AN: Thank you so, so much to all of you for your kind words and likes/favs. I loved hearing everyone's reactions and reading everyone's thoughts on the chapters. There is a bit of Russian in the chapter, but I sadly do not speak any foreign languages and have to use Google Translate. I greatly apologize to anyone reading who does speak and read Russian.
I want to apologize for the longer than normal wait for the chapter. Even though I already have this story mapped out, characters in place, and certain mile markers to hit my muse seemed to rebel. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope to hear/read what you think!
The ride to the warehouse was short considering the situation. From the moment they arrived and assessed Sara's injuries Diggle had started giving out orders and telling them what to do.
Oliver drove them back to the warehouse while Diggle worked on Sara in the backseat. Felicity tried to clean the quickly drying blood off of her hands while Oliver drove, her hands shaking the entire time.
"You ok?" He asked from his spot in the driver seat, barely able to glance at her.
"I wasn't the one who was shot." She bit out before wincing. He saw out of the corner of his eye as she turned to face him, an apology written on her face. He turned his head and gave her a quick nod before fixing his eyes on the road. "I'm sorry. Is she ok?"
"She's lucky," Diggle told her.
He was breathless and crouched in a somewhat awkward form over the back seat.
Sara was pale and had not regained consciousness. Oliver knew that their next few hours would be critical once they got her back to the warehouse. It wasn't the lair, but it would have to do. No one was too fond of Sara being admitted into a Russian hospital where the questions would be many and incriminating.
She had already lost a lot of blood when they arrived, but Felicity's pressure had helped to slow the bleeding.
"Please explain to me why being shot is 'lucky'?" Felicity challenged.
"There's an exit wound and her bleeding has almost stopped." Diggle explained, keeping pressure applied to the wound.
"You're going to have to explain that in simpler terms." Felicity shook her head as she tried to understand what he was saying. "I may be a genius, but my medical expertise stops at episodes of General Hospital my mother made me watch when I was a kid."
"The bullet is not still in her body, which is good. It means we don't have to try to find it and remove it." Diggle explained in a succinct manner. "The bleeding having slowed is also good because it lessens the chance of the bullet having hit a major artery in its path, which would have been a lot harder for us to work on."
Felicity took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "So, lucky."
"Lucky," Oliver assured as he reached across the center console to take her hand in his.
He didn't miss the way Diggle's eyes met his in the rearview mirror. He also didn't miss the silent request in those eyes.
While Sara may have been spared internal injuries, Diggle would still need to check to make sure. There were too many vital organs in her abdomen to risk stitching her up too soon. The chance she could bleed out was slim, but still there. Oliver also knew that, while Diggle had a good deal of field experience, he wasn't a doctor.
Once they were in the warehouse time seemed to speed up as Diggle shouted orders and both Oliver and Felicity complied. Oliver was amazed at how well the three of them worked together.
Felicity seemed to be able to anticipate their instructions before they said them, getting them whatever tool or equipment they needed. If she didn't know the exact instrument, or couldn't find what they requested, she found the next best option. She also proved to be efficient when it came to rigging a makeshift heart monitor which had served to reinforce how intelligent she was. She didn't cower away from the blood either.
His first impression of Felicity, when she had been masquerading as Meghan, had been of a beautiful, intelligent, fearless woman. Felicity Smoak was proving each of those qualities true.
As soon as Oliver parked the car she was out and helping John to carry Sara into the warehouse. Felicity kept her hands firmly pressed against Sara's abdomen while John shifted her friend's weight. Never once did she falter or wince at the sight of the gunshot wound in Sara's abdomen.
To say that both men were impressed was an understatement.
"Damnit!" Oliver jerked his head away from Felicity to see Diggle shoving his gloved hands over Sara's wound as more blood began to escape.
"I thought you said she was ok." Felicity cried, her hands flying to her hairline.
"Oliver, I need a clamp." Diggle called out. "There's too much blood."
"We don't have a clamp." Oliver cursed as he began to tear through their medical bag.
"Оливер, шаг в сторону." A thick Russian accent spoke from the doorway to the warehouse – Anatoly.
Before Oliver had a chance to object Anatoly's command he, and another man with wire rimmed glasses, swept through the warehouse and towards Sara's body. Their thick woolen coats were left on the concrete floors as they pushed up their sleeves and moved Diggle out of the way.
Diggle could only step aside, a confused expression written on his face until he caught sight of Anatoly, while Felicity looked petrified.
"Она потеряла много крови." Oliver watched as Anatoly and the man began to assess her condition. "Пуля , возможно, порезал паслись артерию или внутренний орган."
"Who are they?" Felicity swung her gaze from Oliver to Diggle, fear creeping into her voice. "What are they doing?"
Diggle moved to stand beside Felicity, removing his bloodied gloves in the process. "These are friends."
Oliver nodded, flanking her other side. "I sent Anatoly a message when we got to the warehouse."
"Bratva?" Felicity whispered, accusation in her tone. "You called the fucking Bratva?"
"Anatoly has men on hand who are more skilled in bullet wounds than we are." Oliver replied.
"And his men are always discreet."
"How do you know they aren't the ones who shot at us?" Felicity accused, her hand flying in the direction of where the men worked on her friend.
"The Bratva had no reason to go after you." Oliver told her, his voice calm. "They also wouldn't have left you both alive."
"Felicity, trust us." Diggle placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "We won't let anything happen to Sara."
Oliver watched as Felicity's gaze found its way back to where Anatoly and the unknown man worked. Both were concentrating and using equipment they hadn't had. Oliver and Diggle both knew that Anatoly had resources and experiences with bullet wounds who wouldn't ask questions. Oliver was a Captain after all.
"Если бы вы назвать мне раньше мы могли бы очистить нашу комнату хирургического." Anatoly called out, his eyes fixed on Sara's pale form. "Она повезет, если она не поймать инфекцию от крыс."
The man working beside Anatoly chuckled low.
"Почему бы вам не работать, а шутки." Oliver bit out.
"Скажите, Оливер, который эта девушка?" The question was innocent enough, yet he knew Anatoly was well aware of who she was.
"Старый друг семьи." Oliver replied, the memory of a younger Sara flashing through his mind. "Один я не хотел бы потерять."
"Тогда мы будем работать особенно тяжело, чтобы убедиться, что она живет, капитан." Anatoly gave Oliver a small smirk and a wink before turning his focus back on Sara.
"What just happened?" Felicity asked, her panic brewing beneath her words. "Do they know?"
"Shh," Oliver shushed, placing both hands on her shoulders while he turned her around. "They will not know unless you tell them."
Felicity glanced back at Sara, then back at Oliver. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before giving him a shaky nod.
"Anatoly will not let anything happen to her." Oliver promised her. "You are safe."
Felicity nodded her understanding before letting herself fall into his side, her head nestled into his chest. Diggle seemed to avert his eyes, staying focused on the men at work. Oliver brought a hand up and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.
Once Sara was stabilized and wound dressed as best the men could, considering the circumstances, they were finally able to take a breath. The adrenaline they all felt from the moment Oliver received the frantic phone call from Felicity having dissipated enough to leave them each with varying levels of exhaustion.
"I'm going to go …" Felicity paused to stare at the unconscious Sara, pale but breathing. "I'm going to wash up."
John gave Felicity a warm smile and a gentle squeeze of her shoulder as she passed by. His sign of a job well done. Felicity reciprocated his smile before turning and walking the rest of the way to the corner restroom, wringing her hands as she went.
She paused in front of Anatoly and the man with the glasses and seemed to contemplate her thoughts before turning to them with a small smile.
"Thank you … for saving my friend." Anatoly merely nodded before Felicity all but ran towards the bathroom.
She may not have sown Sara up, or performed the lifesaving surgery, but Felicity had remained calm enough to call them for help. She trusted them.
"Oliver, my friend," Anatoly said as he approached. "As long as she stays stable for the night, you will be able to transport her home."
Oliver nodded. "Thank you." Oliver spoke softly and held out a hand to his old friend. "I can't tell you … thank you."
"Oliver, I understand your need to keep secrets." Anatoly lowered his voice as he took the younger man's hand. "But for all your sakes, I hope neither of these girls were involved in tonight's earlier festivities."
The assertion was clear. The statement read between the lines of his speech. He knew the truth, and he knew Sara and Felicity were involved. There was no threat in his eyes, only pity which Oliver assumed was related to the bullet wound in Sara's abdomen.
Anatoly whispered a low "may god have mercy on them now," before pulling Oliver closer for a swift hug. He gave a nod to the man packing their supplies and signaled it was time for them to leave.
"До свидания , мой друг."
Oliver stared after Anatoly with a quizzical expression on his brow. "До свидания."
And just as quickly as he had arrived, Anatoly was gone.
Both he and Diggle let the silence of the open room spread between them, the only sound to be heard was the running water of the nearby bathroom. Oliver collapsed into a nearby folding chair as the weight of the last few hours took hold of him.
"She did good." Oliver heard John mumble, his gaze fixed on his own blood stained hands. "Not many people can keep their cool like that."
Oliver nodded before turning back to where Sara lay. Her only movement was the rise and fall of her breath entering and exiting her body. A good sign, Oliver knew.
"As soon as we're sure she's stable we should get them out of here." They both knew it had to be done.
With someone out there gunning for Sara or Felicity, or both, it wasn't safe to leave either of them alone. Especially not in Sara's condition. Their best chance was with Oliver and John.
John nodded from his spot beside Oliver, eyes not moving from where he was wiping at the blood on his hands. "Are we planning on giving them a choice in the matter?"
"I don't think they have one anymore." Oliver let his hands rest on the palms of his hands, his fingers drawing small circles near his temples.
John knew Oliver was right. Felicity and Sara didn't have many options anymore. To go with John and Oliver would be their safest one.
"I remember when we were kids and Sara used to follow Tommy and me around everywhere, always trying to get into trouble with us." Oliver's voice was low as he raised his eyes to the woman he still remembered from his childhood.
Had it been that long ago when Sara was sneaking out late at night to come to the parties they would host? It felt like another lifetime. Another Oliver, another Sara.
He didn't recognize himself as being the same boy who cheated on his girlfriend with her kid sister, and he certainly didn't recognize Sara as being the same girl who would let him do tequila shots off her stomach.
They had all changed.
"Was this before or after you slept with her?" Diggle asked in a judgement free tone.
Oliver turned around and caught Diggle's eye. They never talked about his history with Laurel's sister, but Diggle knew all about it. He had done a lot of horrible things as 'Ollie' but this one was probably the worst. While Laurel said she forgave him, he could still see a look of betrayal firmly situated in her eyes whenever he was near.
He expected to see that look for at least a long while longer.
"Both." Oliver turned his glance back to Sara, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. "She's not the same now."
"Neither are you."
"Yeah, but her island was different from mine." Oliver leaned forward in his chair, his eyes glancing over the planes of muscle beneath Sara's exposed skin. "Hers was a choice. Mine was a punishment."
Diggle was about to open his mouth to respond when the door to the bathroom opened, a haze of steam pouring out in the light of the room. Felicity stepped out, still wringing her hands just like earlier, but now they were red for a different reason.
Oliver saw the way she stood, shy and anxious, in front of them. She switched her weight unevenly every few seconds, although Oliver was unsure if she even knew she was doing it. Her eyes danced along both men before coming to rest on Sara's still unconscious form. A sigh of relief escaped her lips unbidden.
"Felicity, you look like you could use a break." John was the first one to speak. "We have a cot set up if you wanted to try to shut your eyes for a little while."
Felicity shook her head as she stepped forward until she was leaning against the table where Sara lay. "I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted too."
John nodded with clear understanding. "Why don't we at least get you something to change into?"
Oliver followed John's eye line to the dark patches of blood decorating Felicity's grey blouse which was no longer obstructed by her maroon, wool coat. Her hair had been pulled away from her face and splotches of red decorated parts of her skin. She also seemed to have scratches marring her knees from where she had been crouched low in the gravel of the train yard.
"Our go-bags are back at the train yard." She mumbled. "I think."
Oliver tried to give her a smile. "We have some spare clothes here."
Felicity lifted her gaze to meet his eyes with a small, appreciative smile of her own. "Thank you."
Oliver knew she didn't just mean for the clothes.
When John Diggle was a little kid, he tried as hard as he could to protect his little brother from anything that could hurt him. Bullies, cracks in the side walk, broken hearts, John tried to shield his brother from them all and more. It was just who little Johnnie Diggle was, always looking out for the ones he loved.
When Andy grew up, he didn't need John as much as he did when they were boys. Andy had grown into a strong, confident man who was capable of taking care of himself and his new family. Not that he didn't need John, but he didn't need him in the same way he had when they were children.
As the years progressed, John returned from combat with a new wife of his own and scars that seemed to be resistant to healing. John said he was fine but without the war to fight, or the active threat loaming over his head, he was left only to the thoughts and memories plaguing his mind.
This time it was Andy's turn to help his brother. Getting John a job had been easy – John's past and army reputation preceded him. John was dependable. He was a soldier. He would protect those left in his care because that was who he was.
Losing Andy and gaining Oliver had happened in such a short amount of time for John, at least. Being a big brother came naturally to Diggle. Caring for those he loved was easier than most things in his life. Oliver didn't replace his love for his brother, but helped to open up a space in his heart he thought he lost.
Oliver gave Diggle a purpose again. He gave him someone to care for, and in return helped him find a part of himself he thought he lost even before Andy died.
But seeing Felicity Smoak the youngest, yet oldest, twenty five year old sit in a metal folding chair with her eyes focused on her partner, Diggle couldn't help but feel that part of himself grow a bit wider.
He found himself wanting to protect her the way he protected Andy all those years ago, and the way he tried to protect Oliver now. No matter what she had done, or who she had robbed, he felt the urge to shield her from harm.
It was instinctual and surprising.
"All right." He broke through the quiet which had settled over the almost empty warehouse. "It's time for answers"
If he was going to protect her, though, he needed to know from what.
Felicity picked her head up so she could focus on him from where she sat in Oliver's too big grey hoodie and black sweats. "What do you mean?"
Oliver lifted his head from where he was packing his arrows.
"Dig, can't this wait?" He asked.
"No it can't, Oliver." Diggle kept his focus on Felicity as he gripped the table behind him. "First, you show up in Starling and rob this guy, but he still gets all doe-eyed every time you're brought up in conversation." He didn't miss the way Oliver tipped his head away from the conversation as if to hide the subtle red tint of his cheeks. "Next you try to steal from the Bratva while under the employment of the Triad,"
"Duress." Felicity interrupted. "We were under duress."
"I highly doubt that would have mattered had you been caught." She still didn't get it. Didn't she understand what she was doing? She was playing with a book full of matches and she didn't seem to care.
"Nope, not so much." Oliver interrupted.
At least the Bratva spokesperson for their group could speak from experience on that one.
"Then you run away from the people trying to help you, your partner gets shot in a train yard, and you call us for help." Felicity lowered her gaze to Sara's still form, shame clouding her features. "You seem like a good kid, and a smart one at that, but you're not making it easy for us to trust you."
Diggle frowned as he loosened his grip on the table behind him to cross his arms in front of his chest. He didn't see what Oliver saw in her.
No, he saw something altogether different. He saw a lost kid who got mixed up in the wrong life but was too stubborn to get out of it.
"My mom died," Felicity said in a small voice, causing both men to start. "My mom died and we didn't have money and the crappy insurance company wouldn't cover her treatment, and my mom died." She paused for a breath. "Floyd took me in and gave me an outlet for my grief and gave me a way to help people like me who were being screwed over by the fat cats who only get fatter."
Diggle watched as she bit her lip, afraid of their response before giving her a nod of encouragement.
"Sure it's not the best supervillain reasoning, and I could have hacked the people I hacked without robbing from billionaire playboys, and I could have avoided getting shot in a museum heist, and yelling at career assassins, and so many other messed up things that have happened these past two years." Felicity stopped once more, this time her gaze falling on Sara with a level of warmth. "But then I wouldn't have Sara and Floyd, for all his obvious faults… And I would have been… alone."
Diggle looked to Oliver, whose eyes were focused on the petite blonde. She finished with eyes downcast as if her apparent fear of being alone would manifest at that exact minute and she couldn't bear to watch.
"Was it really worth it, though," he asked. "Was it worth it to commit all those crimes? To break the law like that."
Felicity raised her head slowly to meet his stare.
"When you watch the only person in your life who gives a damn fade away in front of your eyes until they are unrecognizable and begging to die because it hurts so much." She paused to swipe at the gathering moisture in her eyes. "Your priorities change."
"So you're ok with having worked for a murderer." John challenged.
He wanted to trust her, but her being associated with Lawton was a risk.
Felicity gave a small glance to Oliver before shifting her focus back to him. "Are you?"
They seemed to freeze, locked in their own little stalemate. Neither one wanting to speak first and break the passive standoff. Yet he knew she had a point, and while he had many more, he knew there would be time to work through those later.
"Sara's going to be fine." He relinquished her gaze and the subject. "She's stable for now, but she's going to need constant care until she can get back on her feet."
"Let me guess." Felicity let out a humorless laugh. "In a maximum security prison?"
"We were thinking back in Starling City under the watchful eyes of us and our team." John finished, gesturing between him and Oliver.
Felicity sat a little straighter. "Not in prison?"
"For now." Oliver added. "It seems you two made a lot of enemies on this trip and it would be safer for everyone involved for you both to stay with us."
"You're going to help us?"
There was that uncertainty again. Diggle hated that she could trust a man like Lawton so easily, but regarded him and Oliver with trepidation.
"We're not here to get you in trouble Felicity." He needed her to believe that. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but we genuinely want to help you."
And he did.
He knew he gave Oliver a hard time in the beginning, but he wanted to see this girl turn her life around. "But you have to want to help yourselves too."
Felicity looked back down at the still unmoving Sara as if asking her for agreement to their deal. He wondered how deep their connection went as partners. How far the two of them would go for each other. From what he had seen of them so far, he would hazard to say they were going to go the extra mile just to stay together.
"Ok." Felicity finally spoke up with a deep breath. "We'll go with you and we'll play by your rules." Diggle waited for the 'but' to this apparent victory. "Until the Triad is caught and we no longer have people shooting at us."
Oliver seemed to nod while Diggle couldn't hold back the small grin. As she said those words, Dig saw a noticeable weight being released from her shoulders. It was as if the load she had been burdened with got just a bit lighter by having the team there to help them.
"In your line of work, that could be a very long time." Diggle nodded, his grin still in place.
Felicity smiled, a real smile, for the first time since he met her. "Yours too."
It had been a long night. Between Diggle tending to Sara, Felicity sitting vigil, and Oliver helping them both, no one slept. Sara did regain consciousness not long after Felicity agreed to go back to Starling with them. She seemed groggy but otherwise ok. The painkillers Anatoly left on hand weren't as strong as what she could have gotten in the hospital, but they would have to do.
Seeing Sara like this, laid out on a table, dried blood crusted over her skin and clothes wasn't the girl he remembered growing up with. He had also never seen her react to someone the way she had reacted to Felicity's injury earlier that night, or the way Felicity sat by her side.
Sara really had changed, and had found a loyal friend to stay with her.
Oliver thought it would have been different once they got on the plane. He thought maybe they would each get a chance to rest their eyes for a moment, well, except him. He didn't plan on sleeping until they had more information on the threat to Felicity and Sara.
He promised Felicity he would look into the Triad, help her take them down, and that was what he intended to do.
Sara fell asleep not long after she was situated on the couch lining one of the private jet's walls. He assumed her recent dose of pain relief helped lull her back to sleep. Diggle sat along the opposite wall, arms folded over chest, with the intent on keeping his eyes on Sara. While she was stable, he wasn't too keen on transporting her.
Oliver fell into a seat closer to the front of the plane while Felicity seemed to switch between the rear of the plane and the floor beside Sara. They were halfway over the Pacific when Oliver watched her stand to her feet and move to the plush leather chair she had been seated in earlier.
"Mind if I sit here?" Oliver questioned as he approached her spot.
Felicity looked up at him with a guilty expression as if she had been caught in the act as her fingers froze in their steady staccato beat against the arm rest.
"Not at all," she said with a forced smile on her face.
"How's your leg?" He took the seat in front of her, keeping his posture loose and demeanor as light as possible before calling her out. "You've been fidgeting ever since we got on the plane."
Felicity chuckled in an uncomfortable sort of way. "It's fine. I almost forgot about the gigantic piece of glass from earlier. I'm just a nervous flyer."
"I'm learning so much about you, Felicity Smoak." Oliver smiled in return, letting his left foot bump her crossed legs.
"My fear of flying and heights are hardly a secret." Felicity teased back before shifting her expression. "My fear of kangaroos on the other hand."
"You just don't strike me as the type of person afraid of anything."
She didn't. To him, Felicity Smoak was little more than a mystery, but what he did know of her painted a picture of a fearless, badass genius.
"Well you don't strike me as the sort to flirt with known criminals." Felicity rebutted. "Although I guess it does seem like the old, pre-island you."
"You never met me." He rebutted, suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation.
"No, but my mom's friend rode in an elevator with you once," she said with a small laugh. "And your party-boy habits were hardly a secret."
Oliver frowned at her words. Of course she knew about his past. Everyone did.
"What I mean is that you don't seem like that person anymore." Felicity rephrased her observation. "The you I met at the gala, and the guy who saved my life in Russia, does not seem like the type of person who takes kindly to thieves and criminals."
Oliver nodded in understanding before folding his arms across his chest. She didn't see it. She didn't see how grounded she made him.
He had only known her for twenty minutes and he had been enraptured with everything about her. She was the first person spoke to him like a person, and not just some castaway, college drop-out.
While he had made progress during his time home, everyone around him were all varying shades of grey. They were all the same.
When she walked into his line of sight at the gala … It was as if the room lit up in color. She did that, and after living in the darkness and grey for so long all he wanted was to be near the light again.
But she wasn't ready to hear that. Not yet.
"How did you and Sara meet?" He asked instead.
She eyed him suspiciously before glancing out of the window. She couldn't see anything in the night sky but vague outlines of clouds. He supposed maybe it was better that way.
"Floyd introduced us." Her voice was warm when she finally spoke. "I remember seeing her for the first time, kicking a wooden dummy's ass and just looking way taller than she actually is. Like some Amazonian warrior."
He saw the pure pride shine through her expression at the memory.
"You respect her."
"Of course I do. Sara's amazing at what she does and how she does it." It was a matter of fact to Felicity with no room for argument. "She doesn't use weapons, not in the conventional sense anyway. She knows how to defend herself and can use her surroundings to do so. She's quick and confident and has a really big heart." She paused for a moment, her hands suddenly becoming all too fascinating. "She's my family."
Oliver watched as Felicity's eyes darkened and she turned back to the window. "I know what you said back in the warehouse, but I'm still having a hard time understanding."
"Why I became a criminal?" Felicity asked with a quick turn of her head. "It's not that complicated, really."
"But it feels like it is. You just don't seem like the type of person who hurts others."
"Even thieves have a code." Felicity didn't seem angered by his assumption, but rather calm. Like she was about to teach him a math lesson. "Mine is to steal from those who can afford it and give it to those who can't."
"What qualifies you to make that call?" He asked quickly, keeping the judgement from his voice.
"Given five minutes, and WiFi, and I can learn everything possible about a person. So I would say … that."
Oliver saw a twinkle enter her eyes. A self-assured response to knowing just how good she really was.
"I don't believe you." He teased.
"The internet is an amazing thing, Oliver Queen."
"Did the internet tell you I was the Arrow?" He asked, knowing that once and for all he stumped her. "I'm assuming you did research on me before you robbed me."
She paused to think about her response, knowing just as well as he did, that the internet had no real record of him being the Arrow. He watched as a light bulb seemed to have been turned on and she turned to him, a waggle in her eyebrows.
"It did not, but it did give me a hint that you got something other than a tan on that island." She pointed out, leaning forward in her seat. "You were arrested early on after your return for being the vigilante, which led me to do an extensive research on your background and known history. Your medical history explained the obvious, the scars and tattoos marking up your body weren't there before you left. Meaning, short of very imaginative and talented animals, you were not alone on that island."
She flinched as the words left her mouth, as if the wince he tried to hide gave her pain also. "Which is what you said in your original statement after returning before recanting in front of Detective Lance via a polygraph test."
Oliver was impressed. She had done her research. "Still didn't say I was the Arrow, though."
"You're right. But what it does say is that you clearly had an experience severe enough to alter the person you once were, and cause you to suffer from PTSD, which is completely understandable. Yet you haven't sought out psychological counseling." Felicity finished with a perplexed expression, as if she were trying to solve him.
"If I had I'm sure you would have found those records too." He mumbled but she kept going, as if he hadn't spoken.
"Which means you have either come to terms with what happened to you on that island, and in Russia if your Bratva connections say anything, or you've found a way to cope with your experiences in a less than healthy way." She paused, looking him over. "So no, the internet didn't tell me you were the Arrow, but it does help makes sense that you became this new person because of all the injustices you've seen and experienced over the five years you were gone."
Oliver nodded, unsure of how she was able to jump through all the information like that.
"You became a hero to right those wrongs." She finished with a smile of pride.
"And you became a villain." His words weren't hinted with malice or judgment, but sadness.
Their experiences laid out in front of them, two roads to choose, and both chose the opposite path.
Felicity shrugged, wiping at a stray tear running down her cheek. "Well I'm still young." He nodded along. "And redemption stories are always the best ones."
Oliver found himself smiling with her. If he knew anything from his time away, and his two years back home, it was that there was always time to turn things around.
The gravel of the Russian train yard crunched beneath the six steel toed boots headed for the small shed which had been left abandoned. It was the only sound to be heard in the lull between trains. The black garb of the three individuals left their faces obscured and their identities concealed.
When the person ahead of the group paused, raising a hand to signal their halt, the others followed. They could obviously be seen as the leader with traces of red found in her black uniform, but was of a smaller frame than the others.
"This is where it happened." Her voice was soft, melodic even.
She bent to the graveled yard where two bags of what looked to be clothing, were strewn along the train yard floor. There, among the abandoned clothes, was a disposable cell phone. She lifted it in her hands, gingerly, as if the phone held her only clue as to where her beloved was.
Who would have thought that a piece of hard plastic and metal parts would cause her to feel her heart collapse in on itself?
"Who the fuck are you?" The voice behind her was alarmed, and angered, yet she felt no fear.
She only felt pity for the man who had stumbled upon her in her quest. The men behind her, her father's men, stood at attention and ready to guard her if necessary. Standing to her feet, she turned in a graceful manner with the hard plastic cellular phone still wrapped tight in her grasp.
"I am Nyssa al Ghul, heir to the demon," she announced, but the man did not seem afraid. "You will tell me who has taken my beloved."
Nyssa gestured to the two men on either side to grab the man in front of her. One way or another, she would find Sara.
AN: So I do not speak Russian and use Google Translate for any dialogue of any foreign language. Here are the translations from the Chapter:
Оливер, шаг в сторону- Oliver, step aside.
Пуля , возможно, порезал паслись артерию или внутренний орган- The bullet may have grazed an artery or internal organ
Если бы вы назвать мне раньше мы могли бы очистить нашу комнату хирургического- If you told me before, I could have cleaned our surgery room; Она повезет, если она не поймать инфекцию от крыс- She'll be lucky if she does not catch an infection from the rats.
Почему бы вам не работать- Why don't you just work.
Скажите, Оливер, который эта девушка?- Tell me Oliver, who is this girl?
Старый друг семьи- Old friend of the family; Один я не хотел бы потерять- One I would not want to lose.
Тогда мы будем работать особенно тяжело, чтобы убедиться, что она живет, капитан- Then we will work hard to make sure she lives, Captain.
До свидания , мой друг- Good bye, my friend
До свидания- Good Bye