Oliver had watched as Sam came charging out of the cubicle and shot the super soldier point blank in both knees then pull the .44 out of his waistband and take out both his hands. The soldier dropped to the floor screaming and Oliver's face and chest got covered in blood. When he looked back up at Sam his heart dropped. Sam was gone, all that was left was rage. He had to make an immediate decision. He couldn't argue with Sam in this situation, one Sam wasn't listening to reason, two it would waste time, three Oliver's name would probably get spoken and four, although it sickened Oliver to admit it, Sam would not stop hurting this guy until he got what they needed. Oliver needed that information. He remembered the conversation with Bobby about "Winchester Idiocy". That information was more important than Sam's stability right now. Sam wasn't in any physical danger and Oliver would take responsibility for however Sam came out at the end of this. Sam yelled at him to leave. He had to, but he was going to make sure Sam had as much time as possible to get this guy to break. He grabbed his bow and dove out the window.

"Felicity, eyes on me. Sam is fine, don't worry about him right now. He's going to get the information. I need to give him time. That truck. Where is it? How many people are in it? " Oliver had to keep her focused on him, he didn't want her seeing what Sam was going to do.

"South side, I can't see too much the angles are crappy but it looks like 2 people but it is a truck so there could be more in the back. The helicopter turned around, maybe it got some sort of signal that the job was blown. Swat is still on the way though. " she said

"Right, I am taking out that truck and providing a distraction. " With his shoulder injured drawing the bow was not an option. He ran around to the south side and ducked behind a dumpster. Looks like someone had told the people in the truck that their friend needed help. 4 guys got out of the back and one hopped out of the cab. Oliver hoped to hell that these guys had not been injected with Mirakure or this would not end well for him. He grabbed two flechettes, threw them and took out the two tires in the front. That got the immediate attention of the 5 men by the truck. Then he plunged an explosive arrow in the ground and set the timer for 10 seconds and started climbing up a pipe he had seen on the side of the wall. He needed to split these guys up. The arrow went off, 3 men went to investigate and 2 stayed by the truck. Oliver crouched down on the roof, he threw a flechette at one of the men by the truck. He went down grabbing his neck. The other one spotted Oliver and started firing, that had been what he wanted. The roof had several places for him to play hide and seek with these guys. He ducked under an air conditioning unit. He heard footsteps on the roof. They must have found a roof access or climbed the pipe like he had. He closed his eyes and listened. His shoulder was bleeding and he didn't have a lot of time until the blood loss was going to start taking a toll. The steps got closer to him, he opened his eyes, aimed through the housing on the unit that had a gap just wide enough for him to get a dart through, it stuck and someone howled in pain. Good, they weren't on Mirakure. At least that gave him hope. He closed his eyes again and listened, two more sets of footsteps one to his left and the echoes on the other one made it hard to determine the location but it sounded as if it was behind him.. There was a roof access doorway that offered concealment about 15 feet to his right. Oliver started to make his way towards it when he heard gunfire from his right. . He felt a bullet slice narrowly miss him, plucking his hood, he ducked and rolled, grabbed another flechette, spun, saw the gunman who had just crested the roof enough to get a shot, and threw it. Then he jumped off the roof, rolled and came up running the opposite way from Sam. He didn't like the odds of close quarter combat with 3 guys with guns and him with an injured shoulder. He heard the sounds of footsteps behind him.

"I have their attention. " He came up to a wall, jumped up on it, pulled himself up with one arm. The wall lead to a roof but they would probably be expecting that. He looked down and there another lower wall below him and with a wall running parallel to that. There was about 10 feet in between walls. The wall that was further away seemed to lead to some sort of garden courtyard area. That would work. Oliver heard the men clearing the corner, he hopped to the lower wall, hopped to the wall that was parallel from it. Landed on top, jumped down into the courtyard hoping no one was there and ran. This wasn't the Glades and he was surprised he hadn't seen anyone. Just as he had that thought someone came around the corner in front of him. There was a wall to his left, he blindly vaulted it and landed on some industrial piping that was running through the facility. He ducked down in between the shadows on the piping.

"Ok where the hell am I?" he asked Felicity. "I can't keep running around, it's too early in the day for that. " She didn't respond.

'Felicity? Can you hear me?" So far they had never had reception problems.

"Yes. "Her voice was shaky. "Sorry, stay there for now. I guided Diggle through traffic I'll send him to you. "

'What's wrong?" he asked

"N..Nothing." she stammered. "Are you ok? " she asked him

"Arrow through the shoulder. I'll be ok. I'll wait here." He tucked even farther in the shadows and tried to staunch the bleeding in his shoulder.

A few minutes later he heard a car pull up and Diggle said "Ride's here." He hopped out of the shadows, landed on top of the car, hopped off the roof and into the backseat.

"So the Mirakure guys do archery now too?" Diggle asked.

"No, he stabbed me with my own arrow. Good thing I keep them so sharp, leaves a nice clean hole. Easy to stitch." Diggle was going to reply but he got a text on his phone. He looked at it and started swearing.

"Fuck! Oliver what the hell happened?" Diggle was furious. He literally threw the phone at Oliver who barely caught it in time. The text was from Felicity stating that she had watched Sam torture the super soldier and she was panicking.

"Oh no. Shit." he closed his eyes. "I told her to keep her eyes on me. "

"Let me repeat. " Diggle said, his voice barely controlled. "What happened?"

"Dig, I didn't have a choice."
"Bullshit, there is always a damn choice. Why is Sam out on a job? He's not ready for that. I swear I cannot leave you alone for a fucking day without you trying to get yourself killed. It's not like we can't track one fucking truck through traffic. Felicity could have followed it on cameras you idiot. I could have gotten there in plenty of time for that. "

"SWAT was on the way already! They would have been killed or worse. " Oliver snapped. "You think I wanted this? We got there and the super soldier was stacking up equipment on a pallet to somehow airlift it as there was a helicopter in route. I don't think the truck was to get the gear out. The super soldier could have just broken down a wall, carried the pallet out hooked it up to a the helicopter. We wouldn't have been able to follow that! "

"We weren't positive it was Mirakure related for sure until we got there. It's not like they wear uniforms. Sam didn't give me a choice either. The robbery started when we were at the club picking up the Impala. He was already there and he made the very good point that I needed back up. This was the first break with Mirakure in over a month. Something big is happening with it and I will not fail these people again!" As he had continued talking he grew angrier and angrier and his tone was downright frigid by the end. Oliver didn't allow his rage to get hot and out of control anymore, anger was a weapon that he had to control.

Diggle hadn't had earpieces in on his ride there. Felicity had called him on the phone to guide him to where Oliver was so he hadn't known about the helicopter. "Airlift? What the hell? That's not cheap. Whoever is behind all this has cash."

'I am aware of that. Now do you understand why I had to take Sam in? I didn't have the bike. I took Felicity's car to take Sam to get the Impala. We used the Impala since there is no way that can trace back to me. Not to mention it's not even full night yet. They are getting bold breaking into a lab in daylight to steal equipment. I don't even know how many people in the lab got hurt or killed. " Oliver's heart dropped as he realize he hadn't heard from Felicity. She usually gave him updates from the police scanners if people were wounded.

"We have to get to the Lake House, I can patch up there. She's going to be in shock from whatever she saw. There is also the unknown factor of Sam. He gave into the rage Dig. He wanted to torture someone, he needed to inflict pain." Now that he wasn't in the middle of a fight Oliver had time to process what he had seen a bit further.

"What happened to set him off? " Dig asked

"We sparred for about 4 hours today, he seemed fine. We got back into the house and Felicity was frustrated about not getting any information on the serum. He asked what it was and I told him. Probably a dumb move on my part looking at it now. Anyway we went got the Impala. He was having a hard time with seeing it again. Did you know that was their Dad's car? He passed it down to Dean when he was old enough to drive. That car has been in their life as long as they have been alive. Anyway, Sam had pointed out earlier that shotguns to kneecaps would stop someone no matter how hopped up on a serum they were.

We were standing in the parking lot of the club when she called and told me about the break in. Sam reads me as well as you do it seems and knew something serious was going on. When I told him he would only be a liability he threw the fact that you and I had called him family back in my face and stated that family doesn't abandon family. He then pointed out that I needed backup, the Impala had shotguns and other guns in it and I needed a ride. There wasn't a whole lot of room for me to argue on any of those points. I suited up and we headed out. Long story short, he shot out the window, I took out the lights, got some tables thrown at me, nailed the guy once in the kidney and once in the leg and he didn't even blink. He picked me up, pinned me against the wall and stabbed me through the shoulder with the arrow that had been in his kidney. I screamed and Sam came charging out from behind the cubicle. He took out the guys knees, took out both his hands with a .44 and told me he would get the information I needed. I'll assume that seeing me pinned against a wall and screaming reminded him of Dean's death and he lost it. There was no humanity in him anymore. " He stopped talking. He didn't want to tell Dig why he let Sam do it. He knew he would ask though.

"Explain to me why after super soldier was down you didn't just knock Sam out and take over. I've seen you do that much or more with more serious injuries. "

Oliver didn't respond.

"You wanted him to. You're trying to rein in your violence so you let Sam do it. You chose the information over Sam's mental state. " Dig didn't know how to handle that. He had been wanting to talk to Oliver about the need sometimes for sacrificing someone for the mission but this, this was different. This wasn't someone sacrificing their life in an attempt to save others. Oliver had taken advantage of Sam's mental break to get what he needed. He had let Sam's humanity die, there was nothing noble in that for either Sam or Oliver.

"Yes I did. Sam told me to shut up and go. I made a decision to sacrifice his humanity at that moment to try to save others from whatever is going on. Sam is my responsibility from now on. If he cannot be brought back from this then I will make sure he's no longer a threat to anyone. " Oliver's voice was brittle, this was going to be one of the hardest things he would have to do and it may destroy his friendships with Diggle and Felicity. He knew he had lost respect from Diggle and Felicity would never trust him again. He would lose another family. The problem was that no matter how he looked at it he didn't think he would choose differently. Diggle and Felicity didn't understand how bad things could get if Mirakure was used in some sort of uprising. He had seen it close up. The Undertaking would be nothing compared to what he felt was brewing on the horizon.

"The only way to do that would be to kill him. " Diggle said, his voice as cold as Oliver's had been.

"I know. " Was all that Oliver said in reply

Diggle looked up at the rear view mirror and looked at Oliver. He had taken off the mask and his eyes were empty. As much as Diggle wanted to despise and hate Oliver he couldn't. Since the Undertaking the lives of the people in this city had weighed heavier and heavier on Oliver. Diggle had watched him mature and grow. The endless nights hunting, patrolling and trying to stop ever present threats had honed Oliver even more into a weapon and a leader. He had weighed the cost of Sam's sanity against the lives of innocents and made one of the hardest choices anyone in a combat situation has to make. Who lives and who dies. He was also willing to accept responsibility for the monster he may have created; and make the ultimate choice to end a life of someone he knew and cared about because they had now become a danger to others. Diggle sighed

"Oliver….." he couldn't think of anything to say and Oliver's expression showed that he wouldn't accept sympathy or understanding right now. He was already preparing for the rejection from his friends that he thought would come next. That told Dig what he needed to say. " What do you need from me?"

Oliver's eyes snapped to the reflection of Diggle's eyes in the mirror. Dig saw the gratitude and relief flooding through those piercing blue eyes. Oliver reached out his uninjured arm and squeezed Dig's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Get us to the Lake House fast. I am going to try to get Felicity talking while we're on the way. " He felt the car accelerate as he pushed his earpiece button.

"Felicity, we got your text. Please talk to us. "

"Call me. " Was all he got in reply. He grabbed Dig's phone and called her.

"Oliver, oh god. Sam still has his earpiece in and I don't want him to hear. What happened? What he was doing to that man! He poured acid on him! He shot him with rock salt in both wounded knees. I heard it all. I saw everything. I got into a security feed right as you jumped out the window and started heading to the truck. You LIED to me. You said Sam was fine. Why would you say that?" she could barely breathe.

Oliver hadn't wanted to dwell on what Sam had done because at the time he thought Felicity couldn't see anything. He should have known that she would find a way to monitor the place. Oliver wasn't shocked about what Sam did, he was actually surprised it had been that minimal. Felicity however was not used to any of this so he focused on her.

"Try to breathe. I know I lied I'm sorry. " he started to say

'Why did you leave him there?!" she nearly screamed into the phone.

How to explain all of this. He didn't know where to start.

"I am not sure of how to explain this…" she interrupted him again

'How about the truth? Your thought process? What possessed you to do that?" Her tone was hard and angry.

"Fine! " He replied his own tone heated. "That man had been injected with the serum, he had thrown two tables at me and had not flinched when I stuck an arrow in his leg and kidney. He pinned me against the wall and drove an arrow through my shoulder. I screamed. Sam came out from his cover position and blew the guys knees off, stuck a bullet in each hand. The guy dropped me and Sam told me he would get the information for me and to leave. I had a choice to make. Save Sam or get information you and I have been trying for over a month to get. Sam's humanity had disappeared, he wanted to hurt someone. You don't understand rage like that. I do. He wouldn't have listened to me and I didn't have time to fight him. I made the choice to let him turn into something soulless to try to save the lives of innocents. I am not proud of the choice and Sam is my responsibility now. " he took a breath and in a tone that held no doubt or guilt he said "That was my thought process. We have bigger concerns than Sam right now. I won't abandon him, however I will not put his welfare ahead of this city. If I had been more focused on the city and less on other things before the Undertaking I may have been able to save more people. "

Felicity's head snapped up, she had been crying, unable to process what she had watched. Oliver's voice was rock solid and the things he was saying made sense but it felt wrong.

"What's the point of saving this city when to do so we let our friends become monsters? If Diggle or I had abandoned you when you were struggling what would have happened to you? How about Shado and Yao Fei? Didn't they help you? " she said.

"Stop right there Felicity. " his voice cracked like a whip.

"No. I don't accept your thought process. You let Sam do something you aren't prepared to do yourself. You let Sam lose his humanity to save yours. Who's the soulless one Oliver? You or Sam? " she hung up the phone.

Diggle said nothing and just pushed the accelerator down farther. He had no idea how he was going to get the group through this but he had to. Oliver put the phone down. She was never going to forgive him for this. Damn it. What she said had stung him. All of the people she mentioned including her could have walked away from Oliver at any time but they kept helping him. Maybe at his core he really was nothing else than a manipulator, using people to achieve his goals no matter what they were. So many shattered relationships in his life, he didn't want another one. The only way to save his friendships now was to try to save Sam. It was ironic, awhile ago Felicity had told him it was about time for him to try to do something he wasn't good at. Now he had to do just that, he'd always been good about destroying relationships when they got too serious. Now he had to save one.