A/N: Hey everyone. Here is part one of the Season Finale Redux. Obviously spoiler alerts if you haven't seen it yet. As usual the next part will either be up tomorrow or two days from now depending on life letting me get to the keyboard.
And to all the commenters begging for Tommy's life... I adore the character, I adore Colin's portrayal and writing for his voice has been a lot of fun. But that doesn't mean he's safe. It also doesn't mean he's doomed. If I can find a non Deus ex machina solution I will be open to it.
Disclaimer: CW and DC own and deserve all the money for this.
Felicity was occupying her time looking for anything that could be used to indict Malcolm once Oliver captured him. She knew the police wouldn't be able to get access or find the information once lawyers got involved so she was assembling a data package that would be anonymously emailed to them once he was in custody.
"Felicity?' Diggle called into the darkened basement.
"Still here, haven't left, haven't even really moved. That's probably a bad thing isn't it?" She turned around to see a grave look on her friend's face. "What happened?"
"The device was gone. They must have been tipped off because the crates were there but they were empty."
"What does Oliver think?" Diggle suddenly couldn't meet her gaze. Felicity stood and crossed to him. "Dig, where's Oliver?" The bodyguard forced himself to look her in the eyes.
"I lost contact. I can only assume Merlyn has him." She started to hyperventilate.
"Ok, ok, we have to think. If he figured out who Oliver is he won't want to hurt him because that will royally piss off Mrs Queen. So He'll hold him somewhere." She ran back to the computer and started typing. "Merlyn Global and its subsidiaries own 35 properties in Starling City proper, another 15 within an hour's drive. If Oliver is still wearing his gear we should be able to track him."
"How? It's not like he has GPS in his boots or something." Felicity turned to him and gave him a look. "Seriously? He actually did it?"
"Hacker girlfriend. It was the easiest thing to set up ever." She pulled up a second window and typed in the code word for Oliver's tracker. "Found him. He's in the harbour district. A really big building though. It can't give me specifics like floors unless it is really close." Dig looked at the map and his eyes drifted down to the time.
"I'll figure that out. You have to get going, it's almost time for you to go to work."
"Are you Crazy? I'm not leaving. Not while he's missing."
"Felicity, Oliver isn't technically missing, The Vigilante is. Enough people know your connection to Oliver now that if you don't show up it will look weird. You have to go act like it's just another day at the office."
"And what do I do if Thea calls, or if Mrs Queen comes down?" Felicity was panicking. She knew Diggle was making sense but didn't want to leave.
"Tell them the truth. Tell them you haven't seen him since last night. Leave out the part where he went to confront a criminal mastermind. I'll find a way in. If I need you to research or hack anything I'll call you. Until then, the best you can do is give me a cover so I can go find him." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. " And I will find him." She sighed and grabbed her purse to head out.
"Fine, I'm going. But, I'm working on the Merlyn data while I'm there."
"I'd expect nothing less." Diggle took a seat in front of the computer to read the blue prints. When he heard the door shut indicating Felicity had left, he dropped his head into his hands and gave himself a minute to feel the stress of the situation. If he found Oliver in time, he saved one of his best friend. If he didn't, he would lose two.
It took six hours and thirteen minutes for Diggle to find Oliver and call Felicity. This meant that it took six hours, thirteen minutes and thirty seconds for her to start breathing normally again. The relief was short lived. As she rushed to her car she heard an unwelcome voice call her name.
"Ms Smoak! Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Detective Lance used his height as an intimidation tool. When combined with the flashing lights from the squad car behind him it was even more effective.
"I'm umm, meeting my boyfriend, and I'm late, to meet him." Felicity stumbled.
"Well I think you're going to have to tell him to take a rain check. We'd like to give you a ride down to the station, see if you can give us some of your expertise."
"I don't know what I could tell you that your own IT people couldn't." Lance smirked at her.
"Oh I'm pretty sure you do. Now here." He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket "Use this, call the little pencil pusher you've paired up with and then we'll leave." She took the phone and punched in Oliver's number.
"Detective Lance?" Felicty was stifling a grin. It was so good to hear his voice.
"Nope actually It's me."
"Felicity? What are you doing with Lance's phone?"
" I, um, apparently have to go with him to the station. So I'm going to be late."
"Ok listen to me. We'll figure out something and get you out of there as soon as we can. But whatever you do, don't babble. Yeses and noes ok Felicity?"
"Yes." She said as Lance moved to take the phone. " I've got to go, call you when I can." She disconnected the call and passed the phone back. Quentin looked down and noticed that the number she had called was already in his contacts.
"I thought you called your boyfriend?" He asked suspiciously.
"I did. He obviously wasn't overly happy about it but at least he won't think I was kidnapped or something now."
"Oliver Queen?" He held up the phone to her showing the call log.
" Yep how do you know- oh you're Detective Lance, as in Laurel Lance, as in formerly Oliver's now Tommy's Laurel." His eyes narrowed and he walked over to the cruiser.
"Ms Smoak, I would advise you to follow me and stop talking."
"Would you believe Oliver said the same thing?"
"Well even a broken watch is right twice a day Ms Smoak. Get in." He closed the door once the petite blond was settled in the back. "Damn Queen." Quentin muttered as he rejoined his partner in the front. "Never can escape the kid."
Oliver could do nothing but hope that his call to Detective Lance would be taken seriously. He had barely put the hood-phone, as felicity called it, down before his personal cell phone buzzed indicating a new text message. He expected it to be the newly freed IT diva. It was Tommy, asking him to come upstairs.
Oliver entered the main club with trepidation. His survival instincts wondered if this was just bad timing or if Tommy was part of it all as well. If he couldn't even trust his own mother what was to stop the guy who currently hated his guts? He spotted Tommy at the bar pouring drinks. " You know you don't get the employee discount anymore." Tommy lifted his eyes from the drinks and smirked.
"Add it to my tab. " He took one glass and placed the other one in front of a bar stool. Oliver took this as a sign and sat down. "I always find apologies go better with one of these. If all else fails it gives the other person one more option before they hit you."
"Unless it's the Delotte twins and then one throws the drink while the other punches you." Tommy groaned.
"Do you have to remember every embarrassing story of mine?"
"Only the good ones." They both let out a small chuckle before drifting into silence.
"I've said, and thought, a lot of horrible things about you lately." Tommy took a sip of his drink. "There were days I wished you had died on that island. I always felt like you we're standing between Laurel and I. First , as a ghost and then in person when you came back."
"That was never my intention."
"I know and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner, could have saved myself a lot of hangovers." He half joked. "I took your advice. I went to Laurel's to fight for her. It's shaky but it's a start." Oliver smiled.
"I'm glad." He raised his glass towards Tommy and they toasted the news. "I hate to potentially ruin the good will here, but something's happening and it involves your father-" Tommy stiffened his posture but didn't get angry.
"Oliver if this is one of your, projects, you keep my father out of it."
"Our fathers." Tommy looked at him confused. "They are not the men we thought they were. They made a plan together to destroy The Glades."
"Do you have any idea what you sound like right now?" Oliver just nodded.
"Your father's going to do it because he think it will avenge your mother's death." Tommy set his glass heavily on the bar and walked out on the dance floor. He turned away from the bar and tried to get control of his reeling mind. Oliver stood but did not approach.
"The difference between us Tommy is I didn't find out the truth about my father until it was too late. But you've always known. You've always known the man he is. You know he will do it unless someone stops him." Tommy spun around visibly disturbed.
"So I'm supposed to stand by and let you kill him?" Oliver took this as a sign and moved forward.
"Or you help me and it never gets to that point." Tommy looked down and sighed trying to keep his composure. He may not have been a good man, but Malcolm was all he had left. However if Oliver was right, and Tommy didn't help, he would be just as responsible for any deaths as his father.
"What do I have to do?"
