I'm very sorry this update is almost a week late.

I'm hoping you'll all forgive me though, because it was my birthday last Monday, and I got so wrapped up in all that, I didn't have the time to write or post.

So I'm giving you this chapter now, and inform you that there won't be an update this Sunday ( July second). Chapter five should come your way around July ninth, maybe a day later.

I hope you all enjoy this update, it's horribly un-beta'd, so if there are any mistakes in grammar or continuity, please tell me!

x
EE

Chapter four: Run the world (girls)

Felicity stares at the rundown and seemingly dilapidated warehouse with equal parts of disgust and fear. She still couldn't believe that out of every possible hiding place, Pavel would choose this one as his HQ.

The thought alone of going inside makes her stomach contract with nausea and if it was just for her, she'd never even set a foot in the place. But it isn't just for her. It's for all the women out there being attacked and kidnapped. All the girls who are young and foolish enough to think that bad things only happen to other people. Like she once was, a long time ago.

She pulls her strawberry blonde wig a little straighter, applies another layer of her signature lipstick and gets out of the tiny car she rented especially for this occasion. She's parked a little away from the building, but still within spitting distance. It's a safety precaution, just like the false plates and the rental. If things go south tonight, and there's a good chance they might, she'd need a fast getaway. Parking five blocks from your target wasn't the soundest espionage plan.

Felicity heaves a big sigh, and glances at the building again. There is no other way she could get close to Pavel without putting herself in even greater danger, but that doesn't mean she's got to like the idea of going in there and playing nice with the human smuggler. Luckily, she's brilliant, and the tech she'd designed specifically for this opp is fast and untraceable. Only 100 seconds near Pavel's phone will be enough to give her access to it, and his entire digital network. One hundred seconds. One minute and forty seconds. A little over one sixtieth of an hour. She can do that. She's been through a lot worse in a much longer period. She can do this.

Her heels click on the pavement and they sound a lot more self-assured than she feels at the moment, but if there's one thing Felicity has learned to do, it's play-act. She gives the broad-shouldered and beefy guy at the door a fluttery look and a little finger wave, and he motions her in without any problems. Except maybe the leery look he sends her, which isn't really a problem as much as just creepy and shiver-inducing.

The moment the doors open, the music hits her like a ton of bricks. Some kind of heavy-bass beat that sounds designed specifically to give her a massive headache. There was a reason she never went out to clubs and the likes, and the horrible music and sweaty people pressing upon her were definitely part of that reason.

She's on a mission though, and that's way more important than her uncomfortable feeling. She can always take a nice long shower later.

As she moves to the bar, she glances around in the hope of spotting Pavel. She's only seen one picture of the guy, and it had been a bad one, but she's sure she'll recognize him in a heartbeat. Even blurry and pixelated she could tell the man was gorgeous. One more example of the outside not reflecting what's inside.

When she hits the bar and signals the bartender, she feels a hand slide across the bare flesh of her back. She turns to tell the creep off, but swallows her words when she finds herself looking in the dark chocolate eyes of her mark. Up close he's even more handsome than on the picture, but there's a cold and calculated glint in his eyes that belies the smile he's sporting.

His hair is dark brown, with just the right amount of grey to make him look sexy and distinguished and the dark suit and dark shirt he's wearing shows off a great physique. If Felicity didn't know who the man was, or recognize the darkness that hides underneath the jovial façade, she'd be charmed by him. As it stood, all she could do was fake it.

"Uhm, hi." She says, putting enough shyness in her voice to make her seem like an easy target. She knows from experience that his type of guy likes his women submissive and scared. She hopes the fake shyness and the real discomfort she feels from wearing such a form fitting and open dress is enough to draw in the evil human trafficker.

He gives her a wide, toothy smile. "Hello, there. You seem a bit lost darlin'," he drawls, lacing his speech with a fake southern accent. Maybe that puts other girls at ease, but Felicity can feel the goosebumps race across her forearms and her chest.

"Well, I, uh… I was just," she motions behind her towards the bar, "trying to get a drink."

Pavel moves his hand from where it was still burning the skin on her back and drapes his arm across her shoulders, pulling her away from the bar. "I've got a nice, cold bottle of champagne at my booth, how 'bout you come sit with me, and I'll bartend for you."

He gives her a wink that she supposes he means friendly and inviting, but it puts her on edge. She drops her eyes to the floor and nods, hoping he'll mistake it for shyness again, instead of her way to hide the rage burning in her eyes. She understands why girls would fall into his honey-trap. When a guy that looks like he belongs in a movie, showers you with attention and wants to buy you drinks, it's flattering. It makes you feel attractive and wanted, and gives your ego a massive boost. Up until the moment you wake in a cold and dreary warehouse, cuffed to the wall and sold like you were a thing instead of a person.

Pavel leads her towards his table, and she can see his phone lying on top of it. Just one hundred Mississippi's and she can make an excuse to leave. Felicity sits down and puts her purse on the table besides the phone. She flicks her earring and pushes a button on the side of her watch. Let the countdown begin.

A tall glass is slid her way, filled with the promised champagne, and probably something like GHB or Rohypnol. There's no way in hell Felicity's going to drink it, but she can't stall taking a sip for as long as she needs to. Her hand moves towards the flute slowly, and the smile she's forcing on her face starts to hurt her jaw. Pavel clinks his glass to hers and lifts it in salute, before taking a big swallow, motioning her to do the same. The fake friendly look in his eyes slowly makes way for suspicion when she still hasn't sipped the glass, and she's about to make an apology about not liking champagne when she hears something behind her.

"Meghan, what are you doing here?" If she hadn't recognized the voice, she would have never guessed the man behind her was talking to her, but as it stood, she knew the voice well. Even though she'd done her very best over the past few days to avoid hearing it.

"Oliver," she says as she turns around, her voice filled with shy surprise and the flute forgotten in her hand, "I didn't know you'd be here." That was true, she hadn't returned to the loft after work, instead going straight to her hide-out and go through her plan once more. Not because she was suddenly scared of Oliver. He was one of the good guys, even if he was a little misogynistic, and she could take him. No, she avoided Oliver as much as possible, because of her damn mouth. Ever since she found out he was the Green Arrow; her mouth took every opportunity to make bad archery puns during normal conversation.

Like when he'd come down the stairs the morning after she found out and she'd asked him if 'his flirty friend had kept him on the straight 'n arrow'. He'd just looked at her a little funny and went on to eat her breakfast. Or the morning after that when she commented that he'd look better in a bow-tie.

She decided to just eschew Oliver after that. It had worked, up until now, when she really didn't want or need his involvement. He was going to blow her cover, and she still needed about 50 seconds for her device to be done.

"Well, you've been avoiding me for days now, so that makes sense." She could see the annoyance in his eyes, but his words were perfectly level and neutral. His frustration sparks her own, but if she wants her information, she'll have to bite down and humble herself. So, she looks down at her feet, subtly checking her watch and pulls up her shoulders in a shrug.

"I wasn't purposely avoiding you, Oliver." She puts a fragility in her voice she hasn't felt since college, and she hopes Pavel buys the act even if Oliver doesn't. By the snort he gives her, Oliver isn't fooled. "We've just been in different places at the same time these past few days."

"Well, we're in the same place now, and you're coming with me." Oliver takes her by the arm and pulls her up.

"Ollie, man, you're making a scene." The sudden interruption of yet another voice does little to break the stand-off between her and Oliver, with Pavel looking dubious between the two. Felicity knows her time is up, Pavel won't be interested in a girl with such obvious attachments and she prays she's got what she came here for.

"It's fine, Tommy. Meghan here, is coming with us." He puts special emphasis on her middle name, obviously so Pavel wouldn't learn her real name. He shoots the Czech a filthy look while he picks up her purse and not-so-gently shoves her in Tommy's direction.

Felicity rounds on him as soon as they step outside. "What the hell was that all about?! You don't get to barge into a private conversation like that and bully me. I'm a grown woman Oliver, and if being your roommate gives you the right to interfere in my personal life, I'll move out this second." She reaches for her purse and pulls out her key to offer it to him.

He barely looks at it, instead focusing those steely blue eyes on hers. "That guy in there is dangerous Felicity. There have been more girls gone missing from this place than the rest of the Glades put together, and that's just been the last 6 weeks. You've got no business being here by yourself. You could have gotten hurt. Or worse."

Anger surges trough her. "I'm my own woman, and I go and do as I please. You might be my boss, but don't think that makes you the boss of me."

She turns around and stalks towards her car, her heals clicking a furious cadence on the asphalt. Who does he even think he is? Telling her what to do like she's some kind of clueless bimbo. She's got an IQ of 195 and she's been training for over five years. She can run circles around him and his stupid bow.

Felicity drops off the car at its lot, changes the plates again and hops on the bike she parked a few spots away. She's still seething with anger as she pulls up to her hide-out, a slightly downtrodden rent-by-the-day storage facility at the edge of the Glades.

All she can do is hope her device had enough time to crack Pavel's phone and upload the worm she designed, otherwise the whole night would have been wasted.

It's seven thirty when she quietly unlocks the door to the loft. Hopefully Oliver left for the office already, so she can take a shower in peace before going there as well. She knows it'll be that much harder to avoid him from now on, and he's definitely going to confront her with the events of last night. But it's been a long and tiring few hours, and all she wants is some time in the amazing massage-shower and maybe take a nap in her office.

"You didn't come home last night." There's some emotion in his voice she can't really put her finger on, and a tiny flash of guilt washes through her for making him worry. But then her anger resurfaces and she straightens her back.

"I didn't." is all she says.

"I was worried."

"It's not your place to worry about me, Oliver. I'm a big girl and I know what I'm doing."

He sighs. "You're my friend, Felicity. Of course I worry about you. You could have gotten yourself into serious trouble."

She can see the worry in his eyes, now much less like steel and more like an ocean. But she won't be swayed by his gentleness now, the way he acted the night before was unacceptable, and not just because of the opp he almost ruined. Oliver was used to bossing around everybody in his life, but he needed to learn that that wouldn't fly with her.

She heads towards the stairs. "I get that you were worried Oliver. But I'm not a damsel in distress. I don't need your saving."

"Googledamned, I need his saving." Felicity throws her stress ball against the wall and drops her head in her hands. She'd spent all day at the office going over Pavel's digital presence with a fine-toothed comb. It turns out he's much more than a cob in the Helix-network. He's the head of their smuggling and human trafficking ring, answering directly to the as of yet unknown leader of the entire operation. As if that in itself wasn't enough, she found an invitation he'd sent, 'advertising' the sale of girls and women in a sort of auction, to take place that night.

There's no way in hell she'll be able to stop the auction, rescue the girls and take down Pavel and possibly his boss all by herself. She's going to need back up for something like that. And the only one she can think of is the Green Arrow. "Frak! Frak, frak, frak!"

"Is this a bad time?" a strong but soft voice asks from her doorway. Felicity quickly clicks out of Pavel's files and looks up at Dig. Even when nothing goes the way she planned it, he can always bring a smile to her face.

"Dig! For you, there's no such thing as a bad time." He moves forward and sits in the chair opposite hers. "I brought dinner," he says while holding up a big belly burger bag, "and I figured we could eat and discuss the implementation of your new security system."

"Sure, for you, anything." She clears away the papers and other bits of clutter so he can spread out their meal.

"Three burgers? Who else… oh." She closes her mouth when she realizes who the third burger is for. Dig shrugs apologetically, as if to say "it's his company". Felicity sighs but doesn't argue, it's a meeting about the security of the whole building, so it's only logical Oliver would sit in on it. Besides, it's not Dig's fault she's upset with Oliver at the moment.

The atmosphere in the room shifts when he enters, as the cozy, friendly vibe gives way to a more emotionally laden environment.

"Let's get this meeting started," is all he says.

It had been awful. The gap between Oliver and herself suddenly seemed even bigger than it had when she first came to Queen Consolidated. They were cordial, yes, but the comfortable comradery they had just days ago, was replaced with anger and hurt feelings.

Felicity can admit to herself that she misses the way it was. Late night brainstorm dinners at the office. The meeting up for coffee at the kiosk in the lobby. She only now realized how much of her time she actually spent with Oliver, and how much she enjoyed it. Even though she told herself she wouldn't fall for him, she knows she totally did. Maybe even more so after she found out his alter ego. He crossed a line at the club, manhandling her the way he did, but his concern for her was touching.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on those feelings, not when she's meeting up with his hooded counterpart in 5 minutes.

An arrow flies past her face and embeds itself in the wall behind her. Or now.

"You're early." She comments in her electronically altered voice. Her fake copper curls hang loose around her face and her features are hidden behind her black domino mask. She's in her 'costume', all black leather, skintight to make fighting easier, and she holds her bo staff loosely in her right hand.

"And you have five minutes before the next one goes through your shoulder." Comes his equally distorted voice.

"Wow, you seem royally pissed off." Her eyes grow wide behind her mask and it's all she can do not to cover her mouth with her gloved hands. Now is not the time to let stupid word-play slip. It won't help her if he finds out she knows who he is.

"I don't like being hacked, and I like it even less to be summoned, so talk now or feel the consequences."

"Touchy, touchy." She says, but she raises her hands in surrender anyway. "I'm gonna reach into my jacket now. Don't shoot me, okay Mr. Bowstring-happy." There's only a grunt in response and a slight drop of his bow, so she takes that as assent. Her left hand reaches into her inner pocket and she pulls out a stack of files.

"In about two hours there's going to be an auction in that warehouse behind you." He doesn't even glance towards it, his eyes solely focused on her.

"Why should I care about an auction?"

"It's not about the auction, it's about what it is they're auctioning. The girls that have gone missing over the past few weeks, that is."

She throws the papers across the rooftop and they land at his feet. "That's an invitation, along with a catalogue," she spits the words, "listing every girl, along with a starting price. It's been sent out to at least 50 possible buyers, going from underworld goons all the way up to the CEO of a famous company. I need to stop it, but I can't do it alone…"

She leaves the words hanging. Felicity knows he won't say no to her request, because he's a hero, even though he would never call himself that. But she also knows he doesn't play well with others, so there's still a chance he might turn her down and try it by himself. That would get him hurt, or possibly killed.

It's silent for a long time, and he's tilting his head like he's listening to something she can't hear. When he responds with a whisper, she realizes he's talking into an earpiece. So he plays better with other than she realized.

"No… Yes… Total is about 10.000 square feet… No… Because I need you there to monitor everything… No… Because I don't know her and I don't trust what I don't know… She's… But…" he heaves a sigh. "Yes… Fine… I said fine… Just, keep close watch, I'd rather you have my back… Okay…"

"I'm in."

When the cars start showing up, Felicity knows that it's go time. They decided to wait for all the invitees to be on site, so the cops could round up each and every one of those nauseating low-lives and lock them up for life. Some of the girls they took weren't even of age.

They use on of his grappling arrows to get onto the warehouse and split up. She's going after the girls and he's going after the men with the guns. Hopefully, this mess will be over soon.

"Oracle," he whispers when she's about to jump off the roof and through a window, "take this." He hands her a comm piece, and she could swear she recognizes it as one she prototyped in her first week at QC. That's… well, she'll deal with that later.

"Overwatch, Spartan, we're going in." She hears his voice in stereo, both in her ear through the earpiece and behind her on the rooftop. When she hears two distinctly different acknowledgements, she realizes that his operation is even bigger than she previously thought. That man is full of surprises.

She jumps down and swings the rope towards the window, before crashing through it with a loud crack. With Oliver drawing fire from the other side of the building, she's free to find the girls and release them.

"Oracle," one of the voices says in her ear, "There's about 25 heat signatures grouped together to your right, one floor down. I bet that's where the girls are being held." His voice isn't masked like Oliver's is, and she feels she should recognize it, but it doesn't come to her.

"Uhm, okay, thanks…"

"Overwatch."

"Right. Thanks, Overwatch." She takes off towards the staircase and heads down, only to be thrust into chaos when she reaches the bottom. She's behind enemy lines, so to speak, standing across from Oliver as Green Arrow, with about 12 goons between them. All of them holding automatic weapons and aiming them at Oliver. Over to her right, she can make out several bound men, dressed in suits and ties. The buyers.

The girls are in cages on the left side of the building, huddling together to try and protect themselves from the fighting and bullets that fly around the open space.

She wastes no time in attacking, letting her staff hit the meatiest man in the knee and using his back to propel her upwards. She pulls apart her staff mid-air and throws one half towards a man while she hits another over the head with the other half.

Felicity drops down on one knee and rolls towards her missing piece of staff. When she gets to it, she reassembles it and stands. The remaining men are now dividing their attention between the archer and her.

"What's the matter boys, you can't handle a woman when she's not in a cage?" she taunts them, spurring them into action. Two of them are down before they reach her, felled by Oliver's arrows.

"Thanks." She says into the earpiece, while whipping her staff around and wiping one of the men off his feet.

Oliver moves towards her and they fight back-to-back, taking down the remaining thugs together, working in almost perfect synchronicity.

They hear the sirens coming right when the last two hit the floor, and they rush over towards the cages to release the girls.

"Well, well… If it isn't the resident hero. Found a new side-kick, have you?" Shivers run down Felicity's spine when she hears the voice. When she turns, she sees a man holding Oliver at gunpoint. His bow too low to be of use at that distance. Felicity can see what's about to happen, but her feet won't allow her to move an inch. The man… it couldn't be.

And yet, his face is as familiar to her as her own, only slightly older since the last time she's seen it.

"You're messing with my bottom line, vigilante. And if there's one thing I hate, it's when people mess with my bottom line."

The tiny movement of his trigger finger finally spurs Felicity into action.

"Nooooooooo…."

BANG

The bullet burns as it makes his way through her shoulder and stops at her shoulder blade. Her jacket is instantly soaked with blood and she sees stars dancing across her vision.

"Oracle! Oracle?! Can you hear me?" She can hear Oliver, but she can't respond to his questions. The pain is so bad, it prevents her from doing anything but whimper. She can feel it when he picks her up gently, trying not to put any strain on her wound, and suddenly she can feel the cold air blow across her face.

She must have passed out a few seconds, because when she opens her eyes she's on the cold ground surrounded by shipping containers.

"Oracle? Can you hear me?" She hears the worry in Oliver's voice and feels the pressure he's putting on her wound.

"Spartan! How close are you? We need to get her somewhere safe, NOW!"

"Five minutes out, Arrow. I'm going as fast as I can, but maneuvering these containers isn't as easy with a van as it is with a bike. How is the girl?"

"She's losing a lot of blood, fast. We need to get the bullet out and stitch it up. I don't think the bullet hit an artery, but I can't get a decent look at the wound."

Through the fog of the pain she thinks she hears Dig's concerned voice, but maybe that's just her own subconscious trying to calm her down. Either way, she can focus enough now to know she can't let Oliver take her. No matter what, he can't find out who she is underneath the mask. Not now at least. Maybe not ever. She needs to get away from him and to her own safe location. It won't be the first time she's had to stitch a wound herself, and considering her nightly activities, it won't be the last.

She pushes away Oliver's hand and presses down on her own arm.

"I think I hear something. Did they follow us here?" she grunts out between her teeth.

Oliver turns, "I... I don't know. I wasn't paying attention. I needed to get you out of there before the cops showed up."

When he turns around again, Oracle is gone.