Dead to Rights

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Felicity watched as Chloe and Diggle sparred effortlessly. A beautiful and dangerous dance.

Chloe smiled as she finally managed to land a blow past John's defenses.

"You are quicker than you should be." Chloe took the compliment to heart. John wasn't the type to offer them lightly. "How many people do you fool with that smile?"

"More than I'm proud to admit to."

"Your turn." Chloe stepped back and waved Felicity forward.

"Do I really need this?" She sounded nervous and Chloe couldn't blame her. She could remember the first time she had been forced to spare with Oliver. She knew he had been going easy on her but it didn't change how dangerously unprepared she was.

"I'd feel better knowing you knew at least a few tricks to get your self out of trouble." John moved as Felicity approached.

"No one expects you to be some crazy ninja. Just a little training. Any advantage you have is another step to keeping you safe." Chloe didn't want to scare the girl but this was a dangerous game they were playing.

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"Where is Oliver tonight?" Chloe sat in the chair next to the younger blonde and glanced at the code scrolling across the screen. "Cell phone hack?"

"Yeah off the assassin from last night. He's at Tommy's birthday with…" Felicity trailed off as she realized Chloe probably didn't want to hear about Oliver's date.

Chloe frowned. Whatever she felt for Oliver she didn't want it to effect the team.

"Did you try…" Chloe leaned over and typed a few lines of code on the screen and Felicity smiled.

"Genius! You are a rock star."

"You would have gotten there eventually." Chloe got up and pushed back from the desk. "I'm heading over to the diner. Give me a call if you get stuck again."

Felicity didn't look up from the screen, she barely nodded. She was entranced by the numbers flashing across the screen.

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"Thanks for helping Felicity." Chloe turned as Oliver sat down at her table. It had been a while since he had just 'dropped in' and she could admit to missing their talks. She wanted to help him and listening to him talk about the island was helping.

There was no way to move past it without getting it out.

"She's smart Oliver and sassy and just a tiny bit nerdy." Chloe laughed a little at her words.

"Yeah she is pretty amazing. Reminds me a lot of someone else I know." Chloe offered him a sad smile at the compliment. Oliver was no longer the cheating kind. As long as he was dating officer Hall he would offer his flirtation but he would do nothing else.

She was safe.

Too bad she didn't want to be safe anymore. Didn't want harmless.

If she was just filling a spot she wanted to take advantage of the time she had.

"Don't you have somewhere else you should be?" She tried to keep the pain out of her voice.

"I have a few minutes and I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks. Haven't been avoiding me again?"

"I saw you yesterday." He offered her a sly smile. She knew what he meant. Sure he saw her in the diner and the club but they hadn't talked for a while. He missed their talks. He missed they way she listened. The way she seemed to know just when to push and when to leave him alone.

He knew it wasn't fair. He was dating McKenna but he couldn't be honest with her. Couldn't tell her who he really was. With Chloe it was different. He could be himself and she didn't judge. She understood his need for justice and his conflicted emotions about his family.

He moved from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to where she was leaning against the kitchen counter. " I miss us." He reached out and held her hands and she felt a shiver run up her spine.

"There is no 'us' Oliver." She wanted there to be. More than she would even admit to herself but she wouldn't be that girl.

"I'll see you late Sully." She smiled sadly at yet another of his pet names as he turned and left.

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Chloe and Felicity sat close together as they cracked through the last of the layers on the cell phone.

"We're in." Chloe and Felicity yelled in unison.

"Anyone speak Spanish." Chloe just smiled knowingly at Felicity's words. "Spanish, a little French and German. You pick a few things up when you are traveling the world with a team of vigilantes bent on making the planet safer."

"Oh my god." He didn't need to speak Spanish to recognize the name.

Diggle ran out to warn Oliver. This was bad.

Felicity pushed the chair back from the computer and Chloe slid into her place. She turned on the com unit and got the plans for the building where the Gala was being held. She hacked into the security feed and started running facial recognition.

Felicity whistled appreciatively as Chloe's fingers ghosted across the keys.

The screens showed images of the party as she heard Oliver check in.

"I'm here."

"Ground floor is crawling with bad guys. Looks like Tommy and Mr. Merlyn are heading to the penthouse." Chloe continued to type and Diggle ran out. He was of better use on scene in case Oliver needed back up.

"Fe, watch the face recognition. Tell me if anything pops."

"Crap!" No sooner did the younger woman turn when the computer beeped. "China White"

"Oliver?"

"Yeah I heard. What the hell is she doing here and why does she want Merlyn dead?"

"Working on it." Chloe could hear Oliver grunting and could only assume he was less than free to have a conversation. "Dig is coming to you."

"Oliver, You're about to have more company." He barely had time to turn before Detective Hall rounded the corner.

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"I can't see into the penthouse." Chloe sounded cool but Felicity knew she was a bit panicked. Police ban was reporting an explosion and Tommy and his father were still unaccounted for. She was worried not just about Oliver but for him. If something happened to his friend he would never forgive himself.

She tired coms again but nothing. Whatever that room was it was jamming her signal! No one jammed her signal.

She could worry about that later though as the call to 911 finally came over the wire. Merlyn was down but okay.

"I'm clear of the building."

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "Roger that."

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She left after he was clear and headed back to her apartment. She was just tucking herself into bed when she heard a knock at the door. Confused she stumbled to put on a robe and open it.

"Hey." He sounded so lost it made her heart break.

She stepped back and let him in. Moving to the kitchen she started a new pot of coffee. Whatever was bothering him wasn't going to be done in ten minutes.

"I had to tell Tommy." She hid her surprise. "He looked at me with such disgust."

"He'll come around. He's your best friend."

"I didn't want him to know. He knows I would have never told him and I'm not sure if he's more upset about that or the fact that I've been lying to him. I feel like I'm spinning out of control."

He slumped down on the couch and she was torn. Part of her wanted to comfort him. To wrap her arms around him and make him feel better but it would cost her. Every time they got close was a reminder of what they weren't. What they were never going to be.

Soon Felicity would be ready to be on her own and she would be able to leave.

But she couldn't let him hurt without doing something. She would pay the price later but now she would be next to him. Offer him comfort.

Moving towards the couch she sat next to him and pulled his hands into her lap. Letting her thumbs rub back and forth over the calluses as he seemed to relax.

"Ollie, he'll understand. Trust me."

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AN Another chapter. Loving this series.

Please review, please?