Ellie Bishop: Thanks, glad to hear it. No kidding.

Guest: Glad you enjoyed it. Glad you agree.

Verdant

Afternoon

Oliver was nursing a glass of scotch as he sat at the bar, deep in thought. Behind the bar, Sara eyed him for a moment before speaking.

"I've been trying to give you your space, waiting for you to open up," She said and he looked up at her. "But you're not eating; I know you're not sleeping. And when you do, your mom and Thea tell me you have nightmares. You can't keep going like this Ollie."

"I have to as long as Slade is out there Sara. You know what he is capable of," Oliver argued immediately.

"Which is why you need to take care of yourself. If you keep going like this, Slade will win no matter what you do. The nightmares…they're about Shado, aren't they?" Sara asked and Oliver's silence was her answer. "You did what you had to do, ok? Ivo was going to shoot Shado, or me, or both of us. It was an impossible choice."

"And I made it anyway," Oliver snapped.

"I knew Ivo better than anyone. No matter what, he was gonna kill Shado," Sara revealed and he looked at her confused. "She was the obvious threat, he was gonna kill her to take her off the board. It took me a long time to see him for what he was, even longer to accept that. But that is the truth Ollie. Ivo was a psychopath and Shado's death is not on you."

"Maybe...but Slade is," Oliver said after a moment. "When Ivo shot missiles at the island, I ran towards Shado. Slade followed me, probably trying to stop me from getting myself killed. That's how he got hurt. If I hadn't been so reckless…maybe Slade wouldn't have needed to be injected with the Mirakuru, maybe everything would be different."

"Ollie, you are torturing yourself, trying to find some way to blame yourself for Slade. Here are the facts: Slade is a monster. He is coming after us and our families. And if you keep running yourself ragged, Slade will win, every time. Slade is trying to get in your head and you are letting him. And as long as you do, it doesn't matter if Slade is still out there or not, you've already lost," Sara said passionately.

For a moment, the bar was silent, save for Sara's breathing. Oliver stared at her, a blank look on his face before his phone buzzed with a text.

"It's Felicity," Oliver said after pulling it out. "She's got something on Virgil."

Not long after, Oliver and Sara walked down into the lair, where Felicity, Roy, Diggle and Lyla were already waiting for them.

"What do you have?" Oliver demanded as they made their way over to the computers.

"This," Felicity said as she brought a 3D image of a golden coin. "Recognize it Sara?"

"Yeah, Virgil had it when Roy, Lawton and I met him," Sara remembered as Roy nodded.

"13th century gold. Or so he would have everyone believe. It's a fake," Felicity said as a green square centered in on the center, revealing something inside. "There's a microchip hidden inside. But what's more interesting is what's in it."

"Vigil was using it as a storage device for all kinds of data, including forged credentials to the Markovian embassy. There's a delegation there tonight with a guest of honor you may recognize Johnny," Lyla said as Felicity pulled up an image that made Diggle almost start.

"Gholem Qadir. I thought he was locked up," Diggle said in shock.

"DOD turned Qadir loose a few years ago. Since then, he's reinvented himself as a humanitarian while keeping up his old habits on the side. Earlier in the week, Waller sent in a team to take out a nerve agent that killed men, woman and children," Lyla explained. "Qadir lost everything."

"And now he wants to make a deal with Dante to start it all up again," Roy realized.

"We can assume so. Given that ARGUS may have been compromised, we'd like to ask for your help in bringing in Dante," Lyla said.

"We'd love to help, but one problem: none of us know what Dante looks like," Oliver pointed out.

"But we know someone who does," Lyla said uncomfortably as she looked over at Diggle, who knew who she was talking about immediately.

"Lawton," he said in a growl.

"He's the only one who's laid eyes on Dante. It's a complicated world Johnny," Lyla said tiredly as Oliver began to get an idea on why Diggle and Lyla had gotten divorced.

"She's right," Oliver said and Diggle looked at him incredulously. "Lawton is the only one who knows what Dante looks like. Dante is our only lead on Emiko and Slade right now. We don't have a choice John. Tell Waller we'll do it."

Markovian embassy

Night

"Canary on sight," Sara said over the Comms as she walked through the crowd.

"I see eleven, twelve guards in this room alone," Diggle said as he surveyed the room. "We'll need to move on Dante immediately after the meet."

"Agreed," Oliver's modulated voice said over the Comms. "Copy that Deadshot?"

"Copy Mr. Arrow," Lawton said mockingly from where he stood by the cabinet of artifacts. "Can't wait for you to meet Dante."

"Joke all you want, when this is over, it's me and you," Diggle said in a growl.

"Enough fighting," Oliver barked over the Comms. "Remember the objective. Overwatch, what's your status?"

"First, loving the codename. Second, the feed is live but five cameras are down in the southeast corridor," Felicity said over the Comms.

"Three guesses why," Diggle said dryly.

"It's where the meet will happen and Dante doesn't want eyes on it. It's classic Dante," Lawton noted.

"Qadir is here," Diggle said as he saw the man moving through the crowd with some bodyguards.

"We need to move, now," Sara ordered.

"I agree. Everyone, converge at the south corridor," Oliver ordered.

Not long after, Qadir met with Virgil, who led him into a room. From the other side entered a bearded man in a suit.

"Mr. Qadir, at last we meet," Dante said as they shook hands.

"Lawton, that him?" Diggle asked as they all watched from a distance.

"Yep, Dante's not someone you forget meeting," Lawton muttered as he stared at Dante grimly. "This better work or I'll actually pay Waller to blow off my head."

Dante and Qadir sat across from each other as Qadir's guards stood watch.

"I understand you wish to make a deal," Dante said. "And under normal circumstances, I would be interested. However, you are simply a pawn. Forgive me."

Without warning, Virgil suddenly pulled out a pistol and shot Qadir's guards in the head, killing them instantly. Quad didn't even have time to turn and look before Dante pulled out a knife and threw it at him. It stuck him in the chest as Virgil opened fire at where Sara and Diggle were stationed.

"We've been made!" Diggle shouted over the Comms.

Dante stood up and walked over to Qadir's lifeless body, removing the knife before walking off as Virgil kept Sara and Diggle at bay by firing at them. However, he was suddenly thrown back as a bullet him in the head, killing him almost instantly as Lawton lowered his gun.

"Dante's headed for the south exit, let's move," Lawton barked, his heart racing.

Outside, Dante exited the building when hi hair stood on end. Pulling out twin daggers, he cut down an arrow, stopping it just in time. Several feet from him, The Hood stood in his path, aiming another bow at him.

"Mr. Queen. Your sister sends her regards," Dante said mockingly.

The two rushed each other, Oliver whirling his bow as Dante tried to strike him with his knives. Oliver blocked with bow before sending a spinning kick towards Dante's face. Dante was struck in the face and stumbled back as Oliver tried to strike him with his bow. Dante ducked before sending a kick towards Oliver's face. Oliver dodged this before grabbing Dante's arm and tossing hm into the side of the building. Dante got up before a shot rang out. He was hit in the neck with a tranq dart, stumbling back before falling to the ground. Oliver looked over, seeing Lawton standing there with a nod.

ARGUS base

Later

"With Dante in custody, we may have a link to the Ninth Circle," Waller said as she, Oliver, Diggle, Sara and Lyla stood in the control room. "But he's not talking. And if what Floyd Lawton said is true, that ARGUS has been infiltrated, I think its best we keep him somewhere off book until he's ready to talk."

"Seems the best course of action, considering how prepared Virgil and Dante were for us," Lyla noted. "We have no idea how deep this goes."

"Just one problem," Oliver said as they all looked over at him. "I trust you Amanda about as much as I trust a tiger not to eat me alive. I'm not letting you put my only lead somewhere I can't get to him."

"I know. Which is why I have a compromise," Waller said and Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Let Mr. Diggle come with me as I put him away. He can monitor what happens and report back to you as we interrogate Dante."

For a long moment, it was silent. Then, Oliver looked over at Diggle, who looked stunned.

"What do you think?" Oliver finally asked.

"I think it sounds crazy, as crazy as this whole thing. But, it might be our only chance at getting close to Emiko and Slade. So I'll go," Diggle said, looking like he'd just swallowed a lemon.

"Good. Then we're all in agreement," Amanda said smugly. "Say your goodbyes Mr. Diggle. This may be the last time you see your friends for a while."

Arrow lair

Later

"So Dig's off with Amanda Waller? What kind of sick, twisted world are we living in?" Felicity muttered as Sara and Oliver told her and Roy the whole story.

"I don't like it any better than you Felicity, but it was the best option," Oliver said with a sigh. "It's been a long night. I think you should both go home, get some rest. We pick up here in the morning."

"I'd say let's get to work, but tomorrow's my first day back at the bar, so I kind of need to get some sleep. I'll see you guys in the afternoon," Roy said, waving at them before walking off.

"I can't believe this is my life now," Felicity muttered before following after Roy, leaving Oliver and Sara alone.

"You were right," Oliver said once they were alone and Sara looked at him curiously. "I was letting Slade win. Not anymore."

"Good. Because if we're gonna stop him, you're gonna need to be at one hundred percent," Sara said and Oliver nodded.

"I've been letting him win. Now, it's time to fight back," Oliver said darkly.

Plane

Same time

In the back of the plane, Diggle and Waller stood facing Dante, who stared at them blankly. His hands were wrapped in chains, which were bound to the floor.

"What are you gonna do with him?" Diggle asked Waller.

"Once we reach our destination, we need to make him talk. By whatever means necessary," Waller said stoically. "Dante is someone who deals only in extreme measures Mr. Diggle. It would be naïve to think anything less than extreme measures will break him."

"Ms. Waller," an ARGUS agent said as he and one other agent entered the room. "We've set course."

"Good," Waller said as she turned back to Dante. "It's time for him to be useful."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

Dante smirked as Diggle, Waller and the two agents whirled around. A dark haired woman entered the room, Diggle and the two agents each pulling out a pistol and taking aim.

"Who are you? How'd you get on his plane?" Waller demanded as she stepped forward and the woman only smirked.

"I thought the director of ARGUS would know all about me. My name is Isabel Rochev. As to how I got on, one of your agents let me in. You have no idea how deep the Ninth Circle has infiltrated ARGUS," Isabel said with a smirk.

Suddenly, two shots rang out. Waller was stunned to see her agents fall to the floor, each with a bullet wound in their head. She whirled around to see Diggle aiming his gun at her just before he pulled the trigger.

She was hit in the chest and immediately fell to the ground, pain paralyzing her. She gasped weakly as Diggle walked over until he was standing over her. He then aimed his gun at her and pulled the trigger two more times, shots ringing out. She did not move again.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Dante let out a chuckle of amusement.

"Well done. Welcome back Mr. Diggle," Dante said and Diggle chuckled.

"Sir, I think we both know I never left the Ninth Circle."

The idea of Diggle being a member of the Ninth Circle was something that occurred to me as I was trying to figure out a way to make the Ninth Circle more than just Slade and Emikio's goons. But, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Diggle being a Ninth Circle spy would certainly explain quite a few of his actions over the years: his tendency to hold grudges against Oliver, his advice to Oliver benefiting him far more than Oliver, his outright refusal to take Oliver's advice on several occasions, his flexible loyalty to Oliver, his inability to understand certain situations or decisions those close to him make that a soldier should understand, his hypocritical judgement of morally grey decisions Oliver and Lyla make while making morally grey decisions himself, his extreme reaction to Oliver taking back the hood, his tendency to blame Oliver for things that are not his fault, the list goes on and on. Diggle being a Ninth Circle spy would just explain so much.

And to the inevitable Diggle fanboy who will tell me that Diggle is Oliver's true brother and blah blah blah: I've made it very clear by now that I don't see Diggle as a good friend to Oliver, much less a brother, nor do I have a high opinion of Diggle as a character. The fact you've continued to read my stories knowing my views and then leave me hate mail says far more about you than it does about me.

Anyway, I'm not sure when I'm going to update again, because I burned my thumb last night, nothing serious but I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done this week, because right now, I have only hand for writing, which is more difficult than you imagine. So for now, hope you guys enjoyed this.