For FF#31 Nowhere to Hide


The Bubble Bursts

It had been the best four months of his life. There was no doubting that – he'd saved his city, his sister, his friends, and even after all the garbage he'd put her through Felicity had been willing to build a new life with him.

They had normal jobs, a favorite coffee shop, Friday date night, and the occasional e-mail from Thea or Laurel to reassure them that while Starling was still Starling, it was nothing they couldn't handle.

Which is why he didn't immediately worry when Felicity didn't show up to the restaurant on time – she was doing contract work for NASA after all. So he ordered her a glass of red wine and waited.

But then she didn't answer her phone, or his three text messages.

He felt his brain shift out of "happiest four months" mode into "something is definitely wrong" mode. He used the tracking app she'd designed to ping her cell, and it came back with her office address. There might be a hundred harmless explanations for why she wasn't answering, but something about it felt wrong. So he threw a twenty on the table and for the first time in four months committed multiple traffic violations to get to a location in under ten minutes.

The security guard in the office complex waved him through – a polite kid named Dave. Oliver knew they guy had a little crush on Felicity, but he didn't mind. You looked out for people you cared about, and one more person looking out for Felicity suited Oliver just fine.

Her office door was open and all the rational explanations flew out of his mind as he pushed his way inside. Nothing looked out of place, her sweater still hung on a peg on the wall and there was a half empty coffee mug on the desk. But there was also her phone next to a note written on some sort of generic federal government stationery:

"Come now, Mr. Queen, you didn't think you could hide forever, did you? Ms. Smoak will be returned to you by Monday – A.W."

No one could burst a bubble like Amanda Waller

Crumbling the note with his fist, he made himself take three deep breaths. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number he hadn't used in months. The voice on the other end of the phone was less than thrilled, and definitely not the one he expected.

"What do you want, Oliver?" John Diggle asked, a hard edge in his voice.

Oliver hesitated for a moment, feeling his stomach clench at the tone. "It's about Felicity," he said, knowing the three words would immediately catch the other man's attention. "I was hoping to speak to Lyla."

"What's wrong with, Felicity?" Digg asked, all the anger replaced with concern.

"Amanda Waller snatched her – all I have is note," Oliver explained. "And I thought…

Digg cut him off. "How long has she been gone?"

Oliver touched the coffee cup, it was absolutely cold, but he'd received a text from Felicity at lunch time. "A couple of hours."

Digg swore under his breath. "Lyla's gone too. She supposed to be retired, but I doubt that would stop Waller."

Shaking his head, Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "The message says Felicity will be back Monday – should we try to find them?"

"In two days?" Diggle said. "And without Felicity's help? This is ARGUS we're talking about – I don't like our odds."

Oliver shook his head. "You all right?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone and Oliver wondered if John would answer him. Then Oliver heard a long sigh, and when Digg spoke he felt like he was hearing his friend for the first time. "I imagine I feel about the same as you do. But, they're both tough, and relatively valuable to Waller, so I think there's cause to hope for the best."

"Yeah," Oliver said, the words lessening his panic a fraction. There was silence again and Oliver took a risk, "You any closer to forgiving me?"

There was a dry, slightly irritated chuckle from the other end of the phone. "Maybe."

"Maybe is a start," Oliver said, unable to keep from smiling slightly.

"But just that," Digg said evenly. "You've got a long way to go yet."

"Fair enough," Oliver replied. He let his fingers trace the rim of Felicity's mug, his thumb deliberately rubbing across the smudge of dark pink lipstick. "I'll call if I hear anything."

"Same here," Digg said, and then he hung up.


Oliver wasn't asleep when he heard the door open at 3 am on Monday morning. In seconds he was up moving carefully toward the living room, gun in hand. When he saw who stood there he let out a sign of relief and stuffed the gun into the waistband of his jeans.

The dark purple dress she'd been wearing on Friday was stained and had small tears in several places, and there were smudges of dirt on her face, arms, and legs. As he pulled her into a hug she said, her voice exhausted. "Is it okay to hate someone? Because I hate Amanda Waller."

"Me too," Oliver said, leaning back to kiss her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded tiredly. "Did I mention I'm a hacker and not a commando? Because I don't think ARGUS has gotten that message. If Lyla hadn't of been there I'd be dead right now."

"She's okay?" Oliver asked.

Something in the way he said it made Felicity glance knowingly at him. "You knew she was with me?"

Oliver nodded, and understanding Felicity's reaction gave her the answer she wanted to hear. "When I got Waller's note I called Digg."

"And?" Felicity said raising her eyebrows.

He tilted his head to one side, "It wasn't a total disaster."

For the first time since he'd seen her she smiled. "My boys are talking again…at least something good came out of all of this." Then her face fell.

He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "What is it?"

She looked down, not meeting his eyes. "Oliver, I know you wanted a different life…but there's something. Well, there's something kind of huge happening in Starling. They don't know exactly what yet, but I think…" Finally she looked up at him and he could see the fear and uncertainty in her expression.

He realized what she was saying and let out a long sigh. "You think they need our help."

Nodding, she swallowed hard. "I know it might be difficult, and I don't know how we're going to resurrect The Arrow without getting you arrested, but maybe Cisco..."

Cutting her off with a kiss, he enjoyed the surprised look on her face when he pulled back, and met her gaze. "Let's go home."