Oliver stared at the bow.
It wasn't at all what he was used to. It was a compound bow, popular with hunters for its ability to generate force with less effort from the archer. It looked ungainly to him, with its pulleys and cables, and he had a feeling it was going to be awkward strapped to his back. He could see Diggle eyeing it and suspected he was thinking the same thing.
On the other hand, it was midnight on a Saturday and he was three thousand miles from Starling, so the fact that he was standing in J.T.'s living room even looking at a bow was something of a miracle. Despite J.T.'s brave words about New York being the city that never sleeps, they hadn't been able to find a sporting goods store open after ten pm. They'd briefly debated breaking into one, but then Catherine had come up with an alternate plan.
She'd called a fellow detective who hunted, and had given him a surprisingly convincing story about a cousin visiting from the west coast who just had to go shooting in upstate New York on Sunday. The detective had agreed to lend her his bow, but only after he'd spent a good ten minutes flirting with her. It had been clear that he'd like to get to know Catherine better - a lot better. Oliver had almost cringed when he'd listened to the guy; the detective reminded him of himself when he was younger and determined to get into a girl's pants.
Fortunately, Keller had not been there to hear it. He was keeping watch outside the Velograph building in case the Martin brothers decided to move Tess. Oliver believed the doctor was a level-headed guy (at least when not Beasted-out), but hearing some sleaze ball hit on your girlfriend could be pretty hard to take. If someone had spoken to Felicity that way, Oliver would have been tempted to rearrange a few body parts. Not that Felicity was his girlfriend, of course.
At any rate, Catherine had managed the detective just fine on her own. Keeping Keller's secret over the years had evidently given her a talent for the half-truth because she'd strung her colleague along masterfully, giving him encouragement but never committing. Oliver wondered how she felt about that, given that she was basically an honest woman. He also wondered – with a twinge of guilt - whether he was encouraging Felicity to develop that same skill for the half-truth by keeping her as a part of Team Arrow.
"Well?" J.T. asked him, as he studied the bow.
Oliver sighed and looked at the telescopic sight that he didn't need. "It wouldn't have been my first choice," he said. Then he shrugged. "At least it's not a crossbow."
He glanced at Felicity for her reaction, but she was busy at the computer, studying the specs for the Velograph building.
"Do you think it will work?" J.T. persisted.
Oliver picked up the bow and held it as if he were about to shoot. It was light, despite the extra cables and hardware. He recalled that compound bows were prone to twisting, particularly for an archer who wasn't accustomed to the mechanical assist from the pulleys. Twisting could reduce accuracy.
He nocked an arrow and glanced around the room. There was a thin chord holding a lamp that was hung from the ceiling. He took aim at it - and fired.
The arrow sliced neatly through the chord and the lamp crashed to the floor.
It appeared accuracy wasn't going to be a problem. "I guess it'll do the job," he said more positively.
J.T. stared at the broken lamp. "And what job is that, exactly? Destroying my living room?"
It was Digg who answered. "Oliver will go onto the roof of the building next to Velograph – it's got less security so it should be easy for him to get up there. Then he'll shoot an arrow to fix a line between the two buildings, and zipline over and enter Velograph through a window. Felicity's looking at the specs now to see if any of the windows are out of sight of the security cameras."
"Bathrooms are often a good bet," Felicity chimed in. "In older buildings, the windows actually open so it's easier to break in. And companies stay away from surveillance in bathrooms because they're worried about privacy lawsuits."
"You sound like you have a lot of experience with this," Catherine said dryly.
Felicity looked at Oliver and then Digg. "Some," she agreed mildly. She pointed to a spot on her computer screen. "This looks like a good breaking and entering point; top floor of the building, northeast corner. It's a restroom, away from the street."
Oliver and Diggle both nodded. J.T., on the other hand, appeared concerned.
"And then what?" he asked Oliver. "You manage to get into the building and-"
"And I try to find Tess," Oliver finished. "Hopefully without drawing a lot of attention. And after I find her - I get out."
J.T. threw up his hands. "You make it sound so simple," he said, "but we all know it won't be. What if Security spots you? What if the Martin brothers are guarding Tess? What if Billy Beasts-out? There's a dozen things that can go wrong."
Oliver frowned, confused. "I thought you were in favor of trying to rescue Tess. You seemed to like the idea a couple of hours ago. Have you changed your mind?"
J.T. shook his head. "Of course I want to rescue her. But I thought we'd have more of a plan. It feels like we're flying by the seat of our pants here."
Oliver looked at Catherine, hoping she would know what to say. J.T. was her friend; she must have plenty of practice dealing with his nerves.
It was Felicity, however, who answered. "Oliver will cover his face," she replied matter-of-factly. "And I think I can take down the security cameras one floor at a time rather than all at once. With any luck, the guards are half asleep and won't even notice."
"And if Billy Martin is waiting and Beasts-out?"
Felicity pressed her lips together and didn't say anything.
"Vincent will go with Oliver," Catherine said. "If Billy Beasts-out, then Vincent will be there to make sure he doesn't kill anyone."
Oliver looked over at her and frowned. He hadn't planned on bringing a civilian. If it looked like backup was needed, he would much prefer Digg.
But Felicity was nodding at Catherine. "That's a good idea," she agreed. "Vincent can handle Billy. And he's already waiting at the Velograph building."
Oliver felt a flash of irritation, similar to the one he'd felt on the night of Martin's hospital benefit. He was reminded that Felicity had only known Keller for five days, yet seemed to have absolute confidence in him. It bothered him that she was so quick to trust a stranger – who happened to be a good-looking guy.
"Felicity-" he began.
She didn't let him finish. "Oliver, if Billy Martin Beasts-out you're going to need a Beast on your side to fight him. It makes perfect sense."
Oliver looked at the bow and thought, not if I've got a bow with me.
She followed his glance and shook her head. "You're especially going to need Vincent because you're not going to arrow Billy."
"I'm not?"
"No. It's not his fault he's a Beast. Someone made him that way. He just wants it to stop."
It was a very Felicity-thing to say. Oliver stared at her and she stared back. She looked pretty defiant.
J.T. cleared his throat. "Just a small clarification, Oliver; if you do shoot him, you're going to have to shoot to kill. If you wound him, you're only going to make him angrier. Beasts are kind of like The Hulk that way."
Oliver studied J.T.'s expression to see if he was joking. It didn't appear so. On the other hand, J.T. didn't look totally broken up at the notion of Oliver shooting Billy. If it got Tess out of there safely, Oliver figured J.T. might look past the moral ambiguities.
Still…the last thing Oliver wanted to do was kill someone.
He sighed. "Fine. I won't arrow Billy – unless it's a matter of life or death."
"It won't come to that."
It was Catherine who had spoken. They all turned to her.
"Here's what we're going to do," she said, sounding crisp and businesslike. "J.T. – I assume you still have the ingredients from the last time and can mix up a little of your tranquilizer?" When he nodded, she continued, "Great; do that, and then fix the tranq to a couple of arrows for Oliver. That way he can shoot Billy, if necessary, without killing him."
Oliver's eyebrows went up. The last time? Had they done battle with another Beast? Or had they needed the tranquilizer for Vincent?
J.T. nodded again and headed for the bar in the corner of the large living room. He pulled out several vials of liquid and started measuring.
"Oliver," Catherine went on, "you and Vincent will go onto the roof of the building next to Velograph and zipline to the window. Felicity will remain here and take the security cameras down as needed."
It was Oliver's turn to nod.
"And Digg," Catherine said, "I think you and I should stay at street level outside the Velograph building in case Oliver and Vincent trip any kind of alarm. That way, if somebody shows up, we can stall them."
"Sounds good," Diggle replied.
Catherine smiled. "Great. I think we're all on the same page." She glanced at J.T. "Does that sound more like a plan to you, now?" she asked. "Are you feeling any better?"
J.T. rolled his eyes. "I guess I can live with it," he replied sourly.
"Good. Then, let's get to work."
J.T. went back to mixing the tranquilizer while Felicity resumed studying the Velograph specs on the computer. Catherine Chandler was a force to be reckoned with, Oliver realized, in spite of her small size and soft voice. He wondered if it came to her naturally, or if her time as a detective had made her such a leader.
He looked up to find Digg regarding him with an amused expression. He seemed to be saying, How does it feel having someone else in charge? Oliver frowned at Digg and refused to acknowledge the question. Instead, he moved to stand behind Felicity's chair and examine the Velograph blueprints over her shoulder.
"Show me again where you think we should go in?" he said.
She pointed to the blueprint. "This is the street side here," she explained, tracing a series of lines with her finger. "I would stay away from this part of the building – there's too much light and you'll be easy to spot. You want to go in one of the windows at the back. The restroom I mentioned earlier is here." She indicated a corner of the building, away from the street.
Oliver leaned forward to get a closer look, resting one hand on her shoulder and placing his head close to hers. It was a familiar position; he'd stood like this many times back in Starling when they were preparing for a mission. She glanced down at his hand and then up at his face, and smiled slightly. He felt a jolt as he remembered that he'd kissed that smile earlier in the day. A small kiss during an unromantic conversation about ketchup, but a kiss nonetheless.
And suddenly, his hand on her shoulder seemed to have a whole other meaning. What was it the damn Coney Island fortune-teller had said? Your joint life-force is strong? Your lives will always be entwined? After waking up with Felicity, spending most of the day alone with her and finally kissing her, the familiar contact they'd shared dozens of times now felt too intimate and kind of like a promise. And he didn't think he was ready for promises.
So he did what he often did in uncomfortable moments; he focused on the mission. He turned his gaze back to the computer, removed his hand from her shoulder, and took a step away from her chair.
Felicity flushed and gave him a confused look, but said nothing. After a moment, she apparently decided to take her cue from him and get back to business. She pointed once more to the drawing of the building. "The window for the twentieth floor bathroom is here," she said, tracing another set of lines with her finger. "And I think the closest security camera is here." She moved her finger to a spot a respectable distance away. "So, I don't think anyone will see you come in. You can let me know once you and Vincent are in the bathroom, and then I'll start taking the security cameras offline."
Digg stepped beside Oliver and looked down at the computer. "Where do you think Cat and I should station ourselves?" he asked.
Oliver leaned forward to study the drawing once more. He almost placed his hand on Felicity's shoulder again, because – dammit – it felt like the natural thing to do, but he caught himself in time. "There are alleys on either side of the building. I think you should each take one. Stand near the street, but enough in the shadows so that you won't easily be seen."
"Sounds good."
"We've still got the communication links from Martin's ball," Catherine added. "So we can stay in touch."
Oliver smiled. "Great." He glanced over toward the bar. "How's the tranquilizer coming?" he called out to J.T.
J.T. held up a test tube of clear liquid. "All set. Just getting it into a syringe so you can attach it to an arrow."
"Great," Oliver said again.
The room went quiet as they looked at one another.
After a moment, Catherine started pulling on her jacket. "Let's go get Tess," she said.
Catherine, Digg and Oliver stepped out of J.T.'s house, closing the door behind them. It was a little after one in the morning and there was a chill in the air that had been missing during the day. Catherine had lent Oliver one of Vincent's hoodies (requisite apparel for all men protecting secret identities, apparently) and he zipped it up, grateful for the warmth.
"Let's turn on our comm links now," he suggested to Cat and Digg. "That way we can let Felicity and J.T. know if we see anything unusual on our way to Velograph." And without waiting for their assent, he reached up to place the bud in his ear.
Diggle stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"In a second," Digg said. The tone of his voice made it sound like an order.
Oliver frowned and then exhaled impatiently. "I thought we were good to go. Did you just think of a problem with the plan?"
Digg shook his head. "The plan's fine. I stopped you because I want to make sure your head is in the game – yours and Felicity's."
Oliver gave him his best annoyed look. "Excuse me?"
Digg shrugged, unfazed. "You and Felicity were both acting a little weird at the computer, Oliver. Neither one of you seemed like yourself. That has me worried, especially given that we're going up against some strong opposition. Did something happen during the day?"
Did something happen during the day? How the hell was Oliver supposed to answer that question - honestly? Should he tell Digg that both nothing and everything happened? Should he tell him about fortune-tellers and ketchup? He decided it didn't matter, because they didn't have time. They were supposed to be saving Tess.
"Felicity and I are fine," he replied shortly. "I can tell you about our day later. Right now, we need to get to Velograph." He glanced at Catherine, expecting to see her agree with him. They were rescuing her best friend, after all. But she was regarding him with a curious expression very similar to Diggle's.
"You should tell me about it now, if it's going to interfere with the mission," Digg said evenly. He followed the direction of Oliver's glance. "Are you worried about saying something in front of Cat? Because you shouldn't be. With all the secret sharing we've done this week, she's practically family."
Maybe, Oliver thought. But there were secrets and then there were secrets. "Digg-" he began.
"You kissed her, didn't you?" Catherine said suddenly.
Oliver nearly dropped his earbud. "What?"
"I said, you kissed Felicity," she repeated. "You have the telltale look."
Diggle stopped staring at Oliver and turned to Catherine. "The telltale look?"
"Yeah, you know. The - this changes everything between us - look. The - omigod it was just one little kiss but now it feels like a commitment- look." She waved one hand. "Believe me, women everywhere are familiar with that look. If I weren't so worried about Tess I would have recognized it sooner."
Diggle shook his head skeptically. "Knowing Oliver," he said to Catherine, "I don't think-"
"Okay, fine," Oliver interrupted impatiently. They needed to get moving. "I kissed Felicity. It was one small kiss and it doesn't mean our heads aren't in the game."
Digg's jaw dropped. "You kissed her? Seriously, Oliver?"
"Do you have a problem with that, Digg?"
Digg grimaced. "I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm kind of torn between it's about time and what the fuck were you thinking."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not like I knew we were going to have a mission tonight. Felicity and I were on the beach at Coney Island having hot dogs and fries. She had this spot of ketchup on her face and I just leaned forward and…" He paused as he noted that both Catherine and Digg were starting to grin. "Anyway…it was a small kiss and no big deal – and she knows that…we both know that. And whatever look you think I have," he added to Catherine, "I don't have it."
She nodded seriously. "Right."
Digg looked at Catherine and shrugged. "Well, if he's kissed her, we're not going to resolve that one in the next few minutes. We may as well go to Velograph and hope for the best."
"Right," she repeated.
As expected, security in the building next to Velograph was nonexistent. There was a flimsy lock on the door and a single camera, which Oliver shot out with an arrow. The building appeared to contain rental office space for budding entrepreneurs who needed wireless internet access, a phone and printers for their one-person businesses. The first floor held dozens of cubicles, some bare, others decorated with enough bling to make Oliver wonder how its owner found a place to work. In the wee hours of a Sunday morning, the cubicles were empty. Apparently no one was so committed to his business that he was willing to work around the clock.
Oliver and Vincent pulled their hoods over their heads and opted to use the stairs, figuring the elevators had cameras for maintenance, if not for security. The building was twenty-two stories. As he followed Keller past the halfway point, Oliver tried to ignore the fact that the doctor wasn't breathing hard. Maybe being a Beast gave Keller extra cardiovascular capacity, he thought. He decided to turn his comm link off. No one was talking at the moment and he didn't want Felicity to compare his heavy breathing to Keller's silence. Not to mention that Digg was probably getting a chuckle out of it as well.
They emerged onto the roof and walked toward the side of the building adjacent to Velograph. Oliver removed the bow from his back and began doublechecking the arrow holding the zipline. Keller watched him with interest, but didn't ask any questions. After a minute, he reached up and turned his comm link off.
Evidently, the man had something he wanted to say – not unusual before a mission. Oliver stopped fiddling with the equipment, turned to Keller and waited.
"I heard you kissed Felicity," Vincent said conversationally.
"What?" Oliver had been expecting a speech about treating Billy Martin with kindness, something along of the lines of Felicity's, it's not his fault he's a Beast. He didn't think he was going to have to talk about the kiss; he was surprised Keller even knew about it. Vincent and Catherine had exchanged less than a dozen words when they met on the street a short while ago, but it seemed Catherine had found time to fill her boyfriend in. "Shouldn't we be focused on the mission?" he added.
"Sure – in a minute," Vincent agreed. He grinned briefly. "The kiss is a good thing," he continued, as if they were long-time pals. "It lets her know that you don't have her in the friend zone. The trick now is not to let it get all weird."
"I think it's a little late for that," Oliver replied. "It already feels weird. And I'm afraid that if things don't work out, we won't be able to go back." He was surprised by his answer. He should be telling Vincent that this was none of his business. Instead, he was actually confiding in the man. It felt kind of good.
Vincent shrugged philosophically. "Chances are, you weren't going to be able to keep her in the friend zone forever, anyway," he said. "At some point the two of you were going to have to figure things out."
Oliver sighed. "Maybe, but-"
There was a crackle of static in his ear. "Oliver? Vincent? Is everything all right?"
Speaking of Felicity. Her voice sounded loud and anxious over the comms.
Oliver smiled wryly at Vincent and the man shrugged as if to say, we can talk more later. Oliver turned his comm link back on. "We're fine, Felicity. We're on the roof of the building next to Velograph. I was just getting ready to set up the zipline."
"Well, maybe you could talk a little while you do it? I worry when I don't hear anything for a long period of time."
Oliver heard chuckles from multiple voices over the comms.
"Will do," he agreed.
He picked up the bow and nocked the arrow with the line attached to it. He stepped nearer the edge of the roof, took aim…and then narrowed his eyes and lowered the bow, letting his arm fall back to his side.
"Felicity – which window are we going in again?" he asked.
"The closest one to the corner. It's a bathroom."
"Yeah, that's the one I thought we were going for. Can you look up the dimensions?"
"The dimensions? Of the window? " She sounded puzzled by the question. "Sure. It's forty inches tall by…oh. Oh shit." Her voice fell flat.
Oliver smiled grimly. "How many inches in oh shit?"
She exhaled loudly in his ear. "Ten. It's ten inches wide. Why didn't I notice that before? It's one of those damn windows that cranks inward."
Oliver nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking it looks pretty small." He turned to Vincent. "Think you can fit through ten inches?"
Vincent shook his head. "No way in hell."
"Me either." Oliver stared at the side of the Velograph building. "We're going to need a different window, Felicity."
"Okay, let me see what I can find."
Oliver listened as her fingers tapped rapidly on the computer keyboard. After a minute, she said, "Looking at the video footage, I'm pretty sure there are alarms on every non-bathroom window in the building. The alarms aren't connected to anything, but they'll make a godawful noise if you open any of the windows. The bathroom windows are the only ones that don't have alarms."
"Well, now we know why," Oliver said dryly. "No one can fit through them." He pushed his hood off of his head, wanting to feel the cool air on his face. "And you can't shut the alarms down from J.T's?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
"No, Oliver." She sounded frustrated. "I told you, they're not connected to anything. They're the old alarms, where a piece on the window lines up with a piece on the wall. Once you move the window, you break the alignment of the two pieces and the alarm goes off."
"Right – got it. So we need to find another way in."
There were a few seconds of silence.
"I told you we were flying by the seat of our pants." J.T.'s voice piped up suddenly. "But you all thought I was a being a Nervous Nellie. Now we're stuck."
Vincent rubbed his face with his hand. "You're not helping, J.T."
"Someday you all are going to learn to appreciate my instincts – especially you, Vincent. My so-called nerves helped you stay hidden for years when Muirfield was hunting you."
Vincent sighed. "And I appreciate that, J.T., I really do. But at this moment, we need suggestions. Do you have any?"
More silence.
Then there was a small crackle over the comms. "I think I can fit through the window."
Vincent straightened up. "What?" he asked tensely.
It had been Catherine's voice. "I think I can fit through the bathroom window," she said again. "Then, once I'm in, I can go to a bigger window and turn off the alarm. If worst comes to worst, I can remove it. Usually those old alarms are just screwed on."
Oliver and Vincent looked at one another.
"Felicity?" Oliver asked.
"That might work," she said slowly. "There's probably an on/off switch somewhere on the thing."
"And I've got a utility knife in my pocket," Diggle added helpfully. "It'll have something you can use as a screwdriver if you need to take it off."
Oliver and Vincent looked at one another. Then Vincent walked to the edge of the roof and studied the side of the Velograph building. Oliver could see that he wasn't crazy about the idea of sending his girlfriend along a zipline twenty floors above the street.
"Are you sure you can fit through the window, Catherine?" Vincent asked at last. "Because if you zipline over and can't get in, you're going to be left hanging. Twenty floors may not sound like a lot, but believe me, it's a long way down."
"I'll fit," she said confidently. "I haven't had pizza in a couple of weeks." She paused. "And it's for Tess," she added.
"Well, I don't like the idea," Vincent said, "but I don't have a better suggestion. Just promise me that if you get in and see Billy Martin, you'll trip an alarm right away and won't try to handle him yourself."
"It's a deal."
It turned out Catherine fit easily through the window – there was never a question. After one nervous glance at the ground twenty stories below, she'd taken a deep breath and ziplined to the window. Then she'd pushed it in and slid into the Velograph building as gracefully as a …well, as a Cat. Oliver had been impressed.
"Okay, I'm in," she breathed into the comms. "Now what?"
"See if you can open the window next to the one you went in," Oliver suggested. "That way we can use the same zipline."
"Okay."
"Hang on," Felicity's voice interrupted. "I'm about to shut off the security cameras on your floor. Once I do, you should move quickly. The longer I leave them down, the more likely someone will notice."
"Got it," Catherine confirmed.
"Then I'm shutting the cameras down in three…two…one."
The comm links went quiet.
In less than a minute, Catherine's voice was back on. "I'm at the window next to the bathroom and I was able to turn the alarm off. I'm opening the window now."
"Good work," Oliver replied. "We're on our way." He turned to Vincent and gestured at the line. "After you."
Vincent didn't hesitate; Oliver figured he was anxious to be at Catherine's side. The doctor took hold of the line and slid easily down to the Velograph building, as if he did that sort of thing all the time. Then he swayed and shimmied his way through the window Catherine had opened.
Oliver followed. The whole thing had taken less than three minutes.
"We're in," he said to Felicity, "and we're about the check the twentieth floor." He turned once more to Vincent. "What are your senses telling you?"
The doctor closed his eyes briefly. "I'm still sensing that she's somewhere in this building," he said, "but I don't know exactly where."
Oliver nodded. "We may as well go floor by floor, then. Digg – anything happening on the street?"
"It's quiet on the street," Diggle replied, "but I can't tell you if there's anything going on in the alley behind the building. I can only cover one side at a time."
"The street side's the one I'm worried about."
"It looks okay."
"Good. We're going to start searching, then."
Oliver, Vincent and Catherine stepped out of the room they'd ziplined into and began moving methodically down the hall, opening doors as they went. The rooms were either empty or appeared to serve as storage for old office furniture and equipment. The layers of dust suggested that no one had been up here for a while, including a cleaning crew. There was no sign of Tess or the Martin brothers.
When they'd finished searching the floor, he said to Felicity, "Nothing on the twentieth. We're heading down to the nineteenth floor now."
"Okay. Shutting down the cameras on nineteen and turning them back on for twenty."
The nineteenth floor looked pretty much the same as the twentieth; lots of dust and no Tess.
They repeated the process for three more floors. Oliver was beginning to get worried. Something about the situation felt wrong. The Martins should have wanted to keep Tess in an unpopulated part of the building – the twentieth or nineteenths floors would have been perfect. Instead, they were getting into territory that looked like it received more employee traffic, and was therefore less ideal for holding a hostage. As they stepped out onto the fifteenth floor, he started to wonder if Tess was in the building at all.
"Would your senses indicate that she's in the building even if she'd been moved recently?" he asked Vincent.
"Maybe," the doctor acknowledged. "It depends on how recently." He pushed open a door and peered into the room. "Except they didn't move her. She's here."
Oliver and Catherine hurried to the doorway and stared into the room. Sure enough, Tess was there, lying unconscious on a mattress on the floor, with her hands bound behind her back. Catherine moved as if to rush to her side, but Vincent clutched her arm to stop her.
"Hang on," he warned. "The Martins might be lying in wait somewhere. I'm still picking up Billy's scent."
She nodded and allowed Vincent to move cautiously into the room ahead of her. Then she and Oliver followed.
The room was empty, except for Tess.
Vincent knelt beside her and felt her pulse. "Her heartbeat is good," he said. "Steady and strong. I think they drugged her – probably with the same stuff they gave Felicity."
"Then let's get her out of here and back to J.T.'s," Catherine said, "before the Martin brothers come back. They're probably somewhere in the building."
Vincent reached out and began to pull Tess into his arms.
"Wait!" Oliver said sharply. The thing that had felt wrong about the situation had suddenly come into focus.
Vincent stopped and turned to Oliver with a perplexed look on his face.
"I think it's a trap," Oliver explained.
Catherine frowned. "A trap?"
Oliver nodded. "Yes." When she didn't say anything, he continued, "Think about it. Why did the Martins say they kidnapped Tess?"
Catherine's brow furrowed. "To exchange her for a Beast cure."
Oliver nodded again. "Exactly. And if they think she's their ticket to a cure, then why would they leave her alone, even for five minutes? They had to guess we'd come after her." Catherine's eyes narrowed. "And why didn't they keep her on the twentieth floor, where no one ever goes?" he continued. "She's in an area here where the employees are eventually going to find her, if we didn't."
He could see her running through the facts with her detective's mind. She glanced at Tess's unconscious form and then shrugged. "I agree, it doesn't make sense. But why do you think it's a trap?"
"I think they want someone to find her," Oliver went on, "and I think they want to create a disturbance, especially if we're here. Because if security and the police are called, it ties us up and it buys them time."
"Time for what?" It was Vincent who asked the question.
Oliver could feel the panic rising in his gut as he said the words out loud. "Who are the two people the Martin brothers have wanted all along?" he asked.
Vincent glanced at Catherine. "They wanted Felicity and J.T. Felicity for her hacking skills, and J.T. because they thought he could develop a cure."
Oliver ran his hand over his face. "And who are the two people we left alone and unprotected while we came over here to rescue Tess?"
The three of them stared at one another.
"Oh hell," Catherine said.