Please enjoy the new chapter, i know the world is falling apart at the moment, so i hope makes your day a little better
Someone pointed out that my translations from the last chapter weren't Russian - apologise I must have used the wrong one. It was supposed to be Russia – the English mean was supposed to be the same though.
Chapter 16 - Home
Anatoly stood with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Oliver bracing against the next punch, the next kick and the next swing of a weapon. It amazing him how quickly he had gotten better at his fighting, yes whatever US Agency had him before he turned up in Russia had trained him well enough but Anatoly had made sure that over the last few months Oliver had become the best he could be.
That was for many reasons really, the main was that the other captains in the Russian Mafia didn't trust the outsider, they didn't trust Oliver. Anatoly was about his only friend while in Russia and that suited Oliver just fine, he didn't have to pretend to trust people and he knew exactly who he could trust.
Anatoly.
Anatoly had brought him in, given him a home, food, clean clothes. Oliver owed him his life but Anatoly felt different about that fact.
"This way, we even. You save my life, I save yours." Anatoly motioned for Oliver to enter the small apartment. After springing him, Anatoly had offered to give Oliver a life in Russia, set him up with a house and some money. To get him started in this dark world.
But it didn't take long until Oliver was spending more and more time with Anatoly, getting to know what the man did for a living.
Bratva.
The Russian Mafia.
It took a lot of convincing from Oliver to have Anatoly let him join, not that Oliver wanted to join the Mafia but he was an American in Russia, alone and jobless. He felt like it was the way that would keep him the safest in a country that didn't trust him.
Sitting in a room, across from 4 men larger men, Oliver was larger though, and Anatoly. The man sitting next to Anatoly spoke first. "What does Bratva mean to you?" Thankfully Anatoly had requested them to speak English. Oliver's Russian was coming along but not enough to have a conversation with these people.
Taking a deep breath, Oliver straightened himself, "Brotherhood."
"Brotherhood?" The man nodded as he watched Oliver. "Means family. Who are yours?"
Oliver faltered for a second, he didn't want to think about his family, he missed his family but he didn't want to think about them anymore, "My father is dead…My mother and sister-"
He was cut off by another man sitting opposite him, "Both dead. Bratva only know their brothers. Do you know what I mean by this?"
Oliver nodded, "I have no family; I have no home. I have no name. Ya Bratva (I am Bratva)"
Anatoly stood instantly, reaching towards Oliver for a hug, "My Bratva (We are Bratva). Dobro pozhalovat'… Kapot (Welcome…Hood).
Less than a second later, Anatoly threw a punch at Oliver, sending him crashing the ground. Oliver as getting really, really tired of this.
Coming to, Oliver shot up from the cold concrete, "Gde ya? (Where am i?) Что это? Я думал, что меня берут обратно в братву! (Where am i? I thought I was being recruited into the Bratva!)" He looked around the room, finding only himself, 3 men in balaclava's and 3 other men, each of them looking around, just as confused as him, he roared, "GDE YA? (WHERE AM I?)
"звенит звонок" (Ring the bell)" The man at the furthest end pressed a timer, 2 minutes and counting
And the men were off, setting pace with each other, trying to scramble across the wet concrete, punches were thrown, bodies colliding with the other Bratva members, Oliver watched as the time ran out, one last body being flipped before they were ordered back to the line, "звенит звонок" (Ring the bell)" echoing again.
This continued, Oliver joining in, losing rounds, bleeding lips and bruised ribs, his body was aching from the pain and the fighting but he needed to pass this, he needed to keep himself safe. It didn't take long before he began to realise that they would not make the bell alone, they had to work together.
And so that's what they did, each other fighting along-side the other, pulling the fighters from the middle of the room, grunting and groaning as kicks were landed and weapons were drawn and used. In a flick of the wrist, the knife that was headed Oliver's way was bent out of the man's hand, his cries filling the space, Oliver flipping the man over his shoulder to give himself time.
And time he had, he had 3 seconds to make the bell, he lunged, stretched and held his breath as the sound of the ringing broke out in the room, each of the men standing and looking towards Oliver and then the timer. Which had stopped with less than a second to go.
Silence filled the room, the only sounds were the heavy breaths of all 6 men, the pain in their bodies radiating, aching and waiting to see if Oliver had made it. After a moment more of silence, the man to the side spoke, "Dobro pozhalovat'v Bratvu (Welcome to Bratca)" Before he raised his gun, pulling the trigger and landing a shot in the middle of the head of the two other men that fought along-side Oliver.
He cried out, that was not meant to happen, they weren't supposed to die because he had hit the bell first. Sucking in even deeper breaths, Oliver barely noticed Anatoly placing his hand on his back and leading him from the room.
But now, after the months of training and growing, Anatoly knew it was time for Oliver to go home. His own home, back to Starling City. He had gotten some inside information that Anatoly had debated telling Oliver, but he knew how much the younger man loved his city and wanted to make sure it stayed safe. And the info he had, told him that Starling City was not safe.
Bringing his bottom lip into his mouth, Anatoly let out a loud whistle, calling the attention of Oliver and the three men he was fighting. "Oliver…" Anatoly reached out to Oliver, placing his hand on his back as they walked from the mats in the training room. Stopping just short of the doorway, Anatoly turned towards Oliver.
"What's wrong Anatoly?" Oliver knew something was up the minute Anatoly walked into the room, he could sense the change in the older man's emotions. Bringing up the bottom of his sweat covered shirt, Oliver wiped the sweat from his forehead and waited.
Anatoly signed, "I have heard rumour, of Starling City…" This caught Oliver's attention, what could the rumour be? Did something happen to his mother? To Thea? To Tommy and Felicity? Oliver scrunched his brow, a million thoughts running through his head.
"You remember Vertigo?" Oliver's face froze, Vertigo was the drug that had parts being produced on the island, the same drug that was being manufactured in Starling City – which apparently was the hub of all distribution in the USA. "It is back and much more dangerous. Rumour is that it is now being completely produced in Starling City, the police and the wealthy are in on it."
This made Oliver's stomach drop, the drug was back, all the efforts he had gone to on the island, all the people he had killed to stop it from being imported to the shore of the States was now pointless. "How long?" How long had it been running rampant in his city?
"It was quick to pick up after you destroyed the island. Someone named The Count has taken over, we are told that it is stronger, more dangerous now. And not just in pill form. Oliver sighed deeply, following Anatoly from the room towards another room, one that Oliver had just ignored while he had been in the compound. Inside the room was a table and, on the table, sat a simple, large wooden trunk. A trunk that Oliver recognised instantly. Where did Anatoly find this?
"How did you find this?" Oliver had thought that the box, his bow and quiver and hood had been lost forever after he was taken from the island. Waller had given him a bow and quiver to use while he was 'working' for her, but it didn't feel the same, it didn't have the same weight or the same grooves in it. It did its job; Oliver was good enough that he didn't need his own weapons to be good at what he did.
Anatoly just smirked, "I have my ways…" But then he became serious, his face straightened, "Oliver, they have not regrown the plantation on the island. Some connections of mine gave me information. Whatever is being made for the Vertigo – it is being made in Startling City."
Oliver nodded at the new information, "That means it's now being synthesised. It's more potent now. Its more dangerous." This time it was Anatoly who nodded. A synthesised drug was much more dangerous than one with naturally grown ingredient. Oliver was running out of time staying away from his home town and they both knew it.
"What do you want to do?" Anatoly watched as Oliver ran his hands over the long wooden box, lifting the lid slowly to reveal his bow and hood that You Fe had handed down to him. Anatoly couldn't be serious? He couldn't go home; he couldn't go back to his family after everything he had done. He was a danger to them and to everyone else in the city.
But maybe the latter was the point. He could be a danger to the people in his city that were causing trouble. Reaching in with his right hand, Oliver lifted the bow into the air, bringing it to his eye level.
He had learned so much because of this weapon. He had learned how to be more accurate and faster than any land creature on the island. Would that be enough for him to chase down a person? Could he do this? Could he become a force to be reckoned with? Could he become a vigilante to save his city? Could he become something else?
"Are you sure you are going to be ok?" Tommy worried about Felicity, he didn't want to leave her alone but as he watched Felicity look back at him, he sighed. "Alright, alright." He threw up his hands, pushing off the door frame he had been leaning on.
Felicity shook her head, smirking at him, "Tommy, I love you but I don't need you to baby sit me. I'm not scared of staying home alone we just decided that until Cooper was found that it was just safer for me to be here." She motioned to the bedroom that she had claimed as her own in Tommy's mansion almost 6 months ago.
After she had been released from the hospital, Tommy had told her that it was not safe to go home just yet, that Cooper was there and that the SCPD would be picking him up in a matter of minutes. At least that's what they thought.
Laurel had called her father, telling him that Cooper was unconscious on the living room floor waiting for the police to pick him up. But when Lance had gotten there, Cooper had vanished, clearly having woken up he realised that the police weren't far away. After a long argumentative discussion between Tommy, Felicity and Lance, Felicity had reluctantly agreed to stay with Tommy until Cooper was found.
She just didn't realise that it would be more than 6 months later that she was still waiting. Cooper had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth, even Felicity wasn't able to track him down using all her computer abilities. She really wasn't scared of him coming for her again but at the same time she didn't know what he was capable of and it was safer for her to be somewhere that was harder to get to.
Truthfully, she also enjoyed the company, having Tommy around meant she had someone to talk to after work, someone to laugh with and eat with, she knew that Tommy had Laurel but it took a little of the loneliness away from Felicity.
Tommy rarely stayed by her side every night and it wasn't like she couldn't sleep or had nightmares – well anymore that is – but being in such a big house it would be harder for him to get to her if he tried. But as she sat there watching Tommy, she was really starting to think it was time for her to go home.
"Hey before you go…I think it's time I go home. Like my home, my apartment home." Tommy's eyebrows raised, a little shocked. They hadn't talked about Felicity going home, it just hadn't been mentioned at all and so hearing her mention it now was a shock. "It's just…it's been 6 months and he hasn't even surfaced. I think I'm safe Tommy. I want to go home."
Tommy nodded before moving into the bedroom, taking a seat by her side. "Are you sure?" He wanted to make sure this was something she really wanted.
But she smiled, "Yes Tommy. I need to go home and get my life back together and you need to be able to spend time with Laurel – here." Tommy had made a point of not bringing Laurel by the mansion, he didn't want Felicity to feel like the third wheel but also he knew that as much as Laurel wanted to help Felicity after everything that happened, seeing Felicity was a constant reminder of Oliver and how in her eyes, he was a better person around Felicity.
And so, Tommy had only spent time at Laurel's apartment.
He nodded again, reaching out for a hug. "Give me a couple of weeks and we I get back from Gotham we can start to organise getting you settled back into your place. I just want to make sure. Please…" He just needed time to make sure her place was ok. He was going to get professional cleaners through it. Not only to try and remove the reminders of Cooper but her apartment hadn't been lived in for 6 months. It needed a clean. Thankfully Felicity had agreed, giving him the time, he needed to feel comfortable with her going back to her apartment.
"Now go!" Felicity laughed, pushing him from the bed, "You gotta get on your flight to Gotham and I know that it's a private jet and it can wait for you, but you can't just hang around here. It's not the first time you've gone away for a few days, or a week, and it won't be the last." Tommy smiled, reaching for her instantly for a hug goodbye before slinging his bag over his shoulder before leaving the mansion.
Tommy had barely gotten to the airport for his flight when his phone rang. He was running late so normally he would have ignored it, gotten on the flight and just called the person back but as he looked down, he was shocked to see Thea's name pop up. She didn't call him anymore and when she did, she was either drunk or high and needed lift.
But it was almost
Her sobbing stopped him in his tracks. "Thea what's wrong?" Tommy's whole body shook as he waited for a reply, what the hell was happening?
She babbled and sobbed some more the only works he could make out were "Ollie" and "Alive"
"Thea, I need you to calm down, take a deep breath for me." He listened as she did, instructing her to take 3 more deep breaths before asking her again, "What is going on?"
"They found him Tommy…Ollie he's alive…"
Tommy's face paled, the captain watching his closely as his bag slipped from his shoulder. "Where is he?" Was all he could ask.
"Mom is bringing him home Tommy. Please, you have to come here. Now." And that was all it took for Tommy and rush back down the stairs of the plane, straight into the car that still hadn't left the tarmac, instructing the driver to head straight to the Queen mansion.
Oliver took a deep breath as he waited his mother to open the front door. He had to play it as though he hadn't been in the middle of civilisation for almost a year but standing there, on his door step, staring at the large wooden door he found himself missing, he smiled. He was home.
Inside that door was his sister and Raisa and his bedroom and all the memories - good and bad – that had kept Oliver alive while he was on the island, the things he craved most, until Waller had gotten her hands on him.
He hadn't prepared himself for the overwhelming feeling of being back, something he never thought he would have felt considering the things he had done, he felt like he didn't deserve to be home, but here he was. Home.
Placing his trunk on the floor, thankful that so far no one had what was in it or how he even got it considering he was supposed to be on a deserted island for 3 years, Oliver took a good look after, most things hadn't changed since he had gone, the house smelled the same, looked the same, felt the same. Slowly he placed his hands in his pocket, feeling a little unsure of himself, a feeling he hadn't felt since before Russia.
"Your room is exactly how you left it. I never had the heart to change a thing." Moira's voice caught his attention, he turned to look at her, giving her a small smile as he did, thankful that at least something was going to be familiar to him.
But that was when he heard a door slam upstairs and the sound of footsteps echoed through the usually quiet house. He knew the sound of that door closing.
Thea.
Rounding towards the staircase, Oliver smiled as he heard the tell tail sign of Thea coming down the stairs, her feet were heavier than they were years ago but when she appeared in front of him, he couldn't help losing the smile on his face. Looking up at her, he honestly couldn't believe how much she had grown.
Her hair was longer, she was taller, thinner, more makeup but the same smile as he remembered in his dreams. Coming to a stop in front of the stairs, Thea all but launched herself in to his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck, his around her waist. Oliver was quick to bury his face into her shoulder, breathing in her scent. He had missed her so much. "Hey sis…"
"I knew it. I knew you were alive…" Was her mumble back to him. He held her tightly, not really wanting to let her go.
"Mr. Merlyn is on his way here. He will be joining us for dinner…" That voice pulled Oliver away from Thea, he turned to find Raisa standing by the doorway, a bright smile on her face when saw really looked at Oliver. "Mr. Oliver. It's so good to see you…" Then Oliver hugged her too, bringing the shorter woman to his chest, both laughing as they hugged.
Moira smiled as she watched Oliver greeting his family, the people who were closest to him. "Wonderful, we can get dinner started soon then." Moira was about to turn away but Oliver caught her.
"Mum will you make sure to invite Felicity as well? I'd really like to see her and Tommy tonight." The strained look on Moira's face was not missed by Oliver, he scrunched his face up in question as to why it would be a problem for Felicity to be there.
Moira looked over to Raisa who dropped her head and Thea who just looked away before looking back at Oliver, all emotion slipping from her face, "She had moved out of Starling dear. I don't know how to contact her anymore." With that Moira moved towards the dining room, ready to plan out the seating arrangement.
At this point, Thea and Raisa also moved away, leaving Oliver very confused as to why Felicity would move away. He tried to check in occasionally with his family and friends but nothing had told him that she had moved away. It was something he would have to talk to Tommy about when he got there.
Reaching down, he pulled his trunk up the stairs before moving towards his bedroom door. He hesitated I the doorway for a moment. The room was huge, nothing like he was used to over the last few years. He was used to a single mattress and a small room, barely any light. But this room, his room, had a king size bed, desk, walk in robe, bathroom, fireplace and so much space that he would be able to run a full workout in there with no problems.
"Oliver, Son…" he turned at the sound of a deep British accent. The dark-skinned man standing behind him. "It's damn good to see you…" But Oliver's lack of reaction made the man continue, "It's Walter, Walter Steele." Oliver nodded and reached out his hand for the man, shaking it tightly. Walter Steele was his father's best friend; he was a little shocked to see Walter in his house.
Turning back, Oliver looked around his room again, before placing the trunk at the foot of his bed, he didn't want to try and hide it while Walter was there, he didn't want to bring anymore suspicion to the trunk as it was. Turning back, he found Walter had left him alone in his room. Alone with his thoughts and alone with his plans.
Moira was just setting up for dinner, Thea and Oliver were already seated around the table, chatting and laughing away but she knew that Tommy would be moments away from turning up at the front door and so she had pre-empted his arrival, making sure to catch him before he saw Oliver.
And she was right, seconds later, there was a sharp, heavy knock at the front door, opening it, she found Tommy standing here, his eyes red and he looked tired. "Is it really him?" Was all he could get out as he made his way into the entry, ready to rush straight to where he could hear Oliver laughing with Thea.
That was a sound he would never give up for the world.
But Moira stopped him, her hand on his arm, "You cannot mention Felicity. Do you understand?" Tommy gawked at her, What the hell was she talking about? Oliver will want to see Felicity and Felicity will want to see him. "Thomas, if he asks, she has moved and you don't know where she is."
He shook his head, "Why would I lie to him?"
But her face hardened, "You know what happened in this family because of that girl. I don't want her near this family. Do you understand."
"What happened wasn't her fault-"
"I am asking you, do not tell Oliver that she is still in Starling. I just got my son back and I will not allow any more pain in his life." And with that she moved towards the dining room entrance, a smile plastered on her face, "And now we can eat dinner…" Moira's voice echoed through the dining hall as she walked through the doorway, Tommy following behind.
Dinner was looking to be an interesting affair, Moira had promised to keep it small, talking about planning something bigger in the next few weeks once he was brought back from the dead. Oliver would do what he needed to, to please his mother and keep up the illusion that he was still the same old Oliver.
Oliver, Walter and Thea were already seated around the table, Moira had left the room moments ago and now they were just waiting on Tommy to arrive. That made him nervous, Tommy was his best friend since he could ever remember and so seeing him again after the last 3 years was starting to eat at him.
Truthfully, he was excited to see Tommy, he'd missed his best friend so much, the small eat up photo of the three of them that was now placed inside his crisp new wallet was the only thing that kept him going over the years.
He was also interested in finding out where Felicity had gone. It was clear something had happened over the last 12 months, considering he had seen her in Starling when he was sent by Waller but no one seemed to want to talk about it. That was going to be one of the first questions he would ask of Tommy.
"And now we can eat dinner…" Moira's voice echoed through the dining hall as she walked through the doorway, Tommy following behind.
Oliver stood instantly, rushing towards his best friend, embracing him tightly. "Tommy…" The two hugged other tightly, "I've missed you man!"
Tommy held Oliver tightly, he couldn't believe his best friend was back, he was alive and well. "What did I tell you – yachts suck…" With one more tight hug, "I can't believe it. When Thea called me-" he shook his head as he pulled back from the hug, looking over his friends' face and body. "Jesus man, look at you. What happened?" Tommy wanted to mention his new body but the words died in his mouth, not sure if that's something he really should mention
But Oliver knew what was coming, he laughed, "Yeah well, had to chase a lot of food so lots of running, climbing and swimming." It was true, he did do a lot of that, just also a lot of extra training at all other times of the day, on and off the island.
Before heading down to dinner, after coming home from the hospital, Oliver had sat down on his bed, he started to set a plan, how much he was going give in terms of information, how he was going to act, how much of the old Oliver he was going to play up. Deciding that Tommy and his sister deserved to have at least some part of their old Oliver back, he would show them the face he wanted to. Giving information but keeping it vague. Hopefully enough to keep them happy.
Laughing Oliver and Tommy moved towards the table, each taking a seat next to each other, Oliver glancing around the table, a part of himself truly happy to be back with his family.
As dinner continued, Oliver was asked questions about the things he missed, the food he wanted to eat and the things he wanted to do now that he was back as well as the things he missed, "Superbowl – Giants, Steelers, Saints. Man, you missed so good games!" Tommy laughed, rattling off states and information that he thought would be important to Oliver.
But Oliver cut in, finally needing to ask the one question he had been holding onto, "Have you heard from Felicity?" The table stilled, Oliver knew something was up, he could read a room almost the instant he got into it and this was no different. From the minute Tommy had walked in, the room was different.
Tommy thought for a moment, he really didn't want to lie to Oliver, that was not how he wanted to start off now that he had his friend back but Moira had made it very clear that he was not to say anything about Felicity. "Ah, she moved away man, your funeral was hard on her."
Lie
"I haven't heard from her in since." Tommy couldn't look at Oliver as he spoke, focusing instead on his plate.
Lie.
Oliver couldn't help but hear the word screamed inside his own head. He knew for a fact that Felicity had been in Starling after his 'funeral' but he could not say that. Instead he just nodded, his mind racing as to what could be going on that they would lie about where Felicity was. He zoned out the conversations from that moment on, nodding and smiling when it seemed appropriate but showed no interest in actually talking. Just like always, Felicity was the only thing on his mind.
YAY! Oliver is home! :D
