Hey guys! I know I had a few updates in quick succession and then this one took a little longer – iver started work now so updates might slow a little (I do shift work so really just depends on what the go will be) but I promise I am not losing interest in this story…just like I hope none of you are!
Thank you for all the love in the last chapter!
A quick couple of notes – this chapter and possibly the next will time just through it, this is just to get the story moving and not bore you all too much. Also can we just assume Tommy followed in his mother's footsteps and went to med school…but dropped out? Coz guess what – I am assuming this! Hehe
Please review!
Chapter 20 – No More Mask
Oliver stepped on the rough carpet on the way to Felicity's office, he remembered the exact way even though he'd only been there once over the last 2 and half months of being home. What was different about this walk though was his slight over balance, the limp he had adopted after being caught up in a decent fight last night, four other guys and metal pipes hurt like a bitch when they connected with bone and muscle.
He smiled at those around him, mostly younger men who just watched him go, the woman staring as he continued down the hallway. Oliver may have grown up since being on the island but he still knew the way woman say him, he knew that if he wanted to, he could have any one of those women on their knees or their backs almost instantly.
But that was not what he was interested in, sure it'd be a while since he'd had sex but Oliver was not just about to jump into bed with someone. He did have an itch to scratch sure but not going to happen any time soon.
Turning the corner, Oliver smiled at the opened mouth shock of Felicity's co-workers, shocked to see him there as he stopped at her cubicle, leaning against the side of the wall as he watched her. Oliver smiled as she moved around, her pen to her lips, eyes focused on her computer and her right hand tapping by her side looking for something.
"You know, if you just looked at what you were doing, you'd find what you were looking for…" Oliver laughed when watched her jump out of her seat, dropping her pen and crying out.
"Jesus Christ Oliver! Must you do that? I thought you'd grown out of scaring me years ago." She glared at him as he moved further into her cubicle but her face dropped as she got a better look at him. "Oliver!" She was up and out of her chair instantly, her hand reaching for his face. "What happened?"
For a short moment Oliver relished in the feel of her hands on his face, the warmth of her skin against his. She had noticed the bruising on his face the moment the light had settle on him. It spread across his left cheek and around the side of his eye. It was deep, black and blue and very fresh. "I'm alright."
He reached for her hands, his wrapping around her wrists and held her in place for a second before letting them fall away, instantly missing her touch. "Oliver. What happened?"
She asked again, more sternly this time. Oliver placed his hands on her shoulders, "I told you I'm fine. It was stupid, I was quad biking with my buddy Kevin yesterday and I feel off. I promise, I'm alright." He rubbed her shoulders to try sooth any concerns she had.
Felicity eyed Oliver closely, she didn't know if she should believe him or not, he'd never lied to her before so he wouldn't really start now. "Quad biking?" Oliver nodded. "I didn't know you had a buddy named Kevin…" She really didn't but she didn't know all of his friends so maybe he did.
"Yeah. Come on, I'm hungry…" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her from the cubicle, they'd set a lunch date and he wanted to eat. Oliver was thankful that Felicity didn't question him anymore as they walked towards the diner they were going to.
But Oliver knew his excuses were getting worse and worse over the last few 6 weeks. First it was the story of how he got the slash on his neck – "I cut myself shaving." Then it was the bruising on jaw bone – "Thea hit me by accident." Then was the slip lip – "I walked into the door at Verdant." And the most recent was the limp he had after falling from a second story balcony – "I feel down the stairs at the Mansion."
His lies to Felicity were ridiculous and he knew it. She may be blonde but she wasn't that blonde but Oliver trusted that she wouldn't ask too many more questions.
Felicity Smoak is nothing if not persistent when there was something, she was presented with a mystery ad part of him wondered if he was ok if she found out his secret.
Oliver tracked up the stairs slowly, his movements didn't make a sound, there was no creaking on the old metal steps, there was no sounds of breathing as he lined up his bow as he went. He'd long since nocked an arrow into its home, the weapon ready should he need it.
Over the last few weeks, Oliver had set his sights on finding as many dealers as he could, each time he picked on off, two more would pop back up – it was getting frustrating but the most frustrating part was that no matter how many dealers he rounded up and left for the SCPD to collect, each time he would listen for the police and all he would hear was the vigilante. They didn't seem to care much about the dealers and the drugs as they did him.
He should have expected it really, he was new and interesting and they didn't like that someone else was doing their job but Oliver knew it needed to be done. On the island, he had promised himself that he would stop the drugs that were seeping onto the streets of his city and he thought he had but it was clear that it hadn't worked.
And the more information he gathered – which sadly wasn't too much, all pointed to the influx being allowed to happen because of the 1. The people Oliver would have called family and friends. The people who should have been using their wealth and standing to help to the city – not destroy it.
Before the island, Oliver didn't think too much about what was happening around him, he drank and partied and drove fast cars. He didn't think about where the money came from, he didn't think about where the drugs came from, how they got the pot they were smoking, granted Oliver never touched anything other than marijuana but he knew the hard stuff was around, at every party they went to, every night club they snuck into underage. It was there and easy to get.
He just never though anything of it.
But now he was back and he was going to make sure he righted every wrong that those people were involved in.
Movement to his left caught his attention and Oliver swung his bow towards the sound, it was faint but it was there. Moving slowly, he tracked the noise, listening for any changes he could. He tracked for another few minutes, turning corners and ducking under barriers, this was an older part of the Glades, mostly just old residences there were abandoned, perfect to drug dealers to hide.
There was a flash suddenly, movement of a shirt or jacket as Oliver stepped out from his hiding spot. "STOP!" He called out, his voice low and deep. The man froze instantly, turning to look towards Oliver. Thankfully the hood was low over his eyes, there was nothing that would give him away.
The man turned allowing Oliver to get a better look at him. He was the usual tweaked out dealer he had been dealing with over the last few weeks, he seemed more put together, surer of himself and his surroundings. Cocking an eyebrow, Oliver thought that this might be a chance to get some information out of him.
Taking three very quick steps together the guy, Oliver put his arrow back in his quiver before taking the man by the shirt, slamming him into the wall behind him, "Where is the Count!?" the deep growl set the man shaking but he still didn't not speak. "Where is Vertigo being made?" Oliver tired again but still got nothing. "WHO IS WORKING FOR THE COUNT?" Oliver was angry now, he hated being played.
With one quick shove against the wall, the dealer's hands came up to cover his face, "I don't know! I don't know where the Count is! I don't know where its being made!" He was shaking even more still, terrified of Oliver.
Good.
"Honestly I don't know anything!" Oliver hulled him from the wall, pushing him again, this time towards a window off to the side. The glass shattered as the Oliver slammed the dealer into it, forcing him to lean back over into the street. "Ok, ok! Alright! I don't know much! Please I don't want to die!"
Oliver growled, pulling the dealer from the window, hearing the glass tinkling against the timber floors of the old building. "Those kids didn't want to die either! Now tell me what you know!" Oliver pushed him to the ground, leering over him scarily.
The dealer curled into himself, his hand outstretched as if to try and keep Oliver away from him. "Alright! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. All I know is that the Families of Starling City have let this happen. Every one of them has turned a blind eye. They are using the drug to control the Glades; they say it makes it easier to control the people. They can get anything they want if the people are too strung out to want anything else but the drug."
Oliver pushed away from the dealer, his mind reeling. It was worse than what he thought. Swinging his bow to his side, Oliver started to make a track for the exit, he got all the information he needed from the dealer and now he needed to get out. "Wait!" Oliver stopped, turning on his heals to look at the dealer still on the floor.
"Robert Queen. He was involved before he died. But something changed, he started using Queen Consolidated against the Count instead of for the Count." Oliver's vision blurred. He expected his family to be involved somehow, more in the capacity of just not giving a damn but he never expected his father to be directly involved – for QC to be directly involved. Locking his jaw, Oliver quickly swung an arrow from his quiver, nocking it and pointing out the broken window. Seconds later, he was flying through the air out the window by the grappling hook that had embedded in the building next door.
Oliver paced the Foundry, the music thumping above him, he couldn't think, he couldn't let his own mind travel too far. The Families of Starling City – a name given to the 1, the richest of the rich, the billionaires, his family and their friends – they were the cause of Vertigo saturating the Glades and the city and his family, his father, was directly involved.
He was at a loss, completely unsure of what to do about anything anymore. He didn't know who he could trust or what he could trust. His computer skills were severely lacking, his capabilities surrounded the ability to disassemble his bike and put it back together – mechanics was something that he and his father had in common. Robert had left an old bike in the garage one day and Oliver had started to pull it apart to see if he could get it going again, he had found that he had a knack for it and quite enjoyed it.
Mechanics was something that hadn't left Oliver, granted he never really used it for anything good before the island.
His knowledge of computers was narrow at best, he could search for things – not using Google – Anatoly had taught him enough to keep him out of the cross hairs in the Bratva but this was beyond anything that Oliver could do. Groaning he glanced down at the time 2.46am. He really didn't want to have to do this but he really didn't have a choice.
It was a calculated choice.
Felicity had lost track of time hours ago; she knew it was a Friday night but what time – of that she was not sure. It wasn't until her phone vibrated next to her, flashing with a blocked number a set of coordinates and a three-digit number 141. Her fingers froze over the keyboard, her eyes settling on the blocked number once more and then flashing to the time 2.47am.
Jeez how did she lose track of time so easily?
She'd been working on her laptop for what was close to 8 hours since coming home from work, there was so much that had happened over the last 8 weeks or so, from Oliver coming home, to her moving back into her place to this vigilante that had suddenly appeared, to Oliver acting strange – well stranger than he usually did.
She knew that Oliver was adjusting back to life here in Starling, he was working through his anger at what had happened, at how life had changed and he was also trying to catch up on the things he had missed, the "I've got three years of debauchery to catch up on" as he liked to call it but Felicity could see that it was more than that, she could see something different behind his eyes.
The flashing of a message brought her attention back to her phone. It was the strangest thing, she never got blocked number text messages and she really hated mysteries. Groaning, she reached for her phone, her finger hovering over the message for a second before she pressed on it. After a moment of staring at the message, she ran two programs on her laptop – one to trace the blocked number on her phone and the other was to track the coordinates that were sent to her.
Her eyebrow arched when her trace program came back with no "information available", she had yet to find something she couldn't track down but her eyebrow raised even higher when the coordinates located a very, very familiar location.
Now this mystery just deepened, she had no idea what could have been so special about Verdant that some random number messaged her the coordinates but when her phone beeped once more "I'm here" it was enough to send her mind into overdrive. Throwing off the blanket she had wrapped around her waist, Felicity headed to her room, dressed in something warm and comfy.
She drove straight to Verdant, her mind split between the intrigue of who was messaging her and the craziness of all of this. She had no idea who had messaged her and what they wanted but there was a strong part of her that just knew she could trust her gut on this.
Pulling up the front of Verdant, she noticed that there were still people around, it was close to 3:30am so she wasn't surprised, they did close at 4am but it wasn't usual for this many people to still be there. Looking around Felicity looked down at her phone that was tracking the location. She made her way to the front entrance when she stopped, noticing that the little bleeping dot was at the back of the building.
Now her stomach dropped a little, it wanted her to go down the dark laneway in the middle of the Glades. Taking a deep breath, Felicity straightened her shoulders and made her way around the back of the building. In the distance she could hear the thumping of the base from Verdant, the darkness taking over the laneway. Swallowing, she stopped when she came to what seemed to be the same spot the dot was indicating. Looking around, Felicity noticed that at her right there was a small, dark stair case.
This is how all horror movies start. Good one Felicity. Go out in the middle of the night, to the coordinates given to you by a strange number and no one knows that you are here.
She turned to leave, this was not where she wanted to be, but as she did, she noticed that there was a small green light sitting on the side of the door down the staircase. She tilted her head, focusing on the keypad that looked way too new to have been part of the old building. Moving towards it, she took each step slowly, trying to listen out for any sounds of someone coming.
Lifting her hand to the keypad, she let her fingers brush over the numbers before instantly keying in the only number she could think of. 141. Instantly she heard the telltale sound of the door clicking and swinging open slightly.
Looking behind her for a moment, Felicity moved into the room, the base still thumping above her but it wasn't loud, almost as though it was very much in the distance. As she made her way further inside the basement her eyes feel on the black motorbike that sat against its stand, just waiting for its owner. But the lights pulled her further, tables set up with what looked to be an old computer, the dim light lighting up the space in front of her.
Immediately her eyes were drawn to the row of arrows set up.
The Vigilante. Oh god, I need to get out of here…
But she couldn't stop herself from moving closer to them, they were lined up, 24 by her count, sharp and green. Instantly she wondered how she didn't know the vigilante had set up shop under her club, then she wondered why he had called here, it had to be him, who else would want her there?
Slowly she reached out to touch one of the arrows, lifting it in her fingers gently. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the steps behind her, didn't hear the movement and it wasn't until there was a squeak from a shoe did she jump, gasping out loud as she turned on her heals.
The arrow she held fell from her hands, rolling towards the towering person in front of her. He was huge, he stood tall and straight, good covering his face, she didn't know if he was angry or shocked to see her there. Her heart was thumping rapidly in her chest as she took a step back, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open.
But she cowered, trying to make herself smaller when the vigilante took a step towards her but his own hands came up, almost defensively. "I won't hurt you Felicity." His voice was deep, growly and some what distorted.
Felicity's body was shaking, she was terrified of the person standing in front of her, he looked like a statue, heavy and dark. Broad shoulders and a tight frame. "How…how do you know mt name?" It was a stupid question, clearly, he had messaged her earlier in the night so he must know her name but she didn't know what else to say.
She was backed up as far as she could get against the table behind her when he took a further step forward towards her, coming into the light, enough for her to see the dark green of his suit, the leather jacket and pants, the way it seemed to sit against his body well. "Because…you know my name…" The vigilante slowly lifted his hands to his hood, sitting on each side of his face, pushing the hood back slowly, his face suddenly visible.
Losing her breath, Felicity watched as the light shone on the face of one her best friends. The dark green paint around his eyes his some of his features but she could see, she could tell who he was.
"Oliver?"
Silence stretched between them as Oliver started to regret his decision, he knew he could trust Felicity with his secret but it was a different story now that he was here, in this room, with her standing in front of him.
It was very rare that Felicity was stunned silent but right now there just was nothing that she could say or think that would cover the situation. She opened her mouth and closed it again multiple times, her eyes blinking rapidly trying to get her mind to catch up with what she was seeing.
"Please say something…" Oliver's voice was low, very unsure of himself. He took a step close to Felicity, hoping it might be enough to break her from her focus on his and pull her out of her own mind.
But as he moved towards her, Felicity snapped, taking a step back from him on instinct, her butt hitting the table behind her. Oliver stopped mid step, a heartbroken look on his face. She was scared of him. Never had he ever thought there was a day that Oliver would see Felicity scared of him. Oliver's hands dropped to his sides, defeated as he looked at her. He lowered his eyes from her, he couldn't take the look on her face, the uneasiness in her eyes as she stared back at him.
Movement caught Oliver's attention, he looked up to find Felicity moving around the table behind her, his arrows lined up perfectly before moving around him – widely – to get to the computer behind him. But Oliver hadn't moved, he stayed still, he didn't want to scare her more just wanting to give her a chance to sort herself out. He just moved on the spot, following her as she moved.
"Everything just became unbelievably clear." Her voice was soft in the space, careful as though to not bring too much attention to herself.
Oliver watched as she ran her hands over the keyboard on the desk, taking in the world around her. Swallowing deeply, Oliver took the chance to question her, "I was thinking all of this would be more of a shock. Are you saying you called this all along?' He tried to lighten the mood a little, he wanted, needed her to accept what he was telling her.
Felicity's head snapped up, her eyes a little softer than before, "I'm not saying anything, except you have dropped some fairly ridiculous lies on me recently Oliver. I may be blonde, but I'm not that blonde." She raised her eyebrow at him, challenging him to disagree but he never would. "Plus, I knew that all of this…" she motioned towards his body, his chest and the muscles underneath the suit, "…can't have just been from keeping yourself entertained on the island."
Oliver nodded towards her, he was answer what he could if she asked, but he was glad that she still assumed he was on the island the whole time. But her next question stopped him for a second.
Felicity had long since raise her fingers from the keyboard, resting them against her chest, almost as though she was holding herself together, "But why come to me?" He had been back for almost two months and the vigilante had been working for pretty much that whole time, so why would he suddenly come to her?
Oliver huffed out a laugh, that was a loaded question, "Hard as it is for me to admit, even I need help sometimes." He looked away quickly before glancing back up at her, relaxing a little when he saw a smirk on her own face and a raised eyebrow. Admitting he needed help was never something that Oliver was good at, he also knew that Felicity relished in hearing it when he said it.
Felicity gave a short nod, moving around back around the room to the table she had originally come from but this time she leaned over, reaching for the bow that was place carefully in its case, almost on display for the world to see. Except it was just her and him. "This bow has put quite a few arrows in quite a few people…" She lifted it from the case, not even caring it he was protective over it something. Bringing it up to her eyeline, Felicity pulled back on the string, glancing over at Oliver as she did.
Oliver's shoulder dropped a little, he knew what the media thought of him, he was a murderer, he knew it and so did the rest of Starling, but he wasn't doing all of this because he wanted to be liked, "Yeah bad people." He couldn't help but defend himself, a little defensive to her comment.
Felicity raised her eyebrow, placing the bow back down very gently, "And that doesn't bother you?"
Oliver sighed, sitting back against the table behind him, "Felicity…Doing this – I am trying to help the people of this city - "
"-And the collateral damage?" She shot back just a quickly, but her voice was steady.
"There is always collateral damage in war." Oliver was just a quick in his reply, crossing his arms over his chest.
Silence fell on the two of them, Oliver trying to gauge what Felicity was thinking, Felicity trying to get her head around this new information. The only sound that broke the silence was the sudden beeping of the computer behind Oliver, the music from Verdant upstairs had long since stopped.
Oliver turned at the sound, his eyes flashing over the search that he had running, another dead end in the hunt for Adam Hunt. He groaned, frustrated that he was still coming up empty. He felt the pressure of a hand on his shoulder, pushing him out of the way of the computer, Felicity leaning over in his place. "What or who are you trying to look for?"
Oliver stood back, watching her for a second, this was why he had called her wasn't it? "Adam Hunt. I've found some information that puts him right in the middle of the manufacturing and distribution of Vertigo."
Felicity's head shot up, she had yet to ask him what he was even doing. She had assumed that he was just going after drug dealers but never thought that maybe there was more to it than that. At the confused look on her face, Oliver continued, "When I was…gone…I stumbled upon a drug plantation. They were growing the ingredients for make Vertigo and when shipping them here, where they are manufactured and sold throughout Starling City. This is the home of Vertigo and I plan to stop it. Adam Hunt is connected to it all. All I have is a name after him but I know that he can lead me to The Count."
Felicity nodded again, her fingers flashing to the keyboard once more, this time she typed away, different screens popped up, keystrokes requesting different information. But she sighed, "Your system looks like it's from the 80's and not the good part of the 80's like Madonna or you know, legwarmers."
She tuned to look at him, crossing her arms over her chest pointedly, "You are going to need a better set up, a better upgrade and a better running system. And you are going to need someone to set it up for you."
Oliver watched her closely, a very slight, small upturn of his lips happening, "It'll be a lot of work? Does that mean you're in?"
She scoffed, he always assumed so much from her, "You mean as I'm going to join your crusade?" He nodded, may as well just get the question out there. "Nope." He deflated a little at the finality of her answer.
"Then why do you want to upgrade my system?" He tilted his head to look at her, watching her closely.
"Because seeing a system set up this poorly, hurts me…in my soul. I will help you find Adam Hunt but that's it. After that, I want to go back to life as a boring IT girl. That's my offer. And Oliver I don't want anything to do with all of this if you keep killing people, there has to be another way." She could see the toll it was taking on him when he took a life, just by looking at him she could see the changes in him and she would do her best to keep those sorts of changes to a minimum.
Oliver studied Felicity for a second, did she really believe he could do things a different way? Could he be better than what he thought he was?
Slowly he held out his hand for her, smiling when she took it in agreeance. "Deal." They smiled at each other for a moment, knowing that this was not going to be as easy as that.
Felicity ran directly into the entrance of Verdant, she was shaking, her whole body raked with adrenaline and absolute fear. She needed help and she needed help now. She hoped that someone would be there but, in the end, she actually had no idea how she would explain this. It has been almost a month that she had been helping Oliver and sure he had come back with cuts and bruises and things that needed to be stitched up but this was different, this was life or death.
But she couldn't carry Oliver any further, he was heavy and had passed out just as they reached the doors. There was no way she could carry him down the stairs, through the door, into the Foundry and get him onto the medical table.
She vaguely heard the sound of the entrance door banging against the concrete wall outside but it didn't matter. Saving Oliver's life was the only thing that mattered to her.
She skidded onto the dance floor, the staff has long since left now that it was 6am but she hoped, just hoped that Tommy would still be around.
"Tommy!" She called out, her head whipping around hoping to see him. Now she panicked, she had no idea what she would do if he wasn't there. "TOMMY!" She tried again, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard the thumping of boots on the stairs coming down from the office.
"Felicity! What is going on? What's-" Tommy stopped at a skid in front of her, his eyes widening as he looked over her, blood had soaked her hands and her shirt, smeared over her neck. "Oh my God, are you ok?" Instantly he was at her, trying to seeing what was wrong with her.
Felicity pushed his hands away, "I'm fine but please, can you help? He's really heavy." She watched as Tommy scrunched his eyebrows at her but nodded, following her instantly back out the door and around the back of the bar.
"Felicity what is going on?" He was a few steps behind her, shocked when she stopped by the doorway he didn't know existed, crouching at something that was huddled against the way. It was still dark enough that he couldn't really see what was happening or who it was.
Felicity turned around to stare at Tommy, her hands resting against what he assumed was a person. "Please, I need you to help me get him up..." silently, Tommy nodded again, ignoring the sudden fear and anxiety that overcame him when he realised that at Felicity's feet was the vigilant. He froze for a second, "Tommy...please..." she begged him again, snapping him out of his shock.
It took only 3 more minutes before Tommy and Felicity had hauled up the vigilante - who still had his head down and hood covering his face - into the Foundry and onto the table waiting for them. Tommy watched as Felicity moved around, pulling bits and pieces from trolleys and trays and that's when Tommy snapped, realising that they were medical supplies she was grabbing.
This was then he took a better look at the man on the table, his head turned away still, there was blood dripping from a wound in his shoulder. Immediately, Tommy reached for him, his own hands crashing over the wound stopping the blood flow. His medical instincts kicked in, suddenly thankful that he'd at least done a few years of his medical training before dropping out.
"We need to stop the bleeding." Felicity rushes back to Tommy's side, swallowing deeply before she glanced at his side. Tommy watched as she reached for the vigilante's jacket unzipping it slowly before she reached for the hood.
Tommy felt like he had been kicked in the guts, the slow movement of Felicity's hands gave Tommy full view of the injured vigilante on the table. His best friends face staring back at him. "Ollie? What?"
But Felicity shook her head, pushing him away briefly to pull the jacket from his body, throwing it on the floor and leaving Oliver bare chest and bleeding out. "Tommy please..." she wrapped her hand around his wrist, begging him to help, Tommy looked down at her hand, tightly holding onto him, the red stain of Oliver's blood staring back at him.
And so, he did, together they worked to stabilise him, he had been shot in the chest, just below the collar bone and he was bleeding, heavily. Felicity may have learned how to stitch up cut and gashes but this was different, this was something that she couldn't wing her way through.
The silence between the two was deafening as they worked, Felicity knew Tommy would be full of questions the moment they were done. After about 20 minutes they'd finally stopped the bleeding, removed the bullet from below his collar bone, Oliver's heart rate had steadied and they've been able to stitch up the wound.
A deep sigh of relief was heard from both of them through the Foundry, the severity of the situation catching up to them both.
Oliver had almost died.
But now Tommy had questions. Spinning on his heals, Tommy found Felicity sitting at a very elaborate computer set up, multiple screens, flashes of searches and beeping echoing through the large room, it was clear that she has set this up which mean she had been working with Oliver for a while. He just watched her, too shocked to really say anything.
With a few keystrokes, the largest screen in front of Felicity, the news coming to life.
"And in other news, police have confirmed that Starling City business mogul Adam Hunt has had a run in with the Starling City vigilante. It seems as though the Hood found reason to approach Hunt."
"As previously reported, Hunt has been linked to the most recent deaths of young people in the Starling City night life. It is unknown of the outcome but there are unconfirmed reports that the Hood was injured in the confrontation however, Hunt remains unharmed. We will bring you more on this story as it-"
Felicity groaned, switching off the TV screen and flicking to another, "He was injured and the police did find a blood sample but oops…some poor intern has just had it destroyed." She sounded proud of herself and a little smug to.
But that was until Felicity turned in her chair, her smile falling from her lips when she saw the look on Tommy's face. "So…" She was going to push him, it was better they have this argument now with Oliver asleep than awake because when he was awake, they would be having their own argument.
Tommy opened his mouth and then closed it, doing that once or twice more until he exploded. Felicity had never, in her entire life actually seen Tommy this angry. "Felicity what the fuck is going on!?" He stepped closer to her chair, Felicity visibly wincing as the loud voice that echoed through the Foundry. "This is unbelievable! Like you can't be serious about all this right, now can you? Think about this-"
"I have thought about this Tommy. It's not as bad as you think-" By this point, Felicity had made her way to Oliver' side, her hand ghosting over his face as he slept.
"Not as bad as I think? Felicity he is a murderer!"
This caused Felicity to spin on her heels, tight and angry look on her face, "He is not a murderer Tommy. He is trying to help this city! He is doing things differently now. I would never have agreed to help him if he didn't."
Tommy couldn't believe what Felicity was saying, she actually believed that Oliver – the vigilante – was doing good. Shaking his head, he moved as far from her as he possible could, finding himself by Oliver's bow and arrows set up. He placed both his hands face down on the table and leaned over, trying to hold his anger in. He could hear Felicity moving back to her seat, the sound of keys typing away filled the Foundry for the next long while.
The sound of Oliver groaning caught Felicity's attention, she turned in her seat and rushed to his side, thankful that Tommy was on the other side of the room and out of Oliver's view for the time being, "Oliver…" she breathed, crouching by his side with a hand on his cheek,
Oliver signed into the hand before slowly rolling before sitting up, "Guess I didn't die…again. Cool." He huffed a small laugh but Felicity's glare halted that instantly. He reached out for her hand holding her wrist gently, "Hey, I'm fine. I promised you I would be fine and I am."
"Yeah well, you almost weren't fine."
Oliver knew that deep voice, he would recognize it anywhere. Slowly Oliver stood from the table and Felicity was given a stark reminder of how big he actually was, how much taller and wider than her he actually was. "You told him who I am?"
If angry and yelling Oliver scared Felicity – then softly spoken, furious Oliver was scarier, but Felicity held her ground. She would never apologize for saving Oliver's life. "Yeah I did."
Her honestly stumped him from a minute, his back straightening, although it seemed a struggle to do, his body still getting over the shock of his injury. "It's not your secret to tell Felicity. I decide who finds out my identity."
But she doubled down, crossing her arms over chest, trying to make herself bigger, "Well I didn't have time to get your vote what with you unconscious and dying. How is this any different to you telling me?"
That set Oliver off, his voice raising instantly, "The difference is that I made a plan to tell you! I don't just tell people easily."
Tommy stepped up suddenly, he didn't like how Oliver was talking to Felicity and didn't like being ignored, "Hey! Stop being a jerk! You should be thanking Felicity. She saved your life." Tommy and Felicity watched as Oliver deflated after a moment, his body sagging and leaning against the med table.
"Oliver…" Felicity came to stand in front of him, her fingers resting against his forearms. Tommy was tempted to get in between them, protecting Felicity but it seemed that she was calming Oliver down, something that she had always been able to do. "…I did what I thought was right Oliver. After you passed out, I couldn't carry you anymore and I'm sorry but I will not apologize for saving your life or asking Tommy for help doing it." Her hands slipped from his forearms before she turned away from him, her heels clicking on the concrete floors. She was headed for the back door, she needed air and he would give it to her, he would always give it to her no matter how angry he was at her.
"You really did lose your mind on that island." Tommy spoke again, disgust in his voice at the thought of what Oliver was doing. That his best friend was a murdering vigilante.
Oliver sighed deeply as he pushed away from the table, reaching for the grey hoodie that sat on the back of Felicity's chair, slipping it on. "Found a few things along the way."
Tommy scoffed, now was not the time Oliver Queen's flippancy, "Like what? Archery classes?" He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Oliver.
Oliver shook his head, his body settle back into itself, "Like clarity." Oliver knew what he was doing, he knew what he was doing was right. "Starling City is dying; it is being poisoned by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt as long as they maintain their wealth and power." It disgusted him that in that sentence he would even drop his own family name into. Robert Queen had more to do with all of this than he a) cared to admit and b) actually knew.
Tommy looked at Oliver incredulously, "And what are you going to do? Take them all down by your lonesome? Oliver you're are not a solider. You're a criminal and a murderer." The words echoed through the vast and empty Foundry.
Tommy was angry, he was furious and disgusted and frustrated. "Oliver what you are doing is bad. What the hell have you become because this…" he motioned to Oliver and the Foundry around him, "…this is insane and you are even more insane for bringing Felicity into this!" Tommy pushed himself past Oliver, his shoulder bumping into Oliver's harshly before making his way to the same door that Felicity had already left from.
Oliver was left in silence, his body protesting about being upright and his mind reeling from the anger he saw in Felicity's eyes and the pain of what Tommy thought of him. Murderer. Criminal.
