IMPORTANT Note: There is a lot of back and forth here between what's going on with Viper and what's going on with Oliver and team. I've separated this with periods to make it easier to determine the breaks. Also I use my fic "Loss" to explain how Malcolm lived that night on the roof. So you don't have to read it to catch up: simply, Oliver was tired of all the death and b/c of what he said to Tommy, he returned to Global's roof to find Malcolm still breathing. Oliver in honor of his friend patched the elder Merlyn up and told him to leave and never return.

Enjoy- drop a comment if you like or see something wrong. Next chapter, we finally get to 3 Ghosts (I think, I wing it sometimes).

Chapter 4

Viper left Queen consolidated with a grin; that had gone better than expected. She had worried for a brief moment that the secretary wouldn't drink her poisoned coffee, but then Ms. Smoak had done her job splendidly. The Assassin member felt no guilt for her actions; she had to make a point that she was not to be trifled with, and she hoped she made it. If not, she would have to expand her hunting field to Mr. Queen's friends and family until she guaranteed he wouldn't do something incredibly stupid.

The League member hadn't made it to the sidewalk when a black limo pulled up, and a door opened in front of her. She cocked her head in consideration before asking, "Is this a request or an order?" A gun became slightly visible, and while Viper was sure she could take the man, she decided to see what this all was about. She guided herself in and sat across from the man. "You're not the important one," she summarized. "You're just the delivery boy… Well hurry up, don't keep your boss waiting." She smiled pleasantly enough and got comfortable. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Malcolm had decided to just come after her, but she didn't even think he was that foolish to think he could take her. In combat, he could be a better archer; she had never seen him shoot, but she did know in hand to hand, she could and would overpower him.

….

Oliver made Felicity take a sick day and had her come with him to the Foundry. After what just happened at QC, he wasn't going to take his eyes off of her. He wanted to mix up a batch of his herbs as well, just in case. He knew from Sara that League members had a code, but he wasn't trusting of that. He had seen Malcolm throw it aside, so it was possible that this Viper would too.

"What's going on?" Diggle asked once they got to the car. He could see Oliver gripping Felicity, and he could see the worry in his friend's face.

"League member poisoned Felicity," he said, his tone tight with anger. "To make a point."

"Are you okay?" he asked turning to the IT girl. She nodded her head quickly.

"I didn't even realize it," she chuckled nervously. "I guess I should be more careful about what I put into my mouth… Oh wait, that did not come out right," she continued to herself as she got into the car.

"What are you planning to do?" Digg asked.

"I'm going to call Sara, and we are going to figure out how to deal with this. She wasn't here for Sara," Oliver explained shortly.

"Wait, she? And not here for Sara?" he asked.

"I'll explain once Sara is with us." His tone made it final even though Diggle did not look pleased with that.

….

Viper considered the building she was brought to as she was practically dragged from the limo. The man kept the gun on her at all times, but once she saw what doors she was being led to, she dropped forward and flipped the man over her shoulder. She broke his wrist retrieving the gun from his hand and put one bullet between his eyes. "I don't like having a gun on me," she hissed as she tossed the weapon aside. She despised fire arms; there was no finesse, no control in using such a weapon. She preferred her bow, and if not that, then throwing knives.

It didn't take her any considerable amount of time to find her way to the central room. Viper had a feeling if she had gotten lost, she would have been forced to reroute in some way or another. She was pleasantly surprised to find that when she stepped into the main room that there weren't twenty guards with guns on her; it was just one man. He was sitting behind a desk, considering her just as she was observing him.

"What's your name?" he asked gruffly.

"Alexan…" she began when he interrupted,

"Your real name?" he clarified.

"Viper," she answered truthfully as she took a seat across from him. "But I must say you have me at a disadvantage Mr.?"

"Wilson. Slade Wilson," he answered, and Viper grinned as she recognized that name- Deathstroke.

….

Sara practically jumped down the stairs when she got the call about a League member being in Starling; she was worried about the fact they had gone after Oliver first. If they were going after friends or family, then she knew she was in deep trouble. She had hoped that after the last failed attempt to retrieve her that she would get the reprieve she desperately needed, but apparently not so. She half wondered if Nyssa herself had come here… or worse.

"Felicity," Sara said breathlessly. "You're okay."

"Yeah it was no biggie," the IT girl smiled brightly. "None whatsoever." But the fear could be heard in her tone; it frightened her to think she could have died. The assassin could have killed her without batting an eye. She was lucky that this League member only wanted to point out Oliver's flaws, but as she glanced towards him, she couldn't tell if that was actually any better. He looked upset, but he also looked crushed at failing to protect her.

"Who was it?" Sara asked joining the group.

Oliver licked his lips before saying, "Someone called Viper." A pin dropped could have been heard; silence was punched into both boys at the sight of Sara's face. Fear, plain and full, flashed and held her face.

"Viper," she whispered before shaking her head. "No, no. They wouldn't have sent her yet. I'm not that big of a problem."

"Sara," Oliver said placing his hands carefully on her shoulders. It snapped her from the trance. "She said she wasn't here for you."

Sara breathed a giant sigh of relief. "Then what does she want?" She looked completely flabberghasted now. "Viper is a hunter, Oliver. Hunters a special branch in the League. They only go after other League members… those that run or break the code. What is she doing here if not for me?"

Oliver turned his back and leaned across Felicity's desk. "She's after Malcolm."

Diggle broke the silence first, "No he's dead. You killed him." When Oliver didn't turn to confirm that, Diggle grabbed his friend and forced him around. "He's dead, Oliver."

"No," Oliver sighed. "He's not." The two friends shared a look that said it all- why didn't you tell me? I couldn't… "I told him if he ever came back to Starling, I'd put an arrow through his heart."

"How did he survive?" Diggle asked.

"That's not what's important," Oliver went to argue, but Digg was not going to drop it. He looked livid at the fact Oliver had lied to him, to them, about Malcolm. "I felt bad that I lied to Tommy about his father that night." He didn't have to clarify that he meant the night the Glades were destroyed. "So I went back, and I found Malcolm alive. I was tired of people dying, alright?"

"So you patched him up?" Digg asked flabbergasted. "No offense Oliver, but are you insane?"

"I made it clear not to return," he argued. "But apparently…"

"Yes apparently," Sara sighed. "Do you have any idea how bad this is Ollie? Viper is one of the worst hunters. She's efficient, and if she told you she didn't care about the casualties, she wasn't lying. She once poisoned an entire restaurant to get to one man that had so much plastic surgery that there was no way to positively ID him. She killed fifty people to kill one man, and what he did was nothing like what Malcolm did!"

"The League wasn't even supposed to know he was alive, okay?" Oliver pointed out. "I told him to get out, and he had stayed away until now."

"Wait poisoned an entire restaurant?" Digg reiterated.

"Yeah wait, I thought you guys had an honor code or something," Felicity pipped in. "Like Ten Commandments sort of thing, except you know without the whole 'thou shall not kill' verse." She trailed off.

"Hunters live by a different code. For them, there is an acceptable casualties clause," Sara explained before turning back to Oliver. "If she wants Malcolm, give him to her. Whatever she's promised you, she will do if she doesn't get what she came for."

"You weren't this worried the last time a League member was around," Diggle pointed out.

"He wasn't a Hunter," she growled. "We should be grateful that this is Viper and not Talia. This is a job to Viper, so she treats it as such. This would be fun to Talia, and she would slaughter any one she even thought could eventually be in her way." She looked to Ollie on this and only him. "Malcolm dug his grave. He broke our code. Hand him over." This reminded Oliver so much of the island to the point it was uncomfortable.

…

Slade leaned back in his seat considering the League of Assassin member; she was polite and not fearful which was unexpected. He had thought she would have had some response to his name, and while it looked like she did recognize it, she hadn't even twitched over it. Instead, she had sat across from him and had a conversation about her intentions. "So you're not here for Oliver Queen?" he asked to be sure.

Viper shook her head. "Nope. I have no interest in the man, though my master does. He wants the archer to join us, but he is not my prey."

"Malcolm Merlyn," Slade said as if trying to taste the name. "What are your plans with him?"

"I am to deliver him to Ra's Al Ghul for punishment or if not, I am to carry it out," she explained.

"He does not sound like the type of man to surrender," Slade said.

"Perhaps but he also knows what awaits him if he doesn't surrender," she shrugged. "The death Ra's Al Ghul will give him will be painless next to what I will do to him if he decides to fight."

…..

Oliver was seething; he hadn't told his team about Malcolm for this exact reason. They were all angry at him, and he hadn't invited the man back to Starling. As it was, he had told the elder Merlyn last time they spoke that he would put an arrow through the Dark Archer's heart. "I don't know where he even is," Oliver growled. "I can't hand him over to Viper even if I wanted to."

"You don't?" Sara groaned. "It's not like he doesn't deserve it."

"Maybe but," Oliver said, "I'm trying a new way."

"I say go back to the old ways," Felicity muttered to herself. She couldn't get the memory out of her head of that night. Worse yet, she had treated Oliver from his wounds that Malcolm had inflicted, and while he had won, his body didn't look like it.

"She's right," Digg said in agreement. "If this Viper is this bad, maybe we should consider doing what she wants."

Oliver shot Diggle a look. "I'm not going to be bullied in my own city. We aren't going to do this because she threatened us." And Diggle had to agree on that: one doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

"Then we better come up with a solid plan if we are going to fight her," Sara sighed.

….

Viper smiled as Slade and her came to a reasonable agreement; she wasn't to kill Oliver Queen under any circumstance, but she could leave him hurting. Slade was the one who would end Mr. Queen's life if he saw fit. She nodded her thanks to the mercenary and stood to leave as she had to switch back to League gear and scour the city again for her prey.

"This might be of interest and use to you," Slade said as she prepared to leave. He would enjoy what fallout this would cause. "Thea Queen is his daughter."