Chapter 9 Whatever It Takes

Oliver

His hands were clenched so tightly and he could feel the blood pounding in his head. The anger was raging inside him and it took all he had not to break everything in his vicinity. He read the note again before throwing it onto the floor and grabbing his clothes. He dressed as quickly as he could before he ran out the door to his Ducati.

He jumped on and threw on his helmet before hitting the gas and speeding off. So many thoughts ran through his head. Who could have taken Felicity? Why? Where was she now? What was he going to do to the people that took her? If someone hurt her would he be able to control himself? Would he revert back to the killer he was? He didn't know how to answer that last one because at the moment he was angrier than he had ever been. It consumed him and only the thought of what Felicity would think if he lost it kept him from going on a rampage. He had to stay focused if he wanted to find her and there was only one person besides Felicity that could help him focus in a situation like this.

So he drove as fast as he could not wanting to waste anytime. He still had 12 hours to work with and if he wanted to get Felicity he would need some help.

Diggle

It was a rainy and cloudy day so Lyla and him had slept in. It was 8:30am and they were still cozy in their bed wrapped up in each other. Being military they were both usually up at 630am and now having child it was more like whenever Sara wanted them to be awake they were awake. Diggle had his arm wrapped around Lyla and he pulled her closer to his chest.

"I love Sara and she is my world but I miss sleeping in."

"Me too Johnny but you have to admit you miss her right now."

"Of course I do. As soon as we get up I'm going to call your mom to bring her back."

"How about first you make me breakfast in bed?"

He heard her chuckle and he quickly turned her onto her back and straddled over her.

"Anything for you my love."

He kissed her before quickly jumping out of bed and putting on a t-shirt.

"What I don't get to watch you strut your stuff?"

"Well I don't want to burn this body you seem to love so much while I'm cooking."

"Smart and handsome how did I get so lucky."

He smiled as he turned to head to the kitchen. He was just about there when he heard a knock at the door. He turned to head to the door wondering who it could be this early in the morning. They weren't expecting Lyla's mom until around 1 pm and no one else would come this early especially on a Saturday.

He went to grab the door knob but hesitated, he felt like something was off. He was just about to grab the gun they kept in the drawer by the tv when the door was smashed open sending Diggle diving to the floor. He tried to get to his feet but he was quickly kicked in the head. He immediately got dizzy and felt himself going in and out of consciousness. Then he heard Lyla coming around the corner yelling his name. But he couldn't respond he was pinned to the floor and could barely breathe and his vision was still blurry.

As he saw her round the corner with her gun ready he had a glimmer of hope that she would get them out of this but then he saw a figure quickly disarm her. Lyla fought back but soon she was taken down by two other guys. One put a needle into her neck and she went limp. Diggle tried to get out from under the person that was holding him down but the more he fought the harder the pressure became. He tilted his head up one more time to try to look at their attackers and the last thing he saw before he blacked out was black armor.

Oliver

Oliver finally arrived at Diggle's. He took the stairs two by two reaching the third floor in no time. He rounded the corner to their apartment when he saw debris laying outside the hallway. He sprinted to their door and saw Diggle lying on the ground.

"Diggle?!"

He bent down to feel for a pulse and was relieved to feel a strong and bounding pulse. He called his name again and he finally began to stir.

"John what happened?"

Diggle was still struggling to get up and was grabbing his head so Oliver grabbed underneath his arm and helped him onto the couch. Diggle had a deep gash in the side of his head and he could already see a black eye forming but otherwise it didn't look like he had any serious injuries. Still a little groggy he tried to sit up and recall what had happened.

"I don't know. I went to the door and someone came barging in…" He paused again blinking his eyes trying to clear the fog and remember exactly what had happened. Oliver could tell he was struggling and then he realized something Lyla wasn't there.

"John where is Lyla?"

Diggle's eyes shot wide open and realization hit him all at once. "They took her."

He had barely finished his sentence when he stood up and turned to head for the door. His body had other plans and he was back on the ground. Oliver knew he wanted to get Lyla back but John probably had a concussion and was in no shape to do anything right now.

"You can't get her in your condition." He helped John back onto the couch and grabbed the first aid kit out of the kitchen. He quickly helped patch up the wound on his head before he began pacing back and forth. "We have to come up with a plan to get them back."

"Them?"

He would finally have to say it. He knew it had happened but saying the words out loud would just make things more real and he didn't know if he had the strength to do it. "Whoever took Lyla I think they took Felicity too. They left a note saying to meet them by the docks at 9pm and to come as me and not the Arrow. So they know who I am and they know what I do. They have the upper hand and I just feel completely helpless. And now they probably took Lyla because they know we work together and they are trying to attack us on all fronts."

"I'm sorry about Felicity man. We'll get them back."

Taking a deep breath he tried to calm himself so he could think straight. Who could know all of this? Who could know about Diggle, Lyla, Felicity and him? They were very good about covering their tracks so someone must have a lot of power or money to find out… That's when it hit him. He knew who it was or he had an inkling. Either way he wasn't going to wait around and do nothing.

"I have an idea are you with me?"

"Of course. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes."

They both stormed out of the room, Diggle still a little woozy but pushing himself to keep moving. They were both determined to get the loves of their lives back and hurt whoever had taken them. You could hurt them but the minute you went after the ones they loved, that's when all bets were off.

Felicity

It was dark and she couldn't see. She was in a small room with only a cot with a single pillow, no window, and only a dim light from under the door. It was cold and she was still feeling the after effects from whatever was used to sedate her. Her head was spinning and she felt nauseous but she knew she had to concentrate. She had to get out of here and get help. She knew Oliver would come for her but she wasn't just going to wait around and do nothing that just wasn't her style.

She listened to see if she could hear anything but she heard nothing, which probably meant the room was sound proof. So much for screaming for help. She felt around to see if there were any objects on the ground that she could use to maybe pick the lock or if worst came to worst to defend herself. But again she found nothing whoever put her in here was being methodical. She supposed she could use the pillow but really who would that hurt.

She tried to see if the bed would move or if there were any loose pieces but again it was bolted to the floor and every piece was secured in place. Out of ideas she headed to the door to see if magically the door was open. It wasn't. But as she let go of the knob she saw it begin to move. Someone was coming in. She got into the defensive stance that Diggle had showed her. Knees bent arms up in front of her face with one foot in front of the other.

The door flew open and she tried to see who her kidnapper was but someone else was thrown into the room right into her. They were both thrown into the wall and the door quickly closed behind them.

Felicity slowly got up grabbing her head where it had hit the wall. That would definitely leave a mark. She helped the other person to their feet and even in the dark she knew who it was.

"Lyla?" She couldn't hide the disbelief in her voice.

"Felicity? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Some guys came to our house and knocked out John and drugged me and brought me here."

"I think those are the same guys who took me. Did you see who they were? I was asleep when they came in and I didn't see anything."

"No. They all wore masks and they were trained fighters and they knew exactly what they were doing."

"What do you think they want?"

"I don't know but it can't be good. They must be going after John and Oliver if they took both of us."
"That most likely means they know what we do and who we are."

She let that sink in and she realized how bad this situation was. She knew Oliver would do whatever it took to get her back and John would do the same for Lyla but whoever they were up against was on a mission and they had an endgame. This seemed to be a coordinated plan and she just hoped that Oliver was not running straight into a trap.

Unknown Location

Everything was falling into place. The two women were safely locked up. The target was currently on the move racing to save Felicity with his partner Diggle. Now all there was to do was wait. Wait to see if they would all die at 9pm on the docks or sooner depending upon what Oliver decided to do. Either way they were all going to die today.