I am SO SO SO SORRY for the wait for this chapter, i have been flat out with work, i have been getting as much done as i can and have finally finished it. Thank you so much for the love from the last chapter and i hope this is worth the wait. I promise, Oliver will be home soon :D
Chapter 15 – Run To Me
Oliver hated running. It was the one thing he had never wanted to do in his life, granted he preferred to get his cardio workout in bed, running was the one thing that Oliver Queen never thought he would find himself doing. And yet every time he found himself running, chasing or just hiding, Oliver found the running almost freeing.
But God, Oliver hated running.
Over the last almost 2 and half years, any time Oliver ran, it meant that he was in danger, it meant that someone trying to hurt or kill him. And that wasn't fun, none of that was fun. But still he moved, pushed his legs faster through the streets of Russia, not really sure exactly which parts of Russia he was in but Oliver never really wanted to stop long enough to think about it.
Once he had regained consciousness after crashing against the dumpster, he had been able to get his bearings fast enough that he was able to sweep the legs out from one of the men headed his way, throwing his whole-body weight behind his shoulder, Oliver was able to throw the other man off his feet but Oliver didn't not hang around.
Scrambling to his feet, Oliver rushed from the scene, glancing back quickly as he ran around the corner of the building, huffing out a breath, pain from the fall settling in. He barely had a chance to skid to a stop before he ran into the forearm of another man who was waiting for him. Sending him crashing to the ground, his head colliding with the concrete painfully, darkness taking over
Drip
Drip
Drip
Drip
Oliver was getting really, really, really tired of being in this situation. He'd fought so hard to survive when he was on the island and when he was working and training with Waller. He had fought to keep himself going and make sure he was the one that came on top but somehow, he always ended up in a dark room, tied up and beaten. Granted this time around it was the first two that got him right now but he was prepared for whatever was going to come his way.
Silently, Oliver was thankful that Anatoly had taken the time to teach him Russian, granted it was not much but he knew it was better than not knowing anything at all. He had been able to gain a bit of an understanding of what was happening but it was only very few words at this point, he could only hear pieces of what was being spoken.
He had no idea how long he had been tied to the chair, his shoulders ached and his wrists hurt from the handcuffs but at least he was dry, the bag over his head only let in a small amount of light, shadows and movement around him but he could not make out anything. Instead, Oliver used this time to work on his hearing. Some of the people he worked with – if you could call it that – at ARGUS had talked to him about using his hearing to focus on what was around him, honing that skill.
And so that's what he did, he listened, listened to the rain and the wind, listed to the creaking of the building and swaying of the light above his head. The constant dripping of from the room above him, it wasn't far, maybe a meter to his left. He could hear the rhythms of the trains outside the building, going past every half hour on the dot.
In the background he could hear the downpour of rain that had been happening for what seemed like hours, the wind had picked up and granted it was cold wherever he was, it was better than being cold and wet. He was hungry, the only other noise that broke the silence of the room was his stomach begging for food. Dropping his head, Oliver let his mind wander for a moment, anything to keep his thinking off his hunger.
The sudden sound of a door scarping open caught his attention, it came from behind him – to the right and each step the person took to stand in front of him, twelve in total. Then silence again, the soft steady breathing of the new person, a male. "Oliver Queen, my brother." Oliver's head shot up instantly, he knew that voice, he'd recognize it anywhere in the world. He felt his shoulder drop in relief, Anatoly.
Anatoly was there, someone he knew and someone who could help him. Oliver could not say how happy he was to hear Anatoly's voice after everything he had been through. A familiar person and a friend. Something that Oliver had missed and desperately needed after being in the situations he had been in over the last 2 and a half years.
Then there was movement again, Oliver felt the air move around him as Anatoly leaned closer, the bag ripped from his head, the stark, bright light assaulting his sense. Squinting for a moment, Oliver smiled, huffing out a laugh as he focused on the man in front of him. Anatoly was dressed nicely, a three-piece suit tailored to his body, his facial hair clean and neat. A different man to the one he met on the island, a time that felt like a life time ago. "Anatoly, it is very good to see you." Oliver laughed again; he was deliriously happy to know that Anatoly was there.
Anatoly smirked at Oliver, it was clear that he had been there a while, thirst and hunger had taken over, Oliver's lips were chapped and dry from the lack of water. Taking a step closer to Oliver, Anatoly leaned over, reaching around his back, placing both of his hands on Oliver's. "What are you doing?" Huffing out another laugh, Oliver scrunched his face as Anatoly's movements, unsure of what the other man was doing.
But Anatoly stay silence, a gentle movement on Oliver's thumbs and then a sharp and forceful press down. The sound of Oliver's knuckles cracking and the sharp cry from Oliver's lips echoed off the walls. Oliver sucked in a painful breath, his body shaking from pain that he almost missed the sound of the handcuff clattering to the concrete floor, freeing him from his situation. "I just dislocated thumbs. Useful if getting tied to chair is to become habit."
Anatoly smirked back at Oliver as he watched the seated man cup his hands his chest, his mouth dropped open in pain, the silent cry falling from his lips. "This will hurt little bit" Oliver almost missed Anatoly's words but he felt the pressure back on his thumb, movement back the opposite direction, popping them back into place.
Oliver wasn't sure what hurt the most, dislocating his thumbs or putting them back into place but the overall pain send him over the edge, he rocked back in the chair, his feet lifting off the floor only to slam back into place when Anatoly stepped away, "Son of a bitch!" he cried loudly, glaring at Anatoly as the other man smirked back at him.
"With a bit of practice, you can do yourself." Anatoly shrugged, seemingly undeterred by Oliver's annoyance and pain. Oliver sucked in a few breaths, trying to steady himself even just a little but it didn't help, his whole body seemed to revolt against him.
Oliver leaned over, still in pain, his hands clutched to his chest protectively. His voice dropped to a growl, "Anatoly can't you bring a knife next time! Argh!" It hurt. Oliver had had a lot of pain over the last few years but the intense pain that radiated from such a small spot on his body was almost overwhelming. He could have chalked it up to the lack of food and water also. His body was exhausted, at least when he was on the island and with Waller, he got time to sleep and even eat and drink but here he had been strapped to the chair and left alone.
Anatoly watch Oliver for a minute, thinking before he spoke until a bright smile erupted on his face, "Where is fun in that?" He laughed deeply at Oliver, amused by his friends' pain. "My old friend, I thought you dead!" Anatoly held out his hand for Oliver, raising him to his feet unsteadily.
Grunting animalistically, Oliver side-eyed Anatoly as they moved towards the door he had come from minutes earlier. Oliver was right, the rain had been falling for a while, the puddles on the asphalt were wide and deep. Gingerly, Oliver pulled his jacketed closer to his body, trying to keep the cold off his skin. "Well if you hadn't shown up, I probably would be." Oliver wasn't stupid, he knew that if Anatoly hadn't found him it wouldn't have been long before he died, overcome from dehydration and hunger.
Anatoly motioned Oliver towards the car that was waiting for him, god Oliver hoped the heating was on inside. Both men rushed to the car, feeling their clothes starting to soak through with the rain, Oliver just wanted to be inside somewhere warm.
Once inside the back of the car, Anatoly leaned over to driver, speaking in quiet Russian while Oliver rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up but also get feeling back to them after Anatoly had caused him pain. "It's good to see you Oliver. What are you doing in Russia?"
What story could Oliver spin to Anatoly that wouldn't make it sound like complete bullshit? But then Anatoly had been with Oliver on the island for long enough that he knew that this man deserved more than a bullshit story. Oliver shrugged, his hands now rubbing against his chest to try and warm that part of his body up. "I was dumped here by the American Government. It seems they had no use for me anymore."
At the raised eyebrow that Anatoly gave him, Oliver proceeded to retell Anatoly the last few years that he had been left on the island to being picked up and trained to torture by Waller, to how he was taken back to Starling City where he had seen his family and Felicity even though they were threatened if they found out he was alive.
Anatoly just shook his head, "Nothing ever simple with you Oliver Queen." Oliver huffed; he had that right. After everything that happened to him, none of it was simple.
"You're what…a Bratva boss or something?" Oliver had remembered a time on the island that Anatoly had talked about being the Bratva, talked about the brotherhood and how they looked after their own. It was from that moment that Anatoly had called Oliver brother and it was solidified that day that Oliver sacrificed himself for Anatoly and the plane of people that got off the island when he didn't.
Anatoly glanced over Oliver, trying to understand what he was looking for, "Is like captain. So, what do you want Oliver Queen? You saved my life and so I now return the favor."
This stopped Oliver train of thought, what did he really want? He wanted to go home, he wanted to see his family, he wanted to see Tommy and Felicity. "I want…I want to keep my family safe. I can't let my darkness touch their lives. I want to be stronger and that means doing what I need to stay away from them."
Anatoly regarded Oliver for a moment, taking in the young man sitting next to him, because that's what he was. Oliver Queen was a young man, no more than 22 years old, who had been forced to do so many terrible things. Who seemed to honestly believe that he was not good enough to go back to his family, back to the people who loved him.
"I can send you home, you can be home in 3 weeks if you choose. I can give you this chance Oliver. Home to your mother and sister and your Felicity," Oliver glared at Anatoly, he hated when he brought up Felicity to try and get him to do things, it was a trick Anatoly had learned on the island, Oliver's hand instinctively flattening against his pocket where he knew the old picture of Felicity was. "But instead you chose to stay in my town."
Oliver laughed humorously, "To be fair I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter plus I didn't know it was your town-"
But Anatoly cut him off, "Fiecare este o lună și are o latură întunecată pe care nu o arată nimănui niciodată" (Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody) I know why you not want to go home. You think your darkness is for all to see. The Bratva is not for everyone Oliver Queen. Are you positive this is what you want?" Secretly Anatoly hoped that Oliver would say he wanted to run back to his family but the man by his side was stubborn and determined.
"Ma vei ajuta, sau nu?" (Are you going to help me, or not?").
Felicity sat on the couch, her knee bouncing up and down as she glanced around the living room. Cooper had decided to make himself comfortable on her couch, his feet resting against the coffee table and the TV on some show only he would watch. He was not supposed to be there tonight. Tonight, he was meant to be out with some friends, drinking and smoking. Felicity had decided that tonight was the night.
She had spent the last few months working out her plans, putting away money each week that Cooper would give her, she had organized her bags, a place to stay in the short term. But he wasn't supposed to be there tonight. Why was he there tonight? Swallowing down the fear she had in her throat, she glanced over to Cooper, watching as his phone dropped from her his hands, slipping down his chest to his stomach, a deep snore echoing through the otherwise quiet room.
She waited on bated breath, making sure that he was actually asleep and not just half asleep where he would wake up the minute she moved. But when he didn't move, she stood slowly, her eyes never leaving him until she was in her bedroom, closing the door ever so softly behind her. With a deep breath out, Felicity leaned all her weight against the door, letting her head drop forward. This was harder than she thought it was going to be.
But she would not stop, Cooper had already taken so much from her and now she was going to take it back. Shaking her head clear, she moved towards her wardrobe she rummaged around and found the large backpack she had shoved there weeks ago, already filled with clothes and toiletries and a pair of runners. She had everything she needed, the money she had collected was shoved into a corner of the bag, hidden from sight and she had also stowed her laptop and new phone.
Taking a deep breath, she looked down at what she was wearing, her jeans and runners enough to keep her going, the jumper and jacket to keep her warm. This was her chance and she was going to take it. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, Felicity moved from the bedroom, glancing over the couch to find Cooper still asleep, she blew out a breath, each step she took getting her closer to her front door, closer to her freedom.
It was moments, seconds before she had made it to the door, her hand reaching out for the handle, she could feel the freedom, feel the fear leaving her body, the tension of the last 18 months over being in a relationship with someone like Cooper, she almost felt happy. A small smile graced Felicity's lips as her hand come in contact with the door handle, she was free.
"Where are you going?"
Her heart stopped, her whole body freezing, as though if she didn't move, he wouldn't see her.
"I said, where are you going?" His voice was deeper, closer this time.
Felicity watched as her own hand slipped from the door handle, her freedom slipping away with it, she turned slowly, her tired eyes finding Coopers. She wanted to say something, wanted to hold her ground but she had held on for so long that there wasn't much more that could be possible for her to do now.
Cooper moved closer to Felicity, his hard eyes looking over her, taking in her clothing, her hair, her backpack. And that's when he knew, it was like a switch flicked in his brain and he just knew. Narrowing his eyes at her, he was on her in seconds, both his hands holding her arms tightly, bringing her body to his. Cooper's fingers dug into Felicity's arms painfully before he reached for the backpack, ripping it from her back and letting it fall to the ground.
Silence filled the room as they both looked down, the bag had fallen open, her clothes and toiletries scattering around their feet. Cooper saw red, he reached for Felicity once again but this time she fought, she brought her hand up to his face, letting her nails scratch down his cheek, her knee coming up connect with his groin, sending him to the ground in pain for a moment, giving her enough time to rush past him.
Not only over the past few weeks had she been packing her bags but she had also stowed a baseball bat in the house, hiding it somewhere only she knew. And that's where she went, she wasn't going to let Cooper hurt her anymore. She was stronger than that stronger than he ever gave her credit for.
As she rushed past him, Cooper stretched out his hand, finding her ankle easily, he pulled against it, sending her crashing towards the coffee table, her cheek impacting on the corner of the timber.
Pain, that's what she felt, it radiated through her cheek, her eye socket, her head. Groaning Felicity rolled onto her back, holding her face, trying to hold back the tears. But the moment she spent trying to control herself, gave him time enough to get the upper hand and it was only moments before he was straddling her hips, his fists connecting with any part of her body that he could reach.
Again, he was here again. Tommy couldn't believe it; it was Sunday evening and he was back in this dog awful hospital. So far in his life, he had seen his mother in this hospital and he had seen Felicity in this hospital and how he was back. It was another late-night phone call, thankfully not as late as the last time but this time Laurel was by his side, a helping hand getting him through what was going to come. Hand in hand they moved down the halls of the hospital, nurses rushing around doing their jobs but he knew where he was going. The nurse who called him had already had that conversation with him.
"Are you ok?" Laurel asked gently beside Tommy, her hand resting against his shoulder, eyes searching his quietly. She really didn't know what to say or do but Tommy's best friend was in danger and was hurt and she would be there for him. He nodded, grasping her hand tightly, thankful that she was there for him.
Pushing open the hospital room door, Tommy took in Felicity, her small frame curled under the blanket, holding herself as tightly as she could. Sitting by her side was Detective Lance, his head was down, hands on his crossed legs, he just watched her. "Daddy?" Laurel's voice pulled Quintin's focus up to her, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion until he realized that Tommy was standing by her side.
Standing slowly, he made his way to the two, standing by their side, he signed, "Neighbor heard crying late Friday night, went over to check on her and found the door open, called it in…" He glanced back towards where Felicity was sleeping soundly, "This time they said Felicity told them who it was before she passed out. She's been out since then, only woke up about an hour ago…" He turned back towards Tommy and Laurel. "We are going to get this son of a bitch. I promise you that…"
Tommy held out his hand to Lance, needing him to know that he believed him, they shook hands, each holding on for a moment longer, a sort of trust passing between them. Movement from the bed caught their attention, Tommy moved quickest to Felicity's side, taking her all in. As he looked down at her, Tommy noticed her bruised cheek, black eye, split lip an then the bruising that travelled down her chest and under the material of both the blanket and her hospital gown. "Hey, how you doing?" It was a stupid question but Tommy couldn't resist asking.
Felicity tried to smile back at him, tried to show that she was ok but the tears in her eyes broke his heart. "I'm sorry…" she whispered but Tommy shook his head, quietening her down. Slowly Felicity moved to sit up, she knew that Lance was there but she was a little shocked to see Laurel, shocked and ashamed. "Hey…its ok." She nodded, glancing back to Lance.
Felicity knew what was coming next, the questions and the explanations. She had to tell them, she had to have Cooper found and out of her life forever. Gripping Tommy's hand tightly, Felicity motioned for Lance to sit down, "I know what comes next…" was all she said. Barely registering that Laurel had left the room, Felicity swallowed deeply, beginning at the start of her story.
"Friday night, I had planned to leave. Cooper wasn't meant to be at my apartment, he'd talked about going out with friends and so that was the night I was going to walk away. I'd packed a bag, put money away, set up a new phone and collected my laptop but as I was leaving, he'd woken up on the couch and saw me heading for the door." Lance wrote things down, asking questions about the time it had started. Felicity spoke about how he had lost it, pulling her away from the door, ripping her bag off her shoulder before shoving her back towards the middle of the room, he was keeping her as far away from the front door as possible.
With shaking hands, she spoke about him hitting her, about him pushing her against the glass table and the wall, feeling her ribs crack and her muscles ache. How she'd tried to scream but he'd kept his hand over her mouth, making sure she wouldn't be heard. It was about an hour before she was done talking, Lance asking a few more questions but he mostly let her talk her way through what had happened.
Tommy had stayed quiet the whole time, his hand tightening around her own every now and then, both in a show of support and in an effort to hold his own anger in. But even after everything she had said, he could not stop himself from asking the one question he knew he really shouldn't. This was not Felicity's fault, she was the victim but Tommy had always tried to show her that he was there for her, that he was by her side. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you leave and come to me?"
He was angry, angry at the situation, angry and Cooper, angry at himself. He knew he should have pushed harder with her; he should have made sure that she was ok and that he was there no matter how much she pushed him away.
Felicity knew why he was asking, Tommy wasn't blaming her for her situation, he was blaming himself and so she reached out to touch his face, trying to reassure him that it wasn't his fault. "Tommy…" she glanced towards Lance, "The last time I was here," she was talking about the night he was woken up to come to the hospital, the same night that Felicity had told both Tommy and Lance that everything was ok.
"About 3 months before that, I'd found out that Cooper had transferred all of my things into his name, my car, my phone, my apartment and even my pay from QC. He had been able to hack into the systems and set up alerts that he would get when I used my card or my phone." She sighed, rubbing her face gently with her free hand, "He found out I changed it back and lost it. Tommy, he has everything." She needed to enforce that fact to him, she wasn't just scared of him but he had taken everything from her.
Lance sighed, physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse – this guy had it in spades and Lance was going to find him. "We'll find him, I promise you that Felicity. But for now, do you have somewhere you can stay?" he knew she couldn't go back to her apartment, not until Cooper had been found but he didn't want her going to a hotel for an unknown amount of time.
"Yeah, we have a guest room or two, Felicity you can stay with me." Tommy had already spoken before she could and it was clear that he had already made up his mind, "Please don't fight me on this Felicity. I should have been there for you; I should have fought you more on what was happening and I didn't and now you are here. So please, he won't be able to get into the manor and you will be safe and I won't have to worry about you."
Lance looked towards Tommy, regarding him for a moment. This was the man that was dating his daughter, this was the man that had fallen in love with her and considering how he grew up and the stupid things he and Oliver used to get up to and considering his youngest daughter Sara had taken off and disappeared, Tommy had come a long way. He was fiercely protective of Felicity and it was something that Lance had to admire. "That's probably not a bad idea, just until we get some more information on where he might be."
Felicity nodded to Lance and Tommy, there was no fighting them on this and if she were being honest with herself, Felicity didn't really feel like going home to an empty house right now. And so, she would stay with Tommy, for the time being. "I'll go and get your things from your place,"
Tommy looked over at Lance, who nodded, "Yeah we are done there now, it's all yours…" Tommy nodded again, heading back out the door with one last squeeze of Felicity's hand, just sitting outside the doorway though, Tommy found Laurel, waiting patiently for him. But one look at her face told him that she had heard it all, from Felicity's story to his idea of having her stay with him. She reached out her hand for his, smiling tightly at him before they moved towards the car, both getting ideas of what Felicity would need.
The drive to Felicity's apartment didn't take long, Tommy and Laurel spoke about what they would collect, what she would want or need and Tommy suddenly realized that it was a good thing that Laurel was there, he hadn't thought of the many things she had and so he knew he would let Laurel attack Felicity's bedroom and bathroom, making sure she had everything she needed.
All it took was two flights of stairs and they were at her front door, talking amongst themselves, neither heard the sound of the TV coming from inside as they opened the door but as they came to stand inside her apartment, it was clear that they were not alone. Instantly Tommy stood in front of Laurel, his hand shooting back behind him, putting it protectively on her hip, Cooper eyeing them directly. Cooper could tell that Tommy knew what was happening and Tommy could tell that Cooper was sizing him up, wondering what they playboy would do. "Laurel, go to the bedroom, get what she needs and I'll come and get you."
Tommy's voice was soft but hard, speaking directly to Laurel but his eyes never left Cooper's. Laurel ducked her head and made her way towards the hallway, rushing past Cooper who kept his eyes on Tommy. Behind him, Tommy turned to lock the door, waiting to hear Laurel close Felicity's door before he moved towards Cooper, stalking him like prey.
Cooper to his merit, holds his stare on Tommy daring him to do something, no doubt expecting the other man to just be bluffing. But Tommy wasn't, in an instant Tommy rushed towards Cooper, shoulder charging him into the coffee table, hearing it crack and shatter around them. It was only seconds before he had landed the first two punches on Cooper's face, feeling the cracking of bone under the force of the connected.
Cooper struggled against Tommy, they were about the same size but Tommy was full of rage, thinking about all the times that he had touched Felicity, all the times he had hurt her. Anger was driving him, rage and fury behind every swing of his arm. Copper as somehow able to push Tommy off him, sending him flying backwards towards the open space, before charging at Tommy himself, sending them both crashing into the wall behind them, the prints on the wall banging before crashing to the ground, the glass shattering into pieces.
All that could be heard through Felicity's apartment was grunting, furniture crashing and the connecting of fits and bodies. Some would assume that there was two people having sex in the apartment but the blood dripping from Cooper's mouth, nose and eyebrow would tell a different story. After what felt like forever, Tommy finally had Cooper unconscious on the floor, his face bloodied and bruised, Tommy's own fists sore and raw.
With a deep huff and panting, Tommy pushed himself off the limp body of Cooper and made his way to Felicity's bedroom, there he took hold of a few of the bags that Laurel had packed, she carried the rest and without a word being spoken since they had walked into the apartment, Tommy and Laurel left, Cooper still passed out on the floor in the middle of the living room. Broken glass, furniture and ornaments scattered all around the room.
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