Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
Oliver entered the Yamashiro's apartment later, apparently tired with blood on his hands as he cleaned it with a cloth and Maseo offered Oliver a bowl of soup that Oliver politely declined. Maseo looked at Oliver in sympathy, acknowledging that he himself lost appetite for two days after "interrogating" someone.
Everyone looked at Oliver in sympathy and pity that he had been forced to brutally torture someone in order to find out information.
"I didn't eat for a whole week after I tortured someone. Like Waller said, some people need to be dealt with by using extreme measures." Diggle said. "But… it's… well, I don't know what she was thinking, using someone as inexperienced as Oliver. She must have known Oliver would hesitate. I think she was trying to make him feel guilty enough to torture someone later. I've met some manipulating officers, who did that to their men too, to force them quickly into becoming soldiers."
"Considering what we've seen about her so far, it wouldn't surprise me about Waller." Tommy nodded.
"You have no idea how far she is willing to go to get her way." Sara said grimly as they all imagined dozens of scenarios to make Waller pay.
Oliver corrected with disgust that he was torturing Li Kuan Hui as he sat down, frustrated, while Maseo asked Oliver, what did he learn about White's plan. Oliver sighed, explaining there was a biotech company in Hong Kong that accidentally invented a super-virus called "Omega", with one vial being possible to wipe out an entire city.
"Oh, my God…" Thea whispered.
"Super-virus, is that even a thing?" Tommy demanded, horrified.
"Yes." Sara said bluntly, her memories returning to Maseo trading the virus for his way into the League and the outbreak that Ra's unleashed in Starling City as everyone stared at the screen in horror.
Oliver and Maseo realized that the bioweapon was what White was after. Maseo asked Oliver if Li Kuan Hui knew about its whereabouts as Oliver said in disgust that he made Li Kuan Hui tell him. Maseo assured him that he did what was necessary, with one man's agony not being worth lives of a whole city.
"He's not wrong." Diggle pointed out.
"But…" Felicity trailed off. "Wasn't there another…"
"There wasn't." Sara interrupted her. "Felicity, one thing I keep telling you, either you're willing to do whatever it takes to save lives, or you should not be a part of what Oliver does, at all. Like I said, because of you and Tommy mainly, Oliver held back at one point and he had a chance to kill someone dangerous and he didn't take it and because of it, a good friend died."
Everyone turned to her and saw Sara reliving the pain as they looked into her eyes and she looked at Felicity and Tommy partly in contempt, as they both had convinced Oliver not to kill anymore.
"Who… who died?" Laurel asked as Sara took a breath.
"It doesn't matter." Sara said, quickly getting ahold of herself again, which was scaring them all. But still, it made them wonder who did Sara lose. "But you need to understand that Ollie never killed anyone unless he had to but because you convinced him not to kill, one of the people he fought against, throughout his years as the vigilante, killed someone he loved because you made him believe that having high moral ground was more important than doing whatever it takes to save lives."
They all paused and considered. They weren't fine with Oliver killing but if that's what it took to protect the people Oliver cared about, they could move past it, although for Tommy and Felicity in particular it was a difficult pill to swallow.
Later, Oliver and Maseo snuck into BTHK BIOTECH, knocking out the guards on patrol as Maseo entered a security room, while Oliver entered the lab, looking at the tube with an Omega symbol, only to find it empty, much to his and Maseo's surprise.
"What the hell?" Roy demanded.
"Someone stole it before them?" Quentin deduced.
"Yeah." Sara nodded as they all wondered how did it happen.
Maseo checked the security footage and saw a scientist take the virus as he realized that White had an inside man to steal it.
"Damn it." Diggle swore as everyone was worried what would White do with it.
"How dangerous that virus is?" Moira wondered.
"Do you remember the chemical spill in Hong Kong a couple of years back?" Sara asked and everyone widened their eyes in realization as they whirled on her.
"Wait, you're saying that…" Felicity demanded.
"It was the virus." Sara nodded with a grim look in her eyes. "Beijing covered it up. You'll see how it happened really later and it wasn't good."
Everyone looked worried about what really happened in Hong Kong.
The following day, Oliver and Maseo abducted the man, intending to interrogate him as they had him bound to the chair in the construction site where Oliver had interrogated Cheng and Li Kuan Hui and where he was supposed to meet Waller. The man begged for his life and tried to pay them off, which did not work. Maseo demanded to know where was the virus but the man claimed that he had no idea what was Maseo talking about but neither Oliver or Maseo believed him.
"Come on, the footage clearly shows him stealing it, there's no way he can deny it!" Tommy protested.
"He's good, I'll give him that but the evidence clearly says he did it." Quentin said, although his cop instinct was telling him that something was… off.
"Why is he denying it, when they have proof?" Thea wondered.
"Well, you're not gonna believe it." Sara said as everyone wondered what was going to happen next.
Oliver pulled out his bow from the duffel bag and notched an arrow as the man paled.
"Oh, God…" Felicity and Thea immediately covered their eyes as Tommy, Laurel and Moira looked away, not wanting to see Oliver torture someone.
Oliver shot the arrow into the man's shoulder as he screamed in pain, denying ever stealing the virus. Oliver twisted as the man cried out in pain before Oliver pulled it out, wondering why the man hasn't confessed as Maseo pointed out that the man did not remember.
"How can he not remember?" Tommy wondered.
"Well, you're not gonna believe it." Sara said, glancing towards Thea as dreadful memory was resurfacing in her mind.
Maseo pointed out that there was a drug called Vitura, making people extremely susceptible to suggestion, much to Oliver's surprise as Maseo explained that people under often have no memory of what they did under the influence of the drug.
"Mind control drug? Is that a thing?" Thea asked as everyone looked disbelieved.
"Yeah." Sara said bluntly with a hint of bitterness in her tone.
Everyone turned to her in confusion and Sara quickly got a hold of herself before the viewers would notice the look she was giving towards Thea.
"I assume you have bad experience with it?" Quentin inquired.
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Sara said as everyone wondered what were her bad experiences throughout her years as vigilante and in the League of Assassins but… they decided not to look deeper into it before turning towards the screen again.
Oliver sighed in frustration as he realized that they had been wasting their time, White had the virus and they had no way of finding her. Maseo pointed out that they had kidnapped her inside man and they should worry more about her finding them.
Back in the Yamashiro's house, Tatsu was helping Akio with his homework.
"Oh, no…" Felicity said, pale as everyone realized that no one was guarding Maseo's family.
China White burst in as Tatsu and Akio got up, frightened as Tatsu stepped up protectively in front of her son.
Laurel gasped, getting immediate flashback from when China White tried to kill her, when Laurel was after Martin Sommers. Diggle also tensed, the scene all too familiar to him as well, while everyone else looked worried.
"Ollie, get to her, please…" Laurel begged, hoping Oliver would be able to help Tatsu like how he helped Laurel.
Tatsu ordered for Akio to hide before White stepped up, stopping them as Tatsu glared at the Triad assassin. White walked down the apartment and picked Tatsu's katana from the stand on the fireplace.
"Stay the hell away from her, you white-haired bitch." Thea sneered as everyone glared at the Triad assassin.
Tatsu ordered Akio to run as the boy hid in a closet before she threw a chair at White. White dodged as Tatsu picked another katana and engaged White in swordfight. They appeared to be evenly matched before Tatsu struck White in her face. White dodged as Tatsu knocked down a lamp from a stand. White dodged Tatsu's attack before kicking her in her stomach. Tatsu staggered back, crashing against another lamp standing on a table before dodging White's blade.
"Please, tell me they made it." Roy begged.
"No." Sara said as everyone looked worried.
The scene fast-forwarded to Oliver and Maseo entering the trashed apartment, much to Maseo's horror as he saw the mess and blood spattered on a table.
"They're not dead." Sara assured the viewers, stunned by seeing the scene as they relaxed.
To Maseo's relief, Akio rushed to him as Maseo hugged him but the boy had tears in his eyes as he explained that the white-haired woman had kidnapped Tatsu, much to Maseo's and Oliver's horror.
"Oh, my God…" Quentin whispered, holding Laurel as it could have been his daughter, being glad that Oliver had protected her and felt ashamed of accusing Oliver responsible for deaths of everyone around him and threatening to kill him.
"Did she make it?" Tommy hoped.
"Don't worry about her." Sara said as they all relaxed but still, they were worried about what was going to happen next.
The following day, Oliver and Maseo called Waller as they met her back in the construction site as she scolded them for being careless, when following the lead on the virus and abducting the scientist without giving Waller a heads-up first.
"Well, maybe if she had given them proper protection and not leave them defenseless without more A.R.G.U.S. agents to help, this wouldn't have become such a problem." Diggle growled as everyone glared at Waller.
"She's supposed to be a director of an governmental agency, shouldn't she guarantee protection of the families of her operatives?" Felicity pointed out.
"You really think Waller would care, considering what I've told you about her?" Sara pointed out as everyone was silent.
"Please, tell me she got hers later." Roy said.
"Not in the footage but a couple of years later, someone put a bullet in her, when she was unwilling to trade lives of her agents for something very dangerous." Sara said.
"Who?" Moira asked.
"Remember Lieutenant Joyner, Dig?" Sara turned to Diggle, who widened his eyes.
"Joyner? Isn't that son of a bitch supposed to be in prison?" Diggle demanded, outraged.
"Who's Lieutenant Joyner?" Felicity asked. "Someone you know from the army, John?"
"Yeah." Diggle said, glaring.
"We'll talk about that later." Sara said as everyone nodded and turned to the screen again.
Maseo demanded an extraction team to rescue Tatsu, while Waller pointed out that they had no intel regarding White's whereabouts and there were more important matters to attend to.
"What? That bitch has the virus and Tatsu, what can be more important than that?" Roy snapped as everyone glared again.
Oliver tried to suggest a rescue plan for Tatsu and tracking down White, while Waller pointed out it was not going to be that simple and that the virus was actually comprised of two components and that White needed its counterpart, Alpha, to make the virus potent.
"Alpha and Omega… I guess that makes sense." Laurel said.
Oliver asked where Alpha was, while Waller replied that it was in the possession of the Hong Kong military as Oliver said in relief that the virus was safe. Waller pointed out that Alpha needed to be destroyed as Maseo said outraged that by the time they would manage to do that, Tatsu could already be dead.
"Neither of them is wrong." Diggle pointed out.
"So, what are they gonna do?" Moira wondered.
Waller showed them a blueprint of PLA military laboratory, where Alpha was being kept and that Oliver and Maseo were going to break in and steal the vial. Maseo was frustrated that she was not going to do anything to help his wife, while Waller told him coldly that Tatsu was not her priority before Waller left.
"Bitch." Roy growled as everyone glared at Waller.
"Yeah, no kidding." Sara nodded.
Later at night, Oliver and Maseo walked down the rooftop towards across the laboratory. Maseo readied a sniper rifle, explaining the infiltration plan, telling Oliver he did not trust Waller to rescue his family.
"I wouldn't trust her either." Quentin said as everyone nodded.
Oliver notched and fired the grapnel arrow before ziplining. Maseo shot the window but it was bulletproof glass that Oliver was unable to break through as he was hanging on the line.
"Damn it!" Laurel snapped as everyone was worried.
Oliver swung and kicked the window, trying to break it or kick it in. After few moments, Oliver broke the glass before entering the facility.
Everyone sighed in relief.
Oliver snuck in and looked for the vial with Alpha until he found it in a case. Maseo and more A.R.G.U.S. agents entered before they were shot down from behind as on a balcony above appeared some men shooting at them.
"Oh, no." Tommy said as everyone looked worried again.
Oliver and Maseo took cover behind a table as Oliver wondered whether they were Hong Kong military as Maseo pointed out that they were Triad, White's people.
"Shit. That's not good." Roy said as everyone wondered how did Oliver and Maseo make it out.
Maseo and A.R.G.U.S. agents covered Oliver as he ran down the facility, trying to escape White's men. He took cover behind a locker as one of White's men fired until his rifle was empty. Oliver went out from his cover and hit him in the face with his bow and slammed him against the lockers. Oliver then punched him in the face and knocked him down as he notched an arrow, while the man raised his hands in surrender. Oliver seemed to hesitate as the man got up and ran away.
"Why would Oliver let him go?" Roy asked as everyone looked confused.
"Unless he wanted for that man to get away." Quentin realized.
"He must have planted a tracker on him." Diggle said.
"He could lead them to Tatsu." Laurel finished as everyone looked hopeful and surprised by Oliver's cleverness.
"Yeah." Sara nodded.
One of the A.R.G.U.S. agents scolded Oliver for letting the man get away, while Maseo reminded that they needed to leave.
Later, Oliver met with Waller outside as she smiled in satisfaction as she had in her hand the vial with Alpha, glad that her "investment" in Oliver wasn't for nothing.
"Investment?!" Everyone repeated, outraged and glaring at the screen.
"Is that bitch serious?!" Tommy yelled.
"What the… what does she think my brother is, her slave or something?!" Thea demanded angrily.
"Oh, he's not the only "investment" Waller was interested in." Sara said. "She also recruited numerous criminals and assassins, threatening to kill them if they did not become her black ops operatives, putting bombs into their heads to ensure their compliance."
"What?!" Everyone yelled, more outraged than earlier.
"Oh, God, just when I thought she was evil." Felicity said.
""Evil" is an understatement with her." Laurel snapped.
"She's the Devil incarnate." Moira sneered, her thoughts returning to Isabel Rochev.
Waller pointed out that she was disappointed that Oliver had allowed one of White's men to escape and that they had no one to "interrogate" as she walked away.
Everyone again glared at Waller.
"I know I've said it before but how the hell is someone like her a leader of a governmental agency?" Diggle demanded.
"I honestly wanted to kill that bitch dozens of times but death would be too kind for her." Sara said.
"Wait, are you suggesting something?" Quentin asked, intrigued.
"I have evidence of all black ops, war crimes and other illegal activities she had done without the approval of the White House." Sara said. "You're more than welcome to use that against her, so that she stands trial. Lyla later replaced her as the director anyway, and A.R.G.U.S. was in good hands since then."
Everyone considered before nodding in approval.
Maseo pointed out that he knew Oliver did not hesitate but decided to let the man go as Oliver explained that he had planted a tracker on the man as it would lead them to Tatsu as Maseo looked at Oliver in surprise. Oliver promised to get Tatsu back as Maseo told him gratefully that the Asian was forever indebted to him as Oliver nodded.
"Wow…" Felicity said amazed.
"How many people were so grateful to Oliver that they said that to him?" Quentin wondered.
"Honestly, I'm not sure, asides from Maseo and Anatoly." Sara admitted. "Maseo later saved Ollie's life when he almost died but you're not gonna see that here, it happens quite later."
Everyone felt grateful that Oliver had loyal friends throughout the years, who would help him.
Oliver and Maseo later entered the nightclub, where the tracker led them as they noticed that it was Triad front, which was heavily guarded as Oliver pointed out that Maseo was the one who said that he would do anything to get Tatsu back. And then, an Asian woman and two Asian men apprehended them, taking away their guns and aiming at them.
"Crap." Thea said as everyone looked worried.
Oliver and Maseo were escorted into VIP area, where White was waiting for them, pointing out that Maseo was late, much to Oliver's confusion as White asked whether Maseo brought the item.
"What?" Everyone asked, confused.
"No way, he didn't…" Quentin realized as he remembered what he had to do to get Laurel back, when she was kidnapped by Cyrus Vanch.
"What the…" Roy trailed off as everyone was shocked by what was going on.
"He did what he thought he had to do to get his wife back." Diggle pointed out. "I'm not saying that he did the right thing but you shouldn't fault him for that."
Everyone considered before nodding, Quentin and Moira especially did understand.
Maseo demanded to know where Tatsu was as he broke the hand of one of White's men as he was losing his patience, while turning to Oliver apologetically.
Another henchman brought Tatsu, who demanded to know what was her husband doing as Oliver glared at Maseo, who retorted angrily that he did what he had to and Oliver had no right to judge him.
"Well, he's not wrong but I can't blame Oliver either." Roy pointed out and no one disagreed with him.
Maseo showed White the vial, who picked it and wanted to test it.
"Why would she think it was fake?" Tommy wondered.
"I doubt Maseo would risk that and there's no way Oliver could've predicted that Maseo was going to trade the virus." Diggle said.
"It was fake. You'll see what happened." Sara said.
White handed the vial to one of her men, who tested it in the machine as they realized that it was not the virus. White ordered for her men to kill Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu.
"Oh, no." Everyone said.
Maseo quickly picked a tray and used it as a shield as one of White's men shot at him. Oliver grabbed the gun of another thug and disarmed him before knocking him out with a tray, while Tatsu engaged another thug and knocked him out before they quickly ran out from the club, shooting their way out.
Oliver slid across the counter, shooting more thugs as Tatsu threw a knife, killing another thug before Oliver knocked out the one at the exit as they ran away, while White looked enraged that they managed to escape.
"Haha." Tommy, Roy, Thea and Felicity laughed and spluttered at the screen as everyone else looked disgusted.
"What are you, five?" Quentin demanded as Diggle looked amused, while Moira and Laurel looked disgusted.
Later, in the Yamashiro's house, Oliver scolded Maseo for risking their lives by using the fake vial but Maseo pointed out he wasn't bluffing and that Waller must have anticipated that Maseo would use it to trade Tatsu for the virus and that she must have switched the vials.
"Of course." Quentin said.
Oliver scolded Maseo for letting thousands of people die, while Maseo said that there was nothing he would not do for his own family before he sat next to Tatsu and Akio, much to Oliver's shock.
"There's a lot of things I would have done for Mia but I never would have let countless of innocents die for my own family's safety." Sara said, glaring at Moira, who had the decency to look ashamed.
"You should have told us." Quentin pointed out as Moira sighed.
"I know. I was afraid." Moira said. "When we get back, I'll turn myself and Malcolm in."
"What?" Thea asked, as everyone turned to Moira, surprised.
"I should have done that a long time ago. I know it might not make up for what happened to Oliver or Sara… but at least I can prevent hundreds of deaths." Moira said.
Everyone considered before nodding.
Tatsu thanked Oliver for saving her life. The next day, they packed up, intending to leave Hong Kong.
"They wanted to run?" Thea realized.
"Maseo betrayed Waller, you think she was going to let that slide? Besides, White could've come after them again at any time." Sara pointed out as everyone paled, realizing things were about to get ugly.
Maseo ordered Oliver to pack up because either way, Waller was going to go after them for Maseo attempting to steal the virus and the latter did not intend to stay around to allow White to attack them again and Waller was going to torture Oliver to find them.
Maseo then advised Oliver to reach out to his family and the press to announce that he was alive and then Waller could not get to him, since if the world knew that he was alive, it would limit Waller's options and make it difficult for her to take Oliver out as Maseo intended to disappear with his family, while advising Oliver to save himself.
"Good idea." Felicity said before she stopped, realizing something as her hope vanished just as instantly as it rose in her. "Oh."
"I'm guessing it didn't work, did it?" Roy asked.
"No." Sara said as everyone sighed in disappointment, not that they were surprised but still…
Later at night, Oliver was at a phone booth, trying to reach out to Moira as he told her that he was alive and in Hong Kong and that he needed her help and announce that Oliver was alive before someone pressed a button, causing for the call to be disconnected as Oliver turned to see a Caucasian man in suit as he paled and instead ran away.
"Damn it!" Tommy groaned as everyone tensed.
"Waller intercepted the call anyway. It's not like you ever got that message." Sara told Moira as everyone sighed in frustration.
Oliver ran down the alley before throwing an agent towards some baskets. Oliver kept on running before one of the agents caught him and pinned him down to the ground and tased him as Oliver passed out.
"Crap." Felicity said as everyone was worried about Oliver.
"That's not good." Laurel said.
When Oliver came to, he was being waterboarded as Waller's men interrogated him. They forced Oliver on a seat as Oliver coughed out, pointing out that everyone was going to look for him. Waller pointed out that she had intercepted Oliver's message and erased it before it could reach Moira at all.
Everyone groaned.
She then pointed out that she would kill Moira, if the message had reached her.
"Did she threaten to kill me?" Moira demanded, partly frightened and partly outraged.
"A governmental agency that kills its own citizens and civilians?" Quentin demanded. "Just when I thought…"
"She was willing to bombard Starling City, when it was being invaded by army of men dosed with Mirakuru, just like Slade, without the government's permission until Ollie, Dig, Felicity, Laurel, me and the League stopped Slade." Sara said.
"Me?" Laurel realized.
"And the League?" Diggle asked, surprised.
"Long story." Sara waved them off.
Waller acknowledged that Moira was a public figure before she pointed out that Thea had developed drug addiction since Oliver was gone and that it could easily be too much for her to bear and she might as well be dead, with a needle in her arm in a car as it was obvious what she was implying.
Thea winced and paled and had the decency to look ashamed, while Tommy remembered scolding Thea for meeting with drug dealers like Jordon as he and Laurel wrapped one of their arms around her, while everyone else glared at Waller.
"God, if I had known, I never would've even started with drugs." Thea sighed, remembering the fiasco with using Vertigo few months back.
"Well, at least you've learned a lesson and cleaned up your act." Quentin assured her, although that was mainly because he felt guilty for being willing to put her into prison as a part of his misguided vendetta against Oliver as he still felt remorseful of his past actions towards the Queens.
Oliver glared at Waller, wanting her to stay away from his family. Waller assured him that she would if Oliver would tell her where were the Yamashiros. Oliver hesitated for a moment as he looked ashamed and guilty of selling them out as he told her that they were on a ferry to Shanghai.
"Well, it's not like she gave him another choice." Tommy pointed out and no one disagreed with him. Although they had to wonder, whether Maseo would forgive him.
Oliver was bound to a pillar as one of the A.R.G.U.S. agents threw Maseo into the room with Oliver as Maseo asked Oliver whether he was alright.
"Huh, I expected him to be either pissed or scold Oliver for being an idiot, at the very least." Roy said.
"Well, just wait, you'll see what happened." Sara said.
Oliver explained to Maseo that he had sold Maseo's family out, while Maseo explained that he lied to Oliver, already expecting that Waller would have captured him.
"Well, it was clever." Diggle noted.
"Wait but if he anticipated that then how did they catch him?" Laurel wondered. "Never mind, we'll see."
Sara chuckled as everyone again snickered.
Maseo explained that he came back for Oliver, when he had heard that Oliver had been captured, while Oliver scolded him for being an idiot.
Everyone laughed, remembering the banter Oliver had with Slade on the island.
Maseo explained that he was not going to let Oliver suffer for Maseo's actions, while Oliver pointed out that things were about to get worse for both of them. The A.R.G.U.S. agents knocked them both out and when Oliver came to, he was in a car, facing Waller as his vision cleared, while Waller pointed out that she still needed his skills.
"Oh, come on, another mission for that bitch?" Thea grumbled.
"Great." Laurel groaned.
"Well, this is gonna shock you all." Sara said as everyone was curious by what did Sara mean.
Waller explained that they tracked White from Hong Kong to where they were currently. As Oliver's thoughts recovered, he saw outside the car the billboard "WELCOME TO STARLING CITY", as he was shocked to realize that he was back home.
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed again.
"He was back in Starling?!" Thea demanded.
"But if… why… how… who…" Tommy said, shocked, unable to form words.
"None of you was supposed to know he was there, otherwise you'd all be dead." Sara explained. "And… well… I don't mean to guilt trip anyone of you but this is going to bring to most of you guys bad memories and I hope you'll realize how wrong your behavior back then was."
Thea, Moira, Quentin, Laurel and Tommy relaxed as shame flooded through them, suspecting what was going to happen next. And the feeling got worse, when they realized that it was more than likely that Oliver had seen them.
"Oh, no…" Laurel said as she, Tommy, Quentin and Thea realized what happened back then as shame and guilt flooded through them.
Oliver, Maseo and Waller were meeting in an apartment as she debriefed them on White most likely trying to auction off the Omega virus to the highest bidder, while Maseo pointed out that without Alpha, Omega was inert and Waller pointed out that the bidders were likely to replicate the Alpha.
"That doesn't sound good." Diggle said as everyone hoped deep down that Oliver was able to stop her.
Oliver wondered why would White sell the virus in Starling, while Waller showed a photo of Peter Kang, who had done multiple industrial espionage acts and was on Triad's payroll as Oliver recognized him as an employee of Queen Consolidated, who visited his family for Christmas.
"Peter. Oh, my God…" Moira whispered, recognizing him. "I thought he was a good man."
"No one could have seen that coming." Quentin assured her.
"He was a fence for the Triad and he had stored files about the sale in the server of QC." Sara explained as Moira gulped, wondering whether she should do more thorough background check on the employees of Queen Consolidated.
Waller pointed out that Kang was the only reason Oliver and Maseo were still alive as she warned that if Oliver would attempt to compromise the mission by reaching out to his friends or family or anyone else in Starling City, she was going to have them all killed.
"Great." Thea grumbled as everyone glared at Waller again.
Later, Maseo approached a black car and planted a device under it as he walked down the street towards Oliver, who was hiding in an alley, with a cap on his head. Oliver pointed out that they needed to know where was the auction as they followed Kang in their own car.
Elsewhere, Quentin was leaning his head, frustrated as he was sitting in a bar, while Laurel entered, visiting him.
"Oh, my God, no, not that. Why that day of all…" Quentin groaned as he dropped his face into his hands, realizing what day it was as Moira, Thea, Laurel and Tommy shivered too, none of them wanting to relive it again as shame and guilt filled them all as they realized that Oliver must have seen some of the bad parts of that day.
Quentin turned to Laurel, smiling as Laurel pointed out that Quentin's desk sergeant called, wondering why Quentin was not on duty. Quentin annoyingly introduced Laurel to the bartender, as the daughter that was still alive as Laurel pointed out that Quentin had been visiting bars a lot lately, spilling his heart out.
Quentin and Laurel winced, ashamed of how they had been treating Oliver and Quentin's guilt was reinforced by what the recording was most likely going to show later.
Quentin pointed out that he needed more than Laurel to get over Sara's death as Laurel had a law degree. Laurel ignored Quentin's comment and offered to drive Quentin home. The bartender realized that Quentin had had more than enough as Quentin laughed in annoyance before Laurel accompanied him.
Quentin turned to Laurel gratefully. "I should have said it back then… but thank you for looking out for me. Even if I didn't want you to." Then, he turned to Thea, Moira and Tommy. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I did to all of you back then. I really am. I can't change what I did… but I hope we can all start over, once we get back."
"Yeah. I'd like that." Thea nodded.
"I think that's fair." Tommy agreed.
"I agree." Moira said.
Laurel paid the bartender as Oliver and Maseo followed Kang as Maseo pointed out that Kang's computer in his office was protected by SHACAL-4 encryption, not that Oliver understood. Maseo explained that they could not hack into Kang's computer and that they needed to connect directly into Queen Consolidated network.
"That was clever." Felicity said as she was the only one present, who did understand. "Although how did they get in?" Then she remembered. "Wait, my supervisor told me that someone had used a dead person's identity to access the servers…"
"Well, Ollie was good, I'll tell you that much." Sara said, not wanting to repeat herself again as everyone wondered how did Oliver pull it off.
Oliver pointed out that they could not afford to let people know that he was alive as Maseo pointed out that Oliver would sneak in at night, since Maseo did not have time to study the plans of the office floors. Oliver then frowned as he saw Thea walk out, which shocked him as she entered the car.
"Ollie…" Thea whispered, touched that Oliver did see her and hurt that he could not speak with her until shame filled her, realizing what was going to happen next and that the recording was most likely going to show it too as she groaned and put her hand to her face in frustration. "Please, don't let it show that…"
The chauffer drove Thea to the graves at the garden of the Queen Manor, while Oliver was shocked to see her, since she had pigtails last time he saw her. Thea walked to the graves, talking to Robert and Oliver about Walter and Moira before a young blonde man with a hair to a bun approached her as Oliver and Maseo narrowed their eyes, wondering who that was.
Tommy and Laurel glared at the man on the screen as Roy felt quite jealous.
"Your boyfriend?" Roy asked Thea, hurt.
"No." Thea said uncomfortably.
"Great. Jordon. That ass. Remind me why did you hang out with him again?" Tommy turned to Thea, who squirmed, ashamed.
"I know, Tommy, OK? I don't need another lecture." Thea snapped.
Then something hit them as Tommy, Laurel, Thea, Moira and Quentin looked at each other.
"Oh, my God…" Laurel said.
"You don't think that…" Tommy trailed off.
"Oh, Jesus…" Thea whispered, as it would have made sense, while Moira and Quentin were disturbed, wondering how the hell did they miss it, while Felicity, Diggle and Roy were the only one not following.
"What?" Roy asked. Thea, Quentin, Moira, Laurel and Tommy turned to Sara, hoping that she would prove them wrong but Sara's face was nothing but blank, emotionless mask as they turned to the screen, hoping that their suspicions were incorrect.
"Wait, didn't someone die at your party?" Diggle then remembered, as he and Andy were bodyguards back then, near Merlyn Manor.
"Oh." Felicity and Roy said, realizing what must have happened.
Oliver admitted he did not know who Jordon was as Thea paid Jordon in cash, while he handed her a bag of drugs.
"Thea Dearden Queen!" Moira exclaimed angrily as she, Laurel, Tommy, Roy and Quentin whirled on her, glaring.
"I KNOW! I KNOW!" Thea snapped, covering her face with her hands in shame. "I was a stupid kid, who made a stupid mistake, I know that now!"
"Just for the record, Ollie and I may not have been saints and yeah, at best, we did smoke pot but narcotics, never! We knew better than that!" Tommy reminded.
"I KNOW!" Thea snapped again, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"You're so lucky I didn't find out back then." Quentin said.
Tommy suddenly approached them, glaring at Jordon and telling him off, warning him to stay away from Thea, as Jordon walked away, glowering, while Thea gave Tommy an annoyed look.
Tommy lectured Thea that she shouldn't be doing drugs, while thanking her for the birthday card and she was uninvited due to her age, not that it was dissuading Thea from coming in. Tommy scolded her that she should not be growing up too fast, while Thea pointed out that he was not her brother.
Tommy and Thea winced as they realized the revelation they were half-siblings.
"At least you were more responsible back then. What happened to that guy?" Laurel pointed out. [1]
"Honestly, I wish I knew." Tommy said.
"At least she had a brother, who would look out for her." Moira pointed out.
"Looking back, I wish I had listened to you. I'm sorry." Thea turned to Tommy apologetically.
"It's OK. Really." Tommy assured her.
Tommy pointed out that he was thinking about Oliver every single day and if Oliver had seen, he would be ashamed of her as it would break his heart, while Thea scoffed, pointing out how funny it was that Oliver was giving a damn about her, now that he was dead as she walked away. Unknowing to them, Oliver had been watching them from a distance the whole time, hurt from what he was seeing.
Thea sobbed as her eyes were getting wet, ashamed of herself as she wished she could have taken it all back. If she had known Oliver was watching them the whole time, she never would have said that as Moira and Laurel wrapped their arms around her, with Moira fondling her hair.
"You were a young upset kid. Don't beat yourself up." Diggle assured her.
"Look, Thea, what's done is done. Besides, we all more or less made amends, didn't we?" Quentin said as Thea breathed out, nodding.
Later at night, Oliver snuck into the offices of Queen Consolidated through the ducts as he saw a photo of himself and Robert and a thumb scanner at the computer at the table. Maseo pointed out that the computers were protected by biometric encryption and that he needed to unlock it. Oliver wondered why didn't they erase his records, while Maseo pointed out what was the point of erasing the records of a dead man.
"Damn it." Felicity cursed. "I should have taken a look, so that I could have prevented hacks like this one."
"But then Ollie probably never would have found the virus." Laurel pointed out.
"I know, I just… I can't believe how stupid the security of the company must have been." Felicity muttered.
"Uh-huh." Moira nodded, remembering how did the Hood break in, interrogating her about the Undertaking as she winced in shame that she had shot her own son.
Oliver put his finger on the thumb scanner, unlocking the computer as he plugged in the device programmed to download Kang's files. To Oliver's surprise, on Robert's private server were two video files meant for Oliver and Thea.
"What…" Moira trailed off as everyone, except for Thea looked shocked.
"That file for me is the video you showed me, is it?" Thea asked Sara, who nodded.
"I'm guessing the other file is the message Oliver found." Diggle realized as he remembered confronting Oliver about how could he be sure the List was not wrong. "You'll see." He said as everyone looked confused before smiling.
Oliver looked for another drive in the desk before deciding to copy the video files, which was going to take a bit longer than downloading Kang's files as Maseo ordered him to leave.
"Damn it." Diggle said as everyone wondered whether Oliver would get caught.
The elevator dinged as Felicity Smoak, with black skirt and white shirt with black dots entered.
"Oh." Felicity said, a bit flattered. "I honestly did not expect I'd be in this at all." Everyone snickered before Felicity remembered what happened as she blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Oh, God…" She covered her mouth, giggling quietly.
Felicity entered the office, which was empty as Oliver hid around the corner. Felicity looked at the photo of Oliver and Robert, saying that Oliver was cute and it was pity because Oliver was dead and then she muttered it was being awkward because she was talking to herself loud and it was a habit she needed to get rid of before she left the office.
Felicity giggled as her cheeks were going red.
"You're cute, you know that?" Diggle asked as Felicity covered her face in embarrassment, giggling as everyone else snickered in amusement.
"I can see why Walter liked you." Moira pointed out.
In the safehouse, Maseo was debriefing Waller on the contents of the files and that they needed time to go through it all, while Waller wondered where Oliver was as Maseo assured her that Oliver was probably checking on weapons.
"At least he had Ollie's back." Laurel said as everyone was glad how loyal friend Maseo was.
The scene changed to Merlyn Manor, where Tommy's birthday party was going on.
"Oh, no…" Moira, Tommy, Laurel and Thea said, realizing what was going to happen as Quentin groaned.
John Diggle was tending to one of the youngsters vomiting as he was annoyed by holding the youngster's napkin before throwing it into the trashcan.
"I worked there as a bodyguard for one of those rich kids, like you or Oliver back then. It was a one-time deal." Diggle explained as everyone turned to him in confusion.
Andy Diggle then approached him as the older Diggle talked about missing being back in Afghanistan and Andy said he expected Diggle to be more grateful for his brother getting him a job. Diggle pointed out that Andy sounded a lot like Lyla, while Andy pointed out that Diggle never should have left her.
"Why did you two divorce?" Felicity asked Diggle.
"Back then, let's just say we couldn't find a common ground." Diggle said. "I mean, we loved each other but… I guess both of us had different perspectives."
No one noticed Sara glaring hatefully at Andy, considering that he was responsible for Laurel's death by betraying Diggle and giving the missing piece of idol to Damien Darhk.
Unknowing to anyone, Oliver, in green hoodie snuck into the manor as Tommy was flirting with one of the guests before Laurel approached Tommy, mingling with him, leaving Oliver hurt as he was hiding around the corner before they looked shocked to see Thea at the entrance.
Moira whirled on Thea, glaring. "He told you that you were not invited, how did you…"
"Fake ID." Thea said. "I was young and stupid, OK?" She snapped, not wanting to relive it all again. In fact, neither her, Moira, Quentin, Tommy or Laurel wanted to relive what was going to happen next.
Tommy approached Thea, wanting to know how did she get in as she showed fake ID.
"Clever." Roy noted, earning glares from Quentin, Moira, Laurel and Tommy. "But it was bad, really bad." He said quickly.
Thea promised not to drink alcohol, not that they believed her.
Thea groaned, not wanting to relive it. "Do we seriously have to see that?"
"Unfortunately, yes. And it in fact was much worse than you remember." Sara said as everyone was worried what happened, considering that Oliver was somehow involved.
Jordon approached Thea, talking with her, as she bought more drugs from him.
Thea dropped her face into her hands again.
Oliver glared at Jordon as he was going upstairs, while Thea walked away.
"Oh, my God…" Laurel said, recognizing the look in his eyes.
Everyone then realized what happened. "Did he…" Tommy trailed off.
"Ollie…" Thea trailed off, not wanting to believe her brother would do something so brutal to stand up for her.
Oliver snuck up on Jordon in the upper level and pinned him to the wall, glaring and threatening him to stay away from Thea. Jordon looked confused before recognizing Oliver, much to his shock. Oliver threatened Jordon again to stay away before Jordon pulled out a knife, intending to kill Oliver. Oliver grabbed Jordon's arm and had him in neck lock before he snapped Jordon's neck and threw him over the railing down to the lower level before he ran away from the manor before anyone would notice him.
They all gasped in shock. They had seen Oliver kill but none of them expected him to do something so brutal to stand up for his family back then…
"Jesus…" Quentin whispered. None of them really blamed Oliver for what he did and he did not really have a choice but still, it was shock to witness this. Then he groaned as he realized what happened next. "God, no, not that."
"Great." Laurel grumbled, not wanting to relive it.
Outside the manor, the police was interrogating the guests as Thea looked at the crowd, wondering if she saw a ghost as Oliver blended in with the people.
"How the hell did we miss him?" Thea wondered.
Quentin and Hilton tried to figure out what happened as Hilton quipped that it must have been a vigilante doing a public service.
"Well, it probably was his practice day." Felicity tried to lighten the mood but it had quite the opposite effect as she decided to shut up instead.
Quentin, obviously drunk and angry, approached Thea as she looked uncomfortable, scolding her that she was too young to be in a party like this, while Tommy lied that he invited her. Quentin gave a mocking remark that spoiled billionaires like Tommy knew how to throw a party, with underage girls and dead drug dealers as Tommy tried to defend himself before Quentin approached Laurel, scolding her for hanging out with Tommy, accusing people like him getting Sara killed as he lashed out at Tommy and Thea that people like them got Sara killed and that Thea might as well be dead too and that because of the Gambit going down, everyone's life went to hell, while Laurel tried to calm him down, while Oliver observed, hurt at what damage had been done since he invited Sara onto the Gambit.
Quentin's eyes were getting wet as he exhaled deeply, feeling guilty before turning to Tommy, Laurel, Moira and Thea. "I'm sorry. I really am. I…"
"We know, Daddy." Laurel assured him as everyone nodded, while Laurel held his hand.
Maseo approached Oliver with a gun pointing at his back, ordering him to leave. Laurel lectured Quentin that he had embarrassed himself, while he accused Laurel of being a gold digger and sellout because of taking a law job in San Francisco, which hurt Quentin, while Laurel pointed out how pathetic Quentin was because of how drunk he was as Quentin argued she was throwing away her life before walking away.
Laurel and Quentin looked away from the screen, ashamed of themselves, while Tommy had his arm around Laurel's neck, while Moira held Quentin by his shoulder, both of them trying to assure the Lances.
Maseo and Oliver were in an alley as Maseo scolded him for sneaking onto the party and that his hoodie as a disguise would not have worked, even if he had put a grease paint on his face.
Diggle, Felicity and Sara burst out laughing.
"Well, he was wrong." Diggle said.
"Eye mask is better. You should make it for him." Sara said.
"I might do that." Felicity nodded.
Oliver was annoyed by Maseo's lecture, while Maseo explained that they found the location of the auction, which was an abandoned Queen's steel factory.
"Huh. That's why." Diggle said, realizing why did Oliver use it as his lair and Tommy realized why did Oliver use it as the nightclub.
Oliver pointed out that he did not care anymore and he wanted to fix the mess that he had left behind since the Gambit and if he died on this mission, he would lose any chance of fixing the mess.
"Ollie…" Laurel said, all of them touched by him trying to make things right.
Maseo argued that Oliver did not have the chance because Waller would kill him before he could try, while Oliver argued that his family's resources might help him.
Maseo sighed before he pointed out that if Oliver wanted redemption, he needed to start with the lives that would have been lost if Oliver would not stop her, while Oliver pointed out that they did not matter to him. The only lives that mattered to him, were his friends and family, while Maseo argued that they would be ashamed of Oliver's selfish choice.
"Honestly, I can't say that Maseo's wrong but I can't fault Oliver for wanting to come back to us, either." Tommy admitted as everyone else nodded.
Oliver pointed out that they were already ashamed of him before Maseo walked away.
Laurel, Thea, Tommy, Quentin and Moira had tears in their eyes. Laurel and Quentin in particular felt ashamed of their anger towards Oliver and accusing him of getting Sara killed, when it was not his fault that the Gambit had sunk and Quentin's guilt was deepened by his treatment towards Thea, while Tommy wished he had matured more back then and Thea felt ashamed of her irresponsible behavior and using drugs.
The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Oliver entered, looking around the familiar environment.
"What…" Tommy trailed off.
"He was…" Moira paused.
"…back home." Thea finished as everyone else looked shocked.
Oliver entered the living room and sat down, sighing and contemplating as he saw the family photos.
Moira and Thea had tears in their eyes, wanting to welcome Oliver back home, even if he obviously was not going to stay for long.
Oliver plugged the flash drive into the tablet as he turned on the video meant for him. On the screen was Robert, explaining he did not save his city but failed it and he did something horrible, ignoring his conscience and allied himself with terrible people, whose names were on a book, on the List he had left Oliver and that Robert had convinced himself that he had done everything for his family. Robert then explained that it was a lie, since his family was being without a soul because of that and that he needed Oliver to make Starling City better and right Robert's wrongs and save his city. Oliver pulled the drive out and considered.
"That was the message." Diggle realized.
"That's why he was going after the guys he's taken down." Quentin realized and no one was thinking of Oliver as a murderer at that point anymore but as a man trying to honor his father's dying wish and redeem his family's name, finding newfound pride and respect for Oliver.
"Well, I hope it changed his mind and that he helps Maseo." Laurel said.
"I think we all do." Felicity agreed.
Later, White entered the abandoned steel factory, intending to bid the Alpha/Omega virus as the A.R.G.U.S. agents with Maseo were about to intercept the sale.
The criminals noticed them as gunfire started, with all A.R.G.U.S. agents, except for Maseo, who was on the rafters, dead as Maseo raised his hands in surrender as one of the thugs handed Maseo over to White. Before they could kill him, Oliver jumped down from above, shooting down the thugs and throwing a gun to Maseo, who shot down more thugs.
"Yeah!" Tommy and Felicity cheered.
"Kick their asses, Ollie!" Thea said, excited.
Everyone looked with intrigue, hoping that Oliver would save the day somehow.
Maseo and Oliver took cover behind some crates before they rushed down the factory as White was about to unleash the virus as she was driving away. Oliver out down and jumped down from above, shooting at White's car, causing for it to skid as it crashed towards the barrels before White went out and Oliver knocked her out, while Maseo had Kang in cuffs, in his left hand the briefcase with the virus, cuffed to his wrist.
"Good riddance." Laurel sneered.
Oliver threatened to cut Kang's hand off if he did not give them the virus.
"Would he…" Felicity trailed off.
"You sure you want to know?" Sara asked as Felicity was silent.
Later, the next day in the morning, they met back in the hotel as Oliver hoped that he would go home, while Waller pointed out it was not going to be that simple.
"Oh, come on. He saved the day, they have the virus, the bad guys are arrested, what else does she want?" Tommy grumbled.
"It's not over yet and White didn't stay behind bars for long anyway." Sara reminded as everyone groaned.
Then, an elderly man in military outfit entered.
"Oh." Diggle said as everyone realized what was going to happen next.
The man introduced himself as General Matthew Shrieve of U.S. Army as he told Oliver that he needed to debrief Oliver back to China, much to Oliver's annoyance before Shrieve promised that after that Oliver was free to go home as Oliver nodded.
"I'm guessing it did not go the way they planned, did it?" Laurel asked as Sara shook her head, while everyone looked disappointed, although not surprised.
The scene changed to Starling City, as Tommy and Laurel met on the street, talking as he invited her on a dinner.
"Oh. Great." Quentin grumbled.
"Dad…" Laurel nudged him.
"I know, it's just that…" Quentin paused, not sure how to say it. "Queen. Not him and me. Him and you two."
"Oh." Tommy said as he realized what did Quentin mean, while Laurel was conflicted again between Tommy and Oliver, while Tommy was conflicted again between his jealousy towards Oliver and his affection towards Laurel.
Thea approached the graves of Robert and Oliver, leaving flowers as she mourned for them.
Thea had tears in her eyes, shame filling her over her past behavior as Moira had her arm around her, assuring her.
[1] It's quite sad that in flashbacks, Tommy seemed to be more mature and responsible than in the present in Season 1, well, as far as Thea was concerned.
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