A/N: I was so excited with the reviews, favorites, follows, and reads! Thank you all so much! Remember, I don't own Flashpoint and I love reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter - italics is the flashback!
Turns out the encrypted laptop held very valuable information: John Cardbough's detailed catalogue of heavy duty machine guns and rifles and the coordinates of the storage unit where the weapons are stored. Jackpot.
Or, since all the information was in Dutch, it was a Dutch jackpot. But he got it translated to English for the cops' sake.
Oliver has no idea how the computer geek Jules told him about managed to break in, but he's grateful. Unknowingly, the man will help them destroy enough illegal weapons to destroy Cardbough's gun trafficking ring and nail Cardbough to the ground with the evidence he will plant.
Not to mention the confession Cardbough will provide after the chat he had with the man the other night.
"It's set. I'm clearing out now."
Jules's voice over his ear piece brings him back to their current mission.
"Got it."
He leaps from his perch on the thick branched tree, landing with a barely audible crunch due to the twigs and leaves beneath his feet. He raises his bow, an arrow firmly in place, and scans his surroundings, illuminated only by moonlight.
Today's mission was simple: set up a bomb in the storage unit to blow up Cardbough's merchandise. He would be the scout, making sure no one headed their way, while Jules set the bomb inside. After the explosion, he'll plant the laptop. Cops will find it and Cardbough will go to jail for a very long time.
A faint rustle in the leaves causes him to quickly turn to his right, where Jules, clad in a form fitting black shirt, black leather pants, and black combat boots, materializes from the thick dark bushes.
She flashes him a smug smirk before revealing a device in her gloved hand. He hears a click and then a powerful explosion rattles the night, momentarily washing away the darkness with a blinding light.
It's over in a second. He removes the protective foam from his ears and she does the same. He looks to the inferno, already sizzling away as smoke replaces the weapons of mass destruction.
Securing his bow and arrows on his back, he turns to his sister. And growls in frustration.
"Where the heck is your mask?"
She rolls her eyes and gives a small huff. "You know I hate that thing. Plus it was useless in this case."
He has to admit it's a good point. Still, he keeps his green eyes trained on her, challenging her to back down. As expected, she doesn't.
"Fine. But next time you have to wear it."
She nods and rolls her shoulders to adjust the backpack he just notices has been on her the whole time.
"What's that?"
"What?" He points to her back and she glances at the pack. "Oh that. I salvaged some of Cardbough's weapons. Took out their trackers and numbers while I was in there. That's why I took another five."
He nods, impressed. "Good thinking."
She flashes him a devious smile. "Couldn't let them all go to waste."
He smirks and takes out the laptop from where he hid it among the bushes. "I'll be back."
He walks to the wreckage and carefully places the laptop among some charred metal, making sure the cops won't miss it.
He then makes his way back to his sister and they start the trek to his motorcycle.
Moonlight as their only source of light, they cautiously step over vines and dodge branches, finding his motorcycle hidden among some thick bushes about a mile from the storage unit they just blew to pieces. He climbs on and she secures herself behind him.
They make it home in less than two hours. Mission complete.
**********Flashback, Lian Yu, 12 years ago
"Ollie? Are mom and dad really dead? I think I see them."
Oliver heaved a pained sigh and looked down at the groggy girl cuddled to his side, her eyes open but glazed over. He tightened his hold on her, attempting to shield her from all that's befallen them in the last six days. Or seven. He cannot be sure.
Six or seven days ago they had set sail on the Queen's Gambit, their family's cruise ship, and everything was going as planned. However, that same night a raging storm angered the waves, making the ocean violent and deadly.
And then they were sinking. He had been watching a film with his little sister one moment, and fighting to escape their floating dungeon the next.
Luckily the lifeboat had detached itself from the sinking vessel, and the youngest Queens had barely managed to climb in, shivering from cold and fear.
But that was all roughly six or seven days ago. They had been floating endlessly since, hoping someone would come to their rescue before they died from dehydration or starvation or both on the little boat.
Or before either of them lost their minds.
"Mom and dad are gone, Juli. But you got me and I promise I wont let anything bad happen to you. Just close those pretty little eyes and sleep, k?" He croaked out the words, resisting the urge to give into temptation and drink some of the poisonous salty ocean water. He needed to be alive, after all, to keep his promise.
She whimpered in his grasp, but no tears fell from her eyes. "I'm scared Ollie."
He was fresh out of tears too. "I know, baby. Me too."
A particularly strong wave caused the lifeboat to rock violently, forcing it to turn in yet another direction. Juli started shaking, her small hands grasping his shirt.
His heart cracked again, pained at seeing his brave little sister slowly falling apart in his arms. He couldn't watch, so he looked away.
And then he saw it. The island. With its jagged peaks and foggy veil, it looked unwelcoming and dangerous. But it was their only chance at survival. He shook Juli gently, attempting to awake her from her semi conscious state.
"Juli, look. Land. I need you to help me get there."
The girl's eyes widened and she nodded. They rowed with their hands, but the formidable island seemed to move farther away as if in warning. But they kept going.
Hours later, they finally made it to shore. Exhausted, they fell to their knees on the rocky land, the vast coffin of water that held their parents behind them.
"Come on, let's go find water." Oliver stood on shaky legs and helped his sister up.
He thought they were safe.
He thought they were alone on this eerie island.
He thought wrong.
Seemingly flying out of the blue, a sharp arrow lodged itself in his shoulder. Shock and pain coursed through his body and he screamed in agony, falling once again to his knees. Juli's fearful screams cut through the pain and he looked up just in time to see a blurry figure grab her before it all went black.
FPFPFPFPFPFPFPFP
"Oliver! Oliver! Where's Juli?"
Oliver blinked a couple times. He was standing in a field whose dying grass shuddered underneath the wind, his best friend standing before him, a worried expression in his eyes.
"Tommy, what do you mean? She's right..."
He looked to his left and to his right but couldn't spot the little girl.
"You're supposed to have been taking care of her man! You promised you wouldn't let anything bad happen to her!" Tommy yelled.
Oliver stared in shock as Tommy ran a hand through his brown locks, transforming as he did so.
Juli was now standing in front of him, shaking, tears streaming down her face.
"Ollie, I'm scared. Why did you leave me Ollie? You promised you'd protect me."
He tried to run to her but realized he couldn't move. He began to panic as her cries intensified in volume and pain.
"Juli! I'm sorry! It's all my fault, I'm so sorry!"
He thrashed but something hard bit into his shoulder and sharp pain emanated from it.
But then he heard something soothing in his ear. "Ollie! Wake up. Wake up Ollie."
He opened his eyes and saw Juli kneeling before him, her eyes wide with worry.
He took a deep breath of relief. It was only a dream. They were okay.
The relief, however, was short lived as he realized they were not okay. They were only alive. In the hands of a man who was holding them captive in what seemed like a small cave.
He looked over to the man, Asian he decided, as he crushed leaves with a stone.
He tried to sit up and pull Juli to his side, but the sharp pain from his shoulder sent him falling back down, a scream escaping his chapped lips.
The Asian man turned around fully and Juli squished herself to his side, fear and pain evident in her eyes.
Oliver watched through blurry eyes as the Asian man made his way to them quietly, his black eyes locking them in place.
The Asian man uncovered his shoulder and, without warning, yanked the arrow that had been lodged in.
Oliver screamed. Pain burned him to the core and his eyes blurred. He barely heard Juli's quiet sobs as she watched in horror.
Without saying a word, the Asian man cleaned the wound with a damp rag and applied the leaves he had been crushing into the wound.
Oliver's breaths were coming in short gasps of pain. Surprisingly, however, after some time, the pain numbed and all he felt was sweet nothingness. His eyes began to close but Juli's scared little hand in his kept him from doing so completely.
"I'm sorry Juli. I love you." He croaked out.
The little girl nodded in acceptance of their fate and whispered, " I love you more," before she snuggled even closer to his side and closed her eyes.
"I love you most." He couldn't help a small smile at their little tradition and then he closed his eyes.
He felt a tear slip down his face but realized it couldn't be possible because there was nothing left.
Maybe they were already dead.
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