I apologize immensely that it has taken me so long to update. I have no excuse other than life and other stories got in the way. But I promise I will have a more regular update schedule for the foreseeable future.

Ellie Bishop: Yep, Oliver's history with Lena actually causes a very significant change here in this chapter. Yep, which is why Lena would be a good match for Oliver: not only does she understand the morally grey aspects of what he does, she also won't hesitant to supply him with what he needs to carry it out. Dealing with Lex is something that will be addressed this chapter and later on. You actually find out the history between Roy and Lena this chapter.

CNRI

Afternoon

"We anticipate that Somers' attorney will try and paint you as blinded by grief or looking to make a buck," Joanna told Emily as the two of them and Laurel walked over to Laurel's desk.

"This isn't about money, I just want justice for my father," Emily said angrily.

"Emily, there are a lot of people who don't want this trial to proceed. Dangerous people," Laurel explained gently.

"My mother died when I was a baby, and my father has been the only family I've ever known and they slit his throat. They are going to have to kill me if they want me to give this up," Emily said passionately.

"Well let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Laurel said optimistically.

"And it won't."

Startled, the three women turned as Quentin walked in, three patrol officers trailing him.

"What's going on?" Laurel demanded, although she already had a pretty good idea.

"What's going on is that the three of you are getting around-the-clock police protection. Okay? Get used to their faces, because they're going with you everywhere you go, no arguments," Quentin said, directing this last part to his daughter.

"I'm a lawyer, I live to argue," Laurel said instantly.

"And I'm your father, I live to keep you safe," Quentin shot back, wishing she wasn't so stubborn as she turned away from him, angry.

He loved Laurel with all his heart and was insanely proud of her. But he wished she wasn't so hopelessly naïve about people like Martin Somers. Because one day, she'd bite off more than she could chew and he wouldn't be there to protect her.

"Um, Emily, let's go grab a cup of coffee, okay?" Joanna asked, grabbing Emily by the arm and leading her away from the impending argument.

"Go with them," Quentin told two of the officers and, as they followed, holding up his hand to stop the third. "Not you."

"Protective custody? I seem to recall you trying that once I discovered boys. It didn't work then either," Laurel snapped.

"This isn't a joke Laurel. Martin Somers got attacked last night," Quentin revealed, surprising Laurel.

"What? By who?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter. Point is, you have whipped up a storm with these guys, and until the dust settles you'll be protected, okay? End of discussion," Quentin warned her as he turned to leave.

"That might have worked when I was eight, But it's not gonna work anymore," Laurel said defiantly.

"End of discussion!" Quentin snapped as he turned back to her, at his wit's end. "You're insistent on doing your job, that's great. But this is me doing mine, okay? And not just as a father, but as a cop. These people, they are more dangerous than you are willing to admit. And you've made them angry."

Quentin then left, leaving Laurel musing on his words.

Docks

Night

China White walked into Somers office, wearing a red dress and high heels.

"Thank you for coming," Somers said in greeting.

"Anything for a friend," White quipped but Somers was unamused.

"We aren't friends. You smuggle drugs, I let you use my port," he pointed out.

"For which you're paid a lot of money," White shot back.

"I don't get paid enough to have arrows shot at me!" Somers snapped. "You need to take this guy seriously. He is a bigger threat to your operation than Nocenti ever was."

"Except now it's Nocenti's daughter who's the problem. And unlike your friend with the hood, we know where to find her," White pointed out.

"Don't be an idiot. You take out Emily Nocenti, and Laurel Lance will never let this go. She won't stop until she burns you, me, and then the entire Triad to the ground," Somers argued.

"Then we kill Ms. Lance," White said with a dark smile.

Queen Mansion, next day

Morning

Oliver was getting dressed in his room, watching a news report on Martin Somers as he did so. Unseen to him, Thea walked in as he grabbed his shirt. Thea stopped short as she saw Oliver's scar littered chest and back.

"Wait, how did you get those?" Thea asked in shock, alerting him to her presence.

"Don't you knock?!" Oliver claimed as he hurriedly put on his shirt.

"Door was open," Thea shot back as she walked over, grabbing his hand and forcing him to face her so she could get a better look. "Mom said there were scars but…"

Thea trailed off as she got a look at her brother's scars. Oliver silently cursed himself for not closing the door before he showered. He had never wanted Thea to see his scars, never wanted to shatter her innocence this way. She may be spoiled and engage in less than ethical behavior, but she was still innocent in the cruelty of the world. He had wanted her to stay that way.

"I… Oliver, what happened to you out there?" Thea finally asked once she could form words.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Oliver said bluntly after a moment, hurriedly buttoning his shirt. "You think you know pain, you think you know suffering but Speedy, you don't. What happened to me, what I went through…no one should ever have to imagine it. I don't want you to know."

"I guess I can get that," Thea said after a moment. "But Ollie, you've been home a week, you barely talk to anyone, you're out all night…You gotta let me in. You gotta let someone in."

Thea then walked out, leaving Oliver musing on her words.

Lena's apartment

Night

Lena was in her study, going over some paperwork when Roy entered, knocking lightly on the door.

"Lena, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor," Roy said and she looked up.

"Who?" Lena asked, wondering who would possibly come to visit her at her home.

It couldn't be Lex, and no one else had ever stepped foot in her apartment since the day she moved in.

Not long after, she walked into the living room, where Oliver was waiting.

"After our last conversation, I wasn't expecting you to show up here," Lena admitted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," Oliver said apologetically.

"No, it's fine," Lena said as she noticed Oliver was holding a brown paper bag. "What's in the bag?"

"Three years ago, we made a pact," Oliver said as he reached into the bag. "I think it's time to keep it."

As he pulled out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, Lena couldn't help but laugh. She remembered what he was talking about with perfect clarity.

ARGUS base, three years ago

As Lena did some work on the computer, Oliver had nodded off. He was mumbling in his sleep, Lena looking over at him as he muttered 'ice cream'.

"Oliver," Lena called out and he blinked away.

"Sorry, did I fall asleep?" he asked embarrassed.

"It's fine, you should get all the sleep you can," Lena said before pausing. "Did you just dream about ice cream?"

"Yeah. God, I miss ice cream," Oliver said longingly.

"Tell me about it. People think you miss the big things being held captive, but it's the little things like ice cream you end up missing the most," Lena said wistfully.

"Tell you what," Oliver said and Lena looked over at him. "If we both get out of this in one piece, let's just get a big tub of ice cream and pig out. My treat."

"Sounds like a plan," Lena said with a slight smile.

Now

The now empty tub of ice cream sat on Lena's end table as Oliver and Lena held two empty bowls.

"This is as good as I remember," Oliver said with a smile.

"I figured," Lea said with a laugh and it was silent for a moment, but not uncomfortably so.

"Nice place," Oliver said as he took a moment to look around.

It wasn't too fancy; it actually reminded Oliver a lot of his own room back at the mansion. It was…rather Lena, he mused.

"Well, after Roy and my brother, you're the third person to see it," Lena noted.

"Just us?" Oliver asked surprised.

"I…don't get many visitors," Lena admitted and it was silent for a moment.

"So, how did Lena Luthor end up having a kid from the Glades as her driver?" Oliver asked and Lena chuckled, not surprised he had dug into Roy.

"He tried to break into my car," Lena admitted, taking Oliver back. "A few months after I moved to Starling City, I was in the Glades for a charity event I was throwing. As I was making my way back to my car, I saw Roy trying to get the door open. He was arrested and put in holding. I could see he wasn't a bad guy, just someone who had been dealt a bad hand in life. I made a deal with him: I wouldn't press charges if he would come work for me. And he's been with me ever since."

"You really are amazing, you know that?" Oliver asked with a chuckle as she looked at him oddly. "Someone tries to steal from you and you give them a job. You are one of a kind."

"So…have you thought anymore about my offer?" Lena asked after a moment and he nodded.

"I spent most of last night thinking about it," Oliver admitted. "Lena, I want nothing more than to set you free from Lex. But I can't right now. Going after someone as high profile as Lex Luthor would put me in the crosshairs of people a lot more dangerous than the SCPD."

"I know. I'm not asking you do it right away. It's going to take months to plan and I'm also going to make sure it can't be traced back to Starling City's new vigilante. I just need you to promise me that one day, when I ask…you'll kill Lex," Lena said and Oliver was silent for a long moment.

"Like I said, I want nothing more than to set you free. As long as it doesn't interfere with what I'm doing here…I will gladly help you free yourself from that psychopath," Oliver said firmly.

Laurel's apartment

Same time

Laurel was working on the case, her laptop open when her hair suddenly stood on end. She didn't know what was wrong but something was up. She got to her feet just as the window behind her shattered. She whirled around as China White threw her knife at her. Before Laurel even had time to react, the knife had hit the wall. Feeling something wet on her throat, Laurel realized her throat had been slit as she gasped in pain. She fell to her knees, putting her hands at her throat before she fell to the floor as White walked over to her. For good measure, White pulled out a pistol and fired, getting Laurel in the back. Her job done, While then turned and walked out, fleeing though the window, leaving Laurel clinging to life.

I was going to finish up 1x02 with this chapter but come on, how could I not end it there?

I changed the scene where Thea tells Oliver it was Hell for to because, quite frankly, it just made Thea come off as ignorant. The idea that what Oliver went through was compared to Thea's cushy lifestyle is just laughable.

Hope you guys liked my backstory for how Roy came to work for Lena.

Is Laurel dead? Will she survive? You'll have to keep reading to find out.