Disclaimer: Arrow isn't mine.
The small office located in uptown Starling City is immaculate. There's not a stray paper peeking from between the neatly stacked, alphabetically arranged books on the desk. Pens and pencils are segregated into plain coffee mugs and are artfully placed much like a flower arrangement. More alphabetically arranged books adorned the bookshelves that lined the walls and are dust-free. An immaculately-dressed man sitting at the table twirled a fountain pen with his fingers as he recalled what had transpired just an hour before.
"Twenty million dollars worth of diamonds right in the bag. Well done, Smith."
Smith nodded, as if in a trance. "Thank you."
"Unfortunately, your cover has been compromised. The police are on to you. Now, you must be eliminated."
"Yes, I must."
The man pressed a button under the desk, and a policeman entered the office. "You are to go with the nice policeman, Smith. You will wake once you arrive in the SCPD precinct. Then you are going to be booked, tried and eventually rot in Iron Heights, if you manage to stay alive, that is." He laughed, with an evil glint in his green eyes.
Smith laughed along with him. "Okay. Bye, Master. It's been nice working with you." He quietly went with the police. The heavy door shut heavily behind them.
The man leaned back on his chair and twirled the pen even faster. "Too bad, Smith. You could have gone a long way. Apparently, it's not meant to be." He sighed. "Now you'll have a rude awakening when you get to the precinct. Well." The twirling stopped. "Time to find a replacement for you."
The arresting officer escorted Smith inside the SCPD precinct. Smith looked as if he just woke up. He blinked at his surroundings, confused as to how and why he got here. His memory was fuzzy at its best as he tried to remember what had landed him in there. Nothing seemed to fit the puzzle.
"What am I doing here, Officer? Did I do something wrong?" Smith asked.
The officer, whose name is Briggs, looked at Smith as if he were a slimy slug stuck on his uniform. "Playing the innocent card, aren't you? Three counts of robbery in different jewelry stores, with over a hundred million dollars total worth of stolen items, and you have the nerve to ask what you're doing here? When the surveillance reports come in you'll find your face plastered in all of them. You're going down, Smith."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Smith answered. "I'm sure I am innocent."
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." Briggs led Smith to a small waiting room with two other men. "Wait here. You'll be processed in a few minutes." He turned to leave.
"What?! No!" Smith yelled. "I don't even know how I got here! You have it all wrong! I'm innocent!"
The door slammed shut behind Briggs, effectively shutting out Smith's cries.
"So, SCPD finally caught the guy stealing from jewelry stores, huh? Good for them," Oliver remarked as he worked out on the salmon ladder.
Felicity slyly twirled her seat and leaned back to have a better view of Oliver's rippling muscles before replying. "Yup. And Team Arrow didn't need to have a hand in it... um, it's ok with you that I refer to us as Team Arrow, right? It's just occasionally."
Oliver jumped off the salmon ladder, unaware of a disappointed Felicity. "I'll be honest. That term doesn't sit well with me, Felicity. So, what else is there about the suspect?"
Diggle stifled a laugh at Felicity's latest expression, this time at Oliver's abrupt dropping of the subject.
"Hmm." Felicity decided to follow suit and turned her attention to the computer. "OK. Guy's name is John Smith, thirty-eight, works as an electrician. He recently did some work for Masters Jewelry Trading. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Anyway I feel sorry for him, he looks like he couldn't hurt a fly." She looked at the photo of the confused, sad-looking man with blond hair and an unkempt beard.
"Stranger things have happened." Oliver came up beside Felicity. "This guy is probably a psycho."
"He's looking at twenty years in Iron Heights if found guilty," Diggle added.
"It says here that Smith insists that he is innocent," Felicity looked up from the article she was reading. "He's rambling away about not being able to remember anything at all and wouldn't stop. I say, if this Smith person keeps it up, he just might be committed to St. Walker's instead of Iron Heights." She got up and grabbed her coat. "Okay, I'm off now. See you guys at the office tomorrow."
"See you, Felicity. Drive safely."
"I will, thanks." Felicity smiled at Oliver and left the lair.
As Felicity drove towards home, she passed by a newly-opened cafe. It was almost midnight but there were still some customers inside. Felicity is not surprised at this as she has read and heard a lot of good reviews about it. She decided that one drink wouldn't hurt and that now would be a good time to prove that the reviews are true. So she turned back and found a parking slot just near the cafe.
Inside the cafe, she sat in a cozy corner, sipping her drink. It was indeed wonderful, and if it wasn't close to midnight she would've ordered a sandwich as well. Maybe next time. She also enjoyed looking at the Roaring Twenties-inspired interior. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she didn't notice the guy who stopped by her table.
"Admiring the view, I see."
Felicity started, almost upsetting her drink. "Whoops! Sorry. Yeah, the decor is very nice. Are you the owner?" She looked up to see his eyes. He has bright green eyes. She thought they seem kind.
The guy smiled, his eyes twinkling. "How I wish I was. But I am just a humble stockbroker about to have a drink. And you are?"
"A tech specialist... that's not my name, of course, but you mentioned your occupation instead of your name so I just did the same thing... erm, I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"No, but you will. I'm Marcus Munro." Marcus held out his hand to her.
Felicity tentatively shook Marcus's hand. "Hi, Marcus. Felicity Smoak. Are you sure you haven't had a drink yet?"
Marcus laughed. "Very sure of it. Nice to meet you, Felicity. Mind if I join you?"
Whoa, this is unreal. Thoughts raced through her mind a mile a second. A humble stockbroker with a very confident air about him who she just met for thirty seconds is asking if he could join her. She could say no, after all she was taught not to talk to strangers, but she's an adult now so she could say yes; he has nice eyes and is kind of cute anyway, a little bit like Barry... oh, Barry, when will he wake up? Wake up... what time is it? Whoa. Felicity smiled apologetically and said instead, "I wouldn't, but it's late and I have to be early at the office tomorrow. It's nice meeting you though." She signaled to the waiter for the bill.
Marcus wasn't discouraged. "Oh, I see. It's all right. Would you like to have lunch with me here tomorrow then?"
Felicity couldn't help but stare at his emerald eyes. They really were beautiful. In a voice that was very much hers yet sounded very faraway, she heard herself say yes.
a/n: Didn't plan on writing another multi-chapter fic after Don't Leave Me cos one-shots are easier to do on my time but plans can change. ;) Hope you'll enjoy this one! Thanks for reading :)