DAY ONE

He was the last one to arrive back at the Foundry only to find Sara and Oliver having a yelling match and Roy smashing things. Diggle knew that everyone was pissed and worried, they'd thought that they were only up against Slade in order to get Felicity and Thea back, but they'd been wrong. The League of Assassins seemed to be involved somehow…with Slade Wilson. None of that was going to help them. Diggle had expected to show up and for Oliver and Sara to be patching each other up, but that wasn't the case… He wasn't too worried about Roy because he'd heal up on his own. He'd been lucky enough to be too far to really be close enough to sustain any kind of injury since there had been no guns on the bad guys' side of things.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Diggle yelled as his arms went out to his sides. "Thea and Felicity are STILL out there! Yelling at each other," he said to Oliver and Sara and then turned towards Roy. "And breaking things isn't going to get them back!" They all stopped and looked at him. He looked between them and took a moment to let out a huff. "Whoever took them—"

"ASK Sara," Oliver said. His tone was clearly upset and beyond pissed off. If a tone could be deadly, that was it.

Diggle had seen Oliver and Sara fight before, but never like this. This time it was different. "You know who took them?" he asked her. "Looked like another one from the League of Assassins…they need a better vacation spot."

"I thought he looked an awful lot like Malcolm Merlyn," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

Oliver was right, it wasn't often they saw someone with a bow as a weapon. Guns, swords, and even knives seemed to be what they saw more often than a bow and arrows. But that meant nothing.

"I thought you killed him," Sara countered as she stared at Oliver.

"I thought you were dead once too…" Oliver responded quietly. "Twice."

"I'm confused at what Sara's supposedly supposed to know," Diggle said.

"The woman," Sara said. "Talia al Ghul…"

"As in…Ra's al Ghul?"

Sara nodded. "She's working with Slade apparently… I don't know why. The League has a code—"

"She's probably out here to kill Oliver," Diggle suggested. "Like most people."

"We've also met Talia before," Oliver spoke up and turned his back to all of them. Diggle noticed his clenched fists down at his sides and had a feeling he was trying to keep from hitting someone.

"Who?" Diggle asked immediately as he looked between them.

"Isabel Rochev," Sara answered.

"You cannot be serious!"

"I just met her the other day—"

"You didn't say anything until NOW!" Oliver blew up.

"But who was the guy who took them?!" Roy questioned and marched towards Sara.

"I don't know!" Sara shouted. "I can't shake it…he reminds me of Merlyn…"

"Who would want to take them?" Roy continued.

"This is Thea and Felicity we're talking about," Diggle said as he tried to remain calm. "I really don't think it's about them being targets for any other reason than that they're both connected to Oliver."

"For a moment," Roy said. His voice sounded a bit calmer. "I thought that guy was saving them…"

"So did I."

"But they would have called," Sara said. "Felicity would have gone to the police or brought Thea to Verdant—"

"WHY would someone rescue Thea and Felicity from Slade? Other than us? Whoever it was kept them—"

"Maybe they were only after Thea," Sara suggested. "Felicity was shielding her—"

Diggle noticed the look in Oliver's face change before he actually said anything. It was like a light bulb had flipped on suddenly. Like he knew suddenly who it might be, but wasn't ready to share it with the rest of them. Diggle hated that. He had a feeling that if Sara and Roy hadn't been there too, then he would have shared it with him…but that didn't make him any more comfortable with the situation or keeping secrets.

"I need to make a call," Oliver said suddenly as he started out of the Foundry.

"You should go home," Roy spoke up. "We both should. Your mom has called me ten times," he said as he held up his phone as proof.

Diggle sighed as he pulled out his phone as well. He watched as Oliver stopped in his tracks. "Twenty times," Diggle announced. He let a moment pass before speaking again. "First thing's first…everyone needs to get cleaned up, patched up, and changed… I'll call Mrs. Queen…"

"What are you going to say?" Sara asked.

"He'll think of something," Oliver grumbled as he stalked off to the space that he and Sara had been using as living space. Sara walked off after him before Diggle could comment about how that probably wasn't the best idea.

He held up the phone to his ear as the phone dialed Mrs. Queen back. He took a deep breath and just hoped that this wouldn't blow up on all of them. "Mrs. Queen—" Before Diggle could say anything more, she was spilling out information and though he already knew what was going on, he needed to know what she knew. "No, no, of course—I'm sorry—I—no, no I understand—" He held his breath for a moment as she continued to go on. "Mr. Queen and Mr. Harper were playing basketball. Yes. They play basketball now. Ms. Sara Lance was with them as well," Diggle covered. He needed them all to have the same alibi. "The building must have had no signal—"

Diggle ignored the look that Roy was giving him. He thought that it was perfectly acceptable, plus he'd like to see Roy come up with something better on the spot. At least he had a reason for them all to be together and not answering phone calls for the block of time that they were on those rooftops going after Slade.

"I assume police are already there?" Diggle asked Mrs. Queen. "Okay, I'll bring them over right away, Mrs. Queen. Yes. I'll explain the situation to them." He paused. "And Mrs. Queen? We're going to find them."

Once Diggle was off of the phone, he turned to Roy. "They were reported missing…"

"Police are at the house?"

Diggle nodded. "We'll go together though…since I already told Mrs. Queen that we'd be showing up together." He could tell that Roy really wasn't too excited about being patient, but they needed to be level headed. He walked towards Roy. "Look, I know you're angry…so am I—"

"You don't LOOK angry!" Roy spat at him, his anger flaring.

"Felicity is one of my BEST friends!" Diggle snapped at him. He knew that he needed to prove that he was affected by what was going on even if normally he kept it inside and under control. "I feel responsible for Thea, just as much as Felicity! Just because I'm not breaking things left and right around here, which Felicity will NOT appreciate when she gets back down here, by the way – does not mean that I'm not angry!" He took a moment to calm himself back down. "Letting that rage control you isn't going to help us. Not right now. We're supposed to be a team," he said firmly and noticed that Sara and Oliver were walking towards them. He looked between the three of them. "We're stronger as a team…and Felicity would have been the first person to remind us of that."

He paused and then Diggle spoke again. They all needed to be on the same page. This was more important than normal because they needed to keep their stories straight, especially with the police involved. The last thing they needed was to screw up and to be flagged as possible suspects. "I told Mrs. Queen that the reason we didn't get her calls was because we were in a building that must have had no signal. That you, Oliver, and Roy were playing basketball."

"Was I there?" Sara questioned.

"You don't have to come," Oliver told her quietly.

"I'm going," Sara insisted. "Thea and Felicity are missing. I'm going to do whatever I can in order to help, even if it's getting the police coffee."

"I told Mrs. Queen that Sara was with us, so she's coming…" Diggle finally spoke up to interrupt their little spat. He could understand Oliver being more than upset with Sara, but right now that couldn't be their focus. They could fight it out later on, once they had the people they loved and cared about back home. "We need to keep our stories straight. We don't need the police thinking that we could possibly be involved in any of this."

"You think they'd think that?!" Roy exclaimed.

"We just can't be too careful," Diggle told him.

"He's right," Sara spoke up. "Thea Queen is going to be a high profile—"

"It's not just Thea, it's Felicity too," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

Diggle sighed. He could see he was going to have to assign who got to sit up front with him in the car ride over. "I think she's saying that because of Thea, they're going to push harder…because she's a Queen. We all know that Lance would push it no matter what, especially for Felicity, but with Thea involved…it's different."

"I wasn't trying to say that Felicity's life was less—" Sara started to explain, but Oliver just walked past her and she broke off her sentence with a sigh.

This was going to be a long car ride over. Diggle shook his head and then reached out to put a comforting hand on Sara's arm for a moment before heading out after Oliver. The faster they got over there and made their appearances, as well as scouting for information that the police might have, the sooner that they could head back to the Foundry and get to work on tracking them.

. . .

DAY ONE

Queen Mansion was swarming with extra bodies. Diggle didn't like it. Oliver, Sara, and Roy were with Mrs. Queen, while Diggle stayed to the edge of the room just watching. Moira Queen was an absolute mess, but he wasn't surprised. With as many secrets as that woman had, no one deserved to go through the hell that she'd been put through over the last several years.

"Mr. Diggle."

Diggle looked to his right. "Officer Lance."

"How're they holding up?" he asked as he motioned to the Queens and Roy.

Diggle shrugged. "I guess as good as can be expected…"

"And you?"

"Excuse me?" Diggle asked.

"You know Felicity…"

"I guess I was too focused on Thea because—"

Lance was nodding. "I get it. I do. We all know how this works…" He was quiet for a moment. "I like Ms. Smoak. She's a good person."

"She is," Diggle said. "I'm just trying to hold it together in order to keep them all together…"

"I'm sure Oliver is more concerned about—"

"Don't be so sure," Diggle said as he looked between Lance and where Oliver stood. "He's just as upset about both of them…"

"I thought she's just his secretary?"

"She's our friend," Diggle informed him. "We practically spend everyday together."

"Right. You guys are a bit weird," Lance said. "Did they tell you what happened?"

"Not yet," Diggle said. "I was waiting… I just know that Thea and Felicity were taken. That's all Mrs. Queen told me."

"Some of the people at Verdant reported Thea missing and then when we went over to look at the footage, I IDed Ms. Smoak… The man who took them, he knocked out Thea and Felicity intercepted them… She was trying to save Thea."

He nodded. "Sounds like Felicity."

"We're going to find her. Both of them," Lance said with confidence.

"I hope so," Diggle said. "And I hope soon."

Lance nodded and then walked off.

Diggle knew that no one, except those within the Arrow fold would actually understand how their relationships worked. Oliver cared about him and Felicity even if they were 'employees' as the world saw them. He cared for them like family and Diggle knew that Oliver would give his life just as easily for Thea or Felicity.

It was then that he noticed Oliver walking away from the others. He followed from a distance. He knew that Roy and Sara would be okay on their own. Plus, they were in the middle of a room filled with police. He stopped and waited a moment, checking to make sure no one was around before approaching Oliver, who had his back to him.

When Oliver turned to him, Diggle had to admit that he was a little surprised to find him in the state he was in. He knew that Oliver had feelings, they both did, but they both tended to keep them…especially the tears…hidden away. They had to be strong; they had to be seen as strong. "I—I just—" He turned away from him again, his hand covering his face.

"You thought that we'd get them back from Slade," Diggle said slowly. "We were prepared to deal with Slade…just Slade. We hadn't been prepared for Talia and…the other assassin."

Quietly, Oliver turned to Diggle and spoke in a whisper. "If anyone would know if Malcolm Merlyn were still alive, I think my mother might…"

"Your mother?"

Oliver shrugged. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Why would Merlyn take them? To get at you? To get at your mother? Your family?"

Then it was that face, the one that Diggle knew so well. He was about to reveal a secret. "Because Thea is Malcolm's daughter," he whispered so quietly that it took Diggle a moment to really comprehend what he said…and even then he had to take an extra moment to process.

"Thea?"

"Felicity figured it out," Oliver explained. "And—"

"And you two didn't think to clue me in?" he asked with some frustration.

"I didn't tell anyone else," he said. "Not Sara. Not—"

He held up a hand. "I got it. I guess I'm just used to it being the three of us and the three of us not keeping secrets from one another."

"Would you have figured out a way to add on a security detail to her?" Oliver asked.

Diggle could tell that he wasn't happy with his reaction to his reaction to the news. Diggle couldn't help it though. Things used to be different when it was just him, Oliver, and Felicity. "We all thought he was dead," he said in a tone that settled things between them. "Look, maybe…maybe he's back with the League and that's why Talia's here…"

"But Isabel's been in Starling since…since before I even came back from the island," Oliver told him. "That would mean that this has been planned for a year…"

"Some people are more patient than others," Diggle informed him. "Look, you try to get your mom alone and ask her… You're going to know if she's lying… Right?" Oliver nodded. Diggle knew that during the time he'd been back in the land of civilization that he'd learned far more about his mother than he had in his whole life. He knew how to read her better. "I'll try to see if I can make some calls in the meantime until we can get back to the computers in the Foundry."

Oliver wiped away his tears and snuffled a bit before turning and heading back towards where the others were. He turned and started to text on his phone as he headed to make his calls outside of the house. He wanted to find out if Lyla was around. He hoped that he could still ask her for help, even if they weren't together anymore. He knew that she'd understand that these people were a part of his family and that the fact that they just broke up wouldn't matter so much.

"Mr. Diggle."

He stopped and turned towards Lance's voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know, we ran the plates on the car… They were a dead end. Stolen. But I'd suggest that you make sure that you double up your people…in case he comes after Mrs. Queen or Oliver."

"Already on it, thank you," Diggle said politely before making his leave. He needed to get some feelers out to see if anyone had any new information. He needed something. Anything as long as it was a lead. A clue. A dead end was not acceptable.

. . .

DAY FIVE

Things had been fairly quiet, in the worst way possible.

Normally, quiet would mean good.

It would mean that Roy wasn't trying to break the Foundry and possibly bring Verdant down on top of them…but now it meant that he wasn't there, which meant that he was out there in the city doing God knew what… Diggle was sure that he was doing what he needed to in order to stay sane and to feel like he was looking for Thea. Diggle had been watching him; Roy was a mess…though not surprisingly as much as Oliver was.

Oliver had been out there, patrolling, for nearly four days straight. He was either out there on a motorcycle as Oliver Queen, undercover as Arrow or he was out there as the Arrow at night. He'd check in here and there, but Diggle was certain that it was more for his benefit than Oliver's. Oliver had refused to let Sara go out with him today and Diggle knew that he was losing hope. There was also the fact that he'd not been to Queen Consolidated at all and he had no idea if Mrs. Queen was stepping in on that front or not. He hated to think that everything they'd worked for in order to keep QC in the hands of the Queen family would be for nothing a year later.

It had been five days and they had no leads.

Nothing more than, League of Assassins.

Oliver had asked his mother if Malcolm Merlyn had comes to her and she'd said no and Oliver had believed her. Diggle wasn't sure if that could really be trusted in the state that they were both in. He liked to believe that Moira Queen would spill all of her secrets if that meant saving her daughter, but Diggle really didn't know.

"You know, he's not going to call in for help."

Diggle spun around in the chair that Felicity normally sat in until he faced Sara. She had her street clothes on and her bag in tow. It didn't look like she was coming back. "So, is that it? You're gone?"

"I'm not leaving Starling," she told him. "I'm going to just move back to the clock tower."

"The clock tower?" he asked in disbelief.

"What? Do you have a better idea?"

"Why are you moving out? You know we're going to find them and then Oliver will calm down," Diggle explained. He was sure that she knew this, but she seemed like more weighed on her than normal. He and Sara always seemed to understand each other and normally without even speaking. "They're going to be okay."

"I know," Sara said. "But Oliver and I…we broke up…days ago… I kept thinking that we'd find them and everything would be okay," Sara explained. "But we haven't found them…and it's not okay…" She was quiet for a few minutes and she seemed to be working through what she was going to say. "Oliver and I are probably not the best idea anyways... That island…it messed us both up… I honestly don't even know if it'll be possible for either of us to have any kind of meaningful long term relationship."

"You act like you're damaged," Diggle told her and he supposed that in a way they really were.

"We are," Sara said. "Once…I told Oliver that we were ghosts…he said we weren't… He wanted me to feel like a whole person again… That's hard, especially with what we do…here…"

Diggle nodded. "Especially when the people we care about are taken."

"I love Thea, like a little sister…" Sara told him. "And Felicity…she and I are still getting to know one another, but I'd give my life for her…"

"I know."

"Do you?"

Diggle smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I know you better than you think I do."

"I'd be surprised if that were true," she told him with a small smile.

"You can stay with me," Diggle told her. It wasn't an offer. He wasn't going to let her crash in a clock tower. It wasn't quite the same as sleeping in the Foundry. She might as well be sleeping in a tunnel as far as the clock tower went. He was fairly sure that the League of Assassins might look for her there if they really were back in town. "But I expect you to actually show up and help me look for clues."

"I wasn't going to disappear."

"Drop the bag then," Diggle said and motioned to the other computer chair and the workstation. "Then get to work… We have a lead to find…"

. . .

TBC…