Chapter 7 – Eye of the storm
AN – Many thanks for the encouraging reviews, faves and follows! If you write too then you know what feedback means…if you don't write then I can't adequately explain just how much feedback inspires, encourages, and thrills! Again, thank you!
AN2 – It was accurately pointed out to me that we are more into the action/ adventure portion of my description than the lighter/ fluffier side but rest assured there will be some more fluff and a HEA! ;)
DISCLAIMER: CW's Arrow still belongs to others…I haven't won the lottery yet either! :(
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Thea watched Oliver carefully as they all entered the lair. As each day had passed since Felicity's abduction, he had changed and had withdrawn more. She hadn't even had two full weeks with that smiling, happy version of her brother who had returned with Felicity but she found that she missed him. Now, well, she wasn't sure what to think about him. Standing next to Oliver felt like you were standing in the eye of an electrical storm. You could feel the barely leashed power and you knew lightning was going to strike but you couldn't be sure where.
So far practice dummies were Oliver's primary victims. Diggle and Roy trained with him the most but she had taken a turn or two herself. More times than not, Diggle or even Oliver himself would call a halt to it quickly though. Oliver's only other outlet was their nightly excursions and she had been shocked by his speed and strength. He blended into the night, into the darkness. There were moments when Thea was again reminded that she didn't really know him even though she was in on his big secret.
Frowning, Thea looked away and stretched her back as she rolled her head and shoulders to relieve some of her own tension. It had been another long night but their leads had led nowhere once again. A sharp metal clang followed by several small ones echoed through the lair and had Thea jumping and spinning in the air. She was surprised to see that it was Roy who had knocked the table clean.
Roy fought to calm his breathing as he stared at the mess…it wasn't the array of medical supplies on the floor with his bag that he saw though. He saw only Felicity's smiling face. Turning slightly toward Diggle and Oliver who stood behind him, Roy spoke in a soft voice.
"Why can't we find her?"
Diggle approached the young man slowly and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know. I do know that we will find her though. Felicity's tough, Roy. She has been in tight spots before and often manages to save herself."
Waiting until Roy nodded, Diggle spoke again. "Let me clean that wound on your back."
Without another word, Roy stripped off his gear from the waist up and took a seat on the now empty table. With his thoughts still on Felicity he didn't even notice that all the supplies were on the floor.
Thea pulled her eyes from the injuries on Roy's back when she saw Diggle move to pick up the necessary items scattered on the floor. She did pause briefly though before she chose to walk around another table to avoid letting too close to Oliver.
Standing perfectly still, Oliver almost flinched as Thea avoided him. He wanted to reach out to her, to Diggle and Roy but he was afraid that if he opened up at all he would fall apart. Felicity was the one who had helped him finally put the past behind him and put himself back together. He wasn't sure if he was strong enough to do it again by himself. Thoughts of his world without Felicity pushed Oliver to walk toward a training dummy and strike.
Thea barely reacted when the now familiar sounds of her brother pulverizing another innocent training dummy reached her ears. She instead focused on Diggle who continued to give her additional medical training as he treated Roy's injury. As Roy only looked straight ahead, Thea put a hand on his shoulder but nearly pulled it back when she felt the wiry stiffness of his tense muscles. Taking a breath, she stroked gently hoping to calm him and possibly herself. Considering what she had seen of all three men in action over the last days, Thea had even more respect for Felicity who had stood by them as a partner for years.
A tense quiet reigned inside the lair despite Diggle's soft voice and Oliver's training. The ping of Felicity's computer was easily heard and inspired an immediate response as all four moved quickly to the machine.
"I don't get it." Roy spoke first as they stared at a series of numbers slowly materializing on the screen.
"That's how the messages to Felicity have appeared." Oliver stated just a moment before Diggle spoke.
No one spoke for several moments until the last number appeared and the whole sequence flashed twice.
"They're coordinates." Diggle took a seat and plugged in the numbers to bring up an office building just outside of Starling City. He then started another program to access intel on the building and area.
"So Felicity's mystery contact either doesn't know she's gone or—" Thea cut off her own words with a concerned frown. She had never fully understood Felicity's rambles about how the messages were received or what they had meant.
"Or it's a trap." Roy concluded with a glare at the computer. He wanted to get Felicity back but falling for a decoy would waste time and energy they didn't have and could cost them the blonde.
"I'm going." Oliver hadn't changed from his Arrow gear so all he needed to grab were his weapons.
"Not alone you aren't." Diggle spoke as he stood up and moved toward his own bag and weapons. Regardless of what had happened in the past, Team Arrow had started with Oliver, him, and Felicity and he refused to let it end with only him and Oliver. He wanted, he needed their Team back together.
"Guys, don't we need a plan…or something?" Thea asked as Roy moved to grab his clothes despite the new bandages on his back. They had already been out that night and their activities included defeating two gangs of drug dealers – neither of whom had provided any new info on Darhk.
Silence greeted Thea's words as all three men packed their gear and headed toward the door. With a final look at the computer and a soft sigh, she grabbed her own stuff and raced after them. As Thea opened the door and stepped onto the street, lightning streaked across the sky. The weather men were at a loss to explain the brilliant nightly displays as there was no rain or storms present and Thea found it disturbing. It seemed the skies mirrored Oliver's mood and she knew that was both were dangerous.
They drove quickly to the building in multiple vehicles. Thea rode in the car with Diggle and reviewed the building plans as he drove. She provided updates and details to all but other than her voice the comms were quiet.
Oliver arrived first and moved to the roof of the building across the street to get a better vantage point. He saw Diggle and Thea approach from the east while Roy took his bike in a wide circle to check the back. After just a moment, Roy's voice was heard.
"I'm sending pics. It's quiet back here." Considering the late hour, Roy wasn't surprised by the darkness. Thea's intel had revealed that the area was primarily small businesses.
One of Felicity's new toys allowed them to not just hear one another but to also use glasses to see pictures from anyone else in the group. They had been using the tech each night and had found it incredibly useful.
Without speaking, Oliver uploaded a few shots of his own as Diggle spoke.
"There's no connection to the other buildings. Are we going in quiet?" Diggle shared a look with Thea as they noticed the new pictures from Oliver.
Torn, Oliver knew that if he rushed in as his instincts screamed to do that he was risking not just the others who would follow him but possibly Felicity as well. They didn't have enough intel and he had to accept that they needed to be quiet.
Roy approached the building and quickly picked the lock and bypassed security. He provided the update before Oliver made the call. "I'm in back here."
Diggle, Thea, and Oliver joined Roy and they quietly made their way through the building. Nothing seemed unusual until Thea noted hidden stairs that hadn't been on the plan. Moving quietly, they followed the stairs down but their path was blocked by a large metal door.
Roy stepped forward just as Oliver moved to the side. After a moment, Roy spoke quietly. "There should be a panel somewhere. The door is wired."
As Roy stayed by the door, the other three searched the area. It didn't take long for Diggle to locate the hidden panel. It did take a few moments for them to evaluate the security though before Roy directed Thea to help him bypass the dual security requirements. Oliver was the first through the door and into the lab.
"This looks like what Laurel described before the explosion." Thea advised as she noted several large cylinders, a row of computers and what appeared to be a glass enclosure the size of a small room in the center.
"Move carefully – don't touch anything." Diggle spoke calmly despite the fact that all knew Laurel's exploration had resulted in an explosion.
"We have other issues guys." Roy gestured to the masked guard who was stationed across the room with his back to them. "No, don't."
Oliver paused and looked back at Roy with a frown. Taking out a single guy wouldn't be an issue.
Roy exchanged looks with Thea before he spoke again. "We took out the guard too…quietly even but the others still knew."
While he continued to frown, Oliver stepped back to blend into the darkness. The others followed until they all stood close together. Realizing Diggle hadn't heard their story, Thea updated him quietly.
"Roy and I checked out the first warehouse and there was a guard just like that. As soon as he went down, the others came. They all moved together and it was like fighting an army of drones. It didn't matter what we did, they knew and kept coming."
"If they are the same, then this is Darhk." Oliver met their eyes briefly but did not speak further.
Realizing his plan was still to attack, Diggle nodded. Roy agreed next but spoke up as well.
"We can't get trapped here. We need to keep an exit open."
All scanned the room but there were only two doors – the one the guard protected and the one they had used to enter the room. Knowing Oliver would go regardless; Diggle immediately started planning their escape. Gesturing to Oliver, he stepped back out the door and the others followed him back upstairs. Again they scanned the area.
"This is our exit." Diggle motioned to side window on the mezzanine level above them. He continued speaking as the others looked from the window to him. "Thea, you'll stay there and use your arrows to keep the path clear. Roy, set up a rope now for us to climb up but you remain here near the door. I'll be at the door below."
Thea took a moment to visualize the plan before she realized that it would be Oliver alone facing whatever or whoever came out the door. "No, absolutely not. I thought we are supposed to stick together."
Moving toward his sister, Oliver pushed down his own dark desire to immediately engage the enemy and tried to reassure her. "It's a sound plan. We just need to confirm it's Darhk and then I'll get out. You guys will help me get out Speedy."
Lightning again flashed and briefly lit up the darkened building. Thea grabbed her brother's arm as she looked in his eyes. The storm still brewing there made her gasp slightly. He looked dangerous; he looked like the Green Arrow.
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Lesson #15. Strength isn't enough – you need focus, precision, control, and balance (aka ninja skills). Ninja skills aren't enough – you need good intel, a good plan (or plans), and a good Team.
