Felicity looked around the apartment, she was sure it was lovely when it wasn't being used as a trash bin. There was clothing everywhere, empty bottles of wine, empty take out containers, and what looked to be the contents of Laurels handbag on the floor. She watched as the woman led her over to the living room, pushing everything off the couch and onto the rug.

Laurel turned and looked at her expectedly, "have a seat," she said.

Felicity gave her a tentative smile and sat down; she placed her laptop down on the coffee table and waited for Laurel to be seated.

Laurel wasn't sure what to make of Felicity, she didn't know much about her. Well, besides the obvious, she was Oliver's assistant, and she was blonde and pretty. She wondered if Felicity told Oliver about her suspicions and if he brushed her off in the same way. She took the seat next to her, leaving a cushion between them.

"Look, Felicity, I've been down this road before and I came out on the losing end. Do you have something definitive that proves Sebastian is dirty?" She asked, not wanting to get her hopes up. Ever since she went up against Blood her life unraveled, she wasn't willing to take another shot at him empty handed.

Felicity opened her laptop and pulled the bank records, she knew it was risky showing Laurel this information. There would be no way to hide the fact that she had hacked into Starling National Bank, but she was willing to take the risk.

"This is the account set up for Blood's mayoral campaign. Now, I know it doesn't look like much and most of the transactions are normal, except for these." She Told Laurel, pulling up another screen showing wire transfers.

"These three transfers are from a corporation named Wintergreen, there have been three donations from this same company this month." She told her pointing to the deposits on the screen.

"That doesn't really mean anything. Plenty of politicians break campaign donation rules. No one will take him to court over that."

Felicity let out a small sigh, she hated when people under estimated her intelligence. "You didn't let me finish. Wintergreen Corp has no assets or operations, and from what I can tell it's not a pump and dump scam. The Company has very little in liquid assets, the only times it's had a reasonable amount of money has been right before the wire transfers to Blood's campaign. Also, I can't track where the money is coming from, I can't follow it beyond Wintergreen, and after it's removed from Blood's account it disappears. On top that all three deposit were for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. As of right now Wintergreen has donated four hundred fifty thousand dollars to Bloods campaign, but none of it has been used for anything having to do with his mayoral run." Felicity explained, hoping it would be enough to peak her interest.

"How can we be sure this is Blood's doing? What if his campaign treasurer has been moving this money for his own personal gain, while setting up Blood." Laurel asked, trying to find any argument they could be faced with. "Don't get me wrong, I still believe in my gut that Blood is up to no good, but I have to try and think as a lawyer. I can't risk doing this again, especially before my disbarment hearing."

"I already thought of that and looked into it. His treasurer, Michael Williams, has one bank account, from what I can tell he makes very little money and working for Blood isn't doing him any favors. Also, he is not allowed to allocate funds or move money, he's treasurer in name only. Starling National Bank requires authorization from Blood before any transaction, only an officer at the bank with a special code can do so."

Laurel thought about what Felicity just told her. Yes, this was enough and if the information was maintained legally they could go to the D.A. However, without any legally obtained evidence there was nothing they could do.

"There's one big problem here," Laurel began, "this information is no good. Yes, we can prove Blood is a dirty politician but we can't present this evidence to anyone. I don't know how you got your hands on all of that documentation, and I don't want to." The desire to take down Blood was there, but she knew following this lead would only hurt her career more.

Felicity figured Laurel would have an issue with her hacking, but she didn't care. She didn't come to Laurel because she wanted to take this to a lawyer, she was well aware she couldn't. Going to authorities would only guarantee her arrest.

"Here's the thing… I don't think Blood is just a dirty politician, and neither do you. There is something going on, something more than politics. I know about the information you uncovered about Blood, I know he killed his father, and I know he was connected to Cyrus Gold."

She was right, Laurel knew there was something more beneath the surface, and she wanted to be the one to uncover it. She wanted to be vindicated after everyone doubted her, but she was scared. She wondered if Felicity told the vigilante about her concerns. Her father had let it slip that Felicity worked with him, when she asked him to contact him to help her take down Blood, he said he'd give Felicity a call. It wasn't until much later that she put two and two together. Felicity who was Oliver's assistant or friend, she wasn't sure which one it was, also was connected to the vigilante.

"Why didn't he help you?" She asked, needing to know if his rejection was personal.

She thought about pretending not to know who Laurel meant, but she didn't want to lie. "He believes Blood is innocent. He was so eager to find the man behind the mask that he didn't stop to think more than one person could wear it. He doesn't know I'm here, he doesn't know I'm still looking into it. She admitted, before asking, "How did you know?"

"My dad let it slip," she told her, knowing she was throwing her father under the bus but not caring.

"Right… I should've figured that." For some reason Felicity wasn't worried that Laurel knew about her night job. There wasn't much Laurel could do about it without incriminating herself and her dad.

Laurel scanned the room for the bottle she had earlier. She knew she should stop, that her life would continue on its downward spiral if she didn't, but she was past that point.

"Where does this lead? I mean, we know he's up to something but we don't have the first clue of what."

"That's not entirely true. The man we were searching for, the one behind the mask… he's been experimenting on people. All the dead bodies with bloody eyes, they've all been injected with a serum. It's dangerous and only a couple of people have survived it, the survivors display a super-human like strength."

Laurel remembered visiting her father in the hospital, telling him his partner and friend had been killed. Cyrus Gold, he was the one responsible. She remembered her dad saying that he he'd never seen someone so strong, almost Hulk like.

"It was Cyrus Gold wasn't it? He was the survivor," she surmised.

"He's dead now, but yes, it was him. That's why I'm here Laurel, all the signs point to Blood."

"I want to do it; I want to help you..." Laurel began saying, trying to control her emotions. She didn't want to have a break down in front of Felicity, someone she barely knew. "But I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can handle it." She admitted, ashamed that she allowed that doubt to slip past her lips.

Felicity gave her a small smile, "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're going through, but if you really want to move forward then I think you can find a way to do it. You just have to want it bad enough."

"It's hard, the entire time you've been here I've been craving a drink. I never thought this would be my life, I never thought I'd be so alone." Laurel had no idea where any of this was coming from, but she was tired. She was exhausted physically and mentally, she just wanted someone to care.

Felicity wasn't blind, she noticed that Laurel's current condition made Oliver and Sara uncomfortable. Maybe their time on the island made it harder for them to empathize, she would never know, but she saw someone who not only needed help but who wanted it.

The truth was that she wasn't sure she could do this alone, sure she could handle a computer, and hack just about anything. But this was more than just using a computer - this would involve actual leg work on her part.

"Well, I'm not going to push you into doing something you're not comfortable with. But think about it this way, maybe you need it. Maybe having something to do besides sitting here in your apartment, alone, and wallowing will be good for you. I know that I don't know you, and you shouldn't care what I think, but from what I've been told by your dad and Oliver… it's obvious that this person isn't you. I think you just need to find her again, and if you want, I'll help you."

Laurel wasn't ready to trust her just yet; she couldn't understand why Felicity would bother to help her.

"Why do you even care? I thought you and Oliver were a thing, is it because he's with Sara again, are you trying to get back at him?"

"Despite what everyone seems to think, Oliver and I have always just been friends. That's it, friends, nothing more."

"Well I'm impressed Ollie was able to be friends with a woman, but I doubt that's all there is. Maybe that's all there has been so far, but who knows, things have a way of changing. Word of advice, if you have a sister or any female friends… just keep them away."

"I doubt anything will be changing, but I'll keep that in mind. Now, why don't you shower and if you don't mind I'll start cleaning up. I know I'm still a stranger to you, but I can't work in such a mess. Also, I think we should throw away any alcohol you haven't gotten to, as much as it pains me to throw away wine, it's probably the best course of action."

This was her chance, Laurel thought. She could decline to help Felicity and go back to lying on her couch, while her life tumbled down around her, or she could try to move forward. She knew what course to take, she just never imagine it'd be with a stranger. A part of her thought that Ollie, Sara, even her dad would fight a little harder for her. It was obvious now, no one was going to. She had to fight for herself.


Things in the foundry had been tense between Sara and Oliver. He knew he went too far when he said he'd end things with her to keep Felicity on the team, but he needed to see her react. The truth was he cared for Sara, and while a part of him knew that what they were doing was wrong, the two of them made sense. It was easy to be around her, she never wanted him to rehash anything from the Island after he thought she died, and he never asked about her time with the League. They had an uneasy understanding that there were parts of their lives that would always remain a mystery.

Today, when she suggested that Felicity spent less time in the foundry, he felt like she was manipulating him. The same way she did when she told him Laurel had called the cops on Tommy's party, in order to keep him away from Sara. He never understood why she chose that moment to tell him that story and he wasn't sure how much of it he actually believed. But that was a small manipulation compared to the way she used him to kill Ivo. Her plan ended up backfiring on her, and played a role in what he assumed was her death, but she still managed to influence him enough to do it. It wasn't his fault Slade walked in before Ivo died, he never thought to sit around to watch the man die. He was dying, that was enough for Oliver, he didn't want to be faced with what he'd done. So today, when she tried to widen the gap between him and the only woman that has ever truly accepted him, and seen the good in him, he wasn't going to be taken in. Even if he didn't mean what he had said, he couldn't imagine having to make another choice over people he cared for, he wanted to be sure she knew he wasn't the same man.


Wow, thank you guys for the reviews. I am really surprised at the response this received. I know this is a short filler-ish chapter, but I needed to get this part out so I could move the story along. I know a few of you were confused about Oliver & Sara's conversation in cp.1 about Felicity, that's why I added Oliver's POV at the end of this one. Oliver is still at a point where he doesn't know the difference between what he wants and what should make sense. I know a lot of you are not Laurel fans, so an extra thanks for giving this story a shot. Laurel may come off to some as too distrustful in chapter, and to other too accepting. I tried to write her in a way where she's at war with herself but ultimately she knows what she should be doing. Her substance abuse will not go away because she's working with Felicity, nor will Felicity be willing to allow Laurel to get away with shit. This will be mostly an exploration of those two working together, gaining respect for one another, and eventually becoming friends. Yes, there will be sprinklings of Olicity throughout, some chapters more than others. Again, thank you and I hope you enjoy cp.2. For those of you reading COH, I'm half way done with the next cp. It'll be up in the next couple days.