Chapter 2 – Sleepover
AN – Thank you all for the wonderful support! I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate everyone who reads, reviews, faves, and/ or follows! BTW, this continues right where the first chapter left off; however, I must warn you guys that I've switched to third person POV so I can capture all the action and thoughts!
AN2 – My beta is back (three cheers for Mic Riddy) so you can thank/ credit her for this work but you can't blame her for mistakes or if you just don't like it as that's always all on me! ;)
DISCLAIMER: The wishing upon a star bit doesn't appear to be working just yet so I must confess I do not own CW's Arrow!
"We fight." Oliver looked first at Diggle and then Felicity as he made that decision.
"We fight." Diggle nodded his agreement and as one both men turned to Felicity.
"We fight…go Team Arrow!" Felicity agreed and grinned at Oliver when she added the last part.
Rolling his eyes, Diggle couldn't resist a small smile and then turned to see Oliver's reaction. Oliver just stared at Felicity in wonder.
"What?! I couldn't resist! Now, not to put a damper on our meeting but how exactly are we going to fight? I mean, what's our next step? We are down a man, oh, and a woman. I assume Sara is still with her family. Oooh, actually we are down two men with Det. Lance under arrest and we need to help him. How do we help him?"
"Slade is still on the loose. We don't know what his end game is but we so far he's had several games going. We need to assume there are several missions, multiple targets, and an unknown number of accomplices. We need to find Roy—" Diggle looked to Oliver but Felicity was the one who interrupted as she moved to a computer.
"Got Roy – he's still on the road headed toward Central City." Felicity pointed to her screen.
"You're still tracking Roy?" Oliver asked in surprise.
"Of course! You know we all have several tracking units…if I learned anything from the Undertaking it was redundancy. He tossed the ones in his gear and his watch but left the one in his phone. I know it got ugly but I think that means something, Oliver, I think he wants to be found—"
"But not yet. He deserves the space – I pushed him too hard." Even though he had already confessed that mistake Oliver still dropped his gaze to the ground.
Felicity lightly touched his arm as she passed by to join Diggle at the table.
"So we leave Roy for now." Diggle lent his support as well. "We need to understand what fronts we are fighting on and prepare ourselves accordingly." It was times like this that Diggle's military training was not just obvious but an even greater asset than normal to them.
Felicity had brought a tablet with her and she was clearly ready to type as she waited for Diggle to continue. Oliver moved a chair beside of Felicity and he too looked to Diggle to continue.
"We list the known arenas and then prioritize and plan a response-" Diggle's voice was steady and calm as usual.
"Not just a response, we need to attack." Oliver spoke with more emotion than usual but he was much calmer now than when they had argued about how to rescue Thea earlier.
"Yes, we will take the offensive and aggressively, but we do not make sacrifices. We need to plan and align our forces as we need to, intelligently." Diggle's voice remained calm despite Oliver's interruption. He paused but Oliver remained silent as did Felicity. "OK, there's Queen Consolidated. Slade has control through Isabel. We need to try again to find out something about her. You said she mentioned 'the sins of the father'? Felicity, search for any overlapping times between Isabel and Robert Queen."
"Got it - I'll start a preliminary search now. Give me just a sec." Felicity hopped up and quickly made her way over to the computers. She was busily typing when Diggle's phone rang.
"QC Security." Diggle advised when he read the caller ID. "This is Diggle." There was a short silence before Diggle answered again. "Hey Charlie. Is there a problem?"
As he listened Diggle suddenly raised a brow and looked at Oliver. "Is that right? You made the right call - send it to me. Ms. Smoak will take care of it Charlie." There was another short pause as Diggle listened and then he smiled. "Yes, sir. Will do. And Charlie…thank you – we owe you." Diggle ended the call and then just continued to look at Oliver even though the younger man looked away to watch Felicity until she moved toward them.
Felicity did rejoin the men and she too turned her focus to Oliver when Diggle continued to stare at the other man. Both could see Oliver clench his jaw but he remained silent.
"Ok, what's going on?" Felicity lacked the patience to wait out the guys.
"Anything you want to share with the class Oliver?" Diggle asked with a barely suppressed smirk when Oliver remained silent.
"Isabel and I fought in the conference room." Oliver bit out through gritted teeth clearly lacking appreciation for his friend's humor.
"Yeah, you told us that. What am I missing here?" Felicity again jumped in when there was silence.
"I mean we fought - hand to hand combat. Isabel has training. I would guess a karate or judo base." Oliver spoke quietly now and directed his gaze toward Felicity.
"Ohhh, you fought, fought. I get it now." Felicity was clearly surprised but then the rest snapped into place for her. "In the conference room?! Do we need to make repairs? That's why Charlie called - the camera! We have to erase the surveillance log! I can loop a still feed in place..." Felicity had again jumped up and moved to her computers. She continued to mumble under her breath as she worked at a feverish pace for just a few moments.
"It's a good thing I already installed the Blind Spot program - we should be okay." Felicity updated the guys as she again joined them.
"Charlie said to take the she-wolf down." Diggle chuckled softly at Oliver's surprised expression. "Apparently he is not a big fan of Ms. Rochev." Diggle paused again before adding his own response to Charlie. "I told him we would."
Felicity laughed out loud "She-wolf? I like that!"
Oliver didn't laugh but he did smile at Felicity before he turned back to Diggle. "I think we should put QC on the back burner until we know more. I want my family's company back but other matters take priority."
"I agree but it is related so we need intel and there's one more avenue we should pursue." Diggle's voice was soft and serious. He exchanged a look with Felicity and this time it was Oliver who lacked the patience to wait.
"What avenue? What option do we have?" Oliver kept his gaze on Diggle when he spoke but it was Felicity who spoke.
"Moira. If Isabel has a connection to your dad I would bet your mom would know what it is. Just listen Oliver." Oliver had jumped up and started pacing. The family discussions never brought out the best in him and this one was no exception but Felicity plowed ahead. "Regardless of where you stand with her, we need her Oliver. You need to tell her about QC and that Isabel is helping Slade. Your mother will always put you and Thea first so I think she'll talk."
Oliver had stopped pacing and just stared at Felicity. Much like earlier in the evening her voice calmed him and her words broke through the angry haze. Diggle simply continued to wait as he knew Felicity was their best bet for reaching Oliver.
"You want me to ask for her help?" Oliver asked quietly. "You trust her?"
"Yes, I want you to ask for her help. No, I don't trust her but whatever she says will give me a starting point for additional searches. You need to talk to her." Felicity's honest and direct appeal easily defeated Oliver's own doubts.
"Okay, tomorrow then." Oliver agreed and again took his seat while Diggle stifled a sigh of relief.
"Sticking with the family issues - Thea. It is unlikely Slade will attack her again but we need to keep her safe." Diggle didn't state what they all knew - for Oliver's own peace of mind they would need to resolve this particular issue.
Oliver again dropped his head and again no one needed him to voice his feelings of guilt to know what he was thinking. Felicity placed a hand on his arm as she and Diggle gave him a moment.
"Thea has her phone back Oliver so I'm able to keep an eye on her. She actually went to Sin's place for the night so she is safe. Give her some time too but she'll come around. Thea is angry with you only because she loves you - it was Moira's mistake and her secret to tell. You aren't responsible for that and Thea will realize that soon enough." Felicity spoke softly and earnestly to Oliver as she kept a hand on his arm.
Oliver had finally raised his head and met the blond's sympathetic gaze. He placed a hand over hers, nodded, and they shared a small smile.
"Okay, so we move on." Diggle was glad the pair was back to whatever passed for normal for them but he needed them to focus on this discussion. "What about Detective Lance? That doesn't feel right to me. You think Slade has someone on the payroll there too?"
"Seriously? Does he have evil little minions everywhere?" Felicity huffed in annoyance. "I'll run financials for the police and DA's office and see if anything jumps out." She typed quickly on her tablet and didn't acknowledge Diggle's nod.
"Sara." Diggle spoke only her name but he noticed without surprise that both Oliver and Felicity tensed slightly.
"What about Sara?" Oliver asked with an edge in his tone.
"Where does she stand? It's not hard to see she isn't here now Oliver." Diggle adopted a business tone as he didn't really want to discuss this particular topic.
"She blames Slade for her dad's arrest. She blames me for Slade." Oliver shrugged but at Diggle's continued start he continued. "She's with her mom right now. She's also still concerned for Laurel so she's going to stay close to her family." Oliver maintained a business tone as well.
Diggle quickly nodded his agreement. Sara could be both an asset and a detriment to the Team so he was okay with leaving her out for now. Hopefully when they knew more they could place her where they knew she would be an asset.
There was a moment of silence until Felicity spoke.
"I'll take Slade for $100 Alex." Felicity's light teasing voice surprised both men and they quickly turned to her. "What? That's the big elephant in the room right? We know he's out there, we know he's got 20 or so new friends from jail, and we know he now has access to QC's R&D labs."
Diggle and Oliver exchanged a look and Felicity realized they hadn't connected the dots until she had spoken. "Yeah, taking over QC is a blow to you but so far he hasn't done anything without multiple purposes has he? He took Thea not just to make you suffer but also to tell her Moira's secret. He distracted you with Thea's rescue not just to make you suffer but also to hijack the prison transfer. Stands to reason he has another purpose for the QC takeover - mass production of the serum for his new army." Felicity shrugged negligently when they continued to stare at her but she blushed when Oliver spoke.
"You really are remarkable." Oliver's tone was tender and affectionate even if his voice was a little gruff.
"Thank you for remarking on it." Felicity mimicked their previous conversation that seemed to have taken place so long ago now and they again smiled at one another.
"Charlie!" Diggle's voice was jarring in the quiet room.
"What?" Felicity and Oliver asked in unison as they turned to him.
"Felicity, you need to let Charlie know you'll be in the system and use him to hide your tracks there. You can protect him, right?" Diggle asked.
"We can monitor their activities at QC through the security feeds!" Felicity spoke with excitement as she caught on quickly to Diggle's plan. Again she moved away to her machines but this time the men followed her. "Yes, I can basically hide everything from here but having Charlie in the loop will be helpful. We can spy on them!" Felicity was getting into the idea and the men exchanged a look before Oliver interrupted her.
"Felicity, it's unlikely they will do anything blatant right in front of the cameras-"
"You mean anything really blatant like drop kicking the acting CEO?" Felicity interrupted to tease.
"I didn't drop kick Isabel. I choked her." Oliver replied as he narrowed his gaze at the back of the blond's head in annoyance.
"So much more subtle!" Felicity rolled her eyes before she then turned briefly to meet his eyes and grin. "If they feel safe then they will be arrogant – pride goeth before a fall and all that. This may prove useful and it certainly won't hurt us." Felicity worked on the machines a bit more before she turned back to the silently waiting men. "Okay, we have full access and I've even added a facial recognition program as I doubt Slade will just waltz in the front door."
"He may not show up at all - it wouldn't be smart." Oliver felt it necessary to point out the obvious and try to stem Felicity's enthusiasm.
"True but again we won't know what information we can get unless we try. Maybe we can at least find a few more names on his payroll." Felicity again defended her position even if her tone was slightly annoyed now.
Oliver moved forward to squeeze her shoulder. "Thank you."
At his simple words and touch, Felicity's annoyance vanished and she smiled.
Diggle used the opportunity to step back into the conversation. "So we have some intel gathering to do before we plan. Right now though we need to take a break and rest. Felicity, I will be outside your place tonight." Diggle's tone was stern as he fully expected the girl to argue again.
"John-" Felicity got no further before Oliver spoke.
"I'll take a shift too." Thought it wasn't quite his growly Arrow voice Oliver also spoke in an unyielding tone.
"This is ridiculous! Do you know how many studies have determined that sleep deprivation is just as dangerous as being drunk? I'm pretty sure you both need full control of your motor skills if we need to battle an army of Mirakuru soldiers so no!" Felicity had stood up and faced both men with her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Felicity, Slade has already taken Thea. He won't hesitate to use you against Oliver as well." Diggle spoke calmly but brought out the single argument he knew Felicity wouldn't, couldn't fight. Felicity continued to shake her head no but Diggle could see she was wavering now.
"There's no way you are going to be out wandering the city on your own-" Oliver started but Felicity jumped in angrily, momentarily forgetting Diggle's argument.
"Wandering the city? I'm going to be at home Oliver! One of you can follow me but you are not staying! It makes no sense to sacrifice yourselves for me. Aren't we all in this together?" Felicity's tone was sharp and it didn't appear to either man that was she going to give in.
Oliver chose to step closer and glower at the blond but Diggle had seen that strategy fail too many times so he again spoke calmly.
"Okay, okay, back to your corners. Felicity, I will follow you home. Oliver can trail you in the morning. That's an acceptable compromise, right?" Diggle hoped Felicity would buy the line but when she turned from Oliver to glare at him he realized she hadn't.
"And if I just happen to look outmy window during the night, which one of you will I see John? No!" Felicity suddenly shifted her attention back to the still glaring Oliver. "Where are you saying tonight anyway? You have spent enough time here on that cot already. You need to get out. You need to get some rest."
"I'm fine here. I'm not going back to the Mansion." Oliver was still glaring as he answered her questions but then he quickly returned to the subject of Felicity's safety. "You need to accept the fact that we want to protect you. We are all in this together right?" Following Diggle's lead, Oliver tried another tactic and stole Felicity's argument at the same time.
"Yes! That's it! We'll have a sleepover! Nooo, not a sleepover, sleepover. I mean we'll get a hotel room. That sounded even worse, didn't it? Look, all I mean is there's safety in numbers, we'll be in an unknown location and we'll be together. None of us have to worry as we'll all be there. Not in the same bed, even in a platonic way as that would just be weird. No sharing a bed, well, I guess you guys could but I would really rather you didn't. Could we vote on that? Team Arrow still votes, right?" Felicity ended her ramble as she ran out of air.
There was utter silence until both Diggle and Oliver started laughing, quietly at first but it got worse when Diggle spoke.
"Classic Felicity - almost as good as the other comments about how we spend our nights." Felicity glared at Diggle but had to bite her lip to keep from laughing now herself as she remembered several of the comments Diggle referenced.
Oliver quickly spoke up too. "How about when she said-"
Felicity interrupted Oliver but both men continued to laugh. "No! We are not listing all the inappropriate comments I've made in front of the two of you. I'm glad you guys find me funny and laughing is a good stress reliever - not as good as sex but still ...3...2...1." Felicity tried but couldn't resist joining the men as all continued to laugh and it was a stress reliever for them. As she watched the men fondly Felicity couldn't help teasing.
"I think I need new friends. Do you think there are other superheroes who need an IT sidekick?"
Oliver sobered up quickly to reply much more seriously than Felicity intended. "You aren't my sidekick Felicity and no, there's no one else."
"Okay, okay – my place is here with you, got it." Felicity quick agreement and ready smile soothed Oliver and Felicity secretly rejoiced in the fact that he was still more relaxed and open now than he had been in weeks. She continued quickly though. "So where did we land on the hotel room?"
"I say we go for it." Diggle replied still smiling slightly.
"Some place nice right? Hot tub in the room? Hey! Could we get the whole penthouse floor?" Felicity spoke with enthusiasm.
"Pretty sure that would defeat the purpose ofrelocating to a 'secret' location?" Diggle laughed.
"Maybe, maybe not. What if we are obvious and then set up our own protections?" Oliver was thinking out-loud and Diggle quickly followed along.
"Technically neutral territory, a lot of variables, relatively public. We might be able to work this to our advantage." Diggle continued exploring the possibilities in his mind but turned his attention to Felicity when she swayed slightly.
"It's almost morning now. Could you guys possibly continue planning this at the penthouse suite while I sleep?" Felicity asked when she caught Diggle's concerned look.
"Oliver, grab your stuff and run Felicity by her place. I'll go grab some stuff too and we'll meet...at the Plaza?" Diggle was relieved Felicity would remain in their company and sticking together definitely felt right. The Team felt right too despite the absence of the newestmembers.
"Yeah, that works. Felicity, can you call for a reservation while I pack a bag?" Oliver still felt safer in the lair but having Diggle close by and keeping Felicity safe made the compromise worth it. It just felt right to be with the Team right now.
"I'll call now!" Felicity responded happily as she started to pack one computer to go with her tablet as well as some other essentials to take with them. She didn't want them to lack anything that may help them stay safe. Despite the fact that they were facing even worse odds Felicity couldn't help but smile – it felt like old times again. Even if they were risking their lives, they were doing it together.
AN2 – So for those confused about Charlie, he's an OC I have used in previous stories and this just seemed to be a good fit for him! He has his own series (Team Arrow: Front Row Seat) and I may add a chapter there for his POV in this. Yep, all part of my diabolical plan to make you guys read everything I write! ;)
