Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.
Arrow lair
Night
"What are you two doing here? It's late." Oliver asked as he walked into the lair to see Felicity and Curtis.
"That's what I said but she's been complaining about the secondary processer overcooking the GPU cache." Curtis explained as Oliver reached them.
"Must be nice to have someone down here who speaks Felicity." Oliver joked.
"Oh, no! I'm strictly repair and maintenance. You two are the vigilantes." Curtis insisted.
"Which is getting to be a fairly large club." Felicity said as she handed Oliver a small file.
"And this is?" Oliver asked as he opened it.
"A little dossier on Wild Dog." Felicity explained and Oliver gave her an incredulous look.
"Wild Dog?" Oliver repeated.
"Well, the shirt. Silly Dog didn't just have the same ring to it." Felicity explained.
"Right. And why do I need a dossier on him?" Oliver asked slowly.
"Well, I was thinking, instead of putting an arrow in him, maybe you should bring him in?" Felicity suggested, her tone suggesting she knew exactly how Oliver would react.
"You put an arrow in him?!" Curtis asked shocked but was ignored.
"No." Oliver said firmly.
"Oliver-" Felicity began.
"I'm not putting together a new team." Oliver said as he handed the file back to her.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, we're a little shorthanded here." Felicity said as she stood up.
"Only for a little while. John and Laurel will come back." Oliver insisted.
"And if they don't?" Felicity challenged.
"Then I will handle it. Get some sleep, both of you." Oliver ordered before turning and walking away.
Star City, next day
Morning
"Six DOAs," an officer told Pike as he led him onto the crime scene, "the dealer and his girlfriend, two Los Halcones, and one of our own."
"Who's lucky number six?" Pike asked before he saw the victim and sighed, "Keating."
"C.O.D. doesn't match the other vics, who were all shot at close range," the officer said as they knelt down next to the body, "but Keating-"
"Blunt force trauma," Pike noted as he picked a gold coin off the body, "and these, some sort of calling card?"
"M.O. matches a skel called Tobias Church. According to his jacket, he and his crew tore up Hub City and Blud Haven." The officer explained.
"And now he's here." Pike sighed as he stood up.
"The question is what was Keating doing here?" the officer asked.
"Nothing good, he didn't call in." Pike said grimly.
"You think he's one of the bent cops?" The officer asked as he followed Pike.
"Doesn't matter, he's dead now. Lance was a real pain in the ass but at least he kept his department in line." Pike noted.
"You could always offer him his badge back." The officer suggested and Pike sighed.
"I have. He refused." Pike admitted.
Laurel Lance's apartment
Same time
"You don't want to do that baby." Quentin said as he walked it to see Laurel holding a bottle.
"It's just one drink." Laurel said as she stared at the bottle.
"That's what I told myself after you told me about Sara. But we both know that one drink will turn into two and two in to three and three into four and so on. And it won't change anything," Quentin said as he reached his daughter, "At the endo of the day, the reason you're trying to escape will still be there. At the end of the day, Thea Queen will still be dead."
Quentin gently pried the bottle from his daughter's hands and set it down. Quentin wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his shoulder. A knock on the door startled them and Quentin stood back as Laurel wiped her eyes. Quentin walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Oliver with his security detail on the other side.
"Ollie, what is it?" Laurel asked.
"I was actually looking for him." Oliver said as he gestured to Quentin.
"Oh. Well, I have to go work anyway. I'll see you both later." Laurel said before she walked out and closed the door, effectively shutting Oliver's security out.
"How's she doing?" Oliver asked as he stared at the door.
"Not good," Quentin gestured towards the bottle and Oliver frowned, "So what do you want?"
"I heard Pike offered you your job back." Oliver said and Quentin sighed.
"Yeah, he did. I was gonna take it…but then I thought, what's the point? Nothing I did as a cop ever seemed to make any difference. It was always you and your team that made the real difference. Used to, anyway." Quentin picked up a newspaper and tossed it to Oliver, who saw the headline about him.
"It's just me out there Quentin. Sometimes saving the city takes priority over running it. Once the team comes back, I'll be able to devote more time to actually being the mayor. That team could include you." Oliver suggested and Quentin laughed.
"Look Oliver, I appreciate it, but Laurel is barely holding it together. If some happens to me, it could send her all the way off the wagon. You're a father, I'm sure you understand." Quentin said and Oliver nodded.
"I do understand. Still, the offer's open if you change your mind." Oliver said as he turned and walked away, slowly ever so slowly as he passed a picture of Laurel and Thea before walking out.
Arrow lair
Later in the afternoon
"You must be lost, City Hall is that way." Felicity said, pointing in the opposite direction as Oliver walked in.
"I wanted to see if you had anything on our new player." Oliver said, ignoring her comments.
"And you wonder why your approval rating is in the basement." Felicity muttered.
"I don't wonder." Oliver deadpanned.
"How'd you ditch your security detail?" Felicity asked.
"I used to ditch John Diggle." Oliver reminded her.
"Tobias Church," Felicity said as she walked up to the computers and brought up a picture of the man, "A.k.A. Charon."
"The ferry man of Hades. He left gold coins on his victims last night. I didn't fail every course I took in college." Oliver told her at her look.
"Warrants out for his arrest on no less than 20 murders, and those are just the ones that they can connect him to." Felicity explained.
"Mr. Church just became our top priority." Oliver said.
"Our is not going to be enough." Felicity told him.
"Enough Felicity." Oliver turned to go.
"For the past five months, you've been waiting for things to go back to the way they were. They won't." Felicity called out.
"I'm very aware of that." Oliver growled.
"I know. But you can't keep protecting the city and being mayor at the same time." Felicity told him.
"Just find me a way to find him." Oliver ordered as he stormed out.
City Hall
Later in the afternoon
"Thank you all for coming," Oliver said as he started at everyone in the room, Laurel and Pike included, "I know we've all had a difficult five months, but I'd like to call this meeting to order."
Before Oliver could say anything else, shots rang out outside the room. Before anyone could react, the doors burst open and men wielding guns burst in, shooting up the room. Laurel ducked as panic swept the room. Oliver started to fight them off until some of the men took aim at Laurel and the others, reluctantly; Oliver put up his hands and allowed the men to take him hostage. Oliver was forcibly led out of the room and Pike tried to follow but they shot up the room, forcing them to take cover. Once the coast was clear, Laurel and the others rushed out but they looked out a nearby window to see Oliver forced into the back of a police transfer van and the van sped off before Pike could so much as call for backup.
Arrow Lair
Night
"Why didn't Oliver fight back? Sorry, stupid question." Curtis asked as he and Felicity worked in the computers while Laurel and Quentin paced the room.
"Can you check the van?" Quentin asked.
"No, they stopped the traffic cams." Felicity told him as she worked.
"If the SCPD van was legit, then we can rule the police out for help." Laurel said as she paced.
"Laurel, maybe you should suit up. I could really use the help of the Black Canary right now." Felicity said as she looked over at Laurel.
"Why don't you try hacking the police department, see if there's any internal chatter." Laurel said evasively.
Star City
Same time
"Gentlemen! And lady. This may feel personal but it's not," Church said as he walked around Oliver and the other hostages, "you're all here as means to an end. I finally found a way to make politicians useful."
"You want the Green Arrow?!" Oliver asked and Church stopped.
Church turned around, walked over, and took the bag off Oliver's head.
"Yeah." Church told him.
"Well, he's not coming. You're wasting your time." Oliver told him.
"You seem to know an awful lot about Mr. Arrow." Church said suspiciously.
"I have it on good authority that he's tied up right now." Green Arrow told him.
"You his buddy?" Church demanded.
"I have connections. Listen, you let these people go and I will make something happen. Do we have a deal?" Oliver tried to negotiate.
"No we do not. I don't need your help Mr. Mayor. Do you think I would go to all this trouble without a plan?" Church asked.
"Yeah…but that's because I think you're stupid." Oliver told him and Church snarled as he put the bag back over Oliver's head.
"Take Mr. Queen to a quiet place and teach him some manners." Church ordered before punching Oliver in the face.
Arrow lair
Later
"Laurel, you know you can help Oliver," Quentin said as he sat down across from his daughter, "so why aren't you?"
"…after everything that happened with Darhk and Thea," Laurel began, "I just...every time I see that suit…I think about how Darhk killed Thea and none of us could do a thing about it. And I just…what's the point? We fight, we save people, and then we die? What's the point of that?"
"I know how you feel," Quentin began and she looked up at him surprised, "after the Gambit went down and your mom left, I couldn't see the point of anything for a long time. But eventually, I realized you can't quit because bad things happen. You can't hit pause on life, you have to go on with life…even if that life isn't what you want it to be."
Quentin got up and walked away, leaving Laurel to her thoughts. Then she stood up and walked over to the suit displays. She stared at the Black Canary suit for a while before she reached out.
Star City
Same time
"You know, I didn't vote for you." Oliver's interrogator said as he walked around Oliver.
"That's okay. I ran unopposed." Oliver said evenly.
"Mayor Handsome, they call you," the man said as he took off his police badge hanging from his neck, "not for long."
The man hit him and Oliver felt searing pain in his mouth. Spitting out a mouth full of blood, Oliver looked back up at the man.
"If you hit me…I'm gonna kill you." Oliver told him bluntly and the man scoffed.
"You're delusional. You're zip-cuffed to that chair." The man told him.
Shrugging, Oliver lifted up his hands, revealing his free hands. Stunned, the man tried to punch Oliver again but Oliver ducked, rolling out of the chair. Oliver grabbed the chair and threw it at the man. The man caught it and threw it back at Oliver, who caught it and used it to catch the man's fist when he tried to punch Oliver again. Throwing it down, it brought the man down to the floor and he cried out as he felt the chair leg bearing down on his arm. Oliver threw the chair to the said and jumped on the man, wrapping his neck in a lock.
"Please, don't." the man begged.
"I'm sorry bit no one can know my secret." Oliver said regretfully.
Oliver snapped the man's neck and dropped the body to the floor. Oliver picked of one of the chair legs and whirled around to see Black Canary standing behind him. Oliver lowered the leg, the two staring at each other.
"I thought you retired." Oliver said.
"So did I." She told him.
Sensing someone approach, Black Canary whirled around and let out her Canary cry. The man dropped to his knees, dropping his gun. While he was distracted, Oliver rushed forward, picked up his gun, and struck the man across the face with it. As he went down unconscious, Oliver and Black Canary ran out of the room. As they did, they saw Church beating a man.
"Laurel," Oliver whispered and Black Canary looked over at him, "they have wires rigged to explosives, you even try to get down there, and you'll blow everything up."
"I can't just leave them down there." She whispered back.
They both stood up and had to fight off some of Church's men. Oliver snatched a gun from one and pushed him down as Black Canary knocked hers out with her batons. Oliver fired at the man and Black Canary looked over to see the man die as Oliver lowered his gun.
"We'll come back for them. Come on!" Oliver ordered and the two raced out.
Arrow Lair
Later
"Felicity is working on finding the power station blueprints," Oliver said as he checked his phone, "if we can get past the kill cordon, we-"
"Can kill all of Church's men?" Laurel said as she got of her motorcycle.
"Excuse me?" Oliver asked as he turned around.
"I saw you snap that man's neck and then shoot that guy. Ollie, I thought you weren't killing anymore." Laurel said as she walked up to him.
"Maybe if I had showed less restraint, Thea would be alive right now." Oliver told her bluntly.
"Don't hide behind your sister. This is not what she would want." Laurel told him.
"You know, she once told me that the dead don't want anything. I could have killed Damien Darhk before that night in Iron Heights, I had multiple changes, but I thought taking the high road was more important than saving lives. That is a mistake I cannot afford to make again." Oliver said firmly.
"Sparing lives is not a mistake." Laurel argued.
"In some cases, it is. When I finally stopped Darhk, I had to confront the fact that Malcolm was right: either I'm willing to do whatever it takes or I shouldn't be out there at all." Oliver said firmly.
"Well then…I guess without Thea, we're both turning back to who we used to be. " Laurel said pointedly.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Oliver said before he turned and walked off.
"You okay?" Felicity asked as he walked into the lair.
"You may have been right. When I saw Laurel suited up tonight, I thought things may go back to normal. But they won't." Oliver said.
"Glad you see sense." Felicity muttered and Oliver glared at her.
"I said may, not were. Being a vigilante is more than putting on a mask. You think these people could replace Laurel, Thea, or Roy? They couldn't do that even if I wanted them to. These guys are amateurs Felicity!" Oliver snapped.
"They're already out there! Because of you, inspired by you!" Felicity snapped.
"How dare you ask me to do this after what happened with my sister," Oliver growled and Felicity jumped back, "What I need you to do is to find Tobias Church. Let me know when you find a way around the kill cordon."
His piece said, Oliver turned and stormed off.
Star City
Later
"Hey John," Oliver said on his phone as he got Diggle's answering machine, "I hope everything's going well over there. No pressure, but please call me back. I have a question, I'm pretty sure you'll have an answer. I hope you're well."
Oliver hung up and walked up to the grave he stood in front of.
Thea Dearden Queen
January 21, 1995-May 7, 2016
Beloved sister cherished daughter loving friend
"Hey Thea," Oliver said after a moment, "Sorry I haven't been here in a while…Laurel's not coming back. That's probably a good thing; Quentin said she's barely holding it together. So am I, to be honest. That's a Russian proverb that I've been thinking about a lot recently: the shark that doesn't swim, drowns. And I am drowning. I don't have a team anymore and I can't trust the SCPD. I wish you were here Speedy…I could use your help."
"Laurel feels the same way." Oliver whirled around to see Quentin standing there.
"Quentin?" Oliver said surprised.
"I had a feeling I'd find you here. You don't have to trust the whole system, just trust these guys." Quentin handed Oliver a stack of files.
"Impressive resume." Oliver said as he took a look at the first file.
"They've all been vouched for and they've vowed to stand with you, to help you. Oliver, I know I am probably the last person who needs to tell you this...but you can't live in the past. At some point, you have to move on." Quentin told him and Oliver looked thoughtful.
Star City
Later
Church was about to hit one of the hostages with a baseball bat when an arrow flew out, going through the bat and knocking it out of his hand.
"Now that's more like it." Church grinned as he rushed forward.
Church's men opened fire on Green Arrow, who ran for cover. At that moment, the cops burst in, firing at Church's men as Church pursued the archer.
"Hey, don't worry! After I kill you, I'm gonna let the hostages go! I promise." Church said as he looked for Green Arrow.
Green Arrow jumped from above and landed behind Church. Church whirled around and the two began trading blows. Neither noticed the lights begin to flicker as they fought. Green Arrow kicked church into a pillar before he notched an arrow. He fired and, once it hit Church, it exploded in a flash of sparks as Church was thrown back.
"Church has wired the conductor." The archer heard one of the officers say over the comms.
"The conductor is in the center of-if it goes, the whole building is going to blow. You need to get out of there, now!" Felicity ordered.
"Now without Church." Green Arrow snarled as he pursued his target.
Seeing one of the officers get fired at, Green tackled the shooter.
"Get them out of here! I'll disarm the cordon!" Green Arrow barked.
"I'm on it." The officer said.
Nodding, Green Arrow notched an arrow and fired into the air. Using the line to get to the roof, the archer approached the bomb and looked at it. Swearing, he tapped his comms.
"Overwatch!" He barked.
"Hostages are safe, you have maybe five seconds." Felicity told him.
Green Arrow ran for the edge and jumped over it. Turning around in mid-air, he shot off the arrow and it exploded into a grabbling, latching onto the edge of the helicopter that was taking off. Climbing inside, he jumped on Church, the two engaging in a fight. However, it didn't last long and Church managed to push Green Arrow out of the chopper. Nodding an arrow, Green Arrow fired and it exploded into a parachute and the archer safely fell to the ground.
Star City, next day
Morning
"Good morning," Oliver greeted the press, "Now, yesterday I held a meeting with the city's leaders to discuss my plan for the city's anti-crime unit but that meeting was cut short. Now, have been reluctant to embrace the A.C.I. due to some widespread corruption in the police department. But these four officers," Oliver gestured to them off to the side, "have shown me that there are still good men and women within the SCPD. Today, I am announcing the formation of the Anti-Crime unit. These four officers will report directly to me. And by working together, we will begin the process of saving our city."
After Oliver was done, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
Laurel's apartment
Night
"Ollie." Laurel said surprised as she opened her door to see him on the other side.
"Hey. Can I come in?" Oliver asked politely.
"Sure." Laurel said as she stepped aside.
"Look, about last night-" Oliver began.
"You were a killer when you first started out," Laurel began, cutting him off, "and I supported you. If you feel you need to go back to that…then I guess I'm with you. But I'm not ready to come back yet."
"I know. I actually came here to ask for your help," Oliver said and Laurel raised an eyebrow, "I'm going to recruit a new team."
"Really?" Laurel asked surprised.
"I don't want to but you aren't ready and John's gone. If I want to save this city, I have no choice. I want you to help me train the, prepare them for what's out there." Oliver told her and she nodded.
"Of course I'll help Ollie." Laurel told him and he smiled.
"Thank you. And if you ever want to talk to me about Thea or your day or just anything…I'm here." Oliver said and she smiled at him.
"Thank you…you know, I was just about to order some pizza. You wanna stay?" Laurel asked and Oliver paused.
"At least half pepperoni and you have a deal." Oliver said and she smiled.
"Deal." Laurel said and they both laughed.
Star City
Same time
A police officer was leaving the station when he felt someone watching him. He turned around and looked up, seeing someone who he assumed to be the Green Arrow.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
In response, the person fired an arrow. It hit him in the shoulder and the officer cried out, pulling out his gun and firing. The archer evaded the bullets and threw a ninja star, knocking the gun out of his hand. The officers turned and ran but the archer threw another star, which hit the officer in the leg. He went down and looked over his shoulder. The archer wore similar attire to the Green Arrow, except his was black and he wore a mask that covered his entire face.
"Green Arrow?" The officer asked as the archer approached, pulling out a curved blade.
"No, I'm not Green Arrow." The archer said before he brought the blade down on him.
So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.