THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Your nice comments are what really inspire me to write! This chapter is also pretty short but you'll be glad to know it doesn't have a cliff hanger at the end… (or does it :D)
The car journey was made in complete silence, only accompanied by the revving hum of the engine as they flashed past speed cameras, way above the limit. Digg had insisted on driving, saying that the drug could have after effects, making it dangerous for both of them if Oliver was at the wheel. They finally screeched to a stop by the back entrance of Verdant and Oliver was out before the tires even stopped rolling. He punched in the code and threw open the heavy door, making his way down the iron stairs, the echoing clang reminding him how empty the lair was without Felicity. He was tempted to head over to the training mats and beat the living daylights out of a dummy but silently scolded himself at the thought of it. He had to focus on Felicity.
Powering up the system he cursed the slowness of the set up. He could hear Digg's footsteps entering the lair but didn't turn around, too focused on the screen in front of him.
"Where do I start?" Oliver asked, somewhat sheepishly. This was Felicity's forte and not having her here was a huge drawback.
Diggle appeared by his left shoulder. "Try just a simple name search." He said, leaning over and pointing at a program on the screen.
Upon opening it, Oliver quickly typed in Antony's name and entered the search. There were thousands of hits so he limited the search to just Starling City. He wasn't surprised to see his name wasn't listed.
"Nope. He's a ghost. I remember when I was with Emma, his daughter; she mentioned he worked with computers. He's probably wiped his name from the database. Felicity's said how easy it is to do if you know how." His voice trailed off at the end at the mention of her name. Just saying it felt like a blow to his heart.
"So there's no point checking bank or hotel records if he's a ghost, is there?"
Oliver shook his head tiredly, running a hand quickly through his hair "I'll check anyways, just to be sure."
Oliver had been sifting through electronic paperwork for almost an hour and found nothing. His eyes were dry from staring constantly at the bright screens. He had no idea how Felicity could dig for hours on end without developing a constant squint. He sighed roughly and leant back in the chair, covering his face with his hands and rubbing his eyes. It wasn't until he felt Digg's hand land lightly on his shoulder that he lowered them.
"Why don't you take a break? I'll carry on checking through the rest of these results." He said gesturing at the screen.
Oliver nodded his head gratefully and was making his way to the couch before he changed his mind. He had anger left over in his system and needed to sweat it out. He switched his direction and walked towards the training mats, whipping off his shirt as he did. He beat the dummy over and over again, harder and harder, imagining Antony was standing in front of him. He pounded it again, his grunts and the thwack of skin against leather filling the air. He was breathing heavily and dripping with sweat when he heard Digg call his name urgently.
"Oliver! Quickly, a live feed's being transmitted to us. It's Felicity." On hearing these words, he ran as fast as he could over to the computers. On the screen was a small box showing a dark room. He could make out a small tatty bed with a figure spread across it. He wouldn't have recognised them if he hadn't seen their hair reflecting the little light in the room. She had been stripped down to her underwear and he could see numerous bruises covering her body. There were a ring of darker ones around her neck, probably from being strangled and he swore again to kill Antony when he found him. She wasn't moving apart from the small rise and fall of her chest. The door opened, throwing more light into the tiny room. Antony walked in, looked straight at the camera and smiled.
"You really should have listened Oliver. She's mine." He put emphasise on the last word, further fuelling the Oliver's rage. "You should know better than to play with other's property. Except that never really bothered you did it? Never bothered you with my Emma?!" he spat, his voice rising, slowly filling with rage.
"Did you even love her?! Or was it just a meaningless fling like this one here?" he flung his arm towards Felicity's small body on the bed. The anger slowly seemed to disappear from his stance as he stared at her and even in the darkness, Oliver could see his eyes growing darker.
"I will do to her what you did to my daughter. Now, why don't you leave me and your pretty blonde to have some fun…" he said smiling savagely as he started towards her. The picture suddenly disappeared, faced back with the desktop background. Oliver roared in pure anger and screamed at Diggle.
"Get it back! Track it! It can't end there!" Digg's fingers flew clumsily over the keys only to growl in frustration.
"It's blocked! I can't get a fix!"
Oliver yelled in frustration and turned around to the metal tables behind him. Without even thinking, he flipped one, enjoying the clang and smashing following it. He was still shaking, both of rage and shock. The key clicks were still echoing around the empty warehouse but they were becoming slower and less assured.
"What is he doing to her? We're blind without the video…" Oliver said slumping into the nearby couch, suddenly feeling bone tired. He ran another hand over his face, breathing out deeply.
"I have a feeling he's going to call us back. We'll just have to wait it out until then." Digg stated monotonously.
Too exhausted to argue, Oliver nodded his head, ignoring the guilt he felt for essentially abandoning Felicity.
For the first time since returning from the island Oliver felt powerless. Someone he loved was being hurt because of a stupid mistake he made years ago. He couldn't turn up and stick arrows into anyone. He had to sit still and wait for something to tell him what to do next.
Hey remember MORE REVIEWS = MORE CHAPTERS