Chapter 13

Okay, by far my favorite review from last chapter was from ChiefPam: "Oliver's an idiot and Felicity is a wuss. Just saying. I hope they come to their senses soon." I couldn't agree more, and think the writers on the show have made them a bit that way, and I've just tried to carry that into my story, although with a bit of exaggeration. Be ready to see both of them step it up!

Things start to come to a head in this chapter, and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this story, just in time for the return of the show in the US. Also, for those who enjoyed the season 2 premiere in the UK and Italy, I guarantee you will not be disappointed in this upcoming season. Enjoy…

Barry was still in a daze over what had been unveiled to him over the last few hours. He had gone with Diggle and Oliver, a bit uneasy about how quiet they had been. He had thought it was due to them not being able to get a hold of Felicity and Thea. He now realized that the disappearance of the girls was only part of Oliver's concerns. Or, he corrected, part of the Hood's concern.

In hindsight it all made sense, and he kicked himself for not putting the pieces together sooner. Oliver's return from the island coincided perfectly with the appearance of the Vigilante (as he did not like to be called the 'Hood' anymore); there had been a number of incidents involving the Vigilante related to people who were part of Queen Consolidated or the Queen family. Even the fact that Felicity had fallen so hard for Oliver made so much more sense now that Barry knew of his alter ego; of course she would fall in love with someone who constantly put themselves on the line to save others who were weaker and in need of help.

When Barry had remarked "that makes so much sense," Oliver had actually chuckled lightly, sharing with Barry that Felicity had said the same thing when he had revealed himself to her as the Vigilante. The pain that crossed Oliver's face at the mention of Felicity cut into Barry, letting him truly see how much she meant to Oliver.

The call that informed them that Thea and Felicity's disappearance was indeed a planned event came shortly after they had arrived at Verdant. Slade had made the call himself. He had instructed them that Oliver should come to one of the many deserted warehouses that sat vacant in the Glades to face the consequences of his actions. When Oliver threatened to finish what he had started with him on the island if so much as a hair was harmed on Felicty or his sister, Slade coolly responded that their fate would be up to him. Diggle and Barry commented that they were surprised he hadn't left contacting Oliver to one of the soldiers under his control, but Oliver shared that it was no surprise to him at all; for Slade, this was personal.

When they had first gotten to Verdant, Diggle showed them what Felicity had unknowingly uncovered; the location of where the soldiers were being housed and trained outside of the city. It was what Digg had original gone to talk to Oliver about when he had met Oliver and Barry at the office. Barry did just a little more digging and Sebastian Blood's name had come up in conjunction with the whole operation. Now Oliver knew how Slade had gotten his foot in the door in Starling City.

Barry surmised that Felicity had uncovered the information and that had triggered Slade into action, fearing that Oliver would come for him and his soldiers before Slade had a chance to do whatever he planned on doing.

As Oliver readied himself to meet with Slade alone, against Diggle's protests, he got a call from Roy, asking him if he had heard from Thea. They had plans for that evening, and just as Oliver had been worried about her not picking up her phone, Roy had immediately been concerned at her lack of response. When Oliver looked helplessly at Diggle, it was the bodyguard who took the initiative and grabbed the phone from him.

"Roy, we need you to come down to Verdant," John said.

"I'd rather not come into work right now; I'm more concerned about Thea," the young man said, his voice sharp.

Diggle looked at Oliver, who gave him a silent nod of consent. "We know where Thea is, but we need your help. Meet me in the back of the club," he finished, cutting off the call to avoid having to answer any more questions and delay his arrival. They were running out of time.

As Diggle brought Roy down to the lair a short time later, Roy looked as flabbergasted as Barry had when he had gotten there.

"What is this place?" he asked, eying the computers and bow and arrow equipment.

"You've been wanting to know the identity of the Vigilante, right?" Diggle asked.

Roy looked at him, nodding. Just then, Oliver walked in from the back room, in his full leather outfit with the hood off, bow in hand. "Now you know," he said calmly, waiting for Roy's reaction.

Roy frowned for a second, then, tilting his head to look over Oliver from head to toe, finally said, "actually, there are a lot of things about you that make much more sense now."

Oliver let out a sigh, saying under his breath, "why does everyone keep saying that?!"

Diggle quickly gave Roy the abbreviated history about Slade based on the little information Oliver had shared with him and Felicity, then gave him the bad news about the girls.

"I'm going with you, Oliver; I don't care if that nut case told you to come alone. You're going to need my help," Roy demanded.

Oliver, selecting which arrows he was taking with him, shook his head. "I need you to stay here. I need to make sure that my eyes and ears," he gestured toward Barry, "are protected from anything funny that Slade decides to pull, and I'll need both you and Diggs for that."

Roy walked up to Oliver, turning him so they were face to face. Oliver was struck by how solid Roy's grip was on his arm, although he still gave him a deadly look, which caused the younger man to drop his hand. "Oliver," he pleaded, "I can help you. I'm stronger and faster than you are, and if you have to face any of those amped up soldiers on your own, then Thea and Felicity will end up just as dead as you!"

Oliver turned back to his task at hand, debating the logic of Roy's words. He knew he was going in sorely outmanned and vulnerable, especially given his actions could mean harm for Felicity and his sister. He also knew he wouldn't have to face any of Slade's soldiers.

"Slade won't let anyone else take me out; he'll want to do it himself." He turned to look at Roy, Diggle and Barry. "But I do have a plan and I need all three of you to help me if we want to get the girls out of there alive and unharmed."

All three men nodded, ready to do whatever was needed to ensure Felicity and Thea were returned to them safely.

Oliver explained his plan to them in detail. Although they all thought it was a viable plan, they didn't like what it meant for Oliver.

"We can't get to them with brute force, and they don't know that we have another computer guru to help us from the outside," Oliver asserted, gesturing to Barry. "We need to take advantage of what they don't know," he finished.

"And what they don't expect, as in you walking in through the front door," Diggle added, arms crossed, shaking his head. "I still think there's too much risk to you and the girls." He looked around at Barry and Roy. "Is there any alternative we haven't thought of yet?"

Both men shook their heads, knowing that although the plan wasn't perfect, given Oliver was expected at the warehouse shortly, they were out of options and time.

"You're sure we shouldn't bring Officer Lance into this?" Barry asked, clearly shaken by Oliver's decision. He knew if Felicity got out of there alive and something happened to Oliver, she would never forgive Barry for letting Oliver put himself at risk. But he would rather have an angry Felicity than a dead one.

Oliver was adamant about keeping the police out of it. Given how easily the security guards at Queen Consolidated had been taken out and killed during the earlier robbery, he didn't want to bring that kind of harm to any of Starling City's finest. They had their hands full enough with the aftermath of the Undertaking. And he would never forgive himself if anything happened to Lance, for Laurel's sake. They were no longer a couple, and he didn't agree with the company she was keeping as of late, but he still saw Laurel as a friend, and wouldn't want anything to happen to her father.

Barry approached Oliver and handed him his ear piece. He also handed him a liquid filled arrow head. "Am I supposed to try to drug them with Vertigo?" Oliver asked, looking questioningly at the liquid. It was a different shade than he had remembered.

"Actually," Barry stated, opening a case that held five more of the same arrow heads, "Felicity gave me some of Roy's blood work, asking me if I could create a compound that would negate the effects of the serum. I brought it to her earlier this week. She had the hollow arrow heads ready to go, just hadn't had a chance to load them, so I finished the job for her."

Oliver smiled. Leave it to Felicity to think ahead to the fact that they may run up against more of the super soldiers despite not having heard anything from them in weeks. "Thank you," Oliver said to Barry, taking the liquid filled arrow heads. "These will definitely come in handy."

He loaded up his quiver and grabbed his motorcycle helmet. It was dark and he could make his way into the Glades undetected by the locals and be to the warehouse with extra time to spare to do some recon hopefully before Slade realized he was there. Diggle grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him and taking him into a bear hug. His friend nodded at him in encouragement. "Bring her home," he choked out.

Oliver turned to Roy and Barry, who were looking as forlorn as Digg. He knew this may be the last time he saw them, the odds being in Slade's favor that he wouldn't make it back. If it all ended with Felicity and Thea safe, as they planned, then it would all be worth it. Although he was probably lying, he still called after them as he made his way to the back of Verdant. "I'll be back…."

Just in time for the weekend. Hope you enjoyed and please review. I love hearing what you think, whether good or bad, complimentary or critical. And please follow. You won't want to miss these last chapters coming up...