Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow. BTW, post season 2 I cherry-pick what pieces of canon I like and dislike, so in this verse Andy wasn't a drug dealer, and I had always assumed he was Dig's elder brother, so in this he was.

Secondly, about Felicity and Oliver's talk. It will come. In the interlude between Season 1 and Season 2 (Felicity won't be running off to Lian Yu, given she's got a kid who needs his mother). So, hang in there and bear with me.

Read, enjoy and review!

"To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty."
― Stieg Larsson

Chapter Seventeen

To Exact Revenge

A fortnight after the second Vertigo crisis, Floyd Lawton once again returned to Starling. Felicity knew about his return because she had been shamelessly (and gleefully, because outsmarting or irritating Amanda Waller in any way caused her a deep sense of satisfaction and a vindictive happiness) hacking ARGUS since putting down the psychotic asshole claiming to be a physician, mental or not.

"Hey, boys," she called over her shoulder to where Dig and Oliver were sparring (Oliver had improved a lot over the past few months. Dig and she still far outclassed him, but he was managing to hold his own reasonably well now.). "I got something."

"I'm pretty sure this makes me a cyberterrorist now," she commented to them as her fingers continued to fly over the keyboards at light speed. "Escaping from Gitmo's gonna be a fucking nightmare." On the bright side, she had about five different off-shore accounts set up for herself under various aliases, and a few for Dig and Oliver, too.

"I don't think they send blondes there," Oliver joked, as the two men abandoned their stick fighting practice and joined her. "Oh, wait, I forgot that it's a dye job."

She shot him a mocking glare. "That claim stays in this base," she declared with a smirk. "Or I'll have no choice but to shoot you both to keep it quiet."

"Hey, so what'd you find out?" Dig interrupted, eager tension radiating from him.

Felicity turned serious. "So, it seems that Dig's friend Agent Michaels has laid a trap for Lawton," she announced, gesturing at the screen showing the basic details of the op. It was only an outline, however. She'd have to dig deeper to find out the when and where, etc.

"It seems that our old friend Deadshot is scheduled to meet with a potential new client here in Starling City this week. Except the potential contract is a sham. Agent Michaels is setting a trap for him, and Lawton took the bait."

"You got any more details?" Dig asked. "Where's it going down, and when?"

Felicity shrugged. "Haven't gotten that yet," she admitted apologetically. "Maybe you could talk to her, see if you can suss out any details?"

He frowned. "I'll try," he agreed. "But Lyla's good at her job, and loyal to her superiors. She might not tell me anything."

"I'll keep working on it," Felicity promised. He nodded, grabbing his jacket and rushing away with barely a goodbye.

"Should we be worried about him?" Oliver asked her lowly. She frowned at him, genuinely confused.

"Why would we be?" She blinked.

"It's like he's about to jump out of his skin," Oliver pointed out. "And he hardly seems to look away from the facial recognition programme. This can't be healthy for him."

"Neither is jaywalking or eating Coco Puffs, but we all still do it," Felicity said reasonably. She hesitated and sighed, reaching up to tug a hand through her blonde locks. "Look, I get where you're coming from, alright, Oliver? But Dig-he's not going to be able to get past his brother's death until he has closure from it, and he's not gonna have closure until Lawton's dead. Once Lawton's been dealt with, Diggle'll be back to normal."

"And what happens if Lawton gets away again?" Oliver wondered. "What then?"

Felicity raised her chin and met his eyes. "Then we go back to the start, and keep hunting him until either he's dead or we are," she stated firmly.

John hurried his pace to catch up with his ex-wife. "Lyla!" He called after her, but she didn't slow her step. He had a sinking feeling at the sight of her tense body language and the curt tone she used to greet him, but forged forward anyway.

"What's going on, Johnny?" She asked curtly, not even glancing at him.

"Just stopped by to see how things were going on your Deadshot investigation," he answered casually, heart in his throat. "Anything new come up?"

"Funnily enough, it did," she answered coldly, finally looking at him, though she didn't stop walking. "I was curious why you, a bodyguard, were so keen on taking down such a high-profile assassin, so I did some reading up on Lawton."

Dig sighed. So she had found out. He'd figured she probably would. "Lyla, listen," he began.

She stopped walking at last and turned to glare furiously at him, blue eyes dark with anger and betrayal. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out that he killed your brother?" She spat. "That you were using me-me!" Her hurt would've been hidden from anybody else, but he knew her too well. It made guilt twist his stomach. "To do what?" She went on angrily. "Draw him into the open so you could take him down yourself? I will not let you use my agency to settle your blood feud."

"Lyla," he growled back, grabbing her arm to keep her from stalking away. "I need to see this guy in a bag. You of all people should get that."

She knew how much he loved his brother. How devastated he, Carly and AJ had all been by his sudden death. They'd already been divorced by then, but they still cared for each other, and Lyla had come to the funeral, and stayed with him until he was recovered from the devastating blow. They'd always been prepared for the likelihood of one of them dying overseas, but home was supposed to be safe. Neither of them had considered that their bodyguard jobs would cost them their lives, not really.

"Get this," she bit back, blue-grey eyes flashing with warning. "Stay away from Lawton, Johnny, or so help me, I will have you arrested. You doubt me?" she added at the expression he wore.

He shook his head, face stony. "Never have."

Once she had gained all she could from the ARGUS files, Felicity pulled on a disguise that consisted of a red wig, brown contacts, a scattering of fake freckles, and a cheery yellow sundress with matching high heels. Then she headed off to the SNB, waited for ten minutes to speak to a teller, and asked to access her (or rather, Erin Matthews') security deposit box.

The box didn't have much in it, and a lot of what was there was purely for show, to disguise the thing of real importance. Felicity lifted out the USB, something that most would probably dismiss as holding old photos or whatever, and tucked it into her bag along with a few other things that she removed to hide her true objective.

"Ta!" She called to the helpful teller, in a fake British accent. "'ave a nice ev'nin'!"

"You too," the woman agreed warmly.

Felicity left the bank, her insurance policy against any ARGUS retaliation or arrest securely in her bag with nobody the wiser that she had just removed a USB containing classified government secrets from the premises.

/

The next morning, Oliver joined them in the base again. Felicity wondered briefly how he managed to get away from work so often. For herself, she was her own boss and set her own hours (plus she deliberately worked almost 24/7 to avoid sleep and the problems it brought with it), and Dig was still officially her bodyguard and thus just had to follow her around, but Oliver had to answer to his mother. Then again, Moira tended to let her children do what they liked, and nobody else would dare to question Oliver Queen (at least, nobody else at QC).

"What's that?" Oliver asked when he arrived, seeing the two vigilantes studying three screens full of information. "By the way, Will has a sleepover tonight, so he's going home with his friend's mother."

Felicity nodded, "Yeah, I remember," she replied. "And this is Agent Michaels' mission profile on the trap they've set for Deadshot."

"Lawton is set to meet his new employer and get his assignment tomorrow at 8 pm," Dig explained, studying the info Felicity had sent to his laptop as he paced the room. "Only, his new employer... Will be an ARGUS agent. Lyla will then swoop in with her team and arrest him."

Felicity and Dig locked eyes with one another. "Do you want Lawton arrested?" She asked him simply, voice low and serious.

"No," he admitted, expression dark.

She nodded simply. "Then tomorrow night, we cross Floyd Lawton's name off your list," she stated.

"Lyla says she'll have me arrested if I don't stay away from Deadshot," Dig admitted.

Felicity gave a tight smile that failed to reach her eyes. "That's not a concern," she promised, taking out the USB she'd collected the night before and showing it to the team. "This is our insurance against ARGUS. It's proof of various acts against foreign powers and other shit they're responsible for, including a, fortunately unsuccessful, attempt to shoot down a civilian aircraft headed from Berlin to China, to try and damage China's economy and kill a single woman. This will destroy the reputation of the US if this gets out, so Waller won't dare let it. This is a hard copy, but I have all the info online, hooked up to a programme. If certain criteria is fulfilled, or if it's activated outright, it will all be sent to every major news outlet in the world. And don't worry, Dig. Nothing on this will compromise anybody's identity or any current missions."

"That sounds dangerous," Oliver pointed out warily. "Actually, that sounds more than dangerous, that sounds like treason."

Felicity waved him off, eyes glinting darkly. "Waller and I have an understanding," she assured him. "She knows I have this, and she knows that I don't bluff. She won't risk it."

"Okay," Diggle nodded, content.

"Now," Felicity clapped her hands together. "Dig, you and I are gonna pull up the blueprints for this place and start planning how to put a bullet in Lawton's chest."

"A bullet?" Oliver asked in surprise. "Not an arrow?"

She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "What goes around, comes around," she smirked. "I figure it's only right, seeing as Lawton shoots people with poisoned bullets, that he die via a poisoned bullet."

"Sounds good to me," Dig declared venomously. Oliver still looked wary, but nodded and made his excuses, as he had a meeting for QC that he needed to attend. Meanwhile the other two members of the team started planning out their operation.

Starling City: February 19th, 2006

All in all, Felicity's labour lasted eighteen hours. It hadn't come as a surprise, given she'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions for over a fortnight, but they had still freaked out when her water broke. Even with the epidural, Felicity was obviously in agony, and Oliver wished more than anything that he could help her.

He did what he could, despite how feeble his attempts felt. He bathed her sweaty forehead with a damp cloth, fed her ice chips, agreed with her angry accusations that he was at fault for all her suffering and that of course, he would never dare touch her again. When the time came for her to push, her grip was so strong that she managed to crack the bones in two of his fingers.

Then, with one final scream, Felicity's moans of pain and exertion were replaced by the upset cries of a newborn, forced out of the warmth and protection of his mother's and into the cold, sterile hospital room.

"Is that, is that him?" Felicity rasped, wide eyed as she tried to crane her head to see their baby. "Is that our son?"

"Yeah," Oliver whispered. "That's him."

"Does Dad want to cut the umbilical cord?" Their OBGYN, a friendly woman who was one of the country's top gynaecologists, named Doctor Louisa Jordan, asked warmly.

Pale-faced, Oliver stumbled over. He could barely manage to drag his eyes away from the small, blood-covered form squirming in the nurse's arms, and his hands shook slightly as he carefully cut the cord.

"Oh, where're you taking him?" Felicity called anxiously as the nurse then turned to carry the baby over to the other side of the room.

"Don't worry, Felicity," Dr Jordan assured her, still between Felicity's legs as they dealt with the afterbirth. "We're just cleaning him and you up."

Oliver went over and watched, utterly awed, as the baby was washed up and bundled into a snug blue blanket. He'd never really been interested in babies before this, but even the way the infant wriggled fascinated him. The loud squalls, rather than being irritating, were utterly entrancing to his ears.

"Here we go, Mommy," the nurse announced cheerily, carrying the baby back to Felicity and handing him over. She held their son with more care than she would a brand-new computer, her own expression as amazed and adoring as Oliver was certain his own was.

"Hey there," Felicity half-laughed, half-cried as she gazed down at the baby. Oliver perched beside her on the bed, transfixed by the child in her arms. "Hey there, Baby."

"He's amazing," Oliver said huskily. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen." She shot him a brief, but radiant, beam, before promptly looking back at the baby. He couldn't blame her. The thought of looking away was almost painful.

"Have you guys chosen a name, or do you need longer to think about it?" Dr Jordan asked kindly.

They exchanged a look.

"You still happy with it?" Felicity asked softly. Oliver nodded.

"Yeah, I still like it," he confirmed. "You?"

"Yes," she smiled widely and turned back to the doctor, who was waiting patiently for them to finish their little sidebar. "His name is William Connor Queen," she announced proudly. Oliver could've sworn that not even an angel sent down from heaven could be a more beautiful sight than his wife, sweaty and exhausted and bereft of any and all traces of make-up, holding their newly born and crying son to her chest.

Remembering what he'd read in the books, Oliver carefully stuck out his finger, and an amazed grin tugged at his lips as the tiny digits wrapped around it instinctively. Despite knowing that Will's vision was nothing more than blurry shapes, if that, at the moment, he could have sworn the infant was gazing at him.

"Hello William," he whispered to him, feeling Felicity watching them. "We're your mom and dad, and we are so glad you're here, Bud. We love you, so much."

"More than the sun and moon and stars," Felicity added softly in agreement.

John pulled his Starling City Rockets baseball cap low to hide his features as he casually leaned against the wall.

"Freelancer, are you in position?" Felicity asked him via the comm.

"Yes, Artemis," he whispered back, unfolding a newspaper and flipping it open to the sports pages to add another barrier between himself and the ARGUS agents.

"Good," she murmured. "I'm about to patch us into the ARGUS comm network, but we'll need to maintain radio silence, otherwise they'll know we're here."

"Copy that, Artemis," he muttered. "Going to radio silence."

There was a buzz and some static, before he heard Lyla's voice whispering orders to her agents.

"Trap one, this is Harbinger," she murmured. "Wait for Lawton to enter and make contact. Then we'll take him down."

The Plaza was full of people, most, if not all, of whom were probably undercover ARGUS agents. Just above on the third level, Dig had spied a glimpse of metal that he knew was Felicity. There was a certain type of bitter irony in knowing she planned to turn Lawton's favoured weapon against him.

Dig felt a stab of gratefulness towards her. Never before had he had a friend as steadfast as Felicity Queen was proving to be. He had made the right decision all those months ago when he decided to join her crusade against crime, and this was the proof.

He tucked those thoughts away, returning to 'mission mode', as Oliver had sarcastically labelled it. Shielded from view by his newspaper, the pages of which he turned irregularly to maintain his cover, he studied the faces of everybody in the Plaza, whether they were maintenance workers, visitors, or whatever. But he couldn't see any sign of Lawton.

/

After twenty minutes, a man in a trench coat with a hat tugged low over his face strode into the Plaza. Dig braced himself, spying Lyla's own tension.

"Trap one, possible target acquisition," she warned. "Get ready."

Several 'cleaners' straightened and started to move away from their trolleys. John could see Lyla reaching for a gun hidden beneath her table. He braced himself, adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins, only for the man to pull off his hat and show that he was definitely not Deadshot.

"Stand down," Lyla ordered. "Maybe Lawton didn't take the bait after all."

A trickle of sweat made its way down the side of John's face as he surveyed the room tensely. He heard a click in the comm and Felicity spoke.

"I've unhooked us for a moment," she alerted him. Even with the voice modulator disguising her voice and emotions, he could pick up her concern. "Freelancer, something's off."

"I know," he agreed grimly. "Deadshot should have made contact by now."

Just then, a sharp crack to break through the low hum of the building. One of the undercovers collapsed, a pool of blood beginning to form around his head.

"We're blown!" Lyla yelled. "Take cover!"

"Fuck!" Felicity exclaimed. "Lawton knew!"

"Lyla!" John yelled in panic. He raced forward, grabbing his ex-wife and yanking her out of the way of a bullet. He yanked out his gun and fired back. Lawton was directly opposite Felicity's position.

"I'm going for him, Freelancer," Felicity warned. He could both hear and see her returning fire, but her placement made it awkward, and bullets were flying all over the place. "Stay in cover!"

"Like hell, you won't make it in time!" John objected. She would have to go down the stairs to avoid being shot, and race across the square, sans any sort of cover. "I can't let him get away!" He scrambled up and ran towards where the bullets were coming from, but Lawton cornered him in the stairwell. He aimed a gun at John's chest, and held what, to Dig's panic and fury, looked like a dead man's switch in the other. The tight grip Deadshot kept on the button reinforced Dig's fear.

"On your knees!" the sniper barked sharply. "On your knees. Hands behind your head." He smirked when Dig reluctantly followed the instructions. "I saw you coming a mile away. Thanks for tipping me off."

"I'll kill you for what you did to Andy," John snarled at him bitterly, loathing for the man before him twisting his chest.

"I'd be pulling this trigger right now, except there's nobody paying me," Lawton retorted. He tapped his chest with the barrel of his gun for half-a-second before once again aiming at John, giving no chance for the vigilante/bodyguard to attack. "There's space for you right here, right next to your brother. You'd do best to remember that."

"How about I shootyou instead?" Felicity hissed, having finally appeared, a handgun pointed at Lawton's head and her expression steely and unforgiving. John felt a surge of relief at the sight of her.

"You won't," Lawton smirked.

"Underestimating me tends to be a person's last mistake," the archer replied icily.

"Same for me," Lawton shrugged. "But I amn't underestimating you. The opposite in fact. But at the same time, I know your type, so I know what you'll do. There's a bomb up there, in my perch. Planted it on a pillar. It goes off, the roof'll collapse. All I gotta do is take my thumb off this trigger."

Deadshot showed them the trigger, and Dig felt his heart fall. Felicity glanced at him, an apology in her eyes, and he knew the choice she'd made. The same one he would have made in her position. He bowed his head in resignation as she lowered her weapon.

"Go," she ordered the assassin angrily. "But believe me, Lawton. I'll make you pay if it's the last thing I ever do. There are no lengths I won't go to for the people I care for. The world's a small place, and you can't escape me forever."

John saw a flash of unease cross the man's face, before he replaced it with his cocksure smirk and sauntered past the infuriated vigilante.

"Well, then," he said over his shoulder. "Looks like I'll be seeing you around, sweetheart."

The moment he was gone, the two of them were sprinting up the stairs, heading for the place where Lawton had set up his perch. As he had claimed, there was indeed a bomb in place, though thankfully it wasn't on a timer. Felicity crashed to her knees before it and began working urgently to disarm the bomb before the sniper could set it off, all the while Dig cursed and fumed.

Deadshot had gotten the best of them. Again.

Oliver was just finished tucking William into bed and entered his own bedroom, starting in shock when he found Felicity sitting on the bed, knees hugged to her chest and her chin resting on them.

"How'd it go?" He asked after a second. She glanced at him, her despondent expression saying more than any amount of words could.

"Lawton made the op," she informed him, leaning her head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her, stroking her arm. "He set up a trap of his own. Four agents are dead, and there was a bomb, though I managed to disarm it. Had an argument with the agents, but a call to Waller dealt with that. That's something, at least."

"How's Dig?" Oliver murmured.

She shrugged. "Angry, upset," she listed. "But, a bit more balanced too, strangely enough. It's like all of his anger boiled over. It's still there, still simmering, but now he's back to being Dig. He's not gonna be at peace until he has Deadshot's head on a platter, but I think, I hope, that he can breathe a bit again."

"Good," Oliver said. He eyed her. "You staying here tonight?" He wondered carefully. Her vulnerability was carefully hidden behind an even mask that he could see through as easily as glass.

"Am I welcome?"

"Lissy," his voice turned tender without him intending it. "You're always welcome."

She swallowed and nodded, eyes flicking to the floor for a brief moment before she uncurled from her huddle.

They went about getting changed, Felicity borrowing one of his shirts and leaving her panties on, then climbed into bed together. She had always fit in his arms as if she were made for them.

"We're gonna need to talk soon," she whispered to him, her breath ghosting over his sternum.

"I know," he agreed, because it was the truth. "But not tonight. Let's just go to sleep tonight."

"I do love you, you know," she added. "I never stopped."

"I love you too," he admitted. "Always have, and always will."