She sits patiently and quietly as she waits for the computer to finish its search. Grunts could be heard coming from one Oliver Queen as he hones his fighting skills. The guy was always in a constant changing mood that she could never keep up with it. She has only seen him smile on a very few occasion and that was when he was teasing Diggle about something. It also didn't help that when said boss would walk about shirtless while she tries to do her 'side job' as if it was a normal thing for him. True that the guy packs some serious muscle and probably does not have an ounce of fat in him, but it was getting difficult not to just stare at him.
They had already lost the Dodger earlier and both men had been frustrated with it. Diggle had insisted to grab take out for them while they conjure a plan to lure out the Dodger.
She heard the door clicked and turned to find Diggle back bearing food. Her barely there social life had completely gone off grid since she was enlisted and agreed to help Oliver find the list of people in that book.
She had never thought that she would come face to face with Oliver Queen since she started working at Queen Consolidated but she did when he sought her out and now here she was in his innermost fold that only a few people know he leads a double life. He has always been an enigma to her. The mysterious billionaire playboy who had vanished from the face of the earth and somehow came back alive. No one knows the whole story and doubts that someone ever will.
She had not believed him the first time he sought her help. Suspicion clouded her when a laptop with multiple bullet holes was presented to her or the ridiculousness of the excuses that he had come up after that. But she continued to help because despite the strangeness of it all, she could not blabber her mouth to anyone else. She thinks that if he trusted her enough to ask for help aside from anyone else then she will have to do her part until she can find what was it that he was doing and if she should continue helping or not.
Everything certainly came to light when she found him hiding in her jeep. How he got in she will not question at this point. He had begged her not to take him to a hospital but to a factory in the glades where she found his bodyguard, John Diggle. She was thankful that he didn't pull the trigger from the gun pointed at her when she came in and stunned him. She remembered those moments where they raced with time to save Oliver. She had never felt so nervous and scared in her life. Here was a man that was her boss whom she found bleeding in her Jeep and whose life now rest in their hands. She had watched Diggle franctically hooked wires and tubes while her adrenaline was running at an all time high. They had saved him after a minor electrical mishap with the defibrillator and she had swore to Diggle that she would not want to be doing that again in the near future or at all.
"Felicity?"
She looked up to find both men staring at her. "Sorry I was just thinking."
"Care to share?" Diggle looked at her concerned. He really was adamant and insisted to Oliver multiple times that it was too dangerous to involve the IT woman. He was surprised when his boss promised him that he would protect the blonde woman. She had a tendency to babble when she is nervous but he found that she held her ground against Oliver. She was smart and strong willed but demure. He found that it was her habit to analyze everyone and everything that she came across. Although he doubts that she had figured out their boss yet because he has not even come close to it himself.
She shook her head. "Not case related per se." She took the brown paper bag from his extended hand and whirled back to her computers. Her fingers began to fly on the keyboard as she scans the three screens in front of her. "I did find that there would be a fundraising gala this evening. Showcasing some of the rare and expensive one of a kind jewelry. Got any ideas on how we can lure him out?"
Oliver looked at Diggle. "We do. We'll get an expensive and rare piece of jewelry that'll catch his eye."
"And where would we get such a thing let alone a fake one?"
"You really don't know how rich his family is do you?" Diggle shook his head. It still boggles his mind that his employee lives in a mansion or as some people would call it a castle. "We'll put a tracker in the jewel and you Felicity will be going with us while you track it. So go and change and we will see you there."
She huffed as she walked out the door leaving for her apartment to change into whatever dress she has. Granted that the gala was still a few hours away and she had ample time to buy one if the dresses that she currently has does not fit such occasion. Rich people and their parties!
She had arrived earlier than scheduled and had already scanned the entire room without looking the least bit suspicious. She has yet to spot Oliver and Diggle amongst the crowd as she weaves her way down towards the bar.
"The police are here too. " Diggle informs him conspicuously. He knew that they'd be here too since they were both tracking the same target. They just didn't know that besides him as Oliver Queen he was also the vigilante.
"Heard or seen Felicity yet? She should be here by now?" He was getting antsy. They had not heard from her for a few hours and he didn't know if she had made it or not. True that he had worried of her safety since she had agreed to help but even Diggle had pointed it to him that it seems to be growing. He had denied it repeatedly and reasoned that he was just a concerned employer and that he had every right to worry. He added that he was worried for Diggle himself too but his body guard just rolled his eyes and told him that wasn't the case since he knew how to fight back and that he wasn't a certain woman who had blonde hair and wears glasses.
"Give it a few minutes…she should be here." He had grown to like the IT girl. She was straightforward and on point. He directed his gaze towards the upper level of the room and found their computer geek who right now does not look like one. Gone were the glasses and business attire that she seems to regularly wear. He nudged Oliver and tilted his head towards her direction and watching his boss' reaction.
Shit! Where has IT girl disappeared to? He had never thought of her that way before. He already had enough problems with Laurel and Helena and recently with one Detective McKenna who he was trying to avoid tonight. But he was still a man who had two perfectly working eyes. He couldn't deny that Felicity certainly had the looks to go with her brains but she was modest who didn't seem to care about flaunting it for everyone to see. His eyes flickered from her head to her feet. Her hair was down and styled into tresses. Her usual business attire was replaced with a gold dress which seems to do justice to her beauty. He knew she has not spotted them yet. She was engrossed in her phone, appeared to be tracking any movement with the jewelry. He couldn't go there. Based on his track record, he wasn't successful in that area but it wouldn't hurt to look and she didn't have to know about it.
He began walking towards their smart techie before Diggle could make a smart retort about this reaction which he wanted to avoid discussing. She gave them a rundown of what's going on so far and that the tracker has not moved anywhere. Barely nodding off, she leaves them in her wake and headed for the opposite direction. Deciding that she should be fine by herself with these many people, he and Diggle split up to scour guests and hopefully find the Dodger amongst the mass of people occupying the ballroom.
It wasn't much later that he spotted Felicity walking towards him and Diggle. As she came closer, he noticed that she appeared out of sorts.
With a shaky breath, she informed them about coming in contact with who she believed to be the Dodger when the tracker began moving and spotted the jewelry in his hand. Then she showed them the bomb necklace that was currently around her neck.
Diggle realized as soon as he saw the explosive necklace that they must move to an isolated place before she becomes a hysteric, they certainly do not need to draw any attention from the crowd. She began moving away from them in fear that if the bomb does blow up then at least it'll only be her head gone not all three of them or possibly more. He thought that she was braver than what she had originally thought of herself and was willing to take the fall to save them. That was probably why his boss was beginning to look at her differently. He didn't have to be told but he can see that Oliver was in a battle with himself.
"Felicity, you have to calm down and help me find him. Can you do that? Use the tracker."
She looked at her boss and realized that he was holding both of her shoulders and his face was only inches from hers. She could only nod at him. To her it felt like she only had seconds left to live before her head explodes to pieces. Everything around her was going so fast. Once Oliver found the Dodger and the necklace off her neck, she insisted repeatedly to Diggle that he takes her back to her apartment. She wanted to be alone and process what has just happened in the last half hour knowing very well that it could happen again.
Looking defeated, Diggle sauntered back to the factory to wait for his boss only to find him there waiting for him. "Where's Felicity?"
"Took her back to her apartment. She wanted to be alone. I'd do the same if I've never been in those kinds of situations. She was still too frightened to be back here."
