Chapter 9 – Caffeine and bullet wounds

AN – Sticking to the current S2 storyline so Sara is mentioned again (sorry); however, this remains fluffy Team fun with an Olicity spin!

AN2 – I need to give a few person shout-outs! I believe it was Dark-Supernatural-Angel who originally wanted Oliver to witness Rule #10 so here we go! Also, Skipaway requested Roy relearn that Lesson #1 also still applies as do not get between Felicity and Oliver so I've included that too! And finally, Miraethwyn mentioned that Roy should also have score cards and subtitles for the silent conversations which I thought was really clever idea…until I tried to write that and couldn't figure out how to do it! ;) I probably will start with referencing it though and see what I can do later on with that!

DISCLAIMER – Just in case anyone was wondering, nope, I don't own CW's Arrow which is why I must write my own fanfic version of the show to be happy!

#10 - The earlier in the morning it is, and the longer Oliver has been in the field, the stronger the caffeine Felicity requires.

Roy placed the coffee cup near Felicity but not too close as she is prone to sudden movements and gesturing. He didn't think Felicity even realized he was here as she was still rambling half to herself and half to Diggle and Oliver who stood just behind her as she tapped out a fast rhythm on the keyboard. Diggle nodded a greeting even as he raised an eyebrow in question. Oliver simply met his eyes and then went back to watching Felicity work.

"Hmm, it references a Rothschild but I don't know what he has to do with Slade Wilson or the Glades…" Felicity's voice trailed off again into more of a mumble as she continued her research.

Roy waited a moment before answering her unasked question. "Rothschild is a graffiti artist in the Glades." He wasn't surprised when all three turned to look at him; however, the continued looks of surprise whenever he contributed information were getting old though. "It's not exactly a secret – anyone on the street knows graffiti but Rothschild is infamous for hiding info in his art. Location of a party, intel on cops, that kind of thing." Roy shrugged and looked away as being the focus of all three of these people at the same time still made him slightly uncomfortable.

Felicity quickly turned back around and typed furiously for several moments. "Aha! Roy, thank you!" Felicity continued to type but the guys continued to stand nearby and wait. As Felicity's searches sometimes took days Roy wasn't sure what they were waiting on exactly but he stayed where he was as well.

He smiled though when Felicity finally noticed the coffee cup which she grabbed at it quickly to take a deep drink before she smiled at him. "Thanks Roy – tell Mike he's a genius and I love him!"

Roy laughed and nodded his agreement to deliver the message. With Sara on the Team and Slade Wilson back from the dead Felicity required a bit more caffeine to maintain her current workload and still smile. Roy had her back though so he had Mike switch out her normal afternoon decaf even though he didn't tell her that. Felicity went back to her typing and Roy again directed his attention to Oliver and Diggle only to find both looking at him. Guess that is what they had been waiting for…

"Isn't it late for caffeine?" Oliver snapped the question at Roy.

Roy tensed at the accusation in Oliver's tone even though he knew logically that not even Oliver could know about the switch. He still responded quickly though. "It's a decaf latte."

"With extra caramel and just a hint of apple and cinnamon – it's absolutely delicious! Roy knows a coffee cart guy that is insanely good and he has become the supplier of my daily fix and I need him and I need Roy to deliver so back off Caffeine Nazi!" Felicity added without even stopping her work or her drinking.

Roy kept his focus on Oliver and wasn't surprised when the other man turned away from Felicity to stare at him. However, Roy didn't think it was a good time to explain his Lesson about Felicity's caffeine habits nor the fact that he disregarded that Lesson in part because Oliver's girlfriend was now on their Team. Luckily Felicity's exuberant exclamation saved him (again).

"Got it - check this out guys!"

Roy peeked over her shoulder to see various shots of graffiti all tagged by Rothschild. From the corner of his eye he saw Oliver and Diggle exchange a look before Diggle spoke.

"What exactly are we checking out Felicity?"

Now it was Felicity and Roy who exchanged looks before both smiled. Felicity turned to Oliver and Diggle to explain as Roy avoided Oliver's eyes.

"You guys are too literal – you're missing the message here. See how the letters interlock? Switch your focus to the background." Felicity paused to give them a chance but she continued when neither man offered a response. "He's providing the location of a rave tonight…just the type of rave the guy we want will go to! You can tail the guy tonight and then we'll know his base of operations which means we can do more recon and see how he connects to Slade."

Oliver squeezed Felicity's shoulder before he and Diggle moved away to prepare for the mission. Roy waited and then moved closer to Felicity to whisper.

"Looks like our night isn't over with just yet. Maybe I should have gotten you caffeine?" As Oliver moved away to prepare for the mission, Roy felt safe in teasing Felicity as she had rejected Lesson #10 as she did most of his Lessons.

"Haha, funny boy! Shouldn't you suit up or aren't you allowed to play with the big boys yet?" Felicity responded with a taunt of her own.

Plans were made for the recon and Roy did accompany Oliver and Diggle to the rave as he was the best choice to blend in with the crowd. It was his job to locate their target while Oliver and Diggle lurked (Felicity's word) in the shadows. Roy actually had to turn off his comms once inside as the music was too loud for the Team to communicate otherwise. He knew without asking that both Diggle and Oliver would keep eyes on him even though he knew he could take care of himself.

The abandoned warehouse was filled with a smoky haze that Roy knew wasn't just from the band's smoke machine. He continued to move in and around trying to find their guy without looking suspicious. There was a wild crowd who seemed to view (and use) the entire floor as both a dance floor and private hotel room. Roy pushed off a couple drunk girls wanting to dance and neatly avoided the wild punch by the boyfriend of one of those same girls. As he hadn't yet found their target and knew Oliver would be getting impatient Roy kept his temper under control and ignored the drunk guy. Taking a deep breath Roy pushed back through to make another lap.

When he had reached the north side of the warehouse he realized there was a second area that had been closed off to the general crowd. Roy watched for several moments as a few well-dressed older guys entered the room after speaking to the armed men obviously guarding the door. He couldn't communicate with the Team but Roy decided to see if he could get inside anyway.

He grabbed a bottle from a guy as he walked toward the door and pretended to try and down it while he bumped into one of the guards. The guy he stole the bottle from quickly followed as he knew he would and the other guard grabbed him. Roy timed and executed his movements to appear drunk even as he neatly unbalanced the guard and pretended to crash through the closed door. He continued his stumble and drunken act even as he met several more armed men with guns trained on him.

"Hey guys…why you got guns at a party?" Roy slurred his words even as he swayed on his feet and turned about as if dazed and confused. "You haven't seen a cute blond girl have you? About this tall? Pony tail and glasses? Kinda a sexy librarian look? Short skirt, killer legs…" Roy was grateful for the fact that his comms were off while he described Felicity. He wasn't grateful that no one took the bait and answered him but saw no choice but to maintain his cover.

"You wouldn't hide her from me would ya? I just wanna talk to her…I don't think she really meant no. You know how those smart girls are...you just gotta work a little harder to make them lose control." Roy tried to whine pathetically now even as he used his drunken stumbling to get his back closer to a wall just in case this didn't go well. Ok then, Plan B!

"She's not with you, is she? I swear she didn't tell me that!" Roy brought his arms up in a sign of surrender and didn't have to work hard to inject a little panic into his whine. "Look, no girl is worth that so I'll just get back to the party and find another little girl…" Roy took a couple wobbly steps and while the guns weren't fired, they weren't lowered either. He paused to consider the likelihood that they would just let him leave when he heard an arrow fly by only to be followed by a scream as it reached its target.

Roy immediately looked up to see Oliver standing in full Arrow gear but he switched his attention back to the men as they moved to take aim at Oliver. Roy took out the two men closest to him but as the guns started firing he just hoped Oliver's ninja skills included dodging bullets. The battle was fast but even before they could move toward the door the crowds partying outside pushed in toward them.

The noise levels rose further as several girls noticed the bodies on the floor as well as the Arrow and screamed bloody murder. Roy winced at the high pitched screams even as he looked to see how Oliver planned to get them out. However, the crowds themselves created a new exit as the weight of so many panicked people bent and then crashed through the old metal panels of the warehouse. He pushed through another one himself even as he saw Oliver shoot an arrow and use it to get to the second level.

Roy continued to run back to their vehicles even as he clicked on his comms. "I'm out."

"Got the target…I'm on him." It was Diggle who gave that announcement.

"What's your location Diggle?" Oliver answered and Roy could hear Felicity's sigh of relief.

"Southeast corner – black Range Rover." Diggle replied quickly and even added the license plate for Felicity's benefit.

"Registered to a corporation – that will take time but I'm pulling up traffic cams now." Felicity spoke in a rush and it was easy to hear her fingers flying over the keyboard. "Cops are on the way so you guys need to get out fast."

Roy stood in the shadows of a neighboring building as the crowds continued to pour from the warehouse. He was next to Oliver's bike but hadn't seen signs of the man himself yet. A metallic screech from above had Roy turning quickly as he assumed a defensive stance before he even realized it was Oliver coming down the fire escape. He was surprised when Oliver rode the ladder to the bottom instead of jumping off but when he saw the limp he then understood.

He moved quickly to him but Oliver waved off his assistance and mounted the bike even as he spoke. "Diggle, you still with him? Stay back until we get there."

Roy wasn't sure how Oliver planned to help but he knew he wasn't going to contradict him. He had just slid on behind Oliver when Diggle replied.

"No need – he didn't go far. He's going into an office building. Felicity, you reading my location?"

"Yep, pulling up the building information now but I suggest you guys come home and wait until we have more intel. If this guy is linked to Slade we don't want to go in blind plus the cops are still headed your way." Roy wondered at the tension in Felicity's voice but when Diggle answered quickly he forgot to worry about her further.

"On the way back now." Diggle responded quickly and Roy breathed a sigh of relief when Oliver changed course and headed back to the lair.

They arrived at the same time as Diggle and Roy saw the man quickly sized up the situation and moved closer even as Oliver shook his head no as he muttered the word ricochet. He met Diggle's eyes and shrugged even as they both turned to follow Oliver closely. They made it to the lair quickly despite Oliver's pronounced limp and soon Roy cringed at Felicity's expression of fear when she first saw Oliver.

She rushed quickly to his side and he allowed her to steady him as Diggle moved to gather the med kit. Once Oliver was on the table and Diggle was cutting through the leather pants Felicity rounded on Roy and began shouting.

"What were you thinking? Were you thinking? You entered a guarded room without any knowledge of what was inside?! You could have been killed! Oliver could have been killed trying to save your sorry ass! You may think you're invincible but we are a Team so you don't get to make unilateral decisions that affect the rest of us! Oliver doesn't have Mirakuru in his system Roy – he won't magically heal!" Felicity had continued to stalk toward Roy even as he backed away from her.

"Felicity." Oliver spoke softly at least in comparison to Felicity's loud voice but she heard him and immediately turned and returned to his side.

As Roy watched Oliver reached out for Felicity's elbow and drew her to his side. She turned toward him and put both hands on his uninjured leg.

"I'm ok Felicity . We needed to know what was going on in there and now we got the intel we need. Besides it's just a flesh wound." Oliver smiled as he spoke and Felicity released a shaky laugh before she replied.

"You're actually making a Monty Python reference?" Felicity continued to hold on to Oliver but at least she wasn't yelling now.

"You like the movie, right?" Oliver questioned still keeping his tone light even as Diggle continued to clean the wound.

"Yeah, I do but how about you don't re-enact the rest of it, ok?" Felicity was smiling now and Roy was finally able to take a deep breath as it looked like Oliver had saved him.

Diggle had remained silent but spoke now in a laughing tone even as he continued to sew stitches in Oliver's leg. "Is now a good time to discuss the fact that Felicity can turn your comms on even if you turn them off?"

Roy closed his eyes and waited for the explosion…it wasn't a long wait.

"Sexy librarian?! Work harder to make a smart girl lose control?!" Felicity's voice was loud again (very loud actually) and Roy winced before he opened his eyes to bravely face the danger the small blond woman presented. He was surprised to see Oliver keeping Felicity close with his hold on her arm even as he grinned in obvious amusement. Felicity was sputtering angrily about arrogant little boys needing to be taught a lesson as she struggled to get away but Oliver's words again captured her attention and saved Roy.

"I think he meant it as a compliment, Felicity."

Roy watched as Felicity turned to him still sputtering but she stopped and blushed when Oliver winked at her and spoke again.

"Sexy librarian is a good look for you."

Roy almost choked on his laugh but managed to remain quiet even though Diggle laughed. That was twice Oliver had saved him from Felicity today and he wasn't going to mess that up by laughing now. Roy also realized he'd recently ignored several of his own Lessons so perhaps he needed to make some adjustments.

#1 - Do NOT get (or even try to get) between Oliver and Felicity….aka Do NOT get (or even try to get) between Felicity and Oliver.

AN3 – Just to be clear: the Caffeine Nazi is a nod to Seinfeld guys and nothing more! I do hope you'll keep those ideas coming as I still don't guarantee you'll like the results but I appreciate the chance to try! :)