Chapter Thirty-Eight
Felicity started to follow Isabel into Cyber-Ops when the other woman turned suddenly and blocked her, "You know, I changed my mind; you and I should go over the mission first before we talk to the others."
"What about the briefing?" She asked in mild confusion.
"It can wait," Isabel said with a slightly off intonation. "Besides, you're going to be this facility's new director. You and I should discuss it first and then we'll both brief the group together. That way we appear to be a united front."
"Okay," Felicity said slowly. Isabel was definitely up to something.
"Also, you should call your friend, Canary, in personally," she said with an odd little smirk.
"What?" Felicity asked in confusion.
"For the mission," Isabel expanded. "She has expertise in this particular type of fieldwork that might prove instrumental in retrieving the package."
"What package?" She said, not trusting the other woman's tone. "I don't even know what the mission is yet."
She motioned for her to follow her back to the desk and had her sit as she brought back up the large monitor. "An information broker by the name of Brian Durlin is holed up in a safe house in Svyatoy Nos near Lake Baikal in Siberia. He's on the Most Wanted list of almost every federal agency you can think of but, most importantly, he's in the crosshairs of both the League of Shadows and ARGUS. Right now he's on the run and hiding from Ra's al Ghul. It's believed that Durlin has information that could prove invaluable in our mission to take them down. If we fail and Waller gets to them first, she'll just retcon him, stick a bomb in his spine, and force both of them to join her little Suicide Squad. If Ra's gets to them first…well, they'll wish they had a bomb in their spines," she said dryly. "We're sending in a five man team to bring them in so we can get that information first before Waller buries it or Ra's buries him."
Felicity nodded as she sat in the chair across from her, "Who's 'them'? He has a partner?"
"He does; one that complicates matters somewhat," She said picking up the tablet she was using earlier. The large screen lit up and surveillance footage of two men came into view; one large auburn-haired man who looked like he could take out an entire football team single-handedly and a blond man who was shorter and slighter than his companion but still very fit and muscular.
"Wow, who's the Jolly Red Giant?" Felicity asked quietly.
"Aleksandr Creote, ex-Spetsnaz, or more accurately a former specialist with Spetsgruppa Alpha, and hired enforcer of our target," she told her. "He's also his bodyguard, partner in crime, and nursemaid."
"Nursemaid?" She asked faintly, suddenly picturing the huge man who had to be barking at seven foot tall in a nurse's uniform and crepe soled shoes. "He has a nurse who was a former member of FSB Special Forces?"
She nodded, "Durlin has a medical condition related to a memory disorder called hyperthymestic syndrome that's caused by a chemical imbalance. He can't really forget anything but, at the same time, his memory is non-linear with brief bouts of temporary amnesia and he hallucinates if he goes off his meds."
"Like a computer with an overtaxed hard drive," she said, examining his picture more carefully.
Isabel gestured toward the giant Russian who looked like a wall of muscle, "Creote serves as both his protector and touchstone. Things that happened to Durlin four years ago will suddenly be remembered as happening in the present and he has a hard time dealing with concepts like cause and effect."
"Meaning?" She asked with a frown.
Isabel sighed irritably, "Meaning that he considers himself to be a vigilante of sorts but there is a disconnect between intent and results."
"What, like putting a cat up a tree just so he can rescue it?" Felicity asked sardonically as she accepted the tablet from the other woman and began to read through the file.
Isabel took on a dour expression, "For a brief time he decided to try his hand as a mask; it was before he met Creote so he had no one there to keep him stabilized. He was pursuing a serial arsonist who set fire to an apartment building. Rather than put out the fire or get the victims to safety, he focused on catching the firebug. All he had to do was pull a fire alarm but it never occurred to him to do so. Shortly after that he was placed in a mental hospital which is where he learned that his true talents lay in blackmail and information brokering. He met Creote and hired him to be his muscle and stabilizing influence. In no time he was able to use his unique medical condition to his advantage. He sells secrets to the highest bidder, blackmails others, making him a powerful enemy or asset depending on your point of view."
"So you want to send in a team to capture him, bring him here, and avoid the big guy," Felicity said with a frown as she flipped through the satellite images of their safe house; a nicely appointed home built on the edge a cliff overlooking Lake Baikal, a gorgeous clear blue-green freshwater rift lake in southern Siberia, between the Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.
"No," Isabel told her. "In order to get what we need out of Durlin we have to have Creote as well which means that we need to bring in both men, unharmed."
"Okay," Felicity said looking at the Russian man's image dubiously. "Says here he's 6'8", 320 pounds, trained in advanced hand to hand combat, counter-terrorism tactics, urban warfare, and checks out as an expert marksman in everything from sniper rifles to throwing knives with a particular fondness for explosives." She cleared her throat, "Who exactly are you planning to send in after them?"
"First off is Tatsu Yamashiro, codename Katana," Isabel said, queuing up her file. "Besides being the interim director here at the Gotham OO, she's a skilled tactician and proficient in hand to hand combat and swordsmanship. She's a bit odd but perfect for the role of team leader on this mission."
Felicity eyed the other woman carefully, "She seemed pretty normal to me."
Isabel raised one eyebrow slightly, "Odd may be the wrong word for it. She has a sort of tic."
"A tic?" She repeated dubiously.
"She talks to her sword," Isabel said in an exasperated tone.
"She talks to her sword," Felicity pursed her lips as she considered that for a moment.
The other woman made a dismissive gesture, "It's apparently a samurai thing. It's not important; merely a tic as I said."
"Well, most of the masks I've known are a bit on the weird side anyway," Felicity muttered. "Who else?"
"A meta-human by the name of Cynthia Reynolds, codename Gypsy; she has the ability to create elaborate illusions with her mind and has a kind of limited telepathy that allows her to shield herself and her companions from being noticed," Isabel said, and the next screen showed a young girl in her late teens/early twenties with long inky black hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. "Her abilities are purely passive for the most part, although she can sometimes project fear into her adversaries but it's extremely taxing afterwards and leaves her vulnerable. She's been trained in hand to hand combat, small weapons fire, and has an affinity for acrobatics and electronics."
"The camouflaging abilities will come in especially handy given the lack of cover in the area," Felicity said thoughtfully as she pulled the satellite images back up on the big monitor. "Durlin might be a little whack-a-doo but he picked a good place for a safe house." She gestured around the large stone cottage in question, "Sheer drop from a two hundred foot tall cliff on the back and no entry points from either side meaning their enemies have no choice but to come at them from the front. Who else?"
"The last three members of the team are people you're already familiar with," Isabel said with a slightly smug twitch of her lips. "Canary, of course. Her skills as a former assassin will help in getting in and out quietly. Lyla Michaels-"
"Lyla is a member of the OO?" Felicity said in surprise.
Isabel nodded with a smirk, "After she left ARGUS last year we recruited her. It seems she's about as fond of Amanda Waller as we are. She abandoned the codename 'Harbinger' and took up the name 'Lady Blackhawk' instead. I believe it's a nod to her former career in the Special Forces. In addition to bringing the skills she learned both with the Rangers and ARGUS, she'll act as the team's pilot."
Felicity filed that information away, deciding to call Dig about it later when she was back at the alternate Batcave and on a secured channel. "Who's the fifth member of the team?"
Isabel's smile grew even wider and Felicity's heart sank.
"Huntress."
*\?/*\?/*\?/*
"Hey Cutie, what's up?" Sara said cheerfully as Barbara routed the call through the LAIR system.
"Hey, Little Bird," Felicity said.
Oliver and Dig frowned at one another in silence at the odd endearment but Sara's eyes sharpened intently as she stared at the bank of monitors with Wayne's image glaring down at them.
"I know you said you were going to take a few days of R and R but I need you to come in for an assignment."
Sara gave Batman a slight nod, her face an intense mask of concentration but her tone casual and flirty, "Anything to be near you, Cutie Patootie; whatcha got?"
"I need you here for a team briefing by 18:00 hours Gotham time and then we're going wheels up at 24:00 so you have time to coordinate with your team. Isabel has authorized the use of one of the Queen jets. It's already on the tarmac waiting for you." Her voice was crisp, professional, but there was a tiny bit a stress mixed in that someone who wasn't familiar with Felicity might easily dismiss.
As Oliver glanced around the room he realized that each and every person there had, in fact, picked up on the slight shift in her normal speaking voice as he had. Luke was steadily clenching and unclenching his fists while Tim stood stone-faced beside Barbara. Wayne just looked like he was about to explode.
Isabel, Oliver thought angrily as he ground his teeth together. Had to be. Chances are she was monitoring the call. He glanced at Barbara and the woman nodded letting him know she was hiding their location in case Isabel tried tracking her phone.
Not that it mattered since she apparently already knew everything. A muscle jumped in his temple and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on.
"What's the assignment and who's on the team?" Sara asked stepping a little closer to the workstation as though offering comfort to the woman on the other end of the line.
"Katana, Lady Blackhawk, Gypsy, and an old friend of ours; Huntress," Felicity said in a tone that clearly telegrammed her displeasure to all who might be listening.
Both Oliver and Wayne reacted with a start; Diggle placing a warning hand on his shoulder and Wayne running his hand over his mouth angrily as he began to pace.
"Isabel wants me to take that psycho-bitch on an assignment?" Sara said flatly. "Does she know she's fucking insane and that she tried to kill my sister once and you twice?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line, "Believe me, I brought that up," Felicity said with a sigh. "Sweetheart…"
Everyone in the room looked around in confusion at the intimate tone Felicity was using toward Sara and Wayne spun around suddenly; his expression would have been comical were the situation not so tense.
"…I know we talked about how our break up wouldn't affect our working relationship…"
Oliver's jaw dropped in surprise and from the corner of his eye he could see Thea mouth 'What. The. Hell?' to Roy while Sara rocked back on her heels slightly and adopted a look of consternation.
"…and you know I still love you, I always will. We may not be together anymore but I still consider you to be my best friend and I told you that at the airport. Even if we can't go back to the way things were, you know I'd never put you in a situation like this if there was any other way around it."
Sara nodded to herself as if understanding what it was Felicity was attempting to communicate, "And you know I wouldn't have kissed you like that if I didn't still love you, as well."
Everyone's head whipped around to stare at Sara in shock.
"I think that's something best left to discuss later in private," Felicity said quietly.
"Just tell me what you need, Baby," Sara said with an intense look of concentration. "What can I do to fix this?"
"You can't," Felicity told her. "Sometimes it's a matter of choosing the person who chooses you, you know? Sometimes it simply comes down to self-preservation."
Oliver started again and Diggle squeezed his shoulder harder to remind him to keep his cool.
"I understand," Sara said, her voice taking on a slightly hurt tone even though her expression hadn't changed. "However, when I get back from this assignment I have to warn you that I'll do whatever it takes to win back your trust, even if that means moving back to Gotham permanently and joining the OO full time. It's been positively grim without you, Baby. We've only been officially over for less than twenty-four hours and I feel like I've spent half the morning scrambling for reasons to come get you," she chuckled. "You know how I am with the big romantic gestures? Well, I couldn't help myself; I totally broke down and ordered you enough flowers that it's probably going to take every member of the Gotham Rogues and the Starling Comets just to deliver them! We're talking red roses, fox gloves, and even those big stargazer lilies you love so much. I even ordered you those chocolates you liked, remember? We found them at that little shop in Bludhaven. Expect your apartment to be full when you get home."
"That…wasn't necessary," Felicity said, her voice a bit strained. "I never needed the big gestures, just you."
"I know that, babe, but you're worth fighting for," she said seriously. "Where you go, I go; I want you to know that I meant it when I told you I'm ready to leave Starling City behind and give you and this relationship 100%. Until then, whether we're together or not, make sure to tell Isabel that you're still my bitch. Until I get the chance to state my case at least one more time, nobody gets to grab that ass but me."
Felicity cleared her throat, "Um, I kind of think that would count as sexual harassment now that we're going to be working together."
"Yeah, well; you always told me that you liked the way I sexually harassed you the best," Sara said flirtatiously.
"And you promised you'd always kiss me even after I ate chili and onions," Felicity shot back.
"I meant it, too," Sara told her. "What's the assignment, Baby?"
"You and the rest of the team will get a full briefing when you get here." Suddenly Isabel's voice came over the line, causing Oliver to mutter 'son of a bitch' under his breath quietly. From the look on Dig's face he returned the sentiment.
"I take it this is Isabel?" Sara said coolly.
"It is," came her slightly chilly reply, although there was a hint of triumph in her tone. "For now I'll give you the same quick rundown we've given the rest of the team; it's a five-man extraction squad to retrieve two packages from Svyatoy Nos, Siberia."
"And in what condition do you want those packages delivered?" Her voice changing from Sara to Canary the second Isabel came on the line.
"Intact," she said succinctly. "The jet is already waiting for you and there will be a car at the airport to pick you up and bring you to our Gotham facility."
"That's not necessary; I can catch a cab. Just give me the address," The words were spoken with a casual inflection but there was no way Isabel could mistake the chill behind them.
"I insist," Isabel said with false sweetness. "After all, you are a valued member of our team and, besides, you're obviously still very dear to our Felicity."
The way she said 'our' seemed to raise everyone's hackles, including Sara's. Her jaw tightened and, for a second there, she looked every inch the assassin. "Yes, well, my Felicity is very dear to me as well. She is, after all, my girlfriend."
"Oh?" Isabel said with some amusement. "That's odd; I was under the impression that she had ended the romantic side of your relationship. Perhaps when you get here we should go over some human resources paperwork."
"I wasn't aware you had a human resources department at the OO," Sara said with false levity.
"Oh, we do. We even offer a nice benefits package, but only to our full-time operators. If you're as committed to 'your' Felicity as you say you are, I expect you'll do as you mentioned and consider a more permanent position here," Isabel said with saccharine sweetness. "That is, of course, if you can manage to part from 'your' dear Oliver…or is it your sister's turn with him this week?"
Sara looked ready to blow when Felicity quickly spoke up, "Okay, let me let you go and I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"
"Yeah," Sara practically growled. "See you then, babe."
"Okay…" Barbara logged off the call and swung her chair around, observing all of the tense expressions around her. "That was both educational and informative."
"Yeah, now I know what Felicity meant when she referred to Isabel as the 'Perestroi-cunt'," Sara said irritably before turning her attention to Oliver. "Seriously, how the hell did you manage to avoid getting frostbite on your dick after scoring a Gordie Howe hat trick in that bitch's ass?"
"Now's not the time Sara," Oliver said tersely.
Tim scratched his head and cleared his throat nervously, "You know, if it wasn't Baby and this situation weren't so tense, that conversation would have been totally hot."
"What the hell was that?" Batman demanded from the monitors.
"Just a little code Felicity and I worked out on the spur of the moment based on some recent conversations," Sara said calmly even though Oliver could still see the anger burning in her eyes.
"You kissed Felicity?" Oliver burst out before he could stop himself.
"Yeah, I was hoping someone would get around to asking that before me," Roy muttered in embarrassment right before Thea punched him on the arm.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Diggle was barely keeping his smile in check as he looked between the open-mouthed shock on Oliver's face to the black look of anger Bruce Wayne was shooting Sara. "I think we should focus on the more pressing issue here," he said, schooling his expression. "From what I could follow from that not so subtle 'code' of yours, you let Felicity know that both teams were aware she was inside of this organization and were ready to mobilize on her location and she, in turn, told you she was fine and that she needed you there but further backup wouldn't be necessary, correct?"
"Yup," Sara told him. "However you didn't have to be insulting about it; I thought it was pretty damn subtle given that I had to completely pull it out of my ass like that."
"Red roses, fox gloves, and stargazer lilies? And I'm not even going to mention the thing with the two football teams," Diggle said with a sarcastic edge.
"All I could think of was that or birds. What did you want me to say; that I sent her a robin, a bat, and a starling?" She said with a snort.
Tim spoke up, "Is anybody going to answer the question Oliver and Roy asked about the kiss?"
"Or the whole, 'you're my bitch' thing?" Thea asked with an amused expression.
"Oh yeah," Tim said, giving Thea a look of approval. "What she said; that too. When you kissed her was there ass grabbing involved or just tongue?"
Luke glared at him, "Dude, seriously? That's my sister."
"It was those guys who asked, not me," Tim said innocently.
"Thanks for looking out for us, man," Roy said sarcastically. "Way to back us up."
"Got your back, bro," he responded with a grin.
Sara sighed and rolled her eyes, "Felicity and I had lunch the other day and she mentioned that Isabel had hinted that she wouldn't mind seeing what was under the pencil skirt."
"I had heard that as well," Wayne said in a low growl. "Go on."
"I joked that if Isabel tried anything that I would happily grab her ass and tell her she was my bitch," she said in a deadpan.
Thea burst out in a snort and Barbara began to snicker. "I love it," she said, lifting her glasses so she could wipe the tears from under her eyes as she tried to control her laughter then proceeded to do a slow clap.
"So what was all that stuff about you and Felicity hooking up and then breaking up?" Oliver asked with a touch of anger.
"Seriously Ollie?" Sara said, with a smirk.
"Yes, seriously; forgive me if I'm curious as to what the hell all that was about, but I think asking for a little bit of clarity isn't completely out of line here," he told her through gritted teeth.
"I'm a bit curious about that as well," Batman rumbled dangerously.
Thea made her way over to Barbara and nudged her, then whispered, "We should totally do popcorn for this."
"Hell, I'm thinking of recording this entire conversation just so I can play it back at parties," the other woman whispered back. "Look them all pissing on the same tree; woo-frickin'-who, our Baby-girl is turning into a helluva hot ticket apparently."
"Obviously it was because she was trying to tell me that Isabel was listening in," Sara drawled, "or are you both so stuck up your own asses that you couldn't figure that out?"
Tim coughed up a noise that sounded suspiciously like 'kiss' only to be punched in the arm hard by Luke. "Ooooow…" he breathed.
"As for the kiss," Sara said, shooting the two men across the room a look, "it was her way of letting me know that Isabel obviously had surveillance footage of us when she dropped me off at the airport which means that Luke needs to remain here in Starling for at least another couple of days to avoid suspicion."
"No way!" Luke stated emphatically. "I'm going back with you to get Felicity out of this mess!"
"She's right," Wayne broke in reluctantly. "Batwing, you need to stay put for at least a day or two; especially if the Rochev woman is monitoring your comings and goings."
"Hey, wait, so you did kiss her?" Roy said curiously.
"Yeah," Sara shrugged. "What of it?"
"Dude," Tim whispered, giving the other man a subtle fist bump.
"Nice," the younger man said bobbing his head in appreciation.
"I can't believe I ever had sex with you," Thea muttered looking over at Roy with disgust.
"Felicity kissed you?" Bruce asked slowly, his mouth set in a grim line.
"Relax, your fiancée didn't kiss me, I kissed her and it was perfectly innocent, I swear," Sara chuckled.
"It must have been one hell of a kiss if Isabel was convinced the two of you were together," Oliver bit out.
"It was a simple little goodbye kiss, Ollie," Sara smirked. "Don't you and Dig ever get the urge to pucker up and say 'let's be friends'?"
"I can answer that with a definite, 'hell no'," Diggle said with a snort.
"So, on the mouth?" Tim piped up after quickly stepping out of Luke's reach.
"Okay, you guys are all idiots," Thea pronounced giving them all the stink-eye. "I say we dump all of you and form our own group because there is way too much dumbass for one basement going on right now."
"Right on!" Barbara agreed slapping her a high five. "You know what, kiddo? I'm really starting to like you."
"Thanks!" Thea said with a beaming grin.
"If we can cut the banter short, and get to the plan already?" Batman said crossly. Everyone quieted down and his eyes swept the room, "Obviously Canary is going to be on this 'assignment' for a few days leaving Felicity on her own and out in the cold. That means we need to figure out a way to get someone else on the inside as quickly as possible. Canary, who can you trust inside the organization?"
"Wrong! You're not using Felicity to fix your fuck ups, Wayne!" Oliver said furiously, "If this group has infiltrated your city then you deal with it; meanwhile, this is what's going to happen: You and Nightwing will do like you planned and set up surveillance around the facility and then when she leaves, you pick her up, take her to the airport, and send her back here or else I'm coming down there to get her myself!"
"That's not going to happen," Wayne said in a dangerously low voice. Despite being dressed in a suit and tie he was very much the Batman at that moment.
"Wanna bet?" He snapped back.
"Felicity stays in Gotham!" Batman said with a look of rage.
"Felicity is coming back home where we can protect her!" Oliver told him. "I trusted you to keep her safe and I told you what I would do if you failed. Since you aren't willing to man-up and accept that, then I'm coming to Gotham to get her personally! Dig, call the pilot and tell him we're on our way."
"If you're heading to Gotham then I'm going with you," Luke told him, equally irate. He looked from one man to the other, "There is no way in hell I'm sitting in this goddamn basement for two days while my sister is going through God knows what in there!"
"Shit, I'm going with Luke and Oliver then," Tim said stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest.
"You are not coming to Gotham, Queen!" Batman said in an almost inhuman growl. "Stay in your own city; this is my concern, not yours!"
"Hey!" Diggle shouted. "All of you need to shut the fuck up and put your dicks back in your pants because this pissing contest is officially over!" He waited until everyone went quiet, looking between Oliver and Wayne before turning to Sara, "You're going to Gotham; the rest of us," he swept his eyes across the room and put on his best drill sergeant's voice, "will stay put until we're needed."
"Goddamn it, Dig-!" Oliver started angrily.
"Diggle's right, Ollie!" Thea said angrily from beside Barbara.
"Stay out of this, Thea," he warned her.
"No, Ollie; I won't, because what you seem to be forgetting is that Felicity doesn't need anyone to come rescue her!" Thea spat out.
"Yes, she does!" He said darkly.
"No, she doesn't!" She stepped forward, going toe to toe with him. "Felicity isn't some damsel in distress, Ollie! She's a genius, she can fight—she took Slade out twice! Hell, the last time she faced Slade she took him and a bunch of his super-soldiers out all by herself, remember?!"
You could hear a pin drop the room went so quiet. Each member of Team Arrow flinched visibly at the mention of the name while Luke and Bruce both looked on in shock. Tim fell back beside Barbara, his expression a mixture of shock, surprise, and finally settling into realization.
"Felicity killed Deathstroke?" Tim asked faintly.
"Shit," Barbara breathed from her place near the console.
"What? What are you talking about; Felicity would never…" Luke asked in confusion, his words trailing off into silence as he looked towards his friend for answers but Tim's attention was locked on Oliver who stood frozen in place.
"When the hell was this?" Bruce bit out.
Thea turned to the monitor, her expression grave but determined, "The first time she took him down was during the Blood Army thing right after he killed our mom."
"Slade Wilson was Deathstroke," it wasn't a question. Batman's nostrils flared, "When was the second time? Six months ago? Is that what happened; she had to kill Deathstroke?"
No one answered; no one had to.
Their expressions said it all.
"Stay out of Gotham, Queen; and stay the hell away from Felicity or else," he spat out right before the monitor went dark.
"Call the pilot, Dig," Oliver said grimly.
"Oliver…" Diggle began.
"Fine, I'll call him myself," he said irritably as he reached for his phone.
Sara stepped forward, "Ollie, stop for a minute and think things through; how are you going to explain your presence in Gotham to Isabel?"
"I'm not," he told her. "I'm just going to break her fucking neck then toss her body out of the closest window."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Tim said sarcastically, finally coming out of his stupor. "Oliver Queen flies to Gotham without any explanation and his business partner, the same one who attempted a hostile takeover two years ago and with whom he has a very publicly contentious relationship with, turns up dead? No motive there."
Oliver's head whipped around and he shot the other man a quelling look but Sara stepped between them, her jaw set. "He's right, Ollie, and you know it."
"I don't care; I'm going," he told her.
"The Children's Charity Gala is Saturday," Luke said stepping forward. "You're in the middle of a business deal with the head of the Foundation; seems to me that it makes sense that you'd want to be there for something like that."
"Luke…" Tim said in a warning.
"It's my sister," he told him stubbornly.
"Bruce said-"
"I don't give a shit about Bruce," Luke said angrily. "This is about Felicity!"
"He loves her," Tim said quietly. "And she loves him; he wouldn't let anything happen to her."
"If you believe that then obviously you haven't been paying attention," Luke said flatly. He turned to Oliver, "I don't know how I feel about any of this; I don't know if I should trust you or kick your ass, but I'm not taking any chances with Felicity's safety and I know Bruce. If he thinks he can use this situation to get inside of this group then he won't hesitate to drop Baby in the shit and that is not happening! As long as you're with me on that then we aren't going to have a problem, we clear?"
"Crystal," Oliver said with grim purpose. "And as soon as Felicity is in the clear I'm going to settle up with Wayne."
"Ollie, don't you think you're overreacting?" Sara broke in with a scowl.
"No, I don't," he told her flatly.
"Makes two of us," Luke told him. "We'll take the Wayne Gulfstream. I'll call my dad and fill him in on what's really going on and then let him figure out a reason for you to stick around until the Gala."
Sara blinked in surprise, "Wait; your dad knows about all this?"
He glanced at her, "Who do you think designed my suit?"
"Your dad? Sweet old guy who lets a little old lady boss him around and can't even get a cracker for his soup; that guy?" Sara asked.
"To be fair, she bosses all of us around, not just dad, but yeah," Luke nodded.
"So…who in your family isn't a vigilante?" She asked incredulously.
"Peggy Ann," Luke, Barbara, and Tim said at the same time.
"But she totally could be," Tim muttered. "That old lady scares the bejesus out of me and I'm pretty sure she could take Bruce in a fight."
"Does Felicity know?" Diggle asked in disbelief.
"She knows," Luke said wryly as Tim snorted.
"How do you think Bruce recruited her to begin with?" Tim said drolly. "He had to get her old man's permission before he even mentioned the words 'special project' to her, although there is no way he knows about any of the rest of this. As far as Lucius knows, Baby is just tech support."
"And I know for a fact that he doesn't know about this other thing Bruce has going on between them," Luke said coldly. "When he finds out that Bruce is involved with one of his daughters, you won't have to worry about laying a hand on him."
Tim shook his head, "Yeah, that's going to go down like a ton of bricks. If you think Bruce can get scary you should see Lucius when it comes to his daughters. This is going to be one hell of shit-storm; we're talking epic meltdown."
"Yeah," Luke said with a hint of satisfaction. "Should be fun to watch."
"So her entire family, with the exception of the grandmother… Damn, that girl; I swear…" Diggle said in wonder. He took a deep breath and turned to Oliver, "Fine. Let's go."
"We should all go," Thea suggested.
"Yeah, I could use a trip to Gotham," Roy agreed.
"I need you to stay here," Oliver told him.
"Oliver…" Dig began.
"Someone might need to be the Arrow," he said, cutting him off. "I'll take my gear and you can use the extra suit Felicity had made for you last year, just in case. Plus I need you here to help Barbara and Tim and supervise Roy and Thea's training."
"I'm not staying," Tim objected.
"Yes, you are," Barbara told him firmly. "With Queen flying the coop it's more important than ever that you maintain a presence at Queen Consolidated."
"Good point," Thea's brow furrowed in confusion, "If he's going to Gotham, and Isabel is doing her Dr. Evil impression down there, who's running QC?"
"You are," Oliver told her. When she started to object he cut her off, "Hopefully we'll be back by tomorrow, but if Felicity digs in her heels we might have to be there a while. With any luck she'll see reason but we might actually have to go to this Gala. You can go in and pretend to show Tim around, take a few meetings, so if Isabel makes any moves while we're gone you can let us know. If anything goes wrong and you can't get in touch with us, Walter will talk you through it." He looked at the rebellious expressions on all of their faces, "Look, just stay for a couple of days, make sure the Arrow puts in a few public appearances while the rest of us are in Gotham, then come up on Friday if we haven't managed to wrap this up by then." He turned to Thea, "Just in case I'll buy us some tickets to the Wayne Foundation Fundraiser, okay? Since you've been helping run mom's Glades Foundation for the last couple of years we can use that to explain your presence at the Gala by saying that you're there to network and we can call Roy your plus one…"
"Whatever," Thea said, shooting Roy a disgruntled look.
"Thea," Oliver said warningly, "this isn't a game. You need to put this bad blood between the two of you aside and start working together. If I let you come along then you will follow my lead and Roy's, understood?"
"Got it," she said with a hint of a pout as Roy tossed her a slightly smug look.
"Are we going to have a problem getting invites at the last minute?" He asked Luke.
He shook his head, "It's a pretty hot ticket but my mom runs the Foundation. Between nepotism and my own none too shabby hacking skills, I can make sure you all get in. My dad will send the jet back on Friday for the rest of you. He can also arrange for some corporate apartments while you're down there so you don't have to worry about finding a hotel."
"That's not necessary," Oliver told him. "I'm sure we can figure something out."
"You don't seem to get how big of an event we're talking about," Barbara spoke up. "Everyone who's anyone goes to this thing and between the party-goers, the businessmen and their entourages, the press, and the tourists, all the hotels tend to get booked up months in advance on that weekend. You could stay at my place but I've got one bed, a fold out couch, and a whole lot of floor; that's about it."
"You could stay at the manor but I doubt Bruce will be feeling hospitable," Tim said blowing out his cheeks and rocking back on his heels.
"Take the apartments; I insist and, knowing Dad, so will he," Luke said. "Besides, if your cover story is that this is a business trip then it'll be expected."
"Fine," Oliver agreed albeit with some obvious reluctance.
"You guys are making a mistake, you know that right?" Tim broke in. "If you show up in Gotham like this, Bruce is going to lose his shit and Felicity isn't going to appreciate it at all."
"Tim, are you going to support us, or what?" Luke asked him flatly. "Because this isn't about Bruce and his need to dominate everyone and everything; it's about my sister. I get that he's your dad so if you don't want to take a side, then fine, but we're doing this. Lead, follow, or get the hell out of my way because, as much as I love you, bro, Felicity comes first."
"Ah damn it," Tim scowled. "Fine. I'm in."
"Me, too," Barbara said from the workstation.
"Barb, you don't have to be a part of this," Luke told her.
"Oh shut the hell up," Barbara said with a snort. "If the shit hits the fan then you'll need a tech not to mention a referee. I'm in."
"Thanks," Oliver said turning to the woman in the wheelchair with a grateful nod.
"That's my girl in there," Barbara told him. "She was my first Padawan after I became Oracle, we rebuilt Watchtower together, I trained her, and I've known her a hell of a lot longer than any of you with the exception of Luke. I've definitely known Bruce and all of his moods longer than anyone else with the exception of Dick and Alfred. I'm not saying I agree that you should go in guns blazing, but if shit gets real you're all going to have to pull together; all of you, including Bruce," she told them. "That means we're a team; all of us. If we have any chance in hell of getting to the bottom of this crap then we have to remain a cohesive unit." She looked at Oliver squarely, "I'll stay here with the team until we can all come down. Until then, if you need tech support just call me. I can tap into Watchtower using Baby's LAIR setup and it'll be just like I was right there with you guys. Keep us in the loop until then, okay?"
He nodded, "Thanks."
"I'll take you home to pack a bag and we can call the pilot on the way," Dig told him.
"I'll call your office and do my first and, thus far, only act as your EA and cancel all of your meetings for the rest of the week," Barbara told him. "Anything that can't be shuffled I'll help Thea muddle through."
"Thanks," Thea said gratefully. "I mean, I've run the club on my own for a while now but I don't know anything about running QC."
"Don't sweat it; your brother has been doing it for a while so it can't be that hard," Barbara told her.
"I appreciate that, really," Oliver said with a grimace.
"Let's face it, Queen; you may be pretty but we both know that Felicity was the brains of this outfit," she told him.
"You're right about that," Diggle snorted.
"I got you, Chickie," Barb said to Thea. "We're going to rock the crap out of this CEO thing."
"Let's hear it for Girl Power," Thea said, giving her a fist bump then blowing it up.
"Sounds like a plan," Oliver agreed. He turned to Luke, "Are you riding with us?"
"Yeah, in a minute." Luke stepped up to Sara and placed one hand on her waist, "Take care of Baby for me until we get there, okay? And take care of yourself, too."
Sara reached up and gave him a soft kiss, "I will, don't worry. I may not know what the hell it is that's going on exactly, but I can tell you right now; one way or another, that Isabel bitch is going down."