The blood raced it's way through his veins, every inch of his body alive with energy being directed at the punching bag. His arms ached and his knuckles were split. Felicity would have something to say about that. He put his back against the bag and leaned over, his hands braced on his knees, his lungs sucking in the much needed oxygen. He was out of shape. Ever since Slade had come to town he hadn't been as active as usual. He didn't want to leave Felicity or his family unprotected and that had meant spending every free moment being with them. To be honest he would rather stay in bed with Felicity all day than pouring sweat in a dark foundry with only the training equipment for company.
He'd been doing his best to search for Slade on his own but he should have known better. His computer skills weren't anywhere near Felicity's. He knew she had been doing all she could if the tablet that set near the bed every night was any indication. He would come from taking a shower and she would immediately set it aside. When he asked why she'd said she had a 'No electronics is bed rule.' At the time he had only smiled and curled up next to her, silently thinking her rule wouldn't last long. But it had. At least in the bed. He would find her up on sitting on the sofa in the middle of the night claiming she couldn't sleep because of the baby or that she was hungry and couldn't go back to bed on a full stomach. He saw through every excuse. His wife was no liar, at least not to him. He knew she could lie convincingly if she needed to, but only if someones life was in danger, otherwise she avoided it. Diggle had even once said that Felicity was his moral compass. Maybe he was right.
Felicity thought she kept her searches on the down low but he knew what she had been doing. He always knew. He really didn't know how she did it with the company and the pregnancy. Obviously she was stronger than he had given her credit for. But he knew that too didn't he? He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to end this. For his family, his friends and for himself. Everything that had happened and was happening was his fault and he needed to put a stop to it before anything...worse happened.
"Oliver, man what are you doing?"
He didn't even hear Diggle come in. If that didn't show how off his game he was nothing did. He looked down at this bloody hands and was taken back to the day he had supposedly killed Slade. The day he had a choice but let anger take over instead. Dried blood sunk into the lines of his palms, he closed his eyes and balled his hands into fist. How was he supposed to be a father? How could hands of a killer touch something as soft and pure as a baby?
"I can practically hear your thoughts, stop beating yourself up Oliver."
His eyes opened and immediately found Digg's. He stood a few feet away, large arms crossed against his chest.
"I can't. This...all of this could've been avoided, if only I hadn't been a killer."
"Did you hear what you said?"
"What?" He asked confused.
"You said 'had been'. You're not a killer anymore."
"I don't get it John? I've killed so many people and I would do it again in a instant if someone threatened the people I love. Why do I get to be free?"
"One thing I learned from the military is that a warrior is never free. We're forced to do things, unthinkable things, but it's done so that our families can be safe, so our country can be free. Battle is a gray area. Is it right to kill people? Even when they are threatening lives? Is the saying 'One for the life of many' true?"
Diggle stepped forward, uncrossing him arms and pressing his lips together for a moment in thought.
"I don't have the answers. I don't think I ever will. So if we're talking about just plain killing here then neither of us deserves to be free, but we're not Oliver, we're talking war and there is always casualties in a war. We'll carry those deaths with us the rest of our lives. We'll wonder if it was right, if there was another way, something else we could have done. But ultimately we're fighting a war with ourselves. I've made peace with what I've done. You have to find a way to live, to be at peace, even though you don't think you deserve too. You have to find a way to let go, if not for your own, then for your son."
He glanced back at his hands and a second later there was a towel covering them, wiping the blood away.
"It's time to start over. You're not that man anymore."
He looked up and smiled. "Thank you John."
"You're my brother and we're in this together." Diggle pointed at his hands. "Except when Felicity see's those. Then you're on your own man. You better get those cleaned up." He shook his head and moved to the med drawer for antiseptic and gauze to wrap his hands in.
"Did your intel turn anything up?" He asked as he wrapped the medical tape around one of his palms.
"Nothing. Lyla's called in every favor she had and we still don't know anything. It's like this man is a ghost. I don't understand how he's slipped under the radar."
"He smart and logical. He knows how to cover his tracks."
"But there should be something. He has to mess up somewhere." John paced the room.
"Nothing he's done has been left to chance. Everything Slade has done has been strategically planned. Every clue, every tip of his hand. This isn't a game, it's revenge and if I know Slade at all, it's going to be quick and unexpected."
"It's been too quiet. He's not just going to give up."
"That's what Felicity said," he replied as he sat in her chair. Diggle tossed him his gray hoodie and he slipped it on, the smell of roses wafted up to meet him. He smiled, Felicity didn't know how much the small things affected him. The smell of her perfume on his sweatshirt for example lifted his spirits in a way he never thought possible.
"Something's coming. I can feel it," Digg said, his shoulders stiff.
His leg bounced up and down and he sighed. "I wish...I wish I could just pack my family away and send them where no one would ever find them. They'd be safe and they could live without having to constantly look over their shoulders."
"But they wouldn't be with you. I bet if you asked any one of them they'd say it was worth the risk."
It would do no good to argue. Logically he knew it was true but he couldn't stop the overwhelming surge of protectiveness he felt when he thought about his family. He couldn't help but feel that he knew what was best for them and that was being out of harms way. He thought of the way Felicity's eyes had flashed when he'd thought he'd known what was best for her. "You don't get to leave me!" She had screamed. No. He could never leave her and he couldn't force her to go. So that meant he would have to do everything in his power to keep her safe. But how could he do that when he wasn't even with her? He knew he'd been smothering her but he couldn't stop. Not with her safety at risk. He'd rather her be uncomfortable than dead. Or worse.
His chest tightened. He hated being away from her but she needed some space. She deserved a normal baby shower. Well...as normal as a baby shower planned by his sister and mother could be. Diggle's best men and Sara were with her but that did nothing to lessen his anxiety. He scrubbed a hand over his face.
"You want to spar?"
"How do you even have any energy left after what you did to that punching bag?" He pointed his thumb over his shoulder for emphasis. "No thanks, I'd like to actually go home to Lyla alive, not in a body bag."
He groaned. "I have to do something. Sitting here is making me go crazy. Not being with her is making me crazy." Diggle laughed and shook his head. "What?"
"Just that I never imagined nearly two years ago when you were lying, pathetically I might add, to a girl about sports bottles and syringes that I'd be here,playing therapist to a vigilante and dealing with a super soldier."
He found little humor in the situation but laughed anyway. "You and I both."
"I guess you're calm enough to spar now. Want to go a few rounds?"
"Sure, let me just text Felicity." Diggle sent him a look. "Even if Felicity was a trained Argus agent I would still be worried about her so save those looks for your nephew." Diggle rolled his eyes and grabbed his gym bag to change. He sent a quick text to Felicity and she answered a few moments later.
"We're fine, be home soon. Stop worrying. XO...-just in case you don't know that stands for hugs and kisses."
He shook his head. She even babbled in text. He loved it. Digg returned and he laid his phone down on the desk, face up, the ringer on high.
They had been sparring for nearly fifteen minutes when he stopped abruptly, Digg narrowly avoiding smacking him in the head with the bamboo stick. The hairs rose on his arm and his stomach filled with dread.
"What is it?" Diggle panted, his sweaty brow creasing in worry. His phone screamed in the silence and they both startled. He ran across the room and snatched his phone from the desk. Something was not right.
"Ollie!" Thea's voice, clogged with tears met his ears as soon as he opened the line.
"Thea. What is it?"
"He..." Thea broke off as a sob tore from her throat.
"I need to you tell me what happened." John appeared at his side and he put the phone on speaker.
"Everything...was...fine." She answered between sobs. "Then there was bullets and screaming and I don't...I don't know what happened. I can't remember."
"She's going into shock," Diggle said softly.
"Thea. Take a deep breath." He heard her suck in a breath and let it out slowly. "Now, tell me what you remember."
"There were men, so many men. But there was one I could never forget." His stomach dropped to the floor and his finger tightened on the phone, threatening to break the glass.
"He took her Ollie. He took her and Mom and I couldn't do anything to stop him. She told me to run but I didn't want to, but then he was there shoving her into a van and all I could do was run. I knew I needed to tell someone because..." Her voice broke. "Because all the guards are dead."
His worst fear had come true. He felt something fracture inside of him. But he couldn't break. Felicity needed him. His Mom needed him. His whole body turned to ice. He would get them back no matter the cost. Diggle was wrong. He was still a killer and he couldn't find it in himself to regret it at the moment. His soul or his family? There was and is no choice to make. He turned to Diggle whose gaze and stance was just as hard as his.
"Thea you did the right thing. I need to know. Are you safe?"
"I think so. I'm still at the house."
"I need you to stay there okay. I'll be there soon."
"Okay. Please, hurry." He hung up and turned to Digg who was already grabbing guns and extra ammunition from a drawer.
"Call Lance and Roy. Tell them to get to the Davenport Mansion." Diggle nodded and placed the calls.
He grabbed his bow from it's case and set it on the desk then shrugged out of his sweatshirt and pulled a t-shirt on quickly.
"You're not suiting up?"
"My identity is of little concern to me at the moment." Diggle grabbed his arm and he shrugged it off as he grabbed his quiver, shoving in extra arrows.
"This is Slade Oliver, we can't go in with a half baked plan. We need to be strategic about this and that means not going out as Oliver Queen. Revealing your identity to the public will only put them in more danger, not to mention you can't save them if the police decide to apprehend you. You'll do no good sitting in a jail cell."
"I can't think straight right now Diggle," he yelled, pacing and pulling at his hair.
"Well you're going to have to. Felicity is my sister and I will do anything, anything to save her. So take a step back and let's think about this logically."
He closed his eyes, took his own advice and sucked in a breath. When he opened them he felt calmer. He grabbed his suit out of the bag and dressed quickly fastening the strap of his quiver over his shoulder.
"We're going to save them Oliver."
He felt his whole body turn to stone, the blood in his veins no longer rushing, but frozen as he turned cold as ice. He picked up his mask settling it over his eyes and slid the hood over his head.
"We're fighting a war Oliver, I know. But don't forget who you are."
He picked up his bow and turned back to Diggle. "For you there's a few ways this could end..." He paused, thinking about the fear his Mother and Wife must be feeling. His blood started pumping again, his whole body surging with rage. "But for me...this only ends one way."
Understanding filled John's eyes and he holstered his gun, he knew it was no point arguing. A door banged and a moment later woman in black stood on the stairs.
"Who's ready to put an end to this one eyed psychopath once and for all?" said Sara, her voice dark. He and Diggle moved towards the stairs and as the three of them left the foundry he couldn't help but feel completely alone without Felicity in his ear.
She slowly drifted into consciousness, memories hitting her in rolling waves. She remembers Thea running. Her vision cuts out and a beeping noise rings through her skull. She sinks back into blackness only to return a few moments later. She can hear screams. Who's are they? Moira's? Hers? The ringing in her ears stop and her vision returns blurry. Her whole body ached from being shoved in a van. Is that what happened? She blinked slowly, forcing herself to focus on the nearest object, to take in her surroundings like Digg had taught her. Moira was lying on her side, tears running down her face, her arms angled strangely and hands tied behind her back. Her vision shifted sideways and she sucked in a breath drawing her attention.
"Felicity," she breathed, her eyes filling with worry. "Are you hurt?"
She took stock of her body, the cold cement of the floor seeping through her clothes. Her ribs ached, her wrists burned from being tied together roughly and her legs cramped but otherwise she was unharmed. But what about him? Dear God was her baby okay? He hadn't moved since she woke up. She struggled to sit up. Luckily her hands were tied in front of her so she was able to summon her strength enough to sit against a pillar. She press her fingers to her belly.
'Please...let him move.' she prayed. 'God, let him be okay.'
"I- I...can't. Moira I can't feel him. He's not moving," she whispered frantically, tears already pouring down her cheeks.
"Felicity, Felicity," she called. "It's okay, I promise everything is going to be okay."
She forced her back against the pillar, her whole body trembling, whether from stress or exhaustion she didn't know. She took a deep stuttering breath and tried to focus on something else.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine, I think my shoulders dislocated. I tried to fight them but they were so strong."
"Who did you try to fight?"
"Men in mask, soldiers." Moira shook her head as if to clear it. "As for what happened, I don't know. The last thing I saw was a man in full body gear. Another soldier, but it was like he was the leader of all the other men. His mask only had one eye opening.
"Slade," she whispered, the echoes bouncing off the walls of the warehouse. What was it with Slade and warehouses? Couldn't he be a little more inventive? Why did bad things always happen in Starling City? When this was all over she and Oliver were going to have a serious talk about moving. Definitely not Gothom considering they had a Bat problem. The last thing she needed in her life was another vigilante and she seemed to draw them like bee's to a flower.
She sat forward. "Oliver will come for us."
"I know," Moira said as she tried to move towards her. She gasped in pain and her eyes closed, her lips pressing together trying to stifle a scream.
"Don't move," she warned her.
'Use your surroundings.' Digg words echoed in her ear and she looked around the room for anything that could cut the ties around her wrist. She spotted a rusty screw sticking out of a stack of wood and started to scoot towards it, not trusting her legs to stand. It wasn't to far away so she reached quickly. The screw was covered in rust but she rather risk tetanus than stay trapped in ropes circling her wrist, especially when Moira was in so much pain and she could do something about it. She pressed her wrist together, her fingers facing outward and started to rub the threads against the jagged part of the screw. It didn't take long to loosen the bonds enough to slip out of them. She scrawled over to Moira on her hands and knees and helped sit her up, pushing her up against the pillar to rest. Her eyes were still closed, her skin pale white. "I can reset it but it's going to hurt."
Moira's eyes opened to slits. Her chin rose, that strength Moira Queen was known for shining through. "Do it."
"On three...one...two-" she set in right then and Moira let out a garbled scream that cut off a moment later. Her teeth ground together and her nails dug into her arm.
"That wasn't on three."
"I know, but it's better if you don't see it coming." Moira huffed weakly.
"How...how did you know how to do that?"
"Oliver's dislocated his left shoulder a few times. Most of the time he fixed it himself, but sometimes Digg helped. I watched. When you live my life it's good to have basic medical knowledge."
She slumped against the pillar, Moira's uninjured shoulder brushing hers.
"Are we alone?" she whispered.
"No, he left two of his soldiers."
So there was no escape, not without getting themselves killed. Her chest tightened and she could feel an anxiety attack coming on. She clutched at her chest and sucked in uneven breaths. Moira placed her hand on hers and she turned panicked eyes on her.
"Breathe Felicity, breathe." Her heart pounded and her palms turned damp. She couldn't get enough air in her lungs. She had to calm down. She had to find a way to calm down, for Moira and for the baby. "Felicity, tell me a story..." She paused squeezing her hand to keep her in the present. "Tell me about the day you met Oliver, tell me why you decided to help him."
Moira's blue eyes burned into hers and she nodded, her mind moving back to that day. The day that changed her life.
"He..." she took a breath. "He came in my office, I was working and when I turned around he was standing there." Her heart pounded in her chest and her head felt foggy. "He handed me a laptop riddled with bullets." She smiled at the memory, her breathing slowing slightly. "I knew he was lying but for some reason I helped him anyway."
"What happened after that?"
"He just kept coming back." Her face was towards Moira but she wasn't seeing her at all but an office with blue walls, lit up with computer monitors and towers. "With one ridiculous excuse after another."
"Then why did you help him?" Moira asked, her head tilting to the side.
"Because despite the lies, I still felt like I could trust him. I knew he was a good person."
Her heart beat a staccato against her ribs and she squeezed Moira's hand back, her breathing coming in little gasps.
"When did you know you loved him?" That made her stop. She had never been one to believe in love at first sight but she had to be perfectly honest and say that belief had flew out the window the day she met Oliver Queen.
"Unofficially? The day I met him. Officially? I wouldn't be able to tell you, because I don't know. It was slow, in the touches, the words of comfort, the way he would look at me. One day I woke up and it was just there...and I didn't even know when it happened." She closed her eyes and she could practically feel his arms wrapped around her. "I fall in love with him more everyday." A kick in her abdomen had her eyes flying open and her palm moving to her stomach. She turned tear filled eyes towards Moira before looking back down, her hands cupping her belly. "I can feel him, he's okay."
Moira choked out a sob, her chin falling to her chest.
"Daddy's coming, he always comes," she whispered to their baby as she leaned against Moira, her eyes drifting shut against her will. She felt cold fingers against her skin, pushing hair from her face but it wasn't enough to stir her awake.
Moira watched as the blonde drifted to sleep, finally understanding fully why Oliver loved her so much. He was her everything and she was his. She had no doubt Oliver would do whatever needed to be done to save her and his son. He had a family to
take care of. Her son was finally happy, and he had something extremely important to live for. She would never let her son miss out on that. She resolved that she would do whatever needed to be done, as long as it kept from her sons light getting snuffed out. Family was everything to her and it was time for her to prove it. She had promised she would. Moira Queen always kept her promises.
She pushed a piece of hair away from Felicity's face and pressed a kiss to forehead. How had a woman she hated became a woman she would trade her life for in a blink of an eye? It was like she was her own child and everyone knew what she did for her children.
Whatever it took.