|Ghosts That We Knew|
. Lone Gunmen (2) /An Innocent Man .
A/N - Finally decided what's going to happen with the Undertaking, you'll all probably hate me but I promise that it's for the best. As I was debating between seven (yeah..) endings, narrowed it down to three and finally down to one. So hopefully, even though it's a long way off, you all enjoy that and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Slightly regret not marrying Malcolm to Moira, I don't like them together (for obvious reasons) but from a plot standpoint it may have made more sense.
EXAMS ARE FINISHED! Which means, updates should be much more often and much faster but I can't promise anything because life has an annoying habit of getting in the way. Plus my area is quite unreliable for WiFi for some strange reason, pretty sure it's my provider.
Also...the Undertaking was a fun episode to write...I am sure that many people will hate me for what I've done (basically no character is safe as nearly everyone had a death scene written at some point.) So that should be interesting...I know it's a while away but I'm just really excited for the reactions. (I apologise in advance.) Maybe Tommy dies, maybe Diggle, maybe Felicity, maybe Laurel, maybe Oliver, maybe Moira, maybe Mckenna, maybe Quentin...you get the idea but seriously though Thea was the only character that was safe.
(Once we get past these 'An Innocent Man' and 'Damaged' then it'll be back to the full episode format but it's easier to split it up for these kinds of episodes.)
. . .
Oliver drummed his foot against the floor of the cubicle in Queen Consolidated, the IT girl seemed to be doing a good job - judging by the occasional triumphant noises and fist pumps she kept doing. But he was still on edge, he didn't like the fact that they were being forced to go to an outsider.
And yes he'd done his research, or Thea had and he'd listened to what she'd told him; Felicity Meghan Smoak, MIT class of 09', had joined the IT department of QC fresh out of MIT and had slowly worked her way up to being an IT assistant and had been blocked from further promotions by her manager.
Her background seemed to check out and he had tried to ignore the voice inside of his head, that sounded suspiciously like Amanda Waller, telling him she could be an asset.
He wasn't going to drag innocents into his crusade, having his sister be dragged down with him was bad enough.
But he still hated asking for help, especially from strangers, admittedly Felicity wasn't a stranger (He'd done research on everyone in the IT department before choosing who to go to) and Walter had vouched for her. Apparently his Step-Father had a soft spot for the blonde IT girl, the girl who was currently muttering furiously to herself as she typed away on her computer. Occasionally letting out a frustrated noise or huff.
Finally she let out a noise that sounded somewhat victorious, he looked towards her and she grinned, "I've got it!" Her fist pumped up into the air and she started to babble, "It was easy was pie...as in the food not the number...so not 3.1-"
He quickly cut her off before she could start listing off all the digits of pi, she seemed like the person who'd know it down to an insane amount of digits. "Alright! Thank you Felicity...could you pull up what you found please?" She nodded and he looked at her computer screen, frowning as images began to flood it.
"Right." She paused and Oliver looked as images pulled up from the laptop onto her computer, "Well it looks like blueprints."
The location of Deadshots next hit, "Can you tell what of?"
"The Exchange Building," She answered quickly without looking up from the keyboard.
Frowning he shook his head, that didn't clear anything up "Never heard of it."
She turned towards him with a somewhat disbelieving expression, "It's where the Unidac Industry's Auction is about to take place." Felicity explained, her expression growing more and more suspicious by the second, "I thought you said this was your laptop?" She pressed skeptically.
"Yes." He replied slowly, the crease in his brow giving away the obvious lie.
She winced at that and pushed herself away from him slightly, seeming to be debating with herself for a couple of moments before biting her lip and meeting his gaze, "I don't want to get in the middle of some Shakespearean family drama..thing."
"What?" He snapped, not understanding.
Felicity dropped her gaze back down to her keyboard nervously before slowly meeting his gaze again, twirling her pen as she spoke. "Mr Steele marrying your Mom..." At his blank look she sighed and tried to explain, "Claudius? Gertrude? Hamlet?"
Hamlet vaguely rung a bell but he shook his head, "I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the four schools I dropped out of or in high school."
He saw her echo the words 'four schools,' in disbelief before she sighed and placed the pen back down on her desk, "Mr Steele is trying to buy Unidac Industries." She paused to check he was listening before continuing, "You've got a laptop associated with one of his biggest competitors...that obviously doesn't look good. You, his step-son, having a laptop of the man he's competing against."
Oliver nodded to show his understanding, "Floyd Lawton-"
"No." Felicity cut him off with a small frown and a furrowed brow, "Warren Patel." She corrected as she gestured towards the computer screen, spinning around on her chair with a confused expression, "Who's Floyd Lawton?"
Mentally Oliver cursed himself, somehow it had been five years of the worst kind of hell and he was still terrible at lying - if Thea was with him she'd be laughing at and berating him for it, "One of his employees...evidently." Oliver grimaced as he saw the skepticism flash across her face.
"Thank you for your help Felicity," Oliver said with his playboy smile as he mulled over what she'd told him. The data on the laptop had confirmed his and Thea's suspicions that the sniper was going to strike at the auction. And that their step-Father was in trouble.
Oliver tried to formulate a plan of action in his head, shooting off another text to Thea as he went.
.
Thea made her way down the steps of Verdant, her arms folded across her chest as an uncomfortable expression flickered across her face. She wasn't used to wearing dresses, she'd only ever worn shorts and trousers for the past five years and they were much easier to fight in than a dress.
"What's the smallest knife we have?" She called out to Oliver as she watched him type away on the computer, she was planning on hiding a knife in a sheath on her leg - she was not about to go into a situation completely unarmed.
Oliver paused what he was doing and pointed towards the weapons crate on the ground next to him, Thea thanked him and opened the box up, grabbing a small knife and twirling it around her fingers as she tried to get a feel for the balance of it. It felt alright, she'd be able to throw it at least.
She saw a flash of black out of the corner of her eye and spun around to see a dufflebag on their medical bay. The metallic table and blood bank on wheels was as close as they could get to a hospital in the bunker. "What's the bag for?"
"Insurance." Oliver replied shortly as he surveyed the blueprints for the auction.
Thea rolled her eyes at his vague answer, knowing he was being purposefully obtuse, "For?"
"The police aren't complete idiots." Oliver muttered, "They aren't geniuses but they aren't stupid and eventually people will make the link between our reappearance and the Vigilante's emergence." He shrugged and gestured towards the duffle, "Better I get arrested now rather than later."
Thea paused for a second, "What about me? I'm supposed to sit by and pretend that if they suspect you they won't suspect me? Surely it makes more sense for us both to get caught?"
"No." Oliver shook his head, "I'm not putting you in danger and I'm going to be lucky if my plan works and I end up with one person to masquerade as me...nevermind you."
"I'm not twelve anymore Ollie," Thea murmured, "I survived the island, I survived a year with ARGUS and a year with Slade Wilson of all people and I survived Russia...I think I can manage being arrested." Her mouth quirked up into a small smile, "Especially if it won't stick." At his look she shrugged, "I assumed your master plan included a certain lawyer we both know."
Oliver spun around to meet her gaze, she smirked knowing that he knew she could be just as stubborn as him and that he would have to let her have her way if they were going to make it to the auction on time and protect Walter. Finally he nodded, albeit reluctantly, "Fine! But if and when they arrest us...we do it my way." Letting out an annoyed huff he pointed towards the computer screen, "Now...can we talk about the auction..we need a plan."
"Okay," She conceded and made her way over next to him, looking at the blueprints. "So there's four towers right? And since I'm being forced to attend as 'Thea Queen' there's no way we can cover them...even with the two of us we would have struggled to cover the towers and buildings."
"And I need to attend as 'Oliver Queen,' for the other plan to work." Oliver muttered, "Each tower has an eyeline into the building..perfect for a sniper." She watched as he got a far away look in his eyes for a moment and wondered where he'd went to but the moment was gone as quickly as it came and continued, "Lawton can get a kill shot from almost anywhere."
Thea sighed and resisted the urge to run a hand through her hair, her Mom would kill her if she messed it up, "We don't know how many targets Deadshot has or who he'll go to first...we can't do this alone Oliver."
"We need somebody on our side," Oliver agreed.
Thea practically jumped up when she realised who they needed to turn to, quickly letting out a groan as she realised who exactly they'd have to go to. "We need Lance."
Oliver rolled his eyes and grabbed his bow, "Then I suppose the Hood will be paying him a visit."
"Try not to give him a heart attack...he's old and Laurel keeps complaining about his cholesterol." Thea called out as he grabbed his suit and left, her brother only waving her off as a response.
.
Detective Quentin Lance made his way through the streets of the Glades as he walked away from the Station, he was fighting the urge to run to the nearest bar and have a whisky. The cases were piling up, they were understaffed and underfunded and now there was two hooded freaks running around trying to be modern day 'Robin Hoods.'
Meanwhile 'The Hood,' watched him from the shadows of the Glades, waiting until Lance passed by one of the patrol cars for him to make his move. He tossed a rock towards a pile of trash, sending the cans and papers flying - the rattling noise that echoed through the street catching Lance's attention.
It was then that Oliver made his move, jerking out from the shadows he grabbed the Detective's wrist and twisted it around his back - pressing him down into the hood of the car. The force only increasing as the man struggles, "Son of a bitch!" The Detective hissed as he struggled.
"Detective," Oliver muttered calmly.
"You are just asking for trouble..pulling this in front of a police station...they'll have your head for this." Lance growled.
Oliver ignored the Detective's protests, "Floyd Lawton...a sniper named 'Deadshot'...is targeting the buyers at the Unidac Industries auctions." Oliver informed the man quietly, "Interpol call him Deadshot because he never misses." When the Detective tries to jerk out of his grasp and say something Oliver cuts him off with a shove and a growl, "You can look this all up after I go."
"And where's your friend? Eh!" The Detective muttered furiously, "Where's your little friend? You're not usually out all on your lonesome...is that what this is? A diversion so that I stop chasing after you and your friend in the red hood?" He scoffed and began to talk again when Oliver finally lost his patience.
"Stop it!" He hissed, "Warren Patel hired Floyd Lawton and we can't protect them by ourselves...it could be Patel wanting every rival buyer dead or just two or three." Oliver paused to check the Detective was actually listening, "I can't protect them in a space that big and take down the sniper at the same time." Oliver prayed he was making the right decision, "We need your help."
The Detective let out a harsh chuckle, "Yeah...you need professional help-"
"Lawton laces his bullets with curare," Oliver ignored the Detective's dig, "Tell your men to wear kevlar vests...Lawton doesn't miss." Oliver pulled out an arrow from his quiver and slammed the laptop into the hood of the car, the arrow stuck in and rising from the center of it.
It wasn't like it wasn't already damaged before.
A noise caught the Detective's attention and he used the distraction to fire off a grappling arrow towards the nearest rooftop and allowed the line to pull him away.
Leaving a stunned, and angrier by the second, Detective behind.
.
Thea Queen could vaguely remember going to 'events' when she was little, being dressed up in designer clothes and frilly dresses and was made to feel like a princess whilst Ollie smiled for the camera and her parents made all of the small-talk. She had been like a decoration then, something for people to smile and coo at.
Now she was a distraction, a curiousity that people kept staring at. Something to increase interest in the Queens and by extension their stock prices. And she wasn't surprised, it would have been stupid to expect people to not notice the presence of the 'Missing Queen heir that spent five years on an Island' but it didn't make the attention any easier to swallow.
Slade had drilled the importance of, to both her and Ollie, staying in the shadows and being unnoticed. And she knew that ARGUS had drilled that into her brother even harder. Now she was having to do the opposite, she forced on a charming smile as yet another socialite came up to her with barely disguised curiousity and tried to make small talk. Their attempts at getting her to talk about the island were obvious, she partly understood their curiousity - the last time most of them had seen her she'd been a twelve year old child not the young adult she was now.
It didn't make it any less irritating though. She was here to support Walter, not help desperate people climb the social hierarchy of Starling or answer thinly veiled questions about her time on the Island.
After the fifth question about her time on the island she made her way towards her Mother, Step-Father and to her surprise Tommy. Tommy grinned at her and hugged her, reaching out to ruffle her hair like he used to do daily before the island.
The sound of her Mother tutting caused him to freeze and retract his hand with a sheepish smile, "Don't mess up her hair Thomas...that took hours for the stylist to do...as Thea kept threatening him."
"It's not my fault that it hurt." Thea retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.
She shot Tommy a questioning look, eager to take the attention off of her, "Here for your Dad or just as a show of moral support?"
"Moral support," Tommy replied with an easy smile as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "My Father wasn't interested in buying Unidac."
"Not that you'd support him if he did," Thea commented as she tilted her head at Tommy, "That was quite the screaming match you both had on my first day back...hard to forget."
His smile faded slightly and he just shrugged, "Well you know my Dad...just a pleasure to be around."
"Right," Thea murmured uncertainly. Truthfully her memories of Malcolm Merlyn were vague at best but she trusted Tommy's opinion of him.
Walter smiled softly at the pair of them, placing a placating hand on each of their shoulders, "I think you look beautiful Thea...my two favourite girls-" His gaze darted off towards the side and he smiled, "And my two would-be sons."
"Two?" Tommy questioned before spinning around to see Oliver making his way down from the balcony, an alert looking Diggle in tow.
She caught Oliver's eye and waved him over, not missing the way he was scanning the windows - she'd been doing the same. The entire building had too many windows, too many points of access for a sniper to use.
Her Mother smiled moving towards Oliver whilst Tommy unhooked himself from Thea and clapped Oliver on the shoulder, "Quite the turnout..huh?" Oliver joked.
"Yeah.." Tommy replied with a smirk, "It's going to be quite the event...Dad'll be gutted he didn't place a bid."
Walter nodded, "It's a big opportunity...Unidac was a big company...it's no real surprise that so many people are interested in acquiring it...but you're right Thomas..I was surprised when Malcolm didn't try to buying it." Thea frowned as her Mother stiffened slightly, again when Malcolm was mentioned, she wondered what exactly was going on there.
"I'm so glad you came Oliver," Their Mother murmured softly, oblivious to Thea's suspicion "Thank you."
She watched as Oliver winced slightly, they both knew that he hadn't wanted to come to the event and so their Mother's gratitude must have hit a nerve. Or caused a bit of guilt, she'd felt bad when she'd been enthusiastically greeted by Tommy upon his arrival at the Mansion.
"Mr Steele-" A voice called out, jerking Thea from her thoughts. "The auction will be opening in five minutes...please make sure that you have your opening bid ready."
Walter smiled at them all before turning to the well-dressed woman, "Thank you June." He followed the woman away towards where the other buyers were gathering.
Thea and Oliver hung back, failing slightly behind their Mother and Tommy. They watched as three policemen approached a man who they assumed was Warren Patel, they exchange a pleased look as the policeman places handcuffs on the man and slowly leads him away.
"One down...one to go," Thea murmured quietly.
She watched as Diggle hung behind them, making sure to maintain enough distance to give the siblings some sembalance of privacy without being too far away to step in if there was trouble.
"Alright Dig?" She called out with a small smile, idly wondering what the man wore outside of his uniform. She was surprised that her Mother hadn't forced the poor man into a tailored suit.
"Yes Miss Queen," He replied back blandly.
Oliver surveyed the area around them before turning back to Diggle, "Got your eyes open?"
Diggle's mask seemed to slip for a second, annoyance replacing his usual calm demeanor before he schooled his features back into the carefully blank slate and let out a quiet sigh. "That's what I'm here to do sir...that and answer patronising questions." He lowered his voice for the last part, annoyance and irritation seeping into his tone.
"This guy's out of time." Oliver muttered, seemingly to himself, "If he's going to do something he needs to do it before the auction." Thea turned and shot him a sharp look, elbowing him in the ribs as Diggle frowned.
"Sir?" Diggle echoed, confused by his clients mutterings.
"We were listening to the story on the radio," Thea explained with a small smile, "The whole sniper thing sounded interesting...better than the usual news at least...I don't really care about who's sleeping with who out of the Starling Elite."
Diggle didn't seem impressed or convinced by her explanation but he didn't get a chance to press her further as she turned to Oliver again. "Should one of us go shadow Walter?" She questioned, already regretting letting them go off on their own. "If he's a buyer then he could be a target." She said, purposefully unsure and vague because she knew Diggle was listening in.
Oliver nodded and gently pulled Thea alongside him as they made their way back towards Tommy and their Mother, slinging an arm around their shoulders - "Dig..can you please get them both out of here now?" Urgency seeping into his tone.
His Mother frowned and tried to voice her protests as Tommy wormed his way out of Oliver's grip and shot a disbelieving look at Thea.
Thea opened her mouth to begin to explain, calm them down when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A red light refracted among the wine and champagne glasses, it seemed that she noticed it at the same time as Captain Lance.
Lance was the first to react, yelling out to the crowd just as the light paused over her step-Father's heart, "Get down!" The crowd let out a panicked cry as everyone ducks for cover, on instinct she ducks away from the windows and gets behind a concrete pillar out of the line of fire.
Gunfire sounded as glasses smashed and broke upon impact as bullets hit them, sending people crashing to the sound as they tried to avoid the gunfire. The room dissolved into screams as people darted about wildly, she ducked behind a concrete pillar and scanned the crowd for Walter.
She let out a relieved sigh at the sight of him being pulled to safety by Captain Lance, even if she didn't know him that well she didn't want him dead. He had been nice to them before the island and he had made her Mom happy on the island.
Thea turned her attention to Tommy and her Mother, satisfied that Lance would help Walter, "Are you okay?" She questioned as she took in their pale and shaken appearances.
"Are you hurt?" Oliver echoed, fairly certain that they hadn't been shot but he needed to double check.
"N-No.." Their Mother replied quietly, seemingly trying to pull herself together, "I'm fine..I'm okay." She jerked upwards, eyes wide and panicked, "Where's Walter?"
"He's okay." Thea assured, "Detective Lance got him...he's fine."
Diggle looked between them all and started to try to maneuver them out, placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Sir I have to get you out of here."
"No!" Oliver jerked out of the grip and shook his head, pointing emphatically at Tommy and his Mother, "Them! I'll make sure that Thea gets out safely." He grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him, leaving their confused family behind.
She tried not to think about the inevitable questions and the worry they'd be feeling as they watched the pair of them run into a gunfight.
But it was all for the greater good.
She had to keep reminding herself of that.
Oliver pulled her into a staircase and towards a trashcan, she watched as he took the lid off and shoved a duffle into her arms. Using her to hold it as he pulled out both of their suits.
Thea shot him a questioning look before realising that this had been Oliver's plan, she quickly turned around and looked around for the camera - trying her best to not be overly obvious about it.
She accepted the suit that was shoved into her hands and began run up the stairs with it in her arms, deciding to shove it on over her dress once she was away from the camera. It wouldn't be ideal but she didn't exactly have the chance to be modest and change into it.
Not that her brother hadn't seen her change before, there hadn't exactly been privacy on the island.
As she grabbed her bow from inside of an air vent on the next set of stairs, a set which had been cased to check for cameras - the suits they could explain away but not the changing into them or the picking up of a bow.
She grabbed her quiver and readied herself, they were going to take down Deadshot once and for all.
.
The sound of crashing signaled Oliver and Thea's arrival to the fourth floor, it seemed like it was under construction which made it the perfect hideaway for a sniper. The rafters are exposed and coated in dust, bare light-bulbs hang precariously and leave the room in darkness.
She followed behind Oliver with her bow at the ready. Usually she'd use her knives, preferring throwing them and close combat but she couldn't go up against a machine gun with a knife.
That would be begging for gunshot wound number five.
Loading her bow with another arrow she followed behind Oliver, making sure to check their surroundings. The sniper was hiding in the shadows somewhere and they couldn't risk getting caught off guard, if they were both shot by Lawton with the curare bullets then neither of them would make it to the Foundry without help from the neither and so they'd die.
After everything they'd die to some random sniper mere weeks after returning home.
After being stabbed, shot, burnt, poisoned, whipped, choked and nearly drowned - they'd die to a sniper mere weeks after returning home.
They were greeted by the sound of gunfire as the sniper began to fire shots off at them, she ducked down behind a concrete pillar whilst Oliver jumped up onto the scaffolding. When the sound of gunfire stopped a voice rang out, rough and coarse, "I admire your work! I guess you guys won't be extending me the same professional courtesy."
"Your profession is murder!" Oliver shot back, sending off an arrow towards where the bullets had came from.
Thea added to his retort as she fired off another arrow of her own, "We are not in the same line of work! We work to save this city! You're just out for yourself!"
"You've both taken lives!" Deadshot returned, sending off another round of gunfire.
Oliver growled as he shot three more arrows towards the man's direction, "For the good of others!"
"You're just out for yourself!" Thea added as she made her way through the shadows of the concrete pillars, trying to find out where exactly Floyd Lawton was hiding.
"So are you!" Lawton snarled.
Thea shot off an arrow, "We are out for this city!" There was a pause where she could almost hear Deadshot scoffing underneath the sound of gunfire, she tried to ignore the sour feeling in her gut at his words. They weren't the same. She wanted to help people, he just wanted to make money.
They weren't the same.
She didn't know whether she was trying to convince him or herself.
And then he unloaded another round, she darted towards the scaffolding where her brother was watching Deadshot with his bow ready. The man was wearing armor and she tried to work out which weak spot would be best, he nodded at her and they exchanged a silent conversation deciding the plan of action.
They'd worked out how to communicate without words years ago.
She jumped down and drew his fire, thankful for the fact she lived up to her brother's nickname. At the sound of her brother releasing an arrow she ducked behind the nearest column, waiting until she heard the final unmistakable thud of a body hitting the concrete ground of the room's floor.
"Clear." Her brother called out and she emerged from the shadows, eyeing up Deadshot's lifeless corpse. The arrow had landed right in his eye, poking out of his lens.
Thea turned around in alarm at the sound of a thud, the sound of rattling breath making her panic and for a fleeting moment she wondered if Deadshot had went against his M.O and brought back up. Readying herself for a fight she eyed up the figure in the door.
The figure of her bodyguard, John Diggle.
"Hey!" She called out towards Oliver, Diggle was limping slightly as he tried to avoid putting his weight on the side he'd been shot. "No..no-no-" Thea muttered to herself as she ran over to him, "He's been hit!"
Oliver raced over towards them eyeing up Diggle with concern, "We have to take him to the Foundry." Oliver muttered to himself as he assesed the man's wound, logically Thea knew he was right. Dig had been hit with curare and they couldn't risk doing a blood transfusion when neither of them actually knew Dig's type, they'd have to take him to the base and use Yao Fei's herbs.
They could only hope that they'd get there fast enough.
"Why did he have to follow us." Thea muttered to herself ruefully as she tried to help Oliver support Diggle's weight, the man was practically out of it as he slumped downwards and seemed to be feverish, the bodyguard not reacting to their voices or the fact he was being carried by the Vigilante's. "How are we meant to avoid being spotted?"
"Foundry's not too far off, we've just got to be careful." Oliver replied, his voice strained as he took on the brunt of Diggle's weight, "We need to hurry."
The trio moved through the shadows of the fourth tower of the Exchange building, Oliver and Thea both grunting with the exertion of trying to support the larger feverish man's weight.
Thea hoped that they'd make it, she liked Diggle and she didn't want the man to die.
She just hoped they were making the right choice.
On the island they'd learned to trust their instincts, she just hoped they wouldn't fail her now.
.
"Thea I've got him!" Oliver grunted as they made their way down the steps of the Foundry, "Go grab the herbs and some water whilst I try to asses the bleeding." Thea hesitated for a second before carefully pulling herself away from Diggle and racing down the stairs, tossing her bow down on a table as she slid towards the munitions cabinet.
They hadn't had to use the herbs in two years and now she'd used them twice in the same week, because of the same psycho, she quickly ground up the herbs and grabbed a bottle of water - trying to mix the two as quickly as possible as she watched her brother lay down Diggle on the medical table.
Whilst Thea made sure Diggle drank their medicinal cocktail, he tried to protest as she tipped the bowl into his mouth but he was too weak and feverish to put up much of a fight beyond a grunt and a weak attempt at a shove. He was unable to do anything but give in.
She watched as Oliver tried to remove the bullet, silently grateful of the fact that Dig was too out of it to tell what they were doing as she looked over at her brother. Bullets hurt more coming out than they did when they went in, at least in her experience.
"Thea...I need you to get a bandage and be ready plug this thing as soon as I pull the bullet out...I don't want him to bleed out." Oliver called out and shot his sister a grateful smile as she grabbed the equipment and dressings needed and readied himself to help him.
They worked fast, pulling the bullet out and then plugging and stitching the wound up. She finished his stitches whilst Oliver went to go wash the greasepaint off of his face, once again she reminded him that he wouldn't need to do it if he'd just agree to wear a mask.
She'd gotten her mask from Slade after an argument similar to the almost daily one she had with Oliver.
As she finished up the stitches and watched as Diggle slipped into unconsciousness she leaned backwards against the metal table, there wasn't really anything else she could do now beyond watching as the herbs tried to fight the curare in his system.
He wasn't dead yet, which was a good sign.
If they'd been too late he would have already been dead or paralyzed.
Sighing she pulled down her hood and ran a hand through her hair, Diggle had almost died for them and she didn't know how to feel about that. The last person who'd been willing to die for her, apart from her brother, had been Slade and she didn't know anything about his whereabouts.
He could be dead for all she knew.
She didn't want Diggle to die too.
.
It was hours later when Diggle finally woke up, his clothes were soaked in sweat and the jacket was stained from where the bullet went in, he grunted as he pulled himself upwards. Blinking as he tried to clear his vision, eyes widening as he took in the sight in front of him.
She watched as he looked around the Foundry at the weapons, computer and arrowheads before his gaze finally landed on herself and her brother.
"Hey," Oliver called out and she had to suppress a laugh at that. Her brother was trying to be casual and she didn't understand why, their secret was out and Diggle was either going to help them or make sure that they were both in handcuffs by the end of the week.
Not that she'd let it get that far, she'd sooner have an arrow in him than go to jail.
Diggle pulled himself upwards and off of the table, struggling for breath as he did it, shaking his head at the sight in front of him as his brows creased in confusion. "Oliver...Thea?" He paused before properly taking in their outfits, "You're the vigilantes!"
Diggle then, to her annoyance, staggered forwards towards Oliver. His fist raised as if he was about to try to land a punch, Oliver easily moved out of his way and maneuvered Diggle away from him. She watched as Diggle struggled and tried to free himself from Oliver's grip but Oliver held the man's arms behind his back.
After a couple of seconds of tense silence and heavy breathing, Thea readying herself to jump into the fray if needed, Oliver looked at Dig with a blank expression. "Easy there Dig...you were shot." She wondered if this was Oliver trying to diffuse the situation, calm it all down, if it is she doesn't think it's working.
"And I was the one who had to help stitch you up." Thea muttered from next to him, "And if you tore the stitches trying to hurt Ollie then I'll let you bleed out onto the ground."
"She's joking." Oliver added immediately, shooting Thea a glare.
"No I'm not." Thea retorted with her arms folded across her chest, the gesture reminding Diggle of how much she seemed like a teenager in that moment and he nearly stumbled backwards as the realisation that one of the vigilante's was a kid hit him. The killer decked out in red leather that the media had taken to calling 'Artemis,' was a seventeen year old kid.
"Son of a bitch." Diggle finally muttered, "Of course it had to be you two." The man shook his head in disbelief and jerked his arms out in front of him as he tried to deal with what was happening around him, hands formed fists as he fought the urge to punch something. Again. "That island turned you into a pair of maniacs." He let out a harsh breath, "You really did loose your minds on that island!"
He turned to Oliver with an furious expression, reminiscent of Slade, "You turned your kid sister into this?" He pointed towards her and the fact that she was decked out in a vigilante uniform. "I'd heard that you were selfish before the island but this-" He jerked his head towards Thea, "This is a new low...dragging down a kid with you."
"Hey!" Thea yelled, walking up to Diggle with barely suppressed fury. "He didn't make me into anything and he didn't drag me down...the things he had to do to keep me alive...keep me safe...he's the reason I'm alive...anything barring that was my choice." She practically snarled at him before Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder.
"She chose to do this Dig...I would have been fine with her living an ordinary life." Oliver offered before continuing, "Look...on that Island I found things-"
Diggle cut him off with a scoff, "What? Like archery classes?" He was clutching his arm and Thea guessed that the pain relief was starting to wear off.
"Like clarity." Oliver continued, ignoring Diggle's interruption, "Starling City is dying because of the criminal elite...it is being poisoned by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt as long as they maintain their wealth and power."
Thea met Diggle's gaze, "People like Adam Hunt." she added quietly.
"And what are the pair of you going to do?" Diggle snapped finally, "Take them all down on your own? Take them down just the pair of you? With your bows and arrows and Halloween costumes?"
"Yeah," Thea shrugged, "And you...if you'll join us."
Diggle paused, the shock and disbelief momentarily rendering him speechless, he opened his mouth to comment or retort or refute Thea's words but Oliver cut him off. "You're special forces out of Kandar...it's perfect...you're a fellow solider." Thea winced at the fury that flashes across Diggle's expression as soon as the word 'soldier' left her brothers mouth.
It seemed that hadn't been the right approach.
"You really see yourself like that? Like a soldier?" Diggle seemed almost sad, almost pitying as he looked at Oliver. "Oliver man..you aren't a solider...neither's she...you're criminals...taking the law into your own hands and enforcing your own twisted idea of justice." Diggle shook his head and grabbed his jacket, turning away from them both.
"I could have taken you anywhere!" Oliver called out after him, "But I brought you here and I saved your life...we need your help."
"You're murderers." Diggle yelled back as he made his way towards the stairs, "And you're insane if you think I'll join you."
Thea moved to block him, to try to stop him from leaving - they can't let him go. Not if he was just going to send the cops after them. But her brother called out to her, ordering him to let the man go. "Let him go Speedy," Oliver called out, eyes never leaving Diggle.
Reluctantly she moved to the side and allowed Diggle to pass, watching as he shot them one last reproachful look before practically sprinting away from them. Like he was running away from them, she couldn't tell and didn't know whether it was because he was scared of what they were or angry that they'd lied and broken the law for so long without him noticing.
Maybe it was both.
After a moments silence she turned to Oliver, "That could have gone better...so what's the plan? Do we run away to Mexico now or later?" She continued speaking, ignoring his silence, forcing joviality into her tone to ignore the anxiety seeping through her and the paranoid voice in her head telling her to find Diggle and put an arrow in him. "You know what, you're right! Corto Maltese would be so much better..."
At his lack of verbal response and the tired look he shot her she let the snark fade and the worry seep into her tone, "What are we going to do now? He's going to tell Lance...they'll arrest us and we'll spend the rest of our lives in cages or a Mental Hospital...and if that happens ARGUS will probably take us into their custody."
Oliver moved from where he was standing, "It'll work out...he isn't going to call the cops on us."
"Your the one who didn't even want him involved in the first place." Thea retorted, "I suggested he could be useful when he first met him and you hated the idea."
Oliver sighed, "Because I didn't want innocents involved in this...this way I didn't have a choice beyond bringing him here and saving his life and letting him bleed out and die...just trust me on this speedy, I trust him and I haven't been wrong before."
A childish part of her wanted to remind him of Sara but then her mind flashed back to Fyers and Yao Fei and she kept her mouth shut. Sara had came through for them in the end, whilst she'd just gotten Yao Fei killed.
"So that's Diggle who now know our secret...and Tommy is certain that something is going on even if he doesn't know what." Thea muttered to herself. "Anyone else looking to join the Vigilante Club?"
"You're not calling it that," Oliver muttered lightly from where he was taking off the Hood.
Thea rolled her eyes, "You can't stop me." When her brother didn't reply she chuckled, "Y'know." Thea called back as she made her way towards the makeshift area she'd designated for changing out of her vigilante uniform, "Maybe you should have mentioned the fact that you were technically in the military."
With that she left her brother to his thoughts as she made her way towards the more screened off area of the Foundry, it had been a long night and she wanted to get back to the Mansion. Try to forget about what just happened. Although she knew there was going to be fallout about the fact that she and her brother disappeared in the midst of a shooting.
Their family was going to be worried.
As she looked at her bow and the crumpled up pile of clothes she needed to change into she wondered if she really deserved it, maybe Deadshot and Diggle were right about her.
Maybe they were just murderers.
.
Thea got off of her brother's bike, following behind Oliver as they made their way into the Mansion's foyer. She let out a small sigh of relief at the lack of a police presence, that meant that their family hadn't sent a search party and Diggle hadn't called the cops on them.
Not yet at least.
Hurrying behind Oliver as he made a beeline towards the stairs she groaned and froze at the sound of footsteps, high heels clicking against the wooden floor. She turned around expecting to see her Mother and stiffened at the sight of Laurel instead, she watched as her brother tensed and braced himself for the verbal onslaught.
Laurel wasn't exactly his biggest fan at the moment.
"Where were you?" She called out as she looked at them both with a worried and almost disappointed expression, the concern in her eyes making Thea's guilt increase tenfold.
Oliver sighed, "What are you doing here?" He questioned as he tried to avoid and deflect her question.
"I heard about the shooting and wanted to make sure everyone was alright," She paused before continuing, letting out a small sigh as if she was about to regret her next words. "Wanted to make sure that you were okay...both of you."
"You did?" Oliver failed to keep the surprise out of his tone and Thea hated how surprised he was. She didn't know whether it was his usual surprise that someone cared about him or that it was Laurel admitting she cared about him. She didn't understand why he didn't just try to make it up for her and accept the olive branch.
"Yeah," Laurel murmured softly before her tone hardened and her soft smile gained sharp edges. "And I knocked on the door and found a family terrified for the pair of you..." Oliver winced and started to walk towards her whilst Thea decided to hang back, "They didn't know where you were."
Oliver sighed and slowly made his way down to the bottom of the stairs, stumbling slightly - Thea wondered if he was about to do another impersonation of the old Oliver 'Ollie' Queen. It seemed to be his usual tactic for pushing people away. "No..." He murmured halfheartedly and Laurel quickly cut him off.
"Are you seriously so self centered that you didn't think the people who care about you would be worried?" Laurel frowned as she stared at him, he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago but Moira...Walter...Tommy...they don't deserve that...they deserve better...someone who doesn't care only about himself." With a frustrated sigh she started to walk away, shooting Thea a small glare as she left.
"Laurel!" Her brother called out, making her pause and turn back to face him, "Thank you for coming." He said softly, shooting her a grateful smile.
She shook her head, "I care about people...maybe you should try it sometime." Without another word she stormed off and out of the Mansion, leaving her exhausted brother behind. She watched as his body slumped and he let out a ragged breath, they were both exhausted and she knew that that exchange with Laurel would have taken it's toll on him.
"I'll go after her." Thea murmured as she hurried out towards where Laurel would be, leaving her brother behind in her wake.
Oliver barely made a noise in acknowledgement as his mind reeled with Laurel's words, he'd tried to keep up the front of the selfish arrogant playboy that everybody remembered but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when people accused him of being selfish. He knew that he deserved it, they must have been scared out of their minds and it wasn't like he could explain that he was saving his bodyguard after he was hit by a stray bullet whilst chasing his charges as they went after an assassin all on their own.
"Oh man.." He let out a sigh, maybe he was selfish; for doing the crusade and for bringing Thea into it. Not that she'd given him much of a choice. But Diggle and Laurel's words rang in his head and in the parts of him that carried nearly a decade of guilt with them their words resonated.
He didn't deserve the people he had in his life, not after the monster he'd become and not after who he was before the island.
He thought back to the trunk in the Foundry and the ghosts it contained, the reminders of the people that he'd failed; his Father's list, Yao Fei's bow and hood, Shado's hand carved comb and arrows, Slade's whisky and failed attempt at an arrowhead from Sara.
All people he'd let down, people he'd either let die or people who hated him because of who he'd let die.
He leaned against the stairway, eyes closed as he tried to shut off his thoughts when the sound of the door opening jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Thea walking back in, a sympathetic grimace on her face, "Well...that was harsh...you alright?" She reached out and rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him.
"Yeah," He shrugged, "Just it's the second time that a friend has taken me out to the woodshed and it's taking it's toll..you know?"
Thea smiled softly at him, trying to be reassuring, "Dig'll come round and Laurel was just upset..worried..she probably didn't mean what she said...we both know your not selfish and you wouldn't be doing what you've been doing if you didn't care about the lives of others."
Outwardly he smiled and nodded, showing his agreement with her but inwardly he wasn't so sure that what Laurel was saying wasn't the truth.
"Goodnight, Speedy." He offered finally, clapping her on the shoulder as he passed her and headed towards his room, he doubted he would get any actual rest but he needed to at least try. He was exhausted and needed to try to process what had happened.
He hoped he was right about Diggle, he was a good man and could be a good partner to have out on the field, he didn't want to see his sister in jail because he'd made the wrong call.
If that happened he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
.
Later that night, Thea made her way downstairs. She was unable to sleep as her mind kept focusing on Diggle - she was too tense, the anxiety going through her body like a live wire. Every noise echoing made her tense and flinch, each bang sending her mind into overdrive as she imagined Lance and his friends coming for them.
It had been Oliver's plan to get arrested but this was out of their control and she was sure he was keeping something from her, he'd changed his mind about Diggle way too fast for her to feel comfortable with it.
She liked Diggle, she wanted the man to join them but that didn't mean she wasn't paranoid about it.
A noise caught her attention, it was a rustling sound and she hurried downstairs towards the source of the noise. She found Tommy sat in his PJ's, cross legged on the couch in the living room as he watched the TV. "Hey!" She called out weakly.
"Speedy!" Tommy called out, "Can't sleep either?"
Thea shook her head, "Nope." She sat down on the couch next to him, stealing some of Tommy's popcorn. "What you watching?"
"Peter Declan," Tommy replied, swatting at her thieving hand without tearing his eyes away from the TV, "Psycho killed his wife in their daughter's nursery..happened whilst you were away...the guy is a total nutjob."
Thea frowned and turned her attention to the TV, "And this warrants popcorn because?"
"I had been watching a movie...besides this is more interesting," Tommy replied with a shrug, "He killed his wife...killed his daughter's mother...the guy deserves everything he's about to get." Thea was surprised by the venom in Tommy's voice, she wondered if it was linked to his Mom's death.
Child looses one parent, mother murdered, left with a psycho parent.
Maybe it was hitting a little too close to home for him.
She watched as the man on the television pleaded his innocence, "Camilla was everything to me! I couldn't kill her anymore than I could kill myself!" Declan cried out in a clip dated from 2008.
"So why can't you sleep?" Thea questioned with a small frown as she turned away from the TV, "I remember the old Tommy Merlyn could sleep in till noon."
"That was because he used to stay out all night getting drunk," Tommy retorted, "Besides...I don't think either of us are like the old versions of ourselves...you don't have pigtails or wear frilly dresses anymore...we've both changed." He turned towards her, "Why can't you sleep?"
"Paranoia...bad dreams." Thea huffed, "Take your pick."
"About the island?" Tommy questioned gently at her nod he seemed to debate with himself before continuing. "So where were you?" As Tommy tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth, tone becoming serious, "We were waiting for you after the shooting...your Mom was freaking out and we couldn't reach the pair of you or Diggle...why didn't either of you call us and where were you?"
Thea looked at the concern and frustration on Tommy's face and hated herself for it, "We just got caught up with all of the security," She paused and hated the next excuse she was going to use, "High stress environment involving potentially being killed...kind of brought back some old memories and instincts."
"From the island?" Tommy checked.
Thea sighed, "Yeah...I guess everything is because of the island." Letting out a harsh breath she shook her head, "Guess the good doctor isn't working her magic after all."
Thea paused before nodding, "Guess the good doctor isn't working her magic after all."
"Maybe she would if you actually talked to her," Tommy commented and at her confused look, "Laurel told me...I was worried about you and she mentioned she'd been talking to you." He paused before continuing, "We're all here for you Speedy, it doesn't matter if you're not the same little kid we remember...we've all changed but we're all still your family if you need us but maybe you should give the good doctor an actual chance."
"Fine," Thea conceded after a moment of thought, "I'll try." As he nodded in satisfaction she chose that moment to grab some more popcorn effectively breaking the moment as she turned her attention back to the television
.
The next morning Oliver Queen made his way down the stairs of the mansion, past the ornate decorations, into the sitting room. He grinned at Thea and Tommy and smiled over at his Mother as she entered the room just behind him, he assumed Walter was at the company, she returned his smile before shaking her head and sighing at the television.
"Thank god we do not have to hear about this man anymore," His Mother said, "The sooner he's dealt with the better."
Oliver looked at the screen with a frown as he grabbed the remote and unmuted the television, listening as the news woman read out her script, "Declan's execution is set for two days from now." The reported said, "Camille Declan's former employer, Jason Brodeur has released a statement saying that he hopes that this will give Camille the peace that she deserves."
At the name his eyes went wide and spun around on his heel to face his sister, seeing her mouth the man's name at the same time as her. They both knew that Jason Brodeur was on the list and if he was involved in the Declan case then it probably wasn't as open and shut as the courts had thought.
"Declan's wife worked for Jason Brodeur?" Oliver questioned and turned to his Mother and Tommy with a frown.
Tommy shrugged, "Yeah...why? You know the guy or something?"
"Nope," Oliver shook his head and brushed off the question, "Just curious..I missed all of this remember."
His Mother sighed, "Well thankfully it will all be over soon...though I pity his daughter...loosing both of her parents-" She trailed off and Thea involuntarily glanced towards Tommy.
The sound of footsteps in the hall caused them both to stiffen, Oliver instinctively moving in front of his Mother whilst Thea moved to cover Tommy. Their Mother's voice caught their attention as they looked at her with a small frown, bodies still tense, "Oliver...Thea...there's someone I'd like the pair of you to meet."
"Someone?" Oliver questioned.
Their Mother nodded, "Mr Diggle's replacement?"
"Dig quit?" Thea questioned urgently, panicking slightly, "Why? When?"
"It seemed that Mr Diggle found himself unable to continue with this job," She shot Oliver a disapproving and slightly accusing look, "I assume he got tired of his client running away from him and refusing to cooperate with him."
Thea shot Oliver a worried look, if Diggle had quit it didn't bode well for the pair of them. If he was distancing himself from them he either wanted nothing more to do with them which meant he wouldn't be joining their crusade anytime soon or it meant he was about to send the cops after them and wanted to keep himself out of the firing line.
"You may come in now," Moira called out as she eyed up her children's reactions, "Oliver...Thea..this is Rob Scott."
The man walked in and extended a hand towards them, "Miss Queen...Mr Queen...I'm Rob Scott and I'll be your new body-man." Thea snickered at the introduction and shared an amused look with her brother, this man didn't seem like he'd be much of a challenge to deal with.
Politely Thea shook his hand and watched as he shook her brothers hand, "That's a firm grip you've got there, Rob." She noticed that the man was wincing slightly, she wondered if her brother was being a bit too firm with his own grip.
"That's five years with SWAT with Monument Point in MCU." Rob replied with a slightly boastful expression, Thea chuckled he really was nothing like Diggle.
Oliver leaned in towards her and muttered dryly, "I feel safer already."
"So what do we call you?" Thea said as she tried to suppress her laughter, "Mr Scott? Rob? Mr Rob?"
"Rob's fine," Their bodyguard replied with a smile, "So's Scott if you want Miss Queen."
"So...Rob," Oliver began and Thea looked at him with suspicion, his eyes were bright and it reminded her of the time he'd tried to prank Slade. He'd earned himself a particularly rigorous sparring session for that and she was fairly certain he still had a scar or two from that experience. "Myself and my sister would like to go into town...as she has a therapy session she needs to go to and I'd like to go visit a friend...could you get the car for us?"
Their Mother shot them a suspicious look but Oliver just gave her a reassuring smile, "We need him to get the car for us to leave Mom."
Rob hesitated, "No offence Mr Queen but I've been informed about yours and your sisters tendency to slip the leash and run away from your bodyguards...I'll be sticking very close to the pair of you for the time being." He replied calmly, "I'd prefer to keep the pair of you in my sights at all times."
Thea turned her laughter into a coughing fit as Tommy stared at her in confusion, she didn't mean to laugh but he just seemed so gullible and he seemed nothing like what she'd expected a replacement for Diggle to be. "If you don't get the car how are we meant to get to the city? We're twenty miles out."
Rob blushed slightly, cheeks turning red with embarrassment, he ducked his head and sheepishly made his way towards the door and headed out towards the garage.
Smirking Thea looked at Oliver, "Ducati?" she mouthed and he nodded.
"Excuse us," Oliver excused himself quietly from their Mother and waved goodbye to Tommy, "We'd better go."
"I like him!" Thea yelled over her shoulder as she followed Oliver away and out of the room.
Ten minutes later she and Oliver raced past a bewildered and confused looking Rob, she waved at him and was surprised when the man waved back. "He's cute." She commented to Oliver as they drove out of the gates of the mansion, he chuckled slightly as Rob's voice could be heard calling out behind them.
"I wonder how long it is before he quits?" She murmured, she was going to give him a week.
Oliver chuckled, "I'll give him three days."
It seemed that Oliver had even less faith in Rob's abilities than her.
.
Oliver and Thea stood in the Foundry; Thea was researching Peter Declan and Jason Brodeur whilst Oliver forged them some more arrows. "I don't know...this looks like a pretty open and shut case," Thea spun around on the chair and shrugged, "If it wasn't for their boss being who it was then I'd say that he did it..hell..maybe he did and we're just blind-sighted by the fact their boss was on the list."
"He had no alibi and all of the evidence says he did it." Thea lamented, "It seems legitimate barring Jason Brodeur having a spot on the list."
"We need help." Oliver concluded and reluctantly Thea nodded.
"Guess it's a good thing we both know a hotshot lawyer with a thing for the underdog."
Oliver's face twisted "You want Laurel involved?"
"She's the only lawyer in the city I'd trust with this...we know her." Thea could admit that she didn't know Laurel as well as Oliver but she only had good memories of Laurel and she'd been nothing but a friend since she'd gotten back, whilst her relationship with Oliver was more messy it made sense that it was.
She wasn't the one who slept with Laurel's sister.
"We can't let him die if he's innocent." Thea added, it would be a twisted logic that she and her brother killed and lived in what appeared to be the lap of luxury whilst an innocent man was killed and his daughter was left an orphan.
"He faces execution in forty-eight hours...we don't have long to prove his innocence and clear his name." Oliver placed the arrows he'd been working on in a vat of water to cool, "I'll approach Laurel later tonight..in the meantime you have a therapists appointment that you need to get to."
"Still unfair that you don't have to go to it...surely you have way more issues than me." Thea lamented.
Oliver smirked at her, "No idea what you're talking about Speedy...I'm perfectly sane."
The pair of them barely suppressed a snort at that.
.
Thea waited until Oliver's bike came to a slow outside of the Therapist's office, unloading herself from the bike she shot her brother a grateful smile. "Don't worry about picking me up...I want to go check in on a friend after this." At his warning look she raised her hands in mock surrender and lowered her voice so that it couldn't be heard by passers by, "I'm not going to stick an arrow in him...I just want to talk."
He watched her for a second before nodding and placing his helmet back on, "Alright...be careful and I'll see you tonight?" She nodded, she wasn't planning on letting him visit Laurel alone.
Letting out a weary sigh she headed into the Doctor's office, groaning at the sight of the familiar waiting room with it's pristine white walls and annoyingly polished feel. For a building located in the Glades, much to her Mother's annoyance, it looked good.
Probably because of Starling General pumping all of the rich youth into it, she was fairly certain many of the cities more elite families would be more than willing to donate a cheque or two in return for discretion.
She took a seat in the waiting room, thankful for the fact that it appeared to be empty, she didn't feel like making small talk or answering questions. It was going to be hard enough to answer the Doctor's questions never-mind some nosy stranger looking to make a buck.
It felt like forever before Doctor Pressnall's head poked out from behind the office door and she called out Thea's name, she got up and headed towards the office. Silently readying herself for the therapy session from hell. She was going to keep her promise to Laurel and Tommy, and so she was going to have to trust that they were right and that this would actually help her.
She took a seat opposite the Doctor, watching as the woman looked at her expectantly - pen hovering over the notepad in front of her.
Thea let out a harsh breath, running a hand through her hair as she tried to gather her thoughts - she knew what the Doctor wanted her to do and she knew what Laurel and Tommy thought she should do. But actually doing it felt wrong, seemed wrong, telling someone the truth about the island? Albeit an edited one as she was sure that ARGUS would rain down hell on herself and her brother if she mentioned their year long operation and Slade would skewer her with his swords if she brought up his name to a Psychiatrist.
"I don't know what you want me to tell you," Thea said finally, "Those five years weren't good and so much stuff happened in those years that I wouldn't know where to begin...I can't sleep...food tastes and feels wrong because it has too much taste and stuff added to it and every-time I'm in public I'm hyper aware because I'm waiting for someone to jump out and try to kill me." She stared at Pressnall, gauging the Doctor's reaction to her words, "I know how messed up I am...I don't need you to tell me that."
"That isn't my job," Pressnall replied calmly, "I'm here to help you cope with the trauma you suffered not diagnose you or cause any harm to you...I am not your enemy Thea."
Thea didn't know what to believe, she had Laurel's voice telling her that the woman did just want to help her and that the Doctor could whilst Slade and her own voice was telling her not to trust the woman. Not to say anything.
"Thea," Pressnall called out, "I understand this is difficult but this is your third session with me and we still haven't addressed anything or made any progress...why don't you explain why you don't want to talk to me?"
That seemed fair, she could do that.
"On the island...people looked out for me and my brother...taught us things and one of the things we learnt was about torture and interrogation." She focused on a stain on Pressnall's desk keeping herself focused on it as she talked, "So it's ingrained in me not to share things with strangers or hostiles...which no offence you are." Shrugging she continued, "I don't see how reliving trauma will help me...you wouldn't want to hear about what we went through and I don't want to talk about it."
Pressnall seemed to consider what she said, "If you keep memories like that shut away and you never process them it will harm you in the long run...I've seen patients go through the worst kinds of trauma and talking about it did help them."
"But I'm not them."
The Doctor nodded as she said that, "No you're not and your case is vastly different to most of my usual clients but that doesn't mean I can't help you." She paused, "I've read your medical report...I know about the scars and the tattoos and the broken bones...you can deal with something like that by shutting it away and trying to forget about it." Pressnall's voice was soothing, irritatingly so, as if she was trying to lure Thea into a false sense of security.
But Laurel and Tommy's words rang in her head, Tommy had had to go to counselling after his Mom's death and Thea would be surprised if Laurel hadn't after her sister and Oliver's deaths. They had promised her it would help.
She just hoped they were right.
"On the island." Thea began and a part of her blanched, it seemed that she was jumping right in at the deep end. Maybe it was because of the guilt of not telling her Mother, the fact she hated keeping secrets or just that it was the only thing she could mention that didn't link to their vigilante activities."I trusted the wrong people and because of it people died and now I'm back I'm scared of getting close to anyone I'm close to as the last time I did that...barring my brother...they died."
Doctor Pressnall leaned forwards at that, the only indication of the shock and surprise she must have been feeling at the fact that Thea was actually talking was the minute twitch of her eyebrow and the way her pen slipped against the paper. The Doctor gestured for her to continue.
"So how do I trust you when every other person I've trusted has hurt the people I care about." Thea explained, "That's the real reason I don't want to tell you anything." And her chest felt lighter, both in the literal and metaphorical sense.
Doctor Pressnall had been busy scribbling down notes as she spoke and she wondered what amazing insights the Doctor had came up with beyond the glaringly obvious fact that she had 'trust issues.' And before the Doctor could speak Thea gestured towards the clock, frustrated with herself for taking the cowards way out, "And I believe that means our time is up...see you later Doc!"
So it wasn't the monumental leap that Laurel and Tommy had been hoping for but progress was progress and she was going to give herself a pat on the back for that.
It was the thought that counted.
Shooting the Doctor a small wave she headed out of the office, pulling out her phone to find John Diggle's address.
It was time for her to pay the man a visit.
.
After a bit of internet sleuthing, for once it was of the legal kind, she found the address of John Diggle. He lived in an apartment building on the edge of the Glades, not quite out of it but not far enough in that he was living in a dump. Barring the graffiti on the side of the building and what looked like the rotted corpse of a pigeon the building looked quite nice.
Floor six, apartment 5b.
She groaned as she came up to a buzzer, guess she was going to have to get Diggle to agree to talk to her. That was going to be interesting. The name-tags were all faded and smudged, she took a deep breath and forced herself to press the button that had the smudged scrawl 'J. Diggle' next to it.
"Who is it?" The familiar voice called out, distorted through the speaker but noticeably warmer and less angry and venom filled than when she had last heard it.
Thea cleared her throat nervously, "Thea...Thea Queen."
There's an audible pause and a harsh intake of breath, Thea tries again "We need to talk.." Her voice takes on a pleading tone, "...please."
She was sure that Diggle was going to hang up or call the cops then and there, instead there's just silence accompanied by the harsh crackle of the apartment. Then, to her surprise, the door buzzed and the lock clicked. It took her a moment to get past the shock of her actually being allowed in before she reached out and pushed open the iron gate.
Maybe there was a chance when it came to Diggle after all.
To her relief the receptionist didn't seem to care about her presence, barely even looking up at her. She hurried past him with her head down, making a beeline towards the elevator. She pushed the button for the sixth floor and mentally prepare herself for her talk with Diggle.
A low beep signaled that the elevator had reached the correct floor and the door opened with a moan, she hurried out of the elevator and walked towards Diggle's apartment.
She's surprised that he even agreed to talk to her and if she was greeted by the barrel of a gun upon entering his apartment she wouldn't be surprised.
Annoyed but not surprised.
She rapped on the door with her knuckles, three short and sharp knocks, the paint on the walls was peeling but Diggle's door seemed close to immaculate. She guessed that was because of how much he got paid to look after Starling City's elite tearaways.
When he raised her hand to knock again the sound of a chain lock sliding out of place caused her to pause, followed by the sound of a deadbolt. The door is pulled so that it's barely open, Diggle able to see her but not wide enough for her to actually enter the apartment. Thea stood in front of him, body rigid and tense at the glare that John was shooting her way.
"Yes?" He questioned, looking at her with suspicion.
Thea rocked on her heels for a second before replying, "We need to talk...please...I just want a chance to explain everything and if you still hate me then you can call the cops on me with me there."
He watched her for a second, eyes narrowing as he crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze flickered over to the hallway, as if expecting an ambush before he moved to the side and opened the door. Diggle motioned for her to come in, with a grimace and a wave that seemed sarcastic as he did so.
It was as close to an invitation as she was going to get.
Shooting him a silent nod of thanks she walked inside and looked at the interior of Diggle's apartment, it was clean - probably because of the fact he was former military. Everything seemed to have a place.
But it was warmer than she'd expected; soft colours and even a candle or two on the coffee table with toys scattered around the floor and a crushed crayon next to a door - she assumed it all belonged to his nephew.
The nephew that was, as much as she hated to admit it or even think it, a potential pressure point if Diggle really did choose to go against them.
"So...are you going to talk or-" Diggle trailed off expectantly.
Thea spun around to face him, "Oliver's certain that you'll come around...that we can trust you which is strange considering most of your anger seemed to be directed towards him." She shrugged, "You're wrong about him..he isn't some wannabe Robin Hood...we have a reason for doing this and we're trying to save the city."
She could have brought up his brother but she felt like that was her brother's hail Mary for his talk with Diggle.
Which was a lot better than his usual Hail Mary of sleeping with the enemy.
"By killing people?"
She raised an eyebrow at that, "Says the soldier? We might have been through different wars but believe me what me and my brother went through was a war...not against a country or based on one country wanting something that the other had it was a war and a fight for survival against an endless supply of people who wanted us dead." Running a hand through her hair with frustration, she tried to find a way to explain five years of hell in a way that didn't make her sound crazy. "We kill..yeah..but we have to because the people we go up against wouldn't hesitate to kill us when we fight them...plus it was only a couple of months ago we were on a literal desert island trying to survive...kind of hard to get rid of the survival mindset."
He nodded at that and she barely contained her surprise, "Okay."
"Okay?" She questioned incredulously.
Diggle rolled his eyes and nodded again, "I get it...I still don't agree with it though."
"I'm not asking you to," Thea amended quickly, "Just please give my brother a chance when he tries to explain all of this to you...who knows maybe we'll win you over yet."
John Diggle surveys her with an unreadable expression before raising an eyebrow at her silently, she accepted his silence as agreement. Not wanting to push her luck she shot him a mock salute and made her way out of his apartment, she pulled out her phone and texted her brother the apartment building's address.
She wanted to believe that this was going to end well and that it was going to end without her having to put an arrow in John or anyone close to him.
But ultimately she wasn't going to be able to find out without her brother.
And, right now, they had bigger things to focus on.
Like Peter Declan.
. . .
A/N - Dig now knows! I had written a scene where Tommy found out instead but then I felt as if Diggle had been shoved in a corner as Tommy finding out is easier to write for basically any episode as opposed to Digg who's introduction to the Hood seemed to work best in the episode that involved his brother's shooter. I wrote this and then re-watched the episode, I made Diggle way angrier when he first found out compared to the show...Oh well I'll blame his parental instincts and the fact Thea is technically a kid.
I think I responded to everyone's reviews.
Hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much for all the follows/favorites and reviews!
And now I have written everyone who will be finding out's, finding out scene, and there's quite a few. Also a part of me regrets having Oliver with her as because of that not much has changed - eh, it will later on but it makes the earlier episodes harder.
I just wrote four new fics to help me with writers block relating to this episode. That should be fun.
Also anyone interested in a fic where "Oliver Queen," never returned to Starling to prevent the Undertaking? Follows Assassin Oliver & Sara, Tommy, Thea, Laurel, Moira and Quentin dealing with the aftermath of the Undertaking. Maybe Felicity and Diggle. Also spent two hours writing an Arrow/Supergirl/The Flash - Detroit; become Human AU because who needs to focus on what they're actually supposed to be writing.
Guest Review Responses -
*I agree, I've decided what to do with that episode and it hopefully feels natural/okay as I've had to stray quite a bit for that as I don't want to just shove any character into a hole.
*You're right! They really do suck, I have taken nineteen exams and I am exhausted. (Ignoring the exams for practical subjects I've already taken) Thank you for the good luck wishes and I'm glad that you're enjoying this fic.