Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 24: Darkness on the Edge of Town
The memory set opened in Unidac industries. Two scientists in white coats were walking down the clean, polished floor to the main laboratory. One of the scientists was hoping to get lucky.
"So, I was wondering," the male scientist started, "there's a late night happy hour at Stella's. You know, the place across the street."
"You mean the place that's always playing loud salsa music at all hours when I'm trying to work late?" the female scientist said crossly.
"That-that would be the one, yeah." He replied lamely. "Anyway, I was thinking that, um, maybe, you know, if you wanted to, we could perhaps grab a drink?" he asked nervously a she punched in the code for the door. They passed through decontamination into the main lab.
"How about two?" she called over her shoulder as she took the lead- a lead that stopped when she saw her co-workers dead. "Oh, my God!" She gasped in horror as she saw a large man in a black outfit and hood standing over a kneeling Dr. Markov, aiming an arrow at his heart.
"Please. I did everything Mr. Merlyn required of me!" Dr. Markov begged.
"He knows, Dr. Markov," the Dark Archer said, "and he thanks you for your service." He fired the arrow, killing the man.
"And he comes out swinging!" Tommy said sarcastically, not even bothering to glare at his father this time. "Nice retirement plan you got there, Pops."
The female scientist screamed, drawing his attention. He watched as they ran towards the door, and calmly plugged a small device into the USB port on the mainframe. It activated at once, sending an EMP through the computers, destroying all the data on Markov's project. It also tripped the alarm, which sent the lab into lockdown. He walked steadily towards the two scientists who were banging on the door, begging to be let out.
Two guards came running into the room, their guns drawn. "Freeze!" One of them yelled, and the Dark Archer spun and fired, killing him immediately. The other guard opened fire, but missed badly. He had the wisdom to duck behind the now useless mainframe just as an arrow was fired. It hit the computer behind him. The Dark Archer shot another arrow into the mainframe, then turned and calmly headed towards the two scientists, who were still banging on the door and yelling "Open the door! Open the door!"
"Get down on the floor!" the second guard said. A moment later the second arrow exploded, sending shrapnel into the man's face and chest. The Dark Archer paid him no heed; he stood towering over the two innocent scientists who would never go on that date. He drew and arrow and aimed it at the female, who screamed in terror.
Only minutes later, a black Porsche sped out of Unidac's parking lot. In the car, Malcolm Merlyn ripped off his mask, satisfied at the night's work.
This time Tommy did glare at his father. "You are one sick bastard."
"I am what life made me." He replied coldly.
"Life made you an asshole." Thea said. "You chose to become a murdering psychopath."
"As did you, eventually." Malcolm pointed out. Thea blanched at the comment.
"You don't shut up soon; I'm going to shove an arrow up your ass." Roy warned. Malcolm nodded and remained silent.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver and Felicity were there, along with Diggle, who was back.
"I've been watching your mother for days now, Oliver, and nothing." Dig reported. This time he had permission to tail Moira Queen. "She goes to work, she comes home. Occasionally she goes out for dinner. She seems to particularly like the salmon tartar at Table Salt." He added dryly.
"I look forward to trying it." Moira replied wryly.
"I'm linked into her home and office phone." Felicity added. "Nothing out of the ordinary. No mention of Walter's abduction or the Undertaking. Just a few innocuous calls to Malcolm Merlyn."
"Why wouldn't she call him? They're old friends." Oliver said sarcastically. "We're all old friends." He added quietly, sadly.
Felicity got up and walked over to the vigilante. "Are you ok?" she asked gently.
"My mom and my best friend's dad are involved in a conspiracy that may have dire consequences for the city." He said. "And I'm pretty sure they murdered my father. I'm not planning on using the word 'ok' again anytime soon."
Moira sighed sadly. 'Of course he'd think I was involved in Robert's death…'
"Listen, all we know for sure is that Malcolm and your mother are planning something for the Glades." Diggle said reasonably.
"And that Walter and I were getting too close to it, that's why they had him kidnapped." Felicity added.
"We have to find out what this Undertaking is." Dig stated.
"I got to ask her." Oliver decided, rising to leave.
"Well, no." Felicity said quickly. "The last time the Vigilante paid your mom a visit, you got shot, and I got to play doctor with you." She closed her eyes and groaned, running a hand over her hair. "Ahh! My brain thinks of the worst way to say things."
"This time it'll just be me asking." He promised. "Friendly mother-son chat."
Oliver walked up stairs and was getting ready to head home when he saw Laurel standing in the empty club. "Laurel?" he called out, gaining her attention. "What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to her. "It's not even 7:00 a.m."
"That's just after closing time, right?" she joked. They both chuckled. "How's business?" she asked.
"Well, it's busy. Busy." He sighed. "It was easier when Tommy was running things." He admitted.
"Tommy's a good guy." She said.
"Yeah." Oliver agreed.
"Are you?" she asked suddenly.
He looked at her with a guarded expression. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.
"Last week, I told you that I wanted to get back with Tommy." She said. "That I needed you to go to him and explain to him that you didn't still have feelings for me. But instead, you told me that you did." She reminded him. "As I'm sure you can probably imagine, I haven't been able to think of much since."
"I shouldn't have said that." Oliver said at once.
"Then why did you?" Laurel asked.
"I didn't have an agenda." He said. "I didn't mean to make it more difficult for you to fix things with Tommy." He moved to leave.
"But what if you did?" she asked, stopping him. He turned back to face her. "After you disappeared- with Sara- I was sorry I ever knew you." Laurel stated. "But now, things have happened that I never thought would. You coming home. My parents being in the same room. And you." She looked at him in hope and trepidation. "What if I'm finally starting to see you for who you really are?" she asked.
"No, Laurel, it's—"
"And maybe Tommy was right." She continued, cutting him off. "Maybe he and I weren't meant to be. Maybe I'm finally ready to admit that that I still have feelings for you, too."
"Again I point out- your fault." Sara said once more, pointing at Tommy.
"Yes Sara, I know." He said tiredly. "I was an idiot, and I pushed them back together. Duly noted."
"Nothing's changed." Oliver said bluntly. "My life hasn't changed. I haven't changed." He told her harshly. She looked at him, crestfallen. "I got to go. Walter's coming home." Oliver tuned and walked out, leaving Laurel alone and heartbroken once again.
"And Ollie could have been nicer about that." Thea said to Laurel. "He was the one who told you he still loved you."
Laurel sighed. "I wonder if he did. Love me, that is." She stated.
"I think he loved the idea of you." Sara told her sister. "It was the thought of making things right with you that kept him going for five years. So when he told you he still loved you, I don't think he could separate the idea from the reality."
The scene changed to Queen Manor, as once again a lost loved one returned home.
"Everything's exactly as you left it." Moira was saying as she led Walter into the house. Oliver and Thea were on hand to greet him.
"How are you feeling, Walter?" Oliver asked kindly.
"I'm on the mend, thank you, Oliver."
Thea rushed up and hugged him. "Oh, I'm so glad you're home."
"That makes two of us." He quipped.
"All of us." Moira added happily. "We've prepared a delicious brunch for you. All your favorites." She added.
"Oh, yum, English food." Thea joked lightly.
Walter sighed. "Actually, I'm more tired from the drive than I expected." He said. "So I think I'd like to lie down for a bit."
"Yes, of course." Moira told him. Moira leaned in to kiss him on the lips, but he turned his head at the last second and she kissed his cheek instead. He gave her a stained smile and then headed for the bedroom.
Thea looked on in concern, but a buzzing noise got her attention. She pulled out her phone and saw a text from Roy.
:Meet me tonight:
"For a good time." Roy finished with a grin. Thea rolled her eyes, used to his banter by now.
Thea walked over to Oliver. "Walter doesn't really seem like himself." She noted as they watched Walter slowly make his way up the stairs.
"He's gone through a lot." Oliver said. "It's just going to take a little bit of time."
Thea sighed. "I'm really sick of us all having to go through a lot, you know?" she said in frustration before moving off herself, leaving Oliver alone with their mother.
Wait for it. Mia said dryly.
In the sitting room, Moira was watching a news broadcast in dread.
'Six scientists and three security personnel are confirmed killed in the massacre.' The reporter was saying. 'Among the dead, respected seismologist Brian Markov. A spokesperson for Unidac Industries says a comment would be forthcoming.'
Oliver walked briskly into the room just as the news broadcast was winding down. "Mom, we need to talk." He said brusquely, but Moira was too distracted to notice his tone.
"Oh, uh, later, Oliver." She said, hurrying out of the room. Oliver looked on in frustration, but then the news broadcast caught his eye. He moved closer to the TV to watch.
'-co-workers, parents and families of all the victims to see how they're coping with their loss.'
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Slade, Shado and Oliver sat in the back of a truck, their hands bound, as it made its way back to the mercenary camp. They drove in right past the missile launcher, which was now fully operational. The soldiers unloaded them and walked them into the command tent, where Oliver saw a familiar face- the 'student' that had come staggering into the cave, Alan.
"You!" Oliver growled, lunging towards the man who was sitting at a radio. Alan smirked at him as a soldier put him back into the line.
"Save it." Slade told him. "We don't have the luxury of indulging in vendettas."
"Ba!" Shado exclaimed as she saw her dad.
"Shado." He replied sadly.
"You led Fyers right to us, you coward!" Slade spat, straining against the soldier that held him in place.
"Fyers was about to fire bomb the entire forest just to eliminate you." He explained harshly. "This way, you all have a chance."
"Well, pray I don't get the chance to repay your mercy." Slade said coldly.
That was when Fyers walked in, looking inordinately pleased with himself. "How fitting." He said smugly. "Everyone reunited for the end."
"The end of what?" Oliver asked, exasperated. "What is all this for?"
Suddenly the radio flared to life. -HKIA, this is Ferris Air flight 637 out of Berlin, nonstop to Hong Kong. We are steady on approach at 33,000 feet and winds at 15 knots. ETA, two hours, 15 minutes, over.-
Alan activated his mic. "Ferris 637, this is HKIA. Adjust course to 0.6 degrees south, 11 minutes. Over." He said as the three prisoners looked on in confusion.
-Roger, HKIA. Why the course change?-
"Nothing to worry about, 637." Alan replied. "Just looking to make sure you avoid a little turbulence."
-Roger that. Adjusting course now.-
Alan switched off the mic and looked back at Fyers. "They're altering course, sir." He told him. "The plane will be in range of Lian Yu in 26 minutes."
"Good. Keep tracking it." Fyers ordered.
"That's a commercial airliner, Fyers." Oliver said. "It's not like it can land here."
"It won't be landing anywhere, Mr. Queen." Fyers said coldly. "I'm going to destroy it."
Oliver's eyes widened, then he looked outside at the missile launcher in horror.
Slade looked over at Sara. "Who exactly was it that set that operation in motion?" he asked her.
"Amanda Waller." Sara said. "She's the head of A.R.G.U.S. And this was one of many black ops she ran back then without governmental approval."
"Totally off the books." Slade said, nodding. In his mind, he planned to pay a visit to Miss Waller and repay her for all of her mens' kindness.
PRESENT
The scene changed to Unidac, where Lance and Hilton were looking over the sight o the massacre. Lance looked down at the pretty female scientist, who had an arrow in her chest, and frowned.
"Arrows are black, not green." He noted.
"Copycat archer again." Hilton said.
"Psychopaths are color-coding themselves now. That's helpful." Lance said dryly as the two men started to head out of the building.
"Yeah, except we haven't seen the copycat in quite a while." Hilton said.
Lance sighed. "Ok, last time he took hostages to draw out the Vigilante. This time, he massacres a bunch of lab nerds?" he shook his head. He was missing something. "I want a press lockdown, nobody hears about the other archer and we need to get a list of all Unidac employees and find out what they're working on here." He ordered as they walked outside.
"Apparently it was a tight group." Hilton said. "Anyone who knows anything about the project is dead. And the copycat fried all their computers and burned their research."
Lance let out a breath. "Whatever's going on here, someone doesn't want anyone to know about it." He guessed.
Across the street, Roy Harper sat snapping photos of the cops as they went about their business.
Lance glared at the hero, who grinned at him. "Really? Staking me out? That was your plan to find the vigilante?"
"Where did you even get that camera?" Thea asked from the passenger seat. She frowned. "Come to think of it, where did you get this car?"She asked suspiciously.
Roy looked at her guiltily. "I borrowed it. Illegally." He admitted.
Roy laughed at the look Lance was giving him, and then pointed to Thea. "In my defense, she's the brains of the operation."
Ain't that the truth.
Thea sighed. "You know, when I imagine being in a car with you, this isn't exactly what I had in mind." She teased.
"Yeah, well, you're the one who said you'd help me find the Vigilante." Roy reminded her.
Thea shook her head, smirking at Roy. "You and me, in a car alone, and all you can think about is my brother. Maybe when I get back I should set you two up."
"Nah. I like brunettes."
"Maybe I should set you up with Tommy, then." Thea said dryly.
"Hey!" Tommy objected.
"He's taken." Laurel said, grinning at Thea.
"I know, but it's been two weeks, and the closest we've come is snapping photos of the cop who hates the Hood just as much as you worship him."
He looked at her sharply. "I don't worship him." He denied. "I just need to find him."
"You don't need to find him to be somebody." She told him honestly. "Besides, it's not like you're going to meet him any time soon. Looks like the cops don't have a clue."
Roy suddenly had an idea. "We don't know what they know." He looked at his girlfriend with a sly smile.
Thea frowned. "Ok, I officially do not like that look." She said worriedly.
"You still work at CNRI, right?" he asked. She looked at him in confusion.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you have planned." Laurel asked Roy. He shrugged.
"Probably because you won't like what I have planned." He said.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira was standing alone in the sitting room, staring out the window when Oliver walked in.
"Hey, Mom."
Moira turned around, a bit startled. She sighed when she saw it was Oliver- in dread or relief, he didn't know. "Walter's upstairs resting." She said. "I think he's doing well, don't you?"
"Who took him?" Oliver asked, deciding on the direct approach.
"Well, we don't know yet. But I'm going to make sure all the resources of Queen Consolidated are behind it." She replied automatically.
Oliver gave her a tight grin. "That's the answer that you gave to reporter's yesterday." he reminded her softly. "Tell me the truth."
Moira scoffed. "I don't know what you mean."
"I think you do." Oliver said. "A couple months ago, when I showed you dad's notebook, you seemed to know something. Something about our family being in danger." He pressed.
She stared at him with a mixture of outrage and fear. "Are you suggesting that I knew something about my husband's kidnapping?" she demanded.
"I'm just suggesting that maybe you were scared." He offered. "That maybe you didn't mean for any of this to happen. But it was harder than you thought. And now you're barely keeping your head above water. Please, Mom." He pleaded gently. "Let me help you before you drown."
"You need to stop asking these things." She said fearfully "Do you understand? I need you to stop."
"I can't. I need to know." He said.
Suddenly the lights flickered, and then died. Moira looked around in confusion. "Is that a power outage?" she asked.
Oliver looked around warily. "I don't know." He said. There was a sound of breaking glass, and then suddenly a dart whizzed through the air and hit Oliver in the neck. He sank to the floor, knocked out by the 'tranquilizer'.
"Oliver!" Moira exclaimed, falling to the floor to check on her son. "Oliver!" Suddenly, she too was hit with a dart. As the world darkened around her, she saw a shadow of a hooded figure on the wall. As she fell back, all she saw was a dark shape approaching her as she lost consciousness.
Moira stared in shock.
"Wow." Thea said, at a loss for words.
"Looks like he's done playing around." Felicity noted.
When she awoke, she found herself bound to a metal chair in what looked to be an old, abandoned warehouse. Directly across from her, bound in a similar fashion, was Oliver.
"Mom!" he exclaimed groggily, still 'coming out from the tranq'.
"Oliver." She slurred.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
She leaned forward, and the bindings made themselves apparent. "Oliver?" she said, more panicked now that full awareness was returning, "How…how are… we got to get out of here."
"Moira Queen. You have failed the city." She looked up, and though her vision was partially obstructed by the heavy work lights that were pointed directly at her, she couldn't mistake the form of The Hood- the man she had shot months ago.
"I suppose I'm too out of it to notice that you are bigger, taller, and darker than the Hood that I…"
"Shot?" Thea finished for her.
"Yes. Thank you, Thea." Moira said sarcastically.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the island.
"It doesn't make any sense!" Oliver exclaimed. "Why do you want to blow up a plane?"
Fyers stood in front of him. "When the New York Stock Exchange reopened after 9-11, the Dow Jones dropped nearly 685 points." He lectured. "Can you imagine what would happen to China, the world's second largest economy, if all air travel in and out of China were to be grounded indefinitely?"
"You want to destabilize China's economy?" Slade guessed.
"It's not what I want, but rather my employer." Fyers said simply. "We have enough missiles here to shoot down any aircraft approaching the mainland." He explained. "And that will decimate China's economy. Especially," he turned to face Yao Fei, "once a rogue element in China's own military claims responsibility." Yao Fei's eyes widened. "You see, inconvenient though you occasionally were, you're always worth more to me alive than dead."
"Then you should have killed me." He said boldly. "Because I won't do it."
"Really?" Fryers asked softly. He turned back to the prisoners, then drew his gun and batted Oliver on the side of the head with the butt of the gun, then shot Slade in the thigh and Shado in the right shoulder.
"Ahh!" she screamed in pain as she fell back to the ground.
"Shado!" Yao Fei screamed in panic, running over to his wounded daughter. "Shado!"
"I said I need you alive, but I can kill everyone you care about." Fryers said, raising his gun at Shado once more.
Slade growled at the screen, the memory infuriating him.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the SCPD. Thea walked in, doing her best to hide her nervousness. She ended up standing in front of Lance's board with the Hood investigation, staring at the sketch that had been made almost a year previously.
"Help you with something?" an officer asked her.
"Yes, um, I'm from CNRI and we're investigating claims of racial bias in SCPD arrests." She lied. "So I'm going to need a copy of each file from every arrest in Starling City January, 2011 to the present."
"It's almost 9:00 at night." The (black) cop argued.
She handed him the court order she had picked specifically for her task. "Yeah, well, tell that to Judge Grell. He's the one who signed the court order."
"Wait here." He said. The cop sighed and walked off to comply.
Both Laurel and Quentin turned to stare critically at Thea, who held her hands up in defense.
"Talk to him," she said, pointing to Roy. "It was his idea."
"Did you ever consider," Lance started, glaring at Roy, "That if I had known who the Hood was, I would have arrested him already?"
Roy shrugged. "What can I say? I was young and stupid."
Now he's just old and stupid.
"Which is why I settled on her." Roy finished with a grin, reveling in the twin exclamations from Thea and Mia.
"I don't know; it seems like a bit of a reach."
Thea's eyes widened in alarm, and she leaned against the bulletin board, her back to the doorway just as Lance and Hilton walked in. She quickly made her way to the other side of the doorway, into the back hall and listened as the two detectives spoke.
"Yeah, which is what you do when you got nothin'." Lance said, walking past her into the squad room with Hilton. "'Cause all I know is the copycat, he torched every record down at Unidac. And all we got are phone records and they show that this Markov guy, he made a couple of calls to an unclaimed line at Merlyn Global."
"A couple of calls?" Hilton said incredulously. "Did I say reach? I misspoke. I meant leap."
Lance sighed tiredly. "Just get someone down here from Merlyn Global to answer a few questions under oath." He asked. Hilton nodded and walked off to make the call.
Malcolm's eyes narrowed. How had he overlooked such an obvious clue? He made a mental note to take care of that when he got back.
A short time later, Thea made her way back to Roy's house.
"Did you find anything?" she asked, walking in the door.
"Lots." Roy said, perusing news articles on Thea's tablet.
"Anything helpful?" she asked hopefully.
Roy sighed. "No, still looking." He closed the tablet and looked at his girlfriend. "What about you? You learn anything from the cops?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact…" she started.
Roy grinned. "I like the sound of that." He said.
"You know that copycat archer?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Turns out he's connected to Merlyn Global somehow. Or, at least his victims are." She told him.
"We're looking for the Hood, not some crazy wannabe." He pointed out.
"Well, the guy with the black arrows seems to hate the guy with the green arrows, so…" the trailed off.
Roy shook his head. "So what, we just show up at Merlyn Global and hope the Hood shows up, too?" he asked doubtfully.
"Last I checked you don't have any better ideas." Thea pointed out. Roy nodded in agreement.
Lance shook his head. "You two are idiots." He stated, staring at Roy and Thea.
"Hey!" Thea exclaimed.
"I already admitted that." Roy pointed out.
The scene shifted back to the warehouse. The Hood- Diggle in disguise- stood next to the bound Oliver. The hood itself was pulled down low over his face, and the work lights pointed at Moira blinded her to the fact it was suddenly a black man questioning her, and not the white man she had shot.
"Please! Do not hurt my son." She pleaded.
"Tell me what the Undertaking is and I won't have to." Dig said; his voice distorted through the voice changer. Moira hesitated, torn between protecting her son now, and protecting him from Malcolm overall. Dig looked down at Oliver, who looked up at him and subtly nodded. Dig hauled off and slugged him.
"No!" Moira cried.
"Whoa!" Thea protested, glaring at Diggle.
"Don't blame me, it's his plan." He said, using her own argument against her.
"Tell me!" Dig yelled, punching Oliver again.
"Please! Leave my son alone!" she begged, tears in her eyes.
"What is Malcolm Merlyn planning?!" The Hood demanded, still facing Oliver.
"I can't tell you! He'll kill me, he'll kill my family." She cried.
"You should be more worried about what I'll do." Dig snarled. He hit Oliver hard in the face, knocking him and the chair over. Oliver coughed and gasped in pain.
"No! Malcolm is planning to level the Glades!" Moira finally admitted. "He said so he could rebuild it, but…"
Dig stalked over to Moira, carefully keeping his face hidden. "How?" he demanded.
"There's a device."
"What device?!"
"He says that it can cause an earthquake." Moira said.
Dig was stunned. "How is this possible?" he asked, walking behind her.
"I don't know." Moira said. "It was invented by Unidac Industries. Malcolm used my company's Applied Sciences to turn it into a weapon."
"Why would you get involved in something like this?" Dig asked quietly.
"My husband…" Moira said hesitantly as Oliver listened from the floor. "He got involved without my knowing. He was just trying to do some good." She said, more for Oliver's sake than the Hood's. "He was lost. He… his decisions left me vulnerable to Malcolm, and I had no choice. I had to protect my family and my children." She finished, trying to justify her actions. Perhaps they were justified.
"This device," The Hood started, "Where is it?"
"I don't know." She said tearfully.
"If you don't tell me, I can't stop Merlyn!" The Hood said angrily.
Moira scoffed. "Oh, you can't stop him." She spat. "It's too late."
Dig pulled a flachette off of the wrist gauntlet and stalked over to Oliver.
Moira's eyes widened in panic. "No, no, no, I told you everything!" she cried. She stilled when The Hood cut Oliver's wrist free. He then walked back behind Moira and cut the rope holding her to the chair, allowing it to drop free.
Moira ignored the vigilante, who was walking away, and hurried over to her son. "Oliver!" she cried.
"No!" Oliver gasped in pain- more emotional than physical, pushing her away.
She looked at him sadly. "Oh, sweet- Please, I know what you must be thinking, sweetheart, but I never intended any of this to happen." He coughed, glaring at her. "You know I would never willingly be a part of anything like this." She pleaded.
Oliver staggered to his feet. "I don't know anything anymore." He said wearily, limping out of the warehouse- away from his mother.
Moira watched the scene with tears in her eyes. Thea reached over and placed her hand on her mothers, giving her some comfort.
"It's okay, Mom." She told her softly.
Moira shook her head. "No, it's not." She said.
The scene changed to the Lair a short time later. As Oliver wearily made his way into the hideout, Felicity gasped in shock.
"Oh, my God." She exclaimed. She looked accusingly at Dig. "You said you were going to pull your punches!"
"I did." He said defensively.
"Let me get you an icepack for… everything." Felicity offered.
He gently pushed her away. "I'm fine." He said. "I need you to dig up everything you can on Unidac Industries."
Felicity moved back to her computers. "Well, we know Queen Consolidated acquired them seven months ago. That's when we met." She added, smiling at him.
"I need information about what I don't know." Oliver said gently.
Felicity typed away. "Unidac is a small research and development technology company that specializes in seismic infringement." She informed them.
"Merlyn plans on leveling the Glades with a device that triggers a manmade earthquake." Oliver said.
Felicity looked up at him in shock. "You're kidding."
"I wish." Felicity said.
"What else does it say?" Oliver asked.
"More information on the stock auction and, you know, the latest on what the media's calling—"
"The Unidac massacre." Oliver finished.
"There's no way this timing is a coincidence." Dig said.
"Oliver, there's a website claiming the police suspect a copycat archer." Felicity added quickly, pulling up the article in question.
"What?!" Oliver exclaimed softly.
"So the other archer works for Merlyn?" Dig asked.
"So close…" Malcolm said with a sadistic smile
"He's tying up loose ends." Oliver said. "Erasing all evidence this device exists so no one can trace the devastation back to him."
"How far were you planning on going, Dad?" Tommy asked acidly. "Was a Q.C. Applied Sciences massacre next on the agenda?"
"Oh, that wouldn't have been necessary." Malcolm replied. "The people at Unidac were the only ones who knew the full scope of the project. Well, most of it." He corrected himself. "None of them knew what I wanted to use the device for."
"All right, so you're going to have a pointed conversation with Mr. Merlyn." Dig stated.
Oliver shook his head. "Well, even if I take out Merlyn, the other archer is still out there. He can set off the device." He sighed. "We need to find it. Then Merlyn can get his."
"Well, maybe there's another way to get Merlyn to tell us." Felicity said, typing away on her keyboard.
"What do you have in mind?" Diggle asked.
"As I keep proving, people keep secrets." She said. "Computers don't."
"Felicity, are you hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe?" Oliver asked, amused.
"'Hacking' is such an ugly word. No. I'm…" she paused for a beat. "Yeah, totally hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe."
Malcolm shook his head at Felicity. "No, you're not."
Felicity was offended. "What, you don't think I'm good enough?"
"Oh I don't doubt your skill," he told her honestly. "But I've taken measures to prevent remote accessing of my system."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the island, where Fyers was moments away from shooting Shado again.
"Stop!" Yao Fei cried. "I'll do it." He said in resignation.
"I knew your good judgment could be counted on." Fyers said, lowering his weapon. "Come along now. We need to get you back into uniform."
Slade started squirming, trying to get back up, and the guards turned their attention on him- as did Fyers who walked over and held his gun at Slade's face, causing him to still. But while everyone was distracted, Yao Fei quickly pulled a small throwing knife from his boot and slipped it into Oliver's hand, much to his surprise. Oliver quickly concealed the small blade in his hands as Yao Fei said something in Chinese to Shado. He helped her sit up, but was then grabbed by two guards and escorted out.
"So THAT'S how he got that knife." Slade said. "I always thought he had concealed it somehow on himself."
"Wouldn't the scary men with guns have found it?" Felicity asked.
Slade shook his head. "Shado and I were the real threats. The kid was more of an annoyance."
Fyers grabbed a satellite phone and headed out as well. He dialed a number from memory. "It's Fyers. It's happening." He said simply.
On the other end of the line, a bespectacled man walked into an office. "Understood." He said. He hung up the phone and looked at the woman behind the desk. "That was Fyers. Everything is proceeding to your plan."
PRESENT
Back in the present, Moira had made her way tiredly back to the Manor. As she walked in, she heard Walter speaking with someone.
"It truly is very kind of you to come all the way out here." Walter was saying.
Moira walked into the sitting room. "Walter? Who are you speaking to—" she stopped cold when Malcolm Merlyn rose from the other couch and smiled.
"Moira. How are you?" he asked pleasantly.
"Of course you couldn't just leave him alone." Moira snapped at Malcolm.
"Would you really expect me to?" he asked.
"Well." The mask came back on with practiced ease. "Thank you."
"Actually, you look a little bit out of sorts." Walter noted.
"Oh, no, no, I'm fine." She said, fixing her hair slightly and smiling at the two men.
"Malcolm stopped by to check up on his nemesis." Moira looked startled at that. "On the racquetball court." Walter finished with a chuckle.
"I didn't get a chance to talk to Walter at the hospital." Malcolm said, still smiling. "Like everyone, I'm glad he's back where he belongs. With his family." He said with a meaningful look at Moira.
"Yes." She said evenly.
"I'll let you get some rest." Malcolm told Walter.
"Thanks again." He said.
"Uh, I'll walk you out." Moira said, leading him towards the door. Once out in the hall, she spoke quietly. "Your assassin wasn't too subtle in eliminating those people at Unidac." She noted.
"Well, now the police are focused on the copycat archer instead of the Undertaking. As for our collateral damage, I had to limit our exposure." Malcolm said easily.
"I see. And does paying Walter a visit just now fall under the same category? You held him for nearly six months. Surely you had him questioned." she asked harshly.
"He was." Malcolm said evenly.
"And I assume that if Walter knew something you'd rather he didn't, agreement be damned, I would be a widow again." She said bitterly. "Am I wrong?"
"Rarely." Malcolm said evenly, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. He let himself out as Moira stood there, horrified.
Moira was shaking in her seat with rage. "I don't know how, and I don't know when," she told him, barely controlling her voice, "But I WILL see you dead."
"You tried that, remember?" he said, smiling at her. "It didn't work then."
"I learn from my mistakes, Malcolm." Moira replied coldly.
"Of that, I have no doubt."
The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance was interviewing the representative from Merlyn Global. To his annoyance, it was Tommy.
"Well, we discovered a few phone calls between one of the Unidac victims and someone at the Merlyn Global group." He explained. "Which is why I asked for someone at your company to help me with my investigation. But naturally, they send down the one guy that's been working there 30 seconds and knows nothing." He added sarcastically.
"Detective Lance, if someone from Merlyn Global is involved with those deaths, I want them found as much as you do." Tommy said seriously. "Give me more to go on than some phone calls and I will help you in any way that I can." He promised.
Lance looked over at the kid. "Strangely enough, I believe you." He said.
"That's because, thankfully, I took after my mother." Tommy replied.
"Thank you." Lance said. He looked up and saw Laurel walk in. Tommy notes and stood, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Tommy.
"Helping your father with an investigation." He said awkwardly. He looked back at Lance. "Uh… call me if you need anything else." He told the detective, handing him his business card.
"Thank you." Lance said dryly. Tommy stiffly made his way past Laurel and out of the room.
"One second, sweetie." Lance told his daughter, and then walked over to Kelton. "Ok, someone at Merlyn Global could be connected to the copycat archer, all right? Any chance you can have a little snoop around their computer systems?" he asked.
"You'll need a warrant." Kelton said.
"No, we'll need a judge who owes me a favor." Lance said wryly. He turned back to his daughter and smiled. "Hey." Laurel smiled weakly as he walked over to her. "You never did tell me what had you and Merlyn on the outs."
"No, I didn't." she said simply.
"You don't have to tell me." Quentin said kindly. He moved over to the file cabinet to put away some paperwork.
"Oliver." She blurted out.
Quentin scoffed. "Come on."
"I know, I know. Say it." She said wearily. "You…you think I'm crazy." He glanced at her, but said nothing. I mean, Oliver, he cheated on me, he broke my heart, he led Sara to her death and you would probably rather drink acid than see me with him again." She sighed and looked away. "Dad I am sure you're disappointed in me."
Quentin exhaled sharply, then closed the drawer and turned to Laurel. "Since Queen's been back, he's different." He said grudgingly. "I'll deny ever having said that." Laurel smiled slightly. "Hmm. Let's eat." Quentin He went to grab his coat, leaving Laurel standing there waiting for him, lost in thought.
Tommy sighed, and Laurel gave his knee a squeeze. "I know, my fault." He said, rolling his eyes.
"You can be your own worst enemy." She told him.
The scene changed to the lair, where Felicity was still hard at work trying to hack into Merlyn Global's mainframe- and still failing. The computer beeped at her in warning and she scoffed.
"Anything?" Oliver asked.
"Just for the record, I will pump my fist in the air and scream, 'yes!' if I get in." Felicity said crossly.
"You really do that, don't you." Thea asked with a grin."
"No!" Felicity frowned. "At least, I don't think I do…"
"You know, you can just say this isn't working." Dig said tiredly from his seat next to her.
"This- isn't working." She admitted.
"All right, there has to be some other way we can find out where he's keeping this device." Diggle said reasonably.
Felicity got up and began to pace. "Unless I can waltz up to Merlyn's mainframe and plug in my tablet directly, there's no way of getting that location." She said bluntly.
"Then we waltz."
The pair looked at Oliver.
"Excuse me?" Felicity said tiredly.
"You need direct access to the mainframe, so we get you direct access to the mainframe, and we figure out where the device is being kept." Oliver stated.
Felicity sighed. "Oliver, I did mention that the mainframe is located inside Merlyn Global Group's main headquarters, on the 25th floor?" she reminded him. "It's only accessible through a restricted access elevator."
"I know." Oliver said. "We're going to have to break in."
Malcolm's eyebrow rose at that. Tommy snickered. "Oh, this should be good." He said. "Next up on Mission: Impossible…"
"More like Mission: Barely Probable." Felicity corrected.
The next morning Oliver, dressed in his good suit, walked into the lobby of Merlyn Global Group. He headed over to the security desk and smiled.
"Hi. Oliver Queen." He said needlessly. "I have an 11:30 with Tommy Merlyn."
Tommy shook his head. "And of course he uses me as an in."
The security guard took his ID to run a check. Suddenly a large bag of food land with a muted thud on the desk.
"I have a super deluxe Big Belly Buster for a Mr. Andrews." Felicity, dressed as a deliver driver for Big Belly Burger said. "I think he's in security." She looked at the guard in bored curiosity. "He a good tipper?" she asked, smacking her gum.
Thea snickered.
The guard handed Oliver's ID back to him. "You can go on up, Mr. Queen." He told Oliver, and then looked at Felicity. "You can wait a second." He said as he made a call up to security.
"New guy, you order food?" the guard in the surveillance room asked.
Diggle smiled. "Yeah, I'm addicted to Big Belly Burger." He said.
Malcolm's jaw dropped. "How in the hell…."
"I bet your personnel records aren't as hard to get into." Felicity said with a smirk.
"Never had it." The guard noted.
"I'll split it with you." Dig offered. Moments later Felicity walked up and knocked on the door. Dig handed her some folded bills. "Keep the change." He said. She looked at him in annoyance. It was a lousy tip.
Felicity glared at Dig, who shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry." He said.
A minute later, she was standing next to Oliver in the lobby, waiting for the elevator. The car came and the two silently walked inside. "Hold that!" a voice called out. Felicity kept pushing the 'Close Door' button, but a young executive carrying a bunch of folders made it in.
He leered at Felicity. "Where you heading, sweetie?"
Felicity's eye's narrowed. "Sweetie?" she huffed in indignation.
"19th floor." She said.
"Too bad, I'm going to 13." He said. Annoyed, Oliver hit the executive's folders out into the lobby, spilling papers everywhere. "Damn it!" he swore, stepping out of the elevator to gather the papers. Felicity pushed the 'Close Door' button again, and this time they closed with just the two of them in there alone.
Felicity smiled with satisfaction as Tommy, Laurel, and Thea laughed.
"Mr. Andrews got his lunch?" Oliver asked.
"One belly buster with benzodiazepine." She replied. "Hold the mayo."
Up in the security office, Diggle watched his partners on the screen as the other guard slept. He pulled a wire out of the box, disabling the cameras. "Sleep tight." He told the guard, and then made his way back to the control board. He put in his earwig as he typed a few commands into the computer. "Mainframe's on 25, guys." He told them "That's as close as I can get you."
Malcolm dropped his head into his hand in disbelief.
The elevator stopped, and Oliver pushed open the access hatch to the room of the car. He climbed out, and then reached down into the car. She handed him his briefcase, which he set aside, and then pulled Felicity up. He opened the case and pulled out a small crossbow pistol with a grappling unit attached.
Felicity gulped. "Oh, I don't think I like where this is headed…"
"Come on." He urged, helping her up onto the concrete ledge that separated the elevator shafts. "Don't look down." He advised her.
"Too late." She said nervously. "I should mention I'm afraid of heights, which I just learned."
Oliver leaned down, and draped her arm around his shoulders. "Okay, Felicity. Hold on to me tight."
"I imagined you saying that under different circumstances." She rambled, and then blushed when he looked at her. "Very platonic circumstances."
He fired the grapple, and it embedded itself into the far wall. "Ready?" he asked her.
"Uh-huh." She mumbled.
"You know, if Tommy and I had done that, it would have been just like Star Wars." Thea noted in amusement.
"Well, security there is already as incompetent as Storm Troopers." Felicity noted wryly.
The two swung across the shaft, landing on the opposite ledge. Oliver deftly moved to the doors, helping Felicity along with him. Carefully he pried the doors open and, seeing the hallway was clear, motioned for Felicity to follow him out. "Come on." He gently led her into the hall. She looked like she was about to vomit. "You all right?"
"I'm fine." She said queasily. "Yeah, this is just my 'about to hack' face. I always…" she swallowed hard. "Oh, look like this right before I, you know, hack."
"I thought that would be the face you made before you threw up." Tommy joked.
"And I sit here reminding you that none of this would be possible if you hand't gone to work for your dad." Felicity pointed out, causing Tommy's face to fall (and Laurel to snicker.)
"Security patrol's on a ten minute cycle." Oliver told her. "I'll have my meeting with Tommy and be back in nine, ok?"
"Ok." She said, and he moved off to the stairs. "Ok." She repeated, heading to the servers.
Oliver made it up to Tommy's floor. As he headed towards his office, Oliver checked in with Dig.
"Dig, you got eyes on her?"
"Five by five." He replied.
On the server floor, Felicity approached the door to the computer hub, which was disguised as a sliding wall. She slid her pilfered security card into the card reader, and then entered a code that she had hacked loose. The wall slid to the right, admitting the hacker into the room. She quickly sat down at terminal and plugged her tablet in. "Ok." She whispered to herself as she began to hack from within.
Once again Malcolm sighed. "Several people are getting fired for this…"
"It hasn't actually happened yet, Dad." Tommy pointed out.
"It's the principal of the thing." Malcolm pointed out. "Those servers are supposed to be secure. That BUILDING is supposed to be secure. And if three vigilantes can sneak in this easily, imagine what someone could do if they wanted to bring a bomb into the building." He looked his son in the eyes. "I know you think me to be a heartless, murdering bastard, but I do care about my employees safety."
"Maybe you could hire Ted Gaynor's security firm." Felicity suggested.
Everyone stared at her, and Malcolm blinked. "I don't know if you were insulting me, or making a suggestion that could keep THEM out of trouble."
Felicity shrugged. "Honestly, neither do I." she said.
Upstairs, Oliver walked into Tommy's office. He found him standing at the windows, looking over some paperwork.
"Sure beats the back of a bar." Oliver said.
"I saw your name in my schedule; I thought it must be a typo." Tommy turned and threw the folder down onto his desk. "Why so serious? Did someone decide that they didn't want you putting an arrow in them today?" he asked coldly.
Tommy winced at the coldness of his voice.
"I thought it was past time we talked." Oliver replied calmly.
"About what?" Tommy asked. "Me leaving the club, you being a serial killer? We're not lacking for topics."
"Let's start with Laurel, since you're still in love with her." Oliver shot back.
"So are you." Tommy replied.
"I can't be with her, Tommy. You know why I can't." he said.
"So what? I'm her consolation prize?" Tommy scoffed. "I'll pass."
Thea smacked the back of his head. "Jackass." She muttered as he rubbed his head.
"Thank you, Thea." Laurel said. Thea shot her a smile.
"She's not anyone's property." Oliver replied. "Laurel makes her own decisions. And she chose you. Until you couldn't handle it." He said adding a dig of his own. "Lord knows I am guilty of a lot of things between us, but not you and her." He looked down, then back up. "That's all I came to say." He said. He turned and started walking out of the office as Tommy sank into his chair. He paused, and turned back to his friend. "What exactly do you do here?" he asked,
Tommy glared at him. "I work closely with my father." He replied. Oliver nodded, then turned and walked out, grimacing as he did so. 'Too bad your father's a creep who's going to get an arrow' he thought.
In the security office, Dig was still monitoring the camera feeds. He looked at one in alarm. "Guys, you got trouble." He said over the radio.
"What?!" Felicity asked worriedly.
"Felicity's about to have some head of schedule company." Diggle informed them.
"I'm not there yet on the download." She warned.
"Hold tight, I'm on my way." Oliver said. He rounded the corner to the elevators- and ran into Malcolm Merlyn.
"Oh, this should be good." Malcolm said with a smirk.
"Oliver." He said pleasantly, holding out his hand.
Oliver pasted a smile on his face. "Mr. Merlyn." He replied, shaking it.
"I must say, I'm surprised to see you here." The older man noted.
"Tommy and I just had a little unfinished business." He replied.
"Ahh." Malcolm smiled knowingly. "I know things have been challenging between you two, but I trust you're working things out."
-Felicity!- Diggle said over the coms.
-Just a few more seconds.- she replied.
"Yes." Oliver said distractedly. "I'm sorry, I have to go. There are some investors waiting for me back at the club." He lied, hoping to get away.
"I'm heading out to a meeting myself. I'll walk you down to the lobby." Malcolm said helpfully, patting him on the shoulder.
"Oh boy…" Felicity said worriedly, wondering if she was about to see herself get captured.
-She's going to get made, Oliver.- Dig said frantically over the coms as He stepped into the elevator with Malcolm. -Oliver, did you hear me?!-
In the security room, Diggle saw another guard join the first on the server room floor. "Felicity!" he whispered frantically.
"What? Just a few more seconds!" she replied, annoyed. Looking at her tablet, she urged it on. "Come on, come on, come on."
"You don't have a few more seconds." Dig said seriously.
Felicity tensely watched the screen. Finally it beeped; the download was complete. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist. She looked at it in surprise. "Wow, I really do do that." She noted.
Despite the tension, Thea snorted with laughter.
She closed out her tablet and disconnected it, then ran out of the room-
Directly into the path of a guard.
Diggle growled in frustration. "Damn it, Oliver, she's in trouble, where are you?" he hissed over the coms.
"This is a restricted area." The guard said, eyeing the nervous blonde. "Let's see some I.D." he demanded.
"I.D.?" Felicity stalled, hoping Oliver would show up right about… "Um"
"Tell your mother I said hello." Malcolm told Oliver as they reached the lobby.
"I will." He replied pleasantly, watching the man walk off. "Got held up." He told Diggle over the mic. "Heading back upstairs." He turned to the elevator when…
"Ollie?"
Oliver spun around and saw- "Thea?" he looked at her in confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Really?!" Felicity exclaimed. Everyone chuckled.
"I, uh, just saw Tommy." She lied.
Oliver chose to ignore it. "Yeah, me, too. I'm going to run back up, I don't want to be late." He said, heading back to the elevator.
"Oh, I thought you just came down." Thea said in confusion, causing him to stop.
Thea shook her head. "I don't know what's worse- that I came there with my boyfriend to stake the place out, or that I saw my brother and called out to him, announcing I was there."
"Is there a third choice for 'all of the above'?" Quentin asked.
Upstairs, Felicity was making a show of looking through her pockets when Diggle arrived. "There you are!" he said accusingly. He looked at the other guard. "Thanks a lot, man, this one snuck past security. One of Merlyn junior's bimbos." He lied. "She's pissed he never called her back."
"Hey!" Tommy exclaimed, glaring at Diggle.
"Copy that." The guard said with a smirk. "I read the tabloids."
"HEY!" Tommy exclaimed, now glaring at the screen. As everyone else laughed.
"Yeah." Diggle grabbed her arm. "Thanks again. Let's go, Barbie." He said as he led Felicity off towards the elevators. "Your new last name ain't going to be Merlyn."
"But I love him! He's my man!" she exclaimed loudly for show, then began laughing quietly. "You're my knight in shining armor." She told him.
Felicity held up her hand to Diggle; he quickly gave her a high-five.
Down in the lobby, Oliver turned back to the confused Thea. He was about to make something up when he spotted…
"Is that your friend Roy?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"No, um…" she said quickly. Too quickly.
"No?" he said, making it clear he didn't believe her.
"Yeah, he gave me a ride." She said, telling half the truth.
"Thea, what are you really doing here?" he asked. "The truth, please." He added. What irony.
"The truth?" she said nervously.
What a novel idea. Mia noted dryly.
"Mm-hmm."
"Um…we're trying to find the Vigilante." She admitted.
Oliver was shocked. "What?"
"Roy's been kind of obsessed with him since he saved his life at the subway." She said in a rush. "And I overheard Detective Lance saying that the other archer was connected to Merlyn Global, so—" Oliver grabbed her arm. "Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly as he dragged her over to her boyfriend.
"Roy." The younger man spun around. "We haven't met. I'm Thea's disapproving older brother." He said in a pleasant tone and a hard look.
"Yeah, I know." Roy replied. "Good to meet you." He held out his hand. Oliver griped it quickly and squeezed hard.
"Don't mess around with the Hood." Oliver said without preamble. "He's a psychopath, he's dangerous, and anyone who gets near him winds up dead. That will not be my sister. Do you hear me?"
Roy smiled wistfully. "Ah, there's the man that trained me. Such a motivator."
"You think he was fun, you should have met some of the people who trained me." Sara noted with a wistful smile.
Roy nodded. Oliver looked at the two, then past them to see Felicity walking out of the building. She looked back, giving him a look that told him she was okay. "Okay. Take her home now." He ordered, and then walked out himself.
Malcolm threw his head back and groaned. "And they got away!" he sighed. "Definitely need new security."
Slade shook his head in grudging admiration. "Even after all the screw-ups, he still manages to pull off the op. Unbelievable."
A short time later, Roy hurriedly ran into his house, followed by Thea. He began frantically looking around, trying to find things he needed.
"What are you doing?" Thea asked.
"The Vigilante's not too fond of guys who sell Vertigo." Roy said, not looking at her. "I know a guy who claims he still has a stash to sell. Maybe we could stake him out, hope the Hood shows up for him."
"Did you not hear what my brother said?" Thea asked, incredulous.
"What does your brother know about him?" Roy said in a disinterested tone.
"A lot more than you." Thea pointed out to Roy.
"True. But again, I was young and stupid. And your brother was good at playing a douche."
"Uh, for one thing, the Vigilante once saved his life, so if he's telling us to keep away, that should say something." She said reasonably.
"No offense, Thea, but your brother's kind of a wimp." Roy said offhandedly.
"Don't say that." She shot back, angry now.
Roy scoffed. "Why not? It's true."
"My brother survived five years alone on an island!" she told him hotly. "Five years I thought I had lost him."
"Yeah? Well, I lost someone, too." He replied, equally angry. "And they aren't coming back."
"Who?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter." Roy said, brushing it aside. "That is why I need to find him. So he can teach me to be like him. I'm not losing anyone else ever again."
Thea looked at him in disbelief. "I can't do this, Roy." She told him. "If you don't give this up, you're going to lose me."
He looked up at her. "Better now than later." He said coldly. Thea shook her head sadly and walked out of the house, leaving Roy alone once more.
Thea glared at Roy. "Who's the douche now?"
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira was heading up the stairs and ran into Walter as she reached the landing.
"Oh, good." She said pleasantly. "I was just coming to check on you to see if maybe you'd like some tea, or…" Walter handed her a folded set of papers. "What is this?" she asked, finally noticing that he was wearing his coat. She opened the papers, and then paled. "Walter, please." She said shakily. "Divorce is an extreme reaction."
Thea gasped; Moira closed her eyes, holding back her tears. Somehow she always knew that the Undertaking would cost her Walter, one way or the other.
"Well, considering the circumstances, I find it somewhat reserved." Walter said dryly. He began walking down the stairs to the door. "Or do you think I believe that my abduction on the night you told me that I was getting too close to your conspiracy was a coincidence." He added acidly.
"You…you were in danger." Moira said emotionally. "This arrangement, it saved your life."
Walter scoffed. "Well, that's ironic. Because it feels like you've destroyed it."
"Walter—"
"You know, I read about people in forced captivity." Walter continued, making his way to the first floor. "Some of them said it was a simple thought that got them through the isolation and fear," he chuckled, "Returning to their loved ones. So I don't know really why I'm still alive, Moira, because I didn't have that."
The tears started to fall, and Thea grabbed her hand. "It won't happen, Mom." She told her quietly. "We'll fix it so it won't happen."
Moira held up her hands to stop him "Walter, please—" she tried to plead, openly crying now.
"What do you think you can say to me to convince me that everything I knew, my whole life hasn't just evaporated?" he asked harshly. He approached the door just as Thea walked in.
Instantly she was alert. "Where are you going?" she asked shakily.
"Come here." He whispered. He pulled her into a hug, then pulled back and looked down at her. He gave her a reassuring smile, and then moved past her to walk out. He didn't look at Moira again.
The scene changed to the SCPD. Kelton rushed over to Lance to give him an update. "Detective?"
Lance looked up at the tech weenie. "What'd you find?"
"Merlyn Global's cyber security is off the charts." He started. "Firewalls, NSA-grade I.P. Sec protocols …"
"What's that, tech speak for 'I struck out, boss'?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I wasn't the only one." Kelton said, kneeling down next to the detective. "Somebody else tried hacking into Merlyn Global systems. Same pathways I used, same result."
Malcolm smiled; Felicity paled.
"You're saying that someone else was looking for Merlyn's connection to Unidac?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah, someone good." He said. "Knew how to reverse engineer her footprints. I almost didn't catch her." He noted.
"Her?"
"Yeah. She works at Queen Consolidated." He said excitedly. "Name's Felicity Smoak."
Lance looked at Kelton in confusion. "Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?"
Malcolm smiled devilishly at the upset Felicity. "You would have done something, wouldn't you?" he asked her. "If you were to hack into my system, you would do something else…plant a virus, maybe?" Felicity gulped. "Your overconfidence is your greatest weakness, Miss Smoak. I think that you've been the smartest person in the room for so long; you forget that there are people out there who are better than you." Felicity glared at the man, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. "And that will be your undoing."
Down in the Lair, Felicity was starting to go over the data she stole from Merlyn Global. "In addition to the download, I also took the liberty of uploading a trojan to Merlyn's system." She told them smugly. "Figured it might come in handy."
"My building security might not be very good, but my cyber security is top-notch." Malcolm said, reveling in the woman's defeat. "I'll know you were in my system, what you were looking for, and I'll adjust my plans accordingly."
"You do love to hear yourself talk, don't you?" she snapped.
"And you don't like to admit when you're wrong, do you?" he sniped back.
"That's smart." Dig said. "If Merlyn thinks he's been compromised, it'll help if we know first."
"Can you locate the seismic device?" Oliver asked as he paced around, deep in thought.
"I'm working on it." She told him. "But there's at least a teraflop of data to go through."
"You all right?" Dig asked, concerned.
Oliver walked over his crate and pulled out the notebook. "My father, he told me that he failed the city." He started, holding up the book for them to see. "Asked me to right his wrongs, but I never knew what he meant until now. It's the Undertaking." He turned to face them. "I promised myself that when I crossed all these names off the list, I'd be done, but…" he sighed. "Taking down these people, it doesn't honor him. I was just treating the symptoms while the disease festered. I stop the Undertaking… I wipe out the disease." He said in realization.
"What are you saying, Oliver?" Dig asked worriedly. "You would hang up the Hood?"
"Merlyn's plan is what I returned from the island to stop." He said bluntly. Making a decision, he grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going?" Dig asked.
"Out." He replied.
A short while later, Oliver found himself at Laurel's apartment. He knocked, and a few seconds later she answered.
"Hi." He said. "Can we talk?" she stepped aside and let him in. "Thank you."
Laurel closed the door and looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked flatly.
Oliver chuckled slightly. "Wow, I thought this was going to be easier to say." He started. "But now I'm standing here… looking at you, and it's—"
"Just say what you have to say and go, ok?" she told him sharply.
"Ever since I've been back, we've been doing this dance." He said. "We come together, and then I pull away.Something pulls me away.But I think finally that something might be over."
"What are you trying to say?" she asked hopefully.
"That you know me better than anyone." He told her. "And that you are more important to me than anyone. I just hope I didn't wait too long to say it."
She crashed into him then, their lips meeting frantically. As they kissed she quickly unbuttoned his shirt, then hopped up onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist.
"You didn't." she said breathlessly between kisses. "You're right on time."
Laurel blushed; Tommy glowered. Sara gave her sister a wolf-whistle in approval, and Quentin closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears.
Sara looked to Tommy, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Just…. Don't say it."
Oliver carried her back to her bedroom. He stood next to her bed and held her there for several seconds, enjoying her closeness.
Out in the street, Tommy was walking to Laurel's apartment building. He glanced up at her bedroom window and froze. There, unmistakably, was Oliver and Laurel, together. His face showed arrange of emotions- jealousy, rage- and soul-crushing despair.
Laurel lay a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him.
"You can blame my brother for that one." Thea said to her half-brother. "I don't know who he was giving worse mixed signals to- you or Laurel."
"Ain't nothing mixed about those signals." Roy noted.
"I meant for all the months he's been back." She clarified.
Later that night, Oliver was lying in bed as Laurel slept, enjoying the feeling of being with her once more, when his phone started to buzz. He kissed her on the forehead and gently moved her off of his shoulder, then sat up and grabbed his phone. "What is it?" he said at once.
"Felicity found the Markov device." Dig replied from the Lair. "Merlyn's keeping it at a warehouse his company owns in the Glades."
"Good. Coordinated attack. You take the device, I'll take Merlyn." Oliver told him. "Got a location?"
"Yeah." Dig said, sliding a fresh clip into his gun. "According to Felicity's trojan, Merlyn's logged on to his computer from his office."
"I'm on my way." He said, hanging up, He gave Laurel once last glance, then left.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Fyers was setting up the camera to record Yao Fei's 'declaration'. The man in question stood stiffly in front of a grey backdrop to mask the operations behind him. On the floor, still bound sat Slade, Oliver and Shado.
"The uniform suits you, Yao Fei." Fyers complemented. "Any time you're ready."
"To the people of China and citizens of the world," Yao Fei began. "I make this statement voluntarily, taking responsibility for the shooting of Ferris Air flight 637 to protest the People's Republic of China's treatment of me; for betraying and abandoning me to the island of Lian Yu." On the floor, Oliver was desperately cutting at the binding on his hands. "Consider this my righteous delivery of powerful vengeance."
Fyers shut off the camera. "Thank you." He said politely.
Then he pulled out his gun and shot him in the head.
The ladies all screamed in surprise, most everyone else gasped at the show of senseless brutality.
Slade shook his head. "Noble fool…" he said quietly.
"No!" Oliver screamed.
"Ba! Ba!" Shado sobbed.
"Sir. Plane is within range." Alan announced. Fyers smirked at Oliver, who stared back in absolute rage.
PRESENT
Back in the present, Diggle cautiously approached the warehouse. He slid open the door and stepped inside, his gun drawn and his flashlight pointing in front of him. He looked around, moving slowly- and then he saw it. A crate marked Unidac Industries. He ran up to it and looked it over. When he saw it, his face fell.
The scene changed to Merlyn Global. Malcolm was standing behind his desk, his back to his office talking on the phone to a client.
"Very well. I'll be in touch. Can I help you?" he asked. He turned around to face The Hood. "No I wasn't talking to you." He said to the phone, and then hung up.
"Malcolm Merlyn." The Hood growled. "You have failed this city."
"And how have I done that?" he asked
"The Undertaking." The Hood stated. "It ends now."
-Oliver, the device,- Dig said over the coms, -It's gone.-
Quickly he drew and arrow and held it on the businessman. "Where's the device?" he snarled.
"Safe." Malcolm said smugly. He held up his hands and slowly made his way around the desk. "I don't know how you got that trojan onto my system, but it prompted me to take precautions." He explained.
Malcolm smirked at Felicity, but his eyes moved instantly back to the screen. He couldn't wait to see how this turned out.
"There is nothing you can do to stop what is about to happen." Malcolm said. "And you shouldn't. This city needs what is about to happen in order to survive. The people who are destroying it from the inside need to be erased from the map."
"Fine." The Hood growled. "Let's start with you." He fired the arrow-
And Malcolm caught it.
Tommy's breath hitched at that. He was conflicted- his father needed to be stopped; but he didn't want to see him dead, either. Though judging by how easily he had caught that arrow, and how well he had done the other times Tommy had seen him fight, he didn't think he'd be that easy to kill.
"Ironic, isn't it?" Malcolm asked as Oliver stood there, stunned. "Last Christmas, I almost killed you. A few months ago, you saved my life." He said, twirling the arrow in his hand. "And now you're here trying to kill me." He stared coldly at the vigilante. "You should make up your mind."
"Done." He made to draw another arrow, but Malcolm threw the one had had caught at him, forcing The Hood to dodge. The arrow shattered a glass case behind the vigilante, and then Malcolm leapt at him with a forward dropkick, knocking the Hood back into a table. Oliver bounced back and attacked. They traded furious punches, and Oliver spun, whipping Malcolm across the face with his bow, stunning him. He followed that up with a hard kick to Malcolm's thigh, sending the man down to one knee momentarily. Malcolm ducked another blow from The Hood, which instead sliced the head off of a terracotta soldier statue. Enraged, Malcolm shot off a kick that dented the wall but Oliver ducked. He followed that up with a flurry of punches to The Hood's face that stunned the vigilante. Malcolm grabbed him and slammed his face down on the table, then delivered several hard kicks in a row to Oliver's midsection, winding him. Malcolm spun behind him and grabbed him by the waist, turning them around and German suplexing him onto the table, which collapsed under their weight. The two rolled off the broken table and Oliver kicked him off. Malcolm roared in rage and let loose a punch. Oliver held up his bow to block it- but the bow broke in two, to his stunned amazement. Malcolm kicked Oliver across the face, forcing him to drop the pieces of the bow. Enraged himself now, Oliver grabbed Malcolm around the wait and drove him into the wall behind him. But while Malcolm was older, he was stronger and better trained. He jockeyed for position, and then managed to throw Oliver off of him to the floor. He followed that up with multiple hard kicks to his chest, just like their first encounter back in December. Oliver tried to rise, but Malcolm threw one last devastating punch to his jaw, knocking him out cold.
Moira gasped in panic, sure she was about to see her son killed. Thea likewise was panic, entranced and horrified by the display of violence.
Malcolm dropped to his knees and ripped off the hood- to see Oliver's bloodied face. He gasped, both in surprise and for air. "Oh, no." he said.
"Yeah, and then that happened. " Mia said. They turned to see her leaning against the doorway, where she had been watching the fight. "Know why you won, Dad?" she asked.
Malcolm smirked. "I'd say because I was better, but that isn't the reason you are looking for." He said.
Mia pushed off the frame and walked into the room, letting the door close behind her. She made her way to her husband's seat and dropped down next to him. "You had a psychological edge." She said. "First, he came into that office expecting to deal with yet another one percenter, not a trained killer. Second, when he realized that you were the Dark Archer, the one who defeated him before, he let those old doubts creep back in." she shook her head. "He didn't stand a chance."
"But he still became a hero." Laurel reasoned. "So we know that Mr. Merlyn doesn't kill him."
Mia smiled and nodded. "That's right." She said, then clapped her hands together. "Well, why wait? Let's finish his first year, shall we?"
TBC
Yes, let's finish the first year- Next Week! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
A/N: I noticed a big gaping plot hole while transcribing this. Fyers could shoot down a couple of planes- but China has a rather large military, with an Air Force that is presumably capable of bombing targets on the ground. And while the launcher can track and engage multiple targets, he only has one. I could see China throwing their entire air force at the island to wipe it out, casualties be damned.
A/N 2: Funny thing- FanFictonDOTNet censors curse words in reviews- including, apparently, Dick. Every review I got who called out Dick Grayson read as D*** Grayson.
Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm sorry if I didn't respond, but I was mostly posting these at work. Shhhhh!
A/N 3: I want to put this challenge out there for anyone who wants to try it. I had this crazy idea that I can't shake, but I don't think I can write. What if the events in Arrow were shaped by the larger DC Universe? For instance- The 'Queen's Gambit' sinks- but Ollie, Robert and Sara are rescued by Aquaman, who gets them to an island on the back of giant sea turtles. The island? Themiscyra, where Ollie and Sara are trained by Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne has bought out Unidac, thus apparently thwarting Malcolm's plans for the earthquake device, and then The Question outs him as an assassin. Something like that as a broad comedy. For the life of me, I can see bits and pieces, but not a whole story. And I can't write drabbles.
Finally, I'd like to respond to a Guest review here, since I couldn't just PM the guy (or girl) since it was anonymous.
:The crackyness is unrealistic tbh even if it is to lighten the mood.:I'll be honest- I thought I over did it in this chapter just a little. But amazingly, everyone else seemed to like it. But please- and this goes for everyone-
tell me if you think I push it too far. :Roy making a comment about Sara dying once - Thea killed her, very tactless... and unrealistic.:
Two things: 1.) Thea didn't kill Sara in this story. 2.) These people have been brought into the future onto a giant space station to watch the memories of
Oliver Queen so that they can change the past. What part of this story IS realistic? And if you mean the dead coming back to life- Oliver says "Hello!"