Thea Queen's Loft, Night
With Ra's al Ghul defeated, Oliver decided that he needed to rediscover himself but to do that he needed to leave Starling City for a while; but fortunately, he wasn't leaving alone. During his war against the League of Assassins, he and Laurel managed to rekindle their romance; even now he could still recall their lovemaking in Nanda Parbat. She did, however, make him promise that they would come back to this city one day to keep fighting the good fight; something that he agreed to. While packing his clothes, Oliver noticed Thea leaving Malcolm giving the two orchestrators of Oliver's plan to infiltrate the League some time alone.
"I've upheld our end of the arrangement," Malcolm said getting down to business immediately.
"Yes, you have. But the thing is Malcolm ... I'm not going to uphold mine." Oliver revealed to the sociopath.
"We had a deal, Oliver." Malcolm reminded him as his anger starting to show.
"One I had no intention of every fulfilling," Oliver said plainly.
"So what, you're going to assume the mantle of the Demon's Head?" Malcolm speculated.
"No, I've given the ring to Nyssa," Oliver said and Malcolm's eyes flared with anger. "Think of it as a divorce present."
"I thought you were many things, Oliver. Things that I'd admired. Things that made me think of you as a son. But I never thought you capable of being so dishonorable." Malcolm stated.
"You accuse me of being dishonorable!" Oliver shot back hotly but maintained a low tone so as to not worry Thea. "You killed Sara. And worst of all you used Thea, my sister-your own daughter to do it!"
"You wouldn't have been able to defeat Ra's without me." Malcolm reminded.
"I might never have to fight him in the first place if not for you." Oliver aggressively countered. "Everything that has ever happened these past several months is all because of you. If you think that you were going to be rewarded with control over the League after all of that ... then you are very much mistaken."
"So what happens now? Is Nyssa going to kill me?" Malcolm asked almost fearfully.
"It took a lot of convincing but I managed to convince her to swear on Sara's grave that she wouldn't, it was the sole condition I asked for in exchange for the ring; along with the League keeping their business out of Starling," Oliver explained noting the relief from Malcolm's face as he informed him that wasn't back to being hunted by the League again.
"And you actually believe that you can trust Nyssa al Ghul?" Malcolm asked slightly curious.
"No. But Laurel does. And did Sara. And I trust them a lot more than will ever trust you." Oliver clarified. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Sara ... or to my sister."
"So does this mean we're enemies again?" Malcolm inquired.
"Well, that depends on what you do next Malcolm. But let's be clear about something ... the only reason you're still breathing is that you're right; I wouldn't have been able to beat Ra's without you. And because of Thea ... like me, she doesn't have much family left; I'm not going to let her lose anymore." Oliver explained. "And despite everything that done now and in the past; rigging on our deal and then killing you is the kinda low I won't stoop too. Even if you do deserve it. So my advice to you Malcolm ... tread carefully and remember ... I just killed the one man you were afraid of. Imagine what I could do to you." Oliver finished and left Malcolm alone with his thoughts.
Author's Notes: Oliver has made many bad decisions in his life but giving Malcolm Merlyn control over the League of Assassins especially considering he was the orchestrator of all the crap he went through in Season 3 is easily in the Top 10. I understand that he was simply trying to keep his word but giving someone like Malcolm control over the League is stupid and dangerous. My reasons for why he let Malcolm continue to live are at the bottom because Oliver is too honorable to back out of a deal then kill that someone he made that deal with even if it is the smarter choice.