OOOO Chapter 13, unlucky for some! Might turn out to be pretty lucky for Felicity though! You know the drill, drop some reviews and just be your normal awesome selves!
The car was driving dangerously fast but to Oliver, it felt cruelly slow. He was impatient to get there, knowing every second spent driving was another second closer to the end of Felicity's life. The adrenaline had already started rushing through him and he felt his fingers twitch, desperate to shoot some arrows.
Diggle was staring straight ahead, trying to find the shortest way possible to Hillington Street. They swerved in and out of traffic and would probably have a few speeding offences to answer to in the morning. That didn't matter at that precise moment. They had better things to worry about.
As they neared their destination, Oliver quickly slipped on his mask. As it slid into place, he felt composed, almost calm and ready to do whatever it took to get her away from Antony. He didn't care how many of his rules he had to break; she was going to get out alive.
Finally, after what felt like an endless amount of time, they swerved to a stop at the corner of the street. What stood before them was some sort of apartment building but it, like almost everything else in the Glades, was crumbling and rundown. Throwing the door open roughly, he met Digg on the pavement.
"Listen Oliver, I know you want to get her back but just remember," he paused, unsure if he should carry on. "Don't do anything stupid. She wouldn't want that."
Pretending to ignore what he had just said, Oliver set off towards the block, his eyes and mind fixed on their objective. He quickly surveyed the building until he found the fire escape. He slunk silently up the stairs, his feet making almost no sound against the metal slats. He was in total hunting mode.
It was then that he realised he had no idea what floor she was on. As he passed numerous flats, he contemplated busting into them, although he knew it would just waste time. He finally resolved to look through the small windows and if anything was unusual, break through it and take a look around.
As he slowly made his way higher and higher up, a few red herrings under his belt, he noticed a particular apartment that looked different to the others. All the others were cluttered with furniture and junk, looking as if they had been well lived in. This one however, was empty; the grey walls the only decoration in the place. This was enough to spike his interest and he didn't waste a second to smash through the window, ignoring how the shards of glass ripped at his skin. He heard a panicked male voice from within. Antony. Bingo.
Oliver stood completely still, the bow loaded with an arrow hung readily at his side. He heard more than one pair of footsteps pounding towards him and he tensed. Suddenly, Antony turned the corner, flanked by two men pointing guns at Oliver's chest.
"I figured it would only be a matter of time until you came to rescue the little damsel in distress." He smirked, enjoying the growl Oliver had made. "I called in a few favours and I'm afraid, you're outnumbered."
He didn't even bother switching on his voice modulator, knowing anger had already brought it to the right pitch. "That never stopped me before." With that he swiftly brought the bow up high and shot an arrow into the strip of lighting on the ceiling. Sparks flew down and Oliver ducked, anticipating the rounds of gunfire above his head. They were shooting blindly.
Oliver propelled himself across the floor with his hands until his foot came into contact with Antony's ankle. He kicked hard, satisfied when he heard a loud snap and a cry of pain. He quickly rolled to the right as bullets ricocheted his way. He swiftly brought himself to his feet and used the end of his bow to hit one of the flanking men in the nose. He hit at such an angle that he knew it was broken but hit him again in the temple for good measure. The man collapsed, leaving one man standing. He heard the click of an empty chamber and relaxed slightly. This would be a lot easier without bullets.
Whipping his foot around quickly, he swept the man's feet out from underneath him. As he fell, he punched him quickly in the side, gauging by the groans that he had hit well. With the man on the floor, he brought his foot down hard on his throat, cutting off the air. He would have carried on had he not heard the crack of broken glass underfoot and then a sharp thud as the room filled with light. Digg was standing in the fire escape with Antony lying in front of him. His right hand held a torch which illuminated the room perfectly. Antony, being the weak sicko he was, had tried to escape, only to be forcefully stopped by Diggle.
It was then that Oliver turned his attention directly to him. He loaded a new arrow, the other still hanging from the light above them.
"You thought you could take her from me? You thought I wouldn't come back for her?" his voice rose with anger as he drew back the arrow, steading his aim. "I'm afraid you were mistaken." Then, not giving him a chance to say one word, he released.
Oliver turned on his heel, not looking at the man dead at his feet, instead focusing on what they had come here to do. He heard Digg climb through the broken window and relaxed slightly as he fell into step behind him.
"You did the right thing Oliver."
He didn't reply.
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Felicity was hanging between consciousness and blackness. Still on her side, she could barely see anything, partly due to the dark of the room and partly to do with her growing weakness. White noise filling her ears. She registered some kind of commotion but she was too weak to even lift her head. Her stomach throbbed unforgivingly, a constant reminder of the fear she should feel for the man that kept her hostage. She heard footsteps and finally accepted that he had come to finish her off. She embraced the closeness of her death.
The door flung open and she closed her eyes tight. She didn't want Antony's face to be her final sight. She wanted to be alone as the last breath left her body. It wasn't until she heard someone distinctly not Antony call her name that she opened them.
Oliver.
She knew he threw his bow to the side of the room, judging by the clatter of metal. Her vision still wavered and she didn't have her glasses on but he was knelt so close to her that she could almost make him out perfectly.
"I'm here. I came back." He said simply. His hand was under her cheek, lifting her head gently from the ground. He ran his thumb across her cheekbone and she shivered causing her to cry out in pain as the movement caused more blood to run from her stomach.
Oliver whipped his head to her wound and inhaled sharply. He barked something at Digg but she didn't hear. Her senses were slowly fading. She was slowly fading.
She felt her arms release from behind her and with nothing to keep her upright, she slid down. She would have hit the floor if Oliver's free arm had not caught her. He had tried to avoid her wound but failed as the pressure caused Felicity's whole body pulsate with agony. She felt herself being laid flat down and she tried to open her eyes but she couldn't, all the energy leaving her body.
"Felicity?!" She heard Oliver's alarmed tone but it seemed to come from far away, at the end of a long tunnel. "No! Stay with me!" his voice cracking with emotion. "You can't go please!" The sound of his voice nearly broke her heart and she tried to hold on but was still being pulled under fast.
"No! Please! Felicity, you can't leave!" his voice rising higher still. She could hear tears clogging his throat. She so wanted to open her eyes but she just couldn't. "Please! I … love you."
Even in her half-conscious state, she was shocked. There had always been an unspoken truth between them that had stayed just that, unspoken, until now. These simple words were enough to bring some sort of fight back into her body. She heard Oliver sigh loudly in relief as she came back from the edge and quickly told Digg to call an ambulance.
"I need to move you Felicity. It's going to hurt." She heard guilt and pain mixing in with his words. She wanted to put her hand to his face and wipe away the tears that were undoubtedly falling.
As she felt him gently pick her up, her whole body rocked into oblivion. Every nerve in her body seemed to be on fire and agony ripped through her very being. She rolled towards his chest and groaned loudly into his leather clad chest.
"I'm so sorry. Just please stay with me…" she felt herself move away. He was trying to get out as fast as he could without hurting her. Every step still made a zap of pain run through her abdomen but she bit down hard on her lip to stop herself from crying out. The stairs were the worst. She couldn't help but let a tiny cry escape as he rushed as quickly as he could to the doors leading outside.
The frigid air hit her face hard and she realised how cold she was. She was only in her underwear. She felt the tarmac come into contact with her bare back and tried to suppress a shiver. It didn't escape Oliver's notice. He quickly called Diggle over who promptly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. The jacket still had Digg's body heat clinging to it and she tried to push into every corner to get maximum warmth. She heard him tell Oliver to change to his 'street clothes' before the ambulance got there, assuring him that Felicity would be okay until he got back. She felt his hand leave hers and slowly cracked open her eyes. She saw a figure she knew to be Oliver, walking away into the distance. Her eye line flicked to Digg who was kneeling over her.
He smiled softly. "Hey. It's good to have you back." She smiled weakly in return. "I need to check you over okay?" She tried to nod.
Digg obviously understood what she meant and set about examining her. He lifted her left arm to see the deep handcuff cut which she had almost forgotten was there. He felt around her head, feeling for lumps or bleeding, being careful to avoid the bruise on her right temple. He checked over the rest of her body as she saw Oliver return. Digg had gotten to the part she had been dreading the most. Oliver's hand slipped back into hers.
"She'll need numerous stitches in her wrist but she's not bleeding too bad from there anymore." He paused, both men looking down to her tattered waist. "I need to put pressure on this to be honest. She'll bleed out otherwise." Oliver nodded grimly and came down closer to Felicity's face, so close she could almost make him out perfectly. She wondered what he was doing until she felt Digg's hand press firmly to her stomach. She gasped loudly, ready to groan until she felt Oliver's lips collide into hers, the sound disappearing. Pain momentarily forgotten, she melted into him. Her body relaxed and everything she had been through didn't seem to matter. Tears ran steadily down her face and she could soon taste the saltiness on his lips. She was still vaguely away of the agony in her abdomen but she ignored it as Oliver carried on kissing her gently. The initial shock was wearing off and she began to relax into the moment. She forgot where she was. It all came flooding back as he pulled away, the sound of sirens from a nearby ambulance filling the air.
Oliver quickly ran his thumb across her cheeks, catching the tears still falling. He apologised again as he brought her into his arms, agony flaming through her abdomen, and walked to the waiting ambulance. She eventually heard numerous voices around her, crowding her as she was laid down onto something warmer than the floor. A stretcher. Her eyes flickered shut again and she felt Oliver bend down to whisper in her ear.
"Rest now, you're safe."
AWWWW! I actually loved writing this chapter just because of the "I love you" incident! EEP FANGIRLING SO HARD RIGHT NOW! Please let me know what you guys thought of it! Lots of Love To You All!
