Ellie Bishop: It certainly does. When a villain screws with a hero well, it certainly is enjoyable. Yep. You'll find out soon.

Guest: Glad you enjoyed it. Glad it makes sense. Yep, poor all of them. You'll see on Sin. Glad to hear it. Thank you, you as well.

Queen Mansion

Morning

Oliver was in the sitting room, watching a news report about the search for Slade and Diggle. Oliver turned it off just as Sara walked in.

"So, where are we on Slade?" Sara asked.

"Exactly where he is, nowhere," Oliver said grimly. "We have the SCPD, ARGUS and the Bratva looking for him but nothing so far. At the moment, all we can do is wait."

"Go on with our lives while we wait for news," Sara noted and he nodded. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be heading to work?"

"I will be once my new driver gets here. And there he is now," Oliver said as the new driver entered the room.

"Funny Oliver," Roy said dryly as he straightened his tie, uncomfortable in his suit. "You sure this is a good idea?"

"Slade took you once before, I'd rather keep you close to me," Oliver told him.

"How are you feeling Roy?" Sara asked concerned.

"Well, I was kidnapped, had a tattoo applied to my back against my will, my boss fired me since I couldn't explain why I was unreachable and didn't show up for two shifts and my girlfriend turned out to be a psychopath. I'm not having the best week," Roy said with a sigh. "I feel like I should have known."

"You couldn't have known Roy, any more than I could have about John. They hid their true selves from us, projected themselves as the people they wanted us to see them as. It's not your fault Roy," Oliver assured him. "They wanted us to trust them, to love them. And we did."

"Roy…did you love her?" Sara asked gently and Roy was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. Maybe. I cared about her…a lot. I was trying to work up the courage to talk to you about maybe telling her my secret. How pathetic is that?" Roy asked in self-loathing.

"It's not pathetic at all. You cared about her and wanted her to know who you were," Oliver said, understanding as he remembered his own desire to tell Laurel his first year back. "There's nothing pathetic about that Roy. Don't blame yourself. There's only one person we can blame for all this."

ARGUS base

Same time

Lyla was in the briefing room, staring at a computer screen that showed three images: satellite photos of Slade, Dante and Diggle. She seemed to be lost in thought when an ARGUS operative walked up behind her.

"Director Michaels," he said, addressing her by her ne title.

"Alan. Anything new to report?" Lyla asked without looking away from the screens.

"No. I'm sorry, we have no new leads," Alan said before pausing. "I know it's probably not my place but…I'm sorry. I know how close you were to Mr. Diggle. I can't imagine what it's like."

For a few moments, Lyla did not respond. Then, she spoke in a resigned voice.

"What I've realized over the last days is that the John Diggle I knew, the man I loved, the man I married…he died a long time ago. He died with his brother. Who he is now…is just a monster wearing his face. And I will stop him," Lyla said darkly.

Queen Consolidated

Later in the morning

"So how does it feel?" Oliver asked as he and Roy stood in the elevator.

"Weird," Roy admitted as he looked down at his security card. "Feels weird, taking Dig's place. I still can't believe it."

"Tell me about it," Oliver said as the doors opened.

They had barely stepped when they were confronted by a member of the security.

"Mr. Queen, I'm afraid you and your employees will have to evacuate the building," the officer said.

"Why?" Oliver demanded.

"A suspicious package was found in your office this morning. Bomb squad's on the way," he said.

"Any indication where it came from?" Oliver asked an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"No return address, but the sender is an Emiko Adachi," the guard explained.

At this, Oliver brushed passed the guard and headed towards his officer.

"Sir, I can't allow you to-"

"Then quit!" Oliver snapped as he entered his office, Roy right behind him.

"You sure about this Oliver?" Roy asked uncertainly as they say the large crate. "I mean, I like getting blown up as much as the next guy-"

"Slade and Emiko haven't spent all this time going after us just to let it end in an explosion," Oliver said as he grabbed a metal ledge he kept hidden.

Oliver then used it to break open the box, lifting off the lid. Sliding it open, Oliver and Roy stared down inside as they saw a rotting skeleton lying atop a slab of concrete.

"What the Hell?" Roy asked in shock.

"His name is Henry Goodwin," Pike said as he talked to Oliver and Roy outside the office as officers swarmed around the body. "He was a local councilman in the early 2000's. He was reported missing in 2002, and declared dead in 2003."

"Never heard of him," Oliver admitted.

"Which begs the question why this Emiko Adachi would send a twelve year old body to your office. Have you ever heard of her?" Pike inquired.

"No," Oliver lied and Pike eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"Well, the only Emiko Adachi we've been able to find was a young woman who went missing seven years ago. Why she'd resurface now just to send this to you is beyond us. We'll keep digging though, see if we can find nay leads," Pike promised.

"Of course, thank you Lieutenant," Oliver said politely and Pike nodded before walking off.

"Any idea why Slade and Emiko would send this to you?" Roy asked once Pike was out of hearing range.

"I don't know. But there has to be some kind of connection here," Oliver said lowly.

Safe house

Afternoon

"There has to be a connection," Oliver declared as he, Roy, Sara, Moira, Thea and Felicity stood in the living. "Slade and Emiko don't do anything without a reason. We need to know what that is."

"Well that's easier said than done Oliver. I mean, we're still trying to locate Dig, Slade and Emiko," Felicity pointed out.

"ARGUS and the Bratva are already working overtime to find them. While they handle that, I need you to look into Councilman Goodwin, see if there is a connection between him and Emiko," Oliver ordered.

"It might be a good idea to look into Emiko's mother as well. Her name is Kazumi Adachi," Moira added.

"Well, I'm not sure how much help I can be with just my laptop," Felicity pointed out.

"Which is why it's time to show you the downstairs," Oliver said simply.

Not long after, Oliver opened a door at the end of the hall, revealing a staircase. He led them all down the stairs before flipping on a flight switch. The room was flooded with light and they could see what was in it.

There a few tables, a weapons cabinet, and a computer desk. Felicity looked around, suddenly nostalgic.

"This is how your first lair looked when you recruited me," Felicity noted and Oliver nodded.

"Computers are as high processed to. Should be more than enough to help you find what you need," Oliver said and she nodded.

"Right, I'm on it," Felicity as she walked over to the computers and sat down, beginning to get to work.

Starling City Police Department

Not long after

"First Diggle turns out to be a member of the Ninth Circle, and then Emiko sends a twelve year old body to Oliver's office. The Ninth Circle is turning out to be as much of a threat as Slade," Laurel noted as she and Quentin talked, Laurel having stopped by on her way to lunch with a friend.

"You don't have to tell me," Quentin said dryly.

"I still can't believe Diggle was playing Oliver all this time. How could Arsenal not tell us?" Laurel asked in disbelief.

"I don't think he knew," Quintin admitted and Laurel looked at him incredulously. "I've been thinking about this the last few days. The only reason he revealed himself now is because Emiko and Slade are working together. Which means in the timeline where we visited, Diggle had five more years to maintain his cover. Five more years to gain Oliver's trust, to destroy his team from the inside. It might have been decided that Diggle was more valuable as an inside man. Then, when Oliver defeated Emiko, he was planning his revenge."

"But Oliver dies in the Crisis before he can," Laurel got where he was coming from and Quentin nodded.

"Then, as a final 'screw you' to Oliver, Diggle spends the rest of his life making sure everything Oliver fought for was for nothing, making sure to stop Oliver's team from actually succeeding at his mission," Quentin finished. "As far as evil plans go, it's not bad."

"Officer Lance," father and daughter turned around to see Pike with a grim look on his face. "I'd like to see you in my office."

"Of course, be right there," Quentin said as he turned back to Laurel. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright. I'll see you later."

"See you later," Laurel echoed before kissing him on the cheek and walking out.

Quentin then followed Pike into his office, silent until the door shut behind them.

"If this is about what happened with Slade Wilson-" Quentin started.

"It's not," Pike cut him off. "As much as I disagree with your methods, I can't deny you were right. And after Moira Queen's intervention, the DA won't be pressing charges. This is about what happened this morning at Queen Consolidated. I take you've heard?"

"Of course, the whole department's talking about it. What's going on? Quentin asked confused.

"The concrete the body was found with is a proprietary formula. It's owned by a specific construction company. The killer's DNA is underneath Goodwin's fingers," Pike explained.

"So why do you look like you just lost your best friend? You can't ID a suspect off all that?" Quentin asked wearily.

"No. That's the problem, I did ID a suspect," Pike said as he picked a folder off his desk and handed into Quentin.

Wearily, Quentin took the folder and opened it. As he read it, his eyes widened in horror.

"Son of a bitch," Quentin breathed.

"Given your history with the Queen family, I felt that it would be better coming from you," Pike explained.

Queen Consolidated

Later in the afternoon

"So, I hear you got a present this morning," Isabel said as she walked into the room as Oliver was doing some paperwork.

"I'm not in the mood Isabel," Oliver said lowly.

"Well you better get in the mood. If this affects the company, we need to be prepared for it. So, what do you know so far?" Isabel said as he looked up at her annoyed.

"The body is of Henry Goodwin, a Councilman who went missing twelve years ago. That is literally all I know right now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do," Oliver said annoyed.

"Mr. Queen," the two paused as Roy entered, Quentin trailing behind him. "Ms. Rochev. I'm sorry to interrupt, but Officer Lance wanted a word."

"Oliver, can we speak privately?" Quentin asked as he saw Isabel.

"Is this about Councilman Goodwin?" Isabel demanded and Quentin didn't answer. "It is, isn't it? Whatever you can say to Oliver, you can say in front of me."

"Detective, you won't get her to leave, so just say it. Do you have a suspect?" Oliver inquired.

"Yeah, you could say that," Quentin said lowly before sighing, deciding to rip the band aid right off. "It's your father Oliver."

"…What?" Oliver asked after a moment, completely shocked.

"The concrete came from Wellward Construction, which used to be a subsidy area of Queen Consolidated before it was shut down. And the DNA under Goodwin's fingernails is a match for Robert Queen. I'm sorry Oliver but it looks like your father killed Goodwin," Quentin said remorsefully.

Oliver leaned back in his chair, completely shocked as he tried to process. This couldn't be true, it just couldn't.

Starlin City

Same time

"We have no new leads on any of them," a Bratva member said as he and two others followed Anatoly into the garage. "Why do we continue to track them? This is Oliver Queen's fight, is it not?"

"Because Slade Wilson is a menace. He will not be satisfied with just one city. He will not stop until all his enemies are dead," Anatoly said grimly.

They entered the garage and stopped, staring in horror. All their brothers were on the floor, dead, lying in pools of their own blood. And standing in the center was Slade, in his Deathstroke suit.

"Welcome home, Mr. Knyazev," Slade said ominously.

Slade then raised a pistol and opened fire. One of Anatoly's men was killed with a shot to the head as Anatoly and the others ducked, Anatoly's men opening fire. But the bullets bounced off his armor.

"You are wasting your bullets," Slade advised before returning fire.

The two Bratva members were hit, one in the head and one in the best. Both were killed instantly. Anatoly moved to flee but Slade was suddenly there. He pressed his foot down on Anatoly, pinning him to the floor. Slade then grabbed his arm and bent it backwards, not far enough to break it but enough to cause pain. Anatoly let out a pained cry as Slade stared down at him coolly.

"I'm going to let you live, for one reason: you're going to give a message to Oliver for me," Slade told him.

Since Oliver didn't hand over the company to Isabel, Slade needed another way to distract Oliver, so the Goodwin reveal happens three seasons earlier.