Ch 9 – Family
An: I do not own Arrow.
Diggle and Lyla were walking up to their apartment hand in hand when Mrs. Krouch came running up to them in a hysterical state.
"They took her!" She said waving her hands all over the place.
Lyla placed her hands on Mrs. Krouch's arms and tried to calm her down.
"They took who?" Lyla asked calmly.
"Felicity and the blonde woman!"
Lyla's eyes immediately cut to her husband's. He already had his gun drawn and he had started to approach the apartment. They had left Sara with Donna before they left for the University campus. They all thought it was a good way to keep Donna occupied while Felicity was busy.
"Mrs. Krouch, why don't you stay here for a moment, Johnny and I will take a look around ok,"
"They left, they left," she said.
Lyla pointed to the spot she was to stay and then went to back-up her husband. The door to the apartment had been kicked in causing the wooden frame to splinter. They would have to get that fixed tomorrow. She glanced around and found the area clear. She started to head down the corridor that she knew lead to the bedrooms when her husband emerged from the guest bedroom with their daughter in his arms.
"Oh Thank God!" Lyla said as relief rushed over her and she reached for her baby girl.
Diggle pulled out his phone and made a call, "Oliver, we have a problem. Get here now." His next call was to Detective Lance.
S-2
Oliver paced madly in front of the sofas in Verdant's basement. Nobody was brave enough to tell him to stop. The moment he heard Diggle's voice, dread filled his entire being and it hadn't left since. He arrived at Felicity's in record time and had nearly gone into a fit of rage when Diggle informed him that Felicity was gone. They had managed to get Mrs. Krouch to calm down enough for her to give them a description of the kidnappers. The description that they recognised immediately was that of Isabel's.
With Felicity's kidnapping his mother and Walter had decided to step up their plans. How they could think about their plan and not Felicity was beyond him but until they figured out where she was or heard from Isabel there was nothing that he could do but pace and go with the flow. His mother had called Laurel Lance and offered her all of the information they had gathered thus far in exchange for a deal to guarantee that none of them got charged with any offences. They weren't quite sure they had gathered enough information yet but they insisted that if Isobel was stepping up her game then they needed to act now and declare everything before Isobel started spinning her web of lies to the authorities.
Laurel was currently interviewing all the managers they had flipped to their side and all the documented evidence they had uncovered. It was amazing how many people started yapping when you threatened them with jail time.
Oliver's phone rang with a number that he didn't recognise and he placed the phone on speaker.
"Hello," he barked into the phone,
"Now that isn't the way to greet the persons that's holding your girlfriend and her mother hostage, is it?" Isabel's voice purred from the other end of the line.
Oliver looked up at Detective Lance immediately. They started a trace on the call.
"I want to speak to Felicity," Oliver said.
"Oh is lover boy upset that his toy was taken away from him?" Isabel teased.
"Felicity is not a toy," he said through gritted teeth.
"Good then you'll be willing to confess to all of the crimes you're trying to pin on me." She said.
"Those are crimes you committed," Oliver responded.
"I think you'll change your mind about that once you speak to Felicity," Isabel said.
There was silence on the other end of the line until he heard the voice he was dying to hear.
"Oliver don't do anything she asks," Felicity said bravely.
Suddenly she started screaming and Oliver panicked. He had no idea what they were doing to her. He was yelling into the phone for Isabel to stop and leave her alone.
"Are you satisfied?" Isabel asked. He could hear the smirk in her voice.
"I'll say anything you want me to as long as Felicity is returned unharmed," he said.
"Good and you'll also sign over your portion of the company over to me."
Moira frowned at the request.
"Done, where do I meet you?" he asked.
"In my new house or should I say your old one," "Oh and Oliver, come alone," she hung up abruptly.
"The trace is done" Lance said, "She is at.."
"my house," Oliver finished.
"Did you record all of that Detective? This bitch is not getting out of this with my company." Moira said.
"Don't worry Mrs. Queen, I think you gathered enough evidence to put everyone behind bars for a long time. And don't worry , none of you are going to jail," Laurel reassured her as she entered the basement with a stack of manila folders. "These are everyone's get out of jail free cards. I suggest you sign them now."
"Good, we need a plan," Diggle said cracking his knuckles, "Nobody hurts Felicity and gets away with it."
S-3
Oliver drove the town car down the winding road to his house. He had to admit he had never arrived home like this. Usually he was in the back seat being driven. As soon as he stopped at the main entrance he jumped out of the car and headed to the front door. He was stopped by a group of security guards he had never seen before. They searched him and the car and then guided him towards the dining room where he found Isabel eating at the head of the table. Both Felicity and her mother were gagged and tied and forced to sit on either side of her, each with a security guard standing three feet behind them. Even though they were incapacitated, Isabel had still served a plate of food in front of them.
"You made it! I was beginning to think you either got lost or decided Felicity wasn't worth it. After all, with a mother like that," she threw a disdainful glance at Donna, "I would understand why you would dump her."
Loud muffled protests erupted from Felicity and Oliver didn't need to think too hard to know what his girlfriend was saying to Isabel.
"Unlike you, Felicity is worth it," Oliver said as Felicity continued to protest.
"Enough," Isabel snapped towards Felicity.
A security guard stepped forward and yanked downwards hard on her ponytail eliciting a cry of pain from her. Oliver clenched his fists. He wanted to charge the man but that wasn't part of the plan. Diggle had emphasised to him that if he wanted Felicity back safely he had to follow the plan no matter how much Isabel goaded him to act. Even if he could take out the guys standing behind him, he would not be able to get to Felicity and Donna in time.
"I believe you wanted me to make a confession." Oliver said.
"Yes but first let's eat. It's time to celebrate my victory." Isabel said.
"Do you really think you've won?" Oliver asked her.
"Of course I have. I know you went the police to cut a deal. I know your confession under duress won't stand up in court but while you were busy handling that, I made sure that if I couldn't get Queen Consolidated, no one could." She smiled evilly.
"What did you do Isabel?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter now. You have no idea how long I've wanted to see the Queen family brought to their knees. Your father was supposed to be with me and he would have been with me if it weren't for that stupid heart attack. He would have left that frigid bitch you call a mother and married me." She said.
"The only frigid bitch I know is you!" Oliver retorted.
"Careful Oliver, insults against me will have consequences for Felicity," Isabel said nodding to the security guard who came forward and yanked on Felicity's pony tail again, this time her head hit against the back of the chair as well. Donna was making plenty of noise and glaring at Isabel. The guard behind her chair had stepped forward to restrain her into the chair.
Oliver tensed. A plate of food was brought out by a worried looking Raisa and placed on the other end of the dining table opposite Isabel.
"Please master Oliver, sit and eat," Raisa pleaded with him. There was a large bruise forming on her face and he wondered which one of the security guards had abused her. He would make them all pay.
Oliver reluctantly sat down as Isabel used her steak knife to cut her steak.
"This is delicious. You really do have a good cook." Isabel said taking another piece of steak off of her plate and eating it. She looked up at her guests around the table, "Why isn't anyone eating? Do you need a knife Oliver?" she asked before she threw the knife across the table with perfect aim at Oliver's throat. Both Donna and Felicity screamed into their gags.
Oliver caught the knife easily, without even flinching, and used the knife to cut a piece of steak and eat it, "Yes it does taste good but it won't be as good as seeing you in jail," he said calmly.
If Isabel was surprised he caught the knife, she didn't show it.
"Ah you are mistaken Oliver, I will never see the inside of a jail cell, you however, I'm not so sure about. It will be difficult to convince the authorities that you didn't have a hand in all this," she said.
Oliver smirked, "But I already have. There is no getting away Isabel. Give me Felicity and her mother and they'll be lenient on you."
Isabel snorted and snapped her fingers. The security guards dragged Felicity and Donna from their chairs and walked with Isabel towards one of the exits.
"Where are you going?" Oliver asked.
Isabel smirked, "Why don't you follow us and find out?"
They walked through the mansion to what Oliver realised was the garage. There were four town cars parked up each exactly alike. Isabelle entered one, Donna entered one, Felicity entered one and the security guards entered another.
"Good bye Oliver," Isabel said.
"Wait, you're supposed to give me back Felicity!" he said.
She smirked, "Once I'm safely out of the country you'll get her back, or maybe pieces of her, I'm not quite sure if I'm in a benevolent mood or not."
Oliver knew the time to make his move was now. As soon as the garage doors began to open, Oliver took out the two security guards closest to him. The first car with the security guards exited first, followed by Isabel's. He ran to the other side of the garage to where they stored their sports equipment and retrieved his bow and arrow. He loved archery when he was a kid and Shado had trained him to shoot with deadly accuracy. By the time he strapped on the quiver the cars were halfway down the driveway. He ran behind them. The first two arrows went into the back tires of the nearest car. That was the one carrying Donna. He ran around that car and sent another quickly at the next car, Felicity's car before it disappeared through the front gate. The sound of a police siren outside indicated that the police had stopped the other cars.
He didn't stop running until he reached Felicity's car. He wrenched the door open and found her alone in the backseat. He pulled her out and hugged her. He had been so scared. He untied and removed the gag.
"Are you injured?" he asked.
"I don't think so but I have one hell of headache. Do I have any hair left on my head?" she asked swinging her head from him to inspect.
He laughed, "I don't care if you have hair or not, you're alive and that's all I need to know.
They were soon joined by Diggle, "Isabel wasn't in the cars," he revealed.
"But I saw her get into the second one," Oliver protested breaking the hug he had with Felicity to face Diggle.
"She must have slipped out when you weren't looking," Diggle replied calmly.
"So you mean she got away?" Oliver asked angrily.
"It's ok," Felicity said placing her hand on his forearm, "I know exactly where she's going."
"My baby girl," Donna screamed as she reached her daughter. Lyla had retrieved her.
"Mom," Felicity said hugging her tight.
S-4
Felicity and her mother were in a private room of the hospital sponsored by Moira Queen. The doctors had run detailed tests and they were concerned Felicity might have a slight concussion. Oliver hadn't left them alone since they arrived at the hospital and Felicity thought he must be bored. They were interrupted when Moira and Thea arrived with flowers and a get well card.
"Mrs. Queen!" Felicity said.
"Felicity I told you to call me Moira," she said firmly.
Felicity gave her a bashful smile, "Moira, you didn't need to do all of this for me?"
"Nonsense dear, you're family now and the Queens take care of family."
Felicity smiled and she felt her mother nudge her on her side. It was time to bite the bullet and introduce her mother to Moira.
"Moira, this is my mother Donna. Mom this is Oliver's mom."
Donna's eyes lit up and Felicity knew something embarrassing was going to happen but she was pleasantly surprised when Donna toned down her response, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Moira smiled, "Perhaps we can do lunch next week. I'm sure there are many stories we can share about our children."
"Oh I got some great stories about Ollie," Thea supplied.
"I'm sure I can top those. You'll be surprised to hear some of the tangles my daughter got herself caught into. There was this drug dealer once" Donna started before Felicity interrupted her.
"None of those stories! I was a child and I didn't even know who he was. Oh look, there's Detective Lance," Felicity said successfully redirecting the conversation.
She couldn't help but notice her mother flip her hair and straighten out her appearance some more. Felicity rolled her eyes. Suddenly she suspected her mother's trip to Starling City was going to be extended.
"Warrants have been issued for Ms. Rochev's arrest as well as others involved in this plot. I reviewed the recording we have of the conversation at your house. Do you have any idea how she planned to destroy your company?"
"Yes," Felicity answered, "She was going to funnel all of the money out of the company to various accounts she has across the globe. She would have left QC penniless unable to pay any debts. The numerous contracts we would have defaulted on would have caused a legal nightmare. The stock price would have plummeted and the only source of funds would have been the physical assets that company held. We would have been ripe for a corporate takeover."
"But that's not going to happen?" Lance asked.
"Nope," Felicity said popping her p. "We knew what she planned to do. We flipped Liam early so I was able to set up programmes that made it look like the money was transferred. When she checked her bank accounts, it would appear to her that the money was there, except it wasn't."
"I would love to see her face when she finds out," Moira commented. Donna agreed.
Felicity smiled evilly, "That can be arranged."
S-5
The next day Isabel was seated at an expensive restaurant that overlooked the ocean. It was late afternoon and the sun was hanging low in the sky. The sunset was supposed to be spectacular. The meal was excellent and when she was satisfied that she had spent enough time soaking in the atmosphere, she requested the bill. She placed her credit card on the counter and the waiter swiped it. She entered her pin and waited for the transaction to go through. The transaction was declined. They tried three more before she pulled out two other cards. To her utter horror, none of them worked. Isabel was livid and she grew tenser when a perky blonde with glasses sat down opposite her.
"Here try my card, I'll pick up the tab this time for her," Felicity said to the waiter and handed him her card. She then slid a cell phone across the table to Isabel. "I suggest you call your bank. You'll find that you have no funds. Brazil may not have any extradition treaties with the States but I don't know how you're going to survive here with no money."
"You're lying," she accused the blonde.
"Talk to you banker, I found every single account, even the one you were hiding under an assumed name in South Africa."
Isabel lunged for the blonde but she was held back by the strong arms of Oliver Queen. "I could end you very easily for what you tried to do Isabel," He said in a serious voice.
"Then do it," she goaded.
"No I think watching you try to live in a foreign country with no funds might indeed be the best punishment.
The waiter finished with Felicity's card and handed it back to her.
"Time to go home Oliver," Felicity said.
He beamed at her, "Yes dear," he released Isabel and they started walking away from Isabel when Felicity stopped and looked over her shoulder, "I'm monitoring your movements. The minute you leave Brazil, we'll have you brought back to face your charges. Oh and I suggest you get a job, I hear the cafe down the street is looking for waitresses."
Isabel let out a scream of frustration that brought a smile to both of their faces. "You think they received that video clip?" Oliver asked Felicity. He had a pin on his jacket
that was a video camera that was supposed to be broadcasting a live feed back to the others in Starling City.
"Yeap, now let's enjoy this night," she said to him with a seductive smile. He didn't have to be told twice.
Oliver and Felicity walked off hand in hand down the beach into the sunset.
An: I know the chapter is shorter than the rest but I really couldn't find any way to extend it. The epilogue is almost complete. It will be up next week. Thanks for reading.
