OLICITY! Sorry, favorite ship. Onward to the thief Archers.
The recent couple had moved in sync to get to their destination. What they came to the lair to find was Speedy suited up and heading out. Oliver stopped his sister as Felicity moved on.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Oliver didn't want Thea in the field if her head wasn't in the game. Thea surprised him though. She had clear, focused eyes and she was nodding before he finished the question. With a nod, the older Queen went off to suit up while the youngest got a comm from the computer genius. Looking up at the youngest member of the team, Felicity voiced her concern with only a look. Thankfully both Queens are adept at reading her easily. Thea just gave her smile letting her know she was alright.
Oliver came back for his own comm and kissed Felicity's temple before the siblings headed out for their first mission together. On the ride over, Thea questioned her older brother.
"What did I miss between you and Felicity?" A cry of shock came over the comms, followed by a snort of laughter. The siblings were on their own separate bikes. Oliver responded after a few minutes.
"I finally asked her out. She said yes." Thea swerved when she heard that. She was surprised she didn't have to intervene with the relationship before he made a move. Oliver laughed at her reaction. "Yes, baby sister, I actually made a move without you needing to intervene." Thea outright laughed. Just a few minutes later they arrived.
As they were dismounting their bikes, the thief came running out. He had a sack in one hand, a gun in the other. He was wearing all black with a black ski mask on. The archers shot two different arrows at the same time. He was on the their left, so Speedy's arrow ran through the gun, and had the sack tacked to a telephone pole just beside the criminal. The Arrow's arrow was a jettison. The thief was tied to the metal street sign just behind the pole.
The thief cried out in pain, the sharpness of the arrow and the sudden jolt of hitting the metal knocking the wind out of him. Oliver moved deliberately slow, to scare the thief even more. Ripping the mask off of the criminal, Oliver growled the first question.
"What did you take?" The thief didn't answer. He refused. Thea huffed in annoyance and went to the sack, opening it after taking it down. What she found pissed her off. There was three pieces of jewelry in the sack. A necklace, a ring, and tiara. The necklace was the Lost Jewel, but the ring is what truly pissed her off. She always wanted to have that ring. Especially as an engagement ring.
She put the sack down and used the arrow again to stab it straight through the guys shoulder. "Who hired you?" Thea was growling and for some reason a pissed off Speedy was more frightening than a threatening Arrow. Maybe it had something to do with that fact that she stabbed him. "I will only ask once more. Tell me. Who. hired. you?"
The thief shakenly stuttered out his boss.
"Knyazev. Anatoly Kynazev. He said he wanted the necklace but that I could take two pieces of my choice." Thea thanked him by ripping the arrow out of his shoulder, no further damage done to him. He passed out from the pain. Oliver turned to his younger sister inquiringly. She was breathing heavy and was running her hands through her hair under the hood.
Seeing as she wasn't in the mood to talk, Oliver picked up the sack. When he saw it's contents he sighed. He heard his name called over the comms, his love wanted to know what was going on. Oliver relayed what happened, he even told her the reason for Thea's outburst. Felicity sighed and told them to come home.
"Leave the ring and tiara, but grab the necklace. I'll tell Lance what is going on, and not to expect to find it there. What are we doing about Anatoly?" Felicity was already orchestrating the behind the scenes action while Oliver got his sister onto her bike and headed back to the lair with the Lost Jewel in his pocket.
"That is a good question, Oracle. A very good question."
When the Queen's descended the stairs they were met by the Noss'.
Vivian spoke first. "Oliver what is going on?"
Oliver guided his sister over to her boyfriend to hopefully calm her down before he answered the younger twin.
"Anatoly decided to steal the Lost Jewel himself. Apparently he knew where it was, he just wanted to see if I was helping Mark steal from the Bratva." Oliver had put his bow away as he was speaking and moved over to Felicity. "Apparently he thinks I am going to help a former friend at the expense of pissing him off."
Vivian scoffed, Brian growled, and Mark smirked. The oldest spoke.
"He clearly doesn't know you then." Oliver hummed in agreement as he took the necklace out of his pocket and presented it to his IT girl. She gasped at how beautiful the jewel in question was. The IT girl was shocked that something that expensive was even in her presence. Placing it ever so gently on the desk beside her, Felicity got to work on tracking down the head of the Bratva. Oliver on the other hand moved back to the set of three.
"We still need to know why someone would want to set you up. What would someone get with having you out of the way and my Bratva connection gone?" Oliver was leaning against the desk to the left of Felicity with the Noss siblings standing in front of him. Brian had his head tilted to the side in thought while Vivian and Mark were watching each other.
Oliver could see the conversation happening between the twins, and waited. All that the occupants could hear was Felicity typing, the sounds of the machines hooked up to Roy and their own breathing. When the twins shifted away from each other Oliver growled. They knew what was happening.
"Spill. I will be damned if I don't know what is happening in my city." The oldest twin sighed. Vivian placed her hand on his arm in support.
"We made an enemy when we got off the island. He at first took us in, nursed us back to health. When we were able to live on our own, we asked him to send help back to you and your friends. He refused, unless we gave him something." Mark refused to meet Oliver's eyes. Oliver was not expecting that in the least.
"What did he want?"
Vivian looked up. "Me, Oliver. He wanted me. He demanded that, in return for helping you off the island, I be his wife. To give him an heir. The sick bastard even tried to kidnap me when we refused. I was willing to do it but Mark wouldn't let me." Mark had let out a growl. Oliver huffed in response.
"Of course he didn't. Vivian you are is his twin sister, his baby sister. I would have done the same thing." Oliver tried to reassure the young woman but she wouldn't have it.
"Oliver we owe you our lives. If you hadn't found us we would have died in that cave, we most certainly never would have gotten off the island. We should have helped." Vivian was getting visibly upset.
Oliver sighed. He knew that getting her to understand this would be difficult. What he didn't count on was his love to be listening.
"Vivian," Felicity got up as she spoke. "When you are the younger sibling, there is nothing, nothing, that your older sibling wouldn't do for you. Besides, Oliver would never have been able to live with himself if the cost of him getting off the island was you." The blonde got closer to the dark haired girl. "You are not to blame. The man who made the request is. He couldn't find a wife on his own, and he couldn't take no for an answer so he latched onto you. His obsession is to blame." Felicity had Vivian by the shoulders and was forcing her to look her in the eye.
"Give me a name and I will end this nightmare. Well, a name and a date of birth but still. It will end, I promise." Felicity stared into the dark blue eyes of a frightened young girl. Vivian nodded with tears in her eyes.
"His name is Alexander Dod. April 6th, 1970." Mark was the one who spoke. Felicity glanced at him and nodded. The computer genius went to work at her computers while the twins embraced. The youngest Noss embraced them both. Oliver glanced over at his own sibling only to see her watching him while she ran her fingers through Roy's hair.
She tilted her head in a silent question, one that Oliver was having a hard time understanding why she even needed to ask it.
"Of course, Thea. In a true sibling relationship, you would do anything for the other. I wouldn't hesitate to stop anyone from harming you, or anyone else I consider my sibling. As would you, correct?" Oliver watched as understanding cleared her eyes. She nodded before turning back to the unconscious Arsenal. Oliver in turn turned to his love.
Felicity had already compiled everything about Dod's past. Now all she needed was his current location. This was proving difficult.
"On the upper hand though I know where Anatoly is." Oliver stood straight at this news. The Noss siblings froze. "He's upstairs. He doesn't look happy either." Oliver sighed. With the tiniest movement he swiped up the necklace and moved to the stairs. All that was said as he left was for him to be careful.
Anatoly was not happy. In fact he was pissed off. He trusted the wrong man. He should have known better than to believe anyone that Oliver would betray him. Unless it was Anatoly threatening his family, Oliver would always back the Russian. The Bratva leader looked up from the bar as he was broken from his inner turmoil. Oliver had entered the club silently, hoping to gauge his friends current mood. The Russian only sighed and sat down.
Oliver moved to get them both a drink but Anatoly waved him off.
Speaking in English before switching to Russian, Anatoly began to explain his actions.
"I apologize my friend. I should have know better than to trust someone I didn't know over you. This Dod, he came to me with evidence, proof, that you stole the jewel once more. I ignored my instincts and for that I am truly sorry." Anatoly's voice had gotten softer as he continued to speak. He shifted closer to Oliver as well. "I hope you can forgive me." He flicked his eyes up to the younger man, before turning back down to the bar. "And I hope that Miss Vivian is well. I told my men to make sure she was taken care of, an order they sadly didn't follow.
"If you think I am going to retaliate against any of your team, it is only because I lost faith in you first." Anatoly was going to continue justifying himself, but Oliver cut him off.
In Russian he replied. "It's quite alright. I have no doubt you wouldn't have blown up your own men just to kill Arsenal and Vivian." Anatoly snorted at that. "They are both doing better. Arsenal is in bad shape but he is healing. As for Viv, she just needs to eat." The older man nodded in relief. "What I don't understand is why you told your thief to take two items for himself."
Anatoly winced at that one. He chuckles humorously.
"Yeah, about that. Heh. Oliver I apologize. I thought it might give him some incentive to do so. I wasn't going to let him keep any of your treasures." Anatoly sighed in frustration and laid his head on his arms. Oliver smiled tightly and placed a hand on his former mentors arm hoping to calm him.
When the Russian looked up he was staring right at the Necklace he lost.
"Oliver," he breathed in shock. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Oliver just smiled as the man took the necklace gently, almost as if he was afraid he would break it.
"Be careful around my team. they aren't the most welcoming at the moment." Oliver could tell his old friend was lost in memories but he needed to warn him at least. Anatoly nodded in understanding berfore standing himself.
"Thank you, old friend. I do hope your young protégé gets well. He has much of his life yet to live." As he spoke, the young computer genius came up the stairs with the younger twin. Both women stood at the end of the bar watching the Russian for what he would do next. Anatoly stood silently, turning to them.
When he spoke Felicity moved closer to Vivian.
"I hope you both can forgive me in time. I never wanted any harm to come to you Miss Noss. Nor to the Arsenal." Before he could say anything else though Felicity asked him a question.
"Do you know where Dod is? He's the one who pointed you to Mark and Vivian isn't he?" The blonde stared him down. She refused to be intimidated by the Russian. He in turn softened his eyes and smiled gently.
"No, Miss Smoak. I do not know the location for Dod, currently. If you will allow me, I would find him for you, to help my cause if I must. I do apologize again for my actions." Felicity gave him a small glare for a moment before looking to her archer. The Russian spoke before Oliver could. "I swear on this necklace, that I will help and tell nothing but the truth from now on."
Felicity have him a short nod. Oliver smiled and thanked him while the others watched him warily. The head of the Bratva stood, with another heartfelt apology, and left the three in silence.
"Now what?"
Cliff hangar. I know it's been awhile. I apologize. Road block. Plus a busy life. Work has not been easy on me. I hope this makes up for it. Stay tuned. The bears has only one appearance left. From now on it is taking down Dod. And yes, he is the big bad of this story, promise no more bad guy twists. Until next time Archers!