Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.
AN: Welcome back! Thank you for all the kudos, favs, follows, and reviews. Always, always appreciated. I can't say how much it means to have a story appreciated. Without further ado, here's the next chapter…oh yeah, sorry for the cliffie last chapter…(kinda sorry, I mean, ha). It's in our writers' contract to have cliffhangers…just kidding….enjoy this chapter…
***Warning: potential triggers for nonconsensual touch, etc.
Previously:
Roy watched as he and Sara left. He looked at Felicity, who said, "I'm sorry for making you stay. It wouldn't be too long."
"That's okay, Blondie. I don't mind. I'm going to stretch my legs." He got up and walked slowly towards the back of the Lair. We really should clean this part of the Lair up, even though we're using it as legitimate storage for Verdant, he thought as he looked around the organized mess.
As he turned to walk towards Felicity, he felt a prick on his neck. He immediately turned to see if anyone was there, and the world turned black.
It being Saturday again, the day started lazily enough for Oliver. Or at least he attempted to make it so. He did sleep in later than he usually did, despite the nightmares regarding Slade and Felicity. Finally, when he couldn't sleep any more, he got up and went for a three-mile jog. It was still too early to do anything useful, so he walked an additional two miles, returned home and took his time getting ready, reaching Verdant at 9am.
As he parked his motorcycle, Oliver uncomfortably noticed Felicity's car already there. Something shiny caught his eye on the ground on the other side of her car. Oliver slowly walked around the car and to his dismay found Felicity's purse on the ground, her keys and other items spilled out haphazardly. Trying to tamp down his fear, Oliver called Roy as he gathered the items and put them back in the purse.
When his call went to Roy's voice mail, he hung up and dialed Dig. "Sorry to disturb you, Dig, but have you heard from Felicity or Roy at all since last night?" When the answer was negative, he said in a clipped tone, "It looks like Felicity's been kidnapped, if not Roy as well. Her car is in the Verdant back parking lot, in the same parking space as yesterday, with her purse spilled out onto the ground." Oliver rolled his eyes as he said, "No, I will not wait for you. I'm going in and see what else is there. I'll be careful, but I'll see you in a few." He disconnected the phone, shoved it into his jacket pocket as he strode to the door. Punching the key pad emphatically, he opened the door and listened. Not hearing anything out of the ordinary, he then walked down the stairs.
Turning the lights on, Oliver's eyes swept over the lair. Nothing appeared to be out of place, until he looked again at Felicity's place. His heart fell again when he observed a note propped against the computer screen. When he picked it up, it basically was what he feared.
Oliver,
Your dear Felicity is again visiting with me. However, we would like to talk to you. Please be in front of her computer at 11am Saturday. Alone. If I sense anyone there in your 'lair' with you, I will slit her throat quicker than I can call you 'Kid'.
Slade
Resisting the urge to crumble up the paper, he took out his phone again and called Sara to inform her of what was happening and request she get to the lair ASAP. However, as he tried Roy's phone again, a ring tone went off in the back of the lair. Slowly approaching the area, Oliver saw a pair of feet he thought he recognized behind some stacked boxes, and heard the dial tone more clearly.
He rushed to the side of who ended up being Roy. Oliver quickly assessed for injuries as he positioned himself on the floor beside Roy's still body. Finding none, he checked for a pulse and was satisfied with the strong, regular pulse he found. He shook Roy gently and called his name. It seemed forever, but Roy's eyes soon opened.
Looking up into Oliver's eyes, Roy mumbled, "What's going on? Why are you in my house, Oliver?"
Oliver rolled his eyes. "No, Roy, you're not home. You're in the Lair. It's Saturday morning. You were to follow Felicity home last night. What happened?"
Roy's eyes roamed as he thought, then he suddenly sat straight up. His hands quickly went to his head. "Oh, I shouldn't have done that."
"Roy! You're going to be fine." Oliver couldn't help the exasperation sneaking into his voice. Reprimanding himself, Oliver asked in a calmer tone, "Do you remember what happened?"
Roy's eyes again roamed then he remembered. "Oh! Felicity!" Looking at Oliver in alarm, he said, "Yeah, Felicity was just finishing up her computer stuff, and I stood up and walked back here to stretch my legs and…suddenly," his hand absently touched the side of his neck. "I felt a pinch, then…I don't remember anything more."
Handing him the note, Oliver waited while Roy read it. Turning to Oliver, Roy frowned. "I'm sorry, Oliver."
Oliver silently patted his arm. "Let's get you standing and get some blood moving," as he assisted Roy into a standing position.
"Are you feeling all right? Any injuries?" Oliver asked, in a surprisingly calm voice.
Roy wiggled his shoulders, moved his arms and legs around. "No, I feel fine. Well, not fine, a little drowsy, but okay. I guess." As he noticed Oliver giving him a smirk, Roy smiled. "I guess I'm beginning to ramble like Blondie, huh?"
"A little. That also happens sometimes." Oliver felt grateful, as he almost always was, for Roy's knack for bringing some comic relief to stressful situations. "Let's go sit down at the desk. Dig and Sara should be here soon."
After they had arrived, Sara and Dig both read the note, their faces grim. Oliver knew his fear and worry were increasing exponentially every minute, and he felt like he was ready to implode right there. Earlier, with Roy, he had managed to hold in his anxiety, but it was becoming more and more difficult now for him to do that.
"Hey, Man, it's going to be okay," Dig told him, clearly concerned about his friend. "If you don't handle that anger, you're going to have a stroke."
"What if she isn't okay, Dig!" Oliver turned to a side table, and, not controlling his anger, sent test tubes, papers, and office supplies flying. "He has her again!" He turned towards Dig, anger clearly flowing off him in waves. "What if he…what if he…" whispering, "rapes her again?"
Walking quickly to his friend, Dig placed his hands on Oliver's shoulders. "I don't think he'll do that. He's only continuing to play with your mind, Oliver. We will get her back. We will. Unharmed."
Oliver shrugged Dig's hands off him, closed his eyes with his hands covering his face and took several deep breathes. Exhaling slowly, Oliver tried to center himself as best he could. Looking at Dig he asked in a defeated tone, "What is he up to?"
Sara walked closer to him. "I don't know, but like Dig said, we will get her back. It'll be okay. We will get him, and we will put him in the ground once and for all. This has to stop."
Olive began to pace. "I'm…I just worry he will succeed and will take everything and everyone I love away from me."
"He can try, and is trying, but we can and will stop him," Sara told him softly. "And this time you'll make sure you kill him. Permanently."
"But I'm not killing anymore, Sara."
"Vows are not always iron-clad. Tommy would understand," Sara said, stopping Oliver mid-stride. As Oliver looked at her with sadness in his eyes, she repeated. "Tommy would understand, Oliver. And he would've understood everything you've done, had he been given more time to process everything."
Oliver had tried to tell himself that very thing multiple times over the past year, but he always returned to the disappointment and anger he'd seen in Tommy's eyes those last few months of Tommy's life. He shook his head. Now was not the time to think about all of that. Now was the time to rescue Felicity. Keeping her safe was and should be his only priority now. Well, besides keeping his family and the people here with him safe as well.
"You guys better leave. It is 10:30 now, and the note said 11."
"Like hell, Oliver, are we not going to be here with you to hear what that asshole has to say to you," Digg said, not quite keeping his anger controlled.
"I agree with the big guy," Roy said.
"Oliver, you know, we can hide in the back, and hear what you both say and still not be seen," Sara suggested. "His Mirakuru'd improved senses do not cover things seen on videotape, I'm sure."
Oliver paced in front of them, combing his fingers through his short hair. "Yeah, you're right. You know, most likely he'll be asking me to turn myself over to him. Alone."
Sara curled her lip in disgust. "Yep. Most likely. And you know how we'd feel about that." Shaking her head, she said, "Like as in, like hell is that going to happen."
Diggle said, "You could give us the address and we wait a distance away."
"We could do that. But what if something goes wrong…"
Sara threw up her hands in disgust. "If he actually thinks we're going to let you go by yourself without trying something, Slade is crazier than we thought."
Oliver glared at Sara. "What else can I do, Sara? I wouldn't put anything past Slade. We can't endanger Felicity. We just can't."
Dig looked again at his watch. "It's almost time. Let's sit back in the shadows, guys." Putting a hand on Oliver's shoulder, he said quietly, "You can do this, Oliver. We will get our girl back. Don't let that scumbag unnerve you. You have dealt with worse."
Oliver nodded and watched as his teammates walked to the back of the lair. That's what you think, Dig. That's what you think.
~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~
Felicity felt her head pounding before she was aware of anything else. She immediately flashed back to Slade's assault and her heart began to beat erratically. However, just as quickly, she realized she was sitting in a chair. Tied to a chair. Not to a bed. But still tied up. And her entire body felt she had slept in the chair all night. Her eyes shot open and she looked around, landing on the only other person in the room with her. The one person she'd rather not see more than anyone else. Ever.
Sitting across from her, in an overstuffed red velvet armchair was Slade. Felicity tried to swallow her rising nausea and keep her breathing regular at the sight of her attacker once again, but flashes of her attack rapidly crossed her mind again, heightened by being tied up and helpless in front of him yet once again.
"I see you're as excited as always to see me, dear Felicity," the dreaded Australian accent assaulted her ears once again. If her mouth wasn't so dry from her anxiety, she would spit at him.
"What are you doing? Haven't you abused me enough to ensure revenge against Oliver?" Felicity's stomach lurched again as she said the word abused.
"Oh, my dear Felicity, I've only just begun." Rising, Slade began to walk towards her. Felicity instinctively forced herself as far back into the wooden chair as she could, but of course she couldn't go back much further. It took everything within her not to scream at the top of her lungs, as she fought off hysterics, trying to remain calm. She was afraid she knew what Slade was going to do next. Please, not again.
"Don't worry, Felicity, I'm not going to taste your sweetness again. Like I told you, I usually do not enjoy such uncouth behavior." Walking past her, Slade strode over to a table behind her which held what looked like audiovisual equipment. She looked above her at the wall across from her and observed a video camera. Despite Slade's words, she fought another wave of nausea as she flashed back to watching the video of her rape with her team in the Lair while held prisoner by Slade.
"No, instead, we're going to have a little chat with Oliver right now." Slade turned the equipment on, then walked to Felicity's side.
Suddenly, Oliver's voice filled the room. "Slade! What the hell?"
Felicity couldn't help but breathe slower with just seeing Oliver's comforting presence, even if on a TV screen. Seeing him helped Felicity to center herself once again and regain some control. She noticed he was very pale, his jaw clenched so much that the muscle in his cheek was twitching once again. She also noted there was no one else around. Coincidence or planned?
"Happy late morning to you as well, Kid. Thanks for taking my call. Now, as you can see, Felicity is with me and she's not exactly too happy to be in my company."
Wanting to wipe Oliver's worry off his face, Felicity attempted to reassure him nothing had happened. "Oliver, I…mumpf." Felicity was interrupted by Slade's huge hand covering her mouth. Even that action made her begin to hyperventilate yet again, the smell of his aftershave reminding her of the last time he had held his hand over her mouth.
Crouching beside her as he looked into her eyes, Slade said, "Now, Felicity, I should have gagged you, but I did want to be nice. Please don't talk unless I tell you so." Cocking his head, he asked, "Do you understand?"
Felicity nodded slowly and breathed in relief when Slade's hand was removed, clearing her head of the smell reminding her of his assault. He stood up and faced the camera once again.
"Slade, these games must stop. You already did enough to Felicity, why are you continuing this?" Oliver asked. Felicity's heart hurt as she heard the fear and anger in his voice which he didn't bother to hide.
"Because I can. Because I want to. In case you were worried, like I told your girl I'm not going to attack her like I did before. Even though she is tasty, I don't normally enjoy taking such sweetness by force."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"A trade." Slade smiled like the big bad wolf he reminded Felicity of.
"Me for Felicity, I suppose." If air could be snapped in two, Felicity thought the air around Oliver would be in a million pieces by now for the amount of tension in his voice.
"Of course, Kid. Be here at 5pm. Alone." He gave a short laugh. "Without your bow or any other weapons either. Of course."
"Then you'll release her? Unharmed?"
"Unharmed. Unless either of you misbehave."
Slade must have heard the small intake of breath indicating Felicity was going to say something, because he turned to her and covered her mouth once again. "Tsk, tsk, Felicity. Remember what I told you. I know you desperately want to tell him not to be a hero and to stay away. I encourage you not to say that. You know very well he won't listen to you." He shook his head. "Besides, that would be just too much melodrama for me to take this morning."
Removing his hand once again, he said, "Now, if you please, tell Oliver instead that you are okay. At least physically. And only that."
Felicity bit her lower lip. She wanted to dare say something more, but she decided she really couldn't risk it. Not with the unstable man with the superhuman strength beside her. Looking at Oliver, she nodded and said, "I'm okay, Oliver. Really. He hasn't hurt me, this time." She hoped Oliver could tell, by the message in her eyes, that she really was physically okay, at the moment.
"Good girl. I knew you were capable of obeying requests." Turning back to the screen, he said to Oliver, "I will text you our address. Like I said, come alone. Or all promises are void." Slade walked to the table once again and shut off the equipment. Turning around slowly, Slade caught her eye.
"I will be back. I have to get something," Slade told her as he walked out of the room.
AN: Oh, oh. Still don't know what Slade is up to? Or do we? Can you guess? Tune into the next chapter to see what Slade went to get. And as always, thanks so much for sticking with this story and reading this chapter. And…if you be so kind, let me know what you liked about it. Also always appreciated.