Chapter 6 - Wounded

AN – So sorry for the delayed posting, RL has been a bit demanding this week. Hopefully I can write a bit ahead this week and get back on schedule...reviews are always encouraging though (hint, hint)!

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine but the toys are too much fun to give back yet!

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Felicity focused on the attractive blonde man with piercing blue eyes who smiled warmly at her. She barely even noted the additional men moving closer to her. "Damien Darhk."

He laughed before he replied. "It seems that I missed Oliver Queen today but I plan to leave him a message."

"What do you want me to tell him?" Felicity spoke as calmly as she could even as she tried to step backward toward her car.

Felicity's scream echoed through the comms just before the line went dead.

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Thea was surprised when Roy suddenly pushed her back around the corner and shook his head no without even looking at her. Frowning but silent she watched as he started scanning the street and found herself doing the same.

Roy felt the tension radiating off Thea and knew he was just as tense. Seeing Felicity's purse in the alley near her car was a bad sign though. He wanted nothing more than to check-in and see if everything was alright but he needed to get more information. Remembering the building layouts, he knew there was a fire escape the next block over that would allow them to a better vantage point.

Feeling Roy's tug on her arm, Thea looked back and nodded when he motioned her to remain silent. She kept her mouth shut as he gestured again but it took her a moment to understand his plan. As she nodded, they heard tires squeal on the pavement and watched Oliver make a sharp turn into the alley on his bike. Thea couldn't take her eyes off him as he appeared very much like the Arrow even though he wore a three piece business suit.

Diggle braked hard and was out of his car before it had even fully stopped. He saw Oliver ahead of him holding Felicity's purse as he looked around the area. Pausing to look around he saw Roy and Thea move from the corner. He nodded gratefully as they approached but didn't speak. With a grim look, he returned his focus to Oliver. The man hadn't spoken since they had heard Felicity's scream.

Worried by the silence, Thea tried to calm her breathing as she watched Oliver kneel and study the pavement. She couldn't see anything but when Diggle and Roy walked slowly forward for a closer look, she followed. Only steps away from Oliver, Thea continued to scan the ground but she still saw nothing. Slowly, she reached out a hand to touch her brother's shoulder. Oliver turned just as slowly to face her and though he said nothing she flinched away from the angry heat in his eyes.

Roy pulled Thea back slightly as Oliver stood and moved toward the lair. He exchanged a worried look with Diggle but the other man was nearly as tense and angry as Oliver. It was harder to discern Diggle's emotions but Roy had worked with him enough to recognize the look.

The one thought in Oliver's mind was to find Felicity. He moved to see if the tracker in her watch was working but froze as he stared at her empty desk. It hadn't taken long for him to realize that he was better with her but it had taken longer to realize that he didn't want to be the Arrow without her. As he looked from the empty chair to the black screen though it hit him that he wasn't sure he could be the Arrow without Felicity. He wasn't even sure he could be Oliver Queen without her.

"I'll pull up the tracking program – we'll find Felicity." Diggle spoke the words quietly as he sat down.

Thea and Roy exchanged looks at the verbal confirmation that Felicity was actually missing and in danger. Neither spoke though.

Diggle typed in the previous codes once more but stopped when he saw the error message again.

"She updated the system when she came back." Thea reminded the men as she saw both Roy's and Diggle's confusion. "I can get us in."

Diggle moved from Felicity's chair to allow Thea to take a seat. He watched in surprise as the young woman did in fact bring the computer system to life. She then paused and turned to Roy. "I haven't used the tracking program before…"

"I have." Roy then stepped up as Thea moved to the side. He had just started bringing up the appropriate file when a resounding snap echoed through the lair.

Training and instinct prompted Roy and Thea to dive to the side as they tried to locate the source. Diggle had reached for his gun as he turned but he stopped when he saw the scene before him. Turning slightly, he met Roy's eyes and they both looked away to give Oliver privacy.

Thea continued to stare as with only a single strike her brother had snapped off the wooden arm of one of the old training dummies. With wide eyes, she watched as in a flurry of fast, hard strikes he broke off the rest. The strikes kept coming though and each one shook the dummy violently. For a moment those were the only sounds in the lair but soon Thea heard a keyboard and turned to find Diggle and Roy focused on the computer. Unsure, Thea looked between her brother and the men several times before moving back to Felicity's desk.

"Something is jamming the tracker." Diggle spoke under his breath but tried to run the program several more times.

"Did you find her?"

Oliver's voice was a low, anguished growl that again caused Thea to flinch as she hadn't even processed the sudden return of the silence. She could see the pain in his eyes and it reminded her of a wounded, scared animal. The sight nearly broke her heart as she had never seen her brother show such pain. She knew he had suffered before but he had never let her see that – even with their mother's death he had been stoic.

Diggle took a deep breath before he turned and met Oliver's eyes. "No. There's no signal to trace."

The silence lengthened as Oliver moved his eyes from Diggle's to the computer blinking the message 'no signal'. The other three watched Oliver instead of the computer screen. His sudden movement still caught them by surprise though and no one stopped him as he sent the keyboard went flying across the room.

When Oliver raised his hand again it was Thea who stepped in front of him. Diggle and Roy moved quickly to her sides as she spoke.

"Even I know that Felicity wouldn't appreciate you destroying her babies." Thea offered a small smile when Oliver met her eyes. The tormented look in his eyes remained but she continued speaking even though she knew the look of pain in her brother's eyes would haunt her. "When we get her back, and we will Ollie, do you want to have to tell her that you destroyed her stuff?"

Focused only on Thea, memories flooded Oliver's mind – their shared childhood, the Island, his return to Starling City, becoming partners with Diggle, teaching Roy to use Thea to focus his emotions, and Felicity. So many memories of Felicity. He could see her frowning, smiling, laughing and he could remember her telling him that he was good, that he was a hero. His city might not consider him a hero but Oliver realized that was no longer important. Felicity was important and he wanted to be a hero for her.

"Thea, pull up Felicity's file on Darhk. Roy, we'll need a plan to search the properties as quickly as possible. Diggle, call Lyla for an update and see if we can get some help. I'll call Darhk's office and see if I can get details on his schedule by requesting a meeting. We need to find Felicity."

Thea breathed a sigh of relief at her brother's words and the look of steely determination that mixed with the pain. She also noticed that Diggle and Roy seemed calmer too which also reassured her. She truly hadn't had that much experience with her brother or his Team Arrow but it looked like she was about to and she was both thrilled and nervous. As Oliver and Diggle both walked away with their phones in their hands, Thea reached out to take Roy's hand as she spoke softly.

"I've never seen him like that." Remembering the raw power and emotions, she continued with a frown of concern. "Is he…will he be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be okay but he'll be better once we have Felicity back." Roy gave Thea a small smile of encouragement but since she still appeared worried he tried teasing her. "You really do still have so much to learn."

A bubble of laughter escaped and Thea smiled at the slight release of tension. Returning Roy's grin, she quirked a brow and teased him back. "Okay, I give…what's the most important lesson I need to learn?"

Diggle returned to hear their comments and he spoke before Roy could do so. "Oliver will do anything for his family, for those he loves…that's why he took Slade on for you, Thea." Pausing, Diggle considered his own words before he continued.

"We may not always agree with his choices but his heart is in the right place." Diggle turned to look at Oliver and had to accept the truth of his own words. He looked back to Thea and after she nodded in understanding, he took a seat and started working on the computer as Roy spoke to add his own take on Oliver's priorities.

"Do you remember that Oliver left during your mom's trial?" Roy asked. He hadn't been there that night but both Felicity and Diggle had shared the story when they had explained Oliver's reluctance to kill.

"Yeah, he got a call and just left me there while the jury deliberated on our mom's life." There was still bitterness in Thea's tone that she couldn't hide. She loved her brother but there were times that she had hated him too as he always seemed to be leaving her alone.

"Felicity had been taken by the Count – the guy who was using vaccines to drug the city. Diggle was even infected. Oliver went by himself to get her back. He put three arrows in the man that knocked him out the window." Roy spoke in a low serious tone as he tried to get Thea to truly understand her brother.

Thea gasped as she remembered hearing the story and seeing the newspaper picture. Before she could ask any questions Roy continued speaking.

"Oliver got shot that night but after making sure Felicity and Diggle were okay he went back to make sure you were okay too."

Diggle heard Thea gasp again and he couldn't help but remember that night and other times Oliver had protected Felicity and him. They had made a good Team and he knew that that Oliver was better with them at his side. After the past months, Diggle was also starting to realize that he was better with Oliver and Felicity too.

Thea was also remembering different times before she had been in on the secret. Oliver had hidden so much from her but he hadn't done so to hurt her or even protect himself. He had been protecting her though and others as well. While she had been getting to know Malcolm and even herself, she had somehow forgotten to get to know her own brother.

Roy's next words made both Diggle and Thea smile despite their grim memories.

"Lesson #1 – Never get or try to get between Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak."