Chapter 12
Felicity was smiling as she entered the lair the next evening. Her dinner and walk with Oliver was perfect. They laughed and talked and just had time for themselves. It was everything she could have wanted and more. She was running an update on software and was searching for information on recent suspicious business deals in Starling City. Diggle laughed as he walked in and saw her dancing to her MP3 player as the computers finished their searches. Felicity jumped as she saw Diggle.
"Um, Hi John." She said blushing.
"Hello, Felicity. In a good mood?" he asked.
"Yes, John. I am. And I even got the information for Detective Lance and Laurel to use in order to investigate suspicious business deals. My day has been wonderful." She said smiling.
"Well, I am glad to hear it. Any other developments in 'Arrow' business?"
"Nope, pretty quiet. Oh, what happened with Mr. White on Friday?"
He laughed slightly. "It was made very clear to Mr. White his behavior was not appropriate according to Queen Consolidated standards and he would NOT be welcomed back until a formal apology was sent to you."
Felicity smiled. "Oh, interesting." She said as she turned back to her computers.
Later that evening, Felicity returned to her apartment. She was fine until she reached her door. It was slightly opened and that was not normal. Her mind was racing. She texted Oliver, Diggle and Roy letting them know what she found. They all said they would be right over. She listened but did not hear her alarm which was even more suspicious and she saw no alerts from the lair that mentioned a break-in for her apartment.
Diggle and Oliver walked off her elevator within 5 minutes of her text. Roy arrived shortly afterwards. The 3 guys insisted on entering first and once they did she followed them in. After searching the rooms and finding them empty they regrouped with Felicity by the front door. She was looking over her alarm. It was showing it was armed but did not alert to the open front door. She immediately accessed the software system and saw it had been hacked disabling the front door alarm.
Diggle and Roy looked over most of the apartment other than Felicity's bedroom. Felicity got more concerned when nothing seemed to be disturbed in her apartment other than her bedroom and bathroom as far as she could tell at that point. Oliver walked with her into her bedroom and looked over everything. She couldn't tell if anything was missing but it just made her skin crawl thinking someone was in her room again. She was about to turn to leave when she saw a note on her pillow.
It was in Richard White's handwriting. 'Felicity, I know you miss me. I will come back for you. You know you need me to control and guide you. We will be together soon. Queen will try to protect you but he will fail. We WILL be together. Richard.' Felicity's hand shook as she showed the letter to Oliver. Diggle called Detective Lance who arrived a short time later.
Felicity related the incident with White at Queen Consolidated to the Detective who took very detailed notes. He placed the letter into a bag and was going to have it analyzed by the lab. He then spoke, "This guy worries me, Ms. Smoak. He has been building in his obsession with you. You shouldn't be alone if you can help it. He will use it as a chance to get close to you again and I can't guarantee he would let you free again. I would also change up your routine. He has probably been watching you and knows your pattern. Just be very careful." The detective then stood to leave and shook Oliver and Diggle's hands as he left her apartment.
Oliver looked at Felicity and pulled her aside, "Are you okay? Be honest with me, Felicity. Don't worry about being strong right now. Just tell me what you feel and think."
"I don't know what to think, Oliver. This is so confusing and I am not sure how to go from here. If it was a normal bad guy I would know how to act, how to be part of the team. This guy is focusing on me and me alone and that is scary. He was here in my home, got past my security system in order to leave that note and who knows what else he did while he was here. God, my skin is crawling. I feel as if I need to clean off and sterilize my house. If he got past the system, I'm not going to feel safe here, especially alone." She said stepping closer to him and placing her ear near his heart.
"That's all I need to know then. Let's pack you a bag and you can come to the Mansion with me. I know it is big but we can be together and it changes your routine. You wouldn't be alone and it is not like there isn't room." He said looking in her eyes. She nodded as she moved to her closet to pull out clothes and a suitcase.