Author's Notes: OK, so the recent release of a new episode has changed how I have to approach this. This story is officially AU after Birds of Prey. After a day of thinking, I couldn't come up with a way to bring Isabel back in without some big changes to the character. So, eventually, you'll get my version of how Season 2 ended but for right now, we're moving forward as if the episode "Deathstroke" did not exist.
Although things may not be that different for Isabel...
Also, for a few reviewers, the version of Bruce Wayne/Batman I'm using is similar to his appearance in Frank Miller's All-Star Batman. Very self-centered, almost too confident in his ability and kind of nuts (not in a good way). So, while it may appear that he's acting out of character for most versions of Batman, this one is right in line with that kind of attitude.
It was almost four o'clock in the morning, six days after his return to Starling, during Oliver's last run of The Glades when he got the call.
"Diggle?" Oliver asked, stopping to catch his breath and answer his communicator.
"Call just came over the police scanner. Demeter Lantos, owner/operator of Lantos Security and one of the richest men in the city, was found dead in his mansion tonight."
"Why is that my concern?"
"He was found with two black arrows sticking out of his chest."
The second the words were out of Diggle's mouth, his heart stopped.
"Did you say black arrows?"
"I did." Diggle replied shortly. "You do know what that means, right?"
"It means Merlyn. We haven't heard anything from him since he left Starling. Why now?"
"I have no idea but we need to move on it before he has a chance to do something else."
"Agreed." Oliver said before switching his communicator over to Sara and Roy's line. "Return to base."
"Why?" Roy asked in confusion.
"Diggle, just called me. Demeter Lantos was found with two black arrows in him."
"Black arrows? Like Merlyn?" Sara asked softly.
"Exactly like Merlyn." Oliver replied. "So, return to base."
"Got it." Roy replied before cutting his comm with Sara following shortly thereafter.
Quickly, Oliver raced down the side of the building he was on and got to his jet black motorcycle. As the engine burst to life, all Oliver could think of was Malcolm Merlyn. Why had he chosen now to return? If it really was him, what was his purpose?
Within minutes, Oliver pulled into the secret garage entrance that he had installed into the ArrowCave just a few months earlier. Now, he was able to dismount his bike and being changing into his regular attire in privacy without having to sneak back into his own hideout. As he removed his mask, Sara and Roy quickly entered. After shutting their own bikes down, they each removed their own respective masks.
"So, I get that Merlyn is back in town." Roy said as the three of them entered the ArrowCave proper with Diggle manning the computers. "But why pull us off the streets?"
"Because it's been three years since anyone as seen The Dark Archer. We don't need any sightings of Green Arrow or his team anywhere near downtown on the night that some billionaire got shot in the chest with a couple of arrows."
"Two billionaires." Diggle said shortly. "Calista Silvia fell off the top of her own penthouse apartment onto a passing taxi. She had four black arrows sticking out of her."
"Jesus." Roy muttered softly.
"Yeah, but that's not the worst part." Diggle replied.
"What could be worse than two billionaires killed with black arrows within an hour of each other." Sara asked curiously.
"They were both on the List."
Suddenly, everyone in the room turned to Oliver.
"Excuse me?" Roy asked.
"Both Demeter Lantos and Calista Silvia were on the List of names that my father gave me."
For nearly thirty seconds, the others were completely silent before Diggle delivered his news.
"They also put up money for Tempest, the same organization that Moira gave money to hide the remains of the Queen's Gambit."
"So, Tempest was what they called their group." Roy said firmly. "They used that as a codename for their work with The Undertaking."
"This is all too much coincidence." Oliver replied, nodding his head in agreement. "I believe that Merlyn is back in town."
"Why? What could he be after now? Thea knows about him and has already said that she doesn't give a shit."
"I don't know, Roy." Oliver answered softly. "But I believe I have a trip to Central City in my future."
"What does Barry have to do with this?" Diggle asked.
"Not Barry." Sara replied cautiously. "Moira."
In the months after Oliver's war with Slade, his relationship with Moira did not improve. In fact, if at all possible, it got worse. When Thea finally managed to put two and two together, Thea suddenly understood the tension that Oliver had lived with for the last few months. While his sister had initially been angry with him for not telling her, she understood why he hadn't told her, especially once she found out what he and Roy did at night.
Once Thea knew, Oliver decided that keeping up with appearances no longer mattered. In a stunning announcement just weeks after his mother's inauguration as Starling City's mayor, Oliver revealed his intention to back another candidate if and when a recall election occurred. After Queen Consolidated had spent a fortune cleaning up the Glades, there was no one in Starling City with a higher star power than Oliver Queen.
So, when the opportunity arose one year later in the form of a city-wide petition to remove Moira Queen as mayor, Oliver struck. Not only did he lead the charge for a new candidate, he picked someone that he knew would be viewed as a superior candidate: Adam Donner, the current District Attorney of Starling City. Not only did Donner have a sterling public record, plus a degree in economics from Starling State University, but he had also been the prosecuting attorney in Moira Queen's trial.
While he hadn't succeeded in getting her put behind bars, the imagery of Moira Queen on the stand was all they needed. Shown throughout his brief campaign, Donner won in a landslide. Less than a month later, he was inaugurated. Within a week, Moira packed up and purchased a new house in Central City.
Oliver hadn't seen or spoke to her since.
Now, he was pulling into the driveway of the fairly lavish house she had moved into. The rumor mill around Moira Queen in Central City was surprising. Despite being overwhelmingly the wealthiest person in the city, she was almost never seen. To be honest, Oliver was surprised she remained in the country. Some part of her probably wanted to remain close to Oliver and Thea and staying the country assured that she would hear about her wildly successful children on the national news.
As Oliver pulled in, he noticed that the house was very much styled similarly to Queen Mansion. Oliver knew that couldn't be an accident but instead a reminder of home and of what (in Oliver's opinion) she had tried to destroy with her deceit.
Putting the car in park, Oliver stepped out and quickly approached the front door. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, Oliver rang the doorbell. For what seemed like hours, Oliver waited. And waited.
And waited.
Finally, Oliver heard a bustle as the sound of numerous locks, both rudimentary and electronic, were released. Once Oliver heard the last lock pop, the door swung open and Oliver came face to face with his mother for the first time in over a year.
For several seconds, both of them stared at each other before Oliver broke the silence.
"I've never known you to open your own doors." Oliver muttered condescendingly.
"I never knew you cared so much about your mother that you would fly halfway across the county to see her." Moira fired back.
"I don't." Oliver replied shortly, knowing that it would cut her deep. For whatever reason, since the news of Thea's true father came out, Oliver couldn't restrain himself privately around this woman. Whenever it was just the two of them, Oliver did everything he could to cause her as much pain as possible.
"Then why are you here?" Moira asked curly.
"Business." Oliver replied simply.
"Business?" Moira scoffed. "I hear business at Queen Consolidated is booming. What could you possibly want with me?"
"Nothing." Oliver said with a smart smile. "If I had that a question on that kind of business, I would go to Walter. This is another kind of business."
For a second, Moira looked at Oliver, a stunned look on her face. For years, Oliver knew that Moira assumed that he had returned to Starling City just as selfish and uncaring as he had been. It simply manifested itself differently. Then, Oliver could tell that she slowly put the pieces together. The disappearing acts, the poor excuses and the visibly tired CEO of Queen Consolidated all added up to something that was not at all the Oliver Queen she remembered.
While they had never discussed it, Oliver was fairly certain that his mother was well aware of how he spent his nights.
"Well, do come in then." Moira said, stepping aside and letting Oliver pass.
As Oliver walked inside, he noticed that the similarities to Queen Mansion didn't stay simply on the outside. The entrance hall was almost identically styled to the one at Queen Mansion. Looking around, Oliver noticed that some of the art that had previously been displayed at his own home now hung here, his own mother's way of bringing Starling City with her.
Without uttering a single word, Moira led Oliver to the closest study, motioning for him to sit. Doing as instructed, Oliver sat.
"A drink?" Moira asked succinctly.
"No. I want this to be brief." Oliver replied.
"Then, by all means, begin."
"Fine. When was the last time you heard from Malcolm Merlyn?"
"Excuse me?" Moira asked, obviously surprised.
"It's not a trick question, Mother." Oliver barked. "When was the last time you heard from Merlyn?"
"The last time I saw Malcolm was when he came attempting to claim Thea. Then, I told him about my contact with Ra's al Ghul and he left and I haven't seen him since."
"I didn't ask when the last time you saw him. I asked you when you had spoke to him last."
Surprisingly, Oliver could tell that this question threw her off. In his time as The Green Arrow, Oliver had become much better at reading and simply knowing people. Knowing his mother as he did, Oliver could tell based on how she worded her answer that there was information she was omitting.
Now, Oliver was better equipped to call her out on it.
"W-why?"
"Because two people in Starling were murdered with black arrows."
"It could be a copycat." Moira said simply.
"Both of them were in Tempest."
At the mention of her former criminal organization, Moira Queen noticeabely fell apart. Instantly, she began looking around the room as if she were looking for an escape. Moving quickly, Oliver offered her no time to think about any of that.
"Talk!" Oliver shouted, causing his mother to flinch in fear. "I know you've heard from Merlyn! Now tell me!"
"OK!" Moira screeched. "I heard from him six months ago. He had returned to Nanda Parbat."
"Why did he return and why did he call you?"
"He calls me occasionally still." Moira cried, tears streaming down her face. "I think it's his way of taunting me, letting me know that he's still out there."
"And why did he return to Nanda Parbat? According to you, he was released from The League of Assassins."
"He was." Moira confirmed, nodding sloppily. "However, his actions in Starling City angered Ra's and he started chasing after Malcolm. Malcolm returned to curry favor with Ra's and apparently succeeded. He said that he was there to make Ra's happy but that he had also found family there."
"Family?"
"Merlyn talks in riddles." Moira said dismissively. "He was probably just saying that he had found what he was looking for, if he was looking for anything."
"You don't think it's strange for a man who came back from the death to say that he found family!"
"No. Why would I?"
"I don't know." Oliver admitted harshly. "Maybe he was looking at ways to try and bring Tommy or Rebecca back to life."
"Is that even possible?"
"We thought Merlyn himself was dead, didn't we? Who's to say there isn't something out there that could bring people back from the dead." Oliver posed before thinking aloud to himself. "Maybe he really was dead."
"What?"
"Well, Merlyn basically told you that he had faked his death but uh-The Arrow was there when he died." Oliver said, doing his best to cover his near slip.
"How do you know that?" Moira asked softly.
"Felicity Smoak used to work with The Arrow before her abduction. She told me on one of my more curious days that it had been The Green Arrow who had killed him. Now, that guy knew how to kill. You would think he would know the difference between dead and faking it."
"You would think so." Moira replied, a very curious look on her face.
"But what if he really was dead but through some kind of unknown magic or chemical..."
Just as he spoke, Oliver realized what he was saying.
Some kind of chemical, something with untold ability, something of an Asian origin.
To Oliver, that sounded exactly like the Mirakuru.
"Were there people in Tempest that were unfailingly loyal to Merlyn?"
"Yes. There were several."
"Name them." Oliver commanded.
"Well, there was Samuel Thompson, Jed Kyle, Demeter Lantos-"
"And Catalina Silvia?"
"Yes." Moira answered, very confused. "How did you know?"
"Turn on the news."
Standing up, Oliver quickly turned and walked out of the room.
"Oliver, where are you going?" Moira shouted, following him out of the room and back into the entrance hall.
"I have work to do, Mother." Oliver replied shortly before turning. "Thank you for the help."
That said, Oliver turned and marched out of the door. Once he was safely away from the house, Oliver called Sara.
"I'll be back in Starling City in four hours. Assemble the team in the ArrowCave then. I think we may have ourselves a very big problem."
"What?" Sara asked.
"The Mirakruru. What else?"
Walking into the ArrowCave, Oliver was pleased to see everyone there plus one pleasant surprise. As Oliver approached Felicity, she smiled slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked, the question bursting out of him before he could think about it.
"And I thought you would be happy to see me." Felicity said, a small amount of sadness in her voice.
"I am." Oliver admitted. "Just surprised."
"If there's something to do with the Mirakuru, then we need all hands on deck." Felicity informed him. "Which means you need Diggle in the field with you, not working a computer or driving the getaway car. So, when they called me, I answered."
"Thanks." Oliver said, a small grin on his face before it quickly vanished. Turning in place, Oliver informed them of the content of his conversation with his mother before concluding it.
"I believe that the Mirakuru has another alternative use."
"You think that it can bring people back from the dead?" Sara asked.
"I do." Oliver admitted. "Think about its properties in a living host. It restores cells at an alarming rate, creating muscles that form beyond normal limits. This leads to increased strength, stamina, even brain function. Now, if you're already dead, if it posses the ability to jump start the system, why couldn't it bring you back to the way you were?"
"What about the insanity?" Felicity asked.
"Well, Merlyn was plenty crazy before he died." Diggle replied.
"True." Oliver added, a smile on his face. "However, it is simply returning your body to the way it was. But, when it is present in a living host, it takes your body passed the point of control. When you breach that point, that's when the insanity kicks in."
Looking around the room, Oliver could see that they all appeared to be in some state of understanding.
"Now, before we get to nuts here, know that this is simply a theory."
"A good one." Felicity countered. "There are chemicals in the Mirakuru that we can't even identify. It's quite possible that something in there would kick start the heart again."
"The only issue I have is that if you're assuming Merlyn got it through The League." Sara said shortly. "The League has been around for almost 300 years for as long as we can find records on them."
"So?" Roy asked.
"The Mirakuru was created by the Japanese during World War II, only eighty years ago."
"Supposedly." Oliver replied. "Who's to say that there was a member of The League working for the Japanese and they simply introduced it to them, masking it as an invention of the Japanese to avoid suspicion."
"This is all speculation." Felicity said shortly. "What we need is another sample of the Mirakuru. Without it, we can't know its real properties."
"That's the other issues, Oliver." Diggle added. "As far as we know, all samples of the Mirakuru have been destroyed with Wilson and Blood two years ago."
"Assuming Wilson is actually dead."
"Which we do seriously need to question since he came back from an arrow in his eye." Oliver said.
"Yeah, an arrow in the eye and being dropped out of an airplane from 80,000 feet onto the Sahara is another thing." Roy replied.
"We could try it with you." Sara muttered, a grin on her face.
"Actually, we're going to need to draw some more of your blood, Roy. See if we can't get some idea from your blood."
"Haven't we done this before?" Roy complained.
"Yes, but that was before I worked for WayneTech and had much better equipment for it." Felicity said, a grin on her face.
"I'll help." Sara replied, moving next to Felicity.
"Fine. Let's get this over with."
Two hours later, Felicity and Sara poured over the final results of Roy's bloodwork. Now, every member of Team Arrow, Felicity included, kept massive amounts of blood for insurance purposes, in case someone was shot or stabbed as was a frequent possibility in their line of work. When Oliver asked why they couldn't use that, Felicity replied with something about them wanting a fresh specimen so they could utilize as much of the Mirakuru as they could.
Personally, Oliver thought that neither Felicity or Sara minded seeing Roy with his shirt off but he kept that comment to himself.
"So what do we have?"
"We can't be certain." Felicity said, qualifying whatever result she had gotten. "However, it does appear that there could be certain qualities of the Mirakuru that could potentially revitalize dead flesh."
"So we basically have no idea." Diggle said with a grin.
"Correct." Sara answered, a concerned look on her face. "The only way to know for certain is to obtain a pure sample and we don't know of any that exist anymore."
"Unless we want to make a trip to Asia and break into The League's headquarters." Oliver replied, mostly joking.
"Absolutely not." Sara shot back, fear in her eyes. "Even as good as we are, there are hundreds of members of the League. There's no way we make it out alive."
"It was mostly a joke, Sara."
"Well, good." Sara mumbled to herself. "So what do we do now?"
"Nothing." Oliver replied downtroddenly. "There's nothing we can do. We don't know enough about the Mirakuru, we can't confirm Merlyn's location and we don't have the ability to obtain a pure sample of the Mirakuru to confirm our suspicions."
"There is one thing we could do." Felicity whispered softly.
As Oliver turned to her, he could tell that even she hated whatever her idea was. There was a look of apprehension that Felicity rarely bore and that alone worried Oliver.
"What?" Oliver whispered.
"You thought that the Mirakuru may not have been for him, right?" Felicity asked. "You mentioned Tommy and Rebecca."
"Yeah, so what?" Oliver replied, not liking where this was going.
"Well, we need to check their grave sites. Merlyn may have had them moved at some point if he thought that the Mirakuru could bring them back to life."
Oliver's suspicion had been right. He hated this idea. The thought of disturbing the resting place of his best friend was already destroying him inside. However, he also knew that Felicity was right. They did need to check because if the bodies were gone, then that opened up a whole new can of worms.
"OK." Oliver choked out.
"What?" Diggle fired.
"She's right." Oliver admitted. "We have to come up with a cover story to exhume the bodies."
"I think I have an idea."
"...reports say that Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated, has requested the bodies of Rebecca and Thomas Merlyn be moved from their current resting place to the family plots at Queen Mansion, alongside the memorial site for former QC CEO Robert Queen, Oliver Queen's father who died at sea after the crash of the Queen's Gambit eight years ago. No one is quite sure why Mr. Queen chose now to make the request but per our sources, the request should be honored."
Oliver wasn't surprised that people were curious about why he chose now to move the Merlyn family graves. So, the next day, he released a statement of his own.
"Thomas, or Tommy as my family called him, was the closest thing to a brother that I ever had. After his mother's death, Malcolm Merlyn, the man we know to have led The Undertaking, left Tommy alone for nearly two years. During those years, Tommy became just as much my family as my own blood relatives. Now, Tommy lies in the middle of a public cemetery with no friends or family nearby because of the sale of all of Malcolm Merlyn's assets to repay the city. For quite a while, I've discussed with my sister, who was as close to Tommy as I was, moving Tommy's grave to Queen Mansion but it never seemed like the right time. But now, as we look back on the anniversary of The Undertaking, no time seems better."
Watching himself on the news was strange but over the years as his public influence grew, Oliver had gotten used to it.
"Because of Malcolm's time away, Tommy once told me that my own father felt more like a father to him than his own. So, this request simply comes as a way to bring Tommy, and in turn Rebecca, back to the family that he felt was his own."
The act, while not really an act at all, had worked as the vehicles delivering the coffins of Thomas and Rebecca Merlyn pulled into the drive at Queen Mansion.
"Are you going to tell me what this is really about?" Thea asked softly as the pair of them watched the vehicles make their way up the long drive.
"The two CEOs that were killed last week were both on Dad's list." Oliver answered. "We think that Merlyn is operating back in Starling. We also have theories about the Mirakuru being able to be used as a way to bring people back from the dead."
"People like Tommy or Rebecca." Thea offered.
"Yes." Oliver answered. "Plus, I'm also moving a friend back home."
"Or a brother, right?"
Finally, the two black hearses pulled up. For the next hour, the men with the hearses installed the equipment that would lower the two coffins into the graves that had been dug next to Robert's memorial. However, Oliver asked the men (telling them they would double their pay) if they would back off for a few minutes so that the family could have a few moments alone.
Once the men were out of site, Diggle, Felicity and Sara raced out of the house, joining Roy, Oliver and Thea at the gravesite. Working quickly, Roy and Diggle pried the top of Tommy's coffin off.
To say that the contents were startling was a severe understatement.
"Oh my god." Felicity whispered, her hand covering his mouth in shock.
"This can't be right." Oliver muttered, stepping closer.
But it was right. Despite their wishes, there was no mistaking that face. Laying in the coffin was none other than Malcolm Merlyn, quite clearly dead. The body appeared relatively fresh as almost no decomposition had taken place. This means that sometime in the last six months, Malcolm Merlyn had been killed and placed in his son's coffin.
"How the hell is this possible?" Diggle questioned softly.
"Open the other one." Oliver grunted.
Moving as quickly as possible, Diggle and Roy opened the other one. This one was exactly as advertised, holding the obviously decaying remains of Rebecca Merlyn.
With this discovery, there was only one question that could be asked.
"Where is Tommy's body?" Thea asked in awe.
Two days later, after nearly destroying the ArrowCave and the remote lab he had set up in the basement of Queen Mansion, Oliver still hadn't slept and was angrier than he could ever remember being.
Sitting around him, looking equally as bleary was the rest of Team Arrow, Felicity and Thea included, completely stumped.
"Maybe it's a clone?" Roy suggested, a tired grin on his face.
"Shut up, Roy." Thea growled.
Over the past two days, Thea had been nearly as upset as Oliver had been, if not more. Oliver had forgotten that during his five years on the island, the pair of them had frequently interacted, probably forming a bond as two people that had both lost someone very close to them. So, it made sense for Thea to be on edge.
"Thea." Oliver scolded softly. "There has to be some kind of explanation."
"Ollie, we've spent two days skipping work and classes floating around all kind of ideas and nothing is making any sense." Sara replied. "Tommy's body is missing, Malcolm Merlyn is dead and we're no closer to having any idea of what's going on with a potential Dark Archer sighting than we were a week ago."
"I know. There just has to be something."
"Well, there could be one thing." Felicity whispered.
Over the past two days, Felicity had hardly said anything. He knew that she had known Tommy less than anyone in the room other than Roy so maybe that was some part of it. However, Oliver's real guess as to why she had been so quiet was that she felt out of place. She hadn't been a part of this group for over two years and still didn't consider herself a full-time member, even if her recent perfect attendance said otherwise.
"What is it?" Oliver asked, being as gentle as possible.
"Could Tommy be the Dark Archer?"
Little did Felicity know but that question offered significantly more questions than any answer they could have provided. It was possible, Oliver had to admit. However, if he was, then why? If Tommy was alive, why hadn't he told Oliver? Why hadn't he returned to Starling if he was alive? But as Oliver asked these questions, he realized that the answers to these questions could be frightening.
"You're right." Oliver admitted as Thea looked at him in shock. "It's possible! We don't know anything other than there's someone pumping arrows into members of The List and Tommy's body is missing."
"Yeah, but The Dark Archer was Merlyn, right?" Thea asked.
"Yes." Oliver replied. "And once Tommy found out who his father was, he resented him immensely. Attacking the others who helped with The Undertaking makes a lot of sense for Tommy especially if The League had something do to with his resurrection. Remember, The League hated The Undertaking."
"It broke our code." Sara added softly.
"So, if The Dark Archer is really coming after Tempest members, we need to look at who we think he's going after next."
"The List is too large." Diggle commented. "There's no way we can keep tabs on all of them."
"No," Oliver admitted. "but we may be able to put tabs on enough of them that if The Dark Archer comes after one of them, their communication networks would cross and we could find out about. I'm not saying it's a foolproof plan but it's the best we have."
"He's right." Felicity added. "It's really the only way to do it. I'll start tapping phones and hacking digital communication of former Tempest members."
"Good, Felicity. The rest of us need to keep an eye out when we're on patrols. If we hear of another attack by The Dark Archer, we retreat back here. We cannot be associated with this."
This was starting to get frustrating. For the last four days, there had been at least one attack by The Dark Archer. This forced Oliver to stay in while the others, Diggle included in a vigilante outfit of his own complete with bo staff just like Sara, patrolled the city. This night, he was watching from his office at Queen Tower. In the years since he started out as The Arrow, he had linked every piece of computer controlled equipment that he owned to the computers in the ArrowCave. It was in this way that Oliver could make it look like he was working when he was in fact communicating and directing his forces on patrol.
Tonight's murder had been of European oil magnate Victor Roskachev, owner of Trifecta Oil. Roskachev was the wealthiest and most connected man in the city. At this point, Oliver was wondering when the National Guard was going to be called in. This new Dark Archer was destroying Oliver, moving faster than he could anticipate and with no discernible pattern.
Oliver had gone through the List, both with computer and without, and could find no connection between any of the eleven former Tempest members that The Dark Archer had killed. He wasn't going through the list in any particular order and no defining characteristics could be determined that would filter them out from the rest of the Tempest members.
"Mr. Queen."
Oliver looked up and saw Felicity standing there in front of him, a list of files in hand. Obviously, she had business to discuss.
"Felicity, you can call me Oliver." Oliver replied, motioning for her to sit.
"No, Mr. Queen, I really can't." Felicity shot back stubbornly. "If I start calling you Oliver in private, I may call you Oliver in public. Even with my-"
"Even with your new position, you feel that showing that you are friends with me shows weakness." Oliver finished. "It shows that you didn't get the job on your own merit simply because you knew the famous billionaire CEO. How close am I?"
"Dead on as usual, Mr. Queen."
"Oliver." he insisted. "Felicity, when the others around the building realize just how good you are at your job, that is when they know that there's no one in the country better than you at what you do, they're going to respect you. They may hate you a bit for as good as you are, even if you are as nice to them as you always are to everyone else, but they will respect you."
"You're sure?"
"More sure than that about almost anything else right now." Oliver replied as he saw his business nemesis approaching him. "Good evening, Isabel."
"Oliver, Ms. Smoak." Isabel replied. Oliver was surprised to see that Isabel had even acknowledged Felicity, despite Felicity's new position. However, Oliver realized that Isabel was probably worried about her own place within QC since much of her investments had gone belly up in the past two years.
"What can I do for you?" Oliver asked, reverting back to CEO-mode.
"I have a question for you." Isabel said before darting her eyes towards Felicity. "A private one."
"Felicity, would you mind?" Oliver asked, the annoying grind barely hidden in his voice.
"Not at all, Oliver." Felicity replied, a slight growl in her voice.
"I'll talk to you about that proposal." Oliver shot back before redirecting his attention towards Isabel. "Now, your question?"
"Yes." Isabel answered as she sat across from him in the chair that Felicity had just vacated. "I've noticed that our Governmental Affairs Department has greenlighted sixteen new projects in the past two weeks, none of which had board approval. Just wondering when something is going to be done about that, because I'm sure that with Ms. Smoak being in charge of that department, you look at everything involving it."
"I do." Oliver admitted calmly. "And I approved all of those projects as you noticed."
"Yes, but the board of directors did not."
"They don't have to." Oliver said blandly with a grin. "I own 64% of Queen Consolidated with the intention of purchasing 6% more by the end of the year. As a result, I could fire the entire board if I wanted to. But, I haven't. I utilize the board, and you, as a set of advisers. However, certain advisers, including you, have not earned my trust enough to be included in these matters."
"Excuse me, Oli-"
"Don't call me, Oliver." Oliver roared sharply. "You think you may know me but you realistically have very little clue who I am?"
Oliver knew that this was the stress of the Dark Archer speaking but it was also something that he probably should have been said a long time ago.
"What is Tempest?" Oliver barked.
"I'm sorry?" Isabel questioned unconvincingly.
"Don't think you're fooling me. What is Tempest!?"
Again, Oliver could tell Isabel was going to deny any knowledge of what Tempest was. Unfortunately for her, Oliver had had enough. Jumping up from his place, Oliver launched himself at her, grabbing her by the throat and in one swift motion, flipped her head over heels so that her back slammed hard against his desk. Once she was there, Oliver instantly applied pressure to her thin throat, causing to her try and claw at his hand while gagging and gasping for air.
"We should have had this out years ago, Isabel." Oliver growled. "I knew that you were working for Wilson. I know that you've had regular contact with Malcolm Merlyn since he left Starling. If I had to guess, I would say that one of them, probably Wilson, wanted me back in Starling. So, they had you threaten my company. Well, you see how that worked out for you."
Isabel's only response was a gasp as her face started to turn blue.
"I know that you know I'm the Arrow." Oliver whispered into her ear as he leaned down next to her. "I've known it for almost three whole years now. So, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to let go of your throat and you're going to tell me what I want to hear. If I like what I hear, I let you go, you resign from QC and I never see you again. If I don't like what I hear, I'm going to see how many times I can break your neck with one hand. Clear?"
A panicked nod was her response. Seeing that, Oliver let go. Almost instantly, Isabel began spitting and gagging, doing everything she could to get air back into her lungs. Finally, after several seconds, she was able to speak.
"What do you want to know?" Isabel choked out.
"Why is Merlyn back in town?" Oliver asked. While he was fairly certain that the body in the casket was Malcolm's, he wanted to test Isabel, to see how much she knew about him.
"Malcolm Merlyn is dead, Queen." Isabel spat. "You know that since you had his son's body exhumed."
"I do know that. What I want to know is how was he killed and where is his son's body?"
"The last I'd heard, his son's body was wandering the Earth somewhere."
"Excuse me?" Oliver shot back, his heart stopping.
"Before Malcolm was killed, he was able to have his son resurrected using the same serum that was running through Slade's veins." Isabel said, her strength returning to her as she taunted Oliver. "Tommy Merlyn is alive, Queen, and has been for some time. You think I've been contacting Malcolm all this time? Malcolm has been dead at least since last Christmas. That's the first time Tommy came to my office."
"He's been here? In Starling?"
"And he hasn't even come to visit?" Isabel replied mockingly. "That's too sad."
"Go to hell." Oliver growled as he struck Isabel directly in the stomach, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Within seconds, she was vomiting blood all over Oliver's floor. "Now that's just disgusting. One more question: what was Tempest's original purpose?"
After throwing up what Oliver was fairly sure was everything she had eaten in the last two days, Isabel responded softly.
"Tempest was designed as a way for the elite of Starling City to spread our influence. We used it to buy political candidates and city officials to do our bidding. It was basically a small form Illuminati."
"With Malcolm Merlyn in charge?"
"There was no one in charge." Isabel barked out, words struggling to come as she still fought for air. "Meetings were called as we saw fit. Favors were called in, deals made. I believe your father, the self-serving bastard, agreed to join so that he could take Queen Consolidated to the top of the business world."
"He succeeded."
"He also brought Malcolm Merlyn in the group with him. Each member of Tempest was required to pay five million dollars which was placed in an off-shore account, only to be used when 66% of the group was in agreement with a plan. Well, there were over sixty members of Tempest. That means that before investment strategies were used, Tempest had 300 million dollars in the bank. That number was more than a billion after we worked our magic with it. That was after one year. With that money, we had unlimited resources."
"What does this have to do with that?"
"Malcolm Merlyn was the one who worked that magic. He was the one who was able to turn our large fortune into a massive one. We could have bought most of the countries in the world outright with the money we had. That money magic bought him a lot of favors."
"Favors which turned into The Undertaking."
"Correct." Isabel said as she leaned against Oliver's desk, obviously feeling weak. "It didn't help that your stupid mother became his sidekick once your bastard of a father kicked the bucket."
At the mention of his father, Oliver snapped. In a flash, he stepped forward and launched a crushing right hook into her face. Isabel absorbed the full force of the blow and collapsed on the floor. As Oliver watched her, he could see the blood starting to form around her head.
"Get out." Oliver growled. "You're bleeding all over my floor."
Groggily, Isabel stood to her feet and staggered out of the room. Oliver watched her go and once she was gone, he returned to his chair. For several minutes, he sat in silence, contemplating the information he had just heard. That was until he got the feeling that he was being watched.
Years of training had conditioned Oliver to be used to noticing anything that was out of the ordinary. Looking out the window, Oliver noticed where that feeling was coming from. Oliver made his way to his feet and then weakly walked to the window.
The setting sun made it so that Oliver could barely make out the outline of the person standing on the building across the street but that was all he needed. Oliver would never forget the outline of his first enemy.
Suddenly, his cell phone started ringing. Quickly, and nervously, Oliver fumbled to pull it out of his pocket before answering it.
"...hello?"
For a few seconds, there was no response. And then, like it had been yesterday, he heard his voice.
"Ollie, I see that life as CEO is treating you well."
It couldn't be.
"Tommy?"
"In the flesh."