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Old Lives, New Plans…

'…And In Other News: Superman has once again saved the world, this time destroying an asteroid on the path for Earth. The Man of Steel declined to comment, only saying he did what anyone would have done. Lex Luthor is calling for an alien registry to keep track of beings like Superman, he will be giving an interview on the matter later today…'

"So, what do I call you?" Oliver asked as he remained indifferent, he'd sent Digg east of his little stash unit, he wasn't going to think about how dangerously close he was leading Digg to his secrets because by the end of the street he'd disappear.

"Diggle's good," he answered. "Digg if you want."

"Your ex-military," he stated as he toyed with the phone his mother had handed him and told him had the preprogrammed numbers in it.

"Yes, sir. 105th Airborne, out of Kandahar, retired," Digg said briskly. Oliver nodded, he wasn't really interested in Digg's past, he was more interested in the man himself and one could learn a lot about another in how they spoke. Digg was clearly a man of few words, but probably had a lot of opinions and open(ish) with people he knew. He spoke when spoken too, and his answers were to the point, never more than what was needed to answer the question.

Oliver was pretty sure Digg was the honest sort, loyal to a fault too, and stubborn.

And if Oliver wasn't on a mission of his own, he'd have probably liked the man, but as he saw the alley he needed to use coming up he decided it was best that he was alone. Having teams or people to rely on left one open and vulnerable, two things Oliver had become unaccustomed to and didn't like when they happened.

"Been in the private sector a little more than four years now," Digg continued. "I don't want there to be any confusion Mr. Queen. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort."

Oliver nodded and took his chance as he silently dove out of the car then. rolling up to his feet he darts right into the buildings they were near and he unbuttoned his stuffy wool jacket before slipping it off. Walking through the building he walked out the back alley, clocking the cameras he evaded and then he moved towards the storage unit he rented with Bratva money.

Once he was there, and certain he hadn't been followed by accident, he peeled off his clothes and grabbed a canvas jacket, jeans, work boots and a grey t-shirt he would need. He had his base of operations to scout. Hefting up two duffels as he zipped up the too hot jacket he decided he'd need to move the immediate gear to his location, then he'd rent a truck and move the rest at night.

Walking through the brisk city he made it in the Glades. His eyes roamed over the homeless, the gangs, the punks, the would-be tough guys, and the decrepit. Part of him ached at seeing the ruin his father had been a part of, and another part of him was planning what he would need to do to save the Glades.

It wasn't like he'd ever been anything but a trust fund brat, and he didn't think he'd be continuing that line of work with how his mother was eagerly embracing his 'return' to civilization. Perhaps he should speak with Sara about how to help the Glades as Oliver Queen, not as himself. He would repair the damage his father had done to his city.

Looking at the tall fence around his father's old factory he paused a moment to think this over. Sighing he pitched his bags over the fence as he took a few steps back and then he ran at the fence. His fingers caught the wire as he surged up then flipped over as he landed lightly before hoisting up his bags and walking into the factory.

Once he was in the factory all his sense listened, he could hear the pigeons cooing as their wings flapped through the eerie silence, the chains rattled softly and some papers fluttered with the new air which followed him. his eyes looked through the darkness as he searched for signs of life.

He found nothing. And as he set his bags down he moved soundlessly through the shadows. He didn't know what he could do with this space but the bones were good, and solid. There was a lot of potential in this place for something other than his base of operations. Now that he was here he'd begin some of the basics. His scouting revealed a second lower entrance, and it was on a back alley, he was certain no one would look twice at it.

He also found tools, which he was going to need. Looking the place over again he picked up his discarded duffels as he moved back to the lower levels, he would set up his base here in the lower levels of the factory. He'd figure something out with the upper level.

Pulling his immediate supplies out he flipped through the notebook before stopping himself. Sitting back, he looked around the 'lair' he was adopting and wished; not for the first time, that he'd never gotten on that fucking boat. Picking up a wad of cash he'd stashed before Waller had shipped him back to China he felt that he was able to do this without creating a mess.

Standing he stuffed his hands in his pockets, he'd need a truck to get the rest of the gear here. A pick-up ought to do the trick, he wasn't thinking that this was going to be few days set up. Once the basics were up the rest would come together, or come apart, quickly. He wanted something he could get rid of quickly on the off chance he was compromised.

Leaving the factory, he slipped through a hole in the fence as he mingled on the street. He slipped a few bucks into a coffee cup of a homeless man sitting there without his legs needing change.

Oliver sighed, not all the people in the Glades were bad people, they just were a people who had fallen on hard times. And they needed help, he didn't know if he was the help they needed but they needed help. He found a truck he could rent for the day, no license needed, just the truck be returned at the end of the day.

He could do that.

Tommy frowned when he woke to a ringing phone and he lazily grabbed for it, Laurel was already in the office, he knew that because his breakfast was a lunch they shared together.

"Hello?" he sleepily grumbled as he rubbed his face and sat up in his bed.

"Mr. Thomas Merlyn?" an unfamiliar voice demanded.

"Who is this?" Tommy demanded as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"This is Mr. Queen's body guard," the voice stated.

"Oliver got a body guard? How'd you get this number?" he asked as he became fully awake then.

"His mother hired me, and this is Mr. Queen's phone with programmed numbers in it," the voice snapped.

"And you're calling me why?" Tommy asked as he looked at the clock and was surprised, it was eight in the morning. He and Oliver had never been ones to get up before ten in the morning.

"I'm calling to ask if there is a place he's likely to go," the man snapped.

"Um… Mr., what's your name?" Tommy asked.

"Diggle, John Diggle," the man stated in an irritated tone.

"I don't know where he'd be, but I have a few haunts he might go to, familiar places before… you know, he was castaway, gimme a minute, I'll meet up with you and help you look. Whatever you do, do not call his sister or mother, he was kidnapped yesterday and this could have them in a panic," Tommy stated as he stood up, hissed when he stubbed his toe and he walked into the closet to grab some clean clothes.

"I'll be at the Big Belly Burger on 7th," the man replied.

"Alright, how will I know you?" Tommy asked.

"I'll know you," the man said.

"Fair point," Tommy sighed and hung up the phone. He noted the number down, and he sighed. He hoped this wasn't a hoax or something, he didn't think he could handle being kidnapped again. However, his bigger concern was for Oliver. His friend had just spent five years in isolation and probably didn't know just how dangerous this city had become. What if something worse than the kidnapping happened to Oliver?

Tommy wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened.

However, he texted Laurel that he was going out, if he didn't meet up with her for lunch without giving her a call she could worry. Not a nice thing to tell one's fiancée but he wanted someone to know he was going out.

Grabbing his keys on his way out he walked to the elevator, once he was in the parking garage he walked to his car.

His phone dinged, thinking it to be Laurel he looked at it and sighed. His father.

The thing Tommy hadn't told anyone; not even Laurel, was that his father had disowned him shortly after Oliver had disappeared, Tommy was coasting of fumes; he was down to a few hundred grand and he was getting worried. He'd kept up appearances carefully, and he'd been steadfastly refusing his father's demand for him to conform and bow to his will and join Merlyn Global. Tommy was trying really hard to not be anything like his father.

However, there was a problem, and one he needed to address before he married Laurel.

Getting a job. A real job, not being a celebrity club promoter because that wasn't going to pay in the long run. Especially since Laurel was the kind of girl who wanted to settle down, have a couple of kids, and live in a cute house, have a home, and grow old with her man.

It was something that was starting to worry Tommy, and he wasn't sharing this worry.

After forty minutes Tommy arrived at the Big Belly Burger on 7th, getting out of his car he sighed as he looked over to see a large man walk out the door. If he were to hazard a guess, based on the suit, jacket, stiff posture, and stern look, this was Mr. John Diggle.

"Thomas Merlyn," the man greeted.

"John Diggle?" he guessed.

"Yes," the man nodded. "Do you know where Mr. Queen would be?"

"I can hazard a few guesses, gimme a sec to grab some coffee and then we'll start hunting," Tommy sighed as he walked into Big Belly Burger to order a morning coffee. He didn't see how people functioned at this godforsaken hour. It was so bright, and he was exhausted. A beautiful woman handed him coffee, he pulled out a few bucks and paid before walking out.

"Oliver and I used to hang at this one park, morning jogs to catch the ladies, it's not safe anymore, but I'm betting it's a start," Tommy sighed as he walked to his car. Mr. Diggle lifted his brows and gave him a frown.

"I'm not leaving my baby in this neighborhood," Tommy said confidently.

"Then I will follow you," the bodyguard stated as he walked to the slick, black Bentley which just screamed money.

Tommy sighed, why was Oliver making this difficult? Not even back a day and he'd been kidnapped, now he was missing. This bothered Tommy, it bothered him a great deal. Especially if it had spooked Moira Queen into getting a security detail for Oliver. And he knew that was Moira because she'd done the same thing on Thea when Thea ran away when she was fourteen; he'd found Thea in her tree house on the edge of the Queen property.

Pulling up to the park he got out.

"So, how'd you misplace Oliver?"

"I did not misplace him, he leapt out of a moving car and then I lost him," Diggle grounded out, sounding irritated.

"Sounds like Oliver," Tommy sighed as they started walking through the park.

"Are you certain Mr. Queen would come here?" Diggle asked him.

"No, but it's a start, this early in the morning, this is where I'd begin my search," Tommy yawned then took a sip of his coffee.

Oliver found that setting up his base was simple, he had packed it up once and timed himself to see how long it took; ten minutes, for which he was rather pleased. But now he had it all set up, the generators on and his computers running. The computers were military grade, curtesy of A.R.G.U.S., and they were untraceable, he had managed to root out all of the A.R.G.U.S.'s basic programs and he was certain Waller wouldn't come after him. No matter, he wouldn't use these all that often, just for the information he needed and the occasional hack.

His hacking skills were alright, they were not something he'd rely on to get himself out of a jam or something he'd bet his life on. But by using A.R.G.U.S. resources he knew he'd be flying under the radar, even from Waller. After all, he'd seen to it that these materials were believed to be 'destroyed'. Honestly, what people would do for the right to live and money, it was amusing.

With his set up done he ran through a few of his standard exercises, feeling more relaxed as he lifted the familiar weight of the bow in his hand. Two weeks would have dulled him, a little, or so he had thought. He'd never been two weeks without some fight going on, some lesson, some mission, something to drive and focus him, and he was worried that it might have dulled his edge. However, he was pleasantly surprised when it didn't even slow him a bit, he was quick to pick up everything in full speed again and found his reactions hadn't slowed. This was a relief, after five years of living by his wits, his skills, and his honed killer instinct he feared losing the edge, having someone get the drop on him.

Feeling settled he put his weapons away. Then he settled in for the grunt work as he started reading over the names on the list and looking over the information he pulled up. He'd have to start somewhere, so he was starting with the immediate threat to those nearest to him.

Adam Hunt. A man who CNRI was currently taking to court in a civil suit, Oliver had a feeling that that suit was going to get swept away. He'd start here, and he'd work his way through the list one by one. Besides, Adam Hunt was on page one, a good place to start if one were to ask him. Glancing at the time, he internally swore as he turned off the generators to keep himself from attracting unwanted attention, the grabbed the keys of the truck he had rented as he drove it back to the owner.

Once all that was done he started walking through the Glades, back to where he had his storage unit, he'd need to close out his holding on his unit, and he'd have to change before returning home. His eyes wandered over the people here, he was horrified that it had gotten this bad. Making his way to his unit he found the clothes he needed, changed, stuffed his street clothes in a duffel as he walked out of the storage unit. Ending his 'contract' with the storage unit he walked the street and though over everything he'd need to do for his mission while he was here.

His biggest problem would be slipping away from the spot light; Ollie Queen had never been one to turn away the spotlight; while he cringed at the thought at having all those eyes on him. He also couldn't be a responsible adult and take a position at his family's company, it wouldn't help his image, and that was something he didn't want. If he was in his family's company there'd be more eyes on him, and it would make his mission more difficult.

Not something he wanted to think about. Hailing a cab, he started home, but he pulled the cabbie over three miles from Queen Mansion, paid him twice the fare to remain silent about this entire encounter before he got out of the cab and waked towards the Queen Estate's wall. The fortress he'd grown up in was not much of a fortress, he'd have thought in five years his mother or security would have patched up the weak spots in the perimeter, but as he leapt over it, he was pleasantly surprised to find this wasn't the case. Dropping to the grass he found the old badger hole to stash his duffle, then he straightened up, dusted himself off and walked the rest of the estate to the Mansion.

Walking into the house he heard his mother's icy fury, and he winced. She'd probably though he'd been kidnapped; again, not a pleasant thought.

"And where do you think my son went!?" his mother's cold tone asked.

"I don't know ma'am," Digg's stoic reply.

"We've looked everywhere," he heard Tommy.

"I paid you to protect him," Moira snapped, Oliver paused outside of the parlor and thought over his excuse then but decided it was best to stick to the original excuse he had had lined up today.

"I've never had a client who didn't want my protection ma'am," Digg replied.

"Well, I'm paying you, so I'm the client," Moira stated. "So, again, where do you think my son has gone today?"

Now Oliver walked in.

"Somewhere quiet, and alone," he answered as he walked in and four heads snapped over to him as he smiled a bit and looked at Tommy, Digg, Walter and his mother. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he tried to think of the most Ollie way to explain his reason for running off today.

"Well you can't do that, there are maniacs running around loose in the city!" Moira informed him. "What if you had been kidnapped or killed!?"

"Mom," he cut her off then as he gently spoke. "I've been alone, on a deserted island, it's too loud at times, and I'm not used to people," he pointed out. Alright, so fuck the playful Ollie response which would have everyone thinking he was with a woman, he was going to be semi-truthful.

The looks which flashed across Tommy, Walter, and Digg's faces were a bit startling but Oliver just kept his attention on his fretting mother.

"I need to know you're safe," Moira warned him.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised as he smiled at her and looked at Tommy. "Ready for tonight?"

"Yes, and just so you know I planned for us to have an epic welcome home bash, just not yet," Tommy said as Oliver left his mother and Walter behind, Digg was shadowing them. "So, where were you really, dude?"

"Tommy, I just spent five years on an island, alone," Oliver stated.

"Oh," Tommy grinned then and waggled his eyebrows. "What's her name?"

"Not important," Oliver dismissed and internally chuckled at the way his friend balked.

"Alright, so, we're having dinner with Laurel, Sara, and Nyssa, I helped Digg here look for you all day and I swear if you make me go to this alone, island or not I'll murder you. And Thea will help me dispose of your body," Tommy stated.

"What about Thea? Isn't she coming to this dinner?" Oliver asked.

"It's her mandatory weekend with Merlyn, Friday night dinner is required of her, and I have been disowned so we can't join, we couldn't even get on the property," Tommy filled in as they got in the car. "We'll throw a welcome home bash for you tomorrow, Saturday is a better party night anyway, and we'll hang with Thea if you want. She usually ditches dear old dad about five in the morning, I pick her up, it's the only day I get up early so if you come, be prepared for coffee by the gallons."

"I'll come," he decided. He didn't like the idea of being with Malcom Merlyn, honestly as a child he had never liked Tommy's dad, and Oliver sincerely doubted that his opinion of Malcom had changed in the five years he'd been on Lian Yu.

"Excellent, Thea will love this," Tommy grinned as they sat in the back of the Bentley as Digg drove them.

"What do you and Thea normally do?" he asked.

"We go to breakfast, morning movies, afternoon naps, all night moviethon, but tomorrow night she has plans with her friends, and we have a welcome home bash to attend," Tommy grinned.

Oliver smirked, but he didn't bother to point out that he hadn't asked for the welcome home bash. But he figured that he'd get started on the list, he had the first name picked out: Adam Hunt. A good place to start was with a man so corrupt he was untouchable, a man who thought he was untouchable. Oliver was looking forward to putting the Fear of God into Mr. Adam Hunt.

"So essentially the laziest Saturdays possible," Oliver supplied.

"Yep, pretty much," Tommy grinned. "What about you Digg, care to join us on a five am kidnapping?"

"I go where Mr. Queen goes," Digg replied tersely, which had Oliver internally pounding his head against a wall. He was going to be working on evasion for a while then. Not a fun exercise. But as Slade had taught him, it was all kind of pass/fail; which was easier in his mind.

"Five am kidnapping it is," Tommy decided with glee.

"You and Thea do this often, right?"

"Yeah, we've only had armed guards after us once," Tommy waggled his brows and Oliver sighed. The mischief would never cease with Tommy, though he did feel this explained how Speedy got in all her trouble as a child. It was definitely the Merlyn genes. Oliver spent the rest of the ride listening to famous Thea/Tommy getaways from Malcom Merlyn, and how they had turned it into a game. One of which they appeared to win often.

"So, how do you feel about seeing Sara alive and well for the first time since you sunk?" Tommy asked as they pulled up to the restaurant.

"I saw Sara last night," he admitted as he stepped out of the car and did his button up.

"You what?"

"She came over, we talked," Oliver shrugged.

"Well… that's a first, perhaps you can get her to open up about whatever happened after the Gambit sunk, she even shut her therapist out," Tommy muttered as they walked into the restaurant.

"I doubt it," he said softly.

Oliver remembered the months they had lived in terror of Ivo, and all the hells Ivo had loved inflicting on them. The mad scientist was the kind description, and the description Oliver was inclined to use was not… well, it was not appropriate for repeating, ever. And if it weren't for the fact Oliver had lived through worse, and seen worse, and fought worse, he'd have thought Ivo to be as bad as it got. However, he'd seen, fought, and survived worse, so he wasn't inclined to think of Ivo as anything but a sadist who had taught Oliver how to inflict psychological torture and physical pain when necessary.

One could learn a lot by what they lived through.

"Oliver, you and Sara, you need to open up, have friends, laugh a little," Tommy informed him as they were being escorted to the table.

"Tommy, just be happy you're alive," Oliver stated coldly as they sat at the table.

"Dude, what happened to you on that island?" Tommy asked.

"A lot," Oliver replied. They stood up when the girls appeared, his breath catching as he stared at the Lance sisters.

"Ollie!" Laurel gasped.

"Ollie!" Sara smiled as she walked up to him and hugged him tightly before pulling away "This is Nyssa, she's amazing, an intern at Merlyn Global, and an exchange student at my school. She's my very dear friend, and girlfriend. Nyssa, this is Ollie, he saved my life."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Queen," a smoky voice said and he finally looked from Laurel to the gorgeous brunette beside Laurel. He smirked a bit as he looked her over, she had the beauty in the bones, that eastern beauty which would have her being a gorgeous model.

"The pleasure is mine," he assured her.

"I invited Oliver to dinner, I decided I could use the backup, meeting the elusive, mysterious Nyssa, by the way, you are stunning," Tommy said cheerfully. "I'm surprised that Sara hasn't brought you around sooner."

"That's only because I know what a flirt you are Merlyn, and you happen to be marrying my sister," Sara warned playfully. "Don't mind him Nyssa, Laurel is still training him."

"I can suggest a few methods of training which are effective," Nyssa replied smartly with a smile as Oliver pulled her seat out and let her be seated. He repeated the process with Sara before he sat himself.

"I do better with the hands-on training," Tommy mused.

"I have a very hands-on method," Nyssa countered.

"So, Mr. Queen, how does it feel to be in civilization again after years of… isolation?" Nyssa asked.

"It's a change," he mused dryly. He watched the huntress in Nyssa spring to life and he felt there was more to that woman than anyone at this table was going to see. He'd have to keep a cautious eye on her, he didn't need her observant eye to actually see him or notice him.

The rest of dinner moved smoothly until the end when Sara and Nyssa had sauntered off to the lady's room while they waited for dessert, Oliver's stomach was twisting uncomfortably at the prospect of eating more, but he had an appearance to upkeep. Laurel's not-so-subtle, veiled glare never left him for the dinner and now that it was just him, Tommy and her he had a feeling about what was coming to him now.

"Tommy, would you mind if Oliver and I had a moment?" Laurel asked her fiancé.

"Uh… sure?" Tommy decided and Oliver watched regretfully as Tommy left them. However, Digg was standing in the corner, ever alert and ever stoic and Oliver found that not being alone with Laurel was a great comfort.

"I…" she started.

"I'm sorry," he cut her off. It was time to just sever things between him and Laurel as an impossibility because he was never going to sabotage Tommy's relationship, not even Tommy's relationship with Laurel. "I was a horrible boyfriend, a terrible friend, and a cheater, liar, and overall asshole. I never should have taken Sara on the yacht, and if you never wish to see me again I understand, however I am staying friends with Tommy by Tommy's choice."

He had decided this was the best course of action with Tommy had announced his engagement with Laurel to him and Oliver had no intentions of messing up Tommy's life or relationship with Laurel. Oliver was going to take whatever she had to say, and if she told him she never wanted to see him again he'd do his damnedest to abide by her wish.

"I was going to say that I'm glad you're alive," she said softly which had him tilting his head as he looked her over. She was still glaring venomously at him but he didn't flinch. "I hated you for a long time, then Sara was back, and just now she said you saved her life, so I guess… I can't hate you anymore. That said, I don't forgive you either. I don't care what you do anymore Oliver. Hating you just too much of my energy, and my heart, and when Sara came home, she's only ever said you saved her."

"I understand," he admitted.

"Good," she nodded. "I did miss you when you on that island, I wanted to kill you before Sara came home, but after she came home, I realized that I missed you, I missed my friend Ollie."

"I," he paused as he decided on what he wanted to say next carefully before he settled on his words. "I missed you as well, and I wish you the best with Tommy," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes, I just want you to be happy Laurel," he admitted. "It's all I ever wanted for you, excuse me."

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

"I've had a long day, I'm going home, I have to help Tommy kidnap my sister tomorrow morning, I'm leaving now," he shrugged and he paid for his meal before he walked out of the restaurant, he notice Digg following him and he internally sighed as he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to look at the man. There was something sharp about those eyes and Oliver could all but see Diggle assessing him and thinking.

"What is it Mr. Diggle?" he asked in exhaustion.

"I'm just trying to figure out the kind of man you are," Digg stated as they walked up to the Bentley.

"It shouldn't take that long, I'm shallow," Oliver shrugged and ducked into the car without looking to see how Digg was taking his answer. Oliver knew that lying to Diggle was likely going to be harder than not, and he didn't want to think about what the price of being found out was going to be.

No, it'd just be for the best if he kept everyone away from him.

He'd give them the Ollie they all thought they had lost, and the one they thought had return, and he'd pretend to be Ollie again, but he'd keep who he was to himself. He wasn't going to let those around him get wrapped up in his crusade. He'd handle this alone, there was no other way to handle it.

NOT DEAD!

Still Under Edits, Regular Updates Coming. SORRY!

That's all for now folks.

Enjoy Oceans Away =)