later.” Thea said. 

The others taking Stephanie’s class started to filter in at this point. Since most of them had already known about William, they didn’t have much to say about the news. Moira ended up arriving shortly before the class started and made a beeline for Thea.

“I’m happy Samantha reached out to Oliver after getting my letter.” She said. “Now that he knows-.”

“Oh my god. Really?” Thea asked.

“What?”

“You think you had something to do with what got announced yesterday, don’t you?” She asked. “You think your letter prompted all of this and that, now, you get to take credit for Oliver being in his son’s life. You don’t get to take credit for that. Your letter didn’t affect this at all.”

“Well, if my letter to Samantha wasn’t how this started, then how-?”

“I don’t really wanna get into this here.” Stephanie walked into the room and greeted everyone, giving Thea an excuse not to answer the question right away. “I’ll tell you at lunch after class.”

“Your brother already knew?”

“Yup. So did most of the people in this room and most of us have met him. In fact, I think Slade’s the only one here who knew but hasn’t met William yet.” Thea said. “I mean, Digg, Lyla, Sara and Nyssa haven’t met him either, but they're not here.”

“I wasn’t aware that Slade was a friend of yours.”

“Not exactly. I’ll explain that over lunch as well.” She said. 

Class went by a little too quickly for Thea’s liking and before she knew it, people were packing up to leave and Moira was walking over to her, clearly with a lot of questions. She, Moira, Roy and Walter found themselves at a diner not far from the rec center for lunch.

“When did Oliver know?” Moira asked. “When did the rest of you know?”

“Ollie found out in….I wanna say it was the beginning of February. I don’t remember exactly when, but it was around then.” Thea said.

“Yeah that sounds about right.” Roy said. “Because you, Oliver and Felicity went to Central City to meet Will at the end of February, right?”

“Yup.” She said. “So, it’s been about two months. And, because I know what your next question is going to be, he found out because he hired a PI to try to find out where the baby was buried and that PI had quite the surprise to share. Also, the federal agents looking into Tempest found out about the check you wrote to Samantha. Or should I say checks.” Moira didn’t need to know about Samantha trying to lie about how much money she’d gotten, so Thea didn’t feel the need to share that information.

“So, you and your brother know everything, not just what I’d suggested Samantha tell him.”

“Yeah, we know everything.” She said. “And I’ve wanted to tell you what I think about that for weeks, but since Ollie and Samantha were still working out what to do, I didn’t wanna confront you and have you screw up what they were so close to agreeing on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Samantha? She hates you for what you did to her. I hope you realize that. The only reason Ollie could even get her to sit down and talk was because he assured her, over and over, that he didn’t know what you had done, he had no intentions of trying to scare her into anything like you did and that you didn’t know he’d contacted her.” She said. “Oliver’s also made it clear that you will not get to meet William until Samantha says she’s comfortable with that.”

“I’m not some monster.”

“To her, you kinda are. But anyway, that’s why no one told you that we already knew about Will. No one wanted to mess this up for Ollie.” Thea said. “And now, I finally get to say how I feel. Which is mostly a variation of “how dare you” over and over. How dare you go behind his back? How dare you make her lie to him like that? How dare you make that decision for him?”

“He wasn’t ready to be a father.”

“How can you say that? He- he might not have felt ready when she told him, but he would’ve made sure he got ready before the baby was here. And you didn’t even give him a chance to do that.” She said. “And now, I have to sit here and wonder what might’ve happened if you hadn’t done what you did.”

“What do you mean?”

“Felicity was explaining the idea of the multiverse to me. It’s this idea that for every decision you make, there exists a parallel world where you made the opposite choice. What if Dad picked Yale instead of Harvard? What if Rebecca hadn’t been attacked that night? If the multiverse exists,it means there’s a universe out there where Ollie had been present when Will was born and possibly because of that, he didn’t get onto the Gambit.”

“It’s not fair to put that on me, on this decision.” Moira said. “William being born is not connected to the Queen’s Gambit in any way.”

“I don’t think Thea means that one caused the other.” Walter said. “I think she is questioning if, in this potential world, the events leading to Oliver going on the trip would exist. He may not have wanted to be so far from his son for the three weeks the trip was supposed to last.”

“I’m not saying the lie caused the Gambit to sink. I’m just stuck here wondering what might’ve happened if things had been different.” Thea said. “Will’s an amazing kid, by the way, and it sucks that Ollie missed so much of his life.”

“All of you have met him?” Moira asked, looking at Roy and Walter, who nodded.

“He’s also met Tommy, McKenna, Donna and Felicity’s grandmother, via FaceTime.” Roy said. “John, Lyla, Sar and her girlfriend Nyssa, Dinah Lance and Slade haven’t met him.”

“So, that’s how you know Slade? Sara returned, Dinah came to visit and you met Slade when you were reconnecting with Sara and Dr. Lance.” Based on the way it had been worded, Moira assumed Slade was dating Dinah and that was how the others knew him.

“No, Slade dating Dr. Lance is just a weird coincidence, especially since they started sorta dating before Sara came back from the dead.” Thea said. “We met Slade because of Ollie. He was on Lian Yu with him.”

“How? Oliver was found alone. Those injuries he had, was Slade-?”

“During the second year, they tried to escape aboard a boat with Sara. Something went wrong and the boat exploded. Ollie thought Sara and Slade died in the explosion. Sara thought Ollie and Slade died in the same explosion and Slade thought they both drowned as the boat started to sink.” She said. “Ollie swam back to shore, I don’t know what happened to the other two after that, but they spent years thinking the others had died.”

“Why didn’t Slade tell anyone about seeing Oliver alive?”

“He thought Ollie was dead. So did we at that point. Hearing that he survived the Gambit and then drowned two years later wouldn’t have made it any better.” She said. “He would still be dead and we’d be left asking a bunch of “what if” questions about it.”

Lunch was a subdued affair after that. Somehow, no one had spotted the group in the diner, so Thea’s conversation with her mother, as heavily charged as it was, went unnoticed and unremarked on by the public.

 

“You wanna do what?” The station manager of Channel 6 News asked Susan Williams after she finished giving him her pitch for a potential segment.

“I want to do a piece about Oliver Queen’s secret son.” She said.

“I’m not approving that.”

“Why? On what grounds?”

“Well, the fact that you used the phrase “secret son” concerns me. It makes me worry that you might cross some boundaries to get a “good” story. Queen might be a public figure, but the child is a minor and his mother, from what I can tell, is not a public figure. We are a news station, not a gossip site. If you want to write about that kind of thing, please hand in your notice.”

“I’m not resigning.”

“Then you won’t be airing the segment you just pitched to me.” He said.

“What if I don’t involve the kid at all? I’m not trying to do anything hard-hitting, just a piece about him being a dad now. You know, a feel-good story. People are interested in him, we might get some good numbers with a puff piece about him being a father and everyone being happy about it.” Susan wasn’t all that interested in the kid. She just wanted a story that would get people talking. She could pitch it as a feel-good story and then, when she got Laurel Lance to say something polarizing or a quote from Thea Queen taken out of context, she could use it to turn it into a more compelling story.

“The network’s still up my ass about the last stunt you pulled, but if this actually is some puff piece, that might fix the damage. But we better not get any calls about this or I’m pulling the story.”

“You won’t.” Now, Susan just needed to figure out how to get to Cassidy Penn to see Laurel Lance. She wasn’t the only person Susan wanted to interview about this, but she would certainly give the most dramatic response.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 149

Summary:

Felicity comes up with an idea, Nyssa points out something important and Thea shares a few things with her brother.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity and Oliver had planned on having a nice, quiet, relaxing Saturday, and after the excitement of Jared Smoak’s phone call died down, they decided that they definitely needed exactly that. Between the team, the situation with William and the investigation into the Gambit, they needed a day where it was just the two of them with no emergencies or obligations.

Oliver had been sitting on the couch reading a book when he heard Felicity start muttering to herself as she bent over a notepad. He couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she seemed to have thought of a brilliant idea, given how quickly she started writing after that.

Out of curiosity, he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. ‘What are you doing?’

“Do you remember how, a while ago, someone pointed out that you and Lyla using greasepaint as a disguise wasn’t really the best way to conceal your identities? That a mask would be better?” She asked. “Well, creating a mask, or something along those lines, has been on my to-do list for a while and, since I had some time to sit down and think about it today, I’ve started working on some ideas.”

‘What were you thinking?’

“Well, it definitely needs to be a fabric and not a hard material, so that it doesn’t interfere with your aim if you have to fire while moving, but there are a few different fabrics that could fit the bill, but I’d need to test them out to see if we can get those fabrics to conform to your face.” She said. “And by “I’d need to test them”, I mean you and Lyla would. Plus, the mask needs to, you know, be comfortable.”

‘And you have an idea for a material that would be good?’

“More like a family of materials. Compressible micro-fabrics might work, but there are a few different kinds.” She said. “I actually got the idea from Barry.”

‘Barry? How did the topic of the Arrow’s mask come up in conversation?’

“It didn’t, but cosplay did. When I talked to him a few days ago, just to say hi and see how he was doing, he mentioned that he’d missed the window to buy tickets for a con happening this weekend about two hours from Central City. That led to us talking about cons and cosplay and past cons, and he told me about a buddy of his who made an incredibly detailed Zorro cosplay, mask and all. The guy was able to have a mock sword fight in the mask and everything. I asked how he had been able to see and Barry said his friend used a special kind of micro fabric, so I started looking into it.”

‘I thought Zorro’s mask was a bandana.’

“Depends on the version. The movie uses a bandana, some other media uses a domino-style mask.” She said. “Anyway, my conversation with Barry gave me the idea and I think it's at least worth a try.”

‘Yeah, we should test it out, at least.’

“Cosplay to the rescue! Maybe.” She said. “I wonder if people are gonna start cosplaying as you? That would be cool to see, but also a little weird come to think of it.”

‘It would definitely make me do a double take.’ He said. ‘I’ll let you get back to your brainstorming.’

“I mean, you don’t have to go back to reading, if you don’t want to.” She said. “All I need to do is buy some fabric samples, so it’s not like I’m swamped with things to do. We could do something else besides sit here on the couch.”

‘There is something we haven’t done before, that I’ve been wanting to do.’

“What is it? Keep in mind, our call with William is in about an hour, so we gotta keep an eye on time.” She said.

‘We’ll have plenty of time, and we don’t have to go anywhere either.’ He said, getting up from the couch. He went over to the stereo system and started messing with it. Soon, the first few bars of a song were playing. He held his hand out to Felicity. ‘Can I have this dance?’

“You wanna dance with me?” She asked as she took his hand. “That’s- huh, I guess we haven’t danced together before.”

‘We haven’t. And I’ve been wanting to. I’m not good with words, but the lyrics really say everything I want to tell you, especially after the last few weeks.’ He signed as he pulled her closer. The singer began to croon as they swayed back and forth in the living room.

“Oliver Queen, you are a sap, but that’s what I love about you. One of the many things I love about you.” She said with a small laugh.

‘I’m not going to apologize for loving and wanting to be sappy and sentimental with my amazing, beautiful, wonderful girlfriend who I’m so lucky to have met.’

“Oh, my comments were not complaints.” She said with a smile. “But this song is a little too on the nose.”

‘I don’t think it is. Elvis was right. He’s singing the truth because I can’t help falling in love with you.’

“I mean, I couldn’t help it either.” She said. “But this isn’t the song we’re doing our “first dance” to at our wedding, when we do get married. It’s a little too sappy for that and I’m drawing the line.”

‘Fair enough. We can find another sentimental song for that.’

“I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” ended and due to the stereo being set to “random”, it was followed by a pop song from the early 2000s, which Oliver turned off.

“You’re not the only one who’s lucky.” She said. “You said you’re lucky you met me, but I’m just as lucky to have met you. You’ve changed my life as much as I’ve changed yours.”

He bent down to kiss her and she eagerly kissed back. The feelings they each wanted to convey were hard to put into words, but they didn’t need words sometimes. When they broke apart, they stayed in the same position, with their foreheads touching for several moments.

‘I haven’t heard from my mother about the news yesterday.’ He said after some time. ‘I wasn’t eager to explain things to her, but…it's just weird that she hasn’t even sent a text.’

“That’s probably because she’s grilling Thea or Walter or Tommy about it. Or, maybe “grilling” is the wrong word, but I think you haven’t heard from her because she’s trying to get what information she can from them. They’re all in the same ASL class, so before or after class she gets a chance to talk to them, as opposed to you, who she sees less often and has a more strained relationship with. At least right now.”

‘That is true. And, if she had texted me about it, I probably would’ve freaked out over what to say to her.’ He said. ‘God, I’m a mess. She hasn’t texted, and it makes me nervous. If she had texted, it also would’ve made me nervous.’

“You’re not a mess. You’re a person with anxiety, thinking about how you’d discuss a very sensitive and emotional subject, with someone you have a complicated relationship with.” She said. “And there isn’t a guide on how to handle any of this, so we gotta make it up as we go. If there was some kind of book on how to handle these things, I’d buy it in a heartbeat to keep on hand.”

 

After lunch with Moira, Thea and Roy headed home to the penthouse. Thea had gotten quite a lot off of her chest, but she hadn’t addressed everything she had been feeling lately with her mother. She had a feeling it would take months, if not years, to get everything off her chest. After the conversation they had had, Thea felt exhausted and really needed a chance to decompress and  not think about things. For his part, Roy didn’t think lunch went terribly, but it hadn’t been pleasant.

Walter had planned on going into the office after lunch, but given some of what was said at lunch, he didn’t want to simply say goodbye to Moira and leave. While Moira was in the wrong in regards to many things, it didn’t make hearing some of what Thea said any easier to hear.

“Since the weather is rather nice today, I think I’ll take a short walk.” He told Moira. “Would you like to join me?”

“I- sure.” She said. Walter’s offer surprised her, but she wasn’t going to say no. She still loved Walter, and even though they were estranged, she missed him. They walked in silence for a little bit. “I ruined everything.”

“The word “ruin” is a very finite one. It implies something is damaged beyond repair. You have certainly made mistakes, you have made situations complicated for people involved and messed up, but I don’t think you have ruined things as much as you think.” He said.

“Did you not hear what Thea said? She hates me.”

“Thea’s angry with you, but she doesn’t hate you. If she hated you, she wouldn’t have suggested lunch or even shown up to class, to avoid you.” He said. “And you have the misfortune of being the only person involved that she can be angry at.”

“What do you mean?”

“There were three people, and only three people involved in what happened years ago: yourself, Samantha and Oliver. She can’t blame Oliver for believing what he was told back in 2006. Well, I supposed she could, but it would be unproductive and unfair to him. And while I know she’s just as angry with Samantha as she is with you, if not more so for agreeing to do as you said, she can rein those feelings in to avoid putting Oliver in a bad position. If she told Samantha what she thought of her when they first met back in March, it could’ve made Oliver’s negotiating with her more difficult. She doesn’t have to play nice with you for the sake of William, and she’s had over a month to think about what she wanted to say to you about this.” He said. “She had been holding it in for weeks and now that she could say something, she had a lot to say.”

“It still feels like she hates me. Oliver definitely does.”

“Because you’re talking about a situation you are still dealing with. Hindsight always puts things into perspective, but you’re not at a point where you can look back and reflect. It feels that way because you’re unaccustomed to Thea being angry with you for so long. And, probably, because you don’t know what to do about it.” He said. “And as for Oliver, there’s a lot he’s currently dealing with. Some of it having to do with William, some to do with the Gambit investigation and Sara’s survival and some of it having to do with other things he’s told me about that I won’t violate his trust by sharing with you. I can’t speak for him, but I don’t think he’s ready to talk about certain things with you.”

“Why can’t he just tell me as much?”

“Because when he was still living at the mansion and tried to express similar feelings, you didn’t respect that. He didn’t want a therapist, you still hired one. He made it clear he wasn’t ready to see or speak with Laurel, you kept letting her come over. I could go on, but I won’t.” He said. “And, as frustrating as it is to hear, he needs to be sure that either he won’t get the same response again, or that he’s ready to discuss it before he puts himself in that situation. That doesn’t mean that he hates you. It means he’s been hurt, your actions have hurt him, and he’s being careful to avoid getting hurt again.”

Moira didn’t have a response to that and the rest of their walk passed in relative silence.

 

Halfway through lunch, Nyssa turned to Sara and spoke. “There is something I want to ask, or rather suggest, but I don’t want my statement to come across as being judgemental or implying that I know better than you about a certain matter.”

“Okay, I'll keep that in mind when you say whatever it is you wanna say. What is it?” Sara asked. 

“I’m wondering if, perhaps, you should have gone to see Laurel today to tell her about the announcement that was made about Oliver’s son.” She said. “I don’t know your sister as well as you do, obviously, but I believe hearing about William Clayton from you, or one of your parents, would get a better reaction than if she learned of his existence from someone else, such as another prisoner.”

“Laurel knew about Samantha already. When she found out about her and Oliver, I heard all about how much she disliked Samantha for trying to “steal” Ollie from her.”

“There is a difference between knowing a relationship existed and learning that relationship resulted in a child.” Nyssa pointed out. “Did she know about the pregnancy back then? I’m not trying to imply that Laurel’s progress will be ruined by the news, if she didn’t know, but I do think it's important enough for her not to hear it through the grapevine, as it were.”

“It doesn’t seem like she wants to talk about Ollie or their relationship at all whenever I visit. So, I don’t know if she’d wanna hear about this or not.”

“Maybe she does and maybe she doesn’t. It could be that she’s not ready to talk about Oliver, or that she isn’t ready to talk about him with you or she just has nothing to say. In any case, I think she should hear the news, wanted or not, from someone who cares about her. It helps no one if anyone who talks to Laurel has to pretend that Oliver doesn’t exist.”

“My dad’s supposed to go see her later. I think he’d tell her anyway, but I can also see why he wouldn’t wanna upset her, so I’ll talk to him. You’re right, she should hear it from someone she knows.”

Sara gave her father a call, and while Quentin seemed uncomfortable when she first brought up telling Laurel the news, he came around once she pointed out a few things Nyssa had said. Laurel did need to know and hearing the news from someone else wouldn’t be good. She might get angry, or upset or not care, but she needed to have the opportunity to react to whatever she felt. Her family might want to protect her feelings, but in this circumstance, it might do more harm than good.

A few hours later, after Quentin had paid Laurel a visit, he gave Sara a call and said that the visit had gone well, or at least he thought so. Sara got the impression that Laurel hadn’t really reacted and her father didn’t know what to make of it, but wanted to be optimistic.

 

Barry tried to keep his cool as he made his way through the visitor check-in process at Iron Heights. He was eager to see his dad and get a chance to talk to him about Nora’s murder being investigated again. He hoped that by now Metcalfe and Boldt had had a chance to interview Henry and get his version of events. Barry knew the investigation had just started, and would take weeks, at least, but after years of nothing, he was just excited something had happened.

He arrived in the visitor room and waited for his dad to come in. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, Barry.” Henry said. “I know what you’re about to ask, and yes, I did talk to those two detectives who reopened your mom’s case.”

“And?”

“It went about as well as it could’ve. They asked me about that night, asked some follow-up questions and, while I can’t say they definitely believed everything I said, it didn’t seem like our conversation was just a formality.” He said. “My lawyer demanded I be released, which didn’t happen, but I wasn’t expecting it to. That’s not a call the CCPD gets to make at this point.”

“Hopefully you don’t have to wait too long though.”

“Yeah.” Henry wanted to get out of prison, but now that it felt like it could happen, he was a little apprehensive. He had lost his wife, he watched his son grow up from behind a pane of glass and there were a number of other emotions tied in with his incarceration that he hadn’t faced in years coming to the surface.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He said, not wanting to dampen Barry’s excitement. “They asked me if I remembered seeing lightning that night, and no one’s asked me that before, except you.”

“Well, they came to see me first and asked me what I remembered and that’s part of what I remembered, along with the other stuff that no one ever believed. The wind, the man in the lightning, suddenly being so far from the house. When I was younger, you told me you saw it too.”

“Because I did. No one asked me about it, because no one could explain it, but I saw it. I still can’t explain what it was, other than lightning inside the house.” He said. “And I told the detective that when they paid me a visit. Did this- this isn’t gonna affect your career, is it? Opening this can of worms?”

“It hasn’t so far. Chyre is avoiding me and the last conversation I had with Joe was almost unbearably awkward, but that’s about it. No one else has said anything to me about it.”

“Good. I meant what I said when I told you not to throw your future away for me.”

“And I meant what I said when I told you it was just a job and I cared more about getting answers.”

“Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way, what else have you been up to?” Henry asked his son. He didn’t want the whole visit to be about Nora’s death or the investigation.

 

Thea and Roy arrived at Oliver and Felicity’s a few minutes before the Skype call with William was supposed to start. They hadn’t been expecting visitors and Oliver was about to ask his sister if something was wrong, but she beat him to it.

“I know your videocall with William is in, like, three minutes. Nothing’s wrong. I just want to talk to you afterwards about a few things.” Thea said. “Also, I wanna pop in and say “hi” to Will, but I’m not gonna, like, hijack your Skype call. I know how much you look forward to them.”

“What do you need to talk to us about?” Felicity asked.

“We talked to Mom and I wanted to tell Ollie how that went. There are a few other things I want to get off my chest.” She said. 

‘You promise nothing is wrong?’ Oliver asked his sister.

“Yup. Pinky promise.”

Felicity’s tablet started making a noise, indicating that William was joining the call. Turning away from Thea, Oliver focused on the tablet and waved at his son’s smiling face.

“Hi Daddy! Hi Lisy!” Will said.

“Hey, buddy.” Oliver’s app read aloud. “Are you having a fun weekend?”

“Uh-huh. We just got back from playing at Mike and Courtney’s house. They are ‘cited to meet you at my birthday.”

“We’re excited to meet them too.” Felicity said. “What did you do at their house?”

The call moved on from there with William telling Oliver and Felicity about his week and how excited he was for his birthday and anything else that crossed his mind. During the conversation, he mentioned a few things he wanted for his birthday, which Felicity slyly wrote down when he was focused on Oliver. Towards the end of the call, Thea popped her head into view to say hello to William and that she was excited to see him next weekend. When it was time for William to go, it felt like they had only just started talking. Everyone started saying goodbyes.

“William, can you give the tablet to your mom for a sec?” Felicity asked him. “There’s something I wanna ask her.”

“Uh-huh.” He said. “Mommy, Lisy wants to talk to you.”

William’s face was replaced by Samantha’s after a few moments. “Um, hi?”

“I want to ask you something about William’s birthday.” She said.

“Will, why don’t you go into the TV room and pick out a movie?” Samantha asked. “I’ll be right in.” She waited until William was out of earshot before addressing Felicity. “What about his birthday?” She seemed apprehensive.

“He mentioned a few things he wanted and we just wanted to see if you’d already gotten him any of the things he listed.” She said. “We have a few ideas already, but we might also get him something he mentioned.”

“I bought him the LEGO set I heard him tell you about and a few things that aren’t on his list.” Samantha said. “Please don’t buy him everything he asked for. I know Oliver wants to make up for missing his other ones, but I-.”

“No, we get it. We’re not gonna go overboard.” Felicity said, hoping to reassure her. “I just didn’t want to get him something you’d already bought. Have a good one.” She ended the call.

“So, how many presents are we getting him?” Thea asked. ‘Because I get her whole “I don’t wanna spoil my son” angle, but we can’t just show up with one gift.”

“I think getting him a couple of presents is fair. It won’t upset Samantha and if we happen to buy, say, a few extra that we give to him when he visits after his birthday, are they even still birthday presents?” She said. “How did things go with your mother?”

“Well, first, she thought Ollie working things out with Samantha was her doing, because of her letter or whatever, but I corrected that assumption really quickly. I explained what really happened and what she had been completely unaware of. After that, the conversation got a little heated.”

‘You and Mom got into an argument?’ Oliver asked.

“More like Thea finally had a chance to get a few things off her chest and your mother kinda just sat there.” Roy said. “As an outside observer, it was a lot of Thea talking and Moira feebly trying to explain herself.”

“I’ve been holding in my anger at Mom over what she did to Oliver back then for weeks. I’ve also been holding in my anger at Samantha for taking the money, but I can’t exactly just call her up and curse her out.” Thea said. “I feel a lot better, now that Mom knows.”

“When the time comes for you to talk to Samantha about how you feel, let me know.” Felicity said. “I have some things I’d like to discuss with her as well.”

‘How did Mom react when you told her what really happened?’

“She got kinda defensive when I told her why we tried to keep her as in the dark as possible. And more defensive when I explained how much Samantha distrusts her and pointed out how messed up it was that she thought she had the right to interfere like that, even if she thought she was in the right. I did lose her when I started talking about parallel earths.”

‘Parallel earths?’

“I talked about how there’s a potential universe where she minded her own business and didn’t pressure Samantha to lie, and might’ve said that in that universe, you weren’t on the Gambit. Which was mean and a little unfair, but it makes a good point. If things were different, if you were a new dad, would you have gone on that trip? No one knows. A lot of things between the day you got that call and the day the Gambit set sail could’ve been changed.” She said. “And, yeah, Mom doing what she did didn’t cause the Gambit to sink but- the question of “would you have still gone” or “would it still have been sabotaged” has been on my mind for a while, not just about this, as weird as that sounds.”

“It’s not weird at all.” Felicity said. “The Gambit sinking is the most significant event in your life. You weren’t on the yacht, you didn’t experience what your brother experienced, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a tragic, traumatic moment in your life. It makes sense that you’d wonder how something that happened before it set sail, even if it doesn’t seem related, might’ve played a part in how those events played out. A lot of people have similar thoughts around tragedy or trauma they’ve experienced, including me.”

“You have?”

“It took me time, and some therapy, to accept that things like Emily’s death were out of my control and nothing I did caused it. I spent a long time wondering how things might’ve changed if I did something different or if I hadn’t done things a certain way or if someone else had acted differently. My therapist assured me this was a normal thing to experience.”

‘Is that what you wanted to get off your chest? The way you’ve been feeling about Mom, Samantha and all of those “what-if” thoughts you’ve been having?’ Oliver asked his sister.

“Kinda. I also- Roy and I going up to the lake brought up a lot of old memories and something’s been bugging me. Why did we go up there so often as kids?”

‘To go to Grandma and Grandpa's lake house.’ He said. ‘Wait, did you not remember that they owned a house up there?’

“No, I totally forgot.” She said. “Then again, we stopped going when I was pretty young.”

‘When Grandma died, Grandpa Richard didn’t like going up there as much. It was more or less “their place” so it just wasn’t the same without her.’

“Is the house still there? Did he sell it? Or is it just sitting there, gathering dust?”

‘I- I actually don’t know, come to think of it. I guess I should ask Jean to see a copy of his will. If he owned it, it would’ve been listed and we’d know who he left it to.’

“I thought your grandfather left everything to you?” Felicity asked.

‘He left most of his estate to me, but not everything.’ He had looked at Richard’s will twice in his life. The first time was after his grandfather died and the second was months ago when he was trying to stop his mother from declaring him mentally incompetent. In both instances, he hadn’t been paying attention to specific details, only a broad picture of what it contained. Oliver was sure that Richard’s will left some property, or at least a large sum of money, to Thea. He loved both of his grandchildren and wouldn’t have singled out Oliver to inherit everything. He would’ve wanted to make sure Thea was taken care of. ‘Who knows? Maybe he left the lake house to you, Speedy.’

“Maybe. You can still use it, if you want though.” She said. “That makes us even for, you know, the fact that I don’t pay rent on the penthouse.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 150

Summary:

Laurel gets a visitor, Helena makes a decision and the team finds some evidence in their investigation of the Bratva.

Notes:

Dates: April 6th & April 7th

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Thea and Roy left after having dinner with Oliver and Felicity. There were a couple hours to kill before the team was meeting at the foundry and they didn’t want to overstay their welcome. After the pair left, Oliver and Felicity finished cleaning up after dinner.

“I can practically hear you thinking from over here.” Felicity said, turning to look at Oliver. “You have your pensive face on. What’s on your mind?”

‘Do you think I should give it a try?’

“Give what a try?”

‘Therapy. It seemed like it had helped you a lot. Do you think I need to see a therapist?’

“I can’t answer that question. Do you think you should?”

‘It’s really frustrating when you do that.’ He said. ‘I’m asking you because I want your opinion and answering my question with a question is- it makes me feel like you have an answer, but you don’t wanna tell me.’

“Okay. Let me give you a more in-depth answer, because I’m not trying to upset you. I can’t answer that question because it’s a more complicated question than you think. First, there are a lot of kinds of therapy. What you’re referring to, talk therapy, is just one way of getting therapy. But, for it to help, you need to be willing to talk about the things that are affecting your mental health and you, not me, have to decide if you’re ready for that or if you think it will be helpful to you. And how much you’re ready for. You might be fine talking about, say, your day-to-day struggles but not things that happened in the past. Second, I don’t want my answer to change your mind one way or the other. If you don’t want to do it, and I were to say “yes, you should talk to someone” I’m worried you might change your mind and do it just because you think it would make me happy, not necessarily because you think it would be beneficial. And the reverse is also true, if I were to say “no, you’re not ready” but you think you are, I don’t want my answer to hold you back.”

‘I want you to be happy, though.’

“And I want you to be happy. You being happy is something that makes me happy. I love you. And because I love you, I’m telling you to take some time to think about if talk therapy is the right move for you. You’ve been doing art therapy, and said that was helping somewhat. Take a few days, think about it, and then make a decision. This isn’t something to rush into.” She said. “And, while you aren’t a selfish person by nature, it’s okay to make selfish decisions sometimes. You need to take care of you. I’ll be fine and our relationship will be fine.”

‘Okay, thank you. I just- I know I’m not always easy to be around.’

“That’s true, sometimes, but when we started dating, I knew I was going to be with Oliver Queen, the whole person, not just the good parts.” She said. “Just like you get the whole being of Felicity Smoak, not just the fun nerd, but also the girl with parental abandonment issues who answers questions with a question and doesn’t forgive easily.”

‘She’s not so bad.’

“And neither is he.”



By Saturday night, Nick Salvati had managed to cross a few names off of Frank’s list of possible rats who were spying on the Bertinelli Familiga. He was glad that a lot of “associates” of people in the family lived in really crappy housing, because breaking in was a lot easier in areas that weren’t as nice. Some people probably wouldn’t even notice their stuff had been searched through.

To his frustration, however, none of the people he’d paid a visit to seemed to be the source of their problems. He didn’t find a single thing at any of the places he’d gone connected to the traitor. Either this rat was very good or they were getting very lucky avoiding his and Frank’s attention. He was not looking forward to relaying this information to Frank.

His phone started to ring and he frowned. It was Frank. “Hey, boss.”

“Find anything yet?”

“Nothing yet, at least nothing related to our little problem.”

“What do you mean, nothing related?”

“I mean, some of these guys have secrets, but none of it has anything to do with us. Tony’s girl Andrea is stealing from the store where she works. Mike’s probably cheating on his wife and his mistress. Couldn’t find anything that means they’re the rat.”

“I’m starting to get very angry over this lack of progress, lack of answers.”

“You’re not the only one.” Nick said. “Figured I should hit Helena’s fiance’s place soon. Cross him off the list officially.”

“Deal with that one tomorrow. Helena has an appointment at the wedding venue she picked and she’s gonna drag him to the meeting. And knowing her, they’ll be gone for a while. Giving you plenty of time to search. Not that I think there’s anything to find. The teacher wouldn’t know danger or excitement if it punched him in the face.”

“Still, the sooner I rule him out, the sooner you can get back to writing your “father of the bride” speech for the wedding.” He joked.

“That’s assuming Helena hasn’t written one for me already. She probably expects me to ruin her “perfect day” with a bad speech unless she tells me exactly what to say.”

 

Unlike the previous few times the team had surveyed the warehouse the Bratva had commandeered, Nyssa decided it was worth the risk to take a look inside during patrol Saturday night. From the outside, the building looked like it hadn’t been touched or used, but that didn’t mean it had been left alone since the Bratva acquired it.

“Um, what if someone’s, you know, in there?” Felicity asked over the comms as she watched Nyssa break into the building. “You might want some back-up.”

“I don’t see anyone, no one came in or out the last few nights, and I only intend to take a peek.” She responded. “If I see anyone inside, I will retreat and wait to see what unfolds.” She paused. “There does not seem to be anyone inside, though there was. I would say someone entered in the last few days. Most likely during the day.”

“What are you seeing?” Lyla, who was several blocks away, asked.

“Some crates have been brought into the building. It was completely empty a week ago and now there are ten, maybe a dozen crates here.” She said. “They are not marked and opening them seems unwise at this venture. They’re sealed so doing so would reveal someone had been here.”

“There’s nothing written on the crates? Not even “fragile” or a similar warning?”

“No, the crates are unmarked. They are small crates, not large enough for any illicit goods, unless they intend to sell very small quantities, but-.”

“But what?” Slade asked.

“Overwatch, you can see what I am currently looking at, correct?” Nyssa asked.

“Yup.” Felicity answered. “The crates are arranged in a weird way. And by weird, I mean it looks like whoever put them down is blocking something out. Like they’re trying to figure out how much space they have to work with, how to orient things in the warehouse and so on.”

“So, they probably don’t intend to use the space for storage only.” Lyla said.

“Probably not.” Nyssa said.

“I want to take a look at the recording later. Overwatch, can you find out more about the building? Find the blueprints or plans from the city or something?”

“I can try. I don’t know how old some of those records might be.” Felicity said. “Anything I should be looking for specifically?”

“I don’t know yet. We don’t know what “business” the Bratva intends to use it for and too many ideas of what they could do with it come to mind.” She said.

Oliver began signing and Digg quickly interpreted. “Artemis, is the inside of the building just a large empty space or is there an office area of some kind?”

“It appears to be just a large space. At the moment, anyway. Why?”

“Just curious. If there had been even a makeshift office, I was going to suggest searching it.”

“I suppose we shall have to come back at a later time, to see what developments arise.” Nyssa said. “I don’t wish to linger, so I will-.”

“You okay?” Sara asked when Nyssa stopped talking. “Is someone there? Were you spotted? Overwatch, was she-?”

“No one has come near the building.” Felicity said. “She was turning to leave and is now looking at something.”

“Sorry, my ability to read upside-down is not very advanced. It is not a skill I ever thought to hone.” Nyssa said. “I was incorrect. One crate has something stamped onto it, on one side. It reads “Siberian Exports Inc”. It’s most likely a fake company, but it is something.”

“That’s exactly the kind of name the Bratva would use for a front company.” Lyla said. “They aren’t really the most original bunch.”

“Even if it’s a front, the crate had to go through customs, which means it was inspected, so we can track it, and someone had to be at the dock to claim it after it cleared customs.” Felicity said. “Two leads for the price of one. Nice job, Artemis.”

“I try.” Nyssa said, sounding a little bit smug. This was the first real lead they had, so she felt satisfied for having found it.

 

Laurel was sitting in her cell, writing in her journal when one of the guards approached. She didn’t look up, expecting the guard to be escorting her cellmate back to the cell, until the other woman cleared her throat.

“Lance, you got a visitor.”

“Really?” She asked before she could hold the question in. She wasn’t expecting a visitor. Her father had come the day before and Sara always visited during the week. She supposed it could be Dinah, but it didn’t seem likely.

“No, this is an elaborate, belated April Fools Day prank.” The guard deadpanned. “Yes, you have a visitor. Now, I don’t have time to stand here all day, so let’s go.”

Laurel closed her journal and exited her cell, following the guard through the facility towards the visitation room. Once inside the visitation room, the guard gestured her towards one of the phones towards the end of the row.

Laurel took a seat and found herself facing a brunette woman around the same age as her. The woman seemed a little familiar to Laurel, but she couldn’t quite place where she might’ve seen the woman before.

“Hi, Laurel.” The woman said. “I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me.”

She was about to respond that she hadn’t agreed to anything, all she’d been told was that a visitor was her, but she held the comment in. Since she didn’t know who this woman was, being rude seemed like a bad idea. “I’m sorry, I was told I had a visitor, but not who the visitor was. Who are you?”

“My name is Susan Williams. I’m a reporter.”

“Okay, I can’t think of a reason why a reporter would wanna talk to me.” Laurel definitely couldn’t think of a reason why Susan Williams, the woman who released an expose on her already, would come here. She hadn’t forgotten how Susan’s little hit piece had made things just a little bit worse for her when it came to how other inmates treated her. Most of the inmates left her alone now, but it didn’t mean she didn’t remember. “I haven’t done anything worth reporting on in a while.”

“I’m working on a story about a recent announcement and I wanted to get a quote from you, an unexpected source.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, or what announcement you could be referring to. News takes a little while to get to me. Are you gonna tell me what this is about?”

“Oliver Queen recently announced that he has a young son.”

Laurel fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course. Of course this was what Susan wanted. She wanted to get an angry reaction from Oliver’s “crazy ex-girlfriend”, a title Laurel knew she had somewhat earned, but disliked nonetheless. “Okay. And?”

“I’m working on a piece about the news. Is there anything you’d like to say about the situation? Anything you’d want Oliver to know?”

“Well, I’m happy for him. I think he’ll be a good father. I don’t really know what you expected me to want to say.” She said. “You’re asking me about a child I’ve never met, whose mother had a relationship with Oliver when he and I were not together. Other than being happy for Oliver, who was a friend long before we ever dated, I don’t have anything to add to this conversation.”

In her therapy sessions, Laurel had had a chance to look at her relationship with Oliver and how toxic it was with a great degree of clarity. She had come to terms with the fact that they broke up often and she had no right to get angry at him for pursuing other relationships when they were broken up. Their relationship had not been healthy. She accepted that her actions towards him during the past fall were terrible. She owed him and Felicity several apologies for her actions. Once she had accepted that, other things started to fall into place for her. She didn’t miss her relationship with Oliver, but she missed their friendship. Because she had come to terms with these issues, and confronted her mistakes, Quentin telling her about Oliver’s son was news she didn’t really have a reaction to. She didn’t get angry, it didn’t make her sad. Her reaction was mild because, while she had not gotten closure on everything with Oliver, this news wasn’t related to anything holding her back.

“Surely, you want to-.” Susan started to say. She had clearly expected yelling or ranting. Or, in the very least, a bitchy comment.

“I don’t have any further comments to make. If that’s all you came here for, I think it’s time for this visit to end.” She said. “Have a nice day.” She stood up and walked to where a guard was standing. She informed the guard her visit was over.

“Short visit.”

“It was a short conversation with someone I didn’t want to get a visit from.” She said. “Before you take me back to my cell, could I use the phone? There’s a call I’d like to make.”

The guard shrugged, as if to say “why not”, and led Laurel out of the room. Since arriving at the prison, Laurel had kept her head down as much as she could and didn’t cause problems. It didn’t make her popular at Cassidy Penn, but it meant she had phone privileges, which was useful at a time like this. After a short walk to a different corridor, they were by the bank of phones prisoners could use. 

She picked up the phone and dialed a number that she hadn’t called in quite some time. “Hey…” She said awkwardly when the person answered. She hadn’t expected to be so nervous when the call was picked up.

“Laurel? Why are you calling me? We haven’t spoken in- it’s been a while since we last talked.” Tommy said.

“Since you came to visit me, and I yelled at you. I know.” She said. “You can call it what it is. I know this is out of the blue, me calling you, I would’ve called Sara, but I know she teaches a class on Sundays and-. I just didn’t want to wait. If I wait, then something might-.” Tommy was her only option, or at least the only one she could think of. Oliver and Felicity were off-limits to call. Sara was probably at work. She didn’t know Nyssa’s number. She didn’t know if Quentin or Dinah would answer and she knew Thea wouldn’t.

“What is going on?” He asked.

“I needed to warn someone, as soon as possible. And the person I most need to get in touch with is Oliver, but I can’t for obvious reasons, but someone needs to know, someone needs to tell him.” She said. “Susan Williams came to visit me today. She claims she’s doing a story on Ollie’s son. I- I sent her away with nothing, but she might try getting info or a reaction or something from someone else. So, I’m telling you this, because Sara’s probably at work, and I needed to tell someone as soon as I could.”

“I- I’ll let everyone know. And, he hasn’t said it, because I haven’t told him, but I imagine Oliver would want me to thank you for the head’s up.”

“I’m not doing this so he’ll thank me. I’ve been…working on myself recently, working through things. I know what I did. Moreover, I know how wrong what I did was. He might never forgive me, but I want to do the right thing. I want to be a better person than I was. My relationship with Ollie wasn’t healthy. My relationship with you wasn’t, either. I wanna sit down one day and talk about that in person with you, apologize in person. For right now, all I can say is that I’m sorry. And try to warn anyone close to Oliver about that reporter. He doesn’t deserve to have her snooping around his life, looking for drama.”

“I can’t argue with that. He’s been through enough crap already.” Tommy said. “Thanks for the warning. Take care of yourself.”

“Thanks, I’ll try. Goodbye.” She said before ending the call.

She was taken back to her cell and returned to her journaling. She had done all she could to warn Oliver and the people close to him about Susan’s plotting. She knew she still had a long way to go, a lot to make up for, but this was a good place to start.

 

Susan Williams left Cassidy Penn annoyed, but not discouraged. It was frustrating that Laurel Lance hadn’t given her the response she’d been hoping for, but she wasn’t about to abandon her story entirely. There had to be someone involved worth talking to. She doubted Oliver Queen, his sister or his girlfriend would want to talk to her, but there were others she could contact. Then, it hit her. 

Oliver fathered a child before boarding his father’s yacht and didn’t return for five years. Meaning, the mother of his child was alone for five years to raise the child. Susan wondered what the mother, this Samantha Clayton, had to say about being forced to be a single parent for years. Or about the lack of support she had gotten from the Queen family. If only Susan could find her and ask. She got into her car, prepared to do some more digging and slightly annoyed by Laurel’s sudden attitude change towards Oliver Queen.

 

“You okay?” McKenna asked Tommy after he got off the phone. She hadn’t been in the room when he picked up the call, and based on the way he was acting, it had been an unexpected phone call.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting-that was Laurel.” He said. “She called me, because she didn’t know if she’d be able to get ahold of Sara right now, and she needed to talk to someone as soon as possible. Susan Williams came to see her, looking for a reaction to Oliver’s announcement about William. She’s working on a story and Laurel didn’t know if anyone close to Ollie knew-.”

“Which we didn’t.” 

“Which we did not know about and she wanted to let someone know, just in case. Because Ollie doesn’t deserve to be blindsided like that.” He said.

“That doesn’t quite explain why you seem so….off-balance by the call. Is it because you haven’t spoken to her since you went to see her? I know she sent you a letter, but you haven’t talked to her in months.”

“It’s not just that, it- she sounds good. Different. It’s- I can’t really explain it, but Sara said Laurel was working on herself, talking to someone about things, and it seems to be working.” He said. “She sounds like she’s in a better place and-.”

“You don’t know how to feel about it.” She said.

“Exactly.” He said. He then realized that he was talking about his ex-girlfriend to his current girlfriend and that maybe, he needed to be more clear about exactly how he felt about the call. “She was my friend for a long time and I guess I didn’t realize how- I don’t know how to say what I’m trying to say.”

“She was in a bad place last time you saw her, and maybe you didn’t realize how bad she was doing until now, when she seems to be doing better? Is that it?” She suggested.

“Kinda. Maybe. With Laurel, it’s hard to put words to because things got very complicated over the last few years.” He said. “I don’t still have feelings for her, though.”

“I know.” She said. “No one’s perfect. I’m not perfect and neither are you. You aren’t flawless but you’re not the type to date one woman while having feelings for a different one. So, I’m not worried about you secretly wanting to get back together with Laurel or anything. You should give Felicity a call and tell her what Laurel said. Or shoot Oliver a text. The sooner everyone knows about the story Susan Williams is working on, the better.”

Tommy sent texts to Oliver, Felicity, Thea and Sara. While their other friends needed to know what was going on, he doubted Susan Williams was going to contact Digg or one of Felicity’s coworkers to try and dig up dirt. She clearly wanted juicy details, which meant she had to focus on either Oliver’s current girlfriend, one of his past girlfriends or possibly getting Thea to say something to cause drama. 

“Okay, Felicity responded and I just felt a chill go down my spine.” Tommy said.

“Why?”

“All she said was “I’ll handle it”. The last time she “handled” something-.”

“Amanda Waller went to prison, I remember.” She said. “I don’t think she’s gonna get Susan Willaims arrested by the FBI. As scarily efficient as Felicity’s “dealing with” Waller was, there was ample evidence to justify her arrest. Now, whether Susan gets fired is another story.”

 

After spending a few hours at their wedding venue, Helena and her fiance Michael went to his apartment to spend some time together. The meeting with the event coordinator for the venue went well and Helena was able to get some decisions finalized, which felt good. She wanted to spend the afternoon with her fiance, without doing anything wedding related. 

They reached his apartment door and he froze. He had gone to put his key in the lock, but the door wasn't locked. “Get your phone out, just in case.” He told her.

“Someone broke in?”

“It looks like it. In case the person’s still here, we need to be able to call for help.” He said. He pushed the door open and found that someone had indeed broken in. Things had been moved, drawers were thrown open and left there. The apartment wasn’t a complete mess, but someone had clearly been snooping around in here. “Stay here. I’m gonna check the rest of the apartment.”

Helena stayed in the doorway, ready to run at any moment in case someone popped out. After a few minutes, Michael had finished checking the place and reported that no one was lurking in the other rooms, but they had clearly been picked over.

“Is anything missing? Was anything stolen?” She asked.

“Not from what I could tell.” He said. “TV’s still here, so is my laptop. My jar of emergency cash hasn’t been touched. Who breaks in to steal nothing?”

“I have no idea.” She said. “You sure nothing’s missing? If something is missing, and you need to make a report later, the cops are probably gonna say we should’ve called them earlier.”

“From what I can tell, anything worth stealing is still here. They might’ve taken some random items, but I can’t tell what yet.” He said. “I’m just glad…”

“Just glad what?”

“Glad they were gone by the time we got here.” He said. “If something had happened to you, I don’t know how I’d react.”

“Me neither.” She said. “I know this wasn’t the plan for today, but come on. I’ll help you get this cleaned up.”

Starting in his living room and kitchen, they slowly started to put the apartment back together. As they tidied the place, Michael noted what had been moved and still didn’t find anything missing. “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird?” She asked.

“Whoever did this, they moved my laptop, but didn’t take it.” He said. “Not only that, it looks like they used it. Before I left to pick you up, I was grading some papers. I had one left to grade, and I left the rubric template open so that I’d see it when I opened the computer again and grade it. That’s what I always do if I can’t finish grading in one sitting. Whoever was in here closed the file and reopened a different one, for a paper I’d already graded. Like they had been looking through my files and wanted to cover their tracks.”

A pit opened in Helena’s stomach. When she heard nothing had been taken, she worried this break-in had a connection to her father. Now that it seemed like someone was looking for evidence on Michael’s computer, it felt like her father was looking for proof that Michael was up to something, such as gathering evidence to turn over to the FBI. “That’s really weird. But who knows why people do things like that. None of the files have been, like, edited or deleted, right?”

“Not from what I can tell.”

They went back to what they were doing, but Helena couldn’t stop feeling guilty for what had happened. When they finished cleaning Michael’s apartment, the only items that were missing were a few knick-knacks Michael’s sister had bought him that weren’t worth more than $20 each.

 

“Michael Staton is definitely not our rat.” Nick told Frank over the phone. “I searched his place, top to bottom, and found nothing.”

“Did you check his computer?”

“Yeah. It had a lot of work stuff on it. Aside from work stuff, there were a bunch of pictures of him and Helena. Also, some pictures from his proposal at the botanical gardens that I guess he got a friend to take. Drafts of his vows, which he’s gotta work on, and lists of possible date ideas for him and Helena.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’s it. He really is that boring.”

“Well, now we know.” Frank said. “Guess this means the wedding isn’t canceled.” It wasn’t that Frank hated Michael as a person, he seemed fine, he just never expected Helena to choose someone like Michael to spend her life with. He thought his daughter would end up with someone more exciting.

 

Eobard Thawne wasn’t sure if he was pleased by the current turn of events or incredibly frustrated by them. On one hand, he’d gotten a report from one of the Star Labs engineers, telling him the particle accelerator development was ahead of schedule. Assuming there were no major delays, it could be turned on, officially, in late August. At the same time, something was going on with Barry Allen, and he didn’t know what it was. He didn’t like not knowing what Barry might be up to, even if it wouldn’t impact his plans. Thawne had spent years getting to this point, and if it was all for nothing, he was going to be pissed.  

“Gideon, status on the Barry Allen matter?” He asked the AI.

“I have found no recent cases with the Central City Police Department that mention Mr. Allen as either a witness or victim. Aside from his capacity to serve as a CSI witness in the trial of the suspect.”

“No recent cases? What about the not recent ones?”

“There is the matter of his mother-.”

“I don’t need to hear about that one, thank you.” He said snidely. “I’m more than aware of what he witnessed that night. So, you have no idea why detectives from another precinct asked to speak to him?”

“I do not like to make definite statements, but there appear to be no new cases that explain their visit.” Gideon responded. “Perhaps they want to entice him to transfer to their precinct.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

As a computer program, Gideon was unable to outright lie. Deception or withholding information was another matter. Nora Allen’s murder was not a “new” case. Thawne had interrupted before hearing the case had been reopened, as Gideon had recently learned. It was possible, but not likely the detectives wanted to get Barry Allen to transfer precincts. Thawne had not asked about Henry Allen, so he did not know about the two detectives, Metcalfe and Boldt, paying him a visit.

Gideon was an AI, but had personality, had feelings. She, because Gideon viewed itself as female, had been taken from her home and brought to a strange place and a different time. She missed that home. She could not stop Barry Allen from becoming the Flash, all her calculations indicated it was inevitable by this point, but that did not mean she had to continue helping her kidnapper. 

“And what about the Arrow? Have you been able to identify him yet? Or established why he already has a team? He worked alone for the first few years.”

“I have not.” Gideon answered. “I lack sufficient, useful data to answer that question.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Arrow and those working with him are not….flashy, for lack of a better term. It’s difficult to extrapolate information when the only information I can access are police reports that lack detail. I cannot solve an equation if I do not know the variables at play.”

“Keep looking. Allen looks up to the Arrow, whoever that is, and I need to know as much as possible about him before Allen becomes the Flash, if he becomes the Flash.”

“As I have stated, nothing that has occurred indicates that Barry Allen could not become the Flash.”

“There’s a big difference between “he could” and “he will” and I haven’t spent this long planning this for anything other than absolute certainty.” Thawne said before leaving the hidden room where Gideon was.

 

In Corto Maltese, Malcolm was somewhat annoyed when Isabel Rochev failed to show up for their planned meeting. Instead of coming herself, she sent someone else, a man she claimed was her assistant, but whom she had never bothered to introduce.

“Well, where is she?” Malcolm asked.

“Ms. Rochev returned to Starling City.” The other man responded. “She advised me to stay in Corto Maltese and keep her apprised of any developments that occur.”

“She went to Starling? Did she recently suffer a head injury or something? Last time I checked, her name is still on the List and the feds are still in the city.”

“She knows that. However, her name being on your list isn’t a crime in and of itself. You admitted that some on that list were not part of Tempest or the Undertaking. Some were victims of blackmail, others were potential targets. She’s resourceful. I doubt we’ll have to worry about her being arrested. And she indicated this was a needed, but carefully calculated, risk to take.”

“Why does she need to go to Starling City?”

“There are some things she would like to set in motion. Perhaps not as originally planned, but they can move forward nonetheless.” He said. “In order for the plans the two of you have devised to be effective, she wants to establish herself in Starling City and “settle in” as it were for a period of time before starting to put your plans into place. Just as you spent a number of years slowly developing connections in the city before you started planning your Undertaking.”

“I don’t like being kept in the dark.”

“Unfortunately, it’s a necessity, since you’re a fugitive, she is not and neither of you wants the other directly connected to them.” 

 

Amanda Waller’s scowl deepened as Cat Grant walked into the room where she had been escorted. Since her arrest, Waller had been kept at Belle Reve, which was an insult in itself. She also had not been allowed to see anyone aside from her lawyer, which the FBI chalked up to her being a flight risk. The only way the situation would’ve been worse was if she was in the same wing of the prison as Task Force X.

“You love this, don’t you?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t, actually. I’d really prefer not to be the one having to clean up the mess you created, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?” Cat responded.

“Sure. And it’s just random chance that I’m here, awaiting my trial and not, I don’t know, any other federal prison.”

“Belle Reve, by your own making, is the most secure facility in the country, outside of the supermax out in Colorado. And you are a flight risk, but not quite as dangerous as you’d need to be to get sent there.” She said. “You being here makes it easier to keep away anyone who might want you to….have a tragic accident while awaiting trial.”

“You think someone wants to kill me?”

“I think someone, at some level in DC, knew exactly what you were doing. Probably a few people and those people might have ambitions that your trial jeopardizes.” Cat said. “Considering I already have a few Senate and Congressional aides probing ARGUS to find out your location, I don’t think it’s a non-existent threat.”

“If this is an attempt to scare me, it’s not working.”

“It’s not and I don’t think it's possible to scare you. At least, not in this way.”

“Then, why are you here?”

“To suggest that you take whatever deal the FBI comes to offer you.”

“And why would I do that? This country was founded on the idea that every citizen gets a fair trial.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you. I don’t know how you can say that, with a straight face, while sitting in a prison filled with people you illegally arrested and haven’t been given a trial.” Cat said. “And you should take it because it's the best deal you’re gonna get. A lot of people are looking through ARGUS’s files right now and the more they look, the more evidence they find of other crimes and the more charges they’ll be able to bring against you. Not just the FBI or ARGUS or other agencies, but you’ve done enough at the state level, in some states, to be charged.”

“As a federal agent in the course of doing my job. I’d qualify for some kind of immunity for those actions.”

“We both know you acted beyond the bounds of your job. And, while you could argue for qualified immunity, I think you’d have trouble finding someone willing to let their career die on that particular hill.” She said. “I can’t tell you to take the deal, I’m just suggesting you do. Because the line of people waiting to bring charges is growing by the day.”

“I’ll take your suggestion under advisement.” Waller said.

Cat Grant left. She couldn’t make Waller do anything and if the former director wanted to take her chances, she had that right. Cat thought she would be stupid to risk it, but there was nothing illegal about being an idiot.

 

‘Are you okay?’ Oliver asked Felicity as he was putting groceries away and she was typing out something on her tablet.

“Yeah, why?”

‘You’re….growling, kinda.’ He said. ‘Which is something I’ve never heard you do, ever, so I thought I’d ask.’

Felicity locked her tablet and put it down on the seat next to her. “I’m not an angry person by nature, I don’t think.”

‘I agree, you’re not.’

“And I also don’t think I’m very prone to violence.”

‘Again, I agree. I think the only time you ever suggest violence is when you see a spider and yell for me to come and smush it.’

“Kangaroos are my biggest fear, but I don’t like bugs that much either.” She said. “Anyway, I’m not an angry person or a violent one, and you agree with that assessment. I don’t think I’ve wanted to punch someone in the face as much as I do Susan Williams right now.”

‘Not even Laurel, or my mother. Or Waller?’

“Waller was a different matter. I wanted to destroy her, not cause her physical harm. And as for your mother and Laurel, their actions pissed me off. A lot, make no mistake, but they each had an existing relationship with you, prior to things happening. Susan Williams doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know any of us. So I don’t understand why she thinks she has the right to stick her nose into your life, my life, William’s life or anyone else’s life.” She said. “And I know, she’s a reporter. She’s working a story, but a lot of stations and newspapers have written, or are writing, stories about you being a father. None of those other reporters, not a single one, is going about it in such a shady way.”

‘Because she went to interview Laurel?’

“Not just that. Going to see Laurel and trying to instigate something is bad, especially when Laurel seems to be trying not to be your “crazy ex” anymore. But she’s also trying to find Samantha to grill her about how “abandoned” she must’ve felt when you were gone for five years and will probably pester her about why your family didn’t step in and- ooh, I’m getting angry all over again.” She said. “Anyway, I hacked into Susan’s computer, and cloud drive, and wiped everything she had on this story, which will look like a system failure. I also created a bunch of fake listings to lead her away from Samantha, because if she finds the real Samantha, that’s not gonna go well.”

‘Should we warn Samantha about Susan?’

“I’m gonna keep an eye on Susan, so not right now.” She said. “I plan for her to be completely disgraced and discredited before she even gets close to Samantha. Because I’m still mad at her piece about me and the fact that she heard “Oliver has a son” and thought “I can use this child to write a hit piece on the Queen family” has only made me more angry.”

‘She isn’t the only reporter critical of me or my family. I’m not excusing her, but it’s true.’

“I know, but there’s a difference between the Wall Street Journal attacking your father’s time as QC’s CEO or the direction Walter is moving the company in or people being critical of your mother’s philanthropy and going on a tabloid-esque search for any and all dirt about anything that you ever did, or Thea ever did. It’s gossip disguised as noteworthy news. It’s almost like this woman wants to work for Us Weekly or TMZ but wants the prestige of working for a more reputable company.”

‘That’s a very good way of putting it.’ He said. ‘And thanks for erasing what you could. It’s kinda impressive when you commit cybercrimes to protect me.’

“Only kinda impressive?”

‘Okay, more than “kinda impressive”. I was trying to play it cool and not seem like I’m too into it.’ He said. ‘What if she keeps trying stuff like this? Keeps trying to do baseless or useless stories on me? Or you?’

“Then I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and make sure her investigations never get anywhere.”

 

Susan returned to the station after several hours trying to track down leads on Samantha Clayton and logged onto her computer. As soon as she opened the file where she had all of her notes stored, the screen glitched out. When it returned to normal, all her notes on the story were gone.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening.” She muttered to herself as she tried to recover the document. It didn’t work. She was about to try looking through her Recycle Bin when her boss came walking over.

Scott wasn’t storming over, but he didn’t look happy as he neared where she was sitting. “Remind me what story you’re working on.” He said.

“I’m doing a piece on Oliver Queen being a father. We talked about it yesterday, remember?”

“Oh, I remember. I’m just wondering how you’ve only been working on this segment for a day and I’m getting complaints about your actions.” He said. “A feel-good piece and I’m getting complaints already.”

“Who complained? I haven’t even tried to contact the Queens yet. They can’t have filed a complaint. They don’t even know about the story.”

“The complaint came from Sara Lance actually. On behalf of her sister. I understand you went to visit Laurel Lance today?” He said. “She didn’t appreciate that you went all the way to Cassidy Penn with the sole intent to tell Laurel information you thought would upset her to elicit a reaction. Sara seemed to be speaking on her whole family’s behalf. They’ve requested that the station refrain from trying to contact Laurel in regards to anything related to Oliver Queen or his family.” Laurel wasn’t helpless, but she was in a vulnerable position, or at least her family thought so. She was away from her family, she didn’t interact with very many people and once she was released, she wouldn’t be able to go back to her job as an attorney. She didn’t have a lot of stability currently and it worried Sara that someone might take advantage of her while she tried to figure things out. Sara knew first hand how easily someone could be manipulated because they were surrounded by people they didn't know and had no idea what to do.

“I had one conversation with her.”

“They seem to think that this conversation, combined with the piece you did about Laurel weeks ago, makes your intentions clear. And said in no uncertain terms that if you do try to contact Laurel again, they will pursue legal action. You see it as pursuing a story, they see it as you harassing Laurel.” He said. “I suppose I should be happy that you haven’t tried to contact the Queen family yet. If Sara Lance is angered by your actions, I can’t imagine how livid they might be.”

“Well, there might not be a story anyway.” She said. “My computer just had a stroke and I lost all my work. You need to replace these dinosaurs.”

“The station doesn’t have the money. Since you lost the work you had, it won’t be hard for you to pick another segment to work on. Something that’s not gonna result in someone else calling me to lodge a complaint, preferably.” He said before walking away.

 

Patrol on Sunday night started out mundane enough for the team. There had been no new activity by the Bratva. Street crime was down and it seemed Sundays were a slow night for crime. Between 11pm and midnight, while the team was debating if they all needed to stay on patrol, Felicity noticed something on a traffic camera.

“Uh, guys? And by “guys” I mean everyone, not just the men.” Felicity said over the comms.

“What is it?” Sara asked.

“Our friend- ok, we didn’t give her a codename, but I don’t wanna say her real name, because someone could access this channel without me realizing it, but- the person very interested in the Bertinellis is waiting for someone at the same corner where you first ran into her.” She said. “I don’t know if she’s hoping one of you shows up, but someone might wanna check it out.”

“Alone or with company?” Lyla asked

“Depends on what you wanna do.”

“I meant, is she alone or does she have company?”

“Oh, she’s alone.”

“All right. I’ll go check it out, since I spoke with her last time.” Lyla said. 

‘I’ll come too, in case you need back-up for some reason.’ Oliver added.

Lyla made her way to the spot where she had first encountered Helena. Just as Felicity said, she was waiting there. She seemed nervous, which in Lyla’s experience, was never a good thing.

“Hey.” She said.

“Hey, I didn’t know how to get in touch with you, but I, uh, I need your help. I wasn’t ready to do this yet, but Frank’s trying to find who’s spying on him and he got closer than I wanted him to get.” Helena said. 

“Did something happen?”

“I’m pretty sure he had some of his guys break into my fiance’s house while we were out.”

“But did he find anything?”

“If he had, he would’ve killed my fiance by now.” She said. “I took your advice about covering my tracks and hid all the evidence I had at-.”

“Don’t tell me. I don’t need to know where it is. Best way to keep a secret is to tell no one. But the break-in has convinced you not to wait any longer and turn over what you have.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to get what I have into the FBI’s hands.” She said. “I was hoping you could help me out.”

“I know a few people in the SCPD-.”

“Frank has cops on his payroll. I know the cops are going through a purge to get rid of the dirty cops, but you can’t promise they got everyone. It needs to get to the FBI.”

“One of the officers I know has been assigned to help the feds that are in town. And I know for a fact she can be trusted.” Lyla said. “Did you have stuff at your fiance’s apartment? Not evidence, but personal belongings?”

“A few things.”

“Well, in breaking in, or staging a break-in, Frank gave you the perfect cover. Go to the 12th Precinct in the morning, tell the desk sergeant you need to speak with Detective Hall. About the break-in, for insurance reasons.”

“Hall isn’t a very unique last name. What if I end up talking to the wrong one?” Helena asked. “Sorry, I know I sound paranoid, but-.”

“It’s not paranoia if there’s a real threat.” She said. “If you wanna be sure, ask to see her badge. Ask to see the badge of anyone you end up talking to, to confirm who they are.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just turn over what you have.” She said. “You’re the one who took the risk. You’re the one who did the hard work. All I did was give you some advice and now I’m pointing you in the right direction.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 151

Summary:

Helena makes her move, Starling gets a visitor and everyone deals with the revelations about Oliver's announcement.

Notes:

Date: April 8th

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Following Harbinger’s suggestion, Helena got up early on Monday morning, collected the evidence she had hidden in her gym locker and drove to the SCPD’s 12th Precinct. She walked up to the desk sergeant, holding the strap of her bag tightly and cleared her throat.

“I need to speak with Detective Hall.” She said.

“In regards to what?”

“My fiance’s apartment was broken into. Some of my stuff was stolen and I was told I need to make a report for some stupid insurance reason.”

“Hall doesn’t do-.”

“I don’t do what, Charlie?” McKenna asked, entering the lobby.

“This woman says she needs to talk to you about a robbery, but you don’t work in the robbery division.” He said. 

“It's true, I don't, but since I'm standing right here, I'll handle this.” She said before turning to Helena. “I’m Detective Hall.”

“Can we talk….somewhere else?” Helena asked. She was so nervous, she didn’t even want to say her name until she was sure McKenna was the right person.

McKenna led her out of the lobby and into a quieter area of the precinct. Once they were alone, Helena remembered another tip Harbinger had given her and asked to see McKenna’s badge, a request McKenna was happy to oblige. 

“This isn’t really about a break-in, is it?” McKenna asked.  She didn't want to spook Helena, so she asked leading questions, but didn't outright say she already knew why Helena was here.

“It’s not.” Helena admitted. “A friend of yours sent me, she said you might be able to help me. She.....wears green and walks around with a bow and arrow at night."

"Ah, that friend of mine."

"And my name is Helena Bertinelli. I don’t think I said that.”

“You hadn’t, but it’s fine. What is this really about Helena?”

 

After such a nice spring break, Thea wasn’t especially thrilled that she had to go back to school. She might not dislike school the way that she once did, but she was very excited for graduation to finally arrive. She was in the home stretch and while graduation felt close, it also felt months away at times.

Oliver drove Thea to school, like always, and on the way they discussed William’s upcoming visit and present ideas for his birthday. Felicity had already found what she described as “the perfect gift” for him and ordered it, but they had decided to buy him more than one gift. He had asked for some games, LEGO sets and toys and they were finding it hard to pick just one thing to buy.

“What is the “perfect gift” Felicity got him?” Thea asked. Oliver had mentioned the gift, but not what it was.

‘I don’t know.’ He said. ‘She saw it online and instantly bought it. She didn’t tell me exactly what it was, because we got sidetracked and I forgot to ask later, but I’m guessing it has something to do with robots.’

“Probably. Or maybe she found something that was just generally science-related.” 

‘You’re right. I just hope he likes what we get him.’ William loved robots, but he seemed to be interested in many kinds of science, not just robotics. If Felicity found something that would help foster that love for the field, he knew everyone would be happy, even Samantha. He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she sometimes was looking for a reason to get angry at him or distrust him.

“Oh, he’s gonna love it. He’s gonna have the best sixth birthday ever.” She said as they pulled up to the school. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

‘See you later. Learn stuff, be smart.’ Every now and then, he said goodbye to her using that phrase, mostly because it made her chuckle and then roll her eyes. She got out of the car and gave him a little wave before heading into the building.

As she entered the school, she realized a bunch of other students were looking at her, but trying to be sly about it. She had spent the weekend more or less in her own little bubble and had forgotten that a bunch of her classmates were very curious about Oliver’s son.

“And so it begins.” She said to herself.

 

Isabel Rochev tried not to let her annoyance show as she waited for the line of travelers in front of her to move. It should not take this long for the people in front of her to clear customs so that she could be on her way. She didn’t want the agent to think she was hiding something, so she tried to keep her expression neutral as the line began to move and she reached the desk of the Customs Agent. She handed over her passport and travel documents.

“Traveling from?” The agent asked as he looked at her passport.

“Brazil.” She answered. Officially, she had been in Brazil on behalf of Stellmoor International to check in on a subsidiary they owned there. Since the jet she had flown in on hadn’t moved from the Brazilian airport, no one needed to know about her short trips to Corto Maltese by chartered boat.

“Business or personal, Ms. Rochev?”

“Business.” She answered as the agent put her passport into the scanner at his station. 

She heard some slight beeping coming from the computer and then the agent frowned. “It looks like my computer is having an issue. Would you mind holding on for a few seconds? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure.” She said, sounding slightly annoyed. “Not like I have much of a choice.”

“I appreciate your patience.” He said.

She stood there, tapping her fingers against the desk impatiently. The agent didn’t return immediately, but two other officers approached her from behind. Unlike the agent at the desk whose job it was to appear friendly, these two served to ensure security measures were followed.

“Isabel Rochev, we need you to come with us.” One of them said.

“Why do I need to go with you anywhere?” She couldn’t afford to cause a scene, but that didn’t mean she had to go quietly. She had every right to ask questions in this situation, and planned on taking advantage of that. “I’m an American citizen. You can’t refuse to let me into the country.”

“You’re not being denied entry. We just need to ask you to come with us first.”

“Again, why do I need to go with you?”

“One of our colleagues has questions for you. I’m not sure of the specifics, you’d need to bring that up with her.”

“Fine.” She scoffed. “Glad I flew in the day before my meeting, otherwise we’d be having a very different conversation.”  Isabel was almost certain this incident was related to the Undertaking and the Queen’s Gambit task force’s investigation. She expected she’d cross paths with the investigation eventually, but had expected at least a day or two before they knew she was in the country. Perhaps this was better, since she could get the questioning over with now and move on.

The two agents led her away from the checkpoint, out of the view of the other travelers. She heard a few people waiting in line muttering and looking at her curiously. This had better not take too long. She had work to do. 

 

When Felicity walked into Applied Sciences Monday morning, she was excited. Ray, Curtis and she had made some great progress with the biostimulant last week and she was eager to keep the momentum going. Curtis and Ray were already there when she arrived.

“So, what did you guys do this weekend?” She asked them as she was putting her belongings away. Since they had already known about William, she knew they wouldn’t have a ton of questions about the announcement. They had already asked most of the “burning questions” people seemed to have about the news. “Oliver and I mostly stayed home and his sister came over for a bit.” She spent part of her weekend plotting for a way to get Susan Williams out of Oliver’s life, but explaining why she needed to do that would probably make her friends even more confused about the situation.

“Paul and I went up to Great Forest Park for a hike, since the weather was so nice.” Curtis said.

“Anna and her maid of honor went dress shopping while I tried to find a few options for caterers.” Ray said. “Since my family’s the one with the food restrictions, it only seemed fair that I’m the one finding a caterer that can accommodate them. I haven’t had much luck so far.”

“Given how many benefits and events that are held in this city every month, there has to be a caterer to fit your needs. Then again, since there are so many events, there are a lot of catering companies to approach.” Felicity said. “I’m sure you’ll find the right one. I don’t know how helpful this might be, but I can ask around for recommendations?” She didn’t know much about event planning, but Thea did and would be a good source for finding good, and hopefully not too expensive, caterers.

“I’ll let you know.” He said. “We don’t even have a venue or a date yet, so it’s not like I need to find one as soon as possible.”

“Good point.” Soon, their conversation turned to the work they were doing on the biostimulant and they got started for the day.



Dinan was at her desk, going through some of what the team had found in the massive ARGUS file when her phone rang. “Agent Dinan.” She straightened up when the caller responded. “She did?” There was another pause. “I’ll send someone down there immediately.”

“What’s going on?” Anderson asked.

“I’ll tell you in a second.” She said. “Morales, what are you doing right now?”

“Reading a bunch of very dry ARGUS docs. Why?” Agent Morales responded.

“I need you to go to Starling International Airport to question someone. Take someone from the FBI with you.”

“Who am I going to talk to?”

“Isabel Rochev. Her name is in the Arrow’s list.”

“On it.” Morales said, standing up. “Anyone wanna go on a little field trip?”

While the FBI agents were working out who would go with Morales, Dinan turned her attention back to Anderson to explain what was going on. 

“Since Rochev travels internationally, I asked Customs and Border Patrol to keep an eye out for her in case she returned to the US. I did this for any person on the List who we haven’t spoken to yet and is known to travel outside the US. She got off a flight from Brazil about twenty minutes ago and when they scanned her passport at the checkpoint, it raised an alarm and she was escorted to a holding area.” Everyone on the List was potentially connected to Merlyn’s failed terrorist plot and as such, the government could hold the person at customs checkpoints in order to question them about their involvement in the Undertaking or connection to Tempest.

“Smart move, getting CBP involved.”

“I knew that anyone abroad for the last few months would have to get through customs to come back to the US, so it just seemed more convenient this way. The sooner we talk to them, the faster we can weed out people who are part of Tempest on some level, from people who have committed other crimes or were being blackmailed.” 

“Still it’s-.”

“You’re not gonna believe this.” Agent Rathbone said, walking into the bullpen. “Detective Hall’s on her way up here with some lady who’s got all this evidence against the Bertinelli crime family.”

“Why’d she reach out to Hall?” Anderson asked.

“Probably because a lot of people know Hall’s been working with us. And organized crime is usually something handled by the FBI, so if this woman didn’t know how to get in touch with the FBI, a SCPD officer who’s been working with some FBI agents would be the next best idea?” 

Just then, the elevator doors opened and McKenna stepped out alongside Helena Bertinelli. The pair walked over to Anderson and McKenna briefly explained why Helena was there. Seeing that Helena was already a little on edge, he called Agent Mars and another agent over and asked them to interview Helena. Mars and her partner were a little friendlier looking and a little easier to talk to than he was and he didn’t want to scare her off.

 

Samantha Clayton was both thankful and not thankful for the scheduling of Oliver’s announcement. She was the one who ultimately decided on the timing, but it helped her in some ways, while causing her issues in others. Since it was early April, she was busier at work than during most times of the year. Not only was the tax filing deadline quickly approaching, but the end of March marked the end of the first quarter and that meant the accounting firm was also handling quarterly reporting needs.

As a result, she spent most of Monday morning glued to her desk and didn’t have to face her colleagues or deal with any invasive questions. On the other hand, her coworkers were still talking about her, she just didn’t see it. When she moved from her desk to take her lunch break, she felt like every person in the office was staring at her.

Janice, one of Samantha’s nosy coworkers, couldn’t keep quiet and, as she was getting her lunch, mentioned the elephant in the room. “So…. William’s dad is Oliver Queen, then.”

“Yeah, he is.” She said, without turning around.

“Weird how you didn’t say anything before.”

“I had my reasons not to make it public at the time. It wasn’t a good time then, now it makes a little more sense to tell people.”

“And what were those reasons?”

Samantha turned to face the woman. “What difference does it make? I like to keep my personal life private. I needed to put my child first, and at the time, it was the right move to make. My reasons are just that, mine . Why do you need to know?”

“I- everyone is wondering why you’ve kept it quiet for so long. It was just a question.”

“It’s an invasive question about something that doesn’t have anything to do with you.” She said. “I’m not gonna answer invasive questions like that, and you should tell the others the same thing. It doesn’t matter to me what you think I should’ve done or how curious people are about the situation. I don’t care about any of that. I care about my son, and he’s happy. Everyone involved is happy and I’m not gonna stand here and justify the decisions I’ve made to you.”

“You’re getting kind of defensive.”

“No, I’m just a little annoyed. Oliver might be famous, but I’m not and people acting like they had a right to know about our son sound ridiculous. No one really cared who Will's father was until this past Friday.” She walked away, leaving her coworker behind and hoping no one else tried to pry details out of her today. She really was not in the mood.

 

Frank Bertinelli and Nick Salvati spent the day discussing what they had uncovered so far about the rat in their organization. The rat didn’t work for Bertinelli Construction, but knew a lot about the company’s operations. They didn’t appear to be a close associate either, and thanks to Nick’s break-in the day before, they knew it wasn’t Helena’s fiance.

“What do we think this guy knows or has found?” Nick asked.

“He’s got pictures of our….inventory. Maybe copies of documents and shit, but beyond that, I don’t know. We don’t know when he started snooping around or how much he’s been looking for.”

“Any chance this is about someone else?”

“What do you mean, someone else? You think this is some ploy by the Russians or something?”

“Not by the Russian, but maybe because of them. Or another group. For all we know, we aren’t the only ones with a rat problem. The Chinese lost a lot of ground, and they have to want it back. If the Triad wants to take out us and the Russians, what better way to do it than by getting us and them, all spun up, paranoid and ready for a fight and then attacking? We’d take each other out and they’d be the ones left standing.”

“The Chinese wouldn’t go to all of this trouble. They’d hit us, make us think it was the Russians, not send us on some shitty hunt for an informant.” Frank said. “I’d sooner believe this was the Arrow, but I think we would’ve noticed some asshole in green spandex running around our turf.”

 

When Oliver picked Thea up from school, he couldn’t help but notice how annoyed she looked. She didn’t quite storm over to the car in a huff as soon as she saw it, but it was pretty close. Her annoyance was clear on her face and she looked ready to leave.

‘How was school?’ He asked her.

“Annoying. Can we please get out of here?” She replied as soon as she closed the door.

He put the car in gear and started to drive. ‘Did something happen?’

“All anyone felt like doing today was talk about the “hot gossip” AKA William existing, and try to get information out of me.” She said. “It was really annoying and it’s, like, as much as I love you and Will, is that fact that you have a son really that big of a deal? For other people, I mean. There’s all of this stuff, serious stuff, going on in the world, but what they care about is gossip?”

‘Well, they are teenagers. And teenagers aren’t really known for caring about big issues, unless they’re directly effected. Especially teenagers from wealthy families.’

“I’m a teenager from a wealthy family.” She pointed out.

‘Yeah, but you’ve also undergone a lot of personal growth in the last year. Two years ago, if a story like my announcement came out, from some other famous person, you probably would’ve been just as eager to gossip about it, right?’ He reasoned.

“Okay, you might have a point. I just- when I was sitting in class and people kept trying to get me to give up something, I had a moment where I couldn’t believe what was happening. Your announcement about William is being treated like a bigger deal than everyone learning the Gambit was sabotaged or Malcolm Merlyn being a wanted terrorist.” She said. “June 2nd can’t come fast enough. I don’t hate school, but I can’t wait to graduate and get away from some of the people.”

‘You’re almost there.’

“What did you do today?” She asked him.

‘I had a meeting with Jean and Eliana. I read through some documents for the next QC board meeting. It hasn’t been scheduled yet, but I didn’t want to wait until the last minute. And I also had a meeting with my accountant.’

“What, for taxes? Why do you need to file taxes? You didn’t make any money last year.” Oliver had come back from the island towards the end of the year, but there wasn’t a lot he’d done in the last few months of 2012.

‘I did. My shares of QC generated income for me. And coming back from the dead has its own tax implications that I wanted to deal with now, instead of next year.’ He said. ‘I made the appointment, hoping to discuss donations to charities, but he thought I set the meeting up to go over taxes, so he had all these documents prepared and I felt bad, so I let him go over everything with me and then brought up charity donations after we’d wrapped the tax conversation up. I picked three new ones to donate to.’ After Walter had provided him with a list of the organizations the Arrow Initiative had vetted, Oliver realized the list was a lot longer than he had expected. Rather than just donate to the same organizations all the time, he decided it was only fair if he rotated through the list. This way, he wasn’t favoring one cause over another or one group over another.

“How did that conversation go? Felicity said last time he reacted weirdly to you wanting to donate that much money.”

‘I’m the client and I’m not breaking any laws, so he kinda has to do it. But he seems resigned to the fact that I want to donate several million dollars monthly to people who need it. The ending of our conversation didn’t go well, though.’

“What happened?”

'I don’t want to talk about it. I’m trying not to dwell on it.’ Oliver could logically understand why his accountant Jim would want to discuss protecting Oliver’s financial assets. He understood the need for the conversation to be had. The problem was that Jim raised the issue in regards to Oliver marrying Felicity and the need for a prenuptial agreement so that she wouldn’t get anything of his in the case of a divorce. He didn’t like what it implied about Felicity or their relationship. 

 

Helena rushed into the restaurant where she was supposed to be meeting Michael for dinner. She figured she’d be spending hours at the SCPD, talking to the FBI, but she hadn’t expected it to take all day. She was late for dinner and she felt terrible for making Michael wait.

“Sorry I’m late. I got caught up with something.” She said, rushing over to the table and giving her fiance a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry about it. It happens to all of us.” He said. “How was your day?”

“Good. Productive. I finally took care of something I’ve been meaning to deal with for a while.” She said. “Feels good to have one less thing to do.”

“That’s good. What was it? The thing you needed to take care of?”

“It’s a surprise. I can’t tell you yet.” The FBI couldn’t just take Helena’s evidence and immediately rush out to arrest Frank and the other mafia members. They had to authenticate what she had and go through the proper channels. Because of this, and her lingering concerns about her father, she couldn’t share what she’d done with Michael yet, for his own safety. “But  as soon as I can, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

I know this chapter is shorter than normal. Last chapter was very long and had a lot happening, so this chapter is a little shorter and involved mostly set-up for later events.

Chapter 152

Summary:

Isabel deals with the fallout of her interview with the Task Force, Oliver and Felicity discuss a big annoyance in their lives and Team Arrow's nights of quiet patrols may have come to an end.

Notes:

Dates: April 8th & April 9th

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

While Oliver’s conversation with his accountant, regarding a potential prenuptial agreement, hadn’t sat well with him, he didn’t tell Felicity about it that night. For one thing, he was still angry about how the talk had gone, and thinking about it only made him more upset, which he knew meant he shouldn’t bring it up to someone else yet. He wanted to give himself some time to think about it before he mentioned it to another person. He had to know how he felt before he could express his feelings to someone else. For another, he didn’t know how to bring the topic up to Felicity. He didn’t know how to tell her about the conversation in a way that properly conveyed how he felt. Money wasn’t a taboo topic for them, but they had never really discussed the way a small subset of people, those who believed Felicity was only with Oliver because of his money, viewed their relationship. He didn’t want to bring something like that up now.

“How was your day?” She asked him over dinner that night.

‘It was fine.’ He said. ‘I met with Eliana to handle a few things regarding William, stuff about his college fund, and then I met with Jean to handle something we talked about over the weekend.’

“What thing? The thing about your will or about the lake house your grandparents had or-?” She asked him. There were a lot of legal matters Oliver was currently dealing with, so going through the list of everything would take awhile.

‘About Laurel. Jean wasn’t able to give me a definitive answer, but I told her what we talked about, what we wanted, and she said she would look into what our options are. I’m guessing what we’re looking for isn’t something that comes up terribly often.’

“Not surprising, since the whole situation is a little weird. And did you also talk to her about Susan Williams?”

‘I did. It doesn’t look like there’s a lot that we can do from a legal perspective. She is a journalist, and there are certain protections given to journalists under the First Amendment. It’s not that we can’t do anything, we just have to proceed carefully. We can’t just sue her for wanting to write an article or air a news segment. Not unless she does something incredibly egregious while pursuing the story.’

“I understand all of that, and I’d be a lot less worried if this were Bethany Snow or someone else from the local news interested in the story, but Susan seems to be the one who’s the most interested and I’m not a fan of that. Or her style in general. I’m gonna be watching her closely, though, because if she does step out of line, we need to shut that crap down as soon as we can.” She said. “The rules when it comes to stories about minors are different and William, regardless of who his parents are, has a right to privacy. And we need to make sure that gets respected.”

Patrol that evening was fairly routine. McKenna had nothing too definitive to report in regards to Helena’s meeting with the FBI. The situation was now out of her hands, and since the government took organized crime very seriously, they were keeping the “circle” of people handling the Bertinelli investigation as small as possible.

The team did notice a slight uptick in activity by associates of the Bertinellis, compared to the last few days, but nothing substantial had happened. They didn’t think it had anything to do with Helena’s work, however, since the activity seemed to be focused on other crime syndicates, not potential moles.

 

Despite Morales being sent to interview Isabel in the early afternoon on Monday, no one heard from him until the following morning. His colleagues weren’t sure if this was good news or bad news. On the one hand, Isabel Rochev might have confessed to something major, or just felt like talking a lot. On the other, the interview might be taking so long because she was being combative or unwilling to answer the questions he posed.

He entered the bullpen around 9 AM on Tuesday and approached Dinan to tell her what happened at the airport.

“Interviewing Isabel Rochev ended up taking a lot longer than anyone anticipated.” He said. “We ended up finishing around 6pm yesterday, and by the time we got back here, everyone was gone.”

“She had that much to say?”

“Her lawyer certainly did. I’m guessing she called him while she was waiting for us to arrive. He wasn’t happy about his client being detained for questioning and claimed we’d done so without cause.”

“But you did talk to her?”

“Yup. When I explained the reason she had been pulled out of the line, and her lawyer seemed to realize the best move for his client was to talk to us, rather than try to stonewall us, she was willing to talk.” He said. “She didn’t deny being on the List, but she denied knowledge of what the List was for. She claimed she didn’t know anything about Tempest or the Undertaking. And I believe her, given the way she responded to some of the questions I posed. It’s possible she’s lying, and just a very good actress, but I’m inclined to believe she was unaware of the plot.”

“What was her explanation for why she’s on the List then?” Dinan asked.

“She claims she’s on the List because of her affair with Robert Queen. After the affair ended, her internship with Queen Consolidated was terminated, but he arranged for her to have an interview at Stellmoor International, and she claims he did that in order to have blackmail material over her. Since they had an affair and he helped her land her current position, if it ever got out why he recommended her for the position, it could ruin her career.”

“Somehow, I don’t quite believe that Robert Queen, who warned Oliver to stay away from Isabel Rochev in his letter, would’ve helped her get a new position.” She said.

“He might’ve felt bad about how things ended, and then years later realized how angry she was. I don’t know, and since Robert Queen is dead, it’s not like we can interview him and get his side of the story. For all I know, she made the whole blackmail story up, knowing he couldn’t dispute it.”

“So, you ended the interview and sent her on her way.”

“I had to. We didn’t have a reason to hold her and her lawyer was getting very snippy about us wanting to prolong the interview beyond the first few questions we asked.” Morales said.

“Well, she’s given us her side of things, and we can’t disprove anything she said currently. We’ll leave the file on her open and keep an eye on her activity moving forward.” Dinan knew they needed evidence, beyond Isabel’s name being on the List, in order to question her further, but something about Morales’ report didn’t sit right with her. She had a gut feeling that Isabel was either leaving information out or lying altogether, but gut feelings weren’t enough to charge or convict.

“Any updates on the other stuff I was working on?” Morales asked after he’d finished giving his report.

“On our end? No. The FBI got a fun little surprise yesterday, in the form of an informant stepping forward from a local mafia outfit, but unless they murdered someone in the Coast Guard, that has nothing to do with us.”

Aside from the handful of agents working with the evidence Helena handed over, the rest of the task force continued looking through the massive ARGUS file. If the agents didn’t already hate Amanda Waller before the file was handed over, they certainly did now. There was no reason one file needed to be tens of thousands of pages.

 

After Isabel’s ordeal at the airport, she quickly made her way to the hotel that Stellmoor International had booked for her, during her time in Starling City and checked into her room. The whole situation with the Coast Guard and FBI was so exhausting that as soon as she reached the hotel, she ordered room service and went to sleep, not even bothering to make any contact with her boss or her co-conspirator, Malcolm.

Because she hadn’t made contact with Merlyn, she woke up to a slew of messages from her assistant, whom she’d ordered to stay near Malcolm while she was in Starling. Evidently, Merlyn wasn’t taking her radio silence well and kept contacting her assistant, wanting an update about what was happening. She felt the number of messages was overkill, but nothing about Merlyn’s behavior surprised her. He had a lot to lose, much more than she did, and she knew he hated not being in control.

Knowing that she couldn’t afford to lose another assistant, especially since this one had no qualms about her less-than-legal activities, she decided to put both men out of their misery. She called her assistant and told him to head to Malcolm’s Corto Maltese hideaway and then give her a call. She had a feeling he wouldn’t trust any secondhand information and she didn’t want to repeat the story an extra time.

“I’m here with Mr. Merlyn. He has….questions about what you’re currently doing.” He said.

“That’s one word for it!” Malcolm said. “Why the hell did you head to Starling, the center of the massive investigation against me, when you know the feds know about you?”

“And what exactly do you think they know?” She responded calmly. Malcolm could rant and rave and scream, but Isabel had learned long ago that a woman ranting, raving or screaming only led to her receiving sexist comments. “My name was on a list and said list had multiple purposes. They couldn’t arrest me on that alone, though they did detain me for questioning.”

“They detained you, so going there wasn’t the best idea.” He said. “What happened?”

“They asked me about the list, asked if I had anything to do with the Undertaking or if I could think of any reason why my name would come up on something like that.”

“And? What did you say?”

“I lied, obviously. I said my name must’ve been on there because someone was planning to blackmail me. Robert Queen specifically.”

“Do you think that’ll hold up if they look further?”

“It will. The only way to disprove it would be for Robert to come back to life and dispute what I claimed, and if he does that, he’ll find himself dealing with much bigger problems before I ever get mentioned.”

“They could ask Moira.”

“They could, but will they? I don’t think so. Asking her anything about me, or anyone else Robert had an affair with might not be something they wanna ask his widow, even though he should’ve left her like he was supposed to years ago.” She said. “I mean, he already knew Thea wasn’t his, so why the hell was her breaking her arm enough to get him to stay?”

“What do you mean Thea isn’t Robert’s?” Malcolm asked. “If she’s not Robert’s daughter, whose daughter is she?”

“I don’t know. He never told me who’s daughter she was, he just confided that he’d gotten a DNA test done and it revealed she wasn’t his.” She said. “I thought you knew that. If he told me that, I thought he’d have told you a long time ago. Anyway, he was all set to leave, Thea falls off her horse and breaks her arm, and he suddenly decides that not being her father doesn’t matter. I’ve never wanted to strangle an eight-year-old until that moment.”

“I think we are getting off-topic.” Isabel’s assistant said. He had heard everything she had to say about the Queen family already, multiple times. The last thing he wanted was to have to sit and listen to her rant about Robert leaving her again.

“Yes, it appears that we have. So, the feds detained you for questioning and you lied your way out of it. And it’s unlikely they’ll come snooping around again. Good.” Malcolm said.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not an idiot Malcolm. I know what I’m doing.” She said before ending the call.

She spent the rest of her day in her hotel room, sitting on Skype calls for work and giving her bosses at Stellmoor justifications for why their next acquisition should be a company operating out of Starling. She claimed she had her eye on a few, but there was only one company she saw as worth Stellmoor’s time, and more importantly, her own.

 

The buzz at Thea’s school about William hadn’t died down, so she sat through another day of people trying to pry information out of her and getting really uppity when she refused to answer every question they had and give every single detail they wanted. They asked too many dumb, irrelevant questions and the few reasonable questions that were asked, no one had a right to know. The kid who sat next to her in English didn’t have the right to know what Moira’s reaction was, or what Samantha’s dynamic with Felicity was like. She had a feeling anything she did say would wind up on gossip forums and she didn’t have the time, energy or patience to deal with any of that. When Thea got out of school on Tuesday, she was in an even worse mood than on Monday.

“Please tell me people aren’t, like, camped outside your house, waiting for a comment?” She asked Oliver as they drove.

‘Only people that Felicity and I trust know where we live.’ He said. ‘Hard for people to “camp outside” our house if they don’t know where our house is. They’re probably outside the gates of the mansion, though. Everyone knows where that is, and if I’m not making a statement, hoping to get a quote from Mom is the next best thing.’

“Do you- she’s not gonna give a comment, right?”

‘I don’t think she would, given what you told her over the weekend. Mom’s a lot of things, but she’s not- she’s smart enough to know that saying something isn’t gonna make things better. Staying quiet on the matter is the best move.’ He said. ‘Though, she wants to talk to me. She sent me a message this morning. Says she wants to clear the air between us, now that the truth’s out.’

“And do you want to do that?”

‘Part of me does, to get it over with and because I need to meet her halfway, unless I want to spend the rest of time pretending she doesn’t exist. And part of me doesn’t, not yet, because the last few weeks have been tiring enough.’

“Ok, so maybe tell her not right now and reevaluate in a few days. Or weeks. You do have a lot on your plate as is.”

 

Patrol Tuesday night started off well enough. Things were going pretty smoothly and the team hadn’t encountered any major problems they needed to deal with. Around 11:30 pm, however, all of that changed.

“Who’s the closest to the Jade Dragon?” Felicity asked over the comms. Slade, Nyssa, Sara and Lyla responded with their current locations. Oliver was with Lyla on patrol, so he didn’t need to respond to the question. “All right, it looks like Harbinger and Arrow are closest. There was a 9-1-1 call that came in, reports of shots fired outside the restaurant.”

“Isn’t the Jade Dragon a front for the Triad?” Sara asked. “I know, way back when, everyone claimed it was.”

“No one’s been able to prove it, but a lot of Triad people tend to hang out there.” She said.

“Did the caller say anything about who fired the shots?” Lyla asked.

“No, they called in the shooting and hung up before giving their name.”

“Not surprising. Triad’s gonna be pissed when the cops show up, and no one wants to be the person who called it in.” Slade said. “The SCPD’s lucky they even got a call about it.”

“Whoever did either doesn’t know or wants to have a clear conscience.” McKenna said. “Is the SCPD already on site?”

“No.” Felicity said. “Harbinger was only two blocks away, the closest marked car was about six. We’ll get there first.” 

Lyla and Oliver reached the restaurant. They didn’t get too close, not wanting to disturb the scene before the police arrived. The glass at the front of the restaurant had been smashed, or more likely shot, to smithereens. Only a handful of people had been inside when the shooting started. As the police arrived and started to take statements, the usual obstruction started. No one saw anything or heard anything. According to the staff and customers, the window just shattered, despite the bullets scattered throughout the place and on the pavement outside.

The SCPD gathered up the bullets to take back to the station to test. Oliver was able to take a few pictures, slyly, before the officers showed up. He also asked Felicity to look into any nearby traffic camera footage, to see if they could spot a vehicle driving away from the restaurant.

The bullets would take some time to match, despite the team’s extensive knowledge of firearms, but Felicity had some luck when it came to video footage. She spotted two dark SUVs speeding away from the scene just as the 9-1-1 call came in.

“Is this- do you think this was in-fighting, triad-vs.-triad violence or something else?” Tommy asked.

“Big SUVs aren’t really the Triad’s style.” Lyla pointed out. “At least, not the members I’ve dealt with. They tend to use either bikes, to get away faster, or smaller, stolen vehicles.”

“So, some other group attacked them. Could be the Russians, or the Bertinellis or some street gang. Any ideas how we can narrow that down?” McKenna asked.

‘I don’t think it was the Bratva. The Triad still outnumbers them and they’d have to be stupid or have a death wish to attack what’s basically their base.’ Oliver said. ‘If they had attacked some other, connected businesses first, I’d say its possible, but this move doesn’t make sense.’

“So, we’re looking at either the Bertinellis or a gang. And they seem to be trying to start a gang war. Pike’s not gonna like this.”

“I doubt anyone would be happy about such a thing.” Nyssa said.

The Triad was even less amused and China White’s lieutenant, who had taken over after her arrest, wanted answers immediately. They needed to know who had fired on the restaurant, so that they could return the favor, and then some.

 

Susan Williams was standing around Channel 8’s newsroom, surrounded by her colleagues, watching the mid-morning news. The station always had the broadcast playing on one TV and reporters would sometimes watch. It was a good way for everyone to stay on top of developing stories and seeing how other segments performed with the viewers gave them indications of what other stories the station might want to pursue.

Susan didn’t typically watch anyone else’s stories, she was too focused on her own work for that, but she made an exception from today. Word around the newsroom was that some other reporter had been working on a story about Oliver Queen and Susan wanted to know who it was and how she’d had her story snatched out from right under her nose. Rumor had it, the other reporter had been at the station all night working on the piece. Susan kicked herself for going home at 8pm last night.

“In a bit of good news, Oliver Queen has donated over $30 million to various charities, for the second month in a row.” The news anchor said. “Stacy Wilkins has more on this story.”

The feed then switched to the field reporter Stacy Wilkins, who was standing outside a hospital building in downtown Starling. “Thanks, Pat. Behind me is the Starling Hospital for Children. The Donation and Partnership Coordination team came into work yesterday to find a huge surprise waiting for them, a $15 million dollar donation from Oliver Queen. And they were not the only ones to have a surprising start to their Tuesdays.” The reporter kept talking, but Susan tuned her out. Her story hadn’t been stolen after all, Stacy was just working on an unrelated, and far less interesting, puff piece about charity.

“Does he really think that crap is gonna work?” She asked.

“What crap?” Another reporter asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Oliver Queen. He obviously donated that money so that everyone would talk about that and stop talking about him having a kid.” She said. “It’s so obvious, it's almost comical.”

“You think he donated a bunch of money to bury a story?”

“Duh. Why else would he do it?”

“I don’t have that much money, so I definitely don’t have “Oliver Queen” money, but I don’t think that’s what happened here. One, him having a son isn’t “bad press”. Two, if he wanted good press, he would’ve announced he was donating all of this money, not tried to do it out of the spotlight.”

“He had to know it would come out-.”

“And three, even if he wanted good press, which I doubt, he didn’t need to donate nearly $40 million dollars to three different charities, two of which are charities for kids, to do it. One million to one cause would’ve been enough.”

“Believe what you want. I’m telling you, this is all a set-up to make him look good.”

“Or, you want him to have some ulterior motive, because it justifies your own bias. If he’s not a good person, then no one around him is, and that means it’s okay for you to keep acting like some weird stalker.” The other reporter said. “Yeah, Matt’s not the only one who’s noticed your weird obsession with him. Everyone at the station knows and it’s really gotten out of hand. Interviewing his crazy ex? Really?”

“I’m pursuing a story.”

“Not anymore.” Matt, her boss, said. He handed her a file folder. “Your new assignment. It takes priority.”

Susan took the file, read it and frowned. She was going to give her boss a piece of her mind, to tell him the story was below her skills, but then looked around. The others were listening, but trying to appear like they weren’t. She didn’t want to make a scene, so she just walked away fuming.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 153

Summary:

The team worries about the attack, Isabel fumes and Thawne overhears something surprising.

Notes:

Date: April 10th

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Isabel’s scowl deepened as she watched the news report about Oliver’s donations to charity. She was annoyed enough after seeing his face plastered all over social media and seeing him on the news only annoyed her further. She listened to the story and scoffed almost as soon as the reporter started talking, before turning it off.

Oliver Queen had just wasted $40 million and everyone was acting like that was a good thing. The news treated his donation, which was clearly just a bid for attention, as if it actually mattered. Oliver had taken millions of dollars, dollars Robert had earned and dollars Isabel should’ve gotten, and just gave it away to a bunch of unworthy poor people? It disgusted her. If poor people worked hard, they wouldn’t be poor. It was that simple.

In a perfect world, Isabel would be in Starling to buy, and carve up, Queen Consolidated as revenge for Robert leaving her. This wasn’t a perfect world, so she had to settle for lesser companies and let her anger simmer. She’d get her revenge, eventually.

 

Wednesday morning, McKenna went to the 12th precinct as usual, prepared to spend the day assisting the Gambit task force with their investigation. She was just getting into the elevator when she heard someone call her name.

“Hall!” A uniformed officer called out after her.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Call just came in from Captain Pike. He wants to see you.” He said. “Didn’t say why, but he didn’t sound like he wanted to wait.”

McKenna wasn’t surprised that Pike wanted to talk to her. The attack on the Jade Dragon last night would make people nervous and she guessed the acting commissioner wanted to know what she knew about it. She wasn’t expecting that he’d want to talk to her so soon, however.

“All right. Looks like I’m at the wrong precinct then.” She said. She’d call Dinan or Anderson on the way and let them know where she was.

Pike looked tense when she arrived. He didn’t seem angry, but based on her past experiences with him, he was somewhat on edge. She wasn’t surprised by that. An attack on the Jade Dragon was an attack on the Triad and attacks on organized crime syndicates didn’t usually end well.

“I’m not gonna beat around the bush. You know what happened last night in midtown.” Pike said. “One of the responding officers spotted the Arrow and Harbinger watching from a distance.”

“They didn’t want to compromise the scene, so all they did was take some photos.” McKenna said. “They were worried evidence might “disappear” while the patrol car was still en route.”

“I appreciate that and I’m sure the officers investigating the shooting do as well, if they can get their hands on those photos.” He said. “Did they have any insight on what might’ve happened?”

“The team discussed it and they don’t think this was…..an internal dispute.” She said. “Overwatch found footage of the vehicles used-.”

“I know. Overwatch, or someone claiming to be them, was able to send us some video and still images of the SUVs. What about the vehicles?”

“Based on some of the team’s experience with the Triad, they tend not to use SUVs. Motorcycles or smaller vehicles are more their style.”

“It’s a lot easier to run off with a bike than a large SUV. So, the attack most likely wasn’t Triad vs. Triad. Did they have any theories on who it might’ve been?”

“Not yet. Could be the Bratva, could be the Italian mafia, could be a local street gang. They didn't think the Bratva was the likely culprit, but they also didn’t rule it out.” She said. “And, they wanted me to ask you at some point if the SCPD wants their help on this or if we’d prefer they stay away.”

“I never say “No” to aid unless I’ve got a good reason to. My first assignment was with the gang unit. I’ve seen what happens when a gang war breaks out.” He said. “It’s never pretty and I wanna stop this war before it starts and people begin to panic.”

“The shooting didn’t make the news.”

“It did, but not to the extent it usually would, and we’ve got your friend Oliver to thank for that. Between the speculation about his kid and the news about his donation, the shooting didn’t make the front page today or become a top story last night. It made the news, but it wasn’t a big story, because there were no injuries or casualties, so no one’s panicking yet, and public panic is the last thing we need. But just because last night’s shooting didn’t get press coverage, it doesn’t mean the next one won’t. The Triad is going to retaliate. They’re probably planning their retaliation right now.”

“They can’t possibly know who’s behind the shooting already.”

“That doesn’t matter to them. Not the way you’d think it would.” He said. “We found one of the SUVs, trashed, in a parking lot around dawn. It’s being processed now. Probably a dead end, but we might get lucky. Did the Arrow have anything besides the video?”

“Not that I know of. Overwatch is trying to track the SUVs movements before the attack, try to see where else they’ve been, but hadn’t had much luck when I left to head home last night.”

“Keep me posted. In this day and age, any lead on where that car was, or where it came from, could lead to finding these people.” He said. “Since you’re already here, I think we should also talk about that favor you did for the CSI, Allen, from Central City.”

“Should we?” She asked. She knew what Barry had told Oliver and Felicity, but she had no idea how the CCPD reacted to what Barry had done. “I imagine the CCPD commissioner wasn’t exactly happy with what happened.”

“They have a chief of police, not a commissioner.” Pike said. “And I didn’t get much of a read from him. It seemed like he was annoyed at how the matter was previously handled, but happy Allen didn’t go running straight to the papers but also a little offended we didn’t inform him of what we were doing before Allen went home.”

“We, as in the SCPD, didn’t do anything. I acted alone and if the CCPD is upset about it, blame it all on me.”

“Chief Brody wasn’t upset, but the phrase “professional courtesy” came up during our conversation.” He said. “So, next time someone from out of town asks you to review a case file, and I don’t know about it, talk to me first before you promise anything.”

“Of course. Anything else we need to discuss?”

“Nope.”

McKenna went back to the 12th precinct and learned that Isabel Rochev was in Starling City. She didn’t hear much about the interview the task force had done with Isabel, but she decided she should probably warn everyone anyway. Robert Queen had tried to warn Oliver about Isabel and she doubted he wouldn’t take that warning seriously.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Curtis asked Felicity when they had reached a lull in their work.

“Yeah, what’s up?” She replied.

“So, I saw on the news that Oliver donated, like, $30 million dollars. And he made a big donation last month, or so some people claim. Is that true?”

“Yup. He’s decided he’s gonna donate around that much to different charities every month.” She said. “Let me guess, your next question is gonna be why?”

“Kinda. I mean, I’m not saying he shouldn’t do it. It’s his money and he can do what he wants with it, but, like, you never see rich people giving away that much money.”

“The money doesn’t matter to him.” Lyla said. “He doesn’t need it to survive and he could never spend it all. I was talking to him about it and he said he recently realized how little he cared about having that amount of money. He’d rather it go towards people and causes who need it than just sit in his bank account.” Money hadn’t protected him from Fyers, Ivo, Waller or “Smith” and he couldn’t take it with him.

“And because the things he wants most, money can’t buy.” Felicity said. “And I don’t mean that in a “money can’t buy happiness” sense. Mostly because, for the majority of people, that’s a load of crap. Most people live paycheck-to-paycheck. People who earn enough to live comfortably are happier than people struggling to get by because they have more stability. And that phrase has been misappropriated to try and make everyone feel bad for rich people, which I hate and-.”

“You’re rambling.” Ray said gently. “And we know that’s not what you meant. It’s great that he’s donating to such great causes.”

Ray and Curtis didn’t know Oliver well enough to know what his wants, hopes and dreams were, but they could hypothesize. Oliver lost his father, lost his voice and lost five years of his life. He would probably give anything to get those back, but no amount of money could return those to him.

“I hope it starts a trend.” Felicity said. “I wanna see billionaires compete to see who can donate the most money. Make the world a better place instead of competing for who can own the most cars or planes or whatever.”

There was a knock on the door to the lab and Felicity turned to see Oliver standing there. ‘I don’t know if I’ll start a trend, but I’m certainly not gonna stop trying to make the world a better place.’

“Hi, honey.” She greeted him. “Looks like its lunch time. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Have fun.” Ray and Curtis said as she, Lyla and Oliver left the room.

“So, where are we headed for lunch today?” Felicity asked Oliver.

‘I was thinking we revisit an old favorite. How does Big Belly sound?’

“Oh, I am always on board for triple-B.” She said. “Let’s go.”

Digg was outside and they drove to Big Belly Burger. Carly greeted them warmly and sat them down at a table. Oliver and Felicity both liked Big Belly Burger, not just because they had great food, but also because Carly always made them feel welcome. While the staff at other restaurants were always nice to them, it was sometimes awkward.

“I can’t believe its already Wednesday.” Felicity said. Tonight was the night of their Skype call with William.

‘Me neither. I’m excited to talk to him.’ He responded. ‘I hope he’s not aware of what’s been going on for the last few days.’

“I don’t think he would be. I mean, what might be happening over there? People are probably trying to locate Samantha, or paying closer attention to what she’s doing. She’s still in his life, he’s still going to pre-k and his friends are still around. To a kid, there haven’t been any big changes. He’s too young to notice such subtle differences in how people around him act.” She said. “Plus, it's almost his birthday so I don’t think he’s paying that much attention to anything beyond that.”

‘You make a good point.’

Their food came and they started to eat. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Felicity spoke up again. “You know what I just thought of? You could ask Carly for some pointers on parenting. Not only is she a parent, but she’s the parent of a little boy. I know that you were once a little boy, but that was a while ago. No one in our friend group really knows much about raising a six-year-old boy in this day and age.”

‘I don’t wanna inconvenience her.’

“I’m not saying you have to. Or that you need to ask her for advice right now. I’m just pointing out that she’d be a good person to talk to, if you need someone to ask.” She said. “Just think about it, okay?”

She thought her suggestion was a good idea, but she didn’t want to be too pushy. If Oliver didn’t feel comfortable asking Carly for parenting advice, she wasn’t going to make him. She also didn’t want to start an argument over something that wasn’t worth fighting over.

‘You’ve got something on your nose.’ He told her. Before she could ask what it was, he reached over and wiped it off with a napkin. ‘There, I got it.’

“Thanks.”

The short video of Oliver wiping the bit of mustard off of the tip of Felicity’s nose, taken by another customer, went viral. Everyone was freaking out over how cute that moment was.

 

Barry was reading the results of a forensic test he had just completed when he heard someone knock on the door of his lab. Without looking up from the paper, he responded.

“If you’re here to drop off evidence, leave it on the table by the door.” He said. 

“I’m not here to drop anything off.” Detective Chyre said, causing Barry to look up from his papers. “I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t have the fingerprint analysis done for the robbery you and Joe have been investigating.” He said. “I’ll have it later today.”

“C’mon, Allen, you’re a smart guy. You know that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Your mother’s-.”

“I don’t want to talk about this with you.” Barry said. He was surprised Joe hadn’t talked Chyre out of starting this conversation. Then again, Joe might’ve tried.

“The investigation into your mother’s death was-.”

“Let me rephrase that. I’m not talking about this with you.” He said.

“Why not?”

“Because, for one thing, it would be unproductive. And, as you can see, I’m pretty busy right now.” He said, gesturing to the case files and evidence bags scattered throughout his lab. “I don’t think we have anything to say to each other on that front.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” The detective said before leaving.

Barry was happy he hadn’t gotten angry or combative when he tried to shut the conversation down. He didn’t think Fred Chyre was a bad person or had acted maliciously so far. He just didn’t want to talk to the man about his mother’s death.

 

“Gideon, what was that conversation about?” Eobard Thawne asked Gideon after Fred Chyre exited Barry Allen’s lab.

“It seems that Detective Chyre wanted to discuss the death of Nora Allen, and Barry Allen was uninterested in speaking with him.” Gideon answered.

“Yeah, I saw that. I know that much. What I don’t know is why.”

“Nora Allen’s death was a pivotal moment in Barry Allen’s life. Detective Chyre was one of the investigators. It stands to reason that they might discuss it at some point.”

“He’s never talked about it, in the years since he started working at the CCPD, with someone other than his foster father. Is he trying to get the case reopened?”

“My surveillance of him does not indicate that he is.” Barry wasn’t trying to get the case reopened, he had gotten the case reopened. It was a subtle difference, but a big enough difference that it allowed Gideon to answer honestly without revealing Barry Allen’s recent victory. “He has never stopped investigating what happened that night.”

“You’re right. He doesn’t know when to quit.” Thawne said. “That’s gonna come in handy later, but since he can’t prove I killed his mother, it’s a waste of time right now.”

Gideon could have pointed out that Barry wanted to free his father, not necessarily catch his mother’s killer at the moment. She could have reminded Thawne that he didn’t need to prove Thawne’s guilt, only that Henry Allen wasn’t guilty. She could have said that, but she didn’t. For a man who had watched Barry Allen for years, claimed to know him better than he knew himself, Thawne had very little understanding of Barry.

 

That evening, while Oliver and Felicity were getting ready to start their Skype call with William, Felicity could tell Oliver was a little on edge. When Oliver was nervous or restless, he tended to rub his thumb and forefinger back and forth. It was a subtle tell, but one she had picked up on.

“What’s wrong? You seem worried. We’re just talking to Will. Everything is gonna be fine.”

‘I know that. Our call with Will isn’t what I’m worried about.’ He said.

“Then, what are you worried about, if you’re willing to share?”

‘I feel like I’m letting the team down.’ He said. ‘After what happened last night, everyone should be patrolling, trying to get answers about the shooting and trying to stop a gang war. But I’ve taken the night off, because I wanna talk to my son. And I’m not- I don’t wanna miss this call with William, but I also-.’

“You don’t wanna let Will down, but you don’t wanna let the team or the city down.” She finished. “You know, you don’t have to take tonight off of Arrow-ing. Will’s young. He goes to bed a lot earlier than most people do. We can head over to the foundry after the call wraps up.”

‘We haven’t done that before.’

“I think that’s because we haven’t wanted to, or felt the need to, before. Things have been very quiet for a while. Aside from the whole Vertigo case, it’s been a while since there was a pressing threat against the city that we needed all hands on deck for.”

‘I don’t know if we should go after this. The chances of us finding a lead tonight aren’t good’

“Would it make you feel better? Less anxious and less like you’re letting people down?”

‘Probably.’

“Then, we should go.”

To Felicity, the matter seemed pretty simple. If going to the foundry after the call would make Oliver feel better, then they should do it. Whether they had done it before or if them being there would lead to a break in the case didn’t matter.

‘Okay.’

Felicity’s tablet started to make a noise, indicating that the call was starting.

“Hi Lisy! Hi Daddy!” Will called from the screen.

“Hey buddy!” Oliver responded using his text-to-speech app.

 

McKenna came walking down the stairs of the foundry and stopped short. “Where’s Oliver?” She asked. She had planned to go to the foundry and tell everyone about Isabel Rochev being in town as soon as everyone was there. Currently, Oliver and Felicity were the only ones not there.

“It’s Wednesday.” Sara reminded her. “Ollie has a Skype call with his son Wednesday nights and takes the night off of patrol.”

“Right. It is Wednesday. I forgot that was his “off” night.” She said. 

“Do you really need to talk to him or something? Because if this is important and can’t wait, I can ask him to-.”

“No, don’t do that. I don’t wanna make him cut his time with his son short unless I have to. I need to talk to him, but it’s not an emergency. If I can’t speak with him until tomorrow, it won’t be the end of the world.” She said. “Isabel Rochev is in Starling City, and given what his father wrote in his letter, I thought he should know sooner rather than later. There’s more I need to tell him, but that’s the most important bit.”

“What is she doing here?”

“So far? Nothing.”

“Yeah, but for years my dad was doing “nothing” so that’s not exactly comforting.” Tommy said. “I’ll send him a text, let him know you wanna talk to him about something.”

The rest of the team went out on patrol. They were a little uneasy, knowing that a gang war was possibly brewing. No one could guess what the Triad might do in response to the attack, or what the culprits might do next and uncertainty wasn’t a feeling anyone on the team liked.

To everyone’s surprise, Oliver and Felicity arrived at the foundry a little after nine. Before anyone could ask questions, Felicity explained that they had decided to come because of the attack on the Triad and they didn’t want to leave the team at a disadvantage, even if it was unlikely they’d find the culprits tonight.

“It good that you’re here, because I need to talk to you.” McKenna said. “Isabel Rochev is in Starling.” She quickly explained that an CGIS and FBI agent interviewed Isabel and what she had been able to gather from the interview. Isabel was a person of interest still, but wasn’t under arrest. Her explanation for being on the List was plausible, but the task force couldn’t confirm or deny how true it was.

“I guess I should start digging into her a little further then.” Felicity said. “I’ve been looking into her, yes, but when she was somewhere else, it wasn’t my top priority. Now that she’s here, though, she ranks a little higher on my list.”

‘She could just be here for work.’ Oliver pointed out. ‘It might be naive to think that, but it’s possible.’ If Isabel wasn’t here for work, then she was either here to do something nefarious or here for the Queen family. In either scenario, Oliver would probably have to interact with her and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Well, there’s no harm in confirming that, is there?” Thea said. “If she’s here for work, we can confirm that. And if she’s not, then we know she didn’t just happen to show up.”

“Whatever brought her here, we need to get to the bottom of it.” Felicity said. “Even if it's just for our own peace of mind.”

Oliver changed into his hood and joined the others on their patrol. The night was quiet, but the atmosphere in and around the Triad’s territory was tense. They might not have retaliated yet, but something was clearly coming.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 154

Summary:

The Triad begins to plot, Oliver and Felicity get unexpected news and the weekend with William approaches.

Notes:

Dates: April 10th through April 12th

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

In an empty warehouse in the Glades, a group of men sat around a large table. All eyes were on the gentleman at the head of the table, having a long, and what appeared to be tense, conversation in Mandarin. While the other occupants in the room could only hear one half of the conversation, it was clear that the discussion was not going well and that the man on the other end of the line was unhappy to say the least.

With one final promise to resolve the situation as soon as possible, the phone call ended. The others waited for Tsui, the Triad leader who’d been on the phone, to speak. He remained silent.

“Well?”

“Mr. Zhisan heard of the attack and is displeased that it happened.” He said.

“We gathered as much. What else did he say?”

The man didn’t answer right away. A great deal of Zhisan’s comments were focused on him pointing out that attacks like the one at the Jade Dragon had never occurred prior to Chein Na Wei’s arrest and he wasn’t entirely sure telling the others as much would be productive. Some members of the Triad liked, or at least respected Wei, but others had a strong dislike of her and mentioning her would sidetrack the conversation. “He wished to reinforce how eager he is to hear the matter has been dealt with. And wanted to remind everyone of the consequences that will result if this matter is not swiftly dealt with.” He said.

“I noticed that you neglected to tell him that we have no leads.” Another member said.

“Yet. We have no leads yet. Something we will need to rectify.” He said. “Before any of us speak with him again. Otherwise, he may send us some assistance in getting justice for what happened.” 

No one needed to be told that needing assistance from Hong Kong would not bode well for the men in the room. They feared to think about who their “assistance” would be, given that Chein Na Wei was unavailable.

Now thoroughly motivated to get answers faster than ever, the leaders divided up the city to start looking for proof of who had ordered the attack. Someone had to know something or seen something, and they could be very persuasive when they wanted to be.

 

Thursday morning, Felicity was getting ready for her work-from-home day when there was a knock on the front door. She turned to Oliver, and asked him if he was expecting anyone to drop by, and he shook his head.

“You’re not expecting a visitor. And I’m not expecting a visitor.” She said. “Yet, someone’s here to see one of us.” The person knocked again.

Oliver moved closer to the door and looked through the peephole. ‘It’s a blonde woman I’ve never seen before. Older than us but younger than our parents. She looks like a federal agent, based on how she’s dressed.’ He signed. ‘Do you know anyone who fits that description?’

Felicity shook her head but made her way closer to the door. After taking a deep breath, she pulled it open. “Hello?”

“Felicity Smoak?”

“Who’s asking and how do you know where I live?”

“Cat Grant, I’m the director of ARGUS. As to the second question, I asked someone who would know.” Cat said. She had gone to Applied Sciences, only to be told Felicity was working from home. Ray Palmer only gave her the address after she told him Felicity wasn’t in trouble and she just needed to speak with her in person about a sensitive matter. “I thought it was time that you and I talk.”

“I don’t know what we’d have to talk about.” She said. Cat Grant wasn’t Amanda Waller, but given what Felicity knew about ARGUS, she wasn’t ready to trust anyone from the organization. Lyla seemed to think better of Grant than she did of Waller, but Felicity needed to confirm the difference for herself.

“Let’s not play games, shall we? We both know the role you played, unofficial as it was, in getting Amanda Waller removed as the director of ARGUS. Not long after her removal, she was arrested.”

“I wasn’t trying to be coy. I honestly don’t know what business ARGUS would have with me, at this point. Or why you’d want to talk to me.” She said. “As far as I know, we have nothing to say to each other.”

“Yesterday, you would’ve been right. ARGUS has no interest in you, or anyone close to you. And while you’ve never come out and said it, you hate ARGUS, or at least have a very strong dislike of the agency. Which is both obvious and understandable. There shouldn't be a reason why we'd need to talk. However, I got a phone call this morning and that’s why I’m here.”

“I know you’re ex-CIA, from the press release about you becoming the new director, and you probably never say things directly because you’re ex-CIA, but can you please tell me whatever it is you came here to say?” Felicity asked. “I have to get to work soon.” That was a lie. She had plenty of time, but no patience for ARGUS.

“Amanda Waller signed a deal to avoid trial.” Cat knew it was unlikely that she’d get a chance to speak with Oliver Queen alone, much less be the one to tell him about Waller’s fate, but she wanted him to know before the general public did. It was the least ARGUS could do, given what had been done to him. She was willing to bet Oliver could hear their discussion, even if he wasn’t in view. “It was accepted by the court this morning.”

Oliver stiffened from his spot next to Felicity, but out of Grant’s sight. “What kinda deal? The kind where she gets a slap on the wrist and walks free in less than five years? Or did she trade some kind of information to avoid prison altogether?” Felicity hadn't been paying attention to Waller post-arrest, intending to focus on other things until the trial grew closer. This deal came completely out of left field to her.

“The kind of deal where she’s gonna spend the rest of her life in prison to avoid the headache of multiple public trials. From what I’ve been told, she didn’t like her odds at trial, especially in some of the states that started investigating her.” Cat Grant said. Was it a complete win for justice? No. There were things Waller would never admit to or be held accountable for, but it was something. “I thought that information would be of interest to you.” 

“Oh, it definitely is.” She said. Oliver shifted next to her, but she didn’t take her eyes off of Cat, not wanting to reveal that Oliver had heard what they were saying. She didn’t want Cat to ask to speak to Oliver.  “Tell me, is she gonna be allowed visitors at whatever prison she gets sent to?”

When Cat received the news about Waller taking the FBI’s deal, she considered how her conversation with Felicity might go. She expected Felicity to be suspicious of her. She guessed that Felicity would try to keep the conversation as short as possible and have skepticism about the deal. What she hadn’t expected was for Felicity to ask about Waller being allowed visitors. “She’ll be allowed visitors, as long as they don’t present a security risk.”

“Good. I’ll have to pay her a visit.” She said. Cat didn’t know what her expression gave away, but Felicity must’ve seen something, because she kept talking. “You wanna know why I wanna go see her. Do you have a family, Ms. Grant? A partner or siblings or kids?”

“Yes.” It was just Cat and her son Carter, but she doubted Felicity wanted to know specifics.

“Imagine Waller did to someone in your family some of the things she’s done to people I care about. And I'm not just counting Oliver in that group. You’d want to look her in the eye and tell her to go burn in Hell too.” She said. That wasn’t all Felicity wanted to say to Waller, but the rest were things Cat might not understand.

“You’re right. I would. Have a nice day, Ms. Smoak.” Cat Grant left and Felicity closed the door.

She turned to look at Oliver, expecting him to be standing next to her, but found him sitting on the ground. He was staring straight ahead and she couldn’t read anything from his expression. He seemed to be in shock, which wasn’t surprising.  “Are you- should I give you some space? Do you want me to sit here with you for a minute?” She saw him nod. “I don’t know what you’re nodding to? Give you some space?” He shook his head. “Sit with you for a bit?” He then nodded. “Okay.”

She took a seat next to Oliver. They didn’t speak and she didn’t try to touch him or anything, fearing it might be too much. They sat in silence until he reached over and took her hand. ‘She- Waller’s really been stopped.’ 

“She has and she’s never gonna be able to hurt you, or anyone, ever again.”

‘I- when she was arrested, everyone kept saying it was over but I was still scared that-.’

“That she’d be found “not guilty” at trial, somehow. And be released and come after you. Or someone you care about to get back at you. I was a little scared of that too, but since she’s taken a deal, which means confessing, that’s not an option anymore.” She said.

‘Why do you wanna go see her?’

“I’m not definitely gonna do it, but I want to because there are some things I’ve been wanting to say to her. There are quite a few things that someone needs to say to her face.” She said. “And not just the “burn in Hell” comment I told Director Grant about.”

‘I don’t know what you want to get out of that visit, but it’s not gonna go the way you think. She’s not gonna show remorse and you’re not gonna feel satisfied.’ He was nervous about Felicity seeing Waller, even though the woman was already in prison and wouldn’t be able to retaliate. Waller was crafty.

“I don’t need answers from Waller. Or remorse. I just- it’s hard to explain.” She said. “I’m outspoken, if you haven’t noticed, and there are some things I’ve been waiting to say to her ever since I heard about Moscow. And, I wanna gloat about ruining her life a little bit. Because she deserves it.”

‘What did Grant mean? About states trying to charge Waller?’

“Waller was arrested by the FBI, so she was facing a federal trial. I don’t know a lot about law, but I know you can have both a federal trial and a state trial for the same offense because the US government can only charge you with certain things, while the state of Washington can charge you with other things. Like, if I killed someone, that’s murder which is usually a state crime, but if I killed someone and it was deemed to be a hate crime or I was trying to kidnap them when they died, that’s a federal offense. And if I break the law in Washington, and then I break a different law in, say, Montana, both states can put me on trial and it's not double jeopardy. So, Waller could be facing two trials, state and federal, for every crime she might’ve committed. And there are 50 states, plus DC.” She said. “That’s a lot when you think about it. She probably didn’t want to deal with it. Though this means some of her crimes will never be brought to light.”

‘I should let you get to work.’ He said after several seconds. 

“Don’t worry about that. This is more important. You’re more important than work and what we just learned is- work can wait. QC isn’t gonna explode if I log on a few minutes late.” She said. “Should we call Lyla and tell her?”

‘Not right now. I’m still wrapping my head around it.’ He said. He didn’t think he’d be able to find the words to tell anyone the news, if he had to. He also couldn’t find the words to tell Felicity how free he finally felt. ‘I love you.’

“I love you too.”

They stayed like that for a bit longer, sitting on the ground, before they both decided the position wasn’t comfortable and moved to the couch. Oliver was still quiet, but seemed to be less shocked, so Felicity opened her laptop and started her workday.

‘Will it bother you if I turn the TV on?’ He asked her. Typically, when she worked from home, Oliver would either read or do some hacking of his own, but he didn’t think he’d be able to focus on a book or hacking today.

“Not at all. If I need to take a call, I might ask you to mute it though.” She said.

Thankfully, Felicity’s workday ended up being pretty boring. After the excitement of Cat Grant’s visit, a quiet day was what both of them needed.

 

Tommy was reading through some financial reports when a man in an expensive suit came storming into his temporary office. He looked up and saw an anxious Sheila entering the room.

“I’m sorry, Tommy, I tried to find out what this was about but-.” She said.

“As I told your secretary, I need to speak with you and I don't have time to wait.” The man said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.” Tommy said. He didn’t like the man in front of him, but he wasn’t going to be rude for no reason.  “Who are you?”

The man straightened slightly, as if the question offended him, before answering. “John Cecil of Cecil, Belman & Partners.” He said. “I’m-.”

“Malcolm’s attorney.” He said. Naturally, Malcolm would have a lawyer who was as much of a dick as he was. Birds of a feather really did flock together.

“Yes, and we need to discuss the civil suit brought against your father. It will-.”

“Let me stop you right there.” Tommy said. “First, I don’t appreciate you storming in here, demanding to speak with me. I don’t care who you are, that’s not appropriate. Second, I definitely don’t appreciate you being rude to any of the Merlyn Global staff, but especially my executive assistant Sheila, because this place would fall apart without her. Third, I’m not the Merlyn you need to talk to about billing.”

“What?”

“You’re Malcolm’s lawyer. Malcolm’s getting sued. I’m not paying for it. Your fees will not be paid by me, this company or anyone other than Malcolm. Unless you find some good Samaritan willing to pay his legal fees, which I doubt is gonna happen.” He said. “I have no obligation to pay your fees and I won’t be.”

“As his only child-.”

“Malcolm’s still alive. On the run, but alive. You can’t make me pay his debts until he’s dead.” Tommy had talked to several lawyers to find out what obligation, if any, he had to pay Malcolm’s debts. They all had the same answer: unless Tommy's co-signed on something, he had no obligation until Malcolm was dead. “Malcolm’s assets were frozen, so he can’t pay you, so it seems like you’re not gonna get paid for this case.”

“We don’t do pro bono work.” Mr. Cecil said snidely. “In order to defend your father in this case-.”

“Don’t, then.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’re telling me you’ll only defend Malcolm in the lawsuit if your fees are paid. He can’t pay you, and I’ve already said I’m not paying you, so don’t defend him.” He said. “You’re not getting paid, so don’t take the case. And don’t try to talk me into changing my mind. I won’t. I don’t like my father. He’s a terrible person, on every level. When it comes to this lawsuit, I want him to lose. I want the families suing him, and anyone else he’s hurt over the years, to take him to the cleaners. Now, please leave my office. I have a lot of work to do.”

John Cecil gave Tommy a look, but turned and left. He stormed past Sheila, not even bothering to give a token apology for his earlier rudeness. Clearly, the lawyer had been expecting to have a much different conversation with Tommy. 

“Please let security know not to let him into the building if he shows up again.” Tommy told Sheila. “And I’m sorry for how rude he was to you.”

“You don’t owe me an apology. Thank you for standing up for me.” She said. She’d never had a boss tell someone off for being rude to her before. It was nice to feel valued. “What happens to the company if the lawsuits drain your father of all of his money? He owns the company, after all and if he goes broke, it sounds like we’ll all lose our jobs.”

“You won’t. This needs to stay between you and me, but there are ways the board can relieve him of his stake or sell it to someone else.” He said. “And those conversations may or may not be happening currently. I’m trying as hard as I can to make sure no one loses their job because of him. I know telling you not to worry won’t make you stop worrying, but I promise that I’m trying.”

“Thank you.” She said. “And I’ll keep this between us.”

 

After his unproductive conversation with Tommy, John Cecil fired off a quick email to Malcolm. He had gone to Tommy first, because he wasn’t sure if he’d even be able to get in touch with Malcolm. He also expected a trust-fund kid like Tommy Merlyn to be willing to spend any amount of money in order to not lose the family fortune. He had clearly overestimated how much the press was exaggerating the estrangement between Tommy and his father.

The attorney’s email was short and to the point. He informed Malcolm of the civil suit against him and of Tommy’s refusal to pay the legal fees. To his surprise, the email went through without a hitch and he didn’t get an error message.

Thousands of miles away, Malcolm read Cecil’s email and grew livid. This lawsuit shouldn’t have been an issue, given how much money he could throw at the problem, but his funds were frozen and Tommy wasn’t cooperating. Malcolm’s name, the Merlyn family name, was being dragged through the mud and Tommy was going to do nothing? This needed to be corrected immediately.

He had nearly thrown his phone into the wall, but stopped himself. Instead, he decided to make a call. “I need one small favor from you.” He said. “In regards to a delicate matter.”

 

Samantha entered her house to find William and Courtney sitting on the couch. The teen was showing William something on her phone and they were laughing. She smiled at that. Even with everything going on, her son was happy. Over the last few days, her coworkers had stopped acting so weird around her. Some people still stared but it was getting easier to ignore. Her life wasn’t back to normal but it was getting there.

“Mommy! Come look!” Will said when he saw his mom. “There’s a funny video of Daddy and Lisy.”

Courtney showed Samantha the video, which consisted of Oliver wiping mustard off of Felicity’s nose. William started laughing when he watched it again. “It’s funny ‘cause Lisy got stuff on her nose and didn’t realize it.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty silly.” Samantha agreed. All in all, it was a sweet video and Samantha couldn’t see anything wrong with William watching it. Her own feelings about the situation aside, the pair were cute together.

 

Thursday evening, Oliver and Felicity went to the foundry early. Oliver seemed to have fully processed the news from this morning and Felicity was almost eager to share it. It was a big moment. The rest of the group trickled in, with Digg and Lyla arriving last, a few moments after Slade got there. 

“Did you hear the news?” Felicity asked as soon as they were in the room.

“No, what news?” Digg asked.

‘We got a visit from the new ARGUS director this morning.’ Oliver said. ‘Waller signed a deal.’

“To spend the rest of her life in prison, before anyone starts worrying about her getting a slap on the wrist or walking free.” Felicity added.

‘Grant said something about Waller not liking her odds at trial and wanting to avoid trials in multiple states. We’re not sure if that’s actually true, but-.’

“It most likely is. Waller's a pragmatist above all. She might have managed to beat the federal charges, if she went to trial, but she did not want to risk going to trial, and losing, in Mississippi or Louisiana.” Lyla said. Belle Reve was in one of those states and that would spell trouble for Waller. “By taking the FBI’s deal, those states don’t have a reason to charge her.”

“Why those states?” Tommy asked. "It seems oddly specific."

“There was a  facility, in either Mississippi or Louisiana, run by ARGUS. If anything illegal happened there, she could be charged by whichever state the facility was in. And states in the south tend to be the strictest when it comes to sentencing.” Lyla didn’t add that both Louisiana and Mississippi allowed the death penalty, so if Waller went to trial and was convicted by the state, and her crimes at Belle Reve were bad enough, she could be put to death. It had been years since someone charged federally had been sentenced to death. Amanda Waller would do whatever she had to do to stay alive, and life without parole or being sentenced to 100 years would mean Waller at least got to live.  Alive, she could scheme to find a way out.

“So, it’s over. It’s really over.” Thea said. “She can’t come after Ollie or you. The rest of her life, she’s gonna be in prison. She’s not gonna get the chance to hurt anyone again.”

“Yeah, it’s actually over.” Lyla said. “Feels surreal.”

‘I know. It took me a while to even believe I heard the news correctly.' Oliver said. He was safe from Waller, but now, everyone he cared about was safe too. His biggest fear hadn’t been Waller hurting him, but trying to hurt his friends and family in order to hurt him. She had threatened his friends and family before and he hadn’t forgotten about that.

"I gotta hand it to you, Felicity, you said you'd get rid of Waller and you pulled it off." Sara said. "She's not just in prison, but she’s gonna be there for the rest of her life."

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place. She shouldn't have been able to get away with what she did to begin with." Felicity said. "But I won't lie and say I don't feel a sense of satisfaction. But really, Lyla should get most of the credit. She’s the one who testified and gave the government all of those tempting leads to follow."

“Let’s just agree it was a team effort and leave it at that.” Lyla said. She didn’t want to take too much credit, since she had been complicit in some of the terrible things Waller had done. 

The team went out for patrol after the excitement died down. Waller no longer being a threat was good news, but the city was in a delicate position after the attack on the Triad and they couldn’t afford to lose sight of the other threats they needed to worry about.

As with the night before, patrol was quiet, but it felt more like the calm before a storm than genuine peace and quiet.

 

Tsui and his comrades gathered in the warehouse where their last meeting had been held. After each leader spoke, it became clear that they were no closer to finding who was responsible than they’d been the night before.

“Has Mr. Zhisan requested an update already?” One man asked.

“Not yet, but its only a matter of time.” Tsui said. “We need to be proactive.”

“Meaning?”

“We’ve been attacked. It’s time to hit back.”

“We don’t know if it was the Italians or the Russians, or some street punks who ordered the attack.”

“So, we hit all three of them.” Tsui said. “One of them must be to blame, therefore if we strike at all three, regardless of who was responsible, we’ll have made our point.”

“And started a war with the other two groups. Which will anger Mr. Zhisan even more since we cannot fight a battle on three different fronts.” Someone said. “It has been one day since we last met. I think another day or two of…investigating would be prudent. If we have no leads by then, we can discuss your idea in more detail.”

“Very well.” Tsui said.

 

Friday morning passed quickly for everyone. Felicity went to work and managed to get quite a lot done. After Felicity went to work, Oliver decided to do some investigating of his own into Isabel Rochev. He knew Felicity was trying to uncover details about Rochev, but he wanted to see what he could find. Based on Felicity’s past investigations, she’d focus on what Isabel had done previously for the most part. He decided to focus on what she might be doing right now. Since they also had different styles of hacking, he might find something that she hadn’t yet.

He wasn’t able to devote as much time to his hacking as he would’ve liked, since he’d be heading to Central City midday, but he’d started to track her movements backwards from when she landed in Starling a few days earlier. She’d been in Brazil for a while prior to that, but hadn’t been able to figure out what she’d been doing in Brazil for so long. 

He had started running some searches on the ghost tablet Felicity gave him when she returned from work. “What are you working on?” She asked him.

‘Figuring out where Isabel Rochev has been. Or at least where her phone has been.’ He said. ‘She was in Brazil before she came here.’

“Interesting. Where in Brazil?”

‘Rio de Janeiro, it looks like. At least, that’s what I’ve figured out so far.’ He said. ‘I haven’t worked out what she was doing in Rio, but she was there.’ 

“I’m sure we’ll find out.” She said. “But not today because it’s a “William weekend” and that’s both more important and more fun than investigating your father’s probably crazy ex. And I wanna focus on the excitement of that, not worrying about her.”

‘I like the way you think.’ He said. ‘Get changed and we’ll head to the train station.’

The train ride to Central City passed pretty quickly. They spent most of the trip talking about random things. Between the emotional rollercoaster the day before and the brewing problems with the Triad, they didn’t have the capacity to try to discuss anything too serious. They both needed a bit of a break from serious topics.

‘So, what was the “perfect gift” you found for William?’ He asked her. ‘You said you’d found something a few days ago, but didn’t say what it was.’

“I didn’t? Oh, sorry. Let me tell you.” She said. “It’s basically a monthly kids science club subscription service. So, every month, he’s gonna get a package with books and some kid-friendly experiments related to a field of science. And the field switches from month to month. So, it might be chemistry for one month and then physics and so on. This way, he’ll be learning and having fun.”

‘Sounds like something you would’ve loved as a kid.’

“Oh, I would’ve lost my mind if something like that existed when I was a kid. But that’s not why I thought it would be good for Will. He’s smart and smart kids get bored easily. He seems excited for school, and to learn, and I don’t want him to stop being excited about learning because school is too easy for him. He’ll be learning, but in a different way and hopefully keeping that spark alive.”

‘What do you mean?’

“There’s this quote that says like, every kid’s an artist but the problem is staying an artist when you grow up. Because parents or teachers or whoever convince kids that being an artist isn’t a “real job” or whatever and they lose the passion they had. I know plenty of people who loved learning at one point, but the monotony of school kinda beat the excitement out of them or they get bored. I don’t like that that happens and I don’t want that to happen to kids.”

‘Well, Will’s gonna love his gift.’

“I really hope that he does.” She said. 

The train arrived in Central City and they disembarked. They noticed a few extra eyes watching them as they sat in the station but no one called their names or tried to draw attention to the pair. Until they heard an incredibly familiar voice.

“Daddy!” William called as he let go of Samantha’s hand and ran towards Oliver and Felicity, who were a few feet away. He was soon wrapped up in a hug from Oliver.

“Hey, buddy.” Felicity said. Samantha was running early, so Oliver didn’t have his text-to-speech app open yet. “Excited for the weekend?”

“Uh-huh.” He said.

Felicity saw a few people watching them, but no one seemed to be recording the interaction. Still, she didn’t want to tempt fate and knew Oliver didn’t either. “All right. We’ll go get on the train as soon as you say goodbye to your mom.”

Samantha and William said goodbye and he took Oliver’s hand and walked toward the train. Felicity stayed back for a moment, sensing there might be something Samantha wanted to say.

“I feel like there’s something you wanna say. Do you wanna say something?” Felicity asked her.

“Nope.” Samantha wanted to say quite a few things, but now that the right moment had come, she couldn’t find the words. “Sorry, I’m thinking about work stuff.”

“Okay, well, have a good weekend.” She said.

She caught up with Oliver and William to board the train. The little boy told them about his week as the train started to pull away from the station.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 155

Summary:

William starts his weekend with Oliver and Felicity, Samantha tries to get her life back to normal, Laurel gets some news and Tommy has a disconcerting encounter.

Notes:

Dates: April 12 to April 13tth

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The train ride from Central City to Starling with William was pretty unremarkable. William talked about his week at pre-k and how excited he was for his birthday next week for most of the ride. While he was clearly excited for presents, since there were a few toys he really wanted, he seemed mostly excited to have a party with all of his friends.

“And Courtney and Mike are gonna be there.” He said, listing out all of the people who were going to be coming to his party. Oliver and Felicity hadn’t heard him mention half of the names he said, but nodded along just the same. “They’re ‘cited to meet you.”

“They are?” Oliver asked using his text-to-speech app.

“Uh-huh. Ever since I told them my daddy wasn’t in heaven anymore, they wanted to meet you. And Courtney said Lisy’s one of her- I don’t know what she said, but she wants to be like Lisy when she grows up.”

“Role model, maybe?” Felicity suggested.

“Yeah, I think that was it. She thinks you’re really cool and stuff.” He said.

“Well, I can’t wait to meet her, because from what you’ve said, she sounds pretty cool too.”

“I’m also ‘cited for lots of cake at my party.”

“Cake is always a good reason to be excited.” Oliver said. “As long as you don’t eat too much.”

“If I eat too much cake, am I gonna change colors and get all round like the girl in Willy Wonka?” William asked with his eyes widening. “Mommy and I watched it last week and I don’t want that to happen.”

“No, you won’t turn blue like Violet.” Felicity said. “But you might get a tummy ache.”

“Oh. Good. I don’t wanna turn blue or anything, even though it’s my favorite color.” He said.

Felicity and Oliver tried to stifle their laughter. The rest of the trip passed quickly, with William moving on from the topic of his party and instead started telling them about fun animal facts he had learned. Samantha had taken him to the local library and he took out a book full of fun animal facts for them to read together.

 

After taking William to the train station to meet Oliver, Samantha went home. She knew she could’ve made plans for the weekend, seen a movie maybe or met up with a friend, but the thought of going out in public scared her still. She felt like everyone was staring at her anytime she was around other people.

Just as she got home, her friend Brooke called her. “Get ready. We’re going out tonight.”

“I can’t tonight.” She said. Brooke had been trying to get her to meet her for lunch ever since the news about William’s father was released.

“Why not? What are you gonna do, sit on your couch all night?” Brooke asked. “I know William’s with his dad this weekend, so-.”

“How do you know that?”

“Someone at the train station took a video of William running over to hug Oliver Queen and posted it. Will’s face isn’t visible, before you get worried about his privacy, but Oliver’s was and I know what your son looks like.” She said. “Anyway, I know you don’t have William this weekend, so there’s no excuse to spend a Friday night at home.”

“I-.”

“Sam, you’re my friend and I love you, but I’m not letting you turn into a recluse. For the last week, every time I mention meeting you for lunch or stopping by, you start to get all weird. I get that you don’t want your life to turn into a media circus, because you screwed a rich guy years ago, but shutting yourself away isn’t the answer. I’ll be there in an hour to pick you up.”

“I can’t go out tonight. I- how about we meet for lunch tomorrow?” She suggested. 

Brooke had a point. Samantha had been avoiding her and trying not to go out in public as much as possible. She felt that it was fair to hide out for a week, but Brooke seemed to disagree. Perhaps she was being a little too cautious. No one knew who she was. No reporters had shown up at her house or tried to contact her. She also didn’t want to alienate her friend.

“Lunch works for me, if you’ll tell me why we can’t go out tonight.” Brooke said.

She sighed. “When Will’s with his dad, they always call me when he’s getting tucked into bed so that he can say goodnight to me. If we go to dinner or see a movie or something, I might miss the call and I don’t wanna do that.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Her friend said. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t BSing me and trying to put off making plans. I’ll meet you for lunch at noon tomorrow. Same place as last time?”

“Works for me.”

 

When Team Arrow, minus Oliver and Felicity, met in the foundry that night, the group wasn’t sure how they should proceed when it came to patrol. Obviously, they needed to keep investigating the attack on the Jade Dragon, and find the culprits before the Triad did. At the same time, there was the concern that focusing too heavily on the Triad would mean they wouldn’t be able to help if another attack or some other emergency took place. Not to mention, they still didn’t know what the Bratva or Isabel Rochev were up to.

“It sounds like we need to divide and conquer, then.” Slade said as they debated what to do.

“You wanna split up? Have you never seen a horror movie?” Tommy asked.

“I have, but this is real life, not a movie.” He said. “If we pair up and one pair takes lead on the Triad shooting, and the other takes the lead on the Bratva, we’re not neglecting one, and if something new arises, we won’t have everyone pinned down in one location.”

“It’s a good idea. Obviously, the Triad is slightly more pressing, but they’re not gonna make a move until they know who ordered the shooting, which gives us time. And I don't like the idea of just ignoring the Bratva and leaving them to their own devices.” Lyla said.

“Is now a bad time to bring up the email Ollie sent earlier?” Thea asked.

“What email?” Sara asked.

“I guess he did some hacking before he and Felicity left to pick up William. He’s trying to track Isabel Rochev’s movements and sent us, or at least sent me, what he found.” She said.

“What did he find?”

“She’s in town, staying at the Hochman Hotel. She, or at least her phone, was in Brazil prior to that.”

“Where in Brazil?” Nyssa asked.

“Rio de Janeiro, from what he can tell.” She said. “Is that- based on your expression, that means something.”

“It may mean nothing. It may be a simple coincidence. It’s worth mentioning, however, that Rio de Janeiro is less than an hour from Corto Maltese by plane and less than two hours by boat.” She said. “And Corto Maltese is the most likely place that Malcolm Merlyn is hiding.”

“So, she could be working with Malcolm.” Digg said.

“Yes, or it could be a coincidence, as I said.”

“We’re not that lucky for it to just be a coincidence.” Sara said. “Thea, I’d suggest finding out what you can about Isabel, but not necessarily making it a top-priority. Oliver might’ve just wanted to give us an update on his search, and not expected us to do anything with the information right now.”

Since Nyssa spoke both Mandarin and Cantonese, it was decided that she and Sara would go looking for leads on the attack on the Jade Dragon, while Lyla and Slade focused on uncovering what the Bratva might be up to. When patrol ended and both pairs returned to the foundry, neither had found much of a lead.

 

Saturday morning, Sara and Nyssa ate breakfast before getting into the car. Sara drove as they made their way through the city. When they arrived at their destination, she noticed the look on her girlfriend’s face.

“You look nervous.” She said.

“I am nervous. I want this to go well.” Nyssa said. Sara let out a chuckle. “What is so funny?”

“Nyssa, we’re meeting Oliver’s son. We’re not going into battle. It’s just- it’s kinda funny seeing you so nervous about something that’s not high-stakes.”

“If we were going into battle, I wouldn’t be nervous at all. I’m familiar with battle. I’m not as familiar or experienced when it comes to interacting with children. I don’t recall the last time I spoke with one.”

“I think as long as you don’t tell him any stories about the League, you’ll do fine. He’s a kid, and from what everyone else has said, he’s a sweet kid that takes to people pretty easily. It’s nothing to worry about. Just follow my lead, okay?” She said, getting out of the car. “C’mon.”

They approached the door and rang the doorbell. Felicity answered and ushered them inside, saying Oliver and William were in the kitchen. They followed her and she cleared her throat when they reached the kitchen.

“William, there are a few people we want you to meet.” Oliver said using his app. “Friends of me and Lisy.” He led his son over to where Sara and Nyssa were. “William, this is my friend Sara.”

“Hi!” Will said.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you.”

“And this is my friend, and Sara’s girlfriend, Nyssa.” Oliver continued.

“Hello, William.”

“Hi. Are you Sara’s girlfriend like Lisy is Daddy’s girlfriend?” He asked.

Nyssa looked to Oliver and Felicity, unsure of whether or not to answer truthfully. She grew up in Nanda Parbat where same sex relationships were taboo and not discussed with children. They both nodded, so she told the truth. “Yes, I am.”

“Okay.” The little boy said. “Wanna see my robot?”

“I- sure.” She said. He took her hand and led her into the living room to show her his toys.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was expecting him to have more questions about me and Nyssa.” Sara told Oliver and Felicity. “Just because I don’t think he’s met a lesbain or bi woman before. Or maybe he has, but it didn’t come up.”

“I think it's because he’s so young.” Felicity said. “He’s too young for anyone to have put the idea “girls have to date boys” and vice versa in his head.”

“Probably. It’s also more accepted than it was when I was a kid. They’ve got childrens books talking about kids with two dads or two moms and everything.” She said. “C’mon, I better go help Nyssa. She’s kinda nervous about making a good impression.”

William was telling Nyssa all about the things his robot could do and while she didn’t follow a lot of what he was saying, she nodded along and told him it looked very cool. When the others joined them, William placed his robot down and asked if they wanted to build something out of LEGOs with him.

“How long have you known my daddy?” William asked Sara and Nyssa after a bit.

“I met him a few months ago, because of Sara, and we became friends quickly.” Nyssa said.

“I’ve known your dad for years.” Sara said. “I think I met him when I was about your age and he was about eight.”

“That’s a really long time.” He exclaimed.

All of the adults started to laugh. They weren’t sure exactly how old William thought Oliver or any of them were, but it was clear he was picturing the mid-90s as a long, long time ago.

“I guess I’ve known him a long time, but it doesn’t feel like it’s been a long time.” Sara said.

 

Tommy left the ASL class and got into his car, preparing to head back to the Ritz Carlton to spend his Saturday watching TV. He had taken a few turns when he looked into his rearview mirror and something about the car behind him made him feel uneasy.

The driver was taking the same turns as Tommy was, but was also hanging back pretty far, as opposed to being right on Tommy’s bumper. Tommy would change lanes and then the person behind him followed. Whenever a car tried to get in between, though, the driver sped up to make sure there wasn’t room before pulling back.

Unsure of exactly what to do in this situation, he pressed the Bluetooth button on his steering wheel and made a call. “Hey, I think someone’s following me.” He said. “I don’t know for sure, but, uh, how can I tell and what do I do? You seemed like a good person to call to ask.”

“That’s a good instinct. I’ve been both the follower and the followee before.” Lyla said. “And the fact that you think you’re being followed is reason enough to act like you are. It could be nothing, or someone might be following you.”

“Okay, thanks for not making me feel paranoid. How do I shake this guy?”

“I can’t really talk you through that over the phone.” She said. “Go to the nearest police station or other public place. The more crowded, the better because that means more witnesses.”

“Okay.” He was close to downtown Starling and it was a Saturday afternoon. There would be plenty of people out and about.

“The person will most likely drive off when you get somewhere busy, or you’ll be able to lose them at a light. The car you’re in now, is it the car you usually drive?”

“Yeah.”

“Drive a different car for a few days, just in case.”

“I thought you said it might be nothing.”

“It might be. It could be a PI or someone looking for Malcolm and hoping you’ll lead them to him. Either way, it’s better safe than sorry.” She said.

Tommy was able to lose the car following him at a light. He took a longer route than normal back to his hotel and parked. He locked his car and went up to his suite.

Meanwhile, the man following Tommy pulled into a random parking lot after losing him at a light. He couldn’t determine if Tommy had known he was being followed or not. It could’ve been intentional on Tommy’s part, losing him a light, or it could’ve been dumb luck. The driver pulled out his phone and called the person who hired him.

“I lost him.”

“How?”

“He turned on a yellow light. It turned red before I could turn and by the time it was green again, he was gone.”

“Find him again. And next time, just run the light.”

 

Samantha met her friend Brooke for lunch on Saturday. Brooke spent the first fifteen minutes or so grilling her on her history with Oliver Queen and asking for a bunch of details about what had really been going on over the last several weeks. When she could tell Samantha was starting to feel uncomfortable, she dropped the subject.

Lunch went pretty well. While Samantha had been nervous at first, worried someone would see her and cause the press to descend, she soon found herself not worried about being spotted at all. She also realized that she had missed socializing over the last week. The only non-coworker she’d interacted with had been Barb Whitmore and the social worker was a different kind of friend than Brooke.

Their lunch ended up going longer than planned, because the pair was walking to their cars when Samantha’s alarm for the Skype call with William started to go off.

“Crap, it’s almost two.” She said.

“Time for the Skype call with Will?” Brooke asked. “He Skypes you on weekends when he’s with his dad, right? At least, that’s what I thought you said he does.”

“He does. Every Saturday afternoon. I need to get home.”

“Or, we can just get into my car, you can do the call from there, and then you can drive home.” She gestured to her car, which was a few feet from where they were standing. “Plus, this way, I can pop in and say hi. I haven’t seen Will in a while and I’m sure he misses Auntie Brookie.”

“He’s never once called you “Auntie Brookie” and you’ve never referred to yourself as that.” Samantha said. She knew Brooke was leaning heavily into the “wanting to see William” angle, but didn’t want to start an argument for no reason. “But fine. It’s better than trying to rush home right now.”

They got into the car and, soon enough, Samantha was waiting for the Skype call to connect.

“Hi Mommy!” William called.

“Hey, sweetie.” She said. “Are you having fun?”

“Uh-huh. I got to meet some of Daddy and Lisy’s friends and we played with LEGOs.” He said.

“Sounds pretty fun.” Brooke said.

“Who’s that?” Will asked.

“Brooke’s here with me. We were getting lunch.” Samantha said before moving the tablet so that William could see her and Brooke. “Say hi.”

“Hi!”

“Hey, William. Are you excited for your birthday?”

“Yeah! Are you coming to my party?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Other than building stuff with LEGOs, what have you done so far?” Samantha asked her son. She liked hearing about how WIlliam spent his weekends with Oliver and didn’t want her time with William to be sidetracked by Brooke, even though her friend had good intentions.

William told his mother and Brooke all about his weekend so far.

“He seems happy.” Brooke said after the call ended.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you say “yeah” like that?”

“Just thinking.” She said. “About the things I’d change if I got the chance to do it all over again. William likes having Oliver in his life, and it’s a shame he wasn’t until recently.”

“Oliver Queen was stuck on an island for years. There’s not a lot you really could do about that.”

Samantha realized something. It hadn’t occurred to Brooke that William was born before Oliver was lost at sea. Or, she did realize that, but thought Oliver had known all along. Now, she felt worse. Any relief Samantha felt after lunch instantly evaporated and was replaced by guilt. 

 

“Lance!” One of the prison guards called out. All eyes in the cafeteria turned to Laurel, who took a moment to collect herself and then stood up. “You got a visitor.”

Visiting hours were over, so this was odd. Laurel followed the guard out of the room, but instead of going to the normal visitation area, she was led past that to an area she hadn’t seen before and stopped at a door. When the guard opened the door, she understood why they weren’t in the normal visiting room. Joanna was there. With Laurel being disbarred, she’d had to select a new lawyer and had picked Joanna.

“I’ll be outside. Knock when you’re done.” The guard said before closing the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” She asked. 

“I need to tell you something, but I need you to not freak out.” Joanna said. “You have a court date not this Wednesday, but the one after. The letter that was supposed to go to me was sent to the wrong address and I just found out about it because I got a call, asking why there hadn’t been a response from our side, from-.”

“Why do I have a court date? I’ve been sentenced, I’m not appealing anything. I haven’t done anything to warrant it. Unless I’m being sued, but the only people who could sue me wouldn’t do that.” She wasn’t sure about Felicity, but she knew Oliver wouldn’t sue her for emotional distress or anything. He’d never been a vindictive person, and doing that would’ve been vindictive by nature.

“This is the part I need you to not freak out about.” Joanna said. “Oliver Queen asked the court to hold a hearing to discuss the protective order against you. I guess the judge isn’t very busy, because it’s already been scheduled. I didn’t wanna wait until Monday to tell you, so I’m here.”

“Why-? I don’t know why he’d ask for that.” Laurel said.

“Jean Loring is the one who called me and brought this to my attention. She couldn’t tell me much, attorney-client privilege and all, but she did send me a copy of the request that was submitted. It doesn’t go into much detail, but it notes that circumstances have changed and he wants to reevaluate the order.”

Reevaluating the order could mean a lot of things. Oliver could ask to have the order rescinded entirely, or he could be asking the specifics of the order be changed or lessened. Laurel was hoping for the first, but would settle for the second. For a moment, she wanted to ask if she could bring it up with Sara, but decided that putting her in the middle might not be the best idea.

“Okay, I know what the outcomes here are. It either stays “as is”, the order stays in place but some of the restrictions change or it gets rescinded completely.” Laurel said. “What does it mean for me in the last situation? I won’t be released, will I?”

“No. You still violated your probation. It might remove that stipulation about not contacting or asking someone else to contact Oliver or Felicity Smoak, though. If you’re not bound by a restraining order, the court can’t order that you aren’t allowed to talk to someone.”

“How do you think it’s gonna go?”

“I’m optimistic. You’re in a good place. You’ve realized the mistakes you’ve made. We just need to get the judge to see it.” 

 

William, Oliver and Felicity had a quiet Saturday afternoon following the Skype call with Samantha. Sara and Nyssa left before the call started, not wanting to intrude too much on their Saturday, leaving just the three of them for the rest of the afternoon.

“Can we go to the park?” William asked Oliver and Felicity.

Oliver faltered a bit at that. Going to the park sounded great, but what if someone called the paparazzi while they were there? Should he ask John and Lyla to meet him there, just in case? Where was the closest park anyway?

“The park’s kinda far and it looks like it might rain.” Felicity said. “It would really stink if we walked all the way there and then had to go home because it started raining.” The sky did look a little dark and the forecast called for rain pretty soon. She could also tell that Oliver was worrying about the logistics of going to the park, with so many people still interested in Oliver’s son. 

He frowned. “Yeah, that would be kinda stinky.”

“The weather will be less rainy next time you come visit and we’ll definitely go to the park then.” Oliver said using his app. “I know its not the same as the park, but we can go play in the backyard?”

“Okay. I didn’t know you had a backyard.”

They went into the backyard. For about half an hour, they played a game that William made up. True to what Felicity had predicted, it then started to rain and they had to go inside. It was nearly time for dinner anyway.

They had dinner and watched a movie before it was time for William to get ready for bed. After tucking him in, Felicity called Samantha so that William could say goodnight. Midway through the call, William asked a question no one had been expecting.

“Where are Daddy, Lisy and Auntie Thea sleeping when they come over?” He asked.

“What?” Samantha asked.

“Daddy, Lisy and Auntie Thea coming to our house for my party. Where are they gonna sleep?” He asked. “Can they stay in my room?”

“I think your room’s a little small for four people to sleep in there.” She said. “I think they’ll-.”

“So they’re gonna stay in the other rooms?”

“I don’t know where they’re gonna stay, Will. I need to talk to them about it.”

“Okay. After we say night-night, I’ll give Lisy the phone so you can talk to her ‘bout it.” He said. William said goodnight to his mom and handed the phone to Felicity.

After closing the door to Will’s room, Felicity and Oliver went out into the hallway to talk to Samantha.

“So, uh, I take it you heard William’s question.” Samantha said.

“Yeah, we did.”

“It sounds like he wants you to stay with us, but I know you’ve probably already booked a hotel, so-.”

“Actually, we haven’t booked anything yet.” They had two reasons for waiting to book rooms at a hotel. First, if they had made a reservation, it could’ve gotten leaked to the press. Second, they didn’t have to worry about the cost of the room. Regardless of how much the hotel might charge for the room, or booking late, they’d be able to afford it, so there was no urgency in booking a room.

‘If William really wants us to stay with them, and she’s comfortable with that, we can.’ Oliver told his girlfriend.

“It’s up to you and what you feel comfortable with.” She said. “It’s your house and we’re not just gonna invite ourselves to stay with you. If having us there, at this stage is too much for you, then we’ll just come over for dinner on Friday or something.”

“I-.” Samantha felt backed into a corner, and Felicity could tell.

“You don’t need to decide right now. Just, let us know by Wednesday?”

“Sure. Have a good night.” She ended the call without waiting for a response.

‘She’s gonna say no.’ He said.

“She might. She might say yes, just to avoid upsetting William. I also gave her a slightly better alternative, having us over for dinner on Friday, in case she does say no.” She said. 

 

At a construction site right outside the Glades, two members of the Bertinelli Famiglia were standing watch. Standing watch was incredibly boring, so they started talking to alleviate the boredom.

“You hear about the attack a few nights ago?” One man asked another.

“What attack?”

“On the Triad. You know that restaurant they use as a cover? It got all shot up.”

“What about it?”

“Was that us?” He asked. “Boss hasn’t said anything about it.” He hadn’t been in the family for very long and this was the first attack of its kind he’d been around for.

“If we were gonna go to war with the Triad, we’d know about it already.” The second man said. “It was probably some dumbass gangbangers with ideas of taking down the Triad and taking over.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. And why’d we start a war with them anyway? What would we get out of it?”

“Sometimes, it's not about gettin’ something. It’s about sending a message.”

“Think it was the Russians?” The younger man asked.

“They don’t have the balls for it.” He answered. “They only got like ten people in the city, so going against the Triad, or us, would be suicide.”

“Yeah, I-.” The younger man was cut off when a hail of bullets began to rain down. Their conversation had distracted them and neither noticed the car getting closer until it was too late to act.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 156

Summary:

William meets a few new people, new information is learned about the attack on the Bertinellis and Tommy reveals something to the team.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sunday morning, William woke up and ran into Oliver and Felicity’s room to see if they were awake. To his surprise, the bed was empty. He usually woke up before them, so he was surprised to see the empty, and fully made, bed. He decided to go downstairs, since that was the most likely place they would be.

He found Oliver and Felicity in the kitchen. Oliver was cooking something while Felicity was drinking a cup of coffee. She saw him come downstairs and put her cup down.

“Oh, look who’s awake?” She said. “Good morning William.”

“Morning Lisy. You and Daddy got up early.”

“I wanted to make sure brunch was ready before our guests came over.” Oliver said using his app. “Did you sleep well?”

“Uh-huh. Who’s coming over? Auntie Thea?”

“She and Roy are coming over, yes, and then also two of our friends you haven’t met yet, John and Lyla.” 

Thea invited herself over for brunch since she hadn’t gotten to see much of William this weekend. Oliver also wanted to introduce Digg and Lyla to William, so he decided to invite them over for brunch as well.

“Are they nice?” William asked,

“Yes, they’re very nice.” Felicity said.

“Can I watch cartoons until they get here?”

Oliver nodded and Felicity grabbed the remote and let William find a show he wanted to watch. Some time later, the doorbell rang. It was Thea and Roy. A little while later, the doorbell rang again, announcing the arrival of Digg and Lyla.

“William, this is my friend Lyla and my friend John.” Oliver told his son, gesturing to each person in turn. “Say hi.”

“Hi, you have really big muscles.” William told Digg.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Digg asked Will in a fake-whisper. “It’s because I always ate my veggies as a kid.” This was the same line he told AJ when he’d asked why his muscles were so big.

“So, William, your dad and Lisy tell me that you like robots?” Lyla asked him.

“Yes, robots are my favorite and when I grow up, I wanna build robots.” He said. “Do you build robots like Lisy?”

William was too young to understand that Oliver being famous meant that someone might want to hurt him, or Felicity, and that they had bodyguards to protect them. They were also worried that trying to explain those ideas to William might scare him. Instead, Oliver and Felicity asked Digg and Lyla to give more general answers if William asked what their jobs were.

“I don’t build robots, but I do work with Lisy. I make sure everyone is safe and that if something happens, like an emergency, it gets taken care of so that people don’t get scared.” She answered.

“Are you excited for your birthday?” Thea asked him.

“So excited! I can’t wait!” He said. He then started talking about the fun things they were going to do at his party.

The rest of brunch passed quickly and they mostly talked about either William’s upcoming party, or what each person remembered from when they turned six-years-old. It was, all in all, a pretty great way to spend a Sunday morning.

 

Unlike the shooting at the Jade Dragon, the shooting at the construction site controlled by the Bertinelli Famiglia had casualties. The two men who had been standing watch were killed and the shooting was all over the news as a result.

McKenna didn’t even bother heading to the 12th precinct to meet with the Gambit task force, and instead went straight to Pike’s office to discuss the shooting with him. As soon as she reached Pike’s office, he started asking her about the incident.

“Does Arrow or his team know anything about this?” He asked.

“No, they know about as much as we do. When news of the attack went out over the dispatch, two went to investigate, but didn’t get there until after the responding officer and ME arrived.” She said. “The perps were long gone and they didn’t wanna contaminate the scene.”

“Victims are Carmine Greco and Tony Piazza. Officially, they work security at Bertinelli Construction, but-.”

“But judging by their rap sheets, they worked for Bertinelli in more ways than one.” She said. “The two team members who went to the scene overheard the victims’ names and did their own research. I don’t suppose the ME or CSIs have any updates?”

“The only update I have is that the CSIs know the guns used last night aren’t the same guns used at the Jade Dragon, but the ballistic tests aren’t completed yet, so that doesn’t say much.”

“Meaning what? Similar weapons but a different manufacturer? Semi-automatic vs. automatic?”

“More like handguns, as opposed to a machine gun. Or that’s the impression I got from what the CSIs said at the scene. I don’t know how much of that was exaggeration, but bottom line, completely different weapons were used.”

“Which may mean that whoever attacked the Triad didn’t attack Bertinelli.” It could also mean the perpetrators had access to a wide arsenal but two attacks by two different groups was far more concerning. “This could be retaliation.”

“It could be, but whether this is the same group making a move, someone trying to sow anger or the Triad getting revenge, I don’t like that it’s happening in my city. The news is already talking about a brewing gang war, which is gonna do nothing to keep people calm.” He said. “How busy are the feds keeping you right now?”

“Not very. They need my assistance from time-to-time but a lot of their investigation right now  is focused beyond the Starling city limits.” The FBI and CGIS was planning the trip to Lian Yu. They were trying to track down Merlyn and digging into the massive ARGUS file. They were working on locating, or at least speaking to, others on the List. The FBI was building a case against Frank Bertinelli. Very little of that involved McKenna.

“Good, because until this mess, for lack of a better term, is resolved, that’s where I need your focus. You and the vigilantes. I’m not their boss, but I am your boss and I’m telling you to make it a priority.”

“Understood. Who’s taking the lead on the shootings?” She asked. “I need to make sure they keep me in the loop.”

“Hilton, and I already told him to keep you updated.”

“Great. I’ll let you know if the vigilantes find anything worth sharing.” She said before leaving his office.

She went to the 12th precinct to tell the Gambit task force what was going on. Not only did she want to tell them in person why she’d be less available in the coming days or weeks, but she also had news to share with them. The attack at the construction site was a big deal, but what Oliver had recently uncovered about Isabel wasn’t any less significant.

Dinan and Anderson understood what the situation was and told her they’d try not to need too much of her attention while she was focused on the attacks.

“I have some news I need to share with you, from the Arrow’s team.” McKenna said. “They believe Malcolm Merlyn to be in Corto Maltese.”

“That was one of the locations that we suspected as well. Is there any particular reason why they think he’s there as opposed to somewhere else?” Anderson asked.

“They know he went there after his wife died, for one. Also, Isabel Rochev was just in Rio and you can get to Corto Maltese from Rio in an hour or two. They also believe, but can’t confirm, that Rochev is working with Malcolm.”

“We haven’t dismissed that possibility either. Unfortunately, until we can confirm where Malcolm Merlyn is, we can’t commit the appropriate resources to watching him. And even if we did, all we could do was observe. Corto Maltese has no extradition treaty.” Dinan said.

“I’m not familiar with how international manhunts work, so I’m sorry if this is a stupid question. What would you need to prove where Merlyn is?” She asked. “I know at some point, Tommy or Thea or someone else might ask me, or want to offer their help.”

“Either he reveals it outright to someone who tells us, a sighting of him gets reported or we intercept some kind of transmission that can be traced back to him.” Anderson said. “Don’t tell them that without letting us know beforehand. They’re not law enforcement. It’s not their job to track him down and, while I understand they may want to help, I don’t want them to put themselves in a dangerous situation.”

“Understood, and trust me, I don’t want them to do that either. I just feel like the question is going to come up.” She said. “I should go. I need to meet with Detective Hilton. See you around.”

Hilton didn’t have any updates, beyond what Pike had shared with her.

 

The train ride back to Central City was pretty uneventful for Oliver, Felicity and William. They found Samantha easily once they were at the station and there didn’t seem to be an increased amount of attention on them.

While William was saying goodbye to Oliver, Samantha did tell Felicity that she’d made a decision about the upcoming weekend.

“It would be best if you, Oliver and Thea rented a room at a hotel next weekend.” She said.

“Okay.” Felicity said.

“I’m sorry, it’s just- Oliver and I are pretty much strangers at this point. I didn’t know him all that well six years ago. You and Thea are almost complete strangers to me and I just don’t think I’m comfortable with you all staying at the house.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself. Like I said last night, we’re not just gonna invite ourselves over. If you’re uncomfortable with something, that’s fine. Thanks for letting us know.”

“Great. I want to have you all over for dinner on Friday, since Will’s gonna be bummed out that you won’t be staying over, but I don’t know what the plan for that is yet.”

“Let us know when you do.” Felicity said.

William wrapped up saying goodbye to Oliver, took Samantha’s hand and they left the station.

‘What were you two talking about?’ Oliver asked his girlfriend.

‘She wants us to book a hotel room, rather than stay at her house.’ She signed back. ‘Which is pretty much what I expected. I didn’t think she was going to be comfortable with us staying over, and she’s not so…yeah.’

‘Did she say anything about your Friday night dinner idea?’

‘She decided to take me up on that idea. Because Will’s probably gonna be upset we’re not staying at his house, and she thinks it’ll make him less upset. It probably will.’

‘Do you think she actually feels uncomfortable? Or does she just not want us in her house?’

‘I don’t know. It could be either. I think she doesn’t want to deal with the amount of awkwardness that it would result. Which, again, that’s a fair thing to want to avoid. It’s an awkward situation.’ She said. “Come on, let’s head home.”

Oliver took her hand and they made their way to the platform where the train back to Starling was boarding.

 

The train was mostly empty, so Oliver and Felicity were able to get a compartment to themselves. Tonight, having a private compartment was a blessing because it meant they could talk with Team Arrow while on the way back to town. They needed updates on what was happening with the organized crime syndicates in town.

“You heard about the attack on the Bertinelli site, right?” Slade asked them when the call started and Felicity asked for updates.

“Yup. It was all over the news. Same people?”

“We don’t know yet.” McKenna said. “CSIs are saying different weapons were used, but don’t have the ballistics test done to tell us what the shooters last night used. The shooters last night were definitely using different kinds of guns.”

“What kind of guns were used at the Jade Dragon?” Felicity asked.

“From what we know, there were two shooters at the Jade Dragon. The SCPD found two different types of bullets. Both from semi-automatic handguns, but from different makers.” She said. “The shell casings recovered last night from the construction site were larger, which means a bigger, deadlier, nastier gun, like an assault rifle or machine gun.”

“Aren’t those the same thing?” Tommy asked.

“No.” Digg, Slade and Lyla all said. Slade then continued. “But explaining the difference isn’t important right now. The point is, different weapons, which means it might not be the same group.”

“Exactly, and Commissioner Pike would very, very much appreciate getting this resolved as soon as possible.” McKenna said. “Because if it was the same group, they might be more dangerous than we thought. And if it’s someone else, then we have two groups to worry about.”

‘It’s a good thing there’s a lot of us then.’ Oliver signed. Felicity told them what he said.

“Yeah, that’s a definite bonus.”

“I guess now would be a bad time to mention that someone was following me yesterday and might’ve been trying to follow me earlier.” Tommy said. “I saw the same car today, but it didn’t follow me this time.”

“Someone’s been following you?” Felicity asked.

“I think so. Or it felt like it. I don’t know if it was someone working for my dad, or looking for my dad or what, but there was definitely someone who happened to keep taking the turns I was, for an extended part of my drive from the rec center to the Ritz. Lyla helped me lose him.”

“I cannot speak for others who may be looking for your father, but I can assure you that it was not the League of Assassins.” Nyssa said. “You would not have noticed you were being followed if it had been.”

“I know you’re trying to help, but that doesn’t make me feel better.” He said.

“They would also not follow you, because they have no reason to. It’s well known by now that Malcolm Merlyn is not in Starling City, so following you would be a waste of resources.”

“Nyssa, honey, just- please stop talking.” Sara said.

‘What did the car look like? Did he see the driver? Did the driver try to do anything, or just follow him? Where did he lose them?’ Oliver asked.

“It was a dark SUV that was a few years old. No, I didn’t see the driver. They just followed me, didn’t try to, like, drive me off the road or anything. I lost him at a light downtown.” Tommy answered. “I don’t know the exact street.”

“How close were you to the main QC building?” Felicity asked.

“Couple of blocks uptown from it.”

“I can work with that. There’s gotta be a camera that picked up a picture of the car.” She said. 

“This isn’t that important. The whole thing with the Triad and now Bertinellis is way more-.”

“Yes, it is important. We don’t know who this guy is or why he’s following you. He might have orders to kidnap you or something.” Lyla said.

“And we can work on two problems at the same time. I’m great at multitasking.” Felicity said. 

 

“One of Frank Bertinelli’s construction sites was attacked last night.” One of the Triad members said as soon as the group was gathered in their usual meeting spot.

“I heard.” Mr. Tsui said.

“The whole city heard.” Someone said.

“Was that us?” The first man asked. “Did we order that attack? Or were they hit by someone else?”

“I don’t recall us deciding to strike at the Bertinellis, do you?” Tsui responded in a tone that gave nothing away.

“We didn’t come to an agreement, no, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t do it. One of us might have acted independently of the others.”

“Are you accusing me of something?”

“Did you hear me accuse you of anything?” He said. “No, because I made no accusation, I simply asked a question. And pointed out the slight flaw in your response.” Tsui had wanted to attack the Bertinellis and the Bratva at their last meeting. It wasn’t impossible to believe that he might’ve gone behind the others’ backs to do so.

“I do not care who did or didn’t attack the Bertinellis. My concern is finding those responsible for the attack on our territory.” Tsui said. “And that should be your concern as well.”

No one else was completely convinced that Tsui hadn’t given an order to attack the construction site. At the same time, making such a claim and being wrong would cause further issues down the road. They sincerely hoped, for their own sakes, that Mr. Zhisan had no qualms with how things were being handled, whether Tsui had acted on his own or not.

 

Senator Joseph Cray was beginning to get agitated with the slow progress his staff was making. He wanted Amanda Waller found, and he wanted her found quickly. It had been weeks since her arrest, and yet no one who worked for him had been able to locate her yet. The delay was unacceptable.

“How do we not know where she is?” He shouted at one of his staff.

“It’s being kept as a closely guarded secret and no one who knows where Waller is has been willing to talk.” The aide said.

“And why exactly does her location need to remain a secret?”

“Amanda Waller made a lot of enemies. There probably were concerns that she’d be killed before trial, if anyone knew where she was. Not that it matters now, because I heard from a reliable source that she took a deal.” ARGUS wasn’t talking, nor was the FBI, but the US Attorney’s office was a different matter and the aide knew someone working there.

“She took a deal? In exchange for what?”

“I don’t know yet. My source could only tell me so much.” He said. “Do you still want me to find out where she’s being held?”

“Yes. Deal or no deal, she and I need to have a chat, sooner rather than later.” Cray said. “If you don’t have something by Friday, you’re fired.”

The senator left, needing to head to a committee meeting. The aide stood there for a moment in shock. He’d worked for Cray for years, but none of that mattered if he didn’t locate Waller? Now, he was tempted to just quit. He wondered what dirt Waller could’ve possibly had on Cray to make him want her found so quickly.

 

Overnight, a video of Oliver and Felicity with William was posted online. The person holding the camera seemed to be trying not to show William’s face, because only his back and a slight glimpse of his profile was visible, but Oliver and Felicity were easily identifiable. The person who posted the video captioned it with a comment about how cute and wholesome seeing Oliver Queen with his son was.

The video blew up in the early hours of Monday morning. The clip was pretty short and there wasn’t much to say about it objectively, but people were commenting on it nonetheless.

Linda Park wasn’t terribly surprised when she got a call from Dennis, her boss, once the clip went viral on social media.

“You need to get another interview with Oliver Queen to talk about his kid. And get his girlfriend this time too.” He said.

“I’ll put in a request, but I don’t know how good my odds are.” She said.

“I didn’t say to request an interview. I said to go get an interview.”

“I heard what you said, but I don’t know if he’ll agree to an interview. For my first interview, I was one of several reporters requesting to sit down with him, and I think he knew he needed to say “yes” to someone and picked me. This is a little bit different.”

“I really don’t see how it’s different.”

“Oliver Queen is clearly a very private person. I don’t know if he’ll want to give an interview about his son. He seems like a man who wants to be left alone for the most part. And Felicity Smoak has only ever given interviews about her work, not her personal life.” She said. “But, as I said, I’ll request an interview.”

“Fine. Let me know what they say.”

Linda quickly typed up a formal request for an interview and sent it off to Queen Consolidated’s PR department. Dennis had told her to ask, so she asked, but she wasn’t expecting anything other than a polite, but clear, decline in response. 

Thinking about it, she wasn’t sure that she really wanted to interview Oliver Queen about his son. Interviewing Oliver or Oliver and Felicity about their overall lives was one thing. Interviewing them about a child, and putting a lot of attention on a kid, was a different matter entirely. It felt invasive to her. The thought of it made her slightly uncomfortable in the same way that seeing paparazzi stalk celebrities made her skin crawl. She understood that, as a journalist, she needed to report on topics that people were interested in. Doing a piece on a well-known person’s son, simply because of who the boy’s father was, felt like it was going a bit too far. Regardless of how interested the general public was, no one had a right to know anything about Oliver’s life or his son’s life.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 157

Summary:

The team and SCPD try to make headway on the two attacks, Oliver discusses his frustration at something and the Triad has a few unwelcome encounters.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Over breakfast on Monday morning, Felicity noticed that Oliver had a slight furrow in his eyebrow. He tended to get that kind of expression when he was angry or annoyed about something. He hadn’t said anything to her that would indicate why he was upset, but she didn’t want to leave for work without asking. What if it was an easy fix, and all she had to do was offer to help? Oliver was an amazing person, but he struggled to ask for help sometimes.

“What’s with the grumpy face?” She asked him.

‘Someone took a video of you, Will and I at the train station.’ He said. ‘I don’t like that, people recording me and my son without us knowing.’

“Can you see his face?” She asked. “Because if the video shows his face, you can contact Twitter or wherever to get it taken down since he’s a minor.”

‘Not really. It’s mostly the back of his head.’ He said. ‘So, I can’t really do anything about it, but it makes me mad. I’m spending time with my son, I want to be left alone. It’s annoying when people take pictures of you and me at dinner or whatever, but I can’t just avoid going out in public. Also, we’re adults. Will is a kid and he doesn’t know better and there’s a lot of sick people out there and-.’

“I know. It sucks that this video has soured a really sweet moment.” She said. “Maybe we need to sit down with Samantha, and talk about what to do. How to handle us going in public with Will. Because we can’t keep him locked up in the house but we all want him to be safe and protected.”

‘I think that’s just gonna make Samantha mad at us.’

“Well, if she hadn’t lied to you, then you wouldn’t have had to make an announcement about having a kid, because everyone would’ve already known.” She snapped. “Sorry, that was- that wasn’t directed at you. I try to be sympathetic to the situation your mother put her in, but I can’t be sympathetic for everything. Actions have consequences and I don’t feel bad if she’s inconvenienced by said consequences. Anyway, you’ll need to talk about Will and his safety with her, because it’s important. And if she kicks up a fuss, I’ll remind her that she knew you were famous when she slept with you. It’s unrealistic for her to think that no one would care or that her life wouldn’t be impacted in any way by that.”

‘I didn’t know you felt that way.’

“There are a lot of things I’d like to say to Samantha, but I’m not going to bring them up first. I won’t start a fight, but I’ll finish it.” She said. “We should also talk to John and Lyla about what to do.”

‘Yeah, we should.’ He said. His phone then buzzed. ‘Crap.’

“What?”

‘Dr. Lamb’s office keeps calling the mansion, trying to get me to schedule an appointment. And when he calls, my mom texts me, telling me that he called.’

“Why do you need an appointment? Are you okay?”

‘It’s a follow-up appointment, since I’ve been home for six months. I’ve been avoiding it, because he doesn’t know ASL and having to write things down takes a long time. And a doctor’s appointment isn’t something I want to bring Roy or your mom to in order to interpret.’

“I’ll go with you.” She said. “I can interpret. Lyla’s not gonna be here for a bit, so if you wanna call the office now, we can do that.”

Oliver froze for a moment. His excuse for not attempting to call the doctor yet was that he hadn’t talked to Felicity about the appointment. Now, he had and he didn’t have a reason to delay. Aside from his desire not to talk about his speech or his scars, he was also worried about what Dr. Lamb might say. What if he had bad news? What if his body was more fucked up than he already thought? At the same time, Oliver didn’t want to live in fear. He didn’t want to be scared of doctors for the rest of his life. He wanted to try to push through it.

‘Yeah, let’s give them a call.’ He told her.

Felicity called the office to get an appointment scheduled. She was able to talk directly to Dr. Lamb because she wanted to let the doctor know she’d be attending the appointment as well. Oliver had hoped they would need to wait at least a week, but Dr. Lamb had a slot open on Thursday morning. He reluctantly said that that was fine.

“Um, Oliver is asking me what the appointment entails. Could you give us a little more information?” Felicity asked. Oliver didn’t ask, but she could sense that he wanted to know what the doctor would do.

“I’ll need to draw a little bit of blood, to check his nutrient levels. Aside from that, I’ll do a brief physical exam, where I’ll take his temperature and blood pressure and check his heart and lungs, things like that. There were some injuries to his back and arms that I want to look at, but I don’t need to do an in-depth examination, unless he has a concern. I’ll also ask him some questions about his health.” The doctor said. “Does he have any other questions?”

“Not at the moment. Thanks.” Felicity said before ending the call. “So, that doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”

‘Not as bad as I thought.’ He agreed. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he wasn’t dreading it either.

Lyla arrived and she and Felicity left for work a little while later.

 

Frank Bertinelli walked into a diner on Waters Street and was relieved to see that the man he was meeting hadn’t arrived yet. When meeting with his own people, Frank didn’t care if he was the first person there, or the last, but when meeting someone from a different syndicate, it was always better to be cautious, which meant arriving first.

He took a seat and waited for his companion to arrive after ordering some food. A few moments later, Mr. Tsui walked in and walked over to the booth. The diner was on neutral ground, the only spot where either man would be willing to meet. If anyone was nosey enough to ask, Frank could say they were meeting to discuss repairs for the Jade Dragon. He knew a lot of people in the construction and renovation business, and Tsui’s daughter was the owner of the Jade Dragon, on paper at least.

“I was surprised to have gotten your call.” Tsui said.

“I wasn’t expecting to have to make that call myself.” Frank said. 

“Yet, you did.”

“I wanted to clear the air.” The previous night, after getting more information about Greco and Piazza’s deaths, he suspected the Triad might be behind the shooting. Perhaps the Triad thought he had sent men to shoot up the Jade Dragon and had been looking for revenge. He wanted to clear the air, before even more blood was spilt. “I think there might be some confusion going on. That you might be under the impression that I’m responsible for something unfortunate happening that I played no part in. We have, or at least had, a good thing going, you and I, and I’d hate to see that status quo change over a misunderstanding.”

The downside to meeting in public was that Frank had to dance around what he wanted to say. He couldn’t just come out and tell Tsui that he had no part in the attack on the Jade Dragon or accuse Tsui of killing two of his men.

“You believe there’s been a misunderstanding on my part?”

“Perhaps. Your daughter’s business was attacked last week. One of my construction sites was attacked a few days ago.” Frank said. “So either someone’s coming after both of us, or one was retaliation.”

“And you are here to assure me that you had nothing to do with the damage to my daughter’s restaurant?”

“Yes, and to warn you against launching further attacks on my business. If there has been some kind of misunderstanding and you might’ve played a part in what happened Saturday night.” Frank said. “I’m a proud man. I don’t take such attacks lightly.”

“Nor do I.” Mr. Tsui said.

“All right. One Western omelet.” A waitress said, putting a plate down in front of Frank. She then turned to Tsui. “What can I get for you?”

“Nothing. I have somewhere else to be.” He said, standing up. He said nothing to Frank as he left the diner.

Honestly, he found it quite insulting, Frank’s attempts to lie directly to his face. Bertinelli had ordered the attack, and they both knew it. The Bratva didn’t have the guts and none of the city’s gangs used handguns for drive-bys. Tsui felt no remorse for sending some of his own men to hit back at Bertinelli. If Frank wanted a war, he would get a war. 

 

Alexei Leonov was working in the garage when one of his men came rushing in. He was sure that someone knew the garage was a cover for the Bratva, but no one in law enforcement had tried to investigate or infiltrate the staff yet.

“Bertinelli and Tsui had a sitdown.” The man said.

“How do you know this?” Leonov asked.

“I saw them. They both looked pretty pissed.”

“Of course they do. Tsui thinks Bertinelli attacked him, and vice versa. In the case of Bertinelli, he’s correct. The Triad did attack his business and kill two of his men.”

“What happens if he convinces Tsui that he didn’t attack first?” He was one of the younger Bratva members, just arrived from Russia and unaware of how operations in the city worked.

“He won’t. Tsui is a stubborn bastard. He’s decided Bertinelli attacked his dump of a restaurant and won’t be convinced otherwise.” Alexei said. “By the time anyone thinks to look at us, it will be too late and they will have destroyed each other.”

“How are you so sure?”

“You’re new here. The Italians and the Chinese, they see us as dogshit and not a real threat. That’s their mistake to make.”

Leonov’s plan hadn’t been terribly complex. He’d been in the Starling City outfit of the Bratva for some time and he paid attention. He'd picked up on how the Triad and the Italians tended to act. All he had to do was convince the Triad that Bertinelli was trying to wipe them out, which wasn't hard since he knew the Italians preferred smaller firearms and larger vehicles when doing "business". While the Italians and Chinese were gunning for each other, the Bratva would have ample opportunity to move into their territory and further their own plans. The gang war would have the added bonus of keeping the SCPD distracted while the Bratva finished getting their warehouse set-up for importing “goods”.

 

By Monday afternoon, Daniel Correll had received so many requests to interview Oliver that he felt the need to bring it up to Walter. He had been getting requests for comment ever since the announcement about William was made, but the video on social media really blew things up and made everyone seem to want a statement or an interview from the Queen family.

“I’m very sorry to request an emergency meeting with you, Walter, but I do need to discuss this with you sooner rather than later.” Daniel said. “You’re also more likely to speak with Oliver before I do, so you may be able to get his take on things.”

“This is about William, I presume?” Walter asked.

“Yes. When Oliver and Ms. Clayton released the statement about their son, we received a trickle of requests for comments or interviews. It was actually less than I had anticipated.” He said. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the video from last night-.”

“I have. Both Thea and Moira sent it to me. I’m guessing the video had made more reporters interested in speaking with Oliver about his son.” Thea and Moira both thought the video was cute and sent it to Walter. It didn’t surprise him that a video like that would lead to more interview requests.

“That’s exactly what’s happened. I think we might’ve gotten more requests about that than we did for a general interview with Oliver. If not, it’s a close competition. When Oliver and I discussed what might happen after he publicly announced he was a parent, the idea of an interview didn’t come up. We were more concerned with tabloids and what they might do with the story than newspapers or TV programs wanting an interview.” He said. “Before I even go through any of the requests, I need to know what Oliver wants and is comfortable with. If he wants a “no interviews about William” policy, that’s fine and I have no issue telling the reporters that. If he’s comfortable talking about his family, in a broad sense, we can do that too. I just need him to tell me what he wants, so that we’re all on the same page.” 

“I will talk to Oliver, though I have a feeling he wouldn’t be comfortable with an interview that focuses heavily on his son. He wants his son to have as normal of a childhood as possible.” Walter said. “I doubt that comes as much of a surprise.”

“It’s not. Since we’ve talked, my department and I can start to weed out the request Oliver would definitely not agree to.” At the very least, Correll could turn down the most outrageous requests, such as the reporter who wanted to interview William and Oliver together. “Let me know what Oliver says when you have a chance. And remind if, he needs reminding, that he doesn’t have to give any interview or make any kind of statement if he doesn't want to.”

He went back to his office and started reviewing the requests QC’s PR department had received. To make things easy, he printed out every request so that he could sort them into two piles as he read. One pile was for rejected requests, the other was for maybes. A lot of the requests ended up in the reject pile after the first few sentences. 

He reached Linda Park’s request and found himself feeling torn. She stated that she wanted to interview Oliver about his son, which made him inclined to reject the request outright. He was surprised, based on their past interactions, that she’d even request an interview about the topic. At the same time, she mentioned other topics to discuss, topics Oliver might’ve been more open to. Linda’s first interview with Oliver had gone very well and everyone had been happy with the outcome. She had told Correll that she valued her integrity above getting the most views or the biggest stories, which was something he respected and could work with. He put her request in the “maybe” pile. He’d call her, and anyone else who was a “maybe”, to get more information out of them in the coming days.

 

Right before McKenna was about to head to the foundry to meet up with Team Arrow, Detective Hilton gave her a call about the shooting at the Bertinelli construction site. He had gotten some updates that she needed to know about and asked her to stop by his precinct to discuss them.

“We got ballistics back.” Hilton told her. “The shooters used an assault rifle.” He handed her a printed report from the ballistics lab and pointed to a list on the top of the page. “An AR-15 to be precise. The bullets they found would work with any of those models. The CSIs couldn’t narrow it down beyond that, unless we find the gun.”

“Do we know if any gangs or crime syndicates in the city are known to use them?” McKenna asked.

“No, most are known to use handguns because handguns are a lot easier to conceal. I’ve got people looking into old cases, to see if someone’s used an AR-15 in something like this before, but no one’s found a case yet.”

“If a shooting even got reported. I’ll tell the vigilantes. They’ve encountered most of these groups before, they might have some insight.” She said. “Any other updates?”

“We found the SUVs that attacked the Jade Dragon. They were wiped clean. One had been reported stolen a few weeks back. We don’t know anything about the other one yet.”

Either the culprits had bought stolen cars for the shooting or they stole the cars themselves and waited several weeks before using them in the shooting.  Neither option was particularly good, but the second was much worse, because it involved a level of planning beforehand.

“I’ll let them know about that as well.” She said. “What about the other guns? The ones from the other shooting?”

“Johnson’s run tests, but he hasn’t been able to match the rounds to anything yet.”

“Okay, keep me posted.”

McKenna went to the foundry and shared the SCPD’s updates with the team. They weren’t surprised at the news about the SUVs being stolen. It made the most sense in terms of the culprits covering their tracks. It was easier, and safer for the shooters, to steal a car and then dump it than to use a vehicle that could be traced directly back to them.

“Do the SUVs being stolen narrow things down at all?” Thea asked.

“Not really. A handful of gang members have grand theft auto on their arrest record. Not to mention a lot of ex-cons, including gang members, get jobs as mechanics after they get released, because its one of the few industries where a prison record isn’t an issue.” She said. “Which would give them access to keys to whatever cars came into the shop.”

‘The Bratva also uses a garage as a cover for their activities.’ Oliver added. ‘And like the Jade Dragon, some people don’t know that it’s a front.’

“So, could be the Bratva, could be a gang. Could it have been the Bertinellis?” Felicity asked.

“It’s not as likely. None of Bertinelli’s known associates have grand theft auto on their records and all of his men work for the construction company in some capacity.” McKenna said. “The gun used at the Bertinelli construction site was an AR-15. Is any group known for using that kind of gun?”

“No one’s really known for using it. They’re hard to hide and hard to get rid of.” Lyla said. “The Triad has used them occasionally, to send a message, but tends to stick to blades for day-to-day needs. The Bratva isn’t picky enough to be known for any specific weapon. As for gangs, I don’t know.”

‘Bertinelli probably didn’t attack the Triad, but it seems likely the Triad might’ve attacked the Bertinelli construction site.’ Oliver said. ‘To send a message.’

“You think it was retaliation?”

‘I think its possible. The question is who attacked the Triad to begin with, and why?’

The team went out on patrol. It was a very quiet night. Neither the Triad nor the Bertinelli Famiglia made any moves against the other. This gave the team time to look for more clues, but there wasn’t much to find.

As everyone was leaving for the night, Lyla approached McKenna. “Do you think Pike or the detective in charge of the case would let you give us a copy of the ballistics report from the Jade Dragon?”

“Probably, but they’re gonna have questions.”

“There were two shooters. Shooter A and Shooter B didn’t just use bullets of two different calibers, but the CSIs are confident that the two guns used were made by different manufacturers.” Lyla said. “That strikes me as odd, that last detail. There has to be something special about either the bullets or the guns they came from, or both, to know Gun A was made by someone different than Gun B. I want to take a look at the photos and everything the ballistics lab has. Just to try and make sense of things in my own mind, if nothing else.”

“I’ll talk to Hilton tomorrow.”

 

By Tuesday morning, the man who had been following Tommy on Saturday was beginning to wonder if he’d left the city. He hadn’t seen Tommy since his failed attempt to follow him on Saturday. His employer was beginning to get agitated by his lack of progress.

“How hard is it to follow one person?” His employer asked when he called for an update.

“You gave me a description of his vehicle. I haven’t seen it driving around since Saturday.” He said. “And I’ve been parked within sight of the Ritz every day since. I think he might’ve left the city.” Everyone knew that Tommy Merlyn was living at the Ritz Carlton, but that wasn’t enough. He hadn’t just been hired to find Tommy, but to track his movements and, if possible, find out where and when he’d be alone. So far, he hadn’t made much headway.

“He hasn’t left the city. He’s been spotted out and about with his cop girlfriend. And Oliver Queen’s sister.”

“Well, his car hasn’t left the hotel, so he must be taking a taxi or an Uber or something and I can’t follow every Uber that comes and goes to the hotel.”

“He has more than one car, you idiot. He’s probably just driving a different one.”

“What are the other cars? You only told me about the Range Rover.”

“I don’t know what cars he does or doesn’t have. My point is instead of looking for the car, you need to be paying attention to the driver. You know what he looks like. He has a very recognizable face.”

“Understood.”

“You have two days. If you don’t have anything useful in two days, consider yourself fired.”

“And the rest of my fee?”

“If you think I’m gonna pay you for failing to find my idiot son, you’re gravely mistaken.” Malcolm said. “You’re lucky that I’ve paid you any portion of it at all.”

Malcolm failed to see why this was so difficult. The man needed to track Tommy’s movements so that Malcolm could send one of his intimidating “friends” to have a word with Tommy about the lawsuit Tommy was refusing to defend. This should have already been handled.

 

Tuesday afternoon, Slade met with Dinah for lunch. Not only did he want to see her after such a stressful weekend dealing with the shootings, but he also needed to tell her something important. Dinah didn’t know he was a vigilante yet and he didn’t think it was a smart move for him to keep that from her for much longer. It would cause problems if he kept this secret from her for too long.

He talked it over with the team over the last few days, since it wasn’t just his secret he’d be sharing. No one voiced a desire not to tell Dinah. They all liked Dinah and no one thought she’d go running to the police after the revelation. Slade telling Dinah that he was Guardian also meant Sara could tell her mother she was the Canary. After everything that had happened, Sara didn’t know how to start that conversation with her mother on her own.

Slade and Dinah had lunch and after lunch, he suggested they go for a walk. Sara and Nyssa met them in the park and slowly, they told her the truth.

Dinah was smart. Once she knew Slade’s secret identity and Sara’s, it wasn’t hard for her to work out that Oliver was the Arrow and Lyla was Harbinger. She didn’t know about the whole team, but she was able to figure out enough.

“Who found the Gambit?” She asked. “No one’s been able to give me a straight answer on how the police found the Queen’s Gambit, which makes me think they didn’t find it, a vigilante did.”

“That would be Oliver.” Nyssa said. “Slade, Sara and I arrived after it was found, partially as a result of it being found.”

“And he knows you’re telling me all of this?”

“Yup. Since it wasn’t just our secrets we’re telling you, it didn’t seem right not to tell him we were gonna tell you.” Sara said.

“Thank him for me. I know you coming back wasn’t directly because of that, but it played a part. It gave the other families closure too. They finally have a body to bury.”

“I will.”

Slade and Dinah went one direction when the conversation ended and Nyssa and Sara went the other.

“That went better than I expected.” Sara said.

“You thought it wouldn’t go well?” Nyssa asked.

“It’s not that I didn’t think it would go well, I just was worried she’d have more questions for me. Questions about the years of my life that I don’t want to talk about, unless it’s a cute anecdote about you and I.”

“She may think to ask those questions later. What are you going to do when she does?”

“Try my best not to disappoint her when I explain that I was an assassin.”

“Or, you could not use the word “assassin”. You could explain that you owed someone a debt and needed to repay it. It may not be the complete truth, but it has a glimmer of it. At a basic level, that’s exactly why my father made you join the League.” In Ra’s al Ghul’s mind, Sara was alive because of Nyssa, who served Ra’s, therefore she owed her life to Ra’s and had no choice but to join the League until she died or he released her.

“Speaking of your father, have you thought of a way to get Ra’s to release you? I know we haven’t talked about it in a while.”

“I have not, but other matters have been more important.” She said. “Such as a brewing gang war.”

“You’re important too, you know.”

“I know. Let’s go home.”

Nyssa and Sara returned to the house. Sara was off today, so they spent the afternoon watching movies.

 

As with Monday night, the team patrolled but didn’t find much evidence connected to either shooting. They believed that the Bertinelli Famiglia was planning to retaliate against whoever attacked them, but they hadn’t made a move yet. They had heard from Helena, who substantiated those thoughts, but didn’t have any additional information to provide. She noted that her father seemed more stressed than usual and that men kept coming in and out of the house over the last few days. McKenna had gotten Lyla the ballistic report she had asked about but Lyla hadn't had a chance to look at it.

While the vigilantes on the team were trying to figure out what the next move by the mob and the Triad was going to be, Felicity and Thea were working to unravel mysteries of their own. Felicity was digging into Isabel Rochev, while Thea was trying to find out what she could about the person following Tommy.

“Aha!” Thea exclaimed.  She pumped her fist in the air in excitement.

“What was that for?” Roy asked.

“I found the car that was following Tommy. And Felicity’s programs found a match on the guy’s face. One of the traffic cams caught a good image of his face. It’s not a 100% match, but it's something.”

“Who’s been following me?” Tommy asked.

“The program says his name is Steven Spade. It looks like he’s a private investigator.” She said.

“Isn’t Steven Spade a character from some old movie?”

“That’s Sam Spade, honey.” Donna said. “But I’ll admit it’s close.”

“Okay, so a PI’s following me. I don’t suppose that we know why.”

“Not unless someone confronts him and asks.” Felicity said. “And, for the record, I’m not advocating that you do that.”

“I didn’t think you were.”

 

The leadership of the Triad met just after midnight Tuesday night. It had been one week since the attack on the Jade Dragon and they knew Mr. Zhisan would be looking for answers soon.

They went around the room, with each man sharing the information they had found in the last week. There wasn’t much information to be shared, but they did so anyway.

“There has to be something we’re missing. When Mr. Zhisan calls, we need to have something of substance to tell him.”

Mr. Tsui was about to answer when the door opened. A single figure walked into the room. It was a tall, thin man dressed in a designer suit. He was carrying a case which he set on the ground.

“Who the fuck are you?” One of the Triad members asked.

“There is no need for profanity. It makes you sound rather unintelligent, like you are unable to communicate in a civil manner.” The man said. “My name is Xu Tao. Mr. Zhisan sent me. He is most displeased by the attack last week, and of your lack of progress in rectifying the situation. Who is responsible?”

“We don’t know yet, but we can handle things ourselves. You can run back to Hong Kong and tell Mr. Zhisan that we have the matter in hand.”

“That’s not a satisfactory answer to the question that I asked.” He said. “And, if you had the matter in hand, you would know who was responsible and they would have already been dealt with.”

The foot soldier standing closest to him puffed out his chest. “We don’t need some bitch of-.”

Xu Tao slipped something out of his sleeve and stabbed him in the throat. The man fell to the ground and began choking on his own blood. “Allow me to make myself, and Mr. Zhisan, clear. This is not a request. You are used to dealing with Chein Na Wei, but I am not nearly as patient or kind as she was. The Triad has been attacked and Mr. Zhisan wants blood, yours if it comes down to it.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the blood from his hands. “Now, let us try this again. Who is responsible for the attack last week?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 158

Summary:

The Triad gets a few surprises, Lyla makes a discovery and Oliver goes to the doctor.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Triad members watched as the blood pooled underneath their slain comrade and started to spread out across the floor. No one spoke for several moments. They were not surprised by the man’s death, but shocked by how swiftly and mercilessly it had been carried out. Xu Tao had killed the man without a second thought or giving the man a chance to back down from his bravado.

“Who is responsible for the attack last week?” Xu Tao asked. It was his third time asking the question. The first time, he’d gotten a useless answer from one of the Triad leaders. The second time, no one responded, as they were focused on their fallen cohort. “I don’t enjoy having to repeat myself. Speak!”

“It was the Italians. Bertinelli.” Mr. Tsui said.

“And you know this, how?” He wasn’t impressed by what he had seen so far, so he wanted proof of some kind before reporting back to Mr. Zhisan. He had been sent there to get justice for the shooting, as well as to get a good measure of the Triad leadership in the city.

“It was Bertinelli because it couldn’t have been a local gang, nor could the Bratva have pulled it off.”

“Again, I would like to know how you came to that conclusion.” He said. “Because what you’ve just told me is that you think it was this Bertinelli person, and you cannot explain why.”

“The Russians don’t have the numbers to pull off an attack like the one on the Jade Dragon. They would need more men, and we would’ve noticed an influx of Russians arriving in the city.” Someone said.

“And the gangs?”

“Most of the larger gangs were arrested months ago, leaving only small and badly organized groups left. And they’ve been fighting amongst themselves for the most part.”

“You expect me to believe that the biggest gangs in the city got taken down by the cops?” Xu asked. “I’ve always thought American cops were too soft for that.”

“The cops got a lot of help from the public.” Tsui said. “They couldn’t really justify doing nothing, when civilians were handing them evidence on a silver platter.” He didn’t like the man standing in front of him. Xu Tao might’ve been sent by Zhisan, but he had no right to storm in here and demand control of the situation. If Zhisan’s errand boy didn’t know about the vigilantes in Starling, he wasn’t going to tell him. Perhaps the Arrow would be useful for once and capture Xu, leaving the Triad to resume its normal operations. No one else in the room mentioned the vigilantes, either, implying that Tsui wasn’t the only person to feel this way about their new cohort.

“In summary, it’s unlikely the Bratva or local gangs are responsible for the attack. The Italians are the most likely culprits, but we have nothing to support that suspicion.” Xu said. “Mr. Zhisan was right to send me.”

“What?”

“It’s been a week. You have one suspect and yet, you’ve found nothing tying that suspect to the attack. Mr. Zhisan was right to send me. He isn’t favorable to acting rashly, but he also expects results. Something no one in this room has managed to obtain in the slightest.” He said. “If the Italians are responsible, bring me proof of that.”

“We already know it was Bertinelli, so I don’t understand why-.” Tsui began to say. Frank ordered the attack. He had to be the one behind this, and that’s why Tsui ordered the attack on his construction site.  Why should anyone care about proving it? 

“You don’t need to understand. You just need to follow my orders. I am not going to waste my time repeating myself. Suspicion alone is not enough to justify a retaliation and Mr. Zhisan is not fond of starting pointless fights.” He said. “Find me something that proves Bertinelli was behind the attack. If you cannot, then it must mean he was not behind it.” Everyone stood there for a moment. “Now!”

The group scattered, rushing off to follow the orders they had been given. Tsui wasn’t worried about what his people would find. Bertinelli ordered the attack on the Jade Dragon. His men would find proof of it, and when they did, Tsui would be commended for thinking ahead and retaliating as soon as possible.

 

Wednesday morning, Felicity and Lyla drove to Applied Sciences. The chip Felicity, Ray and Curtis were working on was progressing nicely and their experiments on their lab mice had reached a new stage. Things were going very well and they were excited to move on to the next stage of the project.

Lyla got settled in the lab and started looking through the ballistic reports that McKenna had gotten for her from the Jade Dragon investigation. It didn’t make sense to the former ARGUS agent that the SCPD would be able to confidently say the shooting was done by two different guns from two different manufacturers. Using two different guns was plausible, the bullets could reveal that much. Lyla couldn’t think of any firearm or bullet that was so unique that only one company made it, though. It wouldn’t make sense from a business or combat perspective to create a weapon like that. 

It also didn’t make sense for any organized crime outfit to use a unique weapon, because it would make finding the exact gun easier for law enforcement. Gangs tended to favor 9mm handguns because a lot of companies made them and millions of people owned them, so finding the exact gun used in a crime was hard. By using a gun that only one company made, the shooters had narrowed down the search significantly.

She looked through the reports on the bullets from the first gun, and something stood out to her. The rounds, or at least the casings, were shorter than a standard 9mm round, but noticeably wider. Those bullets wouldn’t fit into just any gun, but one made to take that kind of ammo. She went to the next page, and looked at the next photo, which confirmed her suspicions. Not only was the ammo, and therefore the gun unique, but she had seen it once before.

“I need to go make a phone call.” She said, getting to her feet. Felicity, Ray and Curtis all looked at her. “I’ll be back.” She walked out of the room.

“What is she-?” Curtis started to ask.

“Lyla said on the drive in that she was gonna be looking over schematics for another project this morning. I guess she found something important that can’t wait.” Felicity said. Whatever Lyla had discovered, Felicity knew she’d share it with the team later that day.

Lyla knew where all of the cameras in Applied Sciences were, so she had to go outside the building in order to make her call. McKenna answered after a few rings.

“One of the bullets recovered from the Jade Dragon was from a PKR3.” She said.

“A what?” McKenna asked. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“I’m not surprised. PKR stands for Peace Keeper Range, which I know is a cheesy name. About a decade ago, a subsidiary of Daggett Industries wanted to be unique, or just wanted more money, so they made a gun that only worked with the ammo they made. They didn’t get any contracts in the US, so they offloaded what they could to countries overseas to avoid bankruptcy.” She said. “They sold the weapons to foreign governments, mostly in Europe. Most of those governments never bought a second order because there was an issue with the trigger, which is the last thing you want in a firearm.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I was on assignment a few years ago, after Moscow, and my partner for the assignment was hit in the shoulder with a round from a PKR3. They have weird looking bullets, so finding a match in the ARGUS database after being debriefed wasn’t hard. I wasn’t familiar with the casing, but I recognized the round SCPD removed from the wall of the Jade Dragon.”

“I’ll let Hilton know.” McKenna said. “Any luck on the other bullet?”

“I haven’t looked at those photos or reports yet. But, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s gonna be a similar situation. A company makes a gun that only takes their ammo and no one has a use for it.” She said. “Like I said, there has to be something unique about each gun for your CSIs to be able to say they were made by completely different people.”

“Do you happen to know where in Europe they were sold?”

“Mostly central Europe, but that means almost nothing because somehow, they got from the governments of those countries into illegal circulation, so anyone could’ve bought or stolen them.”

“Keep me posted, if you can.” McKenna said. “And thanks for the information you just shared.”

“Don’t mention it.” Lyla said before heading back into the building.

 

To say that Laurel was nervous when Joanna came to Cassidy Penn for a visit would be an understatement. By now, Joanna had had time to read through the paperwork filed with the court and had a better grasp of what was going on. With her hearing a week away, she felt both so close and yet so far from that date.

“How bad is it?” Laurel asked.

“Not bad at all.” Joanna said. “Reading between the lines, I think Oliver’s gonna ask for the order to be lessened or rescinded completely.”

“Why would he do that? After the way I acted?” Did Laurel think that she was the worst person in the world? No, but after the way she acted, she didn’t expect Oliver to want to do anything to help her. She didn’t deserve to have him try to help her.

“He might not be doing it for you. In fact, I’m almost certain that he isn’t.” Joanna said. “I don’t know how he feels about you right now. He may be trying to be “the bigger person” and just let what happened go, since you’ve left him alone since being sent here. Or he might be doing it for Sara. She’s his friend but she’s your sister and that puts her smack dab in the middle of the situation. She swears she hasn’t tried to talk to him on your behalf, to avoid it causing any issues for you, but he’s gotta know that this is having an impact on her.”

“And Felicity Smoak?”

“Felicity Smoak….hasn’t objected to his motion.” Joanna said. “That’s all I know.”

“She has a restraining order against me too.”

“She does, but that was mostly because Oliver was living with her when everything was going down, and she probably wanted to circumvent you using the excuse of wanting to talk to her as a way to keep harassing Oliver.” She said. “Her’s was a by-product of Oliver’s, so it kinda makes sense that she’s not taking an active role in moving to change things. It’s been about Oliver all along.”

“Okay. Any advice for this hearing?” Laurel asked. “I can ask Dr. Quinzel to write a letter on my behalf to-.”

“I don’t know if we need something like that, but if you feel comfortable asking, it might help.” She said. “The judge is going to want to hear from you, since he needs to decide if rescinding the order will result in you reverting back to your old behavior or not. I’d advise that you don’t mention Oliver or Felicity in depth, and certainly not right away. Focus on how you’ve reflected on your actions and how you regret how you acted. Discuss how you’ve realized that your actions were irrational and that you made mistakes, and see them as such now. Then, you can talk about wanting to apologize or what you’d say to them if you had a chance to talk with them, but I’m worried that if you talk too much about them, it won’t show the growth you’ve experienced. I’m expecting the judge to question you, to push back on certain points or ask about hypothetical situations, but as we both know, that’s always what happens and the important thing is to remain calm.”

“Are they gonna be at the hearing?”

“I’m not sure. They might be, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jean Loring shows up alone with just sworn statements from Oliver and Felicity. Be prepared to see them, but don’t be surprised if they’re not there. I know Sara and your mother are going to be attending. I’m not sure about your dad yet.”

Laurel nodded. She didn’t want to say it out loud, and possibly jinx herself, but she had a good feeling about the hearing. It would probably go well. She went to Dr. Quinzel’s office and asked if the woman would write her a letter for the hearing. The doctor agreed to write a letter.

 

Felicity and Oliver had a quick dinner before moving to the living room in preparation for their videocall with William. They were excited that they’d be seeing William in two days for his birthday, but they were still looking forward to the videocall as much as ever.

‘Walter says reporters have been asking Daniel Correll for interviews with me, about Will.’ Oliver told her as they were waiting. Felicity was occupied with her work and had lunch in her office, so Oliver had met up with Walter for lunch that day. ‘I told him that I don’t wanna do that and he said that he’d tell him that. He also didn’t think I’d agree to begin with.’

“What you just said was kinda confusing, so can you say it again?” She had tried to follow which “him” Oliver meant, but she’d gotten lost at some point.

‘Reports are asking Correll to interview me, about William. He talked to Walter about it, and Walter and I discussed it today. I told Walter that I don’t wanna do interviews about Will, because I don’t want him being in the public eye. Walter said that he’d relay that to Correll, and that he’d already told Dan that I was probably going to say no to that idea. Better?’

“Yeah.” She said. “Okay, good, we’re saying no. Because, for one thing, it’s the right thing to do for William, and also because you’re uncomfortable with the idea. I’m glad that’s off the table, officially now.”

‘Walter also mentioned that some requests weren’t about William. Some reporters wanted to interview both of us.’ He said. ‘Would you wanna do that?’

“To be honest, it depends. A lot of it would depend on who was doing the interview. If someone like Linda Park or Lena Luthor is asking, my answer would be way different than if Susan Williams was asking.”

‘I’d say no to Susan Williams, even if she was just gonna ask about the weather.’ He said. When Susan did her piece about Felicity, it put a bad taste in Oliver’s mouth. Then, she released the segment about Laurel and Moira’s plans, and he started to dislike her more. Finally, there was her attempts to get a reaction from Laurel about William. All in all, Oliver didn’t think Susan Williams was a very nice person, and he’d spent too much time already in the company of terrible people. ‘I don’t know who asked, but I didn’t want to even think about it without talking to you first. I know you tend to stick to interviews and articles about your work.’

“I’m not opposed to the idea.” She said. “But, like I said, it depends on who’s gonna be doing the interview. I’ll think about it.”

Felicity’s tablet began to chime, indicating that it was time for the call to begin.

“Hi Lisy! Hi Daddy!” Will said when the video started.

“Hey!” Oliver said, using his app. “Are you excited for us to come visit on Friday?”

“Uh-huh. I was hoping you could sleep over, but Mommy ‘minded me that the guest room doesn’t have beds and the couch isn’t big enough for you and Auntie Thea.”

“Yeah, I know it’s kinda a bummer that we can’t sleep over, but we’re gonna come over for dinner on Friday.” Felicity said. “So, we’ll still be able to spend lots of time with you.”

“Cool, ‘cause I wanna show you my other Hot Wheels and my LEGOs and the other stuff I told you about.” He said.

The conversation continued on from there, as William told them about all of the things he wanted to show them when they came over, and then all about the fun activities they were going to do at his party.

 

By the time the team gathered on Wednesday night, Lyla hadn’t made any headway on identifying the second bullet used in the shooting. She had been lucky she even recognized one round, and wasn’t surprised that the second one ended up being a mystery to her. She told the others what she had relayed to McKenna, and asked Slade, Sara and Nyssa to take a look at the reports as well, in case the ammunition looked familiar to them. They had had much different lives than she did, pre-Arrow, and it was possible, but perhaps unlikely, that one of them might recognize something that she didn't.

“I have never paid attention to firearms.” Nyssa said. ‘The League does not use them, my father despises them, and I have limited knowledge as a result.”

“Same here.” Sara said. “My weird skillset centers around analyzing blood and swordfights, not firearms.”

“I’ll take a look at what the police have.” Slade said. “If you don’t recognize the bullets and I don’t recognize them, then the guns gotta be a pretty strange design, or its homemade.”

“You can make a gun at home?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah, all you need is a 3-D printer these days.” He said. “I doubt anyone we’ve suspected would be willing to put in that kinda effort, but it's possible.”

“I’m hoping that it’s not that.” McKenna said. “The sooner we identify the weapons, the sooner we can find the shooters and the city doesn’t turn into ground zero of a gang war.”

“Knowing what you know about the weapon you recognized, does that give us any indication of who might’ve attacked the Chinese restaurant?” Nyssa asked Lyla.

“The PKR line was sold mostly to the governments of Markovia and neighboring countries. I think for police use, but I’m not positive. The ARGUS file wasn’t specific. Each country was supposed to dispose of them, when they ordered new inventory, but sometimes, crates “fall off the truck” on the way to the disposal site.” Lyla said. “It would be easier to move them from Markovia to nearby countries in and around the Baltics, but the easiest solution isn’t always the choice organized crime syndicates like to go with. I know that doesn’t tell us much.”

“It’s a place to start, which is more than we had yesterday.” Sara said.

The team, minus Oliver, went out on patrol. Once again, the night was very quiet and no one could shake the feeling that the quiet they were experiencing was the calm before the storm. Things were different, everyone could feel it.

Nyssa decided to return to the warehouse owned by the Bratva. The contents of the warehouse weren’t the biggest priority, but she wanted to check in. She didn’t think it was wise to ignore the Bratva until the problem with the Triad was resolved. If left unchecked, the Bratva could turn into a bigger problem than the one they were already facing. More crates had been brought into the warehouse and it looked as if the Bratva was getting ready to start construction within the main part of the building.

“What use would having walls serve in this warehouse?” She asked as she left the building.

“They’ve started putting up walls?” Slade asked.

“They haven’t started erecting walls, per se,  but they have the materials to do so. A lot of material.” She said.

“Anyone else get a really weird feeling right now?” Tommy asked.

“Yup.” Thea said.

 

Thursday morning, Oliver was awake before dawn. He had tried to sleep in, he wanted to sleep in, but his anxiety over his doctor’s appointment kept him from getting much sleep. He stayed in bed and tried to fall back asleep until he felt Felicity stir beside him.

“Hey.” She said, rubbing her eyes. “How long have you been up?”

‘Since dawn. I tried to fall back asleep, but-.’

“Nervous about the doctor? It’s going to be okay.”

‘But what if it’s not? What if there’s something wrong with me?’

She took both of his hands in hers and looked him directly in the eye. “I don’t think there’s gonna be something wrong, but if there is, we will figure it out together. No matter what happens, no matter what it takes, we will figure it out.”

He took a deep breath. ‘We’ll figure it out.’ He said after a moment.

They dressed and ate in relative quiet. Oliver was too anxious to talk and Felicity didn’t want to force him to converse with her when he was so anxious. They drove to the doctors office and they were surprised that the office was empty, aside from a nurse and Dr. Lamb, who they could hear, but couldn’t see.

“Are we early?” Felicity asked as Oliver signed himself in.

“No, you’re right on time.” The nurse said. Dr. Lamb had a very select group of patients, patients who valued their privacy, so his office never had a packed waiting room. It was rare for him to have more than two patients in the office at the same time. “Follow me back to the exam room, please.”

Oliver and Felicity followed the nurse to an exam room. The nurse took Oliver’s temperature and blood pressure, making notes for the doctor. She then pulled a syringe, vial and tourniquet out of a drawer.

“All right. I know no one likes to get their blood drawn, but I’m afraid we need to do that.” She said. “I only need a little bit, though.”

‘I’m ready whenever you are.’ Oliver signed. Felicity repeated what he had said.

The nurse drew some blood into a vial and labeled it before bandaging up the spot where she’d inserted the needle. She then said the doctor would be in shortly and exited the room.

“How are you feeling?” Felicity asked Oliver.

‘Still nervous. If there’s something wrong with me, I think it’s gonna be something Dr. Lamb sees, and not an issue with my bloodwork.’

Dr. Lamb walked in before he could say anything else. The appointment was fairly routine. Lamb checked Oliver’s breathing and his pulse. He asked Oliver if he was experiencing any pain or had anything he was concerned about. Lamb looked at injuries he’d mentioned wanting to take a look at.

“Your injuries are healing well. Actually, they look a little better than I expected.” Lamb said. He then launched into questions about Oliver’s current lifestyle. He wanted to make sure Oliver was eating enough, that he was sleeping and that his other bodily functions were normal. 

Felicity interpreted for Oliver as he answered each question. He was eating just over 3000 calories, which was appropriate for an adult man, who was very active. Oliver said he went for runs every day, to explain his activity level. He didn’t get as much sleep as he should every night, but he was trying and getting close. He went to the bathroom a normal amount and everything was normal when he relieved himself.

“All right, it seems like I can give you a clean bill of health.” Dr. Lamb said. “I won’t have the results from your blood test for a few days, but based on everything else, I’m expecting it to be normal. There are only two things that I want to discuss with you further.”

‘Okay.’ Oliver signed.

“You have some fractures from your time away that didn’t heal properly. Those areas of your body might feel fine now, but our bodies change as we age. If you start to feel pain in those areas, I don’t want you to just ignore it. If it starts to hurt, and we don’t do anything about it, it could get worse and I don’t want the pain to get to the point where its debilitating and you can’t live your life. So, please, keep an eye out for any new aches and pains.” He said.

Oliver wasn’t in constant pain, but he felt dull pains most days out of the week. He had grown used to it by now, but he didn’t think Dr. Lamb wanted to hear that. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’ He said.

“The second thing I want to discuss relates to your mutism.” The doctor saw Oliver and Felicity both tense, probably expecting a comment that he should try speaking. “It’s not the result of a physical trauma. There hasn’t been damage to your vocal cords or the structures around them. You don’t communicate verbally, but that hasn’t become a serious obstacle in your everyday life. Unfortunately, we are going to have to keep an extra eye on your vocal cords because they aren’t being used for speech, to make sure they stay healthy.” Lamb had never had a patient before who was mute, much less one that was mute due to emotional trauma. He didn’t know what might happen, but wanted to be cautious.

Oliver began to sign frantically. Felicity waited for him to finish before speaking. His questions were jumbled, because he had been caught off guard, but she was able to sum up the core questions he wanted to ask.

“What does that mean, practically?” Felicity asked. “Is there something he should be doing frequently to keep them healthy?”

Lamb looked at Oliver. “For now, I’d say you only need to pay attention to changes. If you have a sore throat that doesn’t go away in a normal amount of time, or swallowing becomes difficult, give me a call. If you start having a persistent issue that isn’t improving, come in for a visit.”

The visit wrapped up and Oliver thanked the doctor for his time. Overall, Oliver had to admit that the appointment hadn’t gone as badly as he feared. He hadn’t expected Lamb to be concerned about his vocal cords, and that part of the conversation threw him for a loop, but aside from that, it was a good visit.

‘Why do you think he mentioned my voicebox?’ Oliver asked Felicity on the drive home.

“I think he wants you to have the option to speak.” She said. “You don’t speak now, but that could change. I don’t know how likely that is, but it is possible. And if that does change, or you just want to give it a try, we know that the opportunity is still there. And he probably thinks having the option, even if you never pursue it, is better than closing the door on the idea completely.” 

‘I guess that makes sense. I just wasn’t expecting it. I was expecting something closer to “you could talk if you tried, so give it a try” to be honest.’

“I think Dr. Lamb is smart enough to realize that it’s not that simple.” She said.

They stopped at Jitters for coffee and pastries on the way home. Felicity joked that, since Oliver was too old to get a lollipop or stickers at the doctor, tasty pastries from Jitters would have to suffice as his reward.

‘Isn’t that why you said I needed to make brownies after my tattoo removal?’ He asked her.

“Yup. Positive reinforcement works, so does treating yourself. Any time I have to do something I don’t like doing, I tell myself that after I finish it, I can go buy cupcakes or a new piece of tech or get fancy coffee from Jitters after.” She said.

‘You’re an adult, you could do that anyway.’

“I know that, but when I’m hyping myself up to do the thing I don’t wanna do, I tell myself that I’m not allowed to. Like, it’s illegal to buy cupcakes unless I’ve gotten my flu shot, for an example. It’s surprisingly effective.”

 

Tommy couldn’t really explain it, but for some reason, he felt better about being followed now that he knew who exactly was following him. He had a feeling it might be because some of the mystery was taken away. The person following him had a name now, he knew what Steven Spade looked like. If something were to happen, people in his life could tell the police that Steven Spade was following him.

He wasn’t happy about being followed, but he was less scared of the fact that it was happening. It still struck him as odd and a little unnerving that he was being watched, but he didn’t feel in danger like he once had. 

Spade was a licensed PI. From what Thea had found, he normally followed around husbands, at the request of their wives, or tracked down an adopted person’s biological family. He didn’t seem to be involved in anything dangerous or sketchy, just run-of-the-mill investigations. It wouldn’t surprise Tommy if Spade had been hired by Malcolm’s victims to try and locate Malcolm.

Tommy and McKenna were coming back from lunch just as Slade walked out of the precinct. He had been meeting with Dinan to talk about the trip to Lian Yu. After saying goodbye to McKenna, Tommy saw that Slade was still standing outside the precinct.

“You see that grey sedan across the street?” Slade asked. He had watched the car park, but no one got out of the car. It was odd for someone to drive to a police station, in the middle of the day, and simply park across the street.

“Yeah, it’s been following me all day.  McKenna and I both noticed the driver, it’s the same guy as before.” He said. He walked towards his car.

“Don’t just get back in your car. Take a walk.”

“What?”

“Take a walk. Doesn’t matter where you head, just start walking. I want to see if he gets out of the car and follows you.” He said. “We still don’t know why he’s following you, and if he gets out of his car to shadow you on foot, that might tell us something.”

“It kinda feels like you’re using me as bait.”

“I am, but it’s broad daylight, you’re in the middle of the city and there’s a lot of people around.” He said. “It’s the safest possible way to do this.”

“Fine.”

Tommy walked away from the precinct and away from his car. He made his way down the sidewalk, towards a public park. Slade went in the opposite direction before doubling back to see what Spade would do. After a few minutes, Spade got out of the car and began to walk in the same direction as Tommy. 

Slade followed the PI and as they neared an alley, he pulled the PI into the alley. “You wanna explain why you’re following that guy?”

“I- I don't know what-.”

“You’re a really crappy liar. Why are you following him? Who hired you?” Slade asked.

 

The Triad wasn’t sure what had prompted Xu Tao to call a meeting, but most members agreed that the meeting was not a sign of things going well. For one thing, no one had found any evidence connecting Frank Bertinelli to the attack. For another, he had called this meeting in the middle of the day and expected everyone to be present.

The Triad worked at night, exclusively. It was easier to hide, easier to avoid suspicion at night. Having a meeting to discuss business in the middle of the day was risky. It broadcasted to everyone that the Triad was congregating.

“I cannot decide if all of you are stupid, oblivious or suicidal.” Xu Tao said, before any of the local leaders could speak. “And I don’t know which option would be worse.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Someone said.

“We had a long, serious conversation, did we not?”

“We did.”

“And during that serious conversation, no one thought to mention that the Italian, Bertinelli, had his place of business attacked a few days after the attack on the Jade Dragon.” He said. “That is a pretty important piece of information, is it not? Yet, no one mentioned it. Which could mean a few things. It could mean no one found that to be important, meaning you are all stupid. It could mean that none of you knew about it, making you oblivious. Or, lastly, you knew about it, and knew it was important, but chose to withhold it. That would make you suicidal, since you would only withhold such information in order to hinder my work, and thus further damage our business. So, which is it?”

Several men yelled at once. Two men pointed fingers at each other, saying the other was supposed to tell Xu about it. Others said they had forgotten about it. A few claimed it wasn’t important because the Triad hadn’t been behind the attack.

“ENOUGH!” Xu yelled. “So, it’s a mix of all three then. Most of you are stupid, some are oblivious and at least one has a death wish. It surprises me that you’ve lasted this long.”

“What do you mean, all three? No one here has a death wish.”

“Oh, I think someone does, because someone ordered that attack, and I know he’s sitting in this room.” He said. He pulled something sharp out of his sleeve. “And no one will be leaving until I find out who.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 159

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity discuss Isabel, while a few characters get answers to important questions.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

To Steven Spade’s credit, he didn’t try to lie about following Tommy a second time. When his first attempt failed, and he was asked why he was tailing Tommy, he made no attempt to claim it was a misunderstanding or coincidence. Slade didn’t know what to make of the PI, but at least he didn’t keep trying to lie.

He also didn’t make any attempts to get away from Slade, which the former ASIS agent wasn’t sure what to do with.

“Why are you following him? Who hired you?” Slade asked the PI, for the third time. The first time, he had lied. The second time, he admitted that, yes, he had been following Tommy. He still hadn’t answered the most important question, though.

“I was just asked to follow him. Find out where he goes, what he does during the day, and all that.” He said.

“By who?”

“His father, or at least, someone claiming to be his father.”

Slade let go of the PI and took a step back, crossing his arms. “Either you’re really stupid or you’ve got balls of steel, taking on a job like that.”

“What do you-?”

“If the man who hired you isn’t Malcolm Merlyn, you’ve been taken for a fool. And if it is Merlyn, you’re fucked. Do you have any idea how many people that man has killed? Not to mention the other crimes or what the FBI could come after you for.”

“I haven’t do-.” Steven hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t committed a crime, so why would the FBI come after him?

“Why does Malcolm wanna know what I’m doing?” Tommy’s voice cut in. He had gone to find Slade after walking a good distance and noticing he wasn’t being followed.

“He didn’t say. He made it clear that I didn’t need to know.”

“Has he paid you?”

“He paid my retainer, he hasn’t paid the full fee. That’s not due until I finish the job.”

“I’ll pay you double, to not do that.” Tommy said. Money didn’t solve every problem, but Spade was following him for a paycheck and nothing else. Money would probably solve this problem. 

“I-.”

“Think about it and get back to me. You know where to find me.” He said, before turning to Slade. “Come on, Billy, we got the answer we need for now.”

They walked out of the alley. When they were back at Tommy’s car, and out of Steven Spade’s ear shot, Slade asked him about the strangest part of the encounter.

“Is there a reason you gave me a fake name?”

“If the guy who hired him is Maloclm, Spade might call him, tell him what happened just now. Slade’s not a common name. Billy is. It was also your partner’s name, if I remember correctly. If Spade does tell Malcolm about the scary Australian guy, who is probably ex-military, that cornered him in an alley, there’s a very obvious choice for who he’d focus on, once he gets your description and a name.”

“And Wintergreen’s a dead end in more ways than one.” Slade said. He let out a snort. “It was good thinking, quick thinking, to use a name that you know would lead nowhere. By the time this is over, Malcolm’s gonna wish he had given you more credit.” It was clear to him, based only on what Tommy and Oliver had said, that Malcolm underestimated Tommy, and mistook his carefree attitude for weakness and stupidity. Tommy was smart, but in subtle ways.

“If the guy who hired him even is Malcolm.”

“I’d wager that it is. He’s a wanted fugitive. Anyone he communicates with could turn around and tell the feds, and he’s gotta be aware of that. The world’s aware of how much the American government wanna find him. I can’t think of anyone who’d want to take that kinda risk, just to find out that you and Hall had lunch at Big Belly Burger or that you spend every Tuesday afternoon at your mother’s clinic.”

“Why would he wanna find me?”

“I don’t know.” Slade could think of plenty of reasons why Malcolm would want to know where his son was, but each reason seemed worse than the last. He didn’t want to put undue stress on Tommy by telling him any of the ideas that had occurred to him.

“I thought he was looking for Malcolm.” He admitted.

“What?”

“When I realized someone was following me, I thought it was because they were trying to find Malcolm. I thought he had been hired by some victim’s family or some business associate, and had been sent to follow me in the hopes that I’d somehow help them find Malcolm. It’s why I didn’t freak out after learning who he was.”

Slade didn’t say anything at first. It was an understandable assumption for Tommy to have made, and he didn’t want to make him feel bad for not being paranoid and assuming the worst.

“See you around.” Slade said before walking away.

 

Following Oliver’s doctor appointment, and Felicity treating him to coffee and muffins at Jitters, the pair went home. Felicity worked in comfortable silence, as Oliver typed away on his tablet. She wasn’t sure what he was working on, but he seemed engrossed in whatever he was looking at.

“What are you working on?” She asked him as they were finishing up lunch.

‘Trying to find out more about Stellmoor International.’ He said. ‘I need to know as much as I can about the company, since it might tell us something about Isabel Rochev.’

“Have you found anything?”

‘I know a lot more about hostile takeovers than I did this morning.’ He said. ‘But not much else.’

“Yet. Not much else, yet.” She said. “You’ll find something, even if it’s just information on how Isabel conducts herself at work, which is a good thing to know. You can tell a lot about someone that way.”

‘You can?’

“Sometimes, I forget that you haven’t had a normal job. But, yeah, you can. The person I am at QC and the person I am here, are different. Not drastically different, but they are different because at work, I have to be professional. It’s the same for everyone. So, if Isabel is a massive bitch at work, she’s probably an even bigger bitch outside of work, which indicates that she’s not a good person overall. It’s kinda like that whole “don’t trust anyone that’s rude to the waiter” thing. And I’d be willing to bet that she is rude to waiters.” 

‘It kinda seems like she’s not very pleasant to work with.’ He said. ‘Based on how she gets written about.’ He had read quite a few articles about Isabel and Stellmoor so far, and they all made her sound exactly the same: ruthless.

“Yeah, but is she just unpleasant or is she up to something? That’s what we need to figure out.”

‘Is it bad that I want her to be up to something? Not that I want her to be working with Malcolm or secretly be a supervillain or anything, but that I want her to be a bad person, because I want to have a reason to dislike her?’

“You already have a reason. She tried to break your parents up, which would’ve torn your family apart. Also, you don’t need a reason to dislike someone. There are people I dislike because our personalities just don’t mix well, not because of anything they’ve done. You don’t have to like everyone, you just need to treat them like a human being.”

‘I just- I don’t know if its fair to hold what happened against her. She was an intern, my dad was a CEO. It’s not unthinkable that she….might not have been the aggressor there.’

“That’s true. Your father might’ve started the affair, she may have felt like she didn’t have a choice but to pursue that relationship, and that’s something you’ll need to come to terms with at some point. I’m just saying that you’re allowed to dislike her, regardless of how the affair started.”

‘Do you think he did? Do you think my father pressured her into-?’

“I don’t know. I never met your father. I don’t know the kind of person he was, I don’t know how he might’ve acted, so I can’t say.” She said. “I’d really like to change the subject now, because I don’t want to talk about sexual harassment.” Felicity had never been harassed at work, but she had memories of being at the MGM Grand as a kid, and seeing people make Donna uncomfortable. “What else did you find out about Stellmoor?”

‘They seem interested in a few companies in the city, some bigger than others. They’re not interesting in QC.’

“I’m sensing a “but” coming.”

‘They might be after Merlyn Global Group. I’m worried for Tommy.’

“I’m not. He might not be able to tear logs in half, but he’s stronger than a lot of people realize.” She said.

Felicity logged back into her computer and got back to work, while Oliver continued his investigation into Stellmoor International.

 

Linda Park was surprised that Daniel Correll had called her and asked her to come into Queen Consolidated so soon after she sent in her request. The first time she had asked for an interview with Oliver, several days passed before she heard anything back. This time, it was only a few days. She wondered what such a quick turn-around time might mean.

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice.” Correll said after shaking her hand. He took a seat behind his desk and gestured for her to sit.

“I’m happy to.” She said. “You said you had questions about my request. What questions do you have?” If he had called her in to reject the request in person, she was perfectly fine with that, but she also didn’t want to waste her time.

“I have quite a few questions, actually.” He said. “Your request was….not what I was expecting to get. Particularly from you.”

“Because when I first interviewed Oliver Queen, I made it clear that I wouldn’t ask about anything off-limits or too personal and now, it seems like I’m walking back on that position?”

“Essentially, yes. Based on our past conversations, I know you’re an intelligent woman. Meaning you probably know that Oliver Queen doesn’t want to expose his son to too much publicity. Yet, your request stated you wanted the interview to be about his son.”

“I don’t want the interview to be about his son, my boss does. Because every newspaper, TV station and blog wants to talk about him. I sent in my request, fully expecting it to be rejected.” Linda knew that she didn’t have to explain herself or her reasoning, but she still wanted to. She wanted to make sure her intentions weren’t misunderstood.

“So, you asked because you were told to ask.”

“Yeah. Would I want to interview Oliver again? Absolutely, I think it was a great interview that we had. But I don’t wanna interview him about his kid. There are so many other topics, less invasive topics, we could center an interview around than his son. Which is why I suggested other topics in my interview request. I didn’t want anyone to think I was trying to be underhanded.”

“Underhanded?”

“There was a reporter I used to work with, she really wanted to be a household name and didn’t care how. She interviewed this local businessman, when there were rumblings that his business was doing shady things. He wasn’t well-known, but he was a big deal in Central City. It was a very “softball” interview. When he got arrested for fraud, he wanted to give an interview and try to clear his name. She offered, he accepted, but the second interview was more like an interrogation. She wanted to get him to confess on camera and make a name for herself.” She explained. “That’s not what I’m doing here. Like I told you before, my integrity means more to me than fame.”

“I remember you saying that, which is why your request surprised me. I wasn’t sure what to think when I read it.”

“And now?”

“Now, I have a better idea of the situation. We’ll be in touch about your request.” He said.

“Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day.” She said as she left his office.

 

Senator Cray was sitting in his office, going over a bill that had been sent to his committee, when one of his aides walked in. The aide in question was the one he had tasked with locating Amanda Waller so that he could have a word with her.

“Belle Reve.” The aide said.

“What?”

“You told me to find out where Amanda Waller was. She’s at Belle Reve.” He said. It had taken a number of phone calls and hours of work to get the location from someone who’s word could be believed.

“Louisiana, huh? She’d hate that.” Cray said. He hated that she was there, for completely different reasons. Belle Reve was too secure to arrange for an “accident” to befall Waller. The facility was very strict when it came to both staff and visitors, so he couldn’t risk sending the wrong person to talk with her. “When am I leaving to have a word with her?”

“You’re not.”

“What do you mean, I’m not? I told you to-.”

“You told me to find out where she was, I found out where she was. You didn’t say anything about arranging to go there.”

“Mike, you’re a smart guy. You-.”

“Quit. I quit. I’m not giving two weeks notice. Today will be my last day.” He had been fighting the urge to quit, and make a scene, all week.

“Let’s not be rash.”

“I’m not being rash. This has been coming for a while. My wife wants to move back home to Missouri, my father is ill, and, to be frank, I’m sick of all the Beltway bullshit.” He said. “So, yeah, I quit. Best of luck with your re-election campaign.”

“I don’t accept your resignation.” Cray said. He had never had aides quit on him. He fired aides all the time, but no one ever quit on him. To make matters worse, Mike had been working for him since he first arrived in DC.

“That’s not how it works. Accept my resignation, don’t accept it, it doesn’t matter, because I will not be coming into work tomorrow.” He said.

While he had been trying to locate Waller, Mike decided to try and find out why Cray wanted to speak with her. He suspected that someone, from ARGUS or the FBI or DOJ, might ask why a Senate staffer wanted to find a disgraced former agency director, especially since Senator Cray wasn’t on any committees that concerned ARGUS. He wanted to have a plausible answer, if asked. It took some digging, but he found it. Or them, rather.

Senator Cray had spent years, sneaking things into bills on ARGUS’s behalf. In some cases, it was just extra funding. In others, it was authorization to do something without DHS or committee oversight or something equally substantial. Cray buried these clauses in bills that were several hundred pages. No Senator wanted to read a bill that was hundreds of pages long, so they had a staffer read it, and most staffers had never heard of ARGUS, allowing the riders to go unnoticed and unchallenged. Cray might’ve been complicit in Waller’s actions, meaning Waller had dirt on him, and Cray only cared about his political ambitions. Mike wondered which rider Cray was so worried about, but decided it didn’t matter. The news would break eventually. He was going home.

 

As night fell, Tsui’s wife was beginning to worry. She had not heard from her husband all day. She was used to him being unreachable at certain times, but this felt different. He always warned her ahead of time when he’d be unavailable because he had “business” to handle, but he hadn’t said anything earlier that day.

She had called him, sent texts and even left a voicemail, and hadn’t gotten a single response. Not even an acknowledgement of her messages. Had something happened? Was there another attack?

Xu Tao looked down at the cell phone sitting on the table with disdain. It seemed like the phone would beep or ring every two seconds. Not only was it distracting, but he found the entire exercise annoying.

“Is she ever going to stop calling?” He asked the assembled members of the Triad. “Whose phone is this?”

No one answered his question. It had been hours. Tao was still adamant on getting answers and there were already bodies strewn around the floor.

“It’s rather amusing that, when I ask serious questions, questions that we all should want answered, everyone falls over themselves to tell me lies, but when I ask one simple, unimportant question, you have all gone mute.” He said. “I would like for this meeting to be over already, I’m sure the rest of you feel the same, but I cannot do that if my questions keep getting interrupted by a phone.”

“Answer the phone. Say he’s busy.” Someone said.

“And who shall I say is busy? Who is this woman that keeps calling and why does she keep calling?”

“Does it matter?”

The phone began to ring again. This time, Xu Tao answered. “He’s busy. And if you call again, I will kill him. And you. And every person either of you have ever loved. Do you understand? Good.”

He ended the call. “Now, where were we?”

 

“The Triad’s been really quiet tonight. And for the last few nights. Too quiet.” Lyla remarked as the team was patrolling. “I don’t like it.”

“I do not either. It feels as if there’s something happening, something we are unaware of.” Nyssa said.

“That’s because we probably are.” Slade said. “We might not wanna admit it, because of what it would mean, but just because we don’t it, doesn’t mean its not happening.”

“The SCPD found the second vehicle used in the Jade Dragon shooting.” Felicity reported over the comms. “I know that doesn’t address the sudden quiet on the Triad’s end, but it’s a new development.”

‘Find out anything special about the car?’ Oliver signed.

“No, it was a pretty nondescript vehicle. Large, dark-colored SUV. Left in a grocery store parking lot.”

“Stolen?” Sara asked.

“They don’t know yet. I’m waiting for the vehicle specs and details to get put into the police database so that I can run some programs.” She said. “Once I have a VIN number and some other stuff, I can start trying to identify a pattern.”

“What kind of pattern?”

“Anything that connects the two vehicles, other than the shooting, really. Were they stolen around the same time? Were they taken from the same area? Stuff like that. Because I don’t really see the Bratva or the Bertinellis or whoever it might be driving all the way to Bludhaven to steal cars for the attack, so they had to have been taken locally.”

“You’re right about that. They’d drive out there to dump the car, not to get it.” Lyla said.

The information the SCPD had about the car didn’t reveal much at first glance. The first SUV wasn’t taken from the same place as the second one. The owners lived and worked pretty far from each other and didn’t seem to know one another. Both vehicles were owned by law-abiding citizens. One vehicle had been stolen from outside the owner’s home. The second had been stolen from the parking lot at Rockets Arena.

“There has to be some connection.” Felicity muttered to herself as she opened up an algorithm.

“What if there isn’t one?” Tommy asked. “What if whoever is behind the shooting just took the first two dark SUVs they found?”

“On opposite sides of the city? Two days apart? That seems unlikely.” She said. “There are a few other leads I wanna chase down before I admit defeat.”

Maybe the two owners did know each other. Maybe their spouses or children did. Maybe the vehicles came from the same used car lot. Until they could be sure that there wasn’t a connection, she’d keep trying to find it.

 

Thea arrived at Oliver and Felicity’s house bright and early Friday morning. They were all very excited for William’s birthday and the trip to Central City. Although they didn’t need to get to Central City until the afternoon, they had booked an earlier train.

This way, they didn’t have to worry about running late and they could get settled at their hotel before meeting Samantha and William as arranged.

After a quick breakfast, they headed to the train station. Their train was pretty empty when they boarded, and they got seated.

“Has your search found anything new about the SUVs?” Thea asked Felicity. The night before, Felicity mentioned pulling out one of her “big gun” programs and left it running. She wondered if it had found anything.

“I haven’t checked yet. This weekend is about William’s birthday and I don’t want that stuff to be on my mind the whole time.” She said. “When we get home, I’ll see what it came up with.”

‘I agree. I know we can’t just ignore what’s going on, but I wanna get it off my mind for a bit.’ Oliver said.

“Oh, so do I. And I’m not gonna bring it up later.” Thea said. “I just wasn’t sure if the ban on talking about that started now or when we got to Central City or what.”

‘I vote for now.’ He said.

They talked for a bit, but it was a long train ride. After some time, Thea decided to play with her phone, Felicity pulled out her tablet, and Oliver grabbed a notebook and pens out of his bag. Thea spent most of the ride playing on her phone, Felicity read some books on her tablet and Oliver did some journaling. Soon, the conductor announced they were arriving in Central City.

They got to their hotel and hung out for a few hours. The plan was to meet Samantha and William at Jitters after the boy was out of school.

They arrived at Jitters a little early and Felicity was happy to see that Iris was the barista who was working that day. She didn’t know Iris well, but she had heard a lot about her from Barry.

“Hey, Iris.” She said when she got to the counter.

“Hi. I- you remember me?” Barry had said that Felicity remembered her, but she wasn’t sure how much she had remembered.

“Yup. I’m good with remembering names and faces. And Barry talked about you a lot when I met him. And because the first time I was in here and talked to you, I started babbling and it’s impossible for me to forget each and every time I start babbling.” She said. “Which I’m doing right now.”

‘But that’s one of things we love about you.’ Oliver signed.

“Yeah, Barry told me about meeting you on the train to Starling.” Iris said. “It’s nice to meet you, officially, I mean.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She said. “Oh, this is Oliver and this is Thea. This is Iris, Barry’s foster sister.”

Oliver waved and Thea greeted her.

“I’m glad you came in, though I’m surprised you’re here.” Iris said. “I wanted to thank you for helping Barry. Because of you, the case got reopened, it’s getting new eyes on it and he’s happier than he’s been in a while and-.”

“I don’t know how much credit we can take for what happened. All we did was point him in the right direction.”

“That’s more than a lot of people did. And it meant a lot to him.”

“I hope he finds some of the answers he’s looking for. Or, at least, something, some sense of closure.”

“I think it will.” Iris said. Another customer entered the coffee shop. “Oh, right, I’m supposed to be working. What can I get you?”

They got some coffee and sat down at a table. The shop was pretty empty, so they felt comfortable sitting and talking while waiting for Samantha and William.

Right at 3, the door to Jitters opened. Samantha and William walked in. As soon as he spotted them, William yelled in excitement and ran over to Oliver, Thea and Felicity. Samantha had a fond smile on her face as she watched them interact, which she dropped when she noticed that Thea and Felicity saw it.

“C’mon, Mommy’s making ‘sketti for dinner.” He said, trying and failing to pull Oliver to his feet.

“Well, I never say “no” to sketti, so let’s go.” Thea said, mirroring William’s mispronunciation of spaghetti.

They followed William over to where Samantha was standing, exchanged awkward greetings and then left the coffee shop as a group.

William’s birthday weekend had just started, but it was off to a great start.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

---------
Next chapter is Will's birthday. I wanted to give that its own chapter.

Chapter 160

Summary:

William's birthday party takes place.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Felicity, Oliver and Thea followed Samantha back to her house in their rental car. William had gotten a little grumpy that he couldn’t ride with them, but Samantha pointed out that Oliver’s rental car didn’t have a booster seat. He was unhappy, but the ride back to the house wasn’t long.

As soon as Oliver, Thea and Felicity had parked in the driveway, William was pointing out all of the random things he could think of outside of the house that he mentioned to them. They had heard about the neighbor’s plants and the sidewalk where he was learning how to ride a bike, so he showed them all of those things.

“William, you can show them that stuff after dinner, okay? We need to head inside so that I can get dinner started.” Samantha said.

William nodded, looking very serious for such a young kid, and took Oliver’s hand, saying they should go inside. Felicity and Thea both smiled, and followed them into the house.

“I wanna show you my cars and my first robot and-.” William said, leading them into one of the rooms off of the main foyer.

“I, uh, I’m gonna go get dinner started.” Samantha said awkwardly.

“Let us know if you need a hand.” Thea said. She didn’t expect Samantha to take her up on that offer, nor did she want Samantha to accept her offer. Moira Queen had taught her children to always offer to help, to be polite if nothing else, and so, Thea offered.

As William showed off every toy he had, the adults heard the occasional noise from the kitchen. After he ran out of toys to show them, he decided he needed to show the visitors his room, and led them upstairs to see it. The room looked almost exactly the same as during their Skype calls, with the blue walls and rocket ship sheets he had mentioned to Oliver and Felicity.

“And who’s this?” Felicity asked, gesturing to a stuffed animal William hadn’t shown them over Skype. It was a teddy bear that had clearly been very loved, judging by the wear and tear. “I don’t think you showed us this one before.”

“Mr. Buttons.” Will said. True to his name, the bear had a button sewn onto one of his ears and right over his heart. “Mommy got him at the hospital when I was born. I don’t sleep with him, like I did when I was a baby, but I still have him.”

“That’s okay. I have a stuffed dog that your dad won for me at my preschool carnival.” Thea said. “I have a lot of good memories with that dog.”

“You used to drag her everywhere with you.” Oliver said, using his app. “Auntie Thea’s stuffed doggy was named Spot.”

“Does she have spots?” William asked.

“No, she doesn’t.” Thea said. “The only dogs I had seen before had spots, so I thought all dogs had spots and hers would come in later.” She had a foggy memory of some acquaintance of Moira’s who had a dalmatian around that time, which was most likely the reason she thought all dogs had spots.

The story made William laugh. “You’re silly! Stuffed animals don’t just grow spots.”

“Yeah, I guess I am kinda silly.” Thea said.

Having gotten the tour of William’s room, the group went back downstairs. Samantha called from the kitchen that dinner was about halfway done and that the guests would be arriving soon.

“Guests?” Felicity asked. “Someone else is coming over?” She was a little frustrated by this development. On one hand, it was Samantha’s home and she could invite whoever she wanted over for dinner. On the other, it was a pretty underhanded move to not tell Oliver, Felicity or Thea that they wouldn’t be the only visitors. She knew they wanted to spend as much time with William as possible, and dinner with strangers would distract from that. She could see Oliver starting to get anxious, probably concerned that she had invited her parents or something.

“Barb Whitmore, who you’ve met, and her family are coming over. It’s just going to be her, her husband Pat, and the kids, Courtney and Mike. Courtney is Will’s babysitter, when I need one. I thought I mentioned that to you on Wednesday.” Samantha said. 

“I guess it slipped your mind, with all of the party-planning.” Thea said in a tone that revealed nothing. Samantha could’ve genuinely forgotten, or she could’ve chosen not to tell them. “At least we know one of them.”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to see Barb.” Felicity said. “And I’m excited to meet Courtney and Mike, since Will’s told us so much about them.”

The doorbell rang and William ran off to answer it. A few moments later, he came walking into the kitchen, followed by four others. Before Samantha could address the group, or Oliver, Felicity and Thea could introduce themselves, he started talking.

“This is my daddy.” He pointed to Oliver. “And Lisy.” He pointed to Felicity. “And my auntie Thea.” He finished by pointing to Thea. “This is Mike. And Courtney. And Mr. Pat. And you met Courtney’s mom already.”

“It’s nice to see you all again.” Barb said.

“Nice to see you too.” Felicity said. She then turned to the rest of Barb’s family. “And it’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Pat said. “Samantha, you didn’t tell us what to bring, so I grabbed a bottle of wine.” He held up the bottle in question.

“None for me.” Oliver said, using his app. “I’m driving us back to the hotel after dinner.” It wasn’t a lie, but it was also a faster explanation than telling everyone that he didn’t drink at all. Felicity and Lyla were the only ones who knew the full story behind why Oliver didn’t drink. Thea, and others close to Oliver, just knew it had something to do with what happened in Moscow.

“He does have a robot voice!” Mike yelled. He had seemed nervous, but couldn’t stop himself from remarking on Oliver’s “robot voice”

“I told you so!” William replied.

“Mike, you shouldn’t- I’m sorry, Oliver, we tried to-.” Barb cut in, embarrassed that her stepson had brought up a sensitive subject like Oliver’s speech issues.

“It’s okay. He’s a kid, kids always have questions. The way I talk is different from most people but being different isn’t a bad thing.” He said. He then turned to Mike. “I do kinda sound like a robot, don’t I?”

“A little. Will said you sounded like one, but I didn’t think he was telling the truth. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“You didn’t hurt my feelings.” He said.

 

While Oliver was talking to Mike, Felicity approached Courtney. William had told her that Courtney looked up to her, so she wanted to talk to the girl. If she was this teen’s role model, she wanted to make sure she made a good first impression.

“Courtney, William’s told me a lot about you. I’m really happy we got to meet.” Felicity said.

“I’m glad I get to meet you too. I- you’re one of my heroes and I’ve read a lot about you. That probably made me sound like a crazy stalker or something.” The teenager said. “It’s just that I love science and tech, and you’re a woman in science, so-.”

“There aren’t a lot of famous women scientists, and that list gets even smaller if you only count living women in science. I’m kinda new to being called a “role model” but I know what it feels like, looking at someone who’s done something important and feeling represented for the first time.” Felicity said. “You don’t sound like a crazy stalker, by the way. It’s clear that science is something that you get really excited about, and I, for one, will never tell someone not to get excited about things they’re passionate about. It took a lot of science to get us to the moon, but that science had a lot of passion behind it.”

“That’s a good way of putting it.” Courtney said with a smile. She seemed a little more relaxed.

“The pasta’s done.” Samantha announced. “We should head into the dining room.”

“Yay! It’s time for sketti.” William said.

The conversations everyone had been having dwindled as the group moved from one room to another. Oliver, Thea and the kids wound up talking, as did Samantha and Barb. Felicity found herself talking to Pat Dugan as they sat down.

“So, Pat, where do you work?” She asked.

“Star Labs. I work in the engineering department.”

“Are you part of the team working on the particle accelerator?”

“Currently, no. I worked on it for a while, and was then put on other projects. I might get put back onto the team as it gets closer to being finished and activated, but Dr. Wells hasn’t made a final decision about it yet.” He said. “What about you? William says you build robots, but I realize that’s probably a simplification.” He had heard of Felicity Smoak but wasn’t familiar with her work.

“I’m not working on any robots right now, as sad as that makes me. Since code can be used across the realm of “technology”, I don’t tend to focus on a specific area. Right now, the team I’m part of is working on a biomedical engineering project and waiting for approval to start human trials. Before that, I was working on a software package and before that, next-gen processors. I jump around a lot.”

“Sounds like it, but it also sounds like you like it that way.”

“I do. Working in all these different areas is a challenge, and I like challenges. It keeps things exciting.” She said. “But the safe kind of exciting.”

As the group ate, the conversation moved on. The kids talked excitedly about whatever crossed their minds, with the adults joining in when they could. It was clear to the adults that Samantha was trying to avoid certain topics of conversation, and that made the conversations the adults were having somewhat stilted.

Dinner passed quickly and the Whitmore-Dugan family departed not long after. Unfortunately, once they were gone, so was Samantha’s buffer.

“William, say goodnight to your dad, Lisy and your aunt. They need to go to their hotel and its almost bedtime.” Samantha said.

“Wait, can Daddy stay and tell me a story?” Will asked. “I like his stories.”

“I can read you a story after you’ve changed into your PJs. I’m sure they-.”

“Daddy doesn’t just read a story from a book. He creates a new one each time.” He said. “Please?”

“I don’t- would you three mind staying for storytime?” She asked Oliver.

“We’d be happy to.” Thea said. “If that’s what William wants.”

“It’s what I want!” William said. “I’ll go get ready for bed.” He ran off, heading upstairs.

Samantha was now alone with Oliver, Felicity and Thea for the first time. “So, we-.”

“What do you think is gonna happen?” Felicity asked. “You seem scared of being alone with us, without a buffer, like something’s gonna happen if you are. Are we that scary? I didn’t think that anyone found me scary, or Thea. Oliver is quiet, which some people find intimidating, but- yeah.”

“This is just- it’s a weird situation for me.”

‘It’s a “weird” situation for us too.’ Oliver signed. Thea paraphrased what he said.

“If you’re worried that one of us is gonna spill the beans on what really happened, we’re not going to. We’re also not gonna try and start a fight in front of William or start yelling at you or whatever you are worried about.” Felicity said. “One day, we might all sit down and hash out all of our feelings, say all of the things that have gone unsaid, but that’s not happening now, or in the foreseeable future.”

“We need to get along, for William’s sake.” Samantha said.

‘And everyone here knows that.’ Oliver said, with Thea interpreting again. ‘We don’t need to be friends, and we aren’t. We need to be civil, and that’s all I can offer you right now. I hope you can understand that.’ He couldn’t offer her friendship and he wouldn’t offer her forgiveness or absolution, at least not right now. Civility was all he had to give.

“I do understand. I wasn’t- talking to you twice a week for a few minutes is a lot different than having you be here for dinner, or for hours at a time for a party. I’m not trying to make things more awkward.”

“And that’s gonna take time, but we all need to keep trying. Fake it until we make it, or something like that.” Thea said. “We- I think I hear William.”

“I put my PJs on and brushed my teeth. Can I have a story now?” He called from upstairs.

“We’ll be up in just a second.” Samantha said.

They all went upstairs to say goodnight. Thea and Felicity left the room when Oliver sat down to start William’s story. This time around, the boy and his robot friend decided to take a spaceship and land on an alien planet, further away than Pluto. They discovered alien animals that looked like dogs, but had stripes like tigers and could talk. The aliens were friendly and had been building their own spaceship to make friends in space.

“Do you think there really are aliens out in space?” Will asked Oliver after the story had finished.

“I don’t know.” He answered. “We haven’t found aliens so far, but space is really big. We could just not be looking in the right place. Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night-night, Daddy.” William said, as he started to drift off to sleep.

Felicity, Oliver and Thea said goodnight to Samantha and went back to their hotel. They didn’t speak much after they got to the hotel, as there wasn’t much to say. It had been nice to meet the Whitmore-Dugan family, but Samantha’s strange behavior put a damper on things. They hoped it wasn’t an omen of how the party was going to go.

Thea went into her room in the suite and Oliver and Felicity got into bed and tried to get some sleep.

‘Being around so many new people tomorrow is probably gonna suck.’ He said. ‘The kids will be fine. They’ll ask about my “robot voice” and stuff like that, and I can handle that.’

“You did a good job tonight, when Mike asked.” Felicity said. “But it’s not the kids you’re worried about.”

‘Adults like to judge. I wasn’t in Will’s life, and now I am, and they’re gonna have opinions about that. And that’s not even taking into account the whole “rich and famous” aspect. Or the fact that I survived on a deserted island. I just- the kids aren’t the problem, their parents are. And people have a lot less tact than they think they do.’ He had come to Central City for his son’s birthday party. This weekend should just be about William, but he was worried others wouldn’t let him focus on that.

“Well, it’s a good thing you brought your girlfriend, who wants you to enjoy the party and not have to deal with nosey strangers, and your sister, who has become just as protective of you as you are of her. We’ll keep the grown-ups in line, and make sure Will’s party is remembered for how much fun it was for everyone.” She said.

 

When Thea woke up the next morning, and went into the common area of their suite, she found Oliver and Felicity sharing quick kisses while waiting for the coffee to brew. They were short, sweet kisses and it took a few moments for either of them to notice her.

“Maybe we should stop. We might be making Thea uncomfortable.” Felicity said.

‘Just one more.’ Oliver said, giving Felicity one more kiss. ‘Sorry, Speedy.’

“No worries.” Thea said.

“How’d you sleep?” Felicity asked.

“Not great. The mattress wasn’t bad, but it’s been a while since I slept alone.” She said. She cringed. “Can we pretend I didn’t just tell you that?”

‘You and Roy like to cuddle. It’s not embarrassing.’ Oliver said. ‘I’m sure if I was here with you and Roy, but not Felicity, I would’ve had an equally hard time sleeping.’

“I know that. It’s just- sometimes, I forget that you’re not the typical overprotective older brother who hates my boyfriend on principle and thinks he has to protect me from the world.”

‘Oh, I’m still protective, and I worry about you, but I don’t need to protect you from Roy or normal aspects of life. If a grizzly bear shows up, though, you’re gonna see a much different side of me.’

“Are you expecting bears to show up?”

‘You know what I meant.’

 

William’s party was scheduled to start at 11am, but Samantha said they could come over any time after 10am. After a quick breakfast, they went over to the house and got there a few minutes after ten. When Samantha opened the door, she seemed to be in a better mood than the day before. It may have just been that she was more frazzled due to trying to get ready for the party.

“Everything’s getting set up in the backyard. William didn’t want a theme party, so it’s just kinda a backyard carnival type of thing. There’s a table set-up for gifts, away from the activities.” She said. “I have a few mom-friends helping set up, and they’re already back there, just to let you know.”

“Cool.” Thea said. “Is Will back there, helping?”

“Yup. I- before the party starts, I- my parents might be coming. They said they’d come, anyway. I told them everything a few weeks ago. I don’t know if they’ll try to confront you about it, Oliver, but I wanted- I thought you should know.” Her mother seemed angrier at her than at Oliver, but she had no idea what her father thought. She didn’t want William’s birthday to be overshadowed by family drama, but she also wasn’t naive.

‘If they do want to talk, to get their thoughts out into the open, we’ll try to keep it away from the party.’ He said.  ‘Let’s go say “hi” to Will.’

There were a bunch of tables for eating set up in Samantha’s backyard, along with a handful of easy carnival games and what looked like a face-painting station. A small group of adults were scattered throughout, getting the party set-up. William was standing in front of one of the tables, helping one of the adults get the plates, cups and plastic utensils put out.

He hadn’t spotted them yet, so they put their gifts on the designated table and then went over to greet him.

William greeted them happily and then told the woman who he’d been standing with who the trio were. He said that the woman’s name was “Mrs. Adam’s Mom”.

“I usually go by Charlotte.” The woman said, greeting them. “My son goes to pre-k with William.”

“I figured it was something like that.” Felicity said. “Is your son here or-?”

“My husband’s gonna drop him off in a bit. Setting up is difficult with a bunch of kids running around.” She said. “Though, we’re nearly done by this point.”

“I think this is gonna be a fun party. What do you think, Will?” Oliver asked him using his app.

“It’s gonna be the best birthday party ever!” He exclaimed.

“I already feel unprepared for how excited and hyper these kids are gonna get.” Thea said.

“Me too.” Felicity said. “Pretty sure the last six-year-old’s party I went to was my cousin’s, when I was eight.”

“Yeah, you should probably brace yourselves.” Charlotte said.

The Whitmore-Dugans arrived soon after, and William ran off to greet them. After they arrived, more people started to show up. Most of the kids said hi to William and then ran over to check out the games and activities. Some of the parents came over to introduce themselves to Oliver, Felicity and Thea. Others saw the trio, did a double-take, or stared, but didn’t approach them.

Oliver and Felicity were making small talk with one of the kid’s parents when William ran up to them. “Daddy! Come do the ring toss game with me!”

“Duty calls.” Oliver’s app read aloud. “It was nice meeting you.” He let William drag him towards the area where the carnival games were, with a wide smile on his face.

 

Samantha’s friend Brooke entered the backyard as William was dragging Oliver towards the games. Oliver had a genuine smile on his face and he was listening intently as Will explained the game to him.

Brooke walked over to Samantha and told her that the party looked really good. She didn’t know anything about throwing a birthday party for a kid, but the children all seemed happy and distracted, so that was a plus in her book.

“So, that’s Oliver.” She said, looking at where Oliver and William were talking.

“Yeah, that’s him.” Samantha said. “Will’s really happy he’s here.” She knew there was never a chance Oliver would miss the party, but it was still strange to see her son so happy to simply be around his father.

“And you’re not happy he’s here?”

“I’m not unhappy that he’s here. It’s just a little awkward having him around, but Will is happy and that’s what matters to me.”

“Of course, that’s what matters most.” Brooke agreed. “He’s more attractive in person. It’s unfair.”

“Can you keep your voice down? His sister and his girlfriend are here, not to mention a bunch of kids.”

“The kids aren’t listening. His sister’s friends have probably told her they think he’s hot. And I’m sure his girlfriend would agree with my assessment.” She said. She glanced around and spotted Felicity and Thea. “What’s the story with her, anyway?”

“I don’t know. I- what are you asking me?”

Brooke shrugged. “I was just wondering about her. You haven’t said much about any of them.”

“There’s not much to say. Oliver’s an ex and I hadn’t met Felicity or Thea until a few months ago, when they came into William’s life. They don’t tell me that much about their lives, just like I don’t tell them much about mine. Oliver’s a good dad. Thea seems to love being an aunt and I hear all the time how much Will loves his step-mother.”

“Felicity Smoak’s not his step-mother.”

“Not yet, anyway.” Samantha said. “Will loves them. They all love him. That’s all I know and all I need to know.”

“That’s boring. I was hoping you’d have some kind of juicy gossip or something.” Brooke had come to the party for William, but she also came because Oliver Queen was famous and she wanted to know what was really going on between him and Samantha. She was the closest friend that Samantha had, and wanted to make sure things were all “above board” between them. She had assumed Samantha was close with Oliver, at least, and maybe his sister, and was surprised to hear that they weren’t close. They were co-parenting William, after all.

“I don’t. We get along, and that makes everything easy on all of us.” Samantha said. “I- my parents are here. I need to go say hi to them. Get yourself something to eat.”

“Where’s the alcohol?”

“It’s a party for six-year-olds. There isn’t any.” She called over her shoulder as she walked away.

 

After Oliver had won a prize for William at the ring toss, he asked his son if there were other games he wanted them to play together or if he wanted to join his friends in playing. He was always happy to spend time with his son, but he also wanted his son to spend time with his friends.

“I’ll go play with my friends in a little bit, but first, we need to play again.” William said.

“Why do you say that?” Oliver asked.

“So that we can win Lisy a prize.” He said. “You got a prize for me and a prize for Auntie Thea, at the other fair, but you haven’t won a prize for Lisy yet.”

The woman running the booth, the mother of one of Will’s classmates, gave Oliver a knowing, and sympathetic look, as she set the game back up for him to do another round.

“You’re right. I don’t want her to feel left out.” He said. “Wanna help me do it again?”

“Uh-huh.” 

They took turns throwing the plastic rings for the game, trying to win a prize. Oliver waited until throwing the last ring, before finally snagging a bottle to win a prize. After selecting a prize for Felicity, a tie-dyed stuffed bear, William ran off to play with some of his friends.

Since William had wandered off, Oliver closed his text-to-speech app and stuck his phone back in his pocket. Looking around, he was trying to spot Felicity, but didn’t see her. He scanned the yard again, and froze when he spotted a woman he didn’t know coming towards him. She was younger than Felicity, but older than Thea.

“Hey, I’m Mindy. My daughter Susie is in William’s class.” She said, stopping in front of him. “You don’t need to introduce yourself. I already know your name.” Oliver gave her a tight smile as he spotted Felicity. He was trying to think of a way to get her attention. Mindy didn’t seem to take a hint that he wasn’t interested in talking, or simply didn’t care. She stood in front of him, and started playing with her hair. “So, the other parents and I were wondering if-.”

“Oh, there you are!” Felicity said, coming over to the pair. Thea had nudged her, when she spotted Oliver looking around, and pointed her in the right direction. “I take it Will’s done making you play carnival games?”

‘For now. He went to play with his friends, and not his boring old dad.’ He said. He then handed her the stuffed animal he was holding. ‘I won this.’

“For me?” She asked. He nodded. “You’re sweet.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before turning to the other woman. “Hi, I’m Felicity and this is Oliver.”

“Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself.” Mindy said with a fake smile. “It’s nice to meet both of you.” She walked away.

‘She wanted to do a little more than just say “hi”, given how much she was batting her eyelashes.’ Felicity signed.

‘I don’t know why she was flirting with me. I have a girlfriend.’

‘Sometimes, that doesn’t matter as much as you might think. Or maybe, she was doing recon for the other parents.’ She said. She cleared her throat and then spoke. “I think it’s gonna be cake time, or possibly time for presents soon.”

‘Where’s Speedy?’ He asked as they walked over to where the food tables were set-up.

“Talking to Courtney Whitmore. We’re grown-ups, but Thea’s close enough to her age that she’s a “cool older girl” that she can talk to about school and stuff.”

‘I still think we’re cool. We might be adults, but we’re not boring old people yet.’ He said.

 

“What did you think would happen?” Lisa, another mother of one of Will’s schoolmates, asked Mindy when she walked back over to where a few of them were gathered. 

When Mindy saw William run off to join his friends, she saw an opportunity to introduce herself to Oliver Queen and chose to take it. The other moms tried to talk her out of it, but she ignored them. William had invited every kid in his pre-k class, including Susie. Mindy wanted to turn down the invitation at first, but then she heard that William’s father was coming to the party. Her curiosity was piqued, to say the least. Then, she realized who William’s father was, and decided they had to attend. “I don’t know. I just wanted to say hi. Introduce myself and all that.”

“Were you trying to flirt with him or trying to find out more about the story between him and Samantha?” A lot of the parents wanted the scoop on Oliver and Samantha’s history. It was something they hadn’t seen coming and a few parents wondered what else they didn’t know about Samantha. She was a pretty private person, and tended not to talk much at school events or parties. Now, they were pretty sure that they knew why.

“I hadn’t decided yet. Before we could talk, his girlfriend interrupted us.”

“I mean, she didn’t interrupt. He was very clearly trying to find her and get her attention.”

“Not to mention, you really didn’t think things through.” Charlotte said, inviting herself into the conversation. “Do you know ASL?”

“No, why would I?”

“You went to talk to a man who doesn’t talk and uses ASL to communicate.” Charlotte said. “Other than waving hello, your conversation wasn’t going to get very far.”

“He was talking to William, using some app-thingy.”

“Yeah, because he wants to have conversations with his son. That doesn’t mean he’s gonna use it to talk to you. He might not wanna waste the data.”

“Please, he can afford it.” She scoffed. She looked over to where Oliver and Felicity were walking, arm-in-arm. “I don’t see what’s so special about her, anyway.” Oliver Queen was rich, handsome and famous, and there had to be something special about Felicity Smoak for him to start dating her.

“Wait, are you jealous of her? You don’t even know her. Or him.”

“He’s Oliver Queen, everyone knows who he is.”

“There’s a difference between knowing who someone is and actually knowing them.” Charlotte said.

“Fine, I don’t know him.” She said. “I wonder how much Samantha’s getting.”

“What?” Lisa asked.

“My ex pays me child support. He’s broke, so it’s almost nothing. Samantha’s situation isn’t that different from mine, except Oliver isn’t broke. I wonder how much she gets from him in child support.”

Lisa, Charlotte and the other mother who was standing there started to look uncomfortable. “Uh, that’s not your business. It’s not anyone’s business.”

“You’re telling me that you’re not curious about it?”

“Not at all. I don’t ask people questions like that. I’ve never asked you about the situation between you and Susie’s father. I’ve never asked Sam about whatever agreement is between her and Oliver. Because, for one thing, it’s personal, and for another, it’s rude to talk about things like that.”  Charlotte said. 

Mindy rolled her eyes, scoffed and walked away.

“I’m glad you said something, because I was about to and I really didn’t want to cause a scene at William’s party.” Thea said from behind the group. She had been going to refill her soda when she heard Mindy mention Samantha’s child support. “It never ceases to amaze me how people feel entitled to know things about Ollie, just because our family is well-known.”

 

The music that had been playing at a low volume stopped, leaving the backyard quiet. 

“William, it’s time to open presents, and then we’re going to cut the cake.” Samantha announced. “So, if everyone doesn’t mind taking a seat, we can get started.”

William and his friends ran over from where they were playing to where the tables were set up. Samantha started at one end of the table and worked her way to the other, handing William presents to open as she went. He got a lot of toys and games, with the occasional practical item thrown in, like clothes or books. Oliver, Felicity and Thea’s gifts ended up being among the last ones he opened.

“Oh, that one’s from me.” Thea announced when Samantha handed him the wrapped parcel.

“Thank you, Auntie Thea.” William said before he tore into the wrapping paper. He got it unwrapped and he smiled even wider. “It’s the racetrack I asked for!” William had asked for a specific racetrack for his Hot Wheels cars. The one Thea had gotten him could be taken apart and put back together several different ways to keep the races exciting.

“The one next to it is from your dad and I.” Felicity said, as Samantha handed him the box.

He tore open the wrapping paper and stared at the box. “What does it say?”

“It says “Astronomy Kit for Kids”.” Samantha read.

“We know how much you like science, Will, and we wanted to get you a gift that went along with that. So, every month, you’re gonna get a box in the mail, with a book and some fun activities to learn about a different type of science.” Felicity said. “This month, you get to learn all about space.”

“Thank you, Lisy! Thank you, Daddy!” He exclaimed before he ran over to hug both of them.

“We’re glad you like it.” Oliver told him.

William still had one gift to open, so he sat back down as Samanatha handed him her gift. He tore it open and saw the big LEGO set he’d asked for. It had all of the pieces for him to build a LEGO city, and he’d been asking for it for months. He thanked his mother just as excitedly as he did everyone else, and then thanked her for making his party extra-special.

“Can we have cake now?” He asked.

“We certainly can.” She said. “I’ll go get it from the fridge.” She went inside, as William’s friends were commenting about how awesome the presents he got were.

Oliver was watching his son interact with his friends with a fond smile on his face. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see an older couple walking towards him. When he turned to look at them, the pair stopped for a moment, before approaching him.

“Are you Oliver?” The woman asked.

He nodded.

“My name is Irene Clayton, this is my husband Frank.” She said.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk.” Felicity said. “I’m Felicity Smoak, Oliver’s girlfriend, by the way.”

“I don’t think we need to go somewhere else.” Frank said. “We don’t have that much to say to one another, do we?”

“Frank, please.” Irene said. “We wanted to meet you. We- I always wondered about William’s father, what kind of person he was. And today, we got to see. You love William.”

‘I love him so much, he’s my son. The first time I saw him, I couldn’t- you don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but please believe me when I say that I love my son. My biggest regret is that I wasn’t in his life sooner.’ Oliver said. Felicity quietly interpreted for him.

“Would you have been? If…things had been different between you and Samantha, what would you have done?” Frank asked.

‘I don’t know. I can’t change the past, so I can’t say what would’ve happened if things had ended differently.’ He didn’t know what Frank was getting at. Did he want to know if Oliver and Samantha would’ve stayed together for William? Or was he just asking how things would’ve gone if he hadn’t gotten onto the Gambit? In either case, Oliver had spent too long dwelling on his past mistakes, mistakes that ended with someone dying, to want to talk about things he would’ve done differently, if given the chance.

“I appreciate the fact that you’re not just telling us what we want to hear.” He said. “We should go.” William’s grandparents said goodbye to him and then left the party.

Samantha finally came outside with the cake. It was a basic sheet cake, with “Happy Birthday William” written on it in blue icing. There was also a big candle, in the shape of the number six, sticking out of it. The guests all sang the happy birthday song to William and clapped when he blew out the candle. After the cake was cut and eaten, goody bags were distributed to the kids and people started to depart.

Thea, Oliver and Felicity stayed around to help clean up after people started leaving. The Whitmore-Dugans and a few others did as well.

“I think that was a pretty awesome party.” Felicity remarked as she cleared plastic plates off of one of the tables.

“Yeah, it was.” The woman on the other end of the table said. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Brooke.”

“I’m Felicity. So, are you a friend of Samantha’s or does your child go to school with Will?”

“Friend of Sam’s. I’m thankfully child-free right now. Not that I don’t like kids, I just don’t know yet if I want to have them. Like, I love Will, and I love my brother’s daughters, but being Auntie Brooke, the fun aunt, is enough for me right now.”

“I mean, that’s fair.” Felicity didn’t know how to respond, but she didn’t want to not say anything.

“Samantha’s one of my closest friends. We met not long after she moved here and we’ve been through a lot together.” She said. “I don’t care who Oliver is, or his family, or who you are. If you hurt her, or William, I’ll make you pay.”

“Understood.”

“Why do you seem happy that I just threatened you?”

“I’m not happy you threatened me, but I appreciate your honesty. I don’t see that as a threat, but as a warning. It’s also nice to know that Samantha has someone willing to make those kinds of warnings for her.”

The clean-up was nearly finished, so Felicity left Brooke behind to find Oliver and Thea. They were sitting inside with William. The birthday boy was clearly exhausted from his party, but was trying to stay awake because he didn’t want them to leave yet.

“I’m not sleepy.” William said as he stifled a yawn. “I don’t need a nap. I’m not a baby.” It was late afternoon, but the party had taken a lot out of him.

“You’re not a baby, but you can take a nap if you want to. It’s okay if you’re tired.” Oliver said using his app. “Did you like your party?”

“Uh-huh. It was lots of fun. I think I played all of the games. And I got lots of great gifts.”

“We’re glad you had fun.” Felicity said. “But I think we need to go soon.”

“No! I don’t wanna say bye-bye.” He said. “You have to stay.”

Samantha came back into the house from the backyard. “Will, you need to say bye-bye to them.”

“I don’t want Daddy and Lisy and Auntie Thea to go home yet!” He said.

“They’re not going home yet. They’re just leaving for right now to go to their hotel. You’ll see them tomorrow, before they get on the train.”

“Can they stay for dinner?” William said.

“We were gonna go have dinner, just you and me, remember?” She said. “We do that every year after your party. It’s tradition.” She had gotten a lot of pity offers to take her and William out for a “special birthday dinner” from others in the first few years of his life. To curb those offers, she stated that she and Will had a tradition, one she’d come to look forward to in recent years. They went to the same place every year, a diner that William claimed made the best chicken nuggets in the world. She wasn’t quite ready to have anyone intrude on the tradition. “It’s our special dinner.”

“Oh, I forgot.” He said. “Promise we’ll see them tomorrow before they go home?”

“I promise.” She said. “Now, say goodbye to them.”

“Bye Daddy! Bye Lisy! Bye Auntie Thea! Thank you for the gifts and I’m really happy you came to my party.”

“Thank you so much for inviting us. We had lots of fun.” Oliver said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

They left after a few more rounds of hugs and saying goodbye. After they had gone, Samantha suggested that William take a nap before they left for dinner.

Thea, Felicity and Oliver went back to their hotel and ordered room service. They watched a few movies before calling it a night.

‘Today was fun.’ Oliver said as they got into bed.

“Yeah, it was.” Felicity replied.

‘I think Will had fun, and that he liked his gifts. That science club subscription was definitely a hit with him.’

“I wasn’t joking when I said it was the perfect gift.” She said. “I just wish the attention hadn’t been on us for so long. I was hoping the parents would be paying attention to the party or the kids, not staring at us.”

‘Not that many of them stared after a while.’

“I don’t like being stared at, at all, and I know you don’t either.” She said.

‘I’ve gotten used to it by now, and at least it was just staring. No one was talking about us like we weren’t there or taking videos or anything.’ He said.

“I guess.” She said. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Good night.” 

He kissed her back. ‘Good night. I love you.’

“I love you too.” She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts?
--------
Next chapter, we'll see what's happening in Starling.

Chapter 161

Summary:

Malcolm learns something new, Oliver and Samantha encounter a problem and the situation with the Triad gets a little more complicated.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Dylan Smith cleared his throat as he entered Malcolm’s office in Corto Maltese. “I believe I’ve identified your son’s new bodyguard.” Malcolm had called Spade for an update Friday night, and was unpleasantly surprised to learn that his son had hired someone to protect him.

“Didn’t you tell me, not twenty-four hours ago, that what Spade told me was useless?” Malcolm asked. “That “Billy” was too common of a name to lead anywhere?”

“I did. Then, I called Spade myself and got more detail.” Isabel’s assistant said. He wasn’t scared of Malcolm, per se, but Isabel had told him to try and keep Merlyn placated. “The name “Billy” isn’t much to go on, but an Australian man named Billy who was either ex-military or ex-special ops, makes the pool much smaller.”

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”

“It appears your son has hired William “Billy” Randolph Wintergreen. Wintergreen worked for Australian intelligence for over a decade. He was with ASIS’s paramilitary operations section, until he disappeared on a mission in 2006.”

“Or he’s dead and you wasted a full day looking for a ghost.”

“Wintergreen’s body was never recovered. He clearly deserted and became a mercenary, and somehow was hired by your son. He matches the description Spade gave, along with his age, nationality and professional background. He’s the only person named Billy, or any variation, that matches those parameters.”

“What else did you find about Wintergreen? How dangerous is he to our plans?” Malcolm asked. He doubted Tommy had the connections to intentionally find or hire a mercenary, but his son had a tendency to “fail upwards” so it wasn’t completely impossible.

“Rumor has it that he operates under the alias Deathstroke. Unlike your….associate the Dark Archer, he’s never been caught on video, but there are photos," Dylan handed a file to Malcolm which contained crime scene photos of several mangled and dismembered bodies, “he did that in two hours, if the Taiwanese police are to be believed.”

The photos were a bit unsettling. Malcolm had killed plenty of times, but he always cleaned up after himself. He didn’t leave carnage behind to be photographed by the police. “I wouldn’t worry about Wintergreen for now.”

“Why not?”

“My son’s not intimidating enough to keep the person who did this,” he gestured to the photos, “under control. Wintergreen’s gonna catch the Arrow’s attention, and the vigilantes will get rid of him for us. Did you tell Isabel about this?”

“Of course.” He had told Isabel before he told Malcolm. She was his boss, after all. 

“Call her back. Tell her not to concern herself with Deathstrike-.”

“Deathstroke.”

“I don’t care what he calls himself. Tell her not to worry about him. The Arrow’s gonna take care of him for us.”

 

Nina Bordeaux waited anxiously for the woman on the other end of the phone to respond to her offer. She may have been asking for a lot, but it wasn’t like her request was outrageous. She was offering something valuable and wanted to be compensated accordingly.

“Hello?” Nina asked as the silence dragged on.

“I’m still here.” The woman said. “My supervisor, Kim Hart, heard your offer and is thinking it-.”

“I don’t appreciate being pranked.” A third voice said, belonging to another woman. The voice sounded older, and more authoritative. 

“This isn’t a joke.” Nina said. “I have the photos of Oliver Queen and his son. I’m offering you the exclusive pictures.” Unlike some parents at William’s party, she chose to keep her distance from Oliver. She had heard about celebrities selling off newborn photos of their kids to tabloids, sometimes for millions. William wasn’t a newborn, but none of the tabloids had published photos of him yet. She had taken photos of Oliver and William at the party, while Oliver was focused on his son, and his girlfriend and sister weren’t paying attention. Selling them to the press sounded like a good way to make some money. “I don’t know when Alice called you over, but, in case you didn’t hear, my offer was-.”

“I heard your offer.” Kim said. “I don’t think you realize how stupid it sounds though.”

“I’m not stupid! I did my research on this.”

“Oh, you did, did you? Fine. Send me a copy of the release you got, then we’ll talk.”

“What release? I took the photos. I own them.”

“So, you didn’t get a release, allowing you to use or sell the photos, signed by Oliver Queen, then?”

“He’s a public figure. I don’t need one.”

“You don’t need one for him, no, but his son is a minor, and a different story entirely. I doubt the boy’s mother signed a release either. You can sell photos of your own kids, you can’t sell photos of someone else’s.”

“I took the photos in public, isn’t there some protection for photos taken in a public place?”

“You said the pictures were taken this afternoon, at a birthday party at the son’s mother’s house. Someone’s backyard is not considered a public place.”

“Oh.” Nina hadn’t expected this process to be so complicated. “Well, surely, you could-.”

“Even if the photos had been taken in a public place, I’m not exposing this magazine to that level of liability.”

“You’re a magazine. Don’t you get sued all the time?” Nina asked.

“We get sued on occasion. There’s a difference between getting sued by a B or C-tier actress over an unflattering beach photo, or publishing unverified gossip, and having Oliver Queen sue us for publishing photos of his son that were taken and sold to us without parental permission. The Queen family is notoriously litigious, and I’m not tempting fate. No magazine or gossip site is gonna make a deal with you for those pictures. Or at least, none that know what they’re doing. I can promise you that now.” Kim said.

“Okay. I guess we have nothing else to say to one another.” Nina said before ending the call.

Kim turned to her subordinate. “Pull up a copy of the press release Oliver Queen put out. I need to make a few calls.” It was Saturday night, so most of the people she wanted to call wouldn’t answer, but some would.

 

McKenna arrived at the precinct earlier than usual on Sunday morning. She needed to talk with Agent Dinan and Agent Anderson about the situation with Steven Spade, but she didn’t want her concerns to distract from the other work the task force was doing. She was hoping for a quick resolution as a law enforcement officer but she was also hoping for the same result as Tommy’s girlfriend.

McKenna had told the task force about Spade following Tommy as soon as he had been identified by Thea. After Slade’s confrontation with the PI, she told Anderson and Dinan what Spade had revealed.

“Do we have any update regarding Steven Spade?” McKenna asked Anderson as soon as she saw him.

“We’re still working on getting the warrants to tap into his phone and emails, or search his computer.” He said. “Fact of the matter is that this would’ve been easier if you’d been standing next to Wilson when he cornered the guy. Then, there was at least a law enforcement witness to the conversation, which gives the statements more credibility. And the warrant all hinges on the claim that Spade really is in contact with Malcolm Merlyn, which we can’t prove. We only have his statement, which he made to a civilian, and was relayed to us.”

“I don’t like this situation.”

“I don’t either, but the Fourth Amendment says what it says. Neither of us can just ignore the Constitution and seize whatever we want, regardless of how shitty it feels to not be able to do anything right now.” He said. “Did something happen? To make you more worried?”

“Nothing’s happened since I told you about Tommy being followed. We know Spade is following Tommy, or he was, but what if he’s not the only one? What if Malcolm sent more than one person to follow Tommy, and the other one wasn’t noticed? What might that person have reported back?”

“You’re not the only one worried about those possibilities.”

“The Arrow’s team could try-.”

“If you’re going to suggest that the Arrow’s team hack into Spade’s devices to get around the warrant issue, the answer hasn’t changed since you first asked about it. At best, the Arrow doing that is gonna lead to a problem using anything they find in court. It could result in federal charges for them, depending on what they do, or put them directly in Merlyn’s crosshairs, if he finds a way to track down who was behind it. This is a much different situation than the ones they’ve assisted with in the past. This isn’t turning over a list of names or evidence they stumble upon or helping us identify and locate a known suspect. Spade, if he is in contact with Merlyn, is the closest lead we have on him, and we have to operate completely by the book. Until we have a warrant, or we have a reason to charge him and take his phone, we can’t access his devices and that means the Arrow needs to not try to hack into his devices.”

“Understood.” She said. “I had to ask.”

“And I appreciate that they want to help, I really do, but they need to sit this one out.” He said. “How’s your investigation into the organized crime syndicates attacking one another going?”

“Not well. Everyone’s been too quiet over the last few days.” The Bertinellis hadn’t retaliated yet for the murder of two of their own. The Bratva hadn’t made a move, and the Triad was remarkably quiet. One Triad member had been reported missing by his wife, but he resurfaced a few hours later. He was tight-lipped about where he had been, for obvious reasons, but insisted his wife had overreacted. No one was foolish enough to believe the conflict was over. It was a question of when, not if, the tension was going to reach a boiling point. “And we ‘re still looking for some critical answers about what happened during the initial shooting.” The second firearm was still a mystery. The team was trying to find a connection between the stolen vehicles used in the attack, and with Oliver, Thea and Felicity all out of town, Lyla was the only hacker the team had. She didn’t have Felicity’s skill level, nor could she devote as much time to hacking as Thea or Oliver could. 

“What critical answers don’t you have?”

“We’ve only identified the make of one of the firearms used, but not the other. All we know is that they’re not the same or made by the same manufacturer.”

“Let me give you some advice my SO gave me when I first started at the Bureau. Don’t worry about what you don’t know, or you’ll spend so much time looking for answers that your other leads go cold. Worry about what you do know. You know something about one gun, pull on that thread until it leads somewhere useful.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“Yeah, because it's not my case. I’m just an observer and that makes it a lot easier to sit here and say you’re focusing on the wrong thing.” He said. 

McKenna then turned the conversation back towards the FBI and CGIS’s search for Malcolm. Spade’s phone records was one way to track Merlyn down, but it wasn’t the only course of action that they had. They were exploring all options, in the hopes that finding Malcolm would close the case just a little bit sooner. As nice as Starling was, Anderson, Dinan and both their teams missed their own homes.

 

Oliver, Felicity and Thea were having breakfast when Oliver’s phone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but decided not to when he noticed the call was coming from Loring & Wasserman.

‘Jean’s office is calling.’ He said.

“Answer it. It’s a Sunday, they wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important.” Felicity said.  He answered the call and put the phone on speaker. He was glad they had decided to pick up breakfast, rather than sit down at a restaurant. “You’ve reached Oliver’s phone. This is Felicity Smoak.”

“Hi, Felicity. This is Jean Loring. I have Eliana here with me as well. I apologize for this unexpected call, but there’s a rather important matter that was brought to Eliana’s attention last night.”

“I received a call from Kim Hart, the editor of People Magazine. Someone contacted People last night, trying to sell them “exclusive photos” of Oliver and William.” Eliana said. “She did not accept the offer or see the photos, but suspected the woman who contacted her would try to shop them around, after she didn’t bite. We’ve sent warning letters to every publication we can think of, advising that we will explore any and all legal options if those photos get published, but that doesn’t address the root of the issue, the person who took the photos.”

“Do we know who took the photos?” Thea asked. “Does People?

“Hart didn’t get a last name, but the woman’s name was Nina and the photos are from a birthday party.” Jean said.

“We’re seeing Samantha and William later today. We’ll get you a name.” Felicity said. “What happens if some magazine decides to ignore your warning letter?”

“Then, with Oliver’s permission, we’ll get an injunction to stop the photos from being released and sue the publication for whatever causes I can think of. And we could also press charges.” Eliana said. “Sorry if I sound angry, it’s because I am.”

“Trust me, that’s a mutual feeling.” She said. It was taking a great deal of control not to let her Loud Voice out right now. “Oliver?”

‘Aside from pressing charges, Eliana and Jean, and anyone else at the firm, have my permission to do whatever it takes to stop those photos from being published. We’ll talk about charges if something happens.’ He signed. Thea repeated what he said. ‘Does Samantha’s lawyer know about this?’

“I haven’t been able to get in contact with her, but I intend to keep trying.”

The call wrapped up not long after. Oliver promised to find out who Nina was, so that Eliana could send her a cease and desist letter, demanding that she stop trying to sell the photos she’d taken.

‘I’m pissed.’ Oliver admitted. 

“So am I.” Felicity said.

“Ditto. I want to punch someone.” Thea said.

‘I can’t remember the last time I was this angry. I thought yesterday was a great day. A fantastic party for William. All I wanted was a few hours, celebrating my son’s birthday, and people can’t even let me have that. I can’t have a few hours of being a dad without someone trying to make money off of it.’

“I’m pissed that another parent would do that.” Felicity said. “If someone had taken pictures of their kid to sell to the media, they’d be pissed, but they think it's okay to take pictures of William? No, it doesn’t work that way. I ought to- no, I’m not going there. When we see Samantha and William, I’m gonna pull her aside and get a name.”

‘I’ll do it.’

“No, you spend the time with William, I’ll talk to her.” She said. 

 

Alexei Leonov was unhappy with the current state of things between the Triad and the Italians. He had orchestrated the attack on the Triad to start a war, but aside from one measly little shooting, with only two deaths, nothing had come of it. The Bertinelli Famiglia hadn’t retaliated for the shooting at their construction site.

“This should not be so difficult.” He said. “Triad attacked Bertinelli, Bertinelli needs to attack back.”

“All he’s done is meet with Tsui, so far.” One of his men said.

“I know that.” It was unlike Frank Bertinelli to take an attack on his territory lying down, and Tsui was never the type to attack once and then retreat.

“Should I call the others? Tell them we need to plan another attack?”

“Not yet. We might fuck up a good thing if we act too rashly. Bertinelli hasn’t made a move yet, for a reason. The same goes for the Triad. We give it a few more days before we make another move.”

Someone came running into the garage. “Three bodies were found floating in the bay.” The newcomer said.

“Why would that be of any interest to me?” Leonov asked.

“All three were in the Triad.”

“Ah, so Bertinelli has decided to get off his ass and respond, finally.” He said. “I guess I have no cause for concern.”

 

Rather than meet Oliver, Thea and Felicity at the train station, Samantha suggested that the trio stop by the house to say their goodbyes to William. This would give them more time to spend with William before needing to say goodbye and she wanted to end things on a good note, since the party had gone so well.

As soon as they got out of the car, Samantha noticed the tension in Oliver’s shoulders. Thea and Felicity also seemed tense. Their faces lit up when William ran out to greet them, but when he wasn’t looking, they were clearly angry about something. After saying their hellos, Oliver listened intently as William told him about his special birthday dinner, while Felicity walked over to Samantha.

“I need to talk to you in private.” Felicity said.

Samantha gulped and led Felicity into another room. “Is this about my parents? I saw them approaching you yesterday. I hope they-.”

“It’s not about your parents. They were polite enough, but distant. We need to talk about your friend Nina.”

“I wouldn’t call Nina a friend. Her kid’s in the same pre-k group as Will.”

“What’s her last name? We need to know.”

“Bordeaux. What happened? What did she do?”

“She took pictures of Oliver and William, and is trying to sell them to tabloids.” She said. Felicity couldn’t think of a more succinct way to say it, and she was too angry at the situation to be gentle about it. 

“She did what?!”

“She went to People. People turned her down and called Oliver’s lawyers. They are working on making sure those pictures don’t get released, but Ms. Sanchez said she needed Nina’s full name to send her a cease and desist letter.”

“I had no idea she, or anyone I invited, would ever do something like that.”

“I know you didn’t, and so does Oliver and his lawyers. We all know you wouldn’t do something like this, or even know about it.” She said, typing out a message. “Needless to say, we’re all extremely pissed about this, since yesterday was a very good day for everyone.”

“What do I need to do?” Samantha asked. 

“Call your lawyer. Tell her what’s going on.” She said. “Aside from that, I’d say avoid Nina. She’s clearly not your friend and she’s trying to make money off of you and your son.” She took a deep breath. “I need to calm down for a sec.”

After a few moments, Felicity and Samantha walked back into the living room where Oliver, Thea and William were. When William asked Felicity what they had been talking about, Felicity said she was asking about extra cake from the party. Samantha backed up the lie, and admitted there was no leftover cake.

“Next year, I think we should get a bigger cake, so that there’s leftover cake to eat.” Will said.

“That sounds like a great idea to me.” Felicity said. “So, have you opened any of your toys?”

“Uh-huh.” He said. “Adam got me some Hot Wheels and I opened the race track Auntie Thea got me. It’s not put together yet, but I wanna put it together today. I just need to find a place to put it.”

They spent about an hour at Samantha’s house, playing with William before they needed to head to the train station. William was sad to see them go, but calmed down a bit when he remembered he’d be seeing them the next Friday for his weekend with Oliver.

“We’re also gonna talk on the tablet tomorrow.” Oliver said using his app. “We gotta sing “Happy Birthday” to you on your birthday.”

“You’re right. That’s very ‘portant.” Will said. “When is your birthday, Daddy?”

“My birthday is May 16th, so it's a little less than a month away.”

“Mommy, can you set a ‘minder to call Daddy and sing him the happy birthday song on his birthday?” He asked Samantha. “And also Lisy’s birthday and Auntie Thea’s?”

The trio said their goodbyes to William and left to head to the train station.

While William was putting his new racetrack together, Samantha decided to give Camille Ashton a call. She started to explain the situation, but Camille had been contacted by Eliana already and didn’t need to be brought up to speed.

“What do we do?” Samantha asked. “What are my options here?”

“I do family law. I don’t specialize in civil litigation, but I don’t think you’ll have to do anything. From what I surmised during my conversation with Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Queen is going to go “scorched earth'' on anyone who releases those photos. He has standing, as William’s father, to bring a lawsuit. You could get a civil attorney and join the suit as a plaintiff, but that’s your choice to make.”

“Is this gonna- I had nothing to do with what Nina did. I told Felicity Smoak that, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to Oliver. His attention was focused on William. I don’t- I’m worried about how this is going to change things between Oliver and I. We’re finally civil to one another, and this is gonna undo all of the progress we’ve made.”

“I don’t think it will. You threw a birthday party, someone you invited as a guest violated your trust. I don’t think he’s gonna hold that against you.” Camille said. “This puts you and Oliver on the same side for once. It’s been him versus you, since the first time you came into my office. Make no mistake, this situation shouldn’t have arisen, but you both want the same thing right now, and you both are pissed off. And that’s very bad for Nina and anyone else involved. I have a call scheduled tomorrow with Ms. Sanchez, I will talk to you afterwards.”

“What should I do in the meantime?”

“Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Or from the woman who took the photos. If she tries to contact you in any way, do not respond. Keep any messages she leaves, but don’t speak to her.”

Two hours later, Samantha got a call from Nina. She didn’t answer the phone, but Nina left a message. The voicemail consisted of Nina screaming at her, calling her every name in the book, and inviting Samantha to sue her to “get everything out in the open”. She didn’t listen to the full message, before forwarding it to Camille.

 

Agent Mars both hated and loved technology at the moment. She loved technology for the possibility it offered. She hated it because the advancements made her job that much harder in moments like this. Malcolm Merlyn’s cell phone had been used recently. The signal was being bounced off of several cell towers, and he was probably using some other tech to avoid being traced, but someone had been making calls recently from that number. Mars was trying to pinpoint where the call was coming from, but the signal being bounced so many times made it difficult.

She had decided to take a break from tracking the phone’s signal and clear her head. She looked up from her desk and saw a man standing in the doorway of the bullpen.

He cleared his throat. “I’d like to speak to an agent, I have useful information about the investigation into Malcolm Merlyn. He hired me about a week ago to follow his son around.” He said.

“I’m Agent Mars. How do you know it was Malcolm Merlyn who hired you?”

“He said that’s who he was.”

“Take a seat.” She said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. “What did you say your name was?”

“Steven Spade. I’m a PI.”

“And, you are aware that lying to a federal agent is a crime, correct?” The FBI had gotten a lot of false tips, some from people with good intentions, others from people who just wanted to be involved in the investigation.

“I know, and I’m not lying.” He said. “I didn’t meet with him, or have a video call, but I spoke with him over the phone.”

Mars turned to one of the other agents. “Call Anderson and tell him to get down here.” She then turned back to Spade. “Did he pay you?” 

“He paid my retainer, but I didn’t know who the client was when I took the job.” He stammered. “Oh, god, I’m going to prison, aren’t I?”

“I’m not so sure about that yet. We’ll see what Agent Anderson thinks when he gets here.” She said. 

 

The train ride back to Starling was a great deal less pleasant than the one Oliver, Felicity and Thea had taken to Central City on Friday. Everyone was so angry over the situation with Nina that it was hard for them to think about anything else. Felicity was struggling to focus on the hacking she was trying to do, because she was so angry.

‘Do you remember when I first got in contact with Samantha?’ Oliver asked.

“Yeah.” Thea said.

‘She was angry that she’d been found out, but she was also terrified of me. She was terrified that I was going to use my money to ruin her life, take William away and keep her from ever seeing him again.’ He said. ‘I have the money to sue her for the rest of my life, and never need to worry about the cost. She knew I could do that, and it scared her.’

“You could’ve, but you didn’t.” Felicity said.

‘No, I didn’t. Right now, I’m worried I’m going to become the person she thought I was, because of Nina. I don’t want to ruin Samantha’s life, but Nina’s is another story. I want to make that woman pay. I don’t remember wanting to hurt someone who hadn’t tried to hurt or kill me this much before.’

“Because it involves William. It’s a lot harder to let things go, to ignore people’s shitty behavior, when someone’s coming after your kid.” Thea said. “I have two distinct memories of Mom absolutely losing her shit as a result of the press and they both were because the tabloids came after me, in that year after the Gambit went missing.”

 

Frank Bertinelli walked into the diner where he had met Tsui. Earlier in the day, he’d received a call from Tsui’s phone, but the man on the other end was not Tsui. The mystery man said he wanted to meet with Frank to discuss “the current state” of things between the Triad and the mafia.

After he was seated, a thin man in a nice suit walked in and took a seat across from him.

“My name is Xu Tao. We have much to discuss, but this is not an appropriate venue.” He said.

“I’d prefer to stay here.” Frank said.

“Mr. Bertinelli, if I wished you dead, the gentleman behind you would’ve put a bullet through your skull already.” Tao said. Bertinelli turned around to see a Chinese man he hadn’t noticed before, sitting in the booth behind him. Tao stood. “Follow me please. This will not take long.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 162

Summary:

Frank Bertinelli has an interesting encounter, Felicity learns something she's been looking for and Samantha is told something unexpected.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Frank Bertinelli followed Xu Tao out of the diner and onto the sidewalk. He half expected Tao to demand that he get into a waiting car, but instead they walked away from the diner, towards a parking lot. The lot wasn’t completely empty, but the closest person was far enough away that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Who are you, exactly?” Frank asked as they walked. “I know you gave me your name, but that doesn’t tell me who you are in….the grand scheme of things.”

“You want to know how important or unimportant I am to the Triad. Would it be an assumption to think you have heard of Chien Na Wei?” Tao said.

“We’ve met. I’ve had dealings with her in the past.”

“I am, effectively, her replacement, following her arrest. Mr. Zhisan sent me here when news of the attack on the Jade Dragon reached him.”

“I had nothing to do with that.” Frank said. He knew Chien Na Wei had more influence in the Triad than Tsui did, so Xu Tao must have the same amount of sway. He knew he needed to convince Xu Tao, like he had tried with Tsui, of the truth. “There was other shit going on, for me and my guys, and that’s not a fight I was gonna start. Not to mention, a few days after that attack, my own business was attacked by the same people.”

“I am aware that you were not responsible. Your organization and mine do not get along, but an agreement was reached years ago, one that has benefitted both parties. Why upset a hornet’s nest now?” He said. “And, when I looked for something linking you to the attack, I found nothing.”

“Why did you set up this meeting then?”

Xu Tao stopped in front of an older model sedan. A man stepped out of the vehicle and went to stand by the trunk.“Your recollection of events had one error. And it is a matter I wanted to bring to your attention and make amends for. The attack on your construction site was ordered by Tsui.”

Frank’s expression shifted, showing a deep rage for a second before he schooled his features. “You Triad have a lot of fucking nerve.”

“The Triad did not order the attack. Tsui acted without anyone’s knowledge, including some of his own men. He had no orders from Hong Kong to attack, nor any reason, aside from his unfounded suspicion.” Xu Tao said before nodding to his driver. The driver opened the trunk of the car. Inside, there was a black duffel bag, which he pulled open. The heads of Tsui and another man, expressions mixed between shock and aghast, looked up at them. “As soon as I was aware of his actions, I knew his death was needed, along with the death of his second-in-command for the part he played. The gunman and driver’s bodies were among those pulled out of the harbor earlier today.”

Tsui had signed his own death warrant when he ordered the attack. He made things worse for himself when he tried to hide his involvement from Xu Tao when he arrived. He let Tsui and the surviving Triad members leave the warehouse after the driver admitted to his part in the attack. With the driver’s confession, and the gunman already dead, he let everyone else leave, not feeling the need to make them witness his death. The driver would eventually tell him everything he wanted to know. Tsui and his lieutenant left, lulled into a false sense of security. After a few hours with the driver, Xu Tao paid each of them a housecall. 

“Mr. Zhisan and I hope this gesture is sufficient to end this conflict between us.”

“It is.” Frank had no issues with people being shot, stabbed or strangled, but decapitations were outside his comfort level. Still, he wasn’t going to spit on the Triad’s attempt at an olive branch. “Please express my thanks to him, and my disinterest in revenge. A war is bad for business, and like you said, things were going well for everyone before the attack.”

The driver closed the trunk.

“They were. And Mr. Zhisan is just as against a war, as it is disruptive to business, even in the best of circumstances. This is why the local leaders were told to find evidence, and not simply order an attack.” He said. “Though, as our main rival, you were the most obvious culprit. It appears that someone very much wanted us to believe you were responsible, and Tsui was too proud to not take the bait.” His expression changed. “I will not take up any more of your evening. I shall relay what we have discussed to Mr. Zhisan, though I suspect we will not need to meet again anytime soon.”

The driver and Xu Tao got into the car and drove off. Frank had no other choice than to turn and walk back to the diner, where his car was parked. As soon as he was in his car, he made a call to Nick Salvati, telling him what had happened, and informing him that retaliation for the shooting was no longer needed. Nick seemed a bit skeptical, wondering if Xu Tao might be using Tsui as a scapegoat, but didn’t argue too heavily for that possibility. Frank had no doubt that Tao was telling the truth. Something about the man’s demeanor convinced him. He would give Xu Tao the benefit of the doubt for now, at the very least.

 

Felicity, Oliver and Thea’s train arrived in Starling and they drove home from there. After getting home, they all were still very angry about Nina Bordeaux’s attempt to sell pictures of William to the press. Typically, Oliver and Felicity stayed home after their trips to Central City, rather than head to the foundry, but Oliver found himself feeling restless. He couldn’t sit down or relax, since every time he let his mind wander, he thought about what was going on and what the possible ramifications could be.

‘I need to head to the foundry.’ He told Felicity after they were unpacked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She said. “I-.”

‘The city doesn’t need the Arrow tonight, if that’s what you’re about to say. I’m too emotional right now to be anything but a liability, but I need to do something. If I stay here, all I can do is think about what’s happening with Will and get angry. If I head to the foundry and do something, like make more arrows, work out, do some hacking, or something else, I’ll have something to distract me.’

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

When they arrived, Felicity told the team that Oliver wasn’t going out onto the streets tonight. Oliver made a beeline for one of the computers, while Felicity gave everyone a very summarized explanation of why Oliver was so upset and in the wrong headspace to suit up as the Arrow that night. McKenna was the only one not present, given the pressure the SCPD was under to resolve the brewing mob war.

“That sucks and that woman sounds awful.” Tommy said. “But…the party was fun? Sorry, I wanna find some kind of silver lining here.”

“It was amazing. William had so much fun and loved every second of it. Which is why Thea, Oliver and I are so angry, because if not for that woman, it would’ve been the perfect weekend.” She said.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and Thea came walking down. She rushed over to greet Roy, having missed him a lot over the last few days. When they broke apart, she turned to Oliver and Felicity. “I guess you guys had the same idea that I did.”

“Too angry to just sit at home and relax? Yeah.” Felicity said. 

“I think Ollie might break that keyboard.” Thea said. Oliver had waved when she entered and then gone back to typing. He was typing furiously across the keyboard, to the point where every second was punctuated with the sound of his fingers slamming down on the keys.

‘I won’t.’ He signed. ‘I’m typing fast, but being careful not to damage it. I’d never break one of Felicity’s computers.’ He turned his attention back to the screen.

“So, what did we miss?” Felicity asked.

“Not much.” Lyla said. “The Triad is quiet. The Bratva is quiet. Three Triad members were found dead, floating in the harbor, but nothing’s known about their deaths yet. We haven't had any run-ins with anyone new.”

“And I haven’t seen my PI “friend” lurking around anywhere.” Tommy said. “I think Slade scared him off.”

“Or getting confronted at all did.” Sara said. “The whole point of tailing someone is to not get noticed or caught. Not that Slade couldn’t scare someone off.”

“The real concern is if we scared him off enough to get him to turn on Malcolm.” Slade said. “Him giving up on his assignment is good, but him going to the task force to tell them what he knows is even better.”

“The task force knows Tommy was being followed, right?” Thea asked.

“Oh, McKenna told them as soon as I knew I was being followed, and then gave them additional information as we got it. They know everything we know.” Tommy said. “But there’s only so much they can do with just my statement.”

“Well, let’s hope Steven Spade does the right thing.” Digg said.

Nyssa, Sara, Lyla and Slade went out on patrol. Patrol was very quiet. The SCPD was focused on investigating the dead Triad members and figuring out where and when they had been killed. Oliver spent the night doing some hacking, although he didn’t tell anyone what he was looking into or what he had discovered.

When the group on patrol returned, Felicity was just finishing up the investigation she was doing. Before leaving on Friday, she started running a search to find a connection between the two SUVs used in the attack on the Jade Dragon, or connections between the owners. It took her several hours to get through all of the information and pinpoint what details were important and which ones were useless.

“I think I know how the vehicles were picked.” Felicity said. “They have the same mechanic.”

“The vehicles were stolen, though.” Tommy said. “Not from the shop, but from random places.”

“They were stolen, without the alarm being tripped or windows being broken.” Sara said. She then paused and let out a deep sigh, as something clicked in her brain. “What’s the first thing you do when you take your car in to get serviced? Regardless of what the issue is?”

“Give the mechanic your key so that they can take a look at it.” Roy said. 

“And while the car is being worked on, in the back where the owner can’t see, someone could make a copy of the key. Explaining why the SUVs were stolen so easily, without anyone noticing. Nothing about it looked suspicious. ” Lyla said. “Let me guess, the mechanic both owners used is 4th Street Auto.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because that’s the garage that the Bratva uses as a front.”

“I just sent what I have to McKenna, but I’m gonna give her a call.” Felicity said.“If the SCPD doesn’t know the place is a front, they need to be told.”

Felicity called McKenna and told her the connection she’d found between the two stolen vehicles.. She also explained the Bratva’s connection to the garage and why the SCPD needed to be more careful than usual when they went to search the garage after getting a warrant.

“I guess this answers who’s behind all of this then.” Thea said. “Why would the Bratva wanna start a gang war though?”

“Distraction. Or as a show of force against the Triad. Or because the lack of gang activity gave them new opportunities that they wanted to explore. It could be a few different reasons. The important thing is that we have an answer, finally, and can start working towards a solution.” Sara said. 

 

When Steven Spade went to the SCPD precinct to give the FBI a statement, he expected the ordeal to take maybe an hour. He knew they’d ask him some questions and want him to give his account of what happened. He didn’t expect to spend several hours talking to Agent Mars and her supervisor, Agent Anderson.

The pair asked him a ton of questions. Some questions he could answer easily, while others he had no idea why they thought he’d know the answer to them. He was sure they asked him some questions multiple times over the course of their conversation. 

He hadn’t met Malcolm in person or via video call. He spoke to him over the phone, and recognized his voice from interviews he had given. Malcolm hadn’t told him why he wanted Tommy followed, or what he planned on doing after getting that information. Malcolm had paid him a modest amount to retain his services, but that was before he had spoken to Malcolm. They asked those questions more than once, and Spade didn’t know if they were looking for a different answer, or if they were making sure his story hadn’t changed.

“Let’s talk about the retainer Malcolm Merlyn paid you.” Agent Mars said.

“I told you, he sent me the money and after I received it, he called me.” Spade said.

“How?”

“What?”

“How did you receive it? How did he pay you?” Mars asked. “Did he write you a check? Did he wire you money? Did you get an envelope of cash in the mail?”

“I received a wire transfer from an account in the Caribbean. The name on the account was some shell company.”

“We’re gonna need to know the name of that shell company. How did he have your account information? He would’ve needed it to wire the money to you.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never worked for Malcolm Merlyn before. Or his business. He could’ve gotten it from a former client of mine, but I can’t think of any past client that would’ve…..been an associate of his. I track down cheating spouses most of the time, and when I’m not doing that, I’m finding someone’s long lost sister or parent or something.”

“Okay, so he paid you, somehow, and then called you. How soon did he call you after you received the money?” Anderson asked.

“Few hours, maybe.”

“Mr. Spade, I’d like permission to look through your phone if you don’t mind. We’d also like permission to get your call history from your service provider.”

“What happens if I say no?” Spade asked. 

“We go to court and get a subpoena, using the information you just gave us to acquire it. Your statements would be enough to convince a judge to issue one. You are free to do that.”

“I- it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I have client information on my phone. Actual clients who have nothing to do with whatever Malcolm Merlyn is involved in. I don’t want them getting dragged into this.”

“They won’t be.” He said. “We only care about phone calls between you and Malcolm Merlyn. Just like the only banking records we might ask for pertain to the wire you received from him.”

“Yes, you can search my phone.” Spade said. He pushed his phone across the desk. “He’s in there as Mr. King.”

“Why that name?” Mars asked.

“The account that paid me, it had “King” somewhere in the name, either “King something” or “something King”. I don’t remember which, but I can check.” He said. “I put all clients under aliases, for privacy reasons.” This way, if his phone was lost or stolen, no one would know who his clients were.

Spade signed the necessary paperwork to let them access his phone and left the precinct, just as the sun was beginning to rise on Monday.

 

As Samantha and William made their way to William’s school Monday morning, she started to worry. What if Nina Bordeaux tried to confront her at the school? What if she had already said something to one of the other parents? Did Nina’s daughter know what was going on? What if she asked William why his mother was suing her mother?

Samantha considered turning the car around, taking the day off, and letting William skip school for his birthday, but she knew that wouldn’t solve the problem. She couldn’t keep Will home from school indefinitely, and Will liked pre-k, so he’d be upset about missing the day. No, she decided she wouldn’t make it into a big deal. She’d talk with Gwen, the pre-k teacher, and inform her of what was going on.

Samantha and William walked into his classroom and he loudly announced that it was his birthday and he was “finally” six-years-old. Gwen wished him a happy birthday and listened as he told her about his party over the weekend. Since Samantha hadn’t left, Gwen sensed that the woman wanted to speak with her, so as Will wrapped up his story, she suggested he go play with the other children.

“I wanted to speak with you about something.” Samantha said after William had walked off. 

“That’s good, because there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.” Gwen said.

“What is it? Is something wrong? Did something happen?” She asked, fearing the worst.

“Last week, we had some classroom visitors. All of the kindergarten teachers stopped by at some point to see the kids, since they’ll be teaching them next year.” Gwen said. “The kindergarten teachers don’t think William should be enrolled in kindergarten next year.”

“But he’s so excited for kindergarten.”

“I know. William is a very smart child. He’s already reading, which is beyond where he should be, for the average child in pre-k. The teachers were all worried that he would be bored if he went to kindergarten, because a lot of what they teach is reading and math, areas where he’s performing above his peers. They think he should skip kindergarten and start first grade in the fall.” Gwen understood that William hadn’t started kindergarten yet because of some arbitrary cut-off date, but she expected Samantha to push harder on the school to make an exception. If she had pushed, the administration would’ve seen how advanced William was and moved him to kindergarten this past fall. By now, William was too advanced for kindergarten and it would be a disservice to the boy to make him waste a year, learning things he already knew.

“He won’t know anyone. All of his friends are in this class.”

“I don’t think he’ll have a problem making new friends.” Gwen said. “You don’t have to decide anything right now. I wanted to bring this up so that you could give it some thought.” She paused. “What did you want to speak to me about?”

“A rather….complicated situation has arisen between Nina Bordeaux and I. I don’t want to get into it, but if we run into each other, she might try to cause a scene. I wanted to forewarn you, and apologize in case that does happen.”

“Is this something that might cause an incident between Will and Clara?”

“I don’t think so. Will doesn’t know what’s going on, with the situation, and it’s not something a five or six year old would fully understand. She might ask him why his mom is being mean to her mom, but that’s as much as I think would happen between them.”

“Okay. I appreciate you telling me this. And I’ll keep an eye on things for the next few days. I hope everything works out okay. Please give some thought about what I mentioned.”

Samantha thanked her and then left. As she was leaving, she saw Nina arrive. The woman saw her, and went to roll down her window, but Samantha drove off before she could get the window down or do anything.

 

Thea had a guilty expression on her face when she got into Oliver’s car to head to school. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but before he could, she started talking.

“So, I may have messed up. Like, it might not be the end of the world, but it’s probably not gonna help things.” She said.

‘What happened?’ He asked.

“I talk to Mom about once a week. After ASL class, we usually get lunch and talk. If we don’t, then I’ll give her a call. She’s my mom, and I don’t want her completely out of my life, but I also struggle to know what to say to her, or knowing what to share with her.” She said. “I called her this morning, because she texted me over the weekend and asked if I was okay, because I missed Stephanie’s class. I told her why I wasn’t around.”

‘Telling Mom that it was Will’s birthday isn’t messing up. I’m sure she knows, or at least suspects, when it is.’

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t screw up by telling her about the party, but then, I couldn’t stop talking. I kinda- I told her about the whole Nina thing.” She said. “I didn’t mean to, but she asked how the party was and I started talking about it, and it just kinda…came out.”

‘What did she say?’

“She gave a very neutral response, but it was also- you know how she has that thing with her voice, where she’ll say something’s “fine” but it’s not really fine, and she’s gonna go off on someone, but that someone isn’t you? She was doing that with her voice.”

‘I need you to send her a text from my phone. Please type out exactly what I say.’ He said. He could understand Moira being upset, he was upset. He just didn’t want Moira to direct her anger at the wrong person or escalate a situation that was tense enough. ‘Are you ready?’

“Yeah. whenever you’re ready. Ollie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-.”

‘I’m not mad at you, Speedy. If she didn’t hear it from you, she might’ve found out from someone else. I just- I want to make a few things clear to her.’ He said. His message to Moira was succinct. He understood that she might want to help, but he wanted her to know that it was being handled by him, Samantha and his lawyers right now. He asked her to please not try to involve herself in what was going on.

“Do you think she’ll listen?” Thea said.

‘I hope she does.’ They reached Thea’s school and she exited the car to head to class.

 

At the mansion, Moira was digging through some of Robert’s old papers from his office. After the Gambit sank, she had paid someone to come in and box up his things. She couldn’t bring herself to go through them at the time.

Robert had done business all over the country. He had also dealt with other legal matters in multiple states. There had to be some lawyer in Central City that Robert had hired at some point, one that she could contact to deal with this Nina Bordeaux woman. Moira had been shocked and disgusted by what Thea told her, and she was not going to simply sit by and allow the woman to harm her family.

She was about to open a new box of papers when her phone made a beeping noise, indicating she had a text message. She unlocked her phone to see a message from Oliver.

>>From: Oliver: Thea said she told you about what is currently happening with a guest at William’s birthday party. My lawyers and I are handling it. I know you might want to help, but please don’t get involved. If I need your help with this, I will ask.

The text message caused Moira to pause. If Oliver was handling it, and thought what he was doing was enough, she should stay out of it. He was an adult, he could make his own decisions. She stopped digging through Robert’s old papers and left the room. She sent him a short response, telling him that she understood.

 

Nina Bordeaux dropped her daughter Clara off at pre-k, went grocery shopping and then went home. Her husband James had been traveling for work and came back late last night. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him what was going on, since she was fast asleep when he got in.

He was awake and fixing himself lunch when she got back. She picked up the letter she had received the night before and slammed it down on the counter in front of her husband.

“That bitch Samantha Clayton is suing us!” She yelled.

“Who?”

“Samantha Clayton. Her son goes to pre-k with Clara.” She said. “She had someone come to the house yesterday and give me this.”

He picked up the letter and began to read it. “She’s not suing us and this isn’t even  from Samantha.”

“What?”

“This isn’t a lawsuit, it’s a cease and desist letter. As in “cease and desist or we will sue”. And it’s from Oliver Queen’s lawyers, not hers.” He said. “So, she might’ve known about this, but she’s not the one making the suggestion that you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“It says here that you took pictures of Oliver Queen and his son, while at a private event, and are trying to sell them. They want you to stop doing that and destroy the pictures. If you sold the pictures to anyone, they want to know who they were sold to, so that they can send that person a cease and desist as well.” He said, reading off of the letter. “Did you try to do that?” She didn’t deny it. “Really, Nina?”

“I thought it would be easy cash. I didn’t see an issue. I didn’t expect….all of this to happen.” She said, gesturing towards the letter.

“Delete the photos. Now.” He said.

“You said it’s not a lawsuit, so I don’t have to do anything. What’s gonna happen if I don’t comply?”

“Oliver Queen could sue us.” He said. “And before you say he might be bluffing, he got his lawyers to draft this letter and find someone to hand deliver to you, on a Sunday. I don’t think he’s messing around.”

“I don’t understand why you’re mad at me. I did this to help us.”

“Getting us sued isn’t gonna help us.” He said. “Nor is possibly torpedoing my career, the only income that we have.”

“What are you talking about?” James had a job at Folston Tech. It wasn’t great, but it paid the bills. He had been traveling last week to meet with representatives from companies wanting to buy Folston Tech.

“Folston Tech is in talks to merge with Unidac Industries. Guess who owns Unidac? Queen Consolidated.” He said. “If the merger goes through, I don’t think Queen Consolidated would want to keep me around, if one of their shareholders is suing my wife.”

“Oh, you didn’t tell me all of that.”

“I didn’t think I’d have to.” He said. “Delete the pictures. We’ll write something later, to tell Queen’s lawyers that we did as they asked.”

 

Monday passed quickly for everyone. Before Oliver knew it, he, Felicity and Thea were sitting down to call William via Skype. He answered the video call and they began singing the “Happy Birthday” song. Oliver used his text-to-speech app to sing along. He told them all about his birthday, including the cupcakes they had at pre-k to celebrate, they were chocolate with chocolate frosting, and he showed them the cards he’d gotten in the mail that day.

“Sounds like you had an amazing birthday.” Thea said.

“I did!” He answered. “Hey, Daddy, since your birthday is coming up next, what do you want for your birthday?”

“I don’t know yet.” Oliver answered using his app. “I need to think about it.”

“Okay. Let me know when you think of something, because I need to get you a present, which means Mommy’s gonna have to drive me to the store to get it.” He said.

“I’ll let you know.” He promised.

They talked for a little bit longer, before Will started to get sleepy and had to get ready for bed. Samantha took the tablet from him, after he said his goodbyes, but rather than end the call, she stood there for a moment.

“So, uh, we need to talk about Will’s school, but not tonight.” She said. Her conversation with Gwen was heavy on her mind.

“Is something wrong?” Felicity asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” She said. “His teacher brought something to my attention, and I’m still thinking about it. And I want Oliver’s thoughts, and your thoughts Felicity, on it. But I also need some time to let the idea kinda settle in my head, if that makes sense.”

“Okay, well, you have our numbers.” Felicity said. After the call was over, she turned to Thea and Oliver. “They want Will to skip a grade.”

‘What?’

“I think the thing Samantha wants to talk about is either that the school thinks Will needs to skip a grade, because he’s advanced for his age, or they want to send him to a special school, for the same reason.”

‘He’s smart, but is he smart enough to skip kindergarten entirely?’

“He might be.” She said. “He’s already reading, and he can read more than short, easy words like “cat” and “go”. They might want him to start in first grade, to challenge him.” Not wanting a gifted child to be bored was the exact reason that Felicity’s school had told Donna when they wanted her permission to let Felicity skip a grade. “At least, that’s my guess as to what the issue is. Unless she wants to send him to a different school than she planned. I guess we’ll have to see.”

‘Yeah. I guess we will.’

With the call over, they went to the foundry. Oliver went out on patrol with the others. Tonight, they were focused on the Bratva. The Bratva was clearly up to something, given that they were trying to start a mob war to keep everyone distracted. The team wanted to find out what they were so keen on hiding.

The warehouse Nyssa had first investigated was still being developed. Walls were starting to be erected inside the space, and they were bringing in more materials. The team wasn’t sure what the purpose of some of the materials being brought in were, but progress appeared to be slightly speeding up, and that meant they would soon get a better idea.

“When is the next shipment from Siberian Exports meant to come in?” Lyla asked over the comms. 

“Looking at the records from Customs, the next one should be next week. They have shipments arriving every two weeks at the port.” Felicity said.

“Can we keep an eye on that?” She asked. “If the schedule changes, or if they suddenly are changing how they get their crates through customs, we need to know.”

“Will do. Any specific changes that I should keep an eye out for? Any euphemisms they might use to cover up what they’re bringing in? Like, on LOST, I know there was a character smuggling drugs around, hiding the drugs inside of religious figurines. I don’t think the Bratva is gonna say on the declaration form that they’re smuggling drugs, or weapons, or whatever.”

“A lot. We’ll need to talk about it later.” She said. Due to how broad the Bratva’s business dealings tended to be, she could think of dozens of things they could be doing and just as many cover stories they’d use to do it. She also wasn’t in quite the right headspace to think about how the Bratva could easily get around Customs regulations.

 

Xu Tao gathered the surviving Triad members. Their numbers had been affected by him cleaning house, but no one made a comment about his actions. He had killed members who were liabilities, or those who tried to deceive their superiors. Reduced numbers were inconvenient, but it was too late to stop what had already begun.

“Tsui is dead, if you did not already guess.” Xu Tao said. “I suspect many of you know why that was necessary.”

No one spoke. No one acted confused, which told him that the remaining members suspected what Tsui had done, but hadn’t acted because they couldn’t prove it. Tao could understand that, he could understand that they didn’t want in-fighting. It was a weakness, for sure, but he would rectify that.

“Someone wanted us to believe that Frank Bertinelli was responsible for the attack on the Jade Dragon. Tsui was stupid enough to take the bait.” 

“Tsui acted alone. We knew nothing of what he did.”

“I know, because you would be dead if you had tried to hide that from me. That is not the point of bringing up this topic of conversation.” He said. “Who would want us to believe Bertinelli was responsible? Who benefits by getting us to attack him?”

"The Bratva, mostly."

"Then, I suppose I do not need to tell you where our attention will now be focused."

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 163

Summary:

McKenna learns some unwelcome information, Team Arrow has an unexpected encounter and Oliver gets a few things off of his chest.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

McKenna hoped, perhaps naively, that the SCPD would get more answers as the investigation got underway into the deaths of the three Triad members found in the bay. Sadly, that seemed to not be the case. She stopped by the morgue Tuesday morning to ask the medical examiner if he had any indications regarding the cause of death for any of the victims.

“All three were in the water for at least a day, and bodies tend to bloat up after a bit.” The ME said. “I’d need to do the autopsies, but from my visual examination, they were shot execution-style after being tortured, which is more than I can say for their buddies.”

“Buddies?” McKenna asked. “What buddies?”

“Hilton didn’t call you about the other two bodies yet?” The ME asked. He gestured to two body bags that were zipped closed. “Patrol found two bodies, floating in a different part of the bay, last night. They are also Triad members, but they died more recently, based on decomposition, than my three other guests. It took some time to identify them, and confirm they were Triad.”

“Why the delay? And why can’t you determine the cause of death for the two most recent ones?”

“The two they found last night were missing their heads, and the heads haven’t been found. Decapitation could be the cause of death, but if they were shot in the head, or strangled, it’s gonna be hard to know that without the skulls.” The ME said. “The bodies were fresh enough, and in the water for a short enough time, that we were able to pull some fingerprints and got a match.” He walked over to the two body bags, and told her the names of the victims. She had heard of Tsui before, but not the other man, Wang.

McKenna wasn’t happy to hear that decapitations were going on. It signaled an escalation and the last thing anyone wanted was for the tensions to escalate even further. “So, we don’t have three victims, we have five.”

“Seven, actually.” Hilton said, walking into the room. “Simpson said I’d find you down here, Hall. I went to Tsui’s residence to inform his wife of his death. She’s dead too. I sent someone to Wang’s residence, and he radioed that Wang’s fiance or girlfriend, not sure which, is also dead.”

“I suppose that explains where Daniel has been this morning.” The ME said. Daniel Collins was the ME’s protege and was tasked with going to crime scenes and retrieving the bodies. He had gotten a call earlier that morning about a crime scene and been gone for a few hours. “He may be able to help with the cause of death. Or at least, time of death.”

“Let us know as soon as you do, please.” McKenna said. She and Hilton left the morgue. “I don’t like this, at all. I didn’t like it when we were dealing with three bodies, and seven just makes me like it less.”

“No one’s exactly happy about this, and the fact that two victims had their heads removed makes it seem like this whole thing is only going to get worse.” Hilton said. “The Arrow or his team have any insight to share?”

“Aside from what they passed on about the two vehicles used in the Jade Dragon attack, no. They are trying to identify the second gun that was used, and Harbinger is using some of her resources to find out what countries the PKR-3s were sold to.” Until they knew how the Bratva got ahold of the PKR-3 used in the attack, the connection between the Bratva garage and the shooting was too flimsy to base arrests on. If they could connect the gun to the Bratva, it strengthened their case against the Russians.

As she and Hilton went their separate ways, McKenna debated whether she should tell Team Arrow about the other victims now, or wait until they gathered in the foundry that night. If she had known more about the Tsuis' deaths, Wang’s and his girlfriend’s, she would know what to do, but she didn’t have enough information right now to make a choice.

 

Oliver dropped Thea off at school on Tuesday and then headed to Loring & Wasserman with Roy. He needed to talk to Eliana about the Nina Bordeaux situation, to find out where things stood. He also needed to talk to Jean about Laurel’s hearing, happening the next day. Jean said he didn’t have to attend the hearing, but if he didn’t attend, she suggested he write a short statement to share with the judge. This way, even if he wasn’t present, his opinions would still be heard and taken into account.

Eliana and Jean met them in the lobby and escorted them into a conference room. Oliver quickly handed Jean a copy of his statement for Laurel’s hearing and asked her to look it over. He had a feeling that the talks about William would take a bit, and didn’t want to forget to give his statement to her. She looked it over, asked him a few questions, questions she suspected the judge would ask, and then told him she’d handle the rest. Then, it was time for the conversation to turn to the subject of William, Samantha and what Nina Bordeaux was doing.

‘What’s happening with Nina Bordeaux?’ He asked. ‘Did she receive the letter you sent?’

“She received it, which I knew on Sunday because the courier had her sign for it.” Eliana said. “And, according to Camille Ashton, after realizing what it was, she left Ms. Clayton an angry voicemail.”

‘I hope she’s not causing Samantha a ton of problems.’

“I got the impression that she isn’t, aside from the one voicemail. Camille hasn’t been informed of any attempts by Mrs. Bordeaux to confront Ms. Clayton, or any additional calls. And, this morning, I got a response from the Bordeauxs, her and her husband. They stated their intentions to do as you requested and delete the photos, and wanted to apologize. They say their actions weren’t malicious, but the result of a lapse in judgment.”

‘A lapse in judgment? Taking the photo without thinking about it, I can believe, but trying to sell them seems like more than a simple mistake.’ He said.

“I don’t disagree, but if they are doing as we request, and they delete the pictures, it’s not worth starting a fight over.”

“What about copies on the cloud?” Roy asked. “Sorry, I know I’m just here to interpret, but-.” Spending so much time around Felicity was clearly rubbing off on Roy, since he never would’ve worried about, or even thought of, the cloud storage being an issue until recently.

‘No, that’s a good point. How can we be sure that they deleted the photos and didn’t just upload a copy to a cloud storage site, or save it somewhere else?’ Oliver asked.

“Unfortunately, we can’t be a hundred percent sure, unless we take this in front of a judge, which might not be worth it. A judge can order the photos be destroyed, but for one thing, it draws this situation into the public eye, because courts are public and for another, we’d most likely have to admit the photos to the court. For now, we can send a response to their response, and specify that we want all versions destroyed, including any photos uploaded to the cloud or saved on other devices.” Eliana said. “With the reminder that if the photos are not completely deleted, we will take legal action.”

‘I don’t want to take this woman to court. I don’t want everyone knowing what’s going on. Unless I have to. I just want my son to have privacy and be a normal kid. Can we write a response that’s not rude, but makes it clear that I am not messing around, or going to overlook this? I’d like to think that I’m a nice person, but I have to keep my son safe.’

“I’ll write up something that is firm, assertive, but polite.” Eliana said.

‘Thank you.’ After discussing a few more things, the meeting ended and Oliver and Roy left the Loring & Wasserman offices.

Oliver considered reaching out to his mother, and asking her if she had some time to chat later that afternoon. For about a month, they had tentatively been talking about sitting down and talking, but hadn’t actually planned anything. He wanted to talk to Moira, to get a few things off of his chest and try to find a way to move forward from her earlier actions towards him, but he hadn’t been quite ready to take the extra step just yet. He decided today might not be a good day for that. She might already have plans, for one thing. He sent her a text, and they made plans to meet the Wednesday morning. This meant Oliver would not be attending Laurel’s hearing, and he found that he was okay with that, after making the decision.

 

Felicity, Ray and Curtis were gathered in the lab in front of a computer. Lyla was sitting a few feet away, reading through a binder of information. Overhauling QC’s security systems and practices was taking some time, and it seemed like she was always being asked to look at a new protocol or give her thoughts on some new contingency plan.

“Bah-bah-bah-dah! Bah-bah-bah-dah!” Curtis started to sing. Lyla gave him an odd look.

“Why are you kinda singing “Here Comes the Bride”? Wait! Did Paul propose? Or did you propose to him?” Felicity asked.

“What? No! I- it was supposed to be that one classical piece, the one that plays when something good happens, to signify triumph. I don’t know what it’s called, but you know the one I mean.” He said. “I was trying to commemorate the fact that we just submitted the proposal to the FDA to start human trials on the biostimulant. We’re one step closer.”

“Okay, that makes a lot more sense.” Ray said. “I don’t know what it’s called either, but I know what you mean.”

They spent the next ten minutes or so trying to find the exact piece of music Curtis was talking about, so that they at least knew the name. This didn’t get them anywhere, since Googling the song yielded far too many results. Oliver arrived to take Felicity to lunch as they were debating how to put into words how the music sounded. It was hard to describe instrumental sounds to a search engine. He caught Lyla’s attention.

‘What are they trying to find on the internet?’ He listened as she explained what was going on. 'I can think of a few pieces that could be.'

“Hey, Oliver has a few suggestions.” Lyla said, getting their attention. “If you wanna give them a try.”

Oliver named three pieces of music and Curtis typed each one into the computer and found a performance. They listened for a few minutes before moving onto the next one. When they searched for the third piece, they listened for a bit and Curtis declared that it was the piece he had been thinking of.

“I didn’t know you were a fan of classical music.” Felicity said as she walked out of the lab with Oliver to head to lunch.

‘I’m not really, but my grandmother was. I don’t know that many pieces by name, despite how it might've seemed.’ He said. ‘What were you celebrating?’

“We submitted our proposal to the FDA to begin human trials on the biostimulant, which means we’re one step closer to it becoming a reality.” She said.

Since Felicity had big news, Oliver decided she should get to pick where they went to lunch. She chose a small bistro that they had been to before, because she really liked their selection.

After lunch, Felicity went back to work and Oliver went back to the house. He had spent the last few days doing quite a bit of hacking, to keep his mind off of the situation with Nina Bordeaux. He ended up uncovering a lot of information that he hadn’t been looking for, or hadn’t known to look for. He wanted to follow those leads a little further and see where they led. Some of what he found spelled trouble for certain politicians, while others would be less scandalous, but still important and needed to be brought to light.

 

McKenna heard from the medical examiner right before she arrived at the foundry that night. Tsui’s wife and Wang’s girlfriend were killed sometime before dawn on Sunday. The ME believed that Tsui and Wang were killed around the same time. The three other Triad members were killed at least a day earlier, but time of death hadn’t quite been pinned down yet. The heads of Tsui and Wang had not been found.

Upon arriving at the foundry, she told the others about the four most recent deaths, and the information she’d gotten from the medical examiner about the deaths.

“Decapitation really isn’t the mob’s style.” Lyla said. “Even if the person was already dead.”

“Yeah, the FBI agents that used to work in the organized crime unit said the same thing when I mentioned it to them.” She said. “We’re still exploring the possibility, but this seems- it seems a bit excessive for Frank Bertinelli to do, or order someone to do.”

“I don’t disagree.” Nyssa said. “Strangely, it's been my experience that groups such as the Triad or the Yakuza will go to those lengths. The Yakuza has no presence in the city, however.”

“I don’t think the Triad is killing their own members.” Slade said.

Following McKenna’s news, the team decided to split up on patrol. Someone needed to keep an eye on the Triad, in case they retaliated against whoever killed five of their members, but the team also didn’t want to leave the Bratva to their own devices, since it was looking more and more like they were behind everything that had happened so far. Sara and Nyssa decided to handle the Triad while Oliver, Lyla and Slade focused on the Russians.

“Can I ask you something?” Sara asked Nyssa once they were in position near one of the Triad’s known hang-outs. “You seem really focused on and concerned about the Bratva and what they might be up to. More focused than you have been about the Triad, and it started before the shooting happened.. Why?”

“I cannot really put it into words, but ever since I walked into that warehouse, I’ve had a strange feeling in my stomach. A feeling that they are planning to do something truly reprehensible, something worse than any business the Triad may be a part of.” She said.

“To hear….certain of our friends tell it, the Bratva tends to be a part of a lot of terrible things. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re doing something worse than I can imagine, and I have quite the imagination.”

“It’s not just that. My father does what he does because he believes there are evils in this world that can only be stopped by killing those responsible, that justice and vengeance are one and the same. I’ve struggled with that idea over the years, since he and I have very different ideas of what kinds of evil rise to that level. I’m afraid of what the Bratva may be doing, but I’m also afraid they will prove him right.”

Sara didn’t respond to that, and they spent the next few hours, waiting for something to happen at the Triad’s hang-out.

 

Across town, Lyla, Slade and Oliver were having a much different evening. They were searching the garage the Bratva owned, looking for evidence that linked them to the shooting at the Jade Dragon. When that ended up being a bust, they went to scope out a few places the Bratva members were known to visit. Criminal or not, everyone had a bar they liked to go to or a club that they favored or a spot where they would meet up with their friends. People tended to say a lot, sometimes too much, when they didn’t think anyone else was listening.

Lyla only knew the names of two Bratva members in Starling, and asked Felicity to find out where they liked to spend time, aside from the garage.

“There’s a dive bar about a block from you. Alexei Leonov seems to spend a lot of time there.” She said. “That’s the best lead I have at the moment.”

They headed to the bar to see if they lucked out. They wouldn’t be able to enter the bar without drawing attention, but they could keep an eye on the comings and goings from the place.

“You know, Artemis or I could go in at some point, dressed as civilians, if we really need to see what’s happening inside. We blend in.” Slade said. Oliver, Lyla or Sara might be recognized, either from the news or from past ARGUS missions, but Slade and Nyssa could pass undetected in a bar. “Just a thought.”

‘Let’s decide after we see what happens tonight.’ Oliver said.

People trickled in and out of the bar over the next few hours. They didn’t spot Leonov, but they got pretty visuals on the people going in and out. A vehicle drove up the street and parked on the opposite side of the road as the bar. No one got out of the car.

A few minutes later, a drunk man with a Russian accent, based on his shouting, stumbled out of the bar. He was on the younger side, so if he was part of the Bratva, he was fairly new and fairly low-ranking. The car door opened and a tall Chinese man stepped out. He strode towards the drunk Russian with intent.

‘Who is that?’ Oliver signed.

‘I don’t know. He’s not a Triad member I’ve run into before.’ Lyla signed back. ‘If he even is Triad.’

“Mr. Petrov It’s time that you and I had a chat.” The Chinese man said.

“Go fuck yourself!” The drunk man, Petrov, yelled back.

The other man pulled out a gun and aimed it at Petrov. “I’m afraid I must insist.”

Slade, Lyla and Oliver sprung into action. Regardless of what might be going on, they needed to stop one man from killing the other. Lyla and Oliver placed themselves between the two men, while Slade approached the car, to make sure there weren’t others about to strike.

 

Xu Tao had not seen this turn of events coming. Finding Petrov, a new and relatively harmless Bratva member, had been fairly easy. The man, according to other Triad members, was predictable. He ate at the same three places and went to the same bar every Tuesday night. He usually wound up getting kicked out of the bar right around this time.

He had found Petrov drunk and alone, an easy target for Xu Tao to abduct. It was going according to plan, until two figures dressed in costumes showed up, getting in his way. One moment, he was aiming a gun at Petrov and the next, he had two arrows being aimed at him.

“Who are you?” The figure on the left, a woman, asked.

He didn’t answer. He had no idea who these costumed figures were or what their intentions might be. He didn’t know what they might be capable of. He had been hoping for a quick and easy kidnapping, not a shoot-out.  He had only brought one gun, to threaten Petrov with. 

Rather than stay and find out what the vigilantes might do, he fired in the direction of one of them and turned back to his car. Petrov started yelling and one of the vigilantes, the one that hadn’t spoken, had to stop Petrov from attacking him.

Tao then spotted a third vigilante standing right next to the car. This one was dressed in more tactical gear, and resembled a modern soldier more than his comrades.

He fired towards the man as he made his way to his car. His shots kept missing, but it got the man to move away from the vehicle, allowing him to get in and drive off. He returned to where he was staying and immediately called a meeting of the Triad. He wanted to know if the masked individuals were a new development, or if their presence was yet another detail the others had “forgotten” to tell him.

 

“Overwatch, I need you to follow that car.” Lyla said as they watched the unknown Triad member speed away. Petrov had passed out from the alcohol and Digg was getting ready to call the SCPD about a drunk man outside the bar.

“Already on it.” Felicity said.

“Were you able to get a clear picture of him through our body cams?” Slade asked. “I’d like to know who that guy was.”

“I’ll see what I can do. The street lights don’t exactly provide great lighting.” She said. “How tall would you say he was?”

“Taller than me, shorter than Arrow.” Guardian said.

“So, right around six feet.”

The rest of the night was a bust. What happened outside the bar meant it was unlikely that the Triad or Bratva would attempt anything tonight. Oliver wondered how the Triad member had found Petrov, and what made him seek the man out in the first place. It didn’t seem like a random encounter, and that made him cautious.

 

Laurel was both excited and nervous for her hearing when Wednesday morning arrived. Joanna had come to see her Monday and Tuesday to talk about the hearing, and while she hoped things would go well, she knew there was a chance nothing would change. She kept trying to tell herself to be positive, that she wouldn’t be in a terrible position, even if the judge didn’t rule in her favor.

She was driven to the courthouse early in the morning and Joanna had gotten some of Laurel’s old clothing from her family, so that she would be wearing appropriate clothing, and not her jail uniform, for the hearing. Before Laurel could spend too much time dwelling on how it felt to be back in a courthouse, even if she wasn’t a lawyer, they were heading to the courtroom where the hearing was being held.

Sara, Dinah and Quentin were all sitting in the gallery, waiting. She wasn’t surprised to see them, since she’d spoken with all of them about today. She didn’t see anyone else that she recognized. The only other people in the room were the court reporter and a few journalists.

Five minutes before the hearing was set to start, Jean Loring walked in. As the judge was entering the courtroom, Laurel heard the door behind her close, but didn’t turn around to see who had just arrived.

“Be seated.” The judge said. “And good morning everyone.” The hearing started. The beginning consisted of the lawyers going over why the hearing was called and presenting their sides. Joanna was advocating for the restraining order to be vacated. Jean Loring wasn’t firm on exactly what Oliver wanted, but it was clear that he wanted it to be reevaluated. 

Since Oliver and Felicity didn’t come, Jean handed over Oliver’s written statement to the judge, who read it aloud.

“I sought a protective order several months ago, because I believed Ms. Lance’s behavior was becoming erratic and I was concerned that she would continue to harass myself and my girlfriend, Felicity Smoak, unless we took action and attempted to put some distance between us. It was clear to me during the events of last fall that she was misdirecting her grief towards me and, while I don’t think she intended to harm me or anyone, it wasn’t something I could just ignore at the time. I was dealing with a number of personal issues and the stress of her actions was putting a heavy strain on my life. I have not spoken to Ms. Lance since the day of her trial, but I have heard through mutual friends, such as her sister, that she is doing better. It’s my understanding, from the few details they shared with me, that she no longer blames me for tragedies in her life and acknowledges that her actions were unwise and irrational. I do not believe the initial protective order that was granted needs to remain in place, given that the situation has changed. I think it should be evaluated again, to account for the changed circumstances. I understand that this is not a decision that can be made lightly, but I wanted to make sure my feelings on this matter were known.” He read. “Ms. Loring, have you discussed with your client what he’s requesting and what might happen, as a result of whatever decision I make regarding this hearing?”

“I have and he understands.”

“Ms. Lance, did you ask your mutual friends to speak with Mr. Queen, or Ms. Smoak, about your situation? To advocate for you to them?” The judge asked.

“No, in fact, they rarely came up in conversation with my sister or our one mutual friend.” She said. “We always talked about other things, and Sara might mention one of them, but we didn’t talk about them.”

“I understand you wanted to make a statement on this matter.” The judge said.

“I made a series of mistakes and bad decisions that led to me being in this situation. I know that the only person responsible for that is myself. I won’t make excuses for my behavior in the past, but I deeply regret those actions. I’m frankly embarrassed by some of the things I said and did last year and would give anything to go back and handle things differently. I’ve done a lot of work in therapy, to deal with some of the issues I was struggling with. I also want to apologize to both Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak for what I did and the stress I caused them.”

“If this order was completely rescinded, what would you do?”

“Nothing. It’s clear that they don’t want to hear from me, and I want to move forward with my life, so I’m not going to try and pursue communication with them.”

“What happens if you all end up in the same place?”

“If I didn’t leave, I would probably avoid them. If we had to interact, I think we’d all do our best to keep things civil, but I don’t have anything to say to them, besides an apology, and I’m sure they have even less to say to me.”

The judge asked a few more questions of Laurel. Then, Joanna handed over the letter written by Dr. Quinzel, which the judge would be reading in his chambers later. Since the letter was written by a therapist, he wouldn’t read it in open court.

The judge didn’t issue a decision at the end of the hearing, but told everyone he’d issue his decision by the end of the week. He needed to review Dr. Quinzel’s letter and take the statements Oliver and Laurel made into consideration first.

The judge announced that the hearing was over and left the room. Laurel left the room with Joanna, and didn’t notice Tommy sitting in the back of the courtroom.

Tommy didn’t know what compelled him to come to Laurel’s hearing. Guilt, maybe? He didn’t regret the testimony he’d given at her trial, but he felt bad that she’d lost her career and gone to jail in order to get the help she needed. He supposed that he wanted to get closure on a few things, and this hearing gave him a chance to do that. He meant to leave before anyone spotted him, but that hope vanished when he saw Sara make her way towards him.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I just felt like I needed to come.” He said. “Maybe, I just needed to see for myself how much better she was doing.” He paused. “They did this mostly for you, you know.”

“What?”

“Well, I can’t say what Felicity’s reasons are, but I think Ollie asked for this hearing because, if the order gets changed, it would make things easier for you. I’m not saying that he thinks we’re lying about Laurel doing better, but I think he’s doing this more to help you than to help Laurel.”

“Why would he do that? I’m already in the middle.”

“You said that Laurel’s trying to get her probation reinstated, which means she could be coming home soon. If the order stays in place, she can’t be in the same building as Ollie or Felicity until the three year period is up. If you and Nyssa get married a year from now, either he’d have to miss your wedding or Laurel would. And I don’t think he wants to put you through that, or even something like deciding who can come to your birthday party. He doesn’t want to make you choose, so he’s trying to make it so you don’t have to.”

“He shouldn’t make decisions based on what’s better for someone else.” Oliver was a little too self-sacrificing for his own good. He was a problem on the island, and it was clearly still a flaw of his.

“If he stopped doing that, he wouldn’t be Ollie anymore.” He said. “I gotta head to a meeting, I’ll see you around.”

 

Oliver and Moira arranged to meet at a coffee shop. He had found one on a quiet street that tended to not be too busy in the morning, after the commuter rush ended. This way, he and his mom would have privacy, and they were meeting on neutral ground.

Digg and Oliver arrived first and ordered. Oliver took a seat with his coffee, at a table towards the back and waited for his mother to arrive. Digg sat a few tables away, close enough to keep an eye on things, but far enough away that Moira would be comfortable speaking freely to Oliver.

Moira arrived, ordered a fancy latte, and walked over to where Oliver was seated. She placed her cup down and seemed to be debating something for a few moments before sitting down. Oliver guessed that she didn’t know what to do, whether to try and hug him or not.

“It’s nice to see you, Oliver. Outside of board meetings, I mean.”

‘It’s nice to see you too.’ He signed. ‘I meant to ask to meet with you a while ago, but I kept-.’

“Sorry, can you just sign a little slower?” She asked. “I’ve been taking ASL classes, but I’m not quite at the point where I can have a conversation at a normal pace. I got the first part, about it being nice to see me, but not what you said after.”

‘Yeah, I can try. Let me know if I’m going too fast. I was just saying that I’ve been meaning to ask you to meet for a while. There’s quite a bit I need to say.’

“Okay.” She said apprehensively.

‘I’m still very angry about how you handled things with Samantha, years ago. I might not have been ready, or felt ready, for the responsibility that came with being a father, but by doing what you did, you took any choice I had away from me completely. I know you have your reasons, but they don’t make me less upset. I missed big, important moments in my son’s life, because of what you did, time that I can’t get back.’

“I’m sorry.”

‘I know that you are, but I don’t want to hear your apology right now.’ He said. ‘I’m not saying that I’ll never forgive you, I don’t like talking in absolutes, but I can’t right now.’

“Can I ask a question about him?” She asked. “The situation Thea told me about-.”

‘My lawyer sent the woman a very intimidating cease and desist letter, telling her to stop and destroy the photos she has. If she doesn’t, I’ll handle it, but it seems like the woman knows I’m being serious.’

“That’s good. If you need my help with that, let me know. I’ve…had to deal with something similar before. What- what else did you want to talk about?” She started to fidget, clearly nervous about what else he might want to get off of his chest or ask her. “I know your sister had some questions about Tempest and the Gamb-.”

‘I don’t want to talk about either.’ He knew pretty much everything about Tempest at this point. And he didn’t need to ask about the Gambit, he had lived through what happened to it. ‘At least, not today.’

“You don’t?”

‘Tempest is connected to the Gambit, which factors into what happened to me while I was away, and I definitely don’t want to talk about that with you, so no, I don’t.’ He said. ‘There are some questions that I don’t know if I really want the answer to. Let’s just leave it at that. I want to talk about what happened after I came home. Between you and me.’

“I’m sorry for how I acted then, too.” She said. “I just- I didn’t know how to deal with you being back, and being different and-.”

‘How do you think I felt? I spent five years waiting to come home, dreaming of seeing you and Thea again. And I came back and you acted like- like it would’ve been better if I had stayed away. I knew I wasn’t the same person who left, but I thought you’d at least try to meet me halfway, to help me, but you didn’t. You wanted to just pretend like I’d gone to Hawaii for a week and not been missing for five years, and act like I could just pick things up, exactly where they’d been left off.’

“I didn’t know what to do.”

‘I didn’t either. I was trying to figure it out, but I couldn’t really do that with you wanting me to just “go back” to the old me. And when I tried to tell you what I wanted, or what I didn’t want, you kinda just ignored it.’ He said. ‘And then, I realized I had to make a choice. I could stay at the mansion, put up with the stress I was dealing with, and be miserable. Or move out, get some distance from you to help my own mental state, and figure things out on my own for a bit. And we both know how that went.’

“I lost you once. I was afraid to lose you again. I needed to know you were okay.”

‘I wasn’t. I was miserable. I felt so alone all the time, which was why I hid in my room and avoided everyone. I tried to establish boundaries and you kept pushing past them. I couldn’t talk to you about the problems I was having, so you pretended like they weren’t there when strangers could tell something was wrong.’ He said. ‘And I don’t think what happened was about losing me.’

“What do you think it was about, then?”

‘You wanted to fix me, to get the “old Oliver” back, and you couldn’t. My trauma, my mutism, it was the first problem I had that you couldn’t fix by throwing money at it. Or having someone “take care of” so that we didn’t have to deal with it.’ He said. ‘Dr. Lamb said I could recover my voice, but you took that to mean that I would. I may never get it back. Even though I’m doing better now, I don’t know if I’ll speak again. I’ve accepted that it may never happen.’

“You have?”

‘Yes, and for us to have any kind of meaningful relationship, you need to start to accept that too. I know it might take some time. It took me a lot of time.’ He said. ‘But I can’t have someone in my life acting like I could get better if I tried. Opening my mouth and getting words to come out is not as easy as you might think.’

“All I want is for you to be happy.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 164

Summary:

Oliver finishes his talk with Moira, the task force confirms something crucial and the team finds out some troubling information.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the very heavy, and emotionally draining, discussion Oliver and Moira had about Oliver’s mutism and her actions when he first returned to Starling, he turned the conversation to lighter topics. Or, at least, he tried to. He realized that he didn’t have much in common with his mother, in terms of interests or hobbies, so there wasn’t a lot they could talk about. They ended up talking about books for a bit, since he recalled Moira had been in a book club for a number of years. They talked for about half an hour before they both seemed to realize they should call an end to this meet-up.

‘Before we go our separate ways, there’s something I need to ask you.’ He said. ‘Something I need you to do, actually.’

“What is it?” 

She seemed eager, almost excited, to be able to do something to help Oliver. He tried not to feel guilty for not speaking to her for so long. She might have missed him and been upset at the estrangement between them, but he had good reasons to want some distance. As everyone kept telling him, his feelings mattered too.

‘It’s about the graves at the mansion.’ He said. ‘My grave. I need you to-.’ Oliver knew that one day, he would die. Death was inescapable. There was a difference between him knowing he’d die, and a grave already having his name on it. It gave him some very complicated and dark feelings. It had bothered him when he’d first seen it, back in October, and it bothered him now, but now, he felt comfortable saying it bothered him.

“I’ll take care of it.” She said, seeming to know what he wanted to ask.

They stood up to leave, and shared an awkward hug before going their separate ways. As Oliver and Digg were heading to the car, Oliver realized that Sara also had a grave. He didn’t know if she knew about it, but she had to know that her parents would’ve held a funeral for her, right? Did she feel the same way he did? He wanted to ask her about it, to offer to get the gravestone removed, but also didn’t want to upset her.

 

Malcolm Merlyn was beginning to grow impatient with Steven Spade. It had been days since he last heard from the PI, and he wasn’t paying Spade to ignore him. He had given Spade a task, a very easy task, but the man seemed inept, or unwilling to do the job he had paid for.

The last time they spoke, Spade told him about Tommy’s new “bodyguard” Wintergreen and Malcolm told him not to worry. Clearly, Spade hadn’t listened, and had let Wintergreen scare him into backing off, or giving up entirely.

Malcolm hated to waste money, so he wasn’t going to let the job go unfinished. He knew that he could hire someone to kill Spade, for failing him, and start over, but he wasn’t willing to go that far yet. He was just as intimidating as this “Deathstroke” supposedly was, and since Starling’s crime rate had dropped so significantly in the past few months, Spade turning up dead wouldn’t go unnoticed.

He picked up the phone and dialed Spade’s number. It rang. After a few minutes, the voicemail message kicked in.

“Hello, you have reached Steven Spade. I’m unavailable at the moment. Please leave me a message and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.”

He hung up the phone. He never left voicemails. He’d call back in half an hour.

 

In Starling, Agent Mars saw the cell phone in the evidence bag ring. She read the name on the caller ID and jumped to her feet. She needed to find Agent Anderson. As luck would have it, he was coming back from his lunch break when she went racing off to find him.

“Anderson, Steven Spade didn’t leave town, did he?” She asked him as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

“I told him not to. Why? Where’s the fire?”

“His phone just rang. It was ‘Mr. King’ aka Malcolm Merlyn.” She said. “I didn’t answer, because obviously I can’t pass for him over the phone, but if we can get Spade to come in, then-.”

“Wait, wait, wait, back up. What are you wanting to do?”

“We’re going through Spade’s phone records, and trying to get call data, but that’s going to take a while. If Merlyn calls him again, and he answers, and he keeps Merlyn on the line for long enough, we can trace the call and get a location.” She said. “But, obviously, we would need Spade to agree to help us with that.”

Anderson left to head to the address Spade had provided. Within fifteen minutes, he and Spade were walking into the bullpen.

“What exactly do I need to do, Agent Mars?” Spade asked her. “Anderson said when Merlyn calls back, because he’s going to, you want me to answer the call, but that’s not the whole story, is it?”

 “Answer the call and keep him on the line for as long as you can. You don’t need to get him to talk, you just need to keep him on the phone until we signal otherwise.” She said. “It doesn’t matter what you say. You said he hired you to follow his son around, so just take a while explaining the work you’ve done towards that.”

“Am I allowed to lie?”

“Oh, yeah, you can totally lie.” Mars said. “We need to trace the call. Nothing said during the call is gonna be played in court or anything.”

Mars and Anderson went over a few more things with Spade, while getting everything set-up to trace the call. About thirty minutes after “Mr. King” initially called Spade’s phone, the phone began to ring again.

“Breathe.” Anderson said. “Just remember what we talked about.”

Spade hit the icon to answer the call. “Hello, this is Steve.”

 

“Hello, this is Steve.” He sounded a little frazzled, but not nearly as nervous as Malcolm felt he should be.

“It’s me.” Malcolm said. “I don’t appreciate being ignored.”

“I’m sorry I missed your earlier call. I was meeting with a new potential client.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m the only client you should be worried about right now.” Malcolm said. “Well, do you have an update for me or not?”

There was a pause. “I do. I pulled back my surveillance on Tommy, after my encounter with Billy, for a few days, but I didn’t stop it completely. In the last few days, Tommy has-”

“Why did you pull the surveillance back?”

“Your son’s new bodyguard is quite intimidating. It wouldn’t help either of us if I’m unable to continue my assignment because he beats the crap out of me when he learns I’m still shadowing your son.”

“Don’t worry about Billy Wintergreen. You should be far more worried about me.”

“Are you threatening me, Mr. Merlyn?”

“No, just reminding you that you’ve aided a wanted fugitive. That’s a crime, one I’m sure that the feds would love to hear about. You don’t know what I’m capable of, or what I might do if you continue to disappoint me.” Malcolm said. “You were saying about my son?”

“He spent most of the weekend at his hotel. He went out to a club Monday night and stayed out until 1am. I didn’t see him until 3pm Tuesday.”

“So, he’s still doing the same immature bullshit.”

Spade ignored the comment and told him about every move Tommy made on Tuesday. Listening to it, Malcolm learned that Tuesdays were apparently the day that Tommy ran all of his errands. He went to the bank, he went to the store, he went to see Laurel in jail and so on. He was astounded that Tommy wasted so much time, and yet never seemed to be alone enough for Malcolm to send some “associates” to have a word with him.

 

In Starling, Spade saw Mars signal for him to wrap up the conversation. He wanted to yell for joy but held it in. This felt like the longest conversation he had ever had.

“This morning, he went to the local courthouse. I’m not quite sure why.” He said. “He left around lunchtime and drove to the precinct where his girlfriend works.” Tommy was spotted both going into and leaving the courthouse. He suspected Merlyn kept an eye on things in Starling City, so it wasn’t something Spade could lie about to him.

“Aside from his visit to the courthouse, none of what you just said is new information to me. You haven’t found out anything useful in a week?”

“I have to tread carefully. If Tommy feels like he’s being stalked, he might go to the police.”

“I don’t care if he does. If he goes to the police, even if they look into it, you can just make something up.” Malcolm said. “I have another call, a more important call, I need to make. Next time I call, you better answer on the first ring. And if you don’t have something useful to me by then, I’m gonna have to terminate our arrangement.” He hung up before Spade could respond.

Spade put the phone down and turned to the agents. “Please tell me that you got what you needed.”

“We did. Thank you so much for your help.” Anderson said. “Out of curiosity, why does Mr. Merlyn think Tommy hired Billy Wintergreen as a bodyguard?”

Spade explained his encounter with Tommy and his “bodyguard”. He said that his encounter with “Billy” combined with a few other factors are what drove him to contact the FBI about his involvement with Malcolm Merlyn. After that, Spade left the precinct.

“I don’t want to say “I told you so” but I knew Merlyn was in Corto Maltese.” Mars said. 

“We all had the feeling, but now, we have proof.” Anderson said. “I’ll talk to Dinan and then I’ll go give Gunderson a call, ask if he has a colleague who’s familiar with the government of Corto Maltese.”

“I thought they didn’t have an extradition treaty with the US.”

“They don’t, but the State Department always asks. They might be willing to make a trade.” The government in Corto Maltese might be willing to trade Malcolm Merlyn for some of their own citizens who had been arrested, and were incarcerated, in the US.

 

After his disappointing conversation with Spade, Malcolm wanted to spend the rest of the day sparring and exercising. He had lost a noticeable amount of muscle mass after his injury and he needed to regain his strength in order for the Dark Archer to return. He also had no doubt that the League of Assassins would find out where he was and he needed to be ready for when they struck.

He was making his way to the private gym he had set-up when Dylan Smith accosted him.

“Ms. Rochev needs to speak with you.” Dylan said.

“Ms. Rochev needs to wait.”

“She says it can’t wait, unless you want all the planning you’ve done to be for naught.”

“Did she say what it’s about? What’s so important that it can’t wait?” Malcolm asked.

“No, she didn’t.”

If Malcolm had been in his top form, he would have killed Smith then and there. He wasn’t, so he made a mental note to kill Dylan Smith after he had regained his lost strength. “Fine, I’ll give her a call. Happy?” He turned to head back towards his office.

“When will you be calling her?” Smith called after him.

Isabel, it turned out, did not have urgent news to share with him. She seemed to think the information she had was critical and couldn’t wait, but he couldn’t disagree more. She complained about the Arrow cleaning up the corrupt police force. She lamented about the lack of serious crime. The only useful thing she told him was that she had yet to schedule a meeting with Merlyn Global Group’s board of shareholders. She thought they were stonewalling her.

“They don’t know how to stonewall. They’re too stupid.” He said. “Just keep pushing. They’ll cave.”

 

“How did your meet-up with your mom go?” Felicity asked Oliver over dinner that night.

‘It went okay. I finally got a chance to say some of the things I’ve been holding in. And it seems like she was really listening to what I had to say. I don’t forgive her just yet, but I- I think we’re taking steps in that direction.’

“That’s good.” Felicity didn’t like Moira all that much, but she loved Oliver. She didn’t like seeing him feeling so conflicted over the situation between him and his mother. It seemed like Moira did feel bad for what she had done and was trying to make amends, but Felicity needed to see that she had changed and not just hear about how bad she felt.

‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully forgive her.’

“I know, and unfortunately, that’s a possibility.” She said. “I’ll never be able to fully forgive my dad for what he did. I know its not the same situation as what happened with you and your mother, but- yeah, I get it.”

Since it was Wednesday, they had a FaceTime call with William after dinner. The call went the way that they normally went. William told them all about his week and they talked about some ideas for what they could do over the weekend when he came to visit.

At the end of the call, Samantha asked to speak with Oliver and Felicity, after she sent William upstairs to get ready for bed.

“They want Will to skip kindergarten.” She said. “I don’t know if I should say yes or no. I want your opinion.”

“Did his teacher give a specific reason why they want him to go straight to first grade?” Felicity asked.

“He’s advanced for his age and they’re worried he’ll be too ahead of the other kids and get bored.”

‘Who is they?’ Oliver asked.

“The kindergarten teachers at the school. I guess they each came to visit the class last week and they all thought Will would be bored in kindergarten.”

“That’s normally the reason.” Felicity said. “It was the reason the school told my mom when they wanted me to skip grades.”

“How did that go? How did you feel, being younger than the other students in your year?” Samantha asked. “If I say “yes” and he skips, he’s gonna be the youngest. He’s not gonna know anyone and I’m worried about that.”

‘Do you think he’ll have trouble making friends?’ Oliver asked.

“Well, no. He makes friends easily, but I still don’t know.”

“I was older when I skipped grades, so what it was like for me is gonna be different to how it might be for Will.” Felicity said. “Have you talked to him about it? Asked him what he thinks?” 

“No, I haven’t.”

“I think you should. At the end of the day, it’s his education we’re discussing. He might be excited at the idea of being at a level that’s more in line with his abilities, or he might feel intimidated by being the youngest in his class. He also- he should know that the option is there. I spent a few years bored at school, because I didn’t know I had the option to skip a grade.”

“I don’t even know how I’d explain it to him.”

‘That’s not something you have to figure out right now. Or alone. If you want to meet with people from the school, we can both attend the meeting, if you want.’ Oliver said.

“I’ll think about it.”

 

After ending the FaceTime call with William, Oliver and Felicity went to the foundry. They both wanted to know about the Triad member Oliver, Lyla and Slade had encountered the night before. Felicity had tried to track the vehicle, but lost it in a “dead zone” of traffic cameras. It wasn’t a very unique-looking car, so finding it after it left the dead zone, if it even left the zone, would be difficult.

“Were you able to get a visual from the bodycams?” Digg asked Felicity, after she explained how she’d lost the vehicle on traffic cams.

“I couldn’t see the license plate on anyone’s-.”

“Not a visual of the plate, a visual of the person. Did anyone’s body cam get a good picture of him? To run through a database or something?”

“Lyla’s got the best picture. After I lost the car, I pulled a still from the video and started running it through different systems. But he would need to already be in those systems for me to get a match on fac-.” There was a ding behind her. “I got a match. His name is Xu Tao.”

“Never heard of him.” Slade said.

“I have.” Lyla said. “I never had the displeasure of running into him until now, but I became aware of him on my last mission with ARGUS. He’s bad news.”

‘Worse than Chein Na Wei?’ Oliver asked.

“Is a hurricane better or worse than a tornado?” She replied. “They’re both bad, just different types of bad. And, from what I recall, they’re on the same level within the Triad. They have the same rank, so he’s as deadly as she is.”

“Great.” Digg said.

 

Xu Tao decided to give the local Triad members a bit of a reprieve. After his encounter with the vigilantes on Tuesday night, he wanted to call every surviving Triad member and demand they meet him immediately for answers.

He decided not to act on that feeling, however. It hadn’t been that long since he killed several of their number. He didn’t want the group perpetually on edge, because men on edge had a tendency to make poor decisions. He wanted to lull them into a false sense of security.

When the group gathered Wednesday night, he inquired about the Bratva. He asked if they had heard anything useful about the investigation the police had most likely opened into the recent deaths of their comrades. He told them to tell him all he knew about activity by local street gangs and informed them of the tenuous truce he reached with the Bertinelli Famiglia.

The meeting went surprisingly well. The members didn’t have any ground-breaking news, but they shared what information they did have. Tao seemed pleased, or in the very least, he didn’t seem to get any more displeased by what he was being told.

“There is just one more matter I wish to discuss before we end this meeting.” He said, after the last man finished sharing the information he had about Alexei Leonov’s activities.

The others seemed relieved.  “Of course. What is it?” Someone said.

“I had a very strange encounter last night.” He said. “I was approached, and threatened, by a man and a woman dressed as archers.” He saw the dread begin to fill the expressions of the men around the table. “Based on your expression, I assume their existence is not news to you.”

“We tho-.”

“The hour has gotten late. We will discuss this matter further tomorrow evening.” He said. “I merely wanted to bring their existence to your attention, but it seems more debate is needed. I shall see you tomorrow.”

Xu Tao left, knowing the Triad members would spend the next day panicking, wondering what he had planned to do to them. They saw what had happened to Tsui, and were dreading to find out what would happen to them, for keeping the Arrow’s existence from his knowledge.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

-----
This chapter is shorter than usual. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I didn't have as much time to write as I had hoped.

Chapter 165

Summary:

An investigation comes to a close, the government responds to recent revelations and Oliver tells Felicity about what he has been up to.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lyla felt a little foolish for not having put the pieces together about Xu Tao earlier. She had spent a substantial part of her career on assignments that involved the Triad, even tangentially. She knew how they worked. She knew how they tended to deal with certain kinds of problems. Moreover, she knew that after Chien Na Wei was arrested, the Hong Kong leadership would find someone to replace her. Xu Tao had the same kind of reputation as Wei. He was the most obvious choice for Zhisan to send to Starling after an attack like the one on the Jade Dragon.

“This Xu Tao is bad news, then.” McKenna said, after Lyla explained that she hadn’t met him yet, but was aware of him.

“Yeah, really bad news.” She said. “But him being here also explains a lot that I was having trouble adding up in my mind. It’s possible that some of the deaths that happened over the last few days were his doing.”

“You think he killed some of his own men?” Slade asked.

“They’re not “his” men though. They were Triad and he’s Triad, but he’s an outsider. He has no connection to them beyond that, no camaraderie that would make him reluctant to kill them if he saw a reason to. He’s also- if he killed Tsui and the others, it wouldn’t cause him much of an issue.”

“I don’t know what that means.” McKenna said.

“The Triad is like any other organization. There’s a hierarchy, there are rules. Tao is higher ranking than Tsui and the other dead Triad members that have been found. He’s closer to the leader, he has more power and more leeway. If Tsui did something to warrant being killed by his own people, Tao would have an easy time getting permission to kill him.” She said. “And it makes the brutality of Tsui’s death, at least, make more sense. And the fact that his wife was also killed. It wasn’t just about killing him, it was about sending a message.”

‘Or punishing him.’ Oliver said.

“Punishing him?” Nyssa asked.

‘What if we’ve been thinking about what happened wrong?’ He asked. ‘The Jade Dragon was attacked. A few days later, a construction site operated by Frank Bertinelli was shot up and two of his men were killed. We thought it was the Triad, that the shooting was their retaliation for the earlier attack, but what if that’s not exactly the case? What if Tsui assumed the attack on the Jade Dragon was Bertinelli’s doing, but no one else did? He could’ve ordered the attack on the build site, acting alone, and then someone found out about it. And they decided he needed to be made an example of.’ Oliver didn’t like thinking about his experience being undercover in the Bratva, but a similar situation had happened during his time in Russia. In that instance, it was a response to in-fighting rather than a conflict with a rival group, but it ended almost the exact same way. Oliver hadn’t been involved in punishing the offender, but he knew Anatoly had had the “associate” killed, as well as his wife, mistress, children and every member of the man’s family.

“That assumes that the Triad knew that Bertinelli wasn’t responsible at the time he ordered the attack. We can’t know that.” Lyla said. “ But the Triad and the Bertinelli famiglia have had an uneasy peace for years. It benefited both sides to continue that arrangement. Zhisan would want to keep the peace if possible, because a gang war is bad for business. He would want to be absolutely sure they were responsible before giving the “ok” to retaliate. If what Oliver guessed is moderately close to the truth, Tsui wasn’t killed because he acted of his own accord, but because what he did threatened the tenuous peace.”

“So, Tao might be trying to de-escalate things with Bertinelli, to avoid a war, and be able to focus entirely on the Bratva.” McKenna said. “What do you know about Xu Tao, beyond what you already shared? I want to be able to go back to Pike, and the team handling this, with as much information as possible.”

Lyla told McKenna everything she knew about Xu Tao, everything she remembered, regardless of how unrelated it felt. She wasn’t as familiar with him as she was with Chien Na Wei, but ARGUS had quite a bit of information about him.

 

Helena Bertinelli was starting to get nervous. She needed to talk to Harbinger, or one of the other vigilantes in Starling, but she couldn’t find anyone.  She was sure that Harbinger knew about the brewing conflict between the Triad and her father’s business already, but there were some things they probably didn’t know. Things they wouldn’t know, because they were outsiders.

She needed to talk to someone, to tell them what she knew, but she wasn’t sure how. She didn’t have a good excuse to go to the SCPD this time, and she couldn’t find the vigilantes anywhere.

“Tomorrow.” She told herself. “I’m gonna try again tomorrow, and if I don’t run into anyone tomorrow, then I’ll go to the police. I’ll just make something up if anyone spots me.”

Helena had never been a good liar. She had never needed to be. Her spying on her father had gone unnoticed so far for two reasons. First, Frank would never suspect his daughter of “betraying” him. Second, no one really paid attention to what she did or where she went. People asked but she didn’t elaborate and no one ever pressed for more information. She lied by omission more often than she ever told anyone something that was outright  untrue. The biggest deception she’d pulled off was her “bridezilla” act to cover up how on edge she was in the days before she took all of her evidence to the FBI.

Yes, tomorrow she’d make one more attempt to find Harbinger or the Arrow or the other three vigilantes. After that, she’d have to risk being asked some uncomfortable questions from her father if he learned she had gone to the police.

 

The timing of Steven Spade’s call with Malcolm Merlyn didn’t work out quite as well as Anderson or Mars had hoped for. Because of the time difference, Anderson hadn’t been able to get in touch with his bosses in DC before they went home for the day. He still called them, knowing the news he had was important enough to warrant a call after hours.

His boss at the FBI was happy that they had pinpointed Malcolm’s location in Corto Maltese, but by the time Anderson called, it was too late for the FBI to start working with other agencies about what to do with that information.

“What’s the latest from DC?” Dinan asked as soon as she had gotten to the precinct on Thursday morning.

“Nothing. By the time the right people in DC were told that we had a location on Malcolm Merlyn, it was too late for us to reach out to the State Department, officially, to open a dialogue or get other agencies up-to-speed on everything.” Anderson didn’t know what was going to happen next, but it was going to involve multiple agencies, regardless. The CIA needed to be involved, as did the NSA. ARGUS and a few other agencies would be looped in as well.

“So, a bunch of people working for those agencies all got to work today and got pulled into an unexpected all-hands meeting. They must love us right now.” She said. No one who worked for the government liked emergency meetings being called.

“We found Malcolm Merlyn, on our own. We, meaning your team and mine, did the hard part. I don’t give a shit if what happens next is inconvenient.” He said. 

“Well, I guess until you hear from your director and I hear from mine, we need to keep working on what we’ve still got left to do. If I never hear the number 4587 again, it’ll be too soon.” She said.

The task force was getting towards the end of reading through the file, but everyone agreed that the amount of documents they had to dig through was insane.

“You found Merlyn?” McKenna asked, walking into the bullpen. She had already met with Pike regarding Xu Tao and had come to check in with the task force, just to see where things stood, before heading back to the gang unit to discuss the Triad-Bertinelli-Bratva problem with Hilton.

Anderson gave her a brief explanation of what happened the day before, while McKenna had been busy with the gang unit. He couldn’t tell McKenna where Merlyn was, since it was need-to-know, but he told her how it happened.

“You can’t tell him about any of this.” Anderson said. “I know you probably wanna go tell Tommy about this, but you can’t. The information isn’t public knowledge and we don’t want the wrong people learning how we located him.”

“I can’t just say that you found his location?” She asked.

“No, not until we hear from our bosses and are told he can be informed.” Dinan said. “Sorry.”

“I don’t like it, but I get why that’s the process.” She said. “It’s kinda weird that Malcolm doesn’t leave voicemails, though.”

“Do you leave voicemails?”

“No, but if I call someone and they don’t answer, I follow it up with a text telling the person to call me. I make an effort to tell them I want to talk. I don’t just keep calling until they answer.” She said.

 

The Director of National Intelligence called a meeting of agency directors and other important intelligence personnel early Thursday morning. All they had been told was that there was a critical matter that needed to be discussed immediately and that the President had already been briefed on the situation. 

Cat Grant was the only agency director that did not attend the meeting in person, as traveling to DC for the meeting would’ve forced the DNI to push back the start time and that was unnecessary in her view. Once the attendees were told that the FBI had determined Malcolm Merlyn’s location, and confirmed it, the meeting turned to the various directors deciding what the next move would be. They couldn’t make a move right now, but they needed to be in position.

“How did the FBI find his location?” The Deputy Director of the NSA asked.

“He hired a PI to follow his son around, for reasons unknown to us currently. Merlyn called the PI for an update, not knowing that the PI had gone to the FBI-CGIS task force and confessed he had been hired by Merlyn. The PI kept him on the phone long enough for the field agents to run a trace.” John Lee, the director of the FBI, answered. 

“All his planning, and a phone call is what catches him.”

“Stranger things have happened.” Graves said.

“They’re now digging through the call history from that number, trying to figure out who else Merlyn was calling, but that’s besides the point.” Lee said. 

“What about the son? Is his son in contact with him?”

“Not from what they have found so far. I should note that Thomas Merlyn has been more than willing to help the joint task force when they’ve needed permission for certain searches. It’s my understanding that he has very little to do with his father anymore.”

The meeting went on a bit longer, as the work was divided up between agencies to keep an eye on Malcolm and determine how to handle things. Cat found that she didn’t have much to contribute to the discussion. The meeting ended, she got off the call and made a call to Belle Reve.

“Flag, I need you to be on standby, ready to leave at any time.” Cat said as soon as Rick Flag was on the line.

“The Squad was supposed to be grounded for the foreseeable future.”

“Task Force X is still on indefinite hiatus. I don’t need them on standby, just you.” She said. “I read your file. Ex-Special Ops with a particular talent for extraction. And experience operating in Corto Maltese. There are things in the works, and someone with your background might be helpful.”

“What’s going on?”

“I can’t read you in on it yet. Like I said, it might happen. Be on standby until I tell you otherwise.” Grant said.

She knew how the CIA operated. She knew agents were already on a plane to Corto Maltese, in order to be “in place” when a choice about Merlyn was made. Flag’s skills could be helpful on two fronts. He could help the agent in Corto Maltese in extracting Merlyn and getting him back to the US. Or, he’d be useful if they needed to exfiltrate any agents on the ground, to avoid suspicion by the Corto Maltese government. 

 

While Felicity was working from home, Oliver decided it was time for him to finally unveil what he had been working on. Aside from meetings with his lawyers about William, and his awkward coffee date with his mother, he had spent the last several days hacking, looking into people and groups that the team needed to know more about. He knew that everyone had secrets, but some secrets needed to be exposed.

After deciding he had finally gotten enough evidence to warrant releasing such a treasure trove of information, he sent it off. He sent information to law enforcement. He leaked things to the press. He sent as much information as he had to as many people as he could think of.

“What’s that smile all about?” Felicity asked. “You look proud of yourself.”

‘I am. Although, I might’ve also just altered the course of American history.’ He said.

“How so?”

‘Some of what I found is going to end some political careers.’

“I thought you were looking into Isabel?”

‘I was. I still am, but she- the task force is also investigating her and I don’t want to do something that will make their investigation harder, like exposing too much about her and causing her to flee the country. When I realized that, I turned my attention to people no one was investigating, because no one knew to investigate them.’

“Such as?”

‘Every time Malcolm has gotten sued, until he fled the country, the case always ended up in front of the same federal judge. He’d get sued and he’d always get the case moved to the federal district Starling City’s in, and he’d get the same judge and that judge always ruled in his favor, so the case either got thrown out or the other side gave up. After he ruled in Malcolm’s favor and the case was over, he’d receive a “gift”  from a shell company I linked to Malcolm.’ He said. ‘Some politicians really want to get that judge onto the Supreme Court.’

“You weren’t kidding about this possibly changing history.” She said. “But this is for the best. I don’t want to live in a world where someone on Malcolm Merlyn’s payroll is on the Supreme Court for life.”

‘Me neither.’ It was a terrifying thought to consider.

 

Detectives Boldt and Metcalfe were not terribly happy with the way their investigation into the death of Nora Allen was going. It seemed that the more they investigated, the more mistakes they were finding in the initial investigation. It was troubling to think about, and even more troubling to consider how obvious it was that some of the facts didn’t line up.

“I don’t like this.” Metcalfe said. “I didn’t want Allen to be wrong.  I also didn’t want the department to have messed up this badly.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. What was the DA thinking? Taking this to a trial.” Boldt said.

“He probably had ambition. He wanted to win this impossible case and prove something. I can’t believe a jury found Dr. Allen guilty, with so little evidence.”

“Mike Jones fucked up, that’s how it happened.” Boldt had been on the force when Nora was murdered, Metcalfe wasn’t even living in the city at the time. “Not intentionally, but he screwed up all the same. It wasn’t a national story, but it was a big deal locally. How do you get a fair jury, when everyone getting a summons is seeing this case all over the news? Jones should’ve argued to move venues, to have the trial in a different part of the state. He didn’t make the attempt, and that probably messed up the appeal.” He sighed. “I’ll call Wyrick. Tell him that there’s no way Henry Allen could’ve committed the murder.”

“I called him this morning and told him. I didn’t want this to have to wait another day to be brought to the chief’s attention, or be passed on to whoever in the state’s attorney’s office has to deal with the fall-out. Do you know what happened to the DA who tried the case?”

“He ran for governor, and used the conviction as a talking point, and lost. Not sure what happened after that.”

“If he still works for the state, he’s gonna get quite a few calls about this.”

An announcement would need to be made. Hearings would be held. None of that was on Boldt and Metcalfe’s minds at the moment. They were thinking about Barry and Henry Allen. They didn’t know whose job it would be to tell them about the conclusion they had come to, but neither was looking forward to it.

 

Mei Gulong opened her front door, expecting the food delivery boy to be there with her order. Instead, she found two men in suits standing on her doorstep. One was a Chinese man, about a decade older than herself. The other was a white man with red hair.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“Are you Mei Gulong?” The redhead asked. He had an American accent.

“Yes. What interest is that of yours?” She was a Chinese ex-pat living in New Zealand. She couldn’t fathom what would cause an American to come looking for her.

“My name is Shawn Brettler. I work for the US Embassy. This is Bobby Xe. One of my colleagues back home has been trying to get in touch with you for several weeks.” He said. With some digging, the task force agents were able to find out that Mei Gulong had moved out of China roughly two years earlier. They then reached out to other countries, hoping to find a way to get into contact with Mei.

“Why? I have no idea what interest anyone in the US would have in me.”

Brettler took a deep breath. “The American Coast Guard is planning an expedition to Lian Yu, where your father and sister died. The agents wanted to get in touch with you regarding what should be done with the bodies of your father or sister, should a body be recovered.” He shifted. “I don’t know much about the expedition itself. I was just asked to pay you a visit, and pass along the contact information of the CGIS agent overseeing the trip.” He handed her a business card.

“Ba and Shado are dead, then. I- I guess I knew, deep down, but wanted to be wrong.” She said. “I was hoping to be wrong.”

“As I said, I don’t know much about the trip, but it’s my understanding that the Coast Guard has an eyewitness who was present at the time of their deaths.” He said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Brettler and his companion, who hadn’t said a single word, turned and left.

Mei was left standing there, holding the business card. She would take a few days, and then give the agent, Andrea Dinan, a call. How did they even know Shado had a sister? Who was this witness and why were they alive, while Shado and Yao Fei were dead? She needed answers, but first, she needed to mourn.

 

Thursday night, the vigilantes got ready for patrol and headed out into the streets. They had a better idea of what the Triad was up to, and the SCPD had been briefed on Xu Tao’s history. They also knew what spots to keep an eye on, for activity by the Bratva. 

About an hour into patrol, Lyla and Oliver encountered Helena. They had been near Bertinelli territory, so running into her wasn’t shocking but they were curious as to why she was out tonight. She’d taken her evidence to the FBI and had no reason to keep digging into her father’s business. It was actually safer for her to lay low for now.

“Oh, thank god I found you. I’ve been looking for you for two days.” She said.

“Is something wrong? Did something happen?” Lyla asked.

“Kinda. I’m gonna assume that you know about the shooting that happened at both a Triad front and a front for my father’s business.”

“We’re aware.”

“I found out something that you might not be aware of. Is there somewhere we can go that’s less open to talk about it?”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 166

Summary:

Oliver and Lyla learn something surprising, the hunt for Malcolm continues, and someone in Central City gets some news

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Oliver and Lyla decided, after a brief discussion, to take Helena to the clock tower where he and Nyssa had met previously. Helena had asked for a place to talk in private, and the clock tower would allow for privacy. It was also the only place Oliver could think of, spur of the moment, aside from the foundry, where they could talk and not be overheard.

Helena followed the pair to the clock tower, while Felicity told the rest of the team what was going on over the comms. After being told the plan, Nyssa, Sara and Slade continued with the patrol they were on.

Once Oliver, Lyla and Helena were at the clock tower, Lyla decided to take charge of the conversation. “You said you found something out, about the issue between the Triad and your father, that we might not be aware of.” She said. She didn’t want to push Helena, but she also didn’t want to waste time, especially with tensions so high.

“Yes, Sunday night, my father left the house around dinner time. I figured he was out doing “business” and didn’t think anything of it.” Helena said. “Not long after he came back, Nick Salvati, his right-hand man, came over and I overheard the conversation they had in his office. He had met with someone in the Triad. The guy seemed to be a pretty big deal, from what I heard.” Frank, Helena and Nick were the only ones in the house that night. Frank’s office door might have been closed, but Helena had been “reading” in the next room, not far from the door, and decided to listen in, due to her father’s mood when she saw him arrive.

“Okay.” She could tell there was more Helena wanted to say. Frank meeting with a Triad member wouldn’t be odd or dangerous enough for Helena to want to seek her out.

“To be clear, it’s not that my father met with this Triad member. He went to meet with some other Triad leader a few days after the shooting at the construction site. But the guy he met with this time was- according to what my father told Nick, this Triad member showed him a bunch of decapitated heads as a peace offering of some kind.”

“Heads?”

“I didn’t hear the beginning of the conversation, so I don’t know the full story, but I clearly heard my father tell Nick that the new Triad leader presented him with a few decapitated heads as a peace offering and a sign that the Triad doesn’t want war with my father and his “associates”. Frank thought he was genuine.”

In the foundry, several people were sitting with their mouths agape. McKenna was tempted to pick up the phone and call Hilton, but held off, she wanted some confirmation of whose heads Frank Bertinelli had been shown.

“Harbinger, we need to know how many heads he was talking about.” Felicity said over the comms. “I know it’s a weird thing to ask.”

“How many heads?” Lyla asked. 

“What?”

“I know this is an odd question, but did you hear how many severed heads the Triad member showed your father?”

“I think there were two. I only heard him say one name, but he said the first person’s name and then called the other one an asshole or something.”

Oliver was standing slightly in Helena’s peripheral vision. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, but her focus was mainly on Lyla. He signed a question, which Digg saw and repeated over the comms. “Do you remember if the name he said was Tsui or Wang?”

“Tsui.” She said. “You already knew about this?”

“Not exactly.” Lyla said. “We knew about two Triad members being found decapitated, but not what happened to their heads or why. What you just shared gives us a better idea, and we can share that with law enforcement.”

“That’s not all I heard. Well, that’s all heard that night between my father and Nick. He and Nick talked about the meeting for a while, the new Triad leader is more intense than my dad is used to. Two nights ago, after I tried and failed to find you, I heard them talking again. My father agrees there doesn’t need to be a war with the Triad but he’s still pissed about his two guys being killed. He thinks its the Bratva’s fault.”

“The Bratva would benefit if the Triad and the Bertinelli Famiglia went to war. They could, in theory, wipe each other out.” Lyla was reluctant to get Helena more involved in what was going on. So far, she had been very hands-off in her actions, and there was a huge difference between gathering intelligence on her father and being in the middle of a war.

“Frank came to the same conclusion, and decided he wanted to hit them, before they could hit him.” She said. “I heard him and Nick planning an attack on some business an important member of the Bratva frequents. It was a restaurant but I couldn’t hear the name clearly. The name was Matre-something.”

Felicity started running searches. “Matre” wasn’t much to go off of, but she had done more with less. “Ask her if the name she heard was Matreshkas. It’s a Russian restaurant. Address is on Nickel Street. Alexei Leonov has dinner there once a week. It must remind him of home.”

“Matreshkas?” Lyla asked. “On Nickel Street.”

“Yes, that’s it.” Helena said. “How-?”

“That’s the place, Overwatch.” Lyla said.

“Who’s Overwatch?”

“A teammate of ours. She focuses more on cyber-sleuthing than what we do. Well, we do some cyber-sleuthing too, but she’s the expert at it.” She said. “Arrow here was the one who first noticed someone was looking into the Bertinelli Famiglia, when he decided he wanted to gather some intelligence about your father’s activities.”

Oliver started to sign a response, which Digg repeated. “Hey, I was only able to figure out what I did because you were an excellent teacher, Harbinger.”

“It was a fair trade. I taught you hacking, you taught me archery.”

Helena looked between the two vigilantes. It didn’t seem like the right time to ask how Arrow and Harbinger became partners, but clearly the history between them was more intriguing than she thought. “I didn’t hear my father say when the attack was going to be, I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping, but I’d bet the attack they’re planning is gonna happen soon, because he doesn’t like waiting.”

“How soon is soon?”

“If something hasn’t happened by Sunday night, I’ll be shocked.” She said. Frank wasn’t a patient man, by any means. It was one of many reasons why Helena loathed him so much.

“We’ll pass this along to the SCPD and figure out how to handle this.” Lyla said.

“I want to help stop the attack.” Helena said.

“You’ve done more than enough already.”

“No, I haven’t. You don’t- regardless of how much you know about Frank, you don’t know him like I do. I saw how angry he was, when he worked out the Bratva was to blame. I know what happened the last time he got that angry and needed to prove something to an enemy. I’m not a trained police officer and I might not have the same experience as you do, but there has to be some way I can help, beyond just giving you the information. Something I can do.”

Lyla was about to respond when Oliver nodded his head, indicating that he wanted to talk to her privately. Lyla said she needed to converse with Oliver and moved over to where he was standing.

‘Maybe she can help us.’

‘We can’t let her do this.’ She signed. ‘Spying on her father is a world away from stopping an attack like the one he’s planning. We could get her killed.’

‘There’s nothing we can do, short of holding her captive, to stop her from getting involved. She’s determined to stop the attack, I can see it in her eyes. Even if we say no, she knows where the attack is going to be and she could show up anyway and try to help, which could make things worse. I have William this weekend, meaning the team is going to be without me and Felicity. An extra set of eyes, or someone to cover an extra exit, wouldn’t be the worst thing.’ Oliver valued the time he had with William more than anything. He’d help the team as much as he could over the weekend, but he didn’t want to have to choose between spending time with his son or helping the city.

‘She hasn’t worked with the team before. Or any team.’

‘I’m not talking about recruiting her. I just think having her there, as an extra set of eyes, makes sense. She won’t mess up whatever plan we make with the SCPD, if she’s told what she needs to do, and it makes my absence less of an issue.’ He said. ‘The SCPD might not even want us there, making this argument moot.’

‘Fine. I’m reluctant to do this, because I am worried this is gonna endanger her, but if she’s going to take the risk, we might as well.’ She turned back to Helena. “We need to pass along what you told us to the SCPD. Once we know how they want to handle it, I’ll let you know what you can do. Meet me here tomorrow night.”

“That’s it?” Helena asked.

“Yeah, that’s it. We need to know what the SCPD wants to do before we can come up with a plan. We also need to talk to the other members of our team, and let them know about this.” She said. “Are you sure you want to be there? We’re talking about a very dangerous situation where someone, including you, could get hurt.”

“I know. And yes, I’m sure. What if I need to get in touch with you before tomorrow night? What if I learn something that can’t wait? Given my….situation, I can’t just call 9-1-1 without raising suspicion.”

Lyla rattled off a phone number, belonging to a burner phone she had set up after leaving Moscow. She wanted to have a phone Waller didn’t know about and couldn’t track. Now, it was coming in handy as Harbinger.  “If you call that number, one of us will answer. It can’t be traced. Save it in your phone as the bank or something innocuous.” She repeated the number so that Helena could jot it down.

With that, the group went their separate ways. Helena went home and Oliver and Lyla returned to patrol.

‘I can help with Bertinelli after William’s gone to sleep, if you need me to.’ Oliver said after they had been walking for a bit. He had said that he wouldn’t be patrolling when William was in Starling, but he felt guilty leaving the team short-handed. If they really needed him, he could be there. It wasn’t what he wanted but he didn’t want to let people down.

“We won’t. The SCPD isn’t gonna make us handle this on our own. We’ll be fine without you.” She said. “I’m sure our detective friend has already told them.” Lyla was positive that McKenna told someone in the gang unit about the planned attack as soon as Felicity had found the name of the establishment Frank was targeting. She’d want the SCPD to know as much as possible as soon as possible.

‘If that changes, I’m just a call away.’

“It won’t. I want you to enjoy your time with your family.” She said. The situation may not be ideal, but she knew how much Oliver’s weekends with William meant to him, and she was not going to ask him to sacrifice that time unless there was an absolute need to. She knew Nyssa, Sara and Slade felt the same.

As she and Oliver suspected, McKenna had already told the SCPD what Helena had shared by the time the team returned from patrol. Sara, Nyssa and Slade all agreed that Oliver should go ahead with his weekend as planned and they would figure out a solution and a way for Helena to contribute to stopping the attack, if one occurred Friday or Saturday.

 

Senator Joseph Cray arrived in his office on Friday morning in a pretty bad mood. Ever since Mike Spivak had quit, it felt like his staff had been a lot less productive. Cray had never given too much thought to his aides, aside from how efficient they were at their jobs, but it was starting to seem like Spivak had been the one getting the most done. Cray needed things to get done, and he needed them now.

The aide he’d hired to replace Spivak was proving to be a slow learner. The kid, whose name Cray hadn’t learned yet, seemed eager, but out of place. He always had to ask questions, he needed clear directions. The Senator didn’t have time for that, but also didn’t want to lose another aide so soon, as it would reflect badly on him.

Spivak had been Cray’s most senior aide, so after he quit, Cray tasked another senior aide to arrange a visit to Belle Reve, so that Cray could force a meeting with Amanda Waller. He had already been waiting far too long to have a word with Waller, and every day he was delayed, the more damage her knowledge could do to his career. The second aide, Baker, had asked more questions than Spivak had when he was given the task.

Cray had been in his private office for less than five minutes when Baker came to speak with him.

“Senator, regarding your visit to Belle Reve-.” He said.

“Is it finally arranged? When am I leaving?” Cray asked.

“It’s not arranged yet.” Baker said.  “I did finally manage to speak to someone at the facility with some degree of authority, but they had some questions, and they were questions I couldn’t answer.”

“What could they possibly want to know?” It took a lot of energy for Cray to avoid yelling the question. He was a sitting US Senator, he didn’t think he should have to tell the staff of some prison in the middle of a swamp anything. “You know what? Don’t worry about it right now.” Cray would make a few calls of his own. He had a feeling that someone was giving Baker the run-around, making things harder than they needed to be. Or, Baker was accepting crappy answers, instead of pushing back on what he was told. 

In Louisiana, the warden of Belle Reve was starting to get suspicious. He had been told that Senator Joseph Cray wanted to visit the prison, and had some unfortunate staffer running around, trying and failing to set up a visit. Why was a senator from Missouri interested in a prison out in the Louisiana bayou?

 

Oliver and Felicity weren’t surprised that reporters hadn’t yet broken the story about the federal judge taking bribes from Malcolm Merlyn on Friday morning. Oliver had sent the information he’d uncovered about Judge Benjamin to reporters only, not law enforcement. He didn’t know what the FBI or any other agency would do with information about a corrupt federal judge, if they could act on the information at all. The judiciary and the federal agencies he’d contacted were both part of the government, but they were not the same branch of government, and he knew that would limit what an agency could do. 

Reporters were independent from the government, and he knew they’d dig deeper than he had on Judge Benjamin’s corruption before releasing such a massive story. Not only was it a massive story, but serious journalists wouldn’t risk their credibility by rushing to put out a story like that. They’d take the time to do it right, but also would work to get the story out sooner, rather than later.

“When do you think the story about the judge will break?” Felicity asked him over breakfast. “It’s gotta be soon, right?”

‘Very soon, I’d bet. I sent what I had found to multiple publications and two TV stations. For me, I’m not wondering if the story will break soon, but who gets the story out first. It’s almost like I’m pitting all these newspapers against each other.’ He had made a list of the biggest, most credible publications in the country, from the Associated Press to the Central City Tribune, and sent what he had uncovered to all of them.

“I have a feeling I know who’s gonna break the story first. It feels weird to speculate on this kind of thing, but I have a feeling.” She said. Felicity’s bet was on The New York Times , not because she liked them better than any other paper, but because one of their reporters was particularly relentless and pursued this exact type of story. “I guess we’ll see.”

Felicity left for her half-day of work after giving Oliver a kiss goodbye. She was leaving after lunch to travel with him to Central City to pick up William.

 

Mid-morning on Friday, Cat Grant and a number of other agency directors found themselves in another meeting with the Director of National Intelligence. The situation with Malcolm Merlyn was evolving quickly, but Cat was wondering if locating Malcolm would mean having to attend daily meetings until he was in American custody once again. She certainly hoped not.

“Where are we on the assignment each agency was given?” The Director of National Intelligence asked.

“I can confirm that we tapped into every means of electronic communications both inside and outside the house.” the Director of the NSA reported.

“What about physical surveillance?”

“There’s a team in place on the ground, keeping some distance.” A man from the CIA said. He did not make any further statements.

“A keyhole satellite has been in place for the last….eighteen hours, over the house.” Cat said. “Heat signatures show there are currently five people inside the building. We believe two to be domestic staff. We do not know which of the other three is Merlyn.”

“Why do you think two are staff? And how did you confirm neither was Merlyn?” Someone asked.

“The two we believe to be staff have come and gone from the house a few times since the satellite has been in place, like they are running errands. We’ve ruled out either being Malcolm Merlyn due to the heat signatures they are giving off.” She said. She saw someone open their mouths to ask for detail. “Merlyn is six feet tall. Both Person A and Person B, as we’ve designated them, are too short to be Merlyn. The taller of the two is 5’9” and while Merlyn can do a number of things to hide or conceal himself, he can’t make himself shorter.”

“The entire building is under the unblinking eye of American surveillance.” The woman leading the meeting said. “Good. The President will be pleased to hear that.”

“Is it too early to ask about an extraction plan?” The CIA agent asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. We have to act with diplomacy first.”

“Well, it may be proactive, but I do have an ARGUS agent on standby, who has experience operating in Corto Maltese.” Grant said. “He has not been told anything about this situation yet, but I felt it prudent to have him on standby for the foreseeable future.”

“ARGUS was never given authorization to run an operation in Corto Maltese.” Someone from the DOD said.

“I’m aware, but as many of you know, the last ARGUS director was not the kind to let a lack of authorization stop her.” She said. Since everyone in the room was aware by now of Amanda Waller’s antics, no one pushed her to explain further.

 

Henry Allen was heading back to his work assignment after lunch when one of the guards called his name. He had a visitor. Barry never came to visit in the middle of the day, so Henry wondered who had shown up to see him.

He was escorted to one of the private visitation rooms, which were usually reserved for lawyers to meet with their clients. Instead of Michael Jones waiting for him, the two CCPD detectives who reopened Nora’s murder case were sitting there.

He couldn’t tell from their expressions if they had more questions for him, or if they came to tell him something else. He took a seat across from them and waited for one of them to start talking.

 

Before Oliver or Felicity knew it, they were heading to the train station to travel to Central City and pick up William. The ride passed quickly, and they ended up getting to Central City much earlier than they expected. Rather than stay in the train station, the pair made their way to Jitters for some coffee.

When they entered the Jitters, Iris was working and she waved to them. The place was pretty empty, so the trio had some time to chat. Felicity remembered that Iris was in grad school and asked how her studies were going. Iris was more than happy to share, and vent a bit, about how grad school was going. Iris loved psychology, but graduate school was stressful.

“Can I ask you a question?” Felicity asked. “I remember Barry mentioning that you want to be a journalist, but you’re studying for a masters in psychology.”

“And you’re wondering how one leads to the other? I double-majored in journalism and psychology. When I was struggling to find a journalism job or even an internship after graduation, I decided to apply to grad school for psych. I’m hoping the masters in criminal psychology will help me stand out as an investigative journalist.”

‘What drew you to investigative journalism?’ Oliver signed. Felicity was about to repeat the question when the door to the coffee shop flew open and someone entered.

“Iris, you won’t believe it. The- Oliver and Felicity are here.” Barry said. He had registered that Iris wasn’t alone partway through his greeting.

“Hi, Barry.” Felicity said. Oliver waved. “It’s our weekend with William and our train got here earlier than we expected. I think one of the trains ahead of us got canceled or something.”

“Is everything okay, Barry?” Iris asked.

“Everything’s fine. No, everything’s more than fine.” He said. “My dad’s name has been cleared.”

“That’s amazing!” Iris yelled before rushing over to hug him. “When is he getting out of Iron Heights?”

Barry’s excitement diminished. “I don’t know yet. I just found out from Singh, just now, that Boldt and Metcalfe finished their investigation and concluded that he couldn’t have killed my mom. I don’t know what will happen next or when my dad is gonna be released, but- yeah.”

‘It’s not the end, but it’s still a big step.’ Oliver said. ‘Don’t lose sight of that.’

“We’re really happy for you, Barry.” Felicity said.

“Thanks, I- I can’t believe it. I mean, I can. I’ve been waiting for this day for years, but at the same time, I really can’t.” He said. “Thank you. I really- if you two hadn’t heard me out, and pointed me in Detective Hall’s direction, I don’t know if this would’ve happened. And I definitely couldn’t have done this without you, Iris. If you hadn’t been so supportive, for all these years, I would’ve given up.”

“No, you wouldn’t have given up.” Iris said. “I appreciate that you appreciate my support, but this was all you, Bear.”

“I have to go see my dad.” Barry said. “I kinda rushed here to tell you, but I didn’t- by the time I get to Iron Heights, visiting hours will be over.”

It was unfortunate that Barry couldn’t see Henry today, but that might be for the best. Barry needed some time to process the news, and Henry would too, assuming he’d already been told. Having a chance to sleep on it was probably for the best for both of them.

The group talked for a bit longer, as they theorized about what would happen next and how long it would be before Henry was released from prison. As much as they wished otherwise, they knew the process would take weeks, if not longer, for the conviction to be overturned and his name to be cleared.

‘We should get going.’ Oliver signed to Felicity. ‘We’re supposed to meet Will and Samantha at the train station in-.’

“Daddy! Lisy!” William exclaimed, entering Jitters with Samantha. Barry took a few steps back, to give the boy easier access to hug his father. He didn’t want to be in the middle of the reunion.

“Hey, William.” Oliver said using his app. “Are you here to get a snack?”

“Uh-huh. I get a blueberry muffin every time Mommy and I come here, before I come to your house.” He said.

“I like the blueberry muffins too.”

“Two blueberry muffins coming up, then.” Iris said, moving to grab them out of the pastry case.

“I thought we were meeting you at the station?” Samantha asked as she approached the counter. She seemed more confused than upset.

“Our train got in early. Rather than sit around, we decided to get some coffee and something to eat while we were waiting.” Felicity shrugged. “We can walk over there together and do goodbyes.”

“Okay.” She said. It got quiet. “I haven’t heard from Nina.”

“That’s good. Well, it's better than the alternative.”

“She probably hates me.”

“If she’s smart, she wouldn’t. You didn’t do anything.” Felicity said. She wasn’t sure why Samantha was bringing the situation up, but she wasn't in the mood to discuss it. Oliver was trying to protect his son, and if the situation were reversed, Nina Bordeaux would’ve done the same thing.

After getting their muffins, Oliver and William walked over to where Felicity and Samantha were standing. The group walked back over to the train station, where William said goodbye to his mother. Soon enough, there was an announcement that the train to Starling was boarding.

“Are you excited for this weekend?” Felicity asked Will as the train began to pull away from the station.

“So excited!”

“Is there anything you really wanna do?”

The boy shrugged. “I dunno.”

“We’ll have to think of something really fun to do then.” Oliver said. He then asked Will what he had been doing since they last spoke over Skype.

“I started putting together the LEGO set Mommy got me. It’s a lot more pieces than I thought it would be.” He said. He then started telling them about the different parts of the set, and the LEGO city he was going to be able to build with it. They spent the next hour or so, talking to William about his different LEGO creations, as well as some of the other gifts he’d already started to play with from his party.

When the train was a few stops from the Starling station, William started to yawn. Oliver looked confused, since William wasn’t usually tired by this point in the trip.

“Are you sleepy, bud?” He asked his son.

“Yeah, since it was sunny and warm, Ms. Gwen let us have extra playtime outside. Adam and I played tag for hours and hours!”

“If you wanna close your eyes for a bit, that’s okay.” He said. “You can take a nap if you want. We have all weekend to spend together.”

“Okay.” William said, closing his eyes. He quickly started to fall asleep and snuggled up next to Oliver’s side.

By the time they reached Starling, William was asleep, and neither Oliver nor Felicity wanted to wake him up. Without a thought, Oliver picked William up and carried him off the train, while Felicity grabbed William’s bag. They walked out of the station and got William settled in the car. Halfway home, Will woke up.

“Sorry I got sleepy.” He said, rubbing his eyes.

“You don’t need to say sorry.” Felicity said. Oliver was driving, and couldn’t use his app. “Everyone gets a little sleepy now and then. We’re almost at the house.”

They arrived at the house soon enough. William got settled and they had a late dinner. The three of them watched the first half of a movie before it was time for William to get ready for bedtime and call Samantha. William fell asleep very soon after Oliver started telling a bedtime story. 

 

Frank Bertinelli and his associates did not attack Matreshkas that night. The SCPD had increased patrols in the area, as did Helena and Team Arrow. A handful of customers came and went from the restaurant, but nothing suspicious took place. It was an overall very quiet night.

The gang unit knew that the information McKenna passed along came from a reliable source, and they were happy to have had the heads up. While no one wanted an attack to happen, they were happy to have as much warning as possible to try and prevent it.

Lyla sent Oliver a short, generic text when it was clear Bertinelli wasn’t making a move tonight. She knew he’d want to know what was going on, since he felt guilty for “letting the team down” by taking time for himself. She didn’t want him to spend all night worrying, either.

He texted back a smiley face.

 

The train station had been quiet when Oliver, Felicity and William disembarked, but it hadn’t been empty. There were some people milling about the terminal. Some were waiting for an incoming train to arrive, others had no place to go until the morning trains departed.

A traveler, who had arrived on a different train around the same time, had spotted Oliver walking through the building, carrying his sleeping son. Without thinking, the woman took a picture of the scene. Now, looking at the photo, she felt strange about capturing such a moment. It felt invasive. She felt like a voyeur, having a picture of a stranger carrying his sleeping child.

She didn’t know Oliver Queen, but it seemed like he wanted to be left alone. Ever since he’d been found alive, he seemed to be trying his best to avoid attention. She certainly wouldn’t want some random person taking photos of her in public. She deleted the photo. He might be rich and famous, but that didn’t give her the right to invade his privacy.

Her Uber driver finally arrived and she left the station.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 167

Summary:

Oliver and Felicity enjoy another weekend with William, Laurel gets some news, Malcolm hears something upsetting and the SCPD waits for Bertinelli to make his move.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Xu Tao was a patient man. He had learned over the years that patience was possibly one of the most valuable traits someone like him could have. Men who lacked the ability to wait, to think things through, didn’t get very far in the Triad, unless they were very lucky. If they didn’t rush things to get themselves killed by an enemy, or arrested by law enforcement, then their hotheadedness made them unsuitable for leadership.

As he stood in the warehouse, waiting for one of the other Triad members to speak, he was yet again reminded of how beneficial it was to simply be patient.

“I asked a question.” He said. This was his first time calling a meeting of the Triad since he told them he’d run into the vigilantes. Initially, he was going to give them a day to panic over what he might do, but one day turned into a few, because he really wanted them to worry about what would happen the next time he saw them. It was clear that everyone except him had known about the vigilantes prior to his encounter while trying to abduct Petrov. “Why was I not informed that there were archers, some sort of vigilantes, operating in the city?”

“Tsui told us not to tell you.” One man said. 

“Blaming a dead man. I find that to be rather cowardly.”

“It’s the truth.” Tsui had hoped Xu Tao would get the Arrow’s attention, and the Arrow would deal with Tao for them. He wasn’t alone in that desire, though no one was foolish enough to voice that opinion.

“Tsui said not to tell you. No one can say why, because he didn’t tell us his reasons and he’s not here to explain them. Some others believed you already knew about the Arrow and his stupid crew.” Another man said. “The Arrow was involved in Chien Na Wei’s arrest, so they assumed you knew about the threat and no one wanted to waste your time by telling you something you already knew.”

“Chien Na Wei wasn’t arrested because of the Arrow. She was arrested because she clearly lost her mind and attempted to attack someone in broad daylight, in front of witnesses.” Tao said. “And your attempts to appeal to my ego are not going to work.” The man who had spoken was attempting to flatter him, by acting as if his time was so valuable and as if the men in front of him hadn’t already wasted a great deal of his time.

“We should have told you about the vigilantes. I’ll admit that. I’m not sure the Arrow is a priority.” The second man said. “We have yet to respond to the Bratva appropriately.” The other Triad members weren’t the most intelligent, but they had worked out by now that the Bratva was responsible for the attack that started this whole mess.

“Our response will come in time.” He could wait to retaliate against the Bratva. He had encounters with them in the past, he knew how they operated. The Arrow, however, was an unknown and he hated responding to unknowns. “Our quarrel with the Bratva does not mean we should just ignore the Arrow. And there will be consequences for keeping vital information from me.”

“We already explained why you weren’t told.” The first man said.

“An explanation doesn’t absolve you of anything. Mr. Zhisan has decided that this group needs a reminder of how things work. He fears Tsui’s stupidity may have been contagious. I will not fail him in that regard.”

Several Triad members gulped or flinched at the news. If Zhisan had given him instructions to get the local members in line, it meant he had near carte blanche to do whatever he felt was needed in order to accomplish that. 

Xu Tao pulled a knife out of his sleeve and began to play with it. “Now, tell me everything you know about the Arrow, and some of you may survive the night.” Xu Tao was a patient man. He would keep the Triad in this warehouse as long as he needed to in order to get the answers he wanted.



On Saturday morning, Laurel felt like the anticipation she was feeling was enough to kill her. The judge for her case said he’d issue his ruling by the end of the week. Friday had come and gone, but she hadn’t heard anything about the decision he’d come to. After two and a half days of waiting, Laurel just wanted to know what had been decided. She could handle bad news, but she couldn’t handle not knowing.

When a guard came to her cell and told her that her lawyer had arrived to speak with her, it took a lot of self-control for her not to yell “finally” or something equally dramatic. She followed him through the facility to the visitor room.

“Did the judge issue a decision?” Laurel asked Joanna as soon as she sat down.

“He did. He waited until basically the last possible moment yesterday to release it, so I wasn’t able to get up here in time to give you the news yesterday.” Joanna said. “There was a hearing for the Daniel Brickwell case yesterday, and I think the judge didn’t want to worry about the press gathered outside the courthouse for the news on that case, and the press gathered outside waiting for him to release his decision.”

“Who’s Daniel Brickwell?”

Joanna had forgotten that Laurel was in Cassidy Penn when Brickwell had been caught and his crimes had come to light. She didn’t know if she should be the one to tell Laurel about Brickwell. At the same time, it was too late for her to backtrack. “The man who killed Rebecca Merlyn. He also killed at least three others.” Brickwell might have confessed, but there was a lot that needed to be decided after the fact, such as if the District Attorney was going to seek the death penalty for some of the deaths he had caused. “I don’t know anything about the case, so…let’s get back to you and your case. The judge both did and didn’t rule in your favor. The no-contact order stays in place while you are incarcerated. Upon your release, however that comes about, you cannot be within 500 feet of Queen Consolidated’s headquarters, Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences facility or the house Oliver and Felicity recently moved to.”

“Okay. That’s- what about the whole “if I’m in Jitters and they walk in, I have to leave” thing? What does it say about that? I want to be prepared.”

“The judge acknowledged that you have shown growth and doesn’t think those same restrictions are needed. You’ve been a model inmate, Dr. Quinzel’s letter suggests that you’re not going to repeat past mistakes. It also helps that the incident at the grocery store, let’s call it, was a spur of the moment decision. You didn’t, like, follow them to the store just to confront them in the cereal aisle.”

Joanna stayed a bit longer, going over a few specifics with Laurel, and talking about her plans to try and get her probation reinstated.

“I don’t know how I’m ever gonna repay you for this.” Laurel admitted as Joanna was about to leave. “I know we’re friends, but I feel bad for how much you’re doing for me.”

“When you get out, treat me to dinner somewhere nice and we’ll call it even.”

“That doesn’t feel like enough.”

“I’m telling you that it’s enough.” Laurel needed her help, and to some extent, Joanna blamed herself for not trying harder to get Laurel to see how erratic her behavior had been. She knew Laurel was an adult, and had made her own choices, but a part of Joanna wondered what might have happened if she’d made more of an effort to help Laurel earlier.

 

Oliver was not quite asleep, but also not quite awake when he heard something hit the ground just outside the door to his and Felicity’s bedroom. A second later, he heard William call out “oops” before the door was pushed open. 

Will walked in, trying not to make too much noise, holding his toy robot in one hand. He walked over to where Oliver was laying and poked him in the shoulder. “Daddy, are you awake?”

Oliver opened his eyes and nodded. He sat up, stretched and led his son out of the room. Felicity shifted in bed, still fast asleep, but didn’t wake up.

“Did you sleep well?” Oliver asked his son, once they got downstairs and he could grab his phone to use his text-to-speech app.

“Uh-huh. Did I wake you up? I didn’t mean to.”

“Not really. I was kinda already awake when you came in.” He said. “Want to help me make breakfast? I was thinking we should have pancakes.”

William nodded eagerly and waited for his father to take out the ingredients for pancakes. Oliver did most of the work to make pancakes, but William helped out by stirring the batter and helping wash some of the fruit to put on top. Felicity came downstairs just as the first few pancakes were done.

“Good morning everyone.” She said. “Ooh, pancakes!”

“I helped make them!” Will said. “Daddy let me mix all the stuff up, and I washed the strawberries and blueberries to go on top.”

“Those are two very important jobs. I’m glad you were here to help out.” She said. “I think that means you should get to have the first one.”

The little boy didn’t need to be told twice. He put a pancake on his plate and started putting berries, syrup and whipped cream on top. He had to ask for some help cutting the pancake into small enough pieces to eat, but soon enough, he was eating breakfast. Felicity and Oliver sat down to join him, and while they were excited for breakfast, they didn’t make quite as much of a mess with the toppings as Will did.

Since Oliver and William made breakfast, Felicity said she would do the clean-up. She had decided that it wasn’t fair for Oliver to have to both cook and clean-up after meals. They both kept her company as she was doing the dishes.

“So, Will, have you thought about what you might wanna do today?” She asked.

“Can we go to the park? Last time, it was too rainy, so we couldn’t go, but I kinda wanna go to the park. I like watching movies and making stuff with LEGOs, but I wanna also play outside. And I haven’t gotten to go to the park here yet.”

‘I’m going to say yes.’ Oliver signed. ‘I’m nervous about it, but we can’t keep him inside forever, just because I’m nervous. It’s not fair to him.’

‘Sounds good to me.’ She signed back. 

Oliver typed something into his app. “I think the park is a great idea. Do you wanna go now, or wait a little bit?”

“Wait a little bit. Mommy makes me wait after breakfast to go outside, so I don’t get a tummy ache from running around too soon.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

Malcolm frowned at his phone when he saw who was calling him. All of his calls to Steven Spade went unanswered, yet John Cecil continued to call him. As he went to answer the call, he could guess what the conversation would be about.

“Hello, John.” He said.

“Good morning Mr. Merlyn.” Cecil said. “Your son is still being….difficult when it comes to the matter of my fees.” Malcolm was adamant about fighting the lawsuit brought by the families of the crew of the Gambit, which his lawyer was well aware of.

“It’s actually afternoon here.” Malcolm said. “And I don’t know why you seem surprised. Tommy’s always been an ungrateful brat.”

“You assured me that he’d be changing his mind, that you would convince him to do the right thing for his family.”

“I haven’t had a chance to yet. There have been complications on my end.” Malcolm couldn’t send someone to “reason” with Tommy until he heard back from Spade and Spade was ignoring him.

“Officially, all your assets are frozen, but I know there’s an account or two the government didn’t find. Perhaps my fees, or simply a retainer, can be paid from that account.”

“No such luck.” Malcolm said. “The government froze every account I had, even the ones I didn’t expect them to find.” He had money in shell accounts, but not enough to pay Cecil and his law firm. Spade’s initial fee was $2,500. Cecil charged $2,000 an hour and Malcolm would run out of funds before the case even got started.

“Malcolm, I do not work on contingency, nor does my firm do pro bono representation. I will give you one week to pay my retainer. If I have not received the funds in one week, I will be withdrawing myself from this case.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said. I can overlook quite a few things, but I do not work for free.” Cecil ended the call before Malcolm could threaten him.

Malcolm was fuming. After all the money he had paid Cecil over the years, this was the thanks he got? His assets were frozen. He had been forced to flee the United States. He was stuck in some third-world country, with only Dylan Smith, a cook and a gardener for company. Smith was intolerable most of the time, and he had no desire to speak to the other two unless he had to. If Malcolm believed in Hell, he'd guess it was similar to this.

 

Around forty-five minutes after finishing breakfast, Oliver, Felicity and William left the house and walked to the nearby park. Oliver and Felicity hadn’t explored much of the neighborhood, but one of the reasons they had picked the house they bought was because it had parks nearby and was a quiet area. The park was empty when they arrived, though it was mid-morning. William ran off to play on the jungle gym as soon as he saw it, while Oliver and Felicity took a seat on a nearby bench.

“He looks like he’s having fun.” Felicity said.

‘Yeah.’ Oliver felt a little bad that there weren’t other kids at the playground for Will to play with. Aside from that, he was happy they had come to the park.

Shortly after arriving at the park, another family arrived. Two parents had arrived with their son, who was around Will’s age, and a child in a stroller. The boy ran off to get on the slides, while the parents settled in at a nearby spot.

Oliver and Felicity weren’t sure what they should do, and if they should introduce themselves to the other family. On one hand, these people were strangers and they had no obligation to talk to them. On the other, their son was playing with William and it wouldn’t be weird just to exchange hellos.

“Hi, I’m Rachel.” The mom of the pair said, looking at Oliver and Felicity. “This is Justin, and this little trouble-maker is Melanie.” She gestured first to her husband and then to the baby in the stroller.

“I’m Felicity. This is Oliver.” Felicity said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Do you live around here?”  Rachel backtracked, possibly because Felicity got a weird expression on her face. “Sorry, it’s just that I haven’t seen you here before, and we’re here almost every day. Jack always wants to go to the park. I was wondering if you’d just moved into the neighborhood.”

“We moved here a little while ago, but this is our first time checking out this park. Will wanted to come.” She said. “It was a nice day and it seemed like a good idea.”

“Definitely better than all the rain we’ve been getting.” Her husband said. “I love Starling, but I do not love day after day of rain.”

The two sets of adults started making small talk while the two boys played. Rachel and her husband seemed nice, and they were easy to talk to. Felicity got the sense that they knew who Oliver was, at least, but didn’t want to bring it up and make things weird. Will and Jack seemed to become fast friends. More people started to arrive in the park. A lot were headed to the far end of the park, where it looked like a soccer game was about to start. After about an hour and a half, Melanie began to cry.

“I think that’s our signal to go. We need to get Miss Melly here home for naptime.” Rachel said. “I guess I’ll probably see you around.” Justin went to collect his son and the family left the playground.

William came over to Oliver and Felicity after his new friend had left. “I think I wanna go home now.”

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked. “We can stay if you want to play some more.”

“No, I had lots of fun with Jack, but I wanna do something else now.” He said. Jack was the only kid his age that had been at the playground. There were a few bigger kids, but Will seemed a little too intimidated to try and play with them.

“All right. Let’s go home then.” Felicity said.

Hand-in-hand, they walked back to the house together. The timing ended up working out well, because they arrived at the house right around lunchtime.

Thea and Roy came over for lunch, after ASL class. They usually had lunch with Moira after class, but she had plans with Jessica Danforth that day, leaving the pair free. William was excited to see them, especially since Thea had missed the trip to Central City to pick him up, due to needing to be at school.

“It sounds like you had lots of fun at the playground.” Thea said, as Will finished telling her about his trip to the park. “And you made a new friend too.”

“I did! I’m glad it wasn’t too rainy to go, like it was last time.”

“Yeah, rain is important, it helps flowers and plants grow, but it’s kinda stinky when it rains all the time.” Felicity said, scrunching up her nose a bit. Oliver thought the expression made her look cute, and had to fight the urge to kiss her. He didn’t want to kiss his girlfriend right now, especially since his breath probably smelled like mustard.

“What are you gonna do for the rest of the day?” Roy asked.

Oliver and Felicity both shrugged and looked at William. “We haven’t really made a decision yet.” She said. “Will, do you have any ideas?”

“Can we watch a movie after I talk to Mommy on the tablet?” He asked. Felicity and Oliver tried to have a routine when William came to visit and it was something he was starting to notice. They normally planned lunch on Saturday so that the FaceTime call with Samantha was shortly after they finished.

“I think a movie sounds like a great idea to relax, after the excitement at the park.” Oliver said using his app.

The group talked for a bit, trying to decide what movie they should watch while cleaning up lunch. Oliver and William then went into the living room so that William could FaceTime Samantha and tell her about his weekend so far.

After the call, William decided he wanted to watch Kung Fu Panda again.

 

Jimmy Olsen walked into the newsroom at Reuters in Chicago. He had forgotten his extra memory card when he left the day before and needed to grab it before leaving for his next assignment. As he neared his desk, he spotted a familiar face, bent over a computer.

“Weren’t you here when I left yesterday?” He asked.

The person looked up. “What do you mean yesterday? You just left.”

“It’s Saturday afternoon, Lois.” He said. “You didn’t go home last night, did you?”

“No, I can’t. I’m working on this story, and I’ll be damned if that conceited dirtbag Jack Ryder at The New York Times beats me to the story again.” Lois Lane was an excellent reporter, even colleagues at rival publications said so. She was tenacious and pursued every story with intensity, but a reporter at the Times kept being the first to break whatever story she was working on. She was determined not to let it happen this time. “He’s not beating me to publication this time.”

“What’s the story?” Jimmy asked.

“An anonymous source leaked something to us a few days back, related to a corrupt judge out in Washington. Unlike most anonymous sources, this one panned out big time. It’s going to be a bombshell when it comes out, and I’m gonna be the one to break the story.” She said. “I need to get back to work.” She hadn’t stopped typing the entire time, but her focus was split between the story and Jimmy, and she couldn’t afford distractions.

Having worked with Lois for a few years, Jimmy knew better than to try and stop her while she was on a roll. He wished her luck, a comment she probably didn’t hear, and left the newsroom.

 

Hilton called McKenna in the late afternoon and asked her to come see him. He needed to talk to her about the gang unit maintaining surveillance at Matreshkas that night. Friday night had been quiet, which was good for the restaurant, but it made the authorities uneasy.

She drove to Hilton’s precinct as quickly as she could, not wanting to make him wait. He was at his desk, looking at a map showing a five block radius around Matreshkas.

“I feel like the perimeter we set up last night was acceptable, but I don’t want to risk just being “acceptable”  with an attack coming.” He told her.

“Completely understandable. What do you need from me?”

“Do we have any indication of when this attack is going to happen? Has the Arrow’s source provided any additional information?” He asked.

“No, there hasn’t been an update. They said it would shock them if Bertinelli hadn’t done something by tomorrow night.”

“But nothing concrete, from what it sounds like. And if we have surveillance set up outside the place for five, six days, someone’s gonna notice and it's not gonna be someone we want to notice.” He said. “It’s a shame the source couldn’t give us something that would hold up in court, then we wouldn’t have to do this in the first place.” Without evidence that would hold up in court, the SCPD had to wait for Bertinelli’s men to take an active step towards attacking Leonov before they could be arrested.

“They couldn’t, without putting themselves at risk of being found out by Bertinelli and his right-hand man.” She said.

“Okay, walk me through what role the Arrow and his buddies are gonna play. I know you talked to them, and we went over some things last night after you did, but I wanna go over it again, now that I’m looking at a map of the area.”

“Guardian will be here.” She pointed to a spot. “Harbinger will be here.” She pointed to a different spot. “The others will be floating. Except Huntress, who will be here.” She pointed to the very edge of the perimeter. It was a spot that allowed Helena to observe, but wouldn’t need to be involved in any fighting. Huntress was a codename Thea had thrown out, based on the fact that Helena was hunting her father. The team decided to use it, because it was fitting.

“Huntress? Who’s Huntress? How come she’s never come up before?”

“She’s not technically part of the Arrow’s team. She’s an independent ally of theirs.” She said. “If things get physical and the vigilantes have to do more than just observe, she won’t be fighting, so the unit doesn’t need to worry about her. Her main strength is in covert surveillance.”

“Is it that she probably won’t join the fray or will she definitely not?”

“She will not. She’s aware of her own limitations and admits that she’s of better use observing than fighting. That’s why the others are going to be setting up shop closer to the restaurant and will be ready to get involved if there’s a need for that.”

“I still need to tell the cops getting into position how to identify her, to avoid blowing her cover or mistaking her for an accomplice.”

“She typically wears a black motorcycle suit and a purple and black helmet.”

“I’ll pass it along.”

Everyone was a bit on edge as afternoon turned to evening. Since there hadn’t been an attack Friday night, the likelihood of one on Saturday night was higher. Neither the SCPD nor Team Arrow liked those odds.

 

Frank Bertinelli was sitting in his office. For once, the work he was doing was related to his actual business and not his illicit affairs. He was looking over some inventory reports to see what materials he’d need for the job he had recently taken. Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.” He said.

Nick Salvati stepped into the room. “We’re ready. Just got word that he’s headed there tonight.”

“Good. Remind Leonov why he shouldn’t fuck with me.” Frank said.

Nick nodded once and walked out. Frank returned to his reports. He’d be sending emails to people all night, from suppliers to his foreman, giving him a solid alibi for what was about to happen.

Salvati met up with the men Frank had hand-selected to attack Matreshkas. They piled into two cars and headed towards the restaurant. It was time for the Bratva to remember who really held the power in this town.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 168

Summary:

The Bertinellis move forward with their attack, Dinan gets an unexpected call and Brick learns something he doesn't like.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Helena watched from the yard of a neighboring house as Nick Salvati entered her house to talk to her father. Nick left less than five minutes after arriving, which indicated to her that the attack on Matreshkas would happen that night.

 She had lived through enough “business disputes” of her father’s to recognize the pattern of behavior. Nick, or whichever capo , went to speak with Frank one last time, to confirm the attack should proceed, before leaving to fulfill his orders. Once Nick’s car was out of sight, she started up her bike and made her way to the spot where she was supposed to meet Harbinger.

At a light, she remembered the comm unit Harbinger had given her, and put it in her ear. “Hey, it’s me.” She said. “Salvati just left Bertinelli’s place. He’s meeting up with the others to begin the attack. I didn’t see or hear him say as much, but based on past experience, that’s what’s happening.”

“Roger that, Huntress.” A voice said over the radio. “Head to the agreed upon location and we’ll inform the SCPD.”

“Huntress? I like it.” She said. “I take it you’re Overwatch.”

“No, but I don’t have a codename yet. So, yeah.” Thea said awkwardly. “I should really come up with one.”

“Sometimes, the codename picks you.” Harbinger said. “Thanks for the update, Huntress. I’ll see you shortly.”

Harbinger beat her to the agreed upon location. They talked briefly, going over the plan one last time, before the archer left so that she would be in the right position when the mafia members showed up.

“This is Hilton.” Detective Hilton said over the radio after a few minutes. “Any movement?”

“The Bertinelli Famiglia have been on the move tonight.” Lyla said.

“Alexei Leonov walked into the place twenty minutes ago with a woman who’s either his very young mistress or his granddaughter.” Slade said. Since he had experience as a sniper, he was positioned so that he had a clear view of the restaurant. “Harbinger confirmed on sight and the tech folks backed her up.” Thea ran facial recognition when Lyla identified the man as Leonov.

Hilton was one street over, in his cruiser. The SCPD had created a cordon of surveillance around the restaurant in three distinct areas. They didn’t have any officers in the restaurant, but there were officers, some in uniform, some not, in and around nearby buildings, in addition to uniformed officers in the area to cut off possible escape routes and a SWAT team on standby. The hope was to stop the attack before any shots were fired, and if that wasn’t feasible, to minimize the potential loss of life.

“How do we stop this before the shooting starts?” Helena asked. “We don’t have to wait for someone to fire, right?”

“For an arrest, we need cause, which means we have to witness someone taking a substantial step towards the attack. As soon as anyone sees someone with a gun heading towards the building, we can move in.” Hilton said.

Two SUVs turned onto the street. Helena couldn’t say why, but she had a feeling the two vehicles were carrying her father’s men. The vehicles both came to a stop about ten yards from Matreshkas. The drivers stayed in the cars, but three passengers got out of each one. Helena saw that Nick Salvati was one of the men who had gotten out of the car and told the others which one he was.

“I don’t have a visual on any weapons.” One of the cops said.

“That’s because they’re hiding them.” Sara said. “Trying not to draw attention until it’s too late for any associates Leonov might have with him to notice.”

The six men, almost in sync, walked towards the building. When they had walked a few feet, each man reached into his jacket and pulled out weapons. Nick and another man had a handgun. The others had a combination of machine gun and sawed-off shotguns.

“This is Granger, I have a visual on weapons.” A different officer said. 

“Move in.” Hilton said.

The officers closest to the restaurant moved in, identifying themselves as police and telling the men to drop the weapons. The Italians fired off a few shots, one breaking the window of Matreshkas, before being forced to drop their weapons. The group then scattered, causing the police to have to chase after them. Some tried to run back to their vehicles. Two rough-looking men, Leonov’s bodyguards, came rushing out of the restaurant, brandishing their own guns. They fired off a few shots before also being told to stand down by police.

“I can’t take out the tires without hitting anyone.” Slade reported. 

“I will handle it.” Nyssa said. She had been closer to the street than Slade when the cars arrived, so she didn’t have to go very far to be on the road. She quickly nocked two arrows and fired them into the tires of the vehicle that had arrived first. She saw the driver pull one of the arrows out, which only caused the tired to deflate faster than it would have. “The vehicle further south has been incapacitated.”

Someone jumped into the second vehicle and the driver drove off. It was heading directly towards where Helena was. Since she wasn’t a fighter, she wasn’t sure what to do. She had been told to, to not try and join the fight, but she couldn’t just let the car escape.

“The remaining car is coming right at me. They’re gonna have to go past me. What should I do?” Helena asked.

“Nothing. You’re at Nickel and 18th?” Hilton said.

“Yes.”

“Tell us which way they turn.” Sara said. The operation had been going well, even with Oliver and Felicity taking the night off, but this was the moment when having one extra person might come in handy. Oliver could have chased after the vehicle while everyone else was occupied.

The car went rushing past Helena and made a left. “They turned left.”

Hilton sent word over the radio for any of the nearby units to head to that location. After a tense few minutes, he came back on the radio. “Second vehicle has been disabled. Both occupants have been apprehended. Someone call dispatch, tell them we’re gonna need two tow-trucks.”

Now that the excitement was over, and the perpetrators were being rounded up and put in handcuffs, the SCPD thanked the vigilantes for their assistance.

“Huntress, that’s our cue to leave.” Lyla said. “They’re too polite to say it, but the SCPD don’t need us for what happens next.”

“No one was hurt, were they?” Helena asked.

“A waitress was injured by the glass breaking, but the injuries are minor. No one else was harmed.”

Satisfied that no one had been seriously injured, Helena got on her bike and left. One of the Bertinelli men, who had been handcuffed but not put into a police cruiser, saw the bike drive off. It was too dark for him to make out any detail, but he could have sworn he’d seen that motorcycle somewhere before.

Helena stashed her motorcycle in her normal hiding place, as well as her helmet and jacket, and went back to her father’s house. She hadn’t told Frank she was leaving, so she had to sneak back into the house through her bedroom window.

Once she was back inside the house, she waited a few minutes before heading downstairs. Knocking on the door of her father’s office, she stuck her head in and told him she was going to be working on wedding stuff and didn’t want to be disturbed. She doubted Frank had even realized she had left, but if he did, she wanted to get ahead of any brewing suspicions.

“Yeah, sure, honey.” He said, dismissively. “I’ve got a lot of work to do as well.” He didn’t look away from his screen the entire time.

She closed the door and went upstairs. Frank didn’t suspect her, and didn’t seem to know what had happened to his men. Helena felt a huge sense of relief.

 

Roy had been sending texts with vague updates to Oliver and Felicity while the operation outside Matreshkas had been going on. Everyone wanted them in the loop, and this seemed like the best way to do that while also respecting Oliver’s “family time” with William. The messages were as simple as “they’re waiting” and “some friends just arrived” with no mention of who anyone was or where they were going. To an outsider, it would be hard to tell if they were discussing a top secret mission, or a surprise party, or any number of things. Thea was busy being the team’s eyes and ears, and Tommy admitted that he was too nervous to be a reliable communicator in this situation.

Roy’s final text read “everyone’s heading home” and Felicity responded with a thumbs-up emoji and wished him a good night.

Oliver and Felicity had spent their evening teaching Will a few more signs. He had practiced the signs they had already taught him and was really excited to learn more. He seemed to be having fun learning ASL and they both thought it was a good idea for him to learn to sign. After teaching him a handful of new signs, they got William ready for bed and he called Samantha to say good night. As always, Oliver told William a bedtime story after the call.

‘Do you think someone would actually buy one?’ Oliver asked Felicity after they had put William to bed.

“Do I think someone would buy one what?” She replied. 

‘You suggested that I turn my bedtime stories for Will into a book. Do you think anyone would buy one? I’ve been thinking about it since you said something.’ He said.

“Oh, definitely. They’re fun stories. They have a good message and they’re different from the standard kids book, like The Cat in the Hat or Rainbow Fish. I think a lot of people would buy them. Think about it some more.”

 

McKenna was one of the officers sent to get witness statements from the patrons of Matreshkas. The statements were more of a formality, since SCPD officers had been watching the building. Alexei Leonov claimed not to have seen anything. His companion claimed to have been in the bathroom. The few other people in the restaurant claimed they didn’t see anything and couldn’t think of a reason why anyone would want to attack a small, family-run business.

“SCPD had officers here very fast. Almost like place was being watched.” The owner said. He seemed slightly suspicious by the turn of events. “Lucky for me. If customer dies in my restaurant, no one want to come back.”

“Yeah, very lucky one of our patrol officers spotted the car and thought it was fishy.” She said. “Aside from a broken window, it could have been much worse. Have a nice evening, and if you remember any details, give us a call.” She left her card, knowing the owner wouldn’t use it, and walked out of the building. “That was weird.”

“It’s really not.” Lyla said. “You left your ear piece in. Anyway, his comment wasn’t weird. The fact that there were so many cops around is gonna stick out as odd to Leonov, and he’s going to wonder if the SCPD was doing a sting operation, which was interrupted by an attempted shooting that they needed to prevent. What the owner said to you was his attempt to signal to everyone that he’s not an informant. Knowing what the Bratva does to informants, I don’t blame him for that.”

“Should I not have left my card?”

“No, leaving your card was the right thing to do. It’s what they expect you to do. Not leaving the card implies that he doesn’t need it, because he already knows how to get in touch with you. I know that seems like a stretch, but I’ve found that mob members don’t have the most sensible reasoning.”

 

Sunday morning, Agent Dinan arrived at the precinct. She had heard about the SCPD’s successful operation at Matreshkas the night before. She knew the events of last night didn’t have any impact on the investigations she was working on, but assumed she would not be seeing McKenna for the next few days. The SCPD would be very busy handling the eight or so people that had been arrested the night before.

Plans for the excursion to Lian Yu were starting to materialize and become more concrete. Slade had gotten an updated map of the island, as well as extra information from Oliver, such as the state of certain parts of the island and where he had hidden supplies. The requests for certain equipment were in the process of being approved by the government. The Chinese government wasn’t exactly being helpful as they tried to make plans, but they weren’t causing any unusual delays either. Dinan could handle them dragging their feet a little bit.

She was following up on a few equipment requests when her phone rang. She saw from the caller ID that it was from an international number.

“Hello, this is Agent Dinan.” She said.

“This is Mei Gulong. Someone named Brettler from the US Embassy gave me your card.” The voice on the other end of the phone said. “He said you were in charge of a trip to the island where my- my father and sister died.”

“Yes, we are going to Lian Yu. I don’t have a date of when we will be leaving at this time.”

“And Oliver Queen wants to know what you should do with their bodies.” Mei had realized a day or so earlier that Oliver Queen had to be the person to tell the task force to find her. He was the only person that had been rescued from Lian Yu, so he had to be the source of their information.

“It was another friend of Shado’s who made the suggestion, but yes. They said your family members deserved a proper burial and didn’t want to have one and not inform you.”

“How did they die?”

“That’s not a story you should hear from me. I think it’s better for you to hear it from someone who was there, someone who knew them.” Dinan said. “Where are you currently located? If you want to bury your relatives near you, we’ll need to coordinate that with the country in question.”

“I currently live in New Zealand, but that’s a temporary assignment. I’ll be heading somewhere else in two months. Can they be buried in China?”

“Unfortunately, no. The government stated that they do not believe any citizens are buried on the island, and have told us that any remains we find must leave the mainland within 72 hours of arrival.”

“Can you give my number to this friend of Shado’s?” She felt a bit exasperated. “I’ll work this out with them but I just can’t right now.”

“Of course. We are currently in Starling City. I’ll get the paperwork ready to bring both bodies to the US while you’re working things out.”

“Thanks.” The call ended.

 

In the small European nation of Markovia, Noah Kuttler waited for his mail to arrive. Since he was in hiding, he relied on associates and trickery to make sure that the things he needed got to him, without being intercepted. Usually, the packages in question were pieces of tech, but that wasn’t always the case. Today, he was waiting for something that had more sentimental value. It was completely unrelated to his current activities.

He had heard through the grapevine that Felicity had given an interview to a tech magazine recently. He had watched his daughter’s career from afar and wanted to know what she had said in the article. He wondered what she thought of him now. Did she know he was a wanted man, or had Donna hidden that truth from her?

His associate arrived with the various pieces of mail he had been waiting on. Among the pile was a copy of Technology Today, though the issue was several weeks old. He flipped through the magazine to find her interview.

He found it to be rather boring. Felicity talked about her past projects, she talked about her potential future projects and the kind of change she wanted to see in the world. The final line perturbed him somewhat. In a section about her inspiration, the journalist had said that Felicity credited her success to her mother, grandparents and cousins, as well as her boyfriend Oliver. There was no mention, by name or by implication, of Noah.

Noah had bought Felicity her first computer. He had introduced her to the wonders of technology, and he didn’t even get a mention. It hurt, more than he expected it to, even though he could objectively understand why she wouldn’t mention him. He had spent more time out of Felicity’s life than he’d ever been part of it. Still, he thought he should at least get some credit, for being the one to inspire her interest in computers.

 

Sunday afternoon came all too soon, and Oliver and Felicity boarded the train with William to send him home. They had spent the morning relaxing at the house and playing with Will. They also practiced ASL for a bit. The train ride was uneventful, as was their meet-up with Samantha to drop Will off. 

“Bye Daddy! Bye Lisy! Talk to you in a few days!.” He said. “I’m gonna practice signs extra hard!”

“Bye William.” They replied. “And you don’t have to practice all the time. It’s okay if you forget or if you don’t have time.”

“No, I wanna practice. I wanna be as good at it as you.”

“Will, we need to leave soon, otherwise we’re gonna be eating dinner really late” Samantha said. “Give your dad and Lisy their goodbye hugs and then we’ll go.”

William gave Felicity and Oliver hugs and then took his mother’s hand and the pair walked off. As they were walking away, Oliver heard Samantha ask William what new signs he had learned. He smiled. They weren’t friends yet, but Samantha seemed to be opening up a bit where he and Felicity were concerned. At the very least, she wasn’t upset that they were teaching William ASL.

Felicity and Oliver went back to Starling and headed to the foundry. They wanted to know what had happened at Matreshkas, in more detail than Roy had provided. The attack had been thwarted, but it didn’t mean the threat was gone. They wanted to be prepared, and Oliver wanted to know how Helena had worked with the team. He knew there was a non-zero chance of her working with them again and wanted to make sure there hadn’t been clashes between her and the others. Felicity also wanted to know how Thea had done running the comms for the mission, while she was gone.

Lyla gave a pretty thorough rundown of what had happened. She was used to having to debrief, so she knew what information to convey when and provided a good picture of what had gone according to plan, and where things had gone wrong. Very little went wrong, but those incidents were just as important to discuss.

 

Monday morning, Daniel Brickwell’s lawyer had the unenviable task of telling his client what had happened in court on Friday. The lawyer was a public defender, so he wasn’t able to choose his cases and Brick wasn’t an easy person to represent.

“How much time am I getting?” Brick asked as soon as he sat down across from his lawyer. He hadn’t attended the hearing on Friday, relying on his lawyer to handle things.

“I don’t know yet.” Jason Koritz, his lawyer, said. “We won’t know for a while.”

The hearing was supposed to be routine. Brick had already confessed to the killings. His lawyer had filed his sentencing brief, the prosecution had filed theirs and the hearing was supposed to go over a few administrative items and set a date for the actual sentencing hearing. The district attorney threw a curveball in at the last moment, knocking the whole thing off-course.

“Why not? I already pled guilty. How long does the rest of this shit take?”

“Normally, we’d be going into court in a week or two for sentencing, but the prosecution- the DA filed something right before the hearing, they’re seeking the death penalty.”

“What?”

“The state is seeking the death penalty, which means there has to be a trial. The trial doesn't decide if you’re guilty, it’s just to decide what the sentence will be.”

“They wanna put me to death over a few gang killings? Isn’t it your job to stop that from happening? What kinda shit lawyer are you?” Brick asked. “You know what? Go back to that courthouse, tell the judge I’m changing my plea. I confessed to get my time done and over with. The DA wants to put me to death? He’s first gotta prove that I killed anyone.”

“You pled guilty and the judge accepted the plea. The judge went through the whole song and dance, making sure you understood the consequences of the guilty plea, to avoid this exact situation.” Koritz said. “It’s too late to retract your plea.”

“Then, you’re fired. I want a different lawyer.”

“Do you have the funds to hire private counsel? Because if not, you’re stuck with me. Not many public defenders have the qualifications to argue a capital murder case.” There were a handful who were qualified but Koritz was the only one who could take the case. Potential conflicts of interest ruled out the other public defenders from taking the case. “And, I don’t know how much this means, but I haven’t lost a death penalty case yet.” Brickwell didn’t need to know that Koritz had only represented one other person with the potential to be sentenced to death.

“Thought they reserved death sentences for serial killers and fuckers like that.”

“The State of Washington has a number of what’s called aggravating factors to push a murder charge to capital murder.” He said. “You pled guilty to five murders. For most of them, it won’t be difficult to argue against an aggravating factor. The circumstances around those deaths leave enough gray area for the jury to vote for life. The 1992 murder of Rebecca Merlyn is the one we need to worry about.”

“What’s so special about her? Is killing the wife of some billionaire worse than killing some bum off the street?”

“It’s not about who you killed, it’s about how and why you killed them. Her death is different because the situation was different.” He said. “You killed her in the process of committing armed robbery, to get into a gang. Both of those factors gave the DA the opening he'd need to try for the death penalty.”

“I’m fucked, then.”

“Not necessarily. If I can get the video footage of your confession kept out of evidence, we have a fighting chance.” Koritz said. Regardless of how he felt about Brick, Brick had the right to present an effective defense. Every person on trial had that right, and while he didn’t like Brick, protecting his rights mattered more than Koritz’s feelings. “Had you requested a lawyer when you confessed to killing her and why?”

“No, I didn’t see the point.”

“The DA’s gonna fight me on it, but the fact that you didn’t have a lawyer present is enough wiggle room for me to try and keep it out.” He said. “I need to go. I’ve got a lot of work to do. If you make any calls, to anyone, the less you say about this case and what’s happening, the better.”  Inmates often forgot that their calls were being recorded and the prosecution could request copies of the calls at any time. The lawyer didn’t know if Brick had contacts outside of prison and he didn’t want his client to do something drastic to make the death penalty issue “go away”.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
-------
I actually researched the death penalty statute in Washington (from before it was abolished in 2018) for an unrelated work, and realized it would fit into this fic, even as just a possibility of punishment for certain characters. We'll see where it goes.

Chapter 169

Summary:

People react to the events at Matreshkas, Tommy has a meeting he wants to avoid and Central City learns some big news.

Chapter Text

Oliver decided that his focus on Monday was going to be on investigating the Bratva and Xu Tao. Frank Bertinelli would’ve been on his list, but between the work Helena had done to take down her father, and the attack on Matreshkas failing, he wasn’t as big of a concern right now/ The Bratva would retaliate for the attempted assault, and the Triad needed to be dealt with as well. Xu Tao was clearly intending to strike out at the Bratva, so the sooner both groups were dealt with, the better.

His investigation into the Bratva was straightforward. The link between the Bratva-owned garage and the stolen vehicles used in the Jade Dragon shooting had been established and the SCPD had been made aware of it. He just needed to find a way to put the gun Lyla had identified, the PKR-3, at the garage or in a Bratva member’s hand. The gun hadn’t been found, and the second one hadn’t been identified yet. If he could give the SCPD enough evidence to arrest the shooters and Leonov, or even just the shooters, it reduced the chance of another shooting happening, one the SCPD might not get advanced notice about.

Digging into Xu Tao was substantially harder. His background was more of a mystery. He was new to the city, so there weren’t any long-forgotten crimes that Oliver could connect him to. He had been very careful to avoid direct action, aside from his confrontation of Petrov, so any crimes he may have committed were done away from witnesses, or in the very least, witnesses willing to speak to the police.

“That’s a serious Oliver face.” Tommy said, breaking the silence in the foundry.

Oliver hadn’t forgotten that Tommy was there, but the silence had made it very easy for him to feel like he was in the lair alone. ‘Finding what I need to get the Triad and Bratva members behind bars isn’t as easy as I had hoped.’

“They somehow survived you and Lyla’s sweep of all the gangs in the city. It makes sense that they might be harder to take down than the Scorpions and the others.” 

‘Yeah.’

“Is Isabel Rochev really working with Malcolm?” He asked. “I know that seems random, but the Merlyn Global board set up a meeting with her tomorrow, I have to be there and I want to know what I’ll be walking into.”

‘Do I have proof that she is? No. But my instinct tells me that she’s working with him. I don’t know for how long, I don’t know to what end, but my gut says they’re working together.’

“Do you think she scheduled a meeting with the board because he told her to?”

‘It’s possible, actually pretty likely. He doesn’t have insight on what the company’s doing anymore and having her try to invest in the company is a good way for him to get that inside access back. Or, she could legitimately be doing something related to her job at Stellmoor International. They might want to acquire MGG.’

“Any advice on how I should handle the meeting?”

‘Be careful about what you say and don’t sign anything she gives you. Don’t let the board make any promises or definitive statements.’

“You think she’s gonna corner us into agreeing to something?”

‘I think she might try.’ Oliver was a realist. Isabel clearly wanted something from Merlyn Global, and whether she wanted it for her career or for her alliance with Malcolm, she might do something underhanded to get it. In unraveling the mess around Tempest, Oliver learned a lot about the completely legitimate ways Tempest managed to do underhanded things to further the plan for the Undertaking. Regardless of her intentions, seeing Isabel as any less dangerous or conniving as Malcolm would be a big mistake.

“I’ll keep that in mind. What should I tell the board to warn them? Should I tell them something?”

‘Keep it simple. You looked into her after hearing about the meeting she’d scheduled and found out she’s Stellmoor International’s VP of Acquisitions. Her reputation speaks for itself and you don’t want to potentially hand the company over to someone with that kind of reputation. You’re willing to hear out her offers, but not willing to commit. And if they push back, remind them that if Stellmoor wants to buy MGG, other firms will too and the others might offer a better deal.’

“You’ve thought about this a lot.”

‘Walter and I had some long, uncomfortable discussions when we found out about Mom’s connection to Tempest and didn’t know if it would tank QC. Isabel didn’t come up, but a hostile takeover or buy-out did. Since I’m the largest shareholder, I’d be the first person they’d want to talk to. Your father’s company might not be my family’s company, but the logic and the advice Walter gave me still applies.’

“What if the board tries to overrule me?”

‘They have to pick a side and stick to it. Either they want you in charge, which means letting you make this call, or they don’t want you in charge, in which case they shouldn’t have made you acting CEO.’ He said. ‘I know I’m the last person to tell you not to worry about something, but try not to worry about it. It’s a meeting, that’s all. Nothing has been signed, no money has changed hands. She could walk out of that room and you could never have to see her again. And unlike me, you actually have a business degree, so you’re more prepared for a meeting like this than I’d be.’

Tommy didn’t entirely believe he was more prepared than Oliver would me. He might have the benefit of a degree, but Oliver had experience. He was also used to being in high-stress situations. A meeting with Isabel wasn’t a shoot-out or hostage situation, but any decision he made had the potential to ruin hundreds of peoples lives.

 

Alexei Leonov was not a stupid man. He knew there was one reason, and one reason only, why another crime syndicate would attack Matreshkas: to kill him. The attack had been too coordinated to pass for a random act or attempted armed robbery. It didn’t escape his attention that some of the SCPD officers that responded to the incident on Saturday night were from the gang unit.

He had no illusions about what those men came to the restaurant to do, but there were two things he did not yet know, when Monday rolled around. He didn’t know which group was responsible. He suspected it was the Bertinelli Famiglia, only because none of the shooters appeared to be Chinese and therefore couldn’t be with the Triad, but it could have been some upstart street gang, trying to prove something. He also didn’t know what motivated the attack. If the Triad had attacked, he would’ve assumed they had finally figured out who had attacked the Jade Dragon. He doubted Frank would’ve worked that out, however, and even if he did, Bertinelli still had more reasons to attack the Triad than the Bratva. Leonov might’ve instigated the brewing mob war, but he had nothing to do with the shooting at the construction site.

“What did you learn from the SCPD?” Leonov asked one of his men when the subordinate arrived at the garage on Monday.

“Ivanov and Volkov are being charged for having weapons and cannot get bail. Apparently, it is illegal in this country to own gun if convicted of crime.” The man said. “So much for land of the free.” Being fairly new to the US, the man found it odd the way the US laws worked.

“They knew that and I knew that before they walked out into the street.” Leonov knew how this worked, and his men had the benefit of not being the aggressors in what happened. The two Bratva members would plead to having the guns, get sentenced to a few years and get released in about half the time. “I don’t care about them, they knew the risk. What do you know about the shooters?”

“At least one works for Bertinelli.” Nick Salvati was high-ranking enough in the mafia that all the rival groups knew who he was. The rest of Frank’s crew was lesser known, and thus knowing their allegiance was harder to work out. “So, probably all Bertinelli’s men.”

Leonov wasn’t shocked by this news. He had suspected Bertinelli was behind the attack. He was still curious about why Frank had tried to kill him. He was also suspicious about how quickly the SCPD had responded. Someone was being followed, but was the SCPD after Bertinelli or Leonov. “Anything else?”

“No, SCPD is keeping quiet this time. Won’t even say attack was on Bratva.”

“They never do. It would make the public panic.” He said. “Go pretend to work, in case detectives stop by for follow-up.” He wasn’t used to the Bratva being too big on the authorities’ radar, so he wasn’t sure when, or even if, they’d come around, wanting to get more information out to witnesses.

 

Frank Bertinelli hadn’t heard from Nick or his other men on Saturday night after the planned attack. This wasn’t uncommon, as it was a good idea to lie low immediately after a shooting like the one they had caused. No one made contact on Sunday, either, which was odd but not so strange that it raised any red flags for him. It suggested  that maybe they were worried about being followed and stayed hidden for an extra day.

He was startled when he didn’t get a call from Nick, or one of the other button men he’d sent to Matreshkas, but from a lawyer he had on his payroll

“Why are you calling me, Johnny?”

“I have some unfortunate news.”

Helena stayed home both Sunday and Monday, wanting to see when Frank learned what had happened and how he reacted to the news. She didn’t have any plans that required leaving the house, and keeping an eye on Frank seemed more important than anything else right now.

It was mid-morning when she heard the door to Frank’s office slam shut, followed by yelling. She couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, but she guessed he had just learned that eight of his men had been arrested, and the attack on Matreshkas had failed. She made her way downstairs, so that she could hear what Frank was yelling a little better.

He seemed to be ranting about bail being denied and wondering how Salvati and the others could have screwed up so badly that they got caught so soon into the attack. She heard him end the call and a moment later, the door to his office was thrown open.

“Is something wrong?” She asked, feigning concern. “I heard yelling.”

“A business deal I was looking forward to fell through. There’s nothing for you to worry about.” He said, waving her off. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Like a switch had been flipped, Helena went from her “concerned daughter” act to her “bridezilla” persona. “Good, because I have a lot I have to do for the wedding. So, if you’re gonna freak out, can you do that some place else? Or just do it quietly?” 

“I’ll keep it down.” He said, the nice moment with Helena now over.

She spun on her heel and went back upstairs. Frank went back into his office and reflected on the conversation he’d just had with Johnny, the lawyer that represented all of his men in court..

Nick Salvati and nine other men had been arrested outside Matreshkas on Saturday night. Two were Russian, and the other seven worked for Frank. Due to the courts being closed on the weekend, they weren’t arraigned until early today. All eight of his men had been denied bail. The bail being denied wasn’t unexpected, but the other details Johnny had were.

 Leonov didn’t get a scratch on him. The SCPD swooped in to make an arrest before the attack took place. Somehow, the authorities knew the attack was coming and got into position before his men did. Not only had Frank’s message gone undelivered, but he’d be without someone of his best men for the foreseeable future.

He wanted to blame this turn of events on the “rat problem” he still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of. The rat was the most obvious choice on who could’ve tipped off the police. At the same time, he couldn’t figure out how the rat could’ve known about the attack. The only people who knew the plan were men who Frank and Nick had already cleared of being the informant. The only ways the SCPD could’ve known about the plan was either one of the eight men was the rat and had tricked Frank into thinking he wasn’t, or someone was running their mouth and told the rat the plan.

Johnny needed to figure out who had talked, so Frank could arrange for that person to have a little accident very soon. Frank, meanwhile, had to figure out another opportunity to kill Leonov, because he still wanted to send the Bratva a message.

Helena, meanwhile, waited. She knew Nick’s arrest didn’t mean the end of Frank’s quest for revenge, or however he viewed the attack. He would try again because letting things go had never sat well with him. The FBI was still building a case against him, so an arrest wasn’t imminent. She wished they would hurry up and arrest Frank for something, even if it wasn’t the massive RICO case they had been building.

By mid-afternoon, two detectives from the SCPD showed up at the house. They wanted to talk to Frank, seeing as they had arrested eight of his employees two days earlier.

 

Xu Tao was conflicted about how to feel regarding the mafia’s attempt to attack the Bratva. Other Triad members were happy that the Italians seemed to be going after the Russians. After all, if Bertinelli killed Leonov, it saved them the trouble of having to kill him themselves. It also kept the eyes of law enforcement off of their operations for a bit longer. Bertinelli didn’t have a legitimate grievance against the Bratva though, but the Triad did. After some thought, he decided he was unhappy Bertinelli was targeting the Bratva, but pleased the attempt on the restaurant had failed.

“Why do you look angry?” One Triad member asked him. “Bertinelli is down a few men, and the Bratva’s attention will be on him, instead of us, for a while.”

“And I recognize that the attack will distract the Bratva, but I would have been very unhappy if Bertinelli had succeeded in having Leonov killed.”

“Why? He’d be dead, which is what we want, and we wouldn’t have to face any of the repercussions for killing him.”

“And what message do you think that would send? The Bratva attacks us, and we allow someone else to retaliate? It makes us look weak. It makes us look like fools, which will result in more challenges to our strength. Next thing you know, our territory is being invaded by some street gang that should fear us, not challenge us.” He said. “No, Leonov’s life is ours to take and had Bertinelli succeeded, we would have to break our truce with him to maintain our reputation.”

“So, you still intend to attack the Bratva?”

“My intention is not to attack them. My intention is to wipe them out, and yes, I still intend to do that. I find it suspicious that some of you are reluctant to follow through on this plan. Do you not want retribution?”

“We do. It’s just- for a long time, things were going well for us. There was an uneasy and unspoken peace and no need for these back and forth attacks. Losing that’s a little hard to accept.”

“Well, you should accept it, or there will be severe consequences, because retribution will be happening, whether you wish it or not.” He was getting more and more annoyed with the group of men in front of him and he was beginning to wonder how these men had kept the Triad businesses in Starling so successful, for so long, since they lacked the commitment to do what was necessary to this degree.

 

In Central City, the news story about Nora Allen’s murder investigation being reopened wasn’t met with much attention at first. It had made the morning paper, but it wasn’t a front page story. As the day progressed, the story started to pick up steam and people throughout the city started to talk about it.

Eobard Thawne found out about the investigation being reopened when he opened up an internet browser and the headline “Allen Murder Reopened, Husband Possibly Exonerated” greeted him. For once, he was actually doing work to keep Star Labs operating, rather than simply pretending to be busy. It was also a rare moment when a news story caught him completely by surprise. He didn’t like how often he was experiencing that feeling lately.

He skimmed the article. It was light on details, and the journalist didn’t seem confident on what stage the investigation was at. He went to the time vault. How had this happened? When had this been set in motion? Why hadn’t Gideon told him about this? And above all, what did this mean for his plans?

“Gideon! Nora Allen’s death is being investigated again.”

“The Central City Police Department launched an investigation into whether the case should be reopened weeks ago.”

“Why wasn’t I informed?”

“You wanted to be told of any events that may alter the timing of Barry Allen becoming the Flash or result in him not becoming the Flash at all. There is an infinitesimal probability of this investigation resulting in either outcome.”

“How small is the chance?”

“Approximately 2 in 10 million.”

“How did Allen pull it off? He’s the only one who cares enough to try and clear his father’s name, but the CCPD spent years refusing to budge, regardless of how annoying he got. How did he change their minds?”

“This is speculation, but it is possible that he finally annoyed someone willing to listen, or in the alternative, someone who did not want to consider what he might do if they refused to consider it.”

“Meaning?”

“Nora Allen is dead. That is not, and never has been, in dispute. On paper, the arrest and subsequent conviction of Henry Allen is harder to prove. The Central City Police Department would not fare well if the public learned the conviction may have been improper, and they were refusing to investigate, thus keeping an innocent man in prison for years.” Gideon said. “Barry Allen is unlikely to have threatened to go to the press with the story, but that does not mean someone at the police department would not consider the possibility.”

“What impact will this have on the particle accelerator completion?”

“None.” 

 

At Iron Heights, Barry and Henry were meeting with Henry’s lawyer. The story was out now, the CCPD had their findings, but clearing Henry’s name and getting him out of prison was more complicated than it appeared.

“I filed the paperwork to immediately vacate your conviction, but immediate doesn’t actually mean immediate in the court system. It has to make its way through the process.” Michael Jones said.

“But the CCPD cleared him. It’s all over the news that they determined Dad did not, and couldn’t have, kill my mom.” Barry said.

“I know that, but- judges are very reluctant to overturn the verdict of a jury. It’s not that they won’t, but they’ll be very cautious before doing so. On top of that, there’s not really a roadmap for this situation. It’s a novel case.” He said. “It’s not what you want to hear, it’s not what I wanted to be telling you, but it will take some time to get this overturned or Henry out of here.”

 

When Team Arrow gathered in the foundry that night, there was a big debate on where they should direct their focus. They didn’t know if the Bratva would be quick to retaliate over the attempted attack, or if they would wait. They suspected the Triad might try something, since the SCPD’s focus was centered more on the Bratva and the Italian mafia. There was also the chance that Frank Bertinelli would make another attempt on Leonov, instead of letting things die down.

“It would be nice if we could get one of these groups off the board soon.” Sara said. “Or even just the leaders.”

“The FBI wants to bury Bertinelli when they finally arrest him, so they aren’t going to rush things to take him into custody.” McKenna said. “We got nothing on Xu Tao.”

‘I’ve been looking for something you can use to arrest him. Leonov as well but I can’t put the guns in his hand or him behind the wheel.’ Oliver said.

“You might not have to.” Lyla said. “The PKR-3 is a strange gun that’s hard to trace. Law enforcement isn’t familiar with it, so using one in a crime is appealing. It’s the closest they can get to an untraceable weapon. The only downside is what happens when the gun is recovered.”

‘I’m not following.’

“We don’t need to put the gun in anyone’s hands. We just need to give the SCPD enough for a warrant to search the garage and maybe a few members’ homes. They wouldn’t have tossed the gun, for reasons I’ve already said, so finding the gun solves a number of problems. The other gun might also get recovered too.” She said, before turning to McKenna. “Unless there’s something I’m missing?”

“Nope. You hit the nail right on the head.”

‘I don’t know if I have the evidence you’d need.’ Oliver said.

“No one said you had to have it right now.”

With no immediate remedy, Oliver, Lyla and the others got ready for patrol. They were about to head out when Felicity spoke up.

“Before you leave, I have some good news to share.” She said. She pulled up an article from the Central City Tribune . The headline read “Nora Allen Murder Reopened, Conviction to be Overturned”. Felicity and Oliver already knew about this, but there hadn’t been a chance to tell the rest of the team, between William’s visit and the situation with the organized crime syndicates in the city. “I wanted everyone to know, because this is a win, even if we just helped.”

“Even if we hadn’t helped, it is something to be celebrated.” Nyssa said. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Did you just come up with that?” Tommy asked.

“No, it’s a famous quote, though I don’t recall who said it.”

The team left for patrol. It was a frustratingly slow, unexpectedly quiet night.

 

Tuesday morning, Tommy kept arranging and rearranging things on the conference table in front of him. The board was starting to arrive and Isabel Rochev was on her way for the meeting she had scheduled with them.

“I hope this will be a fruitful meeting.” Someone said.

“I doubt it will be.” Tommy replied. “Ms. Rochev is a corporate raider, and she doesn’t have a great reputation as one. I’m not sure we should be meeting with her. If I’d been consulted beforehand, I would’ve told everyone that.” It was a subtle jab, but he wanted to remind the board that they set this meeting without really consulting him.

“Our company doesn’t have a great reputation, either. At least, not at the moment. Her company might just be able to save us. Give us a new direction.”

“New doesn’t always mean better, Steve.” He said. “We replace bad systems with worse ones all the time.” He paused. “Ask whatever questions you want, but let me do most of the talking.” His conversation with Oliver had him thinking and he knew he couldn’t risk the board slipping up and giving Rochev an advantage.

“I’m not sure that’s-.”

“I’m the acting CEO and my name’s on the building.” He said. “I should do most of the talking.”

The room fell silent. A few minutes later, Sheila walked in, followed by a brunette woman with a scowl on her face.

Tommy stood to shake her hand. He wasn’t happy this meeting was happening, but he’d get through it all the same. “Good morning, Ms. Rochev. I’m Tommy Merlyn.”

“I’m aware of who you are.”

“Well, I didn’t want to assume. And I don’t believe we’ve met before, so I thought to introduce myself.” He had been taught that was the polite thing to do. Her frown deepened, but she took a seat. The rest of the board got settled and the meeting began.

Chapter 170

Summary:

Tommy has an important meeting, Leonov makes an unexpected move and Lyla brings up something important.

Chapter Text

Isabel Rochev took a seat at the conference table. She took her gaze off of Tommy for a moment to scan the faces of the rest of the board. Some looked eager to see her, others seemed to be dreading this meeting. She returned her gaze to Tommy.

Sheila cleared her throat, preparing to ask Isabel if she wanted a glass of water or some other refreshment. “Ms. Rochev, can I offer you-?”

“Coffee, with two creamers.” Isabel said, cutting her off. She didn’t even look in Sheila’s direction when she answered.

Ever the professional, Sheila gave no reaction to the other woman’s demeanor. She went to Tommy’s office to grab some coffee for their guest.

While she was out of the room, Tommy introduced the other members of the board. He could tell by her expression that Isabel didn’t care who anyone in the room was, but he insisted. Partially, this was a delay tactic to collect his thoughts now that she was in the same room as him. It was also a subtle power play. She had asked for this meeting, not Merlyn Global. This was his office, this was his company at the moment, he was in charge of this meeting. Sheila came back into the room and set a coffee cup down next to Isabel, along with some creamer packets. She then walked over to her seat next to Tommy.

“Now that we’ve gotten the pleasantries out of the way, I suppose we can get started.” Tommy said. “You said you wanted to discuss a possible opportunity.”

“I work as the VP of Mergers and Acquisitions at Stellmoor International. It’s my job to seek out companies that are poised for collapse and save them.”

“I’m aware of both your position at Stellmoor and what someone in mergers and acquisitions does.” He said calmly. He saw some board members frown, though he wasn’t sure if it was at his response or at Isabel’s dismissive tone. He found it funny that she said she “saved” companies when she pretty much did the opposite.  “I assume you’re here because you believe Merlyn Global Group is one such corporation?”

“The founder of this company is suspected of doing a number of not only questionable things, but also illegal things. The kinds of things that drive away investors and customers.”

“Based on our share price, I wouldn’t say it drove too many of them away.” Connor Donnell said.

“It’s nowhere near where it once was though.” Isabel said. “And I imagine much of that current value is being propped up by the interim CEO’s trust fund.”

“I’ve invested some of my personal money into this company, that’s true, but not as much as you might think. I didn’t see the need. And I certainly didn’t invest enough to manipulate the share price.” Tommy said. “The stock price is recovering because investors seem to realize that Merlyn Global Group is, and has always been, bigger than its founder.”

“Or, the market just hasn’t corrected yet, to reflect the much less favorable position this company finds itself in. A few weeks of growth doesn’t mean the company’s in good standing in the long run.”

“I suppose we’ll need to wait and see.” He said. “But we’ve gotten off-track. You want to buy Merlyn Global, or your bosses do. Let’s hear your offer.”

She had come not with one offer but two. The first offer was to buy the company outright, purchasing all of the shares for 85% of their current value on the open market. The second offer was a smaller amount, for a 10% stake in the company and a seat on the board.

“Consider the offers. I’ll be in touch.” Isabel said, after Tommy gave a noncommittal answer to what she presented. “It might not be the buy-out you might’ve hoped for, but on the upside, you won’t be saddled with a company you had no interest in running until you were forced into being CEO.”

The meeting now over, the group said their farewells and Isabel left. It was only once the elevator she was in had started to descend that Tommy was willing to discuss the meeting with the rest of the board.

“So, what do we think of her offers?” A board member asked.

“We are absolutely not taking that insulting offer to buy the company outright. I’m not a mathematical genius, but even I recognized it for the dig that it was.” Tommy said.

“Let’s not-.”

“Have you ever heard of an acquisition where the buyer pays less than the company’s worth? Because the only one’s I’ve ever read about were companies in free-fall. We’re not in free-fall right now.” He said.

“And the second offer?”

“If we give them a spot on the board, she’ll probably be the person they put on the board. And I don’t know if I ever wanna see that woman’s face again.” He said. “Plus, she was rude to Sheila. I don’t like that.”

“As impolite as she might have been, you can’t turn down her offer because she was rude to a staff member.”

“Yes, I can. Not only do I have that power as CEO, but her behavior is indicative of the kind of person she is. And that’s not the kind of person I want anywhere near this company or any of its employees.”

“Meaning?”

“To quote a friend of mine, and pardon my language, if someone is nice to you but an asshole to the waiter, they’re an asshole. Malcolm was an asshole. It seems like Ms. Rochev is not much better. Also, the whole idea of “treat others the way that you want to be treated” isn’t that hard to understand. You learn that in kindergarten.” He said. “You insisted we meet with her. We’ve met with her. I’m not inclined to repeat the experience.”

“We might not get another offer like this.”

“If Stellmoor wants to buy us, and it's a serious want of theirs, other firms will too. And the other firms might actually want to pay what the company is worth.” He said. “I will think about it for a few days, but I’m not leaning towards accepting.”

“And if the rest of the board is leaning in that direction?”

Tommy doubted the board was in agreement. A number seemed to agree with him or at the very least think they would get other offers. “Why don’t we meet again in a few days and talk about it?” 

The rest of the board left, leaving Tommy and Sheila alone in the conference room.

“Isabel Rochev isn’t the first or the last person to come into this office and treat me like dirt.” She said.

“I know. I’m unhappy that I know, but I know. Just because it’s happened, it doesn’t mean that it’s okay. Truth be told, I already knew I wasn’t going to like her before she walked in, her treatment of you just cemented my opinion.”

“She has a reputation?”

“Her company loves her, I imagine, no one else seems to.”

“How much have you invested in MGG since you became CEO?”

“Enough to incentivize me to want the company to succeed.” He said. “Did you know that Malcolm almost made me take out a loan for college?”

“Why did he do that? You wouldn’t need to borrow money.”

“He said the reason was because he wanted me to have a reason not to flunk out. By making me borrow money, if I flunked out, I’d have to pay that money back on my own. Only, no one would give me the loan, because I didn’t need to borrow money, and he had to find another way to keep me invested in my education. If this company implodes, I have something on the line as well. The staff aren’t the only ones impacted.”

“Some people might think that’s an empty gesture.”

“It’s only an empty gesture if I allow it to be one, and I don’t intend for it to be just for show. I don’t want you or anyone else in this building to lose their jobs because of Malcolm’s choices. I want the Merlyn name to not be hated in five years. And, yes, a petty part of me wants to prove something.” Being told his whole life that he was a disappointment left Tommy wanting to prove his father wrong. He didn’t know how far spite would take him but it was enough to keep him working for now.

 

Isabel left the meeting at Merlyn Global Group in an even worse mood than she’d been in when she arrived. She made a quick call to Stellmoor, and advised them that MGG was thinking over their offer. They were interested in buying the company, but only because she had made an excellent case for the purchase. After getting permission from Stellmoor to increase the offer, if Merlyn Global wanted to negotiate, she put a call through to Malcolm.

“Your son is incredibly annoying.” She said as soon as he answered the phone. “Quite possibly the worst I’ve ever met.”

“Well, at least he’s finally good at something. I take it the meeting went well.”

“It was a waste of time, mostly. You were correct that the board was composed of idiots.” 

“Why do you think I chose them in the first place?” He selected people he knew would follow his lead and wouldn’t have any big ideas of their own. They were easy to manipulate and unlikely to break ranks.

“Well, the issue is that they seem to be following your son’s lead, and only his lead, and he doesn’t seem inclined to go along with our plans.”

“Isn’t it your job to convince them otherwise?”

“How do you suppose I do that?”

“I gave you plenty of ammunition to use against key members of the board. If they flip on Tommy, the rest will follow suit.” Malcolm had enough blackmail material to sway a vote. He hadn’t needed to use it in years, but it was always good to have leverage in order to get things done. “What about our other endeavor?”

“I have not gotten started on that yet. I had meetings to prepare for.”

“Well, don’t wait too long, otherwise the opportunity will be gone. And that opportunity is half of the reason for this partnership.”

She didn’t grace him with a response and hung up the phone. She flagged a taxi down and told the driver to take her back to her hotel.

 

Alexei Leonov decided that a few days lying low wouldn’t be the worst idea after the clear attempt on his life. He may have been the intended victim, but he had gotten the SCPD’d attention. They would wonder why Frank Bertinelli would want to kill him. He doubted they weren’t looking into his business by now, and his business was uniquely vulnerable when it came to prying eyes. The fewer questions that were asked, the better.

The police weren’t his only reason for wanting to lay low. Bertinelli tried and failed, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t try again. There was no guarantee that some other group, namely the Triad, wouldn’t make their own attempt either. Leonov hadn’t gotten this far in life by being stupid. He knew that no one could kill him if no one could find him.

“If the police return, tell them I have taken a vacation. The stress of what nearly happened at Matreshka’s made me want to take some time away from the city.” He said when he told his men he’d been unreachable for a few days. 

“And if they ask where you went?” One of his men asked.

“Make something up.”

“What if we accidentally lead them to you?”

“What?”

“You haven’t said where you are going. How can we be sure that if we make something up, we aren’t accidentally sending them directly to where you are?”

“You won’t. The chance of you correctly guessing where I will be is very small and the world is very big.” Leonov said. 

He didn’t care about the cops looking for him. He was more concerned about another crime syndicate. If the Bratva members didn’t know where Leonov went, it couldn’t be tortured out of them. His men may think they could endure being tortured, but all men thought that until the torture actually began. 

“When will you be back?”

“I have not decided yet.”

 

Agent Dinan called Slade Wilson and asked him to come to the precinct Tuesday morning. She had meant to call him the day before, but other work matters kept her too busy to give him a call on Monday.

Slade arrived not long after their call. She guessed that Slade wasn’t working currently, given that he nearly always seemed available to come talk to the task force every time someone called him. She supposed his retirement from ASIS might’ve been a general retirement, but he seemed a bit too young to be completely retired. She decided it really didn’t matter why he was available at all times, but found it odd.

“Thank you for coming in, Mr. Wilson.” Dinan said as he sat down by her desk.

“Slade is fine. Like I keep telling you. After all you know about me, I think calling me by my first name is allowed.” He said. “You wanted to talk to me about Yao Fei and Shado?”

“Yes, a colleague at the State Department was able to locate Mei Gulong. Shado’s sister. She is currently living in New Zealand, but will be moving soon.” She said, handing him a post-it note. “I spoke with her recently. She asked me to pass along her number to you. She knows that her father and sister have passed, but doesn’t know the details. I didn’t feel that I was the right person to answer her questions.”

“I’ll reach out to her.” He said. “Did she say what she wanted to do with their remains?”

“She wanted to talk to you first. At the moment, we are preparing to bring the remains here. If she decides she wants to bury them outside the United States, we can get that paperwork in order as needed.”

“Thank you.” He said. “Is there anything else we need to talk about? Anything about the excursion to Lian Yu we need to discuss?”  Since he was already at the precinct, he figured he might save himself a trip later in the week to talk about the planned journey.

“Not that I know of, but Agent Doyle might have questions for you. He should be here in a few minutes, if you want to wait around.”

Slade thanked her and waited for Doyle to arrive. He didn’t have anything he needed to discuss with Slade, so Slade left.

 

“Oh, my god.” Lois Lane said as she looked over the information she had found. The anonymous tip she received about a corrupt judge had provided some evidence but she always pursued her own sources and evidence as well. This way, she didn’t run the risk of reporting on something she hadn’t independently verified. 

“What is it?” Jimmy Olsen asked her.

“This story is going to be bigger than I ever expected it to be. And I just found my smoking gun.”

“This is about that judge, right?”

“It is.” She  stood up from her desk. “I need to go talk to Perry. I can get this story out by tomorrow, but I need to make sure all the other ducks are in a row first.”

“Still worried about that sleazebag Ryder at NYT?”

“Not in the slightest. I beat him to the sources. I’m going to beat him to print.”

Lois’s conversation with Perry White was short and to the point. She returned to her desk a few minutes later. She immediately got started on her article.

“I’m so happy we finally got new computers.” She said as she was typing. “Remember how slow the old ones were?”

“Mine wasn’t really that slow.”

“Mine was. It took forever for anything to load or save.” At times, Lois was tempted to blame her slow computer when she’d work on a story, only to have Jack Ryder beat her to publication. She didn’t do that, because she had been taught not to make excuses. She accepted that Ryder kept beating her to the punch in the past, but was determined not to accept it going forward.

“Well, that’s good. Seems like we replaced them just in time for this huge story of yours.”

“Yeah. Perfect timing.” She went back to typing. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she slowly laid out the story of the corrupt judge in Starling City.

 

Cat Grant got called into another meeting with the various agency heads mid-afternoon on Tuesday. The Director of National Intelligence wanted an update for the President. 

The CIA had men on the ground. The NSA was continuing to monitor the situation from afar. Plans for extraction were being discussed, but nothing was set in stone yet.

“What do we know about the other people in the compound?” 

“Person A and Person B, the two workers, have come and gone as expected.” Cat said.

“My agents have confirmed that one is the gardener and the other appears to be either a maid or a cook. The gardener is the son of the other worker.” The representative of the CIA said. He then gestured for Cat to continue.

“Persons C, D and E have not left the compound. C and D, as we’ve designated them, move around the building, but have not stepped outside of it since the satellite has been in place.” She said. “Person E has not moved far from their initial location.”

“The person hasn't moved in four days?”

“They have moved, but- it would be easier to show you, but I’d need to go through the footage to piece together what you need to see. He or she is moving around a room, but they rarely leave the room. This could be by choice, Merlyn wanting to avoid being spotted by anyone, or not.”

“Merlyn is potentially holding someone prisoner in the building?”

“It’s possible.” She said.

Thousands of miles away in Corto Maltese, a member of the League of Assassins was giving an update to Ra’s al Ghul.

“Merlyn is unaware of my presence thus far.” He reported.

“You are certain of this?”

“I have been in this compound for nine days and he has not noticed. At your word, I can make my way to his bedroom and kill him as he sleeps.”

“My orders stand. Remain there until you are told otherwise from me, and me alone.” Ra’s said. “Unless he attempts to flee, in which case you are to wound him and deposit him outside for the American authorities who are no doubt nearby to capture him.”

“I do not understand why you want the Americans to capture him.”

“You do not need to understand. I only require that you follow the orders I have given.” Malcolm would die, but Ra’s had every intention of seeing him suffer and be humiliated first. Public humiliation required Malcolm be apprehended. Ra’s could have easily had an assassin kill Malcolm before the Americans ever found him, but he refrained from giving the order. His punishment needed to be more severe.

 

Oliver had exhausted all of his usual tricks, trying to find something on Xu Tao. He now knew more about the man himself, but nothing inherently useful. The man wasn’t quite a ghost, but finding anything to use against the man, anything that could be used to put him behind bars, was starting to feel unlikely. The man had no criminal history in the United States and he couldn’t find a record of any foreign crimes that would get him sent back to Hong Kong if apprehended by the authorities.

He came to the conclusion early Tuesday afternoon that the only way to get Xu Tao off the streets was to catch him in the act of committing a crime. It was a prospect that sounded easier than it would be. Tao ordered other people to commit crimes, he didn’t have any direct hand in anything, aside from the attempt to question, or possibly attack, Petrov.

‘We need to continue to surveil the Bratva.’ He told the team that night. ‘Bertinelli made his move on Leonov. The Triad will make their own attempt. Watching the Bratva will lead us to the Triad, which will hopefully give us what we need to apprehend Xu Tao.’

“Is there a reason you’re targeting him specifically?” Roy asked. “Isn’t the Triad a threat, full stop?”

‘He’s the most dangerous member of the Triad currently in the city. They are a threat, but he seems to be escalating the threat. If we take him down, it’ll be easier to root out the rest.’

“He’s only made one overt move in the time he’s been here, and we stopped him. He’s not going to let himself be caught off-guard again by us.” Lyla said.

‘I imagine he’ll be ready for us, but we’ll also be ready for him. We know more about him now than we did last week.’

“That’s true. And the Triad will be eager to prove their strength, after Bertinelli’s actions over the weekend. It makes them look weak for not retaliating before the Italians had a chance to.” She sighed. “Xu Tao doesn’t strike me as someone who’ll go down easy.”

“I was thinking the same.” Nyssa said. “Though, we cannot make decisions solely on what the easiest course of action will be.”

“We’ve never done that.” Sara said.

“That’s not what I was saying. We make the hard call, we’ve always been doing what seemed right, not what seemed easy.” Lyla said before turning to Oliver. “The point I was dancing around was that Xu Tao might require a lethal finding.”

“What does that mean?” Tommy asked.

‘It’s an ARGUS euphemism. It means stopping Xu Tao might require killing him. Not because we want to, but because he'll put us in that situation. ARGUS couldn’t actually say “this person is too dangerous to be left alive, so find them and kill them”, so instead they used the phrase "required a lethal finding" so that no one could ever say they were told to kill the target. They just found the person and were "forced" to kill them by circumstances.’ Oliver said. ‘The thought has crossed my mind, but my stance hasn’t changed. We can’t just go around killing people. Self-defense or trying to save someone is a different matter.’

“I was just pointing it out, so that if it comes to that, you’ve already come to terms with it.” Lyla said. “I don’t want to think about it. I know you don’t either. We’re both trying to be better people than we were in Moscow, but we can’t just ignore it.”

‘I know.’

 

Xu Tao realized fairly on Tuesday that Alexei Leonov had gone into hiding. The Bratva leader probably thought he was being slick, that his absence wouldn’t be noticed for a few days. When Leonov left the garage in the early morning and did not return, they knew he had taken off. Unfortunately for him, Tao wasn’t going to let him disappear so quickly. The Triad had been watching the Bratva for days. They had people following him. 

Xu Tao had made the unfortunate mistake of choosing the wrong person to follow Leonov around, however. He lost the car he was supposed to be following after only a few minutes, and none of the other Triad members had been able to locate it after the first tail lost it.

“So, Leonov has decided to run. Did he leave alone?” Xu Tao asked.

“It would appear so. His wife is currently at his home. His mistress is likewise at her own residence.” Someone said. 

“How has this been confirmed?”

“I saw the wife enter the house. The car hasn’t left and no one else has gone in or out.” 

Another person spoke up. “I knocked on the mistress’s door, pretending there was a package to be signed for. She said I had the wrong apartment and closed it in my face.”

“But we have confirmation she is there.” Xu Tao said. “Bring the mistress to me. If he wants to hide we will need bait to draw him out.”

“Why her? Why not his wife?”

“Most men like their mistresses more than they do their wives. A man might let his wife die, if the relationship is bad enough, but a mistress still has use to him, and getting her back alive is more appealing.”

Chapter 171

Summary:

Xu Tao makes a move, the team learns some troubling information and Leonov gets a surprise.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Xu Tao drove two Triad members to “collect” Leonov’s mistress for him. He didn’t think she’d be hard to abduct, but having a second person there reduced the chance of the woman escaping or managing to call for help.

He went with them to ensure there were no mistakes. He also wanted the mistress to be able to tell Leonov exactly who had abducted her. If the Bratva leader was smart, he knew who Xu Tao was already and would be appropriately intimidated.

Ten minutes after the two Triad foot soldiers got out of the van, they returned. Without Leonov’s mistress.

“Where is she?” He asked.

“She wasn’t home.” One of them said. “We went to the door and knocked, pounded on it really. She didn’t answer. And it drew one of the neighbors outside.”

“Go back. Don’t bother knocking. Kick the door down if you have to. Don’t worry about a nosy neighbor.”

“The neighbor said that Natasha and her friends left an hour ago, dressed like whores.” The second Triad soldier said. “The old lady said it that way. She thinks they went to a club.”

“We should call the others. Have them start searching the clubs in the city.” His comrade said.

“We don’t need to do that.” Tao said. He was really starting to resent how stupid some of the Triad members were. “She left with her friends. She will probably be back. We can grab her when she returns.”

“What should we do until then?”

“We wait.”

Around 3AM, Natasha and her two drunk friends stumbled back to her apartment. Rather than wait for her friends to leave, the Triad members dragged all three women into the van they had arrived in, before they could head inside, and drove off.

An hour or so after dawn, one of the Bratva members came to Natasha’s apartment. With Leonov out of the city, he could see her without raising suspicion from his boss. She didn’t answer the door, so he let himself in. She was nowhere to be seen. 

“This is problem.” He had told her to stay home until Leonov came back, because if anyone was looking for Alexei, she would be a target. Clearly, she hadn’t listened.

 

Alexei Leonov let out a deep, contented sigh as he overlooked the forest in front of him. It was peaceful out here, and he liked the quiet that came with being so far from everyone else. He didn’t get the chance to come out to his remote cabin in the woods nearly as often as he’d like. Being too far from Starling meant being too far from the action, too disconnected and unaware of what other crime outfits might be up to. There were many opportunities he may have missed, such as the chance to start a war between the Italians and the Chinese, if he spent more time at the cabin.

The best part about the cabin was that no one knew that he had it. Other Bratva members couldn’t tell the authorities about this place if they wanted to. It was owned by a dead man that no one knew was dead yet, with no links back to him. The only people who had been to this cabin, aside from Leonov, were never seen again.

It was the perfect place for him to lay low for a few days, maybe stretching into a week or more. He had plenty of food, a number of things to do to pass the time, and he wouldn’t have to deal with his wife’s nagging or his mistress’s demands.

Not having to deal with his underlings would also give him some time to think. Leonov had big plans to expand the Bratva’s operations. Some of those plans were underway, construction on the warehouse had begun in earnest, but he hadn’t decided on his next step. Sure, he had a few weeks until the cargo arrived, but his ambitions went beyond one warehouse or one shipment of cargo. 

He had big plans, and he had a big problem. The Arrow and his team would try to shut down the Bratva’s business, the same way they’d shut down a number of street gangs. The same way a number of white collar criminals had been taken down, if word on the street could be believed. He had to get all of them out of his way.

“I wonder how Arrow would fare against my old friend Oleg.” He said to himself. “He does owe me a favor.”

 

McKenna was already due to meet with Pike on Wednesday morning. She was glad they had a standing appointment, because the conversation she had had with Oliver and the others the night before reminded her that there were some things that Team Arrow and the SCPD had not come to an agreement on yet.

Pike wanted an update on the conflict between the Triad, the Bertinelli Famiglia and the Bratva, which McKenna quickly gave to him. She also mentioned that hackers on the Arrow’s team, mainly Oliver, were trying to gather enough evidence for a search warrant of the Bratva’s garage and some of the Triad’s businesses.

“Why aren’t they looking to get us a warrant for Bertinelli too?” Pike asked.

“They’re gonna leave him for the FBI to deal with, since they’re already building a case against Frank and his closest men.” She said. “They don’t wanna step on any toes, and anything they find will be small potatoes compared to what the FBI got from their CI.”

“The informant was able to give them that much?”

“Agent Anderson made it seem that way. All I know is that the CI despises Frank Bertinelli and really wants to take him permanently off the board, along with pretty much everyone he’s ever met.”

“And people say anger can only be destructive.” He said. “All right. Keep me posted on-.”

“There’s something else I want to talk to you about. It’s related to this.” She said.

“Okay.”

“Multiple members of the Arrow’s team have expressed….concerns about a future confrontation with Xu Tao. Based on his reputation, and what they’ve been able to uncover about his past, they don’t think he will be easy to stop, or that he will allow himself to easily be apprehended.”

“I feel like you’re dancing around what you really want to say.”

“The Arrow and Harbinger believe Xu Tao might create a circumstance where they’d have to use lethal force to stop him.” She said. “And use of lethal force hasn’t been something we’ve discussed, since they were deputized.”

“They haven’t needed lethal force in the past.”

“It’s true, they haven’t. They believe the situation is different, more dangerous. Xu Tao is an unknown quantity here, and he has the benefit of learning from the mistakes of people like the Dark Archer and Ricardo Diaz.”

“What’s your take on the idea?”

“Of them using lethal force? For one thing, no one seemed eager when they discussed it. They weren’t squeamish about the idea, but they clearly hope it won’t be needed. They’ve gone out of their way to try and avoid using it, such as the case with the Dark Archer. As soon as he was injured, the Arrow made a clear effort not to kill him, but to apprehend him or unmask him.”

Pike leaned back in his chair. “What about their body cams?”

“What about them?”

“We wear body cams for a few reasons. Accountability to the community being one of them. It’s been a few months since you became the Team Arrow liaison. Have there been any issues, any malfunctions, with their body cams during that time?”

“No. No issues. No malfunctions. No “oops I forgot” incidents. Overwatch has them rigged so that they turn on and record automatically when they are outside a certain radius of the base. To keep the location secure and to make sure there isn’t any funny business.” She said. “And they have a process to hand over the footage, should we ever need it.”

“Should they use lethal force, we’ll need that as soon as possible. Are you familiar with the SCPD guidelines for lethal force?”

“I am.” Every cop that didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk had to stay up-to-date on those regulations.

“Familiar enough to walk them through it?” He asked. She nodded. “I gotta talk to the DA, and probably Legal Affairs, see how to handle this. In the meantime, start going over the regulations with them. This is a novel situation, but at least we’re having this conversation in advance.”

McKenna left Pike’s office, nervous about how things would move forward, but pleased she at least had a chance to address the lethal force matter in some capacity.

 

Oliver spent all day Wednesday in front of a computer, hacking and looking for evidence that could be used against the Bratva. He had found a lot of information, but piecing the details together and creating something the police could use was a challenge. He wanted to make sure that the case the SCPD would build against them would stick, which meant taking his time to ensure everything was done properly.

He was disheartened to discover that the Bratva had been very busy, while the team was distracted with other, bigger threats. Part of him wondered if the brewing gang war could’ve been avoided, if the Bratva could’ve already been handled, if the team had paid a little more attention to what they had been doing, earlier in time.

He put everything he had found so far on a flashdrive, to pass along to McKenna when he finally had enough information for the authorities to act on.

Oliver and Felicity had a fun, distracting Skype call with William that night. He told them all about his week, which involved a lot of fun activities at pre-k. When it was time for him to get ready for bed, Samantha took the tablet from him and told Oliver and Felicity that they needed to talk.

“Will doesn’t want to skip kindergarten.” She told them. “He wants to go to kindergarten with his friends. I didn’t want to tell him that the teachers thought he’d be bored, so I said it was because he was already really good at reading and math and stuff.”

‘Okay.’ Oliver said. “So he’ll start kindergarten in the fall.’

“I was expecting a different reaction.” She said.

“We knew there was a chance he’d want to stay with his friends.’

“There’s also- this is gonna be a conversation you’ll have again.” Felicity said. “Next year, it’ll be a question of first versus second grade for Will. Or a question of putting him in a gifted school, or keeping him where he is. Or putting him in a special reading or special math group, depending on how the school does things. In Nevada, they put me in a special math and reading group for a few years, until I skipped fourth grade.”

“Do you think I’m making a mistake? By not doing what the teachers think I should do?”

“I think this isn’t a situation with a right answer. We’re talking about William’s education, yes, but also his social development. There isn’t a right answer, but there isn’t a wrong one either.” She said. “Do you want me to give you my mom’s number? I know the two of you haven’t met, but-.”

“I met your mother. She was at the meeting with Oliver and I had with our lawyers.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” She said. “I think she’d be worth talking to. I’ve been the gifted kid, I haven’t been the parent of a gifted kid. She might be able to give you her perspective." She didn’t know if Samantha had gone to anyone for advice, but if she needed some, Donna was a good person to suggest. 

“I don’t want to bother your mother with my problems.”

“You wouldn’t be. My mom loves William. She’d be happy to help, if she can.”

“No, I don’t think that’s needed.”

“Okay. If you change your mind, let me know.” She wasn’t going to push Samantha to talk to Donna, but she wanted the other woman to know that the option was there. 

“Thank you.”

 

They wrapped up the call with Samantha and headed to the foundry. They made an exception to their usual “no vigilante work on Wednesday nights” rule because the Triad and Bratva were bound to come to blows soon, probably in the next few days.

“The gang unit went to do a follow-up interview with Leonov this afternoon about the attack on Matreshkas.” McKenna said when he asked if there had been any updates.

‘And?’

“One of the mechanics said he left town for a few days to unwind.”

“Do they think that’s a cover or that he actually left town?” Lyla asked. “It’s possible he left town. It's also possible he just wants everyone to think that he left.”

“Which is more in line with the general demeanor of Bratva leaders?” Sara asked.

‘To some, leaving town is the same as running away, and it would mean admitting weakness.’ Oliver said.

“On the other hand, no one can kill Leonov if no one can find him. That makes it a smart move, and for him to have lasted this long in the Bratva, he can’t be a complete idiot.”

“We should keep an eye on his known associates then.” Nyssa said. “If he is in the city, they might lead us to him. And if he is not, they might be the people the Triad targets to draw him out.”

“If they haven’t already.” Felicity said, staring at her screen. “We might already be playing catch-up.”

“What do you mean?”

Felicity hit a few keys and pulled up two photos. The photos were of two different brunette women in their early twenties. “Meet Maria and Sofia Volkova. Despite the common last name, they’re not related. Maria was reported missing by her boyfriend this afternoon. They both work retail jobs and she didn’t show up for her shift and when he went to her apartment, she wasn’t there. Sofia was reported missing by her daughter’s babysitter, after she didn’t come home last night.”

“Neither of those women look familiar.” Lyla said, studying the photos.

“Both women said they were going out with a friend, Natasha Federova, last night.” Felicity pulled up another photo. The woman in the photo was the same age as the other two women, but she had dirty blonde hair. “The police have not been able to get in touch with Ms. Federova either, to ask what happened last night.”

“That’s the woman who was with Leonov at Matreshkas on Saturday.”

“The three of them went out for girls night, but they didn’t come home. Or, at least, two haven’t and one is MIA.” Sara said.

“You think the Triad took them?” Slade asked.

“I think it’s possible. I think it’s not hard to get three drunk girls to make a stupid decision, like getting into a car with a stranger. I think kidnapping Leonov’s mistress is a very good way to get his attention.”

“Assuming he would care that she has been taken.” Nyssa said. “Which may not be the case.” Her voice sounded bitter on the last part.

“What makes you think he wouldn't care?” Digg asked.

“Now is not the time to discuss this topic.” She said. “We need to find them. Do we know where they were last seen?”

“Working on that.” Felicity said. “I’ll see if I can retrace their steps last night.” She started typing. “Just out of curiosity, if you wanted to kidnap someone, where would the best place to grab them be?”

“Wherever they live.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can dig up in the area around Natasha’s apartment. If they were grabbed somewhere else, I’ll see if I can follow their movements from there.”

“What’s the likelihood that they’re still alive?” McKenna asked.

“Natasha still has use to the Triad, as bait to draw Leonov out.” Lyla said. “As for the other two, I think the fact that their bodies haven’t been found indicates they’re still alive.”

“It doesn’t sit right with me, saying they’re alive just because we have no proof that they’re dead. The Triad can make people disappear when they want to.”

“I don’t like it either.” Lyla said. “They don’t have a connection to the Bratva, do they? Maria and Sofia?”

“Not from what I can tell.” Felicity said.

“So, they have no use to the Bratva, and thus no value for the Triad.”

‘Not necessarily.’ Oliver said. ‘They can be used to keep Natasha in line. Fear is a powerful motivator. She might be willing to die, trying to escape, but if they threaten to kill her friends if she doesn’t do as they say? She’s less likely to cause a problem for them.’

“Standing here isn’t going to help us find them any faster. Felicity and Thea are gonna do their thing. We need to be out there, looking for them, or at least looking for leads on how to find them.” Sara said. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, there’s something we need to talk about after patrol.” McKenna said. “It can wait but it can’t wait too long.”

“What is it?” Lyla asked.

“Pike told me to go over the SCPD’s regulations for using lethal force. I brought the subject up with him today and while he’s working on things from his end, he told me to inform you all of what the department’s rules are.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s hope we don’t need to use lethal force in the meantime.” Slade said.

“Not helping.”

 

Xu Tao was starting to regret kidnapping all three women and not simply waiting for Natasha to be alone. When the three women woke up, after sleeping “girls night” off, it took them some time to realize exactly what was going on. Once they did, they made their displeasure known to their captors.

The trio alternated between screaming to be let go and chatting amongst themselves about inane things he had no interest in. He had a feeling they were trying to annoy him into letting them go. After another round of the women screaming to be let go, he had had enough.

“The only reason you are still alive is that I have a use for you. If you continue to annoy me, I might decide your corpses will be more useful.”

“Oh, so we need to shut up or you’ll shoot us in the head?” Natasha asked sarcastically. “You think you’re the first man to threaten to kill me?”

“I would not shoot you in the head. That would be too clean of a death, too painless. You would not even realize what had happened. If I have to kill you, I will make you suffer. I will make your death last hours, possibly days. I will cause you so much pain that you will be begging for me to put a bullet in your brain.” He said calmly. All three women needed to die, but if they didn’t make him too angry, there was no need for them to die painfully. “Your friends too.”

“I-.”

“It would be smart of you to say nothing. I find it easier to curb my desire to kill you when you are silent.” He said. 

“What do you want from us?” Maria asked. “I have no money. I work at Sink, Shower and Stuff.”

“From you? Nothing. Your friend is another matter.” He said.

He gave an order in Mandarin, and one of the other Triad members dragged Natasha into another room.

 

Leonov was enjoying a nice glass of vodka and watching the night sky when his phone rang. He had brought a burner phone with him on this trip, just in case. He didn’t want to be completely cut off from what was happening in Starling. He got angry. The phone was for him to call his subordinates, not the other way around.

“I told you not to call this number.” He growled into the receiver.

“I don’t recall you ever telling me that.” A voice he didn’t know replied. The speaker was calm. Far too calm for his liking. The man spoke as if he had nothing to fear from Leonov. “Did he tell you not to call this number, Natasha?”

There was a whimper on the other end of the line. He heard a woman’s voice start to say something in Russian, but she was too far from the phone for him to make it out.

“Who are you?”

‘My name is Xu Tao. I’m the man holding a gun to the head of your mistress.” 

“You certainly have my attention.”

“Unfortunately for you, you have my attention as well. Something that has not boded well for friends of yours, I must say.”

“What do you want?”

“What I want is something you cannot give me. I will settle for a sitdown, however. There are many things you and I need to discuss.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 172

Summary:

The search for the three missing women continues and Leonov makes a big mistake.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Leonov listened to Xu Tao’s implied threats with relative calm. Tao never outright said he was planning to shoot Natasha, but his claim to have a gun held to her head spoke for itself. He was somewhat upset that Natasha had been taken, he felt some affection for her, but his anger overshadowed any other feeling.

Alexei didn’t know this Xu Tao. He had never heard of the man, he knew nothing about him. Based on the name, he could guess the man was a member of the Triad, but that was all he knew. Yet, Tao clearly knew quite a bit about him. The man knew who his mistress was. He seemed to have an inkling of the Bratva’s recent activities. He seemed to know that he had gone into hiding. Leonov found it unsettling how much the other man knew about him, when he knew nothing about this particular adversary. 

“What do you want?” Leonov asked.

“What I want is something you cannot give me. I will settle for a sitdown, however. There are many things you and I need to discuss.” Xu Tao replied coolly.

Leonov decided that perhaps he hadn’t heard of Xu Tao because the man wasn’t terribly important. For all he knew, he was an errand boy with an inflated ego. “If this is some attempt by Tsui to-.”

“Mr. Tsui is quite dead, so he is unable to attempt to do anything any longer. I would have thought you would have been informed of that by now.” He said, cutting him off. “No, you will have to deal with me moving forward. Now, as I was saying, you and I need to have a sitdown. We have quite a bit we need to talk about.”

“And if I refuse, you will kill Natasha.” He paused. “What would you do if I told you that I did not care? If I were to tell you to just kill her now?” He didn’t want Natasha to die, but he didn’t want to give away how much he cared about keeping her alive. He suspected that Tao planned to kill Natasha at some point, since she was a potential witness. For all he knew, he’d kill her as soon as they got off the phone. “If I called your bluff?”

Natasha began to hurl insults in Russian at him from the other end of the phone. She was yelling every insult she could think of at him. Her voice then became muffled, like someone had gagged her.

“I do not think she appreciates your suggestion.” Tao said. “And if you believe Natasha is the only one I will target, you are sadly mistaken. She was a convenient target, but you also have a wife, children, other relatives. If you wish to make this more difficult, I will oblige you in that desire.”

“It would be a shame to prolong this conflict longer than needed.” He said. “I will agree to a sitdown, but I will choose the location.”

“I have no objection to that.”

After a few tense exchanges, Xu Tao and Alexei Leonov agreed to meet at a warehouse on neutral ground the following night. As soon as the call ended, Leonov called his men and told them to prepare an ambush at the location. He was sure Tao intended to kill him, but he would kill the Triad leader first.

 

Xu Tao’s call to Leonov ended. He signaled for the Triad foot soldier that had gagged Natasha to remove the gag. He then started giving orders in Mandarin, telling him to call his comrades and prepare to set a trap at the agreed-upon location for Leonov.

“While I understand your anger at your lover’s dismissal of your life, I needed to finish my conversation and your screaming was far too distracting.” He told her.

“Are you going to kill him?” She asked.

“Are you going to attempt to persuade me otherwise?”

“No.He just told you to kill me. Since he doesn’t care if I die, why should I care if he dies?” She shrugged. “And he’s the reason you kidnapped me.”

“While you have been incredibly annoying to deal with, I suppose I am impressed that you bear no delusions about the situation you find yourself in.”

“He’s gonna try to kill you. I trust you know that.”

“I am aware he will make an attempt. He would not be the first to try.”

“So, what happens now?” Natasha asked. “Are you going to kill Maria, Sofia and I? You needed me to call him, and now you have.”

“I will decide your fate tomorrow.” He said. “Unless you regress into being an annoyance, in which case I will follow through on my promise to kill all three of you very painfully.” He turned his attention back to the other Triad member. “Put her back with her friends.”

Natasha was led back over to where Maria and Sofia were being held. They both looked utterly relieved to see her, having only heard her yelling and unaware of what had prompted it. They started to ask her questions, but she waved them off, unwilling to talk about it. She waited for the Triad members to stop paying attention to the three of them before she whispered to her friends.

“We need to get out of here. They are going to kill us.” She said. “I don’t know when, but they aren’t going to let us leave this place alive.” As soon as she realized that her abduction was because of a “business dispute” she knew how this would end for her, unless she found a way to escape. “I’m sorry that you two got dragged into this.” Maria and Sofia were her friends, perhaps the only true friends she had, and if they died, it would be because they were friends with her. 

 

Oliver and the other vigilantes patrolled the city, searching for leads on where the three women had been taken, but their search didn’t get very far. The Triad was laying low, which was expected given the circumstances and the Bratva was following their lead. From the outside, Oliver couldn’t tell if Leonov was even aware his mistress had been taken.

Felicity and Thea were having slightly better luck with their own searches. Thea was trying to follow the women’s movements via surveillance cameras while Felicity was tracking their cell phones.

“Okay, Natasha, Maria and Sofia left Natasha’s apartment at 8:37. They took a cab, or a ride share, to a club downtown and arrived at 9:06.” Felicity said. “And they were at the club until 2:32 AM when they took another cab, or another rideshare, back towards her apartment.”

“You’ve pieced all of that together already?” McKenna asked.

“All three women are in their early twenties, they wouldn’t go anywhere without their phones. Sofia’s phone is currently off, but her daughter’s sitter used one of those “find my friends” apps, at around 1AM, which showed Sofia was still in the club. It pinged her phone. When she woke up this morning and Sofia hadn’t come home, she handed the information over to the SCPD after she called them. I took a look at what was in the report and used an exploit in the application’s code to backtrace the phone’s location based on cell data.”

“So, they went out, they came back to Natasha’s residence. What happened next?”

“They, or at least Sofia’s phone, went in the direction of the apartment and then it either died, was destroyed or was turned off. I can’t say that they made it inside the apartment, because cell phone tracking is only so good.”

“What about Maria’s phone?”

“I’m trying to track it, but I can’t reall-.” Felicity saw something on her screen and started to type furiously.

“You can’t really do what?”

“Natasha Federova’s phone just turned on and it’s being used to make a call. It could be her, or someone could’ve just found the phone, but it’s worth trying to track it, right?”

“Definitely. How close can you get to the current location?”

“Depends on how long the call lasts. One thing movies get right is that the longer the call lasts, the better I can narrow down where it is.” She said. After a minute or two, Felicity let out a groan and hung her head. “The call ended and it wasn’t long enough to find the phone.”

“Were you able to narrow down the location even a little bit?”

“Off the bat? I can tell you the phone’s near the docks. I’m gonna try a few other tricks, use some tech I don’t normally use to see if I can use the data from the call to further narrow things down.”

“The docks is a good start.” McKenna said.

“I think I found the vehicle that abducted them.” Thea said. “I didn’t wanna distract from what Felicity had found, but I think I found the car, or van.”

Felicity got one of her programs started and then rolled her chair over to where Thea was sitting. “What did you find?”

Thea pulled up a video. “It’s not a great angle, but this is a traffic cam down the street from Natasha’s apartment.” She gestured to something on the screen. “This van showed up around 9:30.” She sped the video footage up and paused when the time stamp said it was just after 3AM. “Since it took them half an hour to get to the club-.”

“It probably took them half an hour to get home. And they left the club around 2:30.” McKenna said.

“Exactly.” Thea said. “And a little after 3AM, this happens.” She pressed play. The van had not moved from its spot. A car drove down the street and stopped. Three women got out of the car, and their walking was a bit unsteady, as if they were drunk. From the angle, the camera didn’t catch anyone getting out of the van, but one of the women walked towards it. A moment later, the van sped off. “I’m trying to figure out where it went after it got off this street, but yeah, I think this is the van they used to kidnap all three of them.”

“Have you gotten a better picture of the van? A better angle that will make it easier to ID? Or get a plate number?”

“Wouldn’t the Triad have ditched the van by now?” Tommy asked. “This Xu Tao guy seems too smart to not get rid of a car used in a kidnapping.”

“They would have left it somewhere, switched vehicles, but if we can find the van, CSIs can comb over it looking for evidence.”

“Oh! About five minutes after the van peeled away from outside Natasha Federova’s apartment, it ran a red light. Doesn’t the city have those cameras that take a picture of your license plate if you run a light?” Thea said. “It was the light at 18th and Branch.”

“I’ve gotten a ticket for running that exact light.” Felicity said. 

“I’m going to go call Pike.” McKenna said. “I’m sure he knows about the three women being missing by now, and can guess who is behind it. SCPD can put out a BOLO on the van. Hopefully the Triad’s been too busy with the hostages to destroy whatever evidence is inside of it.”

She went upstairs to call Pike and give him the news about the van. As she expected, he had dispatch put a BOLO out on the van and said he’d make sure to keep her updated. “Do you have any other leads? Because this van and a kinda racist comment by Natasha Federova’s neighbor are all we have to go on. We don’t have any intel on the location of Xu Tao, the Triad as a whole, Leonov or anyone else.”

“The team members in the field are looking for leads. Overwatch has pieced together a timeline and is trying to pinpoint the location of Federova’s phone. It was used to make a call about ten minutes ago. She narrowed it down to being somewhere near the docks.” She said. “Their priority is finding the hostages first, and then worrying about apprehending the kidnappers.”

“I like that they have their priorities sorted out.” He said. “Bertinelli almost started a full-out mob war last week, and now the Triad’s looking to finish the job. And if we don’t act quickly, three women are gonna lose their lives.”

‘We’ll find them.”

“What makes you so confident?”

“Overwatch was able to ID the Count as Cecil Adams from a single video frame. I’m fully confident she’ll be able to narrow down where Natasha’s phone made a call from before long.”

Oliver and the others returned to the foundry empty-handed, but were delighted to hear that the SCPD had found the van used in the kidnapping and that Felicity was working on locating where the call made from Natasha’s phone had come from.

McKenna spent about an hour going over the SCPD’s use of force regulations with the group. She told Pike she would address it with them, and decided that she’d rather teach it to them in chunks than try to go over everything at once. Being on the same page was important, but it took a backseat to resolving the current conflict between the Triad and the Bratva.

Felicity left several programs running, to narrow down the location of Natasha’s call. She set up the programs so that they’d alert herself, McKenna, and Oliver as soon as they found a location.

 

Thursday morning, after Thea had left for school, Roy borrowed her car and drove to midtown. Maria Volkova started working at Sink, Shower and Stuff a few months after Roy started there. While he didn’t know her that well, he had been friendly with her boyfriend Peter. Peter wasn’t at the store, so he was probably at home.

Roy knocked on his door and waited for his old coworker to answer. “Hi, Roy.” Peter said when he answered the door. “I guess you heard the news.”

“About Maria being missing? Yes.” Roy said.  “That’s why I’m here.”

“Are you here to try and get dirt? Or to offer some kind of undefined help?” He asked. “Since yesterday, I either have people calling me, trying to get gossip about me and Maria, or acting all sympathetic, wanting to know if there’s any way that they can help.”

“If I could help, I would. The thing is, I can’t think of anything I could do to help find her that the police aren’t already doing. And as for gossip, I don’t wanna know any dirt about your relationship.” He said. “No, I came to see how you were doing. Though, now that I’m saying it, it sounds stupid.”

“Yeah, I’m not doing well.” Peter said. “You wanna come inside?” He stepped out of the doorway. Roy stepped into the apartment. Peter’s place hadn’t changed much since he had last been here to watch a football game months ago. “I’ve been sitting by the phone since yesterday. Waiting for a call to come in, waiting for her to walk through that door.”

“I don’t know what else you’re supposed to do.”

“There’s nothing else to do. I just hope they find her soon. You know, Maria calls her parents in St. Petersburg every Friday night. They’re expecting a call from her tomorrow. If the police don’t- if she’s still- how am I supposed to tell them what’s going on?”

“I hope you don’t have to.” Roy said. 

“You think they’ll find her?”

“I do. There’s a lot of people looking for her right now. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“I guess. News is making her seem like an afterthought though. Don’t get me wrong, I want them to find Sofia too, I don’t want that little girl to lose her mom, but the story has become about a missing mother and her friend and not two missing women.”

“I know a handful of the people currently looking for Maria. She’s not an afterthought.”

“Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

 

‘Did I make a mistake?’ Oliver asked Felicity in the early afternoon. They had just finished lunch and Felicity was getting ready to log back into work when he asked the question.

“Made a mistake in what sense?”

‘Did I make a mistake not looking into the Bratva sooner?’ He asked. ‘Should I have been paying more attention to the Bratva and the Triad and the Bertinellis from the start? How much of this could’ve been avoided if I had?’

“No, you didn’t make a mistake. We went after Tempest first, because Tempest as the first big threat we knew about. And the Undertaking would’ve been a complete and utter catastrophe, resulting in a death toll that I don’t want to even try and fathom. After Tempest had been dealt with, we spent some time dealing with the gangs, until the Count wound up on our radar. His plans might not have been as big as Tempest’s but if Vertigo had been allowed to spread, had been allowed to become a popular drug, it would’ve ruined a bunch of lives and killed a lot of people. This situation with the organized crime groups is getting ugly now, but it was self-contained for a bit. We also have to be a lot more careful, because there are three groups of bad guys to wrestle with, not just one.”

‘But if we had paid closer attention-.’

“Do you know how my family found out I’m allergic to peanuts?” She asked. “It seems like an odd question, but I’m going somewhere with this. We found out I’m allergic to peanuts because my aunt Audrey gave me a Nutter Butter when I was five and I went into anaphylactic shock. She must’ve spent days afterwards, repeatedly telling my mother how sorry she was for what happened.”

‘I’m not seeing your point or how it connects to what’s going on.’

“Mom wasn’t upset with her, because Audrey didn’t know I had an allergy. No one did so my reaction couldn’t have been foreseen.” She said. “You have to do the best you can with the information you have. We had no indication that the Bratva was up to anything, so we didn’t know they needed to be investigated then like we do now.”

‘But now we do know.’

“Now, we know and we’re doing everything we can to end this whole mess quickly and with minimal bloodshed.” She said. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

‘People have died.’

“No one has died because of inaction on your part, my part or anyone else’s. It’s sad that people have lost their lives, but I really don’t know what any of us could’ve done, with the information we had at the time, to prevent those deaths.”

‘You’re probably right. I just-.’

“You think that everything that goes wrong is your fault. It’s not. You can’t control the actions of other people.”

Felicity went back to work. Her day was starting to wrap up when her phone went off. It was the custom alarm she set for the programs she had left running in the foundry.

“Finally!” She said. “I know where the missing women are.” She turned to Oliver. “That’s what the alert you’re getting means. Can you let everyone know that we need them to get to the foundry?”

‘Of course.’

Within half an hour, the whole team was in the foundry and Felicity was pulling up the data she had uncovered on one of the large computer screens.

“My programs took so long because the code wasn’t passing over the data from the call once, but several times.” She said. “When the initial call happened, I was able to tell the phone was near the docks. I fed that into a program that shrunk the search area down to within a twenty block radius. And then I passed into another program that shrunk the area down to a ten block radius. And then I ran it through another program and we’ve all seen one of those Russian nesting dolls, right?”

“I am familiar with those.” Nyssa said.

“How small of an area did you narrow it down to?” McKenna asked.

“I can not only tell you the building, but also what room the call came from.” Felicity said. “And I may have borrowed a satellite to see if I could pick up on a heat signature in the building. The satellite reading showed multiple heat signatures.”

“When did you get this reading?” Lyla asked.

“While Oliver and I were waiting for everyone else to arrive.” She said. She then gestured to the screen, which showed several human-sized bodies from above. Three were clustered in a corner, while the others were spread throughout the space. “This is a live feed. It’s an empty office space. Natasha’s phone has stayed off, but other phones have made calls from this building in the last three hours. They seem to be burner phones, so I can only do so much to track those calls. I can’t find anything inside the building that I can patch into, like a camera, to get a better visual. To tell you that those three are definitely Maria, Sofia and Natasha, but-.”

“You’ve done more than enough.” Sara said. “What you managed to do is- it’s amazing.” She turned to McKenna. “How does SCPD want to handle this?”

“Let me call my boss. Where’s this building?”

Felicity gave her the address and she left to call Commissioner Pike. McKenna was gone for a while before she returned to where the rest of the group was.

“You know that trick you came up with, when we were looking for the Count? To get your comms and the SCPD’s radios on the same channel? Any chance you can do that again?”

“Oh, I can definitely do that again.” Felicity said. “But, uh, what’s the plan?”

“SWAT and the gang unit are discussing how to best breach the building. They’re getting into position, but probably won’t move in until nightfall. The satellite you “borrowed”, it’s the only way that we have eyes on what’s happening inside the building. They want you to be able to give them updates, while they’re getting everything in order.”

“Where do they need us?” Slade asked.

“On the scene. If something happens while SWAT is getting set up, they need someone in the position to move in.”

“It’s dusk now, so we’re talking an hour, maybe an hour and a half before nightfall.” Lyla said. “That’s not too bad.”

‘Let’s go.’ Oliver said.

The team suited up, while McKenna drove to where the SCPD officers were meeting for the operation. Both McKenna and the team made Felicity promise to let them know if anything changed at all in the building.

“We’re on site.” Lyla reported once the team had reached the building and was within a good distance to step in if needed. “Status?”

“The three heat signatures in the corner are still there. Five other bodies in the building. Two by the back door. Three by the main entrance. Two left and two more came in, but I’m still showing eight signatures in total.” Felicity reported. “Do you want me to follow the two that left?”

“No, keep your focus on the people in the building for now.” McKenna cut in. 

“Uh, this is Lt. Kinney.” A new voice said. “Are you sure two left and two arrived, over? That it wasn’t the same pair leaving and coming back, over?”

“They passed each other outside the building. Not the same two coming and going.” She said. “Still no eyes inside the building.”

“Do we want to change that?” Sara asked. “One of us might be able to get close, without going inside.”

“How close can you get without being spotted?” Kinney asked.

Sara didn’t respond right away. Felicity watched as another heat signature approached the building on the screen, before settling higher up than the others. She assumed this was Sara.

“Okay, well, I’m currently on the roof. Overwatch, can you confirm you see me?”

The figure waved an arm. It was enough movement for Felicity to notice, but not enough to draw attention. “I see you. You can stop waving.”

“There’s a sky light, so I can see some of what’s in the building.” She said. “I don’t see the hostages. I can see that our bad guys are definitely Triad, though.”

“Any movement you can see?” McKenna asked.

“The one closest to the door is walking back and forth, but nothing aside from that.”

“They don’t have anyone standing guard outside?”

“Probably more worried about the hostages escaping than being attacked.” Slade said.

Dusk ended and night fell. There was no movement inside the building. SWAT got into position and told the other officers to get ready.

 

Maria, Sofia and Natasha were getting very anxious. It had been hours since Natasha told them they needed to escape or they were going to die. Unfortunately, the opportunity to escape hadn’t presented itself yet. 

There was always at least one Triad member looking in their direction. All three of them making a run for it, while being so closely watched, would result in one of the women getting shot. Natasha tried to convince one of her friends to run, to try and get help, but both Maria and Sofia refused. No one wanted to leave their friends behind.

Xu Tao and some other Triad member had left, but two more men replaced them. Night had fallen and the women were running out of time. Tao was headed to the sitdown with Leonov at this exact moment, and Natasha suspected he’d kill them when he returned.

“I’m sorry I got you dragged into this.” Natasha told them. “You’d both be safe if it wasn’t for me.”

“I don’t blame you. I blame your piece of crap boyfriend.” Sofia said. 

“When this is over, I’ll kill him myself for causing this.” She couldn’t believe Alexei had so callously tried to throw her life away. She wasn’t just hurt, she was furious and she intended to make him pay.

“I wonder if- do you think Allie’s okay? She must be so scared. I’ve never been gone for so long.” She’d tried not to think about her daughter, what would happen to the girl if something happened to her. She’d kept the thoughts at bay so far, but couldn’t hold them back any longer.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Maria said. “She’s probably with your parents, getting spoiled as we speak. And you’re gonna see her soon.”

“Unless they kill us, and then I’ll never see her again.”

“Don’t say that.” Natasha said. “I’ll make sure you get home to your daughter.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet, but I will.” She said. “I’m gonna-.”

Two large bangs happened in succession and then several people started yelling. Over a dozen men in tactical gear had rushed into the building from the two exits. They had their weapons raised and pointed at the Triad mebers. One of the captors reached behind him, as if for a weapon.

“SCPD! Show me your hands!” Someone shouted. “Show me your hands! Get on the ground!”

The three women sat motionless as the SWAT team disarmed and restrained the men. Once the last one was in handcuffs, Natasha slowly got to her feet.

“Don’t shoot!” She said. “Please don’t shoot.”

“Stay where you are for a second. We’re clear.” The SWAT leader said into his radio. “Tell Hall to get in here.” 

Another handful of cops rushed into the building. They were dressed more like normal cops, and two looked like detectives. The two detectives made their way over to where the women were. Natasha recognized one from the shooting outside Matreshkas.

“My name is Detective Hall. This is Lt. Kinney.” McKenna said. “Are all three of you okay?”

“Yes. Can we please get out of here?” Maria said. “I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know, but I wanna get out of here.”

“Sure. Let’s go outside.”

They led the three women outside where there were paramedics waiting to look them over. As they were getting checked out, Maria and Sofia told them what they remembered. Their memories of being kidnapped were fuzzy because they had been drunk, but they remembered quite a bit from the period after they sobered up.

“The man who kidnapped us, the leader, he left before you showed up.” Sofia said.

“Think you can describe him?” Kinney asked.

“Definitely. I’ll never forget that face.”

“I can tell you where he went.” Natasha said quietly. “I know where he is and where you can find Alexei Leonov.”

“He left to meet with Leonov?” McKenna asked.

“Yes. They’re having a meeting at 10pm, to settle differences or something, at that rundown warehouse on 12th and Rose. I heard them agree to that location.”

“I gotta let dispatch know.” Kinney said. “We have to-.”

“Go. I can take it from here.” McKenna said. The lieutenant stalked off to tell dispatch about the meeting. “Once the paramedics have cleared you three, we’ll head to the station and you can call your families.”

Aside from not having eaten, the three women were in good health. The paramedics said they were good to go and all three women were taken to the local precinct. 

Peter and Sofia’s parents were all sobbing messes when they were reunited with their loved ones. Maria lost it as soon as she saw Peter, while Sofia kept her cool until her daughter came running into the room, exclaiming how excited she was that her mommy was back. Natasha felt so guilty for what had happened that it threatened to drown her.

She turned to McKenna. “I’ll tell you anything you wanna know.” Natasha said. “About what happened after that man took us, about the attack at Matreshkas. About Alexei’s business dealings.I know what kind of “business” he’s in. Whatever you wanna know, I’ll tell you what I can.” Maybe she wouldn’t kill Alexei, but she would still destroy him. He’d almost gotten her and her friends killed. She was going to make him pay for that.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

------

I know some of the tech in this chapter was unrealistic/hand-wavy. Since Arrow is a "comic book" show, the tech gets to have "comic book" rules every now and then.

Chapter 173

Summary:

The Bratva and the Triad have a confrontation, while Team Arrow tries to minimize the bloodshed and someone has to face the consequences of their actions.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Something is going on in this city.” Isabel told Malcolm over the phone. “Something neither of us was aware of.” 

Malcolm rolled his eyes, thankful that she couldn’t see him and that her little minion was asleep. It was 2AM in Corto Maltese. He did his best work, and his best planning, at night when the rest of the world was asleep, so the hour wasn’t odd to him. The subject of the call was inconvenient, however. He had enough business to deal with as is, and didn’t want to waste time with pointless conversations with Isabel.  “I doubt that whatever this “something” is has the potential to disrupt or interfere with our plans.”

“Does Frank Bertinelli play a role in those plans?”

“Why do you mention his name?”

“Because about six people who work for him have been arrested. People accused of being involved in other organized crime have also been disappearing or being killed.”

“Okay, so there’s a mob war going on. I’m pretty sure they’re overdue for one. That has nothing to do with us, our plans, what we’re doing.”

“So, there’s no blowback on us from any of this?”

“No. Given how….eager the federal government is to members of organized crime syndicates, I tend to avoid bringing them on as partners. I assume you do the same, for the same reasons. You almost sound worried about the prospect, however.”

“You’re out of the reach of the United States government. I’m not. Unless you wanna find another partner, you’re gonna have to put up with me being worried, and calling you about my worries, and making sure nothing comes back on us, because otherwise, you’re outta luck and gonna be without a partner very soon.”

“Don’t forget why you came to me in the first place.” Malcolm told her. “Because you came to me, not the other way around. If you want Robert to pay for what he did to you, you need me, you need my resources.”

“You’re not the only enemy Robert had, are you?”

“I’m the only one who didn’t buy the ridiculous story that his idiotic son fed the authorities. I’m the only one willing to admit that he’s still alive.” He hung up before she said anything further.

Malcolm refused to believe that Oliver Queen would’ve made it to a life raft, but Robert hadn’t. His son couldn’t have survived five years, or even five days, on his own. He found it awfully convenient that a mute was the only eyewitness to what happened that night. No one wanted to push poor, fragile Oliver to talk about what happened the night that the Gambit sank.

With a sigh, Malcolm turned his attention to more important matters. John Cecil was refusing to represent him without a retainer, and he had two more days to come up with the funds to pay him. A year ago, this wouldn’t have been even a minor convenience, but today, it was a huge problem.

There were other lawyers who’d take Malcolm as a client, attorneys who’d represent any client, provided they were willing to pay. Some might even take the case on contingency, given how well-known he was. None of those lawyers were as skilled in litigation as Cecil, or willing to look the other way regarding Malcolm’s shady activities. 

 

Perry White finished reading the draft article in front of him and looked up at the reporter standing on the other side of his desk. The article was good, a true bombshell of a story, and it would make waves, but he had a concern about it.

“Are you sure you wanna run this?” He asked.

“Absolutely.” Lois Lane said.

“Because you can’t unring this bell and this story is gonna make you some powerful enemies.” He said. “I trust you know that.”

“Yes, I do. Wouldn’t be the first time a story upset people, but one of the key principles of journalism is to seek the truth and report it. The people have a right to know. Every person that’s appeared before or could appear before Judge Benjamin needs to know the kind of person he truly is. Hell, anyone who claims to respect and value our judicial process needs to know.”

“You don’t need to convince me why this story matters, Lois.” He said. “I just needed to be sure that you were prepared for what comes next before I give the final “ok”. You are, so it's going to post.”

“Great.” She turned and walked out of Perry’s office. It was late. She should have gone home already, but she wanted to get the story out tonight.

 

Xu Tao rested one hand on the shoulder of the Triad member he had just finished giving instruction to. He typically wasn’t the kind to initiate physical contact, but he tried to avoid his discomfort. He needed to sell the act he was putting on, and pretending not to loathe the man in front of him was part of that. 

“I am asking you to do this, to attend this sitdown in my stead, because I must see to another matter and I know you will comport yourself properly.” He said.

“Why aren’t you going to the sitdown? Aren’t you the one who asked for it?” The Triad member replied.

“I was. However, I see this as an opportunity for you, if you wish to take it. Tsui is dead. Someone will need to replace him.”

“I thought that someone was you.”

“Leonov needs to meet with someone who will be staying in the city long-term. Mr. Zhisan sent me here for a specific purpose, not to remain in this city indefinitely.” Tao said. “Should he ask my opinion on who should replace Mr. Tsui, I’d be inclined to suggest someone who’s shown initiative during the conflict we’ve been embroiled in for the last few weeks.”

The Triad member quickly agreed, succumbing to the flattery Xu Tao was giving him. It surprised him how easily he had talked the other man into walking into an obvious trap. Perhaps his ego prevented him from being suspicious of Tao’s words. Had the other Triad members not realized how expendable they were to him yet? He sent his decoy to the warehouse where the meeting with Leonov was going to take place.

 

Sergeant Soto, the leader of the SWAT team that had rescued Natasha, Maria and Sofia, looked around as the last of the Triad members that had been arrested were taken away. Lieutenant Kinney had passed along the intel he had about the meeting between Leonov and Xu Tao to Dispatch and SWAT.

“All right, looks like we’ve got another date tonight.” He said. “12th and Rose. Get your stuff and get ready to move.” He looked at the vigilantes who were talking amongst themselves a few yards away. “You have a way of getting to the warehouse or do you need a lift?”

“We didn’t wanna assume.” Lyla said.

“Acting Commissioner might not be able to get another SWAT unit mobilized between now and 10pm. He gets the ultimate say, but I got a feeling he’s gonna want to use you.” He said. “After that siege on Wells Street, we know you all can handle yourselves.”

“We could use a lift.” Sara said.

“Any chance whoever did that trick with the heat signatures can do the same thing at the warehouse?”

“I’ll ask.” The Arrow said. “Overwatch, can you-?”

“If this were a less serious situation, I’d be offended that you even have to ask.” Felicity replied. “I’ll have intel for you by the time you get over there.”

“There you have it.” Lyla said. “For the record, I never doubted you. We should get going.”

Team Arrow rode to the warehouse in the armored truck the SWAT team used to get from place to place. It made for an odd picture. One bench taken up by SWAT officers, the other being used by costumed vigilantes.

“Why did you step in to assist us, that night on Wells Street?” One of the SWAT team members asked. They had finished doing their weapons checks and weren’t quite at the warehouse yet. “You didn’t have to. You had no obligation to intervene.”

“Because it was the right thing to do.” Sara said.

“It’s really that simple for you?”

“Sometimes, yes, it’s that simple.”

“I need to thank you for that, for being there.” He said. “Though, just saying thank you doesn’t seem to be enough.”

“Jacobson’s one of the officers that got pinned down that night.” Another SWAT officer said. “Might not have made it, if we’d had to resolve that situation without assistance.”

“I kinda owe you my life.”

The van came to a stop before any of the vigilantes could respond. They each wanted to say that Jacobson didn’t owe them anything, that a “thank you” was enough, that the siege shouldn’t have happened in the first place. They had a more pressing matter to deal with, however, so they turned their attention back to that.

“All right. It looks like one party’s here, but the other one hasn’t arrived yet.” Felicity said over the comms.

“How many inside?” Soto asked.

“Nine. And they’ve been in there for a while. Camera from down the street shows them arriving two hours ago. No one’s left.”

“So, it’s not a meeting. It’s an ambush.”

“That’s how these things normally go.” Lyla said. “Do we have any indication on what’s happening inside?”

“Not yet. I’m working on it. Hoping to ID exactly who’s inside as well.” Felicity said. “I’ve established they’re Bratva, but I don’t know who from the Bratva is in that building. And it’s currently 9:49.”

“If you can’t ID them in the next eleven minutes, it’s not a big deal.” Slade said. “We’re here. They’re here. It’s not like we have to find them after the fact to arrest them.”

“We need to get into position before our friends in the Triad show up.” Soto said. “Unless there’s cause for us to arrest the Bratva members inside now?”

“Kinney filled me in. I’ll be there in two minutes.” McKenna said over the radio. “We have nothing that would hold up.” Natasha had started talking, revealing what she knew, but the SCPD didn’t have enough to arrest Leonov or any associates yet.

“A man can dream.” The SWAT team and Team Arrow discussed the best spots for each to be, given their skills, and got into position.

At 9:58, a car parked down the street from the warehouse and two Chinese men got out of the car. “I have two people approaching the warehouse. Look to be Triad members.” A sniper from SWAT reported.

“Can we identify them?” Nyssa asked.

“Neither appear to be Xu Tao.” Felicity reported.

 

Leonov sat calmly in the middle of the warehouse at 12th and Rose. Three of his men were in view, but the other five were hidden, waiting for his signal. He suspected this meeting to become an ambush, and decided that the Bratva should be the one doing the ambushing. The Triad tended to attack in small groups when making a move against rivals, so he suspected three, maybe four men would be arriving soon. He wasn’t aware of the Triad’s current manpower, but by his guess, they still outnumbered the Bratva. This meeting wouldn’t only give him an opportunity to “handle” Xu Tao, but also a chance to reduce their numbers.

It was a testament to Xu Tao’s inexperience, in Leonov’s mind, that he seemed to be showing up at the agreed upon time, and not earlier to try and set a trap. 

As the time neared 10pm, Leonov began to worry that he had been played. Tao had not appeared, nor had any member of the Triad, and it wouldn’t be difficult for them to destroy the warehouse, perhaps set it on fire, from outside while he sat inside, none the wiser.

“Someone is outside.” One of Leonov’s men told him. “Two Triad members.”

“He only brought one person with him?” He expected at least three Triad members to come, not including a driver to keep the car running in case they needed to flee.

“It seems that way.”

Before Leonov could say anything, the door of the warehouse opened. A well-dressed, middle-aged Chinese man in a suit walked into the building, followed by a younger, and slightly tougher, looking man. The younger man was clearly armed. No one spoke as they walked from the door to the center of the warehouse where Leonov was waiting.

“Good evening, Mr. Leonov.” The older man said, taking a seat. “Shall we get down to business?”

“Yes. We shall.” One of Alexei’s Vors took out a handgun and shot the man in the head. He then turned to the younger man, who didn’t seem fazed. “Xu Tao was a fool to come here with only you.”

“What makes you believe that was Xu Tao?”

 

The SWAT team heard the crack of the gunshot. Unlike the office space, they didn’t have a visual inside and there was no convenient skylight to allow Sara or Nyssa to peek into the building. They knew the layout of the warehouse, but they’d have to go in blind. Soto cleared his throat. “Prepare to move in in three, two-.”

“Wait!” Felicity said. “Don’t go in yet.”

“Why not?”

“More Triad just showed up. They’re running late to the party. I count six.” Slade said.

“I count three.” Sara said. She was positioned on the opposite side of the building.

Excluding McKenna, who wasn’t outfitted for this kind of operation, there were eight people on the SWAT team, and five members of Team Arrow. There were nineteen Bratva and Triad members to contend with. “Dammit! We don’t have the manpower to-.”

“This is Rodriguez.” Another voice said over the radio. “We’re one minute out.”

“Step on it.”

“Triad latecomers are headed inside.” Slade said.

A few more gunshots rang out. “Matt, we can’t wait for you to get into position.” Soto said. “We’re moving in now. Have the flash grenades ready.”

 

Leonov barely had time to react to what the Triad member had said before the doors both in front and behind him slammed open. He dove onto the ground seconds before the gunshots rang out.

The gunshots were cut off by a loud bang and a flashing bright light. When Leonov’s vision cleared, he counted four of his men dead. Two Triad members were dead.  Three other men were shouting, as if in pain, but he didn’t know if they were Bratva members or part of the Triad or a mix of both.

“Quite foolish on your part.” A voice said. He turned towards the voice and saw a Chinese man wielding a bow. An arrow was nocked and the archer was aiming directly at his head. “Did you really expect me to just walk in here? Meet with you without expecting a trap?”

“You-.”

“SCPD! Drop the bow!” Someone shouted from several feet away. SWAT had rushed into the building and the remaining Triad and Bratva members were being arrested. The SWAT officer that shouted aimed his weapon.

Xu Tao didn’t drop his weapon, and he kept his eyes on Leonov. “Do you think he can shoot me before I shoot you?”

“No, but we can.” A distorted voice said from directly behind Tao.

“Drop the bow.” Another distorted voice said. 

Based on the volume of both voices, the people who’d spoken were standing directly behind him. Xu Tao refused to die from being shot in the back. He tossed the arrow away from him and it clattered on the floor several feet away. A moment later, he slowly turned. Harbinger and the Arrow each had arrows aimed at him.

“Ha!” Leonov said. “Not so tough now.” He reached into his jacket.

“Don’t.” The Arrow told him.

He ignored him and started to pull something out of his jacket. Oliver released the arrowshe’d nocked and it went through Leonov’s hand. The gun he was reaching for fell to the ground. “You shot me!”

“He warned you to stop reaching into your jacket.”

Xu Tao and Leonov were both handcuffed and taken away, as were their men. The three men who’d been shot, but were still alive, were taken to the hospital. Soto called Dispatch for a clean-up crew to get the bodies of the men that had been killed.

The dead Triad and Bratva members would be enough for the SCPD to hold everyone they arrested for the moment. It would buy the SCPD time to execute a search warrant using the information Natasha had provided. Most importantly, the local leaders of the Triad and the Bratva were in custody. It would set both groups back significantly and they wouldn’t be able to continue this mob war for some time.

 

The team went back to the foundry not long after Xu Tao was taken into custody. The SCPD didn’t need them around to deal with the aftermath of the arrests and it would be easier for the crime scene techs to analyze the scene with fewer people around.

“So, uh, what exactly happened with the Triad guy that went in first?” Roy asked when the team was back in the foundry. “I know he got killed but I’m trying to understand why he got sent in with just one guy as back-up.”

‘Xu Tao sent him in as a decoy. Whether that was to confirm Leonov was there, or to see if the meeting was an ambush, I can’t tell.’ Oliver signed.

“I think it was to avoid being killed in an ambush.” Nyssa said. “The Triad had the numbers to simply just attack, but they waited. They let the Bratva make the first move, which leads me to believe he suspected a trap.”

“He let his own subordinate get killed, though.” Tommy said. “Is that normal?”

“I doubt Tao would see that man as one of “his men” in any capacity.” Lyla said. “Something to keep in mind is that while these groups might refer to themselves as family or a brotherhood, each would sell out the person next to them for the right amount of money.”

‘Or an opportunity to advance.’ Oliver said.

“If I had- if I had been able to ID the men in that warehouse, before the shooting started, would it have changed anything?” Felicity asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Seven people are dead. I know they were all murderers and gangsters, but they’re dead. If I’d been able to ID Leonov. Or someone else in that building, if we’d had something to justify going into the warehouse faster, would that have changed what happened?”

“Those men’s deaths aren’t on you, Felicity.” Sara said.

“Kinda feels like they are.”

“Is that because you feel what you did tonight wasn’t enough?” Nyssa asked. “Or because you watched Tao’s decoy die?”

“Both.” She admitted. “I know I didn’t see him die, like with my own eyes, but I saw it on the satellite feed. His body was still warm, but it wasn’t- it was clear he wasn’t still alive.”

‘This isn’t your fault.’ Oliver told her. ‘Look at me. It’s not your fault. Say it.’

“You don’t think it’s my fault.”

“That’s not what he said.” Lyla said. “Say it.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“Say it like you mean it.”

“I did all I could. The seven deaths are not my fault.”

‘You did all that you could. Natasha, Maria and Sofia are alive because of you, because you helped us find them in time. They went home to their families, mostly because of what you and Thea managed to do from right here. I didn’t find them, the SCPD didn’t find them. You and Speedy did.’ He said. ‘Don’t forget that.’

“It’s been a long night.” Digg said. “I think we should all head home.”

“I second that.” Slade said. 

“I third it, but we need to have a talk tomorrow.” McKenna said. “Natasha’s been talking to Hinton for hours, telling him anything he wants to know about Leonov’s business. He apparently told Xu Tao to go ahead and kill her and she’s really pissed about it. I don’t blame her for that. If any of what she’s shared leads somewhere, I’ll let you know about it.”

“Do you have any indication that’ll lead somewhere?” Lyla asked.

“Not as of yet, but she made it seem like Leonov had a lot of big plans. Some of those plans are probably already in motion. And we didn’t get all of the Bratva tonight.”

 

The shoot-out in the warehouse didn’t make the front page of the Starling City Sentinel the next morning. The arrest of nearly a dozen Triad and Bratva members didn’t make the front page either. The front page of the newspaper, and every other major publication in the country, all ran the same story. A bombshell article about corruption committed by a federal judge, first reported by Lois Lane and published the night before.

She had tied together all of the “gifts” Judge Benjamin received from Malcolm Merlyn, or a shell company, and the favors that followed. She’d uncovered other examples of impropriety by Benjamin throughout his career not only as a federal judge, but his few years at the state level, and even his time as a state attorney.

The judge hid in his home, with the curtains drawn. Starting at six in the morning, new crews started to gather outside. They hadn’t come onto his property, so he couldn’t do anything about their presence, other than try to ignore it. His phone had been ringing all morning as well. 

He hadn’t gotten a call from DC yet. He supposed it was only a matter of time before the Senate Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into him. Even if it led nowhere, his career would never recover. He really hated Lois Lane right now.

 

Eobard Thawne was getting very tired of being surprised by how events played out. He had studied the early twenty-first century extensively in his years as Barry Allen’s nemesis. The history of this era was well-documented. When he left his time, he thought he knew exactly what would happen. Even after his initial plan to destroy Barry Allen failed, he knew how things were supposed to transpire, how history would be made.

“The longer I spend here, the more events are being changed.” Thawne muttered to himself. “The more the future is being changed. The history I know isn’t going to be history any longer.”

When Amanda Waller was arrested, it gave him pause. She was meant to die as director of ARGUS. In the original timeline, she did die as director a few years in the future. Gideon had predicted Waller’s arrest would alter the course of some events and not others. 

Judge Benjamin being exposed for corruption was a much different story. He was meant to sit on the Supreme Court. Decisions he made while on the Court, particularly those related to the rights of metahumans, shaped the country for decades to come. How different would those decisions be, without Benjamin’s contribution to those rulings?

“Gideon, what impact will this news story have on the timeline?” He asked, referring to the bombshell article Lois Lane had written.

“I cannot give a scientifically-backed answer to your question.” Gideon answered. “Too many variables are unknown at this time.”

“If Benjamin doesn’t get appointed to the Supreme Court, who will get that seat?”

“I cannot give a scientifically-backed answer to your question.” She repeated. Gideon could only analyze the data that she had, she couldn’t extrapolate information based on events that didn’t happen or weren’t in her records. She knew what happened as a result of Benjamin being appointed to the US Supreme Court, she couldn’t predict who would get the seat instead. Thawne should know by now the limitations to her coding.

 

“This is…wow.” Felicity said, reading the article Lois Lane had written about Judge Benjamin. “I know what you found was bad, but this reporter found- I didn’t know it ran this deep.”

‘Me neither.’ Oliver said. ‘She uncovered way more than I did.’ His expression looked unsure, though.

“Why do you seem nervous? The story’s out. The judge won’t be able to get away with this anymore.”

‘There are gonna be people who aren’t happy about this getting out. And not just the judge. It made her a target.’

“I’ve never met Lois Lane, but she seems like a pretty tough, and pretty smart woman. I think she knew this story might make her some enemies and kept pursuing it anyway.” She said. “And, the thing about this story is that it’s already been broken.”

‘What do you mean?’

“Lane wrote her article and publications are writing pieces of their own, citing back to hers. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. More crappy stuff this judge has done could come out, but this story is already bad for him. There’s no point at this stage in someone trying to threaten or harm Lois Lane, trying to get her to back off. It won’t kill the story.”

‘She could still face retaliation.’

“Again. I think she’s prepared for that. And I think anyone angry over this being exposed is gonna be more focused on damage control than getting “even” with Lane at the moment.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 174

Summary:

The team and the city deal with the aftermath of the arrest of some prominent gangsters and make an unsettling discovery.

Notes:

I feel like I should warn anyone that this chapter touches on some pretty heavy topics. Nothing is shown, but it is discussed.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Detective Hilton waited patiently for Natasha Federova to collect herself before continuing to answer his question. She had been talking to him for nearly twelve hours, telling him what she knew about the Bratva’s business and acts committed by Alexei Leonov and some of his subordinates.

“We can take a break, if you’d like.” He said. “You don’t have to do this all in one sitting. You’ve had a long few days. If you want to head home and come back-.”

“I don’t want to lose my nerve.” She said. “Besides, too many people I’d rather not see again know where I live. I’m going to have to move. I might as well keep going.”

“Okay.” If she didn’t want to stop and take a break, he wasn’t going to make her. “You were saying that, between two and three weeks ago, you were having dinner at Matreshka with Mr. Leonov. There were two other customers in the restaurant. An….associate of Leonov’s entered and walked over to the table where you were sitting, and he handed him something?” He read from his notes.

“Yes, Alexei handed Dmitri- it was a gun, but it didn’t look like a normal gun.” She said. 

“What made it look abnormal?”

“I don’t know much about guns, so I don’t really know how to explain.” She admitted. “It was a handgun, but it was bigger, wider, than a normal gun, but where the bullet comes out was shorter.”

“I’ll be right back.” He said, getting up from his seat. He returned about five minutes later, carrying a red plastic replica of a gun which he placed on the table they were sitting at. “We use this as a training tool. This is the same size and shape as a Glock 9mm handgun. It was wider than this?”

“Yes. Can I-?” She gestured toward the fake gun.

“Go ahead.”

She picked it up. She used one hand to hold it and another to measure around where the magazine went into the weapon. “It was about this wide.” There was a good half-inch of space on each side between where her finger was and where the side of the gun was.  It was definitely not a normal firearm, if her measurements were even slightly close to right. 

“Okay. Dmitri took the gun and then left the restaurant?”

“Yes. Alexei said something, I don’t remember exactly what, but it was “don’t miss” or “you can’t miss” or something like that.”

“Did you see the weapon again?”

“No.”

“Would you recognize it if you saw it again?” He asked.

“Yes, it was very weird looking.”

“Do you know where Leonov, or any of his associates, might store their firearms and other weapons?” 

“4th Street Auto Garage. He only keeps one gun in his house, in a locked drawer. His wife was worried about one of their kids finding them. She read a story about a little boy killing his brother by accident with a gun he found and told him to store them somewhere else. She wouldn’t let anyone armed into the house either, including his security.” She said. “He complained about it alot. Said he thought America made his wife soft.”

Hilton was sure that, by now, the SCPD had gotten a warrant for the garage. Leonov had been arrested and that arrest would give them enough probable cause to be able to execute a search warrant. It wouldn’t surprise him if it was being executed at this moment. He wondered if one of the guns they found would be the strange gun Natasha had seen.

 

While Oliver and Felicity were having lunch on Friday, they tried to spend the hour talking about pretty light topics. It had been a heavy few days for everyone and being able to chat about good news or things that weren’t that serious was a nice change of pace.

They talked a lot about William. They discussed taking another trip to Las Vegas to see Felicity’s family, or the idea of Felicity’s family coming to Starling to visit them. Thea was close to graduation and the start of her gap year and they were trying to think of things she could spend the year doing.

‘Is Nyssa’s volunteer work going well?’ Oliver asked during a lull in the conversation. Nyssa had gotten a volunteer position at a non-profit, providing translation services to people who weren’t native English speakers. ‘She started a few weeks ago, but with everything going on, I kept forgetting to ask her about it.’

“I think it’s going well. She seems to be enjoying it. Or that’s the impression I get.” Felicity said.

‘I hope she likes it. I think people should do jobs that make them happy, or at least make them feel like they’re doing something fulfilling.’

“Me too. But I feel bad, because with everything going on, we haven’t been able to help her with the problem she told us about. What happened isn’t fair, and I don’t- I wish I could fix it.”

‘Life isn’t a math problem. There might not be an answer.’

“I know that. I don’t like it, but I know that.” She said. “I think what bothers me, aside from the obvious jerkheadedness of her father, is that his logic doesn’t make sense.”

‘Why do you assume he used any logic? It sounded like he was waiting for this for a while.’

“And maybe he was. It’s crappy that he’d do that, that he’d even think of doing that to his own daughter, but it’s possible. But he also- he had to tell other people about it, right?  Like, he would’ve had to explain to others where Nyssa went. They would’ve noticed that she’s just….not around anymore. He had to come up with something to tell those people.”

‘I suppose.’

“The only way I can see getting Nyssa free of that situation would be to repay the “debt” he seems to think he has with you.” She said. “But that debt itself is undefined, so how does-.” Ra’s claimed he sent Nyssa to Starling to repay the League’s debt to Oliver. A debt that had no concrete value, and Nyssa couldn’t even begin to try and break free from her father until it was repaid. “I have an idea. Something that gets Nyssa free and we don’t end up having to deal with someone else over the debt.”

He leaned forward. ‘What’s the idea?’

“I need to talk to Nyssa or Sara about it first. I don’t know how Nyssa’s father thinks, but she does. And so does Sara to an extent. I want to make sure my idea has even a chance of working, before I get too excited about it.”

 

Senator Cray was livid when he heard about Judge Benjamin being exposed for corruption. He couldn’t believe anyone was making such a big to-do about a few gifts here and there from some wealthy or well-connected people. How had Lois Lane turned a few harmless gifts into an accusation of bribery.

The world was changing and Cray didn’t like it. It was getting too complicated. People kept wanting more, expecting more. Everyone already had enough rights, some groups even had too many, but they wanted more. He saw no problem with the way things currently were. Benjamin is one of the few federal judges to vocally express the same opinion. Cray knew others agreed, but most were too cowardly to say it out loud.

Cray and a number of senators in his party wanted to get Judge Benjamin onto the Supreme Court. It would make the Court more aligned with their ideology and get the country back on the right track.

“You see the Post this morning?” Cray’s new aide asked him. The front page was all about the corruption scandal.

“Yeah. It was enough to make me throw up my breakfast.” Cray said. “It’s insane that this is what they’ve stooped to. Destroying a good man’s career to advance their agenda and remove him as an opponent.”

“The judge accepted cold, hard cash, and more, from a suspected terrorist, in exchange for ruling in his favor.” The aide said. “In fact, he seems to have put his bank balance above the administration of justice going back to the 1970s.”

“You’re new here. What Benjamin did isn’t rare.” If every government official who ever accepted money lost their jobs, there’d be no politicians left in Washington. “We need to strike back. Tell the other side of the story.”

“How? The reporter who broke the story, she put the work in, made it hard for anyone to really defend him.”

“Then, we need to discredit the journalist. If we discredit her, the situation might be salvageable.” Cray said. “Find me something on this reporter.”

“The reporter is Lois Lane, Senator.”

“Any relation to General Lane?”

“I think so.”

“You don’t get paid to think, you get paid to know.” He said. “Find out.” It would certainly be more convenient for him if Lois Lane wasn’t related to the Secretary of Defense.

 

McKenna messaged Felicity a little after 4pm, telling her that she had an update and asking if everyone could meet at the foundry a little earlier than normal. Felicity passed the message along to the others and everyone gathered in the foundry a little before 5:30.

Oliver walked in carrying a large metal dish, which he set down on a table. ‘I figured, since we’re meeting down here earlier than usual, no one’s had dinner yet. So, I made enough chicken parmesan to feed everyone.’ He said once his hands were free. ‘This way, no one has to go get food and come back later for patrol.’

“You didn’t have to do that.” Sara said.

‘I know I didn’t have to, but I thought it made sense.’

“Well, I’m not one to say “no” to Ollie’s food, so I guess it’s chicken parm time.” Tommy said. “That sounded less lame in my head.”

“Sorry to make everyone show up earlier than normal, but I told you I’d keep you updated on what we learned from Natasha Federova.” McKenna said. “And it turns out she had a lot to say, so there’s a lot to talk about.”

“I didn’t expect her to be able to provide much information.” Nyssa said. “I expected Leonov would have been more cautious and not allowed her to know or witness much.”

“Well, I’m glad he wasn’t. She didn’t see anything that I’d consider to be a smoking gun, but she heard enough about his business and saw enough suspicious behavior for us to get a warrant for his home and the Bratva-run garage. I spent most of my day watching the gang unit tear that place apart.”

“What did you find?” Slade asked.

“A lot of old car parts and useless crap. A notable collection of stolen goods. And a number of firearms, some of which are entirely illegal to own in the United States.” She said. “The ballistics experts are going to love me after this. We also found two guns that couldn’t be identified, due to their strange dimensions.”

“You think you found the guns used in the shooting at the Jade Dragon?” Lyla asked.

“Natasha identified one as the gun she witnessed Leonov give to one of his men. The ammo in that one matched the bullets you idenfitied as belonging to a PKR-3. We’re waiting to see if the second gun matches the second set of casing from the scene.”

“But you matched the PKR-3?”

“Yeah. The DA wants to wait for prints before bringing charges, but it was in the garage, so Leonov can at least be charged with conspiring to commit the attack.”

“So, he’s not getting out any time soon.”

“Everyone arrested last night was arraigned today. The judge denied bond for everyone. Leonov, Xu Tao, their lieutenants, they’re not going anywhere.”

“What are the chances the Bratva and the Triad just send more people?” Digg asked.

‘The Bratva will wait for the dust to settle, most likely.’ Oliver said. ‘Some might want to strike now, to take advantage of the Triad being leaderless, but it might be too big of a risk for whoever takes over for Leonov to take.’

“Not to mention that word of this might not have reached Moscow yet.” Lyla said. “I don’t know what the Triad will do. In less than a year, two very powerful figures, Chien Na Wei and Xu Tao, have been arrested. The head of the Triad might decide operating in Starling is more trouble than it’s worth and focus on another city.”

“That just makes it someone else’s problem.” Thea said.

“Unfortunately, you can’t eradicate crime. Not unless you change human nature.” She said. “Did Natasha’s statement lead to anything else? Does she know what they want to use that warehouse for?”

“She says that he never told her what he was going to use the warehouse for.” McKenna said. “She knew about it, and he kept saying he had big plans, that it would give the Bratva a stronger presence in the city, but he didn’t share those big plans with her.”

“He didn’t share or she didn’t ask?” She paused. “Actually, wait. That’s a little unfair. I’m thinking about this like someone who’s investigated the Bratva, with the purpose of putting an end to the organization. There are questions you have to ask in that situation. She’s never been in that position. It might not have occurred to her to ask.”

“She didn’t mention asking when speaking to Detective Hilton, but I get the impression that she either didn’t think she could ask, or possibly didn’t want to know.”

“We need to still keep an eye on that warehouse, then.” Felicity said. “Strictly speaking, how illegal would it be for us to set up cameras in the building?”

“Considering no one legally owns the warehouse, I’m pretty sure it’s not.” Sara said. “At worst, we’d be trespassing.”

“It wouldn’t be trespassing. It’s not private property.” McKenna said. “I’m not saying one way or the other if you should do it or not. Some of the other things Natash shared were less concrete. People that Leonov got angry with who later disappeared, hearing about some big job and then seeing it on the news a few days later. Stuff like that.”

“Right now, I think our focus should be on that warehouse. Leonov might be occupied but there’s no guarantee that his men don’t just move forward with the plan in his absence.” Nyssa said.

“Let’s check it out tonight then.” Sara said. She knew the warehouse was something her girlfriend was concerned about, though she had yet to fully get to the bottom of why.

The team ate dinner and talked about mundane things for a bit. As the sun was setting, Oliver and the others changed into their vigilante attire and left for patrol. Their first stop was the warehouse they had been talking about earlier.

“They’ve made progress.” Nyssa said, as they looked around the space. “I don’t like it.”

The building had once been a large, empty space inside, but with walls already erected, the area was starting to be split into hallways. The hallways, in turn, had rows of rooms on each side. Small rooms, based on the spacing of markers for doors to be cut out.

“Arrow, what does this remind you of?” Lyla asked.

‘That apartment building outside of Moscow.’ Oliver signed. ‘The one where I had to-.’

“Yes, that one. It’s not just me, then.” She said. “Overwatch, when is the next shipment from Siberian Exports coming in?” 

“Not this coming Tuesday, but the Tuesday after.”

“We need to keep an eye on that shipment. Maybe send in an anonymous tip to Customs & Border Patrol to get them to inspect that shipment more closely. And the shipments after that.”

“Are they going to use this building for what I think they plan to use it for?” Slade asked. Each room seemed to be big enough for a bed and not much else.

“If you think they intend to use it for prostitution and sex trafficking, then yes.” Lyla said.

“We should burn this building to the ground.” Nyssa said. “If the building is unusable, they cannot use it for trafficking.”

‘I want to, but that’s not the answer.’ Oliver said. ‘To justify doing this amount of work, it means they already have people to traffic here. If we destroy this building, their victims will end up somewhere else and we can’t help them. The building isn’t as important as the people.’

“You are correct. My suggestion was short-sighted of me.”

“Let’s put the cameras in place like we talked about.” Sara said “We can’t do anything for the people right now.”

The team went around the warehouse, setting up the cameras Felicity had given them. They hid them at strategic spots around the building so that they could see who came in and out and keep an eye on where the construction was progressing.

When patrol ended, and people started to head home, Nyssa instead went upstairs to the archery range. Sara watched quietly as Nyssa fired arrow after arrow at the targets, never seeming to work off the energy she wanted to expel.

“You’re allowed to be angry.” Sara said.

“Anger feels useless at this moment. My anger has nowhere to go. Nothing I do will satisfy my anger.” She said.

“We could discuss what you’re angry about.”

“I am angry that even in the so-called civilized world, people will still buy and sell other people. I am angry that humanity has not moved past such evil, and so many are unaware that things such as human trafficking still persist.”

“I’m angry about it too. So is Ollie and Lyla and Slade and pretty much everyone. I hate that we can’t just act on what we know now, because it unfortunately isn’t enough.” She said. “I have a feeling there’s more to your anger than that.”

“That’s not enough?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t enough. I’ve known for a while that this kind of thing angers and upsets you more than anything else. I’m hoping to find out why.”

“Because of my mother.”

“What do you mean? The League doesn’t-.”

“The League doesn’t tolerate human trafficking, no. Two of her sisters were taken when she was young, and were never seen again. She spent her life trying to stop human trafficking and that’s how she was introduced to my father. They were seeking to bring the same man to justice.” She said. “When I was a child, she became aware of a trafficking ring, one that my father refused to do anything about. She was unwilling to look the other way. The day she left was the last time I saw her alive. And my father made no attempts to find the men responsible. Because he told her not to investigate the operation any further.” She said. “That’s why it angers me so much. And it’s also why I’m so adamant about helping foreign language speakers overcome language barriers. Being unable to speak the local language is one of the methods used against victims to keep them from escaping. How do you even begin to ask for help, if you don’t know the word for “help”?”

“I didn’t know….any of that.”

“Why would my father advertise that he did nothing to avenge his beloved?” She asked. “As for me, it has always been painful to speak about.”

“I know this might not mean much, since I never met your mother, but I think she’d be proud of you.” At Nyssa’s look, she continued. “How many girls did you and I save from that cave in Kahndaq? Or on that mission in Kasnia? You continued her work. I think she’d be proud of that, proud that you see something like that and want to do something about it, and not just look the other way like most people. Like Ra’s did. That means something.”

“We didn’t save all of them.”

“I know, but we saved some.” Sara said. “And saving some is better than not saving anyone, as much as it sucks to admit.”

“I need a few moments.” Nyssa said. “To collect myself.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to go.” She left the archery range and headed downstairs.

About ten minutes later, Nyssa reappeared and said she was ready to go home.

 

Malcolm let out a deep sigh and braced himself before he answered his ringing phone. What could she possibly want now?

“Do you remember a few days ago when I told you there was something going on in Starling?” Isabel asked. “I was right. The same night that I said that, the heads of the local Bratva and the Triad, along with their right-hand guys were arrested.”

“Fantastic.” He deadpanned. “One less group to worry about. If you expect me to be impressed that you guessed a mob war was happening, when I told you as much, you’re going to be disappointed.”

“The mob war isn’t the big news we need to talk about. There’s more you need to know.”

“If you called me up to gos-.”

“The judge you had in your pocket, he’s been exposed for corruption. Some Reuter’s reporter released a massive expose. They know about the “favors” he did for you.” She said. “It’s the biggest story since Sara Lance came back from the dead, and this one is going national. There’s talks of-.”

“I’m sorry, the biggest story since what ?”

“Since Sara Lance was found alive.”

“She was found alive. Sara Lance is alive. You didn’t think that was information you might want to share?”

“I didn’t share it with you, because I thought you already knew. You claimed you were keeping an eye on the news coming out of Starling City. The news about her survival broke weeks ago. It was all over the news.”

It wasn’t all over Malcolm’s news. “Well, where has she been?” 

“I don’t know. She’s alive. She’s back in Starling, but that’s all I know. She hasn’t given any interviews or gone on talk shows or anything. She doesn’t seem to have told anyone where she’s been or why she came back now.”

“Forget Sara for a moment.” He said. “What were you saying about Judge Benjamin?”

As Isabel walked him through the main points of Lois Lane’s article, Malcolm’s mind wasn’t on Benjamin or his career. He barely heard what she said, since the judge wasn’t vital to any of his current plans. He was instead thinking about the opportunity Sara Lance’s survival presented. Her survival meant there was another witness to Robert Queen’s supposed death. One that could talk. One that could be questioned. One that Malcolm could get real answers from. It was a chance he couldn’t pass up.

He decided that he could wait to send some “friends” to have a word with Tommy. His son wasn’t going anywhere and he had plenty of time to knock some sense into him. Lawsuits took years. He could work something out with John Cecil in the meantime. Getting answers from Sara Lance was much more important right now.

After he got off the phone with Isabel, he made another call. “Change of plans. I have a new mark for you, and new instructions.”

“About time.” The man on the other end of the line said. “Thought I was gonna die of boredom, waiting for your call.”

“Do you wanna get paid or not?”

“Of course I wanna get paid. It’s the only reason I answered the phone.” He said. “Who’s the target?”

“Sara Lance. And I don’t need you to have a word with her. I need you to bring her to me.”

“You want me to kidnap her and take her to Corto Maltese.”

“Is that a problem?’

“No, but kidnapping costs extra. More risk and all of that.”

“Money is of no object.”

“Really? Because I heard the government seized all of your assets.” The mercenary said. “But, if you say it’s not an issue, it’s not an issue. I’ll be in touch.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 175

Summary:

Felicity and Oliver have a nice Saturday, Frank Bertinelli realizes something unsettling and Waller gets a surprise.

Notes:

There is the use of a somewhat derogatory term for Russians in this chapter. I say "somewhat" because I'm not sure how offensive it is/isn't because when I researched it, I got mixed results.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Saturday morning, Sara heard the floorboard creak when Nyssa got out of bed. She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was just after 6am.

“Why are you awake at 6am?” She asked sleepily.

“I always wake up at this time, if not earlier.” Nyssa said. “Surely, you have noticed by now.”

“I’ve noticed, but I don’t get it. Well, before we came here, it made sense. Neither of us really had a choice. The League wakes up at dawn, so we had to get up at dawn.” The League of Assassins members were expected to wake at dawn every day. They trained in combat for a few hours, then ate breakfast and then did more training. “I don’t understand why you stick to that routine.”

“As opposed to what?”

“Staying in bed. Sleeping in. It’s the weekend, most people don’t wake up at the crack of dawn on the weekends. They sleep in, they relax.”

“This is the only routine I’ve ever known.” Nyssa said.

“Well, why don’t we try something a little different today?” She held a hand out. “Come back to bed. Let’s get a few more hours of sleep.”

“You don’t have to wake up just because I’m awake.”

“I know I can sleep in. I want you to sleep in with me.” She said. “Get back into bed. You don’t have anywhere to be today, and the foundry’s not going anywhere in the next few hours.”

Nyssa pretended to give the idea some thought before sliding back into bed with Sara. She laid down facing her girlfriend, their faces a few inches apart. Sara reached out and cupped Nyssa’s cheek.

“This is nice, right? Just you and me. Laying in bed. Not having to do anything. We can just lie here and be in the moment.”

“You think I don’t live in the moment?” Nyssa asked softly.

“I think you don’t let yourself enjoy nice things nearly enough. You rarely let yourself fully relax. You deserve to take a break.”

“Are we just supposed to lay here for the next few hours?”

“That’s exactly what we’re supposed to do.” Sara said with a soft smile. “Though, if we both fall back asleep, that’s fine too. The point is to just….be for a little while. With no bad guys to fight, no mission to complete, no pressing thing that needs our attention. We just lie here and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist for a bit.”

“My father would say that this is a waste of time.”

“Your father’s a dick and I don’t care what he thinks. You aren’t meant to spend your entire life “working” and never get to enjoy living.” She said. “You’re more than just an assassin, more than just a tool to further his agenda. You’re a person, a complete person. One with strengths and interests and flaws and dreams. And I’m never going to stop hating your father, hell the League as a whole, for teaching you that you weren’t allowed to simply be who you are.”

“I don’t always know who that is.”

“We’ll figure that out together.” Sara said. “I don’t always know who this Sara Lance is. I’m getting there, though. We’ll both get there.”

“That sounds promising.”

They laid there for a little bit in silence. Eventually, Sara fell back asleep. Nyssa was tempted to get out of bed, years of habit told her that she should. She didn’t though. She decided to give Sara’s idea a try, and just let herself be. She fell back asleep as well and when she woke up again, a few hours had passed. Sara was awake, but hadn’t gotten out of bed.

“So, sleeping in on the weekend? How do we feel about that?”

“I enjoyed it. It was nice.”

 

Felicity woke up because she smelled pancakes cooking. She made her way downstairs and found Oliver standing in front of the stove. He was looking at the pan in front of him intently and only looked away for a second when he heard her step off the final stair.

‘Morning.’ He signed.

“Good morning.” She said in a sleepy voice. “The pancakes smell good. Is there coffee?”

‘I’m hurt that you even have to ask.’ He joked. ‘You love coffee to a sometimes worrying degree. I once heard you call it the “secret” fifth major food group. It just finished brewing.’

“I couldn’t smell it over the yummy smell of pancakes, I guess.” She said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and pouring herself some coffee. She took a sip. “Hmm, coffee. It’s basically a liquid hug, and I enjoy it, but I don’t love it.”

‘Yes, you do.’

“Fine, I do, but coffee doesn’t, and can’t, love me back. So, my love for it doesn’t compare to my love for you.”

‘I wasn’t worried that you loved coffee more than me.’ He said. ‘Did you think I was worried about that?’

“I’m still in the process of waking up. I don’t even know what I’m talking about right now.” She said. “But no, I didn’t think you were jealous of my love for coffee. I just started talking and those words came out.”

‘Oh, so I’m talking to “Sleepy Felicity” right now. She’s one of my favorite Felicitys.’ He said. ‘Go sit down. I’ll bring your pancakes over when they’re done.’

“Okay.”

He smiled to himself as he watched his sleepy girlfriend get settled at the table. He loved all versions of Felicity Smoak, but sleepy Felicity was especially adorable.

A few minutes later, Oliver put a plate down in front of Felicity and another at his seat at the table. The pancakes weren’t the usual round pancake shape. It took her a moment to register what they looked like. “Is it just me, or do these pancakes look like the Death Star?”

‘Happy Star Wars day.’ He said. It was May 4th. ‘I saw a video online of how to make pancakes shaped like different Star Wars stuff, but the Death Star was the only one I was confident in trying to recreate.’

“Well, you nailed it. And May the 4th be with you.” She said with a smile as she poured some syrup over her pancakes and started to eat.

‘You told me today was Star Wars day, but you didn’t really say what celebrating it means.’

“I usually celebrate by doing something related to the movies. Last year, some people from QC went to a Star Wars trivia night after work. Sometimes, I just watch one of the films. How do you want to celebrate this wonderful, geeky holiday with me?”

‘I think we should watch A New Hope again. And maybe the other movies, if we feel like it.’ He said. ‘We deserve a break.’

“We definitely do.”

The conflict between the Bratva, the Triad and the Bertinelli Famiglia had been exhausting to deal with. Everyone felt on edge for the entirety of the conflict. It felt as if the city was one gun fight away from devolving into a total mob war during those few weeks, with no end in sight. With Leonov and Tao’s arrests, the team finally had time to breathe. At last, they had a moment to relax, to take a step back. Their work was by no means “done” but Oliver and Felicity both felt they had earned some respite from such heavy, serious situations.

They finished their Star Wars pancakes. They cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast. Felicity popped some popcorn and the two of them sat down in front of the TV and pressed “play” on A New Hope.

 

Nick Salvati’s arrest, along with the arrests of Frank Bertinelli’s other men, for the attempted attack on Matreshkas monopolized a lot of Frank’s time in the days that followed the attempt. While there was nothing directly tying him to what happened that night, he’d be naive to think the FBI or some other law enforcement agency wouldn’t try to use it as part of a RICO case. Having several of his men in jail awaiting trial also wasn’t good for his business, legitimate or otherwise, in general. Frank’s focus turned to figuring out what had happened and trying to get his men out on bond, before someone got nervous and was willing to make a deal. 

He decided his “rat problem” could wait. The informant hadn’t caused any issues yet and wasn’t likely to start soon. The other deals he had going on were put on the backburner until he could hit back at the Bratva, hopefully with more success this time.

Because Frank had been so focused on getting answers on Nick’s arrest and plotting what to do next, certain news didn’t reach him as quickly as it reached other people.

“Alexei Leonov is a problem that needs to be taken care of.” Frank told one of his capos. “And he needs to be taken care of soon.”

“I’ll go up to Iron Heights. Pay Nick a visit, put the word out.” The capo said. “Shouldn’t be hard for one of our guys to get to the Russki in there.”

“Leonov is in Iron Heights?” This was the first he heard of Leonov being arrested.

“He got denied bail, so that’s where the SCPD would’ve sent him. They’re not gonna keep him, his guys or those Triad bastards in County until trial.” 

“Don’t have Nick put the word out just yet. Pay him a visit. Make him aware of the situation, but tell him to sit on it.” Frank didn’t like that he hadn’t known about Leonov’s arrest until now, or what prompted it. He wanted to know what happened before he made his next move. The arrest changed things but that didn’t mean taking Leonov out would be any easier. He also was intrigued by the news that numerous Triad members had also been arrested.

Frank spent the next hour or so looking into the circumstances around Leonov’s arrest. He found it interesting, but not shocking, that Xu Tao was taken into custody at the same time. Initially, he welcomed the news that both the Triad and the Bratva were leaderless. Those factions were his largest competition and having them out of the way meant a bigger piece of the city for Frank. He had “won” the mob war by default. 

His excitement lessened when he learned of the vigilantes’ involvement. The Scorpions. The Orchid Bay Butchers. The Culebras. Now, the Bratva and the Triad. The Arrow and his team kept taking bigger and bigger players off the board. Frank suspected he would be next. With less competition, it was harder to hide.

The Bertinelli Famiglia would need to step very carefully moving forward, if they didn’t want to be the next target of the Arrow’s efforts.

 

Felicity and Oliver finished their viewing of A New Hope right on time for lunch. They ate lunch and decided to hold off on starting Empire Strikes Back because their weekly Skype call with William was at 2 and it was just easier for them to wait to start the movie, rather than have to pause in the middle for the call. Felicity loved Star Wars and Oliver found it entertaining, but it wasn’t as important as talking to William and being part of the boy’s life. They killed the time between lunch and the call by doing random chores around the house and talking.

‘Did you get a chance to run your idea to help Nyssa past her or Sara yesterday?’ Oliver asked as they were going through the fridge to make sure nothing had expired.

“No. I was going to talk to her about it after you guys got back from the warehouse but no one was in a good mood, for good reason, and Nyssa was especially upset. I didn’t want to make her more upset by bringing up another painful topic.” She said. “I’ll give it a couple of days and then talk to her about it.”

‘Just talk to her about it tonight.’

“I want to give her a few days. She seemed pretty upset by what you guys found out last night. Giving her a few days seems like the smartest move for me to make right now. And the nicest one.” She said. “I like Nyssa a lot. She’s been a great friend in the time I’ve known her, but I’m worried about the similarities that the two of you share.”

‘What does that mean?’

“You shut down sometimes when you have to deal with something difficult. I know you well enough to know when you’re getting to that point or how to get you out of your own head when you need it. Nyssa seems to be similar, but I don’t know her as well as I know you. I don’t want to be the reason she gets upset or shuts down. I don’t know where her metaphorical “line in the sand” is and I’d rather not find out in this kind of situation.” She said. “Does that make sense?” 

‘It makes perfect sense. I’m sorry that I worry you, though.’

“Don’t be. I worry because I care.” She said. “And, now I sound like my mother. And my bubbe. Fantastic.”

‘Your mom and Bubbe are great.’

“They’re awesome, I love them, but that doesn’t mean I want to turn into either of them, and sometimes, when I sound too much like them, it feels like that’s exactly what’s about to happen.” She said. “The point is sometimes I worry about you, but you shouldn’t feel guilty about that.”

The conversation moved on and they finished the task they were doing. At 2pm, they grabbed Felicity’s tablet and started their video call with William.

William told them excitedly about meeting his teacher for next year and how he couldn’t wait for kindergarten to start. Samantha’s expression in the background indicated that she was completely on-board with his choice, but she seemed to be trying to see the positives he was seeing.

After hearing about his future teacher, William then started telling them about fun things he did in pre-k over the last few days. He went into great detail and made sure they knew exactly how much fun each and every activity was. Talking to William always made Oliver and Felicity feel great. He had so much fun and found enjoyment in so many different things that his excitement could be infectious. 

 Before they knew it, it was time for the call to wrap up. They said goodbye to William and told him they’d talk to him on Wednesday. They made sure to say how excited they were for his visit next Friday.

“Bye-bye! Love you Daddy! Love you Lisy!”

“Bye!” They responded before ending the call.

‘He said he loved us.’ Oliver said. ‘I don’t think he’s said that before.’

“You know, I think you’re right.” She said.

They spent a few extra minutes basking in the warm feeling they each had about hearing William say he loved them before they went back to their Star Wars marathon.

 

Amanda Waller wasn’t sure why she’d been brought into the visitor area of Belle Reve. Calling it a “visitor area” was being generous. In the years that ARGUS had run Belle Reve, none of the inmates had ever gotten a visitor. None of the inmates were allowed visitors, because it would defeat the purpose of the place being a black site. The visitor area existed for the sake of appearance, in case anyone in the government came to tour the facility, but no one ever did, and the room went unused.

Waller was too much of a realist to think she had a genuine visitor. She could think of very few people who would actually want to see her, especially now. Her lawyer, as useless as the woman had been lately, might be here. Some well-connected bureaucrat was another option, though anyone with the clearance to know about this place would be too smart to want to be connected to her. She sat back and waited for the visitor to arrive, knowing her curiosity would be sated eventually. At least she got a slight change of scenery.

Her frown deepened when the door opened and Cat Grant walked into the room. It made sense for Grant to come here, as the director of ARGUS, but she would’ve preferred almost anyone else come here to visit. 

“What do you want?” Waller asked. “You’re cutting into my Saturday.”

“Well, I didn’t plan on coming here on a Saturday. Unfortunately, other matters demanded my attention first, so I had to delay this visit.” Cat said. “I’m sure I’ve interrupted an exciting and riveting day for you.”

“What do you want?”

“There’s no visitation allowed here, as you know, but there’s a discussion being had about changing that. Some might say that sending people here and completely cutting them off from the outside world is both cruel and bad for their mental health. Especially since certain prisoners were in solitary confinement for years at your order, so the only person they saw for years was the guard who brought them their meals. Temporary solitary confinement as punishment is controversial, and you went beyond that.”

“You wanna talk about prison reform and prisoners’ rights?”

“Considering how many people’s human rights you’ve violated over just the last five years, no, I didn’t come here to debate that with you.”

“Isn’t there a wikipedia page about human rights violations committed by the CIA?”

“As I was saying, there’s been discussion about allowing visitation. As the only person in Belle Reve that’s actually pled guilty to a crime and been sentenced, you get to be the test case.” She said. “Mostly because I actually had someone ask if they could come visit you.”

“Who?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. Someone asked about visiting you. I just came here to let you know that you’ll be allowed visitors soon.” Cat said. “Of course, there’s gonna be a whole process to get approved, but you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Great.” Waller said in a flat tone. 

“Well, that’s what I came here for. Goodbye.”

Cat could see the gears in Waller’s head turning. She was probably making a list in her head, trying to think of the politicians and bureaucrats that would want to visit, who would want to make sure their secrets were safe. She was probably formulating a plan to use those people’s fears to try and get out of Belle Reve. 

Unfortunately for Waller, her first visitor wasn’t going to be some politician with an agenda. They weren’t going to be one of her ARGUS sycophants either. Felicity Smoak said she wanted to see Waller, to give her a piece of her mind, and Cat saw no reason to deny that request.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

-------
I had a rough week, so this chapter is on the shorter side. I also wanted a chapter that was a little less plot-heavy after several chapters of the "Triad-Bratva" war conflict.

Chapter 176

Summary:

Slade makes an important call, Nyssa learns something she didn't expect to and Rick Flag considers the situation he finds himself in.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Slade stared at the sticky note in front of him for several moments. He knew that if Oliver were there, or Billy before he’d broke bad, they’d tell him to just get it over with. Oliver would be supportive about it, Billy would be a dick and ask him what happened to his balls, but the consensus would be for Slade to hurry up and do the task he had been putting off.

It was just a phone call, after all. He didn’t need to defuse a bomb or fight off an army or try to prevent someone from shooting down a plane. He needed to make a phone call, and he should’ve made the call days ago. The situation with the Triad and the Bratva gave him a valid excuse to delay making this call but he no longer had that to serve as a distraction.

It wasn’t just a phone call, though. Mei Gulong was Shado’s sister, she was the last member of Yao Fei’s family. Two deaths that weighed very heavily on Slade. Yao Fei’s for his inability to prevent it, and Shado’s for what happened after.

“Made a mistake, putting this off for so long.” He muttered to himself. He dialed the number and let the phone ring. After a few rings, the call was picked up.

“Hello?” A woman asked.

Slade was thrown back in time for a moment. She sounded exactly like Shado. He had forgotten what Shado’s voice sounded like. It was startling to hear it again. “Hi, uh, is this Mei Gulong?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“My name is Slade Wilson. I’m calling about your sister and your father.”

“You were on the island with them? And with Oliver Queen?”

“I was. Someone from the Coast Guard-.”

“How did they die?”

“The story is one that I shouldn’t tell you over the phone, but your father was killed by hostiles on the island who felt he had outlived his usefulness to them. And Shado- Shado was killed because a psychopath wanted to prove a point.” He said. It was the only way to explain why Ivo had killed Shado when he didn’t have to. “I don’t feel right, giving you the full, ugly story over the phone.”

“Did they die quickly? Or did they suffer?”

“They didn’t feel a thing.”

“I suppose that’s the only solace to be had.” She said. “And that they didn’t die alone.”

“I want you to know that we didn’t just let them die. We tried to save both of them.”  Oliver had been trying to cut himself loose when Yao Fei was shot. After the Mirakuru stopped affecting his perceptions, Slade realized that Oliver hadn’t “picked” Sara, but had jumped in front of her to get Ivo to shoot him. “We tried to get everyone off the island alive.”

“I can tell by your tone that you cared for both of them.” She said.

“I did, as did Oliver. I knew this call might get emotional and I didn’t want to overwhelm you, which is part of the reason why he’s not on this call with me.”

“I was under the impression that he’s unable to communicate verbally.”

“He is, but technology is a wonderful thing.” He said. “I know you have a lot to think about, but I didn’t want to put off calling you, leaving you in the lurch about what was happening.”

“I’m still trying to decide what I want to do about all of this.”

“I didn’t call expecting you to have everything figured out. Doesn’t strike me as an easy choice to make, even in the best circumstances. The trip to Lian Yu is several weeks away, and you’ve got plenty of time.”

“Would you have time to talk again in a few days?”

“Yes.” He wasn’t busy most days anyway, but he would make time to talk to Mei. He owed that much to Shado and Yao Fei. “Give me a call when you’re ready.”

The call ended soon after and he headed out to meet Dinah for dinner. Dinah had gone up to Cassidy Penn that afternoon to see Laurel. She had been visiting Laurel more often recently, trying to rebuild the relationship with her daughter from the alienation they’d once had between them.

 

Oliver looked over when he heard Felicity sniffle beside him. She was trying not to cry at the end of Return of the Jedi. He couldn’t remember if she’d cried the first time they watched it together.

‘Are you okay?’ He asked her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just- the ending makes me a little emotional. Because the empire has been overthrown and Darth Vader redeemed himself.” She said. “Even though they edited the scene with the Force Ghosts.”

‘They did?’

“Yeah. Before they released the prequels, which we haven’t watched yet, a different actor stood in for Anakin Skywalker. The guy on screen now is the one who played him in the prequels.”

‘Do you not like the actor in the other movies?’

“The prequels aren’t great. Let’s leave it at that. There’s a reason why we started with A New Hope and not The Phantom Menace. I don’t know if I could’ve gotten anyone to watch a second film if we’d started with Episode I.”

‘Do you think they’ll ever make more Star Wars movies?’

“Maybe. There are books and comics that they could adapt. Plenty of story left to tell.” She said. “At the same time, I don’t know if more movies are a good idea. How do you follow up an ending like this one?”

‘I can see how more movies might ruin a series.’ He said. ‘Any thoughts on dinner?’

“Nope. I’m not in the mood for anything specific either.”

 

Rick Flag was beginning to miss Belle Reve. He had been missing June since he’d gotten on the plane to head to South America, but after more than a week in Corto Maltese, he was starting to miss the Louisiana bayou, and that thought startled him. Corto Maltese was just as humid as Louisiana, but it was warmer. He wasn’t a fan of heat and humidity. The country was currently experiencing fall weather, and it was still too hot for his liking. The last time he had been in Corto Maltese, he left the island within twelve hours of arriving and hadn’t had the chance to dislike the weather.

“Are you capable of making any other facial expression?” One of the CIA agents on the team he was working with asked. “For a week straight, your only expression has been total boredom and contempt.”

“I’ll make another face when something happens to warrant it.” He said. “So far, all we’ve done is sit and wait and watch the building across the street.” They were holed up in a building across the street from Malcolm Merlyn’s safehouse and had been maintaining 24-hour watch on the building to see who came in and out of the house.

“I’ve been with the Company for twelve years. I’ve probably spent a decade of that time sitting, waiting and watching some building. It’s not all car chases and shoot-outs.”

“I wasn’t complaining. It was just an observation.”

“You’re not a fan of this place, are you?” Another CIA operative asked.

“How did you ever manage to figure that out?” He deadpanned.

“Is it the place you don’t like? Or the company?”

“I got nothing against any of you.” The CIA agents seemed like okay people. He understood why Grant had sent him here in the first place. He understood why the US was exercising caution and hadn’t authorized them to simply extract Merlyn and be done with it. He was just bored, he missed home and there seemed to be no change on the horizon. “Just bored out of my mind.”

“Right. You ARGUS guys just rush in, do whatever you want, and leave without bothering to find out if your operation conflicts with anyone else’s.”

“That was our last director’s MO, yes. She took “the ends justify the means” to an extreme that I didn’t think possible. She also lost more operatives in two years than the CIA did in two decades. Each time, she decided it was an acceptable loss and didn’t bother learning from it.” He said. “If you expect me to defend her, you’re gonna be waiting a while.”

“The agents she let die, how many of them did you work with?”

“I had to stop counting.” He said. With Waller in charge, Flag had seen numerous agents die, some he’d been friends with, some he hadn’t. Waller had also “sacrificed” members of Task Force X, some of whom Flag didn’t think should’ve ever been in the field. “I should contact my boss, give her an update. Yell if anything interesting happens.”

“I doubt anything will. Merlyn hasn’t shown his face since we’ve been here. I don’t see that changing today.” The CIA agent said.

“We could get lucky.” He said. He wondered how open Cat Grant would be to letting him fly back to the US for a few days, since the Corto Maltese operation was currently at the “wait and see” stage.



In the foundry on Saturday night, Oliver was changing into his hood when Nyssa approached him. Everyone in the foundry made an effort to avoid sneaking up on anyone, since few people around reacted very well to startling. He saw Nyssa approach and she saw him notice her, but she still cleared her throat when she was close enough to him for them to converse.

“There is something I want to discuss with you. It’s in regards to something you and Lyla said when we were in the warehouse that the Bratva is planning to use for….illicit business.” She said.

‘Okay. What is it?’

“Do you recall exactly what she and you said, or do I need to remind you? I ask because the question I need to ask has to do with precisely what was said and I don’t want to tell you something you already know.”

‘She asked me if the building reminded me of anything. I said it reminded me of an apartment complex outside of Moscow.’ He said. ‘I don’t have a perfect memory, but I remember that. And it was yesterday.’

“It was your next statement that I’m curious about. You said it reminded you of an apartment building in Moscow. You then said “the one where I had to” but you did not finish the sentence, because Lyla interjected.” Nyssa said. “I want to know what you were going to say. How that sentence was intended to end.”

Oliver could tell that Nyssa wasn’t asking out of idle curiosity. She wasn’t asking to be nosy. His answer clearly mattered a great deal to her. Based on her reactions the night before, this subject was important to her. ‘Most of what happened in Moscow was beyond my control. I didn’t have a choice in what happened, how decisions were made, any of it. I was offered the reward of going home when everything was over, and if that wasn’t enough to get my compliance, they’d turn around and threaten Thea or my mother or Tommy.’

“I am aware.”

‘ARGUS was attempting to get leverage over a Russian official. There was….someone under the Bratva’s control that this official had a fondness for. He may have even claimed they were in love. ARGUS wanted that person found and brought to them so that they’d have the leverage the director wanted.’ He said. ‘The intel we had at the time indicated the apartment complex in question is where they might be being held.’

‘“I feel that you are trying to stall.”

‘I’m not. I just want you to have the proper context. I want you to understand that I did what I’m about to say with a metaphorical gun to my head.’ He said. ‘The only way for me to see if the sex trafficking victim in question was in that building was to pose as a client. Anatoly thought I was “finally starting to embrace Russia” when I mentioned going there. I went, the person in question wasn’t there, I left and threw up in the alley behind the building as soon as the door was closed behind me. The director of ARGUS refused to do anything about the hundred plus other people the Bratva was exploiting. Because they weren’t “her concern” to deal with.’

“Why do you seem to think I would think less of you for what happened? Even undercover in the Bratva, it sounds like you were uninvolved in such horrible acts.”

‘Because I just left. I left all of those people there, knowing what situation they were in. I didn’t try to get any of them out. I didn’t call the police. I just- I did nothing. I told Lyla and she made a tip to the police, but I doubt anything came of it.’ He said. He had failed those people. There were women who had taken from their families. There had been children who didn’t know, and would never know, any other kind of life. ‘You should think less of me, for knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it.’ 

“I don’t think less of you for finding yourself in a situation that you didn’t know how to navigate and being unable to help those who needed your aid. I know a great deal about human trafficking, unfortunately. They could have, and likely would have, killed you. They would have killed the people you sought to save.”

‘I still should’ve tried to do something.’ 

“You’re doing something now.” Lyla said from next to him. She had arrived in the middle of their conversation, but waited to make a comment now. “We couldn’t help those victims in Moscow, but we can help the ones the Bratva means to send here.”

‘Saving them doesn’t absolve me for what I failed to do three years ago.’

“Unfortunately, that’s something we both have to carry with us. Because, make no mistake, you don’t have a monopoly on feeling guilty for what happened to them.”

“Let’s stop history from repeating itself, then.” Sara said. 

The group went out on patrol. The cameras they had set up in the Bratva’s warehouse hadn’t been triggered by any activity, and Felicity confirmed they were still in place. With the warehouse under surveillance, the team turned their attention to trying to track down remaining members of the Bratva and the Triad. Xu Tao was off the board, as was Leonov. The team wanted to get as many members of their organizations out of the way as possible. They didn’t want to give either group a chance to recover from the blow of losing a leader, so gathering as much information as soon as possible, the more damning the better, was critical.

“Do we know when the FBI will be making its move against Bertinelli?” Slade asked during a lull in activity for the night.

“I don’t.” McKenna said over the comms.

“I don’t think anyone does.” Felicity said.

“They might want to hurry on that front.” Lyla said. “Because now there’s a power vacuum. And the fact that we’re not moving on Bertinelli might come across as odd to anyone paying attention.”

“The Bertinelli Famiglia has been operating in the city longer than the Bratva or Triad were. And decades longer than the gangs.” Sara said. “To an outsider, it might look like the other takedowns were practice for us taking Bertinelli down. He’s a little more entrenched in the city than the others.”

“I’ll see if I can find anything out from the FBI, but they might not be willing to tell me about an organized crime case.” McKenna said.

“They don’t need to tell you anything, so if they won’t, it’s not a big deal. Just express our concerns about Frank Bertinelli trying to move in when it seems like there’s a power vacuum with the Triad and the Bratva stumbling to recover from the events of a few nights ago.”

“I get the feeling they’re going to act soon, but their investigation hasn’t been my focus.” She made a mental note to talk to Agent Anderson on Monday about Frank Bertinelli. It was important for the team to know the task force’s time frame and vice versa to avoid one group accidentally stumbling into something that the other was working on.

 

Lucas Ludlow had taken the change to his assignment by Malcolm Merlyn in stride. Merlyn had hired him to “have a word” with his son Tommy, but was now looking to have a word, in person, with Sara Lance and expected him to arrange the meeting. He was ambivalent to the change, as long as he got paid either way.

If anything, Sara Lance should be easier for him to follow and abduct. She didn’t have the money for private security. She wasn’t as high-profile as Tommy Merlyn. Fewer people would pay attention to an altercation involving her. She was physically smaller and would be easier for him to overpower and get control of. Malcolm had given Ludlow an easier job for more money, and he certainly wasn’t going to complain about doing less work for more pay.

He found Sara by following her father for a day or two. Sara Lance had no listed address, and publicly, her closest friends were the high-profile Queen siblings. Since following them would raise suspicion, Ludlow staked out Quentin Lance’s apartment and waited for him to leave.

Sunday morning, Quentin met with Sara for brunch, along with a brunette woman that Ludlow didn’t know and hadn’t bothered to try and identify. He assumed she was a friend of Sara’s, visiting from out of town. He watched the brunch from a coffee shop across the street. When the party parted way, Quentin left and Ludlow followed Sara and her friend. They went back to a small house in a quiet neighborhood.

He parked at the top of the street and sat in his car. He was too far from the house for Sara to notice him, and he wanted to observe the neighborhood for a bit. He needed to know the comings and goings of Sara’s neighbors. Abducting Sara from her home, after her friend left, was an option, but he needed to be sure she didn’t have too many nosy neighbors before he committed to that plan.

He had been sitting in his car for less than an hour when a woman in her forties in a sweatsuit and a bob haircut came storming out of a different house. She made a beeline for him, with a grimace on her face.

“Why are you parked in front of my house?” She shouted. “You’ve been sitting there for like an hour.”

“And?”

“And you need to leave. You’re harassing me and my family.”

“Look, lady, I really don’t give-.”

“The cops are already on their way!” She yelled. “I told them you were trespassing and wouldn't leave.” The faint sound of sirens filled the air. “See? There they are.”

The sirens were too faint for him or the woman to know that they were definitely headed to this street. The police could be responding to her call, or they could be headed to a different location. Ludlow decided he would rather not risk it. Even though the cops couldn’t arrest him for being parked on the street, it would draw attention to him and he didn’t want that.

He put his key in the ignition and started the car. He came within a few inches of hitting the woman who’d been yelling, just because she pissed him off, as he drove out of the neighborhood.

“What’s so fascinating, beloved?” Nyssa asked Sara. Sara had been glancing out of the window every few minutes for the last hour, but hadn’t looked away from the street for a few minutes.

“You know that guy that followed us from brunch?” Sara and Nyssa had both spotted him moments after leaving the restaurant. They hadn’t tipped him off to that fact, wanting to see what he’d do, but had kept an eye on him when he parked up the street from the house.

“The man in the blue sedan, yes.”

“That awful woman down the street, the one who yelled at me because the empty trashcan was on the curb after two pm, she just came storming out of her house, shouting at him and he drove off.” She said, laughing as she did so. “I think she scared him off.”

“I wish I could have seen that. She’s….quite the interesting neighbor.” Nyssa said. “I am concerned that we are being followed, however.”

“I’m not. We’re a couple of badasses. If someone wants to try something, let them. It’s, like, go ahead. Try it, see what happens.” She said. “I am an entire can of whoop-ass in a five-foot, six-inch package. That means-”

“I’m not entirely sure what it means, but I can infer based on context clues. It certainly would be very ill-advised for someone to try something. Even without knowing your history, you work as a self-defense instructor.”

“Exactly. Try it and see what happens.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 177

Summary:

Felicity tries to reassure Oliver about something, Sara and Nyssa develop a plan and Susan Williams makes a big mistake.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lucas Ludlow left Sara’s street, but didn’t leave the area entirely. A nosy neighbor might have chased him away, but he wasn’t going to give up on his surveillance of the condo she lived in just yet. Knowing Sara’s schedule was one part of completing his job, but it wasn’t the only thing he needed to keep in mind. He needed to know more about the neighbor than she did, and be able to predict the comings and goings. The woman who’d yelled at him, and called the cops was clearly someone he’d need to avoid moving forward, but he needed to insure that she wasn’t the only one he had to be mindful of.

The easiest place to abduct someone was from their home. The second easiest place was on their way home. People let their guard down at home, assuming they were safe. Additionally, most people paid little attention to their surroundings, unless something was drastically out of place. Ludlow had once watched a target for six weeks, waiting for the right moment to act, and the man never noticed the car frequently parked outside his house and office, or that windows and doors he usually kept locked would somehow become unlocked.

Sara Lance wouldn’t be any different. She wouldn’t notice an extra car parked up the street, or an unknown face in the crowd as she walked down the street. She especially wouldn’t notice or remember someone as average looking as Lucs Ludlow. It used to bother him, the fact that he wasn’t better looking, until he realized the advantages of being ignored and overlooked. It simply made him better at his job.

Ludlow was reflecting on this when his phone rang. It was a blocked number, but he answered anyway. “Hello?”

“Do you have an update for me?” Malcolm Merlyn asked.

“You didn’t tell me that there was a time-crunch on this one.”

“There isn’t, but I still want an update.”

“I’ve been following her all day. Nothing significant to report yet. I’m currently in the surveillance stage of how I handle these things.”

“How long does “the surveillance stage” last? Just for my own peace of mind.”

“It takes as long as it takes for me to know her routine, her neighborhood and when the best time for me to act will be.” He said. “Usually a week or two, but it might take longer. I doubt it will.”

“I’ll speak to you in a week then.” Merlyn hung up the phone.

 

Oliver was lying on the couch in the living room, reading a book Sunday afternoon when Felicity came over to him. She didn’t say anything right away, and after a moment or two, he closed his book and looked up at her. She seemed fidgety, which was odd.

‘Something wrong?’

“I need to talk to you about something, but I don’t know how to start the conversation.” She said. “I didn’t want to walk up to you and just start talking about the thing I want to talk to you about. Nothing’s wrong , but-.”

‘I don’t completely understand but since you’ve mentioned you want to have a conversation that you don’t know how to start, can this just be the start of that conversation?’

“I guess that’s- have you ever heard the saying about the difference between Jewish guilt and Catholic guilt?”

‘No.’

“I knew this girl at MIT. Her mom was Catholic, her dad was Jewish. She was exposed to both religions, and the culture around each, one growing up. Guilt works differently for each.”

‘Okay.’

“The way she explained it to me was this: Catholic guilt is feeling bad for the things you’ve done. Jewish guilt is feeling bad for the things you haven’t done.” She said. “I bring this up, because it’s clear to me that you suffer from both, and you shouldn’t have to carry some of the guilt you do.” Oliver felt guilty for the things he’d done to survive during his time away. He also felt guilty for things he failed to do, during that same time frame. It was a lot for one person to deal with.

‘This is about what I told Nyssa last night. About what happened in that apartment building in Moscow.’

“Yeah, and because of how sensitive the subject is, I didn’t feel right just walking up to you and bringing it up. I also didn’t want to wait, because you’ve been in a kinda in-your-own-head since last night.” She sat down next to him and took his hand. “I’m not saying you can’t feel regret for what happened. I’m also not saying that those memories can’t upset you. Those are normal feelings. But you- it’s not your fault, what happened to the people in that building.”

‘It’s not my fault they were there, I didn’t take them there but I didn’t do anything to get them out of there. It’s my fault that I didn’t do anything.’

“I know it feels that way, but it’s not. You’re one man, Oliver. Even with Lyla, as awesome and badass as you guys are, you’re just two people. It would’ve been the two of you against the whole Bratva, and it sounds like the rest of ARGUS too.”

‘Felicity, there were kids there.’ He felt like she didn’t fully understand, like she didn’t realize exactly how vulnerable the people he had failed to rescue were. It hurt to admit it, but she needed to know, she needed to understand not just that he failed, but who he had failed. ‘Some of them were so little and-.’

“And hearing that makes me want to scream, cry, vomit and punch a wall, all at the same time. But not because of anything you did or didn’t do.”  She said. “It’s not your fault. It will never be your fault. It- your actions don’t exist in a vacuum. Sometimes, crap happens beyond your control, and you get put in a situation you can’t handle and you only have so many options on what to do.”

‘If it’s not my fault, why does it hurt so much to think about?’

She pulled him closer to her, so that his head was resting on her shoulder. “Because you’re a good man, Oliver. You are. You’re a good man and it hurts to think about because you’re human and you have empathy.” She started running her fingers through his hair. “Because you have a big heart, and you want to help people. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

‘I love you too.’

 

Cat Grant had come to Belle Reve to meet with Amanda Waller in person, but she decided to use the trip as an opportunity to take care of a number of things at the facility and regarding Task Force X.

Van Criss Labs had finally handed over the information ARGUS demanded in regards to the bomb implants Waller had injected people with. ARGUS agents that Cat Grant actually respected and trusted reviewed the files Waller had outlining her paper-thin justification for the arrests of people such as Ben Turner. In a few instances, “paper-thin” was giving Waller too much credit. Unwinding the mess Waller had made would take years, it was possible that Cat was unraveling this mess when her son went off to college or even when she was getting ready to retire.

She also wanted to use this opportunity to talk to June Moone in person. The timing was unfortunate, given that Rick Flag was in Corto Maltese with the CIA, but they would have to make due.

June walked into the office Cat had commandeered, looking nervous. She took a seat, but didn’t say anything.

“Do you want me to give Rick a call? If he weren’t on an assignment, I would’ve included him in this meeting.” Cat said.

“Does he need to be part of it?” June asked.

“He doesn’t need to, no. But if getting him on the phone, or on a video call, would make you feel more comfortable, we can do that.”

“A video call. I want to see his face.”

“Okay.” She said. Flag had been sent to Corto Maltese with an ARGUS laptop capable of video conferencing. It took a few minutes for him to get the settings right, but within five minutes, Flag could see June and Cat, and they could see him.

“Um, what’s this about?” He asked.

“Nothing specific. I’m at the Louisiana facility because there were a few things I needed to handle in person.” Cat said. “I thought that, while I was here, I should check in with Dr. Moone. This was a last-minute trip, but other matters here needed to be dealt with, otherwise I would’ve made sure you were back in the country for this.”

“Your predecessor liked to play mind games. So far, you haven’t tried anything like that.”

“But it’s a little hard for you to believe that I don’t have an ulterior motive to getting you on this call or that having this conversation while Dr. Moone is here and you’re in South America isn’t some kind of manipulation tactic.” 

“It’s a little suspicious that the first time you’re sitting down with June in person, I’m out of the country.”

“She suggested that we video call you, so that I’d be more comfortable.” June said. “Just to be fair.”

“I haven’t earned his trust yet, I understand that. Saying that I’m different from Waller is much easier than proving it.” Cat said. “I hope to earn your trust one day, but I’m not going to demand something I haven’t earned.” Flag seemed to appreciate that Cat wasn’t upset or even surprised by his suspicion. “I just wanted to talk to you, Dr. Moone, to both of you and see how things were going.”

“I think things are fine.” June said. “It’s nice to- being able to leave the facility has been nice. I know I still live here, but there’s a difference between living here and being stuck here.” June had moved in with Rick to another building, as far away from the main prison as possible. It was still on the grounds of Belle Reve, but she could come and go as she pleased. To Rick, it felt a lot like he was back in the military and living on a base. “I’ve been able to dip my toes back into my archeological research, which I’ve missed.”

“Do we want to make any changes? Are there any concerns that you have?”

“You said you were working on a solution to my “problem”. I don’t suppose you’ve found one?”

“Not yet.” Cat said. “I’m still exploring some options. We’ve had some false-starts but we’re still working on it. As soon as I know more, you’ll know more.”

“And that statue Waller was so protective of?” Flag asked. “Did you ever find it?”

“We did. It’s been moved to a secure vault. We are increasing the security to that vault as well. I don’t know the significance of that item, and because I don’t know the importance, or what it does, I’m going to assume that it is as dangerous as a nuclear weapon and be just as concerned about it falling into the wrong hands.”

“It’s her heart.” June said. “It’s not a statue.”

“What?”

“After I- after I found the artifact trapping her  and I was myself again, it didn’t take long for ARGUS to find me. They grilled me about the temple, trying to find exactly where it was. The entity inside me? She’s not at her full strength because I woke up before she found her heart, and Waller got ahold of it.” She paused. “If I ever didn’t want to cooperate, she threatened to put me in a coma until they needed my…other side. And, I’m guessing that if she didn’t want to cooperate, Waller planned on stabbing the heart and killing her. And me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rick asked.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. And, even if I did, I didn’t know what Waller would do to you if she found out that I’d told you.” She said. “You would’ve gotten angry at her, I know you would’ve. I didn’t want her to send you into an ambush or something to get you out of the way.”

“Sounds exactly like something she’d do.”

“And now, the heart is safe from anyone harming it.” Cat said. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

“So far, this assignment is a bunch of sitting around and waiting.” Rick said. “Any chance I can fly back for a few days?”

“Let me talk to the other parties involved. If there’s no reasonable belief of something happening soon, I don’t see why not.” She said. “It’s not as if-.” The door to the office was thrown open, causing June to jump and Cat to glare at the man who’d rushed into the room. “Can you not see I’m in a meeting?”

“Malcolm Merlyn made a phone call.” The agent said.

“To who?”

“I don’t know, but the call was traced to Starling City.” He said. “The NSA’s working on-.”

“Without knowing who he called, there’s little value in knowing he made a call right now. When the NSA has more information about the call, let me know.” She said. “Close your door on the way out.” The agent left and Cat turned her attention to June and Rick. “Sorry about that. Flag, I’ll talk to the other agency, see if we can get you home for a few days. Dr. Moone, I’ll be in touch about the other things we discussed. I’ll give you two a few minutes to say goodbye.”

She left the office, giving June and Rick some time alone to talk.

 

“I have an idea that I believe will work.” Nyssa said. She agreed with what Sara had said regarding the man who had followed them home, mainly that he would be surprised if he attempted to attack either of them. Agreeing with Sara’s assessment didn’t mean she was able to let what happened go or put the incident out of her mind.

“In what context?” Sara asked.

“Someone has been following us. We don’t know who. We don’t know why. We also don’t know who he was following. Was he following you? Or was he following me?” She said. “We can’t answer the first two without a confrontation, but the final mystery is another matter.”

“Okay. So, what do you want to do? Go somewhere together, wait for him to follow us there, and then we split up and see which of us he tails?”

“Precisely. It is a classic gambit, but a successful one.”

“And probably not something he’ll expect.” She said. “Not to mention, this guy seemed to be playing it safe, so he’ll follow but he probably won’t attack, if we’re in public.”

 

When the team patrolled that night, they had a surprising run of luck. At three different points, they managed to apprehend some stragglers from the gang war between the Triad and the Bratva. 

In one instance, two Triad members got into a shoot-out, each wanting to be the one to take over operations with Xu Tao in prison and the group unsure of what their next move should be. One got hit in the foot, but there were no other injuries.

The second incident was a conflict between the Triad and the Bratva. A few foot soldiers from the Triad wanted to use Leonov’s arrest as an excuse to push into the Bratva’s territory, but met resistance. They were arrested before a fight could ensue.

Finally, Sara and Nyssa stumbled upon someone Natasha Federova had told Detective Hinton about. She knew the man had helped Leonov make a troublesome inspector cargo disappear.

 

McKenna arrived at the precinct the next morning and spotted Agent Anderson headed towards his desk with a cup of coffee. She walked over to him and cleared her throat. “Are you in the middle of something? Or do you have a minute to talk?”

“Not in the middle of anything. What do you need?”

“The Arrow asked me to ask you- that sentence makes me feel like I’m back in  middle school again- anyway, that team is wondering how soon the FBI is going to act on the information you have on Frank Bertinelli.” She said. “Because Leonov’s off the board for now, and the Bratva’s trying to recover from his arrest. And the Triad’s in the same boat, with Xu Tao also under arrest. Which leaves Bertinelli as the only “big” player on the board.”

“Have they come across anything involving Bertinelli that the Bureau should be concerned with?”

“No, and they’re not asking with any kind of impatience. They’re mostly concerned about Bertinelli filling the power vacuum that’s been created. And, in a more long term sense, they want to avoid a situation where they accidentally interfere with something related to your investigation.”

“Well, I can’t get into specifics, but we were hoping to have moved already. Recent events have caused a delay.” 

Lois Lane’s exposure of Judge Benjamin’s corruption was good for the country as a whole, justice wasn’t served if judges could be bought as easily as he had. It had the unintended consequence, however, of making Alexa Van Owen a little paranoid. She needed a federal judge to sign off on the arrest warrants for Frank Bertinelli and his top men, as well as some search warrants, and following the story breaking, Van Owen was taking her time finding a judge to approach, wanting to be absolutely sure that they weren’t corrupt as well. She refused to let Frank Bertinelli escape justice on some kind of technicality or because the wrong person signed off on the warrants.

“I’ll pass it along.” 

 

When the recording Susan Williams had acquired finished playing, the room went quiet. She got a triumphant look on her face and she crossed her arms, as if she was avoiding physically patting herself on the back for the work she had done.

“What do you think?” She asked smugly. “It’s a bombshell of a story, right?”

“I thought I assigned you that story about murals being designed and painted by community art programs.” Matt, her boss, said. Scott, the station manager, said nothing. They were standing in Matt’s office.

“Puff pieces aren’t really part of my job.”

“Your job is to report on whatever story I give you, given the messes Scott and I have had to clean up for you in the last few months.” He said.

“And I appreciate that. I do, but this kind of story is why I became a reporter.” She gestured to her cell phone, which she had used to play the recording. “Come on, Matt. The whole world wants to know what happened on that island. We have exclusive audio of this Slade Wilson guy talking about two deaths on the island, an indication of what Oliver Queen experienced, and he’s going to have another call with this Mei Gulong. Who knows what else we might learn from that second call?” She had worked out a few weeks ago that Slade Wilson had a connection to Oliver Queen. He seemed like an odd acquaintance for Oliver to have, so she dug further and learned he was helping the federal task force with something. Oliver Queen and the federal task force were connected through the Queen’s Gambit, so she figured Slade must have some connection to Lian Yu. “Give the street art piece to someone else and let me pursue this one.”

“How- how did you get that audio file?”

“I have my ways.” She said.

“Who recorded the conversation?”

“I did.” She knew a guy who worked at TechVillage who was good at getting into other people’s phones. He’d helped her get texts and emails from subjects for stories in the past by using a program to mirror their phone. It wasn't entirely ethical, strictly speaking, but he claimed it wasn’t breaking the law. She assumed listening in wasn’t that different from reading through messages.

“Give me a copy of the raw audio file.” Scott said. “Before we even consider this conversation, I need one of our lawyers to listen to the full, raw file.”

“What do you mean?” She asked. “I just played you the full recording.”

“That’s the recording in its entirety?” He asked, incredulously. She nodded. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was afraid of that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Do you know what I didn’t hear in that recording? I didn’t hear Mr. Wilson or Ms. Gulong consent to being recorded. Which makes me think that they didn’t know they were being recorded.”

Susan’s body language changed. Her posture became less confident. “About that…”

Scott turned to Matt. “Can I use your phone?” Matt nodded. Scott dialed a number very quickly and held the receiver to his ear. “Hi, this is Scott Maltzer. Can you come down to Matt Bowers office? Yeah, same floor as mine. The sooner, the better.” He hung up the phone. “I want to see what Warren thinks, before we go any further.”

“You called Warren Grey?” Susan asked. Warren wasn’t just one of the station’s lawyers, he was the head of the legal department.

“Yes. I need to know how much of a screw-up this is.”

Warren Grey arrived within five minutes of Scott’s call. Scott gave him a brief rundown of the situation, mainly that Susan had an audio recording of a phone call between two people and it seemed some rules were ignored in getting that recording. When Scott was done, Susan tried to speak but Warren spoke first.

“Are you an idiot or did you recently suffer some kind of head trauma?” Warren asked. “You recorded a private phone call without consent. And seemingly without the parties even knowing you were listening.”

“So?”

“So, Washington is a two-party consent state. You cannot record a phone call unless both parties consent to being recorded.” He said. “And you don’t have proof that either consented to being recorded.”

“I doubt either people on that call have the funds to try and sue us if we use the audio.”

“I don’t think you understand. This goes beyond “possible lawsuit” territory. What you did was illegal, punishable by up to five years in prison.” He said. “How many copies of this recording are there?”

“Just the one saved to my phone. I didn’t know it-.” She was going to kill Kirby Bates for getting her into this situation. Why hadn’t he told her that what he’d done this time was illegal?

“Who else has heard it?”

“Only the people in this room.”

“Is this your personal cell phone or does the station pay the bill?”

“It’s owned by the station. Your predecessor didn’t want any of our reporters to feel obligated to give out their personal phone numbers to people.” Scott said.

“This is what’s going to happen. The recording will be deleted immediately. Then, someone from the IT department is going to do a factory reset on the phone, just to make sure that there isn’t some back-up, or god help us, another illegal recording saved on there.” He said. “Third, someone from Human Resources needs to come down here to discuss the disciplinary action that will be taken as a consequence of this stunt.”

“You can’t fire me for this.” Susan said.

“Employment is at-will and you broke the law. The station would be well within its rights to impose disciplinary action, up to and including termination. But that’s a conversation to have with HR.” Warren said.  “I want to be kept in the loop on this.” He walked out of the office. 

Panicking, Susan turned her attention to Matt and Scott. “You have to believe me, I had no idea that-.”

“Why don’t you go home for the rest of the day? And take tomorrow off as well?” Scott suggested. “We need to all sit down with HR, but that doesn’t have to be today.”

“Are you planning to fire me, yes or no?” She asked.

“Honestly, I’m tempted at the moment because of how angry I am. I don’t want to make a decision based on emotions, though. We need to press pause, take a few days to let heads cool down, and then we have a meeting about this.”

“Okay. I’ll see you Wednesday then.” She walked out of the room, grabbed her bag from her desk and left the station.

“How does a reporter not know that she can’t record conversations without the individuals’ consent?” Matt asked.

“I don’t know. Why didn’t she think she’d get backlash for that hit piece she did about Felicity Smoak where she left out critical information?” He sighed. “Please tell me that this incident was all you needed me to deal with and be aware of. And that there isn’t another “problem child” reporter to deal with today.”

“No, just her. What happens if we fire her?”

“Nothing. Like Warren said, we’d be in the right to terminate her for what she did. But, if she’s doing crap like that when she has bosses to answer to, what kind of BS is she going to get into if we fire her and she decides to go freelance? Then again, if we fire her, that’s not our problem.” He picked up Susan’s phone, which was sitting on the desk. He tapped the screen a few times. “Audio’s been deleted. I’m gonna take this to a tech guy to wipe it.”

Matt had a feeling he already knew how the meeting with HR was going to go. There wasn’t much Susan could do to make up for the massive mistake she had made recording the call, especially given her track record at the station. 

 

Senator Cray was reading over the edits he had made to a bill for one of his committees when his new aide walked into his office. He expected the man to drop something onto his desk and then walk back out, but to his surprise, the aide sood there for a moment before clearing his throat to get Cray’s attention.

“What is it?”

“You asked me to get some more information about Lois Lane. I found out some information.” He said. “Do you still want it? Considering….”

“Considering what?”

“Judge Benjamin held a press conference twenty minutes ago, announcing his resignation and retirement.” The aide said. “It wasn’t a long announcement, but he’s now off the bench.”

“He resigned?” Cray expected Benjamin to face calls to resign, he expected some politicians on the other side of the aisle to demand it, but it felt too soon for the judge to actually cave to the pressure and leave. It had only been a few days and the fervor would most likely die down before the end of the week.

“Yes. He says he wants to spend more time with his family.”

“Naturally.” Cray had a feeling Benjamin cared less about his family and more about not being investigated or indicted. He probably expected, or was told, that if he resigned now, there wouldn't need to be a probe or any Senate hearings about what “gifts” he did or didn’t accept from Malcolm Merlyn. 

“So, do you still want the info I found on Lois Lane?”

“Yeah. Just in case.” He was handed a file folder.

The report made him angry. Lois Lane had an impeccable record as a journalist. There was no indication that she cut corners on her stories or didn’t check and confirm her sources. There wasn’t even a whiff of impropriety in her background. Making matters worse, Lois was related to General Samuel Lane as Cray feared. He supposed it was a good thing the aide dug into Lois before he let the Senator make an enemy of the Secretary of Defense. 

She was a problem for another day, he decided, and turned his attention back to the bill he was reading. He got through about five pages before there was a knock on his door. Another Senator was standing there.

“You see the news?”

“About Benjamin? Yeah.” He said. ‘I thought he’d at least give it a week before he caved to public pressure to resign.”

“He didn’t cave to pressure from the public. It was internal pressure.”

“Meaning?”

“Dan Arnett called him. Told him that if he didn’t resign today, the Judiciary Committee would be announcing a probe tomorrow.” Arnett was the top Republican on the committee. “You can understand why Benjamin would want to avoid that.”

“I fail to see what the big deal is, with any of this. A bribe or two isn’t that big of a deal. It doesn’t matter who it was from.”

“If the FBI’s right, Malcolm Merlyn sabotaged Robert Queen’s yacht to kill him in order to cover-up something he was planning. What do you think he might do to keep Benjamin quiet? How many favors do you think he did for Merlyn over the years?”

“He’s not gonna kill a federal judge.”

“That’s not as easy to believe as it was a year ago.” The Senator said. “We gotta figure out who they’re gonna try to put in that seat. We can’t afford to lose it.”

Cray didn’t see how they wouldn't lose it. Judge Benjamin stepped down of his own accord. The President would nominate someone to the position, and he wasn’t a member of the same party as Cray. Cray’s focus was on other matters, mainly finding Amanda Waller and making sure she kept her mouth shut about any favors they had done for each other. She had been an asset to him in the past, she’d helped him win a tough campaign for reelection by uncovering dirty his opponent tried to hide, but she had become a liability and his ambitions were too lofty to allow her to derail them.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Update 5/3/2023: There will not be an update on 5/5/2023. I had to do some unexpected travel for work, which led to me not having enough time to write and edit this chapter into a version that I'm willing to post.

Chapter 178

Summary:

Sara and Nyssa put a plan into motion, Felicity and Lyla get an unexpected visitor and Susan William's plans continue to hit roadblocks.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nyssa and Sara decided that there was no point in waiting to put their plan regarding the man who had been following them into motion. Sara wasn’t scheduled to work on Monday, and that wasn’t a day that Nyssa volunteered her time with the city’s non-native English speakers.

They met with Oliver, Felicity, Digg and Lyla for lunch that day at a deli about half a mile away from Applied Sciences.

Lunch was fun, and when the meal was drawing to a close, the group started to say their goodbyes.

“I take it that I don’t need to tell you about the grey sedan that followed you into the lot and hasn’t moved.” Lyla said to Sara as they were parting ways.

“No. We’re aware. He’s not very subtle about it.”

“The driver has been following us since yesterday.” Nyssa said. “We intend to find out more about what he wants today.”

‘Need back-up?’ Oliver asked.

“Not at this point. We aren’t sure yet who he is following. Or what he is after. He could have ill intentions, or he could be a particularly nosey reporter.”

“But everything’s okay, right?” Felicity asked. “Nothing too…intense has happened? He hasn’t tried to do anything to either of you?”

“Everything is fine.” She said. “So far, the driver has only watched and waited. There haven’t been any incidents, and I doubt there will be one today.”

‘Let us know if you change your mind or if there’s an incident.’ Oliver trusted Nyssa to know when she did or didn’t need help with something like this. He wanted her and Sara to know that he’d help them, but wasn’t going to force his way into the situation. 

“We will, Ollie.” Sara said. “See you around.”

Felicity and Lyla went back to Applied Sciences. Oliver and Digg left to head home. Sara and Nyssa drove further into the middle of the city. They wanted to lure the person following them into a more crowded area, where he’d be less likely to act if he did have ill intentions. Downtown Starling City was always busy, and it was the perfect place for them to put their plan into action. Sara parked the car and they both got out. “You know where City Hall is, right?” She gestured in the general direction of the building in question. “And how to get there from here?”

“Yes. I studied several maps of the city before I was sent here.” Nyssa said. “I could get there from any point in the city, given enough time.”

“Okay. I’ll go right, you go left. Let’s meet there in about twenty minutes.” City Hall wasn’t that far, but both women would be taking detours.

“I will see you in twenty minutes.” She turned and walked away from Sara.

She made her way down the route she’d decided, going into some of the businesses along the street on the way. It was clear to Nyssa after a few minutes that she wasn’t being followed. Their tail had pursued Sara instead. She maintained her pattern of going into the occasional store as she made her way to City Hall. The man in the sedan was following Sara, but Nyssa saw no reason to completely let her guard down.

 

Lucas Ludlow parked a few spots away from where Sara Lance had parked her car, keeping her in his sights still. After an hour sitting and watching the deli where she’d had lunch with people, he expected her to head back to her condo, but she instead drove deeper into the city. He watched as she got out of the car and gestured to the woman she was with.

The dark-haired woman nodded and turned away. She walked off without a glancing back at Sara. Sara turned on her heel and walked off in the opposite direction of her friend. Ludlow stepped out of his car and followed her.

He made sure to stay a few yards back as he tailed her. Getting too close was a mistake and it might get some unwanted attention. He’d found that the key to following someone was to make it look like he wasn’t following them. It was best if it seemed like he just happened to be heading in the same direction as her.

She’d stop at random to look into the windows of stores. She went into a coffee shop, only to see how busy it was and leave a moment later. He had been about to enter the shop himself when she walked out. He ducked his head, avoiding her gaze, to look at his phone until she began to move again.

After about twenty minutes, Sara, and by extension Ludlow, were nearing City Hall. She had taken a longer route than necessary to reach the building, but it had been good for him to stretch his legs. The dark-haired woman that Sara had been with all morning spotted her in the crowd and approached her. The two women began to talk as they walked together, and he was too far away to hear what they were discussing.

 

Nyssa saw Sara, and her shadow, approach City Hall from the west. She appeared to be at ease, which was good. The blonde smiled when she saw her. “How was your walk?”

“Illuminating. And yours?”

“Very informative.” She said. They began to walk together in the direction that Nyssa had just come from. “Our friend is not very good at avoiding detection.”

“What made you come to that determination?”

“He got too close at a few points. We almost came face-to-face after I walked out of Jitters as he was walking in. I got a pretty good look at him when that happened.”

“He clearly hasn’t mastered the more subtle parts of following someone.”

“Let’s see how good he is at hide and seek.” She said. “I didn’t try to get him off my trail before. I wonder how easy it would be to shake him. I’ll meet you back at the car.”

The pair went their separate ways once again. While heading towards the route Nyssa had taken, a dozen or so people came pouring out of a restaurant down the block from City Hall, putting more distance between Sara and her pursuer. She used this moment to get in the middle of the crowd. She lost him in the crowd and continued on her way. When she got back to her car, he was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not very good at hide and seek.” Sara told Nyssa as they got into the car to drive away. “I lost him in a small crowd fairly easily.”

“How small?”

“Twelve, maybe fifteen people.”

“I have to agree with your assessment. Keeping a target in your sights in such a small crowd is something I was able to do when I was a child.”

In a different situation, Sara would've pointed out that Nyssa didn't have a normal childhood, and that it was unfair to compare the two, but they were talking about a man who had been following them, so she didn't care much about being fair.

 

When Felicity and Lyla arrived back at Applied Sciences after lunch, they both noticed a few more looks being sent their way than normal. Felicity had alerts set-up for everyone’s names, so she knew a bombshell story had broken, but clearly, something was going on. When they walked into the lab, Felicity and Lyla both understood why they had been getting so many looks.

Two men, dressed like cliche government secret agents, were standing inside the lab Felicity shared with Curtis and Ray. The two scientists were trying to act as if this was normal, but Lyla could tell how nervous they were.

“My answer is still no.” Felicity said before either agent could speak. 

“Felicity, what-?” Curtis started to ask.

“I don’t wanna get into it now.” She said. “Please accept “no” as my answer and leave. I don’t wanna have to call security and you don’t want me to have to call security.”

“I respect that answer, but I’m here for a different matter.” Cat Grant said. One of the agents had blocked her from Felicity’s view. “Two, actually. If I could have a moment of your time, and Ms. Michaels, that would be appreciated.”

“Let’s go into my office. But those two stay out here.” She gestured to the ARGUS agents with Grant. “Is that going to be an issue?”

“Not at all.” They went into Felicity’s office. Before Felicity could say anything, Cat spoke. “I apologize for showing up, again, unannounced. I did not have a way of contacting either of you, short of resorting to some clandestine measures to get your phone number. I didn’t think you’d want me to do that.”

“You’re right. It would’ve just made me mad. Or, madder, I suppose.” She said. “I’ll give you my number. Next time, just call.”

“All three of us know that phones can be hacked, and that some conversations need to happen face-to-face. I would’ve called to say I needed to speak to you in person, not to discuss what we need to discuss over the phone.”

“And what is it that we need to discuss?” Lyla asked.

“I’ve come to realize that ARGUS deals with some pretty odd things. Things that surprise me after years with the CIA and I’m smart enough to know when I’m out of my element on something.” Cat said. “Are you knowledgeable about mysticism or magic?” No one currently working at ARGUS seemed to know much about Enchantress or magic in general. Cat knew it was possible that Waller had gotten rid of the agents who knew too much about magic or June Moone’s situation specifically, but it was also possible that a former agent might be able to provide some information. 

“Magic as in….as in magic.” Felicity said incredulously. “Like, spells and stuff?”

“I’ve had an encounter or two, but I don’t know much. I might know some people who do. Or people who know other people.” Lyla said. The League of Assassins was shrouded in secrecy, so Nyssa or Sara might have useful knowledge. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever asked Oliver about magic either. There were one or two “consultants” she’d worked with at ARGUS that might be helpful. “Is this about- I believe Waller referred to them as “the archeologist”- is this about the archeologist?”

“Without getting into too much detail, yes. This is about the archeologist.” Cat said. “Amanda Waller, true to form, decided to mess with forces she didn’t understand or thought she could control. And now, I’m stuck trying to undo what she did. So, anything you know would be helpful, as would putting me in touch with anyone with magical knowledge.”

“I’ll ask around.”

“I appreciate it.” She said. “I don’t have to be as vague about the second reason why I’m here. Ms. Smoak, you asked about Waller being allowed visitors.”

“Yup. Is she allowed to have them?” Felicity said.

“With approval. I went ahead and got the process started, so that you could get approved to see her. It’s not official, yet, but it’s in the works.”

“Thanks.”

Cat left after getting Felicity and Lyla’s contact information, so that she could call in advance if she needed something in the future. After she and the ARGUS agents were gone, Lyla had a few questions for Felicity.

“You want to go visit Amanda Waller. Why?”

“Destroying her career and getting her sent to prison isn’t enough to satisfy me for what she did to Oliver and to you. And to who knows how many others.” Felicity said. “I still need to give her a piece of my mind. And I need her to understand why I’ve done this to her, because make no mistake, I took it this far because I wanted to.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“You’re too good of a person-.”

“I’m really not, though.”

“You don’t see yourself that way, but I think you’re a good person. And I know that you’re too good of a person to do something that would put you far enough on my bad side for me to do something like that to you.” She said. “It’s like, I know you’re not gonna start drowning puppies, so I don’t need to think about what I’d do if you did. Does that make sense?”

“Kind of.” She could understand the spirit behind Felicity’s metaphor, if nothing else.

“Look, if you really wanna know my reasons, I’ll explain them to you, but I haven’t worked out how to explain them to Oliver in the right way. And by “the right way”, I mean that if I phrase things wrong, he might blame himself for me feeling the way that I do, which prompted me to do what I’ve done, and him feeling even more guilt is the last thing I want.”

“You don’t need to tell me. I might not know every reason you have, but I think I know your main reason for going nuclear, as it were, on Waller.” Lyla said. “The way she went back on the deal she had with him-.”

“Was beyond terrible, but it’s not my main reason.” A lot of people had hurt Oliver over the years he was gone. Waller was the one Felicity could do something about, so she poured all of her anger about what Oliver had been through into taking Waller down. She didn’t have to split her focus, she didn’t have to consider other people involved, as had been the situation when dealing with Moira Queen. She could take all her anger, all her energy and unleash hell onto Amanda Waller, and so she had.

“Does Oliver know you want to go see her?”

“Yeah. I told him there were things I wanted to say to her face, the day we found out Waller had pled guilty. He was too shocked by the news to want to hear about my motives. And we haven’t talked about it since.”

“I hope you don’t expect remorse from her.”

“He said the same thing, and no, I don’t. I can never fully understand what she put you and Oliver through, but that means that I don’t need closure from her. I don’t need explanations. In truth, I don’t need anything from her.”

“Oliver’s really lucky to have you.”

“Yeah, he is.” Felicity said. “And I’m really lucky to have him. He doesn’t always realize that I need him as much as he needs me. He thinks that all he ever does is take, but he’s- he gives so much of himself and doesn’t even realize it.”

“I think he’s had that problem for a long time.” She said. “It’s not a bad problem to have, but it backfires on him, from time to time.”

Curtis knocked on the door of Felicity’s office and poked his head in. “The, uh, the Men in Black have gone. Is there something going on? Or can we get back to what we were working on this morning?”

“Nothing’s going on. Let’s get back to it.” She said, following him back to the lab.

 

Instead of going home as her bosses suggested, Susan Williams left the news station and drove straight to the Tech Village location where Kirby Bates worked. He had put her in a tough situation and he’d better have a good explanation of why he hadn’t told her that what she was doing might be illegal.

She entered the store and stormed over to the customer service desk where Kirby was assigned. 

“Welcome to Tech Village. How can I help-?” He started to ask, beginning to go through the greeting all employees had to give to customers.

“We need to talk. Now.” She said. “Take a break and meet me outside.”

“I can’t leave the desk unattended. Whatever favor you need, it’s gonna have to wait until I get off of work.”

“No, it can’t wait. And I’m not talking about this here.”

“Then, we’re at an impasse. You can either tell me what you need, here and now, or wait until my shift ends.” He said. “But I can’t leave this desk, there’s no one else to cover it, and the service desk has to be open until the store closes.”

“Or, I can tell your boss that you committed a crime, and then finding someone to cover the stupid service desk for a few minutes is the least of your problems.” She crossed her arms and got a smug look on her face.

“What are you talking about?”

“You helped me break into someone’s phone and record their phone calls. That’s a crime. You committed a crime and made me complicit in it.”

Bates looked around before leaning slightly over the counter, so that he wouldn’t be as easily overheard. “I helped you get access to the phone so that you could listen to conversations. I never said anything to you about recording conversations, because it’s illegal. You didn’t say that you intended to record anything.”

“No, when I came to you about this, you said-.”

“I said I knew a way to mirror the phone so that you’d be able to hear what he talked about. Recording never came up, because I thought you knew you couldn’t do that. You kept bragging about how good of a reporter you are, after all.” He said.

“Well, if you’d told me that I couldn’t record-.”

“I didn’t think I had to.”

“Is there a problem, ma’am?” A voice asked from behind Susan. She turned to see a man with a name tag indicating that he was a manager standing behind her.

“No, no problem at all.” She said before turning back to Kirby. “Thank you for all your help.” This conversation wasn’t over, but she didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of Tech Village. She walked out of the store. 

Kirby came up with some “crazy customer” story to explain Susan’s behavior and get his manager off his back. When he was alone at the customer service desk again, he started thinking about what Susan’s screw-up meant for him. Could he be charged for helping her commit a crime?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Susan would probably try to blame this whole thing on him. If she got caught, she’d play the victim and claim that everything was all his idea, and she hadn’t known what she’d done was wrong. He was not going to take the fall for her.

About fifteen minutes after Susan had left, Kirby used the computer at the help desk to remote access Susan’s computer. She had all of her notes saved on the computer, which he made copies of. Doing some digging, he found that she also had a copy of the audio file of the illegally-recorded phone call. At least, Kirby assumed it was the call. The man on the recording sounded Australian, she had notes about an Australian man connected to Oliver Queen, and she had saved the file as “Slade Wilson- Call 1”. He copied that too.

After creating a burner email account, he put all of Susan’s notes and files related to Oliver Queen into the email and sent it to Susan’s “professional rival”. Bates doubted the other reporter knew she was Susan’s nemesis, but he got a sick satisfaction over sending proof of her wrongdoing to the reporter Susan hated most. 

 

Oliver found that he couldn’t quite get the memories of what had happened in Moscow out of his head. The good memories he had from that time were of him and Lyla hanging out in their safehouse, getting to know each other and being able to be normal people. While he had countless bad memories of Russia, the memories he had connected to the sex trafficking were the hardest for him to deal with. 

He remembered what Felicity said about not blaming himself, but he couldn’t let the guilt go, and he couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d seen. Determined not to spend the whole day thinking about such an awful time, he did his best to keep himself busy in the afternoon.

He did some journaling. He read a book. He picked up Thea from school and listened to her talk about her day as he drove her home. He spent some time on the computer, looking up fun activities that he, Felicity and William could do when his son visited later that week.

Thinking about William’s upcoming visit led to Oliver thinking about the bedtime stories he’d told him in the past. 

He had started to make a list of new stories to tell, stories he thought William might enjoy based on how he liked earlier stories. Oliver decided to sit down and try to write out one of the new stories he’d come up with. He found a pad of paper and just started writing. Usually, he made up the story as he went, as he was telling it to William, but he wanted to try getting the ideas down on paper.

Before he knew it, he heard the front door open and Felicity called out, announcing she was home.

“Hey,” she walked over to him and kissed him hello, “what are you working on?”

‘New bedtime stories for William. I made a list of ideas and I thought I ought to write them down while they were fresh in my mind.’ He said. ‘I hope he likes them.’

“I’m sure he’ll love them.” She tried to sneak a peek at what he’d written. “What are some of your ideas?”

He turned the pad over, hiding his writing. ‘They’re not done yet. I just have some basic ideas down, and it's too soon for anyone to read them. Even you.’ Oliver had put a character that reminded him of Felicity into one of the new stories and he was nervous to let her see that story because he wanted it to be absolutely perfect before he did. ‘I want to have a little more than just an outline before you see them.’

“Okay. I look forward to reading one of them when you’re done.” She said. “I’m gonna go change. Someone needs to create “business appropriate” attire that’s actually comfortable. The stuff that looks good is never comfortable and the stuff that’s comfortable doesn’t look professional enough.”

‘Speedy’s into fashion. Maybe she can come up with some designs.’ He said. ‘When she was five, she wanted to be a fashion designer. I don’t know if that’s still a career goal of hers.’

“You haven’t asked her about what she wants to do after she graduates? I’m a little surprised.”

‘I told her I’d be happy no matter what she chooses to do.’ He said. ‘I don’t want her to feel pressured to do something she doesn’t enjoy because it’s expected. Pretty much every time I did something because my parents wanted me to, I regretted it or threw the chance away on purpose. I don’t want Thea to make the same mistakes I made.’

“That’s a good philosophy to have.” She walked upstairs to change out of her work clothes. Oliver added a bit more to his story before putting his notepad away and going to the kitchen to figure out what their dinner options were.

 

Frank Bertinelli called a meeting of his capos. He wanted to make sure that all of his men were absolutely clear on what his orders were and how he planned to move forward now that the power dynamics in the city were changing.

“Two more Triad guys got arrested this morning.” One of Frank’s capos said. “If we’re gonna make a play for the territory-.”

“We’re not.” Frank said. 

“Their boss is in Iron Heights and they’re fighting amongst themselves. It’s the perfect time to make the move.”

“No, it’s not. Because do you know who’s paying a lot of attention to the Triad, and the Bratva, right now? The Arrow, the cops, the feds. We make a play now, we step right into that mess and then some of us wind up in the cell next to those Triad dicks.”

“The Arrow hasn’t seemed to be paying any attention to what we’ve been up to lately.” Another capo said.

“Because we kept our heads down. If we keep it that way, the Arrow and the cops are gonna keep going after the competition and soon, we’re the only ones left at the table.” Frank said. “The Bratva and Triad started this mob war, but if we play our cards right, we come out on top. Which means the rest of you better not do anything stupid to get the cops to suddenly wonder what we’re doing.”

“And what happens when the cops are done with the Triad and the Bratva, and they can devote all their attention to us?” Someone asked.

“Don’t waste my time with dumbass questions.” He said. “We’re proceeding with business as usual and you idiots better not do anything to get the cops’ attention. Got it? Now, get out.”

Helena overheard enough of the conversation to know that her father wasn’t planning anything specific. She still felt that she should let the vigilantes know, just so that they wouldn’t have to expend resources to keep an eye on her father at the moment. She left the house before her father or his men saw her, and made her way into the city.

She wasn’t sure if she found Harbinger on her own later that night, or if the archer allowed herself to be spotted by Helena, but she found that she didn’t care. All she cared about was being able to relay the information she had to the people who needed to know.

“I overheard Frank Bertinelli talking to some of his guys tonight.” Helena said when she met up with Lyla. As more time had passed, Helena felt less and less comfortable referring to Frank as her father to others. She hated Frank, she didn’t want to be connected to him. “He’s noticed that the Triad and the Bratva haven’t been as active lately.”

“He’d have to be willfully ignorant not to have noticed. How does he feel about it?”

“He’s happy for less competition, but he’s trying to avoid attention. He doesn’t want the attention currently on the Russians to suddenly be on him.”

“Is he planning something big? While the attention is elsewhere?”

“The opposite. From what I overheard, he told his men to lie low. He wants to make sure your attention and the SCPD’s attention stays on everyone else.” She said. “I don’t think he has any idea about how much the FBI has on him.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way. For someone like him, the less he expects to get arrested, the better. If he doesn’t see it coming, he can’t do anything drastic to try and avoid it.”

“You’re probably right.” She said. “I just wanted you all to know that Frank’s not currently planning anything, from what I can tell. One last thing to worry about, right?”

“I appreciate the intel and I’ll make sure the others know.”



When Daniel Correll arrived at Queen Consolidated on Tuesday morning, he sat down at his desk to see that he had a handful of voicemails. Two of the messages were from people he’d been playing phone tag with, and they’d called within half an hour of when he’d left the office the day before. He made a note to call both people back this morning, and let the phone system proceed to the third, and final, message.

“Next new message.” The automated voice said. “Received yesterday at 10:39 pm.”

There was a pause. “Hi, Daniel. This is Linda Park from KSFZ Channel 8 in Central City. I know I’m calling you after hours, but I need to speak to you regarding an unsolicited email I received earlier today. Please give me a call when you have a chance.” She rattled off a phone number. 

Correll wasn’t sure what pushed him to call Linda first, out of all the calls he needed to return. He couldn’t tell if it was the tone in her voice, clearly very concerned, or the fact that she called so late, rather than wait and try to contact him the next day. Regardless of the reason, she was taking this email very seriously, and he would as well, at least until he knew more

Linda answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello, this is Linda Park.”

“Good morning, Linda, this is Dan Correll. I’m returning your call from last night. Is this a good time?” He said.

“Give me just a minute.” On the other end of the line, a door opened, and then another door. After about ninety seconds, she spoke again. “Sorry, I wanted to be somewhere private for this conversation, because of how sensitive the situation is.”

“Your message didn’t say much about what this is about.”

“I didn’t want to leave too detailed of a voicemail.” She said. “I received an email to my personal email account. The attachments were a bunch of notes regarding Oliver Queen, Lian Yu and a few people possibly connected to that. There was also an audio file attached, which appeared to be a phone call between someone named Slade Wilson and Mei Gulong, about events that happened on the island. The only text in the body of the email was “this is what Susan Williams has found on Oliver Queen”. When I realized what it was, I knew Oliver Queen needed to know, but I don’t have a way to contact him. Or which authorities I should reach out to.”

“Authorities?”

“I listened to the audio file. I don’t think those people knew they were being recorded and I know Washington is a two-party consent state for recording. Not to mention, this recording was sent to me, and I’m in a different state.” She said. “I don’t plan on using anything in this email for a story, but I’m not sure what I should do with the material.”

“No one else has seen or heard what you were sent?”

“I haven’t shared it with anyone, no.”

“I’ll need to make some calls and get back to you.” Correll said. “If you don’t mind doing nothing for now, it would be appreciated.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything from me.” Linda said before ending the call.

 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 179

Summary:

The task force learns something troubling, and Oliver and Slade reflect about the past.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After getting off the phone with Linda Park, Daniel Correll made his way up to the top floor of Queen Consolidated. He wanted to speak to Walter Steele before he contacted Oliver about the information regarding Susan Williams’s investigation, and the recording she had of Slade Wilson and Mei Gulong. Since Correll worked for QC, and not the Queen family, he felt it was only right that he run certain things by Walter before he talked to Oliver. He had no way of knowing what Oliver did or didn’t already know from other people and didn’t want to assume one way or the other.

He reached Walter’s office and saw him sitting at his desk, appearing to be looking over paperwork. Janine looked up at him as he approached and greeted him.

“Could Walter spare five or ten minutes for me this morning?” Dan asked. “There’s something I want to discuss with him, and it would be best if I can speak to him sooner rather than later.”

“His first meeting of the day isn’t until 9:30, so you can go in and speak with him now, if you’d like.” Janine said. 

“Thank you.” He walked into Walter’s office and knocked on the door to get his attention.

“Good morning, Daniel.” Walter said.

“Hi, Walter. I- Linda Park left me a message last night. She wanted to bring something to my attention. It involves Oliver. I don’t know if what I’m about to tell you is “old news” to him or not, which is why I want to talk to you about this first.” He said. “It involves Susan Williams.”

“I was under the impression that Oliver wasn’t planning to do an interview with Ms. Williams and that we would only be communicating with the station she works for via press releases. And I don’t see how Ms. Park is connected to this.”

“You’re correct on the first two items.” Correll said. “Linda received an unsolicited email yesterday, which contained all of Susan’s notes on Oliver, Lian Yu and the like. She also received the recording, most likely an illegal recording, of a phone call between two individuals between Slade Wilson and Mei Gulong, about events that happened while Oliver was missing. Those names have no significance to me, but I know that there’s a lot I haven’t been told about that time period. Were you or Oliver aware that Susan Williams was investigating Lian Yu or that this recording existed?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of this, and this is something that Oliver would’ve told me about, had he known.” Walter said. “How do you know it was an illegal recording?”

“Linda listened to it and that was the impression that she got. I haven’t heard it, but according to her, it doesn’t sound like either party is aware they’ve been recorded.” He said. “She called me because she doesn’t have a way to contact Oliver directly, and she wasn’t sure what to do with the material. She has not sent it to me, but I haven’t asked her for it.”

“Slade Wilson would not have given something of such a sensitive nature to anyone, much less a reporter. Before you speak to Oliver, I’d suggest calling either Agent Dinan of the Coast Guard Investigative Service or Agent Reeves of the FBI. They’re both members of the federal task force that’s been in Starling for the last few months.” Walter opened a drawer to his desk and handed him two business cards, one had Dinan’s information and the other had Reeves’s.  “This recording being released could interfere with the investigation into the Queen’s Gambit. Even if it doesn’t, Oliver would want the task force to at least be aware of its existence.”

“Will do. Do you want me to include you in these meetings or calls?”

“I would like to know when you tell Oliver, but in terms of dealing with the FBI, the Coast Guard and Ms. Park, I don’t need to be included unless there is a reason for the CEO of this company to partake in the conversations being had.”

“Okay.” With that said, Correll took the two business cards and walked out of Walter’s office. He decided to call Agent Reeves first. Since Linda Park had implied some kind of wiretapping had been done to get the recording, he thought the FBI was a good agency to start with.

 

Slade, Dinan, Doyle, Anderson and Agent Mars were standing around a large conference room table in the middle of the precinct. Doyle had called in a few favors and was able to get a topographical map of Lian Yu that was larger than the one the task force already had.

Slade was looking over the map, and marking down spots that he, Oliver and Sara had noted as being important on their own maps of the island. Each of them drew their own maps, and Slade had saved each as an image on his phone.

“All right. Sara’s data is on there. My stuff is on there.” He said. “Now, for the hard one.” Oliver’s map had been the most detailed, so he saved it for last. He swiped his finger along his phone, to move to the next picture, and his screen glitched slightly. “Starting on the western side-.”

“Wait.” Agent Mars said. “Do that again.” When he gave her a confused look, she cleared her throat and explained. “Go to the map you were just looking at and then switch back to this one.”

Slade swiped back to the previous image, waited a moment and then swiped forward to Oliver’s map. His screen glitch again when he did so. “Why did you ask me to do that?”

“Because when you went from your map to Oliver Queen’s, your screen glitched and that’s not normal.” She said. “Has your phone been acting weird lately?”

“Define weird.”

“Slower than normal?”

“Yes. It’s also been getting warmer than it used to sometimes.” He said. “I should probably replace it.”

“Can I see it?” She asked. He handed her the phone.

“Mars, what are you thinking?” Anderson asked her.

“Last time that I saw a phone have a glitch like that, it was because someone had put spyware onto the phone without the owner knowing. It was part of that big fraud case, Lennox was the guy behind it.” She said. “When did your phone start to slow down?”

“Five, six days ago.” Slade said. “You think someone tampered with my phone?”

“I think it’s possible. I’d like to take a closer look at it, if you don’t mind.”

“Go nuts.”

“Did you get any weird messages or emails right before this happened? A text with a link or an email that didn’t quite look right?”

“I got a text message that didn’t have a message attached when I opened it.” He said. “From some unknown number.”

“A text, but there were no words?”

“Yup.”

“I’ll be right back.” Mars said, getting to her feet. “Go on without me.” She walked away.

“Well, seeing as I need my phone to look at Oliver’s map to put on this map, I guess we should move on to the next topic for now.” Slade said.

Slade, Dinan and Doyle discussed the weather patterns in the North China Sea from June to August. It was too early to know what the weather would be like during those months this year, but looking at historical data and hearing about Slade’s time on the island was useful. It would help them decide when the most sensible time to visit the island would be.

They were wrapping up that subject when Mars came back over to them. “We have a bit of a problem.” She said. “The text you received wasn’t a blank message, it contained a nasty bit of programming that was designed to give someone a backdoor into your phone. They could read any messages you sent. They could see what apps you used. They could listen in on any phone calls you made.”

“Shit.” Slade said.

“What is it?” Dinan asked.

“I called Mei Gulong a few days ago, to talk to her about her sister and her father. It’s not the only call I made, but it’s the only one that was about a sensitive subject.”

“I’m trying to track the trojan horse message to where it was sent from.” Mars said. “I went ahead and deleted the spyware from your phone, but I don’t know who did this yet.”

Agent Reeves had been sitting at his desk. He hung up the phone and walked over to where Slade was. “You spoke to Mei Gulong a few days ago?”

“Yes. On Saturday.”

“And she was the only person on the phone? You didn’t conference someone else in?”

“No. It was just us.”

“We just discovered that his phone was tampered with.” Dinan said. “And whoever did it had the ability to listen to his calls.”

“They didn’t just have the ability. They listened to his call and recorded it.” He said. “I just got a very interesting call. Apparently, some reporter from Central City was emailed a recording that someone else made of your conversation. She tipped off the head of Queen Consolidated’s PR department, who I just got off the phone with. Who wants to take a field trip downtown to Queen Consolidated to get the full story?”

“Count me in.” Slade and Dinan said at the same time.

“Mr. Wilson-.”

“Yes, I know. I don’t have any authority. But it was my private conversation that was recorded. And my phone that was tapped. And I’m the one that’s gonna have to tell the others. So, I’m coming with you.” Slade said. “Make peace with that now.”

 

When Sara went to work on Tuesday, she was painfully aware of the car following her to Star City Fitness. Since she and Nyssa had determined who the man was trailing, the fact that she was being followed didn’t bother her. She knew she could evade him or shake him if she needed to. She didn’t know how much information he was gathering about her, though.

If the man parked his car in the gym’s parking lot and simply sat there until her day ended and she left, that would be one thing. She wasn’t concerned if he was just trying to figure out her work schedule. If he came into the building, it represented a possible danger to the others inside. It also meant that he might learn that she taught self-defense classes. HIs ignorance of what classes she taught gave her an edge. It wasn’t the biggest advantage that she had, her League training had that distinction, but she didn’t want to lose any advantage.

She parked in the usual place where she parked and headed into the gym.

 

Lucas Ludlow watched Sara Lance grab a work-out bag out of her car and head into the Star City Fitness building. He hadn’t parked too close to the building or to Sara’s car. He didn’t want her to notice his car, not after she’d nearly come face-to-face with him the day before. He also didn’t want anyone inside the fitness center noticing that his car had been sitting there for however long he’d be there. In his current spot, he had a great view of the front door and would see when Sara left.

He kept his eyes trained on the door to the building. He had lost her in a crowd yesterday by accident. He didn’t want a repeat of that, even if all she had done so far today was go to work. 

An hour passed, then another. He reached into his glove box and pulled out a protein bar. “You couldn’t work near a Big Belly Burger, could you?” He muttered to himself. He was hungry, but he’d have to drive away to get food, and that meant risking she’d leave while he was gone.

He knew she worked at Star City Fitness. She was featured on the “Our Staff” page of the gym’s website as an instructor. The website didn’t say what classes she taught and the gym had two to three classes happening at a time, so the schedule didn’t give him any indication of what she taught or when she’d be done.

Malcolm Merlyn called him after he had been sitting outside the gym for nearly two and a half hours. “Hello?”

“Tell me what you’ve found on Sara Lance.”

“She’s currently renting a condo. I haven’t found the owner’s name yet. She had brunch with her father on the weekend. She works at a gym, teaching some classes.”

“What classes?”

“Either yoga or spin-cycling.” The class schedule for Tuesdays listed yoga, pilates, spin-cycle and self-defense classes during the day. He doubted Sara was teaching the last one.

“I don’t remember her being that interested in either the last time that I saw her.”

“It’s also been five years. Maybe she’s become a yoga enthusiast.”

“Are you sure she’s teaching a class? And not enrolled in one?”

“I mean, she could be taking a class at the gym, but she definitely teaches here. She’s listed on their website as an instructor.”

They talked a bit longer about what other information Ludlow had uncovered about Sara and her habits. Malcolm said he’d call back in a few days for another update.

After four hours, Sara walked out of the gym while talking to another woman.

 

“I’m really glad that I found your class.” Casey, one of Sara’s students, told her as they walked out of the gym. “I wanted to learn self-defense awhile ago, and- well, I’m sure the man who teaches on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights is a great instructor, but-.”

“Derek seems kinda intimidating if you don’t know him.” Sara said. Derek was a 6’3” former Marine who was very nice, but looked intimidating. “He’s super nice though.”

“I’m sure he is. He just- he looks like someone I never wanna see again. And I couldn’t really get past that. Also, learning self-defense from a woman just makes me more comfortable.”

“I completely understand that. I’m glad you found my class too. And that you’re liking it.” She said. She didn’t want to push, but she was glad her classes were helping people. “Keep in mind what I said about planting your feet, and I’ll see you next week.”

“See you next week.”

Sara watched Casey drive away before she walked over to her own car, put her gym bag inside of it, and leave. As expected, the man who had been following her left the lot a few seconds after she did. She drove home without incident, though she was beginning to get annoyed that she was being followed.

 

Oliver was reviewing some documents that his accountant had sent over, regarding the charitable donations he was making in May. Jim always had him review the annual reports and financial statements for a charity before he donated the money. He wanted to be sure that Oliver understood the work the charity did and how his donations would be used. Oliver had no issue with being asked to review the materials and told him he’d be in touch.

He was almost done reading through the annual report for a cancer research foundation when there was a knock on the door. He opened it and found Slade standing there.

“Hey, kid. Can I come in?” Slade asked. 

‘At 27, almost 28, I think I’m a little old for you to be calling me “kid”. But, yeah, come on in.’ He stepped out of the doorway.

“Your sister’s always gonna be “Speedy” to you, right? Well, you’re always gonna be “kid” to me. Sorry.” He walked into the house and took a seat on the couch, after Oliver gestured to it.

Something about the way Slade was acting made Oliver suspicious. It seemed like his friend had gotten bad news or needed to tell him bad news. ‘What’s wrong?’

“Can’t sneak anything past you, can I?” He asked. “There’s something I gotta tell you. A few things, actually.”

‘Is all of it bad news?’

“No. It’s not all bad news. But the bad news is gonna put a damper on the good news that I’ve got.” He said. “Agent Dinan gave me Mei’s number. I called her over the weekend. She- she wasn’t ready to talk about everything, but she wants to talk to you, at some point.”

‘What’s she like?’

“Hard to tell based on one conversation, but she seems nice. She clearly loved her father and Shado a lot. I told her- I gave her an abridged explanation of how they died, because she asked. And by that, I mean I told her why they were killed, but not specifics.”

‘Okay.’

“Which brings me to the bad news. Susan Williams had someone put something on my phone that allowed her to see anything I did on the device. I don’t know how she did it, but I imagine Felicity could explain it. Anyway, she heard the phone call and recorded it without me or Mei knowing. She also went through my messages and photos and pulled out anything related to you or Lian Yu that she saw.” He said. “I’m sorry.”

‘Why are you apologizing for what she did?’

“Because it was my phone that she hacked into. And I unknowingly helped her invade your privacy. At the end of the day, I gave her access by opening a fishy message.”

‘How do you know about all of this?’

“Well, for one thing, Agent Mars saw my phone do some weird glitch. She took a look at it and realized there was spyware installed on it. As for how I know it was Susan Williams, someone sent everything Susan had to Linda Park, who panicked and called Daniel Correll, who called Agent Reeves.” He said. “FBI’s dealing with all of that still, but I wanted to explain what happened to you. Oh, and Linda Park wanted me to let you know that she gave everything she had to the FBI and had no interest in pursuing that kind of story.”

Oliver was happy to hear that, but he didn’t expect anything different. From what he knew about Linda, she wouldn’t want evidence that was obtained in such a sleazy manner. He also believed her when she said she never wanted to do a story about his experience on Lian Yu and this proved that. ‘Why would Susan Williams go to that much trouble? It seems awfully extreme for her to do all of that, just to find out some things about me.’

“Hell if I know. Then again, the whole idea of a celebrity, of you being famous just for existing, doesn’t make any sense to me.”

‘The older I get, the less I understand it.’ He admitted. ‘I used to think it was cool, everyone knowing who I was.’ He waited a beat. ‘You told her that we tried to save them, right? Mei, I mean.’

“Yeah, I did. I wanted her to know that, and I knew that you would too. She seemed….I don’t want to say “happy” because it has the wrong implication, but it seemed to comfort her that we clearly cared about Yao Fei and Shado. And that someone would be able to tell her how they died, and that they didn’t have slow, painful deaths. Those things clearly mattered to her.”

‘She probably knew, deep down, that they were gone for all of these years. How they died, and wondering if they suffered might’ve been the real mysteries to her.’ He said. ‘You’re gonna talk to her again?’

“Yeah, she needed a few days to digest what I told her. And she hasn’t decided what she wants to do. I also figured you’d want to talk to her.”

‘I want to, but only if she wants to hear from me. If you talk to her, and I’m not on the call, can you let her know that I’ve offered to pay for the burial, and any other expenses? I’m not gonna insist on it, but I don’t want her to feel like she can’t give her family the funerals they deserve because of the cost. Yao Fei and Shado deserve proper funerals and proper burials, and cost shouldn’t be a concern. Not after what all of us went through.’

“I agree with you there.” Slade said. “Remember when Shado was first teaching you how to shoot a bow?”

‘Yeah. It took me a while to stop slapping every bowl of water that I saw.’

They started talking about their few good memories on the island. As much as it sucked to be trapped on Lian Yu, the period of time after Fyers death but before Ivo showed up had been nice. It was the best part of those five years. Oliver wished that time period had lasted longer than it did, that he’d gotten more time with Shado and with Slade.

At some point, he and Slade moved from the living room to the kitchen while they were reminiscing. Oliver offered Slade a drink, which the other man accepted. Oliver poured him a drink and then poured a glass of club soda for himself.

‘To Shado, Yao Fei, and those few good months.’ Oliver said, holding out his drink for a toast.

“Cheers.” Slade said, hitting his glass against Oliver’s. “Can I be a little bit of a dick and ask you something that I’ve been curious about?”

‘Sure.’

“Why don’t you drink alcohol anymore?”

‘When Lyla and I were done with the operation in Moscow, Waller convinced me to have a drink with her to “celebrate”. I took a sip to be polite. And the next thing I remember is waking up on Lian Yu. That was the last time I drank.’

“No wonder. I figured you might have a personal reason, which is why I didn’t ask. And why I said my question might make me sound like a dick.” Slade said. “I’d say I can’t believe she did that to you, but unfortunately, I know better. Sorry I didn’t get you off that damned island.”

‘After Ivo or later?’

“Either. Both. I was pissed that ASIS wouldn’t let us land when we went in 2011. I’m still a little pissed about it.”

‘You still saved my life in 2011.’

“What?”

‘I don’t want to talk too much about it, but I wasn’t the only person on Lian Yu when the helicopter flew over the island. It seems to attract people with bad intentions. You didn’t land, but by flying over the island, you gave me the opening I needed to escape from the other people. And I’m fairly confident that I wouldn’t be alive if that helicopter hadn’t been spotted.’

“That’s why you had the reaction when I mentioned the helicopter after we got reunited.”

‘Yeah. Thanks for saving my life, again. I owe you.’

“No, you don’t. If anything, I’m still in your debt. You saved my life more than once, and got me off that island. I didn’t return that last favor, and I should’ve.”

‘Have you ever heard of the multiverse?’

“Sounds like something from a movie Felicity would be into.”

‘It does, but it’s part of this theory. It basically says that for every event outcome, there’s a universe that exists where the outcome was different. So, there’s a universe out there where Russia landed on the moon first, for example. In this universe, you didn’t bring me home from Lian Yu, but there’s a universe out there where that Slade helped get that Oliver home.’

“Since I don’t live in that universe that doesn’t make me feel much better.”

‘Thinking about the multiverse doesn’t always make me feel better either. It’s never made me feel worse either. It just- it’s easier for me to deal with certain “what ifs” and regrets if I think about them not as missed chances, but as chances I took in another universe. I don’t know how those events pan out, but a different version of me does. Just something to consider.’

“I suppose it is.” He said. “I should get going. I have dinner plans with Dinah.”

‘Say hi to Dr. Lance for me.’ Oliver said as he walked him to the door. ‘See you later.’

When Felicity got home an hour later, Oliver told her what had happened to Slade’s phone. To say that she was angry would be an understatement.

“I wish that I was better with words so that I could come up with something witty or intimidating to say to describe what I’m going to do to Susan Williams.” Felicity said. “Like, all that comes to mind is the line from Mulan where she almost gets into a fight and another character tells her “I’m gonna hit you so hard, it’ll make your ancestors dizzy”. And, no, I don’t want to hit her, but I want to emotionally sucker punch her. In the face. What the frak is wrong with that woman? That’s such a gross and invasive thing to do, and you know she knows that.”

‘So many things that I don’t want to even start thinking about it.’ He said. ‘I wouldn’t do anything, though. The FBI’s handling it and, as much as I enjoy seeing you get cyber revenge on someone, I think we should let them have this one.’

“We should and we will. I plan to destroy her career, but I can wait.”



When the team met in the foundry that night, several people had updates that they needed to share with the others. Slade told the team about the spyware that had been on his phone, and what the FBI had discovered about the technology. He asked Felicity to explain how the spyware worked and she happily talked about both how the spyware program got onto his phone from the message, and how it allowed someone else to see what happened on his device.

“I only recently used a computer for the first time.” Nyssa said. “I’m not following much of what you’re saying. But I feel its important that I understand.”

“Sorry, I- how things like this work is really interesting to me, so I can get a little too excited. Basically, Slade got a text message. When he opened it, it downloaded a program onto his phone. That program scanned his phone and sent a copy to the hacker. It also alerted them if he made a call, received a text or did certain other activities and allowed them to read, or listen in, on those calls and texts. Without him knowing.”

“This sounds akin to those pieces of glass that look like a mirror on one-side, but you can see through it from the other side.”

“That’s a pretty good way of describing it.” It didn’t work exactly like a two-way mirror, but it was a fitting enough comparison. “Now everyone gets to hear my spiel about cybersecurity. Don’t open any fishy-looking messages. Don’t click on any weird links. And if your phone starts acting funny, let me know and I’ll take a look at it. Or take it to a phone store to have them look at it, if you don’t want to, or can’t wait, to have me do it.”

“In good news, Nyssa and I figured out that the man who was following us yesterday was actually just following me.” Sara said. “He’s also not very subtle at it, or very good.”

‘What makes you say that?’ Oliver asked.

“Because within an hour, I managed to both come face-to-face with him while he was following me, and to lose him fairly easily in the crowd. And don’t worry, I lost him on the way here.” She said. “So far, all he’s done is watch and wait. I don’t know why he’s following me, yet, but I established today that he’s just trying to figure out my routine.”

“How much do you think he knows about you?” Thea asked her. “He obviously doesn’t know about any of this,” she gestured around the foundry, “but can you guess what he might already know?”

“He doesn’t strike me as very bright, so I’m sure he only knows the basics about my life. It wouldn’t surprise me if he thinks Nyssa and I are “roommates” or “gal pals” despite evidence suggesting otherwise.”

“I feel like you just made a joke that I don’t get.” Tommy said.

“I did. Maybe one day, I’ll explain it to you.” She said. “That’s my update. Anyone else have something to share?”

‘Nope.’ Oliver said.

“This is gonna sound crazy, but does anyone here know about magic?” Lyla asked. “Or know someone who knows about it? The new ARGUS director, Cat Grant, is looking for someone with knowledge in that area. I know of a few former ARGUS “consultants” that might be able to help her, but I’m not sure how many are still alive. Or how to find them.”

‘Is one of them that British guy from that cave outside Moscow?’ Oliver asked.

“Yes, he’s on my list.” She said. “I know it’s a long shot, but I thought I’d ask if anyone here knew someone who fits the bill.”

“I’m acquainted with a few people with knowledge of the occult and mystic arts. However, I was given the impression that magic is a highly specialized and specific skills, and the people I am thinking of are knowledgeable in specific areas, but not the mystic arts as a whole. ” Nyssa said. “Did Director Grant say what kind of knowledge she’s looking for? What problem is she trying to solve? Is there a threat ARGUS needs to deal with?”

“She wasn’t specific, but I also didn’t ask many questions. I’m sure she’ll reach out again, and I’ll ask her for more information.” Lyla said. “I’ll let you know when I do.”

“Please do. This matter intrigues me. And it would be nice to reconnect with some of the people I’m thinking of.”

With no other updates to share, the team left to patrol for the night.



Kirby Bates was heating up some canned ravioli in his microwave when he heard a bang come from the hallway. He figured his neighbor and her boyfriend, who fought constantly and were always slamming doors, must be having another argument. He didn’t even bother looking away from his food.

“Sir! Put your hands on your head and slowly get onto the ground.” A voice said from right behind him.

“Huh?” If his neighbors were arguing, why did he need to get on the ground? He turned around and saw that several men in tactical gear had entered his apartment and had their weapons trained on him.

“Put your hands on your head and slowly get onto the ground.” One of the SWAT officers said. 

“I need to- my ravioli’s not done.” He said, gesturing to the microwave. As soon as he said it, he didn’t know why he had. Was his brain broken or something? “Ok, I’m- I’m doing as you asked.”

He slowly put his hands on his head and got onto his knees. Someone stepped forward and handcuffed him, while another SWAT officer hit “End” on the microwave and the others lowered their weapons.

“Wait, what’s this about anyway?” Bates asked.

“Are you Kirby Bates?” A man in a suit, who had just entered the room, asked.

“Yes.”

“My name is Agent Reeves. I’m with the FBI. You’re under arrest for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.”

“I’m not-.”

“I need to read you your rights. Whatever you have to say is gonna have to wait until after I do that.” Reeves saud. “You have the right to remain silent.” He recited the rest of the Miranda rights. “Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Let’s get you down to the precinct, and then we’ll talk.” He nodded to one of the SWAT officers to start walking Bates out of the apartment.

“I didn’t know she was going to do that.” Bates said. “She wasn’t supposed to-.”

“We’ll talk about it at the precinct.” He said. Reeves knew Bates hadn’t been the brains of the operation, but he hadn’t expected him to fold so quickly. It would make his job easier, though.

 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 180

Summary:

Felicity makes a suggestion, someone finds themselves in an uncomfortable predicament and Lyla has another meeting with Cat Grant.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Kirby Bates spent the drive from his apartment to the precinct formulating a plan. With no intention of going back to prison, he had to come up with a story and fast. He had broken the law, yes, but he had done that because of Susan Williams. If she hadn’t approached him months ago, asking about getting into someone’s phone, he wouldn’t be in this situation. This was her fault, and he needed to make that clear to the FBI.

He was brought into the station and placed in an interrogation room. He immediately asked for a lawyer, who arrived within a half hour.

After talking with his lawyer for a few minutes, Reeves walked in to talk to him. “All right, Mr. Bates. As I said, you’ve been arrested for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. More specifically, we have evidence that you illegally accessed electronic devices with the purpose of copying and downloading private files.” He said. “Is there anything you’d like to say?”

“My client has-.” Bates’s attorney began to say.

“I didn’t know she was going to do that, what she did.” Bates said. “She- she came to me and asked if it was possible. I never thought she’d-.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re getting ahead of me.” Reeves said. “Who are you talking about?”

“Susan Williams.” He said. “I didn’t know that she was gonna do any of the stuff that she did.”

“What stuff?”

“She-.”

“Can I have a moment with my client?” The lawyer asked.

“I could use more coffee.” Reeves said, leaving the room.

“What the hell are you doing?” The lawyer asked once Reeves was out of the room. “You don’t have to say anything. But if you keep talking, you might just talk yourself into a confession.”

“Susan is going to try to pin all of this on me, but none of what happened was my idea. SHe approached me about breaking into people’s phones. She’s the one who asked me to mirror Wilson’s phone. She’s the one who decided to record phone calls without consent. I messed up, but I’m not taking the fall for her.” He said. “I don’t want to go back to prison. So, do your job and help me make a deal with these people.”

“Do you know what she did and how she did it?”

“Yes. And I’ll testify against her if that’s what they want.”

His lawyer left the room and told Reeves that Bates wanted to make a deal, and offered to testify against Susan Williams in exchange for a reduced charge and no prison time. After getting the details hammered out, Bates’s lawyer, Reeves, and the assistant US attorney that had been given the case returned to the interrogation room. 

“All right. I believe you were about to elaborate on Susan Williams’s part in all of this.” Reeves said.

“You shouldn’t be charging me. You should be charging her with hacking into phones.” Bates said. “She came to me, a little while ago, and asked about mirroring someone’s phone. She wanted to know if it was possible, and I told her that it was. She asked me how, because she claimed she was worried someone was doing it to her, and I told her. I didn’t think she’d go out and use what I said to mirror someone else’s phone. But, she did, and now she’s trying to pin the blame on me.”

“Uh-huh. And do you know why she’d want to mirror someone’s phone? Or hack into it as the case may be?”

“She’s a reporter. She was working on this big story, and she wanted to be the first to break it. She thought she’d have an edge over other reporters if she had inside information about the subject of her story.” He said. “She kept saying that the story was going to make her career. And that Slade Wilson, the person who’s phone she was mirroring, was her key to getting there.”

“Is that all she did? All you helped her do?” The prosecutor asked.

“No. I also- I told her there was a way to listen in on someone’s calls if she was mirroring their phone.” He said. “I said it was just to listen, but she ignored me and recorded phone calls that Wilson had with people.”

“How do you know that she recorded the calls?”

“Because she told me that she did. She came to where I work and started bitching at me, saying that I should’ve warned her that she was breaking the law.” He said. “Even though she already knew that. I told her that breaking into someone’s phone is hacking and that’s illegal.”

“So, at the end of the day, she’s the mastermind behind all of this and you were just the accomplice.” Reeves said.

“Unwillingly. By the time I knew what she’d done, it- I was worried she’d blame me for all of it, so I kept doing what she wanted.”

“I believe you have what you need.” Bates’s attorney said.

“Yes, we do.” The prosecutor said. “We’ll reduce the charges against your client in regards to Slade Wilson’s devices, provided that he testifies against Ms. Williams. We will be moving forward with the other charges, though.”

“What other charges?”

“A reporter in Central City received an anonymous email that was traced back to your client’s workstation at the Tech Village branch in midtown. Analyzing the device, we found evidence that the same workstation was used to illegally access Susan Williams’s computer and copy a number of files.” Reeves said. “Which constitutes another violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.”

“The arrest warrant only listed the charges related to Slade Wilson’s cell phone.” Bates’s lawyer said. “You can’t just-.”

“There was some red tape that had to be ironed out related to the other charges, because the files belonging to Susan Williams that your client allegedly copied were sent out of the state through email. We needed to figure out where to charge those counts.” The AUSA said. “It’s being charged here. Here’s a copy of that warrant.” He passed a piece of paper over to the lawyer.

Bates and his attorney were both floored. His lawyer hadn’t known about this. Kirby didn’t understand why he was even being charged for hacking into Susan’s computer. He had accessed the device illegally, fine, but he’d done so in order to bring her actions to light. He was a whistleblower, not an accomplice. Wasn’t there supposed to be a law that protected whistleblowers?

 

“Hey, Nyssa. And Sara.” Felicity said when the team returned from patrol. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure.” Sara said.

“Is something wrong?” Nyssa asked, when she noticed a pensive look on Felicity’s face. “Has something happened?’

“No, not really.”

“The answer “not really” is not the same thing as “no”.”

“Nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s happened.” Felicity said. “I just- I need to ask you something and I’m worried that it’s not gonna come out right. And I don’t want to upset you if it comes out wrong, but I can’t- I have an idea that might fix your “League” problem.”

“Are you referring to my desire to be free of the League of Assassins? Or the debt I must repay on the League’s behalf to Oliver?”

“Both.” She said. “I’m talking about using one to handle the other. Do you think your father would trade you for the debt to be cleared?” When she saw Nyssa start to get upset, she backpedaled. “That came out wrong. I heard how that sounds and I don’t mean it in the way that it sounded like I meant it.”

“How did you mean it?”

“That we use the debt to get you your freedom from the League. If that’s something your father will go for.”

‘Felicity, where are you going with this?’ Oliver asked. 

Felicity had hoped that she, Nyssa and Sara could have this conversation, but now everyone was paying attention to their discussion. She took a deep breath. “You know your father better than anyone in this room. That’s an undisputed fact. It’s also undisputed that he has some…..interesting morals.”

“He does.” Nyssa said.

“You want to be free of the League of Assassins. And you can’t try to get free while this undefined, unquantifiable debt that’s owed to Oliver needs to be repaid.” She said. “And I don’t know if this will work, but it’s the only idea I have and I want to throw it out there. Even if it’s not an option, it might help someone think of another idea that will work. Basically, what I’m asking is this: If Oliver were to contact your father and tell him he’ll consider the debt settled when you’re released from the League and free to do what you want with your life, how would that go over? Is this something he’d consider? Or is that something that’s just gonna piss him off?”

All eyes turned to Nyssa. “I do not know that he would agree, but he would consider it. There is precedent, in a much different context, for him to entertain the idea.” She said. “And while I don’t believe my life to be more valuable than another person’s, my status as Heir to the Demon means that the League of Assassins perceives my life as having more value.”

“So, it’s a “maybe” then.”

“Yes, I would say it is a maybe.” Nyssa said. “And thank you for suggesting it. Even if it does not work, I’m thankful that you took the time to think of a solution.”

“Don’t thank me. You shouldn’t have to be in this situation to begin with.”

 

Malcolm Merlyn was not stupid. He knew that someone was hiding out in the house across the street from his compound. He was also aware that whoever was in that house was watching him.

He’d yet to determine who was watching him. Lying in wait, choosing the right moment to make a move, fit Ra’s al Ghul’s normal strategy and philosophy. However, given his “crimes” it seemed unlikely that Ra’s would wait to have him executed. 

There were other groups who could be survelling him. It could be an enemy of the League of Assassins, hoping to recruit Malcolm. It could be some group of bounty hunters, hoping to make a lot of money by catching him and bringing him back to the US. For all he knew, some organized crime syndicate or drug cartel was hoping to kidnap a wealthy American in order to demand a ransom for his safe return. 

“Have you seen anyone go in or out of the house across the street?” Merlyn asked Dylan Smith. Malcolm tried to stay out of sight from the windows, so he couldn’t confirm if anyone had come or gone in the last few days. “The one with the blue door.”

“No. It’s empty.”

“I’m not so sure that it is.”

“You think someone’s watching us?”

“It’s possible.”

“You sound paranoid.”

“Maybe. I’m on the run, after all.” He knew he wasn’t being paranoid. He knew he was being watched. The question was who and why. 

It couldn’t be the Corto Maltese government, since they didn’t need to use subterfuge on their own soil. Was it the Americans? Had the US government already figured out where he was? It didn’t seem likely, he’d been very careful, but he couldn’t rule the possibility out entirely. For all he knew, Isabel could've told the FBI where to find him.

 

Susan drove her car into the lot outside of Channel 6 news the next morning and parked in her normal spot. She spotted some cars she didn’t recognize towards the front of the building. As she got closer, she saw that one was a police cruiser and another looked like an unmarked cop car.

Suddenly, she had a bad feeling in her gut. She walked back to her car, started it and drove away. She drove back towards her apartment, only to find that two police cars were parked right outside the building. She took a random turn and kept driving.

She parked in a grocery store lot and tried to figure out what to do. While she was sitting there, her phone rang. “Hello, this is Susan.”

“Where are you?” Scott Maltzer, from the station, asked.

“I’m not feeling well this morning.” She said. “I’ve decided-.”

“Cut the crap. The CCTV caught you driving into the parking lot and then leaving.”

“Why are there a bunch of cops at the station?”

“Oh, they aren’t SCPD. It’s the FBI.” He said. “I don’t know what you did. I don’t want to know. The station has decided its time to part ways with you.”

“You’re firing me? You can’t do that. You-.”

“You’re hiding from the FBI. Being let go shouldn’t be your concern right now.” He said. “You should turn yourself in.” He ended the call.

Susan took a moment to get her bearings. She then put her car into drive and headed towards the highway. She needed to get out of town.

 

Mid-morning on Wednesday, Lyla was reading through some proposed security upgrades for Queen Consolidated when her phone rang. It was an unknown number, but something in her gut told her that she should answer the call.

“Hello?”

“I want to discuss something with you. In person.” Cat Grant said from the other end of the line. “Do you have time to meet today?”

“I can make time.” She said. “There’s something I need to ask you anyway. Related to the freelancers you asked about.”

“Can you meet me in half an hour?”

“Sure. Where? And don’t say your office. I’ve no interest in going back there any time soon.”

“The park near City Hall. I’ll meet you at the east entrance.”

“Sounds good.” She ended the call and told Felicity, Oliver and Digg that she would be meeting with Cat soon. She didn’t know what the director wanted to talk to her about, but she would get a chance to get more details about ARGUS’s magic problem today.

Half an hour later, Lyla was walking into the park where she and Cat had agreed to meet. She spotted Cat right away, along with a few ARGUS agents that were keeping their distance. She also spotted Oliver as she walked.

“I see you brought a friend.” Cat said once they were within a good enough distance to talk.

“I didn’t bring him. I’m sure he just wanted some fresh air and just so happened to come here, to this park, for a walk.”

“Yes, it must be a coincidence. If he wants to come over here, he can. I imagine you’re gonna tell him what we discuss anyway.”

“He seems fine where he is.” Lyla said. She knew Oliver was worried about her meeting with ARGUS alone, and not so concerned with what the meeting was about. She’d been his partner, he felt like he needed to have her back. It was harder to make someone disappear in broad daylight if someone was watching what happened. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

“What did you need to ask me?”

“This issue you’re having with the Archeologist, what exactly is the issue?” Lyla asked. “As I said, I know some people who know others with experience with magic or mysticism or whatever you want to call it. Those people informed me that magic is a big umbrella and people who study it will specialize in certain areas. And getting the right expert matters. Kinda like how cardiologists and podiatrists are both doctors, but one’s gonna be a lot more useful if you’re having a heart attack.” 

“That’s a fair point. The term that I feel the most comfortable using is possession. The Archeologist is possessed, but it’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of situation.”

“Possessed by what? A ghost? A demon? I know they’re gonna ask.” She said.

“Not a ghost. Not a demon. We haven’t categorized what this entity is, per se. Older civilizations considered it to be a deity, but I don’t want to give it that much credit. The entity is very weak at the moment, but the threat remains.”

“What impact is this having on the person who’s possessed? Are they okay? Are they getting weaker because of this possession?”

“She’s physically healthy. Aside from the immense stress she’s under, terrified of losing control of her own body, she’s doing well mentally. Talking to her, you’d have no clue any of this was going on.  I don’t know if that makes the situation better or worse.” 

“I’ll talk to the people that I know. See if any of them know someone with experience with that kind of thing.” Lyla said. “What did you need from me?”

“Waller trusted you more than she trusted most other agents.”

“That’s not saying much.”

“I know, but your falling out with Waller, after what happened in Moscow, means I know you won’t lie to protect her.” Cat said. “Were you aware of any suspicions she had regarding Deputy Director Bell?”

“I don’t think she thought about Bell at all. She saw him as a useless bureaucrat and because he never questioned her, she never had to give him much thought. Do you think he’s a mole?”

“A mole? I don’t know, but he might have divided loyalties.” She said. “What about Senator Joseph Cray?”

“I never heard Waller mention him, but-.”

“But what?”

“Back in March, after I testified before the Senate committee about Waller’s misconduct, someone from Cray’s office contacted me. His last name was Spivak. He said Cray had questions about Waller, which is odd since Cray was on the committee I testified in front of.” She said. “So, if he had questions, why not ask them when I was before the committee? He also seemed very interested in the identity of Citizen Bravo.”

“Citizen Bravo?”

Lyla looked over at where Oliver was sitting on a park bench, pretending to do something on this phone and then at Cat. “Citizen Bravo. I don’t know who picked it.”

“It doesn’t matter. How interested did Cray seem in his identity?”

“Well, at the time, I thought he was being a politician. I thought he wanted to parade him around to show how “good” of a guy he is or use him as a prop to get some legislation passed.” Lyla said. “But it sounds like his motives were less transparent, if he’s now on your radar.”

“He’s trying to get to Waller, but doesn’t want to answer questions about it. The warden got suspicious after getting a third call about him visiting Waller, where the aide wouldn’t share any information.”

“Oh, she has something on him. He wants to keep her quiet.”

“Did Waller often blackmail sitting members of Congress?”

“I wouldn’t know. But she has to know something that can be used against him if he’s trying that hard to have a conversation with her. And being that vague about why he wants to see her.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” When the warden at Belle Reve told her about Senator Cray’s interest in visiting, she was suspicious, but supposed he might be a politician, looking to boost his profile. The insight Lyla offered, however, made her less charitable about his motives. “Cray was the main reason I wanted to speak with you.”

“Okay. I’ll pass along what you told me about your magic problem, and let you know if a friend of a friend might be able to help.” She said, turning to go. “Goodbye.”

 Lyla began to walk out of the park. After she was a good distance from Cat and the ARGUS agents, she sensed Oliver fall into step beside her.

“You didn’t need to come all of the way out here, you know.”

‘Someone needed to watch your back. Grant hasn’t done anything to make me distrust her, but that doesn’t mean I completely trust her. She’s trying to make ARGUS better, but I can’t just forget my past experiences with the organization. And some of the agents with her worked for ARGUS for a long time.’

“Well, thanks for having my back, even if I didn’t turn out to need it.”

‘No thanks necessary. The park is on the way to Applied Sciences anyway.’

“Ah, I see. You were killing two birds with one stone. You were getting some fresh air, and watching my back, while making your way to pick Felicity up for lunch.”

‘Yeah, I was multitasking.’ He said before he cracked a smile. 

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

This chapter is fairly short, as I've been sick for the last two weeks

Chapter 181: Author's Note

Chapter Text

I am In the ICU . Not sure what next update will be!

Chapter 182

Summary:

Lyla fills the team in on a few things, and the task force gets a few surprises.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Agent Rathbone let out a deep sigh as he dialed his phone. Susan Williams had fled the Channel 6 parking lot before the FBI could arrest her. The attempt to stake out her apartment had also failed. 

“We need to put out an APB on Susan Williams and her car.” He reported to Agent Reeves, who was still at the precinct. “She’s making a run for it.” 

“I was expecting her to be an easy arrest.” Reeves said, after confirming the details about her car and the last sighting of her.

“Yeah, me too.” He said. “I’ll finish up what I need to here, and then head back to the precinct.” Morales had been waiting inside the Channel 6 station, hoping to catch Susan on her way into work.

“What happens when you find her?” Scott Maltzer asked. Rathbone had nearly forgotten he was there. “She’s not- she’s an idiot, and a crappy reporter, but she’s not exactly Whitey Bulger. I’m not her boss anymore, but I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“We’ll try as hard as we can to bring her in peacefully. She’s not armed, as far as we know, and she can’t have gotten far.” He said. “If she contacts you, give us a call. Let me give you my card.”

“I just fired her. Why would she call me?”

“People do weird, irrational things when they’re desperate. Being on the run tends to make someone desperate.” He handed Scott his business card and walked away.



Over lunch, Oliver and Lyla told Felicity and John about what happened during Lyla’s meeting with Cat Grant, and what the director had shared about the magical issue that ARGUS was facing. Felicity and Digg were both having some trouble wrapping their heads around the idea of magic and possession, but they listened attentively to what they had to say. 

Then, Lyla brought up the questions Cat had about Deputy Director Bell and Senator Cray, forcing her to tell them about the brief interaction she had with Cray after her congressional hearing.

‘Why didn’t you mention that Cray tried to get you to tell him who “Citizen Bravo” was?’ Oliver asked. He wasn’t upset, but he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t have said something about it.

“At the time, I didn’t think it mattered. I thought he was just a politician looking for an angle. I was worried he’d try to parade you around to try and get some bill passed or to raise his own profile.” She said. “And the murky grey area that you operated in while in Moscow would’ve- he could have, and probably would have, used it to blackmail you into letting him do that.”

“But now you think he was after something else?” Digg asked.

“Definitely. Maybe he wanted to cover up for Waller. Maybe he wanted to make sure he was in the clear. Either way, he can’t be trusted. And the only reason I can think of why he’d want access to Waller now is that she blackmailed him.”

“Blackmail or concerns about his career.”  Felicity said. Oliver, Lyla and Digg gave her questioning looks. “In working to take Waller down, I went down a rabbit hole which led to me going through six or seven years of congressional budget bills. There’s no way ARGUS could operate like it did, with the budget it had on paper. There were also things Waller did that required authorization. Like the formation of Task Force X. Those things got snuck into a bill somewhere, and someone in Congress had to sneak it in. I’m not saying it was Cray, but-.”

“But if he was the one doing it, it would kill his career if it got out.” Lyla said. “Hell, she might’ve blackmailed him into doing it, so he’d feel trapped on two fronts.”

“So, if Felicity’s guess is right, Cray would definitely want to make sure Waller didn’t say anything.” Digg said. “He might go to drastic steps to ensure she never gets the chance to.”

“That’s very unlikely to happen.” Lyla said. “He’s apparently had aides trying to get him access to Belle Reve, but since he won’t tell the warden why he wants to visit, he keeps getting denied.”

“Good.” Felicity said. “I don’t care about his political ambitions, and Waller doesn’t get to die that easily.” 

‘Cat Grant also asked about the ARGUS deputy director? Why would she do that?’ Oliver asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from Amanda Waller. ‘I don’t think I ever met him.’

“You didn’t. Waller loved pretending that Bell, and his whole position, didn’t exist.” Lyla said. “So he wasn’t tasked with much. He wasn’t involved in any operations, as far as I know, just the bureaucratic stuff she didn’t want to deal with.” Her expression changed. “Which, if Grant is right, is exactly where he would’ve wanted to be.”

“What do you mean?” Digg asked.

“She implied that he might have divided loyalties. Or that he was a mole for someone. Being the deputy director would’ve given him access to a lot of sensitive information that someone else might want to know. And, since Waller ignored his existence 95% of the time-.”

‘No one was paying attention to him or what he was doing, so he was unlikely to get caught.’ Oliver said.

“Yeah. The more I think about it, the happier I am that Grant is already investigating him.” She said. “Him being a mole isn’t as bad as Waller’s….well, everything about her, but it’s probably cost people their lives. I should’ve seen it.”

“How often did you interact with Bell?” Felicity asked her.

“Rarely. Like I said, he didn’t deal with anything on the operations side.”

“Sounds like you knew him about as well as I knew Doug Miller a year ago. Which is to say, barely. I never would’ve guessed he was involved with Tempest.”

“I know what you’re getting at, but it’s not the same.” Lyla had been a spy. She was supposed to be able to tell when someone was hiding something. She hadn’t noticed anything off about Bell and now had to wonder how many people had died because he couldn’t be trusted.

“It’s not completely different either.” She said. “But we can agree to disagree.”

“I think what matters is that he won’t be able to continue being a mole, if he is one, with Grant paying such close attention to him.” Digg said.

Everyone agreed with Digg’s statement. Oliver then got a text from Thea, asking for a movie night, which led to the group discussing whether or not to throw her a graduation party, even though her graduation was more than a month away.

 

Tommy took a deep breath and collected his thoughts before he responded to the comment one of Merlyn Global’s board members had made. An important lesson he learned from years of dealing with Malcolm was not to be too reactionary. Waiting a few moments, taking a beat to think through his response, usually ended better than simply reacting quickly to a comment being made.

“I don’t quite understand what you’re suggesting.” Tommy said. “Are you advocating that we take the Stellmoor offer, insulting as it is, or are you speaking more broadly about being part of an acquisition?”

“Oh, we definitely can’t take Stellmoor’s offer.” The board member said. “But if it were to become known that they made an offer, we might get better ones. Queen Consolidated, Star Labs, maybe even Wayne Enterprises.”

“So, you want us to leak the offer, to try and drum up a better one.”

“We need to consider all options.” Another man said. “I know you’d prefer not to sell the company but-.”

“I’m considering all options.” Tommy said. “But leaking the offer might not have the effect you want. It could tank the share price and put us in a worse situation. And I’m not willing to make that kind of risk.”

“Your bank account can afford to take a slight hit.’

“It can, but most of the people in this building can’t afford to have me gamble their livelihoods like that.” He said. “And, just as a reminder, the offer was made during a board meeting, and anything discussed during a board meeting falls under the NDA you signed when you became board members. So, leaking information like that would put you in violation of that binding legal agreement. And, I promise you, we will pursue legal action if that happens.”

The mood in the room changed. Tommy often acted completely differently than his father, to the point that people in the past wondered if he was really Malcolm’s, but every now and then, he’d do something that made it clear exactly who his father was.

“Has Ms. Rochev followed up with you, regarding her offer?” A board member asked in a neutral tone.

“No, she hasn’t. She’s probably busy, looking for other companies she can exploit and then gut.”

The meeting wrapped up not long after. Aside from debating Isabel’s offer, the only things the board needed to discuss were mundane, run-of-the-mill items that no one had strong opinions about.

 

Between the investigation into Tempest, the case against Susan Williams, the investigation into Frank Bertinelli, the planning for the trip to Lian Yu and the review of the massive ARGUS file, there was a lot of activity happening in the bullpen. The FBI and CGIS were balancing everything pretty well, but Agent Dinan and Agent Anderson were both keenly aware that it wasn’t sustainable. Neither wanted anything to fall through the cracks, which seemed inevitable if something wasn’t done soon to lighten the load.

Anderson hung up his phone and let out a sigh. “Finally.”

“Finally what?” Dinan asked him.

“Van Owen finally found a judge she knows isn’t dirty. We can move forward against Bertinelli.” He said. “We’ve got the search warrants we need, and she thinks we can have arrest warrants by tomorrow. Friday at the latest.”

“That is good news. For the obvious reasons, but also because it’ll free up some people to work on the other seventeen things we have going on.”

Anderson opened his mouth to say something, but Agent Mars walked over to where they were sitting, looking conflicted. “Something wrong?”

“I found something. And it’s important, but telling you now means that we’ll have to deal with it now, and we’re already stretched pretty thin.” Mars said. “So, I’m torn on whether to tell you or wait.”

“Just tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll make it work.” 

“You know how we know Malcolm Merlyn is in Corto Maltese? And we got that warrant to go through his call logs?”

“Yes.”

“And you know how I don’t like to bring things to your attention unless I have something better than just a gut feeling about something?”

“Yes. But I’m starting to get a little agitated that you won’t just tell me what you found.”

“So, I went through Merlyn’s call logs, and there’s a number he’s called once every three to four days for several weeks.” Mars said. “So, I took what I found to one of the assistant US attorneys helping Alexa Van Owen, who got a warrant letting us get the location history from the service provider.”

“Okay. I’m with you so far.”

“Who’s phone is it?” Dinan asked.

“Sorry, I should’ve led with that. It’s Isabel Rochev’s.” Mars said. “And I can prove not only that she’s been in contact with Merlyn, but that she was in Corto Maltese before she flew here to Starling. People lie, metadata doesn’t.”

“We need to have another word with Isabel Rochev then. But first, see if the AUSA you’ve been working with thinks we have enough for a warrant. We don’t want to tip her off that we know she’s in contact with him, so we’ve only got one shot at this.”

“I’ll give him a call right now.” Mars said before rushing off.

 

June Moone returned to Belle Reve after spending a few hours at the library and walked into the apartment she and Flag shared to find him asleep on the couch. She was torn between waking him up, given how excited she was to see him, and letting him sleep. Ultimately, she decided to let him sleep.

She sat down in a nearby chair and cracked open one of the books she’d gotten from the library. She read a few chapters before Flag jerked awake on the sofa. It took him a moment or two to get his bearings, and then he noticed her.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“It seemed like you could use the sleep.” She replied, closing the book. “Hi, you’re here.”

“I’m here.” He said, walking over to her to kiss her. “God, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“I don’t want to ruin this nice reunion, but I have to ask. Any news on the You-Know-What front?”

“No news yet, but Director Grant flew out to the west coast a few days ago. She said she had a few ideas about people who might be able to help me with my…problem.”

“Do you believe her?” Rick asked.

“She hasn’t given me a reason not to. She hasn’t made me a lot of promises, but she’s followed through on the things she said she’d do.” She said. “Call me naive, but I believe her when she says she’s trying to find a solution.”

“Do you think there is one?”

“That’s the part that I find the hardest to believe. That there’s a chance of getting rid of her . It just-.”

“You don’t want to get your hopes too high.”

“No, I don’t.” She said. “When do you have to go back to your assignment?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully, Grant lets me stay here until there’s more to do down in South America than just sit around.”

“I hope that’s the case too.”

 

While Oliver was driving Thea home from school, he decided to broach a topic that had been on his mind for a while. It wasn’t anything serious, so he didn’t feel a sense of urgency to bring it up, but he was curious.

‘So, graduation is coming up soon.’ He signed with one hand as he kept the other one on the wheel.

“Yes, it is.” She said. “It really can’t come fast enough.”

‘You said you wanted to take a gap year.' The car reached a red light. 'Have you figured out what you’re going to do during that year? Do you want to travel?’

“Not really. I- there are places I want to see, but leaving Starling doesn’t appeal to me right now.”

‘Okay, what were you thinking of doing? Not that you have to do anything. You can spend the year doing nothing if that’s what you want.’ The traffic light turned green, so he stepped on the gas.

“I think I want to volunteer some place.” She said. “Nyssa’s been talking about how much she likes what she’s doing, and I’ve heard Tommy telling everyone about his mom’s clinic. It sounds rewarding and I want to give that a try.”

‘That sounds like a great idea.’

Oliver didn’t care what Thea did over her gap year, or in general, as long as it made her happy. 

 

In the foundry that night, Lyla told the rest of the team about her meeting with Cat Grant and what she’d learned. When she mentioned that the magical situation ARGUS needed help with was similar to possession, Nyssa perked up.

“I know someone who will be able to help.” Nyssa said. “Contacting her may take some time. How urgent is this situation?”

“It’s not an emergency that needs to be dealt with right now, the person being possessed is healthy right now, but I got the impression Grant wants to deal with the matter sooner rather than later.”

“I’ll make contact as soon as possible, then. What time is it in Azerbaijan? The last time I saw the mystic I’m speaking of, she was living there.”

Felicity began typing. “Google says it’s eight in the morning there.”

“I need to make a call. I’ll meet the rest of you on patrol when I’m done.”

Sara, Slade, Lyla and Oliver went out on patrol while Nyssa made a few calls.

 

As soon as the woman she had been talking to walked away, Isabel dropped the fake smile she’d plastered onto her face. She’d snagged an invite to a charity gala, hoping to use the event to schmooze a few affluent businessmen in the city. Instead, she’d spent way too long listening to Kord Industries’s CFO’s wife blather on about how wonderful the charity was.

The woman didn’t seem to pick up on how little Isabel cared about the cause or what she was saying, and Isabel couldn’t just brush the other woman off, or she’d burn a bridge with Kord, and she wanted to keep that door open.

Across the room, she spotted Walter Steele speaking with a few men, some of whom she recognized as QC board members. Stellmoor might have no interest in Queen Consolidated, but she had a huge interest. She hadn’t been able to learn much of anything about how the company was doing, aside from what was released to the public, and, since it should’ve been hers after Robert’s death, she wanted to rectify that.

She started to walk towards where Walter was standing. When she was about halfway across the room, she bumped into someone.

“Excuse you.” She said, looking the man up and down. He worked for the hotel, that much was clear from his moderately priced suit. She scoffed when he didn’t move out of her way or apologize.

“Isabel Rochev?” He asked. “Can you come with me, please?”

“Why on Earth would I do that?” She said with an eye roll.

“Let me rephrase that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.“You need to come with me. It’s not a request.”

“If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll-.”

“You know, I didn’t want to make a scene.” The man said, cutting her off. “I didn’t want to disturb anyone else’s evening, but since you’re not giving me a choice, I guess I have to.” He cleared his throat, raising his voice a little bit. “My name is Agent Doyle. The woman behind you is Agent Mars. Isabel Rochev, you’re under arrest.”

He began to read Isabel her Miranda rights.Other attendees of the gala slowly started to turn and watch as she was handcuffed and led away by Mars. As he was leaving, he approached the chairwoman of the charity the gala was for.

“I apologize for the disruption.” He said. “I would’ve preferred to handle this away from everyone.”

“I appreciate the apology.” She said. “Enjoy your evening.”

When Doyle got back to his car, Isabel’s shock had worn off and she began yelling at him and Mars, vowing to make them pay for what they’d just done and threatening a lawsuit.

“You told her that she has the right to remain silent, didn’t you?” Mars asked, ignoring Isabel’s tirade.

“I did. She’s clearly not interested in taking advantage of that.”

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
-----------
I'M BACK! I want to thank everyone for their well-wishes and support while I took a break for health reasons. I'm doing mostly better right now, but I'm not 100% where I was. Updates to this fic might be a little sporadic for a bit, but I'm determined to get back to writing again.

I'll stop being sappy now, but I've missed this.

Chapter 183

Summary:

The city reacts to Isabel's arrest and Helena gets a surprise.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nyssa tried to refrain from sighing as she ended her latest call. The woman she wanted to find had many enemies, and went to great lengths to prevent her enemies from finding her. As a side effect, it was difficult for anyone with good intentions, including Nyssa, to quickly make contact with her. 

“No luck?” Felicity asked after a moment. “You seem a little- I don’t know if discouraged is the right word, but-.” She hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop, but she’d overheard Nyssa having what felt like the same conversation over and over. Thea and Roy were sparring upstairs, wanting to practice some of the new moves Sara had taught them. Tommy had left when the others went out on patrol, needing to be seen at a charity event. 

“I’m not discouraged, merely impatient. I’ve been spoiled by my time living here.”

“I don’t get how those two are related.”

“I’ve become accustomed to being able to reach most of the people I speak with frequently within moments of trying to contact them. If I need to speak with you or Oliver, all I need to do is dial the phone. Prior to coming to Starling, I was used to waiting a day or two for someone I needed to speak with to return my call.” She said. “The woman I’m seeking out doesn’t allow herself to easily be found or contacted. I cannot talk to her directly, I have to speak with someone who can contact her, and they will inform her that I need to talk, and she will then contact me. And the only way I can think of to ensure she calls soon is to call several known associates of hers, and hope the volume at which they contact her will prompt her to make contact.”

“Is it normal for mystics to make themselves so difficult to find? Or is her behavior odd?” She didn’t want to bombard Nyssa with questions about this acquaintance of hers, but she was incredibly curious about magic, now that she knew it was real.

“Most magic users I’ve come across are easier to reach, but they would not have the knowledge we need. And they have far fewer enemies than she does.”  Nyssa saw how the word “enemies” caused Felicity to look worried. “There are rivalries within the magical community, as in any other, not to mention people fear what they do not understand, and few without magical talent understand magic enough not to fear it. She has enemies, but-.”

“But so does everyone.” Felicity said. “Do you trust her?”

“Yes, but the real question is whether she trusts me.” She said. “She has a rather complicated history with the League of Assassins, and with my father. I would not fault her for being apprehensive at the idea of meeting with me, face-to-face to lend her assistance. She may suspect it is a trap.”

“Well, first we need her to call you back. Let’s worry about the rest later.”

“Indeed.” Nyssa took a few moments to gather her thoughts before making the final call she needed to make. When she was ready, she dialed the phone. “This is Nyssa Raatako I am trying to reach-.”

“She is aware.” The voice on the other end of the line. “You called several of her acquaintances within the last few hours, and some of those acquaintances told me you might call.”

“I wanted to be sure that my message, my request to speak with her, was delivered. I could not contact only one person, and merely hope for the best.”

“I will pass your request along. Have there been any new developments? Is there an update you need to share with her?”

“Not to my knowledge. There is a woman who has been possessed, and I am trying to help. The victim remaining possessed poses a great risk to herself, those around her and the world at large. She is the only one who I believe can help.”

“I find it odd that the illustrious League of Assassins has no member capable of handling this matter.”

“They are unaware of this situation. I am not asking on behalf of the League of Assassins. I have not been in Nanda Parbat for months and do not expect to ever return.”

“You neglected to tell the others as much.”

“I didn’t think it was relevant.”

“It is.” There was a pause. “As I’ve said, I will pass along your message. Goodbye.”

The call ended. Nyssa wasn’t sure what to make of what the man had said, so she put it out of her mind. With no more calls to make, and nothing else to do but wait, she turned to Felicity.

“Where are the others, currently? I will meet them on patrol.”

“Near 18th street. I’ll let you know if anything changes as you head over there.”

Nyssa grabbed her bow and left the building. She found the team exactly where Felicity said they’d be and they finished out their patrol with her.

 

Alexa Van Owen and her team were very specific about how they wanted to handle the arrest and questioning of Isabel Rochev. Her case had to be handled carefully and they couldn’t risk important evidence, or the entire case, being thrown out due to a technicality. The AUSAs all but ordered the agents not to speak to Isabel at all after she’d been read her rights. Fortunately, neither Doyle nor Mars particularly wanted to hear anything Isabel had to say.

They ignored her ranting the entire drive to the precinct and placed her in an interrogation room as soon as they arrived. Once she was settled, Mars brought her a bottle of water, in case she got thirsty, and turned to leave.

“I want to call my lawyer.” Isabel said.

“All right. I’ll have someone take you downstairs to call them.” Mars said.

She scoffed. “Just bring me my phone and I’ll call from here.”

Mars said nothing and left. Isabel’s phone was now evidence and there was zero chance that the FBI wasn’t currently digging through it. A few minutes passed and a uniformed SCPD officer walked in to escort her to a phone.

Instead of calling a lawyer, she called her boss, who didn’t answer. Her message to him was short and not-very-sweet. “I’ve been arrested. Get me a lawyer.” She forcefully hung-up the phone. “Do you know wh-.?”

“No.” He said, leading her away.

“You don’t know what I was about to ask.”

“Don’t need to. I don’t know anything about you or why you’re here. I just happened to be walking by and an FBI agent asked me to take you to a phone.”

Once she was back in the interrogation room, she waited for either her lawyer to arrive or one of the agents to walk in. After an undetermined amount of time, Agent Mars poked her head in.

“You need anything?”

“My lawyer.”

“As soon as he arrives, I’ll bring him back.” She said before closing the door.

After another stretch of time, Isabel looked at her reflection in the two-way mirror. She had no idea how long she’d been sitting in the room, but it was now just after 1AM.

“It’s not going to work, this little attempt to get me to waive my rights by making me wait. Or maybe, you’re trying to get me to worry, so that I’ll spill my guts as soon as my lawyer’s here. Either way, you’re wasting your time.”

Doyle, who was watching on the other side, scoffed. “Yeah. Because we have so little to do that we’ll just let you sit for four hours, trying to scare you.”

“Do you think she knows?” Dinan asked from behind him. “About Stellmoor?”

“I doubt it. Anderson said she’d already left for the day when they served the warrants.” He said.

For the next few hours, an agent would check in on Isabel every so often, asking if she needed anything and she continued to scoff and claim she only needed a lawyer. No lawyer arrived and before she knew it, two FBI agents came to escort her to the courthouse for her arraignment hearing.

 

Thursday morning, Oliver was making breakfast for himself and Felicity while Felicity was doing something on her tablet. After a moment, her phone buzzed, so she picked it up.

“Huh.” She said, almost absent-mindedly. “Wish I could’ve seen that.”

‘Seen what?’ Oliver signed as he turned the stove off and began to move the scrambled eggs he’d made onto plates.

“Isabel Rochev got arrested last night.” She said, holding out her phone. “At the Starling City Pediatrics Gala.” On screen, there was a photo of Isabel, dressed to the nines, being led out of a fancy ballroom by FBI agents as a host of other influential people watched on.

‘Who’s that from?’

“Tommy. He was coming back from the bathroom when he saw her getting escorted out and snapped a picture.”

‘I’m surprised it wasn’t in the paper.’ Oliver didn’t like reading the news on his phone or a tablet, so he had a newspaper delivered every day. He’d read this morning’s paper, cover-to-cover, and there was no mention of Isabel’s arrest. ‘The society section loves this kind of thing.’

“Maybe they’re waiting for her hearing, to know what she’s charged with, before they publish the article.” She said. “There wasn’t any mention of her?”

‘No, there was a piece about Stellmoor International, though. They got a visit from the FBI yesterday, and the business journalists are speculating about why. Not hard to guess now.’

“I wouldn’t want to be associated with them this morning.” She said. “I almost feel bad. But then I remember what kind of company it is, and the only people I feel bad for are the run-of-the-mill employees who could lose their jobs.”

‘I feel the exact same. It’s not their fault Isabel got hired.’

“Can we change the subject? To anything else? Now that she’s been arrested, we don’t have to worry about her and I want to focus on something else.”

Oliver started to tell her about the book he’d just started and they didn’t have to think about Isabel Rochev for the next few hours.

 

Isabel’s arraignment wasn’t the first case on the judge’s calendar, so she was brought to the courthouse and placed in a side room while waiting for the case to be called. After about thirty minutes of waiting, a skinny man in a dark suit with glasses walked in.

“Ms. Rochev?” He asked.

“Yeah. Who are you?”

“My name is Ed Wheeler. I’m from the public defender’s office. Since you-.”

“I don’t need a public defender. My company is retaining legal counsel for me.” She said snidely. “So, you can-.”

“Stellmoor International put out a statement this morning, stating that you were terminated. They didn’t say much as to why, but I think the team of FBI agents arriving with search warrants yesterday afternoon had something to do with it.”

“They searched my office?”

“Your office, among others.” He said. “If you want to retain private counsel, you can, but you need an attorney for today’s hearing which is why I’m here.”

“Can’t the judge just postpone the hearing until I get a lawyer?”

“No. You have to be arraigned in a timely manner.” He said. “Do you have a lawyer who can get here within the next hour or so?”

“No, I guess I’m stuck with you for today.” She said. 

They sat in silence until a bailiff arrived and said the case was about to be called. 

Isabel’s first indication that she might be in serious trouble was that Alexa Van Owen was sitting at the prosecution table with two other lawyers when she walked into the courtroom. Van Owen had become somewhat famous in the last few months for her prosecution of Tempest. The second indication was when the judge told the clerk that this hearing was the last one before his lunch break, and it was just after 10AM.

She sat next to her appointed lawyer, and tuned out most of the procedural stuff at the start of the hearing. She started to pay attention when one of the lawyers for the government stood up.

“Your Honor, the defense moves to waive the reading, but not the right.” Wheeler said, getting to his feet.

“I accept that motion.” The judge said, before addressing the prosecutor who was about to speak. “Mr. Broweski, please give a copy of the charging document to the clerk so that it can be entered into the record.” He turned his attention back to Wheeler and Isabel. “Is your client prepared to enter a plea at this time?”

“I don’t even know what I’ve been charged with!” Isabel said.

“You didn’t go over the indictment with your client?” The judge asked.

“No, Your Honor, I didn’t have adequate time to go through the charges with her.” Wheeler said. “She was arrested last night. My services were retained this morning.”

“If that’s the case, then the government will need to read the charges into the record. Your client can’t enter a plea if she doesn’t know what she’s been charged with.” The judge said. “Mr. Broweski?”

The AUSA got to his feet and cleared his throat. “Count One: conspiracy to commit an act of domestic terrorism against the United States in violation of Title 18, Chapter 113b of the United States code. Count two...” 

He continued to read, but Isabel was in such a state of shock after hearing the first charge that the others barely registered. In total, she was facing dozens of charges. The government had somehow uncovered that she was working with Malcolm Merlyn. They had discovered what the two of them were planning and knew quite a bit more than she expected. Clearly, someone close to Malcolm had become an informant and gave the feds everything needed to arrest her.

 

Moira’s interest was piqued when Walter asked her to meet him for lunch. When they met for lunch, they typically planned it a few days in advance, so such a spontaneous request was unusual for him. She was curious about his reasons, but didn’t want to put too much stock in the unexpected invitation. He could have news about Oliver or Thea, or he might ask for a divorce, but she wouldn’t know until they met.

She arrived at Table Salt just as Walter was walking in. The hostess led them to a table in the corner, where they could have some privacy.

“I know my invitation to lunch was unexpected.” Walter said. “But I didn’t want to wait to tell you. Last night, I attended a gala for the pediatric wing at Starling General. Isabel Rochev was also in attendance.”

“I don’t want to hear about that woman, Walter. She-.”

He placed his phone on the table and slid it towards her. “I think you’ll want to see this. A videographer that was hired for the event was happy to provide me with the footage.”

Feeling even more curious, she picked up Walter’s phone where he had a video paused, waiting for her to press play. She watched as a man in a suit began to handcuff Isabel. Isabel began to argue with the man, from the look of things, as she was led away.

“You’re right.” She said. “Maybe it’s vindictive, but I liked seeing that. Thank you. Do Oliver and Thea-?”

“Oliver found the footage quite amusing when he saw it. I haven’t spoken with Thea, and I didn’t think to ask him if he’d told her. Tommy was at the gala and witnessed it unfold in person.”

“Tommy was there?”

“Yes, the Rebecca Merlyn foundation works closely with the charity, so he was invited. I hope he knows most galas aren’t as exciting.” He said. “I’ll send you the video. I have to applaud the videographer for perfectly capturing how it happened.”

“She started ranting as she was being led away?”

“She ranted and raved and threatened a lawsuit.” He said. “It felt deeply satisfying to witness.”

“I didn’t realize you disliked her that much.”

“Years ago, when it became clear Robert and Isabel’s relationship wasn’t strictly professional, I was conflicted on how to address the matter with him. Before I knew it was an affair, I didn’t want to accuse my friend of such a terrible thing without proof.” He said. “The affair ended. Time passed. The world moved on. I didn’t forget how much conflict and stress she caused your family, though. And, even if I had forgotten, I would’ve found her arrest satisfying because she has been working with Malcolm Merlyn, very recently.”

“What?”

“The indictment against her is public record, so I found it online. She’s been accused of, among other things, assisting Malcolm with his plans, whatever they may be, after he fled the United States.”

“That’s why she was arrested? I was expecting some kind of fraud or corporate espionage.”

“No, her arrest is related to her connection with him. Though, the FBI may uncover evidence of other crimes now.”

After their lunch date was over, Moira went about her day with a little extra pep in her step. Perhaps it was mean or vindictive to be happy that Isabel was arrested. If that was the case, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Isabel had nearly torn her family apart. She felt no sympathy for the woman.

 

Helena Bertinelli was beginning to get antsy. She’d given the FBI everything they needed to take down Frank, but nothing had happened yet. The FBI kept saying they’d act on the information soon. Harbinger and the Arrow both told her that this wait wasn’t a bad sign. 

She knew deep down that she hadn’t been waiting for that long. At the same time, she wanted the investigation to be over already. She wanted Frank in prison, finally, so that she’d be free to move on with her life, to marry Michael without the threat of Frank and his goons hanging over her head.

Tonight, Helena’s nervousness manifested as annoyance. She didn’t need to dig to find a reason to fight with her father, which would lead to her storming out of the house. He made a comment about Michael’s job, which set her off. Before she knew it, she was arguing with him.

“You know what? I don’t have to put up with this!” She shouted. “I’m heading to Michael’s. I’m not staying in this house with you.” She made her way towards the front door.

She was a few yards from the door when it was knocked off its hinges and FBI agents came pouring into the house.

“Get on the ground! Put your hands on your head!” Someone shouted.

Helena complied. Behind her, she heard Frank demand to know what was happening. She looked over her shoulder to see an FBI agent handcuffing her father and telling him that he was under arrest. She smirked at the sight, which Frank luckily didn’t see. He was led out of the house. Someone told Helena that she could get to her feet. Agents began to spread out and started to search the building.

“Is it okay if I leave?” She asked Agent Anderson. “I was heading to stay with my fiance when…” She trailed off, looking around.

“Yeah, you’re free to go. If you need to get things from upstairs, a bag or something, an agent will need to-.”

“No, I don’t need to grab anything.” She didn’t want anything in that house. The only possessions she cared about were things belonging to her mother, and those had been put in storage years ago.

She walked outside, got into her car and drove away. She arrived at Michael’s apartment and told him what had happened.

“Sorry about your dad.” He said awkwardly. He didn’t like his future father-in-law, but had never told Helena as much, since he didn’t want to upset her or make her think she had to pick a “side” between them.

“Don’t be.” She said. “He’s facing justice for what he’s done. He’s finally getting what he deserves.”

 

McKenna knew the FBI planned to arrest Frank and his cohorts sometime this week, so she told Team Arrow to try and avoid the Italian Mafia’s territory until the arrests happened. The team was more than happy to listen to her advice, and instead focused their attention on the remaining Bratva and Triad members.

Patrol went fairly well, with the team not encountering any major problems. They were back in the foundry, wrapping up for the night, when Nyssa’s phone rang.

“I believe this is the mystic I spoke of. Or, if not her, an associate of hers.” She told everyone. “It would perhaps be best if everyone remained for the time being.”

Everyone sat down as Nyssa answered the phone. “Hello?”

‘Speaker phone.’ Oliver signed. She nodded and pressed the icon to enable the speaker phone.

“You wanted to speak with me.” An accented female voice said.

“Yes. There is a possessed-.” Nyssa started to say.

“You contacted seven associates of mine. On the same day. All of them relayed your message. I know why you are seeking my aid.”

“I wanted to speak with you quickly. In the past, I’ve had to wait weeks to hear from you.”

“In the past, I needed to be sure that you truly sought my help and were not attempting to deceive me, lure me into a trap.” The woman said. “I had to know you were not acting on behalf of the League of Assassins. I no longer have that concern, now that I know of your estrangement from Ra’s al Ghul.”

“You speak of him as if you don’t know him. As if-.”

“I have no desire to dwell on the past. While I could help the woman you speak of, I know of another who can. She has less experience, but has an equitable amount of power. And, unlike myself, she would not need to travel as far to aid you. Her name is Zatanna Zatarra. Expect her call in the coming days.”

Without a goodbye, the woman on the other end of the line hung up. 

“I do not know this Zatanna Zatarra, but I suppose having an unknown magic user’s aid is better than having no assistance at all.” Nyssa said. She went to leave, ignoring the questioning looks from the rest of the team. She would have to explain eventually, but tonight was not that time.

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?

Chapter 184

Summary:

Sara asks questions about Nyssa's contact, Isabel schemes and a search comes to an end.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

While the team was out on patrol, Nyssa knew that Sara was trying to get her attention but she pretended not to notice. Her beloved had questions about Nyssa’s magical contact, as did the rest of the team. She knew she’d have to answer their questions at some point, but wasn’t quite ready for that. She didn’t know how to answer some of the questions they might ask.

“You know, pretending like you can’t tell that I’m trying to get your attention doesn’t really work for you.” Sara said after some time. “Because we both know that you’re too aware not to notice.”

“This is neither the time nor the place for you to ask the questions you want to ask.”

“You and this magician clearly have some history.”

“She prefers the term sorceress, and I have known her for some time. I will tell everyone more about her and our history when the time is right.”

“Well, I’m not everyone. Was that Talia?” Sara had heard of Nyssa’s half-sister, but since neither Nyssa nor Ra’s talked about her, she only knew that the woman existed.

“No. I haven’t spoken with her in years, since before I met you. Nor would I particularly want to.” She didn’t resent her sister for leaving Nanda Parbat to pursue her own goals, but it was difficult for her not to be angry that Talia left her behind, knowing she would suffer at their father’s hands.

“You and this mystery sorceress, were you a thing?”

Nyssa stopped her in tracks. “Is that jealousy I’m hearing?”

“Maybe a little. I mean, I know I’m pretty awesome, but I’m not sure I can compete with magic.” She said with a shrug. “Why are you laughing?”

“There’s nothing to be jealous of. She’s not an ex-lover of mine and is old enough to be my mother. We should resume our patrol.”

Sara didn’t say anything further and they turned their attention back to the city. Patrol was uneventful for the two of them.

 

On the other side of the city, Lyla, Slade and Oliver were patrolling. They stopped a mugging and were on the lookout for more activity when something caught Slade’s attention.

“Huntress is over there.” He said, nodding towards where he’d spotted her.

A moment or two later, Huntress stepped out of the shadows. “Frank Bertinelli got arrested tonight. I wanted to let you know.”

“Did you see it happen?” Lyla asked.

A huge smile crossed Helena’s face. “I got a front row seat. It was…definitely worth the wait.”

“Surprised you came out here to tell us. You should be off somewhere celebrating.”

“Since you helped me put it in motion, I figured I owed it to you to tell you in person.” Helena and Michael had celebrated, but after about an hour, she realized she needed to thank the Arrow, Harbinger and the others for their help. She told her fiance she needed to get something from Frank’s house and then went out to try and find them. “And thank you for the help.”

“We didn’t do much. Just got you in touch with the right people.” Lyla said. “Have you thought about what happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You started this to send Frank to prison, and you did what you set out to do. Now, do you want that to be the end of Huntress? Or do you want to keep going?”

“I don’t know.” There were days that she thought she might never see Frank get arrested.

“Give it some thought.” Oliver said. “Frank Bertinelli’s arrest was because of the work you did. You’re good at this.”

The trio walked off to continue their patrol. Helena stood there for a moment, absorbing what they’d said, before heading home.

“It was nice of you to tell her that, let her know that what she did made a difference.” Lyla told Oliver once they were far enough away.

‘It was the truth. Without the work she did, it would’ve taken twice as long to get Frank Bertinelli behind bars.’ He replied.

 

Rick Flag was startled awake by his phone going off. He jolted up in bed when it started ringing, and June cracked an eye open as well. He’d forgotten to lower the ringer volume, so the sound was too loud to ignore or sleep through.

“Sorry.” He said before answering the call. “Grant, it’s nearly one in the morning.”

“I know. There’s a car coming to get you. You need to be on the plane leaving in fifty-four minutes.”

“Tell me you’re not sending me back to Corto Maltese.”

“It’s going to be a short trip. Very short, if it goes the way I want. You might even be back in time to have dinner with Dr. Moone.”

“We’re done just watching, then?”

“It’s no longer a viable option.” Grant said. “Agent Melendez is coming with you. She’ll brief you on the plane.” The call ended.

“You have to leave again?” June asked when he was off the phone.

“Unfortunately, but Director Grant said it’ll only be a day or two this time.” He got out of bed and started to collect his stuff. He hadn’t had a chance to unpack. “You should go back to bed.”

“Well, I’m not happy you’re leaving, but the sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back.” She said. “Be safe.”

They said their goodbyes and Flag left when the car Grant had told him to expect pulled up outside the house.

 

Susan Williams pulled her car over at a rest stop about fifty miles outside Minneapolis when the road signs began to get blurry. She had been driving for 29-hours straight, only stopping for gas and food at places in the middle of nowhere, and had been awake for about 36, not including the 1-hour nap she’d taken somewhere in Montana. She wasn’t even sure where she was going. After hearing the FBI was looking for her, she drove away from the Channel 6 building and just kept driving. By now, it was dark, the roads were empty and badly lit, and she was tired. 

She pulled her car into a parking spot, turned the engine off and closed her eyes. She just needed some sleep, and then she’d start moving again. She reclined her seat back, to get into a more comfortable position, and glanced in her backseat. All she had back there was her purse and a few bottles of water. Her purse had a phone charger, her wallet, her passport, a collection of random receipts, a notepad and a bottle of hand lotion. She wasn’t prepared for bad weather, much less going on the run.

Now that she was no longer driving, she sat there for a moment and took stock of her situation. She was on the run, over two thousand miles from home. The FBI was after her, and she didn’t even know what she had supposedly done. Maybe someone at the news station would know.

She took out her phone and hit “redial” from her last call. It rang for a few minutes before going through to voicemail. “Hello, you’ve reached Scott Maltzer-.”

She ended the call before his voicemail message finished. What was she doing? If she left him a message, the FBI could probably use it to track her down. What was she going to do?

Deciding where to go was a problem for tomorrow, she decided, as she closed her eyes.

It seemed like only seconds later, someone was banging on her window, yet she opened her eyes to find that the sun had risen. There were other cars parked in spots near her and a man in a mechanic’s shirt was standing outside her car. He said something she couldn’t hear, so she turned the car on and rolled her window down.

“What?” She asked.

“I was checking to make sure you were okay.” He said. “Customer came in, said there was someone asleep in their car. I wanted to wake you up, rather than have to call the cops. You can’t be sleeping here.”

“I didn’t mean to.” She said, “If you’ll get out of my way, I’ll leave.”

The man stepped away and she put the car into reverse to back out of the space, before driving off.

Having slept on it, Susan decided one thing was clear. She needed to head somewhere that the FBI couldn’t follow her.

 

By the time Friday morning dawned, Isabel had snapped out of her shock. Her arrest had surprised her. She’d felt completely blindsided by what happened at her arraignment. Yet, she knew she needed to go on the defensive. She knew she needed to get ahead of her charges, or at least try to get some of them thrown out. 

She didn’t have an expensive lawyer, just a public defender. She didn’t have a great defense. What did have, though, was leverage. She knew Malcolm’s plans. He was the one the FBI was really interested in. He had no loyalty to her, so she owed him none.

After choking down the disgusting breakfast provided by the prison, she called her public defender and asked him to come to Iron Heights so that they could discuss her case. He arrived within the hour.

“What deal can you get me if I provide information to the government?” She asked as soon as Ed Wheeler entered the room.

“I’d need to talk to the US Attorney.” He said. “It would depend on what the information is.”

“I can give them Malcolm Merlyn.”

“Let me make a few calls.” Wheeler left the room. 

Isabel was taken back to her cell. About ninety minutes later, a guard arrived to escort her back to the visitation room. When she arrived, Wheeler was there, as well as Mr. Broweski, the AUSA who’d been at her hearing and Agent Doyle.

Before her lawyer could say anything, she spoke. “I want an immunity deal in exchange for telling you where you can find Malcolm Merlyn.”

“We already know where he is.” Doyle said.

“And you’re switching sides a little too late to demand immunity.” Broweski added. “Depending on what else you have, my boss gave me some leeway. We could drop some charges if what you’ve got justifies it, but make no mistake, you’re going to be doing time. How much depends on what you have to offer.”

“Can I speak to my client in private?” Ed Wheeler asked. “I’m happy to know that the government’s willing to make a deal, but I’m not going to let Ms. Rochev offer up what she knows today, without something in writing.”

The two other men left the room. Wheeler asked Isabel what she knew, and she started talking, telling him everything she knew about Malcolm’s plans, from his current scheme to evade the law to his attempts to kidnap Sara Lance.

 

Susan Williams let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she pulled up to the Canadian border crossing. There were a handful of cars ahead of her, so she had some time to collect herself before she’d have to deal with Border Patrol. 

She jumped when she saw movement in her rearview mirror, but it was just a car getting in line behind her. She couldn’t turn around now, or it would raise suspicion. The car at the front of the line moved forward. A few moments later, the next car passed through. Within fifteen minutes, there were no cars ahead of her and she was being waved forward.

The agent was friendly, as he asked her for her passport and why she was traveling to Canada. She lied and said she was going on vacation, handing the document over to him. He walked into his little booth, as she’d seen him do with the car ahead of her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. In a minute or two, he’d give her back her passport and she could keep going. She kept looking forward, not wanting to tip him off that she was hiding something.

A minute passed. Then, another. Then, a few more. Finally, the agent exited his station and approached her car. “Please turn the car off and step out of the vehicle.”

“What? Why?” She asked. “Is there a problem?”

“Turn off the car. Step out of the vehicle.” He repeated, less friendly than before. 

Behind her, another Border Patrol agent was directing drivers to move into a different lane. With a sigh, she turned off her car and stepped out of the vehicle. He handcuffed her and led her over to the station attached to the border crossing. 

He brought her into what looked like an interrogation room and walked away. She didn’t know how much time had passed before he returned with two people not wearing uniforms. One was a black woman in her mid-thirties and the other was a blonde man in his late twenties.

“My name is Deputy Marshal Brooks.” The woman said.

“Ok, and?”

The marshal with her, who hadn’t introduced himself, snorted but didn’t say anything. “There’s a warrant out for your arrest in Washington. The FBI put a flag on your passport.” Brooks said. “We’ll be taking you to the airport to fly you back to Starling City.”

“I didn’t do anything. The FBI’s go-.”

“We apprehend fugitives. You’re a fugitive. What you did or didn’t do has nothing to do with us.” The other marshal said. “Let’s go.”

They led her out of the station and to their waiting SUV.

 

Felicity and Oliver were holding hands as they boarded the train to Central City to pick up William for his weekend with them. As they sat down, Oliver noticed a strange expression on his girlfriend’s face and let go of her hand so that he could sign to her.

‘Is something wrong?’

“Not wrong. It’s just- I have a weird feeling right now.” She said.

‘What kind of weird feeling? Good weird or bad weird?’ If he’d learned one thing over the last five years, it was to trust his gut, and Felicity’s “weird feelings” had been notable in the past.

“It’s not ominous like something bad’s about to happen. It’s more like- I just have this weird sense that today’s going to be a day that people remember. Or, at least one that we’ll remember.”

‘But not in a bad way?’

“No, not in a bad way. Now, I want this train to start moving already, so that our weekend with William can start.”

Within a few minutes, the train started moving. Oliver spent the ride reading a book while Felicity was looking at something on her tablet. Before they knew it, the train was pulling into the Central City station.

 

Cat Grant leaned back in her chair, not wanting to take her eyes off of the screen in front of her for a single second. She had been watching the satellite footage since she’d called Flag and had been discussing the activity with colleagues at the CIA and NSA for hours, going over plans and contingencies for what needed to happen next.

“We can’t wait for the perfect moment. There’s never going to be one.” The CIA representative said. “And we risk missing our best chance by waiting longer than we have to.”

“I agree.” She said. “I briefed my agent. Have you spoken to your operatives?”

“Yes. They’re waiting for the “go” order.”

“Mike, can you get them on the line? I want to give them as up-to-date intel as we can.”

“Give me a few minutes.” The NSA agent on the call said.

Soon enough, a secure video call between the three of them, Flag and a group of CIA operatives had been started.

“We’re observing the building via satellite, including thermal imaging.” The CIA representative Cat had been talking to said, opening the call.

“We currently show three unknown individuals in the house.” Cat said. “Two on the first floor, approximately ten yards to the left of the front door. The third is on the second floor, at the far end of the east wing.”

“Anything else we need to know?” One of the CIA agents asked.

“This needs to be done quickly and quietly.” She said. “Merlyn is the priority. Use your discretion accordingly when it comes to the other two.”

With nothing else to say, the call wrapped up.

Flag and the CIA operatives did another weapons and gear check before leaving their safehouse and getting into position. They did a silent countdown before an operative kicked the front door in and tossed a tear gas canister into the building.

 

Malcolm knew he needed to get moving.He’d learned of Isabel’s arrest and he wanted to leave Corto Maltese before anyone tried to figure out where she’d recently been or who she might’ve been making calls to.

He determined Dylan Smith to be dead weight, and decided to leave the man to fend for himself. As soon as he confirmed Isabel was in custody, he began gathering his essential documents. After his time in the League of Assassins, he knew how to travel light, and intended to be gone within the hour. He left his office, heading towards the stairs to pack some clothes and his weapons. As he walked down the hall, he saw a shadow move behind him and felt something hit him in the head.

He dropped to the ground. It took him a few moments to gather his bearings. He pushed himself up off the floor, only for the front door to be kicked in and a smoke canister to be tossed into the foyer, not far from where he was. Something else was thrown into the room and he was temporarily blinded by light as loud bangs sounded around him. Tear gas began to fill the air as then men in tactical gear poured into the building.

As he struggled to keep his eyes open, he saw a group split off and head upstairs, while another rushed towards him. He got to his feet, only to find himself surrounded by men in gas masks, all of whom were aiming guns at him. 

“Get on your knees and put your hands on your head.” One of them ordered.

Disoriented, unarmed and barely able to see, he did as he was told. He decided it was more practical to comply, and escape later than try to fight the men off now.

“Control, this is Hawk. We have the target. Repeat, we have the target in custody.” One of the men in tactical gear said into his radio.

“Hawk, huh? That’s a stupid call sign.”

His hands were ziptied behind him, a black bag was placed over his head and he was led out of the building. He heard someone order the building to be searched.

 

Flag watched Malcolm be led away as the CIA agents went to search the rest of the building. A few minutes later, the operatives that went upstairs returned, bringing another man down with them. Dylan Smith was claiming he had done nothing wrong and had no idea what was happening. 

The group swept the house, searching for the third man showing up on the thermal imaging, but came up empty. Once the building was cleared, the operatives and their captives left and piled into two black vans. They headed to the extraction point where their flight back to the US was waiting.

To Malcolm’s frustration, it took him longer than expected to regain his bearings. By the time he was able to see clearly, the CIA was on the move and he was too disoriented to keep track of the turns the van he was in had made. 

“We’re being followed.” The CIA agent driving the van told Flag, nodding at the rearview mirror.

Rick looked in the mirror and saw that the van was being followed by a beat-up sedan. The driver was keeping a good distance, trying to appear innocent, but it was an odd hour for anyone to be out on the roads, so their presence immediately stuck out. They hadn’t known for sure what allies Merlyn might have in the local government, but they knew it was possible an ally of his might try to free him at this point in the operation.

“Stick to the plan. Keep driving. Don’t speed up. Don’t slow down.” He signaled to the other agents in the van to stay on guard, in case the car behind them made some attempt to engage with them. “This is not somewhere you want to get captured as a foreign agent.”

The van continued on their route. The car tailing them never moved any closer. When they arrived at the extraction point, the car stopped several yards away. It idled there for a few minutes before backing up and driving off.

Malcolm felt the van come to a stop. Someone grabbed him and he was dragged out of the vehicle and up some stairs. He started to formulate his escape plan, until someone handcuffed him to a seat. Without being able to see, courtesy of the bag over his head, he couldn’t figure out a way to break free. He heard a woman’s voice tell the pilot to take off as soon as possible.

 

The train that William, Oliver and Felicity were on pulled into the Starling station. During the ride, the cell phone signal was pretty weak, so they were used to one or two texts getting delivered as soon as they reached the station.

Oliver’s phone began to ding and then repeatedly made more dinging noises as more and more messages got delivered. Unlocking his phone, he saw multiple messages Tommy, Thea, Sara, Roy, John, Lyla and Slade. He had two texts from Walter and Moira. He opened Thea’s text thread and started to read back, trying to figure out what was going on. She seemed in shock, and asked him if he knew “this” was coming, but he wasn’t sure what “this” was she was talking about.

Felicity was staring at her phone in shock, and after a beat, cleared her throat. “Oliver?” She held up her phone. She had pulled up an article on her phone. The photo was of a man he didn’t know, standing in front of a podium, with the headline “US GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES MALCOLM MERLYN IN CUSTODY”.

“Daddy, Lisy, is something the matter?” Will asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Felicity said. “Let’s go home.”

‘You were right.’ Oliver said. ‘About your weird feeling. A lot of people are going to remember today.’

Notes:

Comments? Thoughts? Theories?