Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I do not, just the original ideas.

AN: Thank you ever so much for all the favs, follows and reviews. Sorry it took so long for this to appear. Hope you enjoy it, a little bit of everything in this chapter.

Previously:

The waitress chose that moment to walk over to take Diggle's and Roy's orders. Thea sat back in her seat, silently eating her food, and watched the goings on among the members of the Arrow team. The thought crossed her mind she was watching her brother be the most relaxed she had ever seen him. Weird, because these people dealt with danger every day. Despite being scared as to what dangers may still exist for her family, Thea felt a strange sense of peace being able to finally understand her brother.

Even though she was certain more questions would come to mind, Thea was satisfied for the moment just to enjoy watching her brother interact with his friends. The group was able to finish their meal in comfortable camaraderie, enjoying the moments while they could.

Oliver couldn't believe all that had happened in such a short time. In two days' time, some of the biggest secrets he had ever kept from his family were now shared with his mother and sister. And the revelations went way better than he ever thought they would. However, it didn't take away from the fact his greatest enemy was back, hell bent on destroying him, and he had absolutely no idea how to beat him.

As he was leaving Big Belly Burger, Oliver's cell phone rang. Looking down, he gave a sigh upon seeing Isabel's name flash on the screen.

"Oh, my gosh, Oliver! Don't tell me you forgot to call and make some excuse as to why we both would be absent today?" Felicity asked, after looking over and seeing the name on the screen.

Oliver looked sheepish. "Yeah, I guess I had other things on my mind." Stopping, he answered, "Hi Isabel."

"Oliver, where are you? And do you know why Ms. Smoak isn't here? She didn't call in either with a reason for her absence."

Overhearing, Felicity cringed. She then made her "grr" face with her hands like paws. Oliver smothered a smile, nudged Felicity and said, "Um, well, I had a family emergency come up. And regarding Ms. Smoak, she called me last night to tell me she wasn't going to be in today. Sorry I forgot to communicate that to her supervisor."

"Well, it certainly sounds convenient. Some people would say, instead, the two of you are together playing hooky. Or something. Together."

"Isabel, I don't have time to discuss what possible gossip may be going around about me. Is there a point to this call?"

"Yes, there is. There has been an emergency board meeting called which will convene in thirty minutes. I highly suggest you get here as soon as possible."

Looking at his watch, Oliver said, "Who called it? What is it about?"

"Some of the members have brought up concerns that you no longer are fit to carry on as CEO."

"What?"

"I trust you will be able to make it to this particular meeting then, Oliver?"

"I will be right there." Swearing under his breath, Oliver turned to Felicity, whose eyes had widened and her mouth open slightly, as he disconnected the call.

"I don't know, Oliver, how something like this could have happened," Felicity said.

"We've always known she was out to get me out of there."

"Well, no matter what, how could they vote you out of the position? It is your family's business, after all."

"If there's a way, Isabel is hell-bent on finding it. Let's hurry, we got to stop her."

Felicity and Oliver rushed into the Queen Consolidated building and up to the executive offices. After stopping at his office for a few files, they rushed into the conference room, where Isabel was just finishing her presentation. Five men and three women were seated around the table facing Isabel, but all turned to observe the two late-comers enter the room.

"Well, look who decided to make it. Mr. Queen, you have arrived just in time to make your presentation as to why you should remain as CEO."

Oliver exchanged looks with Felicity, who gave him a little smile and nod. He straightened his tie as he approached the podium at the head of the conference table.

"I'm sure Ms. Rochev has made a very compelling case against my continued tenure as CEO of Queen Consolidated. However, I am confident I can convince you otherwise."

Felicity sat back in her chair, content to watch Oliver work his Queen magic. She was prepared to step in, if necessary, with facts or arguments, but she was confident Oliver had it under control.

And she was correct. Even she was pleasantly surprised by the quality of arguments Oliver had pulled out at the last minute, considering the lack of preparation they indeed had. She only had to step in a few times with actual numbers. When he finished, Mr. Williams, the senior member, escorted them out of the room so the board could take a vote. As they left the room with Isabel, Felicity couldn't help but exchange icy glares with Isabel.

"I suppose you both think you have this," Isabel said, her finely polished lips curving upwards into a thin smile.

"Of course we do, why wouldn't we? Oliver is the best person to run this company, and you know it." Felicity walked away to the couch at the end of the hall and sat down.

Isabel walked over to her and fixed her with a look of pity. "You poor deluded girl. Oliver has as much business sense as a toad. I'm finally able to take over this company."

Felicity was about to make another retort, when Oliver grabbed her by the forearm and slightly shook his head. Felicity gave a grimace but remained silent. And remained quiet while they waited.

They didn't have to wait long. After fifteen minutes, the conference room door opened, and Mr. Williams, stuck his head out. "We have reached a decision. You can come back now."

Mr. Williams waited until the three entered the room and sat down. "It was a rather close vote, but quite decided. By a small majority, it has been determined we will retain Mr. Queen as CEO of the company. Under the provision there be no further reason for another vote to be called for in the future."

Isabel stood up, and began to stutter. "Wha….What happened?" She looked around the table, attempting to gauge the reactions of the various individuals.

"I am sorry, Ms. Rochev, but we feel your evidence is questionable regarding your concerns of Mr. Queen's qualifications as CEO," Mr. Williams said. "Because we felt your concerns have no merit, we don't feel a change is necessary at this time."

Mr. Williams then proceeded to end the meeting, and Oliver and Felicity proceeded to observe the members leave. Some stopped to shake Oliver's hand and make small talk, while others rushed out, not making eye contact with either Oliver or Isabel.

When no other people were left in the room, Isabel turned in anger towards Oliver. "You have the most dumb luck of anyone I know, Mr. Queen. Mark my words. You will regret this."

"What? For standing up for my family legacy? For being the right person for CEO, despite my lack of experience?"

Rolling her eyes, Isabel turned her attention onto Felicity. "And the fact that she's here helping you is just as much a travesty." She spun quickly on her heels and exited the room.

Felicity stared after her, her mouth in a small 'O'. "What is up with her? Why is she suddenly particularly hell-bent on showing us her claws now?"

Oliver pondered Felicity's questions and shook his head. "I'm not sure. However, since we are here, I suppose we better get some work done, at our day job."

Felicity nodded, even though she was exhausted. "I suppose we should see if Isabel left any ticking bombs on her way out."

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

After spending several surprisingly productive hours at Queen Consolidated, Oliver and Felicity made their way to the lair for some well-needed strategy planning. Felicity took her place behind her computers, and began checking on her scans of facial recognition searching for Slade, as well as traffic cameras for any signs of the vehicles Slade had used. Even though there was very little chance Slade was continuing to use his original vehicle, she was still following every lead, no matter how minuscule. She was also able to hack into the traffic cams around the building they were held this morning, and got a license plate number off of that vehicle as well.

Oliver was fashioning some arrowheads, in an attempt to clear his head and brainstorm for ideas, when he was startled out of his reflections by a yelp from Felicity.

"I got him! I actually got him, Oliver."

Looking over her shoulder, Oliver viewed the video from a traffic cam showing a vehicle matching the plates from this morning pull into a warehouse.

"Seems again too easy, though, on second thought." Felicity looked up at Oliver, worrying her lower lip.

Oliver looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sighing, he said, "I know we haven't had much luck with all of this, but…I just can't not examine every lead."

"What lead is that?" Diggle arrived, with bags of Chinese take-out which he tossed casually onto the table and walked over to the screen.

Looking at the screen, Diggle agreed. "Yeah, probably too easy, but then again, we never know. Dillinger did get caught at the movie theater, you know."

Leaning backwards in her chair to grab a spring roll from the nearby table, Felicity said with a sigh, "I suppose this means we eat in the car."

Turning quickly and heading towards the changing room, Oliver said, "Yep, let's roll."

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

Felicity waited in the van, watching the heat signatures given off by her two teammates. She still hadn't been convinced this wasn't a trap, but knew Oliver had to be certain. Because of where the building had been located, she was able to convince Oliver as to the wisdom of bringing her along to provide tech at the location instead of at the lair.

Suddenly her computer gave off an alarm, and she looked at the screen only to see five heat signatures approach Oliver and Digg. Before she could react, the van door was ripped off its hinges and Felicity found herself staring at Isabel Rochef. Isabel grabbed Felicity by the arm and dragged her out of the van. Before she could find her footing, Felicity was dragged into the building by Isabel.

"Let go of me, Isabitch!" Felicity was surprised at the strength of the frail-looking woman. She was unable to free herself from the iron grip of the monster beside her as she was dragged into an inner room.

"Oooh, I can not wait until I can give that mouth of yours a slap you'll still feel next Tuesday." Isabel said as she threw Felicity down onto the floor.

Felicity attempted to stand up, but before she could get to her feet she found herself staring at a pair of black boots in her line of vision. She followed the boots and up the long legs to find herself staring into the eyes of Slade Wilson. He grabbed her by both upper arms, dragged her to a chair, and threw her down. He then tied her arms behind her back, and to the chair, as well as her ankles to the chair legs. He backed away, and Felicity looked to her side. Oliver and Digg were sitting in two other chairs, tied up in similar ways. Only they weren't conscious. Before she could stop herself, a cry escaped her lips, and Slade and Isabel shared a grin.

"Don't worry, they're only knocked out," Slade smirked. "For now."

"I should've known she was in cahoots with you," Felicity said, nodding her head at Isabel.

"Did you ever come up with an idea all on your own?" Isabel asked with a smirk.

"Girls, girls. There will be time for a fight later. Now, I must wake up the hero and start the floor show." Slade got a pail of water from one of his goons and dumped it over Oliver. Oliver startled awake, choking on some of the water. He shook his head, and looked around him. Slade grabbed him by the back of his head, forcing Oliver to look up at him.

"Hello, Oliver. I hear you've been looking for me."

Oliver glared at his old friend. "You've been taunting me long enough, Slade! What is it you want?"

Slade shook his head slowly. "I told you two days ago. All that you have, all you love, I will take away." He smiled and said, "I just so love this game I've been playing with you. Slow, agonizing torture is surely the way to go."

Felicity looked back and forth between the two men. Slade was confident, while Oliver continued to glare at Slade. She struggled against her bonds, finding again they were too tight to escape. Slade looked over at Felicity and smiled at her attempts. "Don't bother, sweetheart, no way would you ever be able to get out of those ropes."

Releasing Oliver and walking towards Felicity, Slade suddenly fixed a most loathsome smile upon her. Oliver didn't like the look at all, and got the most sinister foreboding from it. Slade pulled out a gun and pointed it at Felicity's temple.

"If you'd rather, Oliver, I could end this right now and kill both her and Mr. Diggle without further delay."

Felicity froze, not daring to even breathe. She bit her lip to prevent any stupid babble from escaping. She met Oliver's eyes and shook her head minimally, trying to pretend to be braver than she was feeling. She had no idea what the mad man would do next. She hoped Oliver had some idea.

"I'd rather you take a long walk on a short pier, or island, whichever you prefer, but I know that ain't happening."

"You're so correct, Oliver. Really wish your friend Merlyn hadn't interrupted us before. It would have been very interesting to see who you would've chosen. This young lady or your sister."

The sound of Isabel tapping her foot interrupted them. "Slade, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm getting bored. Why don't you just put me out of my misery and indeed shoot Ms. Smoak once and for all."

"Patience, Isabel, patience. Do you have the papers?"

"What papers, Slade?" Oliver asked.

"What do you think? Papers signing over the control of Queen Consolidated over to Isabel."

"Now why would I sign something like that?"

Slade slowly placed his hand with the gun in his pocket and brought out a knife instead. Grabbing her ponytail, Slade yanked Felicity's head up. Felicity, unprepared, gave out a small shriek. Slade then placed a knife millimeters away from Felicity's throat. "What do you think, Oliver? Is her life worth your family's legacy?"

AN: Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. I'd appreciate it!