The Ultimate Request

By akaHAZZAP

Chapter One

This was not how she had expected to spend her Wednesday afternoon. No, definitely not. Her hands were twisted and tied tightly behind her. The rickety old chair which she sat on squeaked every time she rocked forward slightly, trying hard to use the training, all the damn training techniques she should know but to no success. She wished she had paid more goddamn attention to Anatoly, rather than moan at how much her ass hurt after every fall. She could see his exasperated face clouding her mind and frustratedly began to move her hands again attempting to free herself.

It wasn't the first time she had been kidnapped, and she doubted it would be her last. The previous time had lead to quite a brutal bout of torturing which had only ended when her men had infiltrated the area where she had been kept. Thankfully, her only reminder of that sorry event was a nasty looking scar on her right shoulder, proof of her survival.

She gulped uneasily at her memory, praying that that wouldn't happen again, she wasn't cut out for this, the kidnapping or torturing malarkey. Well, she supposed, no one really was, but she especially was not cut out for this. Right now she would do anything to retrace her steps and decide to do the logical thing and get Dig (her bodyguard) to accompany her to the shops. But she had grown accustom to her own adventures which she went on during her lunch hour, and frequently in the evening. It allowed her to have a breath of fresh air, to escape and to not feel so stifled in her life. Between running Smoak Industries and her Bratva nightly activities she always longed for moments where she could just be herself.

But this wasn't one of those moments, and she hoped to god that Dig had realised she hadn't returned to work after her small escapade, and that he would, in fact send out a search party.

She heard the rustling of a door opening behind her and it slammed shut quickly. She attempted to turn around to see who it was but unfortunately the old creaky chair stopped her from twisting fully around, her tight grey dress hiking its way up her thighs as he came into view.

He was a man, a very large man. Who was tall and broad, muscley, but not as much as Diggle, that would be a hard feat to beat. She was positive that this, this large man was dangerous, and could more than likely break her neck with one hand, probably even his pinky finger if he tried hard enough. Unfortunately, she couldn't make out his facial features, they were hidden in the silhouette of a large, dark green hood. He started to pace in front of her, his right index finger and thumb rubbing against each other in what would seem to be a nervous tick.

"I really don't think you have thought this through!" Felicity remarked tartly, her eyes narrowing as she watched this man as he continued to paced. "Do you know what will happen when they find me here with you, tied up to this goddam chair?! How many hours have I been here for? An hour? Or two? That's definitely enough time for several people to notice that I am missing. And for them to start looking for me. Do you know who I am?"

"I do...Felicity Smoak. MIT class of '09, CEO of Smoak Industries, Bratva informant and hacker. Father murdered by the Triad, Roy Harper, your half brother, illegitimate child whose mother was a drug addict, now fast becoming a prominent figure in the Bratva. And that brings me to Anatoly Knyazev, your godfather, now stepfather. Bratva Captain in Starling City. I very much know who you are Felicity Smoak."

She pursed her lips, a silence echoing through the empty warehouse as she thought of her next move. She knew who he was, yet she didn't at the same time. His voice was so familiar, but she couldn't place it. She had heard it often fairly recently but this new gruffness to it confused her. Who was he?

She would be lying if what he had just said didn't concern her. Somehow he knew all about her life, her Bratva life which was, well is a close kept secret. She had always been careful, her whole family had always been careful. They all knew what it would mean if their Bratva lives were uncovered. Prison if they were lucky, if not - she stopped her thoughts quickly as various ways she could be murdered flitted in quick succession through her mind.

This man obviously judged her silence as fear, or confusion so he continued, "and I need your help."

Her eyes narrowed at his words and her lips emitted a sharp, shrill laugh.

"Help? You want my help when you have knocked me unconscious, kidnapped me and held me hostage? What makes you think that I will give you my help?" she spat out at him, a few blonde strands which had escaped her always perfect ponytail, flying in front of her eyes as she moved her head in vigorous upset. He paused in his pacing and sat on the seat in front of her, his well calloused hands rubbing nervously on his knees. "Well are you going to give me an answer?"

He looked up at her then, his hood still hiding his identity before he pushed his fingers up, the hood falling loosely down his back, his eyes shifting to her eyes. She would have known those blue eyes and short, cropped hair anywhere.

"Oliver?"

Her eyes widened in shock before everything started to make so much more sense. Of course it was his voice. She thought back to the first time she had heard it, all those months ago, a witty remark on his tongue and a dazzling smile on his lips. She had always found him handsome from the moment she had first laid eyes on him. A dark grey suit hiding his muscular body and his white shirt which had been left slightly unbuttoned, something she had remarked on in a teasing nature those many months ago. They had spoken politely for a few minutes then, before later in the evening he returned to her, with a large glass of Pinot Noir. She, of course, gratefully accepted it and his company - Galas were her least favour events to attend. They had spoken then for a few hours and she was intrigued, who was he? Who was Oliver Queen?

It didn't take her long to find out, reformed playboy, spent several years working abroad (where she had unfortunately been unable to find much information on him, only fuelling her curiosity), loving friend, dolting big brother. But it was his father who had caused her concern, Robert Queen, Triad informant. And then she had discovered so was he, Oliver Queen, a Triad member. She had increased her research then, enticed to find out more about him. The Triad was her enemy, her family's enemy and could this be the weakness in the Triad that she had been looking for? Since her discovery she had kept a close eye on him, on his family and for some reason she had always had a soft spot for him. But deep down, she knew why he was here and she knew why he needed her help.

"If I untie you, will you sit and hear me out?" he proposed, his eyes rose to meet her shocked ones, pleading with her.

Before she realised what she was doing she was nodding her head in agreement, and then he was moving forward, cutting her wrists free finally sitting back in his chair as she rubbed the slightly chaffed skin around her wrists. She waited for him to continue, knowing no one was in control here. They were at a stalemate, which he had instigated, and this change in events intrigued her. To be honest ever since she first laid eyes on Oliver Queen he had always intrigued her.

"It's been a while," she said tartly, watching him warily, she hadn't seen him for a month at least and to be honest she didn't think anyone had. She had had her concerns that something had happened to him, and even though he had just kidnapped her, she kind of felt relieved that he was here in front of her and she just knew that he wasn't going to hurt her. She had met him several times after discovering he was Triad and each time she somehow knew he would never lay a finger on her.

"And I'm sure you understand why," he nodded in reply, his voice becoming grave and she knew he was going to talk about his parents. "I think everyone has heard about my parent's death at the beginning of the month..."

His eyes trailed across the floor as he spoke with distress, it was obvious he was still grieving. Her mind flitted back to a news headline which she had read gingerly all those weeks back - 'TRAGIC ACCIDENT KILLS ROBERT AND MOIRA QUEEN'. As soon as she had heard of their deaths, her heart had leaped out for him, she knew what it was like to lose a father, and she couldn't imagine the pain if she had lost her mother at the same time.

But she had to bring her thoughts back under control. Ever since her father had died she had been Bratva trained, it was her job to bring all her thoughts back under her own control and to think about how their deaths could benefit her, and the Bratva. It was a horrible thought, and she hated that she was trained to think in that way. It was during times when she was alone in the evenings that she wished her life was different, but it was not.

She had only informed the Bratva of the Queen's involvement with the Triad shortly after their deaths, when she had concluded that that was why they had been murdered. Anatoly had initially been intrigued by this development before deciding that the Queen family was a dead end, no point in further investigating. Their deaths enough evidence for that. However, Felicity had hoped that wouldn't be the case and for the last month she had been searching for a way to meet up with Oliver again, alone and unknown. Yet it seemed he had somehow managed to beat her to this, something that she was now feeling grateful for.

"I heard they died because of a car malfunction.." She trailed off, her fingers plying together uncomfortable with his obvious distress.

"That's what was reported.." his eyes darkened and she knew her suspicions were right. Oliver knew it wasn't an accident, exactly what she had speculated to Anatoly all those weeks ago.

"I thought so," she murmured, and he looked up surprised by this. He obviously wasn't expecting her to have even given his parents, let alone him a second thought. "We knew about your family involvement with the triad..."

"As soon as they murdered my parents, I cut ties with them, not that I had many... My father worked selectively with them, and I helped out on some of the finer missions. But in the last few months they were becoming less and less frequent. I was trying to leave, make a better life for myself and so was my father. We had both had enough of it... Of the way they treated women. The Triad obviously realised what was happening and the next thing I know I'm being woken up by police knocking at my front door telling me that my parent had died in a 'accident'."

His eyes darkened with sadness and betrayal. Felicity knew all too well that both the Bratva and Triad were brutal organisations and escaping their clutches by leaving was one of the hardest, if not most impossible things to do.

"And that's why I need your help, your protect. The Triad fear Anatoly, they fear you, or 'Oracle' as they call you. I want justice for my parents murders, and I have a younger sister, Thea... I just want her to be safe and if I was under your protection then we would be considerably more protected, the Triad would have to seriously reconsider seeking us out, and that would bide us all time... I know you want revenge for your father too..."

He shuffled closer to her then, his hand reaching into his leather jacket pulling out a rather battered phone which made her heart sink into her chest. He turned the screen towards her revealing a beautiful young teenager, she couldn't be any older than fifteen. Her thin, petite face framed with long, wavy, brown hair and a large carefree smile on her lips.

"I swear I didn't want to do this to you, I didn't want to kidnap you. But I just couldn't see another way to get you attention, to get you alone," he spoke softly as he flicked through to another photo, this time of the young girl on his back, them both obvious in fits of laughter by the big smiles on their faces and the way the camera had caught them. "Thea, she's only fifteen, and I would do anything to protect her... She doesn't deserve this life..."

Felicity glanced up at him then, his eyes had softened and she would be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive. To be honest, she had always found him attractive, in a suit, or that time she bumped into him when he was on a run, his muscles bulging out beneath his tight t-shirt and shorts. And it wasn't that she was not use to having a man of this caliber next to her. She worked with Bratva men, many Bratva men and they were large, and handsome men, muscley men. But there was something about this man in front of her. He was big, so big that she knew that he could do some serious damage to her, but it was the look in his eyes, that held her captivated, that made her find him so attentive, and attractive. His eyes crinkling slightly as he spoke about his little sister.

Instead of commenting on his need for her help, she knew he would continue his spiel in a moment, but his sister was obvious important to him and that meant she was important in this very moment.

"She's beautiful, your sister..."

"She is," he replied, smiling sadly at her for a moment before becoming more serious and pocketing his phone. "So will you consider working with me? For us to get together? For Thea's sake?"

All this mentioning of his sister, made her think of her brother, or half brother, Roy and she knew that even though he was taller and stronger and could definitely protect himself now, she would do anything in her power to make sure that he was safe. All the tech which she had given him was enough evidence of that.

"And by working with you I take it you mean us, in a relationship?" she asked, frowning slightly in deep thought. It was believable after all, they had spent many nights together all those months ago.

"I'm not sure if just a relationship would cut it. The Triad are very particular about relationships, they only protect those who are blood related or those bound in matrimony-"

"So marriage then...?" She laughed out loud, but seeing his serious face she choked the remaining laugh down. Oh boy she did not expect this at all in her plans. "Oh god, you are serious? You knock me out, handcuff me to this chair, then release me and now you propose? All I wanted to do today was have a nice day at work with no interruptions. Especially none about how that guy from accounting had accidentally downloaded another bug when he was watching porn for the 20th time this month - god I really need to fire him." His brow furrowed in confusion by her off topic, rant. But she swiftly realised that she didn't to get back onto the topic, oh yes, proposal. "But a proposal, nope I definitely was not expecting that today, probably not... ever!"

"I know it's unbelievable, but you are honestly my only hope, I don't... I don't know what I will do if you say no..." His eyes flickered up to hers filled with distress and angst. She gulped, realising she really was his last hope, at least maybe, something was actually working in her favour for once.

"And why should I believe you? Trust you? You should know I don't trust easily."

This was true, she didn't trust easily, but ever since she met him she had trusted him. And plus she needed him to think she was wary of him, it would arise suspicious if she accepted his proposal graciously, wouldn't it? And she also should probably work out if it was all worth the risk, would he be able to help her bring down the Triad? Once and for all?

"And you have every right not to trust me, but that's why I am going to give you this," he said fumbling for a moment in his jacket again and she sat a little upright, all too aware of what he could bring out of his pocket, even if it did seem extremely unlikely. Thankfully, all he pulled out was a USB stick. He reached his hand out and she accepted it, his fingers slightly brushing her outstretched hand. "This has some of the data I managed to download this morning from the Triad's main base. The rest I have on a hard drive, hidden away. That, is yours to keep no matter what, take it as an apology for putting you through this ordeal. I know secrets about the Triad as well. Those and the hard drive will be yours, if you accept me."

She eyed the drive warily. She needed to act this out, but inside she bubbled with excitement, data directly from the Triad, it was everything that she had ever dreamed and hoped for. He seemed genuine, and so did the data but she knew she needed to check it out before she could even begin to accept his deal. This agreement between them, had been what she had originally hope for. She had always wished to have an informant within the Triad feeding her secrets, something that was obviously not going to happen here, but maybe this would be a reasonable price to pay for all the data?

"I'll let you leave now, I can even give you a ride to your office, or your home, I'll let you decode the data, and then get in contact with me. I don't have a backup plan though. So if I don't hear from you within the hour, I'll take that as your answer."

"An hour? That won't be enough time for me to decrypt this-"

"I think we all know that is not true, Felicity, we both know that you are the best in your field," he interrupted her with a smirk in return, and she smiled in surprise. He definitely had listened to her when they first met, she had taunted him about her genius status and it seemed that he had, in fact, been listening to her.

"Well I think a lift would be advisable, seeing as I have no idea where I am. Oh god, I hope Diggle won't be too pissed at me for this!" She froze as she thought of her bodyguard and what this little disappearance would be causing him. "He normally lets my little jaunts slip past him as long as I don't get into too much trouble, and well I think today, is definitely a little more trouble than I am allowed to get myself into..."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this Felicity," he murmured, his eyes glancing to the floor away from her face illustrating how much he regretted putting her into this situation. "But I just couldn't see anyone allowing me to sit down and have a conversation with you, you are always so closely guarded. I just couldn't see another way..."

"Don't worry about it, as far as kidnapping goes this has definitely been the best one yet, but maybe next time just try talking to me instead?" She smiled warmly, acknowledging how distressed he was and how she wasn't annoyed at him.

She rose from the chair, her heels clinking as she walked across the room towards the door. It took him a moment to move, he was too absorbed in, well, her. He never dreamed he would ever get this far. He had been hopeful, yes, very hopefully, but he never imagined that he would feel this much assurance after this small rendezvous.

He rose up and started to follow her as she turned her head, making sure that he was accompanying her. Within moments they were in his black Sudan, and speeding out of the parking lot towards her house which he knew from his own research was situated in a small, high profile residential area of Starling City.

For the entire journey they sat in silence, his hand tapping the steering wheel in a nervous gesture as Felicity watched out of the window the entire time, street after street speeding past them quickly, her mind racing, trying to work out if this would actually work out.

It only took twenty minutes until he halted the car outside the highly protected gates and he turned to watch her.

"Here take this as well..." He handed her a piece of paper a number scribbled on it in his scruffy handwriting. "Please, phone me by six..."

She stretched out her hand and accepted the paper, squeezing his hand for a moment before withdrawing it. There was something about him, something so intriguing and his proposal filled her with hope, but she wouldn't dare say that to him, at least not yet.

"I'm not sure if I should say thanks for the ride, after the kidnapping, but I guess I shall speak to you soon..."

He chucked then, amused that she could crack a joke in a situation like this.

"And I hope to speak to you sooner rather than later too..."

She nodded in reply, then swung the door open, stepping out, her handbag swinging around her shoulder as she swiftly shut the door behind her. Her heels dug uncomfortably into the gravel as she approached the gate, quickly typing in the passcode before trundling up to the front door and entering her house. She was grateful for once to find it quiet and empty because now she needed to work. She needed to know if he was actually telling her the truth and if this USB stick did literally hold all her hopes and dreams.

With that thought at the forefront of her mind she hurried to her study before quickly booting up one of her many computers. Whilst she waited she shrugged her jacket off and peered down at her wrists, examining her skin to make sure that there wasn't much of a mark left from the car ties. Thankfully, there wasn't and not before long the computer was up and running and she was examining the USB content.

It took her half an hour to decode some of the information and elation spread through her when she realised that in fact, Oliver had spoken the truth. The realisation that this was only the beginning of the data which she had spent the last few years trying to get a hold of made her giddy with excitement. Sighing happily, she leaned back. She knew she needed the rest of the data, her mind whirling at the thought of what she could do if they had all the data. And that seemed to cement her answer further. It didn't matter that he wouldn't be an informant for her. He had data and she knew she could get so many answers from that.

She glanced at her phone, 5:33pm. The least she could make him do was to make him sweat for a few more minutes, he had kidnapped her after all.

She made her away to the kitchen then, pausing at her reflection in the mirror, surprised to see her hair so dishevelled. Shaking her hair out of her usual ponytail she continued downstairs, slowing down on high alert when she realised someone was at the front door, about to enter. Before she had time to contemplate what to do the door was thrown open, revealing Diggle, his gun raised and ready to harm what he thought was an intruder, in her house.

"Woah... woah Dig, calm down it's just me..." She replied raising her hands in surrender, a natural habit of hers.

"Felicity?! How did you get here? Are you all right?"

He looked around for any signs of foul play. He was obviously confused by how she was there and why she had disappeared for several hours and had not contacted anyone to explain why.

"I'm fine, it's just me here, put that thing away," she shook her head in disgust. Even though she knew how to fire a gun, she never liked the damn things and Diggle knew that perfectly well.

"Where an earth have you been?!" He growled with a great deal of concern dripping from his features.

He looked her over quickly, checking for any sign of injury before deciding that she was alright before tightly embracing her in a brotherly hug. He gestured to the two other men, who Felicity had only just realised now had appeared with him and they set off surveying the house, checking each room for any intruder as they always did every time she came home. Accepting that Dig was happy she was fine she released him before turning towards the kitchen. After everything that had happened she really needed a nice large cup of coffee to calm her nerves. Diggle followed her closely, obviously wanted answers from her.

"Just out," she replied hesitantly, not sure how this conversation was going to go. Diggle had always had some reservations towards the Queen's because of their Triad involvement and there was no way that this conversation was going to go smoothly. Just as well she wasn't going to tell him Oliver had kidnapped as well. That would definitely mean this would all end in disaster!

"And if you want to go out then you need protection. How many times do I have to tell you that...?" He droned back, watching her as she turned the kettle on and pulled a few mugs out of a cupboard. "Maybe I have been letting you off too lightly these last few months, the Triad are becoming stronger, more powerful, maybe Anatoly will manage to speak some sense into you..."

"Don't tell Anatoly, please," she pleaded turning around to look sharply up at him as she spooned a couple of dollops of ground coffee into each cup. "I want to tell him in my own time..."

"I'll consider not telling him if you tell me what the hell is going on! That's the third time this week you have disappeared! How am I meant to do my job if you keep running off on your own?!"

Taking a deep breath she stood looking out the window, taking her time to contemplate how exactly to tell him about Oliver. Coming straight out with the proposal would be a disaster, so that would have to wait, she needed to start small. She knew Diggle, she knew how fiercely he wanted to protect her and if she confided in him and revealed her plan he would never agree with her. He would never trust Oliver and then she would never get the data, and they need it. They needed that data. She turned around, fiddling with her necklace, the one her father had given her all those years ago.

"So there is a reason I have been going around by myself, and I didn't want to tell you until I worked out what was happening, but I've been meeting someone..." She admitted, turning back to face him so she could watch him carefully as he his features morphed from shock to confusion.

"Felicity...?"

"And it's probably not someone I should have been meeting with which is why I have been sneaking around..."

Thank god she had been sneaking around attempting to get her hands on more of the Triad data by herself. The sole reason for her sneaking around was because she knew Anatoly and Diggle would not approve of it. They always said it was too dangerous, something she shouldn't be doing. Her, sitting behind a computer was fine enough, but whenever she left the confines of her computer they always got a bit testy. Thinking about it now, Oliver was damn well lucky that she had been sneaking around. At least now they had a believable cover for this relationship, this engagement.

Diggle narrowed his eyes at this. Obviously working out that this was a dangerous man that she had been seeing, and most likely an enemy as well.

"Who is he?"

"He's... He's been helping me get some data from the Triad, and things developed and now we are pretty close..." she worded carefully glancing at the clock, realising that she would have to wrap up this conversation pretty quickly if she was going to call him back within the hour.

"Who is he?" Diggle stipulated each word.

"And before you judge him, just know that he is important to me and he has helped me a lot these last few months," she held her finger up so she could finish speaking. Diggle was one of the few people who actually knew her well, and since she was going to be engaged to Oliver, well she needed to make this whole farce believable.

Diggle narrowed his eyes even further she knew he wanted a name. Knowing that she would have to give it no matter what she bit her lip before squeaking it out, shutting her eyes so not to see his reaction.

"Oliver Queen."

"Goddamn it Felicity!" He growled, throwing his hands up to his head in a mixture of fury and frustration. He waited a moment, thinking about her reveal. "I suspected something like this was happening behind my back. He's Triad, Felicity! He's dangerous! I knew as soon as you suggested that Moira and Robert Queen were murdered that there was something else going on here! How could you even be alone with him in the first place? He is a risk! A threat!"

"Yes, maybe he is dangerous. But he is not Triad. Not anymore. I was right when I said that the Triad murdered his parents! And all he wants to do now is protect his younger sister! And be with me... I have proof up this up the stairs on a USB stick which is filled with data that proves he is no longer involved with the Triad!" she stated coolly, heat rising in her cheeks. Maybe she wasn't telling the whole truth but she knew Oliver could be trusted. She just hoped to god that this didn't come and bite her back the ass. His face appeared in her mind, and she saw the way his eyes crinkled when he spoke of his sister, she felt like she could trust Oliver, well she knew she could. And he was going to be useful, not just to her, but to Anatoly, he knew so much about the Triad that they didn't.

"Maybe that's the case but you shouldn't have met him without me, I'm your bodyguard, I'm meant to protect you and how an earth am I suppose to do that when you are swaning off to meet the enemy?!"

"He's not the enemy."

"Felicity! Until I meet him and do a full scale search into his entire life, until I know every minuet detail, he is the enemy. He's Triad until I decide otherwise. He isn't safe..." he took in a sharp breath, attempting to calm down slightly. "I'm meant to be your friend as well Felicity, you should at least have told me about this as your friend.."

"I know Dig," she thought out her next words carefully, pausing to consider what to say and how to make this situation slightly better for Diggle. He was right after all. He was one of her closest friends and confidants. "But I knew what you would say, and I wanted to wait... Wait until it was serious..." She gulped hard, lying to one of her best friends was difficult enough as it was. "Just start your life analysis of him and meet him, then you can realised that what I am saying is the truth..."

He grunted in reply picking up his phone to start his research, obviously still very much annoyed by the fact that she was seeing someone so forbidden and dangerous. Realising that this was in fact the end of their discussion she turned to leave the room, picking up her handbag and coffee.

5:58pm. She was cutting it fine. She hastily moved up the stairs and entered her bedroom, surveying it quickly to make sure no-one was there. Happy that there wasn't, she pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her purse, before swiftly dialling the number. It rang twice before he answered.

"Felicity?!" Even over the phone she could sense the hope and fear in his voice, something which she was not at all familiar with.

"So when do you want to meet my family, Mr Smoak?"

END CHAPTER

A/N - I would like to say thank you so much to so-caffeinated for taking the time to read over this and giving me pointers on ways to improve this fic! Also special thanks to 11-dino for being my amazing cheerleader! I don't think I would have gotten here without you! So I hope you enjoy this Fic which has been my hiatus baby! For more updates you can find me on tumblr as akahazzap!