Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together
I need the other one to hold you
Make you feel, make you feel better
It's not a walk in the park
"Officer down! Officer down!"
Felicity's eyes widened in horror as she heard the call confirming it was Detective Lance whose life was hanging in the balance.
"We can't get out! The perp has us trapped in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"Oliver!" She cried out over the comms. "Lance is down and emergency services can't get to them."
"Freeze!" Yelled the frightened police officer over the comms at the sight of the Arrow.
"If you want the detective to live, you'll let me help. The Jackal is still in the building!" Oliver growled.
Felicity's nails dug half-moons into her hands as Oliver and Roy helped Officer Petty pull Detective Lance from the building while evading the booby-traps laid out for them by the Jackal. The sirens of arriving emergency vehicles sounded over the comms and Oliver told Petty to keep pressure on Lance's wounds.
"I'm on my way back." Oliver told Felicity.
She sat back in her chair and took a deep breath for the first time in 45 minutes. She was deeply shaken not just by the events but also by the tone of Oliver's voice. He was spooked. She hadn't heard that kind of fear since Slade Wilson had showed up with Mirakuru.
Felicity jumped when John walked in just before Roy and Oliver. "Dig! You have the night off!"
He held his hands up in supplication and frowned. "This takes priority. Lyla sent me over as soon as it came down the wire. This guy is trouble. All hands on deck."
Felicity could see the sense in that and turned to see Roy limping slightly over to the med table. She hurried his way and poked him in the chest. "You didn't say anything about being injured!"
"I'm just bruised some, Lis. It's nothing compared to Lance. I'll be fine." He promised, brushing off her worried hands. He was watching Oliver's tense shoulders across the room and Felicity followed his gaze.
"Oliver?" She asked quietly. He didn't answer her immediately and the foundry was silent. She crossed the room and placed a gentle hand on his spine. The tension bled from his shoulders and she felt rather than heard him breathe heavily.
"We were almost too late. The Jackal laid out the perfect maze and if it weren't for your schematics of the building we never would have made it to him in time. It might still –" He trailed off but Felicity heard the unspoken words. Lance might still not make it.
"I need a shower." Oliver replied, as if he'd heard her thoughts. "We'll regroup in 25 minutes. John can you please order some food. Felicity can you please dress those ribs of Roy's? No arguments, Roy." He turned to face Felicity. "I know it's later than usual but I could really use your eyes on this. Are you able to stay for a few more hours?"
Felicity stared up at him and nodded blankly. His lips twitched in a half-smile and he headed for the shower. She heard John pull out his phone and order enough food to feed a small army. It took Roy calling her name before she snapped out of her stupor. She hurried back his way and checked over his ribs for any breaks, still lost in thought.
"I told you he had changed." Roy murmured softly and her head snapped up to meet his gaze. He shrugged. "There's nowhere else you would be tonight, not after that bastard hurt Lance. But he asked you to stay, made sure you knew how valuable you are. He didn't expect you to just stick around."
She bit her lip and continued working on patching up his ribs. Because that's exactly what had shaken her up.
Oliver and Roy pulled two tables together to make a bigger conference table and Felicity pulled up all the info they had on the Jackal to the screens in front of the tables. Oliver was rubbing his hair with a towel when the door opened and John walked in with a bag full of food and a visitor.
"Will you look who I found snooping around outside?" He teased as he directed the man to deposit his own bag of food on the table.
"Ben!" Oliver greeted warmly. He stood and hugged the man before turning and introducing him to Roy. "Roy this is Ben, Ben this is Roy."
Ben smiled at Roy. "I've heard a lot and if half of it is true then I'm honored."
Roy grinned back and pulled Ben in for a hug. Ben looked surprised but accepted it nonetheless. "I think we owe you for putting up with this stubborn asshole. Thanks, man."
Ben laughed and shook his head. "He's not so bad."
Oliver rolled his eyes, but there was a faint blush staining his cheeks as he glanced over at Felicity who was watching the exchange with some embarrassment and curiosity.
"And I believe you've already met Felicity, Ben?" Ben turned towards Felicity and smiled widely. "Ah yes, the lovely Miss Smoak." He shook her hand. "I really do apologize for that."
She shrugged and smiled. "I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for you, so I can't hold it against you."
He fluttered his eyelashes at her and she snorted a laugh. Oliver huffed and rolled his eyes again. "Alright enough of that, Ben."
Ben linked arms with Felicity and pulled her towards the table. "I think you and I are going to be good friends. Think of all the trouble we could cause! All the grey hairs we could give him!"
Felicity was laughing outright now and Oliver's glare was half-hearted at best.
Dig started passing around the Chinese food and the team began to chow down. For a few moments they all settled into a comfortable silence.
"Not to ruin a good thing, but I was obviously called in for a reason. As much as I'd love to be a part of the Avengers, Ow!" He yelped when a deep-fried shrimp bounced off his forehead. "But if I'm here in the middle of the night I assume it's because I'm needed. I have a very specific skillset and-"
Felicity snorted. "Keep it up pretty-boy."
Ben grinned widely. "Alright, alright." His smile faded. "It's the Jackal, right?"
Oliver cleared his throat and put down his plate. "We found his location tonight, but it was a trap and he had trapped a detective friend of ours and another officer. Detective Lance is in surgery. We got there in time to get them out of there but the Jackal was gone."
Ben nodded. "You need a profile. I've kept up on his news coverage but I'm sure you have more for me. Let's get to it."
Two hours later Ben was standing in front of them with a laser pointer. His demeanor had changed from joking and fun to professional expert. They had poured over all data available on the Jackal as well as every interaction the Team had with him. Only Lance and Petty had come close enough to the Jackal to know his physical characteristics.
"The Jackal is male with bright dyed red hair. He wears purple contact lenses and stands at approximately 5 feet, 9 inches. He weighs in at approximately 190-200 pounds. He has an affinity for plain orange clothing. His height and weight are unremarkable. His decision to dye his hair such an extreme colour and wear remarkable contact lenses express a desire to stand out in a crowd. His decision to always wear orange clothing, and often orange jumpsuits may indicate that believes he belongs in prison. He was charged with a crime but never convicted.
"The Jackal's affinity for creating mazes indicates both a complex thought process, and perhaps an inability to simplify plans. That he only targets law enforcement officers would suggest that he feels the need to punish the criminal justice system for some slight against him in the past or present.
"The weapon used against Detective Lance was a shard of ice. A strange weapon, and not used randomly. It was a clue to lead us to the crime he committed.
"Given all of the findings I believe that The Jackal is punishing law enforcement for not putting him away. The system failed to convict him of a crime he committed. We are looking for an attempted murder of a young woman 10-15 years ago. The weapon was never found. Likely the woman was stabbed in the back, therefore without seeing her attacker and without the weapon, the accused was set free. He was likely an academic. A student of ethics, religion, morality. Early onset schizophrenia, not diagnosed, missed by prosecution and defense. Pled not-guilty. His illness was not treated, layered with guilt, ethical/moral/religious mania. He is punishing those who have not punished him."
Ben blew out a breath and looked over his notes. "Questions?"
Roy nodded. "Yeah, do you teach this shit?"
Ben cracked a smile. "Let's catch this guy and get him the help he needs and then we'll talk.
The next evening found the five of them sitting at the tables and working on the case. Ben had showed up with Big Belly Burger and the others were forever grateful.
"Detective Lance is in a coma, but they managed to get all of the internal bleeding." Felicity informed them.
"He'll be okay." Roy told her. He couldn't know that. But no one corrected him.
Felicity pulled up what she had found that day on the big screens for the team. "I found three cases that fit the profile. Ben?"
The team listened intently as Felicity filled them in. "Jonah Swanason, 48. He was a Professor at Central City College. His wife was stabbed on her way home from work 12 years ago and he was the only suspect. No weapon discovered and she swore it wasn't him."
Ben tapped his chin. "Picture?"
Felicity tapped her keyboard and a bearded man with a scowl appeared on the screen. Ben shook his head. "That's not him. What did he teach, by the way?"
"Ethics." Ben nodded and wrote some notes on his pad.
"Why isn't it him?" Roy asked.
"He'll fit in better than that." Oliver answered instead.
Ben nodded. "Precisely. Hiding in plain sight. This guy looks a bit like someone who might stab his wife. He isn't the Jackal."
Felicity brought up the next file. "Brad Elcott. 29. Was a student at Starling University. Stabbed his girlfriend."
"Not him. Too young. And he was convicted." Ben replied. "Who do we have next?"
"John Brett. 45. Janitor in the Ethics and Philosophy building at Coast City College. He was charged in the stabbing of a female student 11 years ago. Described by students as creepy." Felicity pulled up the photo.
Ben studied the photo. "He fits generally into the build, but I don't think it's him. Can you please run a quick search on him? Where is he these days?"
Felicity hacked into police servers before sighing heavily. "He was picked up a month ago for assaulting a student. He's in lockup awaiting trial." She felt a stab of disappointment, she should have checked out backgrounds before bringing them forward. Now they had nothing. She was startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Ben was smiling at her.
"It's not a perfect science. Besides I think you just found our guy." He told her.
John frowned. "But you nixed all three."
Ben pulled a blank whiteboard beside the one containing his perp profile. "We now have an unsolved attack on the wife of a Professor of Ethics. The Professor was tried and not convicted. He was the only suspect, which means whoever stabbed Patricia Swanason got away with it." He grinned. "I told you, profiling isn't a perfect science. The fact that an innocent man almost went away for his crime, and the husband of his victim at that would add layers to his rage towards the criminal justice system." Ben tapped the marker against his chin. "The Jackal was likely a student of Jonah Swanasan. He might even have been interviewed by police when they were gathering evidence against the Professor. We need to look at Jonah Swanason's students at the time. I need a list of the classes he was teaching and the names, student records and pictures of the students."
Oliver nodded. "If you're right we can catch the Jackal, get Jonah Swanasan his job back and give Patricia some peace."
Ben's cry of victory was followed by a scramble of movement to understand what had elicited the response. The team waited for an explanation as he typed clumsily into Felicity's computer and brought up the file for them to study. The face of a handsome young man filled the screen.
"Mike Sten. 31. Studied Ethics with a major in morality at Central City college. Transferred to Starling City University the following year to continue his masters in theology. Kicked out of the program for "intolerance of other belief systems" and two physical altercations with another student. Was picked up on a minor drug charge a year later. Crystal methamphetamine. And hasn't been seen or heard from since."
Ben turned to the rest of the team. And tapped on the keyboard. His mugshot filled the screen. The handsome young man looked thinner, his hair was wild and dark black. His clothes unkempt and dirty. His eyes were dark and manic. "Team Arrow, meet the Jackal."
Felicity pulled up the sketch that Officer Petty had put out after coming face to face with the Jackal and put them side by side. It was only the bright red hair and purple contacts that differed. It was clearly the same man.
"Alright, Ben. You're our expert. How do we catch him?" Oliver asked.
The phone call to Officer Petty had gone better than expected. The man was grateful for any help he could get and Ben had gone in to debrief SCPD. It was important that no other cops were injured. Ben felt that they were due for another police-related incident if the timeline was anything to go by.
"So you're saying this guy is punishing cops because he wasn't picked up for his crime?" A detective in the back asked.
Ben nodded. "I need to stress that this man is very sick. He hurt one your own. But please remember that he has been untreated for possibly up to 15 years at this point. The orange jumpsuit indicates that he wishes to be punished as do the rest of his actions. He is actively leaving clues. But his mind won't simply allow him to turn himself in. We need to be cautious."
"And the Arrow?" One of the beatcops in the front asked.
Ben knew that Oliver's relationship with the SCPD continued to be difficult. Without Lance there, it was even more strained.
"The Arrow is not officially law enforcement." He held up a hand at the snorts of derision in the room. "I would also recommend you remember that without his help Detective Lance and Officer Petty would both be dead." The silence was palpable. "For the Jackal, I believe the Arrow represents the best chance of being caught. The fact that he has made no move against him or his team seems to confirm that he wishes to be caught. The Arrow is an ally you should make use of in this operation. Because your department will be targeted. The Arrow will not. Remember, more than anything the Jackal wants to be caught."
"So we're the bait?" A haughty cop demanded.
Officer Petty stood up. "Enough. Just listen will you. Have any of you sat surrounded by this psycho's traps with a dying co-worker? No? Then shut the hell up."
Ben waited for silence. "I have given you the best preparation I can. I'm simply telling you that to chase the Arrow is going to lead to the deaths of your own. He is the best chance you have to catch the Jackal. Pay attention, tighten ranks and stay focused on the Jackal." Ben straightened his papers and walked out of the room.
"Thanks, Ben." Felicity's voice sounded in his ear.
He smiled and walked out into the night.
The op went better than they expected. The police cooperated, perhaps because Officer Petty was glaring at everyone who so much as thought about pointing their sidearm anywhere Green. The Jackal showed up and did his best to divide and conquer. His confusion was evident when his previous tactics failed to work on the police.
Ben watched the scene with Felicity back in the lair. He watched as the Jackal's confusion turned to anger.
Roy and John settled into place on either side of the walkway that the Jackal had been using and his purple eyes widened.
"What's this?" He asked, panic shaking his voice.
Oliver landed five feet in front of him. "It's time for you to end this."
The Jackal stumbled back a step and looked down below him at the maze he had created. The police waited calmly at all exits, not even one of them trapped within its walls.
"I don't understand!" He yelled.
Roy aimed an arrow at him and John pointed his gun when he took a step toward the Arrow. They could hear fifty guns cocking below the men.
Oliver lowered his arrow. And Ben smiled from his place beside Felicity 5 miles away. "It's over, Mike. We understand now. You don't have to keep doing this. We know everything."
The Jackal deflated and asked in a small voice. "Everything?"
"Everything. We know you feel guilty for hurting Professor Swanasan's wife Patricia." Oliver continued.
The Jackal swelled with rage. "They never caught me! They never even tried! They punished him! Professor Swanason was a good man and they ruined him! He doesn't teach anymore. He was a good professor!"
The Arrow nodded. "I know, we know. Mike, we can fix it now. We can help him get his job back and they can punish the right person." The Arrow studied him. "Is that what you want?"
The Jackal nodded but looked down at all the police who had their guns aimed at him. "But who will punish them when they get it wrong?"
Ben hummed beside Felicity and she looked at him. "I wondered if this would come up." He hit the comms. "Oliver, ask him if they got it wrong before this?"
The Arrow repeated Ben's question and the Jackal narrowed his eyes at the police.
"I stole candy when I was twelve with my friend Joel. I was told not to do it again. But my friend Joel was taken away from his family and put in Juvenile Hall. All because his skin was darker than mine." The Jackal yelled.
Ben tapped his fingers on the desk. "Mike, police are people and people are flawed. You know this. You studied ethics. Did you study ethics because of what happened to your friend Joel?"
"Somebody needed to fix things."
Oliver stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know what it's like to feel like you have to fix everything. But you've done your part. Are you ready to come in? To fix things for Professor and Patricia Swanason?"
The Jackal stared at him and everything was tense before he dropped his head and nodded.
The atmosphere in the lair was joyous as they popped open a bottle of champagne and ate a giant pizza. Ben was teasing Oliver about how well he had talked down the Jackal.
"You might just make a kickass Psychiatrist, Oliver."
Oliver shoved his away and rolled his eyes. He grabbed a slice of pizza and pulled his phone out of his pocket, ducking into the other room. Felicity's eyes followed him until a warm arm dropped around her shoulders. She turned to face Ben who was grinning down at her.
"You know, I often thought that there was no way you could be as great as he said. I thought he'd made up some idealised version of you and that was half the problem. But you're exactly how he described you. You all are. And working with you this week has been amazing." He told her happily, before downing his glass of champagne.
Felicity blushed and joked. "Are you hitting on me?"
Ben choked on his champagne. "You're beautiful, Felicity. Smartest person I'll ever meet. But no, I wouldn't dream of it. I know a lost cause when I see it. Besides you're not really my type."
Felicity blushed harder at the insinuation that she was in love with Oliver and instead raised an eyebrow. "Really? And just what is your type, Benjamin?"
She caught the glance over at Roy who was stretching across the room and she giggled. Roy looked over their way and seemed to catch Ben's glance and its meaning as he ducked his head and blushed head to toe. "Interesting."
"You have no idea." Ben told her before dropping a kiss to her hair. He walked over and started a conversation with John as they started cleaning up the table. She watched as Roy joined them and he and Ben joked around.
"So you finally picked up on that, huh?" Oliver's voice in her ear caused her to jump. He huffed a laugh and she narrowed her eyes in a glare as he hopped onto the desk next to her.
"Only after he actually told me." She pouted.
Oliver laughed. "You're losing your touch, Smoak."
They watched the others as they cleaned up and joked around for a bit. She happily sat in the comfortable silence that the two of them had only recently recovered. She let it wrap around her like an old sweater, comforting and dependable.
"Lance is awake. I'm sure you'll hear from him tomorrow." Oliver told her quietly, perhaps also unwilling to truly disturb the little bubble surrounding them.
She nodded happily.
Ben looked up and winked at her before he said his goodbyes to John. Whatever he said to Roy had the young man looking suddenly bashful and stuttering. He walked over to Felicity and Oliver and hugged her tightly.
"Well, Darling. It's been a pleasure. Hopefully you don't need my services too soon, but maybe I'll stop by for a visit." He gave her another sly wink.
She laughed. "Please do. You provide infinite entertainment."
He tapped her on the nose before turning to Oliver. He capped him on the shoulder. "Always fun, brother. I'll see you tomorrow. Remember my coffee. I gave Anita the day off so just buzz yourself in."
Oliver waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I'll bring your coffee. You've got a problem, man."
Ben chuckled and walked up the stairs and out of the lair.
Oliver watched him go before meeting Felicity's inquisitive gaze. "We still meet twice a week to-"
Felicity nodded, cutting him off. "Can you give me a ride home?"
Oliver's eyebrows pinched together at the interruption and strange request. He nodded and they waved to Roy and Dig as they left. She ignored the look in Roy's eyes. Oliver said nothing when he saw her car parked in the lot beside his bike. He simply handed her the helmet and waited for her to get on the bike behind him. He made no comment about how nice it felt having her arms wrapped around him or her cheek pressed into his back. It took all his willpower to not cover her hands with one of his own. All too soon they were parked outside of her home. He helped her dismount the bike and they stood there for a moment before she turned and started walking towards her house without a word. He followed, it took only two strides to catch up with her. He walked up the steps with her and watched as she unlocked the front door of her home.
He opened his mouth to say goodnight but when she turned to face him, he closed it with an audible snap. There was a softness in her eyes he hadn't seen in such a long time.
"The thing is that I've missed you for a really long time. And I don't know exactly when I forgave you but I have. And you're still working with Ben to make yourself better. You still want to be the best you can be. So I'm not inviting you in, Oliver. I'm not asking. I'm telling you not to leave." She smiled up at his confused and hopeful face with tears in her eyes. "Because I didn't think I'd ever get here. But I am here and I love you. So come in."
She slipped her small hand into his larger one and pulled him over the welcome mat and into her home. She smiled as she pressed her body against his and closed the door behind him.
"This is what you want?" He asked.
Felicity leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips gently across his. "This is what I need, Oliver."
Tears blurred his eyes and mixed with hers as their lips brushed together for the first time in years. "I love you." He murmured.
"I love you." She replied as her lips moved to his throat."
"I love you." He promised as he carried her up the stairs.
"I love you." She cried as they reunited over and over again.
"I love you." He whispered against her brow as she slept in his arms. The sunlight bathed the room as a new day began. She snuggled further into his body and Oliver closed his eyes and felt truly at home.
Some things just, some things just make sense
And one of those is you and I
Some things just, some things just make sense
And even after all this time
I'm into you
Baby not a day goes by that I'm not into you
There are literally no words to describe the joy I feel about being finished this story. To everyone who has for some reason put up with my posting non-schedule, thank you. I hope it was worth it. There will be no sequel or epilogue. This is it.