Chapter 5
Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I'm truly humbled by the amazing positing feedback I am receiving. Thank you so much for that.
I have noted the correction to Felicity's middle initial and have updated the last chapter to reflect it as "M" for Megan (not sure how I missed that on the show). Also, thanks, quisinart4 for the tip on using "enmeshed" incorrectly. Didn't realize it held a negative connotation, so replaced it with "embedded" to reflect how well Felicity became a part of the IT department in London. Great catches, and keep the suggestions/corrections coming.
We now find Oliver is heading to London, unsure about what he will discover there. What was behind the explosions, and did it have anything to do with the Hood? And of course, will we see our favorite blonde IT girl again? Again, if there are comments/questions/typos, feel free to PM me or post a review with the information.
Oliver felt numb as he and Diggle made their way across the Atlantic in the Queen Consolidated jet. They had received special approval from the British government to land at Heathrow, despite the restricted regulations in place in the hours following the explosions.
There was still no word on the missing employees, including Felicity. Oliver had been on the phone almost constantly since take-off with the London QC IT department, trying to think of all of the angles Felicity would have approached the situation. Asking for camera feeds around the affected areas from the last 12 hours, both Diggle and Oliver painstakingly reviewed them to see if there was any evidence of foul play leading up to the time of the explosions.
All of the video feeds nearest the destroyed warehouses had abruptly stopped transmitting at the time of the explosions, and since the feeds were remote, they were able to review all but one of them. The last one that the team in London was still trying to recover had stopped relaying video the previous day, which raised a huge red flag in Oliver's mind, one that he tucked away for later.
Diggle let out a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes after hours of viewing the video footage. "I'm not seeing anything that helps, Oliver," he stated resignedly, going back yet again to the beginning of the feed.
Oliver pulled up his phone again dialing Felicity's number for what felt like the thousandth time, holding his breath as he waited for the call to go through. At the sound of the same recorded message he screamed "Damn it!" and threw his phone against the cushioned seat in front of him. The phone, unharmed, bounced back to rest at his feet on the floor in front of him. Suppressing the urge to stomp on it, knowing it was his only line of communication right now to get the information he so desperately desired, he picked it up, shoving it into his pocket. He went over again to the large black case with his bow and arrows, checking over everything to make sure he would be ready for whatever they found in London.
"Oliver," Diggle stated loudly, "you've got to keep it together, man, for Felicity's sake."
Oliver cringed at her name, the sound of it slicing another deep gash through his gut. The last update he had from London was that the rescue crews were now just able to get close enough to the buildings to extinguish the flames that were still blazing uncontrollably in the three affected buildings. He figured they would actually be on site before the crews were able to enter the buildings, and was hoping that by then cell phone service would be back up as well so he could continue to get updates as needed.
"I'm fine," Oliver ground out, teeth clenched. His jaw ached at the tension from having to assure everyone around him that he wasn't losing it. In reality he wanted to scream and throw a lot more than his phone around. The feeling of helplessness was consuming him inside, but he knew Digg was right; he needed to stay focused and remain calm, no matter what they found when they landed.
He went back to the laptop, checking his email one more time then shutting it when there was nothing new being reported. Nigel's group was still missing, the rescue crews were still fighting the fires, and the cause of the explosions was still unknown. He leaned back in his chair, recalling the moment when he realized Felicity was in the group of missing employees.
"Oliver, I'm so sorry," Isabel had said, taking the note pad back from him. "She was an asset to the organization and I know you were close."
Oliver started to take a step toward the woman, but Diggle could see where this was going and immediately grabbed his arm, halting his movement.
"Let's get ready for our flight," Digg had whispered to him, obviously holding back his own emotions based on the hitch in his voice.
Oliver shook Diggle off of him, staying where he was, but glaring at Isabel. "You will not refer to ANY of those employees as dead, Isabel, do you understand? They are missing, and until we hear otherwise we will not be assuming anything else. Now get HR on the phone because we need to start contacting their families to let them know what we know."
He had learned half way through the flight that all of the families were notified, including Felicity's father, who was the only one in the US. The other family members were gathering at QC headquarters in London. Oliver had offered to fly Joseph Smoak to London on the next first class flight once the commercial airlines were up and running, but he had informed them he would prefer to wait at home for any word. Oliver couldn't blame him for wanting to be in a familiar place rather than a foreign country.
The co-pilot came out of the cockpit then to announce to them that they would be landing shortly. Oliver and Diggle buckled themselves in, looking out the windows at the rain that had started to fall. They hoped it would help the rescue crew gain control of the fire more quickly so they could start getting into the buildings to figure out what had caused the explosions, and hopefully find the group that had gone missing. He knew every passing hour brought it further from a "rescue" mission and closer to a "recovery" mission, but he was not going to stop hoping until he knew otherwise. He couldn't even think of the other possibility. There was too much still to be said between them.
An hour later they were pulling up to the QC London buildings, their hired car snaking its way through the emergency vehicles and news vans. Oliver had just tried Felicity's number again, still praying he would hear her voice. They were brought down to the loading zone beneath the building to avoid the media frenzy above, and to stay as dry as possible. It was already getting close to midnight local time, but it seemed like the middle of the day given the flurry of activity. The contact that Isabel had been working with, Hannah Pierce, was waiting for them as they entered the building.
"Mr. Queen," she said, shaking his hand as they made their way to the building's cafeteria. Oliver could see that it had been turned into a makeshift control center for the authorities. He noted that almost an entire portion of one side of the large area had the windows boarded up, presumably from the effects of the explosions from earlier in the day. Through the intact windows he could see the billowing smoke coming from the group of buildings in the distance, the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles lighting up the area like fireworks. "I'm sorry we have to meet under such dire circumstances," she continued, bringing Oliver and Diggle over to meet the head of the fire brigade that was on site.
After the introductions were made and Oliver had been provided with the same news he had been given just prior to getting off of the corporate jet, Diggle made his way over to the white board area where the layout of the buildings was shown. Oliver followed him over, eying the hard copy of the floor plans they had been reviewing on the jet.
"Oliver, did you see this on the plans they sent us?" Diggle asked, pointing to the layout of an underground bunker under one of the warehouse buildings.
Oliver reviewed the plans, and then pulled up the ones they had been viewing on the jet on the tablet that Felicity had insisted on him learning to use. Even when she wasn't there with them she was still helping them, he thought.
"These aren't on any of the ones we had," he confirmed for Digg. They quickly got some of the rescue personnel over to show them the discrepancies, with the structural expert, named Robert, explaining.
"The underground bunker was actually there from back during World War II when a factory was built over this site. There was a set of blue prints created before they discovered the bunker, which are the ones you got, and then they were redone to include the bunker, which are these ones here. I apologize, Mr. Queen, at the mistake," Robert finished, his face getting red at the obvious mix up that had occurred.
Oliver was looking at the new blue prints now with increased interest. He noticed the bunker was in the warehouse where the video feeds had stopped. "It's all right," he stated distractedly to Robert, motioning Diggle over to where the bunker details were. "Do you think it's possible that if this bunker was strong enough for the bombs from the Germans that it could have protected people from the explosions in the warehouse?" Oliver asked, pointing at the area highlighted by the rescue crew.
Diggle nodded his head in agreement, hope starting to blossom on his face.
They quickly shared their idea with the others, and it was confirmed that the bunker was in the last warehouse that had an explosion, so the debris from the destroyed building could be residing on top of the bunker, so anyone inside couldn't get out on their own.
Robert quickly radioed to the rescue crew at the warehouse site, explaining where the bunker entrance would be, at the same time getting information that they were ready to enter the warehouse now that the fire and smoke were under control.
"Take me to the warehouse," Oliver stated, pulling the jacket he had just discarded back on, turning to Diggle as he did the same.
"But Mr. Queen, the situation is extremely dangerous still. Until they know what caused the explosions, we don't know if more might occur," Robert explained, clearly frazzled at the CEO's request.
Oliver took a menacing step toward the young man, using his four-inch height advantage to reinforce his point. "Robert, if you want to keep your job, I highly recommend you take us to that warehouse immediately."
Robert nodded his head, yelling in a quivering voice that they needed a transport out to Site C, which was the name they had given the warehouse of the third explosion.
The ride out went quickly, although Oliver's apprehension was rising every second they got closer. As they made their way out of the SUV Diggle gave Oliver's shoulder a squeeze of encouragement. There was a makeshift platform in the back of a similar vehicle where a number of crew members were reviewing the same blue prints that they had just been looking at in the QC headquarters building. The captain must have been warned of Oliver's pending arrival because the man buttoned up his coat and put on a very formal air as they approached.
"Mr. Queen, Captain William Lowe. I understand you wish to be taken into the building with the rescue crew when they are able to access the hatch for the bunker?" he asked seriously, pointing to the entrance location on the paper in front of them.
"Exactly, me and Mr. Diggle," he stated, motioning to John standing behind him.
The captain gave an uneasy glance to the uniformed men next to him, obviously not happy with the request. He quickly went into several reasons why it was a bad idea to allow the CEO of Queen Consolidated into such a volatile situation. Oliver just shook his head, determined to be there when they entered the bunker.
After much arguing the captain realized Oliver was determined, and giving a sigh of resignation, pointed him to the truck that housed the extra protective suits and equipment.
Within minutes the men were being led to the back of the warehouse, safely away from the flames that were still rising at least a story high in the front of the building. Smoke was still pouring out of the top of the damaged structure, the crews now working to subdue the fire from inside the building. Oliver and Diggle followed the young lieutenant that had already been on his way to join the crew that was working to clear the debris from the bunker hatch.
The destruction around Oliver took his breath away, and he had to remind himself to remain calm or he knew they would never let him help with the rescue. He had been in worse situations on the island, but he was always the target, never someone he cared so much about like Felicity.
The unease that he had been suppressing started to make its way back up, causing his step to falter. Diggle was immediately at his back, asking him if he was all right. Oliver assured him he was fine, then continued on, knowing that shortly he would know Felicity's fate, as well as his own.
Losing his father had been horrific, but it had been his father's choice as to taking his own life, and Oliver knew he couldn't have done anything to stop him. Even with Tommy, who was like a brother to him, the pain was still raw, but Tommy had made the choice to go in after Laurel. It should have been him, but even if he had been there on time, it could have been both of them dying in that collapsed building. But with Felicity, this was all on him. If she was…. He couldn't even think about the possibility that she might be gone, because everything about her was good, and pure, and genuine, and selfless. If anything happened to her because of his inability to be honest with himself about his feelings for her, he didn't know what he would do. Even escaping to his former hell on the island wouldn't be enough punishment.
The group came up on the crew that was clearing debris, trying to get to the bunker entrance. Diggle and Oliver immediately stepped forward, frantically working to get the area cleared with the others. The crew had been working all day already, so fatigue was setting in, and the extra pair of hands were appreciated.
They finally got to the metal hatch, clearing everything away so that nothing would potentially fall in once they got it opened. Oliver's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. At first he thought the rhythmic pounding in his ears was his heartbeat, but then as the group looked around at each other, they realized the sound was coming from the hatch itself! Everyone quieted, the most senior crew member kneeling down to disengage the lock to unseal the door. As he worked to pull the lever, causing metal to scrape against metal, the pounding below became more frantic, quickening in pace as those below realized that there was someone at the hatch above them. As the hatch door was opened there was an eruption of yells and screams of relief from the stairwell that led down below the warehouse. The crew let out a huge cheer at finding the group that had been missing, as evidenced by their business attire as they started to make their way up out of the hatch.
Oliver and Diggle made their way to the opening, helping the employees make their way toward the warehouse doors. You could see a number of ambulances pulling up to the building while paramedics were rushing in with blankets for those being rescued. The family members must have also been informed of the successful rescue as you could see the employees being reunited with groups of civilians waiting for them just outside.
An older gentleman who was the first to come out and was now helping the others out stepped over to Oliver upon seeing him, extending his hand out. "Mr. Queen, I'm Nigel Thorton. You have no idea how thrilled I am to see you, and all of these other lovely people," he stated, a huge grin on his slightly dirty face as he gestured toward the emergency crews.
Oliver shook the man's hand, watching as more people were slowly coming out of the bunker. "Nigel, I'm so relieved you're safe," he finished, still straining to watch the rescue. "I'd like to make sure the entire group gets out, and of course you should go see your family. They should be waiting just outside." Oliver then stepped around the man to stand next to Diggle, who was helping pull people out at the opening. It was obvious from the anxious look on his face that he still hadn't seen Felicity.
Oliver was just turning from a gray haired woman who had just come out, directing her to the paramedic standing behind them, when he caught a glimpse of the wide grin on Diggle's face. His heart stopped as he watched the blonde head rise up out of the hatch, Diggle grabbing hold of the well-manicured hand offered up to him. Oliver watched as Diggle swung Felicity up into his embrace, hugging her tightly. She was the last one out so the crews were going down to make sure everyone was accounted for, causing Oliver to step back and wait until they had all passed before he could step over to his two friends.
Felicity was already babbling, starting to explain to Diggle about how they had been in the warehouse when they started hearing the other explosions. She had her back to Oliver as he reached them, a huge lump in his throat as the emotions he had been suppressing all day started to bubble to the surface. Her explanation of the events were cut short as he grabbed her by the arm, swinging her around to face him, his hands protectively coming up to caress her face as his eyes scanned her ash smudged cheeks, then down her body to assess for any injuries.
Upon seeing no obvious harm, he crushed her to him, closing his eyes and thanking God over and over in his head for her safe return to him. Finally convinced that she was there, unharmed and alive, he pulled away slightly, bringing his hand up again to her face, gently brushing back the hair behind her ear. He just gazed at her, taking in that bright smile and twinkling eyes.
"You're here," she said quietly, resting her hands lightly on his chest, lingering in his warm embrace. He nodded slightly at her comment, still too overcome with emotion to say anything.
Just then a paramedic came over, the woman wrapping a warm blanket around Felicity's shoulders, getting ready to steer her away from Oliver's embrace to a waiting ambulance to do a full assessment of her condition.
"I've got it," Oliver said shakily, putting his arm around Felicity's shoulders to fully wrap the blanket around her, enclosing her in a warm cocoon. They followed the paramedic, with Oliver staying right beside Felicity the entire time.
Diggle was on the phone, letting Moira and Isabel know that the group had been found, with everyone seemingly fine after the ordeal. He then called Layla, giving her the good news. He felt his eyes tear up a bit at her emotional reaction to the news. He then hung up and made his way over to Oliver and Felicity. He noticed right away the protective stance Oliver had next to her, and expected he wasn't moving from that position for some time.
The paramedics finally finished with Felicity, giving her the all clear to be able to leave. She stood up then, turning to Oliver, the grin seemingly permanent on her face. "Care to give a girl a lift back to her hotel?" she asked lightheartedly.
Oliver took her hand, leading her over to the vehicle that Diggle had waiting for them. He got in the back with her, never letting their contact break. Diggle sat up front with the hired driver, giving him the destination instructions Oliver had quietly passed on to him while Felicity had been getting checked over by the paramedic.
Felicity first called her father, letting him know that all was well and she was safe. After finishing the call, Felicity started to ask where they were going since she noticed they weren't heading in the direction of her hotel. Oliver informed her quietly that they would be staying at an estate of a friend of his. When she started to protest that she needed to get changed out of her clothes since she was full of ash and dirt from the bunker he told her that everything she needed would be there.
As it was after midnight she felt herself drift off leaning on Oliver, the lull of the car ride and the events of the day finally taking their toll on her. Oliver watched her, still not believing that she was there, safe in his arms. He felt the recurring lump in his throat, overwhelmed by the relief and joy at finally reaching her after fearing that he would never see her again.
Watching her sleep, he leaned down to place a kiss on her hair, tightening his grip on her. Tomorrow, or more accurately later that morning they were going to have to have a very frank discussion about their relationship. He wasn't sure exactly what he would say, but he knew he couldn't keep acting like he didn't care for her. No, he thought as he gazed down at her, he might be selfish for wanting this, but he knew he couldn't go on without her anymore. He needed her, and no matter how much he wished that weren't the case, that was just how it was, and he was ready to tell her. He just didn't know how she would react.
Hope you enjoyed; I debated about having Felicity seriously injured or not, but thought Oliver had suffered enough just not knowing where she was for the entire day. I'm a fan of angst, but not one of true suffering. Next chapter, Oliver and Felicity have a very candid discussion about their relationship. Plus, we'll start to learn more about the explosions that rocked QC headquarters in London.