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.
Anatoly accompanied Oliver into a bar, where Viktor and another Bratva captain were sitting at the chairs, with Anatoly joining them and Oliver sitting across them as Viktor asked Oliver what did Bratva mean to him as Oliver replied that to him it meant "brotherhood". Anatoly explained that brotherhood meant family and asking Oliver, who was his family. Oliver replied that his father was dead and Anatoly explained that to Oliver, Moira and Thea were dead too and only Bratva was his family as Oliver made a vow. "I have no family. I have no home. I have no name. Ya Bratva." Anatoly got up and hugged Oliver, welcoming him into Bratva.
Everyone stared in disbelief at Oliver renouncing everything important to him.
"Now you see why he had been so distant towards you. Something like that, you can't just turn on and turn off with a switch." Sara explained, as everyone felt sad for Oliver again, considering how many sacrifices have they seen him make.
Later, Oliver toasted with Anatoly to surviving Amazo and drank, although neither of them liked the taste of their beverage. Viktor then approached Oliver, saying that while Oliver may have passed all the tests, Viktor was reluctant to believe that Oliver was one of them and that other members became Bratva because Kovar and his government stole everything from them and Bratva was supposed to bring justice as Oliver replied that he wanted to bring justice too but Viktor was indifferent to Oliver's answers, saying that Oliver would never be one of them.
"Tell me this guy isn't as bad as Conklin." Tommy groaned.
"Close enough but he'll come around. For a time." Sara said as everyone relaxed, although when Sara said that it wasn't going to be for long, they had to wonder what was going to happen between Oliver and Viktor later.
Anatoly approached them before the confrontation between Oliver and Viktor would escalate as Viktor reluctantly greeted Oliver among Bratva and patted him on his shoulder.
"Eat that, jackass." Roy said as everyone snickered in amusement.
Anatoly wondered what exactly happened but Oliver told Anatoly not to worry before they both drank.
"I never imagined Oliver would become a criminal. At least not that kind of criminal." Moira admitted as everyone nodded.
Few months ago, if Quentin had known, he would arrest Oliver in a heartbeat but watching this, it all made him feel sad for Oliver.
As they kept on drinking, Anatoly wondered why did Oliver act like he was responsible for everyone and everything, despite being a brother to Bratva.
"It's just who he is." Laurel said, all of them again feeling sad for Oliver again.
"No matter what, he always finds a way to blame himself for whatever goes wrong to those he cares about, even if he's not responsible." Sara explained.
Oliver explained that he was thinking about the reason he came to Russia as Anatoly drunkenly explained that the bar they were in, was the best one in town before correcting himself that it was the only bar.
Everyone snickered.
Oliver chuckled, correcting Anatoly that he was wondering why he came to Russia after Lian Yu. Anatoly remembered the promise Oliver had made to Taiana and advised him to move on. Oliver told Anatoly that she had a family that Oliver needed to find and Anatoly realized what was going on.
"It wasn't exactly like that…" Quentin said as everyone snickered at Anatoly misreading Oliver's message.
Anatoly then told Oliver that "There's no problem a beautiful woman cannot fix."
"Really? He thinks Ollie needs that?" Laurel snorted, half-amused and half-hurt as everyone shook their heads in amusement.
Anatoly left, looking around for a woman before Oliver saw next to him one of the customers arguing with one of the women and dragging her out. One of the Bratva asked where Oliver was heading but Oliver brushed him off.
"Oh, man…" Tommy muttered, all of them realizing that Oliver was about to get himself into trouble again.
"Always have to be the hero, do you?" Laurel sighed.
"Yeah." Sara nodded.
"This is not gonna end well." Quentin said and no one disagreed with him.
Oliver went out into the alley, facing the woman before the two Bratva men approached him from behind, saying that Viktor wanted to give Oliver "a proper gift".
"Oh, come on, not again!" Thea groaned.
"Honestly, I'm not even surprised." Quentin said, all of them remembering how Conklin tricked Vlad into attacking Oliver.
"Don't worry, this is not going to end badly." Sara assured them as they all relaxed.
Oliver realized what was going on as the woman left before one of the men punched him in the face and Oliver staggered towards a wall. The two men proceeded to beat Oliver up.
Everyone groaned, with most of them remembering how many times did Oliver get himself into this kind of trouble before the Gambit.
Another one of the Bratva suddenly approached them, telling the thugs to back off. They attacked him but the man dodged as one of the thugs tried to stab him with a knife, causing for him to stab his colleague into his chest. The man hit the thug with the knife with his elbow, while shoving the other thug down and then stabbing him in the chest too as they fell down, dead. The man then knelt towards Oliver, telling him to tell Oliver's boss to pay the half of his fee within an hour.
"What?" Thea asked, confused.
"Someone paid him to look after Oliver?" Roy realized.
"Anatoly. I think you know this guy too, Dig." Sara said, much to everyone's confusion. "You'll see in a moment."
Oliver narrowed his eyes in confusion as the man got up, walking away before reaching for his chin, revealing his face to be a mask and revealing a middle-aged man with short beard and short hair.
"Oh." Diggle said. "Chance."
"Wait, you know this guy?" Felicity asked as they all turned to him.
"Most of us call him "The Human Target"." Diggle explained. "He's an asset military and intelligence agencies use. When someone is a target of an assassination, we call him. He assumes their identities and poses as them until the hitmen make a move. He also learns everything he can about who he poses as."
Sara nodded. "There was one thug, who figured out, who Ollie was and ordered a hit on him, so you called Chance to bait the hitmen and Ollie then took them down later. He also gave Ollie a good life advice."
"Seems like a nice guy." Roy said, all of them impressed that someone like Chance would sacrifice himself like that as a day job.
Sometimes later, in the bar, Oliver and Anatoly were putting together a bomb, with Oliver muttering that he had failed chemistry in high school, twice.
Those that had known Oliver, snickered again.
"Yeah, he barely passed history and literature, if I remember and he even got D for algebra." Tommy remembered.
"Didn't you flunk from those the first time around?" Laurel reminded and Tommy was silent as everyone, once again, snickered at Tommy's expense this time as he glowered and Laurel chuckled.
Oliver wondered what was he doing at the moment and what was the point of making a bomb as Anatoly explained that Oliver needed to learn many things, much to Oliver's annoyance.
"Yeah, I think we all know by now that patience has never been his strong suit." Quentin said and everyone nodded.
Oliver followed Anatoly's instructions on how to make the bomb but he accidentally triggered it, much to his and everyone else's horror as Anatoly quickly threw it into a nearby trash bin and he and Oliver scooted away and everyone gasped in horror as it smoked from the bin as a small explosion went off.
"Now I remembered what happened, when we were doing a science project back in high school." Laurel said as she, Tommy, Moira, Quentin and Thea snickered again.
"If he managed to screw this up, how did he manage to make explosive arrows?" Felicity wondered.
"My guess, A.R.G.U.S. tech or a lot of pass/fail." Diggle said and Felicity nodded.
Anatoly laughed in amusement, assuring Oliver that Anatoly messed it up the first time too and he almost lost his finger.
"First time for everything." Roy shrugged.
They heard tires skid and everyone took cover as Oliver tackled Anatoly down, while gunshots rang out and windows and bottles at the bar shattered.
"What the hell?" Thea demanded.
"Kovar." Sara explained as everyone glared at the screen, realizing what was it about.
"And Anatoly didn't think to mention that Kovar was after them?" Quentin demanded angrily.
"In his defense, Anatoly did not expect him to do something so extreme." Sara explained, although none of them were any less angry about it.
Oliver demanded to know what happened and Anatoly explained that Kovar just attacked them. Later, the customers and bartenders left as Anatoly was cleaning up and Oliver demanded to know why Anatoly did not tell Oliver that Kovar was targeting them as Anatoly reminded that Kovar had an army, making it obvious who his enemies were. Oliver wanted to know how was joining Bratva going to help him get to Kovar as Anatoly explained that now Oliver had a chance as the Pakhan would explain everything when he arrived and Oliver needed to clean himself up and show some respect.
"Pakhan?" Tommy repeated, confused.
"Basically the head of the Bratva. The godfather." Quentin explained as Tommy nodded.
A moment later, an elderly man with short beard and grey hair in grey suit entered, accompanied by his bodyguards, greeting Anatoly as they hugged and kissed each other on their cheeks before taking a drink.
Sara glared at Gregor as everyone noticed the look in her eyes.
"Let me guess, another jackass." Laurel said.
"You have no idea." Sara said. "Gregor was the leading Pakhan of Bratva back then but he was a corrupt son of a bitch. You'll see later."
They noticed how much did Sara hate Gregor, making them realize he was going to be a lot of trouble.
Speaking in Russian, Gregor turned to Oliver, referring to him as Anatoly's "American puppy".
"A puppy?" Tommy repeated, all of them glaring at Gregor.
"Just the first twenty seconds and I already hate this guy." Moira said.
"I can already tell he's bad news for Oliver." Quentin said.
Gregor acknowledged he knew who Oliver was, remarking that Oliver was an outsider, while Oliver protested that he had earned his place in Bratva.
"Years ago, he didn't have to fight for a lot. Now… now he would try so hard to earn what he wanted." Laurel noted, all of them realizing how much did Oliver mature and ashamed again of their initial treatment towards him.
Oliver was annoyed, demanding to know what was going on as Anatoly attempted to calm him down. Gregor assured Anatoly, appreciating Oliver's eagerness, explaining that Kovar wanted to build a casino and expand his territory and that the attack was a warning shot for Bratva to stay away. Gregor instructed Oliver to use his connections as a rich American to infiltrate Kovar's casino, since Kovar needed investors and blow up his casino. Gregor asked if Oliver would play a rich American playboy again as Oliver considered.
"Is he out of his mind?" Moira demanded, not wanting to become a target of a powerful Russian crime lord.
Later, Oliver entered Kovar's casino, in a suit, accompanied by Kovar's men.
Moira smiled, wondering if Oliver could be a good businessman in Queen Consolidated.
The man told Oliver that the casino could be a useful investment as Oliver replied that he would like to play craps if the casino would open and also suggesting to add more girls as the man assured him that all would be provided.
"Oh, no. Gambling? That's one thing I never approved of back in the days." Moira said, glad that neither she or Robert ever let Oliver do that.
Felicity shivered, getting uncomfortable flashbacks from when she infiltrated Alonzo's casino, when trying to find Walter.
Oliver requested to see the blueprints as the man showed them on the table, also requesting his payment as Oliver's associate put on the table a briefcase with some cash as the man smiled, also wondering why didn't Oliver return home.
Everyone sighed, knowing the answer already and again feeling sad for Oliver.
Suddenly, Oliver slammed him to the table and knocked him out. Oliver picked the cash, revealing it to be counterfeit and under it were plastic explosives that Oliver ordered to set up as the associate said that Oliver played a douche quite well.
Those, who had known Oliver before the Gambit, burst out laughing.
"I should've known he was acting, when he came back and seemingly returned to his shenanigans." Laurel said.
"Yeah. Me too." Tommy nodded.
"Huh. Maybe Bruce Wayne also was just acting and he's Batman actually." Quentin wondered and Sara chuckled and bit her lip, deciding not to say anything.
Oliver and his colleague set up charges until one of the thugs snuck up on Oliver from behind and hit him in the head with his gun, knocking him out.
"Frak." Felicity said, all of them realizing Oliver just got himself into trouble.
"Not again." Tommy said as everyone groaned.
When Oliver woke up, one of the thugs smacked him on his face and Oliver groaned as he woke up, tied to a chair and facing a tall muscular man with short blonde hair, wearing a suit with a bow tie, who was pouring himself a drink.
"That's him?" Quentin asked and Sara nodded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Konstantin Kovar. One of the last bastards Ollie is going to have to deal with before going home." Sara said, all of them wondering how dangerous he was going to be.
"Hmmm. Ollie vs. Ivan Drago. That can end only so well…" Tommy muttered. [1]
Kovar told Oliver about a story Kovar's mother had told him about her grandfather that in their village they had grown a turnip so large they were unable to pull it by themselves and that even the whole family later tried to help but none of them were able to pull it out as Kovar drank his drink. Kovar then put down his jacket, continuing to explain that every single inhabitant in the village had to help with the turnip before they pulled it out together as he sat across Oliver. Oliver wondered where was Kovar going with it as Kovar explained that unity was needed to success in life and that scum would never amount to anything without help.
"He's not wrong…" Roy muttered.
Kovar then taunted Oliver that Bratva were the family that would never pull out the turnip. Kovar then got behind Oliver and snapped his colleague's neck.
"Now I know why Taiana hated this guy." Diggle said as everyone nodded.
Oliver paled as Kovar neared him, recognizing him and introducing himself as he took a sip from his drink, saying that he had been looking forward to meeting Oliver.
"Great." Laurel grumbled, all of them realizing Oliver was about to get himself into trouble again.
Later, Oliver had a black bag put on his head as they dragged him somewhere else before they forced Oliver to sit down and Oliver saw that he was in a dining room as Kovar's men cut the zip-cuffs on his hands, with Oliver sitting across Kovar at the dining table. Oliver reached for the knife at the table as Kovar's men aimed their guns at him, while Oliver realized he needed to be careful as Kovar warned him not to do anything reckless.
"Please, tell me you're not that stupid." Diggle said as everyone nodded.
Oliver groaned in pain as Kovar admitted that Oliver fascinated him, while Kovar ate his stake, summing up Oliver's life. Kovar demanded answers from Oliver, wanting to know why was Oliver targeting him, impressed that even after a week of torture, Oliver did not break.
"This was nothing." Diggle said, all of them remembering what Fyers, Slade, Ivo and Reiter had done to Oliver already.
Kovar pointed out that Oliver was screaming for avenging someone named "Taiana", wondering who it was before a maid with a bowl of flowers entered as Kovar greeted her, calling her Galina.
"Taiana's and Vlad's mother." Sara explained.
"Oh." Quentin said, all of them realizing how hard this was going to be for Oliver.
Oliver stared at Galina as Kovar casually flirted with her and kissed her on her cheek before Galina left as Kovar realized who this "Taiana" was as he sniffed the flowers, before returning to his seat, pouring himself a glass of wine and explaining how he had met Galina, explaining that he employed her after she had lost her children. Oliver replied that he believed Taiana, since she said that Kovar was a monster as Kovar said that "monster" was a matter of perspective as one of Kovar's men showed Oliver a file, on which was Pyotr Friedkin, the man that Oliver killed in prison to earn his place in Bratva. Kovar then explained that Bratva used Oliver to kill Friedkin to steal his business and that he was nothing but their tool and that things were not as black and white as Oliver had believed them to be, the truth being only a matter of perspective.
"Well, I hate to say it but he has a point. Anatoly wouldn't use Oliver but I can't say I trust the rest of the Bratva." Quentin pointed out as everyone nodded.
"That doesn't mean he's the good guy in this." Diggle added and everyone nodded again.
Oliver picked a knife, about to stab Kovar, when the guards pulled out their guns, with Oliver wanting Kovar to get him out of his estate.
"Come on, there's no way he can get out." Felicity groaned.
"Haven't you forgotten? He tends to get suicidal, when desperate." Tommy reminded.
Oliver warned Kovar, saying "Twitch and I'll open your throat."
Everyone burst out laughing.
"This would sound more intimidating if he had used an Australian accent and deeper voice." Moira teased.
Tommy cleared his throat, trying to make his voice deeper and imitating Slade's accent which was quite convincing. "Twitch and I'll open your throat."
Everyone snickered again.
"Much better." Sara said, giggling.
Kovar was seemingly terrified as Oliver ordered Kovar to tell his men to stand down. Kovar did as Oliver said as Oliver picked their guns, aiming them both at Kovar and his men as they walked down the corridor as Kovar taunted him that Oliver was getting himself in over his head before Kovar's men surrounded Oliver and Kovar explained that Bratva would not be happy with Oliver's actions since Bratva would not take any action against Kovar in exchange for a cut of profit from Kovar's casino, not that Oliver believed him.
"He's lying." Felicity said immediately.
"Actually, he wasn't. There was one of the Bratva, who had made a deal with Kovar." Sara said.
"Viktor?" Roy tried and Sara shook her head.
"Guess again." Sara said.
"Gregor." Quentin deduced and everyone had hateful thoughts about the Bratva Pakhan.
"Now I know why you hated him." Laurel said and Sara nodded.
Kovar pointed out what was more likely: That Bratva would let an American into their brotherhood or that Oliver was just a valuable asset at the time. Oliver was caught off-guard, as Kovar used the opening to take Oliver's gun and taunting Oliver that he was too stupid to know the difference as his men grabbed Oliver. Kovar said that he had killed people for less than what Oliver just did as Oliver taunted him to do so, otherwise Kovar would be too weak.
Kovar punched Oliver as Oliver fell down in pain. Kovar ordered his men to leave as Oliver got up. Kovar ruthlessly beat Oliver, who was too weak to fight back. Oliver staggered back against the wall and tried to rush at Kovar but Kovar hit Oliver twice in the chest and grabbed him in chokehold and threw him down. Oliver got up, barely able to block Kovar's blows as Kovar dodged Oliver's attacks and knocked him down before Gregor entered, stopping Kovar from continuing to beat Oliver.
"Damn it." Thea said, all of them realizing it was about to become worse for Oliver.
"He will wish he had let Kovar kill him." Sara said, all of them looking forward for Oliver to turn the tides in his favor.
Gregor said that Kovar beating Oliver would cost him his cut as Oliver realized he had been fooled. Later, Gregor had Oliver elsewhere in a basement, displeased that Oliver had interfered in his operations and growling that Oliver did not actually care about Bratva, that they were just means for Oliver to get to Kovar. Gregor forced Oliver to sit on a chair as Oliver taunted Gregor that he had betrayed Bratva by allying himself with a government strongman as Gregor argued that Oliver's vendetta was betraying Bratva and that Gregor's alliance with Kovar was actually benefiting it and that because Gregor was the Pakhan, his decisions were the law, deciding to beat some obedience into Oliver. Gregor then taunted Oliver by picking up the photo of Laurel, showing it in front of him.
Everyone, Laurel especially, again felt touched that Oliver had been holding onto the memory of her throughout the five years.
Gregor wondered why didn't Oliver return home after he got off Lian Yu as he took off his jacket and instead came to Russia to avenge someone he barely knew. Oliver explained to Gregor that he had been through too much and become a completely different person to return home as Gregor realized that Oliver was afraid that he had become a monster.
"That's not true." Laurel said, most of them, especially her, Quentin, Tommy, Moira, Thea and Felicity ashamed of judging Oliver's alter-ego.
Oliver wondered how much did Kovar pay Gregor to betray Bratva. Gregor responded by punching Oliver in the face as he fell down from the chair. Gregor's thugs then beat Oliver.
Everyone was worried again about Oliver, wondering how was he going to make it out.
They put Oliver back up as Gregor taunted Oliver how little he knew, making Oliver wonder if Gregor was actually playing Kovar.
"Bullshit." Roy said, all of them glaring at Gregor.
"He's crooked to the bone, only an idiot wouldn't see that." Quentin said as everyone nodded.
Oliver said he did not believe Gregor as Gregor said that Oliver did not understand circumstances were what change people, taunting that Oliver was responsible for his own inner darkness, which was what was driving Oliver to kill Kovar and that all Oliver was doing, was blaming himself.
"He's not wrong." Sara said, all of them realizing how much did Oliver blame himself for the pain of others, despite that he was not responsible, once again making those, who had known Oliver, ashamed of how they had been treating him since he returned from Lian Yu.
Gregor offered Oliver a better life by joining him in exchange for Oliver's obedience.
"Like hell." Moira said as everyone glared at Gregor.
Oliver taunted Gregor, wondering what would Gregor do as Gregor's henchman handed him a gun as Gregor aimed it at Oliver's head, warning that he would kill Oliver if Oliver did not join him.
The viewers' glare intensified and the phrase 'if looks could kill' came to mind.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out outside as they heard arrows flying and bodies drop.
"What the hell? Is this another hallucination?" Felicity wondered.
"No. You'll see in a moment." Sara said as they noticed the edgy tone in her voice, making them wonder what was going to happen next.
Gregor's men went out to see what happened as more gunshots rang out and arrows were fired, with them falling down, dead. Gregor picked Oliver up, holding him at gunpoint as he neared the stairs before his hand was suddenly pinned to a wall by a black arrow, causing for him to drop his gun. Oliver turned his head upstairs as he saw Laurel in black leather suit and a hood, in her hand a bow and to her back strapped a quiver full of arrows.
"What?" Laurel asked, all of them confused.
Oliver narrowed his eyes until his vision cleared and saw a young woman, speaking with an unusual Eastern accent, introducing herself as Talia, explaining that she had been looking for him.
"Oh, you have gotta be freaking kidding me." Felicity groaned as everyone stared in disbelief, realizing who it was.
"Ra's al Ghul's daughter? What the hell does she want with Oliver?" Diggle demanded, all of them worried about Oliver.
"My guess, nothing good." Thea said.
"Well, that depends on your perspective. But she wanted to… help him. In a way." Sara said, all of them wondering how much trouble she was going to bring to Oliver.
Oliver passed out and when he came to, he seemed to be in a motel room as he got up, wondering what was going on as Talia explained that things in Bratva had become complicated. Oliver asked why did Talia save him as Talia said dryly that Oliver needed help. Oliver got up and saw on the table photos of Oliver taken from across the world and a map of Lian Yu, realizing she had been following him and studying him.
"She was spying on him?" Thea realized.
"Studying him." Sara corrected. "That's how Chase learned everything he could about Oliver later. Talia had told him most of Oliver's past, when Oliver killed Ra's but Chase spent two years obsessively following and studying everything he could about Oliver and after Talia lost it, she helped him learn more about Ollie's past."
Everyone then glared at Talia, wanting to make her pay.
She then summed up what had happened to Oliver, using the evidence she had collected as she taunted Oliver for not returning back home because of his inner darkness. Oliver grabbed Talia's wrist, demanding to know how did she know it all as Talia said she simply did her homework.
"Wow. I wasn't able to find anything about the Hood at all." Quentin said, impressed by Talia.
"All it takes is experience, patience, stubbornness and large amount of willpower and you can do anything." Sara summed up. "Slade's hatred fueled by Mirakuru helped him survive long enough to get revenge on Ollie. Ollie's need to come home and survive was what helped him get home to Starling City. Chase's psychopathy and obsession with Ollie was how he learned everything about him."
Oliver wanted to know why was Talia interested in Oliver as she slammed Oliver to the table and grabbed him by his wrist, explaining that Yao Fei was her student and Oliver was wearing his hood as Oliver stared in disbelief.
"Ouch." Tommy winced, remembering what Helena did to him.
"Why is it, that sooner or later, he always pisses off the wrong woman?" Felicity wondered as everyone snickered.
"I've asked myself that many times." Sara shrugged.
Talia let Oliver go as he got up, wondering how was it possible that she had trained Yao Fei, considering her apparent age as Talia mocked Oliver for asking a woman about her age.
Everyone snickered again.
Talia then revealed cryptically to Oliver that her young appearance was a family secret.
"The Lazarus pit?" Laurel deduced and Sara nodded.
Oliver explained to Talia that Yao Fei was dead as Talia said that the world needed people like Oliver and that because of what he had been through, he was destined for much more than being a Russian gangster.
"She does have a point." Quentin admitted reluctantly.
Oliver protested that he had a promise to keep to kill Kovar. Talia showed him a folder that Oliver opened, revealing a profile of Misha Yurievich, a black market smuggler, whose expertise was human trafficking with young girls and that Kovar was his client, explaining that eliminating him would make Kovar lose his income of money.
"Why would that psycho bitch help him?" Thea wondered.
"Back then, she cared about her students and knew people with great potential. But when Ollie was forced to kill Ra's, she lost it and allied herself with Chase, training him. She was obsessively loyal towards Ra's and despite that he never would have let her or Nyssa or any other woman become his successor, she still loved him." Sara said. [2]
"Nyssa?" Laurel repeated.
"Ra's younger daughter and Talia's half-sister. She's… someone I used to know. A good friend." Sara said fondly, making them realize how close they were, although they didn't know that Sara was a bisexual and she decided to not shock them more.
Oliver was surprised that Talia would help Oliver as she wanted only for him to hear her out as Oliver gave in, when she pointed out that he would cripple Kovar's operation by letting her help.
"I know she doesn't give the vibes here yet but she's… creeping me out." Felicity said.
"You're not the only one with that feeling." Tommy said as everyone nodded.
Oliver and Talia went out on the street, hiding behind barrels as Talia was about to engage Yurievich's men. Oliver stopped her, pointing out that she had a bow and they had guns.
"Excuse me, have you forgotten yourself, Yao Fei and Shado?" Tommy asked jokingly as everyone snickered.
"Yeah, Ollie underestimated Talia back then, although I don't blame him." Sara nodded, giggling.
Talia said that bow and arrow required patience and discipline as she went out and shot down the thugs as she and Talia switched cover before spotting Yurievich. Talia shot down more thugs as Yurievich hid in his limo. Oliver snuck up on one of the thugs and whacked him in the head with his gun before using him as a human shield as other thugs opened fire at him before Oliver shot them. One thug rushed at Oliver but Oliver dodged as the thug attacked him and threw him down before shooting him and then he proceeded to take out more of his henchmen before entering Yurievich's limo as Yurievich begged for life, with Oliver aiming his gun at him. Oliver glared before he used his gun to repeatedly beat Yurievich as Talia smirked, observing.
"My God…" Moira whispered, all of them stunned by how much was Oliver letting his inner darkness consume him.
"And that bitch is enjoying it." Laurel sneered as they glared at Talia.
Oliver went out with blood spattered on his face and panting out, saying that he had beaten Yurievich to death as Talia nodded. They returned to the hotel as Oliver cleaned up his face, realizing that Talia had baited Oliver into giving into his darkness and beating Yurievich.
"That sick bitch." Roy growled and everyone nodded.
"This was nothing." Sara said. "Chase tortured Ollie for a week, trying to convince him that he enjoyed killing, which Ollie did believe, for a little while before we talked some sense into him. He even rigged whole Lian Yu with bombs and linked them to a dead man's switch and kidnapped everyone Ollie cared about, who was alive at that point, William and Samantha included and tried to bait Ollie into killing him and blowing everyone up in the process."
Everyone widened their eyes, realizing how insane Chase was.
"No wonder those two joined up trying to destroy Oliver." Diggle muttered.
Talia nodded, saying that she wanted to remind Oliver of his inner darkness as Oliver wondered why did she care. Talia showed Oliver Robert's notebook, pointing out that the real fight Oliver was looking for, had been in front of him the whole time as he kept on looking for new fights, like with Reiter or Kovar, asking why didn't Oliver go home, when he had seen Robert's message as Oliver explained that what he just did to Yurievich, was the very reason and that he was not the man Robert had believed him to be.
Everyone again felt sad for Oliver again, hoping to prove him wrong somehow.
Talia pointed out that Oliver was afraid of what he had become, running from himself, explaining she had been there too, offering to help him, saying that Oliver believed he was a monster, to which Oliver said that he was a monster.
"That's not true." Quentin said, of all people, much to the viewers' surprise. "True, I did think that too at first. But all he's doing, is trying to make this city a better place. Like I do. Only he's doing what I can't do. I wish I had seen that earlier."
"Yeah." Everyone else nodded as Tommy, Laurel, Moira and Felicity again felt ashamed of condemning the Hood's actions.
Talia put a crate on the table, saying that Oliver had a monster inside him but it was not him, much to Oliver's confusion as she explained that Oliver needed to create one and give it an identity, showing Yao Fei's hood to him and that Oliver needed to become someone else, something else, to freely be Oliver Queen.
Oliver put on the hood and leather suit and quiver as he looked like the vigilante of Starling City in the present.
"Cool." Tommy said, all of them impressed by Oliver's look, despite knowing what he was really doing in the outfit.
Talia offered Oliver to become ready as she handed him a recurve bow, just as the one he was using in the present.
"That's how he got that bow." Diggle realized.
Later, Oliver and Talia went outside, with their hoods on, watching some drug dealers from above as Talia explained that she was training him. Oliver jumped down onto the plated ceiling, shooting down one of the dealers as he fell down the stairs before shooting down another thug. The remaining two thugs rushed at Oliver from behind but Oliver punched one in the hip and hit another one with his bow in the chest. Another thug rushed at Oliver from behind but Oliver hit him in the leg with his bow, causing for the thug to fall down. Oliver kicked the thug in front of him as he fell down. Oliver approached the last thug and punched him three times before slamming him to the ceiling and knocking him out. Oliver went out as Talia jumped down and fired an arrow at Oliver, who turned around and caught it inches away from his face.
"Is that bitch crazy? What if he didn't catch it?" Thea demanded.
"I doubt she'd care." Felicity muttered as Sara nodded.
Talia smiled at Oliver, saying that him embracing his darkness would make him be more mindful of his surroundings.
They returned to Talia's apartment as she showed him another folder with a name "Hideo Yamane".
Quentin narrowed his eyes, the name sounded familiar.
Oliver recognized the name from the list as Talia explained that Yamane was responsible for majority of the drug trade in Starling City, showing a photo of a packet with familiar green and blue pills.
"Vertigo. He was one of the main suppliers." Quentin remembered. "Although, the DEA said he had died under mysterious circumstances few months ago."
"Something tells me I know what happened to him." Diggle said as everyone nodded and Thea winced, shifting uncomfortably at the memory of using the drug herself.
Oliver recognized the drug, getting flashbacks from when Thea bought drugs from Jordon.
Thea winced and groaned.
"Hey, at least you cleaned up your act." Tommy assured her and Thea relaxed as Roy held her hand.
Oliver realized that he needed to take out the supplier of Vertigo, since his city was vulnerable and Talia explained that she was helping him correct his mistakes, with Yamane being in Russia and that this was his test.
"OK, not only she's crazy, she's got a death wish." Tommy said, all of them realizing how unstable Talia was.
"Not as much as Chase." Sara said. "As long as he'd prove that he was right and that everyone Ollie loved would suffer because of his sins, he didn't care if he died. He wanted to prove Ollie was a monster that destroys everything around him, no matter the cost, even if it would be his own life."
Yamane was in another part of the city, making trade before one of the thugs was shot with an arrow, causing for the rest to shoot into the dark, looking for their target. Oliver shot down most of the thugs as Yamane knelt down in fear, pleading for his life but the Hood was indifferent to it, saying that Yamane had failed Starling City.
"Hideo Yamane, you have failed this city." Felicity said, trying to put on the Hood's voice as Roy and Thea snickered, Tommy, Diggle and Laurel chuckled and Quentin and Moira shook their heads in amusement.
The Hood shot three arrows at Yamane's left shoulder in quick succession as he fell down, dead.
Suddenly, they all tensed at Oliver's increasing brutality, realizing that this was how Oliver was becoming the man they knew he was nowadays.
Later, Oliver returned to Talia's apartment, crossing Yamane's name off the list as Talia said that Oliver's mission was back home and Oliver said that leaving Bratva would not be easy as Talia reminded that Oliver needed to go back to Starling to right Robert's wrongs as she handed him the list.
"So, that's why…" Quentin said, all of them realizing the full reason of Oliver's focus on the list.
Oliver, back in his normal clothes, entered the Bratva's bar, wanting to talk with Anatoly as one of the Bratva asked, where Oliver was. Oliver then entered their infirmary to see Anatoly beaten up on a stretcher, with bruised face and bandaged head.
"What the hell?" Thea demanded, all of them stunned.
"Kovar and Gregor." Sara said simply as they all glared at the screen again, realizing what happened.
Oliver sat next to Anatoly, wanting to know what happened as Anatoly explained that Gregor had betrayed them, when Anatoly questioned his deal with Kovar, saying that Gregor was untouchable because he was a Pakhan. Oliver pointed out that they could kill Kovar as he wondered what did Oliver want to tell him but Oliver said that it could wait.
"I'm guessing Anatoly won't take it well, when he finds out with who Ollie was hanging around with." Tommy said.
"That's an understatement." Sara said as they all became worried about how much worse it was going to get.
Later, Oliver tried to come up with a plan against Gregor but Anatoly protested that Oliver was getting himself in over his head and Oliver promised he would help Anatoly take out Gregor and protect Bratva, making Anatoly wonder why would Oliver leave. Oliver explained that he needed to get back to his life and fix the mess his father had made as Anatoly pointed out that Oliver was a sin-eater, consuming sins of dead people, so that they could move on to the afterlife and taking on their sins as his own.
"Well, he's not wrong." Diggle said as they again thought about Oliver's need to right Robert's wrongs.
Suddenly, Oliver noticed that one and the same orderly had passed by the room five times with an empty stretcher.
"Oh, no…" Laurel said, all of them realizing it was about to become worse.
Anatoly got up from the stretcher and dressed up, leaning onto Oliver as they went out before they saw one of the thugs come out from around the corner, shooting at them as Oliver and Anatoly rushed into a corridor and hid behind the door as the thug followed them. Oliver slammed him to the wall and hit him in the throat as the thug choked out and fell down as they ran downstairs as Oliver shot down another thug following them. Anatoly drawled if Oliver regretted not going home, as Oliver said that he did not regret it yet.
Everyone chuckled and felt sad again because of Oliver not going home when he had a chance.
They went into what seemed to be a storage area of the hospital as they took cover behind some crates, as Anatoly realized that their odds were slim.
"Oliver will find a way." Quentin said optimistically.
Gregor and his men entered, with Gregor pleading if Anatoly would hand over Oliver, everything would be forgiven.
"Does he think they're stupid?" Tommy said as they all scoffed.
Oliver got up, intending to give himself up as Anatoly protested, not wanting to make Oliver for Anatoly's sins.
Everyone smiled, touched by Anatoly's loyalty towards Oliver.
Oliver stepped up, surrendering himself as he dropped his gun as Gregor said he would keep his word. Suddenly Oliver disarmed one of Gregor's men, using him as a human shield as another shot at him. Oliver shot at the thug behind before shooting down the remaining thugs as one of the guns slid towards Anatoly. Anatoly tried to pick it up before Gregor stepped on his fingers as Anatoly screamed, with Gregor taunting him that he would die as he aimed his gun at Anatoly's head.
Everyone glared at Gregor.
"Bastard." Thea said.
Oliver got behind Gregor, aiming at his head as Gregor said that Oliver corrupted Bratva as more of Bratva men surrounded them. Gregor said that Oliver and Anatoly were traitors, ordering his men to kill them before Anatoly suddenly said "Spross dopross." as Viktor turned to him.
"What?" Quentin said, not understanding.
Gregor denied Anatoly's request, intending to kill him before Viktor pointed out that Anatoly was captain and that they needed to follow their own code. Glowering, Gregor lowered his gun as they stood down. Anatoly nodded as the Bratva took him and Oliver.
"What is it? Some kind of their process?" Laurel asked.
"Something like that." Sara nodded.
They returned into the bar as Anatoly explained that in "spross dopross", a Pakhan was going to be held accountable for their actions, with the captains listening and deciding, who would take over Pakhan's position.
"They can overthrow Gregor without a fight." Diggle said hopefully.
"It wasn't that simple." Sara said, much to their disappointment.
Oliver hoped that this would be good, without less casualties and collateral damage but Anatoly explained that even if the captains would find out about Gregor's deal with Kovar, Anatoly and Oliver were doomed anyway, if they decided that Gregor would keep his position, since they had no proof it benefited Gregor himself more than Bratva.
"They need a proof." Laurel realized. "And I'm sure if anyone can find it, it's Ollie."
Everyone smiled, hopeful that Oliver would find a way.
Oliver realized where he could find proof as Anatoly explained that Oliver had one hour and that a captain would need to accompany Oliver but Oliver said that he could easily lose the captain accompanying him.
Diggle scowled as Moira and Thea smiled in amusement, remembering how did Oliver lose him, when they first met.
Oliver returned to Kovar's estate, tripping an alarm as he snuck past the guards, jumping down from above, dressed in his hood, carrying bow and arrows in a quiver. Oliver scoured the house before he found a laptop in Kovar's office, containing invoices that piqued his interest.
"Gotcha." Roy said as everyone smirked.
Back at the bar, the captains were deciding to vote as most of them were joining Gregor's side until Oliver entered, asking for a moment of time for Viktor to hear him out. Oliver showed him the laptop containing eighty million rubles in transfers from Kovar's accounts to Gregor's accounts. Viktor acknowledged that the money was for the Bratva captains and Oliver explained that in the laptop was also forty million rubles from Kovar that Gregor had not disclosed as Viktor asked Gregor for truth, looking into the laptop to check, dismayed by the truth as half of the captains decided to side with Anatoly. Viktor had a deciding vote as he decided to choose Anatoly as a new Pakhan.
Everyone relaxed for a moment but considering how crooked Gregor was, they knew that he would not give up so easily.
"Does anyone else think that…"
"I think we all do." Moira finished Roy's thought.
Gregor seemed disappointed as his allies pulled out their guns as Anatoly and other captains took cover behind the counter.
Everyone glared at the screen again.
"That son of a bitch has no honor." Diggle said.
Anatoly went out from his cover with a Kalashnikov, as he and Viktor shot at Gregor's men and Oliver tackled down one of the thugs sneaking up on Viktor and shot him as Viktor thanked him. Oliver, Anatoly and Viktor kept on shooting as Gregor's men retreated as they realized that Gregor had killed Anatoly's allies and that Gregor would promote new ones loyal to him, who would kill them all.
"Great. Out of the frying pan…" Quentin trailed off.
"…right into the fire. Again." Laurel finished.
Later, Oliver, Anatoly and Viktor sat down at the bar, contemplating what to do. Oliver suggested convincing the rest of the Bratva somehow that Gregor had sold them out as Anatoly vainly tried to turn on the laptop and Oliver grumbled, since they had no one, who could pull data out of a bullet-ridden laptop.
Felicity burst out laughing as everyone turned to her, confused.
"What?" Diggle asked before remembering as he snickered. "Oh."
"Someone mind filling us in?" Tommy asked.
Diggle got ahold of himself quickly, while Felicity was trying to stifle her giggles. "Warren Patel had hired an assassin named Floyd Lawton to take out bidders for Unidac Industries, Walter included and when Oliver went after Lawton the first time, he ended up taking Lawton's laptop filled with bullets."
"And he brought it to me and I had to wonder, why was it filled with bullets. It wasn't until later, when I realized that he was testing me and recruiting me." Felicity said, still giggling as everyone chuckled. "Man, if he had me in Russia back then…"
"I'm not sure you would make it a day." Sara said and Felicity was silent.
"You just won't let me have some fun, do you?" Felicity grumbled.
"Just stating a fact." Sara shrugged.
Anatoly pointed out that Gregor would turn the Bratva against them as Oliver said that they needed to take him out first, asking Viktor and Anatoly, where would Gregor go after what just happened. Viktor explained that a hockey ring was Bratva stronghold but it was heavily guarded as Oliver said that he knew someone, who could get in.
Everyone narrowed their eyes.
Later, Oliver was alone in the bar before Anatoly entered, seeing Oliver in his hood, with a bow and quiver, much to Anatoly's confusion as Oliver explained to him what had happened with Talia and that the hood was helping him channel his darkness. Anatoly cursed Oliver for being a fool and that he could not keep his inner darkness apart from himself by wearing a hood, telling Oliver that Talia would become the source of his greatest pain.
"If he only knew how right he was back then…" Sara said, all of them having murderous thoughts about Talia.
"I hope that bitch died painfully later." Moira said.
"Honestly, I don't know. After Chase died, she ended up in prison. It's complicated but later, Ollie ended up in prison with her and he helped her break out and she helped him get out too and after that, none of us crossed paths with her, ever again." Sara said.
"Wait, she helped Oliver despite what she and Chase had done to him?" Roy demanded.
"She's not completely unstable." Sara shrugged. "Honestly, I'm surprised she was reasonable at moments like that one." [3]
In the hockey ring, Gregor was gathering his allies before they heard gunshots. One of Gregor's henchmen went into the players' room to see two thugs dead before he was shot down by an arrow. In another corridor, another thug was shot down by an arrow as Anatoly snuck up onto another thug, grabbing him in chokehold and snapping his neck as Oliver approached him, using his deeper voice, much to Anatoly's confusion.
"Yeah, he does sound scary like that." Laurel said.
"I'm guessing he was practicing again." Tommy teased as everyone snickered again.
Oliver walked down the corridor as in the stadium, Gregor wondered what was going on before Anatoly and Oliver showed up, shooting at Gregor's men. Some of them tried to run but Oliver shot them down and another thug tackled Oliver but Oliver grabbed his knife and sliced him in the throat.
Everyone, except for Diggle and Quentin, gasped at seeing how much more brutal Oliver was becoming.
Oliver ran down the ice, shooting down Gregor's men and hitting Gregor in the shoulder as Gregor fell down. Oliver neared Gregor, who paled, realizing Oliver was going to kill him as Gregor taunted him, saying in Russian, "If you kill me, you'll only really be killing yourself."
"He has a point." Diggle said. "Taking a life, it changes people. Like I said, it scraps off pieces of their soul until they become someone they don't even recognize anymore."
Everyone was worried about how much was Oliver embracing his darkness.
Oliver pulled the arrow out and Gregor groaned.
No one really felt any sympathy for Gregor but were more worried about Oliver.
Later, Viktor and another henchman dragged Gregor back into the club as Anatoly ordered them to tend to Gregor as Anatoly demanded from Gregor some answers as Oliver picked a knife from the table, slowly pulling the bullet out of Gregor's arm as Gregor screamed in pain, much to Anatoly's shock. Gregor said that Kovar was planning something big and that Anatoly and Oliver would beg for mercy before Kovar was done, saying "samovolshtina" in Russian, also taunting Oliver that everyone he cared about, would suffer, that Oliver was no hero and that everything he touched, would die.
Everyone sighed, again realizing why was Oliver distancing himself from them.
"To some extent, Gregor and Chase got into Ollie's head. They had convinced him that everyone around him would suffer as price for his sins. That's why he felt he did not deserve to be anywhere near anyone of you. Because those words kept on going on in his mind. "Everything you touch, dies."" Sara said as Quentin felt more guilt for accusing Oliver of being a murderer and responsible for what happened to Sara.
Gregor gasped out before closing his eyes as he succumbed to his injuries as Viktor entered, satisfied that the traitor was dead and that by seniority, Anatoly was the new Pakhan. Later, in the basement, they held a memorial for Gregor as they also held a ceremony for Anatoly succeeding Gregor, taking Gregor's ring off his hand and naming Anatoly their new Pakhan as they all, Oliver included, cut into their hands and shook them with Anatoly.
"He set Bratva on a straight path. For a time. But when Ollie left, Anatoly lost his way, becoming just as corrupt as Gregor." Sara said. "That drove a wedge between them for a time."
Everyone wondered what exactly happened between Oliver and Anatoly later.
"How did they make amends?" Diggle wondered.
"Ollie reminded Anatoly that honor was important." Sara explained as they all smiled. Despite his nature, Anatoly was a good man in his core.
Later, outside, Anatoly groaned, clutching his hand, realizing Viktor had cut into a tendon.
"Jerk." Thea sneered.
"Oh, he will show his true colors soon enough." Sara said as everyone wondered how would Viktor betray Anatoly and Oliver.
Oliver wondered what they were going to do with Kovar as Anatoly said that the word Gregor had said, referred to Russian revolution.
"Kovar wanted to overthrow the Russian government." Sara explained. "And how, is going to shock you."
Everyone wondered what other surprises were there.
Anatoly explained that he needed to speak with Kovar as Oliver realized he could talk to Galina and that she could help them. Oliver walked down the marketplace before he encountered Galina, who was buying some apples. Galina recognized Oliver after a moment as Oliver explained that he was Taiana's friend and that he needed her help. A moment later, her bodyguard approached her and recognized Oliver.
"Oh, crap." Thea said.
Oliver rushed at him and after a brief fight, shot him down, much to Galina's and other people's horror. Oliver assured Galina he would not hurt her and that she could not tell Kovar she had seen Oliver. Galina nodded as Oliver ran away.
In Kovar's office in his estate, Kovar was drinking with Malcolm Merlyn, talking business.
"What the hell?" Diggle demanded as everyone stared at the screen in disbelief.
"What in the blazes is my Dad doing with a crook like Kovar?" Tommy asked, confused.
"You'll see." Sara said.
Malcolm handed Kovar a file, explaining where Kovar could retrieve his shipment in exchange for the information about Unidac Industries.
"That bastard!" Moira glared, all of them realizing Kovar had helped Malcolm with his Undertaking.
Before their conversation could continue, Anatoly entered, making Kovar interrupt their meeting as he and Malcolm shook hands. Malcolm shook his hands with Anatoly, introducing himself as CEO of Merlyn Global Group as Anatoly replied that he was simply a gangster.
Everyone snickered again.
"Oh, man, neither of them has any idea…" Quentin said, amused.
Kovar read from the file as he and Anatoly talked business, while Malcolm left. Kovar wondered what happened to Gregor as Anatoly explained that the man, who killed him was "The Kapiushon", which meant "The Hood" in Russian as Anatoly explained that this Hood was interfering in the business of criminals in Russia.
"I guess one thing never changes." Laurel noted as everyone snickered again.
Kovar wondered whether Anatoly had anything to do with Gregor's demise, considering Anatoly's issues with Gregor's and Kovar's business. Anatoly pointed out that he was responsible for Gregor's business as well, now that he took Gregor's place.
Kovar talked about Russian revolution as Anatoly took a glance at Kovar's folder on his desk as they took a drink.
Later, Anatoly returned to the bar, explaining to Oliver that Kovar was planning to overthrow the Russian government with a coup.
"What?" Everyone said, shocked, wondering what was going to happen, considering that Malcolm aided Kovar with his plan.
Anatoly said that Kovar was making business with an American businessman that Anatoly did not know.
"Damn it. If he had known it was Malcolm, Oliver could have taken him out earlier." Moira groaned.
"I doubt that, considering we know now what he's capable of." Diggle corrected as Moira paled again.
"The first time Ollie beat him, well, it was barely by the skin of his teeth." Sara nodded.
Anatoly said that Kovar did not have enough men to attempt for a coup, also remembering the file he had seen in Kovar's office, saying that the shipment was in the shipyard. Oliver decided to intercept Kovar's shipment but Anatoly pointed out that he was worried about Oliver, considering what he did to Gregor and that he had to go home. Oliver said that he was not going to abandon Oliver as they shook hands, saying they were brothers until the end.
"We know Ollie won't just walk away. Not when he came this far." Laurel said.
Later, in the shipyard, Oliver, Anatoly and Viktor arrived as Anatoly and Viktor looked at the containment unit and opened it to reveal four tanks of sarin gas as they decided to load it onto the truck, realizing that this amount could kill thousands of people.
"Oh, my God…" Roy said, all of them remembering what happened in Hong Kong.
Suddenly, Kovar's men arrived and the Hood shot at some barrels, causing an explosion as one of the vehicles skidded and drove towards a roadblock. Kovar's men shot down some of the Bratva as Kovar shot one of the tanks, causing for it to leak the gas as it sprayed on one of the Bratva's men, who had lesions form on his face and foam form in his mouth as he fell down.
"No!" Laurel cried out and everyone stared in horror.
Anatoly ordered everyone to retreat as Oliver took out quickly more of Kovar's men. Kovar knocked Anatoly down as he was taking cover behind a truck, while Oliver was shooting at more of Kovar's men but Kovar managed to hijack the truck and drove away.
"Damn it." Tommy said as everyone wondered how would Oliver stop Kovar.
Later, Oliver returned to the bar as Viktor wondered what happened, accusing Oliver of getting Bratva into this mess because of his vendetta against Kovar.
Everyone winced, realizing Viktor had a point.
Viktor said that they should give into Kovar's terms and honor Gregor's alliance with them as Oliver argued that Kovar would wipe the entire Bratva out.
"After what just happened, I wouldn't put it past him." Moira said as everyone nodded.
Oliver left, intending to interrogate one of Kovar's men. In the basement, the man was stripped of his shirt and tied to the table, with his eyes covered as well and his arms and legs stretched. The man begged for his life as the Hood jammed an arrow into his shoulder, demanding to know where was Kovar. The man screamed in pain, saying he did not know but Oliver did not believe him, twisting the arrow as the man screamed for minutes until he gave in and told Oliver everything.
Everyone tensed at Oliver's brutality, glad that he did not do something more extreme, like with Shrieve. [4]
Anatoly went down as the man passed out from the pain, disturbed by how brutal Oliver was as he heard the screams. Oliver explained that the hood had helped him channel his inner darkness as Anatoly pointed out that Oliver was naïve to think that a piece of cloth would separate a man from a monster and that splitting himself into two would make the monster stronger than the human, making Oliver consider if Anatoly was right, looking guilty, just like when he tortured Shrieve as Anatoly said that Oliver was becoming just as bad as Ivo and Slade.
"That's why he needs others to remind him of who he really is, not this monster he was becoming." Diggle said as everyone nodded.
Back in the bar, Oliver, Viktor and Anatoly tried to come up with a plan as Oliver suggested talking to Galina again.
"Yeah, because that worked out so well the first time." Tommy drawled.
"Who knows." Roy shrugged.
"Maybe he'll get lucky this time." Felicity said hopefully.
On the streets, Oliver snuck onto Galina into an alley, explaining that he knocked out her bodyguard and wanted to talk to her, explaining again that he knew Taiana and Vlad. She asked what happened to them as Oliver remorsefully said that Taiana and Vlad were dead, as Taiana explained to Oliver that Kovar was a monster and about his promise to Taiana, remembering the saying about hammer shattering glass that can forge steel as Galina realized Oliver was telling the truth. Oliver asked Galina for help as she nodded, handing him a key to Kovar's building. She asked Oliver, who killed her children as Oliver said that it was a monster.
Everyone felt sad for Oliver again.
"No. It may have been a monster but it wasn't Oliver." Diggle said.
"The real monsters were Reiter and Conklin." Quentin added as everyone nodded.
Later, a party was happening in Kovar's casino as the governmental officials celebrated and Kovar smirked before the Hood snuck in with Galina's keycard, knocking out one of the guards. Another guard alarmed Kovar as in the security room, another guard went out to see a cart with tray of food covered with lid, wondering what was going on. The guard picked the lid, as an explosion went off, knocking him down before the Hood entered, shooting both guards. Oliver checked the security cameras as he saw Kovar's men preparing to spread the gas through the ventilation system. Oliver opened the door for Anatoly and Bratva as they entered the casino before Oliver saw Galina in Kovar's office being interrogated.
"Oh, no." Thea said, all of them realizing things were about to become much worse.
Kovar was angered that Galina had betrayed him, wanting to know where was the keycard as Viktor was leading Anatoly down the corridor, explaining he had studied the map.
Everyone narrowed their eyes, this seemed suspicious. And then it hit them.
"Oh, come on." Quentin groaned.
"Yeah." Sara nodded as everyone else groaned too.
Around the corner, Kovar's men awaited them as they surrounded them, making Anatoly realize that Viktor had betrayed them. Viktor explained that he was trying to join a winning side as Anatoly accused Viktor of being "murderer of nation" in Russian. Viktor hit Anatoly in the face and elsewhere, Oliver burst into Kovar's office to see Galina leaning onto the chair with a glassy look and bloodied face.
"Oh, no." Moira said.
"Yeah. Things are about to get ugly." Sara nodded.
Oliver closed Galina's eyes as Anatoly called out that Viktor had betrayed them before the line went dead. Oliver rushed down the corridor, shooting down Kovar's men and in the main hall, Kovar made a speech about Bratva attempting to assassinate the government as his men dragged them in. In the basement, Kovar's men prepared the sarin gas, locking the people in the main hall and putting on gas masks and filling the vents with the sarin gas as Kovar and his men put on gas masks. Everyone, not protected, coughed as Anatoly covered his nose and mouth with his jacket, alongside with other people, who panicked as the room filled with gas.
Everyone widened their eyes and tensed in horror, hoping Oliver would stop Kovar.
Kovar and his men went downstairs, facing the Hood and taunting him he was too late. The Hood shot down Kovar's men and dropped his bow. Kovar rushed at the Hood as they traded punches. Kovar blocked the Hood's strikes and grabbed him in chokehold before taking off his hood to reveal Oliver's face, much to Kovar's surprise. Kovar slammed Oliver to a shelf of bottles and grabbed him by his throat, choking him and taunting him to say "Hello" to Taiana in afterlife. Oliver glared and freed himself from Kovar's grip before slamming him to the shelf and grabbing him by his arm and throwing him down on the floor.
In the main hall, Anatoly picked a cloth to cover his nose and mouth in order not to inhale the gas as some people, Viktor included, choked on the gas.
"Good riddance." Roy said and everyone nodded.
Oliver threw Kovar in through the door, as the people ran before the gas would kill them. Anatoly said he would end this as Oliver ordered him not to interfere. Oliver engaged Kovar, both men trading punches. Kovar blocked Oliver's kick and slammed him to a table. Oliver freed himself from Kovar's grip and got up as Kovar blocked Oliver's punches before grabbing him by his arm and throwing him down. Kovar grabbed Oliver's leg but Oliver kicked him with his other leg in the face, causing for Kovar to let Oliver go. Oliver blocked Kovar's punches and grabbed him by his head and kicked him in the face. Oliver jumped at Kovar and spun around, throwing Kovar as he crashed towards a table. Kovar picked a knife as they resumed their fight. Kovar managed to stab Oliver in the leg before they traded blows again. Kovar stabbed Oliver in the arm as Oliver stepped back in pain, holding his wound. Oliver dodged as Kovar tried to stab him again but Oliver grabbed his arm, both men wrestling for the knife before Oliver knocked Kovar down. Anatoly said that Kovar would face justice and Oliver did not have to fight him. Oliver nodded before stabbing Kovar in the chest as he fell down, seemingly dead.
"Finally." Tommy said as they all relaxed.
"No. It wasn't over yet." Sara said.
"What? How?" Felicity wondered.
"Guess." Sara said and everyone groaned.
"Great. My Dad always has to screw everything up." Tommy grumbled.
Sometime later, in the Bratva bar, Oliver and Anatoly were getting their chests tattooed.
"That's how he got that tattoo." Diggle realized.
Anatoly said that Oliver was now his favorite American as Oliver wondered why did Anatoly name him a captain, when Oliver was going to leave Russia as Anatoly explained what would the tattoo mean if Oliver left, with anyone from Bratva acknowledging Oliver's position.
Diggle remembered Alexi Leonov, smiling.
Outside in an alley, Anatoly handed Oliver his hood, reminding how did they meet the first time, noting that Oliver has come a long way, noting that the hood would not help him channel his darkness and that it would break him.
"He wasn't wrong. Splitting himself into two would not help." Sara nodded.
Elsewhere, Malcolm entered a makeshift surgery room as Kovar's men nursed Kovar, who was lying on the table, thanking Malcolm for his help.
"Of course my Dad has to mess things up." Tommy grumbled as they glared at the screen.
Malcolm wondered what happened as Kovar's man said that it was private, with Malcolm noting that the man who beat Kovar, should watch his back.
"If he only knew…" Moira sighed.
Kovar opened his eyes, clenching his fists as he decided to take revenge on Oliver.
"That's not good." Diggle said, all of them realizing that it wasn't over.
[1] A reference to Dolph Lundgren playing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, where he beat Rocky's friend Apollo Creed to death.
[2] Some people have wondered, if Talia had known truth earlier about why did Oliver kill Ra's, since he had no choice because of Ra's wanting to destroy Starling City, perhaps she never would have helped Chase, as she tried to paint Oliver as a monster for killing her father. Although, apparently, if one thing is common with Talia in any adaptation, whether it is TV series, films, video games or comic books, is that her obsessive loyalty towards Ra's is much stronger than her common sense, which is why Bruce/Talia in comic books is so toxic, especially in Son of Batman where she drugged and raped Bruce in order to conceive Damian. Plus, it's stupid how they were trying to vilify Oliver by killing Ra's, when he was willing to wipe out Starling City with Alpha/Omega virus and kill hundreds of thousands of people. The writers' hate for Oliver has no limits.
[3] This may be one of Talia's anti-hero aspects from comic books, when she actually has good intentions but uses questionable extreme methods to do so. However, we all know how villainous she actually is due to her megalomania and obsessive loyalty to Ra's.
[4] I changed the whole "skinning a man alive just for practice" and the whole "I like killing" Anatoly told Oliver that we got in canon, since that part was only to prove Chase right and that Oliver was a monster and instead went with Oliver's classic methods. Hope that works, since the viewers would not take it well. The Oliver Queen we had seen in the show, especially in the flashbacks, if you consider that he learned from what he had done with Shrieve, would never do something like this and this had again Guggenheim's and Mericle's writing all over it, trying to make Oliver the monster, which, as I have said before, is nothing but an insulting load of crap, trying to make us hate Oliver.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.